The Will of the Many
Vis enters the Catenan Academy under a false identity to investigate its secrets and discovers that its hidden Labyrinth connects Res to Luceum and Obiteum, producing linked versions of himself across the three worlds.
Overview
Vis Telimus lives under a false identity in a society where citizens cede part of their Will to those above them in the Hierarchy. After Quintus Ulciscor adopts him, Vis enters the Catenan Academy under orders to investigate what happened to Ulciscor's brother Caeror while continuing to conceal his own past and resisting the system's demand that he cede Will. At the Academy, Vis balances classes, political scrutiny, and dangerous alliances with Callidus, Aequa, Eidhin, and Emissa while learning that the Anguis resistance and the Academy's leadership are pursuing overlapping secrets.
The Iudicium forces those conflicts into the open. Vis discovers the hidden Labyrinth beneath the Academy, encounters the Remnants that guard its gate, and learns that Obiteum, Luceum, the Rending, and synchronism are tied to knowledge the Hierarchy has concealed. The trial also turns lethal: Anguis operatives attack the students, Emissa wounds Vis while taking the Heart of Jovan, and Callidus dies after Vis tries to carry him back to the Academy.
After Vis completes the Iudicium, his damaged left arm is amputated in Res and he chooses the Censor's office despite Veridius's warning that he should join Religion. The two Synchronism sections then reveal connected versions of Vis in Luceum and Obiteum. In Luceum, he arrives without his left arm; in Obiteum, he meets Caeror, who explains that the three versions remain briefly connected. The ending reframes the Academy's mysteries around the relationship among Res, Luceum, and Obiteum and the larger history of the Rending.
Main Characters
- Vis Telimus - a fugitive living under a false identity while investigating the Hierarchy
- Ulciscor - the Quintus who adopts Vis and sends him to investigate Caeror's disappearance
- Callidus - Vis's close friend and ally at the Academy
- Aequa - Vis's classmate and ally during the Iudicium
- Emissa - an Academy student whose loyalties become central during the Iudicium
- Veridius - the Academy's Principalis, whose knowledge of the Labyrinth and Cataclysm raises further questions
- Caeror - Ulciscor's brother, encountered by a version of Vis in Obiteum
Central Themes
- Coercive hierarchy and power
- Identity and deception
- Loyalty and betrayal
Mood & Atmosphere
Tense and political, with academic competition, covert investigation, and escalating speculative mystery
Source Edition
The Will of the Many (2023), S&S/Saga Press. How sources are recorded.
