Bk 2, Chapter 16: Runes

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Unfortunately for Cayden and his friends, their delaying tactics had negative consequences. The expedition's wagons were packed almost to capacity, with the two long benches that lined the back of each wagon already crowded with students who'd boarded earlier. There were still spaces, but they were wedged between other groups of friends and teammates and certainly not together.

Tiana was the first to board, quickly claiming a spot next to Marrianne, who Cayden was pleased to note greeted his sister with none of the animosity she typically directed his way. Jeremy gave Cayden an apologetic look before climbing in after Tiana and taking the empty spot on the bench opposite his teammate.

By that point, Elise had finished her own rune-enforced check-in, and she stumbled past Cayden into the next wagon with barely a glance to the left or the right. Unlike most of the others, she had no backpack or other supplies, just a pair of smallish pouches on each of her hips, and she slipped into a small gap on one of the benches, closing her eyes and leaning back as soon as she touched the seat.

Which left Cayden alone as he felt his way into the small spot he'd glimpsed on one of the benches, Jeremy's [Share Senses] skill useless when the ones whose senses he shared were in the other wagon. It had been between an older ogre student and a pile of supplies that seemed to be marking the space as 'reserved', and a few moments later he felt the wagon shift as Instructor Mynar claimed the adjacent spot.

It wasn't long before the wagons started moving, Jeremy's linking skills winking out a few moments later, and Cayden sighed. He didn't anticipate the first leg of their journey being particularly pleasant.

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"A magician is not a mage. The effects created can look similar, but there are inherent differences between the effects generated by system-granted skills and those created by runes. Not to say that magicians don't use skills – I myself make liberal use of my [Liquid Manipulation] skill," Instructor Mynar stated, water from the pouch at her belt flowing out and around her in a circle in demonstration. "But aside from my control of water for the formation of runes, the magical effects I create are the result of runes – not skills."

Cayden was seated with the rest of the expedition in a small field next to an inn along the side of the road. The ride in the wagon hadn't been quite as bad as he'd expected. Without the ability to see, he'd quickly grown bored of eavesdropping on his fellow students and had attempted to sleep, which ended up being surprisingly easy. There must have been some runes or enchantments on the wagons, since there was almost no shaking or roughness as they moved down the dirt roads at a blisteringly fast pace, and Cayden was able to catch at least a few hours of shut-eye before they stopped for lunch and a lesson.

While many of those on the journey likely had ulterior motives, the primary stated purpose of the expedition remained the education of the participants, and Instructor Mynar took her job seriously. She was currently giving the first of a planned daily series of lectures, this one being an explanation of her use of runic magic.

"Now – can anyone tell me what materials can be used to generate runes?" Instructor Mynar asked, and a hush fell over the gathered students, the chewing of Cayden’s sandwich suddenly loud in his own ears.

He'd been reunited with Elise and Jeremy when they stopped for lunch, and he looked through Jeremy's eyes at the surrounding students, surprised when Elise didn't immediately volunteer. He couldn't imagine that she didn't know the answer, but she just sat there – eating her own sandwich and looking slightly annoyed.

"Correct. Any material can be used to form runes," Instructor Mynar continued after one of the students on the other side of their small 'classroom' answered. "More than that, though, even nothing can be used as a conduit for runes. The only true requirement for a rune to function is for mana to be channeled in the correct formation to produce the required result. For example, if I were to use [Mana Manipulation] to form the rune for 'shine'..."

There was a short pause, the instructor seeming to simply stand there, before a bright orb of light – identical to that produced by the glowstones Cayden could find scattered along the streets of the capital and in homes everywhere – came into existence a few feet over the instructor's head before winking out just as quickly.

"That isn't to say that certain materials aren't better or worse than others for forming runes, however. It is much easier to form and channel mana through physical conduits than nothing. Can anyone tell me which two properties affect the efficacy of runes created with various materials?"

"Manaflow and capacity?" the same fairy that answered the earlier question called out, and Instructor Mynar nodded.

"Correct. Manaflow and mana capacity – the rate at which mana can be infused into or expelled from the material, and the amount of mana the material can store. Which is why I typically use water for my runes – it has one of the highest mana-storage capacities of liquids, only less than blood amongst the 'common' liquids, while still retaining the high manaflow properties common to liquids. Most solids have lower manaflow but higher mana capacity, and I will turn my water to ice if I require the higher mana capacity."

Cayden leaned forward as the instructor continued to explain, interested as she shifted to more practical demonstrations of what was possible to accomplish with her on-the-fly runic creations. He'd already known, generally, how runes worked – he used them on a daily basis within the devices in the kitchen and bathroom of his dorm. But that was simply 'pushing' a small amount of his mana into the premade runes carved into the insides of the devices. He'd never learned the exact nuances of those runes' functions or seen someone create free-form runes the way the instructor was demonstrating, and he reluctantly had to admit he was impressed.

"...what the main advantage is of runes over the more common skill-based magic?"

Cayden figured Instructor Mynar was trying to lob out some softball questions to encourage participation from the assembled students, because even he thought he knew the answer to that question. And sure enough, one of the others – not the fairy, for the first time – immediately chimed in.

"Versatility!"

"Correct. Assuming I know the correct combination of runes and a little time, I can replicate the effects of pretty much any skill. Yet there are still so few magicians; can anyone tell me why?"

"Mana cost."

"It's weak."

"Speed!"

"It's hard?"

Instructor Mynar tilted her head, her eyes resting on the student who’d made the ‘weak comment’, who shrunk under her gaze. "Those are all partially correct – while runes can mimic most skills' effects, they typically will take longer and require more mana to cast than the corresponding skill. And runic formation always requires concentration from the magician, while the same cannot always be said of skills. Yet there is still one fundamental downside of runic magic we have not covered – runes being 'weaker' than their corresponding skills is close...yet not quite correct."

A beat of silence fell over the gathered students while the instructor waited for a response. Next to him, Elise grimaced, rubbed her eyes, and then called out.

"Levels."

"Correct! Created runes do not have 'levels' in the same way that skills do. I can create the 'shine' rune a thousand times, and assuming the rune was crafted correctly using the same material and amount of mana, the thousandth will look exactly the same as the first – like a level one version of the [Shine] skill." There was a faint muttering from some of the students as they considered the ramifications of that. Leveling was such an ingrained part of this world; even to Cayden, the concept of repeating something so many times without being rewarded with an increase in power felt foreign. But Instructor Mynar wasn't finished. "If, despite the downsides, you would like to learn more about runes and becoming a magician, come see me. Even if it is only to simulate the effects of a certain desired skill." She looked back and forth over the sitting students. "But that is all for now. Dismissed. Be back at the wagon in fifteen minutes."

Most of the students were done with lunch and stood up to stretch, use the bathroom, or do whatever else they wanted before being forced into the back of the wagons for another five hours. Overall, the pace they were setting wasn't too grueling. They would be using the wagons for as long as they were still within the kingdom, stopping at inns and towns along the trade routes whenever they could. But Cayden was used to a much more active lifestyle than in his previous life, and five hours at a time in the back of a wagon was...not pleasant.

Yet Elise remained sitting on the ground next to him, so Cayden stayed as well, even as Jeremy and everyone else dispersed.

"You doing okay?" Cayden asked once they were mostly alone. Jeremy was still linked with both of them through [Share Senses], but Cayden trusted his friend to ignore anything awkward or sensitive.

Elise sighed and rubbed her face again. "Yeah. It's just..." she hesitated. "...the new class is kinda disappointing."

"Really?" Cayden asked. "Are you willing to share?"

"Oh yeah, it's nothing secretive. It's called [Experimenter] – an upgrade of [Researcher] that's focused on breaking new ground through fieldwork rather than by studying in a library. Sorry, by the way – I turned down [Wise Woman]."

"Why would you be sorry about that?" Cayden asked with a tilt of his head.

"It's a class related to helping others find the best skills and classes for them. It would've been great for you."

Cayden felt a momentary flash of disappointment before he shook his head. As amazing as it might have been to have the resources of a class specifically geared toward discovering awesome tier-three skills, he couldn't expect his friend to devote her entire build to helping him. "What's wrong with [Experimenter]?" he asked instead.

"Well...nothing's wrong with it, exactly..." Elise said with hesitation. "It's just...well, one of my old class skills [Connect the Dots] got an 'upgrade'. To [Hunch]." The disgust that laced her voice made it clear exactly what Elise thought of the 'upgraded' skill.

"And the issue is...?"

Elise sighed again. "[Hunch]: Passive. The user will occasionally gain an unexplainable insight or understanding related to what they are focusing on."

Cayden frowned. Like so many of the more-powerful skills he'd recently encountered, it seemed annoyingly vague. Yet... "It seems like that could be powerful in the right circumstances."

"Sure. But what are those circumstances? There's no way for me to trigger it, at least not that I can tell. And if I can't trigger it, how can I rely on it?" She threw her hands up into the air. "It's just so unscientific!" She paused, taking a deep breath. "[Connect the Dots] wasn't the strongest of my skills. It wasn't anything flashy or system-breaking – it just let me better recognize and predict patterns. But it was reliable."

Cayden opened his mouth to reply, to ask about the rest of the class, when he noticed from his linked perspective Elise glance to the southwest. It was something he’d noticed her doing a few times during the lesson but had ignored. But this time, when he could hear the obvious discontent in her voice…he frowned.

There was nothing in that direction, at least not immediately. It was just a field with some cow-like livestock wandering around eating grasses, with the dark trees of the Lost Forest beyond it. Cayden had looked at a map of the expedition's planned route before they left; they were currently on the northern edge of the Lost Forest, traveling along the same road they'd used to first come to the capital from Avernon. But they would not be following exactly the same path. Avernon was on the northwestern edge of the Lost Forest and Valtane was on the northeastern edge, with their current location further north than both of the cities. After rounding the northern tip, they were planning on continuing almost directly west – passing close to Avernon, but not visiting it directly.

And in a rare flash of insight, Cayden realized that perhaps Elise's frustration wasn't completely due to her new class.

"...did you tell your dad about the expedition?"

There was a short pause, Elise looking down into her lap, before she looked back up to the southwest.

"...yes. In my last letter. I haven't heard back, yet, though."

Left unsaid was the fact that, now that they were no longer in the capital, she wouldn't hear back. Not for at least three months.

There were enchanted items that allowed for instant, or near-instant, long-distance communications. They were some of the rarest and most expensive of enchanted items, both for their widespread desirability and the rarity of the specific enchanting materials most effective in creating them, but Cayden had no doubt Elise could make a pair given half an opportunity. But she hadn't exactly had that opportunity, not with how quickly they'd first left Avernon and then now joined the expedition leaving the capital.

Cayden didn't know what to say to comfort his friend, but he clenched his claws as Elise sniffed. Tentatively, he reached out and placed an arm over her shoulder, and she leaned into him, turning her head into his shoulder.

For the next fifteen minutes they sat like that in silence, right up until Instructor Mynar called for everyone to re-board the wagons. When Elise stood, the only sign of her distress was her red-rimmed eyes, and Cayden didn't comment on the slight dampness of his shirtsleeve.

He still didn't know what to say to comfort Elise.

But that was fine; Cayden was always more of an 'actions speaking louder than words' type of guy.

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