Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,73

mage-smiths. Fortunately, he did this and warned us before anyone died—”

“Died?” sputtered Will.

Master Salsbury reached over and twisted several winged knobs on the side of the table, then he pulled a lever, and the clamps holding the demon-steel breastplate opened, releasing it. It just lay there, of course, since he made no move to touch it, but the metal slowly changed color, losing its metallic shine and fading to a dull, light-devouring black. “The metal in its natural state, or its ground state, is a silvery color much like other metals, but whenever it is exposed to mechanical or kinetic forces it acts like a natural transducer, converting kinetic energy into void turyn. The black color that most magically sensitive people see is actually not a result of normal light. You’re actually sensing the presence of void turyn, or what some call ‘demonic’ turyn.”

Will swallowed. “Are you saying it’s poisonous to touch?”

“Not when its turyn capacitance is still well below its limits, but once the metal gets above sixty percent of its turyn capacity, it begins to radiate void-flame turyn, and at that point it becomes very dangerous. Anyone coming into contact with it at that point is liable to receive a lethal dose of demonic turyn. We still don’t understand exactly how the mage-smiths worked with such a dangerous substance, though, since it appears they handled the material directly.”

“I believe Lord Arenata can resolve that mystery for us, Master Salsbury,” said Master Courtney with a smug expression. It took Will a moment to realize the head of the research department was referring to him. He still wasn’t used to the title.

Salsbury gave Courtney a look of annoyance. “I know you’ve said His Grace is a natural transducer, but this is void turyn we’re talking about—”

Will interrupted, “Did the archives mention anything about the qualifications of the mage-smiths who worked with demon-steel?”

Master Dugas answered, “They had some sort of order classification, similar to what we use for spells today. As best we can tell, it simply refers to skill and experience. Personally, I think a second-order mage-smith would be equivalent to a journeyman wizard today, and third-order was probably similar to a master. Most of those allowed to work with such a rare metal were at least second-order.”

Will shook his head. “No, it refers to something more specific, and it wasn’t just the smiths. All wizards were ranked according to that system.” Reaching out, he put his hand on the breastplate and pulled, drawing the void turyn from it. The armor piece became a shiny metallic hue once more, and Will concentrated the demonic turyn above his other hand, forming it into a ball of black flame.

Master Salsbury hissed as he drew in a surprised breath of air. “Impossible!”

With an effort of will, he changed the turyn until it matched his own, then silently absorbed it. “It’s entirely possible, and Master Courtney is correct, except about the ‘natural’ part of it. My ability is a result of training. It’s essentially what the first-, second-, and third-order designations refer to.”

“So what would you have been classified as, Mister Cartwright?” asked Master Courtney, ignoring Will’s title.

“Third-order, although as Master Dugas noted, I think second-order could do this almost as well, and first-order probably couldn’t.”

“First-order, is that what they would have classified us as?” asked Jason Dugas.

Will paused to organize his thoughts in a diplomatic fashion before responding, “Begging your pardon, Master Dugas, but no. The classification had nothing to do with knowledge or seniority. Most wizards at the time were first-order, but everyone at Wurthaven today would have been considered zero-order.”

Dugas mulled it over, then repeated, “Zero-order…”

Alfred Courtney laughed. “Don’t be so courteous, Mister Cartwright.” He pointed at the other two professors and then at himself. “They would have called us apprentices. Mister Cartwright has explained some of the training to me, in vague terms, but hopefully we can start training a select few according to his techniques next year.”

“To hell with the students,” said Salsbury. “I’d like to learn these techniques.”

Courtney cackled. “You’re too old. We all are.”

Will nodded, thinking of Selene. Was that her problem? Had she learned too late? Would she be unable to practice magic in a meaningful way for the rest of her days?

Master Courtney waved a hand at Salsbury. “You’ve gotten us off the topic. Finish explaining.”

Todd Salsbury cleared his throat. “So, as I was saying. Any movement, pressure, you name it, causes the metal to generate void turyn. That turyn remains within the metal, giving