𝖛𝖎𝖙𝖆 ᵉˢ ᵛⁱᵗᵃ .

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.

“thank you for meeting me, sister. do tell me something about yourself.”

lips part, a door opens in access to the words that form on her tongue, but miyoung says nothing. her lips meld against one another as she thinks about the words she can say. from a young age the witch had barricaded herself in libraries, devouring the testimonies that witches and warlocks before her had left behind. she is aware of how to craft a story, of how to string words together to leave a lasting impression on the young mind.

but han miyoung is not a testimony, and she has yet to learn how to perfect the self-serving propaganda that will fall off of any witch’s tongue. she takes her time on the question, taking her time with each syllable.

hands which are sitting atop her lap unfold themselves as she prepares an answer, fingers twitching, readying themselves to move with her every word.

“i was born on the twenty-second of january, i’m sure it’s there in my file but i say this because of it’s significance. my uncle tells me that the number twenty-two is the number of the master builder, and as the day of my birth it marks me as someone who can turn my dreams into reality. the number one because of the first month has to do with leadership and independence.” it’s a human thing to want to decorate one’s body with such things, and miyoung almost allowed herself one of these human indulgences.

the young witch takes a pause, and then continues. “i am the youngest of two siblings. and as any other witch or warlock i have participated in the dark baptism during my sixteenth year,” her parents and closest family had attended as was tradition ― and miyoung had pretended that she didn’t notice that attendance had been lacking in comparison to that of her older siblings. “the lupercalia and feast of autumn are mandated as part of my family.”

“before joining the academy i spent years under the tutelage of a private tutor who helped me master six ancient tongues, i have an affinity for languages it seems and i spend much of my time reading…for the sake of reading mostly, which i believe is the best reason to do so. knowledge for the sake of knowledge.” although she knew knowledge was power, she sought joy in the acquisition of knowledge and not the praise that came from acquiring it. “i think i could be an archivist or something along those lines.”

this was one of the many things that emphasized the parallel between herself and her older sibling; miyoung could amass all this knowledge and never tell a soul. if there was no one with expectations about who she should be, she would still devour the ancient scriptures with a vicious hunger.

miyoung thinks about anything she’s missed, eyes gazing up at the ceiling in search of answers before her lips form a small ‘o’. “Goethe’s Faust; when i wasn’t spending my time learning i did have acting classes, my parents insist on the extracurriculars and my aunt herself is a thespian, i’m sure she would love to see me in the play.”

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

“family is important; we are bound to his excellency and we are bound to our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.” from the very beginning these ideals were instilled in the young witch. her family is prestigious, and must cement that status by assuring themselves of their children’s success.

“the han family is a family of silver spoons, we are not overt in our wealth or influence, because we are aware that certain times demand silence, and if one must act you may opt to use a sleight of hand. we are devoted.” it’s not slyness that keeps the family afloat, it is their adherence to tradition, she tells herself, but miyoung and the high priest both know to read between the lines.

her mother and father were the pinnacle of the household, and she loved the two and all they had to teach her. loved them until she did not.

“my mother is a strong woman who is selfless and serves my father just as her mother did served her father and so on. my father is the benevolent head of the household, he is heavy handed and will take none of anyone scoffing at tradition. but he is loving.”

miyoung wishes she had more to say, but she fears there may be a slip of the tongue and she shows herself to be anything less than a devoted daughter.

“as i said before i am the younger of two. they like to tease me for being less driven than they are but we just express that drive in different ways.”

she loves and resents them, but she smiles and holds a hand to her breast, miyoung is a loving younger sister, devoted, “we have our differences as siblings typically do, but they are my kin, and by that bond of blood they are my everything.”

“of them all my favorite, if i may allow myself one, is my aunt gyeongri, whom i had been living with for about six years. her library was much bigger than the one we have at home, and her support endless.” it was good to live with a woman who was the helm of her own household, a woman who supported miyoung’s dreams and shared her own.

a woman on a pillar she had crafted from bone and ivory was a powerful thing.

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in sacred geometry, ancient tongue & scriptures. what evoked your interest?”

miyoung had missed her first two years of study by accident; in her eighteenth and nineteenth years the young witch had been nothing more than a hermit, locking herself inside four walls filled with old texts. she had read the texts and scrolls in the old tongues, had memorized the words of their dark lord and could recite the history of their craft backwards and forwards.

before then she had been surrounded by historians, men and women of her family name who studied the past through the study of the decayed body or the forgotten text.

men and women who enforced the laws of the swine and the swine-herder, the witch and the warlock.

“well, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” the words are airy, like music. “what is a witch who knows nothing of how she came to be, what is a witch who knows nothing of the foundations of her art? she is nothing,”

but a witch is always nothing. in the eyes of her family, in the eyes of the warlocks a witch is nothing. and yet, miyoung knows, she knows that a witch has never been nothing. who if not a witch begun the feast of autumn, who if not a witch bears life to every warlock that becomes a high priest, and every witch who must serve beneath him.

“if always believed that having this thirst for knowledge is the same as teaching a man to fish, he will be fed forever and is able to support his yearning. it only makes sense to me that i indulge and make attempts at satiating my appetite. my mother practices necromancy and my father practices poppet puppetry, but i prefer to stay away from the physical. as you are aware the body dies but the scripture lives on.”

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

the answer to this question comes much easier than any others; it is a question she was often asked at family banquets and coven reunions. this one rolls off the tongue with ease.

“if his excellency asks that i walk through the fires of hell in order to prove my loyalty, i will do so without hesitation. in a homage to the first woman who served him, i would slay my kin, burn cities and bring forth a chaos like no other. i would even take your life if he so much as asked.”

miyoung allows the words to hang between them and remains calm, unblinking. the smile on her lips is as practiced as her words, but the fire that resides behind those eyes has always been her nature.

and there were no lies to be said; she would do all these things as she is sure anyone in her family would expect as such.

she leaves the most sinful of her tasks unsaid, one that she knows his excellency would have whispered in her own ears had he doubted her intelligence; had he doubted her ability to find his message within all the words she’s read.

for his excellency she would bring the very foundations of this coven to its knees, for his excellency she would show them that all his children were equal, for his excellency she would burn the fourth rule to the ground.

a witch was no less than a warlock.

a human was something more than swine.

the coven could only grow from shedding their old views. and for this she would even take the father’s life if his excellency so much as asked.  

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice. 

 “thank you for meeting me, brother. do tell me something about yourself.”

i do see myself as the perfect student, as i have been all along my academic career. i have been working hard all my life and i don’t intend to give up now, if anything i only wish to work harder and achieve the best results. i know i am capable of such and i don’t want anything or anyone to be in my way. i am a top student with perfect grades in all my classes, and i don’t see why i should hide that away when i know it will get me a long way. my future goal is to become top boy as it is tradition in my family, and to set a good example for my fellow students here at the academy. i believe my abilities would be to great help and i have everything it takes. i was born to do this, this is my call.

the academy has helped me to grow, to expand my horizon on life and my academic career. without this place, i would still be a young and inexperienced warlock with no clear path in life. i am forever grateful for the academy.

my parents are highly respected among the coven and i have the utmost respect for them. i have only participated in the dark baptism for now, but i can see myself take part in the lupercalia and feast of autumn at some point later in life.

possible encounters with satan, you say? i have already sold my soul, so i guess a part of me already belongs to him, doesn’t it? ah, well, i don’t want to have any hopes in case i don’t see him again, but it would be an absolute pleasure if he and i could greet each other again.

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

family is a special thing, don’t you agree? the special bond, the same blood running through your veins. my parents are, like i have said, highly respected among the coven, and i believe they have put their name on the academy as well. ask anyone about them and their eyes will light up like lanterns when they hear their names.

my parents are strict, yet lenient and only want what’s best for me and my younger brother. they expect me, as the oldest, to continue to put pride on our family name. i have a reputation to remain and i don’t want to disappoint them nor the rest of my family. that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? oh well, i guess you can say i have a bit of pressure on my shoulders, but that’s nothing i can avoid.

my younger brother and i were raised to believe that satan is the one and only true god. it would be disappointing if i didn’t do that, but i guess we’ll see. you see, my parents have the habit of wanting their children to have the same values and traditions as them - they expect us to praise the dark lord, but they don’t know what to do if anyone falls out of the pattern. i once asked what would happen if anyone in the family went another way, and the only answer i got in return was that they’d be a disgrace. the panic in their voice, the fear in their eyes - you should’ve seen them.

with that being said, they learned me to work hard and to never give up no matter how much i want to. their work ethic is to keep going to reach your dreams and i adapted that at a very young age. you can say they’ve been rather hard on me, but with good intention. whether that’s good or bad is unknown, only time will tell.

conflicts and relationships are a part of families, are they not? we’ve had our fair amount of conflicts, i won’t lie about that. nonetheless, i would say that we have a somewhat alright relationship with each other. not the best, but not the worst either i suppose you can say. surely no one has the perfect relationship with their parents or family.

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in necromancy, séances & mediumship. what evoked your interest?”

my specialty within my major is necromancy. seeing i am a third year student, i believe my abilities have reached the expectations of where i should be. i am after all one of the best in my class, if not the best. however, i do want to develop it much further and i cannot wait to take it to a much higher level.

my father studied the art of necromancy when he was young and he is quite proud of it, i do believe i take it after him when i chose my specialty, but i also chose it out of my own interest. it would be quite interesting to have conversations with the dead and i thought i could learn a lot from them as well. there were other majors i considered to take such as demonology, but in my eyes i would have benefited more from this.

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

of course it could depend on what kind of task it is, but i am willing to do whatever it takes as long as it is reasonable for me. i do have my boundaries and limits to what i would do, so i am not going to be blinded. i am arrogant, but i also care about those i love. i may be a little selfish, but i am selfless too.

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.

“thank you for meeting me, brother. do tell me something about yourself.”

“of course, father.” emery said as he sat in the chair across from the high priest. “the academy is great. i like almost all the classes expect for herbalism, potions & alchemy, i mean i still like it and its interesting enough but i have hard trouble getting the potions just right.” the priest side eyed emery. “but i’m working on it nonetheless,” he quickly added.

“for future goals, i’d like to open my own shop. what mortals call as psychic that would be pretty cool. helping people connect with their love ones.” emery shifted into his seat a bit. being a  descendant from the high priest didn’t mean that emery wanted to take it on eventually. it wasn’t something he really wanted to do. but if the dark lord wanted him to take it on, then he guessed he would have to.

“i think the covens rituals are bit outdated, i mean, i don’t think we should be eating our own. that’s just gross. but i did enjoy doing lupercalia and of course my dark baptism.”

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

“my parents park jisung and park sooyoung. i can’t forget my grandmother have all of course have been loyal to the academy, the cover, and the dark lord. i grew up with knowing that someday it would be my turn to go to the academy and possibly doing tasks that the dark lord himself has given me. i mostly lived with my grandmother though, my parents off being too busy doing things for the coven. so really she influenced me to take on necromancy.”

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in necromancy, séances & mediumship. what evoked your interest?”

“i think i started seeing spirits at a young age not even knowing what a spirit even was. i’m just drawn to them. i think they want to speak to me and pass on messages to their loved ones. things they forgotten to do once they were alive.” emery shrugged. “i like the dead.”

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

emery let out a small smile. “you know i would do anything, don’t you father? anything at all.” emery didn’t think that he could you know, kill anyone but being the descendant from the high priest. emery can’t disappoint them nor the dark lord. “i would go as far as the dark lord wanted me to.”

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.

“thank you for meeting me, brother. do tell me something about yourself.”

it’s an honor, high priest. my name is julian kang and i’m a first year at the academy. due to the… problems i had while growing up, i’m still trying to get a hold of myself when it comes to the academy. i’m slowly discovering my powers and i will be honest with you, sometimes i screw things up, even if i don’t want that. but i’m working hard and i believe i can get to the other’s students level soon enough. for now, that is my main and the most important goal. but of course, i want to know more about what’s happening in our world. given the fact that the only ritual i have participated in was my dark baptism, i am looking forward to see the others and learn about them. i’m sure i’m going to like those as well, just like i like the academy, even if sometimes it feels somehow weird being here. i assume it’s because i grew up thinking i am normal human being.

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

i never met my real parents. they died while i was still a baby, due to unknown causes. or at least, they are unknown to me, because i was never told what happened. their early departure was also the reason of me being raised by mortals. however, despite all of that, my family was nothing but kind to me. they raised me like i was their own and taught me all the things i thought i’d need as a mortal. i’m very close with my mother, but despite of all that, there’s always a miss piece within me and i wish there was a way to save my real parents. but, since that isn’t possible anymore, i will work really hard and make sure both of my families can be proud of me, especially my real one.

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in poppet puppetry, ritual magic and enchantment. what evoked your interest?”

right now, my focus goes on rituals more, because i want and need to learn everything there is about my powers and about being a warlock. i’m still at the beginning for my journey, though and sometimes i do make mistakes, but i count on the teachers and the other students to help me with my studies. right now, i can’t say i advanced that much, because some things are harder than others and i still find difficult to pronounce certain words in latin. however, i’m sure that until this first year at the academy ends, i will master everything i need to know and i will no longer have problems. you asked about my interest in the choice i made. well, high priest, i will be very honest with you. there were other majors i would have wanted to try, but given the fact that i am still pretty much a newbie in all this, i chose my current major in order to help myself understand magic better and how to work with it. in no way does this mean i am not pleased with my major. my only hope is to have the chance to study things outside of it, too.

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

i am… not very sure about this. i could lie and tell you i would do anything he would want, but until i get to see what does he have prepared for me, i can’t say for sure. i hope this doesn’t change your opinion about me, high priest and i apologize if i’m rude or ungrateful. it’s just the way i was raised.

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.

“thank you for meeting me, brother. do tell me something about yourself.”

taeki was tight lipped for a moment. the tension in the air was palpable, the priest scrutinizing him for one single bad move. it was like a game of chess, one taeki was rigged to lose. “well,” he begun, careful. “i’ve been studying hard at the academy ever since i was allowed in. despite my dark baptism, it was a little difficult for me to get in and i intend to make my time here worth it. i have excelled in basically all of my classes, made a couple close friends, and i’d hope i’ve shown incredible growth.” despite the positivity to all the news taeki disclosed, trepidation and disappointment was clear in his voice. there were other things he wanted to say, about how while i respect the academy and the authority, sir, there are many people done wrong through mere blood. or how spirituality, and your relationship to the dark lord shouldn’t be so rule based so long as your relationship is a strong one — words taeki wouldn’t dare utter to the priest under such suffocating watch. “obviously, i’ve participated in a few rituals, after…the missteps of my family, i’ve needed to repair my relationship with the dark lord as best i can. my dark baptism, clearly, though i have also attended the feast of autumn pretty regularly, if not with my family than by those i’ve bonded with at the academy. i’ve attended lupercalia a couple times as well, but admittedly not as many since after the age of eighteen i’ve been…quite busy.”

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

taeki swallowed. he knew this was coming, he knew it. still, when the priest mentioned his family, he couldn’t help but feel the thud thud thud of his heart against his chest. he kept his poise, though, a skill learned through years of acting, years of careful steps, years of being unable to show any of his true emotions. “it’s…complicated, as i am sure you are aware.” taeki said, looking the priest in the eyes with as much confidence as he could muster. “they are my family, they have raised me and cared for me as best they can. however, you are just as knowledgeable as i am about how gravely they have misstepped in the past.” a pause. “i’ve mostly left them behind. it’s no use keeping ties that aren’t useful to me now, least of all when they prevent my devotion to our lord.” taeki says nothing about how he still sometimes communicates with them in coded letters, carried by his familiar to them. he was still young, only knowing what he was told when it all happened. now, he is young, but the learned sort of young. the visionary sort of young. the trailblazer, tradition-breaking sort of young. but there was only so much tradition one could break when any misstep could result in your life being flipped around. “they were angry, you know. when i applied for the academy. they saw it as a betrayal to them.” his eyes finally fell, telling the truth. even now, despite his never-ending efforts, his relationship with them was strained at best. “did everything in their power to stop me from attending, but look at me now!” a weak laugh fell from taeki’s lips.

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in necromancy, séances and mediumship. what evoked your interest?”

it was always a dancey sort of topic, the fact that taeki maintained his family line’s long lived tradition despite it being the direct cause of his parent’s excommunication. “it’s something i’ve seen since i was young.” taeki said, trying to be non committal. “it’s also hard to not do something you’re actually pretty good with. and, i like the feeling. it’s nice to feel helpful and useful sometimes.” the last bit was kind of quiet. it was risky — his family was shunned for their interactions with mortals, the fact that they held seances and similar rituals for mortalfolk. “well, that and the fact that being able to summon a spirit with little to no help other than magickal support is pretty cool. though i’d love to learn everything i can about other magicks, i felt…during my years at the academy, it’s good to focus. and i’d love to take this whole communication ritual thing as far as i can, see how far i can take my bloodline and my power.”

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

“i’d do anything in my power.” for once, taeki’s answer was instant. nothing methodical, nothing deliberate. at least, at first. realizing that the priest probably wanted something more specific, he tilted his head. he’s sure many have said the same things, murder, arson, so on and so forth. “it would be difficult for me, but i think i could betray even my dearest loved ones.” he pictured his fellow witches and warlocks in archangels absinthe, lips tightening at just the thought of gravely injuring any of them. he’s fought hard not only to clear his own name, but also build his legacy, though, and mortal ties, he knew, were in the end quite fragile. “see, when you spend your life being the black sheep, you learn how to appreciate those who care not for your history, who care not for your blood, who care only for you and your own story. those people become your new family, the closest thing to your soul. and the fact that i’d give all of that up for his majesty…well, i’d appreciate it, at least.” taeki leaves the i don’t think i’d kill them, though unsaid

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.

“thank you for meeting me, sister. do tell me something about yourself.”

you sit with unique haughtiness, chin raised and curled eyelashes fanning at every blink of your eyes. they wonder how have you gotten so… beautiful, ethereal, untouched? you simply laugh – you feel them wavering, you feel them hesitating and asking themselves, questioning what has she done to our dark lord to be blessed like this? you let the worms of jealousy consume them for a couple more minutes, tossing long locks of black hair over your shoulder, long legs stretching as you cross them.

“ they say i was already this beautiful before signing my name in the book of the beast. it was a gift, you know? ” you pride yourself in it, so much that you’ve gotten arrogant about it; but it suits you well, everyone makes an excuse, you are his chosen doll. “ and because of that, it was only fitting to serve him, wholeheartedly. my grades have always been an example, what’s beauty without brains? i wouldn’t know how to tell. ” you laugh, lightly, nonchalant – ever so charming.

do you ever get tired of having to be the center of the world?

( don’t you know that even the sun will extinguish itself? )

not you, though. not you.

“ so, knowing my family’s background and own affinity with the herbs, i’ve decided to learn more about them. of course, i won’t stop there – not everyone has the attention of our lord like i do, so, i’ve been studying manners to… beautify those who haven’t been graced with, you know… ” and apologetic smile, another toss of her hair. “ unfortunately, i can only be admitted to one focus as of now but i’ve been in touch with our superiors to consider my case in particular, knowing it would be a complete waste of my talent and personal potential. ”

you give them no time, no pauses. you know you will captivate them, no matter what, but you have to keep them entranced, entangled in your web.

“ besides that, since my first year here in the academy, i’ve shown my interest in the dramatics. i could feel that the thespian club needed, and who else could better represent his story other than myself? i’m the club’s spine, no one could take it from my hands, as much as, you know, they try. ”

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

“ you’re probably familiar with my family, i found no necessity in writing further about them. ” you are a rare specimen – only six of you exist in your coven, and have been lived just the same for centuries. unchanged, preserved. “ my father has always been a close counselor to any of our high priests, unofficially giving pieces of advice to any of those willing to follow the dark path. my mother, owner of her own beauty, has passed to me her passion for alchemy – did you know she was top of her class in potions ever since her first year? well, seems i inherited that from her. ”

you smile sweetly, looking as they leaf through your file with corners of their mouth upturned. the jeung family’s story has been written in stone with their own blood – their devotion the very source of their power.

“ we all know how old they are, though. just like my grandparents. they don’t like to comment on it but it’s getting out of hand ever since my mom turned forty-two again, after fifty-five years. our secret is that, a secret, and that’s why we do what we do. you’ve probably been to the wicca pharmacy once or twice… wait– ” with a wicked smile, you make their eyes diverge, knowing that being the owners of the store that supplied all of the witches and warlocks in yeongcheong gave them the knowledge of things most liked to hide.

yet, another asset for her.

“ anyway, ” you look at your nails in feigned boredom, and they know pretty well you’re making a list of the ingredients they’ve bought in the past months and correlating to the possible rituals and potions you’ve been attempting to. you are that good, and they know it.

you are praised for it, constantly. how could they forget?

“ my sister also attends to the academy, as expected. she’s not me, of course, but she is… devoted just the same, talented in her own manner. ”

you know your sister excels in areas that you do not, but your confidence doesn’t let it show. if you are good at keeping track of people, she is even better – she is one master of secrets, a bloodhound ready to kill. ready to hunt, ready to drag to their own purposes.

she doesn’t know, but you know she envies you in a form – but it’s something you can’t help it. maybe it her own burden to carry, given by the dark lord himself, one she must learn to handle. one that your nature can’t help but taunt at it, at times.

“ we are together, for the most part. it’s smart of everyone to keep her close, but she is an essential part of our group. there isn’t someone i could trust more. ”

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in herbalism, potions & alchemy. what evoked your interest?”

you sigh, starting to get worn out by the questions revolving you but not directly being about you.

all of the factors in your life lead you to that path, but most importantly, you’ve watched your mother sit by her vanity and emplastre her ivory skin with the mixture of herbs and dubious elements, and, in the next day, she would wake up ten years younger.

you’ve seen your father poison an entire river at will, only by sprinkling a few drops of the green liquid that disposed a scent of freshly cut grass and minced mint, the one he had brewed for an entire week and demanded him to be awake for twenty-four hours every two days.

you sit before them, and lets your mind wander free – every single element that has been engraved in your memory, every combination, from lethal to saving, from damaging to healing – all gifts given by the dark lord that could only be mastered like that by a few of you.

and you knew, always knew, that you were as beautiful as lethal, and that was why he had made you like that. you hands were not to be stained with blood, your mouth was not to evoke profane demons, your were the seeping cough after a glass of wine. you were the copper taste on one’s tongue after smelling your perfume.

you are poison that looked like a chalice of crystal water in the desert. you are never aging, you are the undying beauty, you are and you love the power that comes with it.

“  you can call this a natural inclination that comes with the environment i’ve been raised in. i’ve aided my parents in brewing potions and selecting herbs ever since i’ve learned how to walk. when you started to learn about our lord, i’ve already memorized all of his profane elements and how to better use them. when you started considering join the academy, i was already sending an application for the advanced course. ” you shrugged, as if the question that had been made was too obvious to dive more into the subject.

“ it only seemed right. ”

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

what is off limits to you? what would he ask, that you would absolutely not do?

what would he take from you in retaliation?

the fear grips your heart tighter than you could imagine, the answer is simple and clear to you. no questioning.

“ i’m devoted to our lord, i would do anything if he asked me to. ”

being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.

“thank you for meeting me, sister. do tell me something about yourself.”

a list of qualifications and aspirations rolls through her head, like reading instructions off a manual. she’s been prepared for this her whole life, has been made aware of the expectations placed on her. meaning she has had enough time to practice her enthusiasm when she answers, teeth glinting a perfect pale.

“naturally, i want to uphold the legacy of my bloodline during my time in the academy. the dark lord has graced our name with infinite blessings, and i want to use my given abilities in his service within the witching community.” her hands tighten over the knee of her crossed leg ever so slightly, smile unwavering, taut. she knows how to present as appropriately malleable by now, how to act smart and look stupid. like a proper lady, daddy calls it. “it has all started here for my ancestors, so i intend to follow their steps and make the fullest of my time under your wing, father.” if it comes out a little suggestive, she doesn’t acknowledge it. it’s barely

her hair sways from one shoulder to the other as she shifts in her seat, keeping her spine straight. she throws in a little honesty to the speech, if only because a truth sells the lies much better. “i plan to pursue my calling for runes and spoken magic within the academy, on his unholy name. my father has raised me traditional, but not old-fashioned.” that’s straying a bit too far from the truth again, but she chuckles like she’s in on the joke nonetheless.

“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”

“well, sir, you know my father – he’s overprotective, but i know he wants the best for me.”

she struggles to add to that. it’s a flimsy truism, spreading too thin over the fraught details and contrivances of their relationship. their history isn’t perfect, neither is he – isn’t that too much for a daughter to forgive already? jiyeon understands her father all too well, and maybe that’s part of the reason her affection for him never comes without hesitation. he’s a simple man, with simple views.

“after my mother’s sacrifice, he did his best to give me a family.” he replaced her not two years after the festival, her blood yet to run dry. “he wanted so ardently to live up to her memory.” he milked the carnage of her death to the last drop, quick to cash in favors and climb his way up to the highest ranks of warlocks. he only celebrates the anniversary of her death, never her birthdays.

“of course, aunt haeryung has been like a mother to me since my mother’s crowning.” her mother’s sister makes for a sweeter memory, even if marked by the quarrels with her father to defend her right to her mother’s legacy. he never wanted her close, hoping jiyeon would become closer to his second wife if only her mother’s family would disappear from her life. that’s the problem with being too simple – you tend to believe anyone can be flattened into the same single dimension you fit into. “i’m incredibly thankful for her presence for all these years.”

“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in cursing. what evoked your interest?”

that answer comes easy enough, is there anything else in her mind? “control.”

curses and hexes feel like an armor on her tongue, a swinging sword coming down necks craning too close. life under the church of dusk had only taught her loss – so much had been taken from her that she was surprised to find there was strength left to fight back. the empowerment that came with the realization she could hold her ground, the realization her body and mind were weapons alike, that’s what fuels her. the promise of power, the taste of it, melting on her tongue as her blood merged with old paper, was the one thing that made her kneel at the dark lord’s feet.

“that’s probably the one thing that unites the choi family, we do love control. i found that spells are a powerful way to claim it, and i plan on developing my abilities in casting to best seize them.”

“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”

she holds his gaze, smile frozen on her face, as though her muscles had turned to stone. she figures this must be a standard item on his questionnaire, but it’s hard not to feel like there’s something a little too personal about it when it’s her sitting before him. she thinks of how beautiful her mother had looked, the gilded queen – how stars burned bright in her eyes minutes before they were gouged out of her skull. the warmth of her last embrace still a vivid memory, her last words still echoing in jiyeon’s mind every once in a while, always catching her off guard, always leaving behind the thought of sharp objects and wet dirt. i pray for you, beloved, on her quivering lips.

“there are no limits to his binding.” something is out of place in her gaze as they bore past the high priest and the wall of his office, facing darker places. she wonders how deep a truth can reach. “we are his servants, aren’t we?”