A Broken Inheritance

Chapter 49: The Diary of Edouard Marchant

It is both creation and ruin.

This duality fascinates me.

It suggests that blood magic is not an inherently corrupting force, as many scholars believe. Rather, it is an untamed one—one that exists beyond the boundaries of traditional magic, resisting classification.

The question, then, is not whether blood magic is dangerous.

The question is who it is dangerous to.

To the wielder? Or to those who would try to control them?

I will continue my observations.

Selene refuses to answer my questions directly.

I have spent weeks attempting to understand the depth of her abilities—observing the way her magic moves, how it lingers beneath her skin, silent but ever-present, waiting. I suspect she wields it far more often than she admits. But she is secretive, withdrawn. She will not let me see it.

She does not trust me.

Still, I have begun forming my hypotheses based on what I have gathered from research—both my own and the fragmented historical records that remain.

1. Ancestral Inheritance – Blood magic is not a learned craft but an inherited trait, passed down through select bloodlines. Certain families may carry a dormant variation of this power, while in others, it manifests fully. If true, this would explain the scarcity of recorded instances, as well as the secrecy surrounding it.

2. A Magic of Will and Instinct – Unlike conventional spellwork, which relies on incantations and wandwork, blood magic appears to function on an entirely different principle. I theorise that it is tied both to will (conscious intent) and instinct (emotional response). If true, this would explain why control is so difficult to master.

3. A Living Magic – Could blood magic have a will of its own? This is a troubling thought. Historical accounts suggest that some wielders lost control not because they lacked discipline, but because their magic turned against them. If blood is a conduit, does the magic within it remain neutral? Or does it remember?

4. Sacrifice as a Binding Agent – Many ancient rituals imply that blood serves as an offering rather than merely a source of power. Could it be that the magic does not come freely? That it demands a price each time it is used? If this is the case, then what is the price? And how is it determined?

5. Connection to Madness and Paranoia – Several recorded figures in history who were rumoured to possess blood magic suffered from paranoia, hallucinations, and eventual self-destruction. I remain unconvinced that this is due to the magic itself. More likely, it is the effect of prolonged isolation, fear of one's own abilities, and societal rejection. Still, the correlation is concerning.

6. A Lost Lineage – This is a theory I hesitate to put to paper, but if blood magic is inherited, then it is possible that those who carried it were systematically erased. There are too few records, too many missing names, families that simply vanished. Were they hunted? Were they eliminated? Or did they erase themselves?

The last hypothesis is one I must investigate further.

Selene knows something.

I have spent hours combing through my research, tracing names and bloodlines, searching for connections. I have yet to find a conclusive link between Selene Voclain and the historical figures I have studied, but the possibility lingers.