Friday 8 September 2006, Luna Nova
"School started back in Luna Nova and wow, that first week was unbearable, I had to become a cleaner,every day people were vandalising the corridor because of me and here I was trying to clean it up, I honestlycouldn't stand it, which led me to believe that they were just waiting for the moment I was going to commitsomething crazy, but there I was cleaning everything up anyway, getting detentions, for things I didn't do,without having much choice, this with the first week of school, which I knew could pass soon, arriving exactlyat the end of it, Croix and I already knew what we were going to do, something we hadn't done in months,because we were busy with my career, it was time to revisit Woodward.
Nothing has changed along the way, Arcas has grown up a bit and is becoming a cute bear, always protecting us and helping us with whatever comes our way, we've finally arrived at the tree, at least a distraction, after all that the Luna Nova girls have been doing to me, my hands are tired, I'm rubbing them all the time, it's no use, I can't take it.
We've arrived at the top of the tower, waiting for the teacher who's been teaching us more about magic, and I'm admiring it, feeling nostalgic for the beginning of this year and the end of last year.
"To think that we've been through so much already, this place, these moments, everything that reminds me of here" I say as I admire the landscape.
"It's just a bunch of branches and leaves, they're very pretty, but there's no point in getting attached, this place is just something for our most important mission" my girlfriend replies.
"Will she turn up? After all the time we've been away... I think we ended up making her want to stay away from us" I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Shall I answer your question?" I looked back a little startled, but it was her.
Woodward appears to us, I take a few steps back, and she smiles at our presence, I even hold my girlfriend's hand as a way of showing her affection for us, she notices that we're together as a couple, I think she must have thought it was cute, maybe because of that she can even help us more with the staff.
"Well, it looks like you're really together, as a couple, I didn't think you'd really take the whole staying together thing literally, anyway I'm glad I could see you again here, it's been many months since we last spoke, it must have been a good time for you to reflect on yourselves during this whole journey I presume, I hope you've learnt some very valuable lessons from it all" I nod my head in agreement.
"It's not because of this that we stopped thinking about Claiomh Solais, I just went and invested myself in what was the best thing to do, in this case helping Chariot, I still really want to be the one chosen by Claiomh Solais and help change the world alongside Shiny Chariot and I honestly think I deserve that a little, I don't have any different talent from my girlfriend who can captivate crowds, I'm just a nerd, I'm just an outsider who helps her captivate" I even put my hand on Croix's shoulder so she wouldn't feel so depreciated.
"Well this self-deprecation doesn't help much, you also have to admire yourself a little, look at all the things you can do to help your friends, thanks to your beautiful help she can be better off and you can be better off too, it's not enough just to help others Croix, you also have to help yourself, self-love is important, I think you're one of the most complicated witches I've ever met" said Woodward and Croix took a deep breath.
"It's a bit difficult when you say that I have to help others, but I also have to help myself, when I focus on myself in the mission to get the Claiomh Solais I don't get it either, when I think more about others I don't get it either, so tell me Woodward, what do you really want with me?" She came back with more questions.
"What I want from you is for you to be the best version of yourself, there's no reason for you to focus on this goal, as I said, I know that you really want this importance and you feel ready for it, but as someone who knows what it can do, I'll tell you that it's not that much, it will have to come naturally, that's how it was with all the chosen ones, none of them wanted to show themselves capable, they were only chosen naturally by me, when I saw the potential they had" I think that best answers what Croix is after.
"And is there a mission for us today?" I ask her and she nods.
"In spite of everything, I think it's good that you don't have a mission for this, today will just be a normal lesson, since Croix came to do the cue, I'll go into more detail about the journey of each of the five chosen ones who came before you, you may have already heard a little of the story of the last one, but I don't think you've ever heard of the other four in such depth, so come with me" said the teacher who clapped her hands.
Then she makes a huge puff of smoke appear around the tree we're in, I love this kind of history lesson, where you really get into the story that's going on, we appeared in a very different place, it was like Luna Nova, what we saw was a girl with blue hair, she had heterochromia in her eyes too, she's just got there, I think I've seen these places before, it looks like Luna Nova, but it's not.
"Farnese, that was her name, a witch with no surname, she had just arrived in Luna Nova, coming from a totally unknown background, her skills with magic were impressive, her knowledge equally so, but at that time she was still the silliest student in the class, she was the joke wherever she went, but that changed when she met the one who was to give her the greatest support" Wow, we're really seeing everything being told.
She's very beautiful, with her long blue hair, she's got very simple clothes too, it must have been a different time for her to be like this, it doesn't seem like it's just today that people make fun of other people, I can only imagine what she must have gone through, wait... Is this girl a Cavendish? Is that what I'm seeing? By the nine witches.
"A Cavendish?" We both wondered.
"Edith Cavendish, the last traditional Cavendish, believe it or not, long before all the glamour and fame of the Cavendishes, they were seen as just ordinary witches like any other, but there was something about them that made them stand out, and that was their extensive knowledge and manipulation of magic, This one in particular ended up befriending Farnese, the two started to get on well, they went on adventures in what was the old Luna Nova, back in 1437, many years ago" Now it makes sense, we're seeing the whole narrative, that's why she's wearing such different clothes.
"What is a traditional Cavendish?" Asks my girlfriend.
"The traditional Cavendishes didn't live in luxury and lavishness, that's a new thing in history, throughout the 1500 years of the family's history more than half of them lived in simple houses in a small village where the Cavendish mansion is located today, it was once a very different place, which would be much of Beatrix's traditions, the more traditional Cavendishes were those who lived more detached, I've already told you that the current Cavendishes built the castle with the blood of witches hunted in the witch-hunting era" so that's how it was, I didn't remember that, gee if they followed tradition to this day the house would be a real treat.
She was snapping her finger, showing more of Edith and Farnese's past, it's amazing how similar they all were to us, it seems that time changes, but people remain the same, Luna Nova at that time seems very interesting, but I don't doubt that it must be as strict as today, or I think that today it must be crueler than a school in the middle ages.
It got to the part where she's with Claiomh Solais, Woodward appeared to her too, how incredible, for both of them, giving Farnese the sceptre.
"Farnese had been the one chosen to have this staff in her hands, just like today, in the past there was a lot of injustice, they wanted to resolve this, even more so with a growing belief, but it was becoming more and more dangerous, walking around as a witch in public was no longer as safe as before, it seemed that every moment they would be sent to the stake, which they didn't get that far, Farnese could only learn the first word, With her, she opened up a lot of ground and even tried to take part in some of the wars between witches and the church, which were very complicated years, for more than 20 years the witches fought against the church and the result wasn't the best, a bloodbath for both sides and I saw no way but to take Claiomh Solais from Farnese as long as I had one condition" She went on to show what was happening.
"And what would that be?" We asked her.
"Like you and me, Farnese was a woman who liked other women, especially Edith, they were secretly married, as I didn't want Claiomh Solais seen as a weapon I chose to exchange a condition that they accepted on the spot, to gift them with life, after having taken many lives in the war, they were going to conceive one and that's what made them stop everything, giving up Claiom Solais completely, Edith and Farnese had a daughter with the help of the fertility stone" That's so wonderful.
So that's when the fertility stone appeared for the first time, they're becoming mothers, what a cute thing, apparently in the old days there wasn't much of an option for that, but it must have been a relief for both parties, I remember that at that time my mum Laura told me how much more difficult it was to be a mother, we had to give in to someone else and use magic so that the daughter would be from both parties, something that usually happened.
Now a lot of people are turning up on the Cavendish's doorstep, it can't be good, I'm sure it isn't at all, I even swallow a bit of saliva when I see that they're witch hunters.
"This time of peace ended in 1469, when Farnese gave up the war, the church was gaining ground and the witches were being hunted down. Soon they appeared on the Cavendish's doorstep, Edith asked Farnese to take her daughter Judith away and she sacrificed herself on behalf of the Cavendish, This was the tragic end of the first chosen one, who we'll move on to almost 200 years later, now in 1646 with the Cavendish family further down the line" She looks just like Diana.
She changed everything, you could see that the little girl went back to the Cavendish family and that strangely Farnese didn't age, they were rebuilding, with Judith getting married having a family, the witch hunt, that's a shock, the Cavendish being witch hunters, they don't tell you much about that in Luna Nova, it must be a shock to know.
"Diana Cavendish I she meets our next chosen one from the story, a family of somewhat nomadic witches who used to lurk in the shadows, making a quick buck, and they turn up in Edinburgh on the run from yet another mess, They ended up being received by the girl's father who, on discovering that they were witches in a situation where they could be captured, took them to the Cavendish castle, where it was the complete opposite, Jack asked them to teach his daughter magic, and that's what happened" Woah how interesting, this must be the story of Sarah Campbell and the first Diana Cavendish.
"I know a bit about her, my mum and Mrs Cavendish told me, Sarah is a descendant of Edith's granddaughter who went back to Farnese and learnt magic there, creating a new family called Campbell, they split up and went into hiding, being the witch part of the Cavendish, while the Cavendish became witch hunters" said Croix.
"Well, as you can imagine, that's exactly what happened, but something else happened to them, both parties fell in love with each other over time and began to form a couple, in the castle they could even be the couple they wanted to be, outside they were just friends, the problem came from the lineage, neither Jack nor Veronica could have children, so it was up to the two to find a way, They went on a journey to where Farnese lived near Loch Ness, in 1648. When they got there, surprise surprise, she was alive, Farnese is an immortal witch, she doesn't age, when they got there they trained for a while and acquired knowledge, On a journey to try to find a way to obtain the power of the fertility stone, Diana discovered these things, but there was another mission they wanted to do and that was the focus they trained so hard, they gathered a good team that came from the shadows, Jill Brabham, Claire Arnoux, Jessica Harrington, Ryouko Kagari, Reiko Kagari, Mei Kagari and Mako Kagari, they would be the witches with the plan to free Luna Nova since it was in the hands of hunters, and so they did after a long mission with the betrayal of Jessica Harrington and the sacrifice of Farnese in 1650 Luna Nova was freed, but it was in ruins" I've heard this story before.
"And where does Claiomh Solais come into this?" Croix asks.
"Now that we've got to that part, as a reward for freeing Luna Nova I get into Sarah Campbell's hands the Claiomh Solais, which creates a bit of intrigue between her and Mako Kagari, but they soon split up and each go their separate ways, Sarah and Diana set out on a mission to form the fertility stone and succeed. With Claoimh Solais, Sarah didn't focus so much on the first two words, something she used many years later when Mako decided to kidnap the supreme leader of magic until then, which led to a big battle between them, but it ended tragically, Mako was defeated, but at what cost if not the life of Sarah who had left Diana alone with four daughters to look after, without even being able to use the full potential of the Claiomh Solais that was to be their focus, she couldn't resist after being struck in the heart by Mako herself who was then arrested, But it was too late, it would take years for Luna Nova to be rebuilt, since Diana had lost all animation, even with everything she had done" Wow, this story is tragic, she can't even use Claiomh Solais.
"Did it really last? Fuck, that's the way it goes, fate has its way with that" said Croix.
Soon the years went by, the families settled in, the rebuilding of Luna Nova, the great witch Jennifer who I remember my mums saying was from another branch of the Cavendish family, must have been one of those who assimilated more with Sarah, gee there's only tragic history with each of these chosen ones, I wonder if we'll have that too and Woodward is preparing the ground for us.
"1750, we're here in a new Luna Nova, this time with the next chosen one, Victoria McLaren's wife, who at the time was the centre of attention, but little is said about Esther Williams, the one who gave her wife the greatest boost in the idea of modern magic. Due to a tournament that took place in 1748 in Luna Nova, she became immune to the law that made homosexual relationships between witches a crime, back to Esther, she was practically Victoria's brain, she was the one who made the machines for her and showed her the
wonders that magic combined with modernity could be, trying in every way to show that it could help take humanity forward, but no one bought her and Victoria's idea" she's practically Croix.
"I don't even really know this Esther, but she's already my favourite, she's just like me" said my girlfriend, which made me giggle.
"As you already know the story of Terre Sapphique, Saoirse and Victoria taking on half the world to free the witches, I'm going to go to Esther's part. Before leaving, she received my blessing and was chosen, that was before they set off on Victoria's plan to become the witches' liberator, she went as far as the third word, she was very studious, but she didn't care much for Claiomh Solais, her idea was that she could change the world without having to depend on a piece of wood and somehow she is right, except that the world wouldn't be ready for the revolution she was going to bring" Just like Croix.
"And when was it? If even Esther didn't make it when everything was fresh, let alone now that witches have a romanticised idea of that time as a witches' paradise that must be maintained, what happened to her?" My girlfriend asks.
"As I said, Esther spent more time devoting herself to her inventions and helping Victoria than she did to Claiomh Solais, which in a way helped a lot. Thanks to this, together they were able to defeat the forces of the Council of Magic and protect Terre Sapphique, But Esther just didn't care, she could have had the potential to change things, Claiomh Solais would have been vital in Victoria's speeches at the end of the century for the liberation of witches and the change of magic, but unfortunately without him they lost morale and were put down, having all their efforts practically ignored" Wow, what a bummer, so that's what happens.
"So that's what I want to do differently, I'm going to focus a lot on Claiomh Solais as soon as I have him, I'm going to do what Esther Williams can never do" confident Croix.
At least their story wasn't tragic, you could see that Esther and Victoria lived a very happy life, even though things went wrong, they went on to live their lives as a cute couple, they had a family, I remember all that, now it seems like we're getting to the present day, you could see that Luna Nova is more modern, look at a girl who looks like me, she must be my great-great-grandmother Louise the fourth chosen.
"It was 1913 when Louise Du Nord Schwarz arrived in Luna Nova, a radiant orphan, with the aim of becoming a witch and helping people. Her family were the last recorded victims of witch hunters in history, Finally, in Luna Nova she made many friends, especially with a girl called Diana Cavendish III, whom they later married, but at the time she had strong enemies, like Margareth Ford, who wanted Diana all to herself, but also strong friendships, one of these friends was a descendant of Victoria McLaren and had ideas similar to her ancestor, of modernising magic, seeing that Louise didn't have many motivations apart from discovering her passion for running and competing with the broom I saw it as an opportunity, she became the fourth chosen when on one of the couple's outings through Arcturus I almost interrupted their moment right here and passed the mission on to Louise" They were having sex here in a sacred place, it's bizarre, but at the same time the story is interesting.
"To think we've never had an idea like this, Chariot" said my girlfriend, and I blushed.
"Louise was an accomplished witch, I think one of the most skilful I chose, she went as far as the fourth word and was very focused, but something made her stop the mission which was the threat of Margareth Ford, this slowed her down a lot, made her have to stop for a few years at every word she discovered, which in 1919 she had totally stopped going after, but I still kept Claiomh Solais with her in the hope that it might work out, since they were on the road to changing the world, with Louise's focus being the broom racing event, the Broom Gran Prix, which went well for a decade, until some accidents and lack of money brought it to an end, apart from sabotage by major witches, something that tragically made Louise lose hope was the events of 1936, when her wife Diana passed away, I think you know what happened in those very tense days, Margaret was arrested and her daughter was cursed to stay away, the same thing that Laura McLaren and her daughter were affected by, invented by Ford himself, which they returned to France, I still kept hopeful, I waited for the time of mourning to pass, because I know Louise's potential and her daughter could be another marvellous choice, I remember her coming to me many times, asking if I could sacrifice the staff to bring her wife back, unfortunately it was out of my power, I didn't realise that it would lead to something worse, in 1941, she committed suicide, not being able to be away from her wife any longer and once again Claiomh Solais was back to square one" That was a very tragic story, Louise could have gone far, now we're back to tragic endings.
And you could see that it was quite heavy, we sat still and watched the years go by and my family, I even smile when I remember everyone, I had no idea that these people were before me, I even feel a bit better, well now we're going to get to the last one chosen, Mum Laura.
"You already know who I'm going to talk to, Laura McLaren, it's now 1988, she's always had thoughts influenced by her great-grandmother of making a revolution in magic and changing things, due to a frustrated attempt to make a pride parade in Luna Nova, she ended up going here and I saw her as a perfect candidate for Claiomh Solais and she went far, When she put her mind to it, she would discover the words and understand what each one meant, having an enormous appreciation for the fifth word, but a lot happened to her in the years that passed, she graduated, got married, had to deal with family issues, but even so I knew that this would be the chosen one who would continue until the end, I felt that, except that she forgot the sceptre a little and that's understandable, she had obligations in life and you could see that as a person she was always very dedicated to everyone and to herself, this girl's mind was perfect for changing things, she tried and tried a lot, but as you know the disaster that happened in 2003 she never recovered, even she wanted to go back to looking for the rest of the words, which she gave up in 2004 to make way for the new generation and look for the cure for the curse, I gave her the knowledge in return and Laura put a lot of faith in you, she knew that you would be the chosen ones, even curiously she could see that deep down the sixth word could come out of that mouth, she had already understood that, but I only took Claiomh Solais who shone, now we are here" These stories are marvellous, I have now been able to learn more about each of the chosen ones.
"And why is that?" Croix's question when everything returned to normal was a really profound lesson.
"It's important to understand how each of the chosen ones went about their missions so that you can understand the future of both of you, they had tragic endings, understanding what happened for those endings to happen is important, but you can see that they had potential, I didn't choose any of them by chance, the important thing is not to make the same mistakes as those who came before, but also not to make so many mistakes, Claiomh Solais is just an accessory, the most important action to change the world comes from you" said Woodward, who then disappeared into the background and I was able to understand a little.
As usual she was disappearing into various butterflies and wow, it's a lot to take in, I really didn't expect the story of each of them to be so tragic, there's only bad things happening to them, no good, I even get the impression that this magic sceptre is more like a curse than a blessing and I could look at Croix and she didn't seem to share the same idea, she even had a smile on her face.
"So that's it, you just have to dedicate yourself to both, well I've learnt a lot from the story of each of the chosen ones, you can see that you just have to do what's right, it doesn't seem that difficult to me, we can achieve Chariot, together, each of us just has to focus on what's outside the sceptre if one of us isn't chosen, which I'm already sure we'll achieve together" She's much more confident.
"Doesn't it scare you that every chosen one has had a tragic end? I don't really want it to end horribly, all I want is to be chosen now, I know how important it is, but I couldn't bear to lose someone" I say a little sheepishly.
"That won't happen Chariot, I guarantee it won't and you won't be the chosen one, you can be sure of that, if something tragic happens to me I'll be ready, I know my mission is important and shouldn't be left aside" I really hope my girlfriend is the chosen one.
"What if I'm chosen?" I ask Croix.
"That's not going to happen, I'm going to be chosen anyway, I don't want to belittle you, but the way Woodward acts specifically towards me, lecturing me, you can tell I'm close to it, I can't even think about the idea that I won't be chosen, I have to really prepare and dedicate myself to it" She's too focused on that, it's Croix's problem, she should be more down to earth sometimes.
I'd rather not say anything, I think if I open my mouth any more I'll spoil the moment, which I just huffed and then held my girlfriend's hand, we walked out of the tree, looking back a little and gee this all carries the history of a lot of things and a lot of people, just thinking about it makes me full of thoughts.
I don't want tragic things to happen, that's all, it doesn't seem like it, but I already see a pattern, is it really worth having such a thing, I even stop walking around the ruins for a while before I get back to Luna Nova.
"Love... Do you think it's worth all this?" I ask her.
"Oh Chariot, why do you keep going on about this? Of course it's worth it, do you realise that we can make a request if we complete the Claiomh Solais? I'm going to ask you to change the world and we won't have any worries, it's worth it to have the legendary Claiomh Solais, you're still too small-minded for that, I know you don't like him very much, but I've been chasing something like this my whole life, it's my motivation in life, I know it's not yours and I can understand why" Yeah, I realise, you're too glued to a piece of wood.
"What if I happen to die? Or Aunt April? Because of this piece of wood with glass balls? I don't want to get my hands on a thing that only attracts bad things, didn't you see the end that each user had? The only one who didn't was the one who ignored Claiomh Solais the most and she had a happy life after the staff was gone" I say to her, putting my hand to my forehead.
"This is just a Woodward's ordeal to frighten them, there were other things that happened for them to have tragic endings and none of them have to do with being chosen, look I understand your fear, but nothing bad will happen to us, I guarantee it, when I'm chosen this will pass like lightning, your mum knows all the words, she can pass on their knowledge to us and together we'll change the world, without anything tragic happening" She even holds my hand confidently.
I decide to snort and there's not much I can do to convince her, she's really too motivated by this, it's out of my control, there's not much I can say, I really hope Croix is chosen, now I'd better get back to the room, I'm sure I'll pay for another detention, this is going to be a real pain in the arse, but there's not much to do afterwards.
"That's how it happened with all the chosen ones, Akko we know how her story went of all of them she didn'thave a tragic end, I think what Woodward really needed was a chosen one like Akko, well I don't think you'veever learnt what happened with all the seven chosen ones, now you know and you're getting to know a bitabout the sixth one in depth, soon we're getting to that point in the story... Ugh, just thinking that the time iscoming makes me cringe, I'm even a little tense just remembering it, everything has changed since that day,for me it was by far the worst."
See you, chosen witches...