The Council

“The Council has decreed. And so it shall be.” Those were the last words that my mother ever heard.

And I have to hear them every day. Not just hear them, but recite the latter half of the phrase, “and so it shall be,” like a prayer. To refuse would mean my head too. They don’t just punish you for the words you say anymore but for the ones you don’t say.

Had I been asked to make the blood link like my mother, I don’t know what I would have done. Probably died like her. But it hadn’t come to that. I had been too young, at the time, to lead a coven. So instead I recited the words to my new High Sorceress, through tears, and I’ve done so ever since.

I have to be sure to blend in, not stand out. It’s the key to survival. If I’m too enthusiastic in my worship of the Council or show great ability, I could get tapped to lead a coven. Then I’d have to make my choice; the blood link or death. If I show any signs of disobedience, I’d be questioned. People would remember my mother. They might think I’d be inclined to rebel as well. That would mean certain death. So I struck the perfect balance and bided my time.

I attended my coven meetings daily, under the pretense of receiving updates from the Council. But we all know what these meetings really are… a chance for the Council to check in on all of us. They wanted to make sure we were dutiful witches, still willing to betray our heritage and reply with the proper words of obedience.

Whilst my words are dictated and my actions are observed, my thoughts are still my own, at least. I can hate the Council and curse them in my head for my mother’s death, and so many others, while hearing their orders and agreeing, “And so it shall be.”

I took comfort in the fact that, despite their eyes, they know nothing of the Resistance.

Dierck and I have been cautious over the years, allowing few into our inner circle. To unwisely trust someone would mean all our deaths and, worse than that, no hope left against the Council. We are the only ones left willing and able to stand against them.

We’ve been recruiting witches and hoarding magic since the Unifying, as the Council calls it. It would be more aptly called ‘The Conquest’. The Resistance is meeting again tonight, as it does every night before a full moon.

I took a long route through back lanes to the meeting location, circling back to ensure I’m not followed. I slipped out of town and made my way to a large cave deep in the woods that separated the neighboring towns. I stepped into the center of the pitch dark cavern.

I let out a low whistle and eight other whistles answered me in a succession. We waited in silence and darkness for the others. Finally, when the last whistle echoed through the cavern, flames sparked to life in each witch’s palm. We shot the flames into the pile of wood in the center of the cave, causing a bonfire to flare to life. We gathered around the fire, hugging and chatting for a moment before we moved on to more serious matters.

“Sisters and Brothers, I would like to go first, if I may,” said Dametria, a witch from the northern town of Stormspire.

We nod our assent, and she steps forward.

“This will be my last meeting with the Resistance. I’ve been chosen to become High Sorceress.”

Troubled murmurs fill the cave. We’ve never had a member of the Resistance chosen before. We take pains to ensure we don’t.

“How did this happen?” Another witch vocalizes my own thoughts.

“As you know, Stormspire was hit hard during the Unifying. Our most powerful witches chose death rather than the blood link. Even with the siphoning of my power, I’m still considered above average. The Council moved quickly to appoint a new High Sorceress, and it appears they couldn’t find anyone better in that timeframe.”

Voices rose to question what Dametria will do.

“There’s more,” she interrupts. “We were told that our High Sorceress stepped down, but I could tell from the hurry to fill the position, that something was off. Another witch in my coven confided in me that the High Sorceress fled. The High Sorceress asked her to flee too, but wouldn’t say where they were going. She refused to go, but also didn’t turn her in. She assumed that the High Sorceress was going to the human realm, which would be a worse fate than living under the Council.”

This time Dametria’s revelation is met with quiet contemplation. None of us dared to voice hope that there are others out there like us, that there is a place to flee.

“I don’t know what it all means,” says Dametria. “The witch could be right, the High Sorceress likely decided to take her chances in the human realm. We’ve not heard a hint of any other resistance efforts in all this time.”

Many of the witches nod.

“But severing the blood link alone would have killed the High Sorceress. She had to have help,” another witch says. “It would have taken planning. They would need to flee right away since the Council would be immediately alerted to the break in the link.”

“The more pressing problem is what you will do, Dametria,” Dierck speaks up.

Dierck is a member of the male coven in our town. We have been friends since we were children. He helped me start The Resistance after both our parents refused the blood link and were murdered by the Council.

“I haven’t decided,” Dametria replies. “I know it means death to refuse, but the dishonor of taking the blood link feels worse somehow. To be linked to those monsters, to be their eyes, spying on my own coven with no way to stop them from using my eyes to see everything around me…” She shivered. “Either way, I cannot come back here or speak with any of you. I can’t risk them entering my eyes while we are together.”

“We have to stop this! Let’s make our move before the blood link ceremony. We’ve been storing our power. Maybe it’s time to put it to use,” one of the witches calls out.

I spoke up this time, fixing Dametria with a sympathetic look.

“The blood link ceremony will take place with the new moon. That’s two days’ time. I’m sorry, but we couldn’t possibly be ready by then.”

Dametria nods. She already knew this.

“But we’ve got to do something,” the outspoken witch continues. “We can’t wait forever. When will be the right time to act? How many witches will die first?”

The sound of feet shifting on the stone mingled with murmurs of agreement. They are tired of secret meetings in the dark, while our covens are suffering. I am too.

I look to Dierck. He can read my every glance. He nods.

I stepped forward, so my face is lit by the glow of the bonfire.

“Those of you that have possession of a crystal, bring it to our next meeting. We will assess our stores of power and form a plan.”

“But what will you do, Dametria?” One of the witches asked.

“I don’t know if I can take the blood link. It feels so wrong, so violating,” she says with a shiver.

“It wouldn’t be for long, just until we can carry out our plan.”

“It would still be a betrayal to the Resistance.”

“You wouldn’t be betraying the Resistance,” I reply. “There might be a way you could help us. Once the Council is defeated, it will be chaos. The transition of power back to the covens won’t be easy. We will need a good, strong High Sorceress on our side. We will need help separating those that were truly loyal to the Council, and those that just went along to save themselves. You can figure it out now, on the inside, before people are only telling us what we want to hear.”

Dametria is silent, but she straightens like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. She nods.

“I’ll take the link…for now.”

The mood in the cave shifted. Witches chatted hopefully, smiles on their faces, already trying to come up with a plan to take down the Council. I called everyone’s attention back to me.

“We all have a lot to think about. We’ll perform the closing ritual now, so we can get back to our towns.”

Dierck stepped forward and placed a pink crystal about the size of my palm in the center of the cave. We linked hands and began reciting an incantation. As we do so, the crystal started to glow. Warmth filled my body, the tingle of magic, and then a shimmering light flowed from each of the witches’ hearts into the crystal. Moments passed, and we unclasped our hands and placed them on our hearts. The crystal flared, the light dispelling any shadows in the dark cavern, and then it grew dark again.

This ritual siphoned off some of our magic into the crystal, combining our power and storing it up for when it’s needed. Not only does it keep The Council from getting that power, but it allowed us to appear weaker and to go unnoticed. The Council stated that they value those with great power, but the truth is they feared them. Anyone with great power is tapped to become a High Sorceress, so The Council can watch them closely.

Dierck places the crystal within the folds of his robe and walks up to me. He leans and whispers.

“Do you think we’re ready for this?

“We have to be,” I respond.

...

What do you think of the story so far? Would you take the blood link if you were Dametria? Let us know in the comments, and check back soon for part 2!

Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever & WTF