Advent of the Relinquished by Joshua Hooker

The war between the Mage Guild and the Church of Rown almost ended humanity. The Magi, in their arrogance, tried to ascend to godhood with the blood of the magicless. If not for the strength and fortitude of the Church, they might have succeeded.
But the Magi wouldn’t let it end without a fight, and certainly not at the hands of lesser beings. They knew they had overextended their powers in their attempt to ascend, so were vulnerable to the machinations of the Church. So, they ended the fight on their terms, with one last spell; one final gambit. To transfer their power, knowledge, and most importantly, their plans of ascension, to future generations.
The Church of Rown had thought themselves victorious in the Mage War, but, unwilling to forget what had almost come to pass, they used pilfered Magi ingenuity and started the group that became the Lord Solicitors. An elite squadron of warriors, armed with magically enhanced armor and weapons to hunt down any Magi who might have survived the War, and to guard against any further uprising of the guild.
This turned out to be a clever, prescient play by the Church when, years later, the children of the soldiers who fought in the Mage War on both sides started turning…some simply died, some became walking nightmares, unwittingly killing all in their path. Some burned; those that survived it were taken by the Church and never seen again.
The job of the Lord Solicitors changed at that point. They became hunters, seeking out the children relinquished by their parents to secure or kill them for the Church. It was a job that the Lord Solicitors took seriously.
Geshen Knoll was one of the deadliest Lord Solicitors the Church had ever produced. Solely responsible for the capture or death of hundreds of the Relinquished, he didn’t relish the job but understood the need for it. He had been a child when the Mage Wars had ended, but he had seen the aftermath. It couldn’t be allowed to happen again.
Geshen’s whole identity and purpose are threatened when a friend asks him to go seek out a certain Relinquished, and to keep an open mind, not to go in sword first, but to think. Geshen agrees to the request and is shocked at what he finds. The Advent of the Relinquished may not be what the Church says it is. And if that’s true, then what does it say about Geshen and what he has done in the Church’s name?