Chapter 1: Mark Of The Witch
Many years ago, before the age of Hunters, the creation of the four Kingdoms, before the discovery of Dust and even before the creatures of Grimm there existed a civilization not unlike the ones we know of but vastly different.
Different for it was a time of Kings, knights, religion, glory and if one were to truly seek it…magic. Kings ruled the lands while the knights fought on their behalf, priests and bishops preach to the masses about their gods and true magic was left in obscurity for only the most knowledgeable to wield.
It was also a dark time, famine and droughts ravaged the land creating hunger and strife. Wars were fought filling entire lands with death. Men and women alike were bought and sold as slaves. Above all else superstition was ever prevalent.
During those times magic was kept under close scrutiny and its practitioners what few there were deemed heathens by the various religions unless under their rule. One such religion deemed it their mission to find those heathens and 'cleanse' them before sending them of their sins.
In most cases it was believed that a demon would use the bodies of young women as hosts to practice their witchcraft and spread their 'evil.'
To quell the rising panic and paranoia, the various religious and political leaders banded together to create a law which states that each accuse would have the right to defend themselves in the court of law.
These were later called The Witch Trials.
It was to be a fair trial where the accused are to prove their innocence but in reality it was a way to put them on display, to show the public 'divine retribution' as the girls are cleansed before passing into the afterlife.
For years this was the status quo as the bodies of women began to pile to sate the public. One such execution involved a young woman of unknown origins whom was accused however the trial was skipped altogether.
….
The villagers all gathered around the pyre as the priest read from his tome. Her eyes scanned the crowd calmly as if committing all their faces to memory. Her outward appearance betraying how she felt about them.
'Disgusting'
"Do you have any last words of repentance heathen?" he loosened the rag tied around her mouth.
She stayed silent for a while before she chuckled, it soon turned to laughter. A mix of eerily calm and maniacal in nature.
"I will see each and every one of you burn"
A stone was thrown hitting her face, a bloody nose marring an otherwise beautiful face. The priest could only shake his head in pity at the woman. She glared at the one who threw the stone and started chanting in an unidentified language.
This grew in volume as the flames licked at her feet.
Not once did she scream or cry or beg.
...
Afterwards her body was thrown away like garbage in a pile with the rest of them and left for the crows.
One week later that same village was the centre of a great travesty.
It wasn't sudden it first started with villagers being missing, nightmares shared by some and the paranoia grew to the point where they started killing each other. The men raped and killed the women, mothers smothered their babies in their cribs, children committed suicide and in the end the entire village was burned to the ground.
That was only the beginning
Like a plague it spread across the map and it always began inside the nearest religious house. Without the hope of their god for salvation, despair spread and with it came the panic which eventually lead to self-destruction.
They tried to stop it, the so-called envoys of the gods but alas they always ended up being swept up in the chaos. Scholars were also put to use in discovering the source of the calamity and unlike the holy men or even the warriors they actually found a lead.
Before a city is destroyed there would be accounts of a woman.
No one knew who she was or where she came from and many attempts to find her often resulted in a search party finding the mutilated remains of the men they sent to investigate.
After many years of failed search attempts a reprieve came in the guise of a young self-proclaimed wizard. He was not born of noble lineage nor did he have any considerable wealth to his name and would have been declared a charlatan and executed.
However what he did not have in wealth or fame was more than made up for in knowledge. Knowledge in a variety of areas but most importantly knowledge in the magical arts.
This man went by the name Oscar Zoroaster.
Oscar not only managed to find the elusive woman but also fought her with several eye witnesses he had under his protection. The battle was reported to be long and well fought, both of them utilized all of their knowledge of witchcraft and wizardry in the form of spells.
In the end Oscar was victorious but it was a pyrrhic at best as many lives were lost in their ongoing battle. Worst of all, the witch made her escape but it would only be a matter of time before he found her again.
Oscar's campaign against the witch continued and for a time peace was relatively restored. That peace was soon shattered the next century with the arrival of them. No one, not even Oscar's successor Phadrig Isaac knew how they came to be.
The foul creatures of the abyss came like a swarm of locusts, consuming all human life and only humans. All the castles, forts, siege walls that were made to withstand armies fell. Armies of men fought bravely including Phadrig whose magic only provided some reprieve.
There was simply too many of them and standing in the middle of it was her.
Unlike his predecessor he never fought her and didn't have the time to find her. He and his followers were too busy ensuring humanity's survival and the witch seemed content to just watch behind the scenes.
Though they tried at the end of it all she ultimately succeeded.
After decades of fighting, civilization was destroyed, its history, its architecture and its memory. To avoid the creatures humanity scattered around the world and hid themselves.
And Phadrig, having lost everything and failed humanity went into a self-imposed exile and spent most of his days alone. It was during his final years that he was visited by four women who managed to uplift his spirit and give him hope. It was with this hope that he imparted upon them a large piece of his immense magical power.
They would succeed where he failed.
He thought them as his students and in the end instructed them to travel and unlock the magical potential within the rest of humanity.
That was the turning point for humanity in the war with the creatures now dubbed Grimm. they have been around for so long that most of humanity thought them to be around since the beginning.
No one knew of the time before and the world was now a remnant of what it once was. It didn't stop them from trying in fact it spurred them all to save what was left and salvage it.
This was no easy task and they were met with resistance not only from the creatures of Grimm but also from the humans who were corrupted/coerced to be her followers. Though their efforts were valiant, unlocking their magical capabilities, their aura if you will, they were only capable of performing a single spell as a semblance of their power could only take so far.
It wasn't until two centuries later when the new wizard discovered crystals that contained which contained elemental properties which are magical in nature did the tide truly turn to humanity's favour.
Using his extensive knowledge and accumulated wealth the wizard who then went by the name Norman Henkell distributed his findings through his reincarnated students, the four maidens. After a few painstaking years Norman was convinced he could leave humanity to their own devices so he could focus on finding and ridding the world of the root of evil.
The witch, who hasn't shown her face personally since their first battle
He along with the four maidens spent nearly a whole decade trying to find her, going through Grimm and men alike. In the end they managed to track her whereabouts to a Grimm infested forest and with their combined powers easily cut a swath through the horde to confront her.
The battle that took place was of epic proportions and despite his depowered state the wizard was able to put up as much a fight as his maidens due to his knowledge. He noticed during the battle that the witch didn't fight like he had expected.
She didn't cast any spells that were highly destructive that cover a wide area, they were more concentrated and not enough to destroy the castle. He also noticed how she kept the fight away from a specific area.
She was protecting something and it could mean a weakness that could be used to exploit. Norman made his way to the area immediately and had the witch's full attention. She tried to pursue but found herself hard pressed by the maidens' relentless assault.
…
Norman came upon several creatures of Grimm which he dealt with easily and swiftly. He saw where the Grimm concentrated within the great hall and eventually came upon a door. He opened the door to face what monstrosity she had stored and destroy it.
He expected many things going inside the room but what he didn't expect to see was…a room. It was a regular room with bed, books and….toys scattered on the floor?
He looked about the room with confusion and began to wonder if he had been mistaken but it wasn't until he picked up a piece of paper with a crude drawing did a look of horror came upon him.
"Mum?"
His blood ran cold and he turned to see a small child peek out from under the bed. He looked like her, pale white skin and hair, and his eyes black sclera with burning red irises just like hers.
Except it wasn't like hers, this child was like her in appearance but was nothing more than that…. a child. His eyes reflected confusion and innocence that went in contrast to his appearance.
"Who are you?"
Norman doubted he even knew what his mother is. He tightened the grip on his sword which the boy noticed and crawled back under the bed. The wizard effortlessly tossed the bed aside and raised his blade.
The moment she heard the scream the witch forgo all restraints and tore through the maidens and the very walls to get to him but it was too late. She saw the wizard standing over the body with blood on the blade.
…..
The resonating scream that tore through her mouth made the Wizard and maiden's ears bleed, Grimm within a hundred mile radius started converging on the area. With her 'weakness' gone the witch unleashed the full power of her black magic and fought with reckless abandon making her stronger and irrational.
In the end she managed to kill all four maidens and heavily injure the wizard who managed to end her life. All the Grimm that were attracted to her gained sentience and wandered off.
Once again the wizard had won the battle but with a heavy cost.
What made it worse was that he knew they wouldn't survive but as they say it was all for the greater good.
…..
Approximately 200 years ago
Inside the crypt of an underground tomb lit by various candles, several hooded figures wearing masks stood before a circle and at the centre was a woman who was bound and gagged with tears streaming her eyes as she futilely struggled against her bonds. Beside it several creatures of Grimm were locked in cages
As the hooded figures chanted in an archaic language the wind picked up and the Grimm howled as their very bodies started to disintegrate. The black ashes began forming around the girl whose muffled screams grew louder and her writhing increased. Soon her entire body was obscured but the chanting never stopped.
Eventually the ashes receded with the first thing to be shown was a slender shape standing. Hips and breasts were soon seen as the ashes began to clear around her head an d at the centre was a red jewel.
They all prostrated with their heads touching the ground as she stood before them bare as the day she was born. Her long silken white hair reached her waist. Red eyes scanned them with an unreadable expression. She approached the one at the front slowly.
The lowly man raised his hands without lifting his head to meet her gaze. He held a pure black cloak, her cloak which she took. When his hands were empty he immediately put them down on the floor and seemed to sink lower in reverence when he spoke
"Welcome back mistress Sale-ack!"
His words were cut off when his throat suddenly closed up he grasped at the appendage on reflex. His brown eyes, wide with surprise fearfully stared at her red eyes that held nothing but contempt.
Salem held him by the neck and effortlessly raised his body off the ground, the air grew tense as the other hooded figures seemed to shift in place. Salem ignored them all, only concentrating on the worm in her hand and as she spoke a shiver ran up their spine.
"Where is my son?"
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: This is part one of a three part prologue to canon. Truth be told I wanted to wait a little longer to write more chapters but I figured what the hell might as well test the waters since a few people actually went on profile and encouraged me to release it so hear it is, now I'll have to pushed another chapter.
Anyway can't leave this author's note without giving credit to 'Jaune Uchiha the one with swag' (yes that's his profile name) a fan of my work who PM me a couple of prompts he wanted to see me write. I instantly fell in love with the idea of Salem being Jaune's mother (spoiler alert?) and wrote the chapter within the week he gave me the prompt.
Please leave a review and favorite if you like it and give an opinion or hell toss out an idea of what you think, I only have a rough layout of the story and am very open minded. You can PM me if you want.