When Stardock had become rife with political intrigue, he had quietly started his school here on Sorcerer’s Isle. The outside world considered the island a damned place, and ships from all nations gave it a wide berth; an attitude that Pug encouraged with deftly planted rumours and the occasional frightening display should a ship venture too close.
Pug was close to achieving his dream, creating the place he originally intended Stardock to be: an academy where magicians could study and practise their arts, exchange information and leave a legacy of knowledge to be passed on to future generations of magic users. This was the mandate he wished to leave as his personal legacy; Pug wished to perfect a haven for those who wished to be free of petty politics, the bigotry of superstition, a place where students were inculcated with the desire to serve and benefit others, rather than use their talents for personal aggrandizement, gain, or dominion.
Miranda said, ‘I count that as another sign he’s worried. He rarely bothers to visit them, unless he’s summoned. He’s fairly pleased with the current political situation.’
‘He had good reason,’ said Caleb. ‘That envoy from the Kingdom who offered some nonsense . . . What was it?’
‘As soon as Father learned that it once again involved us pledging fealty to the Kingdom, he rejected it,’ reminded Magnus.
Miranda nodded. ‘He wouldn’t even hear the man out. He didn’t tell me, the last time I was at Stardock one of the students took evil delight in explaining how the envoy from the Kingdom suddenly found himself in the lake, about a hundred yards off the docks at Landreth.’
Caleb laughed, ‘I assume the poor man could swim, else we’d be at war with the Kingdom by now. Drowning their envoys doesn’t sit at all well with kings.’
Magnus said, ‘They would never start an open war with Stardock. They still fear magic too much, and with that many spell casters . . .’ He left the thought unfinished.
Miranda said, ‘The King’s men are often stupid, but rarely are they suicidal.’
Pug had learned some bitter lessons from the Academy. He had eventually bequeathed daily control of Stardock to those who lived there, angering the Kingdom of the Isles who had considered the island in the middle of the Great Star Lake to be one of their minor holdings, though its elevation to the status of Duchy simply served their own political ends.
To the south, the Empire of Great Kesh had sought to ensure their interests were served by persuading many young practitioners of magic to seek refuge at Stardock, while retaining their loyalty to the Empire. The two brothers, Watoom and Korsh, had almost succeeded in convincing the majority of students that Kesh’s claim to the island was legitimate. Only Nakor’s time at the Academy, and his formation of a third faction, which he had mirthfully called the Blue Riders to honour the gift of a beautiful horse and blue cloak from the Empress herself, restored a precarious balance and stopped the brothers, who Pug was now convinced long after their deaths had been Imperial agents.
He had visited the Academy occasionally, always with two aims in mind; first he wished everyone there to remember he still held official title to the island, even though he had renounced his claim to Kingdom nobility. Secondly, he wished to maintain contact with a handful of Conclave agents and keep an eye on whatever nonsense the ruling triumvirate - the current leaders of the three factions - were up to.
The ‘Hands of Korsh’ were the most conservative group, but they were as opposed to becoming a province of the Empire as they were of joining the Kingdom. But they also perceived all non-magic users, and anyone outside their faction as possible enemies.
‘The Wand of Watoom’ were more moderate in their policies towards general outsiders, but decidedly pro-Keshian in their world-view.
The Blue Riders continued to delight Pug, for their leadership always seemed to reflect Nakor’s slightly mad and manic-views on magic. Many of them had adopted his notion that there really wasn’t any magic, but only some mystical "stuff" that could be manipulated by anyone once they managed to achieve a certain level of familiarity with it.
They were the group almost entirely responsible for recruiting new students, while the more conservative factions waited until someone who met their more rigid standards of acceptance arrived at Stardock. Pug was always grateful for their closed-mindedness, for it allowed the Blue Riders more opportunity to keep the island’s population in balance.
Caleb said, ‘If Father’s spending more time there, something is undoubtedly wrong. Either he’s alerting our agents to be on the watch for something, or they’ve told him that something’s already happening.’