Abandoned Manor, Unknown Location

Sagarika appeared with a soft crack and stood for a few seconds adjusting her jewellery and robes. Well, it only appeared so, because what she was doing was unobtrusively scanning the area for magical signatures.

Once satisfied, she stood straight and smirked to herself. She started walking towards the abandoned manor.

She walked purposely forward and suddenly the air started getting heavier. She could feel the wards scanning her mind, magic, and soul. She kept walking but it felt more like wading through water. A minute passed and the feeling lifted. The Manor has accepted her.

And in a flash everything changed -instead of an abandoned manor, it was a sprawling dark fortress. Curiously, it was dark purple due to the ambient magic being almost visible.

Sagarika's smirk became a grin. She was aware she looked as smug as a cat with a canary in its paws but then …..that's exactly what she was right?

She slowed her pace and slowly started strolling the grounds. She walked through extensive gardens crossed by greenhouses, two pools, and even a grove of wand wood. She walked on and reached the center of the grove. A basin of water stood on a pedestal, right in the center of the clearing.

Sagarika reached out with her senses but it felt completely inert. She raised her right hand and chanted softly. But no reaction came.

Sagarika was slightly puzzled. By all records, the basin should be glowing like a sun with the amount of magic that had supposedly been infused into it but it was not registering to any of her senses except visual.

She wasn't usually a risk taker but all her plans hinged on gaining control of legacy which was in turn controlled by this pedestal. She stopped. Thoughts flew through her mind, measuring responses, weighing pros and cons, and then suddenly she jumped.

Instead of falling into the ground, she suddenly splashed into a pool. She flipped her hair over and looked around. This was what the illusion was hiding. A waist-deep pool of an undetectable potion. She could feel it was some revealer-type potion as it was stripping the glamours of her various scars and tattoos. She waited knowing that when dealing with old magic, you often had to be patient.

Finally, all the glamour melted away and she started to wade towards the edge but got pulled back in towards the center. She changed directions and went towards the center.

She could see something shining but it was rather far. She kept wading and wading. But she could sense that she wasn't getting any closer. By this point she was rather annoyed, patience was never a virtue of hers.

She let go of the leash on her magic and slowly raised her hands. The entire body of water rose as she gestured. She raised it high above her head, held it there with one hand and started walking,

She could now see a glowing dagger lying on the bed. She reached out and grabbed it. Now she knew what to do.

She slowly let the water down again and sliced both of her palms in long strokes, slowly.

The blood dripped into the water and it immediately started to change into a mesmerizing shade of bright red.

She submerged her palms under the water and spoke up loud -
"I come to you as I am, a child of your blood, a child of your magic

Take me as your own and give me your power

See me who I am, all that is joyous, all that is tragic

Take me as your own and give me your power "

She kept chanting it again and again. On the 21st attempt suddenly she could feel lightheaded and realized the lack of blood was getting to her.

She fainted just as she finished the 21st chant and sank into the water.

After a few seconds, the pool started to boil and an intense fog started to appear.