Soothing energy glided over my skin while mint and fresh berries filled my nose. I groaned and tried to sit up but a dainty hand firmly held me back.

"Not yet," Áine commanded.

I kept my eyes shut and let the fairy work. Slowly, the sharp stinging from the back of my head eased and I felt my nose itch. Two small hands grabbed onto the sides of my nostrils and pulled the bone into position with a sharp yank.

"Aaagh. Áh-ine. A little wahrning next time," I said through tears, resisting the urge to sneeze.

Her skill split, threading a separate strand from the mana fixing my head to stab into the bone and cartilage in my nose. She adjusted twice more, before cutting off her skill and taking to the air.

I opened my eyes and blinked away the sunspots as crackles of electricity flashed before me. Pushing Sturmrorex away, I leaned forward and shook myself. Blood dripped down, but before it reached the bath a bubble of water caught it and pulled it away.

"Don't worry, Master. I will keep your bath free from your injury!" Sturmrorex bellowed.

I winced. "Oww. Inside voice, Sturm."

"But I am already using one?"

His voice still thundered and I turned my attention to the table. Thanks to Sturmrorex and Galarion's intervention, none of the special papers were sent to a watery grave. I grabbed them from the air and brought them to the sides of the table while leaning closer to inspect the remnants of my first rune.

"Galarion, did you see what happened?" I asked.

"Recorded. Fast, very fast. Almost didn't see," he answered.

I scanned the blackened dust and rubbed it with my thumb. The table itself had remained untouched, the material holding against the outburst of energy.

What had gone wrong then? The rune obviously worked. It practically sucker-punched me.

Closing my eyes, I sent the request to Galarion and he expanded inside my head. A replay of two perspectives flooded my mind and it took a second to adjust. One perspective displayed my own senses, my thoughts ringing as commentary while the past me fought through the rune's influence. The other perspective was Galarion's, his senses relying more through an expanded mana sense rather than physical provided another angle to observe.

The paper in my hand complied, drinking my mana and carving the first stroke of the primark letter. Where the blue material etched the mana into itself, the surrounding edges turned pale yellow. Line by line it drank the carefully controlled stream, the memory replaying as normal until I reached the point of needing to insert the binding rune.

As is alive, the mana in the paper as well as in my own body fought against me. It squirmed out of my grip in an attempt to combat the order I willed it to follow. Galarion slowed and replayed how my mental image of the push rune distorted, switching from the copy with the bind rune to briefly showing the perfect version without.

But why? Why does the binding rune disrupt it so much?

Seeing it slowed and dissected, the rune tried its damndest to break free. I counted twelve flickers in the span of ten seconds before something new sprung forward.

"Galarion, isolate the feeling. Ignore the paper for now. Show me what's aiding me."

"Done!" he bubbled.

The feeling was faint at first, almost impossible to notice. It was only thanks to Galarion removing more sensations and isolating the thought that I could catch its attention. It was confusing. Mentally, I had already cut off my senses, leaving only my mana sense to guide me.

However, the feeling rose from inside me, not at my thoughts–not at first.

So what is…

"Galarion replay what just happened. Loop it,"

There! So that's what happened… I guess I finally found a use for the skill.

At the peak of my frustration, the rune has nearly slipped from my control and broken its stasis. My mana rushed to fulfill its command instead of mine, wanting to flow into the next line without the binding.

Then it came. At my calling, from within my soul, a skill had activated.

Absolute Authority connected to the stream and I had subconsciously threaded mana into its wisp. Watching the memory replay from within my soulrealm showed me how a pulse of red overtook the mana. It slid over the stream like a sleeve, compressing it down.

It did more, but even with Galarion I couldn't entirely tell what were the full effects of the red phantasmal layer over my mana channels.

I did see how the rune froze the moment Absolute Authority took over. It crushed the flickering, holding the mental image in place allowing me to complete the binding. With its influence I carved the lines into the paper and saw where it all went wrong.

The rune was ready, under my control. The command from my skill gave me the space needed to work the final primark. However, it was when I lifted my finger from the page did I mess up. As soon as my nail disconnected with the half-finished rune, it ran free.

The carefully controlled lines spiralled out of control, expanding and curving chaotically as it made three dots. Each dot was sized differently, with the middle of the ellipses being the thickest and carved so deep the mana nearly stabbed a hole into the blue page.

From there, I borrowed from Sturmrorex's memory to see how the rune had activated for a single moment before it destabilized and erupted. The energy followed the natural pathways, the mana bending to the will of the sigil carved.

Unfortunately for me, push was rather literal in its translation. The mana had pushed forward and resulted in a hand-sized ball of yellow that broke my nose and sent me reeling.

I opened my eyes and pushed away the mental replay as my familiars scrambled to heal from the aftermath. Leaning back, I sank into the bench and let the water rest below my nose.

It was a failure but I technically succeeded in making a rune… I think that's impressive to someone, right? Bah. Maybe. I bet that crazy lady would spit blood.

A chuckle escaped and bubbles surfaced, splattering water into my eyes. I stood up and stepped out of the basin.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Sturm, do you mind drying me off?"

He floated over on a current of wind and raised a claw. A gust pulled the excess water from my skin and hair followed by a strong breeze that dried what remained.

"Are we finished, Master?"

"We've been here long enough. I'm not going to try again tonight, and I've already ruined my supposed relaxation. Might as well rest in my room for a bit."

"Then I shall return and allow the others time with you," Sturmrorex declared. He dived toward my chest but stopped before entering. His head rose until our eyes matched and he placed a warm claw on my shoulder. "It may have been a failure, but it is only the first fumble of our journey. You should rejoice, Master. Not every bolt is strong enough to part the clouds and strike the earth, but soon, you shall wield this new weapon and set crush mountains with your might!"

He finished his speech and slipped into my chest before I could blink.

What was that about?

A gentle pat turned my attention toward Áine. She booped my nose.

"Yes, Áine?"

"Silly, but good intention," she said.

"Who? Sturmrmorex?"

She nodded. "You feel disappointed. He's right. One step first, then more."

I snorted and grabbed the fairy for a hug. I raised her up and booped her nose. "I'm fine. Just a little annoyed. And hey, thanks for me Áine. Wouldn't be as pretty as I am without you."

Her laugh filled my thoughts with wind chimes. I undid her skill and she returned to the soulspace, leaving me alone. Well, almost alone.

"Galarion, you want to return as well?"

Two tentacles oozed out of my ears and crossed in front of my eyes. They flashed bright red followed by the sound of multiple buzzers all at once.

Alright then.

I left my familiar to his meal and summoned my clothes. All I had to do now was relax for an hour and enjoy dinner before the Lightcrests wrapped me in their crazy cocoon.

Hmmm. Now that I think about it, strong chance that his parents do something crazy once they get their perk. Does knowing this and allowing it make me a bad guy?

I shrugged and belted my pants.

***

"Cyrus?" Teddy asked, concerned.

"What?" I snapped.

"Are you okay?"

"I-yes, sorry. That was rude of me. I'm fine."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, I'm-"

"He's saying you look like shit. What did you do? Step on your tail or something?" Isaac shouted from the otherside of the room.

I moved past Igas and gave Arturous some scratches before sitting down. Before Isaac could complain, I tossed a piece of candy into his mouth and snatched the plate of meat skewers from his hand.

My plate quickly filled with a dozen variations of meat on a stick. By the time I was finished, Walter appeared and placed several bowls filled with sauces to my left.

"Excuse me, sir. Was the bath to your liking?"

"Oh, yes. It was perfect, Walter. Thank you."

"Then I shall order some more. Would you like to try a different blend for your next bath?"

"You don't have to do that."

Walter's eyebrow raised. "The madam has given me express instructions regarding bathing care and grooming products. I was to and I quote 'spare no expense, lavish the boy,' sir."

"Just give up, Cyrus. Let them buy you some fancy soaps. It's not like you don't have the space for it. Didn't Chomperz's stomach grow larger after the tier up?"

"He's a hoarder. He's probably already filled him," Isaac said.

"I am not a hoarder," I protested.

"Cyrus," Eodyne said. "I've met supply caravans with less food supplies than you. You have enough to feed a small village."

"All I'm hearing is jealousy. I guess my snacks are unappreciated. No more hot fries for the lot of yah."

"Let's not be hasty," Celenae said as she sat down.

"Yeah, forget what I said. " Isaac added. "Those snacks are important supplies, and we greatly appreciate Chomperz."

I shook my head and started eating. Ten minutes passed with the others making idle conversation. Whenever a plate went empty, Walter appeared and replaced it with another. Strange enough, Broken Tower left the central cloche alone, despite the fact it filled most of the dinner table.

The meats were cooked to perfection and the vegetables cooked to delicious crisps. Skewer after skewer, I finished devoured in blessed silence. I almost thought I'd have a relaxing dinner, but Teddy and Celenae pulled up the chairs next to me and sat down.

I swallowed and placed the skewer onto the plate. "What now?"

"Walter informed us of what Zog said," Teddy started.

Celenae patted my hand and smiled. "If there's something bothering you, we're here to help."

I sighed, and summoned my drawing journal. Flipping open to the latest additions to its contents, I slid it over to Celenae and let her examine the pages.

"Are these runes?" she asked.

"And a tree, a butterfly, a dragon. Among other things. I'm fine, Zog wasn't an issue."

"Were you trying to draw a new form of expression?"

I shook my head. "No. I was trying to draw things. Random things. Anything. I couldn't."

"Because of the runes?" Teddy guessed.

"Yeah. It turns out, trying to tap into knowledge from an ancient soul god hurts your head. It's been two hours now since I attempted to inscribe a rune but the damn things keep fucking with my thoughts. It only faded as I got up for dinner," I grumbled. I noticed the room had gone eerily silent. Looking up, I saw even Arturous staring at me funny. "What?"

"Can you learn to relax? Seriously. We left you alone for an afternoon and you're already trying to do crazy suicidal shit," Isaac groaned.

I flipped him off. "Wasn't suicidal. It was just some light studying. If you recall, I did absorb a skillstone involving runes. Figured I might as well try to do something with it. How was I supposed to know the information would try to melt my brain. It was a gift!"

"From a god," Eodyne said.

"That should make it more safe."

"I'm not sure if items influenced by the divine are safe the way you think it is," Teddy started.

"Whether it's safe or not is an issue we can test for ourselves. Cyrus, you said you were studying runes. Would this be from the journal you were given?"

I summoned the journal and pushed mana into the lock. The chains retracted and Celenae practically jumped to grab it as I tossed it over. She flipped through the pages but her face morphed from an excited grin to a scowl.

"It's the same information as last time. Was this what you used to start enchanting?"

I leaned over and studied the pages.

Huh. So it's being selective again.

I shook my head. "I'm starting to think the book is alive. That or possessed. It was showing me different information earlier. When I tried to read it, the information seared itself into my head. All I could think about was rune this, rune that. And I nearly split my skull open in the bath too."

"Alive?"

"See I told you, suicidal shit. You owe me three gold."

"Reveal yourself to me!"

I stared at Celenae with concern and gently pried the journal from her hands. "I'll see what Galarion can recreate later. How about we give it a rest for now? Alright?"

"But-"

"Oh look, the show's starting!"

"What show?" Khrem asked.

He had just arrived and started filling his own plate with skewers before I waved hello.

My finger extended and pointed toward the silver cloche in the center of the table.

"Was that always there?" Igas asked, suspicion coloring his voice.

"You guys need to work on your mana senses," I said.

"Why would that-oh. Teddy, where are your parents?"

"They disappeared thirty minutes before dinner… Cyrus, they are inside it aren't they?"

I nodded and leaned back with a skewer in each hand.

With a rumbling clangor of metal on metal, the cloche exploded–the silver dome embedded into the ceiling as a spurt of water forced it upward.

"We have arrived!" his parents said in unison.

"Mother, father… Why…" Teddy groaned.

The two stepped out of a ray of blinding light and posed. They flexed their muscles and switched from looking like super models to absolute dorks. Tall brimmed hats adorned their head and their suits sparkled with gold sequins under an array of ever-changing light.

"How else are we to celebrate, son?" Nathan shouted.

Anastasia collapsed into her husband's arms and started fanning herself as the lights surrounding them turned pink. "Your friend has decided to give us a marvelous gift. Would you have us deny his kindness by giving him a boring dinner?!"

"Surely not!" they shouted.

I finished my skewer and stole another from Isaac's hand. He was too frozen with embarrassment to protest.

At least I have something nice to end the day with. I wonder if they know what street magicians are.

I whistled and started to clap, earning a wink from Anastasia. She did the splits and clapped her hands. The room turned pitch black except for a red spotlight illuminating a lone spot in the center of the room.

"I can't look away," Isaac whispered.

I grinned and leaned over. "Don't worry. With Galarion, I can help you never forget."

His grunt of pain was music to my ears and I finally relaxed in my seat. Today wasn't all that bad, not when you had dinner and a show. Of course, my brain decided to be pesky and throb with a flash of fleeting glyphs that I suppressed.

When a polished boot knocked a plate against the wall I stood up and retreated to the corners of the room. Arturous accepted my bribe of meat and I used him as a couch to enjoy the disaster on legs.

One problem at a time. Enjoy today, worry about tomorrow, tomorrow Cyrus. It can't get crazier than throwing monsters at peacocks, right?

I wisely kept my mouth shut and relaxed against the fuzzy bear.

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