Elders

The Council of Elders also known as the Founders and the Powers *That* Be and commonly referred to as just *the* Elders are a powerful group of elder Whitelighters who advise and govern the forces of good. Their purpose is to preserve the "greater good" by directing their Whitelighters to guide and protect witches and future Whitelighters.

The Elders reside in the Heavens and communicate with witches through their assigned Whitelighters, giving them messages and warning them of impending threats. As prominent figures on the side of good, the Elders also intervene when they deem it necessary and discipline others when they break their rules.

Although they are powerful and have great influence, the Elders are not the highest authority, being outranked by the Angels of Destiny and potentially greater forces.

## History

### The Titans

Approximately 1000 BC, the Elders saw the Titans as a risk to the world and themselves. In reply to this expanding threat, they unleashed the powers of the Greek Gods onto mortals, who were then able to imprison the Titans for millennia. However, instead of returning the divine powers back to their resting place after the battle, the mortals declared themselves Gods and forced the known world to worship them, as their abilities had completely overwhelmed their senses of humanity. After and since this crisis was resolved, the Elders have been providing guidance and support and watching over the world from their Heavenly abode.

After the Greek Gods took power, the Elders sent the most powerful witches of that time to watch them: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale. But Medusa was violated by the sea god, Poseidon in Athena's temple, and Athena cursed her into a gorgon both as punishment and warning to the Elders. Her sisters tried to exact revenge, but with their powers weakened due to Medusa's state, they met the same fate.

### Creation of the Whitelighters

Nearly a thousand years later, the Elders began to plan the creation of a race of magical beings that would eventually become the Whitelighters. Their initial intentions were to make Whitelighters avenging angels, warriors on the side of good fighting against evil. To aid them in this task, the Elders asked a magical blacksmith to produce a weapon for these warriors. However, some Elders thought that the Whitelighters should instead be mere guides to the good magical beings. After a heated discussion that nearly tore the Heavens apart, the faction which sought to make Whitelighters peaceful guides carried the day, and the weapons created by the bladesmith were hidden away.

### The Charmed Ones

Piper Halliwell first met the Elders when Leo orbed her to the Heavens in 2000. Although Piper soon began to forget, she was furious because the council told her and Leo could no longer see each other and threatened to reassign him. Leo then decided to propose to Piper, as he believed that even the Elders would not break up a holy union.However, when they attempted to get married, the Elders took Leo away after being informed of the wedding by the Triad.

After Piper threatened to give up on her magic, the Elders reconsidered and returned Leo to her. They would be given a chance to prove themselves by showing the Elders their relationship would not get in the way of protecting the innocent.

The Elders once sent the sisters back in time to save their own ancestor from an evil witch. However, they sent the sisters before Leo could explain what was going on, leaving the sisters to figure it out on their own.[6]

The Charmed Ones first saw the Elders in person when Leo orbed them to the Heavens to ambush and vanquish the warlock Eames, who had stolen the powers of Natalie and planned to kill the Elders.[7]

In 2002, an Elder named Ramus came to earth in order to retire and pass his powers on to the next destined Elder. He was killed by the demon Arnon, though his powers were transferred to a young witch named Kevin after he was vanquished.

### Leo Becoming An Elder

When the Titans were freed from their tomb in 2003, they sought revenge against the Elders. While most of the council was massacred, a few were able to escape to earth, where they sought the protection of other magical beings. During this time, Leo went to the Heavens and, with encouragement from Chris Perry, turned the sisters into goddesses to fight the Titans.[1]

Leo protected the Elders by cloaking them with fairy dust while the sisters prepared to face the Titans. During this time, Leo discovered he was transforming into an Elder himself. When Piper found out, she declared herself a true goddess and nearly lost her humanity. After she vanquished the Titans, she confronted Leo in the Heavens. Leo explained that is was their love that allowed him to become an Elder, and proceeded to take away her pain with a spell. Chris was assigned as the sisters' new Whitelighter, and he secretly transported Leo to Valhalla to keep him out of the way.

After Leo was freed from Valhalla, he returned to the Heavens to resume his Elder duties, though he continued to keep an eye on the sisters and Chris. During this time, the sisters also met Gideon, the Elder in charge of Magic School. When Gideon was revealed to be one after Wyatt, the relationship between the sisters and the Elders was further strained and Leo lost his way. After vanquishing Gideon, Leo abandoned his duties and became obsessed with vanquishing Barbas.

## Dark Elders

* They are the corrupted versions of Elders, hit by darklighter's poisonous mixed with another concoction. And their orbs are greyish.