The characters (part 2)

 THE SORCERESS

This is the second in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.

Who is Laylah and what is the source of her magic?

Laylah is the grandchild (unknowingly) of Vedana, the most powerful and ancient of demons. Though the grandmother is selfish and evil, Laylah grows up as an ordinary child—beyond the demon’s influence—and becomes a force of good.

Laylah has one sibling, the evil sorcerer Invictus who is ten years her elder. Invictus derives his power from the absorption of sunlight, which makes him the mightiest of all beings. Laylah derives her power from moonlight, which is a reflection of sunlight, so she is the weaker of the two. But this is not to say that Laylah is not also powerful. It’s just that everyone is weaker than Invictus.

Laylah escapes from her brother’s clutches as a young girl and is raised by a tribe of people in a hidden valley deep within the mountains. But she is eventually recaptured by Invictus and held as his prisoner for many years.

Laylah wields a white magic that flares from her fingers, hands and eyes. Like Torg the Death Wizard, she can both heal and destroy with it. Night is her favorite time, and she often feels queasy and weak during mid-day.

Since Laylah is an offspring of Vedana, her body contains demon magic and therefore she is long-lived. During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Laylah is about ninety years old, but she appears as a woman in her physical prime. She has long, lush blond hair, pale skin and gray-blue eyes and is tall and voluptuous—considered by those who have seen her to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Laylah eventually escapes from Invictus a second time, and much of the epic tale of The DW Chronicles involves her desperate flight from the insanity and perversion of her brother.

Up next: Vedana, the mother of all demons.