Becoming a True Rune Master

PART 1

Mai had slept so heavily that she didn't remember her dream. After a lovely long morning bath, she felt fresh and ready for whatever the new day brought beyond what she already knew.

Master Kjeld had promised to teach her the process of making runes. What she had done with Liam's quill was only the basics and was not considered genuine runes. It was a method only used for exercises. The quill was soul-bound to the Rune Master, and Liam's quill should have pushed Mai away. But it didn't.

No one was supposed to know that Master Kjeld was training a woman in runes since women couldn't become a Rune Master. So Mai's new identity was that of a man. Her new name was Martin, which she didn't like, but Master Kjeld had already used it for her application to the Rune Master certificate.

"At least he could have asked me first." she muttered, tasting something sour.

She had once known a Martin, but they were not good memories, and now she was forced to bear the same name.

She cast a glance at Blue, who was dipping his head into a small pond in the garden while shaking off many leaves. She ordered him not to make trouble and warned him there would be consequences if he didn't listen to her. He responded with a low growl as he dipped some of his branches into the water and shook off more leaves.

Mai furrowed her brow at the sight and said, "Aren't you afraid of withering if you shake off too much?"

She massaged her temple and murmured, "I'd rather have a dog than a strange bush I can't even understand. It hasn't even sprouted blueberries yet."

She pointed to the door and said in a stern tone, "If you're sterile, then the door is over there."

Mai met Liam in the hallway, and shortly after, all the men were gathered at the entrance, waiting for Master Kjeld. She was relieved that the building was not segregated by gender as it would have been in ancient times.

Master Kjeld appeared, and they went to a large blacksmith's shop located on a street nearby. There was a heavy smell of fire and melting metals, while the air was very hot. The garden was large and rectangular, with various types of fire pits, furnaces in different shapes and materials where the fire crackled loudly and sparks flew. There was a tall, thin clay furnace Mai recognized from movies, and a curved one that resembled an oven for baking food. Throughout the area, men of different ages were busy working on various things. It hissed and bubbled as a man placed a silver sword into a thick silver liquid, emitting thick, bright smoke and steam that rose to the sky and vanished. At the front of the garden was a white, circular stone-paved area with small stones all around forming a perfect circle. Beside them were wooden stools. There was a wooden crate on the grass where Mai sensed books of different colors, and she spotted a black book that resembled the one she had seen the mages from Lind's group carrying.

"Are those spell books, master?" she asked, running to the crate and bending down to sniff it. It smelled of old books, which was refreshing compared to the smell of metal.

"Some are spell books. Some are rune books." replied Master Kjeld, approaching with the group, and sat down.

The men took out their quills and ink, and they began to draw. But this time, it was thick vertical lines resembling waves stacked against each other.

Master Kjeld brought out a stack of books and distributed them to the men. Beside Mai, he placed a large stack that she studied with her eyes. He sat on a chair on the other side of the circle opposite her and looked at her.

"I won't inquire about your background, but the fact that you can touch another person's quill without experiencing a side effect tells me you have an unusual amount of mana in your body. So let's start from the beginning. Have you noticed anything special on your journey with us?"

Mai thought carefully and remembered tattoos, the women who used them, the core in her body, and the magic. There was also the ceremony. There were too many things, so she crossed out what she didn't think he would want to hear. In the end, she only had tattoos, mana, and spirits.

She chose to focus on spirits and said, "I noticed that the ceremony was important."

Master Kjeld nodded and said, "We worship the gods. The spirits are the energy in the world. With it, mana is formed. With mana, we create magic. There are three important things in the world: spirits, cultivation, and Rune Masters. Liam, tell us why Rune Masters are important for the world."

"We are known as messengers of the gods. We are chosen by the gods to become Rune Masters. We receive extra mana that makes our bodies unique." replied Liam, who was busy drawing thick horizontal waves.

Mai furrowed her brow and asked, "I thought mages here had the most mana in their bodies. This is an eye-opener for me."

"We don't use the term 'mages.' It's called a Spirit Novice, Spirit Medium, Spirit Master, and Spirit God. A Spirit Master has an unusually high amount of mana, especially those in the Spirit God Stage. You are in the White Stage, which is a Spirit Novice, so you have a long way to go. To cast certain spells, you must have reached a certain cultivation stage, but Rune Masters are not bound by that rule, which makes us special. It's all about how much mana you have in you. It's a profession that everyone strives for if they can't cultivate." said Master Kjeld, pointing to the books.

"Take a black book with a red logo of three vertical flames and a golden book with three vertical sun rays."

Mai quickly found a black book with a wavy red logo resembling flames and a golden book that looked like golden dust shimmering in the sunlight. He asked her to open the first page of both books. In the black one, there was a script she could read, but she didn't know how to pronounce the words. Below were many small flames in a circle.

She furrowed her brow and asked, "I feel like I can read it, but I'm afraid of pronouncing the words wrong. What does it say?"

"It says ' illdh Dhahnhsh,' which means Fire Dance in the language of the gods. All spells must be pronounced in the ancient language, or they won't work. It's a rule. The white book with a golden hand has an alphabet with words and phrases you can practice, but it's not a requirement. It's only for people who want to use spells." replied Master Kjeld.

Mai quickly found the white book with a golden fist and opened it. There was a rectangular black box with an alphabet consisting of letters resembling Danish, which she spoke, but there were many 'H's that confused her. How did one pronounce a double H?

"Err... Was the god drunk when he made the language?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

Liam suddenly drew a crooked line, stopped, and looked at her.

"The language is called Almighty, and the alphabet is called Ahhh with 4 H's. It is said that when God gave language to humanity, he spread his palms and said Ahhh, so that's why it's called Ahhh." replied Master Kjeld, causing Liam to cough, and he took out a new piece of paper and started over.

A tight smile spread across Mai's lips, and she commented, "He must indeed be almighty to create a language like that. He sounds more like someone who took a leak."

She quickly folded her hands in front of her and muttered, "Forgive me, Father."

"One must be 20 years old to qualify as a Rune Master, and after an exam, one is officially one. We are not bound by the world's rules and do not accept money as payment." said Master Kjeld, making her reconsider the Rune Master profession.

"How do you survive then? Is it non-profit?" she asked, biting her lip.

He revealed that they accepted valuable things in return, and it was a rule that they could not accept money, so there would be no one in the world offering them money. He suddenly walked away and returned with a golden chisel, used for stonemasons, and a black square wooden box. Inside was an ink set with a quill with a large white feather.

"There are two ways to make runes. You draw with the quill or use a chisel, but that belongs to the past and takes too long. Rune Masters have an ink set and a tool. In my case, it's my hammer." explained Master Kjeld.

Mai touched the feather, which felt soft, and she laid out the ink set on the stone in front of her.

"The quill comes from the Heavenly Crane, ink comes from the Silk Squid, the Inkwell comes from the Steel Turtle, and the paper comes from the Jade Silk Worm. We carry the quill around our necks, in our pockets, or physically on us like a tattoo. Rune Masters have a unique system that only we can see." said Master Kjeld, suddenly looking at Liam, who revealed that the Rune Master system was a text.

PART 2

Mai raised her eyebrows, looked at her hands, and felt the same warmth she had felt on the first day when she arrived at the ancient plain in Kahrlin. She had experienced a golden text that day and mentioned it to them but refrained from going into precise details. They confirmed that it was the system which should be impossible for a woman to possess. Mai thought she was special because she had a system, but there you go. It had even helped an animal achieve a breakthrough.

"So all Rune Masters have the ability to help others achieve breakthroughs? That's truly unique." she said without thinking.

Her words made everyone stop drawing, and they looked at her in silence.

Master Kjeld had dropped his jaw and said, "Our system is there to help only us and not others. If one could help others achieve breakthroughs, it would be cheating, and the person would be hunted by the wrong types."

He furrowed his brows and added, "I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully if it were me."

His words made Mai regret mentioning it and blamed her open-minded personality. Me and my mouth.

Fortunately, Master Kjeld quickly changed the subject and began to explain about the ink set. It was a temporary set for Mai until she got her own, which she had to find herself, literally.

The animals lived in different places on each continent, and since Kahrlin was known as the Continent of Nature, it had all the animals gathered on its continent. That made everything easier for Mai, she thought, until she realized she had to find the animals herself – on her own. She didn't like the idea as she was a master at getting lost.

Master Kjeld quickly guided her through the process of how to draw a rune correctly.

The stone in front of her was a Mana Supporter with built-in mana. It was specially built only for Rune Masters and served as a drawing board for them. It functioned as a support that boosted one with extra mana.

A rune was based on lines.

One lost mana every time one drew a line.

A sketch had a weaker effect than a finished drawing.

That explained why Mai had felt exhaustion when she had performed the ceremony.

Her sketches had worked on the women, but it meant their wounds hadn't been as severe.

Master Kjeld hadn't noticed it that day, so she chose not to mention it to him.

"The easiest runes to make are heal and support. The hardest are offensive spells, which are the most sought after besides godly tier." said Master Kjeld, who immediately set her to work on drawing her first rune.

But it had to follow a specific book - a botany book.

Runes were drawn based on plants of nature because they were based on the cycle of life.

However, there were two types of spells that did not fall under that category: powerful spells and godly runes.

So, for a poisonous plant like a Belladonna, one would draw a belladonna, and the rune would have a toxic effect. It only worked if one had drawn it correctly, which was precisely according to the book.

Mai didn't like drawing based on other drawings and felt a strange sensation in her stomach as she held her quill.

She dipped it in the ink and began to draw a line after a chamomile flower, which had a soothing effect according to the book's description.

Suddenly, golden dust appeared over her hand, which transformed into bold text.

"Stroke 1 completed."

The writing glowed and turned into golden dust again, sinking into the paper and leaving behind a fine, thin golden line just like the one she had drawn. Mai counted in her head and came up with too many strokes if she were to finish her rune.

She drew a line again.

There was no golden text.

She drew a new line.

Still, there was none.

She furrowed her brows and drew more lines.

There was no golden text.

Frustrated, she quickly drew a bunch of lines that together formed a chamomile flower, albeit a slightly blurry one with crooked edges.

So ugly.

Suddenly, she felt a prickling in her heart and felt heavy in her legs and head. There was sudden pressure in her lungs, and her forehead tingled, her ears throbbed. She held her forehead and rested her elbow on the stone, which immediately wiped out.

A new golden text appeared.

"Stroke 1 is ruined."

Liam glanced at her and said, "It requires concentration. Remember, your mana is drained every time you draw a line, and if you draw an imperfect line, it drains more mana from you. It's better if you make proper lines."

"This is harder than I thought. I thought it was just about drawing." she muttered, scratching her head.

Mai took a new piece of paper and started again, but this time, cautiously. She began by drawing a flower petal, one at a time of the same chamomile flower. Very slowly and carefully, she managed to draw a thin, long flower petal resembling broad stems. It lit up in a golden color and sank into the paper.

"Stroke 1 completed."

She broke into a smile and continued in the same manner, drawing each subsequent flower petal carefully.

"Stroke 2 completed."

She continued, and after a long time, she managed to complete all the flower petals, shaped like a circle, all now in a golden color. She finished in the center of the circle with a dot, which was the heart of the flower.

"Stroke 67 completed."

She set the quill aside and wiped her forehead as she felt a cool breeze cooling her neck. Her stomach growled, and she had a sore back while her fingers sweated profusely. She had a headache, and her shoulders felt stiff.

"Congratulations. You have created a Chamomile Hand."

The golden text turned to dust and floated into the paper, transforming the dot in the middle into a golden color. The flower glowed and suddenly floated out of the paper now in front of her. Master Kjeld and the men clapped their hands loudly, praising Mai, who now sat with a tight smile.

A damn chamomile flower according to a book was nothing to brag about.

"Now you need to take the rune and absorb it. So, you don't have to draw it again the next time you need it." he said, boosting her mood.

But as she was about to touch the rune, she hesitated and bit her lip.

"Master, I don't want it. Is it okay if I choose my runes myself?" she asked.

"Of course, but you use mana every time you make a rune. I suggest you learn how to store a rune with the system." he said and quickly explained the process.

Mai held her left hand in front of her and muttered, "Rune box. Open."

Golden dust formed in front of her, transforming into a medium-sized square golden box with a golden skeleton key in it. She turned the key, and the box opened. Curiously, she looked into it. Thick white dust floated around like twinkling stars, and she put her hand in and felt something warm and soft.

"That's where you store your runes, and only you can use your rune box, but other Rune Masters can still see it." Master Kjeld explained as Mai looked on in wonder, bringing her hand back to herself.

"Can we use it for other things?" she asked.

Unfortunately, it was only for runes.

"Why are runes and tattoos the same? Aren't there tattoos too?" she asked.

"Runes are the only drawings in the world with magical powers. What is referred to as genuine tattoos are only found with a high priestess, but they only reside in Amenale. They hate the outside world, and only they can use them. Runes cannot be seen, so those you see with tattoos are just tattoos. If a person asks to be tattooed, they are referring to a rune, not a tattoo." Master Kjeld replied, as he began to look through a red book, flipping through it slowly.

"It reminds me he should be back soon." he muttered, taking out a green book and flipping through it.

Mai looked at Liam and whispered, "Who is coming back?"

"A good friend of Master Kjeld." he replied.

Five hours later, it was time for a break, but before people scattered, Master Kjeld looked over at Mai and said, "I'll teach you about blood runes after the break, so eat as much as you can and take these. Swallow them."

He handed her a small green wooden box which she immediately opened. Inside were 20 small light blue round pills that shimmered with a smooth surface. It was the same pill that Hilda had eaten that day.

"Azure Drops provide a temporary mana boost that cultivators use to be able to use more runes than their bodies can handle, but it has side effects. For us Rune Masters, it's like candy. Eat one during your break." Master Kjeld said, sending Mai off with Liam and the other men who had already settled into a corner in the garden where there was a table of food.

At the table, Mai stared at the pill. When Liam handed her a chicken bacon sandwich, she suddenly wasn't hungry.

Pills gave her terrible memories from her childhood.

She swallowed a large lump of saliva that hurt her throat.

A tight smile spread across her lips, and she said, "If cultivators get side effects, I'm sure Rune Masters get something too, but it's just not visible. Like sugar poisoning or something."

"We usually don't eat them. Blood Runes are looked down upon, but they're not forbidden. We never do anything against our ethics as Rune Masters. That's why we don't need those pills." Liam said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Just the name sounds bad. Why do I have to learn about it? I assume I have to draw with my blood." Mai said, feeling a knot in her heart.

"It's looked down upon because the one who creates a blood rune on another person can look into the person's mind. It only happens briefly, but what they see is random. But a Blood Rune is stronger if the Rune Master is strong. And believe me, there are many amateurs swimming around in the sea." Liam replied, pointing at the pills in the box.

"Master said 1 pill, but I suggest you take them all just to be safe. He didn't see when you made the runes for the group because he was busy opening the gates."

Mai nodded and quickly swallowed the pills, washing them down with a glass of red juice, and grabbed a sandwich that tasted tangy. She grimaced and inquired about the gates that Master Kjeld had opened with his hammer.

"They're called Gates of the Gods, which borrow power from all the gods. There are said to be 50 gates, but humans have only been able to open up to 20. It requires a personal tool to open. Master Kjeld's hammer is called God's Hand, which is the only type of artifact that can open the gates. They come in different forms." Liam explained as Mai ate another sandwich.

She looked forward to getting her own God's Hand, but she didn't like the name. God spread his hand and created their language, and he called a Rune Master's tool his hand. She wished to meet that god one day.

Authors note: “swimming around in the sea”: Is a metaphor for the many inexperienced people trying to use blood runes. Like swimmers in the sea, they're diving into something dangerous without knowing the risks.