Enchantress

11

^^ Torbjorn Einz ^^

— Isaac —

My days had become a bit hectic, ever since I brought my Protege into the Waking World. I thought, at first, she'd get some skill related to Charming people, or something similar to that, given her aversion to violence, but instead, she'd been given the Single-Most Lucrative Gift that existed, and now she was the only one who could ever have it. She wasn't aware, of course, that each gift had to be unique in some way. Ten people could have Fire Magic Powers, but each would express them differently, even if it was all visually the same. Some would make fire by burning oxygen, some by way of illusions that caused Mana Burns. The most important part, though, was that the family who got the ability first would pass down the Original Ability as a Familial Trait that would steadily increase in potency with every passing generation that was Awakened through that family's Contract, like my family and our heightened senses, from the Original 'Hunting' Gift.

So, essentially, considering she had asked for the very simple ability to Enchant Items, she got the Original Gift of 'Enchantment'. Plus, apparently, that synergized really damned well Summoning Magic, which, even though it wasn't her actual Gift, she was capable of doing without any training in the matter beyond a cursed Demonomicon. I mean, anyone could summon something if they could read through a legitimate Demonomicon, but it would still be a struggle, and the summoned creatures wouldn't be forced to obey you. All of this lead to the thought that Johnathan, Gina's Son, was literally the most valuable asset our clan had ever hosted and protected. When he came into the Family Gifts, he would be the most powerful sorcerer in all of the Waking World, and he wasn't even aware of it yet. Gina, however, -or Lady Chamberlain, or Madame Angel, whichever,- was very aware of her power and worth, and worked steadily every second of every day to ensure her son's survival and prosperity.

The 'Tower of Glass' she made wasn't gaudy so much as Opulent, and tastefully so, even though the Glass walls, ceiling, floor, chair, tables, and of course the main Stage of the Opera House echoed every sound that was made within, which did make the entire place an acoustic nightmare, something she hadn't accounted for properly. This was apparently solved through an ingenious use of Silence Runes, one of the more (believed to be) useless Runes she'd found while examining Stealth Equipment. It was technically a rare enchantment, but was nevertheless overlooked by most, considering the intent of diving into a dungeon was to draw monsters to you and then slay them, so magic for hiding from them wasn't as popular. Regardless, the entire building was drop-dead gorgeous, even just the downstairs portion I was allowed to see, with its schools of fish and eels and little sharks swimming around in every direction, coral reefs hidden in pillars, and entire ecosystems visibly flourishing. It was breathtaking, and considering the behavior of the numerous people dressed to the nines around me on the ballroom floor, all influential people from all over the Waking World, I could tell they thought so too.

Then the lights, an everpresent and sourceless light, dimmed noticeably, the light focusing on one area not unlike a spotlight to reveal four figures. Lady Chamberlain, dressed in a floor-length shimmering red evening gown that looked not unlike a silk rendition of fish scales, with a long slit up to the right hip to show her well-toned leg wrapped in a fishnet and a six-inch scarlet heel. Her hair was mostly done up, likely to show off her pale shoulders and neck, and what little hair was down was draped over her bust, which was only tenuously held by the shiny red strapless gown, leaving the tops visible and directly in the line of view for anyone, even those who were innocently looking at her hair. Beside her to her right, Johnathan stood with his red-brown hair slicked back and the rest of him sheathed in a black coattail jacket and gunmetal grey vest, with a small black bow-tie carefully affixed to his collar which he was fiddling with until he noticed people looking at him, wherein he straightened up and grabbed the hand that Gina wasn't using to hold the intricately carved redwood folding fan in front of most of her face. To her left was my mother and father, dressed in their finest livery from their respective cultures; mother wearing a pantsuit with bone decorations woven into her hair and hanging from her ears, while father wore a delicate and formal kimono with a cherry-blossom design.