Hekate

"Her pupils were the color of butter. She was wearing a long, simple gown made of a shimmering material that moved gently in a wind that didn’t seem to touch anything around her. As it shifted, rainbow colors ran down its length, like oil on water."

— Description of Hekate in The Alchemyst

Basic Information
Name	Hekate

Hekate was a first-generation Elder whose life was inter-weaved with was the ancient Yggdrasil tree that she nurtured and grew inside her own Shadowrealm. Hekate was the Elder that Awakened Sophie Newman's powers. Hekate grows and ages throughout the course of a day, starting young in the morning and growing older as the day progresses, only to be renewed again the next morning. She was a powerful elder until John Dee turned her into ice and shattered her with the ancient and mythical Sword of Ice, Excalibur. She was once Odin's lover. Also, while she is young and old, she does not have all her knowledge. The early afternoon is the time when she has all her knowledge.

Appearance

Hekate looks as if she had been carved from a solid slab of jet-black stone. The merest fuzz of white hair covered her skull like a close-fitting cap, and her features were sharp and angular: High cheekbones; straight, pointed nose; sharply defined chin; lips so thin they were almost nonexistent. Hekate's eyes were the color of butter, with long slitted cat-like eyes. She was tall and broad. The Goddess of Three Faces wore a long, simple gown made of shimmering material that moved gently in a wind and didn't seem to touch anything around her. If it shifted, rainbow colors would run down its length, like oil on water. In her different moods, Hekate's gown would change color and pulse. Hekate wore no jewelry, though Sophie Newman noticed that each of Hekate's short, blunt fingernails were painted a different color.

History

Hekate lived on Danu Talis before the Fall and created the Torc Clans. She was there when Abraham the Mage created the Codex. She was banished for her experiments on animals. She had Scathach as a student and that didn't work out so well. She abandoned her in the Underworld. The last time she Awakened a humani was the twelfth century and they were killed by a hailstone, presumably by Hekate.

The World Tree, Yggdrasil

Main article: Yggdrasil

Hekate, and Odin were the only two Elders who nurtured their seeds of the World Tree, Yggdrasil to grow.

Appearance

The Yggdrasil was a tree with the height and circumference of a large skyscraper, maybe even bigger. The topmost branches and leaves were wreathed in wisps of white cloud, and the roots that burst from the ground like clawing fingers were as tall as cars. The tree itself was gnarled and twisted, its bark scored and deeply etched with cracks and lines. Long vines, like huge pipes, wrapped around the tree and dangled down from the branches. There were hundreds of windows cut into the bark, with lights flickering in the rooms beyond.

The interior of the tree was hollow. From just inside the entrance, a person could look straight up to where wispy clouds gathered inside of the tree. A gently curving staircase curled up along the inside of the trunk, and every few steps brought them to an open doorway spilling out light. Dozens of tiny waterfalls spouted from the walls and splashed down onto the floor far below, where the water gathered in a huge circular pool that took up most of the foyer. The interior walls were smooth and unadorned, except from the twists and knots of vines that broke through the surface. Josh Newman thought the vines looked like veins.

File:38580-2e.jpg

Hekate's representation

Abilities

Hekate created and maintained the Yggdrasil by an extraordinary use of magic. But magic, like everything else, follows certain natural laws. Magic needs energy, and it takes that energy wherever it can find it, even from the tiny batteries in electronics. If no other source of energy is available, the magic will take the life force of the magician who created it. Basically, the Yggdrasil will drain the energy it needs to survive from any source it can. The Yggdrasil also trapped the soul-devouring monster, Nidhogg, in its roots.

Hekate was immensely powerful and was more or less immune to the effects of the magic she generates, but Hekate was connected to the tree so if one or the other is harmed then both were be harmed.  She also had the power to Awaken as she awakened Sophie's powers.

Allegiance

Hekate was always neutral in the wars between the Elders and the Dark Elders, but agreed to Awaken Josh and Sophie Newman's powers. When the Yggdrasil was attacked by Bastet, the Morrigan, and Dr. John Dee, she finally chose a side, standing against the Dark Elders.

File:HecatemmcfromAmethystsWicca.gif

Hekate's three aspects

Trivia

• It is possible, since Hekate is known for her Magic, that she was the Norse Goddess Frigg, explaining also why she and Odin are lovers.
• One of the few weaknesses to defeat her is an iron dagger with the blood of a Titan.

Death

Hekate was killed when Dr John Dee plunged Excalibur into the Yggdrasill, freezing it, inflicting pain on her, freezing her into ice, before the tree collapses on her, crushing and ultimately killed her.