Ember Of The Timber Coven

In a world filled with war and violence, there is still love and friendship to be found around any corner. Werewolves find their mates after they turn eighteen and go through the process of claiming them with a bite. Vampires have beloveds that they find throughout the centuries of them walking the earth and turn their love into one of them to spend eternity with. In a way, it sounds romantic yet problematic. Who wants to live for eternity? Sorcerers have Amores that they find at the height of their magical abilities, but it's long been rumored that Soren, the rogue King, killed them all years ago. Witches and Elementals have soulmates that they find after they turn eighteen. They bind their bond through blood magic and a ring. All of these supernatural beings have one thing in common. They protect their loved ones at all costs. So what will the costs be in our adventure? How many must we lose to get to the end? 'To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead.' - Miyamoto Musashi Ember It was another morning like all the others. I was out in the grassy courtyard with the witches and my three elemental friends as we performed martial arts training. Not only were we supposed to know how to use our magic and powers to protect ourselves and others, but we needed to know how to be physical in any fight we engaged in. Sometimes concealing what you were capable of doing with your magic was important and gave you an advantage. My favorite weapon I learned how to use over the years was the spear. So many others preferred a sword, a bow or daggers but there was just something about a spear that felt right to me. Once training was over, we all dispersed to clean up and get on with our day. Some of us had duties to attend to and some had magic classes to get to. I turned to go back to my shared room with Bastet right on my heels. He’s my familiar, a gray cat with an attitude problem but he loves me. I walked through the stone hallways of our coven's fortress towards my room. The sound of my shoes against the stone floors echoed. I reached the large wooden door to my room and went inside. Bastet came in with me and ran to sit on my bed. In the room, there are four beds with four wardrobes and chests of drawers. I share this room with my three elemental friends Melody, River and Sandy along with their familiars. Melody controls the air element and is soft and sweet. Her familiar is a large black and red rooster named Pepper. They came to the coven when Melody was only three. River has the ability to control water. He was the only guy in the group of four but he loved the attention we gave him. His familiar is a black lab named Freya. River was born here in the coven like I was. Our Earth elemental friend is Sandy. She likes to wear sundresses with boots after training each day. She seems sweet but I swear she's crazy as f**k. Her familiar is a damn tarantula named Legs for crying out loud. This crazy friend of ours came to the coven with her parents when she was five. She was just as strange then as she is now. All of us have since lost our parents in battles with the Mystics. My mother was a fire elemental and she died a few years ago. My father, on the other hand, died many years ago. I was now twenty so I didn’t need them as a child would. River was a year older than me whereas Melody and Sandy were both a year younger than me. I grabbed clothes for today out of my wardrobe and headed to the bathroom. I quickly cleaned up and changed my clothes. I was wearing black wool leggings with gold buttons up the sides, black boots and a red and black lace dress that ended above my knees. I left the bathroom and went back into the room to find Bastet cleaning himself on my bed. "Do you really need to do that on my bed?" I asked him. "Where else am I going to get clean? Oh, I know! Your nightstand," he said as he got up and zipped over to my nightstand knocking two books off onto the floor. I groaned as I bent down to pick them up, "jackass cat." As I was putting the books down on my bed, everyone else was walking into the room to change and get ready for their day. River hardly ever used the bathroom to change, I think he liked us looking at him. Sandy was the same way but Melody was very conservative with people seeing her body. She always wore clothing that covered her elegant body. Once everyone was changed, we all left our room and walked down the hall together. I was at the front as always, with Bast on my heels. Sandy carried Legs on her shoulder everywhere she went. Freya always followed River like Bast followed me. Melody sometimes had Pepper follow her and other times she carried him under her arm. He was an odd rooster. "Where is High Priestess Amarantha this morning?" River asked. "She's busy in a meeting with a neighboring pack's Alpha," I told them. Who knows what this meeting could possibly be about. We didn't have a lot of dealings with the wolf packs but it might be smart to get their help. ---------- Killian I was sitting in the high priestesses’ office of the Timber Coven who was our neighbor. Their territory backed up to mine and it only took us an hour to get here on foot. If we had run in wolf form it would have taken us thirty minutes. The chair I was sitting in was uncomfortable and unforgiving to my backside. To my left was my Beta, Reginald, who kept shifting uncomfortably in his seat. I tried my best to ignore his discomfort and concentrate on the conversation at hand but it was proving to be difficult. Reginald was my best friend growing up and became my Beta when I took over the pack. He was darker complected than me with dark brown eyes and no hair on his head. He liked being bald and I thought it was gross. I liked my long dreadlocks and my short beard. "Alpha Killian, I really admire the fact that you are looking for alliances in the coming war. All of us know that the past ten years have just been leading to something bigger. The only problem I have is knowing what your pack can do for us," Amarantha said. "We were hoping that we could offer patrol assistance, and added security. In a manner of speaking, we would join forces to help secure the area entirely," I told her. She nodded her head and thought for a second. She had a snow owl on a perch next to her and as she thought she stroked its head. I knew that the owl was her familiar. All Elementals and witches had them. "I've always prided myself with the ability to work with the werewolves. We had one years ago that lived amongst us because his mate was part of the coven. He was a great warrior and he died a noble death. His daughter is incredibly strong of mind and body. How strong are your people?" "Average strength wolves but we have grown stronger in our human form so we can fight hand to hand if needed. Our wolves range mostly from gammas to omegas. I’m the only Alpha in our pack and Reginald is the only Beta." "What types of weapons do you have?" She asked. "Swords, spears, bows and four cannons we stole from the Mystics about three months ago. We haven't used them yet so they have no idea we are the ones that have them," I told her with a smile. She hummed and said, "you're resourceful." I just smiled bigger at her statement. I tried hard to be smart about what I did when it came to strategy. I had been in my father’s war meetings since I was ten. I had learned a lot before he died. "I will have to talk with my coven's board members before I make a decision about the alliance. I will send word to you in a few days of what we have decided," High Priestess Amarantha said. I nodded my head and said, "that works." I went to stand up when the whole building we were in shook violently. What the hell was that? What is going on now and what was I about to have to do?