Ward Weaver (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

PROLOGUE

At one time, the old families of England had some magical or power abilities.

The power, however, was based on nature.

Those who could work the power were able to heal, nurture and grow plants, cause rain, start fires, and other small abilities connected directly to nature.

As society became more civilized, these abilities began to disappear, mostly because they were no longer used.

Besides the ability to heal and influence the growth of plants, most of the power seeped out of the family line and returned to the earth from where it was believed to have originated.

Only two families, one following the matriarchal line and one the patriarchal line, could wield power that did more than that which influenced nature.

In the female line, one descendant per generation held the power to weave strong wards meant to protect.

Many times, she also possessed other power abilities, but this one was the most powerful.

In the male line the ability was to destroy - not just destroy but eradicate.

Unfortunately, the male turned his focus to the elimination of the Brownie race which was older than man.

Over time, this focus was believed to have restricted the power within that male family so they could only perform their power on brownies.

An enmity arose between the two family lines, and even though neither knew the identity of the other family, they worked against each other; one to protect and one to destroy.

This antagonism never diminished. On the female side, they had attempted many times to identify the opposing family, but only so they knew who they were working against. On the opposite side, the males also attempted to identify their enemy because they wanted to eradicate them.

It would have made their task of ridding the world of all brownies easier if no wards were woven for protection.

The two opposing forces never met, never learned the identity of the other, but continued on their set course.

And so, it continued through the ages.