The group was silent for a few minutes after Cassandra finished her tale. Perceval spoke first, "Lady Cassandra, I am truly sorry for your sacrifice. I can only imagine the scope of the battle you faced."
"She had more mana than I did, and with her armor, her sphere level was higher than mine," Cassandra confessed, "I just couldn't imagine a being out there like that. Except now, I've met two. How can you have so much magik at such a young age, niece?"
"It's partly due to my gift and partly because of my unique heritage. I'm not a Hexblood like you and my mom were. My father was another magik race," Emory explained.
"Well, you're still an Aurelias, and that's what matters," Cassandra confirmed, "I thought our clan was gone. There's so much I have to tell you."
Sam interrupted sheepishly, "Speaking of things to tell us, maybe you should start with how you're here talking to us."
"We have done a lot of research into different ways to harness magik," Cassandra elaborated, "One of the spells we created forms a bond between the masters of the house. My spirit will remain within these four walls until Emory here passes and takes my place as master of the house. Before you leave, we'll need to perform the ceremony linking you to the house."
"What else do you know about the woman you fought?" Emory asked.
"I couldn't get a good look at her appearance during the final moments," Cassandra said painfully, "I could tell that she added a second sphere in the end, but I couldn't tell what it was. Probably not one of the normal spheres which means they can use what we traditionally called Fae spheres."
Emory nodded, "What else did you have to tell me? Unfortunately, we're at war again with the Mantoan, so I can't stay long."
"We have two important tools in this castle that might help you," Cassandra put two fingers up, "First, we have multiple copies of all the spellbooks, even the Fae spheres. There's a family tree in the library, just like in our spellbook, so I know there are probably a few others that could take advantage of those. Second, we have records about the Void sphere in the library as well. The Aurelias clan has had several members throughout history that traveled the stars, though this practice stopped a few generations before me. Those explorers detailed the Laxtros, and if I would have been a better student, perhaps I could have been more prepared against them."
"Wait, did the Aurelias clan know about the Mantoan before they showed up the first time?" Lilina exclaimed.
"No, we never encountered the Mantoan," Cassandra shook her head, "We did encounter two other races, the Uthid and Laxtros. You see, we were trying to find the Fae to find out why they left us. But we never did."
Emory stood up, "Why don't you show us to the library then?" Cassandra agreed, so everyone stood up and followed her to the most majestic, gilded, double doors in the back of the parlor. They walked into a mystic looking library out of a fairy tale with shelves that went thirty feet into the air, nearly all the way to the ceiling. It was a cozy, circular library with only a single table, a few chairs, and a rolling ladder to reach the highest books. A layer of dust topped every surface, making it clear that no one had been in this room for some time.
"Most of these are journals, but some are research documents and instruction spellbooks. Please be gentle with them as some are nearly a thousand years old," Cassandra motioned to the books with her hand.
"What kind of research was being done?" Emory wondered aloud, "I mean I'm not expecting the same level of projects as the Elandrian, but the projects could be beneficial to our current situation."
Cassandra grimaced, "Our two main projects would indeed be helpful, but they could be very dangerous as well. We were in the final stages of mixing skills with enchanted items; before my death, I was just going to put them into a new piece but ran out of time. The other project still has work to be done on it."
"Skills with enchantments?" Perceval exclaimed, "We gave up on that research before I was born! That's incredible! What was the other major work?"
"To make humans magik creatures," Cassandra sighed while the rest of the group stopped immediately and stared at her.
"What are you saying?" Gwen questioned, "You were trying to make us into Fae?"
Cassandra frowned, "Not into the Fae, just with a magik core like theirs. And frankly, many other creatures in the universe. Humans are the only race we've come across that can harness magik but not generate it internally themselves. If we could store magik and have it on tap, we'd be significantly more equipped to deal with threats."
"Can you imagine the possibilities?" Shanna gasped, "A spell that could unlock this power could change humanity forever."
"That's exactly why this information needs to be kept in this room. If we could finish the enchantment research, it could be spread throughout the Witches. However, no one talks about the second project unless it's to another person in this room right now and preferably only within these castle walls," Emory commanded. The others agreed solemnly on this order.
"What do you want done with the rest of this?" Perceval asked, "It will take time to comb through the journals to find out more information about the Void sphere."
Emory rubbed her chin, "Let's gather the spellbooks first and set them aside. Then, Perceval and Shanna, I'm tasking you two specifically with finding out more about the Void sphere. Once we've uncovered all we can, let's start trying to add skills to enchantments." Everyone got to work finding the spellbooks which were rather easy due to their distinct binding, cover, and size. It didn't take long to find the eight spellbooks, and just like the Arcane one, all of them were written in a different script as well. Perceval explained that this was the language the witches used to use when he was a child, but they had begun switching to English at the beginning of the eighteenth century. However, anyone with Arcane Sight was able to read them, even Sam though she had gained it from someone besides Emory. As Emory flipped through the books, a question popped into her mind.
"Say, Cassandra, do you know what other sphere my mom had?" Emory turned to the ghastly figure, "Everyone knows you had Arcane and Multiplication, but I haven't picked a second sphere yet. So, I wanted to get some ideas."
"Of course I know what my little sister's other sphere was! That sneaky little minx also had the Luck sphere. It's probably why she was able to live under the radar for so long," Cassandra huffed.
"Hmm, well that doesn't help then," Emory grunted in frustration, "I don't know which is the right choice."
Cassandra smiled, "Any you choose will be fine. Though, with your particular strengths, I would choose an Aura sphere instead of a Natural or Unique sphere. With your mana, you could create areas of effect miles in diameter. Therefore, I would recommend Chaos, Charm, Luck, Succession, or Summoning. Out of all past Aurelias members, Chaos and Summoning have been studied the least."
"Is there any specific reason why these two have been studied the least?" Emory questioned as she grabbed the two books, "Maybe the better question is what do these two do?"
"Chaos is the companion sphere of Luck, and they both have similar functions. While Luck gives the wielder the best outcome for any given action in the aura, Chaos gives others the worst outcome in the aura. The main difference is the target between the two spheres.; yourself versus everyone else. Summoning is an upgraded combination of Multiplication and Shifting. It allows you to create beasts and figures of pure magik that will target whatever you choose," Cassandra explained.
"I thought you said Summoning was an Aura sphere, but it sounds like the progression would just be more or stronger creatures," Sam interjected, "How is it an Aura then?"
Cassandra nodded, "That's exactly right. The progression follows Shifting exactly which is why it's the only aura sphere available to non-magik beings. Aura spheres are just ones that have a continual drain on your mana."
In the end, Emory still couldn't decide which sphere she wanted to learn next, so they just grabbed them all. While the others continued segregating the journals based on whether they described the Void sphere or not, Cassandra and Emory walked back to the parlor and then out of the castle altogether towards the back tower. The door was plain and simple, yet instead of a doorknob, there was just a pop-out impression for one's hand. Emory placed her hand in the grove and felt a slight pick on her thumb, causing a small amount of blood to drip down. After a moment, the door disappeared, and the pair strolled into a small stone room with glyphs covering every inch. Once the door reappeared, the light from the glyphs illuminated the room with a pale blue glow. What shocked Emory the most, however, was the sudden appearance of several other ghostly figures.
"What is all this?" Emory gasped, "I assumed that the magik only sustained one master of the house at a time."
"Yes, the way that I explained it was intended to give you all that impression. However, the truth is that once you perform the ceremony, you will always be bound to the house," Cassandra admitted.
"Does that mean everyone is here?" Emory whispered as she grasped the situation, "I mean all the old masters of the house, even."