Tree Ring Staff
The Tree Ring Staff is a legendary magical artifact that provides an inexhaustible source of primewood. By holding the staff, a properly Aligned mage can draw upon its limitless Material, allowing them to perform magic indefinitely for as long as their physical stamina, Will, and soul energy endure.
Appearance and Construction
The Staff is six feet tall and seamlessly incorporates all seven of the deciduous primewoods. It consists of six wide segments of wood—maple, birch, poplar, ash, elm, and oak—representing the six primary magical Ways. These larger segments are joined together by thin, darker bands of a seventh wood: willow, which powers the rare Primal Way (gatesending).
The exact age and origin of the Staff are unknown. Some scholars believe it arrived on Earth with the elves twenty thousand years ago, while others theorize it was crafted during the ancient era of the Prime Mages, long before the elven art of creating magical artifacts was lost to time.
Functionality and Risks
To use the Staff, a mage must physically touch the specific wood segment that corresponds to the magic they intend to cast. Because it contains all seven woods, it is most effectively wielded by a Prime Mage, who is Aligned with every Aspect.
While the Staff provides infinite Material, it is incredibly dangerous to use. The raw energy it channels tires the wielder rapidly. If a mage attempts to draw too much power at once, the overwhelming magic will tear through their body and instantly result in a fatal "soulburn".
Notable Uses
- The Bookstore: For years, Quynn (living under the human alias Simon Walker) kept the Tree Ring Staff hidden in a softly lit display case in the back room of his New San Francisco bookstore, waiting for the right moment to utilize it.
- The Death of Aelwynn: During the Cothellon Ascension, a bomb sabotages the floating City Three. Desperate to keep the city from falling, Quynn delivers the Staff to Fallfoiler Captain Aelwynn. Aelwynn uses the Staff's dark maple to generate massive gravity magic, but the torrential power overwhelms him and he soulburns to death.
- Trey's Awakening: Quynn later forces Trey to train with the Staff on the roof of Lorelei's apartment. Holding it allows Trey to easily bypass his mental blocks, allowing him to summon storms, forcefields, and lightning.
- The Battle in the Prime Forest: During the Cothellon attack on the newly formed Prime Forest, Trey and Arra use the Staff together. By holding the Staff and maintaining physical contact, their souls merge, allowing them to combine their magics to create devastating, electrified "shockarrows".
- The Escape to Ambarhal: Fatally wounded by Quynn and falling to his death, Trey's hand slips over the Staff's thin willow segments. He instinctively activates the Primal magic, creating a massive gate that swallows himself, Arra, and Quynn, transporting them to the dimensional realm of Ambarhal.
- Inspiring the Shocksword: After the conflicts on Earth conclude, Trey brings the Staff with him to the planet Valaralda. There, he allows the devout artificer Ramul to study it. Ramul successfully reverse-engineers the Staff's infinite-Material mechanism, using the discovery to forge Trey's darkprime shocksword.