Kudos to everyone who recognizes which series the final member of the Royal Coven is!
Diana felt deeply uncomfortable, as her forays into Man's World had not been very pleasant so far. Today they were acting as envoys to Lord Ares. Several of Cassandra's handmaidens were each carrying a single basket containing precious cargo.
Diana was carrying one as well, and knew that it had been Cassandra's idea after learning how the Amazons handled any male children born of their blood. Themiscrya was firmly "women only" with only the rarest of exceptions made for certain gods.
Zeus was firmly not among that number, mostly because Hera would be alerted the second he came within range. Cass still cackled about setting that one up, to the goddess' delight.
The Amazons waited patiently inside Ares' sacred temple in Sparta. As the patron god of Sparta, it was only natural that even the most spoiled noble would bow their head in respect to the Amazon's arrival if commanded.
"Why are we here?" asked Diana. She kept her voice low, as she could tell that the men folk here were only barely tolerant of their presence.
"Just wait, you'll see," said Cass cryptically.
The doors swung open, and a couple came in. They looked to be in their mid thirties at least, and had a look of painful hope in their eyes.
"We come bearing greetings and good fortune," said Cassandra smoothly. "Your devotion to Lord Ares has pleased him, and he has agreed to answer your prayers."
Cass nodded to one of her handmaidens. She calmly walked to the woman and presented her with the covered basket. The woman almost burst into tears seeing the healthy baby boy inside.
Diana's confusion was palpable.
"Thank you, Lady Cassandra," said the man, overwhelmed.
"Give thanks to Lord Ares," she reminded them gently, and sent them on their way. "And remember to raise your new son as a proud soldier of Sparta in his honor."
They couple left with their new son. Diana looked to Cass in confusion.
"What was that about?" she asked.
"Themiscrya is many things, but tolerant of men is not one of them," said Cassandra. "I wasn't about to let them discard their sons just for the poor luck of being born male on the island, so I prayed to Lord Ares and suggested an alternate solution. One he was exceptionally pleased with, and required little to no effort on Queen Hippolyta's part."
Diana's eyes widened.
"So these children..." she started.
"Are the sons of Themiscrya. I suggested to the Queen that instead of discarding them, we instead give them to Sparta to be raised as soldiers in Ares' honor. Not every couple is able to have children, so this allows them to bring honor to their family name and allows the unwanted sons a chance to be live," said Cassandra simply. "After all, what god of war would say no to having more soldiers fighting under his banner? The only thing he needed to do was pass on a message to his priests and have a few of his faithful set things up. The rest was discreetly finding appropriate families to give the children to."
Diana watched as couples came to the temple and were given a child to raise as their own in Lord Ares' honor. Once the last child was handed out, they quietly left.
It was rather disheartening that before Cassandra spoke up, that her mother simply discarded the children.
"Why Sparta?" asked Diana as they were about to return to the island.
"After seeing what the Amazons did to their sons, it struck me how similar it was to what Sparta does to their newborns. They inspect them for flaws, especially the males and if they're sickly or misshapen, they're discarded without a second thought," said Cassandra. "Then it occurred to me that perhaps the childless couples of Sparta...those unable to conceive or were of the same gender, would likely welcome our unwanted sons as their own. After all, it gives them a chance to bring honor to their family another way and bring some joy to their lives."
"What of those that Sparta would not take?" asked Diana.
"Those go to Lord Hephaestus. He was among the first to encourage Lord Ares to agree to my suggestion when I brought it up," admitted Cass.
Cassandra had been given a divine gift from the god himself, since even he couldn't raise all the boy children Themiscrya produced. Having some of them sent to Sparta for those unable to have children themselves relieved some of the burden and earned him a bit of good will from Ares.
At the very least it gave Diana a slightly nicer image of Man's World, seeing how grateful those couples were taking in the unwanted children.
Cass was grinning wildly, as they had been preparing for this for months. Those in the know were sworn to secrecy, because this was meant as a pleasant surprise for their Queen and the Princess.
Circe had been all for it, and Medea had enthusiastically agreed to help once Cassandra explained things to them. It was a good way to test their abilities and have a bit of fun as well.
Queen Hippolyta and Princess Diana were sitting on specially made seats just for them. It gave them the perfect view of the makeshift theater, and the players.
Cass looked to the less physically inclined Amazons with a smile.
"Remember if you forget your lines then all you have to do is signal me and I'll remind you, okay? This is to provide entertainment after all."
They nodded enthusiastically. While they were decent fighters, they were not as revered as the more serious Amazons. This was an excellent way to show their skills that didn't require open violence.
Cassandra walked onto the stage, as she would open up the play. The place was packed, as most of the Amazons were very curious as to what she and the others had cooked up.
"My fellow Amazons, it occurred to me some time ago that while our society is great, it is sorely lacking in some areas. To that end, I have enlisted the aid of my fellow coven members to provide something to make our days more enjoyable that does not require fighting," said Cassandra. "I want you to enjoy our little play."
Hippolyta raised an eyebrow, and Diana leaned forward eagerly. Cass had introduced her handmaidens and the princess to plays before, so she was eager to see how Cass would recreate it on Themiscrya.
The Amazons watched with rapt attention and fascination as their fellow sisters put on a play. There were a few slip ups, but Cass was able to smooth those over discreetly so no one really noticed. To be fair, the only thing the Amazons had for entertainment were watching the games.
The group waited with baited breath to hear how the Queen would react. Diana was obvious, as her enthusiasm had encouraged the other Amazons to speak freely about their own enjoyment.
"It was entertaining. But I do not see the point of all this."
"Not all battles are fought with swords and spears. Some are fought in the shadows, and require subtlety," said Cass smoothly. "What better way to train the Amazons in the more subtle arts than by acting in plays? Besides, everyone seemed to enjoy it."
Hippolyta didn't see anything wrong with the plays, however she was incredibly wary of the possible content.
Cass sensed this, and held out a sheathe of paper.
"What's this?"
"The script for our next play," she replied. "If any of the plays are not to your liking, then at least you'll have first refusal and we'll change it to something else," said Cass.
Hippolyta perked up at that idea. The play had been very engaging, and she could see her Amazons enjoying themselves. Cassandra had some very good ideas in the past, so she was curious to see what the woman could do if given permission.
At the very least it would allow her Amazons to express their creativity beyond that of warfare, and might even please the goddesses.
Watching the play helped Diana make a decision. One her mother approved of.
A month later Diana approached Circe and Medea.
"I want to learn magic," she said.
Circe didn't pause in stirring her potions.
"Why not approach Cassandra?" asked Medea.
Diana shook her head.
"Cassandra is a wonderful sister...but I worry she might go easy on my training if I asked her."
Circe snorted at that.
"If we agree to this, and I'm not saying we will, we will expect actual dedication to the craft," said Circe. She tossed in a few ingredients.
"I understand," said Diana.
"What does your mother think of this?"
Diana winced.
"Mother heartily approved, especially after I told her who I would be approaching to teach me."
Medea and Circe had both been screwed over by men, and her mother was all for Diana spending more time with both older women. Especially Circe, since her skill with dealing with unwanted advances was so well known.
Circe put the potion to simmer and looked at the girl seriously. Diana spent centuries becoming a fierce Amazon warrior, though not one ever tested in battle. She was brave, powerful, and the embodiment of what a woman could be without the need of a man's validation.
She would not shirk any training they gave her, and they understood why she had chosen them as her teachers. Cass was too close to the girl, after all.
Lady Hecate, during one of their festivals to honor her, had openly compared the trio to the sacred trinity of the Maiden, Mother and Crone...which was Cassandra, Medea and Circe respectively.
To be quite honest, Medea and Circe were rather bored. Aside from refining Cass' knowledge of magic and potions, she had easily slipped into a 'younger sister' role.
The idea of taking their fellow princess in as an apprentice sorceress was a rather fun one, and at least Diana wouldn't shirk the work.
Things in Man's World had become too chaotic, so Cass was forced to put an end to their excursions until things calmed down. Ares was okay with this, as Sparta had fallen a century or two ago due to the Peloponnesian War. Even with the addition of the Amazon sons, Sparta hadn't stood much of a chance.
Cass blamed it on the fact they hadn't bothered to keep up with the times, and only allowed true Spartans to undertake the training. While the sons they delivered to the temple were considered 'true' Spartans, the Amazons were not inclined to procreate purely to add to their numbers.
So for now, Cass would deliver any newborn sons straight to Hephaestus until things changed. She knew all too well about the explosive population growth once the humans stopped fighting. Besides, women had been considered the 'lesser' gender for centuries.
Better for them to hone their skills until they were needed again.
Diana dove into her magical studies, and found it very fascinating. However what she really enjoyed was having something new to share with Cassandra.
Time seemed to fly as she dove into her magical training, which was even more interesting than her combat training some days. Her mother certainly had no complaints on the matter.
Cass had been gone for well over ten years, which was unusual as she rarely spent much time in Man's World. She stayed in contact, which is why Diana wasn't too worried.
The day Diana completed her magical training under Circe and Medea, Cass returned...with an extra.
Diana stared at the young woman, who looked very out of place and was dressed firmly in men's clothing. And it was definitely a woman, regardless of how she attempted to hide her gender.
"And who is this?" asked Medea, maternal instincts on overdrive.
"This is Mordred. I thought they'd make an excellent final addition to our coven," said Cass cheerfully.
Diana looked at Mordred curiously. The young woman was a massive "tomboy" as Cass would say, and was clearly uncomfortable having to wear a dress. However there was no mistaking the woman for what she was...a warrior, through and through. A blooded one at that, which perked Diana's interest.
Circe raised an eyebrow.
"How well trained are they in the magical arts?"
Cass looked to Mordred.
"Cass taught me most of what I know...in between helping me deal with the trauma my mother inflicted on me," said Mordred uncomfortably.
"Diana, why don't you take Mordred to the sparring ring? They were very interested when I mentioned an entire island of blooded warriors to play with, without having to hide their gender."
Diana perked up at that, and happily lead Mordred to the rings.
Circe and Medea immediately turned to Cass.
"So what's the real story?"
Cass sighed.
"It's complicated, but the long and short of it is that Mordred's mother was angry due to her half-sister taking the throne as 'king' despite being a woman hiding as a man. The king had a magus on the payroll who gave them a functioning penis so that they could consummate their marriage to another woman, and Mordred's mother took advantage of that fact to have them."
Medea raised an eyebrow.
"I thought incest between siblings is frowned upon...and last I checked, women weren't allowed to marry one another."
"Their father was going around calling themselves 'King Arthur' and hiding the fact they're a woman. From what I could tell they used some sort of faerie artifact to stop the aging process entirely, so they're stuck in a prepubescent state mostly. Also, Arthur did not consent to Morgana sleeping with them as far as I'm aware," said Cass flatly.
"So what you're saying is that this...Arthur...was raped by their own sister while suffering a rather poor prank from a magus friend?" said Circe.
"Where does Mordred come into this?" asked Medea, properly disgusted.
"The unfortunate third party in a spat between siblings. Morgana groomed their child into believing that they were the 'rightful' heir to the throne, despite the fact that the second their heritage came out it would only become a massive scandal. It got so bad that Mordred became the face of a rebellion against their king and father, to the point they gave each other mortal wounds."
Circe and Medea didn't bother asking how Mordred survived. Clearly Cass had seen what would happen and had decided to spare the girl and bring her to the island to heal.
"What's your relationship with her?" asked Medea.
"I'm her teacher and confidant. We didn't really click as sisters like I did with Diana," said Cass immediately.
Medea and Circe looked at each other and knew the truth. Once Mordred started to heal from the mess created by her parents, she would likely latch onto Cassandra and hard. Likely to the point of sharing her bed.
Not that they cared...the Amazons had quite a few members who preferred the company of their sisters in their bed, so long as they weren't blood sisters.
Mordred found many, many kindred spirits in the ring and was accepted almost immediately by the tribe as one of their own. After all, Cass had vouched for them and they had so many things they could teach her about being a real woman...not the frail thing that men seemed to force upon others.