The Runic Artist

Nate sat with most of the Guildies as Professor Kandel delved into the basics of Embodiment.

“It’s the topic you’ve all been waiting for. What is an Embodiment, what does it do, and how do you get one?” she asked. “Some of you may know a little from your families or mentors. But if that’s the case, you should have done better on your induction tests. So, we’re going to rehash the topic. The first question, what is an Embodiment? It is ultimately, how you connect to the Universe. It is an incredibly personal thing. Some define it as the Concept you most closely represent, but I think that is an oversimplification. I will use Etrua’s Royal Rangers as an example. Every one of their members possesses the Embodiment of Swiftness in some form or another. Every single one. Now, do they all most closely align with the Concept of Swiftness? Doubtful. It’s a forced Embodiment, created through training, achievements and Skills.”

One of the noble’s hands shot up and Professor Kandel waved her down.

“Yes, I know you’re all wanting to know what it does. It’s not a secret. It makes anything movement related faster, multiplying the users Dexterity and Agility. The amount it multiplies depends how closely they managed to align themselves with the Concept of Swiftness. I suppose I will answer the follow-on question that always comes with this example. The reason all Royal Rangers are required to aim for a Swiftness Embodiment is to allow them to escape from more powerful opponents, be they beasts or humanoids. Their job is information gathering. Being able to escape with the information is so important that they adopted training methods to guarantee at least a partial Swiftness Embodiment,” explained Professor Kandel, walking back and forth as she spoke.

Nate smiled as he finally had an explanation for why Jorge was so fast. He had a Swiftness or similar Embodiment that was multiplying his movement speed. He leaned forward in his chair, curious about what would come next. He had to know how to shift his Embodiment. He did not want to be a Wanderer!

“From this, we can surmise two things. One, an Embodiment can be forced and therefore it is not necessarily the Concept that you as an individual most align with. Two, Achievements and Skills are the strongest factors in determining your Embodiment. If they do not lean enough in a particular direction you will end up with a partial Embodiment. The lowest-level is a fragmented Embodiment. This will give the user a broader bonus, but the impact is far reduced. Now, why should you care?” she asked the class, looking out over them.

Nate glanced around, locking eyes with Kiri for a moment before moving on to surveil the rest of the room. Finally, it was a man he didn’t know who answered.

“Because, a Perfect Embodiment is a force multiplier,” answered the short dowdy merchant.

“Precisely!” shouted Professor Kandel. “If you can align your Embodiment with your Classes, made easier by the influence of your Skills on it, and achieve a Perfect result, then you will be able to perform better than your peers in whatever your discipline is! You want to be the best merchant in Etrua? Well, you best learn how to read people or assess the worth of objects brought before you. Probably both. You want to be the greatest Earth Mage ever to grace these halls? Best learn to draw on earth more easily than anyone else, or better, have your Magic Power be so overwhelming that you can bring down city walls!”

“So now we know what an Embodiment is, a summary of your most prominent achievements and your Skills, linked to a conceptual idea. We also know what it does. A force multiplier for your discipline of choice. So, how do we get one? Or more importantly, how do we get the one we want? Because make no mistake, not all Embodiments are created equal. Do you think the Embodiment from a few Uncommon Achievements and Skills will be the equal of an Embodiment from a few Epic Achievements and Skills? The answer is of course, no, it will not. I’ll demonstrate this with a story. A true story. In the Kirshell Mountains there is a Clan whose leader is said to be a rival for our very own King. He has widely made it known what his Embodiment is. It is Preemptive. An unusual one, and not one we have heard of anywhere else. Now, anyone want to guess what it does?”

Nate thought about it for a moment. Preemptive. To act first. Did that mean that so long as this Clan Leader acted first he received some sort of bonuses or multipliers? He raised his hand. After Professor Kandel nodded he answered.

“Multiplies all his Stats when he acts first?” he said, turning it into a question at the end. He wasn’t sure after all.

“Point for you, Nathaniel,” she replied, using his full name. “We do not know the precise duration as he has never shared that information. Nor how much it multiplies his Stats.”

Turning back to the rest of the class she continued, “That should give you an idea of just what you might aim for. Now, all of you will already have started to show signs of your Embodiment. The very fortunate or the very talented may even have their existing Embodiments aligned across your Classes. This is the reason we do not accept anyone over level forty to the University. You need at least the time from climbing the twenty levels to receive your Tertiary Class and Embodiment to have a chance of changing it, if that is what you want. So, how do we go about changing it? You already have your answer. Achievements and Skills. Your Embodiment will align to your strongest Achievements and Skills. If you want to change your Embodiment you need to get out there. Acquire new Skill Synergies and Evolutions, and Achievements. You’ll need to overwhelmingly change your direction if you don’t want to end up with a partial Embodiment, or worse, a fragmented one.”

She looked around the room to make sure everyone understood the serious nature of the discussion.

“Good. Alright, notepads out. I’ll be putting up three problems on the board. Each will define an existing set of Primary and Secondary Classes and their Embodiment. I’ll also include their three highest rarity Skills and their levels. Then I will define whether their goal is to reinforce their Embodiments or change them. You’ll need to describe how you would go about achieving their goals. One point per correct answer, going toward you graduating from this subject.”

Nate began writing down the problems even as he thought over his own dilemma. He was one of those who wanted to change his Embodiment. He wasn’t sure what an Embodiment of Wandering would gift him, though he had some suspicions. But that wasn’t who he was or what he wanted. He was merely being driven in that direction, mostly from what he suspected were two Legendary Achievements. Though perhaps True Teleportation wasn’t helping.

That didn’t matter though. He would find a way forward. He knew what he wanted. Creative. That was what he felt he aligned with. It was what he did. He created. Created art. Created runes. Created opportunities. Even when he wasn’t doing it intentionally, when it was an accident, he was always creating. Now he just needed the Achievements to back it up. Creating a Grandmaster Rune was on his list. That should be a Mythic Achievement. But that wasn’t going to be enough. He needed to create in more than one medium. He suspected he might even need as many as four Legendary or better Achievements with the idea of Creating to completely drown out his two Wandering Achievements.

With a smile he got to work on the problems on the board, as a part of him continued to work through his own problems. He had seventeen levels to go. He could even delay his progression if needed. Because if there was one thing he was certain of, it’s that he was going to get the Embodiment he wanted and it was going to be perfect. And that meant that tonight, he was going back out. It was time for a new artwork in the slums.

*************

Nate had to acknowledge that the old man had been true to his word. The painting still stood, unmarred and unharmed. The people of the slums had even avoided putting anything in front of it that might hide it. He’d been unsure at first what to paint when he had first been brought here by the man with eyes who could pierce his rune-driven Illusion. But in the end, the old man had been the inspiration. The man’s tanned chest and clothes made Nate suspect the man had been a sailor. What had sealed the deal was his memory. Without his vastly increased Intellect Stat he might not have remembered the spear-wielder from the Guild Tournament who was able to wield water. The similarity was hard to see under all the wrinkles, but it was there. A sailor whose grandson was also a sailor. So, with sailing as the inspiration, he had painted a scene from the docks. He wasn’t sure how well he captured them, as he had never visited the area by the ocean personally. But he had seen them from a distance and with his heightened Perception he had the basics. A multi-generational image of the boats being loaded, children playing nearby or running messages, young men and women with sunkissed skin loading the sloops and older men and women talking or directing the whole process.

Running his fingers over the sandstone he marvelled at how well the paint managed to remain. Mana, magic, even now it was still amazing to him. The paint was uncommon. What that meant, he had no idea, but it certainly handled wear and tear from the sun and sand well enough.

Farsight of the Runic Artist sensed the old man long before he arrived. He wondered how the old man knew he was going to be here, or if he just came every night.

“Back fer more, eh, younglin?”

“Always,” Nate replied, matching the smile that bloomed on the old man's face. “I didn’t ask your name last time.”

“It’s Cutter, lad. Now, what’ll it be tonight then?” asked the old sailor.

“Will the store owners care if I paint the front of their shops?” he answered with a question of his own.

“Nah, lad. Anythin’ that adds a bit colour is better than nothin.”

“Which one sells fabrics then?” Nate replied, looking over the various warehouse and shop fronts.

Cutter pointed to a store in the middle and a quick review with Farsight of the Runic Artist confirmed that the shop was full of bolts of cloth and some wool. No sign of silks, but he wasn’t surprised considering where he was. That didn’t matter for his next artwork though. He wanted to paint a festival of fabrics. With the faces of people obscured by the various fabrics. With a glance back at Cutter, who was settling himself in on the edge of the fountain, he started taking out his paints and got to work.

It took him almost three hours to get the painting exactly as he wanted, but he was more than pleased with the result. The finished artwork was a riot of colours, with the people in the painting swirling in the street creating overlapping geometric shapes of colour from their clothes, with the ocean in the background. It was definitely a different style of art to what he normally attempted. Of course, he’d also included a rune in the painting. Being able to abuse his Conceptual Intent was interesting for his artworks. His others had all been focused on inspiring emotions directly, but for this one, he wanted to try a different approach. Multisensory was his idea, and so with his new Sigil for Sound he’d been able to use Conceptual Intent to specify the sounds. The sound of the beach and the swishing of fabrics is what he had gone with. It was faint, barely a whisper that might make you unsure if you actually heard it unless you were close by.

“Neat trick,” commented Cutter, approaching the artwork. “Differen’ style ta ya other ones. I like it though lad. Feck meh but I really like it.”

“Do you think the store owner will?” he asked.

Cutter laughed, a gravelly sound, “Lad, I’d be more worried bout tha other owners harassin’ ya fer their own paintings! Ya goin’ ta make each one…unique?”

Nate stopped and turned to look over the rest of the store fronts and warehouses. Plenty of opportunities for more experimenting. For more creating.

“You know, Cutter, I think I will,” he replied with a smile. “But not tonight.”

“Aye lad, not tonight. Well, dun ya worry. Ol’ Cutter will be around when ya come by next.”

Putting away his paints he started his teleporting journey back to the Royal University. He still had a Skill to evolve and some new Sigils to work with. He also had a puzzle box that continued to hold onto its secrets. One day, perhaps, he wouldn’t be constantly busy. But that day was not today. Or tonight, he supposed.

*************

Garnet stood over the burned corpses of her countrymen, the fires continuing to lick at them as they were turned from cooked meat into ash. Sapphire was questioning the Captain leading this small squad of Royal Rangers. After he was done they would cross the border back into Asmuisil, where evidence of the Rangers passing would be very carefully left. Enough that the next squad sent would find it, but not so much that it would lead them to question whether or not the squad had continued deeper into Asmuisil. That would be Sapphire's job, the deceptive bastard. She just couldn’t understand what her Master’s goal was. She had thought it was just wealth. Wealth to buy allies. To fund his own ascent. How would war with Asmuisil help him with that? It was a conundrum and she hated not knowing.

The sound of crackling ice signified the death of the squad's Captain, an icicle piercing the man's heart. Sapphire was taking no chances with leaving any evidence. She watched as he slipped the corpse into his spatial storage. Evidence for later perhaps, or just to conceal it. She wasn’t sure which and Sapphire never shared his plans with her. Just another way for him to exert his power over her. How she hated it. How she hated him.

“Clean up and move out. We’re going deeper this time,” the frozen bastard said to the group. “Another Dungeon Fort is the target. So more rewards to go around!”

The group cheered while she grit her teeth. What the fuck was going on and what had she gotten herself into? She was beginning to wonder if her Master was more mad than power-hungry. How would that play out for her? She’d be lucky to escape with her life. Shoving down her misgivings, she began jogging with the rest of the war party, ignoring the ashes she left scattered in her wake.