The Good Witch

Perenelle, the 'Good Witch' whose rise signaled the fall of Wizards, was born out of a Source. A Wellspring of magic that the evil Wizard Agathodaemon had been hunting, desperate to take for his own, gave birth instead to his ruin. She was clothed in starlight, a staff forged from silver in her left hand. The power of the Source flowed through her veins like a river, causing her skin to glow like moonlight. She did not draw from the Source herself to fight Agathoademon, rather using her own power to drive him back to his fortress in Linder. Where she walked the fauna flourished, the stars shone brighter, and the Creative force of the world shimmered like glistening velvet.

While it is recorded fact that Perenelle the Good Witch existed, being the scion of the The Goodvich Family, The circumstances surrounding her birth are shrouded in mystery. They are, of course, nowhere near as fantastical as the myth; it is her re-birth instead that the legend depicts. Baptized as a daughter of the Creator in the waters of a Source, she emerged from the lake revitalized by its power. And while her battle against Agathodaemon and his eventual fall were longer than a single night, their ramifications still shake the foundations of history. Her 're-birth' as the First Mage allowed generations of mages to follow, and for the chokehold of Wizards on the world to finally fall away.   However, a combination of factors have led to the obfuscation of the true origin of Perenelle's power. The first is that only Perenelle, her anonymous baptizer, and Agathodaemon were present for the event. Most written accounts draw from Perenelle's description of events, although recently-unsealed transcriptions of Agathodaemon's personal notes provide another viewpoint. The second is that non-Catholic groups had particular interest in removing the 'baptism' aspect, turning a re-birth of the soul into a full birth from nothing. This was a blatant attempt to remove the Creator's hand from Perenelle's metamorphosis into the first Mage, but, as we observed above, few first-person accounts by the time of the changes led to general acceptance of the current myth.

'From Flowing Waters, Life' is the most famous piece of work depicting the birth of Perenelle, and is on display at the Poartlind Museum of the Arts. Ten feet across and painted on canvas, the art depicts Perenelle floating above a silvery lake, light from her hands driving back several crouching, black figures. Painted in the year 1157 by famous artist Gabriello Castillo, the art is considered one of, if not the most authentic source regarding Perenelle's birth.