While Cook brought her helpers back to the kitchen side of the mess hall, the shocked Witches and soldiers began to discuss the events of the day.
Watching the Inquisition arrest and strip the magical ability from a Coven leader’s family member wasn’t something that happened more than once a generation.
Reiko was taking it hard, and even with the others comforting her, she was still on the verge of tears.
“That was my second sister. The locket she was wearing belonged to the family’s named successor. My oldest sister hadn’t taken it off since the day her magic awakened.” Reiko whispered as Wolfe sat down beside her.
Wolfe simply held her while she worked through what she wanted to say until, finally, her resolve hardened, and Reiko began to speak.
“The Morgan Family Successor is the successor to the Coven leadership. Once they finish their time at the Academy and receive the blessing, they are never allowed to leave the city again. They cannot be without the Family Guard. Even while they sleep, six guards are in their room.
The amulet holds great power, it should defend against almost any attack, and no one apart from the Family Head can touch it while it is being worn. Eldest Sister would never take it off willingly.
But it didn’t activate at all when Second Sister was stripped of her power, so she never got Mother’s blessing to wear the amulet, and First Sister didn’t take over the position and name her the Successor.”
She stopped to let the implication sink in. Either her sisters fought to the death, and the winner fled the city, or something really did happen, and the Morgan Family, possibly the entire Morgana Coven, had been forced from the city entirely after sustaining casualties.
“They’re still here if you need to speak with them. They went to a bunk house and put up spells so I can’t see in.” Wolfe replied.
“I want to know, need to know, but at the same time, I don’t think I could take knowing. What if it’s the worst-case scenario? I wanted to be out on my own, but not like that.” She whispered.
Without a clear solution, the group simply waited for the interrogation to complete. It was almost a relief to see the Inquisitor’s faces coming out of the bunkhouse, with a dejected former Witch in chains behind them, but the object floating in front of them caught Reiko’s attention.
Two of the Inquisitors loaded their charge into an Armored vehicle, while the last walked up to Reiko, using a bubble of Witch Magic to suspend the Morgan Family heirloom.
“This belongs to you. She admitted as much under questioning. For what it’s worth, your mother is still in the city and still in charge as far as we know, but most of the council has been killed or driven out after your oldest sister led an attempt to overthrow her authority.
Coven Leader Morgan sided with the crime families to maintain order, and it turned into a massacre. Someone enchanted bullets for them, and the Coven Council Members didn’t stand a chance when the Families raided their homes.
I’m sorry to be the one to inform you of your sister’s actions and for not having more details, but the prisoner mind wiped herself at some point after leaving the city to prevent details of the rebellion from leaking out.”
Reiko took the amulet and placed it around her neck, causing it to emit a soft glow for a few seconds before fading back to its normal appearance.
“Yes, the spell in the amulet tells me that Mother is in perfect health, and she either chose me or disinherited every other sibling, and I got the successor’s position by default.
The amulet will have confirmed that I am wearing it as her successor, so If you see her, let her know that I have a suitable escort with me and that I am well.” Reiko responded politely.
“Of course. Now we should get going before anyone else realizes you’re alive. I told your second sister that I was giving the amulet to the Demon for destruction. Your oldest sister and her allies still think you are dead.”
The Inquisitor left before anyone else could speak, joining her team and their prisoner in the Armored vehicle before racing away toward Sylvan City as fast as the six-wheeled transport could carry them.
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By conventional logic, they were mostly doomed, as the Familiar Summoning usually only worked once, and they had lost theirs, which cut their mana gathering speed in half and crippled their growth, but the Sylvan Witches didn’t bring theirs to the battlefield in the first place.
Their Familiars stayed in a boarding kennel or with family while they were away, so they all based their standards around not having one for the six months that they were on the front lines. It was worth the time without their help to be sure that they survived to assist you for the rest of your life.
“Trust me, once he finishes clearing your veins, you’ll be a top-notch Witch. You’re already not too bad, stronger than I am, but before he arrived, I was a soldier. I didn’t have an aura at all.” One of the team leaders was telling Mio.
“He did that for students at the academy too, but quietly. He activated the aura for some of the regular class Witches who failed to Summon a Familiar at the start of the year. He didn’t help them any more than that, though. He wasn’t blatant about it like the others said he was when he did it for all of you.” Mollie, one of the twins, replied.
“Have him look after you tonight if you can. The Lieutenant will surely change the schedule tonight so you’re not doing everyone’s chores all the time, and that means you’ll likely need to go to morning training and learn our unit’s basic spells.” The soldier warned her, then headed to her table to eat.
“Will you really help us so we can grow our power again, even without our Familiars?” Mio asked Wolfe later that evening.
“Of course, and I’ll push your limits so that you catch up to the other trained Witches here. You’ve got a lot of learning to do, but you’ve all got great potential. Come sit on the bed, and I will clear the blockages so we can get started.”
Once their veins were clear, Wolfe realized something strange about the Servants. There was another layer to the bond beyond what the sigil provided with the others.
He had a deeper level of control over the aura of these Witches. It felt like he could almost touch it and not just sense it. The feeling was undeveloped, though, possibly because their bond was new.
“Forgive me if this is unpleasant. I’ll start stretching your mana veins now.” Wolfe informed them.