I do not own Soul Eater world and it belongs to its respective owner.
I just really wanted to say thank you to both Hex and Emerald Fire for the reviews; it really got me into gear to start writing again.
I really, really appreciate it!
The Old Ones sit down in a circle around Silvanus, many of them have heard the story before, but a select few, namely Ratan, Silvanus, and Stribog, had lived it.
"In the beginning, well not really THE beginning, but the introduction of magic unto this world. About a millennium and a half ago; the normal humans began to become unruly, starting wars and fighting each other and whatnot. So, mother Earth had to come up with a soulution," he chuckles at his pun,
"and so, she tore up her HUGE soul and made 7 beings, known as the Original 7. These 7 were all males, which may not seem important now, but it comes into play later, and these 7 were given the powers of the Earth. The original magic, deemed natural magic, was used to lord over the normal humans and give them leaders. These 7 were given castles, way in the clouds, to give them peace from the normal souls around them. We are in one now. This set-up worked for a century or so, but the 7 began to get lonely, and the normal humans still did not fear death. Eventually, the normal humans began to get unruly again… then mother Earth split off a part of her soul again, and made Death, whose job was to collect souls from those that lead malicious lives. At the same time, mother Earth bestowed the 7 with the ability to craft magical instruments."
"Around this time; the 7 began developing new magics; one retained and mastered natural, but the other 6 broke off into: Elemental, Ritualistic, Summoning, Incantation, Illusionary, and Arithmetic magic. The 7 soon found out that the instruments, being staves, rods, words… all sorts of them, would amplify the strength of normal humans and give them the ability to use magic. The 7 took disciples, and brought them to their castle; afraid of the effects on women; the 7 continued to only take males. However, these men were forced to take an oath of celibacy, and the effects of the instruments on the stability of their souls did not become apparent until centuries later. Once again, with the magic; the 7 and their disciples were able to retain peace. However; the primal urges of the 7 began to take over, and so they began to leave their castles to take wives. Once the wives gave birth, the 7 found that every birth was still, except for the Invocative. He found that by having the pregnant women invoke magic words; the children would be born alive."
"The other 6 soon followed suit, using their brother Invocative's form of magic to produce the same results. The children had the combined soul of the father and the mother, having an always present ability to use magic, and thus the girls became the first witches and the boys, wizards. The men, in the image of their fathers, could use magic without the use of the invocation, but the women, taking after their human mothers, were restrained to only the Invocative school of magic. As magical instruments from the other 6 would be repelled, and to unlock their magical potential; they had to use invocations. Not all witches were made this way, henceforth known as diluted witches, since the 7 also discovered a way to infuse their raw magic potential into the bodies of normal humans."
"The very first created this way is still alive today, and is both the last pure witch and is known as the witch queen, Mabaa," he stops, reminiscing about a few fond memories about that name.
Seconds turn to minutes, creating a very awkward silence.
"Uh, Silvanus?" Hex speaks out… he doesn't receive an answer.
"Silvanus!" Stribog yells, finally getting his attention.
"Sorry about that, just remembering the days before things went downhill," Silvanus states sadly.
"Now, where was I? Oh yes, pure witches… a few other notable pure witches who went into hibernation at the start of the magic purge were the Gorgon sisters: Arachne, Medusa, and Shaula. These pure witches were very close to matching the 7 in power. Death was still meandering about, ignoring the affairs of the 7 and doing his job as reaper of souls. For the last time, peace was upheld and the ratio to normal humans to magical beings was around one to one. Around a millennium ago; the effects of magic on normal human souls finally became apparent; the original disciples began to go mad from the magic. The diluted witches also had a thirst for destruction. Over time; the witches destructive nature became harder and harder to control as their numbers swelled. It came to a boiling point one fateful night… when an entire army of witches headed by Mabaa destroyed the Ritualistic castle; along with the creator of Ritual magic himself."
"The other 6 called for genocide of the witches, at the loss of their brother, but being separated and the aforementioned mad disciples prevented them from organizing appropriately. Now, don't get me wrong; the remaining 6 slaughtered the witches in droves with their advanced magic. We here are the individuals who were able to hide, knowing that we were losing the war. No worries either; we all are the birthed beings, so our souls are built for magic and magical instruments. The 6 were eventually killed, but as a last ditch effort the Illusionary creator used a powerful spell to hide his castle. He also came up with this plan, to hide us away from the marauding witches and force us to hibernate until the power of the witches began to dwindle."
"He hid himself away as well, for a time. Death soon had to take over in place of the 7 to curb the witches' destructive behavior. Around 800 years ago; the first Gorgon sister, Arachne, awoke, and began work on Demon weapons. Along with her, the Illusionary creator came out from hiding, taking the moniker Eibon. Using the blueprints for magical instruments, Arachne began work on instruments that Witches' could wield to amplify their power; she took a diluted witch soul, a human soul, and infused them into a weapon. Thus, the first Demon weapon was born. What she did not know was that she had just designed the instruments that would become the bane of her people. While the original Demon Weapon was built with the Witch's soul, newly born Demon Weapons do not have the Witches' souls. So, to complete their powers; the Demon Weapons have to swallow the soul of a Witch. With these new creations, Death founded the Death Weapon Meister Academy. This school is for the refinement and enhancement of Demon weapons. This is the basis for the dwindling of their numbers, as Death has them hunt down Witches. The school also houses another group of beings, called meisters. These meisters are individuals who still retain a spark of magic from descendants long ago, allowing them to wield the Demon Weapons."
"Thus, our goal is simple, to avenge the death of our long dead brothers, Hex" Silvanus states coldly.
Suddenly, all of the events in Hex's life rush through his mind at once, causing him to cry out it surprise.
"What is it Hex?" Silvanus asks concernedly.
"I remember everything now; your story brought back so many memories…" Hex declares, still a bit shocked.
"Good, that was the point of me telling it, along with the new information that arose concerning our allies in the coming war," Silvanus explains.
"No allies! I want to murder them all by myself!" Aloysius shouts angrily.
"The witches still retain an advantage over us, as long as Mabaa is alive, so we are going to have to gain the assistance of Death and his students if we are to win," Silvanus enlightens.
Collecting his thoughts and remembering the wise words of his adopted Witch grandmother, Hex asks a couple of questions, "how do we know that the Witches are still destructive?"
"As I said, I have been observing the world, and just recently, two witches have tried driving the world to complete madness with the revival of a Kishin."
"Couldn't they just be the extremists?" Hex rebuts.
"Even now, Mabaa is planning the destruction of Death City and all those that dwell within, and to the rest of you; a Kishin is a being that has eaten far too many normal human souls and has had their soul tainted, in turn."
"I see, and the other witches agree?"
"Yes, the general consenus among the Witches is in agreement."
"Fine," Hex grumbles, "I'll find some time to talk to them myself."
"Mabaa, we have some important news," Agana declares, entering Mabaa's quarters with Marisol.
"Good lord, why is she in her undergarments?" Mabaa whines, noting Marisol's shredded robe.
"That's what we're here to tell you about; we met these men who could use magic!" Agana announces.
"Was it that cursed immortal werewolf?" Mabaa disdainfully requests.
"No, there were two, and they could use magic without any words," Agana describes.
"No…" Mabaa bemoans, "There can't be any left… we killed ALL of them."
"Ladies, make yourselves decent and gather all of the Witches, I need to make an announcement," Mabaa commands with a worried tone.
"Yes, Mabaa," Agana answers, dragging Marisol behind her.
Shortly after, Mabaa hears a knock on her door.
"C-come in," Mabaa shakily instructs, "This is terrible news indeed, but I need to be strong for my witches."
She sighs with relief when it is her daughter entering the room.
"Mummy, why are you so on edge?" Jewel wonders.
She angrily sighs at her address, trying to avoid suspicion, "I've told you to call me either Mabaa or mother, never Mummy… and there is nothing wrong."
She waits to see if Jewel will buy it, and the girl stares blankly at her, turning her head slightly.
Jewel smiles brightly, "alright Mummy."
"Be a dear and help those two gather the other witches," Mabaa commands with a bit of irritation.
"Ok Mummy, see you in a hop," Jewel complies, happily skipping out of the room.
"That girl…"
The first two witches she comes upon are Neoma and Luna, who are currently staring each other down as they play a game referred to as Chess.
"It's your move, Neoma," Luna calls out playfully, a slight smirk on her face.
"I know! Hush!" Neoma angrily speaks back.
A bead of sweat drips down her forehead, "is she just toying with me?" She looks up nervously to see Luna smirking at her.
"She is! That means she's in control… I don't like it,"
"What can I do… Oh!"
She moves a piece across the board, putting Luna in Check. She becomes visibly more relieved, now that she has put Luna on the defensive.
Luna stares at the board in disbelief, softly muttering "no."
She looks up to see Neoma crossing her arms across her chest and giving her a smug look, irritating her further.
She scans the board before she decides to make a move.
"It's your move, Luna," Neoma mockingly repeats; a grin wide on her face.
Luna's only response is an irritated "hmph," before moving her king out of the way.
Jewel watches them, entranced by their moves and reactions.
Luna captures a piece with her king, leaving Neoma with only a couple of pieces, matching Luna.
Neoma scans the board…
And realizes there is no way either of them can win.
Before she can point this out, she decides to address the Bunny in the room.
"Do you need something, Jewel?" Neoma questions.
Jewel snaps out of her daze and responds, "oh yeah… Um…"
She puts her finger on her chin, trying to remember what exactly she was sent here to do.
"Well?" Luna asks impatiently.
Jewel frowns, "I forgot…"
"What a ditz…" Neoma mumbles, turning back to the game.
Jewel's locket flashes, and her color scheme inverts.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Jewel shouts, walking over to the table. With a lightning quick movement, she smacks the board off the table, sending the pieces all over. Neither of the witches flinch at this course of action, instead, Neoma stands up to confront her.
"I said you're a ditz, and I'm sick and tired of you always prancing around here… or should I say hopping," Neoma coldly remarks.
Jewel sneers at her before chanting, Neoma soon follows with her own.
"Jagged, Jumpy, Angry, Bun-"
"Herak, Ejika… Lek El-"
Before they can finish, a burst of red appears from out of the corner of their eyes and tackles Jewel to the ground. At the same time, a puff of black smoke takes form and gags Neoma with her hand.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Serphina yells at Jewel, who she has pinned to the ground.
The two hindered witches glare at their respective holder and refuse to speak.
"Young ones, why must your souls be so filled with hate?" Zilla inquires calmly, taking her hand out of Neoma's mouth.
She quickly smiles, "sorry, being cooped up like this makes us all a little stir crazy."
However, Zilla can see the true nature of her soul; it is a soul much like Luna's, even if Neoma tries to hide it.
Jewel's body flashes underneath Seraphina, causing her to let her out of the pin in shock.
Jewel quickly stands up and dusts herself off and bows.
"Aww, dang it… I'm sorry everyone, I can't control myself when I transform," Jewel explains, pouting and disappointed in herself.
"It's not like I want this thing on me…" she thinks, pawing at her locket.
"It is quite alright, young one," Zilla comforts, trying to cheer her up.
"I remember now, I was supposed to tell you to-" Jewel starts, quickly cheering herself up.
"To get your lazy asses into the meeting hall," a stoic voice that comes from the room's doorway cuts in.
"Agana, you don't have to be so mean…" Marisol whines, peeking her head out from behind her unfeeling ward.
"Whatever," Agana grunts, turning to head to the meeting room.
From behind, the other witches see that Marisol is clinging tightly to the back of Agana's robe.
The other witches stand in silence before Seraphina claps her hands together, causing Zilla to jump from the sudden noise, "you heard Agana, let's get going."
Seraphina leads the way, the other witches following in tow.
The hit the smell like a wall.
"Ew, what's that stench?" Jewel complains.
Then, in unison, all of the witches state glumly, "Tanith…"
Trooping along with her nose covered, Seraphina opens the door leading to the cauldron room to see Tanith nonchalantly stirring a concoction.
"Hey," Seraphina calls out, her voice picking up a nasal tone, "Mabaa wants us to meet in the meeting room."
Tanith stops stirring and begins to giggle.
"What's so funny?" Seraphina wonders, her voice still nasally.
By now, Tanith has gone to full out laughing,
"You're voi… You're vo-" Tanith tries to clarify, but she can't stop laughing.
"My what?" Seraphina asks, confused.
Tanith collects herself long enough to shout out, "You're voice sounds so funny when its nasally!"
She returns to fits of laughter.
"If you weren't standing so close to that putrid cauldron; I'd knock you on your ass," Seraphina threatens.
Her threat only makes Tanith laugh harder.
A small witch appears from the store room, "what's going on, Tanith?"
Her laughter finally subsides, "nothing Parisa… come on, Mabaa wants to see all of us."
Seraphina pulls her head out from the door and waits for them outside.
She notes that Jewel has disappeared, she probably just wandered off.
"I wonder if Agana really forgot about Tanith, or if she just didn't want to deal with the smell…" Seraphina poses to the other witches.
"Probably the latter, knowing that ice cold bitch," Luna points out.
"Hey, she puts up with Marisol being all clingy, doesn't she?" Seraphina questions.
"Agana treats Marisol like a tick that she hasn't noticed," Luna sarcastically remarks.
Tanith and Parisa finally poke through the door, "how sweet of all of you, waiting on me to join you!" Tanith compliments, ending her sentence with a flourish.
"This was, in fact, a mistake, because now you're going to stink up the place by walking around," Neoma states coldly.
Tanith puffs out her cheeks and frowns, "aww, why are you guys always so mean to me?"
All of the witches, save for Zilla and Parisa, leave the area.
While she was just joking earlier, Tanith's shoulders droop and her mood drops.
"Don't be sad Tanith, those other witches are just meanies," Parisa comforts, wrapping an arm around her.
Tanith sniffs, holding in tears so that she can look strong for Parisa.
This isn't the first time this has happened.
She stands up straight and plasters a smile on her face, despite the sadness gnawing away at her from inside.
"Come on Parisa, I'll race you!" Tanith challenges, sprinting off.
Parisa soon gives chase, leaving Zilla alone with her thoughts.
"Tanith is going to explode one of these days, and I fear the day that she does."
With that thought, she sighs and begins walking towards the meeting room.
She is the last to arrive; the other witches had already dispersed into their own little areas, except for the two pairs: Parisa and Tanith, and Agana and Marisol.
"It seems that you all have arrived, good," Mabaa announces.
"I brought you all here to tell you a story, my version will be far more abridged then what a former friend of mine would give, but it will contain the most important information. Essentially, an unknown amount of sorcerers have awoken, and they intend to kill us all," Mabaa morbidly declares.
Murmurs and gasps echo off the walls of the meeting room.
"Why mother?" Jewel blurts out.
"Let's just say, the sorcerers treated witches like trash, like we were cavemen who just discovered fire… as time went on, they went mad from their magical instruments, needless to say, our treatment didn't get any better and so we rebelled and killed them all…"
"At least, I thought we did…"
