Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) by M. S. Dobing Page A

when the time came she would be discarded.
    The entity walked down the corridor that led away from the magi lodgings. It drew upon old memories to guide its path. The building was foreign to it, as was all the things in this realm, but having access to Sonika’s soul meant that nothing surprised it, not entirely.
    As it walked, it sensed , only casually, it didn’t want to draw attention to itself. Not yet. Echoes came back; many of those detected were at least Aware, with some Latents present too. There was one it sought above all else though, the one known as Sedaris. He was powerful, for this realm, and his vessel would make a much better host than the underling it currently used.
    ‘Sedaris, where is he?’ The words sounded slow, almost slurred as they emerged. The soldier that the entity had addressed regarded Sonika for a second, his brow furrowing.
    ‘Are you okay, Sonika?’ he said.
    ‘I. Am. Fine,’ the entity replied. ‘Just a sore head. Understand?’
    ‘Sure, I heard about what happened. It was some freaky stuff that Marek was into.’
    The entity was getting tired of this. It thought of killing the man right there. His host had the ability, definitely, but it would mean a short end to its mission.
    ‘Where is Sedaris?’ it said again, adding some menace to Sonika’s voice, the action coming slightly easier this time.
    The guard snapped to attention. Obviously the mage was of superior rank.
    ‘In his office.’
    The entity moved on, leaving the guard staring at it from behind. It called upon more of its host’s memories and made its way to the elevator. Stepping inside, the entity pressed the button it knew led to the fifty-fifth floor, where its next vessel awaited.
     
    ***
     
    Archmage Sedaris stood, gazing absently out of the window down at the city below. The vast majority couldn’t see it, but reality was morphing, changing under their very eyes. They were Unaware, blind to the beauty of creation. Now though, as the Consensus fell down around them, more of these cattle were waking up to the truth that their minds had convinced them did not exist. Most, like a tortoise retreating back into its shell, closed off the very possibility of something different being out there, finding sanctuary in the mundane. Some though, became curious, they knew something was different, and their minds would not let it go. These were the Aware, newly awoken to the illusion of reality. Even then, many of those simply went mad, their minds unable to cope with the new world they perceived. These were problems that took care of themselves.
    It was those who did not go mad, who did not hide back under their stones, which were the real challenges. They actively sought knowledge, to learn more. With this curiosity came risk. They did not understand what they were dealing with, what the Consensus was designed to protect them from. From whom it protected them from.
    Could the magi take them in? Could the Families deal with this in a similar way to the refugees that poured across the continent? Perhaps. Some, like Archmage Dovin, would no doubt welcome the needy like the fool he was. Sedaris though, he knew different. The newly Aware were a danger, perhaps not straight away, but in time, they would become able to affect reality themselves. Novo or not, the mass joining of minds could achieve things previously impossible. It had worked for others, those who’d come two thousand years before, but it could not be allowed to happen now.
    And that was the question, he asked himself as he stared down at the millions who went about their daily routine. Did he, Sedaris, have the right to intervene? To silence the newly Aware before they became a problem?
    Did he have the right to take the souls of countless innocents?
    He never heard the door open, which didn’t concern him. He didn’t sense Sonika either, when the mage entered. This did concern him. Sedaris pivoted, subtly drawing upon the Weave.
    ‘Sonika. I was not