Before the world, there was a tree. A giant tree, spreading amongst the stars, nebulae as its leaves. It had lived since the beginning of time, and for all the time it had been alive, it had been growing a bud. On one seemingly inconsequential day, the bud bloomed, a world at its centre. As the world unfurled, the tree wrapped it in its branches and roots. When the world was ready, the tree placed three women upon it - three Fates, charged with watering the roots of the tree in the sole place they appeared on the surface and to watch over the fate of the world. To do so, it gave them a well. Before they watered it, they drank from the well, thus being granted the gift of eternal life. In time, their powers emerged, one gifted with the past, one with the present, and one with the future. It was a time of peace at first. Though the tree slowly granted the Fates more gifts, they never found the need for them. The mystical creatures the tree had granted the world as a boon flourished alongside the slowly evolving indigenous fauna. After millennia, humans evolved. Wary, the mystical creatures retreated to hostile environments. The Fates watched and waited.
After much deliberation, the Fates trusted these humans with their secrets. One of the humans - a woman known as Morrigan - presented herself to the Fates, begging for the honour of being, if not one of them, then close to them. They let her drink, not the water, but a drop of each of their blood. She gained the secondary powers of every Fate. Under their tutelage, she became a great woman capable of fearsome exploits. The other humans saw her power and feared her. Too cowardly to face her, they poisoned her in her sleep then strung up her body in the centre of the town. Once they learnt of her end, the Fates were distraught at not having prevented it and burned with rage at the murder of the woman they had seen as their daughter. Leaving the tree, they entered the town. Their rage gave them talons and speed. In an hour, every human living in that place was dead. Every man, every woman, every child.
The Fates vowed not to trust humans. The Fate presiding over the past grew to despise them as her powers showed her Morrigan’s death over and over. After a few decades they found themselves hunted by humans who had heard stories of what happened to those who had crossed them in the past. These humans had more success, almost killing the women several times. As a last resort, they decided they must create more witches like Morrigan - a small following for each Fate so as to protect them from those who sought to kill them. They refused to give anyone the same powers as their daughter, but instead the witches received the blood of just one Fate.
As their ranks grew the Fates grew distant, their views differing on how to deal with humans. The Past Fate wanted to wipe them from the world for what they had done. The other Fates wanted to be more lenient, with Present seeing the progress humans were making, and Future seeing the road to come. Their internal feuds have root in these conflicted times. For centuries, their focus turned upon themselves, not paying heed to the society being built around them. Once they emerged from their conflict, they found the only place for them was amongst the humans. Reluctantly, they allowed a city to be built around the World Tree. Welcomed amongst the humans who revelled in depravity, in violence, in death, they settled, reasonably content with their place, save for the rift between the three.
— The Fates —
Though the Fates look normal at first glance, when you look at them closer, they emit an ethereal calm. They haven’t aged a day since they were placed on the surface of the world and look as though they are in their late 20’s. Claws adorn their fingers. Though they are meant to work in harmony, this hasn’t been a reality since Morrigan died. Despite their feuding, they always come together on Midsummer’s Eve to water the World Tree. Each Fate chose their strongest witch to run the coven on their behalf as a matriarch, only requiring the coven’s presence for important problems.
Past Fate - Ealdgyd
Able to see the past in a blink of her eyes, Ealdgyd can also control blood. Driven slightly mad by the constant revisiting of Morrigan’s death, she is cruel and cold, ruling imperiously. She despises humans and delights in causing them pain. Her brand is that of an hourglass.
Present Fate - Aodh
Aodh can see events happening currently, wherever they may be. Her power has some leeway, with events an hour in the past and the present being counted as the present. She rules over fire. She is never cruel without reason, though she sometimes finds every reason to be cruel. As the Tree shows her current events, she is often detached. Her brand is that of an open eye.
Future Fate - Skuld
The future rules Skuld’s life. It is a tangled mess in which she must weigh the probability of each future and choose the surest path to walk down. Hope and despair mix in her control of light and dark. Strong and sure, her ruling is often the fairest of the three Fates. Though she does hate humans, she despises the humans the least, as she can see the potential in them. Her brand is a Celtic knot, twisted and infinite.
— The Witches —
Witches are cutthroat and lethal, often cruel. Though they are not immortal, they are long lived, with their lifespan being twice to three times that of humans. The blood of the Fates is no longer required to make witches, as, though they are rare, witches are born to those of the same blood. The closer a witch is related to those who originally received blood from the Fates, the stronger their powers are.
The power of each witch depends on which coven they belong to. If they are in the Past Fate’s coven, they have control of over blood. Witches of the Present coven have powers of fire. In the coven of the Future Fate, the powers are split between those who can control darkness and those who can control light. Those who can control light are often viewed as soft by others as the power favours those who have a kernel of kindness in them. The coven of a witch can be determined by a brand on the inside of their wrist, with a different figure depending on which Fate rules them.
The magic a witch has is often a variation of the magic of their coven (eg: darkness could be turning into a shadow, summoning dark things, being able to plunge a room into darkness etc).
The strength of a witch determines their rank in the coven. Witches with weak powers can bolster their strength with book magic, which is not as strong as coven magic. It is often looked down upon, and isn’t as reliable as coven magic as it takes time to cast a spell. If book magic and strong powers are combined, it can be incredibly powerful, however the pride of a lot of stronger witches means that people who do this are rare. Familiars do attach themselves to witches, though it takes a lot for a mystical creature to enter the city to find its witch. If they choose not to make the journey, they sometimes call their witches to them.
Male witches are highly uncommon with most female witches not knowing how to treat them. They are viewed as either beneath some, or above others, depending on the witch. No matter how each witch treats them individually, they unanimously treat the men as outcasts, even within the clans. Some also view them as useful for breeding, as the coupling of two witches from the same coven without the dilution of human blood is considered extremely beneficial.
Witches work in the underbelly of the city, often hired as muscle or assassins. In some circles, just the mention of hiring a witch is a threat.
— Places —
The main population of the world is centred in cities dotted across the continent. Though a few live outside of them, there have been enough reports of strange disappearances for people to be wary. Split in two by a towering mountain range, it’s easy enough to travel from one end to the other, but even with high speed travel it takes some time. The capitol - where the Fates reside - is called Belthan.
Belthan lives in the future, flying cars available to those who have to money to pay for it (and the privilege of using the sky roads), hover-boards and well managed communal transport to those who don’t. If you fancy a trip somewhere else, trains run fast and often to other cities, but many people never leave Belthan in their lifetimes. The skyline is dominated by shimmering high-rises, wind sucked into the streets. The city lights up a night, neon signs dispelling the dark. Phones are a thing of the past, replaced by contact lenses and implants. Despite being big, the city is clean, though if you look closer, not everything adds up. For a city that is seemingly peaceful and safe, danger seems to creep up the walls in the outer quarters of the city in no fair amounts, the politicians are too slippery to catch and something hovers over the city like a death threat. The people know that something other lives amongst them. Only the rich, the depraved and the unfortunate know exactly what.
The Throne Hall
The main throne hall is placed just above the roots of the World Tree, with the well and the roots in a separate room hidden behind a tapestry and the thrones of the three matriarchs before it. The marble floor reflects the glints of dusty sunlight coming in from the roof, catching on the gouges and scrapes on the floor, on the scorch marks and pits from fights. The walls, painted in a deep burgundy, share the same marks, along with splashes of a brighter red on the exposed plaster. The witches have long since stopped trying to repair the grandiose room,it only gains more every time the covens meet. Each matriarch has her own separate room, in which she can entertain her own clan separately from the others.
The Vaults
The Vaults is one of the few haunts frequented by witches from every coven. Built under the city, the cavern plays host to bars and fight rings. Don’t look too closely at the menu if you’re a human who happened in here by accident, you might not like what you see. Any worries you have will soon disappear - along with your life. If you aren’t rich or in business with the covens, you have no protection.
Here, the witches pit themselves against each other, claws and teeth and magic on full display. Here, the humans who can afford it enlist the help of witches to do their dirty work - if they dare. Here, ranking in each coven is established.
It’s a place without laws, except that of the strongest.
So why are we here?…
As the witches gathered in the Vaults to celebrate Midsummer’s Eve, the Fates prepared themselves to water the World Tree. The atmosphere between the three was particularly melancholy - it had been a thousand years since Morrigan had been murdered. Once they were ready, they bade their retinues leave. They did so and joined the festivities in the Vaults. The Fates entered the room in which the World Tree’s roots emerged.
The next day, the witches closest to the Fates - the matriarchs and their heirs - returned to the throne hall, still moving with elation from the night before. For once not fighting, they approached the thrones in the main hall in good spirits. These fell immediately when they did not see the Fates upon their thrones. Though the ritual often drained them, the Fates had always returned to their thrones the next day.
The only witches allowed to view the World Tree without the Fates, the matriarchs rushed to the room, unsure of what they would find.
Shattered on the stones surrounding the well was the bowl the Fates used to water the roots of the World Tree. Though they searched, they couldn’t find a trace of the Fates, not even of a struggle. No one had entered or exited the temple, it had been made impossible by ancient spells. They relayed the information to the other witches. Distraught at the loss of the ones they considered mothers - and goddesses - they turned upon each other.
As they fought, something became apparent. Their powers were not as strong as the night before. Though for the weakest, it was barely a change, for the strongest, it seemed as if a chasm had been opened. Magic was ebbing away. Calm began to settle. One thing was certain in the hearts of every witch. They had to get the Fates back.
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— Slots —
Past coven:
1. @Auxiira - Isolde Aegil (heir)
2. @Craz - Emyr Tarrant
3. @Gardevite - Vivian Hayes
Present coven:
4. @SpiritedWolfe - Rhosyn Nilan
5. @megsug - Macchione Linnet
6. @HazelGrace -
Future coven:
7. @Iggy - Sage Hollings (Heir)
8. @Jhinx - Ana Pharaya
9. @ChildofNowhere - Joaquin Frey
I can open more slots, but no more than 3 more. I would appreciate characters of varying strengths, not just powerful ones. For instance, a weak witch who is nonetheless good with book spells would be useful with the coven magic waning. Only 2, max 3 men allowed and Baz already has one of them.
— Character Profile —
Don’t forget to take out everything in parenthesis! If I find your character overpowered or their profile not detailed enough, I will refuse them.
- Code: Select all
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] (Actual and apparent - remember they live twice/three times as long as humans)
[b]Coven:[/b]
[b]Power:[/b] (give an accurate description and put a restriction on it)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Photos and drawings are accepted, however they must be accompanied by a written description. Make it quite detailed)
[b]Personality:[/b] (Again, fairly detailed please - don’t forget strengths and weaknesses)
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Other:[/b]
Gender:
Points: 610
Reviews: 67