A mage's fate is worse than death...

Lucian dreams of a new life outside the cesspool of Earth. Unfortunately, his wish comes true when the government identifies him as a mage.

No one knows why the mages are being born. No one knows why their powers lead to madness and death. The only solution is to train them at the Academies, for them to serve the League of Worlds that subjugated them fifty years ago.

When Lucian is exiled from Earth, he must travel to the distant world of Volsung to receive training. During the long passage, he meets a mysterious mage. She prophesies he is marked by the Manifold, the reality that is the source of all magic. It is a destiny that requires him to master abilities he never imagined he possessed.

Trouble is brewing in the galaxy. An ancient alien menace has awoken, somehow connected with the return of magic to the stars. Lucian faces a terrible choice. To accept his new reality as a mage. Or, to try and outrun destiny...