M.S. Davidson
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29. Gifts Between Friends
🕑 Added 2025-08-17 16:01:14 +0000 UTCAn Introduction to Runebinding and the Advancement of Runes
By GMx. A. Xerxes Graves, Revised and Annotated by Mx. G. Delpicius (14th Ed., Sylvarus Press)
Runebinding, herein referenced as the Art, stands as the fundamental process of merging thought, spirit, and the physical realm through the symbolic form. This Art is, to many scholars and practitioners, akin to the quiet ripple in the pond, where the understanding of concepts extends outward to produce tangible effects in the unified field of physical reality ...
What the fuck does that even mean? Unified field of reality?
...The efficacy of one's runic work is not a matter of strength or skill but of alignment and understanding. Those who fail to advance invariably suffer a "dissipation of understanding," which can manifest as fragmented runes or, in rare cases, Soul Burn...
Translation: Go fuck yourself. Runes are complicated, and this book isn’t going to help you.
...In sum, advancing within the Art demands exhaustive study, a cultivation of inner vision, and the alignment of one's will with the Seal itself. Those who endeavor to pursue this path of binding find that they themselves are bound in turn—by reality itself...
This was probably all the whole damn book needed.
***
"Holy shit, this book is impossible to read." I slammed the massive tome shut, dust puffing from its ancient pages. “Are you kidding me?”
Diana sat across from me in an elegant green dress, her hair braided with flowers like some fairy-tale princess. Her smile was pure predatory delight.
"It reads like someone trying really hard to sound smart," I said, fighting to keep my voice diplomatic.
Stanley, perched on the table like a feathered judge, hopped onto the book and unleashed a series of indignant peeps.
Diana's laugh rang like silver bells. "He says it's like someone dressed up a pile of shit in a binding and called it wisdom." She wagged a finger at the tiny canary. "Also, watch the language, Stanley."
Cass and I both roared with laughter.
"Good call, Stanley." I wiped tears from my eyes. "And this is how people learn in Sylvarus? You might as well read tea leaves for more insight. And the 'Unified Field of Reality' sounds like complete bullshit."
“It mostly is!” Diana said, still chuckling.
My heart sank. "And you bought this with the mana core?" The disappointment hit like a physical blow. A hundred gold coins—which just had to be a lot—for this pretentious garbage? "This is... worthless. I'd need six other books just to understand the first page."
Diana's grin widened to shark-like proportions. "I know! Isn't it fabulous?"
I stared at her, waiting for the punchline. I knew I had agreed to training, but this was kind of ridiculous.
"The look on your face," she clarified, "not the book."
Oh. Oh.
"Sometimes you're the smartest person I've ever met," Diana continued, sliding a small box across the table. "Other times, you're an absolute idiot. I did spend your money, though."
I pushed the academic disaster aside and picked up the box. Ring-sized, palm-weight, and expensive-looking. Inside nestled a tiny orange metal ball with a purple shimmer—like two colors fighting for dominance. At its center, a purple diamond glowed with inner fire.
Tiny etchings covered the surface like electrical circuits drawn by an artist.
My stomach dropped. The last time I'd seen something this intricate, I was in a spirit realm.
Cass’s jaw could have hit the table. "Where the fuck did you find one, Nana?"
"Language, darling." Diana winked. "I know a guy. Don't ask where I found him—you wouldn't like the answer."
"This is a Mana Sanctum!" I blurted out.
"It's a Mana Sanctum," Diana repeated, her grin predatory.
“It stores things, right? Chas had one, Erik probably did too.”
"It uses pocket space within the gem," Diana said. "Far more useful than some worthless coins."
"Magical storage earring? Yeah, that’s money well spent, I’d say."
Cass’s eyes said still couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
"You could have lived in luxury for the rest of your life with that money," Diana said casually. "As your mentor, I can't allow that."
Right on cue, Erik arrived with a small latched box and what looked like a pool cue case. "Nana."
"Erik! Perfect timing." Diana stood and casually tossed the academic tome onto a chair like it was trash. Which, honestly, it was. "If anyone asks, Ben paid fair and square. I just made sure he had the right connections."
"He’s already so far down his own path," Erik said, his tone slightly hesitant. "His understanding of Bravery is impressive, but whatever he did this morning…"
"Oh, finally had time to train him?" Diana's smile carried dangerous mischief.
Erik's entire demeanor shifted—walls slamming down, stoic mask sliding into place. "I have little to train. He fights like the mouse-folk."
"Erik almost killed him with a Class-D healing pill," Cass tattled like the sister she was.
Diana exploded.
"FUCKING WHAT?!"
She shot to her feet, hands grabbing my face before I could react. Her fingers pried my eyes open, examining me like I was a science experiment.
"When?" She turned my head left and right, checking for damage. "How are you not dead?"
"This morning. Stop, Diana, I'm fine." I swatted her hand away. "Felix mentioned something about an affinity with Bravery."
"He healed everyone in the room with the residual mana," Cass added.
"You're incredibly lucky." Diana leaned on the table, her casual mask slipping to reveal genuine concern. "Don't just go around eating random pills. They have markings for a reason, you idiots. Try it again, and you'll die."
Stanley erupted in furious chirping—but this time, I understood every word.
"If you die from being a dumb-ass, I'm not wasting my time mourning you."
"Holy shit, Stanley, that's rude."
Everyone froze. Even Stanley's eyes went wide.
"Interesting." Diana nodded thoughtfully. "Not surprising, given everything I've seen. Plus, a healing affinity makes it almost certain."
"Stanley can actually talk?" The meaning fed directly into my mind—no voice, just pure understanding. "What about that otter thing in the lobby?"
"Lagniappe has the anatomy to speak normally," Diana explained. "His mastery of Universalis isn't the best, though."
Lan-yap. Even had a Creole-sounding name. How was everything so familiar across the universe?
"I'll unpack understanding Stanley later. How does the earring work?"
Erik answered, folding his earlobe forward to reveal a similar stud. "You put it on, and brace yourself."
He motioned towards the box. I handed it over, watching as he stared at the device with intense concentration. The gem pulsed with a soft purple light.
Before I could react, he pressed the cold metal against my earlobe.
SHOCK.
Pain lanced through my ear as the device attached itself to the back of my earlobe. My mana pathways went insane—blue fire racing through my body as my reserves drained like water down a broken pipe.
"OW!" I fought to stop the flow, vision going spotty. Sweat beaded on my forehead. "A little warning would have been nice! This thing is like a mana vacuum!"
"A vacuum?" Diana asked.
"Like a vortex." I panted, trying to slow my racing heart. "It's taking everything I have not to let it bleed me dry."
Erik and Diana grinned like proud parents. Cass looked ready to murder them both.
"Are you sure this isn't too much?" Cass demanded. "He still needs training. Why not wait until after the exam?"
"He can handle it," Diana replied coolly. "He's going to need to learn faster than you, Cassandra."
The name hung in the air like a challenge.
"Okay, and Stanley?"
The bird preened smugly.
"You can understand him because phoenixes are more spiritual than physical," Diana explained. "You can pick up his thoughts if you're listening. When I say 'thoughts,' I mean his colossal ego sucking up all the air in the room."
Stanley deflated and chirped something that sounded distinctly like "Old Hag!"
"Insults don't become you, Stanley," Diana retorted.
I burst out laughing despite the pain in my ear.
"Now, I should return to the Academy. Marco repainted my office. Do you have any idea how hard it is to paint over black?" She stood and then turned back to me.
"And Ben, at least kill a few more monsters before becoming a fucking baker."
"I get it!" I groaned. "Jeez, you sound like Felix."
"Felix sounds like me, darling."
And with that parting shot, she was gone, Stanley perched precariously on her head.
"Information time," I announced, turning back to the room.
"We're in the right place. Do you have red coins?" Cass moved across from me. "Looking things up is expensive outside Sylvarus."
"Oh yeah, tons!" I reached into my pocket, producing a pouch heavy with coins. "Katie started forcing me to take payment..."
I counted eleven red coins; each one seemed worth a week’s pay if I was just buying food and shelter.
Cass looked surprised but didn't comment.
"Just drop one on the table and ask for what you want. If it's available, it'll find it."
"Fancy techno-magic?"
"Exactly. More expensive out here, but these rooms have enormous selections, including access to the academy’s library."
I placed a red coin on the marble table. Red runes blazed to life, circling the coin as it melted into the stone with a soft sizzle.
"Query?" A bored female voice sighed directly into my mind.
I jumped. "Oh! Uh... a map of La-Roc?"
"That’s easy."
The coin dissolved completely. The marble surface shimmered like liquid mercury, ripples dancing across its surface in hypnotic patterns. A deep, resonant hum filled the room.
The table began to breathe.
The smooth stone rose and fell like waves on a living ocean. Slowly, impossibly, a three-dimensional map began emerging from the marble itself.
It was breathtaking.
The entire island took shape as if rising from a primordial sea. Every detail was perfect—needle-thin trees stretching toward invisible sunlight, rivers carved so deep they seemed to shimmer with actual water. At the island's heart, a colossal mountain thrust skyward, its jagged peaks so sharp I could almost feel their edges.
Villages clustered at the mountain's base like scattered gems. Along the far coast, thousands of tiny buildings clung to the shoreline, their towers and rooftops forming organized chaos. Snaking docks stretched into the sea like wooden fingers.
At the heart of the coastal sprawl, a grand citadel crowned a commanding hill. Its massive dome rose defiantly, casting long shadows over the bustling city below—a stone guardian watching over its chaotic domain. Most certainly, it was the city we were sitting in.
The sheer size staggered me. This wasn't just an island—it was a small continent of forests, valleys, and rocky shores, each tree and building rendered in impossible detail.
"Whoa... is La-Roc the city or the entire island?"
"Both," Erik said. "La-Roc is a sovereign nation, but we mostly call the city La-Roc. The island is just the island."
"And your family's farm?" I pointed to the houses at the mountain's base.
"Here." Cass showed terraced fields and long buildings around a circular clearing closer to the city. "Looks like rice paddies, but they're ginseng fields."
"You're absolutely insane to run that distance every day." I stared at the vast expanse. "Holy shit, Cass."
She beamed with pride.
"There's way more forest than I expected around the city."
"Most people only recently started moving here again," Cass explained. "The Hunters got the tower running after a Class-B sea serpent destroyed half the coast. Things have been picking up since we were kids."
"I think I saw a mural in the citadel—was that it?"
Erik and Cass both went quiet.
"Was it that bad?"
"The Abyssal Emperor. A monster forged in storms," Erik said simply. "Our grandfather died trying to slay it. Not a good time for our family."
"I'm sorry."
"It's how things are. We kill them before they kill us. It's why we become Hunters."
"You asked about war, Ben," Cass added. "It's rare because killing each other makes us weaker against monsters. It happens, but only in the safer countries."
I nodded, studying the incredible sculpture before me.
"Are there monsters on the island? Jobs I can do here?"
"Fuck yeah," Cass said.
Erik perked up. "Several types. Mostly Class-F, some Class-E—shouldn't be an issue for you, Breaker."
He handed me the long leather case. Dark, supple material stitched with silver threads. Sleek and cylindrical, tapering toward the top. Embossed runes I'd missed at first glance formed elegant patterns along its length.
I twisted the brass latch, revealing a midnight-blue velvet lining designed to cradle two wooden poles.
The wood was rugged but polished with care and smelled of rosin. Too light—definitely hollow. Clever grooves and pins on each end matched perfectly. I twisted them together with a satisfying click, forming a seamless two-meter quarterstaff.
"Erik, this is..."
"Cloud pine," he said matter-of-factly. "Not the strongest, but light and reliable. After seeing you with that bamboo shoot, I thought you could use it."
He handed me a small box. Inside, a polished steel spearhead gleamed with orange Orichalcum edges. The base tapered into a hollow tang, grooved perfectly to fit the staff.
"It connects to any end," Erik continued, "even the connection points. Stores in the side pocket." His voice carried genuine warmth. "I hope it brings you many kills."
"Gaia's tits, Erik, that's nicer than my swords," Cass breathed with genuine awe. "You can almost kill me too if it means you'll buy me something like that."
"Is it that good?"
Erik rolled his eyes with pure sibling exasperation. "And the moment's gone. It's the least I can do for my mistake. Now—local monsters?"
He dropped a coin on the table. The intricate map crumbled to dust, reforming into dozens of creatures across the marble surface.
Fanged foxes. Spiked boars. Massive birds with green talons. Rodents with too many teeth. Deer sporting multiple barbed tails. A frog the size of a car.
They weren't just animals—they were nightmares, features exaggerated into something out of a fever dream.
"What the fuck, there's so many..."
"Oh, these are just Class-F," Erik replied casually.
My blood ran cold. "Just Class-F?"
"Get comfortable, Ben." His smile was sharp as his new spear. "We're just getting started."
