Rise Of Myth: Heir To Valor

Coyote paced in circles around Val in the early rays of morning light. Val wore a mixture of frustration and annoyance about himself after having received the same lecture several times now. "Magic presents itself in as many forms as any other matter in this world. Your troubles with sensing and manipulating it directly stem from your perspective of it. You think of it as intangible and fantastical, when in fact it is your reality now. This problem is exacerbated by the reliance on your brand to process magic into mana, and your usage of runes to direct it."

"I understand that, but I don't really control it much. It does its thing, and I do my thing. Are you suggesting I stop using the runes?"

"No, by all means, leverage the runes. Instead, I would like you to think about them carefully. Runes are a kind of template-based magic, you were something of a... 'Programmer,' before this, correct? Your kind invented languages through which you could communicate with computers."

Val raised an eyebrow to the deific coyote. "Yes... You know an awful lot about our technology."

Coyote snorted derisively. "Please, I have worked with far more complex machinations. It took very little time to piece apart your kind's progress. They have many clever and fascinating inventions, but they are bound by the laws of nature, placing a limit on their complexity. Regardless, imagine the runes as a higher abstraction, a mold through which to cast your spells. I would like you to recreate the most basic of your rune's effects, and in doing so, you should begin to better grasp their nature."

Val pondered this point while Coyote took a seat on a boulder, returning to his pipe. The suggestion made sense to him. The runes could be seen as a higher-order language full of macro commands, but they did little to nothing in disclosing their underlying functions.

"This will take you some time, and I believe you are due to depart with the convoy soon, yes?"

"Yeah, leaves in an hour for Aurulia."

Coyote puffed smoke with a ponderous expression. "A word of caution..."

"What's up?"

"Keep to yourself when you are there. Reveal as little about your nature as possible." Val furrowed his brows as Coyote started slowly, listening attentively.

Coyote continued. "The Aurulians, while allies with the Dwarves, hold a tenuous relationship with everyone else. Much of it is simple human hubris, to be sure, but it is your Aesir relationsh.i.p.s I am more concerned about. You see, they have a rather twisted patronage for God, and a mixed one for the Aesir. They are ultimately descendants of much older empires from the Crusade. In their history, Odin and his allies are considered betrayers. To be fair, they hold contempt for many gods for their involvement, though some they still revere."

"Is this because of Odin turning on them to help the magicless humans and the Elves?"

"That is part of it, more specifically, Odin was once a very revered god of war to mankind. They did not take it very well when he suddenly turned on them and sheltered those they subjugated. He was recorded as a traitor and oathbreaker, while most do not care anymore, it still holds that is how he was remembered."

"I see. Hold on, what about God, then? Isn't he the one who brokered the deal to split the realm?"

Coyote grinned. "That is where things are a bit twisted. To many of the races, he is the savior of your kind. To the ancestors of our flavor of humanity, he not only brokered peace but cleansed their people of the magically inept. Their books describe him as having banished the weak from their realm, granting them a chance to rebuild on stronger foundations."

"I... Huh... I guess that is one way to look at it."

"In any case, do be careful. This is also why I wish for you to take the time to study magic more carefully. You ought to hide your usage of runes if you can. The Dwarves use them, but their allegiances are clear and undisputed. Human runecasters, on the other hand, is a different story."

"Got it. Guess this explains why Huginn and Muninn are staying behind. Well, the plan is to be there for no more than a few days, then we return."

"I bid you a safe journey." Coyote's form disintegrated slowly into wisps of smoke as he said his piece, leaving Val alone by the lake.

Val pondered the lesson as he returned to the city. He still had time to grab some food and prepare to join the convoy. He and Asha were riding with an escort from Kar Lodihr, traveling by carriage and horse rather than by his bike. Val himself was not too thrilled about the idea but relented for the sake of appearances. To their credit, apparently, they could make the trip in just a couple days, covering a couple of hundred miles a day.

Val returned to Boldir's tavern and finished packing while lost in thought. He ambled down the stairs and was served some breakfast, mindlessly eating as he pondered about the runes. He settled on reproducing the effects of Feoh, despite remembering his silly attempts to conjure flames once before.

Boldir began to chuckle as he poured himself a drink. "Rare to see you thinking so much. Usually, more of a shoot first kind of fellow, aren't you?"

"Huh? Oh... Yeah... Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ha. The delegation leaves soon, worried about Aurulia?"

"No, not really, heard some concerning things but nothing too terrible. I'm trying to better understand magic. Specifically, I'm trying to produce a flame. I can move things, make a bowl of water swirl, simple stuff. Heating something up though... That needs energy on a more molecular scale."

"What's wrong with your runes?"

"Nothing is wrong with them, but they're too much of a crutch right now."

Asha walked in, peering around before spotting Val at the bar. "What are you doing? We need to get going."

Boldir waved her over. "You have some time left, the boy's trying to figure out how to create fire with magic."

Asha looked at Val with confusion. "Huh? Just use your—"

"He can't use his runes, a matter of study more than practice."

"Oh, odd... Just do the opposite of whatever you do to allow you to carve into the air. Instead of holding it still, make it move, and shrink the space down to a point. You can expand the scale easily once you ignite a flame."

"Wait, what?"

"Later. Let's go!" Asha insisted as she grabbed at his arm and threatened to pull him entirely off his stool.

Boldir chuckled as the two departed quickly. Asha led Val out the gates to where seven horse-drawn carriages were waiting. She all but threw him into the back of one of them as she hopped in herself. To Val's surprise, not one, but two familiar faces awaited him inside. Harken and Durnham chuckled as Val adjusted himself and took a seat after being handled roughly by the elf.

Harken smiled. "Good morning."

"Hey, what're you two doing here?"

"I'm here as part of the guard escort, Harken here is probably up to whatever political or business schemes are his latest fancy." Durnham answered.

Harken simply held his smile. "Something along those lines, yes."

Before long, a few members of the Senate took their seats in a private carriage near the head of the convoy, and they all set off down the road. The ride was not as bumpy as expected. Apparently, the Dwarves had some sort of simple suspension system for the wheels, but Val still preferred his bike.

"How goes your expedition?" Val asked.

Harken brightened further. "So far, so good. We've managed to establish communication with some of the younger of your friends down in San Rafael. I've also gotten reports that they are beginning to translate your language, and you need not worry about those afflicted by magic. They were extremely minor cases, and they are, in fact, stronger than ever after some minor treatment. I am told that Richard has been very accommodating, and those in my employ know how to earn their keep."

*That explains the jolly mood.*

"You hear anything about soldiers from the North?"

"Ah, yes, in fact, the report I received this morning says that they are still there. Apparently, they are also assisting while settling in some of their own."

Val frowned. "Huh, they did not immediately leave?"

"I have no information on why they remain there, but they are all safe. Some of my men are putting down the few remaining ghouls and even organizing some joint training while they are there."

Val smirked. "Joint training, huh?"

Harken cleared his throat. "As much as I stand to profit from this contact, I assure you this is a mutually beneficial relationship."

"Yes, I know, just poking fun. It's good to know they're doing well, and I appreciate the help. The faster they can adjust to this world, the better."

The group conversed as they traveled at a surprising pace. Val did not have much experience with horses, but while Dwarven horses seemed shorter than he expected, they were tireless. Several hours passed at an unrelenting pace before they took a brief pause to rotate them. Some of Durnham's colleagues who joined them at the senate hearing were also in the escort. Their horses were clad in thick armor plating that appeared enchanted with runes, though they had no trouble keeping up.

Harken spent most of his time talking shop with Durnham, who held a surprising interest even towards topics that sounded entirely illegal, despite his usual role as a guard. Val picked up on a lot of it while he pondered the runes, experimenting as they went. It proved difficult working with the air while they moved at such a brisk pace. Asha, in her boredom, sabotaged him a few times before he realized the game she was playing.

"How are you such a child at your age?" Val remarked with annoyance, bringing Harken and Durnham's latest conversation about a job that clearly sounded like corporate espionage to an abrupt halt.

Asha sheepishly looked away. "I'm only stopping you when you're on the wrong track."

"Mind telling me what I'm doing wrong then?"

Asha yawned, explaining in a bored tone. "You're trying to spark a flame. Feoh is complex and primal magic that summons heat and flames. Using it lets you almost skip everything and create fire by simply injecting your mana into the rune. What you're doing is agitating a small pocket of air. If you were trying to create static or on a much larger scale, lightning, you'd be approaching your goal. You need a finer control for a flame, concentrate it on a single point."

Val glared at the elf as he thought about it. After another attempt without success, he was about to give it a rest until a thought occurred to him. He had no way of changing the ratio of the air to increase quantities of hydrogen or oxygen. Only igniting the air did not solve his problems, as the flame would disperse almost immediately. However, using magic to simply enclose the pocket and compress it significantly was doable.

Val began to exert his will on a spherical shape before his hand. As he compressed the pocket of air, maintaining the unnatural phenomenon was starting to bear costs to his mana that he could begin to feel. The pressure began to build, and in a few moments, he witnessed the first of a series of sparks reminding him of a firework sparkler. Elated at the success of the first step, he began to feed it with more air, and to his delight, a small flame burst into being. His success was shortlived, however, as oxygen burned up and too much nitrogen and carbon dioxide began to fill the space.

Asha rolled her eyes. "Congratulations, though I think you still misunderstand the exercise you set about."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still thinking about ways to accelerate or bend natural processes to achieve your goal. That's far too much effort to create a small fire." As if to clarify her point, Asha simply held up a slender finger, and in a moment, a flame, like that of a match, ignited above the tip.

Asha dismissed her magic. "Focus your power into a single point and simply exert your will to heat it, the rest will follow. Magic does not need to follow or subscribe to the laws of nature."