'Well this is certainly the way I wanted to spend my vacation…' thought Bria.
Here she was an American attempting to immerse herself in English culture and the best she could do was to enter a bar. It wasn't as if she was really here for the culture anyways, it was a vacation, or what her friends had called, an escape.
'But who wouldn't want to escape, I did everything I had to do, there was nothing left for me…I had to take a chance.'
Life had dealt Bria a rough blow; she had been raised by her paternal grandparents after her birth parents had been busted for dealing. It didn't really make an impact however on the way she lived her life. They were dead to her, besides Gram and Pa were young enough to raise her so that there was no void in her heart. Life had been simple then, living the American dream, a carefree childhood, she was never held back in any of her ambitions.
That is, until life changed. On Bria's thirteenth birthday she realized that there was more about her than she knew. At midnight she suddenly awoke that night to find a small cluster of women surrounding her bed.
They called to her as one united voice, "Come with us young Athenite. Come and fulfill your destiny. You are one of us and tonight you shall be educated. Let us bring you into the world that you belong." Their chanting had scared her but what happened next took her breath away. One moment she was lying in bed and the next she was draped on a white wicker chaise.
Brialynn was a naturally colorful person, but she now found herself immersed in white as far as the eye could see. Her chaise was the only furniture to be seen, the ground was covered by an opaque white fog. Through the whiteness a woman was making her way towards Bria.
"Hello Brialynn, welcome to Olympus" said the woman with an ethereal yet firm quality.
"Um…hi. Are you a God? I thought Olympus was on a mountain. Am I going to be used as a s-sac-sacrifice? I don't know who you are….am I dreaming?" Bria could barely get the words out she was so nervous.
"You are safer here than anywhere else, physically, mentally, and spiritually."
"Does that mean I'm not a sacrifice?" asked Bria.
"Of course you are not. Why would we sacrifice our sister? I am Athena. And although we are in Olympus we are not atop a mountain. The Greeks thought that part up themselves. A better way of thinking of it would be that we are currently on a parallel plane. We experience time in the same way as Earth but we have to power to…perhaps the fact that we can extend time in our own reality would be the best way to explain it" explained the intimidating goddess.
"Well then what is my purpose here?" Although the sense of fear and innate unease had settled, her curiosity had not. Even now in the distant fog she could make out the approaching figures of the same women who had surrounded her bed only moments ago…or wait was it really. After all Athena had said that time was malleable here, by the time she got back, if she got back, it could be the far future.
"Do not worry. We won't send you into the future. Tonight is the only time we will alter time for your education. Sisters are only allowed to appear here for their own education or for that of another" said a faint voice within Bria's mind.
In wonderment Bria just gazed at the statuesque woman before her. Could this really be happening? Her thoughts were now part of a symbiotic relationship with all the women here. Instantly she felt a barrage of knowledge assault her mind. These women had come to share their experience, knowledge, purpose, and wisdom.
The next morning Bria awoke in her bed unsure of the previous night's adventures. But it was all there; the knowledge that she was the last Athenite to walk the Earth. That the day would come when all of her sisters would depart and she would be the only one left to maintain the balance; the balance of magical and non-magical. She was not a prophecy she was a fact. The line of the Athenites had lost their purpose, after Bria the world would not need their gifts any longer. This made her task all the more difficult. She was charged with achieving a world where magic and muggle could exist in harmony, without intervention. There was no one to tell her how this task could be accomplished, only that someday in the near future the war against muggles would begin anew, and she would have to be there to help. It was not her destiny to solve the problem. Only to guide with her inherited wisdom and aid with her gifts.
On top of the unsettling wisdom that now resided within Bria's cranium, she had also received the mark of the Athenites. Such as a farmer would brand their herds, a similar mark now appeared upon Bria's left hip bone. It was an open eye but the lids were actually made of writing the top was inscribed with the Greek letters θαύμα, and for the lower lid, the translation, prodigy. The tattoo was discreet but unique; anyone who saw it would most likely remember it, a chance Bria learned she didn't really want to take.
That night had imparted the history of the Athenites to Bria. The rest of her life cemented the idea of a mission. As she grew older she received bits of teaching from existing Athenites. They flocked to her home to teach her about her growing powers before it was their turn to leave. Although Bria managed to live the rest of her life normally she always new her secret would one day separate her from all she held dear in America. By the end of high school Bria had become fully aware of her abilities, although not fully practiced. Many of her abilities required the presence of a witch or wizard to have practical experience, but often the explanations were concrete enough. Bria had the power to be unaffected by any spell, potion, or charm. In order for any of these to work (for not all magics are harmful) she needed only concentrate. For this Bria was given a constant mind tutorial while she slept on different spells so that she could choose to make any of these occur.
Bria walked further into the bar and took a seat. There were a few occupants, a couple people around a pool table. A couple watching the football game on the telly and a lone drunk.
"A beer please," she asked the barkeep. She wasn't going to stay long, just long enough to relax after traveling so much. Suddenly the lone drunk moved to sit next to her. She quickly realized that the man was young, not even mid-twenties. He had a fresh face and vivid red hair. He had an overly professional look to him and Bria was instantly bewildered. This man was clearly her age but he seemed to have the weight of the world on him.
"A beer, hmmm. Muggles are so :hic: strange. Where's all the regular stuff?" the young man stumbled and slurred his words but they immediately put Bria on alert. Clearly this man belonged to the magical community, didn't he have any common sense? If he was planning on getting plastered he should've chosen a non-muggle bar so as to not let anything loose.
"Is this man bothering you? He's been sputtering nonsense like that all night" the barkeep was looking out for her but his eyes were now on the man who's head had slumped finally to the bar, obviously passed out.
Bria acted quickly, "He's with me, an old friend, he's always been a strange drunk. Could you help me bring him to my car?" She threw some money on the bar, enough to cover her drink and the strange mans and she and the helpful barkeeper dragged him towards her car. After buckling him in she waved goodbye to the barkeeper and set out down the road. Now she had a strange wizard in her car with no clue where to go from here. She knew she was safe, if he chose to try anything on her it wouldn't work, but she didn't really want to be stuck with him all night. She still hadn't found a place to stay; this impromptu trip was looking worse and worse.
"Well let's just see what were dealing with here," Bria muttered after pulling over a few miles down the road. She tried looking in his pockets for a wallet or identification but there wasn't much. Some muggle and wizard money all mixed in together, what was obviously his wand, and a few business cards. Those were a bit more of a help. All of them referred to the Ministry of Magic so Bria assumed that was his workplace. At least they all had a phone number on them. It was always the same one but what you could you expect from the wizarding world. She quickly pulled out her mobile and punched in the numbers only to hear an automated machine.
"Thank you for calling the Ministry of Magic. Please state your problem. BEEP!"
"Umm…I picked up this guy at a bar and I don't know where he lives and this is the only information I have on him. He must be Cornelias Fudge, Arthur Weasley, Puck Astroby, Percy Weasley, or Jane Boatsinker."
"Cornelias Fudge is accounted for. Puck Astroby no longer works with the Ministry. Both Weasley men can be located as of their last paperwork at the Burrow. Jane Boatsinker lives in downtown London."
Well obviously he wasn't Jane Boatsinker. The Burrow seemed to be her best chance. "Can you tell me where to find the Burrow if I'm traveling by car?" Bria kindly asked this smart automated answering machine. What weird things wizarding things could do. She knew about the wizarding world but it was strange being suddenly immersed in it. After receiving surprisingly clear directions and checking to make sure her new occupant was still passed out Bria headed towards whatever a burrow was.