Prologue

1816 – Journal Entry, Skylar Aingeal Alexius

Napoleon is finally in exile! Permanently, with any luck. I feel that my family, my friends and I can now find some comfort and normalcy with his departure from Europe. For with him goes our trouble. Some of it, at least. I fear that our abilities, our powers of mind, of nature and spirits that defy common logic, shall burden us through the course of time, and be both a threat and protection. That is what Father always tells me, and after the events of the past ten years I understand why, for within these abilities is the trigger that makes a man good or ill towards himself and others. There shall always be the individual or group threat that one receives from being the bearer of these abilities. For that I fear that what already has passed shall repeat itself in some other form in the future. Will governments stop seeking us out, as they promise to do, or shall they lie low for a while until we are so under the delusion of safety and invincibility that we fail to see the imminent and obvious threat until it is too late? Shall they use us, mold us to their own needs, or respect us as people who understand more than they of what we are capable of? There is a general lack of responsibility among the leaders today, where they believe that with their power they are able to get whatever they want. But that power demands responsibility, and while that concept may seem foreign to some leaders of state, to us, it is all too known. For this I am also afraid – will they seek our power without a thought as to what the consequences of and bases for bearing such abilities, well and thoughtfully without endangering the populace, are? Such considerations must be taken, for if not, misconceptions, misperceptions, and general havoc shall result because of poor use and undoubtedly too much use of abilities that are not known. Which is what happened here, I believe – in the search for supreme power and dominance in order to achieve vengeance or some sort of recompense, or simply to gain complete control for one’s own personal gain, sight was lost of the greater picture, which is the welfare of everyone involved.

In order that others might learn what folly human beings are capable of regarding these themes, I am endeavoring to write down the story of what has transpired, starting at the time that seems best, when my father made his last voyage for the Admiralty. After all, it was from my father that I learned of my abilities, and also from whom I received the inspiration to write this. I believe he feels a great deal of guilt over the events that have transpired leading to this point, both the more general ones and personal ones, so the decision to write is to relieve him of some of that guilt, since, in truth, no guilt need be laid upon his head specifically. All of us were at fault in some way or other. I pray that Father sees this, in time, but I do understand the basis for his self-guilt and depression since I myself am at fault for not seeing the ill will of others that they displayed towards us, or see through the obvious disguises. I am of the opinion, also, that only once we accept what has happened can we make a constructed effort at moving beyond the painful experiences and drawing useful lessons from the mistakes. Hopefully I shall be able to convince Father of this, since at some level he undoubtedly is of a similar mindset.

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