Lektüre

Lektüre was a human woman with long, free-flowing hair, a fringe hiding her forehead, and two face-framing locks that fell to her chest. As the daughter of a noble house, she usually appeared in long, frilly gowns set off by a tied ribbon.

Gentle and warm, Lektüre showed her sweetest side around Denken. She kept close to him from childhood and stood behind him without reservation, one of the rare people who could draw the boy out of his habitual gloom and seriousness.

Born into the Glück family, Lektüre met Denken when both were very young and took to picnicking with him after his magic lessons, easing his sorrows and teasing out his smile. The closeness of those years led to marriage, which made Denken the family's son-in-law. Her father credited the match purely to Denken's accomplishments, yet even Macht could see she had cherished him for ages. The two eventually made a trip to Äußerst and dined at Lecker's restaurant.

A fragile constitution and chronic illness shadowed her, and it was the dread of losing her that drove Denken to amass power and standing. She died on the very night he was named a distinguished mage, a loss that kept him away from Weise for years afterward. Her memory never faded, weighing on him with regret over how rarely he returned to her grave, and in time it became the force behind his bid to rescue his hometown. Later, after Macht's curse turned Denken to gold, he dreamed of a life in which she had lived, and there she urged him to keep fighting on no matter what.