Alpha Savior (Under Reconstruction)

Chapter 21

*******P.S. I have done research on all the herbs I mention in the chapter so yes they are real and the 'powers' it says they have are legit what they are thought to have. So...yeah....************

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"Okay Ari, you need to concentrate!" Celestria said for the millionth time.

"I am Celestria. Give me a break! This is my first day and its not exactly easy!" I said yet again sighing in frustration when the herbs I mixed didn't make the right colored fire. She took a deep breath.

"Alright. Lets try herb training. I will show you the herb and tell you what it is used for where you can find it and so on. This", She said holding up a long flower with violet flowers, "is called Aconite. You've already had a run it with it."

"Right, right Wolfsbane. It's for protection against werewolves right?" I asked.

"Correct. It is also a powerful protector against vampires. They are found mostly in England but I plan on making an herb garden in the forest a short distance from the house. It is little known that werewolves and vampires can actually build up a resistance to aconite. The just have to consume a small amount everyday for at least a year and slowly their bodies adapt to the herb. I would like to help you build a resistance but I must warn you. It will feel like swallowing fire. It will be very painful."

"I will do it. I was beaten everyday at Blood Moon. I can handle pain." I said. She nodded and put the Wolfsbane back in its pouch.

"Now the next herb I will show you is Vervain." She said holding up a long-stemmed plant with small purple bulbs. "Now. Unlike that stupid TV series suggests, vervain does not protect you from vampires. It helps with protection, healing, sleep, and youth. Do you see this?" She asked holding up one of her many amulets. I nodded. "This is an amulet filled with vervain. We once met the costume designer for that show The Vampire Diaries and he used the design of our necklaces in his necklaces for some character. We wear them to stay young." She explained before letting the amulet drop back down to it's resting place with the others.

"So what are all of those amulets for?" I asked her.

"Well as you already know we have vervain amulets for youth and amber fire amulets for protection. We also have charm necklaces filled with Calendula Flowers, Lavender, Althea, Rue, and Scean de Solomon for extra protection. We have Eucalyptus, Starbloom, and Asclepius amulets to help us heal faster. And we have Euphrasia, Pennyroyal, and Star Anise amulets to help improve our physical abilities. We are technically humans we just learned to manipulate the world to our desire. With the amulets, we are put on the same level as other supernatural creatures. Any witch you meet is very likely to have any amulets as we do." She explained.

"And whats with the hair and eyes?"

"We were with the eyes. Every witch is born with that sets them apart. Inhuman eyes, differently colored hair, or even animal appendages. We once met a witch with the most beautiful cat ears." She answered.

"But wouldn't your kind have been wiped out years ago? I mean, wouldn't the humans have just killed you when you were a baby?"

"Oh no silly! A witch is born from a witch as a wolf is born from a wolf. If a child is born a witch then their mother has to of been a witch. We did not know our mother but our adoptive mother, Ember explained everything. She and her coven taught us everything we know." I gave her a confused look and she sighed and leaned back against her log. "We were born in January of 1346. Our mother left us on the doorstep of a small family outside of London and the wife, who was barren, took us in as her own. We were born the same year the Black Plague started to show up around Europe. Humans believe that it was started with rats and fleas but the truth is, it was a curse set in place by a powerful coven of witches.
Apparently the coven was living outside a small town in Sicily. The farmers and merchants of the town found out what the witches were and burned down the cottage they were staying in hoping to scare them off. Little did the townsfolk know, the coven leader was deep in a spell thus in a deep sleep inside the cottage and was burned alive. As a result, in an act of revenge, the witches tapped into black magick and set a curse upon the town. The witches just wanted revenge on the town but black magick is unpredictable and only wants to do harm so it started to spread rapidly through the world. When Collin and I were 5, the plague started to pass through our town. Infecting almost everyone, including our parents. Our mother lasted the longest. Our grandparents passed quickly. Then our father. Then our mother. When the healthy townsfolk came to burn the bodies we got scared and hid in a closet. Because of the color of our eyes, our mother and father never let the town know of our existence so our father built us a false room in the closet. We stayed in that room for over a week. We were lucky they didn't burn the house down. My brother being wise beyond his years, was always protecting me. He gave me his share of the food and water, he gave me his blanket to keep me warm, and even risked his life to go out and hunt when we ran out of food. On the sixth day, we heard people come in the house. The town was thought to be abandoned so we thought it was looters coming to take our possessions. My brother, was pretty skilled in sword fighting and decided to run the looters off but when he exited the room he found a group of women seeking shelter in the house. They offered food and fresh water in exchange for the shelter for the night. Collin agreed to let them stay. He had left the closet door wide open so I could see though the cracks in the walls. The women were average looking until they turned around. One of them had full black eyes. I soon as I saw her eyes I gasped and one of them heard me. Collin tried to fight them but they pulled me out of the closet. Once I was out I could see the women for what they really were. Have you ever heard of Glamour?" She asked.

"No. I don't think so." I said.

"Well its a power witches can use to hide themselves from others. Watch this." She said. She gave a look of concentration then in the blink of an eyes her eyes were a dark brown and her hair was as blonde as a cornstalk. I blinked again and her eyes and hair returned to normal.

"That's Glamour?" I said in astonishment. She nodded.

"Every witch is born a type. Spiritual, physical, and in some rare cases shapeshifter. I am a spiritual witch and my brother is a physical witch. Any spiritual witch can see through Glamour. When I was pulled into the room I saw through all of their Glamour. I saw purple hair, black eyes, tails, and one even had green lizard skin. I was only 5 and terrified. All of the witches were confused as to why I was freaking out until they realized I could see them.
'What kind of witch are you?' One of them asked. We were confused. We had never heard of witches.
'Ember look at their eyes. They have to be witches.' Another one, the black eyed one, said. I was still crying in the arms of the lizard skin one, terrified. Collin fought free of the witch that was holding him and ripped me from my captor. We tried to run out the door but before we could, wind slammed it shut. We turned and Collin put himself between me and the others. One of them came up to us and kneeled in front of us, she was the one with hair that looked like fire with reds, pinks, oranges, and yellow.
'Hello.' She said. 'My name is Ember. Where are your parents?'
'They have passed.' Collin said bravely.
'My deepest condolences. What are your names?' She asked.
'I am Collin and this is my sister Celestria.'
'Oh how beautiful! Tell me. Did your mother look like any of us? Maybe different colored hair or eyes that only you could see, Celestria?' She said looking past my brother at me. I shook my head then shrunk more behind my brother. 'Do you know what we are?' She said.
'Witches.' I answered.
'Yes. Now I must ask. Who is taking care of you?'
'I am.' Collin said. She nodded and looked towards the others as if asking a silent question. The nodded and she turned back to us.
'Children you must hear what I say.' She began. 'You are like us. You are witches. You must come with us if you want to survive. The family you thought you had was fake. We can teach you of your heritage and how to protect yourselves. Being alone like this is dangerous. Especially for children like yourself. So I must ask you. Would you like to join our coven?' Seeing how smart it would be to be surrounded by a group of powerful witches Collin agreed and we joined the coven. Ember became like a our mother and the other witches became Aunts. Later we learned the plague was created by our coven because the villagers killed Ember's mother. We also learned we had joined the most powerful coven in Europe. We had every type of witch. There was Ryna, Terra, Zoey, Sarah, and Mary who were physical types which means they can manipulate the elements and other objects with their minds like my brother. There was Sky, Alyson, Summer, Emma, Jane, and Ember that were spiritual types which means they can read minds, control minds, perform rituals, create charms, and manipulate magical items to their wills like I can. Then there was Eliza. She was the lizard skinned woman and the only shapeshifting witch I have ever met in my time on this earth. The witches of the coven taught us how to use our powers and with so many witches teaching us, we eventually became some of the strongest witches alive. When you have power there are always people that want to steal it from you. When we were 16, we awoke to our cottage set on fire. My brother shielded me from the flames and we were the only ones to make it out alive."

"I am very sorry." I said. To loose everyone you loved not once but twice was unimaginable.

"It is alright. It was long ago." She said absentmindedly playing with her hair.

"So if you were born normal except your eyes, how did you get your hair?" I asked.

"We were born with dark brown hair. When our powers started to get stronger, our hair started to fade and eventually changed altogether." She explained.

"Bringing up history again sister?" Collin said from behind me causing us both to jump. We regained composure and turned to see the brooding witch leaning against the tree with his arms crossed.

"Oh wow! Is the lesson over already? Didn't get much done today did we? Oh well. We've always got tomorrow." Celestria said as she started packing her things. "I suppose I could find a place to put my garden." She said to herself before starting to walk away. "Good luck Ari! With my brother's training, your going to need it!" She called over her shoulder before disappearing into the trees. What does she mean? What have I gotten myself into?