Evanora still remembers that day like it was yesterday. Her mother had sent for her, and despite everyone’s misgivings, she was allowed to see her mother. The stench of death had slowly pervaded the air for weeks prior to that day, and anyone with as much as an ounce of magic in them could tell that someone had either died or was in the process of dying.
“Princess Evanora, how nice of you to finally grace me with your presence. Did the stench of death make you have a change of heart?”
Evanora remained silent, knowing better then to talk. She wished she could tell her that it wasn’t her fault, that she was banned from ever stepping foot in the room where her dying mother lay. Evanora did not dare visit, not because she did not want to, but because she could not.
Her brother and sister had set up guards in the room Klara lay to protect her. Under this guise, they were able to spell the room to inhibit her entry. If she so much as set a foot into the room, she would not be walking out in peace, but in pieces. Literally and figuratively.
Even then, they only cloaked the spell for a short period of time. After that time was up, they wouldn’t be responsible for whatever became of ‘their beloved younger sister.’
For six hours, Evanora listened to her mother speak on various matters. She tried to stop her, to tell her to conserve her strength for another day, but Klara refused. “I can see death with my two eyes- I don’t even need to use my supernatural senses. I don’t know if I’ll ever have enough time.”
As she listened to her mother talk, Evanora regretted not coming a long time ago. True, her elder siblings had barred her from entry, but if she had told her father about it, he would have done something. Instead, she kept quiet so as not to brook further hostility, thus missing out on an opportunity to be tutored by her mother. Had the woman not insisted on speaking to her in private against all odds, she would have lost the chance to learn so much.
When Klara Vischer realised that she had no more time, she used the vestiges of her magical power to transfer all that she had ever known into Evanora’s sea of consciousness. Under normal circumstances, a dying witch or wizard would transfer their knowledge to a vessel, be it living or dead, through a process called Magiaren herentzia, the inheritance of magic.
In ancient magical families with pure bloodlines, this process was seen as a way of passing inheritances, and only the first or most powerful offspring of his or her generation ever received the inheritance from the dying matriarch or patriarch.
The process was a painful and overwhelming, as Klara literally released a barrage of information into her sea of consciousness. This was unlike the original process that was usually slow and soothing. The force not only exhausted her, it also sapped her lifeforce- after reducing her mother to a stiff, desiccated corpse void of even the slightest iota of life.
The other members of the Vischer family found Evanora’s unconscious body next to her mother’s lifeless one. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. At first they refused to believe it, thinking that Evanora must’ve done something harmful to the late matriarch. They reasoned that she may have forcefully drained the life force of her dying mother out of spite.
Now, one would wonder why a magical family so powerful that even highly ranked demons did not dare to say their name out loud postulate such weird theories. What could a young witchling, one who was not Awakened for that matter, be able to do to a witch-like Klara Vischer, even if the latter was on her deathbed?
Nothing, of course. Evanora could not harm Klara Vischer, even if she wanted to. But grief has a way of clouding the mind, and even absurdities soon start to make complete sense.
Had the physician not intervened with a comprehensive autopsy on Klara Vischer’s corpse and a detailed analysis of the changes going through her body, Evanora would have received the treatment reserved for hardened criminals. The discovery that Klara had indeed chosen Evanora, and not any of her elder siblings, came as a welcome surprise to all who heard of it. Did this mean that Evanora, the least popular member of the Vischer family, was the strongest of Anthony and the late Klara Vischer’s children?
Evanora had always longed for the love and affection of the rest of her family, but even getting them to look at her without disgust and alienation in their eyes was a pipedream. It didn’t help that Klara Vischer’s magical inheritance was passed on to her. Her father could not be bothered with her, and her siblings hated her even more. The situation was so bad that on the day she was Awakened, they abandoned her to her fate. Her survival was none of their business.
Evanora Vischer looked forward to her Awakening, as she knew that it was her ticket to freedom. Every witchling or warlock who Awakened successfully was automatically an adult, able to make decisions and be accountable for them. They were still under the protection of their family, but they could choose to act as separate entities, doing their own thing.
Evanora had spent a century in a toxic environment, and she had little hope for change. She did not even desire a chance to bridge the gap that formed between them over the years anymore. Her mother’s death was the wake-up call she needed.
Staying behind would guarantee her a secure future, because with or without magic, she was still a member of the Vischer family and would remain under their protection, enjoying the perks that were associated with being a member of a pureblood family.