Jace glanced back. "That's a solid point, Lily, I may not be so different from the Mordecai in some respects. I won't deny that I hate Connloath for what it did, and perhaps even it's people for being sheep by extension. However, you underestimate how deep the corruption goes." He faced forward to conceal his features. "The monster you spoke of? The one who would kill a newborn child just for using magic? That was my mother, former General Hakon Kilandre: and the source of the order itself? It came down from the Grandmaster Mordecai, who was a magically engineered superhuman."
He paused a moment, to let the fact sink in. When he was late into his teens, Mom had tried to dissuade him from coming after Dad, telling him about the atrocities Connloath would commit in the name of their ideals. The story still haunted him, though not as much as it haunted Mom. "She was a Major back then, an Adhara, when the Order came down to slaughter children who'd been found using magic, no exceptions. She was loyal, and did as she was told, even though her entire being screamed for her to stop." Another pause. "Don't get me wrong, I don't blame the people of Connloath for my father's death. I'm not so petty as to hold a nation responsible for the actions of one Mordecai, and it's a nice sentiment to hear your apology, but as I said, you did nothing wrong."
His pace was rhythmic, a steady, muffled thump of purpose. "The fact I don't think you and your country understand is that there isn't some happy middle ground, where mages are allowed to exist, but not use their powers. It's that flawed logic, that naive belief that everything can be black and white, cut and dry, that has brought Connloath to what it is today. The truth is, the world is not black and white, but shades of grey, where there are mages to be feared for their ambition and malice at the same time as humans to be feared for the same. Mages to be revered for their charity and good works, and normal humans likewise. It's people that must be judged, not uncontrollable constants like magic."
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