Coven

## Witch Covens

**A Coven** is a name used to describe a gathering of witches. A coven is generally a group of twelve or more witches who occasionally meet to practice magic, celebrate sacred holidays, and discuss topics on witchcraft. As shown on several occasions, covens seem to always have both a leader and followers.

In Los Angeles, there are at least nine covens, all of which have detailed rules of conduct and a complex structure. All members of each of the nine Los Angeles covens follow a leader known as the Regent. Together, the nine covens are a collective community that has Elders who guide them, and each coven individually has its own structure and different types of magic that they practice (such as sacrificial magic, necromancy, etc) as well. However, they all appear to share their common form of witchcraft, Ancestral Magic, which they practice by drawing upon the magical power of the Ancestors.

To earn the title of an Elder, a witch must have the power bestowed upon them by another Elder, or, in the case where there are no Elders to pass on the power, the witch in question must be able to consecrate the mortal remains of a powerful witch; this fail-safe was demonstrated by the witch Alexander Deveraux, who became an Elder of the Los Angeles Coven after consecrating the remains of Esther Chamberlain.

## Structure

Los Angeles is the city with the largest number of covens, which are well structured and differentiated compared to other covens or groups shown so far. While small coven, generally family-run, refer to a leader or elder, in Los Angeles, witch covens are hierarchical according to a well-defined pattern:

* **Regent**: Chief witch of all nine covens of Los Angeles, sovereign of the witch community and acting as an emissary to the Ancestors. This role is not hereditary, but elective by mutual agreement among the elders based on the candidate's leadership skills and needs of the community.

* **Elder**: Every coven has at least a couple of elder witches who act as guides and priests of the individual coven, as well as dealing with internal problems of the coven concerned.

* **Harvest Witch**: Every 300 years, four young witches known as "Harvest Witches" are chosen from the Los Angeles Coven to be the forefront of the Harvest Ritual, a ceremony that according to Graysin Blackwell can be performed only by Elders from the Los Angeles Coven. Upon completion of the ritual, a Harvest Witch gains the favor of the Ancestors and is revered by the community to be trained as future leaders.

* **Witch Community**: The families belonging to the same coven act as members of one big family, so we will have the French Quarter witches and so on. Typically each coven manages its business in a certain part of the city, respecting the borders established by the division into districts, but some matters require to collaborate, so the elders of each coven meet with the Regent to discuss policies to be implemented, especially when it is required to interact with other factions; humans, vampires, and werewolves, respectively.

## Known Covens

* Los Angeles Coven
* Norwegian Witch Coven
* Garden District Coven
* Algiers Coven
* Gentilly Coven
* Obeah Coven
* Native American Witch Tribe

## Leaders

Esther Chamberlain † (Formerly)Christopher Chamberlain (Regent)Graysin Blackwell † (Formerly)Alexander Deveraux (Formerly)Julia Claire † (Formerly)Hectate † (Formerly)