Dear Diary:                                                                    December 2, 2013

          Will our life ever be dull? Highly doubt it! While we were away at Emily's wedding, we got word from Rogue that an ancient evil had awakened. So as soon as we could we got back home. Corin who had been with us at the wedding was sheet white. Keith was puzzled because apparently he had never met this ancient evil. When we got home, we were greeted by an absolutely unbelievable site. There were Watchers everywhere and not just the ones that lived near and around us. In our front yard alone there were at least 2,500 Watchers. They were from all around the world and were of all different ages and races.

          Apparently when this evil woke up, it sent a shockwave around the world and every single one of the 1 million Watchers were put on alert. So whatever it was must have been the "big bad" if all of the Watchers were up in arms so to speak. Once we had unpacked, we had all gathered outside in our backyard as it was larger than our front yard and could fit the massive amount of people that were now in it. When I looked up at the sky, it had a very malevolent feel to it. The air was charged and it wasn't a pleasant charge by any means. All of the Watchers gazed at it periodically with a mix of concern and anger. Finally, Rogue appeared with Amy and Corin at her flanks as always. All three of them had very hard expressions on their faces; they were wearing the same dresses they wore the first day we met them the only difference was that Rogue had some sort of head piece on her head. It was Rogue that spoke.

"Thank you for gathering here on such short notice. I know many of you felt her awaken immediately as I did while for others it took a bit of time. The reason being is depending on how long you have been Watchers. Those of us like Amy, Corin, Alexander, and I who have been together since the beginning of our time, felt it instantaneously. Because the Cullen clan is such a big part of our family, it only makes sense for them to hear this story as well." Everyone nodded at us.

        They were all wearing very flowy fairy-like clothing; even the men. This was a very celestial looking meeting. But none of them looked silly. Hell, they didn't look real. They all looked like Gods or like they belonged in a dream. Edward read my mind and nodded in agreement. The scene in our backyard was just unreal. But even with their very soft appearance, you could tell these beings were warriors and not just some flimsy newbies. They could destroy a whole country without blinking. Some even carried swords. I felt like I was in a story of some sort. What Rogue said next, blew every story we ever heard out of the water.

"The evil that has awakened has a name and her name is Hestia after the Ancient Greek Goddess of Hearth. Hestia was born at the same time as the others and I were around; though we were older then her. Her mother saw her sweet face and hoped she would be a loyal sweet child and therefore named her Hestia because the Goddess was a virgin but a loyal one. There were temples erected in her honor all over our ancient land. Unfortunately, for her mother and the rest of the world, Hestia proved to be anything but angelic. She was a jealous, spoiled child, and that's what she grew up into as an adult. As I was older than she was, she was always seen in the background. I never gave her much thought. It wasn't until Amy, Corin, Alexander, and I were chosen to be Watchers that we noticed something was amiss."

        Rogue took a deep breath and then obviously staring into the very distant past, continued:

"Hestia was furious that she wasn't chosen to be a Watcher. She was livid. She yelled, she screamed, and when her anger fell on deaf ears, she started setting fires. She was especially furious that I was chosen as the Watcher leader. She was envious of me and of my relationship with Alexander though he was many years her senior. She was envious of Amy and Corin because I had chosen them to be my second and third in command. She was angry at the whole situation."

"Because we lived in a very modern civilization way ahead of its time, she was sent away to a special housing where children that were troublesome or had mental afflictions were sent." At that point, we looked a bit puzzled and Jacob spoke up.

"Wait wait wait. What do you mean you lived in a very modern civilization? You guys are from Ancient Greece right? What's so modern about that?" Amy smiled and said.

"Let's just say, our home was the stuff of myths and legends. It was a very powerful place with many smart people who had ideas way beyond anything of that day and age. It had a majestic palace and massive walls with a very extensive military; we were very lucky we were born where we were."

"So where exactly are you from?" Jacob pressed though a gnawing feeling of knowing filled me as it did the rest of my family I'm sure.....I was still stunned into silence when Rogue answered.

"Atlantis."

        When we could all breathe again, it was Seth that stuttered out a "N-no way!" The Watchers laughed, all of them. I felt like I had just been dropped down the rabbit hole like Alice and was wondering when I was going to hit the bottom. All of the wind was knocked out of my body and my mind raced to catch up with the thousands of thoughts that were going through it. Finally, when Rogue saw we looked a little less dazed, she continued with her story.

"I can tell you more about that at a later date. Right now we have to focus on Hestia and how she became who and what she was and is." We nodded still looking shaken. She continued:

"Anyways, last thing we heard was when Hestia was sent to that place to perhaps reform her mind. It had a good record for helping troubled kids. Never in our wildest dreams did we think she would come out of it the way she did. Apparently, while there she had gotten into dark magic somehow and was granted powers of immortality but with a twist. Unlike us, she can be killed, but it's a difficult process. We had forgotten all about her and when all of our immediate family had passed on, we knew we had to leave Atlantis to foray into the unknown to find other Watchers and perhaps even train them."

"About 50-75 years passed and we started hearing rumblings of some kind of evil force around Atlantis. We hurried back only to witness to our horror the destruction of our homeland. Hestia had through her powers of evil and anger created an earthquake of catastrophic proportions that destabilized a then dormant volcano, Thera. This volcano blew its top in one of the most violent eruptions in history which was—if you look it up—in 1500BC (All photos are below and in the album). It blew itself into oblivion but also took the island of Atlantis with it by burying it under ash and washing the rest of it out to sea with 200+ft tsunamis."

"What made me even angrier was that she was flying above this destruction zone cackling with glee. She wasn't remorseful! She was glad! She had killed thousands of people and not only had completely wiped out our whole civilization but the tsunamis raced around the Mediterranean sea as it is now known with such force to strike Crete, mainland Greece, and other places. Many coastal towns were wiped off the map! And this piece of shit was happy about it!"

        Rogue was fuming and rightfully so. Watching your entire country wiped off the map because of some pissed off sorceress would make anyone livid. We were all still processing how this major piece of history had just fallen into our laps. Here were actual living, breathing, inhabitants of Atlantis! It wasn't just Plato's story anymore; it was here and it was alive, right in our own backyard! These were actual Minoans as they were called back then. The only way to describe that feeling was, wow! There were no other words really. It was Alexander that spoke up:

"All of a sudden, my wife changed and I'm not talking about the way she did when she faced off against the Children of the Moon. When Hestia saw us flying above her, she flew at us at lightning speed but not before my wife......grew wings! I'm not kidding. A white light enveloped her and all of a sudden she had these massive white wings, a sword or something that was larger than her and a black warrior outfit. As Hestia was about to strike her, she swung that sword thing and sent Hestia flying head first into the ocean. The plume of water that arose, nearly reached 100ft meaning she sent her down pretty deep. Hestia surfaced and you could tell she was scared. Up until this point she had only dealt with humans who were no match. We later learned that she lost her hair color—she had brown hair but it became white—from screaming in anger so much. The color just drained."

        Amy continued the story giving Rogue a break:

"Hestia knew the Watchers powers were extensive but she never knew to what extent. Hell, we didn't know we could grow massive wings and wield a sword/hammer looking thing either! You have to remember we were Watchers for maybe 200 years only at this point and therefore hadn't had to face anything to use our ultimate weapons on. She also knew we were immortal and invincible. What she didn't and still to this day doesn't know, is that she isn't invincible. Whoever or whatever gave her the evil dark powers left that portion of the information out. Not dealing with loyal monsters here."

"She can be put to sleep like a volcano which is exactly what happened. After Rogue struck her with sword/hammer thing, they tossed fireballs at each other for a while the rest of us just ducked out of the way as Hestia's main focus and the focus of her rage was Rogue. Finally a light came from above and hit Rogue again, her eyes that up until this point were their usual blue, turned white completely and she started speaking a tongue we didn't know. Suddenly, the water started to bubble and a giant dragon shot from underneath it and dragged Hestia underwater. Rogue flew after it as the rest of us followed suit. We saw Hestia being entombed in solid rock from which she wasn't supposed to escape. She was put to sleep. Until now." Amy finished speaking.

          It was at this point that we had time to take everything in and think. I mean it all sounded too fantastic but then again we live in a fantastic world of vampires and werewolves plus some hybrids and shape shifters; now just add Watchers, an evil sorceress, and a dragon or two to the mix! Plus the ancient city of Atlantis; it was a lot to wrap our minds around but I knew we had to and quickly because a serious battle was coming and I didn't know how exactly we would fit into this equation but I personally didn't want to face off against any sorceress. Rogue read my mind and shook her head, and then she said:

"No, Carlisle, you and your family will not face Hestia and her minions. That is my job and those of my kin. And it will not happen here. The battle ground will be the Atlantic Ocean. I will create a storm of such voracity that not one human will dare go near it. It'll never make landfall it'll stay out in the south Atlantic, away from land and all ships and planes will be rerouted. We can't have the battle where it was the first time around as the now non-existent Thera volcano is actually a caldera which is surrounded by the island of Santorini."

"Hestia knows that I know she has awoken. She also knows she cannot kill me but I know she will try to take me out of action by anyway necessary. I'm not at all sure what she wants ultimately. She cannot become a Watcher; she has done too much damage and has crossed to the side of evil. So unless she wants to take over the world or whatever, I can't possibly fathom her motives for awakening or what awakened her other than the thirst for revenge."

"When will this battle happen?" Edward spoke up finally.

"She needs time to acclimate herself with the present world; hope she doesn't kill anyone in the process but that's why these Watchers are here. They are to keep an eye on her. The battle is to happen exactly one week from now." Rogue answered.

"In the meantime, don't be surprised if there will be more Watchers around than normal." Amy supplied.

"Ironically, 200 years after that first battle with Hestia and the destruction of Atlantis is when we first met the Volturi and I realized Marcus and I were related." Alexander shook his head with a smirk.

          And that's how the story comes full circle for us, doesn't it? That was the past of our Watchers; well all but Keith, Michelle, her parents, Kim, and Peter who's a vampire. One week to prepare for the biggest supernatural battle of earth-kind. What exactly does one say to that?

"How about some wine?" Keith said.

Now isn't that a splendid idea? Some wine to digest the story of a lifetime and prepare for the battle of all battles.

Cheers!

~Carlisle Cullen