Veil: Tale of a 16 Moons [FANTASY EPIC] [MAGICAL COMING OF AGE + ROMANCE]

Splash!

Katherine:

"Tss!" Katherine exclaimed as she lifted her hands up.

The golden book propped up in the air and the sorceress started feeling the strain. Katherine flipped through page after page and read as quickly as she could manage. Each page was challenging to read, but Katherine was able to decipher what each sentence read. However, the essence of the book confounded her. To the surface level of her analysis, the words inside were like a lure, asking her to follow the Raven's light. The princess realized that if she didn't have a moral compass, she would give up and follow the rules inside without hesitation.

After a few more seconds of swift glancing, the levitation spell started to fail. She eventually let go and took out a lighter book, the arcane compendium. She tried the same with that grimoire, and flipped to the end. The page she had been looking for glowed in her face. Katherine glanced through it, and tried memorizing its important contents.

Rune Creation:

Preparation: The alchemist begins by preparing themselves through meditation or connecting with natural energies, aligning their mind and spirit to the magical forces they intend to channel.

Designing the Rune: With a clear intention in mind, the alchemist sketches the rune's design using jade shards. Each line, curve, and symbol is very significant, as the form and arrangement of the rune determine its magical properties.

Channeling Magic: As the rune is still just a rock, the alchemist has to infuse it with the earth's energy. This is done through the "Zakwa'' Spell, a power drawing technique. Through this, the creator can imbue the rune with specific qualities.

Activation: Once the design is complete and suffused with magical energy, the creator performs a ritualistic activation. Star energy is one of the best ways that alchemists do this. By bathing a stone in moonlight for 21 days consecutively, taking 2 hour breaks every 8 hours, the rune activates. The rune is ready to use after any sorcerer releases tendril energy into the inner symbols.

Empowering the Rune: To enhance its potency, the rune may undergo a ritual of empowerment. Runes that get the treatment of the Veil Lily can spark movement of inner reactivity. However, these runes have less lifespan and take a higher toll on the user, as the Veil Lily is also a situating parasite. There's no cure for them at the moment. Using these runes can expose you to these dangerous flowers, which can eat sorcerer's cores from the inside. The infected have an average life-span of 1 month after inception. Empowered runes are physically small, and continuously expel invisible tendrils. These runes are mostly high in temperature.

As she pored over the intricate details, her mind couldn't help but wander. The mention of the Veil Lily's empowered runes left her with a nagging sense of worry. She couldn't shake off the unease that crawled beneath her skin as a flicker of doubt crept into her thoughts.

"Could I have used one of these empowered runes?" she mused quietly, glancing at her own arm, half-expecting a peculiar mark to appear. Katherine vividly remembered the bags found on the ship, filled with stones similar to those described in the compendium. Her heart raced as she contemplated the possibility that one of those runes could be in her possession. Dread gnawed at her gut. Had she unwittingly wielded a dangerous, empowered rune? Her hand trembled as she reached for her bag, fingers fumbling through the contents in search of the stones.

Fighting against her growing apprehension, Katherine forced herself to inspect the stones one by one. She examined each rock meticulously, breath catching with every nook and cranny she searched. Despite her scrutiny, she couldn't discern any conspicuous traits or the telltale signs mentioned in the compendium. At least she knew that none of the stones were corrupted, which was a good sign. Infernal stones had almost destroyed the Lutrian Kingdom thousands of millenia ago, even if no Lutrian knew about that piece of long lost history. The Aiyimoreans had somehow kept track.