Who Was the Mother?

She was born a human in False Heaven. She was not born special. What made her special was a bracelet - a gift from her son - that kept her alive indefinitely. Not young. Not powerful. Just alive.

For 1,500 years she walked the world. She taught magic in places that had never heard of it. She bore children every century or so, each time with a different partner, and watched them grow old and die. She did not consider them her own. They were born, they aged, they died. She kept walking.

Until she met the man. The one she actually loved. With him she had dozens of children. She loved them from her heart. She did not want to lose them.

Then two of them were brutally murdered while teaching their companions magic.

After so many accumulated failed attempts and losses, this was the final blow. No one saw a smile on her face again.

She spent twenty years in preparation. The plan: that she and her family would not merely be accepted, but respected and adored by the peoples of the world. No matter the cost.

The plan worked. The queen was slaughtered. The conquest was staged. The liberation was real, but orchestrated. The family was honored.

And then she died. Her last request was delivered by one of her children:

“Cut the throats and gouge out the eyes of everyone who could have witnessed the birth of the monsters. Let the people of this world suffer no more. Let us begin with a clean slate.”

Was she a savior? Was she a monster? Was she both?

In the Prologue, you will find her scattered journals. Read them. Then ask yourself: can you trust a woman who loved her children enough to burn the world for them?

• Beno