The Empire of Reimia (3)

Talia Neriss watched with sadness as the body of her husband, Vomir, was lowered into the ground. Unfortunately, she couldn't even see his face one last time and now only saw a closed coffin – Vomir’s colleagues said that it was better for her not to look at such things, for her own good. The great Vomir Neriss, terror and worst nightmare of evil creatures (of all kinds, though few remained, but still persistent in their desire to undermine the Great Empire), was burned alive. What added strangeness was the rumor that Vomir belonged to the Cult of Flame, which, according to those same rumors, did not burn – but since Vomir wasn't particularly talkative about his beliefs, other Remian officers decided that there was no need to pay attention to this. The culprit has been found, the fact of magic use is obvious, and justice has prevailed...
However, Talia knew perfectly well that her husband had indeed been a member of the Cult of Flame – she herself belonged to the cult, although she was not an active devotee. In addition to the understandable feeling of irreparable grief, what happened caused her a vague sense of anxiety and a slight suspicion that the Remian military were deceiving her. Talia swayed the small suitcase containing her husband's "inheritance," an artifact that gave him strength, and tried to put all these thoughts out of her head. It was better not to think about anything at all; a tragedy had occurred, an irreversible one, and life would never be the same again. Perhaps Argal, her eldest son, would become a support for his mother...

***

"I’m just saying it’s weird," said a somewhat shy but handsome and strong-looking young man as he tried to explain something to his mother. “Dad… couldn’t have died like that…”
“Argal,” sighed Talia. “The most important thing now is for you to follow in your father’s footsteps and protect us all, as he once protected us. Yes, it’s difficult and dangerous, but we, all your sisters and your brother, are counting on you, and… I won’t force you,” concluded the woman with a tone that clearly indicated that refusing now would be tantamount to death.
“Well, I mean… I can do it. I’ll endure. It’s just strange,” Argal opened the suitcase and looked long at the silver bracelet shaped like a thorny plant. Sharp hooks were visible on the inside – wearing such a thing would be painful, but removing it without dislocating his hand seemed impossible. After hesitating, Argal unfastened the bracelet and fastened it around his wrist, gritting his teeth from the sensation of the hooks digging deeper than their length. His mother immediately moved closer and began wiping away the blood with a towel.
“There, you’re a man; bear it a little, and then…”
Argal smiled weakly. The blood surprisingly stopped flowing quickly, and a pleasant warmth emanated from the bracelet, which rapidly increased.

***

After the tragic death of her beloved son, Talia completely lost her mind. With an absent gaze, she wandered around the house, saying that this was impossible, that this family bracelet was absolutely harmless to people, that Vomir had been the purest person, not harming a single soul in his life, and that his artifact, created by ancient Enclasians, only harms evil. Many times, she opened the ill-fated suitcase with the firm intention of doing something, but each time, at the last moment, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
About a month later, the eldest daughter, who was twelve years old, disappeared from the Neriss home. Due to the tightly closed windows, the smell of burning lingered in the house for a long time.

***

"Miya, I understand that you are scared, but you must do this... Someone among my children must carry on Vomir's legacy. Those two… there was something wrong with them. They were probably not human, yes. I don’t know how it happened; it shouldn’t have happened like this, but Vomir’s artifact does not harm humans. It protects humans... It gives them the opportunity to shine. Yes, it is a candelabra, and its owner with a pure heart is a candle. Yes, a candelabra and a candle. And you will shine, Miya. I promise you that you will shine."
Xenomia screamed, begged her not to do it, tried to pull her hand away from her mother's grip, but she was only ten years old; what could she do? She was dragged into the room where her older brother and sister had burned alive, and she understood that this was most likely the end; she needed to break free, run, escape forever, and never look back. When Talia took the bracelet out of the suitcase, due to the inconvenience, she was forced to loosen her grip, and Miya decided that this was her chance. But suddenly, a thought struck the girl so clearly that she stopped struggling. Her little four-year-old brother, Alik... If Xenomia runs away now, her brother will be next. At that moment, Miya didn't think about whether her death would save her brother; she was just very scared and couldn't resist anymore. With tearful eyes, the girl watched as her mother put the bracelet on her, not even reacting to the pain.
When Xenomia turned sixteen, she was finishing preparing for admission to the Imperial Military Academy. Although she felt the need to learn the wisdom known to her father, there was another important reason – it was practically the quickest way to get out from under her mother’s care and subsequently take her brother with her. Miya did not feel anger towards her mother; she tried to understand the circumstances, but this did not negate her fear—especially for Alik.
Miya’s diligence and the influence of the bracelet bore fruit in the form of excellent exam scores, which were reinforced by the fact that enough people knew the girl’s father. Xenomia packed her things and left her home—to return someday.

Traits

Family heirloom (candelabra)
Mercy

Candelabra
A thorny bracelet that is almost impossible to remove (and may not be safe for life).
The bracelet punishes the owner with excruciating burning for every serious transgression (justified or accidental killing of a person, theft, etc.) – for some time, from seconds to tens of minutes, the owner becomes incapacitated.
For a "inhumane" transgression (intentional murder, renunciation of part of one's humanity, etc.), the owner is punished with death.
In exchange, the bracelet reveals the inner strength of the owner, transforming spiritual characteristics (as understood by the creators) into physical ones and positively affecting learning speed – as intended, contrasting the abilities of evil creatures and humans who use unholy arts.