impatient apprentice. Stubbornly, Will held his tongue. As the silence stretched into a contest of wills between them, amusement glinted in the elfâs golden gaze.
âSo much like him,â Aurelius finally muttered in disgust.
Will took the remark as a great compliment. At one time, his father, Sir Tiberius DeâVir, had been the premier battle caster in the entire colony of Dupree and a dragon of the Celestial Order of the Dragon in Dupree. At least he had been before Tiberius, Aurelius, the landsgrave of Hyland, and a nulvari assassin called Selea Rouge had infuriated Anton Constantine by trying to find the Sleeping King. Before Tiberius had taken the fall for them all, been sentenced to annihilation by Constantine, and been forced into hiding with his wife and infant son.
Aurelius continued, a note of resignation in his voice. âTree Lord Stormcaller and his hickory grow in Shandril, which lies within the kingdom of Waelan. On Koth.â
Another tree lord? Like Bloodroot? Willâs gaze shot to his staff as the rest of Aureliusâs words registered. His weapon hailed from Koth itself? The distant continent, home of the Kothite Empire, loomed mysterious and sinister in his mind. And he possessed a tiny sliver of it?
Aurelius took on a lecturing tone. âStormcaller is said to have been infused with copper by giants. Infusion is a magical process whereby two unlike substances are bonded together at the most fundamental level. The resulting substance retains properties of both original elements. In this case, the copper within the wood conducts energy with great efficiency. Ty must have suspected that you inherited his talent for channeling magic.â
âChanneling?â Will frowned.
âCasting magic through yon staff. Like a lightning rod in reverse.â
Understanding burst through him. He had spontaneously sent blasts of magic through the staff toward foes when his life was in mortal danger, but without really knowing how heâd done it. âCan you teach me to do that on command?â
A sardonic smile curved one corner of the elfâs mouth. âNow that you fall under the auspices of the Mageâs Guild, I can teach you anything the guild has control over. Which encompasses the entirety of magic, excepting healing, Will Cobb.â
Eagerness flashed through him, along with caution. The use of his assumed name was a sharp reminder from Aurelius that he could never claim to be his fatherâs son, never use the name DeâVir within the Empire, no matter what talents he might have inherited from his father.
The guildmaster looked up at him gravely. âWhat is this weaponâs name?â
Will frowned. âWhy would a glorified stick have a name?â
âBecause this stick is well on its way to becoming an artifact. Discover its name and you will command its special powers.â
âWhat kind of special powers?â
Aurelius shrugged. âI have no idea. This weapon is not listed in any inventory of artifacts that I have ever seen. I could not begin to guess what abilities the staffâs original maker imbued into it. It is possible, of course, to enchant items after the fact of their creation, but it is difficult, expensive, and usually temporary. This one appears to have been gifted at the time of its making. Given where that wood comes from, and who has handled it over the years, there is no telling what it will do when fully woken.â
Woken? âWill it be ⦠sentient?â Will asked in dismay. He already had one sentient being within him to deal with.
âNot in the way you mean.â Aurelius surprised Will by gathering a fair bit of magic between his golden fingertips and murmuring an incant Will had never heard before.
âWhat are you doing?â he asked.
âHush. Watch and learn.â Aurelius concentrated intently upon the weapon and began to feed the mass of magic heâd gathered carefully into