“You fought with the Starsea Mages!”

  Vera gave a slow nod. “I did. But that is not as startling as you seem to believe. The galaxy was a different place sixty years ago, and you would be surprised how many mages were enthralled by the idea of Starsea, and how some of them even teach at academies still. I make no excuses for myself. When you are older, Lucian, you will understand that most wars are not grand contests between good and evil. There are simply two sides, each with irreconcilable beliefs, each willing to escalate to unspeakable acts for the sake of their vision.”

  Lucian could hardly let her write that off. “What about the Tragedy of Isis? Are you saying the Starsea Mages weren’t wrong to do that?”

  “Wrongs were committed by both sides. But history is written by the victors. Since Isis was the culmination of the war, it gets the most attention.”

  “That’s a cop-out answer if I ever heard one.”

  “Since you insist, I will explain. The Starsea Mages were pushed back to Isis after a long and bloody war, as you should know. The conflict had gone on for ten years by that point, and all were weary of war. Billions dead, worlds laid waste, though Isis is the one most often remembered. You have League propaganda to thank for that. But tell me. Were you there when the tachyon lances fell? Did you see the hundreds of thousands of dead innocents, the fires upon the cities, the reckless violence of the League’s fleets blasting settlements into oblivion, all before Xara Mallis and her mages streamed a single drop of magic?”

  Lucian blinked. “The Starsea Mages killed themselves, bringing everyone down with them. They used the world as their hostage. The Fleet had no choice but to attack. A planetary invasion would have been far costlier in terms of lives.”

  “A neat lie. Isis was a tragedy, but not for the reasons you think. The League indeed blames the Starsea Mages for what happened, but it was the League that struck first. But how is anyone ever to know that if none are left to tell the story?”

  “You’re telling it now.”

  “I’m one voice,” Vera said. “I was not there myself, though I spoke to those who were, a select few who had escaped. I can’t say for certain what was going through the mind of Xara Mallis. No doubt she commanded what remained of the Starsea Mages to defend Isis by whatever means necessary. But did the Starsea Mages really render their capital planet a desolate, irradiated wasteland, along with the Isis Academy where they trained their recruits?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. Xara Mallis had grand plans for Isis, but planet-wide eradication was not one of them.”

  Lucian was no longer sure what to believe. If any of that was true, then what the League promulgated was pure lies. And the intent of that propaganda was clear—to place the blame squarely on the Starsea Mages’ shoulders, enough to pass legislation through all the Worlds to keep them quarantined and under control.

  “Not to say we were the side of good,” Vera said. “Certainly, we thought so at the time. How the war started and how it ended were two different things entirely. I was younger then. Brasher. And I committed many errors I would not have today. And . . . I have many regrets. Would my knowledge today have changed things?” She shrugged. “I can only wonder. Fifty years after the fall of Xara Mallis and the dissolution of the Starsea Mages, I ask myself what it was all for. Did we shift reality with our beliefs, our magic? Would our dreams of Starsea have endured long enough to solve the fraying? Or did we simply not dare enough, held back by those among our number who cautioned conservatism? I cannot say. I only know that I don’t regret those days. They shaped me, but they are no longer me. And that is as it should be.”

  Lucian was too afraid to ask anything more. Vera was dangerous, one of the mages who had almost driven humanity into the ground. She didn’t seem to be acknowledging that Mallis and her mages had frayed, leading to the deaths of countless lives.

  And somehow, he’d gotten mixed up with her. If she was a part of the war, then she was one of the few who had escaped justice. A mage who had eluded Academy mage-hunters for fifty years. Those most loyal to Mallis had died with her on Isis. If that was so, then how was Vera still alive? Perhaps she had betrayed Mallis. Perhaps she had run when she saw the inevitable fall of the short-lived Empire of Starsea.

  And what was the nature of Vera’s regret? The crimes the Starsea Mages committed, or the tactical errors that had ended in their defeat?

  But what if Vera was right? What if the Starsea Mages weren’t a force of evil, as he had been taught, but simply one side of a very valid conflict? It was a possibility Lucian simply didn’t want to consider.

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  “It sounds like you’re just trying to justify some pretty unspeakable things,” Lucian said. “You’ve had fifty years to think of rationalizations, haven’t you?”

  The words left his mouth before he was even aware of them. Foolish, that, especially when dealing with someone of her power. But Vera only gave a smile that gave Lucian chills.

  “That’s one perspective,” she said. “Even I admit the possibility that I could just be fooling myself. After all, there’s a certain expression: There isn’t any fool like an old fool. Am I that old fool? Perhaps. And perhaps Starsea was doomed to failure before it could ever take shape. We would not have been the first to envision a future where mages ruled. After all, there has never been a time in human history when the mages weren’t maligned in some way. What better way for the mages to take control of their destiny than by forming their own state? That, however, the League would not suffer.” She watched him closely. “What’s important, Lucian, is what you think. Is someone chained to the mistakes of the past? Or are they allowed to grow and become someone better?”

  He wasn’t sure how to respond. “I don’t know. If they show reform, then yes. But that doesn’t mean the person should escape justice. I’ve always been taught that the Starsea Mages were . . . well, evil. Their defeat was the best thing that could have happened to humanity.”

  “You may be wondering why I would reveal this to you. I had hoped to teach you a valuable lesson, one that gets missed by a lot of people. There is great danger in thinking of things in terms of good and evil, black and white, right and wrong. All things are various shades of gray. It certainly makes things less simple, and it’s harder to bring yourself to kill another person if you see them as a fellow human, with thoughts and ideas as valid as your own. There are things you do not know regarding the Mages of Starsea, Lucian. Not because you are young, but because the truth has been hidden from you, as it has been hidden from everyone—mostly by the Mages of Starsea themselves. They had the answer to the fraying. The true, final answer that would have ended it forever, and not merely by having an unshakeable foundation that could withstand the poison of magic.” She smiled bitterly. “That was the true Tragedy of Isis, that they were not able to share the cure with the rest of magekind.”

  “What do you mean? What was the answer?”

  “I will not tell you that. Just as you are not sure of me, I am not yet sure of you.” Her gaze intensified upon him. “I can teach you everything I know, and together, we could see what the Manifold’s plans are for you. But you must be willing to give me a firm answer.”

  He blinked in surprise. “What, now?”

  “Not now, but before we reach Volsung Orbital. There is still time. Not all hope is lost, Lucian. Even now. The Starsea Mages may be no more, but their dream is not dead. That is my purpose. I will tell you everything, but you must agree to follow me and help me put the pieces together.”

  She had to be joking. “To stop the fraying.”

  She nodded. “That is my truth. My reason for being. And until my last breath, that is how I intend to spend every day. Solving the mysteries of the past, putting the pieces together. Perhaps it is in vain, but the journey itself is not.”

  Vera was quiet; her face was thoughtful. To Lucian, she seemed more ancient than ever.

  “Of course,” she mused. “I can teach you nothing if you are not willing to learn."

  “The truth is, I’m not sure what to think. It’s a lot.” He watched her closely. “Are the Starsea Mages really gone?”

  “The group is defunct. I’m sure some sanctums still exist, hiding in the shadows of faraway worlds. But if there are any left, they are but a fragment of their former strength. Their teachings lost veracity at the end of the Mage War, as Academy mage-hunters sought those who hadn’t perished on Isis.”

  “But they didn’t find you.”

  Vera shook her head. “No. They haven’t.” She stared into the distance, her thoughts seeming to go back decades. “I walked the halls of the Volsung Academy and was taught by the Transcends. That was how I began my journey as a mage, learning at the feet of the Old Masters. I know that road, and how it will eventually become a dead end. Belief cannot be limited, especially concerning magic, as the Academy teaches. It stymies the development of new techniques and ideas that might be of use. Of course, if the League ever again goes to war, the mages’ powers will be unhindered in the League’s service.” She chuckled. “It’s hypocritical. During the Swarmer conflicts, the Academy Mages used as much magic as any of the Starsea Mages at the height of the Mage War.”

  “But the Volsung Academy would teach me to use magic.”

  “Oh, yes. They would teach you. They would drive everything you think you know right out of your head. Then, they would replace it with everything that’s theirs. There would be no room for your thoughts, feelings, or goals. Only theirs. And the agenda the Transcends espouse must, in turn, be approved by League officials in faraway offices on distant worlds, officials who are wholly out of touch with how magic works. Their ideal pupil is a soulless husk. A non-threat. An insular, unquestioning mage who will never ignite a galaxy.”

  Lucian understood little of what she was talking about, but a lot of it felt right. He couldn’t help but wonder—why would she want anyone to ignite a galaxy? Xara Mallis had done so, to the peril of all.

  But now, he better understood the philosophy of the Starsea Mages. Perhaps both sides were right in their own way. Perhaps it was simply dependent on one’s perspective, as Vera had mentioned.

  “You’ve given me a lot to think about,” he finally said.

  “That is my only wish. Reflect on it. Solitude is self-medicating. Spend more time in it, and less time on your slate and in these simulations.” She faced away. “This is what I leave you with. I will summon you when it is time for your next lesson.”

  And like that, she was gone.

  Lucian stared out at the dark ocean, ruminating.