During the conversation with the very straight to the point Augur and the subsequent talk with Sigmar, Ryke learned two things. He could never use external sources of strength again- and his meditation technique ‘evolved’ so to speak. He wasn’t quite sure what that second part meant until he woke up the next morning and began to meditate.
The circular shape he had been feeling ever since the fight looked like a whirlpool. His vitality circled within, slowly flowing to the bottom where it would be removed of all impurities and then fed back to his Aurelius Flame, which then refined it again into an even purer form. This incredibly pure vitality then coursed through his body in a cycle, strengthening it far beyond what it did previously and would then return to the vortex beneath his Aurelius Flame for another round of cleansing and refinement.
Such a discovery stunned him. Not to mention the realisation that he had refined two senses in his state of fiery combustion; he had overall progressed quite a bit, even if he didn’t know what half of it really did. He was noticing slight tendencies in his vitality now. Each circulation or ‘tide’ would rejuvenate him somewhat. His energy was exceptionally hard to disperse and the amount of vitality he could hold at any one time expanded immensely. To put it simply, it took on some characteristics of water. Would all Vitus Scriptures do something similar? Is it because his evolved? He didn’t really know. Someone should though.
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Gaeldir had returned to the Bastion sometime between when Ryke left and returned. No one quite told the boy where he was or what he was doing, but the Stone Lotus Guard had quickly converted a courtyard into Gaeldir’s forge and residence. When he had learned the man finally showed up, he couldn’t quite hide the excited smile on his face. He hadn’t been able to practice Runesmithing since entering Aenebra, and now that his sense of touch was refined..
Knocking on the door to the courtyard he held his book of runes tight. Relief spread across his expression as the door opened momentarily and he saw the burly instructor behind it. Quickly stepping inside, he ducked under Gaeldir’s arm and entered the room. Everything looked remarkably familiar. The completely empty expression on the older man’s face was no different.
“You survived!”
“As did you.”
The duo stared at each other briefly until Ryke looked away, rubbing the back of his head. He walked over to the table and sat down, slamming the heavy book down on its surface before he looked back at the man expectantly.
“I refined it!”
“What?”
“Touch! And my eyes!”
As if to process such information, Gaeldir took a second to just look at the boy. He finally nodded, stating he’d be back and walked into a side room. When he returned he carried a sack of things that Ryke couldn’t quite make out.
“You’re ready then.”
“Yep!”
The man tossed the materials down with a grunt, revealing a myriad of materials both metal and not. Some were wooden pieces that felt harder than metal, some were liquid and some were a strange crystal. What Ryke didn’t really know was what he was meant to do with these.
“Externalize your vitality and force it into the materials.”
“What?”
“Do it.”
Hesitantly, Ryke looked up at the Runesmith and then back down at the pile. Grabbing what looked least expensive to him, he cycled his vitality and summoned the azure glow to his hands. Closing his eyes, he slowly pushed the energy into the small piece of charred wood he was holding. There was a faint sense of resistance and as time slowly passed his vitality wore it away. He opened his eyes back up to see a thin veil over the wood, his vitality popping it like a needle before gushing into it. He saw his vitality spread across it like veins as it surged through it’s pathways.
Something intrinsic about the material latched onto his vitality. A strange sense of knowledge., as if the wood was sharing its characteristics with him. Not physical ones but instead vital characteristics. Vitality within would become more flexible and durable, whilst also having the potential to take on either a fire or wood affinity- depending on the runes used.
He picked up a piece of frosty blue metal and did the same thing- rigid, sharp, cold. Vitality within it would freeze anything it came into contact with. A yellow piece of metal had an earth affinity, its characteristics were similar to the metal but softer, malleable and resilient. Less likely to break and more likely to bend or be molded out of shape.
Not only that but when he opened his eyes, every material seemed to have a varying amount of points where their pathways intersected, the vitality gathering within and condensing. Some innately had as many as four or five while the lowest was a meagre one. Ryke guessed these intersecting points were the requirement to be considered Runic Materials.
“You really can see them.”
“What?”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“The vertices. Intersection. Each vertex can hold a rune.”
“But if you use several materials..”
“That’s the challenge, merging several materials and connecting the pathways inside.”
Gaeldir spared nothing in his further explanation of Runic Armaments now that Ryke could probably begin learning. Every Runic Armament had a set amount of vertices, though rarely one could increase the amount. Every vertex represented both a rune and the weapon’s potential, dictating how far along the path of a Centurion it could grow along with its wielder. One vertex was the equivalent potential of an Ignitio Realm, two matched the Ardor Realm, three was the Astrum Realm.. All the way up until the peak Devora Realm and the unseen two realms beyond that.
The number of lit runes within the vertices represented the Armaments actual strength. A weapon at the Fifth Exalt matched an Umbra Realm, fit for a Praetorian like Stone Lotus. Ryke himself would use a First Exalt Armament, though he’d need a Second Exalt soon enough.
“You have a significant advantage to Runesmithing because of your eyes. Most would have to expend Vitae to find the vertices within and sometimes never find them at all. The biggest obstacle to higher level Armaments though is material stress. Merging different Runic Materials to successfully form the most vertices whilst still having a strong weapon.”
Gaeldir explained calmly from his book as Ryke poured him a cup of tea, the duo ignoring Keivra’s figure, though it was debatable whether or not they simply didn’t notice the quiet girl. Ryke did his best to absorb the information as his head threatened to explode from the sudden influx of knowledge.
“Does a weapon still benefit from all nine runes in it’s vertices if it’s only a first Exalt?” He questioned, the golden fire burning with a hidden gleam of curiosity. Then he was brought back to the sudden feeling of hot tea scalding his hand. Gaeldir chuckled, took a sip from his cup, and answered the question.
“Yes, but the lit runes are more effective. The Armaments wielder can choose which rune lights when the weapon is Exalted.”
“And.. who discovered all of this? This seems.. Very complex.”
“The foundation and rules were found and set by the Crucible Knight himself. The continued experimentation by the Runesmith Society is what expanded upon said rules. You should be able to join yourself, once you create an Armament.”
“And will I?”
“Yes, in time.”
“What sort of time?”
“If you’re lucky? Months.”
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With his heart full of ambition he left Gaeldir’s Forge with a brand new book and a bag of material samples, assigned to do his best to merge them and find which ones worked together. Until he proved to the Runesmith he could properly handle the variety of Runic Materials needed, he wouldn’t be allowed to forge the real thing. Ryke remained confident however.
Until he met with Sigmar again.
His glaive instructor practically pulled him into the courtyard, one clearly very different than the Lanista’s above ground. The courtyard had multiple side rooms while the middle itself was simply concrete tiling. Armour racks and weapon stands lined the walls with practise dummies littering the inner area. It looked no different than the training ground of a cohort. Yet.. the man wanted to train just him. Alone.
“You saw techniques in the Ludus, yes?”
Ryke nodded meekly.
“Have you wondered why I haven’t taught them to you?”
He shook his head. Then he nodded. Sigmar chuckled.
“A technique is meant to be used with Vitae and often matches characteristics of ones Vitae. Someone with explosive characteristics couldn’t use a technique that focuses on being slow and steady. Doing so would cause dissonance and would potentially harm you. Before you’re absolutely sure of your Vitae’s characteristics, it’s simply dangerous to practice one.”
“Instead, I’ve been teaching you the basics. Staff moves, stances, forms as well as those more specialised with a glaive. I’ve noticed you tend to lean towards momentum and rebound, so I’ve done the same in my teachings. I’ve taught you what’s called a fighting style.
Now that you’ve formed your own foundation and fighting style, and your Scripture evolved… I can properly teach you a Vitus Technique. On one condition-
Never use it until you break through the Ardor Realm.”
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Of course, Sigmar quickly told him why. Vitae was a higher level of Vitality and each drop was worth more than all the energy in an Ignitio Centurion. A technique required externalisation and form- which only Vitae could healthily sustain in combat. Trying to do so with Vitality might work, but it would only work once- and leave you half dead.
The reason Sigmar wanted to teach him was because his Scripture evolved and Ryke reached a Vitality purity that allowed its characteristics to form. It meant he could start practising techniques to find which worked best for him and would give him a head start in comparison to the rest. He wouldn’t be taught enough to properly execute a Vitus Technique, but enough to familiarise himself with using Vitality in combat
A month passed by and Ryke quickly reformed his usual routine from the Ludus, with a few minor changes. Memorizing runes was replaced with merging materials, learning the glaive was replaced with learning Vitality control, and there was an addition of training with Lycus and Ofrir almost every day. It was clear Lycus didn’t quite have the same amount of technique or strength he used to.
Yet Ryke was just happy to see his friend still work hard. If anything, the merchant’s son only found further motivation in his injury. Getting to know Ofrir better was an unseen benefit, though Ryke slowly found himself getting used to the scholarly boy's presence. He was incredibly knowledgeable and somehow knew everything about the Bastion, even some things they weren’t quite told. When the two invited Ryke along to explore the city's streets, he happily obliged.