Summary
The Vampire Diariesuniverse featured several supernatural beings beyond the original trio of vampires, werewolves, and witches. Each species is believed to serve a purpose in Nature, for example, the witches served as keepers of the balance between supernatural beings and humans. However, the purpose of psychics was never explicitly stated.
The witches are one of the oldest supernatural species inThe Vampire Diaries. They were ideally created to be partners with Nature in facilitating a balance so that no supernatural beings would become powerful enough to destroy or oppress any other species. Inpreserving this balance, Naturewould support the witches with magic sourced from itself. But, naturally, many witch communities would deviate from that role and find other sources for their magic, such as, the Ancestors, dark objects, or Expression to name a few. But for psychics, their power did not come from a source outside themselves, not unlike Expression magic.
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The History Of Psychics In The Vampire Diaries
The history of psychics relative to the history of witches inThe Vampire Diariesmay explain their role in Nature. There are only a handful of known psychics in the franchise: Bonnie Bennett, Silas, Arcadius, and the sirens Sybil and Seline. Theirdangerous yet special powerof telepathy, reading and manipulating minds, as well as casting illusions, were either perceived as welcomed gifts or forbidden traits. The oldest known psychic is Arcadius who not only possessed powers of telepathy but also the ability to manipulate fire and create dimensions through a psychic blast. Arcadius createdThe Vampire Diaries' version of hell after his ancient community burned him to death.
Silas is another ancient powerful psychic-witch who effectively betrayed Nature when he tricked his equally powerful witch-fiance, Qetsiyah, into creating an immortality spell for him and his lover, Amara. Immortality goes against Nature inThe Vampire Diariesuniverse, home tovampires stronger than those inBuffy The Vampire Slayer. Therefore, a powerful, immortal psychic would be a supernatural being who needed to be mitigated by Nature. Nature is an active force that can influence, enhance, or cutoff the supernatural gifts beings whose powers were born from Nature. However, Silas was both a psychic and user of Expression which neither are sourced from Nature. Likewise, Arcadius' hell dimension was created by him thus, Nature has no jurisdiction to impede its development. There lies the problem with psychics and their relationship with Nature as unchecked supernatural beings.
Why Psychics Were Created By Nature
Psychics technically predate witches and for a plausible reason. They have always been a rare breed that evolved naturally from humans as peoplewith mind-blowing abilities. While it’s possible that psychics could have been intentionally created by Nature, it’s more likely that psychics are an evolution of humans, more so a random genetic mutation rather than a bestowed power or curse. Unlike vampires and werewolves inThe Vampire Diaries, psychics were not born in response to curbing the predatory nature of other species.
Considering the fact that psychics are indeed older than witches, they may have been permitted bythe blessings of Natureto exist in order for there to be a reason for witches to coexist. Psychics proved to be too powerful for humans to handle even after their death. Psychics like Arcadius and the immortal sirens, who collected souls for his dimension, may have been reason enough for Nature to take action against psychics with the creation of witches who could rival their power while working with, or under the control of, Nature.
How The Witches Became Keepers Of The Balance
Nature ever balances itself inThe Vampire Diaries,but it cannot do it alone. This balance is supported by the witches, categorically, and any aligned species. Whethermagic is a blessing or curse, the witches who practice natural magic are agents of Nature who can be given power or be stripped of power by Nature. Witches that abandon their roles as keepers of the balance have to find other sources of power to continue practicing. But their origin as the keepers of the balance may have come from Nature’s inability to mitigate the powers of psychics. Just as the Ancestors permitted Esther Mikaelson to create the unnatural Original Vampires for her family’s survival amidst the werewolf threat, or how Bonnie Bennett, a psychic-witch, would be the key to defeating Arcadius, witches are created by Nature to combat the threat of psychics and any other supernatural being that could upset the balance of Nature.
In a world of mere humans, there would have been no need for one ofthe most iconic TV witchesin this capacity. It’s only after the troublesome existence of psychics that witches are born intoThe Vampire Diariesuniverse as keepers of the balance. Psychics, nonetheless, are not a species that can propagate itself. Therefore, the creation of witches may have also been Nature’s way of proactively preparing for the instability of other future supernatural beings as well. Unlike witches, psychics do not seem to serve a definitive long-term purpose as a species which may allude to their rare existence. That being said, if it were not for these powerful and unchecked psychics to begin with, most other supernatural beings would not exist inThe Vampire Diariesbecause psychics are, after all, the original threat to the balance of Nature.
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