Vathis: Ashes of the Forsaken

A Blade Etched in Runes

The candlelight flickered in the monastery's crumbling hall, shadows dancing along the walls carved with ancient script. Aeron sat cross-legged before Segirus, the worn stone beneath him cold even through his robes. The air smelled of old parchment and the faint metallic tang of something… else. Something deeper.

The first law of the world.

Segirus had spoken those words with a weight that could crush mountains. And now, Aeron sat before the first rune that had ever existed, drawn in dust, its faint glow pulsing with an unseen heartbeat.

"Repeat what I told you," Segirus commanded.

Aeron exhaled. His fingers twitched, his pulse thrumming with an unease he couldn't name. But he forced himself to focus.

"Runes are not words. They are laws. They do not describe reality; they define it. Each one is an unbroken truth, forged before the gods themselves."

Segirus nodded. "And?"

Aeron hesitated, then continued.

"ᛟ – The First Rune is the Law of Binding. To etch a rune is to command reality itself—but without the will to enforce it, the rune is meaningless."

A slow smile crept across Segirus's face.

"Good. Then let us see if you can enforce it."

Aeron swallowed.

The monk extended his hand, palm up, and from his sleeve, he produced a dagger.

It was simple—no jewels or ornamentation, no intricate flourishes. Just a clean, unyielding edge, sharpened to a cruel point.

Segirus flipped it, offering the hilt to Aeron.

"You must learn to carve a rune into something permanent," Segirus said. "And there is no better canvas than steel."

Aeron hesitated before taking the dagger. It was surprisingly light, perfectly balanced. His fingers curled around the hilt, feeling the chill of the metal seep into his skin.

"Etch the Rune of Binding into the blade," Segirus instructed. "If you succeed, this weapon will become more than just steel."

Aeron exhaled. His heart pounded as he turned the dagger, staring at the blade's surface.

The rune burned in his mind, shifting and writhing like a living thing.

His hand moved before he could think, the tip of the dagger carving shallow lines into the steel. Sparks flared as the rune took shape—not just scratched into the metal, but sinking into it, fusing with it, becoming part of it.

ᛟ ᛒ ᚾ

The moment he completed the final stroke, the dagger hummed.

A pulse of unseen force rippled through the air. The candlelight dimmed, as if the world itself had recoiled from what had just been done.

The rune glowed, faint but undeniable, alive with power.

Aeron gasped. His hands trembled. He could feel it—the dagger was no longer just a weapon. It had been bound to something beyond mere metal and edge.

Segirus nodded approvingly.

"Well done," he murmured. "Now… let us see what you have truly created."

He stepped back and gestured toward a worn wooden pillar standing at the edge of the chamber. It was old, weathered by time, but solid.

"Strike it," Segirus commanded.

Aeron tightened his grip on the dagger.

For a brief moment, he hesitated.

Then, with a breath, he slashed.

The blade cut clean through the thick wooden pillar.

Not like steel through wood.

Like reality itself had simply decided the pillar no longer existed.

Aeron's breath hitched. The severed half of the pillar hovered in the air for a second too long, as if it hadn't yet realized it had been cut. Then it crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

Silence.

Aeron stared at the dagger in his hand. The rune on its surface still glowed faintly.

"...I did that?" he whispered.

Segirus crossed his arms. "You carved the Rune of Binding into the blade. That dagger is now more than just a weapon—it is an extension of your will."

Aeron swallowed hard. His mind raced.

If a single rune could do this…

What could he become?

---

Elsewhere… The Ones Who Watch

The void trembled.

The gods were watching.

"ᛟ – The Rune of Binding… awakened once more. This should be impossible."

"And yet, it has happened."

A pause.

Then, another voice, colder than the end of time.

"He is no longer lost. He has taken the first step."

A ripple of movement. Something vast and formless shifted, stirring in the nothingness between worlds.

"Then we must act."

The hunt had begun.

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