Lucius woke to the sound of wood cutting through the air.

  Not wind.

  Movement.

  He sat up slowly inside the broken stone ruin and looked toward the open center of the old outpost.

  Aelius was already awake.

  The wooden staff moved through the morning air in smooth arcs, the motion controlled and deliberate. Each rotation flowed into the next without hesitation.

  For a moment Lucius simply watched.

  Then he noticed the lightning.

  It wasn’t dramatic.

  Just faint threads of pale light moving along Aelius’s arms and across the length of the staff whenever it changed direction.

  Lucius rubbed his eyes and stood.

  Lucius stepped closer.

  The artifact rested on the ground beside Aelius’s training spot.

  “Did you sleep at all last night?”

  Aelius wiped sweat from his palms before picking up the crystal.

  “Enough to keep moving.”

  Lucius frowned slightly.

  “That lightning thing didn’t look very safe.”

  “It isn’t.”

  Aelius turned the crystal in his fingers before tucking it back into his cloak.

  Lucius waited for more explanation.

  None came.

  The silence lasted long enough that Lucius finally sighed.

  “You really don’t explain things unless someone drags the answer out of you.”

  Aelius picked up the wooden staff again.

  “Most explanations waste time.”

  He planted the base of the staff against the ground and closed his eyes.

  Mana gathered again.

  Lucius felt it this time.

  Not strongly.

  Just enough to make the air feel tight for a moment.

  Lightning moved through Aelius’s channels faster than it had the night before.

  His shoulders tensed slightly as the circulation accelerated.

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  Lucius watched the process carefully.

  “You’re pushing that energy harder today.”

  “Yes.”

  Lucius crossed his arms.

  “Is that how mages normally train?”

  Aelius slowed the circulation and let the lightning fade before answering.

  “Most mages train safely.”

  Lucius tilted his head.

  “And you don’t?”

  Aelius lifted the staff and rested it across his shoulders.

  “Strength grows slowly when you wait politely for it.”

  Lucius thought about that. How did a slave even know all of these things?

  Though the answer sounded exactly like something Aelius would believe.

  His eyes moved toward the staff.

  “I thought you would use a sword.”

  Aelius rotated the weapon once in a smooth arc.

  “A sword is excellent for killing the person standing directly in front of you,” he said. “A staff gives you reach and leverage.”

  Lucius watched the motion closely.

  Aelius continued.

  “A staff also carries energy along its full length. If you learn how to guide mana through it properly, the entire weapon becomes part of the spell.”

  Lucius held out his hand.

  “Can I try?”

  Aelius passed him the staff.

  Lucius gripped it awkwardly at first.

  Then he adjusted his stance.

  His feet shifted instinctively until the weapon balanced naturally in his hands.

  He moved it once in a slow practice swing.

  The motion wasn’t perfect.

  But it wasn’t clumsy either.

  Aelius watched quietly.

  Lucius noticed the attention and stopped.

  “What?”

  Aelius took the staff back.

  “Nothing you need to worry about yet.”

  Lucius frowned.

  “You say that a lot.”

  Aelius didn’t respond.

  Movement on the road interrupted them.

  Lucius turned toward the sound.

  The caravan that had passed during the night was now stopped along the road.

  Three riders blocked the path ahead of it.

  Lucius squinted.

  Aelius stepped closer to the broken wall and studied the scene.

  The riders wore mismatched armor and rough cloaks.

  Bandits.

  Lucius continued watching.

  “The caravan guards outnumber them. Shouldn’t that make this easy?”

  Aelius shook his head slightly.

  “The guards are positioned poorly. If those riders push forward together, the caravan will lose the advantage.”

  Lucius glanced at him.

  “You sound very certain about that.”

  Aelius picked up the staff.

  “Because I’ve seen it happen before.”

  Lucius followed his gaze, wondering how.

  “So what happens now?”

  Aelius began walking toward the road.

  “Stay here and watch.”

  Lucius took a step after him.

  “Wait, you’re not actually planning to—”

  Aelius was already moving.

  The bandits noticed him when he reached the edge of the road.

  One of them laughed.

  “Well look at that. Another wanderer who thinks he’s brave.”

  Aelius kept walking.

  The first rider dismounted and rushed forward with his sword raised.

  The staff moved before the blade finished its arc.

  Wood struck the man’s wrist.

  The sword fell instantly.

  The second strike landed against the man’s ribs and dropped him to the ground.

  The second bandit charged in anger.

  Aelius stepped inside the swing and drove the staff downward into the man’s knee.

  The crack echoed across the road.

  The man collapsed with a shout.

  The third rider froze.

  Lightning flickered faintly along the length of the wooden staff.

  The bandit stared for half a second.

  Then he turned his horse and rode away.

  The entire fight ended before most of the caravan guards even reached the road.

  Lucius walked down from the ruins slowly.

  He stared at the two bandits still groaning on the ground, in awe.

  The caravan guards approached cautiously.

  Their leader was a broad shouldered man with a scar across one cheek.

  He studied Aelius carefully.

  “You move like someone who has spent years on a battlefield.”

  Aelius shrugged.

  “I’ve had experience.”

  The guard looked down at the fallen bandits.

  “Well, that experience just saved our cargo.”

  He gestured toward the wagons.

  “We’re heading toward the frontier city. The roads beyond this point only get worse.”

  Lucius glanced at Aelius.

  The guard continued.

  “Traveling with us would be safer for everyone involved.”

  Aelius considered the offer briefly.

  “We’ll take their horses.”

  The guard nodded.

  “Good. Then let’s keep moving before those idiots bring friends.”

  The caravan began rolling again.

  Lucius walked beside Aelius as the wagons creaked forward.

  After a while he looked at the wooden staff.

  “If you plan on fighting people like that regularly, won’t you need a better weapon?”

  Aelius watched the distant road stretching toward the horizon.

  “That problem will solve itself soon enough.”

  Lucius studied him.

  “You already know where you’re going to get one, don’t you?”

  Aelius allowed the faintest hint of a smile.

  The road stretched forward.

  And this time they were walking it by choice.

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