A woman arrived at Confederacy capital requesting private audience with Kael.Elena brought the message while Kael was reviewing documentation with her. Elena's expression suggested the visitor was significant in ways Elena couldn't articulate."She said her name is Mira," Elena said. "She said she knew you before you opened the locket. She said she's been tracking your crimes for years."Kael's entire body went rigid. The name triggered something deep, memory that Kael had deliberately suppressed. Memory of before the locket. Memory of life as powerless person in hierarchical magical society."Where is she?" Kael asked."Waiting in the embassy guest quarters. She's unarmed. She's alone. But she carries herself like someone dangerous."Kael found Mira in sparse quarters clearly designed for visiting dignitaries. She was older than Kael, maybe fifteen years older.Her face was weathered by exposure and something else. Something like determination or obsession or both."You don't rememb

The organized opposition called themselves the Preservation.They emerged six weeks after Thessaly's death with clear objective, halt redistribution through any means necessary.The Preservation had wealth. The Preservation had political connections. The Preservation had power both literal and institutional.Elena documented their first public address. They claimed that redistribution was theft dressed as justice. They claimed that hard-won power shouldn't be surrendered to people who hadn't earned it.They claimed that civilization required hierarchy and hierarchy required power concentration."They're not wrong," Elena said to Kael while reviewing documentation. "They're not wrong that redistribution is forcing change on unwilling population.They're not wrong that some people benefited from existing structure. They're wrong that existing structure is worth preserving, but they're not wrong about what redistribution actually is.""Redistribution is correction of theft," Kael said. "

The redistribution territories functioned better than Kael expected.He traveled to southern region that had voted for complete power redistribution. The region had eliminated council hierarchy.The region had distributed magical ability training to anyone willing to study. The region had created governance structure where decisions required consensus rather than authority decree.What Kael discovered was messy functionality. Decision-making was slow. Consensus required hours of negotiation. Progress was incremental and frustrating for people accustomed to hierarchical efficiency.But the region was stable. People without power had access to power. Inequality existed but was less severe than in territories maintaining existing structure. Communities were functional despite inefficiency.Elena interviewed regional administrators."We're slower than hierarchical governance," administrator named Kess said. She was person who'd worked in old system and adapted to new system. "We're less e

The formal proposal came three weeks after the refugee crisis assembly. Hybrid territory representatives requested special Council session.They wanted to present formal question about whether patchwork system could continue existing or whether Confederacy needed to pursue different approach.Kael attended the session expecting procedural discussion. Instead, he faced fundamental challenge to everything he'd built.The hybrid territory representative named Venn stood with official documentation."We propose that patchwork system is failing," Venn said. She was presenting not rhetorical argument but detailed analysis. "We propose that unlimited territorial choice creates migration instability that destabilizes all territories. We propose that Confederacy needs unified approach to governance rather than territorial variation."Elena was documenting this proposal. Elena understood immediately that this was moment where Kael's revolution was being directly questioned."What unified approa

The Mage Council archives were underground, protected by centuries of institutional security measures that made even Confederacy vaults seem primitive.Elder Marcus accompanied Kael through sealed chambers. He moved slowly, very old now, body failing but mind still sharp. He led Kael to specific section marked with symbols that predated modern magical notation."Your grandmother's journals are seventeen volumes," Marcus said. His voice echoed in stone chamber. "She began documenting after she understood what consciousness she carried. She continued documenting until final entry weeks before her death. She preserved everything she learned about entity in locket.""Why wasn't I given these journals before?""Because Council believed you needed to reach certain maturity before understanding what journals contained. Because Council understood that knowledge would be dangerous to someone unprepared. Because Council wanted you to build understanding gradually instead of receiving complete t