Chapter Seven: Trust and Consequence
"What happens once you become a Mordigan?" Os asked, one afternoon, of Roland and Caleb over mounds of books he brought from the Archives. They were in Caleb's quarters and being a Herald, Caleb's room was much bigger than Osiris's or Roland's.
Roland was seated on an easy-chair while patting Luna who was crooning on his lap. He gave Osiris a curious look. Caleb was sipping chamomile tea while reading a novel on a rocking chair.
"Why'd you ask?" Caleb inquired putting the pocketbook down and looking at Osiris intently. Os told them about Verdandi's offer of him to join the coven. Roland smiled encouragingly while Caleb just looked at Osiris's face.
"If you would like to join a coven Os, you should be certain of your reasons," stated Caleb.
"What do you mean?"
"I want you to be sure if you really want this and you're not just getting pressured because you want to stop the Hand. Joining a coven is a very serious matter and it will change your life forever. Do you think you're ready for that?"
"That's why I'm asking you what might happen if I become a Mordigan."
"Well," Roland started, "most of all, your powers will change. Your powers will increase three-hundredfold."
That took him by surprise and after a while Osiris smiled due to excitement. "My power increases?"
"Yes. A Mordigan's power increases because his power adds to the group when he becomes a member. You're power will add to all the other members and the members' powers will add to yours. But not all covens do this. It's called Collective Coventry."
"Wow, that's some kind of a power boost."
"Yeah, it's fun , but don't get too excited because you can't use your powers to the extreme for you might drain the other members," explained Caleb. "Then you will be tested for your specialty so that the Congress of Elders can appoint you to your tasks."
"How many members does the coven have now?" Osiris asked.
"It's nearing a thousand." Caleb stood up and stretched a little. "Just remember Os: You don't need to be in a position of power to make a difference in this world." Caleb checked his watch. "Oh by the way, Roland told me you found your genealogy in the Archives. So how's the history research going?"
"Yeah I found a family tree , but some of the branches were missing. But it's much better now that I have at least thirty names to research for. I found these references about my first ancestor, Gerald Rouman." Osiris pointed to the stack of book. Caleb stood up and stretched his back.
"Well, good luck. I don't really fancy ancestral history , but I guess it's a start. Come, Luna, we need to train now." Luna, the ocelot, jumped to the floor and followed her master to the Hall of Enchantments. Roland took a day off from work so he and Os remained in Caleb's room. Osiris continued his study.
The search gave him many references, like feudal records that dated back to the thirteenth century, transcripts and birth certificates and other documents. He also found some that mentioned many of his relatives , but not many included Gerald Pierre Rouman.
It was tedious work for of the books helped him and the documentation might have been unpopular four hundred years ago, but when he unearthed a cerulean velvet-covered tome with a big black letter M stamped on its cover, Os felt that shiver again. He dreaded opening the book, since the first time he touched it, he felt static beneath his fingers. Roland was to busy making objects hover above his head to mind what Os was doing. But it was the tome that promised to give him something useful about his ancestor, so he grabbed it and put it to his lap.
"Hey, Roland, look at this," said Osiris after he flipped the cover open, ignoring the initial discomfort of his fingertips against the cover. Roland continued floating objects , but when he saw the front page of the book, all the suspended things dropped to the floor with a crash. Roland's expression was a mix of disbelief and utter bliss; his eyes grew as big as saucers when he read the book's title.
The Book of Shadows
by Lachesis Mordigan
"Os..." croaked Roland, "Do you know what you have just found? This is Lachesis Mordigan's... one of the—"
"The what?" said Osiris, puzzled by Roland's expression.
Roland stared at him as though Osiris had just grown three heads. "This is Lachesis Mordigan's Book of Shadows!"
"I can see that. So?"
"So?! This book is handwritten by one of the coven's founders!"
Osiris's mouth hanged open as realization hit him too. "You mean... I thought it was just... are you sure?"
"Yes! No one had seen these books for centuries! They might have been hiding in the Archives for this long!"
"They?" asked Os confused.
Roland rolled his eyes to Osiris. "You didn't do your assignment well. Books of Shadows and other magical tomes have the ability to protect themselves, enchanted by their owners so that they won't be found by witch hunters in the olden days," Roland explained.
"So how come I found it?"
"Well, I don't know, probably because you've been aided by the search engine," said Roland, scanning the book, obviously still stunned. "In the past, it was hard to find specific books without the computers because you need to search the Archive manually, shelf by shelf. And Books of Shadows are much harder to find for they are one of a kind. What keyword did you use to find this?"
"My ancestor's name, Gerald Pierre Rouman," answered Osiris.
"He might have known the founders." Roland's expression turned to excitement. "Look at these! There are powerful spells, unique enchantments, rare potions and incredible facts about ancient magic."
Os never saw Roland like this and he couldn't stop from laughing. His friend looked at him, frowning.
"What?" asked Roland, still clutching the book.
"You look as if you just discovered the cure for cancer or something," said Osiris still grinning.
"We might have! Os, you don't realize how powerful the Mordigan Sisters were? They were the three most powerful witches in history for they discovered the magic that invoked the Hooded Spirits. They created this Mansion by using the sheer power of their spells. Atropos, Lachesis and Clotho Mordigan were revered as Goddesses in their time!"
"Okay, okay," said Osiris, still smiling. "Okay, you have her spells , but don't you think you need to be as powerful as Lachesis before you can use them?"
Roland looked disappointed by this. "You have a point."
"All I wanted from it," Os said, taking the book from Roland, "is information about my ancestry, that's all and after that you can keep it, eat it, or surrender it to the High Priestess or something."
"You think we need to surrender it?" asked Roland.
"Well, you told me that anything in the Archives should be available for others... freedom of information and all. I guess this book should be accessible for others too," said Os scanning the pages for any mention of Gerald's name.
"Okay, we'll surrender it , but only when we're done using it."
"And how long will that take you?" Osiris gave Roland a scrutinizing look that his friend avoided. Os continued scanning when a passage got his attention. He read it aloud for Roland.
"`Ostara: He was the most powerful man in this terrain, for Gerald Rouman controlled not just the feudal lands, , but also the powers of the beings that were a source of tremendous magic. Though he appeared genial to all and just in his taxes, my sisters and I believe that one of these days, he will be consumed by his power and it would be our destiny to stop him.' What's that suppose to mean?" asked Os to Roland, "The Mordigans fought my great great great grandfather? And what's Ostara mean?"
"Ostara is the Vernal Equinox, one of the eight Wiccan festivals also called Sabbaths," explained Roland automatically. "This means that Lachesis wrote this passage during Ostara which is celebrated every twenty-first of March. But I don't know anything about the conflict between your ancestor and the sisters... I've never even heard of your ancestor before."
Osiris looked back at the page searching for what happened next, , but Lachesis Mordigan didn't record anything more. He flipped more pages, , but no more mention of Gerald's name appeared, at least not in a language he could understand.
"What kind of language is this?" he asked, exasperated, showing Roland a page in gibberish, , but he noticed the word `Rouman' on the middle of a paragraph.
"Demotic, I think."
"You understand it?" Osiris asked hopefully.
"I wish," snorted Roland, "But don't worry there's always a way Os. We're witches, nothing is impossible to us."
After discovering Lachesis Mordigan's Book of Shadows, Osiris extended his search for his ancestor's identity. But it turned up to be quite a challenge. Before, the search engine gave Os thousands of book titles for a single keyword , but now, the computer seemed to have lost its touch. He tried searching for Atropos or Clotho's, the other founding sisters, Books of Shadows, hoping that they also mentioned Gerald Rouman on their books, , but it looked as though the tomes were not in the Archives.
Three weeks after finding out about his identity, Osiris noticed that he had changed in many ways. He was no longer the shy insecure kid in high school that always needed his best friend, , but had become a much stronger person. Not just magic wise, , but he thought he was much bolder than before and Os noticed he was no longer shy aroun girls. Even Roland pointed out that many of the Mordigan female witches liked him, , but Osiris just waved it aside as Roland's usual banter.
"I heard them gossiping in the corridors of the workshops. Asking each other how to talk to you," told Roland, sneering to Os as they got out of the Hall of Enchantments after practicing their active powers, which was the perfect room for that purpose, as damages done in the Hall of Enchantments were reversed and even the wounds you got due to practicing inside vanished after you left the hall. Osiris could now create marble-size psychokinetic energy balls, five consecutive times, , but they still weakened and gave him a migraine.
"You're making that up," he said, as they passed the emerald green doors of the Garden of Eden where two young Mordigan girls about his age were standing. Os noticed them batting their eyes to his direction. He blushed. So much for no longer being shy...
"So why are you blushing?" asked Roland.
"You know, that doesn't concern you. You should really learn to respect your elders you know."
"Ah, so you're boasting about age now. It's not age that people gets respected, , but the fine acts that they project." Osiris gave Roland a where-did-that-come-from look. "Since when do you talk like a fortune cookie?"
Roland growled at him. Os just laughed. He often forgot that Roland was younger than he sounded because of the way he talked. The wisdom of youth as the Creator says it's called.
"Um... Os, I want to talk to you about something," said Roland, getting serious all of a sudden. They arrived at Roland's room where they decided to have their lunch. It was Osiris's turn to cook for the first time.
"About what?" Os asked as he put a skillet on the stove. "Don't tell me you're going to propose to me?" Osiris joked as he was putting chicken legs into the pan. Roland scowled to him and then clicked his fingers. The chicken legs turned to stone.
"Hey!" bawled Os, "If you want your lunch cooked you better turn these chickens back. Don't you brag about your transformation powers to me."
Roland waved his hand again. The chickens turned back and started frying.
"It's about... well, it's really stupid..." stuttered Roland.
Osiris gave him a weird look. "Spit it out."
"It's about Delphi," whispered Roland quickly then turning scarlet, as though the whole world heard him.
Os smiled like a cat. "You like her don't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Roland asked self-consciously.
"Well... just a... lot. How old is Delphi again?" Os asked turning the chicken legs over.
"She's sixteen now. What do you think I should do? I've liked her ever since she got initiated, but I don't know how to approach her," said Roland sheepishly. Osiris laughed hard. Roland appeared hurt.
"If you don't want to help me, that's okay," Roland grimaced, "But you don't have to laugh in my face."
"No," croaked Os after getting control of himself. "It's just that, you asked the wrong guy for an advice dude. I suck at girls too."
It was Roland's turn to laugh. "No really?"
"Yeah, I even asked for Jaypee's help so that I could talk to..." Osiris trailed off, his expression forlorn. Roland looked concern.
"Os? Are you alright?" he asked.
Osiris snapped back to the present. "Sorry, it's just... the one girl that I loved got killed by the Hand."
"Sorry."
"It's okay." Os busied himself with cooking the chicken legs. After putting them on the serving platter, he joked, "You can always give her a love potion?"
"No, that's not good. Any magic that inhibits an individual's freewill is considered to be dark magic," said Roland, slowly chewing his chicken.
Osiris thought about what he said. "So does that mean, telepathy is dark magic?"
"Um... I don't really know." Roland said, uncomfortable.
Os changed the subject. "Why don't you invite her on a date?"
"A date?" said Roland, unsure. "We can't get out of the Mansion, Os."
"Well, you have the two most beautiful gardens in the world, you can cook a festive meal and you have magic at your side. If you can't conjure a perfect date from that, I'll tell Verdandi to evict you from the coven," stated Osiris. "Don't worry. I'll help you plan it."
Roland beamed.
How can two nerds impress a girl? Osiris asked himself as he and Roland did the only thing that they did best: Research. He searched for books about dating, romance and love in the Archives and this in turn got Osiris a few giggles and snickers from Mordigans who saw him. He thought he was going to be permanently red for blushing so much.
"What do women want?" Roland asked Os, as they pored over the countless reading materials Osiris got from the library. They thought that Roland's room would be the best place to hide their scheme this afternoon.
"Good question. Maybe you should invoke Sigmund Freud's spirit so that he can help us get inside the female psyche," said Osiris. "I can't believe planning a date could be as hard as this!" He threw the book he was holding (Which witch is for you?) to the door. Caleb ducked as the softbound book soared through the air as he entered.
"Why are you attacking me with a book?" he asked Osiris.
"Sorry. I'm just frustrated with planning this date... and to think, it isn't even mine!" said Osiris giving Roland an accusing look, who pretended to be engrossed with the book he was holding. Caleb chuckled.
"So my young Roland's becoming a man huh? Trying to woo someone already?" he said as he moved stacks of books off an armchair. "So who's the lucky girl?"
Caleb pronounced `lucky' with a pronounced sarcasm that Roland didn't miss. He too, threw the book he was holding... but Caleb, with a wave of a hand, turned it to petals.
"It's Delphi," Osiris answered because Roland was too busy blushing. "But as both Rolly and I don't have any experience, we don't know how to sweep her off her feet."
"Why not just use a love potion?" smiled Caleb.
"Caleb, you know that's not right because—hey! Why is everyone giving me that suggestion? I'm not that ugly you know!" said Roland indignantly then added self-consciously, "Am I?"
Caleb and Os roared with laughter.
"Of course you are—I mean you're not!" chuckled Caleb. "Okay, stand aside amateurs, before you hurt yourselves. Caleb's here to save the day."
Maybe by experience or he just read a lot, Caleb easily gave Roland a list of dos and don'ts for a date.
"Girls like flowers so I suggest you take her to the flower spot on the right side of Eden. It's romantic to do this at dusk or at night. Conjure small light orbs because girls like a dim setting... but not too dark, you don't want to frighten her," said Caleb.
"Cook her favorite dish if you know it. As you are still young, don't serve wine or anything with alcohol because she might think you have an ulterior motive. Pay attention to what she says, because girls like good listeners, and compliment her about her looks. Flattery can get you anything, as they say. And best of all," Caleb paused for effect then, "Relax and be yourself."
"Wow," said Osiris snickering to Caleb, "You must have been dumped so many times to know all these and still remain single."
"Be careful young man or you might wake up without a head one of these mornings," warned Caleb, mischievously waving a finger.
With Caleb's help, Osiris decided that Roland will no longer need him and as Delphi still wasn't comfortable whenever she saw him, he went back to his room to surf the net a little. But after an hour or so, the laptop suddenly shut down and the candles on the chandelier above him lost their flame. Osiris stood there, confused, and before he could relight the candles, his bedroom door crashed open and half a dozen group of hooded men entered.
He couldn't believe what was happening. How could this be? How could the Hand be in the Mansion?
Then he realized that the hooded group in front of him wasn't the Hand... but a group of Mordigan Heralds that he recognized from in the corridors or in the Archives... but now, their faces, half hidden in shadows, gave no sign of acquaintance.
"Just stay calm Mr. Rites and everything will be okay," said the man nearest to Osiris as he backed into the farthest corner of the room.
"What is this?" Osiris demanded. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"We have been sent for you. Just give me your wrists and no one will get hurt," said the man who was carefully moving towards Os, holding what looked like a golden bracelet, emitting a strange ominous glow. Osiris couldn't believe what was happening... he couldn't believe the Mordigans were doing this to him.
'Caleb!' Osiris thought very hard, calling Caleb telepathically. 'Caleb!'
'Os, what's wrong?' answered Caleb's voice in his head.
'There are Heralds in my room and they want to take me.'
'What! I'll be right there.'
Osiris edge away from the Herald. "Don't you dare come near me!"
"What's going on here?" Caleb's voice rang from outside the room. He forced his way through the crowd of fellow Heralds.
"Herald Brine, this is none of your concern," said the leader of the hooded Heralds.
"Might I remind you who's the senior officer here Ryu!" barked Caleb... but the Herald called Ryu stood his ground.
"I have specific orders from the Congress of Elders. They want the immediate capture and incarceration of Osiris Rites."
"What? Why?!" Caleb demanded in disbelief.
"They didn't give the specifics. We are just following orders Caleb," said Ryu as he moved again towards Os , but Caleb came between them. "Step aside Caleb. Please don't force me to hurt you."
Caleb didn't move away and he even gave a challenging smirk to Ryu. "I want to see you try," he said in a deadly whisper that Caleb knew only Ryu heard.
Ryu appeared hesitant; it was common knowledge that Caleb was the best Herald in the coven.
'Os,' Caleb called to Osiris's mind. 'Close your eyes and duck when I say so.'
Caleb raised both his hands at shoulder height and by seeing this, Ryu shouted, "He's going to attack!" and he, together with the other Heralds in the room threw balls of light at Caleb and Os. Osiris was about to duck when a sparkling wall of water materialized in front of Caleb, shielding them from the spells.
"NOW!" shouted Caleb.
Osiris shut his eyes tightly and moved down as a powerful explosion echoed throughout the room, the flash affecting, Osiris's sight even through his closed eyelids. Loud thuds of falling bodies followed and after a moment, he heard a soft whisper in his mind.
'Os, get out of here. Go to the River Corridor and call Luna's name. She will guide you. Protect yourself.'
Osiris opened his eyes. The room was a wreck; bits and pieces of wood from the ceiling lay on the floor, together with unconscious bodies of the Heralds. The chandelier was thrown into the kitchen where it hit the fridge which was still emitting electric sparks. Caleb appeared to have been injured himself as a result of his own spell.
"Caleb, I won't leave you," Osiris said, kneeling at Caleb's side.
"Go," moaned Caleb. "No time. Go..." then he lost consciousness.
Os stood up and ran out. Curious Mordigans peered from their room, probably not realizing that the explosion wasn't an accident or an experiment. He ran to the River Corridor and bellowed at the top of his voice, the name he hoped would save his life.
"Luna!" Osiris screamed, "LUNA!"
Then after a moment, Caleb's ocelot came running from the opposite direction, sprinting, barely rippling the water with her paws.
"Come with me Osiris," said Luna. "We don't have much time."
Luna stopped in front of the young warlock. She stretched and Osiris watched in amazement as Luna transformed herself into a panther. Her limbs elongated and her fur turned jet black.
"Hop on," invited the big cat.
Under normal circumstances, he would have never even thought of approaching a panther , but without any choice, Osiris mounted the beast and without warning, they sprinted to the direction of the Vestibule.
"Where can we go?" he asked, having a hard time holding on to the big speeding cat.
"As a familiar, I have the power to travel among worlds," said Luna without missing a stride, "but the only way to get out of the Mansion is through the front mirrors and into Caleb's Position of Power, which I can also access."
Luna, the panther, dashed down the River Corridor, evading Mordigan witches who stood in their way.
"Oh, oh. We have company," said Luna after glancing from behind. Osiris looked around and what he saw made him feel sick.
Behind them were arrays of wild beasts: three falcons, three wolves, a leopard and a lion were also hurrying after them, probably sent to bite Osiris's and Luna's head off. The panther sped up and not a moment too soon... she roared and a blaze of lightning came from her mouth and blasted the door. She carried Os into the Vestibule where oblivious Mordigans moved out of their way. But Luna came to a halt. At least a hundred Mordigans were blocking the mirrors... their way out.
"What do we do now?" Osiris asked, as the familiars moved in behind them, blocking their retreat.
In front of the Mordigans was Verdandi Britestone. Osiris stared at her with contempt. She had toyed with him, making him think that she was letting him in the coven. He got off of Luna and stared at the High Priestess, while the panther growled at the other familiars, forcing them to back off. Just like her master, Luna was the top gun in the league of familiars, no one dare challenged her or tried to move in and attack.
"What is the meaning of this?" Osiris asked. His fear vanished and got replaced by hatred because of the seemed betrayal.
"Why did you do this to me Verdandi? After all the talk of welcoming me to your coven? This is what you have in store for me after all?!"
"Osiris, the Congress has decided that your presence in the Mansion is endangering us all," said Verdandi. Os tried to use his telepathy to know whether the witch was lying , but he couldn't get in. Verdandi's mind was powerful.
"And why is that?"
"You will understand someday," said Verdandi, her voice gentle.
With that, the Heralds, who had recovered and entered the room and their animal familiars behind pounced towards Osiris. Luna produced lethal lightning strikes with every roar, attacking any familiar who dared come near Os, prepared to die fighting because of Caleb's orders. The lion hit a fork of electricity and was sent flying away hitting a column as Luna clawed two wolves at the same time.
Osiris turned and froze as the scene unfolding around him; he stood like a petrified statue as the crowd of Heralds also moved to restrain him. There were at least a hundred witches prepared to attack him.
'Why?' he asked himself. 'Why do they want to hurt me so much?'
'Because of your heart,' the mysterious voice from within answered him again, just like the time it answered him after he escaped the Hand. 'Because of your power... because of your blood.'
'What are you talking about?' he frowned. 'Who are you?'
'Let go of your power and let me help you,' said the voice, 'let me help you if you want to survive.'
Osiris stared ahead and saw a Herald ten feet away, a lightning ball at hand. He closed his eyes and whispered, "Save me."
He felt his consciousness slip away, as though he left his body as someone or something took over. His eyes reopened yet even though Osiris could watch the scene, he couldn't control his body, couldn't even move a muscle.
He felt free, but also restrained, it was the strangest feeling he had ever felt. His arms spread to his side at shoulder height without him willing it, and from out of his palms came a sphere of psychokinetic shield energy that encased Luna and him, preventing the Heralds and the familiars to pounce or attack. They could not penetrate the barrier.
Luna stared at Osiris and saw that she was no longer with Os. The boy beside her was not the boy she rescued; his eyes had turned jet black, like a void of emptiness and he was giving off a different aura, much more powerful, much darker.
Osiris's hands raised over his head and everything outside the sphere of energy became suspended. The Heralds and their familiars hovered in the air, looking confused at how Os could hold them in midair. Verdandi was the only one who seemed able to reject the young warlock's power , but she looked as though she was seeing a ghost.
Then suddenly, Osiris waved his hands forward and the Heralds and their familiars shot towards the Vestibule wall. Tangles of bodies hit each other with an impact as strong as a freight train, knocking almost all of them unconscious. The walls appeared to have cracked due to the collision.
Osiris's body collapsed to the floor and he regained control of his senses again. His head felt like exploding in pain and his body was shaking. Luna helped him to her back , but the panther didn't know where else to go; the front doors were buried by the bodies of Heralds and familiars.
"Luna," Osiris said. "Go to the golden door."
"But that's locked," said the beast.
"I can open it," said Os and the assurance in his voice was all the cat needed; Luna sprinted with all her speed to the most mysterious door in the Mordigan Mansion. Arriving in front of the door, Luna helped him to his feet. Grasping the handle, Osiris turned it and to the familiar's astonishment, the door creaked open outward. He looked back to Luna.
"Stay here, Luna. Caleb needs you more than I do," Osiris mumbled, his knees shaking.
"But Caleb ordered me to—"
"Now I order you to stay."
"But the Hand might be just outside the Mansion's walls Os," Luna argued.
Osiris stared at the familiar and gave her a smile. "Then I apologize for this," he said then waved his hand and Luna got thrown to the corridor. He opened the golden door and walked out, stumbling forward into the tall grass out front. The golden door of the Mansion closed behind him, without assistance.
Exhaustion overwhelmed Osiris's body, making him fall to the ground. He wanted to sleep, but he knew that any minute now the Mordigans, or even worse, the Hand, might find where he was. He staggered back to his feet and glanced back at the golden door. But there was no golden door. Instead, where it should have been, was a rundown wooden entrance attached to an old barn.
Osiris looked around; he appeared to be standing in the middle of a field. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. The attack that he did when he was under the influence of the voice had drained his energy. He didn't know what in the world had happened or how he used such powers without meaning to, or how he opened a door that no one has been able to before. And now he end up in a deserted field, who knows where, on earth.
Not able to hold himself upright anymore, Os lay down on the grass. He decided to rest for now. Closing his eyes and giving a silent prayer for someone to see him and tell him where he was, Os slipped out of consciousness, hoping for the best.
But unknown to Osiris, someone had already found him.
The dog approached Os, putting its wet nose to his left ear as though checking if he was still alive. Osiris stirred and gave a little moan , but didn't open his eyes.
The animal raised its head, concentrating on its surroundings. Then it's ears perked up, and turned toward the dirt road a few meters away. Someone was coming, a car was approaching.
Running to the dirt road, the dog barked a few times, went to the middle of the road and blocked the way. The driver of the black SUV halted his vehicle and stared at the dog, obviously surprised. They stared at each other for a few minutes, the beady black eyes of the canine to the dark green eyes of the young man. And as if in silent communication, the young man got out of his car and followed the animal, who trudged towards the field of high grasses and weeds.
It wouldn't have been noticeable from the road that there was an unconscious kid in the field just beside a rundown and decaying barn. The undergrowth and weeds hid him from view and it was apparent that the dog wanted the driver to help. The young guy looked at Osiris' face and couldn't help admire his looks as the driver was surprised to notice that the unconscious boy was wearing long black robes. He couldn't believe what he was doing, carrying a stranger to his car, as he put Osiris into the back seat.
The dog went in after an invitation from the young driver, then they speed off to the Easter estate.
To be continued...