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Shape of Things to Come
Part 1:In the Fullness of Time Chapter 5
Justice with favour have I always done;
..........(Henry VI Part II William Shakespeare ) |
The truth was that for the Charmed Ones magic had taken a very different course in the last ten years than the one they followed when they first became witches. After the magic eclipse, they had slowly realised that demons stopped confronting them as a matter of routine. In fact, the few times they encountered upper-level demons, the creatures were falling over themselves to escape, sometimes quite comically. Even the lowest ranks of demons such as sludges, goblins and spites seemed to be avoiding them and these creatures were hurriedly abandoning their schemes if they became aware of even a hint of Charmed Ones intervention. This of course effectively stopped the demons from harming innocents or good creatures but the Charmed Ones could not be everywhere so the demons found enough opportunities to go about their trade, far away from them, mostly to their frustration.
Not so surprising really, the witches decided because as Phoebe said, compared to the time when they first became witches, the Charmed Ones had become so powerful that they could smite the lower ranks of demons with almost no thought.
“Premonition?” Paige asked.
“No” said Phoebe a little concerned “just reasoning and logic.”
“Then you really have no idea why” Piper snarked.
Soon after that they discovered that their summoning powers for demons were rarely effective. After several demons failed to answer their call, it became clear, that the minions of Tempus at least had some all-purpose protection from being summoned by them.
“Almost like there is a universal protection against summons from the Charmed Ones,” said Phoebe. “Yes “She added before her sisters could ask. “It’s a premonition.”
“If I did not know better, I would think the demons are sending us to Coventry” Paige mused.
They finally learned that demons had been ordered to avoid them from Phoebe’s mostly unbeloved mother-in-law, Cole’s demon mother Elizabeth, the demon Elisheeva. Elizabeth sometimes risked visiting the Manor when Cole was absent, and she knew the Power of Three was not there, probably to catch a glimpse of her grandchildren, because during her visits she bitterly complained of the horrible irony of her grandchildren being good.
During one such visit when only Piper and Phoebe were home, Piper tried to ban her from approaching the children citing the danger of her influence in the demon world. Elizabeth had angrily flipped her peek-a-boo blonde hair out of her face, and told the Charmed Ones her voice bitter, that her influence on her sect the Brotherhood of the Thorn and consequently demondom, was not what it used to be. Snorting her distaste of Tempus, Elizabeth moaned the new source had given orders that the Charmed Ones were to be kept at arm’s length, indeed Tempus was determined that the Charmed Ones were untouchable by all the minions of the source.
Therefore, Elizabeth indignantly told them, and Phoebe had reason to believe she was more or less telling the truth, that her influence arising from her connection to the witches had waned. Elizabeth bitterly complained that her perceived advantages of being related to the most powerful witches had become a liability because her fellow sect members were concerned, downright frightened, that Tempus would have his vengeance on the whole sect if he believed his orders were ignored and they approached the Charmed Ones.
“Yet here you are” muttered Piper.
Phoebe in a moment of premonition blurted out that more likely it was not her connection to the Charmed Ones that was causing the Brotherhood’s influence to wan, but as he gained power and evil Tempus was riding himself of the sway of sects and clans that had influenced his predecessor.
Elizabeth eyed her seductively “Why chickadee” she said “you do love me. Enough to warn me of the future.” She had then disappeared, presumably to find ways to ingratiate herself with Tempus, which may have worked because occasionally there were rumours of her rise in the hierarchy.
Afterwards the witches had a long discussion, and realistically assessing their powers, the Charmed Ones did not believe that it was just their magic that kept Tempus and other demons at bay because despite their increasing power they did not believe they were entirely invincible. Certainly, they had defeated his plans on several occasions but as they understood it, Tempus was becoming more and more powerful and therefore he should have been more confrontational not less.
In another moment of unconsidered truth, Phoebe reminded her sisters that the previous source had been frightened of them because it was recorded that they were his nemesis, and she wondered if something other than power was at issue. However, Paige decided that this was irrelevant because they would be long gone when Tempus time for facing nemesis came if it was true the source reigned for 500 years.
“Does he know that?” Piper murmured.
“Would any sage or priest be stupid enough to tell him?” Phoebe asked.
“You never know with demons” Paige answered. “Or how prophesies about the future really work.”
Paige and Phoebe who, after the eclipse of magic more than ten years ago, both had some suspicions of a future not quite as Charmed Ones, looked at each other then changed the subject. Whatever his reasons, Tempus had ordered the Charmed Ones off limits and it was clear he was becoming powerful enough in the demon world to insist that he be obeyed.
Another reason for the change in their magic lives was that the Charmed Ones were told by their whitelighter and Paige’s lover Mark that the elders who had ruled or rather tried to rule their lives, as they ruled other witches had given up on them.
“They have conceded that the Charmed Ones are out of their control” Mark told them. “So, what they cannot control they choose to ignore.”
All three witches were quite offended. It was one thing to quit, another to be dropped. Piper was insulted and both Phoebe and Paige were troubled at being pushed aside from the magic world they knew.
“Don’t they need us anymore?” Phoebe asked genuinely horrified.
“Perhaps not so much” Paige answered.
After considering the problem for a while she suggested that the Charmed Ones had once been given a chance to leave their callings when they got rid of the old source. Perhaps then, there was a cross road then where the good magic of the realms of the elders existed, and underlings fought evil without the Charmed Ones and still won battles….just as the balance required it. She even wondered if there was a limit to the amount of good power available to the elders in the realms they inhabited without evil also gaining. Therefore, for the Charmed Ones to remain on the frontlines of battle someone else would be lost, or evil would become greater. Better the Charmed Ones have a different role in magic.
Another change for the witches was that during the last ten years messages about enemies in the Book of Shadows stopped, but other witches also reported such messages had become rare over the last ten years too. Then Piper remembered a whisper they heard from connections to Greater Magic that these messages were often taken from the demon Book of Deeds and with the changes in demondom under the new source, she wondered if the evil recorded in the Book of Deeds was diminished whilst the new power structures were established in the underworld under Tempus’ rule.
Recently other covens had reported some changes and messages in their Books of Shadows, causing Phoebe to blurt out that Tempus and demondom were becoming more successful again. At first no messages were sent to the Charmed Ones. Then a couple of years ago some entries about demondom appeared amongst the good magic spells of protection and the herbal lore the witches recorded to help other witches. Where the messages came from, none of them were sure, but Mark swore it was not the Elders who managed the witches of the earth realms. Phoebe concluded that the Charmed Ones connections to magic were moving from the realms of the elders to different levels.
Phoebe still received premonitions but Mark was emphatic that the elders were not interested in sending them to her, so they must have come from other levels of magic too. The nature of these premonitions, many of which her sisters now described as wisdom was so distinct from her earlier premonitions sent by the Elders, ones that warned her of evil actions and individual demons, she believed him.
When they realised the elders had given up on them, Paige was very worried that maybe Mark would be ordered away but he had smiled gently. “They have given up on you. They have not given up on keeping track of you, and no other whitelighter will go near you” he told her and somehow, he managed to stay connected to them as charges without betraying the elders or the witches.
It was not to say that the Charmed Ones never fought evil or had a role in the magic world in the last ten years. Paige commenced working with young witches who came into their powers after puberty and were often completely unprepared. The sisters were also still called upon to help and protect other witches and magic creatures in nearby realms. They fought some massive battles in some of the closer realms inhabited by non-mortal magic creatures. Piper particularly knew these realms and sub-realms well because during the eclipse, she had many happy exchanges with magic creatures. The Charmed Ones tipped the balance in good’s favour in those battles and Piper had the satisfaction of knowing she repaid a debt.
Most of these conflicts were about stopping evil invading, not dealing with these creatures of magic turning evil. None of the witches believed, and Mark confirmed, that these connections came from the elders but guessed they were from Piper’s relationships to other magic realms, causing Phoebe to blurt out that the events of the eclipse indicated the direction magic was taking them in the future. They rescued fire-breathing dragons from ice demons. They saved fairies and nymphs from invasions of Nuckelavee and the Dullahan, creatures so malevolent as to be a curse on all good creatures. They helped pixies protect their moorland homes from trolls and goblins, to name a few.
There were of course accidental confrontations, warlocks never known for their braveness or wisdom were still tempted and tried to attack the witches, always to their loss. Perhaps influenced by Leo and Cole’s contempt for warlocks, the witches tended to swat these like flies as soon as they blundered into their path.
The other great change in the magic lives of the witches was that both their sister Prue and their grandmother Penny passed over, both seemingly disconnecting from their mortal lives, apparently leaving the closer earth realms. They only realised Penny had gone when the witches growing older and wiser and more powerful, no longer needed her interventions. They knew Prue had gone because her last act in the realms was to say goodbye to Piper. Piper and Phoebe found themselves forced into genuine mourning again.
Where they had gone and what happened to them the witches did not know. Francesca with her connections to greater magic kindly confirmed their passing over but would not be pulled into any further discussions. There were no new babies in the family so they concluded that neither had been resurrected as mortals and their connections to the earth realms was indeed severed.
Magic connections also became grave concerns as their children grew up. The subject of how much magic the children should use was a difficult one for all the family. Wyatt’s only magic seemed directly related to his whitelighter heritage and he could orb in the realm and throw up orb shields. He was definitely not a male witch but not quite a normal mortal. Mandy at eleven years old was still acting as an ordinary child, giving no indication what her powers would be. Patsy had as a child and a few times since, picked up floating magic powers of good, some that he could use and some that the witches knew would come at puberty.
The family had real concerns about how their children would connect to the magic world. There had been no evidence that any whitelighter was surreptitiously watching them in anticipation of them coming into full powers. However, with the family history of antipathy toward whitelighters, they all dreaded the tinkling of orbs as some new good doer whitelighter appeared. Mark when questioned said that he had not been directed to advise the children. Cole ever the lawyer pointed out there were numerous other ways Mark could have kept an eye on the children without being directed and other things he could do besides advise, and for all intents and purposes he was the family and coven whitelighter.
Melinda had reached the age when some guidance to her magic would have been helpful, but she was still relying on her family. As she grew older, she had shown her whitelighter/witch heritage made her more powerful than her Aunt Paige and as she went through puberty, her powers became more intense. To the great fear of her mother and father, who both openly considered the possibility of binding her powers, something that horrified Aunt Phoebe.
Phoebe reminded Piper and Leo about the scars Grams had left on the Charmed sisters when she denied them their inheritance and the right to grow into it. “Remember Prue and her recklessness and lack of moderation” Phoebe said to Piper which immediately brought tears to Piper’s eyes. “That might not have happened if she had been mentored into magic.”
Piper snorted.
Paige frowned and snaped “No I don’t remember Prue”.
Some wounds never healed.
Wisdom was not part of Melinda’s makeup and she did not respond well to directions and orders from her parents not to use magic to pursue her great passion for animals. They even considered banning her from that activity but Phoebe stepped in again.
“You know she will just sneak out and do worse than plan meetings and go to protests in front of consulates” Phoebe told her big sister “Remember what we were like when we were her age. And we did not know we were witches.”
“I remember what you were like when you were her age” Piper retorted not reassured. “You know how Melinda complains if anyone tells her to not use magic to help her … pursue her bloody passions along.”
“Better she is complaining to you about it, than using the powers without telling you” Phoebe insisted.
Regardless of Piper and Leo worrying, Phoebe persisted and Mark when he was present for these family arguments supported her. She believed that the children like all teenagers needed to test boundaries to learn and find their place. Paige with her experience helping young witches find their way in the magic world, encouraged by Mark, agreed. She would never forget the shock of her rapid initiation into magic, and the pain of dealing with the death and destruction unprepared. Paige insisted her nieces and nephews needed to personally deal with their magic, its limits and the dangers of using it amongst peers and the world in general, as well as that old family hoodoo of personal gain.
“Everyone in this family orbs for their own convenience” Melinda had snarled when Piper insisted that, as did all her friends, she relied on her parents or family picking her up in cars, or driving her places. Or use public transport such as, god forbid, buses or the underground.
Sadly, Melinda learnt the limits of magic the hard way. Once when she orbed a friend, she lost the friendship when the girl’s disbelieving parents had accused Melinda of providing drugs as the only explanation for their daughter’s stories. Fairly recently Melinda had also learned that no matter how powerful she was, she was never going to be powerful enough to solve all the world’s problems.
Piper tried to tell her this when her friends in her wildlife warrior group all became very angry at a fashion show that modelled a number of furs. But as usual Melinda would not listen to what Piper told her. Melinda’s animal warrior group protested loudly and got some publicity when they were arrested but the show went ahead. Melinda angry about this, late one night had orbed herself into the premises and stolen the furs to teach them a lesson.
As the things were worth a small fortune and highly controversial, there was an enormous outcry which led to a frightened Melinda tearfully confessing to her aunt Paige what she had done. Paige, who fortunately had been warned by Mark what had happened, decided to not worry her sisters, but helped Melissa quietly return them. A mystery that still confounded the San Francisco police, although not their policeman friend Darryl Morris who said a few things that Melinda did not appreciate when her mother was not around.
After Paige and Melinda arrived home, Melinda admitted to Paige what had really destroyed her as she touched the fur was that the animals were already dead and no matter what powers she had she could not return them to life. Paige wisely decided such as realisation was as much consequence as Melinda needed and did not tell her sisters or other parents in the family the real story behind the stolen furs.
Whilst their magic world was changing however, in the earth realms, the legend of the Charmed Ones kept their names on the lips of all witches. Paige’s whitelighter instincts to guide and the Charmed Ones often acted as mentors to other witches as Grams had been for them, at least Piper and Paige did.
“Only more helpful” Piper said dryly.
Phoebe actively did everything she could to avoid other witches because after her heroics in saving magic during the war in Burvjara, they tended to mythologise her and she shrunk from their hero worship.
“Passing the sword to the next generation” Paige suggested when Piper and Phoebe compared the reverence they received to almost elder status.
“I’m not old enough to be a next generation” Phoebe insisted.
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