Chapter 1: A Forgotten Face; An Unforgettable Memory

For nearly 200 years, humans and fae have been at war with witches stuck in the middle: too powerful to leave alone, yet too useful to kill. Our numbers have dwindled drastically over the years, once holding nearly two thirds the population as humans while being twice as large as fae. Now our kind is only a shadow to what we once were. While fae understood our strength but had no need for it and as such, killed any witch on site, humans were not so quick to do so. Humans now capture and evaluate us, looking for the best quality of slaves which are many times determined by age, then gift, followed by temperament.

Witch children do not receive a gift until around the age of 9 and as such, any captured are immediately enslaved. However, those with gifts are to be evaluated. Air users are almost never killed, being the most sought after in the slave market, while fire users over 14 are killed on site. If a slave passes both the age and gift tests, their temperament is checked. As long as the slave is not violent towards their master or has the skills to overthrow them, the slave is often left alive.

Air users, the most regal and beautiful or our kind at one point were the rarest of elementals. It is common in witch culture to fight for your place in society and due to air users' pacifistic nature, they many times would be killed. Without enough air users, there was little chance for the production of offspring. However, that has changed over the years. Aristocrats show higher preference for air users, buying and breeding them in pairs. Due to this, air users are now the most common among our kind. With their pacifistic nature and kind hearts as well as affinity for air to move heavy objects with ease, they make excellent servants.

The earth users are often the second most popular among the slave market. While they are much rougher around the edges and stubborn, they are loyal to a fault of who raised them. They will never attack first, but unlike air users, will fight back and kill anybody who puts their family in harm's way. Earth users have shown to be excellent on the farms, increasing production tenfold with their toiling speed while also having a knack for mining hard and valuable minerals for the war. When not bought and raised by a family, they will be raised by officers in the war and used for defense. While many can only create five by seven-foot walls, these walls are impenetrable and can move with the user, making them a great cover for their water partners in battle.

Water users are by far the smartest of witches and because of this, are never sold in the slave market. In fact, to acquire one an aristocrat must go by illegal means or have received a child before their gift was born. Before this law came into place by the king, water users would cause other slaves to riot and kill their masters. In fact, their influence over others was such a concern, the king ordered all water slaves not born in captivity to be executed immediately. Many masters obliged and did so, however, any master who tried and failed, would find him and his family brutally massacred by the water witch and their followers who would then take the food and cattle and escape. Now, water users are only sent to battle and used as healers while looked over by their earthen partner. Despite a water user's intelligence, earthen users stubbornness and loyalty often times makes it impossible to have them side with each other anytime aside from the battlefield and as such, the partnership has never come as a concern by the humans. Earth protects and water heals.

The last of the elementals was the most common for the longest time: fire. Fire users are powerful and sometimes bloodhungry, loving to fight. They aren't afraid to show who is in charge of a clan and are the quickest to kill the weak. As such, they are the least sought after by slave owners. Unless one is brought up as a child raised in captivity, they are often killed onsite. But, of the ones who are raised in captivity, they are quickly taken in by the kingdom to be raised as mercenaries and assassins. With their beauty and outgoing personalities, they can quickly trick anybody into thinking they are a refined aristocrat rather than an assassin yet with their strength and brutality, do not face the same mental barriers of killing others.

Aside from the elementals, there is one group of witches so rare to humans that they are believed to be extinct: telepaths. However, that isn't exactly true. A telepath's gift is unable to be seen and as such, even when received around the age of 9, may not be known for a longer extent, especially depending on the gift. A telepath born with the ability to read minds will catch on quickest with a soul communicator being right behind, but those with the ability to read the future may not see the future often and when they do, it may be in a dream, making them not know for years. On top of this, not every witch, although rare, is born with a gift. However, being born without a gift is more common than telepathy, and as such, many of the witches with these gifts believe that to be the case for a long time.

My mother was a telepath, having the ability to read minds. She was kind and sincere, to a point she should have been born an air user, even so, people came to harm her and with that, she was killed. She promised she would be back while hiding me away, but knew better, even so, I know she fought with all she had. Cause even knowing the people's intentions, she didn't know the future; all she knew was she had to protect me.