"It is always better to walk alone than with a crowd that goes in the wrong direction."
Instead of doing what he had planned to, after resolving the problem with Rion, Azar had to deal with the training protocol for the army and the distribution of manpower needed for the construction of the protective array around the city. As it was too late for anything after finishing his work, Azar was forced to postpone his matters for the next day.
Early morning, arriving in front of a house with the traditional design of the Lycorin people, Azar made his presence known by knocking a few times on the thick, wooden door. Not long after that, an old lady came to greet him.
"Welcome Lord Azar, please enter!" she said stepping to the side and allowing her guest to enter her humble place.
"Greetings, Elder Soviona!" Azar saluted with a short bow. It wasn't the first time he stepped into the house of the old lady, so he knew his way around.
Elder Soviona was an important figure among the tribesmen, she wasn't just a wise person of the old generation, but also a Runic Grand Master. The tribe people weren't in the possession of strong cultivation, or training techniques before becoming citizens of Rivero City.
They used their beastly qualities, together with runic tattoos to boost their perception, strength, and abilities. And Elder Soviona was the only person who could make runic tattoos with special abilities. This reason alone was enough to make her much more precious then even the chieftains or great warriors.
[ ACKNOWLEDGED! Runic Knowledge
Symbols drawn on the skin, walls, weapons of other surfaces with the purpose of boosting an existing ability or adding a new one. They require special substances imbued with energy.
The special abilities of runic tattoos are created when more runes are connected, forming a new pattern with a particular energetic structure.
There are three ranks that differentiate the people's abilities in drawing the runes:
- Runic Disciple
- Runic Master
- Runic Grand Master ]
The old lady liked to live a quiet life since her husband died more then twenty years ago. She didn't have time to command a tribe or participate in time consuming meetings. No, Elder Soviona liked to practice her art and discover the mysteries of the runes without wasting time on mundane activities.
She had a few disciples, all girls with exceptional talent in drawing and controlling the runic energies. Yet none of them seemed to be capable enough to achieve her level. Not being able to find a person who could inherit her legacy was the only regret of her life and one of the few reasons she continued to live even after two hundred years.
Azar wasn't there to became her disciple however, his talent in drawing was only average and his understanding of the runic art was even lower. He went there because he wanted a runic tattoo, another source of power that could increase his strength.
He had the opportunity to learn a blueprint of such tattoo from the [Cosmic Library], and even though he didn't gave much importance to it back then, after a discussion with Elder Soviona, he got some useful insights. It was a power worth using.
After talking with the old lady a few times, Azar realized the importance and power of runes. There were not many Runic Grand Masters in the current era, and this fact made Azar allocate more attention and resources to the old lady and her work.
"Elder Soviona, have you managed to grasp the concepts of the drawing?" Azar asked. Last time he came to her, Azar passed the drawing of the complex tattoo via mind connection.
Because it was of a high level that even Elder Soviona never met before, she needed time to familiarize herself with it. If she managed to understand the tattoo secrets and become proficient in drawing it, Azar could get it done today, if not, then he needed to wait a little longer.
The old lady smiled, her bones exuding an ancient pride. "What you've given me was something that I only dreamed of seeing in my lifetime. The complexity of the pattern and the fine control required for the completion of the tattoo is extremely demanding. Also, you may not know, but every person has an individual capacity for sustaining runic energy. Some can only support a few small runes on their bodies, while some can control up to dozens. The tattoo you want contains 57 runes, some of them unknown even to me. They are connected together through an old method and fine precision. I must admit that I found that method useless in the past, because I never understood its real use."
Elder Soviona made a short pause to raise Azar's tension and let him boil a little longer. His expression didn't change whatsoever and his peaceful aura was void of any threads of excitement.
'You are not an amusing person,' Shoviona thought in her mind, a little displeased by the attitude of her junior.
"Even after dozens of tries, I must say that I alone am unable to draw and control the pattern at the same time. But no worries, I managed to succeed when I worked with a disciple of mine. I can have her here, if you are willing to wait, and we can start right away," said the old lady before moving to prepare some tea.
"Thank you Elder Soviona, please do sent for your disciple." Azar gave his approval and sat on one of the chairs, waiting silently.
After pouring the tea, the old lady went behind the house, in her small backyard, and sent a beautiful, black raven, to carry her message. And after about a dozen minutes passed, someone knocked on the thick door.
"Get ready, we will start immediately!" Said Soviona heading for the door. Azar didn't wait any longer and entered the room where the art happened. It seemed that Elder Soviona kept the formalities just for facade as the more time he spent with her, the more she started to act like they new each other for decades.
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'A lovely grandma she is,' Azar thought while taking off his clothes. When the old lady and her disciple, a slender girl with gorgeous, tanned skin, and brown eyes,q entered the room, his upper body was completely naked. The girl made a short bow as a salute and remained quiet while Azar returned her greeting.
"This in Maira, my most outstanding disciple, but don't you have any thoughts about her! She hasn't finished her training and dosen't have spare time to waste on you," Soviona said loudly. Even though she went in the other part of the room to arrange her utensils, she seemed aware of Azar's gaze.
". . . have you heard me?" she asked again when no one responded to her previous warning.
Ahamed by her master's words, Maira went to prepare her stuff in a hurry. But not without forgetting to give one last gaze to the man behind. Azar saw her gesture and smiled playfully. He was always open for playing if the opportunity appeared.
"Yes, Elder Soviona, we heard you," Azar responded for both of them. Then, he climbed the chair in the middle of the room, letting his well trained back exposed as the canvas for the future art taking place on his skin. The old lady approached and washed him with a piece of cloth imbued in strong alcohool.
"Elder Soviona, how much time is needed for this particular disciple of yours to finish her training?" Teased Azar, not taking his eyes off the young lady.
Hearing his question, Maira froze in place, her back sending her alarming signals as it was under the burning gaze of a certain someone. Her cute reactions were rapidly perceived by Azar senses, making him want to continue with his approach. Unfortunately for him, his little game was observed by Elder Soviana, who pinched his skin between her fingers.
The sudden pain made Azar almost jump off the chair. "Ahhh! Elder Soviona, are you trying to take my skin as a souvenir?" he asked trying to massage the painful spot. Bad luck for him as it was in an area he didn't have access to.
"Quit flirting and let my girl focus on the job. Otherwise, you don't blame me if she looses focus and we fail in constructing the tattoo," Soviona admonished in a hard tone.
Azar smiled at her and resumed a serious and compliant attitude. He didn't say another word without being asked. The completion of his tattoo was his goal after all.
The drawing process lasted from morning to evening. With just a few short breaks since the runic energy dissipated if the connections between the runes were incomplete. The two women needed to alternate between each other and continuously circulate the runic energy, job that wasn't required for single rune or simple tattoos. Azar spent his sitting time training and reading from a herbal book, so for him, the day passed by without even realizing.
When the final connection between the runes was finished, Azar felt his back burning so hard that his spirit almost went out of his body.
"God, what is this pain?" he yelled as loud as he could. The burning sensation was too sudden and too intense, even with his level of pain tolerance.
"The tattoo is merging with your body," Mairasaid, amazed by the strong integration process.
"It's understandable for the amount of runic power contained inside," Soviona added, paying attention to every detail of the process.
"Gaaah!" Azar screamed. He wasn't fascinated by what happened to him, only wished for it to end faster. The feeling of his flesh being burned while he was still alive wasn't what he expected to endure.
"Bring some water, hurry!" Soviona ordered before activating her energy in hopes to control the merging process and ease Azar's pain.
Azar's blood boiled. His veins and muscles getting red and pumped from the pressure. The sclera of his eyes got painted in red as the blood vessels burst inside.
Soviona managed to connect with the runic energy on the surface, but the violent power coiling inside attacked her. Instantly breaking the connection, the old lady staggered back, holding her chest with both hands and breathing hysterically.
Maira returned with a bucket of cold water, frightened by what she saw, and lost as she couldn't figure out what the water was for, she stood like a statue.
"Water . . . him," Soviona pointed to Azar. He didn't scream any longer, but looked at the ceiling. His mouth open as he grasped for air.
The cold water splashed on his back, turning into steam almost immediately. Azar looked like he didn't feel a thing, his body starting to radiate a hot air.
He bent his head forward, murmuring a single thing, "Aves!"
At the call of the name, his self created fire ignited inside him. The heat transmitted around forcing the two ladies to retreat even further. The fiery energy came out of Azar's body in waves as sweat fell down from Soviona's face.
After remaining still for a few more minutes, Azar got up and tightened his back, activating the runic tattoo.
Four illusory snakes, bearing the runic pattern of the tattoo, emerged from his back. Two on both sides of his shoulder blades, and two right above his hips. The majestic creatures were thicker then a human's head and revolved around Azar, looking for their pray.
Azar swallowed dry as his saliva was gone. He now understood how the ability of the tattoo actually worked. In the description of the tattoo's blueprint was stipulated that it had the ability to eat and store the energy of other living creatures, but until this moment, Azar was unaware of how it actually functioned.
Soviona and her disciple looked at the twisting serpents with wide eyes. It was difficult to express the pressure and feelings that appeared inside them even though they had seen runic tattoos before. They felt hypnotized to remain motionless. The minds still working and analyzing the movement around them, but the bodies - unresponsive to the nervous stimulus.
Without waiting for too long, Azar took a deep breath and recalled the serpents who entered his back and almost pictured themselves on his skin. Immediately after, the tattoo faded away and only the clear skin remained visible.
Azar breathed heavily as he grabbed his shirt and coat. Then, facing the still unmoving ladies, he said with a rugged voice, "Thank you! I'll settle the debt another day, now I'm going to pass out somewhere." And stepped forward, disappearing from the room.
. . .
"Mmmm," Azar let out a breath as the cold air of the night caressed his body. The heat emitted from his fire didn't disappear, but his self control did, little by little.
[ ACKNOWLEDGD! Self created fire
An individual can create and store inside him only one fire.
To create a fire, one needs to give it; a source of power (that will forever impact its capabilities), a purpose, and a name.
Through the technique required for the birth of the fire seed, all the things above needs to be in harmony and consciously merged together. Then, the newly created fire seed needs to be nurtured with the same energy that powers its core until it reaches maturity. That source of power is the energy of a feeling or emotion.
Even the flames born by nature, from an element, have a personality and emotion that serves as their core after they matured.
The emotion or feeling used as a source of power for self created flames needs to be carefully chosen as the living flame has the inborn ability to boost that energy and be triggered by it. That means that if the flame is born from anger, she will increase, strengthen, and grow together with this emotion.
The power of the emotion/feeling being in close relation with the power of the flame is a proven fact as the flames not only amplify them, but evolve together with them. A point worth mentioning is that the emotions/feelings have the most powerful energies in the world.
Between the ranking of feelings and emotions, the upper level is occupied by love, anger, desire, gratefulness, hate, greed and inner peace. Every person can create and control her own fire, but very few know the technique for doing it and are willing to spent so much time and effort.
There are no identical flames in the world, each having unique traits and personalities. ]