In the deep realm of the immaterial, the spirit of Gaia floated blissfully. She was smiling and happy, as her newest champions had awoken, doing her will as it had been done in ages past. She sighed as she slept, feeling a sense of pride and contentment in that moment. It did not last, as another sensation rippled through this trackless void, one of urgency and alarm.
The moment it touched Gaia, she knew what was going on. A small part of her panicked, as what she sensed was something she had felt before. But at that time, she had great champions who were more than up to the task of dealing with such a threat. Now, she worried that this old enemy would snuff out the fire she had taken the time to cultivate.
Gaia would not allow this, as she had worked too hard and waited for too long to let this traitor come back unchallenged. While she knew her champions didn't have the strength to defeat the Dark Witch outright, together, they stood a chance. Pulling together what magic she could in her state, she let it build up before unleashing it in a brilliant blast of power.
It arced away from Gaia, filtering out to every form of magic that was tied to her. With the magic, she sent a message that she hoped her disciples would hear. It would reach everyone who practiced magic for certain, but whether they heard it or did anything about it, was up to them. She hoped to the divine of the cosmos that her message was heard and that her champions would answer the call.
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Aaliyah Wilson lay in her bed, next to her husband Darnell, as they enjoyed a rare morning in. Their kids were still asleep and snoozing like rocks, which was the plan the couple had all along. It tapped their energy reserves a bit, but the morning of pure silence was too blissful to not enjoy. Aaliyah smiled as she started to come to full wakefulness until she felt the magical pulse surge through her.
"Wha—" she gasped as she sat bolt upright in her bed.
"What the fuck?!?" came the voice of Darnell right next to her, as he woke a few seconds later.
"You felt that too?" she asked him.
"Yeah! It felt... like panic!" the man rumbled, his normally placid voice now laced with worry and fear.
"That was... a warning?! At least, that's what it felt like," the ebon skinned woman sighed as she tried to make sense of what she felt and heard in her head.
"Maybe if we meditate, we might get a clearer answer?" her husband suggested.
"I can always trust my warrior to help me sort things out!" she told him affectionately.
"And I can always trust my witch to guide us in the direction we need to go," Darnell said to her as they got out of bed.
The pair of them headed to the spare room, which, as far as their kids knew, was their 'office'. In truth, what they called their 'office' was a training room and meditation chamber. Both Darnell and Aaliyah were far more than what they appeared to the outside world. The fact was that they were both servants of Gaia, but each one served her in their own way.
Aaliyah was a witch, but not the typical type of witch you would think of. She was part of a coven of witches known as the Defenders of Yggdrasil. They were dedicated to protecting nature and maintaining the balance Gaia had set forth. While they didn't draw their magic from Gaia per se, each member of the coven was a staunch defender of all life. In their eyes, all life was sacred and deserved to be safeguarded.
The Defenders of Yggdrasil took their duty very seriously, as few had their level of fervor. They even went so far as to make a Blood Pact upon their initiation as a way of demonstrating their loyalty to Gaia. But her coven was nearly gone because of circumstances that saw them persecuted over the centuries. While the coven had endured, they were dying a slow death, as Aaliyah was the last of her coven.
Darnell, while also a Gaian himself, he too was different in the manner where he didn't use magic. Magic flowed through him, but to augment his already impressive physical prowess. He had honed his body and mind to near perfection, attaining the pinnacle of what humanity could achieve. Once he reached this point, he was then tested and after he passed this test, he was inducted into the Zulu Brotherhood.
The Zulu Brotherhood were a group of warriors, who dedicated their lives to ensuring that Gaia was kept safe and alive. Their main way of doing so was to bring war and strife to the doorstep of whomever threatened the goddess. Over the centuries, their methods had evolved, just as they had, but they too were in a decline.
While they had declined over the last thousand years, they kept their vigil, doing everything they could to keep the goddess safe. Their numbers were too few to affect any real change. It was believed by the last remaining elders that they would soon see the end of their order. Refusing to believe it, Darnell had left his home in search of answers. It seemed that fate had plans for him, as he soon crossed paths with Aaliyah.
The pair of them were at odds initially, but soon realized that they served the same goddess. The time that followed saw them stand and fight together through many trials, tribulations, and adventures. Some of the enemies they had fought were after them, or more specifically, their lives. These enemies did their best to end them, but that they were here today was a testament to their prowess and resilience.
Once they realized they were better together than they were apart, was when they began to fall in love with each other. Darnell remembered those days fondly, as they were some of the best days of his life. He was certain that Aaliyah remembered them in the same way, as he often caught her looking over their old tools and weapons. Though same could be said for him, as he too missed those days.
While they still trained themselves relentlessly, they couldn't go out and take up the fight like they used to. Since Aaliyah had gotten pregnant, they had taken up fights at a less frequent pace than they had in their earlier years. They had both agreed that once children entered the picture, that they would be the main priority over anything else.
That didn't mean that they had just abandoned their duties and become normies like the rest of humanity. The Witch and the Warrior would still go out from time to time to combat evil, but that was when they could find a babysitter! Though their kids were no longer babies, they still had to be looked after. If their respective families were still alive, they would have been the first people to call.
As it was, the pair of them had to rely on the goodwill of co-workers at their day jobs and whoever they could find that they trusted. Such a list was quite small, as the pair of them had used their abilities to suss out the undesirables. A few babysitters they'd interviewed had a good swath of darkness about them, which was never welcome in their home.
Though it wasn't the type of work they'd normally do, they found ways to out this darkness to the authorities. One babysitter, who had been a teenage boy, was a pedophile in the making, going by what they detected. While tricky, they found a way to expose him, and he was put away in short order. There were also other such undesirables lurking in the neighborhood who were hiding in plain sight.
