Exploring the Possibilities

"Well, that was informative. Anything you wanted to see except the finished materials?" Asked my mother, Ann

"I was thinking of taking a look at schematics and inventions, but it seems unnecessary if it doesn't fit my immediate needs or ones I'll need soon," I said in response.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt, would it? After all, one of your family members may have thought of defenses that may not have even come to mind." Said Martha.

"I guess so. I guess it's off to the schematics and the inventions room." I said.

We enter to see shelves of storage that span from one end to the other and have a similar setup to that of the produced materials. Then, there are a couple of rows to the left and right, which are inventions that range from different shapes and sizes but are separated primarily by purpose and function.

I got to the section of defense. Some of the item descriptions said passive, while others said active for what I can only assume are enchantments.

"Hey, Aureilus, it has methods similar to yours." Said Martha.

"I think it's likely the other way around. After all, the information was being distilled into my brain, so chances are the structure of how things are done followed suit." I said, thinking.

"Well, anyway, from what I've seen. There are some more great weapons that are automated, a bit outdated in the model, but a great base to work off of." I said with excitement.

"What did you find?" asked a curious Ann.

"Just what could be considered the first unmanned turret; the only difference is that it is supposed to shoot arrows with bombarda runes on them," I said, imagining the amount of mayhem this could cause.

"Yeesh, how the hell did your family fall if they had such absurd, dangerous defenses?" my mom, Martha, asked in confusion.

"I thought they had no means of mental defense and were susceptible to betrayal due to the lack of that specific defense," I said, thinking of the worst-case scenarios.

"The imperius curse," said Nagini in understanding

"Hmmm," my mothers said simultaneously, being aware of what damage such a spell could do.

"Shall we test that?" said Ann.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked her.

"This place houses just about everything possible that the Galegold could have thought of. I don't think there wouldn't be any mental defenses during their time. And if there are, we can save ourselves a lot of time." Said Ann, contemplating the validity of my thoughts.

"Alright, let's do this. Lift." I said while watching the lift rocket towards us, but this time, I barely flinched.

We all get in. I cast sticking charms on all of us.

"What's with the sticky feet, Aurelius?" asked Ann; the other two looked at me, wondering the same thing.

"Just in case the lift goes faster than you can handle. Hold on tight and say what you want," I said while pushing the 5% button.

My mother says, "mental defense tools and accessories."

They all braced for any abrupt, fast movements

We move at a normal speed that would be akin to an escalator.

I felt so stupid. It was just two floors up and one section to the right.

He canceled the sticking charm, and they stepped out of the lift. Immediately, he dropped to his knees and hands, sniffling, holding in his tears and despair at how stupid he looked. Ann felt silly while Martha was consoling Aurelius, saying that he was just ensuring their safety while patting his back. In contrast, Nagini was laughing hysterically at how anticlimactic it was.

When we looked at the tools, I was bewildered. The descriptions on some of these items would be considered legendary loot in any video game.

"Anti-mind tampering, mental shield, mental imbalance detection, magic detection, source detection. This sounds pretty powerful. I don't think anyone could be imperiused and even if they could. It would be easily known." Said Nagini.

My mothers seemed to be of like mind.

"Hmm, perhaps potions or a chemical imbalance?" I said, thinking of how they could've been targeted.

"What's the difference between a mental imbalance and a chemical imbalance when it comes to the brain?" asked Martha, who was more familiar with how the human body functions.

"Well, our mind and body have biological behavior and psychological behavior. Much like how the subconscious and the conscious mind interact but inherently aren't the same thing. The body does what it does to what it believes is saving us even when our brain is telling it to stop. A perfect example is that of allergies. If someone is allergic to peanuts, their throat swells, preventing their ability to breathe. Your brain is screaming at your body to reduce the swelling, but it persists, thinking it is fixing an issue. So, when there is a disconnect, it can cause a conflict of interest. So you can harm one without even targeting it." I said, giving my explanation.

"So, you're suggesting that perhaps, they targeted their subconscious to attack the body in a way that isn't seen immediately as harmful. Just the body doing its job to protect, but ends up killing the person to attempt to fix the issue?" thinks Ann.

"Even if that were the case, wouldn't it be pretty easy to detect since most heir rings have potion detection as a bare minimum? And since your family was known for gadgets and such, it wouldn't be surprising if they had an even more advanced one as a standard item." Said Martha.

"Hmm, I'd have to agree with you on that. It would be a standard item in my family. Thus making my potions theory effectively impossible. If there wasn't something that could harm them, what could have been the reason? Nagini and I had theorized that a few families decided that they'd kill our line regardless of the consequences of dooming themselves and their family line, but that would only kill off a couple of members at most. It would deter the rest from even trying."

"Well, you've already told us your defenses in mind. What else do you think would possibly be able to cause the death of your line? Having many children was standard practice during that time, and feuds between families occurred, but that's almost always caused by lineage inheritance; however, your family was organized in a way that showed self-sufficiency and self-inventiveness, meaning it was essentially pointless since, technically speaking, no one had an inheritance. Just some assistance to start their path. And your family likely had defenses similar to what you intend to make against other wizards." Said Martha.

"Hmm, maybe someone was lazy and desired a simple life with no desire to drive forward and grew resentful? After all, Martha and I were nobles who despised many of the pressures placed on us by our families," asked Ann.

"That is an excellent point, dear. I believe that is a very possible case," said a contemplative Martha.

"Hmm, it's possible. My family valued constant improvement. That is an excellent quality, but people who don't care would be seen as lazy and could be ostracized by at least their siblings." I thought, not arguing with the idea.

"I can see it. Your family members tell them they're wasting their potential and were given all these tools and assistance, yet they still failed. That could boil into resentment, and all it would take is a little push in the wrong direction to push them into a frenzy. It would only take losing one of your few anchors to set someone off. It only takes one person they loathe to turn their ire into unrestrained rage." Said Nagini

"It could also be the opposite if you think about it." Said Martha contemplatively.

"What do you mean?" I asked

Martha continued. "Another possibility that I think is more likely is that the Galegold committed suicide and that the person they loved believed it was due to all the pressure the family placed on them. This resulted in a vendetta against the family. After all, that person was then a family member, allowing them to get close enough to harm the family."

"But, like we said, what could've possibly hurt them? I think your reasoning is solid, but how would they literally be able to." I said, circling back to what we already established.

"Perhaps a situation where it would be deemed as a hindrance then? After all, I'd imagine things like being intimate would be difficult if something technically could hurt someone but is simply part of the event. Like scratch marks, bite marks, and ripping could all be seen as harm, so perhaps those passive effects would be temporarily disabled." Said Nagini.

"Wait, are you suggesting that they seduced their targets and killed them while they were getting intimate?" I said incredulously.

"I want to say no, but my gut tells me she's probably right." Says Martha

"I wouldn't rule it out. And it doesn't even have to be a single person. It could be multiple spouses who have suffered similar fates." Said Ann.

"It would make sense because they'd have to kill off both straight men and women, so there is a chance that might be the case." Said Nagini.

"I guess we should keep looking around. What you said has merit. I will need to redesign the accessories and incorporate new clauses into contracts that would apply even to the children before making any romantic attachments. I will also need to adjust the expectations of family members, but in all honesty, I'm not sure if I want to change it. Pressure and support, in conjunction, help people grow. There is nothing wrong with that. It is also natural to be disappointed in failures or lack of improvement. Siblings are both the greatest supporters and the harshest critics. Nothing of that is abnormal or harmful. So what am I supposed to do? Perhaps educate those who wish to become their future spouse?" I said, slightly dejected.

"I agree we should continue looking around. It will at least help us clear our heads. As for your suggestion, I think that is probably the best option aside from the new additions you'll be adding to the accessories and the contracts."

We move on to other areas, trying to get our minds off it for now.