Kaleb sat on one of the cushions in Master Beris’s tent with his eyes closed. Before the mage imparted a rune on him, in a process he still didn’t understand, he had to go into his web of power and come back with a description for everything that related to his node.

He focused inward, where the meaning of Awakened was imprinted on his very being. He’d wondered before how that was, but perhaps it was also related to this ‘Ovurch’ the mage had spoken of. As soon as he tried to pierce that meaning, he was inside his web again, naked like last time. Not much had changed besides the two branches that now spread from his chosen node to connect to two others. A third branch existed, but it connected to a blocked node that was blurred and shadowed.

Kaleb scrutinized the original node that’d given him the book and prepared as detailed of a description as possible. He then moved on to the two nodes it branched into. One was simply a white sheet with no details to speak of, and the other was the image of a glowing hand, which Kaleb imagined belonged to the man from the original node, reaching through some sort of hole or portal and pulling out a purple anchor. After he’d memorized them exactly as they were, he forced himself out of his web.

He opened his eyes and found his two companions waiting in anticipation. So Kaleb passed on the knowledge that had been requested.

“You’re not deceiving me, are you, young man?” Master Beric asked severely.

“No,” Kaleb said. “I swear that’s exactly what I saw.”

“Very well, I will accept this knowledge in what I hope is the honest spirit it was given,” the mage said. “Because if you are deceiving me, there will be consequences.”

Kaleb pressed his lips. He didn’t know whether the man had trust issues or was simply justified in being suspicious since there was no evidence to be shown for what he’d told him. “I promise you. It is the truth,” Kaleb assured. “What’s next?”

“Next, I imprint the rune upon your mind,” Master Beric said, sighing. “I have not attempted this for years.”

Kaleb suddenly felt hesitant about the whole affair. He wondered loudly if this could damage his brain or somehow hurt him mentally.

“No,” Master Beric told him. “At worst, you get the worst headache in your life and learn nothing. The difficulty of this wholly lies on my shoulders. You simply have to persevere.”

“Persevere?”

…

Kaleb had to persevere like a masochist. Turns out, Master Beric had overestimated the worst headache he’d suffered in the past; because he was having the worst one ever right now. His eyes were closed, and the mage was standing over him, a hand on his head. Kaleb felt a stream of something crashing against his mind like a river attempting to carve a way through rock. When Kaleb had asked how long it would take for this first imprint, he’d been answered with ‘a while’. He was not feeling very amused now.

The pain reminded him of the worst he’d gotten at a dentist’s. It was drilling into the closest parts of his brain, and it was so solid and sharp that one could not ignore it. They’d been at it for maybe a quarter of an hour when he first began to perceive something. It was something he could hardly understand, and his brain was working overtime to decipher it. At first, Kaleb perceived it as an indiscriminate shine, then that shine had begun to take shape; and as time passed, perhaps an hour, the shape began to become more and more defined. It was really a rune, in that it looked mystic enough, but it was much more complex than he’d imagined a ‘rune’ to be. Twists and turns in it interlaced, wormed, and extended themselves through the fabric of reality and into an oblivion of chaos which pushed his mind into overdrive whenever he tried to reach into it. He imagined that that was the Ovurch. He also understood why it could take from months to years to internalize one rune. For every inch he tried to follow the rune into the Ovurch, a price of pain, time, and effort was paid by his mind.

When he started sweating and groaning painfully, Master Beric yelled at him, “Now! Summon the book.”

Kaleb did, letting go of the mental construct in his mind, but before it could fade, as he’d been told it would, it was pulled wholly away…somewhere.

Kaleb opened his eyes, and in front of him, his book was open, a rune identical to the one that had been in his mind was imprinted on its pages in what he could only describe as living ink. It was moving and writhing, and following it with the eyes was impossible. It reached into the Ovurch but whenever he tried to perceive that extension, his eyes would slip around the ink as if he’d been reaching for something underwater only to find that it looked closer than it was.

“Well?” Master Beris nearly growled.

“It’s there,” Kaleb whispered.

“What’s there?” Master Beris moved from one foot to the other. Kaleb thought he would have paced around had he not been so fixated on him. “The rune is there? Are you certain?”

“Yes,” Kaleb said, nodding. “It’s the same. I just know it somehow, even though I didn’t internalize it. I know this is the one.”

Master Beris stood speechless for a while. “Unbelievable,” he said. “This is…I’d thought–” he paused. “Focus on it, Kaleb. Attempt to invoke it.”

“How?”

“Just focus and demand it,” Master Beris said, exasperated.

Kaleb gave all his attention to the rune in the book. He tried to push or pull at it mentally, and the latter had more of a response. He felt that he could pull at something from somewhere, and when he did, he felt something pulled out of him in turn, almost doubling over and vomiting. A wave of air expanded from his body then there was nothing.

Master Beris began laughing maniacally. “Of course,” he said. He turned to Yez who’d been silent all along. “Of course, when you bring me a human, it’s the most ridiculous one there could be. Fortune doesn’t favor the brave after all.” He turned to Kaleb. “It favors the ignorant, as if mocking us all.”

The mage sighed. Then began to pace around to calm himself, Kaleb suspected. Yez had still not spoken but he was giving Kaleb a look.

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I bet that’s the ‘you lucky bastard’ look around here, Kaleb thought.

But Kaleb hadn’t been lucky. He’d paid the price, and others had paid it with him. For only one of them to come out of that mountain alive and awakened, if he’d been given something less, he’d curse this damn world more than he already did every day.

Eventually, Master Beris calmed down and took a seat opposite Kaleb. “Now, tell me everything.”

Kaleb did. The rune was still incomprehensible to him, but even more so in the book than when Master Beris was imprinting it on his mind. The rune also occupied the page front and back, and Kaleb realized that he was only looking at one part of it whenever he was looking at one side of the sheet.

The book had three pages, so it stood to reason that it could only carry three runes, not that he knew the difference. He was still trying to put together how the runes affected the world.

After he’d described everything to Master Beris’s satisfaction, who seemed vindicated when reminded that Kaleb only had three pages, the mage declared their agreement fulfilled.

Yez cleared his throat. “So he has a cantrip in his arsenal now?” he asked Master Beris.

The mage guffawed. “You know me better than that, Yezdriel. No, the rune I gave him is one of undirected force. It’s useless alone.”

Kaleb scowled. It still caught him by surprise, even if the mage hadn’t promised him anything past helping him explore the limits of his power; and as he thought about the fact that he’d succeeded in that objective, he relaxed. There was nothing to be annoyed about. It was only fair for the clayton to protect his knowledge as all others did.

“I imagine now that the blank white node you have told me about would add a page to your book,” Master Beris said as he scratched his chin.

Kaleb nodded. “What about the other one and the blocked one?”

“The other one, I don’t know.” Master Beris gave him a look. “But I’d certainly wish to, if the opportunity arises.” He stood up and walked to his table, picking up a book and raising it for him to see. “As for the blocked node. That would likely be unlocked and influenced by your initial constellation, however you choose to form it. The Constellations by Cladius Tolem.” He shook the book slightly. “It’s a jumbled mess, but it serves its purpose. The man was a genius.”

Kaleb had read something about a constellation not being present in him when he’d first arrived in this world, but he still didn’t exactly understand what it was. He glanced at Yez, and the latter registered it.

“When you accumulate seven stars,” he pointed at Kaleb’s forearm, “you will gain your first constellation. You can shape it as you see fit.”

Kaleb nodded as if he understood. He didn’t.

Yez turned to Master Beris. “What would it take to give Kaleb proper spells? The book is the only thing he has from his awakening, otherwise he’s a simple mortal.”

“Hah.” Master Beris smirked. “True.” He paced around some more. “Giving him two more runes after I inadvertently handed him the first, well…”

“I imagine it will be costly?” Kaleb said unamused; because he saw that he was being led on. The man was willing to give away some of his secrets for something, and Kaleb wasn’t sure what.

Master Beris nodded, grinning again. “Are you willing to hear the conditions?”

Kaleb nodded back.

“First, you will take part in this campaign as part of the company. As an apprentice caster, your remuneration will be generous; however, that remuneration will go to me.” He paused to look at Kaleb who was already feeling conflicted. The mage continued after a moment, “second, you will assist me in my work as I see fit during that period.”

Kaleb twisted his lips in distaste. So free labor and… free labor.

“I’m not done just yet.” Master Beris chuckled. “Third, you must unlock the unknown node, the one with the glowing hand reaching into a portal and pulling an anchor, as you have described it. You will give me an extensive description of what it does when you do. You will also keep me apprised of any new knowledge pertaining to your book.” He paused for effect. “What say you?” he said in an even tone.

Kaleb looked between the quill and the clayton and shook his head apologetically. “I’m afraid I can’t take that risk–”

“Kaleb, my friend,” Yez interjected. “This is a rare opportunity that you might never find again. Most mages wouldn’t give out their runes so easily. In fact, some of them might become so incensed and envious of your ability that they’d withhold their knowledge even if offered a proper price.”

“Listen to your friend,” Master Beris said, keeping his voice even, though a bit of gravity did leak into it. “I’m being very generous. You could even ask that half-grown apprentice in the next tent.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take the risk,” Kaleb said, directing his apology at Yez. “I have a sister, and she has no one but me and my mother, who we are still looking for.”

“Your mother is lost?” Yez seemed perplexed. “Was she abducted by slavers?”

“No, we lost her going through the portal,” Kaleb said. He’d thought the nearest slavers were in the guild lands. It seemed that he’d have to always look out for the worst if they sometimes made it all the way into the Archony. “It’s common knowledge now that people lost that way come out at another portal than their companions. I intend to look for her soon. ” His talk inclined into a mutter as he started thinking loudly. “Perhaps I’ll take my sister with me and just bear with the consequences.”

“That’s all the more reason you should come with us!” Master Beris exploded.

Kaleb looked at him incredulously.

“Might I assume from how perplexed you look,” Yez interjected, “that you don’t know that the largest Arrival this side of the continent was at a guild city?”

Kaleb slowly swiveled his head towards his friend. “You assume correctly,” he said, his words coming out slow.

Yezdriel put an arm on his shoulder. “This is like a Risen-sent opportunity for you, my friend. And you don’t have to worry about your safety. Casters are kept in the rear during battle, and they’re even assigned an individual protector.”

“Would you protect me?” Kaleb said. He definitely didn’t trust anyone else in this company, especially if they were all as mercenary as Master Beris, if not worse. And it wasn’t exactly bright to expect more from actual mercenaries.

“I’m certain the captain wouldn’t object to that request if it means one more caster joins his company,” Yez said excitedly. “And it would be my pleasure to shield your flank.”

Kaleb sighed. “Forgive me for being pessimistic, it doesn’t come from nothing, but what if we’re utterly beaten? How protected would I really be?”

Master Beris stepped in, “casters are never killed unless there’s no other choice. We’re too valuable at least for the sake of ransom or being pressed into service. A caster only has to care not to kill their enemies so viciously that their brothers-in-arms would be willing to risk severe punishment for revenge, and also to avoid killing those of high status on the field lest you garner the wrath of someone who might later hold your life in their hands.”

“Kaleb,” Yez said. “We are not old friends. Yet, I tell you honestly that I will be rewarded with coin for finding you. I also tell you honestly that regardless of that, this is an excellent venture for you, one much wiser than your previous, less successful one.” He said the last part as softly and apologetically as Kaleb believed he could, yet it still made him cringe painfully at the memory.

“Again,” Master Beris said, impatiently this time. “What. Say. You?”

Kaleb lowered his head, thinking. All roads lead to Rome. Big lie, he doubted he’d ever see Rome if he didn’t take this one. He looked at Master Beris. “I will have to talk to my sister first,” Kaleb said. “But I accept.” He paused, agonizing over something they probably couldn’t understand. “Will I be paid nothing at all?” he asked, a plea in his question.

Yez looked at Master Beris beseechingly. The latter sighed. “I’ll let you have what a regular in the company would normally receive. The rest? Rightfully mine.”

Yez turned back to Kaleb and gave him a wide grin, spreading his hands. “Good?”

“Good,” Kaleb said, his voice firm.