Vitam et Mortem Origins: Witches & Hunters of Ancient Greece

BrookeDi

BrookeDi

Well-Known Member
Benefactor
Thousands of years ago, it began; no one knows how it started, just that one day there were people, people with certain abilities who quickly rose above the rest.

They weren't gods, but many believed that they were the product of a human procreating with a god: Demigods. They had many things in common: these people could make what was not there, suddenly appear, they could make things disappear, come to life, change shape. And many of them could control the elements, see the future, or control animals. Then there were others who were stronger, faster, and often the ones behind most discoveries in philosophy and astronomy.

Later these two types of people would be called witches and Hunters, respectively. Together, they improved the quality of life for Ancient Greece. They fought in wars and against rogue creatures that threatened life and livelihood and more of them were maturing into their abilities every day! Many were children of these already special individuals, but not all.

They were heroes.

Lifted onto the highest pedestals, these people were adored and adulated, revered for their abilities... That is, until they could no longer deliver.

Previously they had known the right combination of herbs and words that could heal even the most deadly of all illnesses. Amathea, a talented healer, was faced with an illness she did not recognize, one she could not heal. Worse still, it spread from person to person, nearly impossible to stop. The only ones who weren't affected? These beings they had worshipped for so long.

At the same time, the locusts came in droves. The witches did their best to send and keep them away, but they failed.

Many began to blame these magical beings, shun them even. These demigods had brought disease and famine upon them, they were not to be trusted. None of their kind were.

So high they had been lifted, that by the time they realized they were falling, it was too late. Their pedestals had been snatched from beneath them and when they finally hit the ground? They landed hard.

This is their story:​
 
Last edited:
Amathea

The healer looked at the young girl who lay on her cot, sweating with fever. It had previously lifted and she appeared to have been getting better, until Amathea was woken in the middle of the night by the parents. The mother, pounding on her door and the father carrying his sick child in his arms. "She was so much better this afternoon," Andreas had told her before his wife interrupted. "Then she became hysterical and fainted, she has been feverish ever since." She'd quickly ushered them all in, laying the girl down on her own bed.

The fever was a symptom, not the illness. The best Amathea had been able to do since their arrival, was make her comfortable. Pressing the back of her hand to the girl's forehead, she sighed. It was better, but barely. Her oil lamp flickered and Amathea caught sight of... something peeking out from the girl's dress, on her shoulder. Bending down for a better look, she found a white spot had formed. It was lined with red and looked ugly and swollen. When she swiped her cloth across it, the boil-like spot burst and yellow goo oozed from her yellowed skin causing her to cry out. Amathea breathed in, hard. She had never seen something like this before and as she looked closer... the girl was covered in more of them.

The girl, Maia, opened her eyes to look at Amathea. The whites of her eyes had turned a greenish yellow. "Help me," she whimpered and as she met the healer's heart broke for she knew not what to do.

"I'm trying," She whispered back, trying not to wake the parents who had fallen asleep, huddled together against her bedroom wall. "I'm trying."
 
Lais

A small flame danced in the darkness, shades of gold and scarlet illuminating a small section of pathway that a young girl sat cross-legged on. A cold, daunting breeze soaked through her clothing, and goose bumps erupted across her pale, dirty skin. The flame went out.

A snap. The flame and it's comforting heat returned.

There was no torch or stick for the fire to eat away. Instead, it grew on the small tip of an eleven year old's finger. It would flicker occasionally and could grow no larger, but Lais' intense concentration kept it there, her dark eyes trained intently on the bright colours.

Her concentration kept her from hearing the heavy footsteps of a man approaching, and it was snatched away completely when one of his hard, calloused hands grabbed onto her arm and yanked her up to her feet. "You must be sick." The soldier had a gruff voice and a firm grip, and despite Lais' struggling, he began to pull her down the street.

Lais' barely kept up with the man, and more often than not her bare feet were dragging against the flagstone that made up their roads. "Let go!" She struggled and willed that flame to come back, but it did not.

"Amathea!" The soldier had no regard for anyone that was already in the healer's home as he shoved the door open and pushed Lais inside. "Make sure she's fixed or dead before you let her out of this building." His voice boomed, and he surely woke the parents of the dying girl in the other room.
 
Last edited:
Amathea

She was in the middle of bathing little Maia when her front door was thrown open and another young girl shoved inside. Amathea jumped and whirled around, the parents too jumped at the sudden and loud noise, grasping at each other terrified. She said nothing until the soldier left, only sighing at the youth standing just inside her doorway. "Well come in, Lais, and make yourself useful." The healer instructed, gesturing to the pot that was simmering over a small fire. "Make sure that fire doesn't go out and when it's boiling bring some to me in that bowl there." She indicated the nearby wooden bowl.

Lais is not sick; in fact, Amathea knows exactly what the poor thing is going through, but now is not the time to discuss it. Instead, she resumes the bath she'd been giving Maia. The salve she'd applied and was currently wiping away had seemed to help the sores that had appeared all over, but there were constantly more and more she was finding. Amathea could not keep up and she worried that she would not be able to save the girl. While she worked on the bath, she whispered a quiet word and with a flick of her wrist, the front door quietly locked and another set of whispered words awakened an alarm she had on the edge of her property, something to alert her to anyone who might soon approach. It was slowly becoming more and more dangerous than it used to be.

"Who were you thieving from this evening," she chatted amicably with the newest guest in her home, winking at the other two to indicate the young girl was nothing for them to worry about.
 
Lais

She grumbled under her breath when Amathea immediately gave her a job to do, but listened. Amathea was possibly the only adult Lais listened to, and that was because the healer was always the one there whenever she got into trouble, and that was quite often.

The fire didn't falter once as she waited for the pot to boil, and she wished it did so she could try her trick again. Once it began to boil, she grabbed the bowl that was sat on the floor near it and used the ladle that had been placed in it to fill it up.

"I wasn't thieving from anyone this time, promise!" She giggled as she walked to where the healer was working on the girl and handed her the bowl, "I was just sitting there when that old man grabbed me. He never lets me have any fun." She tried not to look at Maia too much, but she was curious. There had been word of a sickness brewing, and Lais had a few friends who'd fallen sick, but one day they were rounded up by the soldiers and taken to some other healer. She didn't know what happened after that.
 
Amathea

She paused in her ministrations, to touch the top of Lais' head and then cup her chin, "I'll get you something to eat in just a bit." She promised in a low voice before taking the bowl. Again, the words she whispered were quiet and indistinguishable, but the boiled broth changed to a dark purple and cooled instantly. Helping the near unconscious Maia sit up, she lifted the bowl to her lips, forcing her to drink from it, pausing occasionally to have Lais wipe at her mouth for any broth that might not have made it into her mouth.

"Glad to hear you were behaving yourself this time around." She commended. "I want you to meet with a friend of mine, tomorrow morning. I think he can help you out some." Her eyes flickered to the boiling pot of broth, "He's a little rough on the edges, but I think you'll get along eventually, but I want you to give him a chance, for me. Okay?"
 
Lais

She grinned when Amathea said that she would get her food and leaned back to sit on her haunches. She continued to help her as the healer helped Maia, and she couldn't help but notice when Amathea would mumble something under her breath. It peaked Lais' curiosity, but it wasn't the time to ask what she was doing.

"I guess I can try to get a long with him." Lais chirped, moving to sit fully on her knees once they were finished helping Maia eat. She blinked up at the woman, wondering who this friend was that she would be meeting. She wasn't nervous about it, though, there was no way he could be that bad if Amathea was friends with him. A part of her did wonder what she meant by saying he could help her; she didn't need any help.

She watched as the healer helped Maia back to the cot.
 
Amathea

Sighing, she settled the young girl into the bed, covering her with a blanket. It was the best she could do at the moment, giving the girl a peaceful sleep with little pain. At the moment, there was little she could do to help until she could figure something else out. With Maia and her parents asleep, she moved out of the small room, leading Lais with her so she could fulfill her promise of something to eat.

Ladling the broth into a larger bowl, she whispered another few words and it was cleaned of the medicine. She nudged Lais into a chair at her small table, and placed in front of her an empty bowl and a clean plate. Moments later there was warm bread topped with warm cheese and she filled the bowl with a warm soup of chicken and vegetables.

Never mind how it was made so quickly. With the food now on the table, Amathea finally took a seat. "His name is Nuncvadam, the friend I want you to see." A name that might not be unfamiliar to the youth that sat before her as he's generally celebrated for his ability with fire as well as the other things he's helped make happen within the community around Greece. "I'll let him know you'll be seeking him out, then?"
 
Lais

With her stomach growling so fiercely it could rival a chimaera, Lais didn't argue as she plopped onto the chair that Amathea had motioned her to sit on. "You're the best." She grinned up at the healer as an abundance of food was placed in front of her, and her hunger blinded her from the speed of which it had gotten there. How did Amathea make it so quickly? Whatever. She pushed a bit of food to the side, which she would place in the fire later for the gods (that was one of the few things her mother taught her to do before she died), and then dug in.

"Nuncvadam," she repeated with a full mouth, pausing for a brief second to look up at Amathea. "I've 'eard a 'im." Her words were barely understandable, but Lais would rather drown in the River Styx than stop eating just to talk. The food made her feel warm and secure, something she hadn't felt since the last time she was in this chair, which was probably only a week or so before, but that felt long enough.

"I guess I'll go see him." She swallowed and leaned back in the chair, thoroughly debating whether or not to eat the portion she left for the gods. It's not like they needed it. "Where would he be?" She asked, turning herself away from the plates in front of her.
 
Amathea

While Lais was busy stuffing her face full of food, Amathea went digging in her icebox (literally a box with ice that kept her food from spoiling) and by the time Lais was done eating a warmed piece of apple pie would take the place of the consumed food.

At the question, the healer rolled her eyes. "You can usually find him somewhere around the Agora near Market Hill, showing off as usual." She cleaned up the dishes that Lais had already cleaned, placing them into a bucket to be washed. "Listen, there's something else I have been wanting to talk to you about, for a few days now." She took a seat across from Lais, face serious.

"Changes are coming, have been happening for a few years now. Living on the streets the way you do is no way for a young girl to live and it won't be... safe for long. On top of that, illness has been increasing and I need help. I thought that you could assist me with small bits of healing and in exchange, I'll teach you some of what I know and give you a place to sleep and food to eat."
 
Lais

"I don't know how you have so much food," Lais promptly began shoveling the apple pie into her mouth, and she nearly forgot to listen to Amathea as she continued eating. "Oh yeah, he's always there. Not really fair that when he stands there playing with fire the soldiers just let him be, but anyone else nooooo." She muttered disdainfully, taking her eyes off her plate to look up at the healer as she sat down across from her.

What the healer said made Lais pause eating and raise a brow. Amathea had never been so serious with her before, and it was somewhat disconcerting. She shuffled in her seat, but then stopped. It would be nice to have a place to stay, and Lais had helped Amathea a few times before, there was no reason for her to be nervous.

"I'll try my best." She grinned at the healer and finished off her apple pie.
 
Amathea

"I stockpile," Amathea explained, indicating the icebox where she'd grabbed the pie from. "Are you full? I have some more bread..." The healer chuckled a little at Lais' reaction. "Yes, he is used to getting special treatment, though I fear that won't last much longer for him." She wondered if the girl, too, could play with fire. She knew she was special and Nuncvadam was the best chance of teaching her anything, but even better if they shared the gift of fire.

etting out a slow, relieved breath Amathea smiled back. "I won't impose a lot of rules, because I know you are used to being an independent. Just... when I need the help be there, and try not to interrupt my sleep." She stood, then, and began wiping down the table. "I'll make up the spare bedroom for you in just a bit. For now, I have to check on little Maia."

Only twenty minutes later the bed in the spare bedroom was made up and room made for any of Lais' things that she might have or soon acquire. Amathea's own bed was taken up by the sick girl, but she'd make do for the evening, sleeping on a pallet of blankets and skins, waking every thirty minutes to force feed Maia more broth and bath some of the sores from her skin and at some point in the evening, she sent word ahead to Nuncvadam that Lais would be looking for him.

The girl and her parents were still there in the morning, but before Amathea sent her young charge off for the day, Lais would be fed another hearty breakfast of lentils and toasted bread.
 
Lais

It was a bit strange to have her own bed, but Lais took no time crawling into it. Much, much better than the street. She snuggled into the bedding and it felt like only a moment until she was in a deep sleep.

She woke to sunlight peering in through the wooden shudders that covered the small window in the room. The floor was already warmed by the sun as she swung her feet off of the bed to go back to the main room, where she heard Amathea bustling around.

"Ὑπιαίνετ," Lais greeted Amathea before being sent off to eat. The lentils and bread were delicious and she scarfed them down relatively quickly, then went and cleaned off her plate. "Should I go look for Nuncvadam now?" She padded back to where the healer was to seek instruction, and after cleaning up a little bit, she was sent on her way to the Agora.

The air was already hot when Lais left the home, and the sun was quick to bear uncomfortably into her skin. Luckily, the Agora was not too far from the healers house, and there was a lot of shade there.

Amathea was right when she said that Nuncvadam would be easy to find. There was a large crowd in the centre of the clearing, and large flames kept being thrown up into the air right in the middle of it. "There he is," she mumbled to herself, beginning pushing her way through the group of people in order to try and get to him.
 
Nuncvadam

He was awoken by a gentle hop, hop, hopping on his chest while he slept. Grumbling, he swiped a palm across his sweaty face and opened his eyes to be greeted, face to face, with a bird. A dove, to be exact. "Amathea," he grunted, sitting up so suddenly that the bird squawked and flew to a corner until both human and bird had settled. Ignoring the bird, the fire maker wandered for a cup and went outside to get a drink of water before returning. One hand he held the cup he drank from and the other he extended to the dirty animal. "Well, come along then." Persephone, who was actually a rather nice looking bird, flew down from her perch and landed upon Nuncvadam's arm, and looking rather prissy about it, too.

"Now, what does that little witch want?" He said with more fondness than he meant, putting aside his water and with surprising gentleness he took the papyrus and unrolled it to read through the short note. The words left him smiling and he quickly sent the bird on its way. Amathea was sending him an audience. The idea of teaching a little homeless brat was not appealing, but a chance to show off, to be revered by yet another? That called to him.

He was eager to get to the Agora the next morning, but he took his time. As usual, his mere presence managed to gather a bit of a crowd, a following, and he talked onto them about his own Philosophical thoughts. He liked to think he was making the world a better place, not just through his god-like abilities, but by sharing his thoughts on the world. He liked to believe that long after he was gone, people would share his expressions and opinions and marvel at them...

Eventually, though, they all wanted to see a show of the magic and he refused to disappoint the public. With a chuckle as if he hadn't to be asked to show them, he stood apart from those who had gathered and in the distance. Inhaling deep he blew out a huge breath and from it came a ball of fire that extended into a long flame. He repeated the image, but this time fire grew into flames from his bare palms.
 
Lais

A huge, billowing flame lashed out toward the crowd just as the young girl nudged her way to the very front. Did that come out of his mouth? Lais had heard about the man and the spectacles he liked to put on, but she'd never cared much to watch him. She watched him curiously, blinking up at the large man. She had sort of expected him to have hair, but maybe he burnt it all off by accident.

As fire shot from Nuncvadam's hands, Lais stared down at her own small palms. She wiggled her fingers and looked back up at what the man was doing. He didn't really seem to be doing anything. Fire was just shooting from his palms.

She looked back at her own and flexed her fingers. A spark shot out of her right palm, and then it blistered into a small flame that was only about the size of her thumb. It wiggled, and faltered every so often, but it was there. For a split second, it grew slightly larger, but then went out completely. A couple bystanders had noticed Lais' fire and backed up, leaving about a foot between her and the others, but she went to step back into the crowd when she couldn't conjure anymore.
 
Nuncvadama

He spotted the little girl and her small flame even before the crowd made room for her. He didn't know whether it was humility that sent her back into the crowd, or if it was the fact that her small flame had died out. However, one thing was clear, Amathea's instincts had been correct there was definitely some sign of power in her.

His eyes sought the eyes of the young girl and if she looked up at him, he'd wink before covering himself in flames completely, head to toe, and when the fire died out he was gone, standing several feet away. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you've all got plenty to do today, so I will see you around." He waved a little, but then gestured for Lais to come with him as the crowd began to disperse.
 
Lais

Her eyes went wide when the man winked at her before completely covering himself in fire. The crowd groaned when he dismissed them, and Lais was nearly swept away by them as they all started leaving to do their own things. She was going to let it happen until she saw him gesture toward her and she nudged her way back up to him.

"That was pretty cool," she grinned as she stood in front of him, "you're Nuncvadam, right?"
 
Nuncvadam

He grinned back, "It was, wasn't it." He agreed, beginning to walk through the Market. He was starving and some fresh fruit sounded good right about now. "That would be me and you, little one, must be Amathea's friend, yes?" He offered up a warm, bronzed hand for Lais to shake. "I saw your trick back there."
 
Lais

She quickened her pace so that she could fall in step beside him as he started to walk. "I'll grow," she grumbled when he called her 'little one'. "But yes, that's me," Lais added, grabbing onto the hand that Nuncvadam held to her. "My name is Lais." She attempted a firm shake before retracting her hand at the mention of the small flame she'd produced during his show. "That's all I really know how to do," her grin dropped slightly, "but I'm trying to get better at it."
 
Nuncvadam

"Ah, I think that is something I can help out with." He snapped his fingers and opened the palm of his hand to reveal a dancing flame there. The flame broke apart and became two little fire figures: a larger, muscled figure and a smaller, slimmer figure; the two of them.

The fire Nuncvadam began to do little tricks, and the smaller flame figure copied them. "Amathea thinks that I should be teaching you, but before I agree I have to ask." he paused and leaned a bit so that he could look Lais in the eyes, "Is that the only thing you've been able to do or have you noticed... other things?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top