Rune mage

Chapter 20: New beginnings

Isa had already figured out the overflow runes had worked. She was hugging me before I could say hello and smiling largely, turning me this way and that and peppering me with questions about my physical and mental health.

I laughed at her exuberance and waited for her to let me go before I asked, "do you want to hit me?"

Fredric laughed, "Don't agree to that, he has himself the strength of a Rock now."

I glared at him for spilling my surprise.

"Water is surprisingly effective against rocks," Isa laughed. "But not instantly. It wears rock down."

"Right now it wears me down," I said and we sat to enjoy a lunch at a small table under some trees.

"Have you seen Noav or Lu?" Fredric asked, mouth partially full of food.

I shook my head. "I heard from Steph that they came to check on me the minute they had heard what happened, and that Lu had to be sedated by his brother's magic when he learned it was true I had been whipped."

They both frowned. "None of us knew who betrayed you, so we weren't taking to each other. I feared it was my own family at first until Steph's runner barged in to warn pa."

I sighed. "It was the healer's apprentice. I kept having to be put back together and she used her power on me when she could have let me suffer longer. Their protocol is to use the least amount of magic in case there is a disaster. When I listed out the magic I had used that was unsanctioned, assuming they knew most if not all of it, they were only unsurprised by what I did for her."
Fredric ran his hands through his hair. "You should know she disappeared. There will be people who claim you've had her killed."

I scoffed, "I was abed, unable to do more than whimper as I tried to rest. The healers had marked me as ineligible for a proper healing."

Isa swore to her self. "You would think you had plotted to kill the general. You did good things for good people and your prize was fifty lashes. Fifty."

She was clearly angry in my behalf. This was what it was like to have friends. "It will likely happen again," I said slowly. "Because given a choice between keeping my ideas to myself or helping others, I'm going to help others. But I want to be ready."

"How can we help?" Fredric asked, sharing one of those tender looks with Isa.

I pulled some beads from my pocket. "I would like to experiment. I think I may be able to capture some of your power for my own use. It would be... tiny. But if it works, I might be able to have defensive magics. I also am designing some runes that will be easier to put down"

"Like how you used a stamp to put a healing rune on my arm?" Fredric said and rubbed his arm.

Both Isa and I looked at his arm. There was no sign of the rune. I switched to using my awareness and saw a little of the magic lingered. I hadn't thought it would. "Interesting."

Fredric looked worried. "Is that a good interesting or a you're about to explode interesting?"

I laughed. "I have never exploded anyone. Don't let Steph's story of my destroying half her kitchen scare you. It's a good interesting. I expected the rune's power to fade with the healing of the skin, but there is enough power lingering to ward off basic Illness. At least for now. No idea how long that will last."

"I don't know how I feel about being experimented on," Fredric said slowly, a tiny lift in the corner of his lips. "But if it means not getting sick, I'll happily go along."

I smiled. "So." I pointed to the beads. "I etched a new rune on these. "If I can not only hold the power but also the shape of the power, I am hoping I could use fire or water defenses."

"Do you need me to call up a flame?" Fredric asked, looking around. It was a bit too public to be practicing untried magic.

I shook my head, "Not here. Let's go to somewhere more secluded."

I led them to the little courtyard I used. Getting to it involved climbing a tree, which Fredric had a bit of trouble with. Turned out he was not particularly good with heights. He was happier once on the ground.

"How did you find this place?" Isa asked as she dropped down from the tree.

"How do we get out?" Fredric grumbled.

I laughed a bit at his expression. "I noticed a rune carved into the tree. I have tried many a time to activate it but my power doesn't work on any of the old runes. When I saw the rune, I climbed into the tree to look closer and found this space, walled off and secluded."

I walked to the wall and pointed out the climbing steps that would allow us to get back into the tree. "Getting out is not much easier than getting in. But here we can practice without fear of discovery. It is, for the most part, the first place I try any rune. I'll activate the protection runes and nothing will escape this area."

"What are the walls for? Why wall off this area?" Isa asked as she looked around. She found the little fountain and dipped her hands in the cold water.

"I suspect no one really remembers any more. Based on the age of the runes, this place has been a secret place for the last two rune mages. I'll show it to Lu before I leave so he has somewhere to go, too. I learned some rune designs from the ones left behind."

I paused and put my fingers on my favorite old design. It looked like a cat. I had no idea what the mage who had created it intended with the design. It was one of many I had studied but didn't understand. "All the other students have mentor mages to guide them. But rune mages don't usually survive school, and if they do, they're sent away, never to be heard of again. We have no one to guide us." I looked around. "I am glad for Lu, that for at least this year, he has me to help him."

I smiled as I thought of things I hoped to teach him. Then clapped my hands. "Alright. Let's see if this idea has merit. It could be the beginning of me finally having access to offensive magic."