While the world was still reeling from the shock and the aftermath of the tragedy that had transpired in the Wizengamot, and were awaiting for the response from the ministry, Antonio Olario, the man at the very centre of those events, had returned from Edmund Bones' funeral and locked himself within his manor.
The members of the Bones faction had been eager, almost desperate, to convene a meeting immediately following the funeral of Lord Edmund Bones, but Antonio had declined.
He made it clear that he would be available for the political maneuvering and the tricks and the moves they were planning to unleash, but only after a few days had passed. These individuals could not think of what could be more important than contemplating and planning their path forward, but seeing the grim seriousness in his voice and expression, they had relented.
They chose to exercise patience. This delay would surely send many of them spiraling into anxiety and worry. They were left in a state of nothingness and they were unsure of what was coming or what their next moves should be. While every other faction and group was holding secret meetings, intense discussion, serious contemplations, they were unable to do so. First, Edmund Bones' funeral and Antonio's consciousness had delayed them and now this.
Nevertheless, they accepted his decision. They had almost unanimously accepted Antonio Olario as their leader. While Amelia might lead them in name and for public optics, for all practical purposes, the mantle belonged to Antonio. And not that, they were planning it to keep it hidden or a secret. Antonio's name granted them an invisible influence and a deterrent and they were not to be shy about using it. They trusted his abilities and hoped that whatever he aimed to accomplish in these few days would ultimately be for their collective benefit.
What they did not realize, nor did the Minister for Magic, was that Antonio's withdrawal had unintentionally granted Harold Minchum a temporary reprieve. For it was the Bones faction that intended to raise the flag of opposition highest, and until Antonio emerged, the final blow to the Minister's position remained in suspension.
Antonio was standing in the basement of the new Olario manor. In front of him was a single stone pillar and Antonio's eyes were fixed on it.
The stone pillar was eight feet in height, enclosed within a small circular engraved rune and was pulsing with a slight reddish hue. This was the keystone which had been powering the wards of the Olario manor.
Originally, this whole manor and the keystone powering it had belonged to the Marius family, but after killing Alicus Marius in the honour duel, the ownership had changed to Antonio.
Now, keystones, as already stated, were the base, the very foundation of the wards surrounding any building. But its function did not end there.
For any magical family, its functions were far more important and complex.
The keystones were not only the foundation of the wards but also of their family magic. And this created quite a difference between a keystone used in a building only meant for protective wards and a keystone used in a family manor, which not only powered the protective wards but also had the family magic running through it.
On a similar level, the keystone used for the family magic was much more complex than a keystone used only for protective purposes. If you wanted someone who could engrave runes for a protective ward around your small shop and house, then you could find a lot of people with that talent.
But if you wanted to engrave a family magic, even the most basic and weakest one, you would be extremely hard-pressed. There were only a very few rare people, countable on the fingers of both the hands, who had the ability to engrave runes for establishing a family magic.
And this made establishing a family magic a very difficult task. A magical family who had its own family magic was considered prestigious and respected, and almost every family having their family magic were members of the Wizengamot. Antonio Olario, till now, was one of the very few rare exceptions. Well, his ascendancy to the Wizengamot in itself was a rarity.
And this was a very closed door and exclusive club, the members of which did not want to add on new members as it would not only affect their prestige but also make others stronger and more magically attuned compared to them. And this was not something they wished to happen.
After Antonio had defeated Alicus and taken over everything owned previously by the Marius family, he could have similarly taken over the family magic of the Marius family too and merged it with his own. But since Antonio, the Olario family, did not have any magic of their own, the Marius family magic had reduced into a state of redundancy. But now, when he would establish his family magic, the previous Marius family magic would be merged with his own.
Antonio finally tore his eyes off the stone pillar and looked around. The basement was dimly lit by a few magical flame torches strapped to the walls. The size of the basement was huge. It was more than twenty feet below the ground floor of the manor and was the size of the entire manor, more than enough for what Antonio intended to do.
Since his transmigration to this world, Antonio had dived into every subject which included runes and keystones. Even when he had been working in his inn, he had been studying them, as he had intended to engrave a protective rune around his inn. But one thing after another happened rapidly, and he had been unable to do so.
When he moved into this new manor and became a member of the Wizengamot, he began deep diving into the subject. This time, his intention was to establish a family magic of his own.
Given his talent and the great comprehension skills he had developed after his transmigration, it had been easy for him to understand everything. But again, one thing happened after another and he was not able to take out time to establish his family magic, for it required a few days of extremely serious work. More than that, he had not been truly serious about it.
He had been confident in his own strength and did not think that he would ever need the added strength of family magic. The wards of the Marius manor, though not very strong, had seemed sufficient enough. And how wrong he had been. He had made a mistake. Today, he was going to correct his mistake.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywrite