The Ethersmith [Runesmithing Progression Fantasy]

Ideas flowed freely on the way home.

The shockwave rune of her experiment had blown up when active, already shaped ether tried to enter. A similar effect happened when Vivi tried to push active wisps back to her, or Luicius's core.

And it made sense. Activating ether essentially burned the branch that was activated. A strength rune ignited the pathway leading up toward the strength branch and its sub-elements. Every other branch was used merely to fuel the powers of the strength branch. Pushing an active wisp through another rune wouldn't work, since every other branch that the new rune could try to shape was already burned off.

Somehow, Vivi had to create a rune, or a combination of runes, that could ignite more than one branch at the same time. That brought her back to the same problem. A rune could not activate two branches at the same time. Great runes were impossible, for the pathway that would need to be drawn would intersect itself, breaking the rune.

The skill wisp does it somehow, Vivi thought, speaking to herself. And I don't think it's because of some amazing conductive material that allows it to break rules. I think the skill wisps just use runes differently.

Lucius listened curiously. "Do you have ideas?"

Some, Vivi thought. I don't know if they'll work. We'll need to study a skill's structure carefully. I want to identify if the runes I carve have differences compared to the runes the skill wisps use.

Entering her home street, Vivi paused, seeing someone sitting by her doorstep. The street was calmer than it usually was, with only a few construction workers present, and even they were on a break. They sat calmly atop a scaffold, smoking pipes and drinking what looked like coffee.

Senith sat in front of the Lost Raindrop with a low posture like a child abandoned on the streets. Her hair and the hem of her silk dress flapped lightly by the wind as she hugged her knees. She wasn't crying, and her face wasn't red, but the somber look in her eyes snapped Vivi back to reality nonetheless.

"Senith?" she asked. "Is everything okay?"

The woman lifted her head. Then she stood and patted down her dress. "Of course, don't worry about me. Sorry." She smiled at Vivi. "I came to deliver some mail from the Luminary."

Vivi studied Senith's smile. It wasn't her usual beaming smile of pure contagious happiness, but some of Senith's personality was visible in her cheeks. A tiny amount.

"Sorry, Senith," Vivi said, her face red as she looked away from her eyes. "I wanted to visit and, um…" Offer a hug, maybe? "I've just been busy killing monsters. Sorry."

"I said don't worry about it," Senith said with a snort, now sounding a lot more confident. "I'm here to deliver mail, not to mope around. Can I come in?"

"Of course," Vivi said. She opened the door and stepped in.

Someone had been inside, she immediately noticed. Her tools seemed to be in order exactly where Vivi had left them, but the amount of dust on the floors was less than before. Her ice box seemed to be more full, and her bed was made. Even without Lucas, the Runes and Rain company insisted on keeping her home maintained.

Vivi had the urge to sigh. A mess would make the place a lot more comfortable, you know…

"Here," Senith said. She bowed lightly and offered a scroll with a twisty knob at the end—the same type Vivi had on the map of the fourth and fifth levels. "New surge forecasts have come in. The Luminary wished for you to have a map as well."

Vivi opened the scroll. A familiar map of the fifth level opened up. The same rendition that Vivi's map used. This map, however, was filled with red markings. Dots littered the map as if a paintbrush had been flicked over a canvas, spraying splashes of paint all over the map. The dots didn't seem to be random. Some were small, some as large as Vivi's thumb.

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Vivi stared at it blankly. "These aren't storms, are they…?"

"Storms have been marked with red dots," Senith said.

Vivi's mouth hung ajar, unsure of what she was looking at. This didn't make sense. These couldn't all be storms. There were over twenty red dots within the Shivell mountains alone, and hundreds more across the rest of the fifth level. "This must be wrong," Vivi said. "Maybe Coshi gave you a map of surges instead?"

"I've been instructed not to look at it," Senith said. "The Luminary also asked you to meet her as soon as possible. She wanted to discuss plans."

Hell, if these are storms, what's there to discuss? Vivi thought. The city is done for!

Vivi's concerned expression was spreading. "Vivi?" Senith asked.

"Is Coshi ready to meet me now?" Vivi asked.

"She said she would be at the palace for the next few nights, and she said she would not be falling asleep," Senith said. "She, um… Her way of talking was a bit scary, if I'm allowed to say that. But yes, she is hoping you would visit."

Vivi bit her lip. "Thank you. I'll run there now."

Senith looked surprised to see Vivi already leaving. But she bowed her head, as if she was some servant. Her somber eyes were back, now mixed with concern and worry. She lifted her head five seconds later, surprised to see Vivi still in the smithy.

Vivi met her eyes for a moment but glanced away. She took a nervous step forward.

Then she offered Senith a hug.

Senith flinched. "Vivi?"

She said nothing for a while, just keeping the hug. "Sorry, Senith. You hugged me daily for a week straight when my smithy was destroyed. I just couldn't feel sad around you. But now that the situation is this way… I haven't visited once."

"It's okay…" Senith said softly. "Lucas and I weren't that close. He was always away. And he knew of the risks. Mother took him for dead every time he left. I'm more upset at myself…"

"Don't be," Vivi said. "Why would you?"

"I…" Senith whispered. "I just feel so useless. Everyone around me builds missiles, risks their lives to fight monsters, dies just to defend the city… And I'm sewing raincoats for plushies."

Vivi hugged tighter.

"Even now, I'm just wasting your time," Senith said with a light laugh. "I've heard that this is the worst storm season in centuries. Yet the most useful thing I've done is deliver mail, and even that I do inefficiently. Just go, Vivi. Don't waste time with—"

"Senith," Vivi said. "You're not useless. You're a member of the Runes and Rain company."

"Like a pet, perhaps," Senith said. "I fumble around and cause trouble. I'm kept because I'm cute. Like a funny puppy. I'm like a saleswoman that can't sell bread to a starving traveler, or a temptress that can't even get out of bed without hitting my head."

"But you smile," Vivi said. "You give hugs. No matter what you do, you always have fun. Seeing you makes me happy. You're a genuine person, Senith. It's because of people like you that the city is even worth defending."

Vivi released the hug, and Senith blinked, looking up at her.

"See you, Senith," Vivi said. "When storm season is over, let's eat a muffin together. Maybe I'll even try a cake or two."

Vivi smiled over her shoulder. She waved goodbye and stepped out of the smithy, onto the darkening streets.

There, she opened the map again, staring aimlessly at the red dots. She counted each storm.

This can't be real, Vivi thought. There can't be twenty-seven storms hitting so close to the city.

"It must be a surge map, like you thought," Lucius said. "I don't think it's even possible for enough ether to gather for all of these storms to break. They must be surges."

Lucius's reassurance didn't help in the slightest. Vivi hurried her way up the city streets, moving mostly through quiet alleys. The few people she met froze at the sight of her, but Vivi was long gone before anyone could attempt anything with her, or even ask whether she was who they thought she was. Her dress was roughed from the battle, but it was still a moonweaver's silk dress.

She headed straight to the Luminary's palace through the side entrance. One of the Lights awaited her, having already expected her arrival. She was led into the throne room that was not a throne room, where Coshi and a few more lights were busy with paperwork.

A large red-dotted map of the fifth level was hung next to the long table. The Luminary sat beneath it. She wore spectacles and a comfy sweater as she faced some sort of ether-powered communications device. The type of round glasses that made her look smarter and wiser, like an experienced librarian. Text appeared on the device, as if a ghost was writing on the wooden board. More text appeared, and Coshi frowned.

Then she leaned back and turned to Vivi. "You saw the map?" she asked.

Vivi nodded hesitantly. "It's… a map of surges, right?"

"Nope," Coshi said calmly. "That's the updated storm forecast, as well as news from the lower levels. We have confirmed it all to be accurate."

Vivi stood still.

"Twenty-seven storms will be hitting Shivenar," Coshi said. "Full storms. It's safe to say that the city is a ruin. Inform your Grandpa, Vivi. Shivenar might need to evacuate."