Angela Donati

The birth of Angela and her Unbound brother, Angelo was a great event for the Donati household. The Unbound boy was a prize beyond worth, and the strega said that the girl would grow to be one of the great witches of her age. Her marriage could propel the family fortunes to new heights. There were murmurs that the boy should eventually lead the family, being made heir before his two older brothers and his older half-brother.

It may or may not be significant that Vittorio's courtesan, unmolested for over ten years, would quarrel with Vittorio, leave the house, engage in a tempestuous relationship and be killed for it within two years of the twins' birth.

Growing up, Angela eagerly absorbed her mother Teodora's hard lessons in Sorte. She was well aware of the power that she could one day possess, if she worked hard - so she worked very hard, indeed. Her mother, although a strict taskmistress, practically worshipped her first daughter and encouraged her to believe that she was special and chosen. (This would contrast greatly to the conformity Teodora would press on her youngest daughter Anna.)

Angela was always very close with her twin. When she was old enough to understand that they would not be forever together, one of her favorite pastimes was spinning out different scenarios and plans that would elevate them both but bring them back together. By the time she was old enough to be married, she preferred the idea of a royal Mondavi husband - someone close by, with a lot of power but a weak personality, whom she could dominate and cause to give her brother and family many honors.

She nearly got her wish. A Lachesis by the young age of 15, she was a sought-after bride when she was 16. Prince Mondavi's eldest son had already married, but he expressed interest for one of his others. Unfortunately, Prince Caligari had a nephew who needed a wife, and he pressed a suit as well. Hordes of lesser suitors came to Monfalcone as well.

The stress of it all apparently got to Angela; she, her mother, and a group of servants retreated to a country home for rest. Don Vittorio continued negotiations, purposefully dragging things out: he did not wish to offend either Prince Mondavi nor Prince Caligari, and he hoped one would tire of the proceedings and go home. Then word came from the country: Angela had contracted a fever and died.

Thirteen years later, it became clear that Angela had not died of the fever. Angelo had found her daughter Pietra in an orphanage in 1665 and adopted her; when the child was introduced to Tomasso in Quartus 1668, a shiver went through the strands of Fate and woke Angela's uneasy shade. Pietra was the result of Angela's Sorte-fueled scheming gone wrong, and now people were learning that the great Angela Donati, Most Powerful Sorceress of Her Age, had failed. Pushed by shame and wrath, the specter tried to kill those who knew about Pietra until she was sent to her more final rest by her half-brother Antonio.