Marilyn Yates came from a unique coven of Necromancers. They were an all female coven who believed men provided little to life beside their seed. It was soon Marilyn’s turn to leave the coven, find her seed giver, and to return with the hope of continuing the legacy. She did just that, meeting a man named Alfred Winston. He was a much older male then her, in more ways than Marilyn knew. She met him at a library of all places and the pair just clicked. Marilyn fell head over heels for the man and before she knew it, the pair were pregnant, but being from the Yates coven complicated her love torn heart.

The fear of her coven finding out that she fell in love with her seed giver was great. In the Yates coven if one fell in love with their seed giver death would be brought upon the seed giver, the coven member, and their child.So one evening she left him a note and escaped into the night on the verge of giving birth. She had hoped the child would be a boy and she could return him to Alfred and try with another. Returning to her coven, she didn’t have a moment to breathe as labor set in on the Necromancer. Hours passed and Marilyn gave birth to Monica, a beautiful baby girl. The coven celebrated as another female child had joined their numbers.

While Marilyn felt joy towards the daughter she gave birth to, she felt sad knowing she had lost her chance to see Alfred again. Physically, anyway. Monica was raised like any other daughter born to the coven; practicing the dark arts along with being raised with the outlook of the non-traditional life. Being born in the coven meant that they were raised in a nomadic life, never living in one place long. The young girls being raised were taught by older coven members on the lessons of life, not attending traditional schools. Monica was none the wiser of the world outside of the coven, happy to go with the flow and practice magic.

Monica had an affinity for learning magic on both sides from what Marilyn learned watching her. She had never asked Alfred what species he was, in fact, she had assumed he was human as he was older and many of the children in the coven came from human fathers. Yet Monica’s draw to both sides of magic in her youth pointed another direction. Out of fear for her daughter, the closer it got to her eighteenth birthday, the more Marilyn started to force darker practices on her daughter, including animal sacrifice to ensure that she would be accepted by the necromancers.

When Monica’s eighteenth birthday came upon her, she stood outside naked in the middle of the coven as they circled the girl. Looking up to the sky, she waited to see her faith. The sky grew pitch black and the coven started chanting and dancing around her. Joining them, Monica felt the new found power flowing through her. That was the night things changed for the coven as a man named Abraxas stumbled upon the naked women dancing, pleading for help.

The leader of the coven looked to the blood soaked nephilim and chose to help him, after all, Nephilim blood could be used to heal and it would be a good trade for them keeping him alive. Days passed as Abraxas stayed among the women, long enough to convince the leader of the coven that they should work for him and that he would provide protection if they would help him with his more magical needs. Abraxas was a charming man and had sway over the coven leader.

Soon the nomadic coven became stationed with Abraxas and his men, using their magic to hex whomever the mad nephilim wanted. Monica found herself gaining access to things she didn’t have before, such as books that were not solely grimoires. She read every book she could find until she stumbled upon one about astral projection. It was something she had heard her mother mention when Monica started to ask about her father’s whereabouts after one of the other girls said hers was dead. Her mother said that she sometimes visited him in his dreams. Monica thought if her mother could do it why shouldn’t she try.

After reading through the book she went to sleep and focused on trying to project to her father, though not having a name or face she figured it was a long shot. As she woke the next day feeling like a failure she placed the book away. It was then Abraxas caught her reading from his collection, warning her if she valued her life she wouldn’t touch the books again. Monica had never been among someone so cold, even her coven was not as cruel as this man before her. Monica kept her head down and did what was asked of her when it came to being among the Bradford kingpin.

Since the day she tried to astral project, she began to dream of an older man. They would meet at a table in a large room lined with books and he introduced himself as Alfred. Monica believing it was just a dream began to talk about her life with him. He wanted to know her whole childhood and how she was in that moment in time. For a year the man came to her in her dreams and he was a welcomed escape and a person to vent to, even if he was just a figment of her imagination. The last thing she remembered telling Alfred was that she feared the man Abraxas and what he was doing to her coven.

The next night he wasn’t there, so Monica woke in a sour mood. She heard that Abraxas took a male Fae captive and demanded an audience to show what he did with intruders, especially magic wielders. Monica joined her coven among others under Abraxas’s payroll when her eyes landed on the man. Her heart sank. Moving through the crowd she stood there staring at the Fae from her dreams, right in front of her. Her eyes stung with tears and her heart ached as she tried to process what to do in that moment.

She watched as her mother emerged from the crowd and screamed the man’s name before trying to plunge a dagger into Abraxas, only to have it thrust through her own heart. Monica screamed out as she looked to her dead mother and then the man. She watched Abraxas give her a dark grin as he turned the blade towards Alfred and she couldn’t just stand there. She portaled herself between Abraxas and Alfred taking the dagger to her back. Her body felt like nothing but utter pain as she screamed out again. Monica took hold of Alfred and portaled to the first place she could think of which was the room full of books they met in.

As they fell into the room, Monica felt the warmth on her face as she was claimed by the light in that moment for willingly accepting death for the man she saved. The darkness of death's embrace soon took its place. Death never came though, as she woke up in a room she didn’t recognize. She groaned sitting up as she moved her arm, realizing that there was no pain. She looked to the letter that was on the floor with her name written across it. Reaching down, Monica picked up the letter and began to read.

‘Dearest Monica,

I wish I had gotten to spend physical time with you, though I knew the calculated risk I was taking coming after you. I couldn’t let my daughter live in fear for her life. I just wish I had known you sooner. Your mother told me you died in childbirth in our many evenings together. In the end it doesn’t matter as you are safe now.

You are in The Archives Hall. My family has been the Guardian of the hall for centuries now; the legacy to protect all the magical items inside now falls on your shoulders as you are the last in the Winston line. The Hall is a magical building within Evermore City’s library. It is owned by Malva Ailward, the Aspect of Magic. You will find the book about the aspects to your left on the table along with the handbook on how to deal with some of the things the Hall can throw at you.

I know this is a lot to put on you, especially as I won’t be alive to train you on how to handle it. I will be using the last of my energy to keep you from dying and this is why this letter has been written so quickly my dear little Monica. I can’t explain everything. Seek out Malva. I fear that is the last advice I can give.

With all my love,

Your father, Alfred.’

Monica read the scribbled handwriting over and over again wondering why he gave his life for her if he had such an important task. Wanting to live up to the Winston legacy, she found herself reading all the books he had left in the room before finding her way through the hall. Making her way out of the labyrinth for the first time took her longer then she would admit to anyone. She managed though and sought out Malva.

Malva took in the young newly changed Fae after confirming she was the last of the Winston bloodline and would be taking up the mantel as guardian of The Archives Hall. Malva helped Monica change her name to Penelope Winston using her resources to gain all the documents the nomatic Fae needed to start a new life in Evermore. Malva also took the newly named Fare as a student. Malva could see that Penny had an affinity for learning magic quickly. Malva trained her on the Hall, changing the ownership of the Library over to Penelope’s name, with Alfred being older not many would question his passing except to those who access the hall knowing he was a Fae.

It took some time for Penny to adjust to life alone. After all, she had no coven now because returning with be a death sentence. Even though she fell into a faction, she didn’t feel a part of it. Spending much of her time in the library and hall reading and practicing magic while having been touched by both dark and light, she found she was interested by all spells. The fact that the man who killed her mother and father was still out there, Penny was determined in growing her strength till the day she could end him.