The modified practice wand felt different from standard corporate equipment. Zeph traced it through the basic forms Professor Kendrick had shown him, feeling how its altered crystal matrix allowed power to flow both through and around the standardized channels. Perfect for maintaining his cover while accessing true magic.
"Your form is still atrocious," Thaddeus commented from his place on the workbench. "Though I suppose it's an improvement over yesterday's impression of a startled flamingo."
Dawn painted the engineering lab in soft colors as Zeph practiced. Ash had already set up privacy wards – "technically legal-ish" as he'd put it – giving them a secure space to work before classes began.
"The crystal's resonance is odd," Zeph said, studying how power moved through the modified wand. "It's like... there are gaps in the corporate pattern?"
"Finally, he begins to notice the obvious." But there was approval beneath Thaddeus's snark. "Kendrick's work, unless I miss my guess. She's adapted corporate tools to work with natural flows before. Though in my day, we didn't need such tricks. A proper focus was grown, not manufactured."
Zeph paused mid-form. "Grown? You mean wands used to be..."
"Alive, yes. Partners rather than tools. But that's a lesson for another time. Focus on the pattern I showed you – unless you'd prefer to keep flailing about like a fish attempting interpretive dance?"
```
Status Check:
[Modified Wand Integration: 47%]
[Flow Control: Improving]
[Cover Maintenance: Stable]
[Thaddeus's Approval: Grudging]
```
Ash looked up from his workbench, where he'd been modifying detection equipment. "The corporate sensors are definitely picking up something, but they can't categorize it. It's like... they see the edges of what you're doing without understanding the whole."
"Because corporate magic is built on willful ignorance," Thaddeus explained. "They see power flowing through their channels and assume that's all there is to see. Like measuring an ocean by tracking ships while ignoring the currents beneath."
Zeph resumed the exercise, letting power flow through the natural paths while maintaining a surface appearance of corporate compliance. The modified wand hummed in harmony with his movements, its altered crystal structure adapting to his dual-natured casting.
Then something clicked. The pattern Thaddeus had been trying to teach him suddenly made sense – not just intellectually, but viscerally. Power moved in smooth spirals, corporate and natural magic weaving together in a dance of concealment and truth.
"There," Thaddeus said quietly. "Now you're beginning to understand."
A soft chime from Ash's equipment provided confirmation. "Corporate sensors show standard practice levels, but look at these resonance readings. The natural flows are... it's beautiful."
"Yes, yes, very impressive," Thaddeus replied, but his usual sarcasm lacked bite. "Now do it again, and this time try not to look quite so surprised when it works."
Zeph repeated the pattern, feeling how each iteration refined his control. The modified wand wasn't just allowing him to access both forms of magic – it was helping him understand how they interrelated. The Houses hadn't destroyed true magic, they'd built their system on top of it, like a city constructed over ancient ruins.
"Question," Ash said, adjusting his sensors. "If the corporate systems are so limited, how did they take control in the first place? Shouldn't true magic practitioners have been more powerful?"
The book was silent for a moment before responding. "Numbers. Technology. And most importantly, timing. They didn't try to overpower true magic – they simply convinced everyone that their way was safer. Better regulated. More *modern*." The last word carried centuries of bitterness.
"By the time people realized what they'd lost," Thaddeus continued, "the corporate framework was already in place. Standardized education, regulated equipment, monitored practice... a cage built so slowly that most never noticed the bars."
Zeph thought about his years of struggling with corporate techniques, how his natural sensitivity had been treated as a weakness rather than a gift. How many others might have similar potential, buried beneath layers of standardization and control?
A warning pulse from Ash's equipment interrupted his thoughts. "Security sweep incoming. Better look properly corporate."
Zeph smoothly transitioned to approved forms, power flowing through visible channels while natural currents ran hidden beneath. The modified wand performed perfectly, displaying exactly the readings security would expect from a struggling student practicing basic techniques.
"Adequate," Thaddeus commented as the sweep passed. "Though your corporate forms look about as natural as a dragon at a tea party."
"I thought the point was for them to look unnatural?" Zeph asked, resuming the true magic patterns.
"The point is for them to look like you're *trying* to look natural and failing. There's an art to proper incompetence. Though in your case, I suspect it comes naturally."
Ash snorted. "He's got you there."
```
Progress Update:
[Pattern Mastery: Advanced Flow Control Achieved]
[Dual Casting: Integration Improving]
[Corporate Facade: Convincing]
[Natural Resonance: Strengthening]
```
The rest of their morning practice session focused on refining Zeph's control. Each repetition brought deeper understanding of how the two magical systems interacted. Corporate channels weren't just restrictions – they were guidelines, showing where the natural flows had once run strongest.
"The Houses didn't create their system from nothing," Thaddeus explained. "They mapped the ancient currents, then built their framework to redirect and control them. Knowledge corrupted into chains."
"But we can use those chains," Zeph realized, feeling how his power moved through both corporate and natural paths. "Their system shows us where to look for the original flows."
"Finally, an observation that doesn't make me despair for the future of magic entirely." Thaddeus managed to sound both approving and exasperated. "Though your execution still needs considerable work. Again, from the beginning."
As sunrise painted the crystal spires in shades of amber and gold, Zeph continued his practice. Each pattern brought him closer to understanding the truth hidden beneath corporate standardization. And in his hands, the modified wand hummed with potential – a bridge between two worlds of magic, waiting to be fully awakened.
"You know," Ash commented, watching another successful pattern completion, "for an ancient archmage trapped in a book, you're actually a pretty good teacher."
"And for a corporate-educated technician, you're occasionally not entirely wrong," Thaddeus replied. "Though your definition of 'good' could use work. Along with your magical theory. And your laboratory organization. And..."
"We get it," Zeph interrupted, hiding a smile as he moved into the next form. "You have standards. Very high standards. Probably involving proper archival techniques and alphabetized spellbooks."
"Don't be ridiculous," Thaddeus sniffed. "Spells should obviously be organized by resonance pattern and power gradient, with cross-referencing for practical applications. Alphabetization is for people who think magic follows dictionary rules."
But there was warmth beneath the criticism, a sense of genuine progress being made. Step by step, pattern by pattern, they were rediscovering what the Houses had tried to bury. And maybe, just maybe, they were building something new in the process – a bridge between the old ways and the new, hidden in plain sight within the corporate world's carefully constructed cage.