Irene

**Irene** was a very powerful witch from Ancient Greece who appeared in Book 5 of the series. She's an ancestor of Adrianna and Elena Gilbert. She was also the best friend and mentor of Silas and close friend of Amara.

**Irene** was a member of the **Labonair Family** and an ancestor to the **Gilbert Family**.

## Early History

Irene was born some time during 1st century B.C.E. (100 B.C.), presumably in Ancient Greece. She was the daughter of two very powerful unnamed witches that came from two very powerful, but opposing, covens. The second born of both covens were the most powerful of each respective coven and due to this, Irene, being the couple's second born child, was born with a tremendous amount of power. Her power was also amplified due to the fact that she was the only being in history able to use both traditional and dark magic with no consequences.

Some time during this time, Irene and Silas' families began arrangements for them to be married as they were two of the most powerful witches of their time. The couple agreed initially, however, Irene later called it off as she wished to marry for love and she only had a platonic love for Silas. The wedding was called off because the villagers were afraid of what would happen should they refuse her. The pair remained best friends, with Irene teaching Silas some of the spells she could do.

When she found out that Silas was having an affair with Amara, Irene made it known that she did not approve. However, she eventually befriended Amara and made peace with the relationship, seeing that they were both deeply in love. She still believed that Silas should just call off the engagement with Qetsiyah instead of carrying on behind her back.

Before Silas went to Qetsiyah, he asked Irene to create a spell for immortality but she refused to do so. Knowing that he couldn't force her hand, he went to Qetsiyah for help and the two were successful in creating The Immortality Spell. However, instead of giving Qetsiyah the second elixir as promised, Silas stole it and gave it to Amara instead. When Qetsiyah came to kill Amara for revenge, Irene tried protecting her friend. She was succeeding against Qetsiyah with magic, however, Qetsiyah distracted her and then stabbed her in the neck.

While dying, Irene cast a spell that bound the supernatural abilities/powers of the second-born descendants of her bloodline. This spell remained fully unbroken for the next 2000 years until it was broken Qetsiyah.

## Personality

Irene was described as a kind and loving person by Silas. However, it is also said that she was quick to anger and can act irrationally and impulsively when angry.

## Physical Appearance

Irene was a very beautiful woman with almond-shaped, blue-green eyes, and pale skin. She had long black hair that was usually curled and pulled back away from her face. She was 5'6" and had a slim, slightly athletic build. She was born with a crescent-moon birthmark on her shoulder.

She wore long, bright colored dresses and jewelry that matched the color of her dresses.

## Powers and Abilities

Irene was one of the most powerful witches in history, possessing the ability to practice both traditional and dark magic. Due to her parents coming from two different covens that practiced dark magic and traditional magic, respectively, Irene possessed both dark and traditional magic. In addition, her power is even more amplified due to the fact that the second-born witches born to every generation of her bloodline has a tremendous amount of magical power. Irene is an expert in using both traditional magic and dark magic, earning the title Dark Magic Practitioner and causing her to be known as the "perfect balance" between the two kinds of magic.

While the full extent of her powers are unknown, both Silas and Qetsiyah referred to her as the most powerful witch they have ever known. Silas has mentioned that Irene could have created unconditional immortality without nature interfering and finding a loophole (i.e. doppelgängers), however, she refused to do so. Irene was able to cast a very powerful binding spell that bound the supernatural abilities/powers of the second-born descendants of her bloodline. This spell remained unbroken for over 2,000 years, eventually being broken by Qetsiyah.

## Weaknesses

Like all creatures, Irene could be undone by powerful magic, though it would require power equivalent to or greater than her power to achieve this. She also had the typical weaknesses of a witch.

## Relationships

### Silas

"*She was the most powerful witch I have ever known and she was my best friend.*"
—Silas about Irene

Silas was Irene's best friend and confidante. A few years before Silas met Amara, Irene and Silas' families tried to arrange for them to be married, due to them both coming from very powerful witch families. The two formed a completely platonic bond instead and Irene refused to marry him, a request that was granted to her due to her power and the people not wanting to anger her. Though Silas was very powerful in his own right, Irene became somewhat of a mentor of his and she taught him many spells that helped him become even more powerful. When Irene found out about Silas and Amara's affair, she didn't approve and warned her friend about the consequences of his actions. Eventually, she became friends with Amara as well, more accepting of their relationship, though she still deeply believed that Silas should just end his engagement with Qetsiyah. Before going to Qetsiyah, Silas approached Irene and asked her to create a spell for immortality. She refused and so he went to Qetsiyah. When Qetsiyah found out about Silas' betrayal and went to kill Amara, Irene tried to protect the girl but was ultimately killed. Her death, along with Amara's, caused Silas great grief and transformed whatever positive feelings he had toward Qetsiyah into hate. It is unknown whether they were reunited in the afterlife after the Other Side was destroyed.

## Name

* **Irene** is a feminine name of Greek origin, which means "peace"
* Eirene is the Greek Goddess of peace.
* Other variants of Irene include Irena, Irina, and Eireen