After fusing with his Warg half, Tezka had not only broken the natural limit of the Fylgja and reached ten tails.

He had also gained the ability to split in up to ten bodies, one for each tail. All of them would share the same mind, allowing him to be in multiple places at the same time or work ten times faster than normal.

The problem was that his strength would decrease for each clone he created. On top of that, if one of them was killed, Tezka would experience their death and lose the tails that he had bestowed upon them along with the elemental mastery they held.

Healing magic wouldn't bring them back, Tezka needed to practice from scratch, wasting time and resources to condense the lost element into his flesh and blood.

"Which tail did you leave behind?" Vastor was flabbergasted seeing how battered the Fylgja was and the item he held in his left hand.

"The Chaos one. I would never endanger Xenagrosh's brother or your girlfriend by leaving the Spirit Magic tail." Tezka used the wooden staff to point at the atrophied tail that couldn't develop due to the Abomination's inability to use the seventh element.

"I'm too old for her." Vastor sighed. "What happened to you and what is that thing?"

"You are now immortal. What are thirty years compared to eternity?" The Fylgja replied with a literal wolfish smile. "As for your second question, I went to get you a present and I paid the price for it."

Tezka threw the wooden staff to Vastor who caught it in mid-air, feeling the strain from his black core subside. Not because an oversized walking cane could tame the Chaos, so much as because all the notions about how to control it that he had crammed since his rebirth finally made sense.

Vastor could now piece together the best parts from each Abomination's technique and adapt them to his unique condition.

"This clarity can only mean one thing." Vastor let go of the staff and the knowledge that had been so simple until a moment before went back to being hot air.

"This is a piece of the World Tree. Where did you get it?"

"From the original source, where else?" Tezka said with a huge grin while his body mended at a speed visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye.

"We Fylgjas may not belong to the Guardians' bloodlines, but we're no pushovers. It cost me a lot of pain taking it from the old fossil. The least you could do is say thank you."

"I'll thank you after you answer one question. How the heck can I justify having such a treasure without creating a fuss?" Any decent mage knew that even though the wood of the World Tree wasn't as sturdy as Davross, it was the next best thing.

Even after being removed from its main body, it would retain the mana capacity of a living being and part of the wisdom of the Tree. It wouldn't grant its bearer knowledge so much as increase their ability to comprehend the laws of magic.

On top of that, if enchanted with spell holding magic, the wood from the World Tree would become capable of storing several spells of all tiers and even of mixing them to produce effects that went beyond normal tier five magic.

As far as Vastor knew, the Griffon Kingdom possessed only a few of such staves and considered them as state treasures. Brigadier General Vorgh, the Master Warden had one while another had once been entrusted to one of the Professors who had died in Kulah.

"You are the big brain, that's your part of the job." Tezka shrugged. "Until you don't get a hang of how to control your black core, you need a crutch. Also, thanks to the staff you can now use true magic in public and no one will suspect a thing."

"Thanks, Tezka. Did you carve it yourself?" The Master ran his open palm over the staff, appreciating both its solidity and mana flow.

The apparently smooth surface of the wood was covered in thin runes of power that ran from the top of the bottom of the staff, forming a spiral pattern that channeled the world energy coming from the ground and increased the grip.

Its top had been shaped like a tower with two prancing lions at its sides, the insignia of the Vastor Household. On top of the tower rested a single white crystal the size of an apple that the lions kept in place with their forelegs and opened mouths.

"I gave it shape, Xenagrosh carved it a bit, and Bytra enchanted it. It was a team effort, father."

At those words, Vastor clenched the staff with all of his strength. He couldn't believe how a failure like him kept receiving so much and yet could give so little in return.

"I'll find a way to make use of this thing and to make Mogar a better place for all of you. You have my word."

***

Trawn woods, Lith's tower.

"Making a power core is much different from a simple enchantment. Are you sure we don't need help?" Friya liked the challenge. Working non-stop for hours until she couldn't stand anymore just to be Invigorated and start again, not so much.

"I'm sure." Lith nodded. "Solus and I have the same energy signature so we can't ruin each other work. Helpers, on the other hand, need to be properly insulated. Solus needs practice before managing two people while she also takes care of her part of the job."

"I'm glad everyone thinks so highly of me, but I'm still human." Solus sighed. "The tower provides me with lots of power but it's up to me to split it between the several procedures at hand. One mistake and all of our work will go down the gutter."

"I wonder how your mother managed to handle so many apprentices at the same time." Friya looked at the blueprint for the piece that would work as both engine and dimensional focus for the Warp Drive.

Thanks to her apprenticeship under Professor Khavos Rudd after finishing the academy, she was the only person in the group who knew how dimensional runes operated. At least in theory.

Back then she had never planned to become a Forgemaster so she didn't study anything that she couldn't use for her Guild. A Warp Drive was a complex focus that would allow an enchanted item to handle both dimensional and gravity magic.

Unlike normal runes which shone of a blue light, dimensional runes were red due to the abundance of fire element needed to boost at the same time all the other elements that comprised gravity magic.

Friya had to be careful balancing the Warp Drive by engraving on its casing specialized water runes that would suppress the excess fire until it was needed.

"My guess is that I only recovered her personal lab." Solus shrugged while taking care of the silver chassis.

She still was the best Light Master between them so Lith had tasked her with working on a golden core that would conjure and hold several different kinds of hard-light constructs according to the circ.u.mstances.

Both girls and Lith were each working on a different complex pseudo core that would usually be enough to craft a powerful enchanted item. Yet it was just the first step before assembling them into a power core.