A Century Of Sorrow

Synopsis

Stellarspire School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Head of Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Adrian Voss, heir to the ancient Voss wizarding family, fell prey to the Shadow Coven's Memory Erosion Curse during the final siege against dark forces—all to shield his beloved Selene Frost. I, Lydia Evermist, Stellarspire's Charms Instructor and Adrian's fellow alumna, stripped the smoke-stained enchanted robes from his unconscious form and lied: I was his fiancée. For a decade, he lavished me with unwavering tenderness. He entrusted me with the Voss family's heirloom, the Holy Light Wand, and even stood guard as I neared the final stage of forging my magic core—the key to ascending to Master Wizard status. Yet in the split second before my core solidified, the curse in his veins shattered. He wrenched the Holy Light Wand away. A blinding burst of white magic erupted from its tip, shattering my magic veins as he watched my energy dissipate and my core splinter into dust. "Lydia, this is the price of your deception," he said, his voice cold. He blamed me for Selene's fate—claiming she would never have abandoned the wizarding world for the Muggle realm, the ordinary human society that wizards so often look down upon, if I hadn't stolen her place. As my wizarding constitution teetered on collapse, Stellarspire School's alarm bells wailed in the distance. With a band of students twisted by darkness at his back, Adrian had unleashed a bloodbath within the Charms Tower. My mentor, colleagues, even the students I'd taught—all hung from the abandoned gallows on the Forbidden Forest's edge, their souls eroded into nothingness by dark magic. As my last spark of magic faded, I watched him carve Selene's name into Stellarspire's Hall of Honor. When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day Adrian returned from the siege, the Memory Erosion Curse still fresh upon him. This time, I buried all misplaced affection, bowing coldly. "Professor Voss."