The next day Vina woke up early. She was simply too exhausted from yesterday’s efforts to address her level up and her skill increases. This morning however, she felt well enough to start with her skill points. She reviewed her options for Jumping.

Where would you like to spend your Jumping skill point? Option 1: Parkour: Active Skill. You are able to rapidly move through an area, avoiding and negotiating obstacles in your way. Option 2: Impact. Any time you jump and fall a distance three times your own height, you will cause a shockwave in all directions, causing 100% of your strength in damage. Option 3: Jumping uses 15% less stamina.

To her the only options were Parkour or Impact. Impact sounded amazing, but she was not really a strength build. Also the situations in which she would be able to use it seemed limited to her. She could not easily find a place three times her height unless she was jumping from a building or a tree. Her ability to currently jump 18 inches off the ground wouldn’t allow her to immediately use the skill either. Vina selected Parkour instead. She had seen so many videos of people doing parkour, and she was super excited to try it out for herself. She reviewed her climbing options next.

Where would you like to spend your Climbing skill point? Option 1: Silent Climbing: You are able to climb without making any noise. Option 2: Shear Wall: You are able to more easily climb walls that do not have any identifiable hand or footholds. Option 3: Catch Yourself: Once per day if you fall while climbing, you’ll be guaranteed to catch yourself.

Vina barely thought about this. After falling from a cliff recently, the pain and fear she felt was still fresh in her mind. She immediately selected Catch Yourself. If she ever fell again, Vina wanted a guaranteed chance to save herself from death. She had barely survived the last fall, and she did not want to revisit that again. Finally Vina opened her class abilities and saw she had three new options in the class ability tree that branched down from Blood Dance. At this point Vina could still place a point into Blood Dance as it was still at just 1 out of 3. She reviewed her new options, however.

Ruby Claws: Drawing upon your own blood, you may condense it into a claw. The claw does 150% of your level plus agility in damage.

Hemophage: Your blood can now make Hemophagic cells. Hemophages consume foreign red blood cells via phagocytosis. Phagocytosis reduces stamina recovery by 5%. Stacks 10 times. Hemophage is considered an infection.

Blood Recovery (0/3): Your body's ability to produce new blood increases by 25%.

Vina read the descriptions several more times. She was finally beginning to understand what a blood weaver actually did. “I could turn my hands into blood-covered claws or infect people with my blood? I already have a weapon; do I really need claws? For that matter, do I want my blood to have these hemophages?” she said to herself softly. These changes seemed drastic to her and she wasn’t sure she was ready to embrace them yet.

She was also still feeling bad about what happened to Ebba the night before. Vina took the least drastic option and selected Blood Recovery. With all of her skill work on Blood Runes and with the amount of blood the Lantern needed, she felt producing more blood in her body was a perfectly acceptable choice. Besides, she had the class passive called Blood Lake and she liked the idea of filling it up faster. After she made her choice, she saw a new class ability appear below Blood Recovery. For now it was dark and she couldn’t read it.

Vina suddenly snapped to attention. She felt something change in her body. Her bones seemed to be itching and she couldn’t escape the feeling. After a distressing moment, the feeling subsided. However her Blood Sense skill told her something meaningful had changed inside of her. She shivered at the remnants of the itching, but soon got ready for the day.

~~~

Vina and Etana once again did not have classes due to the damage done to the Institute. Rumors were flying around that Gij herself would be out to help expedite repairs, and Vina and Etana met up early, hoping to catch sight of one of the twelve. Ann decided to skip her classes as well to not miss such an opportunity. Much to Vina’s disappointment, however, Gij did not show up that morning, and yhey soon realized they had a free day to spend together.

“Oh! I want to take you to this one shop!” Ann exclaimed as she grabbed Vina’s hand and dragged her along.

Vina couldn’t help but smile. She found Ann to have a very warm presence. Even her blood seemed sweet to Vina’s senses. She smiled as she let herself be dragged away, sneaking a glance at Etana. Etana only grinned at her and shrugged when Ann couldn’t see her. Her body language seemed to say, “It’s your turn to deal with this” and Vina was more than willing to play her part.

Ann took Vina to a fabric store not too far away. From what Vina could see it had all of the latest materials and the prices were at or above what she paid for her weapons. Ann did not go on a shopping spree however. She merely admired the materials and expertise that went into their making. She gushed over how well made everything was and the rarity of the materials. Her eye for detail and quality piqued Vina’s own curiosity about the world and she felt herself learning to appreciate their quality.

For Vina this day was a new experience and at times she felt awkward, unsure how to match Ann’s ebullience. She sought a balance between Etana’s more serious demeanor and Ann's carefree attitude. Vina had struggled with friends in class, unable to share in the sometimes costly experiences and hobbies of her peers, but here she had an opportunity to change all of that. She found the time flew by as she learned how to bond with her sisters.

“Vina, have you met Marlu yet? Did Etana tell you what she did?” Ann asked when they were having a relaxing picnic in a field.

Vina thought back, “Yeah. I think I fought her in a duel a few days back. She was wielding a longer and thicker sword. But no, Etana didn’t tell me anything.”

Ann waved a hand in front of her, “Etana! I can’t believe you didn’t share.” Ann gestured wildly with her hands as she spoke, “Marlu was caught with ashes on her clothes and smoke in her hair the same night the fire happened at the institute. Apparently someone found stolen things from The Institute at her home as well. They think she burned that room to cover up her theft.”

Vina looked at Ann with surprise, “No way. I can’t believe it.”

Etana nodded in agreement, “I didn’t tell you, Vina, because I also don’t believe it.”

Ann rolled her eyes, “If they found stolen things and evidence of her starting the fire, why wouldn’t you believe it?”

“It’s circumstantial at best. Marlu claims she had a campfire going that same night. There is no proof anyone took things from the institute. Someone just said that things were found in her home. We know The Watch lies all the time. Who’s to say this isn’t one of those times?” Etana responded, skepticism thick in her voice.

Ann looked at Vina, “What do you think?”

Vina considered her sister’s positions and chose to be diplomatic, “I really don’t know. I’m new here and haven’t seen what The Watch does yet. But if we are saying people are guilty of arson when they have ashes on their clothes, then we might as well say Ebba is guilty too with the burn on her hand.”

Etana leveled her eyes on Vina, “She had a burn on her hand? When did you see that? I thought she wore armor all the time?”

“Last night. She took her gauntlet off and I saw an old burn.” Vina gasped in horror when a menacing window popped up.

You have broken your promise to Ebba. Ebba has been notified of your failure to keep your word.

“Oh no!” Vina said.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“What?” Ann and Etana said together in concern.

“I forgot I promised Ebba I wouldn’t tell anyone about her burn. When I told you, I got a window that popped up saying I didn’t keep my promise. Now she knows!”

Ann and Etana looked at her in equal horror.

“How was I supposed to know this world would inform someone if a promise was broken? This doesn’t happen in my world!” Vina said.

Etana held a hand up to stop her, “Vina, this is your world. The other one isn’t. As for the notification, you should have gotten a warning before the words could leave your mouth. Even if you did make a choice to ignore the warning, the system won’t tell Ebba exactly which promise you broke. Furthermore, now that the promise is broken, you’re no longer bound to it.”

Vina looked at Etana, still in disbelief, “I didn’t get a warning! I lied to her so much though. Every blood rune I wrote and explained to her was a lie. Why didn’t this window pop up then? Why didn’t I ever get a warning?” Vina thought back for a moment, “ Wait a minute. I promised to not do Blood Runes without her there, but I carved on that box by myself. I also promised to not take my lantern out of the house. I clearly broke those two. Why didn’t I get this before?”

Etana verbally processed Vina’s words, “You broke two other promises, lied multiple times… and you didn’t have any window notifications?”

Vina nodded slowly.

Ann looked at Etana, “Do you think Ebba could have a real Aspect? Maybe an Aspect of Lies or Deception or something?”

Etana bit her lip, “That’s a real possibility.” She explained more when she saw the confused look on Vina’s face, “Real Aspects come with some additional benefits that fake aspects don’t. Some of those benefits are the manipulation of the system that Trina made. They can’t really break the system or so I’m told, but they can suppress or enhance parts of it. This is really out there and we’re only guessing here, but it’s possible Ebba has the ability to choose if someone gets notifications related to lies.”

Vina’s face went pale with realization of the possible consequences. Would she lose her sisters? Would The Watch lock her up for being deceptive?

“What’s going to happen to me? To us?” Vina asked.

Etana and Ann looked at each other, “No idea.” Etana said, looking down contemplatively.

Stressed, Vina was rubbing her forehead with both hands when Ann said, “What’s this about Blood Runes?”

~~~

Vina sat in her house at the table, waiting for Ebba to show up to their evening session. Her nerves were killing her and her guilt was making her feel sick. When Blood Sense told her Ebba was approaching the door, she jumped in her chair. She forced herself to wait for the knock and walked to the door like someone off to an execution.

“Good evening, Vina.” Ebba said. She took a closer look at Vina’s face. “What’s the matter? You look sicker than I feel.”

Vina looked at Ebba with some surprise, “I figured you’d be upset with me. I know you know I broke a promise.”

Ebba laughed, “That’s all this is? Look at how you’ve punished yourself. Which promise did you break?”

“I told some of my friends about the burn on your hand”, Vina said, trying to be truthful in case Ann was right. Avoiding lies in front of this person may be the only way to save herself from The Watch’s consequences.

Ebba nodded, “Yes. I was being vulnerable in front of you last night. It hurts me that you didn’t keep your promise to me. But I see how much breaking that promise has hurt you as well. I think we are even. I will be more careful with what I share with you in the future. It will be a healthier boundary for both of us, wouldn’t you say?”

Her compassionate and forgiving words stung Vina. She wasn’t sure she was deserving of such treatment. “I agree and thank you. Ebba, I’ve lied to you in the past as well. I took the lantern out of the house. Why didn’t I see a notification like I did earlier?”

Ebba gave Vina a firm look, “I think I’ll invoke that boundary right now. I don’t want to share why that is. Vina, I’m still recovering from what the box did to me last night. I came here tonight to let you know I plan to continue resting. I didn’t want to leave you unaware like I did the first time. Is it okay if we continue again in a few days after I’ve recovered?”

Vina nodded and apologized once more. Ebba gave Vina the grace she needed and soon took her leave.

After Ebba left, Vina felt only slightly better. The consequences were far less than she had built up in her mind all day. She knew she would not be able to sleep tonight with her nerves as they were and instead packed her backpack. Now that she had broken her promises to Ebba, Vina knew she could leave the house without anyone knowing. She had a runed door to open.

~~~

Vina stealthed her way back to the cave and runed door without issue. This time she wasn’t even noticed. She stood now in front of the trapped hallway and could still see the Reflexive Target Trap in the distance. Vina had given this particular trap some consideration since she had last seen it. She still had no idea how to disable it, but she had an idea on how to remove the roadblock.

Vina pulled out one of her new throwing knives. Her current throwing skill would allow her to throw about twenty two feet, and she had figured that this was just about the perfect distance she needed. She stepped out to the center of the hallway and threw the knife as hard as she could. The knife went wider than she intended and she did not hit her target, but it landed in the red highlighted trap activation area.

Vina heard a click echo down the hallway and she dove to the side. What happened next was beyond her expectation. The hallway suffered a massive explosion as shrapnel, arrows, and flames raced out down it and through the opened cave wall. The vines there didn’t stand a chance and were immediately ripped apart by the projectiles and flames. The cave filled with smoke from all of the blast traps and Vina had to breathe through a piece of her clothing to get air.

She sat there for a moment, still in shock from the noise of the explosion. Her ears rang and her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to figure out what to do next, “Someone must have heard that…” she thought to herself. She got down on the floor, under all of the smoke, and crawled her way down the hallway. She kept her Detect Traps skill active, but she soon discovered the explosion had triggered every single trap.

Vina stood when she reached the end and looked at the double door. The ten foot doors were made completely from stone and were entirely covered in runes. At this point Vina could read many of them. She was in awe at the number of runes scrawled into its surface. She took a steadying breath through the cloth when she saw two names were scrawled into the door. They read Annalina and Etana. Vina searched the door for her own name, but didn't find it. She re-read as many runes as she could before realizing what the door wanted. It wanted Ann and Etana to place their hands on the door at the same time.

Vina growled as she scoured the door for ideas. She was completely unwilling to bring Ann and Etana here. She suspected Etana had stealth skills because she had hid from Ebba, but she had no idea if Ann had such capabilities. She also knew this place was dangerous with traps and who knew if there were more beyond this door. Vina didn’t want to risk them getting injured. She made a decision then to try something she had never done before. She sat down and read the runes for the next few moments until she had memorized as much as she could.

She took out her knife and began carving onto the door. She disconnected the names of her sisters first. She didn’t stop there though. Using a blood rune, she wrote in her own name and connected it to the design. The door flared a bright blue and the lights suddenly went out. It appeared dead to Vina’s senses.

Undeterred, she examined the rune phrases that described the hands of her sisters and changed them from two right hands to a right hand and a left hand. She then changed the runes to accept the description of her hands and their size.

“When I changed it to blood runes, did the energy stored get dispersed?” she thought to herself. Vina took her lantern out, pricked her finger, and used Blood Call. Blood left the lantern and entered into her body until she felt her veins were fuller than normal. Vina pressed her finger to the door and began to feed it blood. The runes on the door slowly lit up as Vina controlled the amount of blood she gave it. She watched in awe at the beauty that unfolded in her vision.

Her blood flowed over the runes through the carved valleys and symbols that existed. She marveled at the combination of her life blood, her own runes, and Priya’s runes being joined as one. Vina felt a tear in her eye at the connection she felt. Vina continued to draw on the blood in the lantern, filling her own body, and then expelling it into the door. She began to understand that the lantern was not just a device to store blood; it also stored different blood in different areas.

Vina could feel Ebba’s blood in one area and her own in a different one. She could also feel the blood of a creature still in the lantern. It felt foreign to Vina though. Its vibrance was dimmer than Ebba’s blood or her own. As Vina continued her efforts, the lantern was giving less and less of her own blood and Vina could not call any of the other blood stored inside. When the lantern was unable to give anymore of her own blood, she accessed the blood stored in her Blood Lake passive. Initially she had been scared to access this part of herself, but Blood Sense had helped her reach a peace with what existed within her.

As the door continued to feed on her blood, Vina was thankful she took her Blood Recovery class ability. To her relief, she had just enough of her own blood to power all of the runes on the door.

Skill Level Up: Blood Runes has reached level 11. Blood runes can be drawn 40% faster and take 40% less blood to activate or maintain. You have gained 150 experience points for leveling a skill.

Vina paused for a second to focus on Blood Sense as she checked the blood flowing through her veins. She indeed felt a slight increase at the rate at which her blood was recovering. “That’s crazy…” she said to herself. Shrugging through the feeling, Vina focused back on the door.

She reached out and slammed her left and right hands onto the runes that described her hands. There was a pause for a moment as nothing happened. Then Vina heard something grinding in the background as the doors opened before her. She stepped through into the well lit hallway beyond the doors, and the doors began to close behind her. Vina’s Blood Sense abruptly told her someone was behind her just as she heard Ebba’s voice.

“Vina! Stop!”

The doors finished closing.