| “ | She was our regent, chosen emissary for all our consecrated dead. The ancestors speak through the regent. | ” |
The Regent of the Nine Covens of New Orleans, or simply the Regent, is the leader and supreme witch among the covens of New Orleans chosen by the Elders to be the voice and the will of the Ancestors and has access to the totality of the ancestors of all nine covens.
Throughout the Originals series
Season Two
In They All Asked For You, Josephine LaRue was introduced as the matriarch of all New Orleans witches.
Davina walks among the witches at the ceremony
In City Beneath The Sea, Vincent offers to have Davina made the new Regent of the New Orleans covens, which would grant her the power to bring Kol back as she would be able to channel the entire power of the Ancestors of all nine covens.
In Fire with Fire, Vincent proposed Davina as the new Regent to the other witches but they showed reticence because of Davina's past alliance with the vampires and the betrayal of her own coven. Davina then told them than nobody, other than her, knew best how a witch could be abused in New Orleans and that she had already stood up to their enemies while the witches cowered away. Later, at Lafayette Cemetery, Davina becomes the new regent, promising the witches that she would stand up against the vampires and anyone who stood in their way, including Klaus.
In Ashes to Ashes, she brought Esther back to life with the power of the Ancestors. Her intention was to return Kol from the Ancestors back to the land of the living.
Season Three
In For the Next Millennium, Davina is seen in her role as Regent and tells the Elders of various covens that the Ancestors, do not want a war with the city's vampires. This angers the Ninth Ward Coven, especially Kara Nguyen who believed Davina was a vampire sympathizer. Kara then attacks Davina with her magic to showcase their newest Regent as weak. Following Marcel's advice, Davina ordered Hayley to murder Kara, and in return promised to block The Crescent Curse.
In You Hung The Moon, while Hayley was successful in killing Kara, she also killed ten other witches who were witnesses to Kara's murder as collateral damage. Davina attended the consecration of those witches and offered the coven her protection if they followed her rule. Marcel suggests to Davina in private that she steps down since she was too young for the leadership of all covens in the city, with Davina angrily declining.
In The Axeman's Letter, Davina hosts the Fête de Cadeau, a celebration similar to Christmas where the city witches give gifts to the Ancestors in exchange for magical favors. Davina used her favor to lift The Crescent Curse as she wants to lead the covens away from the old ways.
In Out of the Easy, Davina is officially stripped of her leadership and is shunned out of the witch community.
In The Devil Comes Here and Sighs, Vincent is stripped of his leadership and it's transferred over to Van.
In Where Nothing Stays Buried, The regency became vacant once again due Van's murder.
Notable Regents
- Josephine LaRue (Unknown-2013): a powerful witch from the Garden District Coven, she ruled over the covens until she was killed by the witch Dahlia.
- Davina Claire (2013 only): the last remaining Harvest witch and a former member of the French Quarter Coven, she was chosen as regent after Vincent Griffith refused the job and endorsed her instead. However she was stripped of her title and substantially shunned by the covens after they discovered she was involved in the Ninth Ward Massacre.
- Vincent Griffith (2013-2014): a powerful witch from the Tremé Coven. Following the Ancestors rejection of Van Nguyen, Vincent decided to ascend to Regency after a confrontation with Marcel. However after being forced to do The Ancestors dirty work by transforming Lucien into an Upgraded Original Vampire he was shortly after shunned after they noticed he was no longer loyal to them.
- Van Nguyen (2014 only): a witch hellbent on revenge from Ninth Ward Coven after losing his mother due to a order hit by Davina as her time as Regent. Van originally applied for the job before, but was rejected and Vincent was crowned Regent instead. The Ancestors gave Van the title when it became clear that given the chance Vincent would use his power to turn on them. However his reign was short lived thanks to meeting the same fate his mother did.
Powers and Abilities
The Regent can be considered as the most powerful witch in the entirety of the nine covens being the only witch within the nine covens with access to the powers of the entirety of the Ancestors. As Regent, the witch gains an incredible amount of power, increasing their overall abilities drastically to a much higher extent. Since the Regent is in charge of the nine covens, they possess immense knowledge in witchcraft and can perform spells, rituals, and abilities found in each of the nine covens. However, the primary job of the Regent is to be the voice of the Ancestors, thus having the unique ability to communicate with The Ancestors and use their power should he/she be permitted.
- Ancestral Conduit: The ability to channel the total power of the Ancestors or of a certain, selective ancestral bloodline. Channeling the power of every single Ancestor at once is given to the Regent to use one-time-only. This is an incredible amount of power that has the potential to accomplish great feats and can be used according to how the Regent sees fit. After this one-time-only access is spent the Regent is no longer able to channel the total power of the Ancestors at once, however they are left with access to the power of any Ancestor in any bloodline they so choose, this was shown when Davina was able to tap into the power of the deceased Céleste Dubois and channel her power to temporarily halt the crescent curse.
- Ancestral Communion: As the mouth piece of the Ancestors, the Regent has the ability to commune with the Ancestors as they please and vice versa similar to how Mediums do with spirits, as such they can make their immediate intentions known to the living witches through the Regent, and the Regent can also receive or obtain information from them about anything they know.
- Coven Magic: After becoming Regent, the witch has access to each type of magic practiced by all nine covens in New Orleans, this includes magic such as Ancestral Magic, Sacrificial Magic etc.
Trivia
- The typical ceremonial outfit for the Regent is black.
- This is as opposed to white for the Harvest Girls and grey for the Elders.
- The Regent is given a one-time access to the full power of the Ancestors to use freely.
- The Regent has a constant direct connection to the Ancestors to whom they communicate through and may have access to their pool of knowledge.
- Being the voice of the totality of all the consecrated dead in New Orleans, the Regent's loyalty lies to all nine covens as oppose to any sole coven and can be considered the uniting force between them.
- As such, the regent has access to knowledge of all magical forms practice by them such as: Ancestral Magic, Sacrificial Magic, Representational Magic, Voodoo, Hoodoo, Necromancy and Elemental Magic.
- The Regent is the leader of each of the covens in New Orleans, as seen with Josephine, the Regent is able to call off a manhunt.
- Unlike all other Ancestral Witches, the Regent's powers are not limited to the boundary (the Ancestral Plane) of New Orleans as the Ancestors share a spiritual connection with them through which they can affect them or channel their power.
- By law, an attempt to kill the Regent is punishable by hanging.
- The title of Regent can be withdrawn if the witch in charge is deemed unworthy of the role. Shunned by the community, the former Regent also loses the connection with the Ancestors. Formally this expulsion is documented on a parchment and the community will consider the former Regent as if she/he had never been born.
- It seems that there is no advisor that decides the unworthiness of the Regent. It appears that, as the community who voted for the Regent, have the ability to withdraw it as they see fit, no questions asked.
- Furthermore after learning of Vincent's treason The Ancestors shunned him.
- It seems that there is no advisor that decides the unworthiness of the Regent. It appears that, as the community who voted for the Regent, have the ability to withdraw it as they see fit, no questions asked.
- The Ancestors has the right to oppress and reject an ascension to Regency, just like they did in the case of Van Nguyen however they changed their minds as of The Devil Comes Here and Sighs.
- Due to The Ancestors being cut off from their descendants there may not be another Regent in power.
Memorable Quotes
- Vincent: Listen, Davina. The rite of supplication is just a formality. You meet the elders and you show a little bit of respect...
- Davina: What happened to you just telling them I'm gonna be regent?
- Vincent: They only listened to me when they thought I was accepting the job, and if it's gonna be you, we got to grease some wheels.
- Davina: The covens aren't just gonna choose me. I mean, for that matter, why'd they want you?
- Vincent: Because they think I'm a selfless saint who betrayed his wife to save a bunch of kids. And if I got no one to answer to, I'm less inclined to play favorites. Basically, I'm an outsider just like you.
- Davina: You know, I was put to death by people like this. They sacrificed me and my friends for nothing.
- -- in Fire with Fire
- Vincent: Listen listen to me, people. Listen to me, please, now. This young lady serves as an opportunity for all of us.
- Melinda: Davina Claire is a remnant of the failed harvest ritual. Let's not forget she aligned with the vampires. How many witches died because of her?
- Vincent: She was manipulated. I mean, the ancestors forgave her. They brought her back to life. Now that's surely a sign...
- Melinda: She is no regent. That role was meant for you.
- Vincent: And I already told you I ain't gonna do it.
- Melinda: You recuse yourself and instead offer up an inferior candidate.
- Davina: Hey! I've stood here long enough. My whole life, the witches of this city have lived in fear. Vampires run wild, children are sacrificed. Nobody took charge. Now be honest. Have any of you ever stood up to the vampires... the Mikaelsons? No? Well, I have, and I have won. Now I might be young, but the truth is I know better than anyone here what we're really up against, and I can help build a peace, or I can burn our enemies to the ground. The question isn't whether or not I should be made regent. The question is what the hell would you do without me?
- -- in Fire with Fire
- Davina Claire: Not too long ago, I was sacrificed by own coven. Feeling betrayed, I sided with the vampires against the very witches who lied to me. But tonight I say let the past be the past. From now on we stand together against anyone who dare hold us down, even Klaus Mikaelson himself. Here and now, begins the time of the witches.
- -- in Fire with Fire
- Vincent: Now when you became Regent our ancestors gave you a one-time-only access to their power. Now are you sure you want to use that on Kol Mikaelson?
- Davina: "I've already made up my mind. The spell's almost done, I just use the power of the spirits to turn dirt and ash into flesh and bone. Though maybe I should have worn an apron."
- -- in Ashes to Ashes
Gallery
See also
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