Chapter 12 : To see with a fresh eye

Nikolaï woke up on the floor, confused and dressed up. Reflexively he massaged his eyes as the dream vision of a huge column of light was fading away from his mind. It took him several seconds to bypass the confusion but eventually did it. The formation of his First Ether Rune came back to him and explained why he was on the floor.

It was very common, if not systematic, that people passed out when they formed an Ether Rune. Nikolaï was no exception and he stood up before trying to ease his back pain. While moving his body Nikolaï focused on his Ether. A smile formed on his face, he was close to the level he was before the experiment.

Nikolaï joined his hands and cast Spectral Hand to bring the basin of water he had prepared the day before. He didn’t use the spell because he was lazy but to test it. The spell was the same but its cost had been reduced by the fact that Nikolaï had risen to an Aspirant of the 1st Circle. Forming an Ether Rune didn’t just enhance the quantity of ether his body could hold but also its density. That’s why each time an Arcanist formed a Rune his spell became cheaper in ether consumption.

This fact was the true gap of power between each Arcanist level. Right now Nikolaï had almost as much energy as he had the day before but the fact that he had formed his rune allowed him to cast around 1.5 times more spells than before.

Nikolaï focused on his Ether Rune, the circle had collapsed hours ago but the design was here, imprinted inside his chest on the vessel that contains his ether. Sensing it clearly would require a deep state of meditation but Nikolaï could at least feel its presence.

Nikolaï washed his face in the basin to wake him up and waited for the water to calm down. He was trying to look at his forehead but was too impatient. He joined his hands again but this time cast Moist Mirror before holding it in front of him.

The Sigil had changed. In a way, evolved. Nikolaï could still recognize the old pattern but it had become more complex. Excitation filled Nikolaï’s mind and he memorized the new pattern carefully. Once down he stopped his casting of the mirror and visualized the new Sigil.

By doing so he could feel the link he had engraved in his Ether. It didn’t have to visualize the Sigil from memory he just had to follow the connection to activate his Third Eye. The sensation was a bit alien but it was as difficult as turning a door handle.

At first, his Third Eye didn’t seem very different but Nikolaï carefully watched the atmospheric elementium around him and he also turned his sight on himself. After observation, he concluded that the Third Eye had become more precise, especially in its active state. The most noticeable change was the fact that, with a bit of focus, he could better perceive the hue of elementiums, making it easier to distinguish one from the other.

Nikolaï didn’t know which hue corresponded to which type of elementium but he hoped to develop a sense of it with experience. Right now just being able to separate them could be very useful.

While looking at the reflection of the Sigil on his forehead Nikolaï wondered if it had become more complex or if the enhancement of his gift revealed more details of the mark ?

Anyway, Nikolaï had woken up very early but after having assessed his state and changed clothes, the time for breakfast was here. Nikolaï went to the dining hall and took care of his hunger with satisfaction. Things were going well and he couldn’t stop himself from being excited and a little hopeful about the future. A little only, the recent meeting with Arcanist Julius had reminded him that he was living with a threat above his head and he couldn’t let his guard down.

Nikolaï had to be careful, he had the chance to become a true Arcanist but until he was, he had to do his best to not draw attention.

He finished his meal, went back to his room and walked straight to his chest. He rummaged inside, looking for a book that he had copied a long time ago, before the experience. He quickly found it, the cover didn’t look much but it was in good condition. It was a spellbook containing a level 2 spell that Nikolaï wanted to master since he knew it existed.

He brushed the front cover, struggling to dig in but it was still too soon. He needed to wait for his Ether Rune to solidify first.

When an Arcanist formed an Ether Rune he created a new foundation above the old one and until he grew his ether reserve to around half of his new maximum his Rune was considered unstable. Only in an extreme situation, this instability could be a problem but Nikolaï didn’t want to test destiny by trying a spell out of his reach. When an Arcanist finally gathers enough ether his Ether Rune “solidified”, becoming fully part of him.

If Nikolaï had chosen the growth sub-rune the Ether Rune would have solidified in a day, it was one of the perks of the sub-rune, but Nikolaï stood by his choice and put the book back to his chest.

What he needed to focus on first was finding a way to make money.

***

The next day, Nikolaï sold his copies of the spellbooks Spectral Hand and Impalpable Wall. It was not just the fact that he knew the books perfectly but mostly because the instructions were of no use to him anymore, now that he had the Third Eye. He had checked his theory only 4 times but he was persuaded that he was capable of learning any basic spell from level 0 and 1 as long as he had the Sigil and he knew the property of the spell. Both were simply available in Grimoire.

His sale earned him 13 gold pounds and he used part of it to rent books about Forgerunes and copy them in the safety of his room. Using Spectral Hand to do so eased a lot of the process and Nikolaï was more than happy to avoid hand cramps when copying that much material.

Using the spell for short notes would be a waste but when the purpose was to copy long texts for hours it was a very good fit to use the spell again and again. Nikolaï even experimented with Runic Alteration to make the hand invocation time longer by reducing his strength and other properties.

Nikolaï had also started a more rigorous practice in mastering his spells. He was dreaming of having dozens of them, yes, but he wanted to master them. To do that he was following a simple philosophy.

To pretend to know a spell you need to have cast it at least 10 times.

To pretend to use a spell you need to have cast it at least 100 times.

To pretend to master a spell you need to have cast it at least 1000 times.

Right now Nikolaï didn’t have enough energy to cast a spell 1000 times but if he trained regularly he was confident in doing it 100 times. He decided to focus on his level 0 spell for starter and to do 20 casts a day. Also, he didn’t just cast the spell but added the Sigil of Runic Alteration inside of them. It was his way to practice with more complex Sigil without wasting energy and improving his understanding of Sigil structure.

Without counting Runic Alteration, Nikolaï knew 3 level 0 spells : Spectral Hand, Palm Flame and Moist Mirror. He learned a fourth one : Simple Identification. The spell belonged to the Mystical Arcane because its purpose was to create a reaction with ether but its use was linked to Mechanical Arcane. Simple Identification allowed the caster to display the Sigil engraved into a talisman. There were higher versions of the spell but this one was powerful enough for basic talismans like the torch used in the tower or Nikolaï’s anti-headache stone.

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Each day Nikolaï practised his 4 level 0 spells 5 times each while using the rest of the day to study Forgerune theory.

***

It was 10 days since Nikolaï had started his practice. During the last three, he had to reduce the number of casts to practice Dissipation. He was confident enough to be able to use the level 1 spell in the calm of his room.

For now, he had prepared his first Forgerune experience and had 3 tries to practice what he had worked on the last few days. In front of him, disposed on his desk, were 3 small saucers made of wood. They were the size of Nikolaï’s palm and he had bought a few like those earlier in the week.

Next to his desk was a small pot with an oil lamp under it. Nikolaï had dusted it from his time as a wannabe alchemist. Inside the pot were pieces of wax, the one that Nikolaï had created from the mongoose fat. The lamp under it was just hot enough to melt the wax to a gooey past and Nikolaï was stirring it.

Eventually, the consistency of the wax reached Nikolaï’s liking. With the help of the wooden spoon he was using to stir, he filled the first saucer with semi-liquid wax. He was holding it in his right hand and moving it to make the liquid spread equally and form a smooth surface.

Nikolaï put the saucer back on the desk, and blow gently on it while taking the Forgreune press on his left. He had already prepared the right stamp and was waiting for the wax to cool down a bit. According to his reading, the perfect moment to engrave the attached glyph was just before the wax became solid again.

Nikolaï waited for the moment and finally used the press. It was not perfect, the mark was precise but he had waited too long and few cracks had appeared on the wax surface. Nikolaï didn’t give up on that and he put his hand around the saucer. His fingers were connected, forming a circle.

For an outsider's eye, the process of Forgerune didn’t look much. First, a physical glyph had to be put on the object. Most of the time it was engraved when it was done on wood or metal but when using wax as an intermedium it could be done with a stamp. This mark was called an Attached Glyph and its shapes were depending on the kind of spell it was going to be used on the object.

There were dozens and dozens of general Attached Glyphs but an Expert Forgerune often designed his own glyph to improve the durability of his work. Nikolaï had chosen a basic one, very common and a must-know for a beginner.

In a second step, the Forgerune needed to form the Sigil with ether, a bit like he would do if he was going to cast a spell except that rather than activating it, he was attaching it to the object via the glyph. This was the delicate part, the one that escaped the eye of an outsider observer. If the glyph and the sigil were compatible it still required a lot of focus and mental work to be able to fuse them.

For his first try, Nikolaï had decided to use a spell that he had become familiar with : Palm Flame. Its Sigil appeared between his hands, above the saucer and Nikolaï started to draw strings of ether between the sigil and the glyph.

The work was mentally demanding but Nikolaï had a joker on his side : his Third Eye and it was more valuable than ever. Without having to use it to his full power Nikolaï could see the string of ether that he was creating one by one. Until the process was finished the fusion could collapse and the more time it took the more the risk was rising. It was the reason why beginner had so much trouble creating talismans, their tries failed without them understanding how.

Nikolaï wasn’t free of failure but he could see if some of his strings were breaking and he could notice the unbalance when the attachments were not well distributed. For a beginner, the collapse of the attachments was not a question of how but when. Due to that they often tried to work as fast as possible to finish before the wackiness of their work crumble. It impacted the final quality but at least they had a final product.

Nikolaï didn’t have to rush, he could be thorough and did his best without the fear of the clock ticking.

Fifteen minutes later Nikolaï had finished. He moved his hands away and the Sigil faded out. He drank a bit of water while watching the saucer with his Third Eye. He could see the glow of the object but wasn’t very satisfied.

Before doing his first try Nikolaï had spent hours observing talismans. Simple Identification could display the Sigil of a talisman but with the Third Eye assist, there was much more to see. The displayed Sigil was clearer but most importantly Nikolaï could have a glimpse of how it was attached to the glyph. Having a way to illustrate what he had read about was always enlightening but for a Forgerune he could be game-changing.

Nikolaï finally took the saucer in his right hand and held it in his palm. He infused ether into the wax slowly to watch the process. The ether was immediately drawn to the glyph and it started to activate. A spark of fire appeared 1 phalanx above the saucer but it quickly died. The surface of the wax wrinkled and Nikolaï watched his first attempt fail in his hand. Part of the energy had leaked through the cracks and damaged the glyph.

He sighed but was not very surprised. He took the time to identify his mistakes before trying again and took some notes about the right time to use the press and how deep the anchor needed to be placed. The anchor was created by the glyph but it was not the glyph, it was complicated…

Nikolaï was ready for his second try. He poured wax into the second saucer with more ease and used the press sooner. The engraving was good and Nikolaï noticed that no crack had been made this time and the surface was smooth.

He focused and did the second part of the work. When finished Nikolaï didn’t test it right away. He wanted to try something with the wax and put the finished product on the side to take the third saucer.

This time he added a powder to the wax while it was still liquid. The powder was some kind of fixing agent that would make the wax less sensitive to heat or choc when it was dried. The agent was a bit too efficient and Nikolaï screwed his timing a bit. He successfully imprinted the Attached Glyph with the press but it was not very deep.

He did the second part anyway and didn’t shy away from doing his best.

Once finished he took his two last tries in his hand and infused ether in both of them. Two small flames appeared above the object, lighting up the place. Nikolaï smiled but watched carefully for every mistake he had made, even the small ones.

The two talismans looked like a smaller version of the spell but were decaying rapidly. Nikolaï hadn’t made them to be reusable but to test his abilities as a Forgerune. The “candles” eventually died when Nikolaï stopped infusing ether in them. Only the last one had handled the heat from the spell and Nikolaï was happy to see that the proportion of powder was enough.

To Nikolaï the experiment was a complete success, none of his designs was good enough but he had learned so much that he felt ready to go further. Excited, he went to the library to research the next step to make real talismans : handling “interruption” and “self-powering”.

***

Still worried about drawing attention to him, Nikolaï had borrowed a new book about Forgerune for two days. Because he had been short of tokens he had to buy some from the “grey market” to pay for the rent. It had cost him 1 gold pound and 15 silver ones. The reason it borrowed it wasn’t because of the book itself but his method of copying.

Some Aspirants were making money by copying books for other people. Sometimes they took orders and sometimes they just chose popular ones so it wasn’t necessarily strange to see common Aspirant borrowing advanced books.

Nikolaï had improved his copy by Spectral Hand and the level of control he had on it could be suspicious if he exposed it too much. The hand didn’t need rest but more importantly was constant in his handwriting, which by the way was the same one as Nikolaï.

From his practice, Nikolaï had also learned how to recharge the spell by injecting ether into the sigil on its back. It was thanks to the Runic Alteration meddled in the Sigil that he had mastered this little trick. The point was that he didn’t need to recast the spell entirely to keep copying without interruption. It was especially beneficial because once Nikolaï cast the hand he was using the Runic Alteration to tweak his properties to befitting its purpose as a copyist. Without the need to recast every time he could keep the modifications.

In addition to his book about Forgerune Nikolaï had also copied a Grimoire that he had borrowed for tokens which had cost him 1 gold pound. It was filled with level 0 basic spells and even if Nikolaï didn’t intend to learn all of them he had copied its content without screening each one.

During the 4 next days, Nikolaï spent a lot of time cleaning his copies of his Forgerune books. The texts had been well transcribed but he took the time to redraw each diagram or glyph contained in them. It was one of his ways of absorbing the theories and concepts of the subject.

For his next attempt in Forgerune, Nikolaï wanted to create a self-powering talisman. Something that could consume the elementium around it to produce its effect rather than needing an Arcanist supplying him with ether. Once Nikolaï had wrapped his head around the process it didn’t seem out of his range and was excited to try.

Before that, he also needed to learn the “interruption”. His first experiences didn’t have a stop function, they just worked because Nikolaï put ether into them. In a way, it was why they were made to be disposable. Depending on the way Nikolaï attached the sigil and how the anchor worked he could create a talisman that could be activated and deactivated.

In the middle of his studies, Nikolaï had continue to practice his spells and even learned a new one from his Grimoire : Minor Elevation. It was a level 0 spell from the Sky Arcane which could make a small and light object float like a feather. Nikolaï had tried on different shapes of objects that he made hovered above his palm.

The use of the spell was very limited but Nikolaï had another spell from the Sky Arcane in mind and the best way to aboard a new Arcane was to start by its basic.