1st of Cylus, 720
Fortunately, Stefan arrived within a fairly short order. "Hello, Vivian. Congratulations on your promotion." he said, smiling at her. Vivian's orders had come with the news that she had been promoted to Constable for her actions during the war, and she nodded her head at Stefan and grinned slightly.
"I'll admit, it was gratifying to get the promotion, though I'll have to continue prove myself worthy of the rank, especially if I want to get any higher up the ranks. " she said, her tone cheerful. Then she leaned forward, setting her grimoire on the desk in front of her. "So, what are the new Runes I'm supposed to be learning?" she asked, her tone cheerful.
Stefan smiled at her enthusiasm, then took a seat across the desk from her. "Well, that depends. Hone is divided into two paths, and the Spark chooses which path it will follow. Lucis Runes allow the Runewright to use their Runes directly on other people, empowering them as we can empower ourselves. Umbral Runes, like mine, allow the Runewright to use our Runes on objects, and let us set traps that drain other people. So before we can proceed, we need to figure out what path your Spark is following, if its chosen its path yet. So, first, try to write a Rune on the table." he said.
Vivian nodded at his instruction, noting that both types of Runes sounded useful, then tried to put a simple Strength Rune on the table. While her finger would light up as she tried to make the Rune, leaving its usual blue trail, the Rune wouldn't adhere to the tables surface. Stefan nodded, then held out his hand. "Now try to put a Rune on me." he said, his tone calm. Vivian nodded, then started writing a Strength Rune on Stefan's hand. This time, the Rune adhered, lighting up the veins around it as her Runes did when she applied them to her own body, and thought she couldn't see it, her own eyes were glowing as well.
Stefan nodded at this, then looked up Vivian. "So, you're a Lucis Runewright. Draw back your ether, and I'll show you some new Runes." he said, and Vivian nodded before taking back her Runes."Now, I sent you the letter about Sound Triggers when you were given the Guardian Shield, so you know about your new Trigger method, right?" he said, getting a nod from Vivian. "Now, this Lucis technique, applying Runes to others, is called Empowerment. It lets you apply your Runes to other people." he said, before taking a deep breath. "Now, I can't make Lucis Runes, so I'm just going to draw them on some paper, and you'll have to copy them from there." he said, taking out a sheet of paper and a pen.
Stefan drew two Runes on the paper, then pointed at the first one, a Rune shaped like a crescent moon with a star inside it. "This is a Rune of Resistance. Now, us Runewrights, we're largely immune to the side effects of our own Runes, it's part of the magic. Normal people won't be, so the Rune of Resistance lets you grant that immunity to regular people. You only ever need to put it on someone's torso for it to work for the whole body, but it's practically mandatory if you're going to empower someone." he said, standing up. "Now, put a Rune of Resistance on me." he said, spreading his arms.
Vivian stepped forward drew the Rune, noting that she was able to make them faster now, only needing a Bit to make a fully empowered Rune. Once the Rune was made, Stefan nodded at her handiwork. "Well done, now retake your Ether." he said, and Vivian nodded and pulled the Ether she had put in the rune back into herself. "You can also use a Rune of Resistance you feel the need for additional protection from your own Runes." he said, before nodding at her grimoire. "Don't forget to write it down." he said. Vivian nodded, then drew the Rune of Resistance into her grimoire, once for the sword-like slashes that marked her own Runes, and again for a more normal design that represented how the Rune would normally look.
When she was done, Stefan nodded. "Next is the Rune of Regeneration. I think you'll like this one." he said, pointing at the second Rune he had written, which looked like a backwards P with spikes on it. "This one accelerates the healing process, letting you, or whoever you empower, recover from injuries faster. It really only works on flesh wounds, but it's still effective. You can make this one your own body." he said. Vivian nodded, noting to herself how useful this Rune would be when combined with her Mortalborn healing power, before she began to draw the Rune on her own arm. The shape of this one took a few tries, she kept wanting to draw it backwards, but eventually she got the hang of it and felt the power from the Rune thrumming through her arm. Stefan nodded, then repeated his instruction to withdraw the Ether and right down the Rune, which she did, repeating her steps of drawing the Rune twice.
"Right, that's all the Lucis Runes you can learn for now. Next up are the two Core Runes you can learn at this stage." he said, before drawing two Runes on the table. "This one is an Endurance Rune, essentially it means you take more punishment than normal." he said, pointing at a Rune that looked like a solid circle with a line through it. "And this one is a Rune of Savoring. It's an awkward name, but it enhances your senses of smell and taste, so you can better enjoy your meals or detect poisons. It's not one of the more useful Runes, but it has its moments." he said, pointing at a Rune that looked like a curved W, before smiling at her. You can go ahead and draw both of them." he said.
Vivian nodded, then began drawing the two Runes, the Endurance Rune on her arm and the Savoring Rune on her cheek. She noted the effects of the Savoring Rune immediately, as the room suddenly became alive with scents, and the Endurance Rune worked as well, once she smacked her arm to test it. Stefan nodded at her work, then told her to reclaim the Ether from the Runes and write them down in her grimoire. Vivian once again copied both Runes down twice before she closed the grimoire, working out a crick in her neck.
"Even reclaiming the Ether, learning new Runes is surprisingly tiring." she said, before leaning back in her chair. "Still, I can see those Runes being really helpful, I'll probably use Regeneration and Endurance on myself a lot. And Regeneration will be really helpful when I'm trying to keep someone together until a medic can work on them. Which might be very helpful indeed, since I've been ordered out to Storms Edge." she said, running a hand through her hair.
Stefan nodded at her assessment of the Runes. "I agree. Speaking of your new assignment, you'll want to be getting down the road soon, I imagine. There's two new techniques you can learn now as well, but I've written them down for you, so you can learn them either while you're on the road or once you get there. Both will make it easier for you to use your Runes, so I wouldn't suggest dawdling on them." he said, taking out a small sheaf of papers and handing them to Vivian. "Also, all the equipment that came with your promotion will be waiting for you at your house, since you requested a lance for your Thunderstorm." he said, before standing up. "Be careful down at Storms Edge, Vivian. You're good, but those Fireborn will slaughter you if you let yourself get over confident." he said.
Vivian nodded. "Yes, sir. I know full well how dangerous it can be if you get arrogant." she said, before laughing. "Fortunately, my first real teacher had the sense to...forcibly educate me on the wages of arrogance and stupidity." she said, grinning at the memory. "But yes, I must finish getting ready. I want to be on my way to Storms Edge before noon." she said. Stefan nodded and dismissed her, and Vivian left the room, heading for her house so she could get ready for her new assignment.
