The Coven Keepers of Myrlah

She wasn’t sure what to think when she found the package there on her doorstep. She never even heard the mailman drop it off. Had he forgotten to knock? Perhaps she just didn’t hear it?

The small box was enveloped in simple, clean brown paper and tied in old twine. No note, no address, no anything. Just a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper.

She decided she could afford a couple minutes. She had more than enough time to get to work. Her curiosity led her to pick up the little box and walk back inside with it.

She walked across her small apartment into the sitting area and plopped down on the couch, setting the box on her lap. Though, she thought better of it, not wanting to risk that whatever was inside would dirty her dress before work, so she sat it on the glass-topped table. After pulling a small knife from her purse, she carefully cut along the side of the box and slid out what was inside.

She was a bit surprised to find a handsomely carved wooden box. It looked like a music box, rose patterns and ivy designs carved into the smooth surface while a gold clasp held it shut. A very pretty little box.

Wasting no time, she flipped open the clasp and gently lifted the lid of the box. Inside, however, was not empty, Instead, it was full of small objects all packed neatly together. Music even began to play softly from it, filling the silence with a gentle tune.

She was immediately enraptured by the box and its collection. Carefully, she started to pick things out of it. The first item was a silver medal with a shiny blue stone set in the center, while strange symbols were etched along the edges.

On the back had a name engraved into it. To her surprise, it was a name she knew very well. It was her own name in a lovely script.

Felicity Faith.

She thought it was beautiful, while also considering how very expensive it must have been to have made. Who would have sent her this gift? She couldn’t help herself continuing through the items.

The second thing she found inside was a small scroll. The paper was pink while tied with a violet ribbon. A golden charm shaped like four angel wings hung from the ribbon’s knot.

There was such a sense of mystery that she couldn’t resist. She gently pulled the ribbon to release its grip of the scroll, letting the charm fall to her lap next to the medal. She carefully unrolled the scroll to find a message written there.

Dear Miss Faith,

I am Lord Reaper of the Celestial Guardians’ Coven. I wish to invite you into my coven of protectors in the city of Myrlah. I know this may come as a surprise to you, but I believe you have what is needed to keep our people safe. Such is the duty of a Coven Keeper. Such is the duty I wish to entrust to you, just as I have in the past to your ancestors.

Take the medal you have been blessed with and go to the Coven of the Celestial Guardians. There, you shall learn your true potential. I wish you great luck on your journey. I am certain we will meet soon.

Sincerely, Lord Reaper

She only stared down at the letter. She even reread it a couple times, just to be sure. Surely this couldn’t be real.

After all, she was only human. Coven Keepers were powerful sorcerers capable of incredible magic that only very few could attain. She’d never even seen real magic in person before.

More than that, the letter even claimed this was a duty entrusted to her ancestors. No one in her family had ever wielded magic, everyone knew that. Surely this was some kind of mistake.

However, Felicity Faith knew of the almighty deities who ruled the Covens of the world. Lord Reaper was one of the three who watched over the grand city of Myrlah, only a few miles East of her little town. Could she dare to decline the wishes of a deity like the legendary Lord Reaper?

The clock chimed, pulling her out of her thoughts. She was going to be late to work. She couldn’t afford another late slip.

She quickly placed the items back in the box and got to her feet. She would just have to address this later. First, she needed to not be fired from her job, again.

She hurried to the door, but stopped. She glanced back at the little box now sitting silently on her living room table. What were the chances it would simply disappear before she returned? Would this all have been a dream? Was she going to wake up soon and find this was nothing more than fantasy?

She finally turned the knob and stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

This was no fantasy. No dream.

It was the start of something entirely new.