London Coven

PHASE 1

London Coven - disbanded
Portrayed by VMaggie Smith, Gemma Aterton, Russell Tovey
Known Aliases:	Homily, Aspen, Craig
Affiliations:	X-Force
Socked By:	Rossi
Introduction:	March 2004

The London Coven is a group of magic practitioners based in England. No longer safe in London, they have scattered and have little contact with Romany Wisdom or her protegee Amanda Sefton, despite one-time close ties between them. Some have since become part of X-Force's occult network.

First Appearance

March 2004

Roster

Homily	A long-time associate of Romany's, Homily is the 'leader' of the coven, although more of a maternal figurehead. Homily is in her early sixties, with long, straight white hair and a tendency to wear flowing robe-like outfits in varying earth tones. Her speciality is healing magicks and she is known for her range of foul-tasting tonics and herbal remedies. PB: Maggie Smith
Aspen	Homily's daughter. A pretty dark-haired girl who looks younger than her age, vivacious and flirty. Her specialty is energy projection, although she has some of her mother's healing abilities. PB: Gemma Aterton
Craig	In his mid-twenties, Craig looks something like a cross between an accountant and Harry Potter. A modern mage, he sometimes clashes with Homily's old fashioned way of doing things. His speciality is technomancy - the amalgamation of technology and magic. He is the 'gadget' guy, partly responsible for Amanda's amulet. He also befriended Jonothon Starsmore during the group field trip to Europe. His current whereabouts are unknown PB: Russell Tovey

Four other unnamed members: The traditional number for a coven in thirteen, but seven is also a very powerful number. The four remaining members of Homily's coven cover other aspects of magic but never appeared in-game. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.

Details

Homily formed the coven in the early Eighties, partly as a response to Rack's ascendence in the magical community. A traditional Earth Goddess-type witch, Homily gathered six other like-minded magical practitioners in her house in the suburbs of London, forming something of a commune. Over the next twenty years, the London Coven became known as a place of healing, learning and enlightenment. The core group of seven changed over time as members either passed away or moved onto other things, but Homily remained the touchstone.

In March 2004, Romany brought a power-addicted Amanda Sefton, in need of spiritual cleansing and guidance, to the coven. Homily and her people performed a cleansing ritual which purged the ill-effects of the power absorbed from the Gem of Cyttorak and Limbo, but also inadvertently blocked the empathic link with Manuel de la Rocha. Amanda remained at the coven for several weeks, learning about the threefold rule and the consequences of magic and being treated for her addiction. It was during this time she was provided with the amulet that regulated the amount of power accessible to her mutation.

Another 'patient' was delivered in January 2005 - Manuel, suffering from the effects of Selene's attempt to wipe his mind. Romany and the coven determined Selene was maintaining a hold on the young man and performed an exorcism. During the ritual, Homily, Aspen and Romany were all targeted by Selene, using Manuel's powers. The emotional wreckage of this event created a distance between Romany and the coven, only exacerbated by Amanda's deal with Selene.

When the EOE began kidnapping magic users, Homily was one of their targets. She was rescued by the fledging X-Force and made her way to the Cotswolds, where she joined her daughter. The whereabouts of the rest of the coven is unknown.

Plots

Shadows Fall

Operation: Opening Salvo

Meta

Socked by: Rossi