After an hour or so of deliberation, I still couldn’t select a rune. The runes compatible with my desired path were few, and even fewer were worth carving into my flesh. So far I had narrowed my choices to two runes: Atu and Hakqui. Atu, the rune of mass, held potential in spatial arts, while Hakqui, the rune of strength, promised immediate gains in raw power but offered little room for future growth. Neither were perfect, but perfection was a luxury I could no longer afford.
A dry chuckle escaped my lips. "More is lost from indecision than a bad decision"
The air in the cavern felt suffocating, a reflection of my growing frustration. Finally, I tightened my grip on the tusk, its cool surface grounding me.
"Okay, let's go with this one." I selected Atu, as it was that would be more comforatable for me to use given my understanding of spatial magic.
With that settled, it was now time to determine the oath and equivalent exchange I would make with the aether. The aether was not a sentient being, it was the set of laws that governed this world, so if my oath and collateral did not match and runes are the method to establish a connection to the aether, just as mana was. The main difference was that runes had strict limitations and this applied foall tiers of runes. Low tier runes were one word runes, mid tier were two word runes and high tier were three word runes. Each rune could only produce one type of magic. So for mid to high tier runes to ignite you needed each rune to be compatible with one another to create a single rune chain. The max amount of finished runes a body could hold was three, regardless of which tier, since only three different types of magics could be ignited. As for the reason, only the Aether would know.
Dipping the tusk into the bubbling blood, I started carving out the rune on the left side of my chest near my heart. The moment the tusk broke my skin, a sharp pain shot through me, forcing my breath to hitch. The initial carving was always the hardest, but I pressed on, each stroke etching Atu into my flesh. Blood flowed freely, pooling around the grooves of the rune as I worked.
"Arnnnghhh," I grunted as I clenched my teeth. Sweat dripped from my brow, stinging my eyes, but I couldn’t stop. The pain was sharp but manageable, it was nothing compared to what I endured casting Greater Teleportation. Slowly, my body began to adjust, and the pain dulled into a distant throb.
After a few minutes I finished the carving. I poured the remaining blood into the carving to begin the igniting process. The crimson liquid hissed as it made contact with my skin, the mana started making the rune connect to the aether. My pulse quickened as I began to create my oath.
"Hear me, aether. By the laws of this world, I seek an equivalent exchange." Green light surrounded me, illuminating my surroundings in a ghostly hue. "I wish to ignite the rune Atu, so that it can grant me the ability to control the gravity around me, allowing my body to become as heavy as a mountain and weightless like the clouds in the sky. In exchange, I make this oath, I will restore balance to the world by destroying the races in the Alliance of Newfen. As for the collateral, I offer my heart. Should I break my oath, may you take my life."
The green light flared brighter, rushing into the rune. My flesh began to burn as the rune solidified. I felt an intense pain throughout my chest; it felt like my heart was about to explode. I grit my teeth and cleared my mind; this level of pain is nothing compared to what I would do to the alliance.
Then, the pain subsided, and the light dissipated. I leaned against the cavern wall, gasping for breath. A wave of exhaustion washed over me. My eyes closed as my consciousness drifted off into a deep sleep.
The following morning, I emerged from the stone tipi, the first rays of sunlight piercing through the dense foliage above. I stretched out my body and let the sunlight warm me up. Tracing the rune with my finger, I let out a deep sigh of relief. This orc body that had felt foreign to me now finally felt like my own.
Feeling good about myself, I decided to look for some food. Instead of heading deeper into the forest, I headed back toward the clearing where the fight took place. When I arrived at the location, it appeared that other beasts had come and eaten the corpses. As I scanned the perimeter, I noticed rustling in the bushes on the other side of the clearing. Testing out my new powers, I channeled the mana in my rune and made myself weightless. I shakingly sprinted across the clearing and, before whatever was behind the bush could escape, I made my fist as heavy as a mountain and using my prior momentum I swung forward. Crack. I connected a direct hit, shattering a gale rabbit’s skull. My heart raced, and a large smile spread across my face. My body finally had mana coursing through it. It may not be fully adjusted to it yet, but the rune was performing far better than I had expected. Grabbing the rabbit, I decided to walk back toward my tipi, as there was a small clearing that would be perfect to practice and refine my new abilities.
When I arrived at the location, I inspected my surroundings for any threats. With no danger around, I began to activate my rune. Mana started to flow in my body as I made myself as heavy as possible. Moving around was difficult; it seems the aether granted me capabilities similar to a mid-tier rune. Then I switched to making my body light. Moving was also a bit difficult since, when I made myself completely weightless, it felt as if there was no gravity around me, making it hard to control my body without when performing an action. Being weightless felt great since my speed increased and the height I could jump doubled. While being heavy felt as strong as a champion level body enhancement. When charging with full force, I shattered stones and crushed trees with my body.
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After a while of testing, I staggered back, clutching my chest as the rune pulsed faintly. I was at my limit; using the rune for so long drained me. "This is no good. I need to increase my strength more. The way I am right now, an advanced-stage expert could kill me." After testing all my abilities, I realized that I was an intermediate expert. In this world, there were seven stages used to measure all forms of strength that were acknowledged by all.
They were: Mortal, Elite, Expert, Champion, Sovereign, Hero, and then Ascended. These stages are further broken down into beginner, intermediate, advanced, and peak. The Mortal stage is mainly for those who can't control the mana in their body. The Elite stage is for those who can manipulate their mana internally and reinforce their bodies. The Expert stage is when you can use your mana to cast spells, channel mana into weapons, or in general control mana outside your body. The Champion stage is when your mana becomes so saturated that you form a mana heart inside your body, and an aura of mana covers you like a thin layer of armor. The Sovereign level is when you have reached the pinnacle of what the laws of the world allow, and you begin to refine a law from the aether. Reaching the Hero level is when you fully refine the law and the aether grants you control over it. This is why I was able to tear space open and travel a long distance without the aid of a teleportation circle. A hero can connect to only one law but can still use abilities from other laws. When I was a hero, I specialized in Spatial magic and Dark magic, which were part of the law of Space and law of Balance. When you reach full mastery of the law and fulfill certain conditions the aether requires, you become an Ascended. For me to Ascend with the law of Space I had to sever my worldly connection and assimilate my soul with the aether directly. I don’t know much about other Ascended beings since there are not many records of them. According to the records in the Alliance, the only Ascended heroes seen in the last 500 years, were the demon lord and githyanki lord. The previous Ascended heros have all died or gone missing. Although I was an Ascended, I was injured and then chased down before I could fully research and understand my full capabilities.
"Just thinking about that day makes my blood boil!" Clenching my fists, I vented my anger by crushing a nearby boulder.
As the sun climbed higher, I returned to my tipi to recover. Sitting on a flat rock just outside my tipi, I traced the lines of my rune with my fingers. Just touching it gave me a sense of deep satisfaction. "It feels good to have mana back in my life. Even if it’s limited, I feel a little like my old self." As I reminisced about my former life, I started feeling a light stab in my heart. It was as if the aether was telling me to start upholding my oath. A small headache started to form just thinking about my current situation.
"Right now is not the time to dwell on the past; I need to figure out what part of the forest I’m in."
The sound of rustling leaves broke my thoughts. I tensed, my hand instinctively reaching for the tusk still strapped to my side. Several figures emerged from the trees—it was a group of dwarfs. By the pressure they were emitting, they had to be experts. They had one carrying a shield and mace, four archers, a mage, and one dual-wielding hammers. They looked like an assault unit, but what were dwarfs doing so far out here? The closest races from the Alliance bordering the forest were the spirits, elves, and giants; otherwise, it would be the goblins, orcs, ogres, and drows that resided nearby. What was happening in the forest right now that an assault unit would be here?
"Well, look what we have here, another filthy orc," said the dwarf shield bearer.
"HAHAHAHA"
As the group of dwarfs began to laugh, I couldn’t help but smile. It seems even the aether wants to help me fulfill my oath.
"What’s with that filthy smile, orc?" snarled one of the archers.
"Captain, let’s skin this one alive. His red skin would make for a great cape," said one of the archers toward the dual-wielding dwarf.
"He’s right, captain. I’ve never seen a red orc before, plus he has some small horns. If we give him to the mage’s tower, they’d start to favor us dwarfs," one of the archers added excitedly.
"Y’all make a good point, and plus scoring some points with the mage’s tower wouldn’t be so bad. Ready the earth breaker formation!" said the dual-wielding dwarf.
As the dwarfs began to form a circle, I became weightless and dashed toward the mage in the center. My rune’s mana was at its limit, so I had to kill the mage and replenish my mana with its blood.
"Huh?!" "How?" "When did he..." "STOP HIM!"
As I neared the mage, I noticed twin hammers aiming at my head. I made my body as heavy as possible and positioned my arm to block the incoming hammers; even if I had to take some damage, I needed to kill that mage.
"Captain!" screamed the mage.
BAAAM
The hammers connected with my forearm, breaking it and pushing me away from the mage.
"AAAAAAAAH, MY ARM!" yelled frantically the mage.
Adjusting my stance, I smiled at the dual-wielding dwarf and began to eat the mage’s arm I had severed. After this exchange I understood that this dwarf was an expert like me. A perfect opponent to test out my full capabilities.
His face turning red and veins popping out, the dwarf captain stared at his arms. They were vibrating as if he had struck iron walls. He glared at the orc and yelled, "Heal the mage with potions and shut him up. We need to maintain formation!"
After consuming the severed arm, my body healed and my mana replenished a bit. I need to kill a few off to replenish my mana. With that in mind, I lowered myself, channeling my rune, and dashed forward yelling, "LOK'TAR OGAR!"