abstract
| - The origins of Veela are lost to history, however there are a myriad of theories of how Veela originated, ranging from being the result of a god mutating several nymphs to serve as sex slaves to being an offshoot of Sirens who retained their full-human appearance. Although how the Veela truly originated has been a topic of debate for millennia, what everybody can agree on is the oldest documented Veela appeared in 568 A.D. in what corresponds to modern Bulgaria. Up until the 19th century, the International Confederation of Wizards classified Veela as beasts of human intelligence, the same category as Centaurs. This allowed wizards to hunt, capture or sell Veela at their leisure. Because of this, most Veela remained in hiding, living among various Veela tribes in eastern Europe. For centuries, the only country to ever classify Veela as fully sentient beings was Bulgaria, which, in the 9th century, allocated a large plot of land to Veela looking for sanctuary. This mysterious place, known only Semeĭstvo, a Bulgarian word meaning "family" or "household", is known only to the Bulgarian Minister of Magic and the Veela within the settlement. Veela outside of the settlement know nothing but legends of the place, suggesting that no outside Veela has visited and no Veela has left Semeĭstvo since its creation. What little information gathered from sources within the Bulgarian Ministry is that Semeĭstvo is autonomous and govern their own internal affairs, much like Muggle First Nations communities. Although the International Confederation of Wizards finally elevated Veela status to Being, there are some countries who still hold prejudice against Veela. In Great Britain for example, laws classified Veela as suspicious creatures with "dark tendencies" because their Charm was seen as a type of mind alteration of the same volatility level as the "Imperious" curse, leading to all Veela staying clear of the Isles as recently as the 1990's. Of course, because of the traditional rivalry between Veela and the Merpeople of the North, any Veela seen within Northern Mermish communities are immediately executed.
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