"Though using her power to place a permanent barrier over her daughter's soul came at a cost, the cost was the potential. Over time, her own powers started to weaken—slowly at first, but then more rapidly, until they could no longer match their prime."
The Duke listened intently, his chest tightening with every word. He could already guess where this was going, but he needed to hear it.
"The barrier she placed no doubt was extremely powerful, but your wife became weak. Her power drained with every passing day, and I'm sure I don't need to explain the rest," concluded Ashok.
The rest was well known, the Duke's wife was captured at the hands of the Pirate King. From there, her fate worsened. She fell into the hands of the Bandit King, a man even more vicious and calculating.
