[after the pause Marco caught his breath, it was time to relive the saddest yet crucial part of that memorable life which had so much influence on his own, the utmost concentration was needed despite the pain, to grasp every detail he would be allowed to perceive]
The disaster began, as often happens, from something trivial, not to say pathetic.
Jezebel began seeing a young and very handsome boy named Roh, who was considered the order’s most promising priest; at first Jezebel meant to refute the religious community’s growing conviction regarding the unpredictability of priestly abilities, her intention was to “dismantle” that young rising star.
Instead, she was immediately struck by his talent, and began repeatedly summoning Roh, assigning him ever more difficult tasks to test his abilities and progress; in the end her frustration at that evident living contradiction of all her theories and beliefs gave way to a love all the more intense for being unusual and improper, which, as was her habit, she did not hesitate to make plain, and not only to the person directly concerned.
From the beginning Roh had avoided responding to her “advances”, and this increased Jezebel’s frustration and craving, until, when directly asked why he rejected her, Roh admitted that he was romantically involved with another woman.
It was a terrible blow for Jezebel, she had NEVER felt rejected by anyone, least of all by men, and it was surprisingly painful to discover who her “rival” was: it was her favorite disciple, Sheila1.
Sheila was not a simple novice, from the start she had shown surprising gifts and great dedication to study, she was considered the only one truly capable of inheriting Jezebel’s legacy; the two had established a deep relationship of mutual affection, they spent much time together, and Sheila was the only one whom Jezebel allowed to be close to her in the ever more frequent moments of discouragement and abandonment.
But Jezebel was no longer the same, and the humiliation of feeling rejected as a woman for the first time in her life made her lose control.
At first she withdrew into herself, then she became obsessed with the possible application of her magic as a potential weapon; although she had denied it even at the highest levels of the ruling class, she had always suspected that, by using its principles well, just as it was possible to persuade pathogens to refrain from ravaging an organism, it was theoretically possible to make them attack it, or even persuade an organism to self-destruct, it was all a matter of “motivation” and skill in devising spells.
A few weeks were needed to devise the new harmful spells, and as many to test them on organisms simpler than the human one (a phase that caused a strange die-off of pets).
Finally one night, in the grip of jealousy and completely drunk, she used all her knowledge and genius to develop a spell that would produce effects similar to those of the pandemic, cast it from afar on Sheila, and caused her death.
1 I should point out that Sheila is the only name that emerged in my hypnosis sessions, and it is certainly inconsistent with the time period and the geographical location, I believe it is her soul name