I cannot believe I never thought of this, of the two things that would make my Buffy story work. Amy was the answer! Invoking gods for power to compensate for low magical start and having a history before the series starts to make him able to survive Sunnydale...

Gods I am dull at times...

That is what forged this new story.

I was also inspired by a scene where Loren blessed the Hotel, Catherine Madison used her powers and invocations/potions to cast spells and more...

With graceful hands, David painted symbols onto his apartment walls, paint that had been blessed and infused with his blood. The air shimmered with strength, the weight of Minerva's blessing, and he knew the spell would work. It took nearly three hours to cover his apartment appropriately, but it was worth it. Finished, he stepped away to the center of his apartment and closed his eyes, reaching for the heat of magic that coursed through his blood now that he had been a witch for the last year. He grabbed a rolled-up bundle of sage and bloodwart and lit it with a thought, then while smudging the air, he chanted the spell needed to enchant his new home.

"By blood for blood, watch on high

To you Minerva, this prayer I cry

Bless this haven, enchant this place.

Watch over my home, this now holy space!

No evil cast, no cruelty wrent

All evil controlled, your blessing sent!"

In a wave of power, the magic settled into the world. The runes and spells cast onto the walls shimmered and vanished in a yellow light before peace and power and Minerva's full blessing cascaded across his home. The place was now a fortress, no evil could be cast in it's walls. He may be a new witch, weak and filled with naivety, but the Goddess' powers was great and she would protect him. The gods were good to their followers and he was nothing if not loyal.

Bowing, he sent a prayer, ignoring the exhaustion in his skin. "Thank you, Minerva, I will offer my sacrifice another time. When I am not close to passing out." Slumping to his couch, he fell to his face and groaned. Spells of that nature were tiring, just three months ago even with Minerva's help and the blood-infused, layered magic of the paint. it might have killed him. That was how strong the spell was, and how weak he was.

That was the burden of being a novice witch.

Thankfully, David was smart, he had learned early on that to compensate for his weaker powers to draw on a diety as well as use blood and herbs and other tools to harness the powers and energies of magic. That mitigated the cost of magic, and boy was there a cost. The first time he used magic without prepping, he was in the hospital for a week, having nearly killed himself from sheer exhaustion. Thankfully the spell worked and hid his magical equipment from his foster parents, who were very, very Christan and would have freaked out to see their Foster son getting into the occult.

Over the year since he started practicing, he had gained far greater powers but still relied on tools and the gods to get most things done. Not that he couldn't use his powers without them, he most certainly could. He spent at least an hour a day practicing his powers, moving things with his mind, summoning fire, casting glamour, anything to build his skills and powers. With the great evil present in the world, you could never be overly prepared. Who knew if you'd have the time to summon a god!

To that end, he also enchanted objects and made potions. He had a knife, blessed by Mars, that would inflict horrible burns on anything it touched. He made something akin to pepper spray that would burn even a demon or vampire. He wore three talismans, one that masked his scent, one that could make him invisible, and another that could give him a small power boost to knock away his enemies. They would only last about three minutes each, he simply did not have the power to harness enough magic to make it last any longer but hey, it worked.

Using a spell and potion combo to mess with his Foster Parents' minds, he also entered a kickboxing class about nine months ago. It helped strengthen his body and gave him at least a little edge in combat. He needed it too, he could sense tremendous dark power in Sunnydale, it was unlike anything he had sensed before. Hence the barrier on his home. He would have regretted coming to the damned place, but he was free from the influence of others, now emancipated. He was legally an adult and that meant everything, dark aura or not!

And so, with that lovely thought, the boy sat up and ate the small meal on his coffee table, prepared before the spell. Recharging, he sat back and smiled at his handiwork.

Life was good... and he was happy...

After eating, he moved over to the shrine hidden away in his bedroom, one to the pagan gods. Sitting down, he lit up his incense. " Thank you, Lady Minerva, for your gracious aid. I offer this to you, please accept it." With that, he channeled a small portion of magic, through the shrine, to the goddess in question. Offering thanks and appreciation for her assistance.

He would sit there for five minutes before hurrying off to bed, readying himself for the day to come when he attended Sunnydale High for the first time.

Chapter end, tell me what you think.

I think I figured out the Buffy trick for my story! I needed a preped oc!

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.