The Ethersmith [Runesmithing Progression Fantasy]

"I believe we have mostly deduced the skill's functions thus far," Civar explained, facing the large blueprint. "The wielder's ether enters here, at the core, and splits up into these three paths. The first path is what we've named the amplification path. Its job is, quite frankly, to amplify ether, flaring ether to its maximum powers."

He pointed at the rightmost pathway filled with runes and structures, slowly making his way up the runes as his explanation continued. "It moves through many flow runes and sub-elements, all of which inflate the power of ether. Kind of like adding fuel to a fire."

He moved to the middle path; the largest cluster of ethereal structures. "This one is a weird one, and the most complicated one. We're not exactly sure what it does. The current belief is that it defines the concept of a weapon."

"Defines?" Vivi asked.

"Thorn Sword is a weapon enhancement skill," Civar said. "When activated, the skill automatically moves ether to what it believes is a weapon. The wielder's ether by itself, however, has no idea what a weapon is. That's why the skill must first define what a weapon is, almost like teaching ether about what to do." He paused, staring at the middle path. "That said, we have not solved this section yet. This function is by far the most complicated section of the skill."

He moved to the leftmost pathway. "This path, we are most certain, is what actually spreads orders. It tells the ether to gather at the weapon, as well as shaping the ether into the effects of Thorn Sword. This sharpness rune quite clearly shapes ether into a form that will enhance the blade. Same with this section of power runes."

Vivi's eyes were glued to the blueprint. "Wow," she said, lifting her head. "This is very interesting."

Civar let out a sheepish grin, as if they were working on some secret evil project. "We believe these three branches interconnect near the end of the skill, after which the ether is fully formed. This is how skills work. They're like orders that shape ether. After passing through, the ether of a weapon enhancement skill has been its job told with specific instructions. That's how skills feel automatic to us."

"It's because of runes," Vivi said.

Civar nodded. "A network of them. A network of impossibly complex runes."

Vivi found herself at a loss for words. She thought of the implications, and the possibilities. This was definitely beyond her profession. Despite her understanding in runesmithing, she didn't know much about the actual science of ether, let alone how runes and sub-elements could work in tandem to create a skill.

"I'll need to draw the rest of the skill, won't I?" Vivi asked.

"That would be useful, though even this will keep us busy for months longer," Civar said. "I cannot stress enough how insane this finding is."

"Civar?" Vivi asked. "Is there any chance you could start crafting specific runes?"

"We are already looking at the possibility," Civar said. "Crafting our blueprints is very much possible. Turning those blueprints real and operational is the problem. We still do not know what material skill wisps are made of, let alone how we would recreate something so incomprehensibly tiny as a wisp of ether."

"Could it be recreated on a larger scale, like great runes?" Vivi asked.

"Possibly," Civar said. "Runes, as runesmiths know them, require the patterns and lines not to intercept. That's why great runes, for example, are not possible. Multiple runes cannot be combined either, as that would require the runesmith to draw a path over the rune, breaking it."

Vivi nodded, agreeing.

"Skill wisps somehow prevent this rule," Civar continued. "The paths and structures do not stop at a single rune. They continue, combining runes and structures, yet the runic path is not stopped. Ether continues through, being shaped with every rune that follows. In order to craft any complex structures on our own, we need to figure out how the same trick works."

Vivi thought about it. "What if we don't need to shape the ether with one long string of runes?"

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Civar raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

"We could draw one rune first," Vivi said. "Take the ether that the rune shaped, and toss it into another rune."

"I believe that has been tried already," Civar said, but he looked thoughtful. "Though I could be wrong."

"Let's try it," Vivi said. "Someone bring me two ether roots."

"Ether roots?" Civar asked. "Right now?"

Vivi nodded. "It shouldn't take too long. We'll do a quick experiment. Ether roots are an essential ingredient."

"Very well," Civar said. "We should have some ether roots somewhere. If not, we'll fetch some from the foundry."

"Preferably something conductive, like white obsidian," Vivi said.

Civar and one of the scientists left to fetch an ether root. For once, Civar actually got off from his rolling chair and to his feet. They returned five minutes later with a full sack, showcasing it to Vivi.

"Will these work?" Civar asked, and plopped back down to his chair.

Vivi picked up two roots right away, nodded, and got to work. She picked a seat and held the white obsidian root directly in her hand. It felt odd to hold an ether root while wearing her dress, but this job would be easy enough that she wouldn't need concentration, or even a vise.

"What are we making now?" Lucius asked. "A quick weapon?"

No, this is just an experiment, Vivi thought. Initiate the root. We'll let it grow for a few inches before cauterizing it.

Lucius appeared confused by that, but did as asked, initiating the root.

Her work distracted the scientists. They kept glancing at her. Civar and one other stopped their projects entirely to study what she was doing. Vivi said nothing, as the experiment wouldn't take more than ten minutes anyway.

With half an inch of growth, Vivi cauterized the stalk and cut it off from the root. She now had a cylinder half the size of her palm. She summoned Lucius's claw, then sharpened one end of the cylinder, as if she was crafting a very short root javelin.

Which rune would be most visible for this…? Vivi wondered, before deciding that a weight altering rune would show the most obvious results. She summoned her carving knife from spatial storage and added a mass rune to the end of her experimental stalk.

She made a similar contraption with her second ether root, a simple green mithril root, though this time, she let it grow for longer and didn't sharpen it. She added a shockwave rune to the bottom. In the end, the second stalk turned into a ten-inch long rod.

With the two stalks completed, Vivi pressed the sharpened tip of the first root against the core shockwave rune in the second root.

"I'm going to push ether through the mass runes," Vivi explained. "The first root is going to turn heavy, and the ether will travel through, making it to the tip, where the shockwave rune of the next root will suck in at least some of the ether. If this works, the second root should theoretically be enhanced with both mass and shockwave."

The scientists all gathered to watch. It didn't look like they had anything to add. Vivi pushed ether through the mass runes.

The first part went as expected—the mass rune sucked in her ether, and the little stalk turned heavy. The next part Vivi wasn't certain would work. She wasn't pushing ether into the next rune. She was hoping the ether would make it from the tip of the previous root to the core of the rune, igniting it.

It seemed to work. Vivi saw wisps moving from the tip to the next rune. The rune sizzled, followed by a scent of smoke. The sizzle grew louder, and the shockwave rune grew red-hot. Vivi began to feel concerned.

A poof came from the shockwave rune. Vivi's engravings blew up, and the rune became charred. The ether that had attempted to enter burst off into the surroundings as violent flaring wisps. None made it to the second ether root.

The scientists stared at the results. Vivi sat still, taking in what just happened.

"Right," Civar said. "That's about what I remembered. Runes as we know them don't accept anything but inactive balanced wisps. Add active ether, and they blow up."

Vivi bit her lip, thinking. Lucius, I feel like I'm missing something. The explanation makes sense. Grandpa told me something similar once. But at the same time… I think there's something more.

"More?" Lucius asked.

She continued thinking, ideas flowing in her head. Runes don't accept active wisps. That makes sense. It's impossible to shape ether after it has already been shaped and activated. But what if we don't activate the wisps at all?

"Vivi?" Civar asked. "Something on your mind?"

"I'm going to need to run more tests," Vivi said. "I have a few ideas. I'm not sure how I'll get them to work. I'll visit tomorrow with my findings."

Civar eyed her, expecting her to share the ideas.

"The tests relate to my ability to see wisps," Vivi said. "I don't think you'll be of much help. In the meantime, I want to ask you to do something for me."

"Go ahead," he said.

"Craft me a small skill, or combination of runes, that enhances speed," Vivi said. "Something that could launch a missile or a cannonball, for example, with tremendous speed. Something that could be added to a ballista."

Civar raised his eyebrows. "The technology does not exist yet, you know."

"Just do it," Vivi said. "Bring me a combination of runes that exponentially enhances the speed of an object."

He crossed his arms, thinking. "I am not certain if we're knowledgeable enough to craft a rune combination like that," he said. "I will try, however."

Vivi nodded. "It might end up useless." She would need another revelation to get rune combinations to work, after all. "But if we can get it to work… I believe I can craft something very powerful."