paused to take a lengthy swallow of his infusion and looked over at Drech. ‘Before I
start, how much have you discussed our magic colleges with Auum?’
‘I have never spoken about human magic with either Drech or Takaar. It is of no interest,’ said Auum flatly.
Stein opened his mouth and then closed it again, getting a little edgy. Auum knew he was being confrontational but it did no harm for the human, however welcome, to understand where he was and
in whose presence he sat.
‘Right,’ said Stein and a brief smile played over his face, masking his anxiety. ‘With respect, Auum, I think you need to know a little background before I can properly explain
the magnitude of the threat that we, and as a direct result you, now face.’
Auum shrugged. ‘If you must.’
‘I’ll be brief. The Sundering was the inevitable consequence of our differing approaches to magic, its learning and its casting. Four schools of thought, ethics and morals emerged
over the course of time; then there are your old friends Ystormun and the Wytch Lords.
‘I doubt there would have been a battle, let alone a full-blown mage war, if the Wytch Lords had not been determined to cling on to Triverne. Obviously, that could not be
allowed.’
‘Obviously,’ said Auum.
Drech chuckled. ‘It was the location of the heartstone – the artefact that focuses all human magical power.’
‘Was?’ Auum felt cheered by the implication.
‘During the conflict Triverne and the stone were destroyed. It set back magical research and use by – I don’t know – three hundred years.’
Auum bit back a childish comment and suppressed a smile too. Instead, he spread his hands.
‘Let’s skip to the outcome, or by the time you get around to our problems your enemies will be docked at wharf one.’
‘As was already agreed, each faction set up its own college, but there was no stone to split so we all had to make our own. They were the work of generations. But at least the Wytch Lords
had been defeated, diminished and banished way into the west to dig dirt with the Wesmen.’
Auum let the reference to Wesmen go. ‘So what happened? I had no idea Takaar was sending elves to Julatsa – your college, I presume? – but not even he would send them into the
teeth of a breaking war.’
Stein blew out his cheeks. ‘The first adepts arrived a hundred years ago, well before any conflict could be foreseen. But the latest arrived less than a hundred days ago. You’ll have
to make your own judgement.’
‘I wish I could believe he wouldn’t ignore the warnings. If there were any?’
Stein flinched under Auum’s bleak gaze.
‘There were warnings. But the tide rolled in so quickly. The Wytch Lords had been building their strength of magic and arms beyond the curtain of the Blackthorne Mountains, but their
chosen moment to strike should have been foreseen.’
‘We are all guilty of not seeing the obvious at times,’ said Auum. Stein inclined his head. ‘What was the trigger?’
‘Our greatest mage, a man called Septern, created a spell to prove a theory. Once he’d announced his success to a four-college meeting it quickly became clear they would all fight to
get it.’
‘Must be some spell,’ said Auum.
‘It is. It’s Dawnthief.’
‘That’s supposed to mean something, is it?’
‘Dawnthief,’ repeated Stein. ‘An extraordinary construct. Septern made the impossible possible. He demonstrated that, in theory, magic can do absolutely anything.’
‘I think that’s too great an assumption,’ said Drech, his enthusiasm for this debate only marginally less than Stein’s. ‘Dawnthief can, in theory, remove all light
and air from an entire dimension. That does not prove that magic can, say, grow crops from seeds in a fraction of the usual time.’
‘What?’ said Auum.
‘It’s a matter of perspective,’ said Stein, turning to Drech, his hands making a globe, his fingertips together. ‘If you take our dimension as a
start, how much have you discussed our magic colleges with Auum?’
‘I have never spoken about human magic with either Drech or Takaar. It is of no interest,’ said Auum flatly.
Stein opened his mouth and then closed it again, getting a little edgy. Auum knew he was being confrontational but it did no harm for the human, however welcome, to understand where he was and
in whose presence he sat.
‘Right,’ said Stein and a brief smile played over his face, masking his anxiety. ‘With respect, Auum, I think you need to know a little background before I can properly explain
the magnitude of the threat that we, and as a direct result you, now face.’
Auum shrugged. ‘If you must.’
‘I’ll be brief. The Sundering was the inevitable consequence of our differing approaches to magic, its learning and its casting. Four schools of thought, ethics and morals emerged
over the course of time; then there are your old friends Ystormun and the Wytch Lords.
‘I doubt there would have been a battle, let alone a full-blown mage war, if the Wytch Lords had not been determined to cling on to Triverne. Obviously, that could not be
allowed.’
‘Obviously,’ said Auum.
Drech chuckled. ‘It was the location of the heartstone – the artefact that focuses all human magical power.’
‘Was?’ Auum felt cheered by the implication.
‘During the conflict Triverne and the stone were destroyed. It set back magical research and use by – I don’t know – three hundred years.’
Auum bit back a childish comment and suppressed a smile too. Instead, he spread his hands.
‘Let’s skip to the outcome, or by the time you get around to our problems your enemies will be docked at wharf one.’
‘As was already agreed, each faction set up its own college, but there was no stone to split so we all had to make our own. They were the work of generations. But at least the Wytch Lords
had been defeated, diminished and banished way into the west to dig dirt with the Wesmen.’
Auum let the reference to Wesmen go. ‘So what happened? I had no idea Takaar was sending elves to Julatsa – your college, I presume? – but not even he would send them into the
teeth of a breaking war.’
Stein blew out his cheeks. ‘The first adepts arrived a hundred years ago, well before any conflict could be foreseen. But the latest arrived less than a hundred days ago. You’ll have
to make your own judgement.’
‘I wish I could believe he wouldn’t ignore the warnings. If there were any?’
Stein flinched under Auum’s bleak gaze.
‘There were warnings. But the tide rolled in so quickly. The Wytch Lords had been building their strength of magic and arms beyond the curtain of the Blackthorne Mountains, but their
chosen moment to strike should have been foreseen.’
‘We are all guilty of not seeing the obvious at times,’ said Auum. Stein inclined his head. ‘What was the trigger?’
‘Our greatest mage, a man called Septern, created a spell to prove a theory. Once he’d announced his success to a four-college meeting it quickly became clear they would all fight to
get it.’
‘Must be some spell,’ said Auum.
‘It is. It’s Dawnthief.’
‘That’s supposed to mean something, is it?’
‘Dawnthief,’ repeated Stein. ‘An extraordinary construct. Septern made the impossible possible. He demonstrated that, in theory, magic can do absolutely anything.’
‘I think that’s too great an assumption,’ said Drech, his enthusiasm for this debate only marginally less than Stein’s. ‘Dawnthief can, in theory, remove all light
and air from an entire dimension. That does not prove that magic can, say, grow crops from seeds in a fraction of the usual time.’
‘What?’ said Auum.
‘It’s a matter of perspective,’ said Stein, turning to Drech, his hands making a globe, his fingertips together. ‘If you take our dimension as a
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