Rise of The Witches

Prologue

We are just one tiny speck of dust in a great big universe full of dust. Dust that became stars, then moons, and planets. Dust that became life with consciousness, empathy, and magick. When the Aether spit out an egg-shaped stone, iridescent in color and made up of primordial power the Gods erupted into war. War for power.

In the end, the stone cracked. It exploded into the primordial darkness, and the endless void was lit with a magick no god had seen before. Beautiful. Elemental. Pure and untapped cosmic energy. And it belonged to no entity, no god. The Aether remained and no god had power over the other.

With magic running amuck the universe evolved, and on Earth all sorts of life manifested. Creatures of the sea, animals on land, Guardians of Magick and humans. The first humans were so fragile, so naïve. The gods watched as they fell prey to disease, predators, and nature itself. As they watched them die, entranced by the process in which they return to dust, they witnessed small orbs of light leave their bodies with their last breath.

Those orbs were their souls and carried part of the original stone's power. Soon gods were visiting earth, educating and helping the humans. Providing holy weapons to fight the Guardians of Magick. In return they asked for their souls. The humans now full of faith and gratefulness sold their souls for more time, money and power. That is how religion was born. 

Over 300 years ago a war was started between the Otherworld and the Mundane. It is human nature to look for leadership, for order, but evil and corruption caries no racial preference and neither does Power. Too often the wrong people are gifted Power they do not deserve or simply cannot handle.

In the year 1333, the church was rising. Only 4 years before that on February 11th, the Vestica (named after the Roman Goddess Vesta) was built. On their 5th anniversary, with all of the Power they had accumulated in Europe they were choosing to celebrate by executing witches. The one creature on earth they could not seem to hold any power over.

A parade was being held in the streets of Rome, outside of the Vestica. There was music and drinking. Laughter and dancing. People stood on opposite sides of the street chanting "Witch! Witch!" Some were shouting worse things like, "Burn the Witch!" and "Hang the Witch!" All the while, women were being carted down the middle and stopping at the Church's steps.

In between the carts of scarred and tortured women were jokers on stilts, vendors and marching bands. Many of the women were malnourished, hair wild and dirty. Dresses torn and tattered. Many of the women were innocent human women. The most heartbreaking were the 5 true witches, hiding among them, whom carried daughters in their bellies. The horse-drawn carriages provided no protection from the objects that were thrown at them. And occasionally the carts would stop. Roman citizens would come up to the carriages to spit. 

Calida, a brown girl with skin that glowed red in the sun, met each person she passed in the eye daring them to act against her. "puedo quemarlos a todos" she murmured.

"No hermana. Be not like them. Be better." Her sister said. In the short time, Celestia was able to get to know her sister she found that Calida not only carried a dangerous power but a dangerous temperament.

"Y si no quiero?" Calida pushed back. Her Amber eyes slightly shifted to a scarlet, as she readied her power.

"Then our plan will fail." Emelie responded, and Calida's eyes turned back to the yellow-brown they were before.

When they reached the front of the church, women were dragged out of the cart. Some cried and begged for mercy. None of them belonged there. None of them deserved the death that was coming for them. A rock struck one of the pregnant witches. Her name was Amari. She had bright blue eyes, like the sea, but dark skin that could melt into the shadows of night. Eye color like hers and Calida's was one of the first signs a woman could be a witch. The devil's mark, they called it. The witches knew the devil had nothing to do with their Power. Amari was the farthest along, and her thin body was already struggling with the weight. She fell to the floor.