The Guardian clans- The seers , Shape Shifters , Warriors and Witches.

The change

I had a dream, which was not all a dream.The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the starsDid wander darkling in the eternal space,Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earthSwung blind and blackening in the moonless air;Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,And men forgot their passions in the dreadOf this their desolation; and all heartsWere chill'd into a selfish prayer for light:And they did live by watch fires—and the thrones,The palaces of crowned kings—the huts,The habitations of all things which dwell,Were burnt for beacons; cities were consum'd,And men were gather'd round their blazing homes

-Lord Byron

     It was a damp cold night in November, the streets slick with condensation, and the air thick with the smell of fallen leaves. It was a 'climb in bed with a good novel and a cup of tea" kind of night, the kind to be bundled up in front of the fireplace roasting marshmallows and playing scrabble. Which was why the lone figure on The Obsidian Bridge cursed to herself, wondering for the umpteenth time why the ceremony had to be held today, that too in the woods? They could easily have used the huge basement in the High Priestess's colossal mansion but her mother Aliona, chieftain of the Seishin clan had put an end to this idea by reprimanding Lamia saying: "This is tradition Lamia Dyson. You chose to scorn age old rituals, our family, our tribe, our pride? Why is it that with you I have failed miserably to instill the importance of what we do?"Why indeed, thought Lamia. It's not that she didn't recognize the importance of what the clans did. It's just that she had a hard time reconciling Lamia, the college sophomore with Lamia of Seishin clan. Anguis, her twin brother had no problem compartmentalizing. Named after the deadly beauty of the mamba snake, Anguis was everyone's favorite. It seemed that since his childhood, the Elders favored him and it generally known that he would be the next leader of the Seishin clan. This was yet again another reason that Lamia couldn't understand why her presence was so important at the ceremony. She hurried along the bridge to the edge of the woods, pausing to check her reflection in a small compact mirror. Dark eyes, framed with the thickest fringe of lashes set under a wide forehead and a dark head of the most unmanageable hair. Lamia was a pretty girl but even in beauty, Anguis surpassed her with his steely blue eyes, set into that sharp jawed honey colored face; a face that made it a compulsion to look again, a face that burned with passion but was strangely cold at the same time.

Immersed in her own thoughts, Lamia reached the clearing where the ceremony was to be held. A large fire had been lit in the middle of the clearing with ceremonial runes around it in a circle. Everyone was already there and Lamia's cheeks colored with embarrassment as she realized she was late to her own ceremony. On a raised platform sat the Elders, each a leader of their tribe. Lamia had attended the naming ceremony for the grand coven when she was a little child, back when Serafina had been named High Priestess. Now that she and her brother were 21, a ceremony was to be performed to bring forth their spirit animal and name the next leader of the Seishin clan. Since each member of the clan channels their own spirit, the shape of their animals reflected their true beings. Lamia, above all was impatient to see what shape she would shift into. Her mother was a tigress. Other members were coyotes, foxes, hawks and legend had it, one particularly talented Seishin had been a dragon. Before the actual ceremony everyone sat in a big circle around the fire and the Oracle; the most gifted seer from the soothsayer tribe told the story of how the clans came to be. She was a wise woman with a quiet manner, large eyes and a soft voice. Lamia liked her best out of all the elders. Besides she was the only one who didn't outright like Anguis better which Lamia thought was a welcome relief. Although Lamia loved her brother more than any other person in her life, growing up in his shadow had made her wistful of praise from her mother's side though Lamia knew she was too unconventional for any of the Elders and tribe members to be considered a leader. Besides, Anguis would be perfect. Always calm, cool and collected with a kind word for everyone and a warm disposition, Anguis was the kind of person you just couldn't hate. His quite composure and dignity made him a favorite with the Elders and his compassion for humans combined with deep insight made him the perfect choice to be a leader. Lamia knew that Anguis wanted nothing more than to be in a position to lead, but his desire didn't stem for his need to be in power. Anguis was passionate about helping others, to guide, nurture and help and Lamia knew that he would be a great leader. Lamia for her part was perfectly content in taking the back seat. More room for error, more chances of rebellion and maybe on the good days, she could concentrate wholly on being 'Lamia-the-college-sophomore'.