Runes

"So...." Violet whispered to herself while running steady hands over her injuries. Jace had done a good job, most of them would have healed nicely, even without the eventual return of her ability. "so what do you do now Violet?"

"Kieren...." Alex looked at him nervously, "will you tell us where you went?"

Kieren ran his hand through his hair and looked at Alex, "Not yet."

Alex opened her mouth to press on but was interrupted as Jace appeared from an adjacent door. "Kieren, I'm going up to change Violet's gauzes, would you help me?"

Kieren rose immediately from his seat when a soft voice called out, "there is no need, I can do it later." Six sets of eyes flicked in the direction of the stairs. She stood quietly, barefoot, and barley dressed on the bottom step, an unperturbed aura not reconciled with the wounded state of her body.

"Violet!" Kieren practically launched himself forward face dappled in worry. "What are you doing?"

The rest jumped to their feet in unison walking forward as Kieren reached Violet.

Kieren wrapped Violet in his arms, "Where does it hurt? What do you need? You should have called out!" Violet laughed despite the situation, "it's perfectly fine Kieren."

Kieren frowned looking conflicted, he ran a hand over her cheek, "None of this is perfectly fine." He leaned forward and planted gentle kisses on her forehead, nose, cheekbones, and after a brief pause her lips.

The entourage paused unsettled but unsurprised, the high strung nearly volatile state Kieren had been operating under the past few days was enough to 'assure' them that the two were entangling in bed -sans Jace who knew something different-. Kieren pulled away and with steady hands picked Violet up. "Back to bed Violet."

Violet gripped his arm seriously, "Kieren... Jace patched me up which must undoubtedly mean," she stepped away and referred to her own damaged body, "this much 'is' perfectly fine.... not to mention..." she looked over his shoulders and met determined gazes, "it is time we talk."

Fifteen minutes later, Violet who had been pulled gently into Kieren's unsure and grumpy grasp on a couch, let out a contemplative hum at the finish of their story. Fully updated on the situation she played gently with Kieren's intertwined fingers eyes focused on something they could not see. "Well... I.... Yes.... Alright."

She looked up, "Do you have non toxic paint Jace?"

Paint? Jace said confusion on his face, "yeah," Violet continued, "paint, like the kind children use for finger painting?"

The rest of them stared at her perplexed, "What do you need it for?" Kieren said softly while nodding at Jace.

Jace returned with a blue bottle of paint. "Thanks, now how about a small bowl you don't mind me pouring this into.?"

Jace procured a bowl, Violet rose from the couch and began walking away. She turned toward the rest, took a deep breath, exhaled, and asked. "Well, would you like to learn something new today?"

They followed her down the corridor, exchanging confused glances, and into the gymnasium. Kieren hovered anxiously uncertain that she should be walking around. She thumbed on all the lights, walked to the center, sat down, and began making small markings on the floor while talking to them in a soft voice.

"They are not going to give you any answers because they haven't given them out to the general and even high standing public in several hundred years, it would undermine all the authority and power they keep for themselves. It would seem you are all aware that there is division within the Ruenen. I have listened to you question their motives, and resources a few times over. Listing inequalities, and chances for improvement that were discarded. I'm prepared to offer you a lifeline, what you do with it, is up to you."

She moved over and continued with her designs. "You all have seen similar symbols like these before, the powerful weapons that chose you have them inscribed, the marking stones, and most importantly you were born with one of the sole of your foot that represents your ability. They are called 'runes', now there are basic runes, like those depicted on your feet that represent earth, water, fire, and air. There is also one for healers, but it doesn't stop there, runes branch out in hundreds if not thousands of directions."

They surrounded her in fascination, Kieren sticking much too close and slightly threatening the rest to take a step back. Violet ignored it.

"People used to think runes came from the void and they made 'magic' appear. That's a lie, runes use life forces to convey power. There's a life force in all living things: air, water, fire, earthly organisms, even normal humans have life forces. They're just extremely week. We heightening beings have the ability to store that life force. Some can store vast amounts, like the water in the ocean, and others small amounts, like water in a vase. It is there that the distinction between power and mastery arise."

Violet motioned for Alex to come forward, towards the four runes drawn in individual squares on the floor. "Would you please stand in the middle? Good, now lift yourself into the air with your ability." Alex did, she frowned for a moment, but then managed to lift herself off the ground. "Good, come back down. Was that harder than normal?"

"It was weird," Alex said scratching at her face, "There was resistance from the ground." Violet nodded, she turned her attention to the ground and drew four more identical runes into the square, making the gaps smaller. "Try again."

This time the concentration on Alex's face gave way to the struggle she was facing. She was only able to lift herself up momentarily before coming back down before Violet even asked her too. Violet leaned down once more and completely closed off the square with the rune. "Once more please Alex."

Alex tried, she even closed her eyes and attempted with all her willpower to lift herself off the ground. "What the fuck." She mumbled looking around a bit of fear in her eyes, "I can't do it, the ground won't let me."

"Step out of the square and try again."

Alex left the square, closed her eyes, and flung into the sky with a squeal of delight. She came back down slowly. All eyes turned to the square with apprehension before turning back to Violet.

"Each of these squares would inhibit your abilities in a similar manner. This is a beginner's rune, from a chapter that translates to 'leave' in a book on 'air' I've read. There are several other runes for leave that vary in difficulty and complexity in that chapter. You struggled now Alex, but with a bit of resistance training you could potentially use your ability even in a closed rune square."

"Where did you get that book?" Zen interrupted, awe on his face.

Violet looked at him for a moment contemplating something. She turned to all of them, eyes traveling from Zen, to Jace, to Alex, to Tom, to Ted, and finally to Kieren. She took her right arm and it disappeared into a wall of light, she retracted her arm and with it came a book.

A gasp echoed around the room, she set it down in front of them. "What?" This time it was Ted, even though the question was reflected in all of their faces. "Where did you get it from? How did you do that?"

"I have no intention of answering that question so you might as well drop it. As is I have enough apprehension about teaching you runes." Violet finished slowly, "This is definitely treason against the Ruenen."

Kieren rubbed a gentle hand on her back while leafing through the book, noting that it was in a language he could not discern he asked. "I won't let them touch you. So, the person who did this to you, even though it was meant for me. They hit you with a rune? I don't understand."

Violet smiled kindly, "I'm getting there, runes can be used for many different things. For example, you can enhance, or deter. You can store more, or store less. You can deflect, project, or even temporarily use an ability that is not necessarily tied to you. Depending on the intensity and complexity of a rune it may even have an activation word."

She took Kieren's hand in hers and using the paint drew a different symbol. "When I say so, I want you to think and focus on a water droplet, blue, small, circular. I want you to picture it floating in the palm of your hand, focus all your attention into it. You ready?"

Kieren nodded, Violet whispered a word into the air, and they all felt it, a small ripple of something familiar. "druou"

Kieren was staring into his palm, eyes piercing. Another gasp sounded in the room, a tiny droplet of water was floating above his hand. He flickered his eyes to Violet in shock and the droplet crashed down into his hand.

Violet smiled, "Now, that water didn't just appear, this isn't Harry Potter. The rune on your hand pulled moisture particles from the air into your palm and the activation word gave it shape. That shape however, only existed for as long as you could hold concentration. It takes time, dedication, patience, and the ability to feel the lives of everything around you to create something. Fire is your natural calling, you've been dancing in its life force since you were a child, so it comes naturally. Anything else comes with difficulty and it will tire you out with such deadly efficiency. The person who took my ability for the week-yeah the lady was wrong, won't take two- is an air user and they're very advanced in not only their skill, but the use of runes for air."

Alex gasped pointing towards Violet, "the circle I saw around them!"

"Exactly," Violet continued, "they cast a rune circle, similar to the one of 'leave' certainly of higher complexity and charged an air arrow towards their original target. Kieren, we can however, discern several things, as powerful and well versed in runes as they are, they were incapable of casting the rune more than once. Hence, they retreated as soon as they realized it had not hit their target. Secondly, the rune caster was aiming to disable rather than kill. If they wanted you dead, it would appear your death was to come after capture. So they have something they want from you. Lastly, this was organized, so either somebody inside the Ruenen or outside of it, like I, is still privy to runes and is practicing them constantly."