Lymms Daily Spotlight

[Lymm]

WHITE WITCH ANNOUNCES GRAND COVEN

The nations spiritual leader, the White Witch Lady Rhiannon Hiraethog, has today announced that there will be a Grand Coven called in the coming week. A Grand Coven is an official meeting of the largest Coven leaders from across the nation and has often set out policies and guidance on moral issues. There is no scheduled meeting of a Grand Coven and the White Witch is free to call one at their discrection. There has not been a Grand Coven since 2003. It is understand that Lady Rhiannon wishes to discuss with other Witches the stances the faith will take on new scientific discoveries including such things as the "micro-brains" made in East Moreland's labs. The Grand Coven is also likely to discuss the use of the death penalty. The previous White Witch was Lady Rhiannon's mother,  Meredith Hiraethog, she was opposed to the death penalty and as such the monarch placed a suspension on the use of it. It is believed however that Lady Rhiannon is in favour of it in limited circumstances and this could likely see King Siôn IV reinstate the use of executions. Lady Rhiannon became the White Witch in 2020 and has several times discussed establishing a more centralised training programme for those leading Covens. The Grand Coven will take place at the Hiraethog family estate and likely last five days. As is tradition the monarch will attend the final day to be informed of the Grand Covens decisions on matters it has discussed.

Some have also called for the White Witch to examine ways at expanding the faith overseas. The Lymmite Wicca faith is, as the name suggests, largely confined to the nation while similar practices do occur elsewhere on Mundus. Rochelle Maden is a Coven leader and has in the past called for establishment of overseas Covens. "Our form of Wicca is the purest in Mundus. It is as close to the way the two Gods intended us to practice. We must help guide those across Mundus back into the arms of the Mother Goddess and into the protection of the Horned God. For me this should be the priority of the Grand Coven."

[Lymm]

GRAND COVEN BEGINS

The leaders of the Lymmite Wicca faith have arrived at the Hiraethog family estate to begin discussions on a wide range of topics. The meeting of the Grand Coven takes places at the whim of the faiths leader, the White Witch Lady Rhiannon Hiraethog but there has not been one since 2003. The Coven traditionally discusses a wide range of topics both concerning the future of the faith and the moral stance of the nation regarding laws. At the conclusion of the Coven, which is expected to take several days, the Grand Coven will release a "Circle Decree" which is a formal statement issued by the leadership of the faith. In total 31 leading members of the faith are in attendance and His Majesty King Siôn IV has been invited to the final day, the first time a monarch will have been part of the Grand Coven. It is expected that he will have a private one to one meeting with Lady Rhiannon and be present at the reading of the "Circle Decree". A royal spokesperson stated, "His Majesty is honoured to be invited to such a prestigious gathering and looks forward to hearing the thoughts of the Witches in attendance. While the Decree carries no political weight His Majesty is aware that the subjects of the Kingdom value the views of their religious leaders and he is looking forward to working with Lady Rhiannon and her colleagues."

Shortly after the arrival of the various leaders social media released an image of the meeting in which those in attendance, dressed in casual attire, were seated around a table working. The post prompted several comments of people surprised by the image one saying "I imagined long black robes, hoods and potions. I didn't expect a board meeting." Meanwhile another said, "I've always seen the white witch as the symbol of elegance and femininity. I never imagined her just working." In response the Media Relations office of the Lymmite Wiccan faith said, "Lady Rhiannon is a woman keen to be focused on business and not percieved formalities. We've several days of hard talk ahead and a time for formalities will come."

[Lymm]

MILITARY MAKE GESTURE TO WHITE WITCH

The Royal Household Regiment today paraded to the Hiraethog family estate in order to pay their respects to the nations spiritual leader. The Regiment brought with them a decorated goat in order to gift it to Lady Rhiannon Hiraethog who is the current White Witch of the Lymmite Wiccan faith. Traditionally a sacrifice of some sort is required during the ritual known as "Drawing Down the Gods". It is believed during this part of a Coven that the Gods will only join the spiritual gathering if offered a gift and that on special occasions an animal is needed. The Regiment, commanded by Colonel Carwyn Rice, marched from their barracks 4km away just outside the capital city Deiniolen. While the Regiment marched, its famous white aproned colour guard leading the way, hundreds of serving soldiers from other regiments lined the route to give their salute to the sacrificial goat. The gesture is one that is not required and was not ordered by the King. Colonel Rice explained the decision to carry out the gesture saying "We ask the two Gods to support and watch over the men and women who serve the nation in its armed forces. I think it only right therefore that we show our White Witch that we love and respect both the Horned God and the Mother Goddess. It is my hope that the Grand Coven will grant us a blessing and speak to the Gods on our behalf. It is only right that as the oldest military unit within the Kingdom we take the lead on behalf of our comrades."

The goat was accepted by Lady Rhiannon after the parade arrived at the families estate. She gave a blessing to those who had marched and confirmed that there would be further "spiritual engagement on behalf of the Armed Forces". A spokesperson for the White Witch stated "Lady Rhiannon is grateful for the devotion to duty of our armed forces and regardless of the gift she always keeps them in her thoughts and prayers. It was kind of the Colonel and his men to think of helping the Grand Coven and we are sure that the offering will be gleefully accepted by the Gods." After the sacrifice any animals meat is split three ways, a third left to spoil, a third consumed by those at the ritual and a third by the needy. The White Witch confirmed that the goat meat would be distributed to an old persons home specialising in care for veterans in Deiniolen.

The Grand Coven have yet to release any statements about what has been discussed however the spokesperson confirmed that today "matters of ethical science" would be on the agenda. 

[Lymm]

GRAND COVEN CONCLUDES

The first Grand Coven meeting in 19 years has concluded after King  Siôn IV had a face to face meeting with White Witch, the Lady Rhiannon Hiraethog during which he was read the "Circle Decree". After any Grand Coven a "Circle Decree" is created by the witches in attendance and issued to all Covens across the nation in expectation that the faithful adhere to its ideas.

We, the Grand Coven of Lymmite Wicca have today declared our love and loyalty to the Horned God and the Mother Goddess. We dedicate ourselves to their service and urge the world to do likewise.

We firstly confirm that there are numerous Gods but only two with the power to be considered supreme. The Horned God is the guardian of all living creatures and watches over all people on Mundus. The Mother Goddess breathes life into each and every one of us and is the originator of all life. With these two truths in mind we acknowledge that all people on Mundus are the children of these two Gods and thus equal. We urge all people to accept this truth and reject the hatreds of racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia.

We next witness that the powers of the two Gods can be harnessed by the practioners of Wicca. There are many forms of Wicca but they lack the purity of the manner practiced here within the borders of Lymm. As such we shall from this day forward refer to our faith not as Lymmite Wicca but as simply Wicca. We live in the hope that other practioners of Wicca read our teachings and acknowledge the White Witch as the true guardian of the ways and powers of the Two Gods.

Next we affirm that life begins at the moment of conception. The Mother Goddess places life into the womb at that point and as such life has begun. We therefore state that nothing should be done to end life growing inside a mother unless not doing so would risk the mothers life. The mother is the centre point of the family. She acts as care-giver, teacher and is the spiritual leader of the unit and as such losing her would damage the family unit beyond repair. We believe that measures can, and should, be taken to avoid pregnancy when it is not desired and each person be responsible for such matters.

Modern society is one that is putting upon young people unnecessary pressure to grow up quickly. Children should be given time to be children. A child becomes an adult having celebrated their 18th birthday. The community should and must take steps to preserve the rights of children to be children.

While all life is sacred as it is a gift from the Two Gods there are times when it is permissible to withdraw that life. We believe any individual who lacks the respect for the concept of life being sacred forfeits the right to their own life. The Wicca faith wishes that no individual be denied their life arbitrarily but should evil exist it must be driven out much as how we witches drive evil spirits from our ritual circles. Such punishments must be carried out swiftly and with compassion in order to restore the natural order.

The best way to create a better Mundus is by raising to the challenges it presents. This requires ever greater knowledge. While the Witches of the Wiccan faith are mastering the spiritual knowledge required on Mundus we must continue to perfect our secular knowledge. This must be done by greater global access to education. New technologies must be carefully examined to ensure that they do not pose a long term risk to our physical existence but also our connection with the Two Gods. We must above all ensure that we harness new ideas, technologies and sciences to protect the planet that the Two Gods have placed in our care. We are currently failing at that.

We recognise there are those who are born in a manner they wish they were not. The Mother Goddess creates all life and this life is as the Gods intend. While we can change our physical form our spiritual form shall forever remain the way the Mother Goddess intended. For each soul the Mother Goddess has created a perfect companion. The Wicca faith shall forever join these souls in marriage in a manner of hand fasting much as the way the Horned God and Mother Goddess are binded. While other joinings of love and companionship can take place they are not recognised as perfect in the manner of a companionship mirroring the Gods.

In the past two years the witches of the Wicca faith have lost trust in His Majesty King Siôn IV. He has in the two years done much to maintain Lymm but has done little to grow it. We believe that while he has lost trust this is far from unrecoverable. The witches of the Wicca faith believe that he is a just and pious man who loves the Two Gods. He must though cease his inward view of the world. He stands as King of the most holy nation on Mundus and the home of the true Wiccan faith. This casts into his hands the duty to guide a nation of people to a greater future. We call for him to work with members of our faith to push the Kingdom of Lymm towards a stronger and better future. We shall stand beside him and guide him to ensure this happens. We have seen how other Kings following Gods foreign to us and lesser to the Two Gods have pushed their nation to the forefront of Mundus and King Siôn IV must emulate them and will do so.

We have called for all spirits and Gods to bless the followers of our faith. We are hopeful that the Grand Coven shall become a meeting that takes place every four years.

The Circle has been closed.

In response to the Circle Decree King Siôn IV released his own statement saying, "The White Witch has provided guidance to me and I enjoyed a frank and open discussion on many issues. The Grand Coven is something that is important to Mundus and especially us. I shall tomorrow meet with my council and relay what myself and Lady Rhiannon have discussed. I would be a fool to ignore what he leader of our faith, the true faith, has said. She has placed a great challenge on my shoulders and I must now do everything within my power to raise to that challenge."

The Grand Coven has seemingly been well received by the faithful with various online polls giving it approval ratings of between 70 and 80%. A handful of the faithful have stated that many believe it is to vague and ambiguous. Interestingly following the Circle Decree the Kings approval rating has dropped slightly among older citizens but increased among those under the age of 30. It is believed that older citizens are more likely to believe the White Witch should be running the nation while the young believe King Siôn IV should be given a chance to push the nation forward.   

[Lymm]

QUEEN'S E-MAIL ON COVEN LEAKED

Following a series of ransomware attacks across Mundus reported by many media outlets several significant news sources across the Kingdom today received what appears to be a private e-mail from Queen Glenice. The e-mail, which is highly critical of the White Witch, was contained within a series of other e-mails that included replies to requests for interviews and comments in support of charities that the Queen supports. Later in the day the Palace confirmed that it was "likely" that the e-mail had "originated from within the Queen's account."

The e-mail states that "The Grand Coven wasn't anything but a hatchet job designed to get the White Bitch a tighter strangle hold on the crown. She's got her hand so far up poor Siôn backside he's practically a ventriloquist dummy. He's frightened to make any decision for it being the wrong one and its her fault. She should piss off back to her mansion and eat some eye of newt or something." The message was sent to close friend Lady Isadora Nettles who did not, as far as we can tell, send a reply. The White Witch is held in very high regard by the majority of the nation and while acting as spiritual leader of the nation is viewed by many as the actual leader of the government. In a recent statement released following a multi day meeting of the nations leading religious leaders the White Witch had released a statement saying that leaders of the faith "have lost trust in His Majesty King Siôn IV." The e-mail was sent the same evening.

While the White Witch, Lady Rhiannon, has yet to publicly make any comment about the e-mail another leading Coven Mother, Rosalind Jerrow, said "The Queen has made her position very difficult. As a member of the Wicca faith she knows all too well the great responsibility and power that Lady Rhiannon posses. She has guided our faith these past two years expertly since the unexpected death of her mother. Meanwhile the King and Queen have done little more than enjoy the trappings of a royal lifestyle. Lady Rhiannon is out there day after day offering true guidance to the people and a helping hand. She has turned the full apparatus of the Wicca faith to helping those who need it the most meanwhile our King has not suggested one social reform. We are seeing a time come when I for one would support the White Witch calling for the King to be replaced and with  Prince Meredydd being just 13 years old I would then like to see Lady Rhiannon act as regent for the next five years. Its that bad." Others meanwhile have called for the King to be given more time and understanding, Corinna Mencal is the Coven Mother in Peterholme and said, "We've seen two years of Lady Rhiannon busying herself getting things within her control sorted. Meanwhile perhaps a lack of communication about what she hopes the King would do took place. Now the King has very clear guidance. I would hope he would act on our thoughts and suggestions in the coming days. While to date I would rate his reign 4/10 I think he has great potential and now needs to release it. The Kingdom have never seen the political mayhem of the White Witch and the monarch dying in the same year. Its going to take time to get things moving forward and building relationships between secular and spiritual worlds. Almost two years have passed and now I feel we're good to go. I think the King should be given at least the next 12 months to see what he can do and we Coven Mothers should get behind him."

The Royal family attend Coven in the Grand Sanctuary of Deiniolen on the final Friday of every month and this is usually taken by the White Witch. It is likely this months attendance will be watched closely by the media. 

[Lymm]

"SECULAR NEW YEAR" MARKED IN CAPITAL

Deiniolen held a huge fireworks display over the cities medieval castle tonight as  King Siôn IV joined crowds to celebrate the New Year. The event was well attended and a party atmosphere filled the streets in the countdown to midnight. The celebrations however did not include the White Witch, Lady Rhiannon Hiraethog, who while absent did send a message to be read before the King gave his own address to the crowd. The White Witch said "I wish everyone in attendance all the best for the next orbit around the sun. While we have reached the start-finish line for some in the nation others of us will be waiting until Samhain. The peaceful diversity of our nation in all forms is a delight to see be it ethnically, racially or religiously. I wish everyone a fun evening and a hang over free morning."

The King meanwhile said "As we mark the beginning of 2023 I am happy that we can celebrate together. The darkness of midnight will be broken by the beautiful light of the fireworks we are about to watch and it acts as a reminder that even in the hardest times there will one day be light. As a nation our 2022 has been rather a quiet one. In 2023 we must emerge from the darkness we have formed around ourselves. It is my hope that in 12 months time as we complete this lap around Mundus we will be joined on the streets of Deiniolen by visitors from around the world. Happy New Year to all." The stark contrast between the way Lady Rhiannon and King Siôn have addressed the New Year was commented on by some "Did the King just ignore the Wheel of the Year?" one asked meaning he seemingly was ignoring the Wicca calendar. 82% of Lymmites follow the Wicca faith and many of the thousands in the capital tonight represented the Christian community who have just celebrated Christmas. The shops of the nation have seen a huge boost this month as while the 12% of the nation that are Christian celebrated Christmas the rest of the nation celebrated Yule.

The King has been criticised by many for a lack of involvement on the international stage and has faced the criticism of the highly respected White Witch on several occasions.