"It can, but it is much more than that. Each member of the family wears magerite somewhere upon their person. It may be a ring, a necklace, even a brooch. As a Stormwind, you shall have a blue magerite, while Sartellians use red. The depth of the colour varies with the power of the wearer." Grand Mistress Illiana held up her own hand, revealing a ring with a dark blue crystal. "There, you see?"

"It's beautiful!" exclaimed Natalia.

The matriarch held it up before her own eyes, "I suppose it is, though my eyesight is not what it used to be; there are some things that even magic cannot help."

"You must be powerful, indeed, to colour the gem so deeply."

"Yes," the matriarch replied, "though, in my youth, it was much paler. As we grow older, our body withers, but our magical power increases. By the time you reach my age, you'll probably be the most powerful mage on the continent, provided you live that long."

"You think I might not?" she asked, intrigued.

"You have a target on you, Natalia," Illiana stated. "I have tried to lessen it, but there are members of the family that do not like a low-born becoming a battle mage. Even as we speak, there are those who work against you."

"Who? Which people?"

"No one that you would currently know," the grand matriarch replied. "Suffice it to say that they fear your power. You will always have to look over your shoulder."

"Do you have any advice?" asked Natalia.

"Pick your friends carefully," she advised, "and try to make some that are not mages, you can never fully trust those with magic."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that, Mistress. I would have thought, as head of the Stormwinds, you would prefer to trust mages."

"My experience tells me otherwise, my dear. I cling to the top of the family by a tenuous thread, at best. Those around me are constantly fighting for influence. Soon, I will be too old and feeble to continue my reign, and someone else will take over my duties."

"Why are you telling me this, Matriarch?"

"Because I want you to succeed," Illiana said. "This family, both families, have become corrupt with power and greed, and I don't mean just magical. The Stormwinds and the Sartellians have their fingers in courts all across the continent. It is time you realize the full extent of our influence."

"Is there something you want me to do?" asked Natalia.