Down in the forest, there is a tree.
What's left of one, anyway.
The Nemeton calls another supernatural creature to its town.
The blood that drips onto it forms a circle.
"Try disrupting the powder with the jar. Pull it just to the edge, and knock it over."
Jar right up to the (frustrating) barrier. Then, asymmetrical application of force such that it should tip forward-
Good. She smiles.
The doctor probably would not have appreciated her breaking his floor.
"Well, that's a bit disappointing. Mountain ash seems to treat you as equivalent to other supernaturals. I suppose that's enough for now. What are your major questions? Do you want a summary of what's out there, town history, or something more targeted?"
"I've been reading the bestiary. Some context would be nice. Why don't we start with local history, with digressions as appropriate?"
"Over fifty years ago, Beacon Hills was a haven for supernatural beings. I don't know when the Hale pack first arrived in California, but they came here when the Nemeton finally died, its power to call the supernatural gone. Wendigos, werewolves, and banshees- many people have found themselves drawn to the town without quite knowing why. We had nearly fifty years of relative normalcy, with just the Hale alpha keeping other packs out."
"The tree stump you saw. When druids-local magic users-are active in a place, especially a natural one, they draw magic to that place, and over time, it starts to retain it. When it was active, it attracted many supernatural creatures, who have since had children that don't know why their parents were brought here. In the past year, there have even been new arrivals in the same situation. There was...a ritual, that awakened it."
"A druid dabbling in dark magic wanted revenge for an attempt on her life. That's a long story that has little bearing on our situation, but essentially, she planned to use fifteen murders to revive the Nemeton and siphon some of its power. She had twelve when she was killed, but to find her, Scott and Stiles and another committed ritual suicide, bringing the number of ritual 'deaths' to fifteen."
"I'm fairly sure I met both of them last night. They did not seem dead."
"No, I suppose they didn't. The suicide was entirely symbolic, though they have each died once since then."
"I suppose Stiles' is a more ambiguous case. He was possessed by a malevolent entity which duplicated him, and one of the bodies died. Scott, on the other hand, died, and came back to life."
"I see. Did the Hale do anything about other creatures, or just werewolves?"
"They dealt with the more violent interlopers, yes. We never bothered with those that could control themselves."
"I was more actively involved in this sort of thing while the Hales were around. Things were more stable."
"There's a crisis every few months, and the locals are restless, and, in some cases, hungry. Before this, there were assasins trying to kill all the local supernatural beings for money. Before that, the demon possession. We've been busy."
"Stiles was possessed by a nogitsune, a malevolent entity that had been trapped, until the ritual awoke the Nemeton."