text: Evanora had been born in to the Druid coven of witches, being the second daughter of the high priestess. For the first couple of centuries of her life she had lived in adherence with the coven’s rituals and rules and only practiced certain types of magic and certain spells in accordance to the current seasons. She had been obedient, living in harmony with the natural world and had reverence for every living thing, but she had soon come to realize that the creature known as man was vile, evil, and respected no other form of life but it’s own. Her coven of witches had come to be persecuted and their village was burned to the ground. She had seen her mother and sisters burned at the stake for no other reason than that they were practitioners of witchcraft and chose to live their lives in accordance with nature and not the bizarre religion of he townsfolk which treated its women unfairly and was lenient to its menfolk despite the fact that it is women folk who are the ancient healers and nurturers of life. The Druid way of life honored and worshipped women, while every other way of life abhorred them and thought lowly of them. When she saw her mother burn before her very eyes, it was then that something within her had died and something new had emerged. It was the inception of a deep hate for mankind, especially the townsfolk from the surrounding areas. Their womenfolk were no better, they liked being treated as fodder, and depreciating commodities for their menfolk. Evanora had decided from then on to align herself with the dark lord, the only other entity that hated mankind as much as she did. She started to make blood sacrifices to him at the beginning of each season, and she noticed that it increased her in strength and vitality. Her magic became more powerful than it had ever been. Before when she was with her coven they would only use criminals and murderers for blood sacrifice, but Evanora had started using any man that she could get her hands on, luring him with her mesmerizing beauty. They came willingly and eager to please, being swayed by her long red hair, milky white skin and her emerald green eyes. One such fool was William Smith who had come to her clearing in the forest to kill her. He actually thought that he’d be a match for her magic and her mesmerizing beauty, but she had cast a powerful spell on him, turning him into her slave and showpiece before sacrificing him at the start of autumn. She knew his brother was on the hunt for her, but no matter, she had destroyed many men before him and knew exactly how to handle him if and when he did dare to face her. Killing William had given Evanora immense satisfaction, his sacrifice was the one that had given her the most pleasure out of all the men she had killed thus far. It was Williams father, Reverend Samuel Smith who had led the witch hunt and brought the townsfolk to destroy her coven, so Evanora took great joy in sacrificing him to the dark Lord, and now his brother was on the quest to exact vengeance. The fool would surely meet his imminent death when he came to her clearing. Killing two Smith boys in two consecutive seasons would bring her great contentment. She could smell something in the air this evening aside from the mushrooms, shrubs, and woodland critters. She could smell the faint smell of a man headed her way. He was young and virile, and his scent carried the essence of bravery and valor. Evanora smiled to herself, she wouldn't have to lure anyone this season, her prey was coming to her. ~~~~~~~~~~ William was blinded by his thirst for vengeance which could only be quelled by the blood of Evanora. The townsfolk had found William’s body on the shrubs near the outskirts of the village and he had strange markings on his flesh, a pentagon, upside down cross, and a singular eye which his late father had told him was the mark of the beast. William's body wasn't the first body the villager's had found with these occult markings, they had found many of their young men's bodies in a similar state towards the beginning of each season. So they came to understand that such bodies were sacrificed to the Dark Lord by the Witch of the Woods. When William’s father had led the crusade against the coven in the deep woods the villager's had been successful in annihilating the coven and Reverend Samuel had been hailed a hero and the Town Leader, his two sons William and Nicholas had been set to take his rank when the good Reverend passed but he tragically had to bury his son William when he was found dead and shredded. Reverend Samuel had warned William not to pursue the witch alone, she had aligned herself with the Dark Lord and was more powerful than her mother and the witches of her coven that they had killed, but William was determined to kill her and put an end to the seasonal sacrifices, and though he met an untimely demise, he was still admired by the townsfolk for his bravery. His younger brother, Nicholas, Reverend Smith's only surviving son had not taken the death of his older brother lightly. He vowed to kill the Witch of the Woods even if he died trying. He knew however that she was more powerful than any witch that the town’s people and his father had ever encountered, she had sacrificed many men to the Dark Lord and all those offerings had increased her in power and might making her wicked beyond belief. He realized that not only would it take physical strength, but it would also take mental agility and he’d also need magical help. He’d heard of the White Priests who lived in the foot hills up North in the town of Exeter, they were men who were in communion with The Light, worshipping the Good Lord. The magic they practiced was not black and they mostly used incantations and prayers, never hexes or spells, nor did they sacrifice living creatures. He’d make his way by horse tonight. The journey wasn’t arduous nor were the foothills of Exeter too far from his villiage of Lunaris, in fact this journey was familiar to him, he remembered traveling there with his father, brother, and the clergy whenever his father needed advice or needed a certain dream to be interpreted. The Priests of Exeter were kind and intuitive, helpful in any way they could be, providing recipes for salves, elixirs for weakness and malaise, and remedies for ailments. Tonight however, Nicholas sought something far greater from them, he needed advice on how to kill a powerful witch, namely The Witch of the Lunaris Woods. Nicholas arrived at the piedmont of Mount Exeter he urged his trusty horse forward, slowly climbing the gentle slope. He could make out the outline of the small priory up ahead about a few yards away. He had come here to meet with the Prior of Priests of Light. Prior Lancaster had been good friends with Reverend Smith, giving him advice and council on many matters, surely he’d know how to kill the witch. Once he reached the small monastery he tied Gabilan to a nearby tree. “Well Gab, here we are” he said, caressing the chestnut colored English horse, “I want you to stay put while I go meet with Prior Lancaster. Understood?” The horse chuffed and nodded it’s head before Nicholas gently kissed its forehead affectionately and headed to the priory. He knocked on the dark oak door and to his surprise, it was opened very quickly. A slender man wearing a long white cassock smiled at Nicholas, “Nicholas Smith! Come in, we’ve been waiting for you! I’m father Stephen”, said the man as he beckoned Nicholas inside, “Prior Lancaster is in his dormitory and awaits your company!” The slender man seemed almost excited, his tone was soft and his speech was fast, he lead Nicholas to another wooden door and knocked. “Come in” said a familiar voice from inside, and father Stephen opened the door before he and Nicholas stepped inside. Nicholas smiled when his eyes saw the kind and familiar face of Prior Lancaster, he had a very pleasant and unassuming face, it was a face that one could trust before any words were even exchanged. Nicholas walked over to him with outstretched arms and Prior lancaster returned the embrace which they held for a few moments, the Prior looked in to Nicholas’ eyes for a few seconds, as if searching for something. Nicholas’ expression grew solemn, “William is dead” he said with pain in his voice, Prior Lancaster nodded his head and squeezed Nicholas’ arms, “I know. I had a vision” the old man responded, “he should never have gone after Evanora alone.” Nicholas furrowed his brows, “Evanora?” The Prior nodded, “Evanora is the one who killed your brother, I know of her, I knew her mother. They weren’t evil beings but your townsfolk killed their people in ignorance. This was before I met your father...” his voice trailed off. He looked at Nicholas up and down, as if sizing him up. “You are no match for her Nicholas, believe me my son, you are the last survivor of Reverend Smith and I’d like for you to stay safe. Stay away from Evanora, do not wander in to the deep woods of Lunaris. Listen to me, please” the old man implored. Nicholas slowly shook his head, “She killed my brother....he was all I had after my father. I cannot rest until I exact my revenge, please don’t ask of me that which I cannot do. Please help me....if you cared at all for William Prior Lancaster, then help me!” Nicholas pleaded, his eyes moist. The Prior went silent for a few moments and then sighed. “Very well” he said in defeat before turning and beckoning Nicholas to a chair, “Take a seat”. Once the two men were seated, the Prior began “We are a priory of Light, we are in communion with the One True God and we do good works so that we may please him, we do not work through magic or spells, rather we work through prayers, hope, and incantations. We please him by helping his creation, our fellow man. Nothing is more powerful than God and his light Nicholas, you’ve set out to destroy darkness but you must never let vengeance consume you, else the darkness will consume you.” Nicholas shifted in his seat, the Prior’s words were making him apprehensive and uneasy, he was getting increasingly impatient. “Tell me how I can destroy her evil magic and kill her!” he blurted impulsively. The Prior’s face donned a serious and solemn expression, “There is an ancient amulet I’ve come across from my travels throughout the kingdom, it originates from Babylon and has the power to render anyone’s magic useless. You see, it saps the magic of the one who it is used against....but it is not without repercussions.” “I care of no repercussions!” Nicholas quickly answered, “Tell me how it works!” The Prior nodded his head, his expression stern, “This amulet will leach her powers and make her subservient to you once you recite the incantation at sunset, but you must get close enough and hold her hand. This won’t be easy and she will fight you with her magic, but the closer you get the weaker she will get, and once you utter the words, she will be powerless.” Nicholas smiled slightly and his eyes lit up before he furrowed his brows, “And what are the repercussions?” **** I am glad to have found this sub, I will continue my story of Evanora here. any feedback is welcome.