The Coldness of Motherhood
The de Rais family aren't exactly known for their kindness. One reason is that they have a number of secrets in their past that they have been relatively successful at hiding. Many of the de Rais know of one of the oldest stories involving their clan.
A young woman had married into the family 3 generations ago, and she was a practising sorceress. It was something she had inherited from her family which had a history with Goliath blood stretching far back in time, so many of her abilities reflected this. Cold based abilities regularly appeared and her personality reflected the traits of coldness & rigidity, and this also appeared in her touch too. Most who did, found her skin exceptionally cold even when near a fire or in a hot environment.
Known to be called Antionette, she never gave out her family name. When the time came for her to give birth to a daughter, she barely cared, and showed little interest in her daughter. The family & clan never gave her daughter's name out but most other nobles suspect Antionette was the grandmother of Countess Gabrielle de Rais.
Though mentioning this, Antionette had all the help she wanted to raise her daughter, and barely interacted with the girl. When the girl reached her late teens, Antionette passed away and it is rumoured that she was found frozen to death from the inside out. Certainly there was a feeling of frozen conditions in the bed she was found in.
After a while, the daughter started to show talents in magic too, but was better as a wizard than a sorceress. One thing she always wanted to know was where this talent came from, and knew it was in part to do with her mother. So she turned her talents to find out, and hope to find why Antionette was dismissive of her.
Summoning the deathly ghost of Antionette, the girl asked why Antoinette was unfeeling to her. Antionette stated that that was her family's way. They felt something deep down but only the strongest individual survived and showing kindness was anathema to this. Her heart had hardened over time and seen the girl as weak compared to her family in the past. At the same time, they had cavorted with spirits deep in the mountains that were made of living ice and this union passed on their coldness to some members, and differing magical abilites in time.
After the girl went to close the summoning, Antionette warned her that she would now be looking after her daughter from the afterlife. When it felt cold at strange times she would be there, and sometimes if the daughter shivered it was Antionette's breath or hand touching her. This was to make sure her daughter keep up with her magic skills and that she would serve the de Rais family as a powerful spellcaster, and produce strong children for them.
Comments