Maria Spotlight - The night is ours

“My brothers and sisters, come with me to the vampires and werewolves. A new era has begun. We don't have to hide any longer. The young vampire lord Ephraim will lead this country to the top, I sense. I have known these beings long enough, we have nothing to fear from them. Come and follow me.“

Then the newly formed circle of witches set off for the Black Forest. The birth of the three clans was rung in, who were still at the beginning of their upcoming ascent. Emily felt her secret could no longer rest, the time had come to let it go. And so another extremely powerful sorcerer named Claus joined the circle, whom Emily introduced as her brother. Claus was cunning and manipulative. He quickly fought his way to a high rank among the witches, but never came close to his sister's and only played second fiddle forever.

The Wolf Men were a very special kind of creatures. Until three hundred years ago still tied to the full moon, they could finally free themselves from its power over them and from then on were able to transform at any time of day and any hour. The hunting itself always took place in the pack and the prey was divided fairly. Like the vampires, they drank blood to keep their strength up. However, they preferred raw meat. They devoured the food of the people with the greatest pleasure, they especially appreciated meat, which roasted over a fire. Actually, one would have to assume that these beings were rough, wild and unbridled. These characteristics were still slumbering in them and often came to light. But if they were in the company of the vampires, they behaved very nobly. Their appearance after the transformation hadn‘t changed since the days of the forefathers. They were monstrous, their fur shining in a variety of shades, their mouths studded with razor-sharp teeth. Just like the vampires, the wolves were able to travel long distances in no time at all. They use their sharp claws to slit the throat of the prey; however, they were also perfectly suitable for it in order to climb highly at trees or to hold on to itself. Their love life, like that of the vampires, was wild and unrestrained, but less romantic. Unlike vampires, werewolves were able to mate with humans. Such connections sometimes came about, but were quickly forbidden. Not always such a mixed being could survive for a long time, then the matter settled itself. When it grew up, however, the producers were forced to take away the women's memories of their children and the hybrid beings were killed.

Stephan, the oldest and most powerful of them all, became the leader. Together with his wife Esther he led his steadily growing pack. Esther was a small, graceful woman with light brown curls, in whom one never suspected a werewolf. She was gentle and thoughtful, that's what Stephan loved about her. The second man after Stephan was Targhan, a giant of a man who always ran around with his upper body naked. His loyalty was to Stephan and only to him. Targhan didn't think much of the vampires, but he accepted them. The alpha-wolf was very popular, not only among his peers. Justice was his number one priority. Anyone who had anything to say was listened to.

After Emily had brought her brothers and sisters together with the wolves and the vampires, skepticism prevailed among them. For when they recognized what these were and, above all, how they obtained their prey, a general repulsion arose. These creatures are against nature and a danger to all. Only Emily could calm them down.

“Dear Ones, we ourselves are also a violation of nature. We can do things that are beyond imagination. We‘re able to make use of the power of the four elements, what other beings can do that? Whether something is normal or abnormal lays solely in the eye of the beholder. The vampires and werewolves have learned to go unobtrusively among humans and they never kill more than they need to survive. Ephraim, the leader of the vampires, will lead this country to glory. He understands people and has already made contact with some of them. First of all, it would make sense to agree on a kind of trade agreement with the people. They give us their precious resources, grain, vegetables, fruit, meat, but also fabrics, gold and other precious stones. In return, we protect them from evil. You all know what creatures are out there up to their necks. The bloodsuckers and the wolves are still harmless against them. Together we can ensure peace and order and people will never experience anything.“

Emily's speech was quickly received. Right next to the vampire camp was the coven. Not everyone trusted these strange beings and some passed them by wordlessly. The majority, however, learned to understand the bloodsuckers and the wolves and soon unity prevailed. Ephraim's next thought was to found a council by discussing all the important things together. This council watched over all events in their lands; it had the supreme government.

The High Council should consist of a total of twelve men and women. The heads of the three tribes should, therefore, determine three more of their clan, which should be included in the Council. It wasn't quite easy to find the right ones among the increasing crowd. Many had no interest in politics or economics. After a laborious search the right ones were found and the Council celebrated its creation.

When the clans were brought together, the number of witches was still quite small. Just eleven witches and wizards Emily could find. She knew there were more of them, but they were hiding well. The witches had once scattered to the winds, and many of the witches Emily once knew no longer existed. She had searched everywhere for them and was horrified to find out that they had either been burned alive, hanged or even drowned. Again and again, such incidents had occurred because people feared these women and men. Therefore the witches often sought shelter in secret. Emily knew no fear, she had always ventured among humans, for she had studied this equally dangerous species long enough. If it became too dangerous for her in one place, she left it and searched for a new home.

In general, the witches were said to be Satan's children, because they were powerful at magic and could do things that only the devil could do. From further stories, it was known that the witches even gave children to the devil in order to detach themselves from him. These creatures, mostly created from incest, are the stuff of nightmares. Filled with malice, they roamed mainly at night, spreading fear and terror. Those witches who had decided to make such a connection had been spared by their Lord and Creator, but had to live a lifetime with the agony of creating a monster. Some witches of the new circle once carried such an abnormal offspring in their laps. Although they knew a lot about herbology and how to end an unwanted pregnancy, it didn't help them. The seed was too strong. Emily comforted those who carried the shame of her misdeed in their hearts. She promised them that everything would turn out for the better and whoever dared could start all over again, if they were willing to look to the future with the vampires and werewolves. So many of them let their grief rest and went with Emily, as their leader, into a better world.

Notwithstanding this earlier period, it was the witches favourite work to study books and to write. In the middle of their village, there was a large library built of ash wood and the windows were decorated with coloured glass. There the witches archived, among other things, the inscriptions from the High Council, because in each meeting a kind of protocol was seized, in order to seize the past, the present and the future. Emily herself owned dozens of books, not least those whose contents she tried to hide. She was afraid her brother might find out too much.