Neena

'"She's not evil. Not before now, at least. She's a witch, just like you. Well actually, that's not true at all. She's not just a witch. She's the first witch."

- Leo Wyatt talks to Paige about Neena.  Neena, also known as Isabel and Victoria', is the first witch, and mothered the lines of witches and warlocks.

Neena worked for the Greater Good for untold centuries until she became fed up with The Powers That Be consistently tampering with her and her "children's" lives. She teamed up with a warlock named Hogan to achieve her mysterious goals, but killed him after deeming him no longer useful. Later on she found a new partner in her plans: a formidable Darklighter named Rennek.

Ultimately, it was revealed that she was only a determined woman with a tragic story, and her plans were well-intentioned, despite being misguided. In her final confrontation with the Charmed Ones, she was defeated and her powers were permanently bound, and she was banished to a realm of her own creation.

History
Neena's story started from the first days of humanity. When the world was dark, a spiritual energy ran through everything that existed, neither Good nor Evil. The Elders called it The All. Thousands of years ago, a woman came across that Nexus. She alerted her mate of what she had found. At first they were afraid of it, but she pushed past that fear and tapped into this power. The woman was infused with more of the All than any human was supposed to possess. The woman shared that power with her mate and it changed them, making them immortal. It bonded them forever to one another and to The All. They ascended to a place of pure, utter bliss that they shared with the All, known as the Higher Realm.

However, their presence there affected the earth as The All was contained to the Higher Realm. As a result, the world started to die. The only way to save the world was for the woman and her mate to separate their powers and allow the power of The All to flow freely again. The woman and man were forced to abandon the Higher Realm, never to return again. Once back on Earth, the woman gave birth to a pair of twins that were conceived while she was in the Higher Realm. The first child was a female and had powers like her mother, just not as strong, and it was from this child that witches came. The second child was a male born with the same abilities, but he used the magic for dark purposes, and that gave rise to warlocks. Their other children possessed no magic of their own, but they and their descendants could tap into The All as practitioners.

Every time a witch would be born, she would inherit a tiny piece of the All. However, with every new descendant, the All began to weaken, as it was spreading too thin. In order to reclaim some of the magic it had lost, it needed one of the two immortals to return to the Higher Realm. The Elders were forced to make a decision and chose Neena's mate. Against his will, he was taken away from Neena, and she was alone for the first time in forever.

As Isabel
Around the 17th century, the first witch was settled in Colonial Virgina and had taken the name Isabel. She was, at that time, a mysterious woman who was only spoken about in whispers, and reputed to possess the power of precognition. Charlotte Warren also stated that she was much more than just a witch.

Charlotte came to Isabel to ask for her help and confessed to her the whole story: that she had conceived the child before marriage, and her fiancée was missing, and somehow she knew that he would not return. Last but not least, she revealed her fears of doing everything alone, and of being shunned and having her child punished for her indiscretion. Isabel explained that she knew exactly how Charlotte felt, as someone she loved had been taken away from her as well. Isabel then went on to tell Charlotte that it was her unborn child who knew that her father would not return, as she had the gift of Premonition and much more, unlike her parents. She also revealed that she knew more than what she could share, which was why she cannot help Charlotte abort her baby, and that she intended to help her in another way.

She gave her a special talisman of the Triquetra, telling her that it would guide her to a local woman (Eva) who would help her deliver the child safely into the world. Isabel persuaded her to believe that this was for the best, as the child had to be born for everyone's sake. Her prediction was eventually fulfilled: with help from the future Charmed Ones, Eva aided Charlotte in giving birth to an extremely powerful witch: Melinda Warren, who would start the Warren/Halliwell line and prophesy the coming of the Charmed Ones.

Charmed Lives
Neena and a warlock, Hogan waited in a club for Weasel. An Angel of Destiny appeared before them them and told them whatever their plan was, it was not destined to happen. Neena sent the Angel away to an unknown plane while Hogan projected rage onto people at the club. Weasel met up with them and handed them a piece of paper. Hogan took the paper and Neena killed Weasel when he tried to make a move on her.

The paper appeared to be a map when Neena and Hogan found the entrance to a cave near the Golden Gate Bridge. They went into the cave and ended up in an ominous, lava filled lair.

No Rest for the Wicca
Neena and Hogan are seen conversing with a smoke-like being who appeared to be in charge of them. It told them that they needed to do something before it could return to full power. Neena and Hogan then killed Paige's latest charge, a male witch named Brent.

Innocents Lost
Neena and Hogan went to The Ancient Burial Ground of The Hollow and distracted the new Guardians, taking a sample of soil and proceeding to give it to their mysterious master. Neena cast a spell and brought the Source of All Evil back to life as a golem.

Mortal Enemies
In the Underworld, The Source was ready to make his next move, leaving Hogan and Neena behind to work on "more important things".

Unnatural Resources
As The Source battled the Charmed Ones, Neena was still in the Underworld brewing something in a cauldron while telling Hogan to be patient and being cryptic about not being trustworthy. After the Charmed Ones vanquished The Source, Neena cast a spell to share the Source's power with the demons in her presence. She then killed Hogan by suffocating him with vines.

The Heir Up There
In the Underworld, the Darklighter Rennek has teamed up with the Horned Demon and his minions in order to go on a rampage and massacre a group of Vampires. He set his sights on the Vampire Queen, Lorna, who he claimed that he won't kill yet. Lorna tried to feign innocence when Rennek pointed out that she had upset a friend of his. Just then, Neena appeared and yelled at Lorna for not showing allegiance to her after she granted Lorna the very powers that made her a Vampire Queen. Lorna wanted to negotiate further, but a fed-up Neena simply staked her with roots, vanquishing her.

Neena was pleased that the vampires had been dealt with, as that allowed her plan to proceed for the Underworld. Rennek, however, was suspicious that the demons did not know who they were really working for. He then called Neena by two different names - Isabel and Victoria - and told her that he knew of her true identity and intentions.

Oh, Henry
In the Underworld, Neena admitted that she did not want The Charmed Ones involved with her scheme, which was why Rennek had not attacked them before. In fact, she would have left them out entirely if she did not have to divide The Source's powers to make her army stronger. Meanwhile, Rennek had collected enough orbs for her attack. Neena then gathered a group of demons to help her plan out the attack.

Meanwhile, the Charmed Ones orbed to the Bridge, where they found multiple demons attacking The Elders. Rennek and Neena then attacked Kyle Brody and Neena took his powers after Rennek killed him. Neena then faced the Charmed Ones and was able to send Piper to another dimension. Paige tried to orb Piper back to her, but failed. Leo then arrived and recognized Neena as the first witch. He quickly told the sisters to orb back to the manor and told them of Neena's origins.

The All or Nothing
Up in the Heavens, Neena has ran the Elders into hiding, and it is revealed that she had once attempted to create a world where the tree of The All could be recreated, but the realm would not hold it, so she instead used it as a prison for her enemies: trapping Piper and an Angel of Destiny there. This other realm also damaged the Cosmic Void, allowing Cole Turner to appear in the realm.

Three Little Wiccans
A glamoured Leo and Paige entered the Heavens in an attempt find Piper, however, they are quickly recognized by Neena. She then took them to the vault and threatened to kill Paige's husband and children if she did not open the vault. Paige then reluctantly opened the door, granting Neena access to The Sphaera of Light and Dark. Paige then tried to escape, but was blasted by a demon.

Last Witch Effort
While held captive by Rennek, Leo tried to reason with Neena, informing her she will destroy everything if her plan succeeds. Nenna told him that the fusion of the Underworld and The Heavens would open a portal to the higher plane which holds The All and her beloved. Leo told her this isn't her, but Neena replied that the Angels of Destiny and Elders made her like this by shaping the world around her and her children and that she was tired of fate dictating everything. Leo mentioned she has killed dozens of innocents and Whitelighters, though Neena replied that she had never killed any of her children. She then told him that she played by the rules, but that she no longer would. She then combined the two orbs, causing a thunderstorm to brew on earth.

The Charmed Offensive
While Neena used her magic to fuse the spheara into one giant sphere, Leo managed to escape Rennek and headed into the vault. Meanwhile, Paige and the Warren witches gathered at the gate of the Ancestral Plane ready to charge the Heavens. The Charmed Ones and their allies then attacked Neena's army, forcing her to enter the fray. At that moment, Leo emerged with wings and a flaming sword. Paige temporarily orbed Neena away, giving the sisters time to restore her to her body. Neena then returned and agrily accused the sisters of being ungrateful, as none of them would have existed without her.

Neena continued to justify her actions, and Phoebe used her power to feel her emotions. Piper then told Phoebe to turn the emotions back on Neena. However, the emotions proved too much to handle and both witches fell to the ground, temporarily incapacitating. Phoebe then told her sisters how Neena felt and realized that she truly believed she was doing what wass best.

Piper then told them to move to Plan B, which was binding Neena's powers while she was still incapacitated. She poured a potion on Neena's chest and the sisters cast their spell. However, they alone were not powerful enough to do it, so all Warren Witches joined them and cast the spell, effectively binding her powers. With the help of the Elders and Leo's sword, the sisters then break apart the spheres, preventing the apocalypse and changing the Upper Regions back to normal, putting a stop to Neena's plans.

At that moment, three Angels of Destiny appeared. While they agreed with Neena that there had been too much interference on their part and promised to make amends to her descendants, they refused to let her return to the Higher Realm as they felt she needed to be punished for her crimes. Instead, they banished Neena to the failed realm she created. However, understanding what drove her to her actions and their undeniable responsibility in the matter, they agreed to make some amends to her as well. Six months out of the year, Neena would be allowed to reunite with her beloved, as the only compromise they could offer.

Powers and Abilities
As the first magical witch, or "the very source of human magic" (as she once proclaimed herself to be), Neena was one of the most powerful magical beings in existence. Even the Angels of Destiny stated that they had very little control over her as she existed outside of time and space. Aside from her own natural powers, Neena also absorbed the powers of The Source of All Evil and The Elders, which gave her power over both The Underworld and The Heavens.


 * Basic Powers
 * Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.
 * Potion Making: The ability to brew magical potions.
 * Scrying: The ability to scry for lost objects or beings through the use of a map and a scrying crystal.
 * Active Powers
 * Fire Throwing: The ability to throw streams of fire from one's hands.
 * Portal Creation: The ability to create portals to other locations or realms. Neena claimed she had no idea where she sent people to.
 * Energy Beams: The ability to fire beams of magical energy from one's hands
 * Geokinesis: The ability to manipulate earth, rock and soil. Neena has been shown to levitate a large rock and use it to levitate herself. She also displayed some control over vines, which she used to stake Lorna.
 * Premonition: The ability to perceive events from the past, present and future. Neena was mentioned to possess this power to an exceptionally high degree, displaying considerable knowledge of intimate details of the lives of the Charmed Ones.
 * Other Powers
 * Immortality: The ability to possess an infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process. Neena has existed since the dawn of humanity.
 * Power Absorption: The ability to absorb and take ownership of the powers of other magical beings.

To Share the Source's Power

 * Ancient evil now destroyed.
 * Others rise to fill the void.
 * To build our strength within this hour,
 * Leave vanquished Source, but share his power.

To Bind Neena's Magic

 * Earthly Goddess twisted by loss
 * We bind your magic, we bind your strength, we bind your power
 * Now and forever.

Trivia

 * She is almost two and a half million years old, as Leo said she was around since the first days of humanity.
 * She knew Charlotte Warren and gave her a Triquetra necklace.
 * On Twitter, Paul Ruditis called her the Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.
 * The origin of Neena and her mate shares many similarities to the story of Adam and Eve.
 * The Angels of Destiny allowing Neena's beloved to spend six months out of the year with her shares many similarities to the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

Appearances
Neena appeared in a total of 11 issues and 1 bonus story throughout the course of the comic series.


 * Season 9
 * To The Warren Born
 * Charmed Lives
 * No Rest for the Wicca
 * Innocents Lost
 * Mortal Enemies
 * Unnatural Resources
 * The Heir Up There
 * Oh, Henry
 * The All or Nothing
 * Three Little Wiccans
 * Last Witch Effort
 * The Charmed Offensive