Rise of The Witches

Chapter One: Stella

Witch; a wild woman, a cursed woman, a seductress. A woman whom casts spells with her wicked tongue, creates potions from her twisted mind, and calls on unnatural forces with her dark magick. A Witch will possess a variety of unnatural abilities. Abilities that allow her to wield and manipulate the magick of all things. She may change herself to appear as an average woman, but she will be marked by the devil.

Witch, is a term that was invented to scorn women. It was given an inaccurate definition. For centuries, women who are simply different or act against the majority have been labeled as witches, marked with Scarlett letters, or burnt at the stake. Most humans fear the unknown. Why? The reason, is power. In every relationship or empire there is one person or a group of people with power above the rest. To find yourself in a place where your power has been diminished or stripped away is frightening. The human brain begins to feel threatened. To be powerless is to be fragile and vulnerable.

In the human world men have placed themselves above the rest, with a false sense of higher power and authority. Men rule kingdoms. Men intrude on the lands of others. Men intrude on the bodies of women. Too many men will continue to search for more power to claim, threatened by anything and anyone that might rise above them. A higher power does exist, with true power in the form of magick. Magick that was born out of the Aether and created this very universe and many others before it. A magick that created the land beneath the feet of men. A power that formed the skin on their bodies and the skies above them. A magical power, that true witches were intended not just to wield but to protect.

The Age of Ancients marked the birth of witches. Witches that were named Guardians of Magick and were not just women. Men carried magick as well, but the women were more powerful. In the beginning, men and women ruled side by side. They were no different than the average human, except that they carried the gift of magick in their blood and were in charge of protecting the very magick of the universe. They were born before humans, and then humans were made in their likeness. Guardians of Magick helped build temples, palaces, and kingdoms. They served as council, healers and educators.

Guardians of Magick were so powerful they moved mountains and split the seas. When the Age of Men came to be, the balance of power shifted. Gods swept down from the Aether and blessed humans with Holy Weapons. Weapons that allowed human men to rise in power by hunting down the Guardians of Magick and exterminating them.

Today witches are nothing but myth and legend. Any witch that survived the fall went into hiding. Many bound their magic, some hid, and the rebels who did not do either are still hunted to this day by a secret order. An order known as The Order of the Golden Gate. The rebels created safe spaces in shops, schools, and clinics. Spaces hidden by magical enchantments and protected from the Witch Hunters.

One such space served as a safe haven for witches after the fall. The Old Hallow Hill Estate. The biggest estate built in its time harbored hundreds of witches escaping persecution. Witches from all over the world, and the mansion was remodeled year after year until it was left abandoned in the late 18th century. The entire property was blanketed in magick and stained with the blood of fallen witches. 

There was a prominent family that owned the estate, and at one time served as a founding family for the town of Havenhill. Many stories have been told about the abandonment of the Hallow Hill Estate. Stories about cursed lands, and massacres. The townspeople of Havenhill believed the family to have died in the mansion, and the bloodline ended leaving the estate forever abandoned.  Little did they know an heir remained, and she was being called home.

Stella Clara Rubio was known for always having a plan, even though none of her plans really worked out. She knew exactly who she was, and what she wanted from life. At least, at 17 she thought she did. Stella was the girl reading books, instead of making friends. She believed in magic and made wishes on shooting stars. And she was sure there was a life outside of her small hometown, a life far greater than the one she was living.