Chapter 28: The Legacy of the Rift Guard
Following the discovery of the Mote Sensor Globe, the six allies deepened their research into the structural logs left by Luke Silverwoods. They were no longer looking for history; they were reverse-engineering the mind of a genius.
The data revealed that after graduating from the twelve academies, Luke had not immediately founded the Aetherium. Instead, he had spent several years attached to the Rift Watch Academy—Lyra's school—dedicating his time to stabilizing the most dangerous magical phenomenon of the era.
"The logs refer to a period of 'Great Instability' just before the Aetherium was founded," Ren noted, tracing the timeline. "Massive, uncontrolled Rifts were opening, linking the magical world to chaotic, unstable dimensions."
"Our ancestors recorded that era," Lyra confirmed, her voice serious. "They called it the Fracture Crisis. The Mote boundaries were tearing apart across the continent. No one could contain the tears—they required an impossible combination of raw power and stabilizing force."
Kian cross-referenced the log entries with the founding documents of the Aetherium Council. "Luke spent three years working the unstable boundaries. The Headmasters' documents claim he was building his reputation as a great stabiliser. But the truth in his logs is far more profound."
Luke's personal notes described the situation plainly: the Rifts were too large and too powerful to be permanently sealed. Sealing them would require an amount of raw Siphon energy that would drain every mage in the region.
Instead of fighting the Rifts with raw power, Luke used his supreme precision and control.
The Sacrificial Stabilisation
Luke's notes detailed a radical solution: he didn't seal the Rifts; he governed them. He created a continent-wide network of minute, perfectly placed Nullification Nodes, each designed to impose absolute, localized order onto the chaotic energy of the Rift boundary.
The logs detailed the ultimate sacrifice of his power: to activate the entire network of Nullification Nodes simultaneously, Luke had to pour the entirety of his own Matrix's stored, mastered Siphon power into the nodes.
"He didn't just dampen the Rifts," Lance realized, reading the structural schematics. "He took all the raw power he had mastered—the very Siphon strength they claim he lacked—and used it up entirely to activate the stabilization network."
Elara, the elemental mage, was stunned. "He gave away his supreme power to save the magical community? To sacrifice your output is the ultimate defiance of an elemental mage's purpose!"
The logs confirmed that the act permanently drained Luke's Matrix of its ability to produce high-output Siphon power. He wasn't weak at Siphoning; he had voluntarily emptied his engine for the sake of stability, transforming himself from a Master of Output into the Master of Control.
"The Headmasters then used this against him," Kian concluded, tapping the log. "They saw him perform the ultimate act of sacrifice, leaving him incapable of mass Siphoning, and immediately claimed he was 'defective'—a Stabilizer who lacked the required power for leadership."
This structural sacrifice provided the perfect narrative for their political frame-up: they could claim Luke was always weak at Siphoning, thereby justifying his removal from the throne of power.
Lance looked at the Mote Sensor Globe. He now understood the source of his inherited talent. His lineage wasn't defined by weakness; it was endowed with the potential for immense power, but tethered to the responsibility of control and sacrifice.