Ember Of The Timber Coven

Searching

'Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many, the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.' -Plato

Ember

The first group I went to visit was the green witches in the garden space of the coven. They took care of our crops and produce all of our vegetables and fruits. Sandy would spend her time with them most days. I’ve helped them a few times by burning crops that they needed gone so they would come back better the next year. It was a good test of my control and manipulation abilities. I successfully burned just what they needed.

I walked into the garden and said, “Hello everyone. How are things going here?”

“Things are thriving. What can we do for you, Ember?” Halina asked in her always calm voice.

“Well, I will be leaving the coven soon. I found my soulmate and I need a replacement for myself as the next in line. Who would you put in that place?” I asked.

She stood there and thought about it before saying, “possibly Sandy. I think an Elemental should keep the position.”

I nodded my head and looked around at the others. They were all nodding their heads in agreement. I felt Bastet lean against my leg as I stood there. He had his moments when he was super loving and then moments where he was super annoying.

“I will put your selection under advisement,” I told her.

“Thank you Ember and may your journey keep you safe.”

I nodded my head before I waved goodbye at everyone and turned to leave the garden. Bastet almost fell over as I stepped away from him. He quickly recovered and chased after me.

Next, I walked to the kitchen to find none other than the kitchen witches. These witches made our meals and made all the potions we needed. They were great at what they did but don’t piss them off because they might just poison your ass.

I walked into the kitchen to see it bustling as usual. I spotted Einri and walked over to him. He was the leader of the kitchen witches. He was tall and slender. If I didn’t know any better you would think that he was part Elf or fairy with the way he looked.

“Hi, Einri. How are things?” I asked in an upbeat tone.

He turned to look at me with a smile and said, “It’s busy as usual, doll. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I will be leaving soon to be with my soulmate. Who would you nominate as my replacement as next in line?”

The whole kitchen went quiet and everyone stopped to listen to us. I felt like I had just put us on the spot as Einri thought about my question. Bastet jumped up on the counter and sat down to watch me. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be up there. He was testing me now after I walked away from him a few moments ago.

“I don’t know. Melody is sweet and tender but she’s too sweet. River is just…River and the crazy Sandy is…well crazy. You were the best option by far.”

“So you would stick with an Elemental as our High Priest or High Priestess?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said with a nod and everyone else nodded their heads along with him.

“Alright. Thank you for the advice. I’m sure I will come up with the best solution before I leave.”

I left the kitchen while listening to all of them, they were upset that I was leaving but I didn’t hear any ill will towards me or the next to take my place. I would keep moving to the next witch's group in the coven.

“Would you slow down? You’re moving too fast,” Bastet said.

“I’m not moving any faster than usual. Maybe you’re getting fat.”

“I am not!”

I laughed at him as I slowed down a little and walked through the halls of the fortress. My next stop was with the chaos witches in the sitting room. They loved it there. Things to remember about the chaos witches is they have no rules, nothing is true but everything is permanent and belief is a tool for achieving effects. They even made me feel like I was walking on eggshells most days. If there was anyone here that could be a traitor and not feel remorse it would be one of them. I didn’t want to believe we had a traitor among us though.

I walked into the sitting room and looked around. All of them were in a good mood today so I stepped further into the room. This grabbed the attention of the room and I met the eyes of their board member, Libitina. She spoke for the group in every matter.

“Hello, Ember. What brings you to us?” Libitina asked.

“Hi, Libitina. I’m doing my rounds to get an idea of who should be taking my place as the next in line to lead the coven. I will be leaving soon and need a replacement.”

“Oh,” she said in shock and sat there and thought.

I stayed quiet as I listened to the others in the room. Their whispers ranged from naming my three friends and them asking where I was going. I could hear Bastet breathing as he lay on the floor next to my feet and thought he was breathing hard after walking around.

“Maybe River. Though you were by far our best option. You resonated with all of us here at the coven. You will be impossible to replace, Ember,” Libitina said.

“I appreciate you saying that but I won’t be far.”

She nodded her head and said, “we will vote for River.”

The rest of them nodded their heads and no one said anything against it. I nodded my head in agreement.

“I will put your vote in. Have a chaotic rest of your day everyone,” I said as I turned to leave.

I listened as I left and only heard one person whispering, saying that if I left it would mess everything up. I didn’t know how to take that but I didn’t think it was malicious in any way. I would still share it with Amarantha.

I walked down the hall towards the library next, Bastet chased after me as he panted. I was headed to see the divination witches. I wonder if they would have anything to tell me today about the future and the questions I had.

I stepped into the library and it was very quiet as the divination witches did their work. I saw Wislawa sitting on a pillow on the floor and we made eye contact. I approached her and her eyes went white as she was given some type of wisdom to be shared.

I waited for her to come out of it before I stepped closer to her. When her eyes came back to normal I stepped forward and sat down on the pillow close to her. Bastet crawled in my lap and laid down while panting. I placed my hand on him and petted his soft fur before turning my attention back to Wislawa.

“You are leaving because the Alpha next door is your soulmate,” she said.

“Yes. I wanted to get your nomination for the next one to take my place.”

“There won't be one,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked in concern.

“There won't be just one to take your place. You will figure it out.”

Maybe all three of them should take my place? It might just work.

“I have another question for you,” I said.

“About a possible traitor amongst us?” Wislawa asked.

“Yes,” I said, nodding my head.

“It is possible and it would explain how our barriers keep being breached. If I were you, I would keep an eye on the chaos witches or even the green witches. Whoever is in charge of putting the boundaries up could be taking them down.”

“You didn’t see who?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

I nodded my head and said, “Thank you for the advice and guidance as always.”

“You’re welcome,” she told me with a soft smile.

I got up from the pillow I was sitting on with Bastet in my arms this time. I put him over my shoulder and held him like a baby as I left the library.

“Yes, carry me and love me,” Bastet said.

“I do love you. Even when you irritate me.”

“I do nothing of the sort.”

“Oh, so it’s just my imagination when you knock my things off of places and throw up on my stuff.”

“Yes, that sounds about right.”

I shook my head and kept walking. My next stop was at the planetarium on the backside of the fortress grounds. This is where the cosmic witches did all of their magic and studies. I actually enjoyed this place a lot. The cosmic witches dealt in zodiacs, horoscopes, astrology and celestial energy. It was pretty cool. I learned from spending time here that I was an Aries which explains why I have such a strong connection with my fire element.

I walked inside and caught Oberon’s attention right away. We shared a smile and he stopped his work to talk with me. He was tall with black hair and gray eyes that almost looked silver. He was handsome and only ten years older than me but there was nothing ever there between us.

“What can I do for you, Ember?” Oberon asked.

“I’m needing a nomination for someone to take my place as the next in line for high priestess.”

“Why is that?” he asked with frowned eyebrows.

“I found my soulmate and will be leaving soon.”

He took in a breath and nodded his head before speaking, “well, you will be impossible to replace. I think the closest replacement would be Libitina.”

“So the leader of the chaos witches is your vote?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said with a nod.

I looked around the room and all the others seemed to be oblivious to what was going on. I started to suspect that the person I was looking for was Oberon, but why would he betray us? There was no reason for him to. Though I do recall that he and Libitina did have something going on for a while. I didn’t think it was still a thing.

“Alright,” I said and left the planetarium.

That was my last stop here at the coven. We didn’t have any sea witches here. They made up their own coven to the south of us but we had dealings with them during solstices.

While still holding Bastet, I headed for the great hall so I could eat lunch with Sandy, River and Melody. I found them at our usual table and sat on the bench next to Sandy. Legs tried crawling on me and I scooted further away from her. Bastet moved out of my hands to sit on the bench between us and waited for his food. He always sat and looked at the table like a little person. It was actually really cute.

We were all served moments later. For us Elementals, we got chicken, brown bread and some fresh steamed carrots. Bastet got a meal of fresh liver and heart, Pepper got oats, Freya was given liver, fresh carrots and a bone, while Legs was given two crickets.

Lunch was always interesting when it came to feeding all of us plus our familiars. The kitchen managed to always take care of us though.

We ate and talked together. I would need to go see Amarantha after this to tell her what the other parts of the coven said. I also needed to tell her the things that I noticed. I hope things calm down here at the coven after I leave. Though, I won’t be far so I can always come to help them.