The Brewing Storm is the 25th book in the Charmed novel series.
Summary
- Earth, air, fire, water—
- A child must bring them all together.
- Calm the shaking, quell the slaughter,
- Tonight's the night—it's now or never.
Despite wacky weather threatening the San Francisco area, life for the Charmed Ones is as normal as ever. Normal, that is, until eleven-year-old Tyler Michaels shows up at their door. Tyler, a Firestarter, is on the run from demons. Though the Halliwell sisters have dealt with Tyler before, a glance at the Book of Shadows turns up new, unexpected information about the boy ... and the forces for which his magic can be harnessed.
Once a century the planets align in such a way that the tides shift and the climates changes, causing unpredictable weather and earthquakes. With the world out of balance, the Firestarter is charged with gathering the other Elementals on the Night of Aeolus to perform a sacred ritual. Without this ritual the weather will eventually tear the world apart. But the demons chasing Tyler want to divert the Elemental power and channel it for a dark evil. The Charmed Ones must prevent this from happening at all costs—but the Night of Aeolus is already upon them....
Characters
Major
- Piper Halliwell: The eldest sister with the power of Molecular Immobilization and Molecular Combustion.
- Phoebe Halliwell: The middle sister with the power of Premonition and Levitation.
- Paige Matthews: The youngest half-sister with the power of Telekinetic Orbing and Orbing.
- Leo Wyatt: The Charmed Ones' Whitelighter and Piper's husband. He has the powers of Orbing and Healing.
Support
- Darryl Morris: Police inspector at San Francisco Police Department. He is aware of the sisters' secret.
- Tempest: A demon who aims to take control of the natural elements.
- Rafe: A Hispanic Windwalker.
- Gabrielle Chambers: An African-American Waterbearer.
- Muriel Hammond: A 67-year-old woman descending from a long line of Earthshakers.
- Sam Harkins: FBI agent in charge of finding Tyler.
- Stephen and Maria Michaels: Tyler's adoptive parents.
- Elise Rothman: Editor-in-chief of The Bay Mirror.
Minor
- Christopher Young: A news reporter and the initial Firestarter tasked with gathering the elementals.
- Detective Warrington: A female detective of the San Francisco Police Department.
- Detective Simpson: Warrington's partner.
- Officer McGee: Female officer.
- Norah Johnson: Assistant.
- Granny Goodwords: Children's advice columnist at The Bay Mirror.
Magical Notes
Book of Shadows
The Night of Aeolus
- Once every century, the planets align in such a way that it causes the winds to shift and the climate to change. During that period, weather becomes unstable and the Earth begins to shake as the world falls out of balance.
- On the Night of Aeolus, by the light of the full moon, the elements must come together to set everything in its proper place. To do this, a Firestarter is charged with gathering other Elementals at the Circle of Gaea to perform the Ritual of the Guardians.
- If the elements do not combine, the weather will continue to wreak havoc and could eventually tear the world apart.
- If the Elementals use the ritual to divert the power of the elements to the demon Tempest, he will be able to control the weather and the very Earth itself.
Tempest
- Tempest was banished to a neutral environment that he can only leave on the Night of Aeolus. Tempest commands a quartet of demons with the ability to drain the powers of Elementals.
- If the powers can be collected from four Elementals by the Night of Aeolus, they will transfer those powers to their master, and he will be able to control the weather all over the world.
Spells
To Unbind Tyler's Power
- When time is ready
- Or need is dire,
- Unbind his power
- Return his fire.
To Vanquish Tempest's Servant
- This one's going down
- Only three more to go.
- Then Tempest will frown,
- As we vanquish our foe.
To Vanquish Tempest
- By the Water and the Air,
- By the Earth and the Fire,
- By the powers that we bear,
- Tempest's life, now expire.
Ritual of the Guardians
- Guardians of the North, the West, the South, the East,
- Join together in the spirit of this circle
- And bring about peace.
- Calm the winds, hold back the rains, subdue the fire, and let Earth rest.
- On this Night of Aeolus, in this the Circle of Gaea,
- We implore you to take back your power by using our strength.
Timing
Piper confirms that she is not pregnant, but that Cole is (supposedly) out of the picture, meaning that this novel would have to take place immediately before the season 4 finale Witch Way Now?. This would actually place it before the 23rd novel Inherit the Witch, even though it was published afterwards. Paige is also a social worker, a job she didn't get until the beginning of season 5 then promptly gave up. One possible explanation is that Paige did not immediately quit her social work job as suggested in the episode but gave it a few days before deciding to focus on witchcraft, while Phoebe's comment about Cole being out of the picture may simply mean that she feels he has accepted her decision not to resume their relationship.
Notes
- This is one of the rare novels where Darryl gets a major role.
- The demon Tempest was introduced in this novel. This led to some confusion for fans as to whether they were discussing Tempus, a demonic sorcerer from season 1, or a new character named Tempest.
- This is one of four stories that the author of the comic book series wrote prior to the comics.
- Goof: Paige says she has been working to finalize Tyler's adoption for almost a year, but the series/novel timeline indicates that it has been less than three months since in his season 4 debut.
- Goof: Paige incorrectly refers to Phoebe as being divorced from Cole. This is likely because of the fact that the novels were written a year out (or behind depending on the point of view) and the author did not know how the show would develop.
- The shot of Darryl Morris dates back to Season 1.
- Sheila Morris appears in this novel. She is still unaware of the Halliwell's secret.
Covers
Russian: Nadvigajuščajasja burja (Rising Storm)
