Teuila surprises me by also conjuring an absolutely metric ton of gems, figuratively. We’re honestly in a pile of gemstones up to our shoulders at the moment, while Teuila is grinning maniacally. I can’t help laughing and chuckling at her. I can tell that she conjured the various sheets of metallic plates along the outer surface of the roof of our carriage, while she was stretching her arms upward during her inventory manipulation.

Te politely orders me, “So, uh, I was a bit of a dingus right now, a dink, sure, sorry. But, err, well. You’re going to have to put these all in your handy knapsack thingy with the extra dimensions inside its space stuff. If there’s not enough room for all your books inside it with all these in there, I’ll strap the books to my big bag, or put them inside of it. Any books you’re done learning all the spells from, we can leave in the carriage.”

Teuila ponders a moment, tapping her chin before adding, “Oh, hey, is the little statue of Apheliotes, or whatever his name was, in your bag too? One of us should probably have him in our belt pouches, in case we need to make a getaway. Err, honestly it should be you. I can jump probably farther and faster than a metallic gryphon that leaves three inch deep footprints everywhere he walks.”

I chuckle as I agree with Teuila on every level. I begin scooping all the gemstones into my hyperdimensional haversack, thankfully they mostly fit in the as-of-yet unused side pouches. I do have several items, including my half-broken lightning-and-thunder-stick half poking out of the sack. I’m loathe to just toss it somewhere, but it’s becoming cumbers— wait. It’s a Can’Z’aasian magic item. Friggin’ doy Reggie. Sure enough, I squeeze and compress my thunderstick down to about the size of a pencil with relative ease. I facepalm at the simplicity of it all.

What else did I throw in here from Can’Z’aas? I fish around in the extra dimensional space inside my hyperdimensional haversack, trying to ascertain if there are any assets I forgot to put on my list. Hm, things I haven’t identified. I’d really like to learn that minor history spell. It should be able to describe the effects of various enchanted, magical objects. I’m most curious about the ones where the only rune on it is basically “this object is enchanted.” Completely unhelpful translation.

Alright, alright, enough futzing around. I need to start on this runecrafting mastery of these new runotypes and runic subtypes on these various runoforms. Those are a bunch of mouth-fulls as much as they are a bunch of exasperating constructs. It’s sort of like, every rune is four ascii characters, in any combination, so it’s like one hundred twenty eight times one hundred twenty eight times one hundred twenty eight times one hundred twenty eight possible arrangements. Something around two hundred sixty million to two hundred seventy million. Actually, it’s worse than that, because each character can be either emphasized, stressed, bolded, italicized, underlined, overscored, or in any calligraphic font, or any font at all, so it’s more like infinity times infinity times infinity times infinity combinations. It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

Still, there are some basic structures within various subsets of runotypes that share principles, or outright share a majority of the structures within the crafting of their runes. Those runic subtypes share commonalities. Those ones will be easier to master than others, since I’ll have already mastered a portion of the rune before even practicing a new one in the same subtype.

While I’m mentally rambling about runecrafting, Teuila busies herself with reading an enchanted book. It’s an impressive tome whose enchantment should allow her to somewhat magnetically hold three arrows at a time, and loose them either at approximately the same location, or at up to three separate targets when firing them simultaneously. Some of these books basically grant super-powers. Who crafted them in the first place? Why was stained glass such a common bookbinding method for the people who originally crafted many of them? Ugh, Reggie Shellcracker, you’re as distractible as ever. Hm? Yes Bud, thank you, I already know, hah.

Okay, back to it. It’s going to take me about three hours per rune, but at least it isn’t going to take me an entire day per rune anymore. Huff. It’ll leave me basically bone-dry on vitality by the end of it too if I push myself to six per day. I should really only do five, but I trust Teuila to protect us should anything show up while I’m completely tapped out. Hm, this rune also sort of can be translated as fire, but more as in passion rather than an elemental flame. Odd that it’s part of the Steely Body spell. Well, regardless, zero down, thirty three to go. Let’s get to it Reggie.

Hm? Yes Bud, it’s fairly often that my inner narrative will refer to me in the third person. Oh, in my logs? Yeah. I’m still surprised you can peer down in there and see them on my Changeling inner self thingy. I’m glad though. Err, yes, point is, yeah, sometimes I, or my inner narrative, will jokingly act as if I’m someone talking to myself, and then as if I’m a different me, responding to myself.

Err, that’s embarrassing, but yes, once or twice I was cracking pretty hard under various pressures when either near dead, or really stressed. Yeah, those times, I was probably temporarily convinced that I wasn’t one of the me-s that was responding to me in my own head. Err, yeah, something like that. Point being, I’m not entirely the sanest individual around in some regards. I’ve definitely got emotional unwellnesses that would probably be clinically diagnosed as depression, post traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and a few other things. Diagnosed by who? Err, well, contemporary modern Fakeworld, Earth psychological health professionals.

I, yes. I see the irony in determining my sanity based on the criteria set by fictional people in a field of study on a world that doesn’t exist. Thank you Bud. Hah. Oof. You really don’t pull your punches, do you? The phrase, I’m not actually, yes. I know you don’t like to fight or draw blood. The runecrafting? Slowly. Yes I’m making progress even while you’re distracting me.

I can sense Teuila’s telepathic avatar hanging out somewhere along the edges of my mindscape, snickering at my conversation with Bud. I can’t help smiling incredibly widely as tears well in my eyes. I’m so, so, so happy to have this back. I’m so unbelievably happy to have you in my head once again Teuila. I know you were incredibly stoked as well. I don’t know anyone in any universe more connected than the two of us, save perhaps Lil and Luni.

Hm? Bud, well, yes I suppose you and I are now connected at a fairly similar level, but it feels sort of one way, you know? I don’t really get to listen in on your thoughts or explore your mindsca— Really? Huh. I’ll definitely take you up on that at some point, Lullaby my friend. Hm? Well, when we get some downtime. I’ll hold you to that. I’m honored by the offer. Oh! Because you’re Lullaby, Requiem for the Windless Wilds, dreams and dreams of the wild fall within your--, ah yeah that totally makes sense.

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Have any of your previous wielders bothered to—? I kinda figured as much. Sorry Bud. They didn’t know what they were missing out on. Though, to be fair, by your own admission, even you and I weren’t this connected until I screwed around with Can’Z’aasian soul shenanigan inventory magic through you into your sister. I’m glad too Bud, I’m glad I did that too. It’s nice that Essie is no longer Dirge, and that she’s chilled out so much that you two enjoy each other’s company now.

What’s Icey like Bud? I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to him much. Kinda buffoonish in your opinion? In what way? Ah, a jokester that’s just bad at it, gotcha. He’s probably still forming his personality Bud. I got the feeling that while he was still Balchar’s Flame, he barely had any personality beyond rage and bloodlust. We all deserve time for self-exploration, to take that journey of self discovery to find our own identities. He’s only had a couple of weeks.

Yeah, that’s true. I’m glad you can be sympathetic. Where am I at? Ugh, uh, about twenty five runes so far, about sixty or seventy attempts to go before I master it probably, minimum. Could be up to another hundred or a hundred fifty or so. Yeah, like Jarrah said, I’m brute forcing it. I basically try to craft the same thing over and over and over until it finally lights up once as ambient mana is allowed to dwell within its empowered structure brought about by my essence. My S P? Sorc Points? Yeah, I’ll call them that from now on Bud. S P is a lot easier to say than my daily alotment of vitality-related number of total runes that I can craft without keeling over. Hah. So, yeah, thank you buddy. Hm? Hah, that makes sense. Even though I’m learning from a book, I don’t utilize the pages of one as a focus. If I did, you’d call them W P, or Wizardry Points. Makes sense.

Oof, my eyes and jaw. Hm? Hydrate? Good idea, thanks Bud. Sometimes I forget to take care of myself. Well, you’re pretty well aware of that, huh? Hah, yep. Three or four days straight spent reading while levitating is a tad excessive in terms of forgetting to take care of myself. Though that was an extenuating circumstance, since, since. Sniffle. Since I was still trying to save Dawn.

My eyes well with tears of sadness and I drop my face into my upturned hands, with my elbows resting on my knees. I quietly sob as I recall how badly I failed Dawn. She was a wonderful friend, experiencing our journey together with us. I, I. Tears stream unbidden, and I can’t finish my current rune attempt as all my senses are diminished, drowned out by overpowering sadness. She was counting on me. All of Aasimovia was counting on me.

It’s okay Bud. It’s okay to be sad. I’m allowed to be sad as I continue to grieve. Huh? Well, yes. I grieve their loss too. I know I don’t show it, because it was slightly more impersonal. All those chameleon-folk were very kind, peaceful, sweet. Glp. I understand why Lil is mad at me, that I didn’t seek retribution for their loss. Many good Nagas were lost as well, though it was mostly the black fangs sect of anti-mammal Nagas that were slain by Mataalii’s lava tide, and the explosions.

I know it seems like a crazy coincidence, but it was planned by either future me, or by Luni, or both of us Bud. Yeah. One of us in the future knew the bombs were going to go off in the residential and commercial districts on the far side of the Nagas’ city. Yeah, that’s why we engineered the timeline in such a way as to get all the Nagas out of those areas, to help tend to the wounded in the lava-destroyed area created by Mataalii that wasn’t going to explode. What? I, I can’t really prove it Bud. At least not while we’re here on Rayileklia, maybe ever, because of the mana strangling my inner Changeling self.

Do any other Fae have limitations on being able to work with mana like this, that you know of Bud? Oh wow, really? Dryads, Naiads, and Fawns all shouldn’t work with spell mana? They learn to utilize Chi, or Ki, and ambient mana, and their natural gifts instead? Makes sense. Woah. Really? That sounds a lot like Spring Blossom back home on Can’Z’aas. Yeah, she was becoming incredibly powerful with nature magics, mostly flower, root, and vine based.

Slow up a second, what? Oh, you’re reading about our time in The Gap here on Rayileklia. Yep, that’s true, we know a kobold youngling with mushroom and spore related magics. Hopefully the little guy’s okay. I’m pretty sure if I recall correctly, he’s one of Miza and Timbik’s clutch, their son. A clutch? I’m pretty sure that’s the term for a group of eggs laid by a reptilian humanoid, or draconic individual. Yeah, exactly. Anyway, Teuila was the one that met the younglings and stuff. I was mostly unconscious through most of our time with the kobolds at their warrens.

Yes, yes it is slightly humorous that I was beaten near to death by a pile of animated rocks, thank you Bud. No, I’m not being sarcastic or upset at all. Yes, that was sarcasm as well. Huff. Sorry, heh. It is a bit humorous, you’re right, but Bud, I was truly on the edge of death. I’m pretty sure that I may have even died several times during my stay there. Or perhaps I would have. Between Kozzurth’s dragonforce, Miza and Dippy’s magics and rescue, and Teuila’s, and my own tenacity, I might have never quite crossed over the threshold. Can’t be certain though.

Yeah, I didn’t even know about dragonforce at the time. It’s such a cool concept, but it’s also incredibly sad. Either a dying dragon has to imbue you with theirs, or you have to rip it from their still-warm heart like I accidentally did. Huff. Yeah, it might have been even more potent if I’d gone straight for her heart and figured out a way to pull the dragonforce straight out of it while it was still beating. That’s a tad brutal though.

Err, yes, you’re right, I’ve been quite brutal on occasion. I usually regretted it after, or didn’t even intend to be doing it in the first place. Yes, I have a a wrathful side that I sometimes can’t fight off. When it takes control, pretty much everything around me dies. I, uh, can’t remember anything having survived one of my outbursts of wrath when it took me over.

Yes, I agree, that’s scary. Not quite as scary as having my will stripped away by an external force, true. Still scary that something prevents me from acting in the way I’d like to though. I’m sickened by the sapient lives I’ve taken. I’m not cut out for being an assassin, despite having accidentally fallen into the role four times now. Or maybe five if you count the cragbeast queen as well. Don’t spoil it? Hah, sorry, okay. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that bit. There’s a bunch that I redacted and kind of shut my brain off while doing, so you might find some things that even I don’t know about or remember in there.

Rune count? I still haven’t mastered this one. Huff. It’s becoming less obviously incorrect with each attempt though, but yeah, I’m burning away S P fairly swiftly. I’m coming down with a migraine as intense pressure builds behind the top of my left eye. I’m glad too Bud. It would suck if you could get migraines. I need to keep flexing my jaw so that I don’t end up with a tension headache on top of it. Right, right, hydration again, thanks.

Has it been two hours already? Wow. Huff. Yeah, thanks Bud. Definitely make sure I either snack or sip at least once every two hours, please. I’m trying to survive without digging into Kozzurth’s dragonforce. I need all the power I can muster, but, you’re right. I need to take care of me in order to be able to apply it.