was older and formally joined the College. So he tasked me with investigating. That file contains all of the evidence I’ve gathered during the investigation.”
I open the portfolio and spread out some of the papers on the nearby table. Old newspaper clippings. Copies of birth and death records. Letters. Discolored old photographs. Centuries of clues neatly sorted and labeled. There is a 1798 registration form to the College of Necromancer for a Chana Mathers. Her 1800 Rank Five certification is attached. In those days, certifications included a woodcut impression of the Necromancer printed on the form as a sort of proof of identity. There is a copy of a page from the Monfort family Bible, owned by Louis Monfort's grandparents according to the notes. It shows the date of Louis' marriage to Hannah Monfort. We had never found a copy of a marriage certificate nor any evidence of Hannah's maiden name. According to the family Bible, it was Mathers.
I show Houston the Necromancer certification and the photocopy of Hannah's wedding portrait.
“It wasn't uncommon for people to use variant spellings of their own names,” says Brynwolf. “It wasn't like today with all of the security issues.”
“She just changed her identity and hid in plain sight,” says Houston.
“You both need to understand that it has really only been in the last hundred years that the various colleges have started…sharing…information. Each College traditionally kept its membership information under lock and guard. And until a few decades ago, even the information that was shared was sorted manually. We really just now how the infrastructure in place to connect the dots.
“At the time she was reinventing herself, the College of Necromancy was dealing with the Schism. Anyone who might have realized who she was was busy dealing with the rift within the College.”
“I guess we know now what happened to Hannah Monfort's first two husbands,” says Houston. “Sucked their life energies then inherited their fortunes. It all looks like natural causes because they were both older men anyway.”
“Houston, look at this,” I say as I hand him a copy of a daguerreotype portrait of Fiona and Francois Dubois' wedding. In the image, we can see the couple with both sets of parents. Standing next to Fiona's mother...Hannah Monfort. “We never did find a death certificate for Hannah.”
“That is because she allegedly committed suicide a few days before Wilma was born,” says Brynwolf. “There are pages from Fiona's diary in there. She talks about her mother becoming increasingly depressed about her old age. Francois found her dead in the cellar of her home. She had slit her wrists.”
Houston picks up the page of the diary where Fiona talks about the death. “Nightshade petals, candles, circle of salt...sounds like a ritual.”
“The Soul Jar. She released her spirit from her body and sent it into Wilma,” says Brynwolf. “It seems that after the first jump, she unlocked a method of transferring her soul that didn't require such elaborate measures. So long as it was blood of her own blood, she could simply slip in.”
“Arachne’s Web!” I shout. “Chana Magus was a necromancer first and foremost and wanted to preserve her hereditary magic bloodline to consolidate her power. She would jump into the body of an unborn descendant. That’s how she hid and how she maintained her power.”
Houston screams and flips over the desk.
“Houston!” I shout at him.
“April!” he cries. “Mom wasn’t guiding April. She was April!”
“We didn’t realize that until recently,” says Brynwolf. “During the Inquest we made the connection between April’s emergency application to the College and Vivika.”
“She used Aunt Ruth. She knew . She knew that people were digging into her past and it was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. That's why she donated her eggs so that Aunt Ruth could have a baby. The baby would be hers
I open the portfolio and spread out some of the papers on the nearby table. Old newspaper clippings. Copies of birth and death records. Letters. Discolored old photographs. Centuries of clues neatly sorted and labeled. There is a 1798 registration form to the College of Necromancer for a Chana Mathers. Her 1800 Rank Five certification is attached. In those days, certifications included a woodcut impression of the Necromancer printed on the form as a sort of proof of identity. There is a copy of a page from the Monfort family Bible, owned by Louis Monfort's grandparents according to the notes. It shows the date of Louis' marriage to Hannah Monfort. We had never found a copy of a marriage certificate nor any evidence of Hannah's maiden name. According to the family Bible, it was Mathers.
I show Houston the Necromancer certification and the photocopy of Hannah's wedding portrait.
“It wasn't uncommon for people to use variant spellings of their own names,” says Brynwolf. “It wasn't like today with all of the security issues.”
“She just changed her identity and hid in plain sight,” says Houston.
“You both need to understand that it has really only been in the last hundred years that the various colleges have started…sharing…information. Each College traditionally kept its membership information under lock and guard. And until a few decades ago, even the information that was shared was sorted manually. We really just now how the infrastructure in place to connect the dots.
“At the time she was reinventing herself, the College of Necromancy was dealing with the Schism. Anyone who might have realized who she was was busy dealing with the rift within the College.”
“I guess we know now what happened to Hannah Monfort's first two husbands,” says Houston. “Sucked their life energies then inherited their fortunes. It all looks like natural causes because they were both older men anyway.”
“Houston, look at this,” I say as I hand him a copy of a daguerreotype portrait of Fiona and Francois Dubois' wedding. In the image, we can see the couple with both sets of parents. Standing next to Fiona's mother...Hannah Monfort. “We never did find a death certificate for Hannah.”
“That is because she allegedly committed suicide a few days before Wilma was born,” says Brynwolf. “There are pages from Fiona's diary in there. She talks about her mother becoming increasingly depressed about her old age. Francois found her dead in the cellar of her home. She had slit her wrists.”
Houston picks up the page of the diary where Fiona talks about the death. “Nightshade petals, candles, circle of salt...sounds like a ritual.”
“The Soul Jar. She released her spirit from her body and sent it into Wilma,” says Brynwolf. “It seems that after the first jump, she unlocked a method of transferring her soul that didn't require such elaborate measures. So long as it was blood of her own blood, she could simply slip in.”
“Arachne’s Web!” I shout. “Chana Magus was a necromancer first and foremost and wanted to preserve her hereditary magic bloodline to consolidate her power. She would jump into the body of an unborn descendant. That’s how she hid and how she maintained her power.”
Houston screams and flips over the desk.
“Houston!” I shout at him.
“April!” he cries. “Mom wasn’t guiding April. She was April!”
“We didn’t realize that until recently,” says Brynwolf. “During the Inquest we made the connection between April’s emergency application to the College and Vivika.”
“She used Aunt Ruth. She knew . She knew that people were digging into her past and it was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. That's why she donated her eggs so that Aunt Ruth could have a baby. The baby would be hers
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