Dark Desires of the Druids

I have a hugely long (now cut) prologue from this that explains the verse, the current happenings, and even alludes to the trilogy arc of books 1-3. I'm glad I cut it. *G*

Still, for any who care, here it is:

Prologue

Magicks were on trial.

The laws of the land changed and with these changes came a new religious and societal landscape. No more did the temples of old remain standing; no more were the icons of another belief or another way of life to be displayed freely without fear of persecution.

For thousands of years magicks coexisted with current thought, adapting to fit each new wave that spread across the lands. The year was 1478. A new order arose, spearheaded by those in power and fearful of magicks. The leaders of this cause chose their primary targets carefully; the Arcane Masters, leaders of the old ways.

Hand in hand with the European Great Inquisition came The Purifications.

Those who practiced Magicks, whose mysticism placed them in a position of authority, were tried, sent to the dungeons of Europe, and eventually to death. It did not take long for the practitioners of the old ways to go into hiding.

Druids - by ancestry, power, and knowledge - were the leaders of all magickal peoples, and quickly became the prioritized target of those who would later display the title Witch Hunter with pride and arrogance. Magickers were hunted with impunity, declared traitors against crown and religion.

Their dead bodies were prominently displayed for the masses to revile.

Seeing both their cultural and magickal centers destroyed, their people hunted no matter age or ability, the weak of their kind turned against them for monetary gain. The gypsies, who had broken away from Druidic temples centuries ago in a vain attempt to harness the inherent magickal power of the earth themselves, were among the first collaborators.

Their underdeveloped magickal abilities gave them enough insight as Trackers, and their hatred of those who wielded more than they, gave them enough need for vengeance for the Hunters to use. Their job was to seek and identify those with greater Magicks than their bands, to find the Masters.

But the betrayers were eventually betrayed.

The large gypsy clans that once roamed the Earth culled to a mere handful, just enough to give the Hunters their pawns should the need for further Purifications arise.

The Arcane Masters were few in number; at most, at any given time, there were possibly two hundred the world over. Within the first year of the Purification, fifty-nine were found, murdered, and displayed.

Some managed to evade their attackers, among them were leaders of the Druidic Council. A small group of the most powerful families who tend to their place in society, who keep their still fractured people secret from the world, and who teach the ways of their ancestors. They are the descendants of the Arcane Masters and Masters themselves, with them survives the last remnants of true magicks and the last hope of unlocking what was once lost.

Their current goal is to heal the rift that grew wider with each passing year between pure Druids and their gypsy brethren. And to keep well below the sight of the new Witch Hunters.