The Phoenix Ring(23)

"We found the Soulrock afterwards, and it was completely dead. An ugly, gray thing. It will fetch a good price if we sell it, but it is useless for magic now."

So I blew something up, what else is new? Thought Aidan, who was still steaming a little.

"I can't train you to be the sorcerer you are supposed to be without a way to access the magic, and rowan wood simply isn't going to be enough. Warlocks are able to use magic without a wand, but they must have a Soulrock. Now, there is a very difficult way to learn to use magic without any outside assistance, but only one person has ever accomplished it."

"Let me guess." Aidan said, "Marcus Thunderheart."

Bartemus shook his head sadly. "No, I wish. If so, the war may have ended differently. No, it was Malcommer."

Aidan sat up a little in his chair.

"But he was defeated, right?"

"Yes. But it was at a great price. You read about how Malcommer escaped from a prison camp right?"

Aidan nodded his head.

"Well, that prison camp only held magical prisoners. Deserted mages, wizards, and even creatures. The only way to ensure peace within the camp was to take everyone's Soulrocks and have them destroyed. Yet somehow, Malcommer figured out how to use magic without his. The guards were all normal soldiers, not a trace of magic in that camp, so Malcommer overpowered them easily. That was how he escaped and started the Great Wars."

Aidan thought for a moment.

"But what did he have in his cell? If you could just give me those objects, I bet I could figure it out."

"It wasn't a jail, it was a camp. Despite the fact that these men had done heinous acts of crime, they were still the King’s Sorcerers, and they were treated far better than any other prisoners. He came in contact with so many things every day, you might as well just work with everything instead of trying to chart what he came into contact with. But I personally believe it was just him, not the objects around him. Now, I have work to do, I believe your friend wants to show you something. Rest up today, tomorrow you start training."





Timothy, Eleanor, and Aidan were all inside a strange building that looked like an overturned boat and sat very close to the pedestal that held Thunderheart's ring.

This particular structure was made for housing all the staffs and wands in the camp. Timothy was having problems deciding which staff to pick, now that he had a Soulrock. He and Eleanor had managed to narrow the choice down to two, yet the new mage could not decide which one to choose. Aidan arrived right as Timothy began to read the complex set of runes that ran up each one. Aidan knew that every staff was equipped with a set of runes particular to the material used to make each of them, and the right mixture of rune, material, and sorcerer would maximize magical output.

"Hey, how's it going?" Aidan asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

"Not too well." Timothy said, trying to keep the excitement out of his.

The first staff was made of stone, and could only have been put together by magic. The top was adorned by a large griffin, which held a green, round jewel in its wings. It was about as heavy as a sword, and the runes on the side would create a rock solid defense.

The second was created from perfectly polished hazel wood. The top of the staff was adorned by a small carved tree at the top that held a far larger blue jewel in between the "branches." The runes would give the user the ability to use very complex spells that were more intangible, as well as supplying a lot of healing magic. It looked frail, but when Aidan picked it up he realized that it was far stronger than it appeared, and would honestly make a good club.

For a moment Aidan imagined bashing Edwin over the head with it.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Timothy asked.

"Uh, no reason." Aidan looked at the two staffs again. He knew that the hazel staff was far better suited for Timothy, and he thought Timothy would have known it too.

"Timothy, why did you even-oh." Eleanor had a staff almost exactly like the stone one, except its crown was a fish.

"Timothy, can I talk to you?"

"Oh, don't mind me,” Eleanor said, "I need to do some stuff anyways, see you tonight at dinner?"

"See you then!" Timothy said, his cheeks red from just talking to her.

The girl turned and walked out of the building leaving the two boys alone.

"Ok, what did you need. If this is about the Soulrock, then I promise you that we'll get you one-"

"No," Aidan interrupted, feeling another stab of jealousy at the word Soulrock, "It's nothing like that. I was actually wondering if the reason that you considered the first staff is because it's just like your girlfriend's."