Raven

Born to non-magical parents, Raven and her twin brother were relentless troublemakers. As she grew, she would notice things that only happened in her presence—a glass of water floating through the air, or the fireplace lighting on its own during a freezing winter night. A voice rang through her head with a name of its own, guiding her through the difficulties of growing up. One thing became clear to Raven: she was not like other kids.

Despite these secrets, she was happy.

At eight years old, an earthquake wracked the ground beneath her feet. The town’s bustle came to an abrupt stop. Soon, buildings came crumbling down one after another, and pandemonium broke out. The last memory Raven has of the earthquake was looking up as a hefty chunk of debris crashed upon her.

She woke buried beneath the rubble alongside her brother, unable to speak. For hours, all she could do is listen to her brother’s desperate pleas for help. Eventually, her mother and a group of men discovered the twins. It was worse than they imagined. They could not save one child without crushing the other. It became the worst (and last) day of her mother’s life. She saved her son.

Raven’s heart sank, then fear took over as she looked death in the eyes. The voice in her head began talking, but she faded.

When Raven awoke, every building was obliterated. Bodies were strewn about, mutilated and coated in gore. Her family was dead, the town desecrated, everything gone. In the woods, Raven did all in her power to survive, huddling in the bushes for warmth and pick-pocketing the occasional traveler. Starving, she faced death once again. And then she was saved.

An old woman invited the eight-year-old orphan into her home, raising the child as her own. As head of the witches, she instantly recognized that Raven was one of them. Her Ladyship tutored Raven in the ways of magic, urged her to coexist with the voice in her head, and provided her with love and security. With a thirst for knowledge and Her Ladyship’s leadership, Raven would become one of the greatest witches of her time.