183: Draconic Runes

I made sure to run outside first, collecting Crisplet from the tree, before making my way into the kitchen. I was too excited to try something crazy for lunch. Deciding to see what Archie had in the cold room, I spotted several chickens there. Grabbing two, I went back out to the kitchen, spotting Lily.

A quick trip back into the cold room, I grabbed an extra three chickens, deciding to go with five overall. With Crisplet already having started the fires, I decided to mix it up with the wood today—something I had not done in quite a while.

A simple seasoning of dried herb mix, fire salt, and pepper, along with some oil, cooked over a grill with Thornroot since it was probably the wood I had used the least.

While it cooked, I was distracted by Sylverith, who still had the book in hand.

“Are draconic runes very different from human ones?” I asked.

There was a part of me that was genuinely worried I just simply wouldn’t be able to comprehend or do any of them, especially since Milo made it seem like it would be quite difficult and complex.

The question seemed to give Sylverith pause, though, as she considered the answer. Putting the book down, she pulled out a piece of slate that appeared to be blank.

“They will certainly be different. A human’s runes are based on structure. You preset the spell size and shape, and then just apply mana. A draconic rune; you only set the concept, and the mana and intent dictate the rest. Where the trouble will arise is that you need to understand the concept from a draconic point of view,” she explained.

She drew something on the slate that looked vastly different from anything I had seen to date. It wasn’t even a circle like the ones I had practised.

“This is the concept of light as I know it. The shape symbolises the rays and the fleeting nature of it. When I activate it, I will use my mana to imitate light mana, while giving it the intent to spread out from the rune,” she said.

It began to glow before the slate shattered and turned to dust.

“Wait, the lesson started already?” Milo said from the doorway, just stepping inside.

Sylverith laughed. “Worry not. Young Trevor was just wondering what the difference between draconic runes and human ones was.”

Milo shook his head. “Everything.”

A piece of coal hit the back of my head.

“Sorry, Crisplet, just got distracted!” I said, pulling the chicken off the grill. They smelled great. It had a smoky, fiery hit, with just the right amount of char on the outside. Stacking it all up, I used Infuse on them before portioning it out.

I got to Sylverith and paused. I knew her form could eat. I didn’t know how much, though. My confusion must have been clear.

“Just the one piece. I’m always curious to try something new,” she said.

I divided it up for everyone, ensuring Lily had two chickens and Liane had a whole one.

Once everyone had eaten, Liane, not wanting to join in with the rune conversation, led Crisplet out front, while Milo, Sylverith, and I stayed in the kitchen. Apparently, the draconic runes tended to be more explosive than regular ones.

I pulled out a piece of parchment and a charcoal stick, ready to practice.

“Put that away. This isn’t something you can just learn the lines of and repeat. First, we need to discuss the concept of time, and this will probably be difficult for you to grasp—not because you don’t understand that days go by, but you need to understand it from a draconic perspective,” Sylverith started.

Milo was already taking notes as Sylverith spoke, clearly not wanting to forget anything.

“Milo, dear, you’ll need to promise me you won’t share this knowledge outside of the people in this room,” Sylverith said.

“I swear,” Milo said immediately.

“Okay, well, let’s focus on speeding up time as the first one, since it will be the most useful of the three. Time, from a draconic perspective, is abundant, and something you’ll rarely be concerned about. If Lily succeeds in her goal, you’ll understand this, Trevor,” she said with a chuckle.

“Speeding up time would be the final one a dragon learns when dealing with runes and time, as the idea of needing to speed it up is something a dragon generally has no hunger or desire to do. If we want a year to pass, we just have a quick nap. However, for humans, this might be easier to grasp,” she said, before picking up the stone slate and starting to draw with a claw that appeared on her hand.

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She soon showed the rune, which looked to me like a jumble of lines that made no sense.

“Let me explain the concept here. This is known to the system as the draconic rune of erosion. You’re convincing matter that time has passed, rather than commanding time to pass. Where the difficulty is for dragons is that you need to genuinely want time to pass. The difference between the desire for time to pass and the performed desire is the difference between a successful rune and a broken one.”

As she spoke, the rune on the slate lit up with a light green, and the stone crumbled away to dust as it aged before our eyes.