SEVEN
"Are you saying the child of a White Lighter and a witch almost
destroyed the world?" asked Paige.
"Very nearly," said Justin. "Up until about thirteen hundred
B.C.E., White Lighters and witches were free to become involved.
About that time, a girl was born to a particularly powerful witch and
her White Lighter. She was named Caroline. The birth wasn't seen as
an unusual occurrence. There were many such children. One, in fact,
was an ancestor of Melinda Warren."
"Our ancestor," said Phoebe.
"Exactly," said Justin. "Anyway, Caroline inherited increased
longevity from her White Lighter father. It allowed her to live much
longer than the average human, though she wasn't immortal as White
Lighters are."
"Cool," said Paige. "Does that mean I have this increased
longevity, too?"
"We don't know," said Leo. "Some do, some don't. The only way
we'll know for sure is when you don't age as fast as other people."
"When Caroline was about two hundred," continued Justin, "she
suddenly turned evil. It is believed she had always been evil. She
was just biding her time until she was ready."
"Ready for what?" asked Piper.
"To join the underworld," said Leo. "Caroline had always
believed she should have more authority than the Elders permitted her
to have. She felt that since she was half human, she was better
suited to lead than a full White Lighter. Especially since, in a way,
White Lighters' are actually servants of mankind."
"I've never seen them as servants," said Piper. "More like
guides."
"Maybe servants isn't the right choice of words," said Justin.
"They're more like elected officials. While they are elected to be
leaders, they are still considered servants of the people. This would
be a more accurate analogy for the White Lighters, I suppose."
"That makes sense," said Phoebe.
"Caroline felt she should be just another White Lighter," said
Justin. "She felt she should be an Elder. And not just any Elder.
She felt she should be head of the Council."
"Gee, nothing like having aspirations," said Paige.
"Is that why she went to the underworld?" asked Piper.
"Yes," said Justin. "It's believed she made a deal with a very
high level demon. In exchange for a place of leadership among the
demons, she would help them search out and destroy witches."
"So, if she was evil," said Phoebe, "how come no one discovered
she was a warlock instead of a witch?"
"She was very devious," said Leo. "With her White Lighter
powers, she was able to fool everyone, even the Elders. Until she
showed up in the underworld and then it was too late."
"It didn't take her long to prove her worth to the demon she had
struck a bargain with," continued Justin. "Within a short time, she
had gained enough power to vanquish him and take his place. Needless
to say this caught the attention of the Source at that time."
"I can imagine," said Piper. "She probably had her sights set
on replacing him."
"If she did," said Leo, "she wouldn't have dared try. Even as
powerful as she had become, she still didn't have the power to
challenge the Source. And she knew it. She was far from stupid."
"But she had something else in mind," said Justin. "Something
almost as bit as being leader of the underworld."
"Yeah," said Paige. "Second-in-command of the underworld. If
you can't be first, second isn't a bad position."
"Her ambition wouldn't let her be second," said Justin. "So she
struck a bargain with the Source. For the power and authority she
coveted, she swore to give the Source the one thing he wanted most."
"What was that?" asked Paige.
"Absolute dominion over the mortal realm," said Leo. "The
complete and total eradication of all the forces of good on Earth."
"That's a tall order," said Phoebe. "Even back then there must
have been a great many witches and White Lighters."
"There were," said Justin. "But Caroline was convinced she
could do it. With the Sources' help."
"She nearly did, too," said Leo. "And her first victim was her
own father."
"Are you saying the child of a White Lighter and a witch almost
destroyed the world?" asked Paige.
"Very nearly," said Justin. "Up until about thirteen hundred
B.C.E., White Lighters and witches were free to become involved.
About that time, a girl was born to a particularly powerful witch and
her White Lighter. She was named Caroline. The birth wasn't seen as
an unusual occurrence. There were many such children. One, in fact,
was an ancestor of Melinda Warren."
"Our ancestor," said Phoebe.
"Exactly," said Justin. "Anyway, Caroline inherited increased
longevity from her White Lighter father. It allowed her to live much
longer than the average human, though she wasn't immortal as White
Lighters are."
"Cool," said Paige. "Does that mean I have this increased
longevity, too?"
"We don't know," said Leo. "Some do, some don't. The only way
we'll know for sure is when you don't age as fast as other people."
"When Caroline was about two hundred," continued Justin, "she
suddenly turned evil. It is believed she had always been evil. She
was just biding her time until she was ready."
"Ready for what?" asked Piper.
"To join the underworld," said Leo. "Caroline had always
believed she should have more authority than the Elders permitted her
to have. She felt that since she was half human, she was better
suited to lead than a full White Lighter. Especially since, in a way,
White Lighters' are actually servants of mankind."
"I've never seen them as servants," said Piper. "More like
guides."
"Maybe servants isn't the right choice of words," said Justin.
"They're more like elected officials. While they are elected to be
leaders, they are still considered servants of the people. This would
be a more accurate analogy for the White Lighters, I suppose."
"That makes sense," said Phoebe.
"Caroline felt she should be just another White Lighter," said
Justin. "She felt she should be an Elder. And not just any Elder.
She felt she should be head of the Council."
"Gee, nothing like having aspirations," said Paige.
"Is that why she went to the underworld?" asked Piper.
"Yes," said Justin. "It's believed she made a deal with a very
high level demon. In exchange for a place of leadership among the
demons, she would help them search out and destroy witches."
"So, if she was evil," said Phoebe, "how come no one discovered
she was a warlock instead of a witch?"
"She was very devious," said Leo. "With her White Lighter
powers, she was able to fool everyone, even the Elders. Until she
showed up in the underworld and then it was too late."
"It didn't take her long to prove her worth to the demon she had
struck a bargain with," continued Justin. "Within a short time, she
had gained enough power to vanquish him and take his place. Needless
to say this caught the attention of the Source at that time."
"I can imagine," said Piper. "She probably had her sights set
on replacing him."
"If she did," said Leo, "she wouldn't have dared try. Even as
powerful as she had become, she still didn't have the power to
challenge the Source. And she knew it. She was far from stupid."
"But she had something else in mind," said Justin. "Something
almost as bit as being leader of the underworld."
"Yeah," said Paige. "Second-in-command of the underworld. If
you can't be first, second isn't a bad position."
"Her ambition wouldn't let her be second," said Justin. "So she
struck a bargain with the Source. For the power and authority she
coveted, she swore to give the Source the one thing he wanted most."
"What was that?" asked Paige.
"Absolute dominion over the mortal realm," said Leo. "The
complete and total eradication of all the forces of good on Earth."
"That's a tall order," said Phoebe. "Even back then there must
have been a great many witches and White Lighters."
"There were," said Justin. "But Caroline was convinced she
could do it. With the Sources' help."
"She nearly did, too," said Leo. "And her first victim was her
own father."