The Magic Within

Prologue (unedited)

       Everybody knew of the first Coven. It was many centuries ago when it came to be, long before any form of Christianity had even been a thought in the head of the first Bible-thumper. It is said that the first witch had gotten her powers from Gaia herself, but we know now that was a load of crap. Magick had been around longer than humans, she simply figured out how to channel it first. It didn't take long for others to figure it out, but to master it takes ages. It is common knowledge that Egyptians had the first forms of written language, but our magick goes back farther than that.

       It was written in a language that didn't have words or characters. Up until we developed a writing system, it was mostly oral recitation (which is unreliable). It is, however, agreed upon that the first witch was called Althea, and she and other seven witches are considered to be the ancestors of every magickal person on the planet. It is said that each of them were named with one singular name, intended to be a signature of their magic.

       The eldest was called Soliard. She specialized in the Sun's energy, and favored high noon to do his work. Her symbol is a simple sun. There's a legend that when she died, her soul added to the sun's brightness, and that's where the summer solstice comes from. Soliard valued discipline and honor, and her descendant have clung fiercely to tradition, and are quite inflexible.

       Next was Nova. He was Soliard's twin, and their descendants have worked together as closely as their founders. He and his descendants prefer to work mainly with the moon's energy. His symbol is a gibbous moon, and he favored midnight, when the moon was at its peak. The legend of the winter solstice comes from his death, and that when the Nova die, their soul and life force adds to the magick of the moon. The Nova clan has been known for their uncouth nature, they "prefer to life like nature does." They do not conform to society's rules, and have been said to make unpleasant party guests.

       There was Faelyn, who worked mostly with the fae creatures (faeries, nymphs, naiads, and the like) and nature. Their symbol was simply an oak tree. They valued kindness and hard work above all, but was known to cause mischief, much like their matronic creature. There is some lore about where they meet and do their rituals. Some say the founder of the house put it at the base of an ancient oak, and the collective magic of the clan kept it growing onward, giving them what they needed. Other stories describe a cave that resembles a hobbit hole. Nobody knows for certain, and everyone in the clan describes it differently. I think that's what they're told to do to keep it a secret.

       Evian worked with water, and all that entails. This clan is as vast as the waters of the Earth. Just as there are many different types of bodies of water, such is there branches of this clan. There are three main bases, centered around (respectively) Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers. Each other sect of this clan is based on these three. Their symbol is a droplet of water, with some intricate designs inside of it. They are the most interconnected and widespread clan on the face of the Earth. The Evian are the most compassionate of all the clans, and rather flexible, but are sometimes naive and occasionally impulsive.

       The ones who work mainly with fire were called the Shula. They were often passionate, almost to a fault, and often unpredictable. They don't work well with others because of this, but one thing is for certain; they will keep their word. That's not to say that they don't joke around or anything, but if they make a vow, a very specific phrase they say when they mean business, you better believe that they will go through with it, regardless of what that may entail. Their symbol is a line drawing of flame. It is said they hold their most sacred rituals in the heart of a volcano, but that has been disproven, as there are not many active volcanoes in the middle east.

       The Ventum worked mainly with air. That is, the wind and skies. They felt their power where wind was the most abundant, and it is said that when they are angry or upset (collectively), there are gusts of wind so powerful that even the mountains swayed. This, of course, is a fallacy, because mountains cannot be moved, even with the most powerful magic. Members of the Ventum clan are relatively high-minded, and intuitive. Divination is a common practice of these witches, and most of our expert scryers come from here. They can be rather callous, with little regard for the feelings of others, and occasionally cynical, but are trustworthy, and always pull their weight.

       Animus worked with spirits. They are the ones somewhat responsible for everything that happened with the Salem Witch Trials. Most of the results of that was faery-tales and hokum, with the whole "if she sinks she's a witch, if she floats she was innocent" thing was completely fake, that mainly depended on what that particular witch was wearing and how the current was that day. This is the smallest clan due to all the witch hunts that went on. Due to historical events, these folks tend to be more reserved and careful about the information they let slip. Nobody knows how their rituals are performed, but we know that they are located at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. They can help with events and omens we encounter on the astral plane. Our most sacred rituals and ceremonies take place at Stonehenge because it is said to be the place where we can most connect with the Goddess.

       Althea herself was fascinated with the cosmos. She had her own ideas, and currently has no known descendants. We know she bore children in her time on the physical plane, but nobody has been able to find any trace of them. There is a relatively small sect of witches (not quite large enough to be called a clan) who follow the ideals that she had set in place. They have a temple somewhere in northern Chile. Everybody knows how to find it, but it is charmed so its location cannot be revealed verbally or pointed out on a map, or directions written down. That it is in northern Chile is all that can be said about it. Her sect (they call themselves Althea's Daughters, which I personally think is rather sexist) values polished routines, and they are pretty sociable once you get past their 'holier than thou' attitude. Do not mistake their lack of bloodlines and small size for weakness. They are just as strong as any of the other clans, and do have a High Priestess on our Conclave (there is one for each of the clans). They just so happen to be picky on who they let into their sect. They are by far the strictest with their rituals and ceremonies.

       One does not need to be a blood descendant of any of these clans to be a part of it. A blood connection is what's needed for one to become a High Priest or Priestess of a clan (with a few exceptions). This is simply to establish the strongest connection possible to the founder of any given group, so that, if needed, we can connect spiritually with the founders of our clans. It is the responsibility of the High Priest or Priestess to find and train their replacement, so that when they perish, the next can begin immediately. If there were to be an accident, however, and the previous Priest or Priestess had failed to find their replacement, it would be left to a very sacred and ancient ritual that was so difficult that it was only performed under the most dire circumstances. It has only ever been performed three times in our history. The first during the Dark War, the second during the witch hunts in the 1600's, and the third during World War I.

       The Dark War was something we did not like to discuss except to learn from. There was a group that did not start with the original seven. This group, who called themselves the Innovo and practiced dark magick, formed from witches who believed they didn't belong with the seven clans. They thought that the way things were being run was immoral and needed to be changed. They needed the Great Grimoire to do it. The Great Grimoire held all of our most sacred rituals and histories. These rituals can be found elsewhere, but reading them from the Great Grimoire gives them nearly infinite power. The Innovo needed to destroy it before they could move on with their plans. The only way to do that is to read the last incantation on the last page with perfect diction and the correct environment. Those instructions are written in the book itself. Nobody knows why the incantation is there, but it is treason to alter any existing pages. Some can be added, but none taken away, not without eternal punishment.

       The Innovo had nearly gotten it from it's keeper at the time, Laurel, who, at the time, was the head of the Faelyn, but in a last ditch effort to keep them from getting it, Laurel made the ultimate sacrifice and formed a shield with her soul, which resulted in her death. It is because of her love for the Coven that we are still here. The Innovo were executed, and the Great Grimoire is safe and stronger than before, having been blessed with all of Laurel's magick. We don't have many Coven-wide laws, but from then on, the strictest one was the prohibition on dark magick. All grimoires containing dark magick were vehemently destroyed, and for the next century after that all traces of any Innovo bloodlines were hunted down without mercy, and, as far as we're aware, there has been zero Innovo activity since.