The Lost Runes Saga [Epic Fantasy]

TWENTY-ONE

That first experiment told him little that he didn't already know. Still, confirming things before moving on was a smart move. Adding more essence to the rune spread the rune's area of effect, but not by much. To find just how far it was possible to stretch the warmth past the runic symbol, Vidar risked a minuscule amount of dragon's essence. The room grew too hot in almost an instant and sweat poured down his back.

After removing his coat, he got down to his knees and put his hand against the leg of the workbench. It emitted a good amount of heat, as did the floor below it, where the workbench's legs touched the planks. The edge of a physical object was no barrier for the rune, then. With enough essence, heating an entire city with a single, small sowilo rune was within the realm of possibility. This was not workable, obviously, with the insane essence requirements of doing something that large and unstructured. So, the next thing to try was a way of focusing a rune's output.

The room was already too hot for comfort, so Vidar switched to a kenaz rune for his next experiment, drawing it on the wall near the exit leading to the front of the shop. First, he drew one small circle around the symbol, then one much larger around both the symbol and the smaller circle. He closed his eyes and touched a hand to the rune. Only one circle appeared before his mind's eye. Rejuvenating the rune, it shone from the area of the small circle. Rather than touching the runic symbol itself, Vidar then rested his hand in the larger circle.

A massive beam of light shone from the large circle once he triggered the kenaz rune. Nodding to himself, he rendered the rune inactive again. He'd sensed very little essence dissipating from the circle, and it'd been firm in his mind, unlike when he tried the unguided method a moment earlier. Curious, he drew the line in a different shape. It ended up looking a little like a rectangle with legs. This one didn't hold essence very well, but it was far better than having no barrier around the symbol at all. A circle was not a necessity, as long as you kept a firm grip on the essence leaving your body. Not necessary, but draining yourself was a danger with this sort of rune crafting, and the essence spent made it impractical.

Already out of space, Vidar went out into the shop and got down to his knees to paint a pea-sized kenaz rune on the floor. This time, he added no barrier around it whatsoever. Upon triggering the rune, a dim light filled the room, coming from a blotch-like area on the floor and spreading out, while the poor light diminished even more. Vidar's first thought was of the logiz rune and whether it would act like the kenaz rune without a proper barrier, but a thought interrupted him. A contradiction.

He dug out one of the round wooden discs from his pocket. Another kenaz rune. Once triggered, it shone with a light concentrated inside the physical barrier of the wood, even if it did not have a circle painted on it. Placing it on the ground made no difference. This one he'd have to consult Alvarn about. It appeared the physical barrier mattered if it was of that specific circle shape. A circle to match the inner one in his mind. This meant there was something to the circle shape, after all.

Next, he attempted to trigger a rune without a barrier line around it. Standing close, it wasn't too difficult. The farther he moved back, the more difficult it became. Even when focusing and closing his eyes, it was like fumbling around in the dark, reaching out at random and trying to find something firm to hold on to before falling into a void. After a while, he managed it from across the room, but it was not something he wanted to repeat. Rejuvenation from a distance in this manner was beyond him, no matter how much Vidar struggled.

Next up, he wanted to test just how big he could make the circle. Space was, however, a limiting factor. Peering out through the window, he saw it was snowing. Perfect. Yes, you needed to be sure of the quality of your lines when crafting a rune, but Vidar would be careful. He found a small, empty patch of snow-covered mud and went to work.

The physical barrier line he created by pushing one heel into the ground and then dragging it across the snow ended up oval-shaped, but it didn't matter too much for this experiment. Vidar had already proved as much. He drew the runic symbol in the snow using a finger. Once completed, the circle was about the width of his house. Crouching down to rejuvenate the monstrosity, he felt his arm go numb in an instant and jerked his hand back with a curse. As it turned out, snow was not a fitting medium for rune craft. Undeterred, he made another attempt. This time, he used dragon's essence. That, too, drained quicker than he would have liked, so he stopped short and triggered the rune.

A beam of light shot straight up at the sky, adding light to the overcast sky and making it seem like the flakes of snow drifting downward glowed like fire. The light flickered and disappeared after a brief few seconds. It was not because of the essence running out. Falling snow ruined the runic symbol. Fair enough.

The experiments with single runic symbols were done. Vidar wasn't sure how the results could apply to the problem at hand just yet, the need for algiz runes to cover most of Halmstad, but more knowledge was always useful. Next up on his list of things to research was the interaction between runes, how they reacted to each other, and something he'd seen several times already without giving it much thought: connecting runes.

Down by the dragon skeleton, he'd seen styrka runes with lines painted between them, but the skeleton itself occupied his focus at the time. Before that, the church and the ritualistic chamber. Trying to sneak out without being caught, Vidar hadn't stopped to ponder what was before his eyes. Now, the curiosity was nagging at him.

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"What are you doing?"

Vidar looked up to see Erik standing there, right out in the open.

"Where did you come from? How did you know where to find me?"

Erik pointed up into the sky. "Was on my way back to the house when I saw a massive light in the sky. Thought it might be you messing around."

"I'm not messing around," Vidar said, unable to keep a smile from his lips. "I'm doing serious experiments."

"Looks like it," Erik agreed, kicking at a bit of snow.

"You're coming back then?" Vidar asked.

"Went to see Siv. She said Sven wasn't your fault." He set his jaw and refused to meet Vidar's eye. "I didn't think she was right. We argued a lot."

"Then what?"

"They let me see him."

Vidar swallowed hard. "Not a pleasant sight."

"No," Erik agreed, his voice small. "It wasn't."

Their agreement hung in the air a moment before the lad continued. "They told me what'd happened, the rune lady and Siv."

"They changed your mind?"

"Something like that."

Vidar walked up to him and held out his hand. "It's good to have you back."

"There's something else," Erik then said.

Vidar's thoughts had already been drifting back to the experiments, and he looked up and blinked. "What?"

"The dragons."

"You know about them?" Vidar asked before realizing. "Ah. You met Alvarn at the guild."

"I did. The rune people aren't happy. They don't believe him."

Vidar's heart dropped. "What?"

"Alvarn told me they won't do a thing unless you can prove more dragons are coming, or if you make it worth their while to prepare."

"Bastards!" Vidar spat.

Erik took a half step back and lifted his arms, as if afraid Vidar would lash out at him. "What?"

Vidar gave him a look, unsure if he should share, then sighed, deflating. "It's a rune I have that they don't. They're holding Halmstadt hostage to get it."

Erik nodded, thoughtful, but said nothing.

"You're talking the news with surprising calm."

"I just figure we killed a dragon before. We can do it again."

"We can do it again," Vidar repeated.

The honest eyes, filled with utter certainty, made Vidar chuckle as he and Erik turned and walked back toward the house. "Of course, we'll do it again."

"Can't you bring Rend to the guild?" Erik asked.

Vidar thought about it again but rejected the idea. There was just no way out of that situation without Rend slipping out of Vidar's grasp. "We'll need him. Maybe he can talk the other dragons down somehow. Can't do that from the inside of a cell."

"So give them the rune."

"Just like that?" Vidar asked, a little taken aback. "It's a dangerous rune."

"All those witchy runes are dangerous," Erik said, walking around a large mound of snow.

"Not like this one."

"If you say so," Erik said, shrugging. "Alvarn wanted you to go to the guild right away."

"I figured as much. Just thought I'd unlock the door for you."

Erik produced a key. "I can let myself in."

"Well, alright then. Monitor Rend, will you?"

"Sure."

Vidar cleared his throat. "Also, there's some paint in there. I need you to clean it off."

"We'll see," Erik said. "I have a couch to build."

***

The doors of the rune scribes' guild stood open, despite the late hour when Vidar arrived. He slipped inside and made his way to Viktoria's office. This time, it wouldn't be the admissions lady doing the talking, he was sure of it. Just as suspected, he found Alvarn slumped far down into one of the plush chairs in the guildmistress's office, dark rings around his eyes and his hair almost as disheveled as Vidar's own.

"What's this about you not believing me?" Vidar said, his voice loud in the otherwise thick silence of the room. He'd directed the question to Viktoria, of course, who sat behind her large desk reading from a sheet of paper.

She was about to speak when Vidar instead directed a question Alvarn's way. "Did you tell her?"

"I told her," he replied, after clearing his throat and struggling to sit up with proper posture.

Vidar sat down in a chair opposite her desk. "If anyone here is untrustworthy, it's you!"

"How nice of you to grace us with your presence," Viktoria said, putting the papers down. "That friend of yours found you, then?"

"He did."

"Excellent."

He glared up at her, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't, he decided he'd have enough of the silence. "Dragons are coming."

"I told her," Alvarn sighed.

"Where is your proof?" Viktoria asked, her entire person a lake of tranquility. If Vidar's loud voice was getting to her, she was adept at hiding it. "How could you know?"

He'd thought about what to say on his way over. The way he saw it, three different paths branched out before him regarding the current conversation. First, just give her the rune she wanted. Simple and without immediate downsides. In the long run, though, this path was fraught with dangers. Unleashing the logiz rune would change Halmstadt, and the rest of Sveland, forever, and not for the better. Considering the alternatives, Vidar wasn't sure there was a way forward where he would come out on top. The next option entailed throwing Rend before their scowls, their questions, and their cells. With him gone, and Vidar didn't think the boy long for the world if they took him, the breath of a peaceful solution would die without leaving their chests. The third and final option meant what little peace he enjoyed would come to an abrupt end. Still, in Vidar's mind, it was the best option.

"I killed the dragon and took its power. That's how I'm able to use its fiery ability, and it also lets me commune with the approaching dragon scourge."

Victoria stared at him, her expression blank for a long moment before it broke. For a second, he thought she was about to cry, but then a wheezing laugh escaped her throat as she looked from Vidar to Alvarn and down at the table, slapping her hand against the wood.

"You? A dragon?" She asked between fits of giggling that went on for so long that she went a little blue around the lips, like she wasn't getting enough air.