Seclusion [Old Version | Dropped]

 

In a beautiful mountainscape deep inside the eastern hill forest of the Hartz laid the capital of the witch kingdom—Walpurgia. The city was named after her founder Walpurgis II. von Teufelsbach.

The kingdom is small, but its location and the powerful wards all around the border made it near impossible to conquer. Even after countless tries, nobody ever went further than a few thousand feet into the territory. If anyone should ever advance further into the kingdom, nothing but an even more cruel death awaits them at the hands of the War and Grand Witches. 

Still, even they can't hold a candle to the High Council of the Titled Witches. Those women are feared on each of the five continents and not without reason. The queen herself, Laticia—one of the youngest of them—once eradicated a neighboring empire in days because they insulted her ambassadors as uneducated peasants. She's known as the 'The Witch of Harmony'. Though she is the queen, most decisions concerning the kingdom are decided by the High Council. However, she had the right to veto. The day they hold their conference is called 'Witches' Tea party'—by chance, that was exactly what happened right now. 

They were sitting in the Academy of Witchcraft, in the highest magic tower beneath the headmistress's office, in a meeting room with a large round table and comfortable chairs. Despite the fact that everyone should have been present, not every seat was taken. Out of seventeen witches, only ten deemed it necessary to participate. Even the queen's mother, Walpurgis, didn't come. Nevertheless, it was already a seldom occurrence for ten of them to gather, so Laticia felt quite happy.

"Soo, what does the school administration think about this?" inquired the queen and looked at three specific witches. 

The headmistress—Ithi, 'Doyenne of Alchemy—replied first, "Can't say I'm not worried about the latest events, but the battle between the academies is still important. Especially if we want to show young witches all over the world that there is a place where they're welcomed and loved for what they are." 

She belonged to the Cat Sith, a humanoid catlike race. She was also their creator—unintentionally. Over ten thousand years ago, during one of her attempts to brew a successful transformation potion, she made a miscalculation in the formula. As a result, she, and anyone else who was around at the time, were transformed into that race. At first, they tried to find a solution, but they became more and more comfortable with their new identity over time and eventually came to love it. After several millennia, the Cat Sith became a race with a great affinity for magic, alchemy, and enchantments. Even though they were not the tallest among the races—standing barely four feet tall—their beautiful feline appearance was very popular, especially among the beastkin.

"I...also think so," Alexandria, 'Keeper of Knowledge', agreed. 

Laticia stared at the third one, who seemingly fell asleep with open eyes...like always. "Babel?"

The witch, who appeared to be no older than nineteen, peered around, obviously confused as to where she was. After a few seconds, her eyes began to focus on the queen.

"Oh, sorry, Lati hun. I'm still tired," she said yawningly. 

What people never would realize was that Babel was the oldest witch present. Also, she was the only one in the council who held two Titles at the same time—'Hubris of Widsom' and 'Matron of Discord'. It is said that she was the original cause of why the first empire began to crumble. 

"But please, could you give me an answer? You know you all have to agree with that."

Babel just nodded slowly before her eyelids closed and dozed off once again. Laticia only frowned. But this kind of answer was better than none at all. 

"Good, I'll work out the details with Ithi later. Has anyone still a question or an objection? Otherwise, this would conclude today's meeting."

"Urg, finally!" said an alluring husky voice. 

"Jeanné...I know you don't like our tea parties, but you still need to respect your peers!" admonished the queen.

"Oh c'mon, we don't even have tea here! At least let someone serve us a good drink! I'm freaking thirsty!" complained Jeanné. 

Jeanné was, despite what her Title 'Arbiter of Flames' would suggest, rather hot-tempered. She was the leader of the Sisterhood of Judgment, who would bring down every dangerous criminal that break the witches' laws. They would pursue each of those criminals until they caught them and gave them their rightful punishment, or they were able to verify their passing.

"She's not wrong, you know? You could really serve us some tea next time," agreed a sweet mellow voice. 

"Urg, not you to Glacia...besides, do you even drink tea?!" asked Laticia, rubbing her temples.

"No, not really. I like red wine, though. But tea would be appropriate for an occasion that is called Witches' Tea party, wouldn't you think so," she responded flatly.

Glacia von Nacht—titled 'Moonless Starlight' after her own original ice spell. Contrary to her icy aura, she's a warm-hearted person. If only a little too rational for her own good. Still, you shouldn't cross her with vile intentions, for she holds no mercy to her enemies.

"Glaica, stop bothering the youngster," said a gravel-voiced old woman. 

"Thank you, Krone!"

"It's alright, dear. Just because you're the third-youngest doesn't mean we shouldn't respect your authority," the old lady replied with a soft motherly look on her face. 

Krone, the 'Eldritch Witch', was the second oldest. She lived most of the time in solitude. She devoted herself to the mysteries of the 'Forgotten Magic', which completely vanished at some point after the victory against the Eternal Witch. No one knows why; even Alexandria was clueless about why it happened. Half of her archives just disappeared overnight. Not to mention the loss of the Endless Library. Without the interference of the gods, the world would've been in a catastrophic state. And even with their help, it nearly cost a millennium to get back to a stable baseline. Yes, everyone got stronger due to the System, but the Forgotten Magic was as, if not even more, powerful. One only had to imagine the possibilities of someone who possessed this knowledge and had access to the System. Krone was sure that somebody like that could even challenge the gods and goddesses or become one themselves. If only Eternal hadn't gone mad with her experiments and hatred for every other race. Sometimes she wondered where Eternal came from and why. She knew that the stories about the Originals are mostly made up; nonetheless, none of them knew her. At least that's what they said. Had someone else brought her here? 

Krone snapped back into reality after she heard a snarky remark from Cegua, 'Whispering Death'—she really couldn't stand that bitch, who had absolutely no respect for anybody except Nari Lartha 'Blooming Flower' and Gretel 'The Confectioner'. How she wished that her old friend Yaga 'The Wanderer' were here.      

 "Yeah, right. If she wants respect, she should earn it first. Let's finally erase those freaking naga or dwarven empires. THAT would earn my respect."

"Pleasse, I don't want to have that discussion again! Besides, aren't you a tad too specist here? I mean, we have naga students in our academy, haven't we?" Kulam—the 'Vindictive Witch'—asked, annoyed. 

"At least I'm not Eternal!" she countered. Kulam rolled her eyes. Yes, technically, it was true, still not the point of her argument.

Kulam stood up. "Honestly, what's your problem with them?! They—"

A knock interrupted her sentence. Everyone looked surprised at the door. The reason for their irritation was that absolutely nobody was allowed to disturb them during a meeting. Not even another council member would dare to do this. 

"Enter!" yelled Laticia angrily.

A young Grand Witch entered, who flinched at the same moment she saw the gazes of the High Council. The poor witch was already near tears. 

"Oi, Circe, isn't that one of yours?" Jeanné asked in a mocking tone.

Circe, also known as the 'Siren of Seas', mustered the arrived witch. "Barbara...why are you here? Do you even know how you're showing me up here right now?! What the heck could be so important that you do something that is frowned upon even between ourselves?" 

"I'm s-s-sorry. W-we got an emergency call from our sisters in King's Garden," Barbara replied, afraid.

"So? If you deem it important enough to interrupt us, I hope it's something like the death of the damned emperor," commented Ithi.

"Uh, well. Honestly, I think it could be more important than that." 

"Then tell! We don't have all day!" commanded Circe harshly.

Barbara nodded. "Y-Yes! Three of our sisters were in the Dark Trade Guild's auction house a few hours ago. There appeared to be an incident that included a so-called Titled Witch—whom they never saw before—your name, how she saved you, and your transfiguration spell. She transformed the Archduke into a pig, tore a leg off, healed it, and somehow changed him back, but into a girl. AND she even used hemomancy."

"'Huh?'" declared all present witches simultaneously. 

Laticia stared at Circe. "Uh, Circe...did you broke one of the Old Rules? You know, that one where it's said that we only share our Original Magic with our direct proxy?!" 

Circe threw her hands up in the air. "I am completely innocent! I have never taught this magic to anyone unknown. Hell, I can't even remember ever teaching it to anyone!" 

Krone tapped with her finger on the table. "So, and how exactly does this witch know your spell?"

Circe looked at Barbara. "You said something about saving me? Did they say more about it?"

Barbara pondered for a moment. "Uhh, y-yes! They said that this witch saved you once when you were betrayed by a human lover? But I mean, that sounds ridiculous. You hate humans, you—"

With a wave of her hand, Circe ordered her to stay quiet. For a moment, her gaze wandered into the nothingness, ere it returned. "It can't be, can it?" 

"What 'can't be'?" demanded Laticia an answer.

"Once upon a time—before I loathed humanity—I was in love with a human man. But one day, he betrayed me for another and tried to kill me. Luckily, I survived. 

"Only your mother, Babel, and Krone knew about it...but what I've never told anyone, out of shame, was that somebody saved me. A young witch, who bore no name, killed those bastards before they got the chance to deal the finishing blow."

The rest of the High Council looked troubled. Jeanné commented, surprised, "Uh, correct if I'm wrong, but aren't all of the witches that were alive before the Arrival of Divines in the council? So, who could that be?"

"Oh no..." Krone stated. "You're not implying what I think you're implying?"

Circe only nodded whilst Babel shared a knowing look. "It was HER apprentice."

Laticia stood up, "Ok, ok, what the hell you're talking about? Whose apprentice you mean?!"

"Eternal," answered Babel Laticia's question tonelessly. 

"Fucking no way! SHE had an apprentice witch?" yelped Cegua, surprised.

Laticia flopped down in her chair, unable to process the information. The others had somewhat the same reaction. 

"I thought she died at the same time Eternal got sealed. What did she do...?" Krone's eyes went wide. "KNOWLEDGE! SHE STILL HOLDS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FORGOTTEN MAGIC," she shouted. 

Every Titled Witch flinched at that comment. They all knew what Korne meant—she was too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.

"We need to stop her! None of us wants a second Great Witch Hunt," Laticia exclaimed. "Jeanné, take your best subordinates with you and bring her here. I don't care how you do it; just do it!"

"Yes, my highness!" Jeanné saluted and stormed out of the meeting room, shoving Barbara with her.

"Let's hope everything will be fine. She can't be this strong...or?" mumbled the queen.

"Well...when she saved my life, she was way stronger than me..." answered Circe.

"Great..."