Alex nodded slightly, starting to understand the hidden rules. Within the Silver Wand Club, the existence of the Immortality potion had twisted the dynamic between members, no one trusted each other. Even those who hadn't taken the potion would pretend they had, just to avoid becoming someone else's target during a vulnerable molting period.
"But there are two people I can say with some confidence haven't used the potion yet," Thunderbird continued, now completely resigned to spilling everything.
"Who are they?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes.
"One is the 'Wicked Bird', I brought her into the club myself, so I know who she really is. She's currently a professor at Durmstrang, still hiding under the identity of an old man. My guess is, once she decides to take the potion, she'll switch identities completely."
"So that's how you knew Azalea's identity?" Alex asked, finally connecting the dots.
"Exactly," Thunderbird confirmed with a nod. "She's the one who trained Azalea, our little spy from headquarters. We figured she'd be a valuable asset in the long run."
"And the other person?" Alex pressed.
"The other one…" Thunderbird's eyes darkened, a flicker of resentment flashing across his face. "Sphinx. I know who he really is. We've worked together before. I just didn't expect this."
"Sphinx? But doesn't he look like he's in his fifties?" Alex frowned slightly. "Are you sure he hasn't taken the elixir?"
"You really don't understand the composition of the Silver Wand, do you?" Thunderbird said with a sarcastic smirk. "Not all of us are old men clinging to life through potions."
"Oh?" Alex raised an eyebrow, curious now. "Why don't you start from the beginning then?"
Thunderbird took a deep breath, shifting his tone like a storyteller reminiscing about a distant past. "The Silver Wand Dueling Club goes back centuries. It started out as a simple dueling club. That's all.
In the beginning, it was just a group of duel-loving wizards who shared the same passion. They got together to exchange spells, techniques, and ideas, no secrets, no rivalry, just learning and sparring. The atmosphere was open and respectful.
The founders were quite progressive for their time. They believed in transparency and in sharing knowledge freely.
Everyone contributed their own unique insights, and the club recorded all of it, gathering the strengths of each wizard into a growing repository of duelcraft.
Because of that, the club flourished. Even though membership was limited to wizards who carried wands made of aspen wood, the group became famous across Europe. Every member was a skilled duelist, and that reputation made the club stand out in the magical world."
Thunderbird paused, as if mourning the long-lost idealism that once defined the Silver Wand. "But things changed. Everything started to rot when the Rebirth Draught entered the picture."
His voice grew heavy, carrying the weight of a past he couldn't forget.
"Back then, the club was full of duel maniacs," he said with a wry mix of admiration and exasperation. "They weren't satisfied with theory or practice matches. No, every time they saw someone strong, they challenged them on the spot. No warning, no hesitation."
"And the worst part?" He gave a bitter chuckle. "They almost always won."
As their victories piled up, so did their arrogance. Dueling became more than a contest, it became conquest.
"They'd take spoils from the losers. Magical heirlooms, rare artifacts, even family grimoires. By the time anyone realized what was happening, the Silver Wand had turned into a vault of stolen power."
Thunderbird's gaze darkened. "But everything changed after one duel. I wasn't there, but the way the story's been passed down, you'd think it happened yesterday. It shook the whole club to its core."
"I'm guessing that's when they got the formula for the Rebirth Draught Potion," Alex said, eyes narrowing.
"Exactly," Thunderbird nodded. "That potion, more than anything else, was the turning point that sent the club down its current path.
At first, the wizard who won the duel didn't think much of the formula. Maybe he didn't believe it would work. So he just tossed it into the club's storeroom along with all the other junk.
But one day, another member found it, brewed it out of curiosity, and discovered its effects were real, and incredible.
Wizards back then were a bit more straightforward," Thunderbird said with a bitter smile.
"So he shared his discovery with the others, thinking it was something worth celebrating. But that was when the real trouble started.
Some members scoffed at the potion, saying that any power you gained from it didn't truly belong to you. Others were disgusted by the idea of prolonging life by siphoning it from other living beings.
But at the same time, there were plenty who were tempted by the potion's ability to restore youth, and they started trying it one after another.
In the beginning, even those who disagreed didn't act against the others. They were still comrades-in-arms, united by their love of dueling. But once the side effects became clear… things took a dark turn.
The first real tragedy struck when one member molted and took the opportunity to assassinate a rival during his most vulnerable moment. That was all it took. The others realized just how many people knew about their weakness, when they molted, they were sitting ducks.
After that, paranoia set in. The club erupted into chaos. What followed was an all-out internal war. In the end, only one person walked away alive, the current leader of the Silver Wand."
Thunderbird let out a weary sigh, the weight of that bloody history pressing down on his shoulders.
Alex glanced at him sideways, frowning. "You speak like you were there. But this happened centuries ago, didn't it? You don't look anywhere near that old."
"I wasn't," Thunderbird admitted with a shrug, not bothered by the suspicion. "But my background is... unusual. The current leader adopted me. I was one of the first members when he rebuilt the Silver Wand from scratch. So I know things."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me you helped create the current Silver Wand?"
"That's right," Thunderbird said quietly, lost in thought. "The leader relied on hunting magical creatures to make potions for decades. He's powerful, no doubt, but he couldn't keep everything running on his own.
Eventually, he realized he needed help. So he started raising his own people, adopting young wizards and training them to work for him. After all, time isn't an issue when you've got centuries ahead of you."
Alex tilted his head, skeptical. "Wasn't he worried about you finding out his secret? Especially during the molting period?"