compiled headcanons about the staff of magnus (these figure into my rendition of the winterhold questline)
like other aedric and daedric artifacts, the staff is an ada who's taken an inert shape. the psijics count it among the magne-ge and revere it as such
also like other aedric and daedric artifacts, the staff is conscious (in an alien sense, rather than in the same way that a person is conscious) and able to enact its will in the world by choosing who wields it. it can also act volitionally to protect its wielder—or, depending on how it feels about them, harm them—or itself, or anything else that interests it
unsubstantiated, just for fun:
of the ada who helped the god of magic draft the mortal world, the ada who would later manifest as the staff of magnus was most eager about the project and, as a result, rose high in magnus's esteem. taking the form of a staff, a wizard's most valued tool and symbol, is possibly what makes the most sense to it as magnus's former second
whether it never fled the mortal world at all or returned to the mortal world at some point after the terrified flight of magnus and the magne-ge is unclear
its sphere, as a very inconsequential ada who doesn't rival the aedra and daedra in power, seems to be a mixture of "creativity" and "audacious action"
the staff has been sealed underground with morokei by powerful magic ever since he was entombed with it in the merethic era. rumors of the staff being discovered and wielded by various others throughout history are only rumors; whoever retrieves it from bromjunaar in the fourth era is the first to wield it in thousands of years
the staff didn't want to be trapped for eternity as a moldering king's grave-goods and has been seething with rage and frustration all this time. much of morokei's power when he fights the rare interloper who's come to steal his stuff is diverted to bending his own weapon's will so that it won't immediately fly to his opponent
it's distinguishable from staves of mortal make by the fact that it doesn't need to be replenished with soul gems; it's a weak god, but an extremely powerful staff
it changes its shape to better suit or accommodate its wielder and often subtly morphs to reflect its wielder's mood (or its own)
though it seems to be able to understand mortal speech (when it wants to), it's incapable of mortal speech itself, no matter what form it chooses to take. it can make itself understood to other ada, such as dragons and dragonborn, but not to mortals
the number of people—even scholars—who actually know all this information is very small. most wizards regard the staff of magnus as a valuable and dangerous relic, but also just a stick
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