The One

The Inglebird family

"Thousands of years ago, when everyone still lived together, witches of all kinds ruled the land. Among them, some were more powerful, some were less so. Every witch had only one goal: to become the grand sorcerer or sorceress."

The young boy, aged around ten then, was reading to his younger sister. They were sitting on their parents' bed—rather, the boy was sitting and leaning against a pillow while the girl was leaning against him, slowly slumping till she was practically lying down. Her hair lay in a mess over his arm while his was tied in a low side ponytail. The book he held was packed with words, so she did not even glance at it. As he read, he picked and chose the parts of the book that had more...tale in them, not wanting to bore his sister.

"What's that?" she asked, staring up with her wide, dark blue eyes at the ceiling.

"Hmm...a sorcerer or sorceress is basically a more powerful witch."

"Oh. Go on."

The girl shifted in her spot, now lying on her brother's arm. Large as the bed was, there were other pillows and plenty of space, but she seemed only interested in where the boy was.

"...Feray, you're heavy."

"But Waylon is strong."

She turned to grin playfully at him. He knew she was just making an excuse to stay put, but upon seeing that smile, he sighed and gave in.

"Witches' families were almost always comprised of only three members: father, mother, child. Due to the fierceness of witches' competition, most parents focused on raising one child that might someday become the greatest of them all. However, in one family, two witches were born: Nasr and Odessa Palmentere.

"Nasr and Odessa were brother and sister in blood, but enemies in reality. They competed against each other, and both were equally strong. As they learned their witchcraft, Odessa continued on the road of the righteous; Nasr, on the other hand, became an evil warlock...eventually, a battle broke out between the two as they fought to become grand sorcerer, the one person to rule over everything. Odessa won, and Nasr was killed.

"When Odessa became the grand sorceress, she separated common humans from witches to protect them from magic—evil magic like what Nasr used to use. Since then, humans have been living in Hominum—where we are now—and witches, including hereditary ones who don't even know how to use magic, have been living in Refica."

Waylon glanced at the clock and decided to close his book. He placed it on the desk next to the bed.

"Why was Nasr killed?" the girl asked.

"Because he did bad things."

"Who killed him? Did Odessa kill him?"

"Probably."

Feray grew silent. She rolled to her side and then sat up. As she did, Waylon stretched his arms and got up as well. He got off the bed and walked over to the light switch. After turning the lights off, the boy returned to the bed.

"Time to sleep, Feray," he said.

The older brother placed his hand on the girl's forehead, prompting her to lie back down herself—her head properly on a pillow this time. He lay beside her and lifted his arm slightly when she rolled into him. Now, with one hand on the back of her head, he held her just close enough to himself that she would feel secure.

"Are we sleeping here today?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Mom and Dad come back tomorrow, remember?" he reminded her, taking care not to phrase it as Mom and Dad aren't coming back until tomorrow.