“Not my type.” He smirks.
I prop my foot against the wall and glare at him through my thick lashes. Is that steam coming out of my ears? It feels like it. “So anything drawn in the Vitalis has magic?” I retort.
“It’s not a book for toddlers. If you scribble down letters, you can call it a name, but a name is not defined until it is earned. To function, a rune requires nurturing, much like a child. One must have a clean mind; they have to think of many circumstances, time limits, magic limitations, and how the magic will react. It’s like making a feast rather than a simple sandwich.
“Then, and only then, once the pages are satisfied, will the rune remain on the page. After that, the rune can be copied onto flesh, and through magic, the rune will work as the artist intended.”
“So far-fetched,” I mutter.
“So is the fact that you have survived countless wars yet are so clueless.”
I tip my chin up. Does he want me to end him? This way, his secrets die before they reach my ears.
I’ve got news for you, old man; that old crusty heart will keep beating until I say so, and that sharp, bitter tongue will keep talking.
“Think of the runes like a virus,” he continues. “They enter your body and change it. But instead of fevers and aches, you get magic. Eventually, your body returns to normal, and the rune disappears.”
“So they have to be inked onto the skin?” I clarify.
“Ink is preferable, but some used to be tattooed and burned in. Just as your magic needs to be recharged, the runes do as well. The tattoo remained, but the rune would rest until it charged and reactivated itself. Tattoo runes can be dangerous. I would proceed with caution. You can wear less complex runes, like simple shields, as pendants or carve them into walls. They activate only when threatened. They could withstand many blows until the rune deactivated.”
“What happened to the book?” I need to find it to free my brother.
“Eventually, the gods returned with their army, but they left the book behind. It presented too much danger should the elves obtain it.”
“Now they sound more like the gods I know.”
“Why is that?” His interest sounds genuine for once.
“Because leaving a book so powerful is cruel. We kill for land that has dead soil. Imagine what we’d do for a book of power.”
His eyes drop. Is that guilt heavy on his brow?
“Taking it away would have been crueler.” He licks his dry, cracked lips. “Sometimes we try to do a good deed, but it results in a terrible one instead. Interpretations are like options; opinions are like taste. We all seek different ones, digest them differently.”
“That’s not an answer.” He speaks in so many riddles, it makes my head hurt.
“We will always fight over silly things, boy. Caging people won’t change that, nor will stripping them of their freedoms.One must allow everyone liberty, even if that liberty involves initiating conflicts. It’s a balance,” he replies in a solemn tone.
“What happened to the book, old man?” I press.
He answers me without a fight. “A man named Torin tried to fix the balance. He lived in a time when runes were abused. He thought his actions were heroic.”
Why does it sound like you were there?
“You never told me your name?” I say warily.
“I am not him.” He grunts and continues, “Torin stole the Vitalis in the hopes that one day he could destroy it. It was born of two gods. Only one thing is known to have killed a god.” He looks down at his hands and tries to flex them. “When the gods returned to their world, they left the God Swords here. Torin happened to have that in his possession as well.”
“Wait… if Torin used this sword to kill the book, then…” That means Titus will never be free. “I don’t understand.”
“A God Sword can kill a god, but this book is different. The god who made it did not realize that some of the materials he used were not of this land.”
“What land were they from?”
He looks to the corner of the room, gazes deep, as one does at a night sky. “You know… I don’t recall the name anymore, but I still remember the heat of the rising suns.” He smirks. Is he going to cry?
“Suns?” We have only one sun. This man makes no sense.
