Aug 28, 2022
Dun dun dun moment spotted.
This is brilliant. While there were glimpses of Ashtin being an absolute sycophant to the regime, I didn't fully grasp the ramifications and depth of his and, really the entire battalion of mages', subservience.
Truly, this begs the question of who is the puppeteer and who is the puppet? While we could easily theorise that the council is trying to keep the mages under control in order to remove the threat of being overthrown by literal planet-killers, we can also see in Ashtin's actions that he plays an active role in the enslavement of free will himself. Wielding power so volatile that mere thinking of it could have devastating circumstances, leads me to reflect on Bastias (sorry for misspelling, names are my weak suit) comment about how political moves are better left to the more charismatic (was it even Bastias?). It wouldn't come as a surprise to me that mages, aware of how the powerful are being viewed as a ruling class, would create a shadow organisation of benign humanoids with little social intelligence (to prevent uprisings) and a socialist message (we're here to help you and you should aim to help each other). That would be truly diabolical and epic.
It's been a while since a novel has made me shoot theories in the dark. Thanks for the opportunity. 
