No one can say for certain what started the rivalry between the Niveus and Umbra covens. In truth, it is a battle that has stemmed long before either even existed: the struggle between all that is good and all that is evil, with the two covens merely serving as the current incarnations of both. Once fairly equal in status, the Niveus coven took a harsh loss with the murders of the McCullough branch and several others over the years at the hands of Gregory Umbra. In fact, most of what remains of the Niveus line stems from their lesser offshoot branches - with the exception of the descendants of Clarence Niveus' eldest son, Samuel.
Samantha Morgan Niveus was born late in the evening of August 4, 1982 to Samuel Niveus and Elena Fiore-Niveus, making her the eldest of Clarence's grandchildren and yet another in the ever-mounting battle of good versus evil. She was a rather sickly child, given complications surrounding her birth. The doctors diagnosed her with diabetes, type I, which led her mother to significantly alter the nutrition of the family at large. Raised in Evanston, Illinois she was followed soon after by her younger brother, Aaron. Unlike some of her cousins, Sam was raised surrounded within the world of magic and witchcraft. Ever since she could remember she would watch her mother in the gardens, nursing dying plants to health with a touch or using her elemental gifts to make daily tasks far easier. Elena believed in being open with her children, rather than shielding them, from the future which might very well lie ahead.
The death of his younger sister took a toll upon Samuel, filling him with a darkness he previously lacked. As one of the assistant district attorneys of Cook County, he longed to prosecute and hold Gregory accountable for the murders, but all the bureaucratic red tape proved too thick to penetrate. The head of the Umbra coven was untouchable and left Samuel and his own father with nothing more than the memories of their loved ones and the remaining photos of the crime scene and bodies. Though Samantha was too young to really understand the impact of the fire at that time, her father transformed their home into a fortress. She found her childhood cut relatively short, denied the freedoms of most of the other children as her father trusted no one to be around his children. In compensation for the virtual imprisonment, Elena began presenting her daughter with books and tomes, investing the time to teach the girl to read and comprehend spells in their native languages.
Samantha seemed to have an uncanny knack for learning, soaking up knowledge and any sort of stimuli like a sponge. She was not a genius by any means, but seemed to have a distinct talent for recalling things she had read, seen, and even heard with unusual clarity. When it came time for her own education, Elena fought long and hard for her daughter to be afforded the chance to attend school with her peers. However, Samuel was adamant and determined to protect his children from the reaches of Gregory and insisted upon home-schooling. Giving up her own private psychiatry practice in favor of tending to the education of her children, Elena decided to stay home and abide by her husband's wishes. Yet she was determined if she was going to deny her children the right to social intercourse with their peers, they would be afforded complete and absolute insight into the coven practices and knowledge. While most children learned the basic foundation of education — Samantha was taught additional principles of linguistics, ritual practice, and herbalism.
Socially, Samantha was behind the bar for most of her peers, lacking the interaction she desperately craved and denied the ability to hone any sort of social skill aside from those rare occasions when she was permitted to visit her Fiore cousins down in Dallas. It wasn't quite until she was eleven that she truly understood the ramifications of the greater battle at large between her family and the Umbra coven.
One day while rifling around her father's office in search of a scroll for her mother, Samantha happened upon an unlocked drawer in her father's desk. She opened it to find an overflowing folder containing years of research into the murder of the McCullough branch - complete with graphic photographs of the scene and bodies. Samuel was enraged when he found his daughter had discovered the files, having forgotten to fortify the wards upon his desk due to his heavy case load. Yet when he saw just how rattled his young daughter was, he calmed considerably and finally agreed to share the history of the animosity between the two covens. It was an awful lot for an eleven year old to digest and the images gave her nightmares for weeks, but it proved to be a turning point in the relationship between her and her father.
Once Samuel agreed to bring Samantha into the fold, some of the restrictions lessened. Rather than trying to shield her from the dangers posed by the Umbra coven, he began to instruct her in how best to utilize her surroundings and the law for protection. The more information her father gave her, the more her curiosity began to lead her onward. While her father was still not quite ready to let his daughter attempt public schooling, she was permitted to socialize with some of the neighborhood children.
Her first attempts to socialize were met with disaster. Samantha was invited to join some of the local kids for swimming in a nearby lake. Despite the fact she did not quite know how to swim, she desperately wanted to tag along. At the lake, they tried to coax her into the water - but due to her inability to swim, she kept declining. Finally one of the kids offered to pull her along on a raft. While she considered declining again, her curiosity got the better of her. Samantha agreed and was dragged on out before one of the other kids came on by and tipped her on over. The group of children began laughing at their little prank that is until it became very apparent that Samantha could not swim. At that point, the other kids began to panic. They screamed and yelled for help while one of the ones still at the shore ran to the nearest house to get an adult. Samantha floundered in her best effort to try and stay afloat before she went under and her world went black.
When she finally came to, she was laying in her own bed with both her parents and her younger brother eagerly sitting at her bedside. Her parents wanted no explanation, though she was no longer permitted to associate with the neighborhood kids again. She also went to great lengths to avoid water, always fearful that the next time she might not be so fortunate.
For the next few years, Samantha buried herself in her studies - her penchant for linguistics and practicing spells nearly meticulous, even if she had yet to have her own magic stir within her. It came as little surprise when her powers manifested earlier than most, around the age of 15. After another annoying argument with her brother over their shared use of the background, she decided to try and erect one of the wards she had read about in her father's tomes. She had practiced the ward countless times in the past with little success, but this time it actually worked. Unfortunately the ward zapped her brother in the process and rendered him knocked off his feet for more than a few moments. The act earned her both a warm hug and reprimand from her parents - followed by a week of extra chores for tormenting her poor brother.
Samuel was relieved that his daughter had manifested a knack for his own discipline and immediately began to spend his free time mentoring her in the finesse of Warding magic. Word was sent to Clarence up in Michigan of the prodigal status of his eldest granddaughter and her apparent affinity for the more protective magic. Not to be outdone by her husband, Elena began to conduct Samantha's daily school lessons in the gardens, tending the plants and trying to impress her own affinity for elemental magic upon the child. While Samantha did appear to have a minor affinity for Earth, having more of a healing and cultivating touch upon plant growth and fertilization of soil - her talents were limited to that element alone and mostly in a benign way. Elena was a bit disappointed but took care not to show it too much out of fear of hampering her daughter further.
The manifestations of Samantha's magic proved to break down the final restrictive barriers upon her personal freedom as her father finally relented to allow her to attend public school. So, for the first time in her life - Samantha enrolled in the public school system her junior year of High School. Academically, she was far beyond her peers but socially she was having a difficult time adjusting. Samantha wanted nothing more than to be one of the masses. Gifted with a pleasing appearance and a natural charming personality, it was not overly difficult to find the acceptance she desired - but she seemed at a loss as to how to behave in the social setting. She was not quite a follower and had a difficult time rationalizing the poor choices her peers would make. Social situations had a way of making her highly uncomfortable, leaving her shy and somewhat of an enigma among her peers. She found that instances where she was the center of attention, unless it was among those she trusted without question (which in this case was her family alone), she would often become ill. Upon more than one occasion Sam had to flee class prior to giving a speech to become sick in the bathroom while upon other occasions she would become incredibly flustered and frequently clumsy.
Though she did date in those few years of high school, most of her relationships were non-committal. Her loyalties lay with her family and the coven, and in many ways, she did not want to risk bringing outsiders into her own private world. Her passing fancy with dating suited her parents quite fine as it appeared one less stress Samuel had to concern himself over with regards to the family. While he was overprotective, he did trust Samantha's judgment. In fact, the additional freedom seemed to only further instill and cultivate the young woman's loyalty and protective stance with regards to her family. Having spent years in study of the family history and alliances, Samantha was shaping quite nicely into a leader for the newer generation. In fact, the only glaring opposition to her own ability to possibly one day help lead the family appeared to be her own inability to get over her acute shyness when dealing with those outside her circle of trust.
The summer she turned seventeen again proved to be a pivotal moment in her life when her grandfather finally came back to Chicago, this time with the only surviving member of the McCullough line in tow - her cousin, Ashton. Some might say the meeting of the two cousins was fated long before they were born, as the two girls connected with an instant chemistry. They complemented each other perfectly each flaw counterbalanced by the other only adding to their strengths. Ash became the rhyme to Sam's reason and Sam the organization to Ash's chaos. Clarence never could have conceived just how potent the meeting of the girls would be, but none could deny power that seemed to emanate from the pair the moment they connected.
Despite the pleas made to Clarence to allow Ashton to finish out her last year with the Samantha in Evanston, the patriarch refused. However, Samantha spent the next several months trying to figure out a way to be with her cousin and keep the girl close. Through careful research and consideration, the girls finally decided to accept enrollment at UT in an effort to be together. They argued that Texas was far removed from Chicago and thus out of the Umbra arena of influence. In turn, the Fiore coven had a fairly large presence in the south and was not only neutral in the ongoing animosity between Niveus and Umbra covens, but also Samantha's maternal cousins. After careful consideration, Clarence and Samuel agreed to the arrangement under the condition that the girls attend the Dallas branch where Nicco Fiore, eldest son of Elena's eldest brother, could keep watch.
College proved to be an adventure for the girls, filled with plenty of social activities mostly due to Ashton's persistence, and plenty of time spent in study. For the first time in her life, Samantha actually seemed to be filling a void she was not even aware she had. Her shyness still proved to be a considerable problem, but at least she was no longer growing ill at proposed public attention. However her clumsiness and flustering showed no hopes of abating. Samantha was always a bit more cautious about her partying than Ashton, often adopting the role of the caretaker. She routinely kept up correspondence with her father and grandfather, acting as a go-between to keep them abreast of Ashton.
While she had never spent too much time dealing with her grandfather, since he had been Ashton's guardian, Sam was making up for lost time. She found that she enjoyed the conversations with the elder Niveus and had grown to resent the fact she had been denied his stern teachings in her earlier years. Unlike Ashton, Samantha attended classes year round - taking breaks only during the holidays due to her heavy course load of pre-med with a double minor in Latin and Botany. Samantha liked growing most of the herbs used in her cooking and actually converted a portion of their balcony into a small herb garden. She took a job at one of the local cafes, waiting tables, in an effort to help subsidize her income. It was not always just parties and studies though. For her birthday, Aaron sent her a guitar - mostly as a joke. Ironically, the guitar became somewhat of a distraction when stress levels had a tendency to get too high. Though she didn't know how to play at first, she soon learned.
Playing the guitar, much like running, proved to be a relatively effective stress reliever for the young woman. She actually had some degree of skill with the guitar, but again - her lack of desire to be in the public eye rendered most of her talent useless and reserved only for her own enjoyment. Samantha began to flourish into a charming and diplomatic woman under Ashton's influence. While she may not have encouraged the socialization, she found that many of the situations were more tolerable once she finessed the focus away from herself and onto others. In fact, she developed a knack for redirection and flattery which serviced her well in keeping her own self beneath the radar.
When the vamps came out of the closet in 2003, once again Samantha found her world tossed into upheaval. Clarence called his granddaughters back home - fearful that witches soon would be under equal scrutiny. Much to her chagrin, Samantha obeyed and returned home with Ashton. Instead of hanging out in Northwood, she crashed with her parents once more in Evanston. Things were much different this time around as her parents had finally given her enough space to make decisions upon her own. Looking to keep up with her studies, despite the year off - Sam took a job at Rush Memorial Hospital in the city - helping out as an emergency room patient registrar clerk during the third shift.
Like the rest of the family, Samantha watched and waited as the world adjusted to the news regarding the existence of vampires. It seemed everywhere she went people were talking about the vamps, some against their very existence while others simply could not wait to jump on the 'fang bang' express. Try as she might, Samantha could not quite bring herself to form a solid opinion regarding them. Her grandfather had tomes regarding wards designed for vampires, and though she had read them when she was younger, she never quite believed they really existed. On one hand, they defied any form of logical scientific existence and by the very laws of medicine should not exist. Yet, on the other hand, they did exist and were entitled to the same basic rights as anyone else. In the end, she decided that as long as they did no harm, there was little need to overly concern herself with their prolonged existence.
The next year dragged on at a snail's pace, Samantha practically going stir crazy with her desire to return to UT and finish her degree. Work became monotonous, her body never quite adapting to the third shift rendering her often drained of energy. She continued to push herself with her magical studies as her diet began to suffer. Finally, the girls could take the waiting no longer and proceeded to confront their grandfather with their desire to return to school. After several days of debating the issue and presenting their argument ad nauseum, Clarence finally relented. Just before the girls were scheduled to leave, Samantha got into a mild car accident when she slipped into diabetic shock behind the wheel. Though her injuries were not overly severe, it was enough to require a few extra days within the hospital, delaying her return while Ashton was sent on ahead to make preparations.
The day before Samantha was scheduled to head back to Dallas, her grandfather paid her a visit for a private conference. While he had spent his life guarding Ashton, he admitted that he was growing older and tired. He worried that despite his own powerful affinity for Warding, that he might not be able to shield either of the two girls should the Umbra coven seek them out. Samantha issued a promise to keep Ashton safe at any cost, but Clarence confided that he feared there might be a darkness growing within the young McCullough girl. After careful consideration, Samantha finally agreed to protect Ashton from any threat, whether external or even internal should the darkness ever try and claim her beloved cousin from within. In exchange for her promise, Clarence gave her his own personal grimoire filled with spells in various languages. While most of the spells within were far beyond her capacity, he informed her that one day she would not only master them but add her own. Finally, he gifted her with a small warded locket she was to keep with her always - a homing beacon should she ever be in need of assistance.
Taking the gifts and granting him an additional promise never to speak of their conversation again, Samantha finally headed back to Dallas to join her cousin and assume the role of protector as vowed before her grandfather. Scholar, student, witch, healer, protector - Samantha wears all these hats and more but one must question how thin she can spread herself before her own body just can't take it anymore.
