The provided text is an excerpt from a novel, "Voices in the Dark" by Catherine Banner, which centers on the life of a young man named Anselm and his family amidst rising political tensions and the onset of war. The narrative alternates between Anselm's present journey away from his home city and his detailed recollections of the recent past, particularly the murder of his Uncle Aldebaran and the subsequent upheaval, including his stepfather Leo's dangerous secret involving the old resistance movement. Woven through Anselm's story are interspersed passages following other characters, such as the mysterious Rigel/Richard and his daughter Juliette, and a boy named Ashley, all of whom possess or are connected to magical powers and a broader conflict involving the king and the invading Imperial Order. Ultimately, the excerpts reveal family secrets about Anselm’s true parentage and Leo's past crime, culminating in the family's flight from the city and the realization that Anselm's new baby sibling is central to ...

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.