Prologue

In the beginning the gods created the world with their magic. Therefor the magic came to intertwine with all things, living and dead, things that was, are and will be. The magic is an essential part of it all.

In those first eons of life, all living things could see and use the magic. The gods loved their creation and as a gift to it, they let magic be a part of every life. The gods enjoyed watching the new, creative ways that their creations used the magic. Those were the days that were filled with love, fellowship, and exploration.

But all things come to an end, and where there is free will, there is always the chance of the unexpected. Greed, envy, and hate had slowly begun to make its way into the world and as it took root in the hearts of the creatures that lived there, they found ways to use magic to sate their new hungers.

The gods watched as magic began to be used as a means to oppress, to torture, and to kill. In their hearts, they mourned the loss of innocence. In the end, the gods regretted they had gifted the world with magic.

The gods held a meeting to decide what to do about the world. There was a suggestion to remove the magic from the world. But to do so would mean to end it. Although the gods were disappointed, they still loved the world and the creatures in it. They did not have the heart to destroy it all.

Instead, they would limit the use of magic. To cut the tie that all living things had with it. As they still loved the creatures in the world, and most of all the humans that were created in their image. They decided to let the humans ask for three gifts that the gods would bestow on them, to let them keep their connection to magic.

The message was sent out across the world and the humans were given a year to decide and then each of the five tribes would send one delegate to the gods’ temple to ask for the gifts for their tribe. As the day came, five humans entered the temple.

Alarc, from the mountain tribe, knelt before the god Absalom. He asked for the gifts of speed, strength, and everlasting life.

Beom, from the forest tribe, knelt before the goddess Selene and asked for strength, speed and the ability to find one’s one true love.

Arilia, from the plains tribe, knelt before the goddess Eurynome and asked for everlasting life, the power to communicate with nature and the ability to change their form.

Malissie, from the desert tribe, knelt before the goddess Hecate and asked for the power to heal, the power to communicate with nature and to be able to predict the future.

Harom, from the water tribe, knelt before no god. He declared that his tribe would seek the help of no god as the gods were the root of all the evil in the world.

The gods held council and discussed the requests of the humans. The gods now knew that magic should not be given freely. The gifts were therefore given with a limitation.

The mountain tribe was given strength, speed and everlasting life, but they needed to drink the blood of living creatures and would be weak to silver. The forest tribe was given strength, speed and the ability to find their one true love, but they would turn into beasts under the full moon.

The plains tribe was given everlasting life, the ability to communicate with nature and the ability to shift their form, but they would be connected to a soul tree that they needed to stay close to and they were weak to iron.

The desert tribe was given the ability to communicate with nature, the ability to heal and to see the future, but they could only do so by using the magic that was in other things. They held no magic of their own.

The water tribe was allowed to walk away without gifts or limitations. Their would be the greatest loss, as they would lose all connections to magic.

Amongst the water tribe, there was a woman with the name Katiyan. She was loved by all the gods, as she had a pure heart and kind spirit. The thought of her losing all connection to magic was a great pain to all the gods. They summoned her to them and when she knelt in front of them, they offered her to be the guardian of magic.

They would remove her from the world as they removed the connection to magic from all living things. When they were done, they would put her back and she would be able to connect with magic without limitations.

Katiyan accepted the gift and, as the gods had told her, it was done. When she returned to the world, she could sense the shift. She felt the anguish of all living things, as they now were limited in their connection with magic.

To keep the balance in the world between the different users of magic, Katiyan was given the task of being an equalizer and a mediator between the tribes. To help her, a council was formed. Two members of each tribe were chosen and given a seat at the council. Katiyan was given the title of the Beloved one or the White rose, and the council was named the White rose council.

Until this day Katiyan’s descendants still have the title and are still watching over the magic in the world.