previously titled beserk
A young gay witch with deadly powers on the fringe is traveling the U.S. in search of a substitute for suppressing his magic and a way to control his powers. Ezra Pierce was born into a religiously strict family with no one...
"give me a muse and i will paint for you a world so bright you must close your eyes to see." w o r d c o u n t : 1,268
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There once was a time that witches sat at the top of the supernatural food chain. They led with the Council of Five, ensuring that the masses remained hidden and content with their situations.
That was until the witch trials of 1236. The witches began to get too cocky and sure of themselves. They shifted from their message of equality and their rule began to darken. Because of this, Ansfrid Devereux, a young vampire at the time, scorned by his witch lover, Werthiva, and bent on toppling the species, was able to feed the humans information and add gasoline to their fear, leading to the killing of hundreds of witches.
In fear, the witches scattered, leaving charge of the supernatural world up for grabs. Devereux seized control and took a young, psychotic vampire under his wing. Aro, wanting such power all to himself, killed Devereux and usurped his throne, calling his new kingdom 'The Volturi'.
Small covens underground covens came together after a century of hiding, under the noses of the Volturi their main village was sourced in Salem Oregon and from that was born a Black Market of sorts.
In the beginning, there were four. All coming from a separate corner of the earth and meeting directly in the middle. Each witch possessed a specialty and passed their specialties down, dividing witches into four classes, each named for their direction of origin.
The North delt in elemental magic. The four elements came together in these witches and often times their coven consisted of four. An earth wielder, a fire wielder, an air wielder, and a water wielder.
The East delt in more physical magic. They were the most common group of them all. Their powers were laced into potions and powder that became extremely dangerous in combat.
The West delt in energy magic, the rarest of all. Their power most often manifested in the form of light with the ability to burn all in the vicinity. Not so commonly, did it manifest in lightning, the purest form of energy of all.
The South delt in communication. They inherently spoke any language presented with and had the ability to bring animals to fight for them. But there was a much more dangerous side to this. Even rarer than the West, a handful of Southern witches could manipulate a person's very will and fool them into believing that the choices were their own. These witches, called Shades, had gone extinct and there were no longer any of them left.
The old woman Ezra found was, a Northern witch. After a life of war, she shunned violence and her powers, putting her last bit of magic into a suppression ring.
Alice grabbed a fire extinguisher, lugging it along as she took Ezra into the backyard. "What's that for?" He asked curiously and the vampire smiled a big toothy grin.
"Just in case." She said as they broke through the treeline. She spoke as she danced forward until the woods had swallowed them whole.
"So, a lot of times your magic will peak in times of extreme emotions before you learn to control it. Anger especially but often times it appears with embarrassment, grief, fear, pain, and so forth. To be powerful is to manage yourself and be constantly forced to keep your emotions under control because to be chaos is to be consumed." Alice explained as came to an abrupt stop. She let the fire extinguisher come to rest against a tree. "Much of this requires real experience which is dangerous because people can get hurt. So we make you angry now and you can learn to control it."
"How are you supposed to get me angry?" Ezra asked, frustration already building in the pit of his stomach as he shifted from foot to foot.
"Well, what makes you angry?" Alice asked curiously. Personally, Ezra couldn't imagine getting angry with such a sweet little woman.
Ezra thought back to the men just outside of town. "Bigotry." He said quickly before adding, "My father." Alice's face morphed into stone.
"Imagine him. Imagine your father. He's standing in front of you. He's angry. He's screaming, throwing things." Alice said, her voice startlingly plain.
Ezra closed his eyes, doing as Alice said and suddenly he was immersed in the memory. His fingers began to crackle as the static made his hair stand on end. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the tree nearest him and he yelped, shooting away from it as a small fire started.
"A Western witch." Alice breathed. "You're kind is extremely rare. That was really good, Ezra," Alice said with a smile as she picked up the fire extinguisher. A white cloud burst from the nozzle, smothering the fire. "Now try without the anger. Focus on how the electricity feels running through you, imagine all five senses." Alice directed calmly and Ezra closed his eyes.
He could imagine the electricity, how it made his nerves tingle and all his hair stand on end but no matter how hard he focused he couldn't manage to bring even a spark to his fingertips.
"Fuck," Ezra growled, his eyes flying open.
"It's okay, Ezra. Take a few breaths and try again. These things take time." Alice explained calmly.
Ezra listened but he couldn't manage to push away the last of his frustrations. His breathing became labored and he threw down his hands. "I can't!"
"Yes, you can." Alice insisted, stepping forward. "How about we go inside and take a break? Esme simply adores to cook and Niki cannot possibly eat all the food she makes."
"That's alright, I need to get back to my motel room." Ezra smiled. "Thank you though, for everything. I'll be back here tomorrow morning."
"Nonsense, you can stay here." Alice insisted with a grin. "We have extra bedrooms and if you want to truly immerse in your training you need to be here so we can keep an eye on you."
"We?" Ezra echoed, his brow cocked as Alice lead him into the house.
"My husband and I. He'll be helping with managing your emotions and later down the road, focusing your power."
Ezra's breath was knocked out of him once more as he walked into the gorgeously decorated house and instantly was ambushed by a short woman radiating sunshine. She had an adorable, heart-shaped face and perfectly tamed caramel hair.
"You must be Ezra." The woman beamed. Pads seemed to have found her way nestled into the woman's arms and looked very content with her situation. "I'm Esme, it's such a pleasure to have you here. I hope Alice told you about your room."
"It's alright, thank you but I couldn't possibly ask for more from you," Ezra said with a nervous smile.
"Nonsense dear, come now, I made dinner. Niki is already eaten, she has the appetite of a wolf." Esme explained with an amused grin. "I made you pasta since Edward noted you were vegetarian."
"Edward?" Ezra asked and Esme smiled.
"Another of my sons. He can read minds and he noticed your discomfort so we ensured not to overwhelm you." Ezra's cheeks turned bright red and he looked away in shame. "Oh, it's quite alright. Vampires are an acquired taste of sorts and it is against your biology to be near us. It takes time getting used to."
"I don't know how I could ever repay you for this," Ezra said as Pads leaped up from Esme's arms, taking solace in the heat of the boy's neck.
"Do better than your predecessors. That's all we ask of you."
