Rune crafting is a varied and respected field of magic and wizardry. To use runes is to rewrite the laws of the world to suit one's needs, to bring the full potential out of the materials we craft with, and to utilize the mana of the world for our unique purposes.

  A majority of wizards take to learning Runecraft in some way or another. Be it to inscribe spell books, enchant objects, or form a spell ritual, most wizards tend to use runes in their day-to-day lives. One of the most rudimentary Rune languages, for there are several dozen, is Lexico. Due to the lack of complexity in Lexico Runes, many scholars posit it is weak, inept, and insufficient for the purpose of enchanting or spell craft. I, however, find that they lack creativity.

  Know this, fledgling scholar: while it is true that Lexico Runes may only maintain a rune circle of a maximum base of five runes, the rune circle will follow the will of the creator. What this means is that while the circle may hold only five Runes, the same circle with the same five Runes will react differently with the world dependent on the creator's intentions, mana signature, environment, and other factors, when activated by a different creator. That being said, a rune circle will behave in a determinate way based on the specific runes that are used within it. One does not always have to focus on the intended effects if the basic effect of the spell or enchantment is what they are after, and they cannot will the circle to behave in a way opposing the runes within the circle.

  The author then went on to say that while a few wizards had crafted spells that worked with a higher number of runes using only Lexico runes, the language was extremely finicky and it was recommended to seek out other languages to expand spells. Spells crafted with Lexico runes were difficult to create because of a requirement to have the spells perfectly balanced and to have the intent of the user working with the runes rather than even a smidge divergent.

  The major benefit of working with the Lexico language, though, was that failed spells didn’t often backlash against their casters; instead, they simply fizzled and dissipated. This wasn’t to say that accidents couldn’t happen, of course. A point that the author did a fairly decent, if rambly, job of explaining. The author spent an entire chapter telling anecdotes of the times that these rune circles failed in spectacular fashion.

  One particularly gruesome accident that I witnessed was when one of my students, a boy named Gerome, accidentally drew the separate rune instead of the stretch rune. For some reason, the two were eerily similar, though their effects were vast in differences. The students’ arms, the subject of the enchantment, were both severed at the elbow. The boy screamed for several minutes as his arms were just torn away from him. The spell he was casting was simply meant to elongate his limbs temporarily, but a lack of double-checking his work resulted in him finding it nearly impossible to continue as a wizard. Healers who can reattach limbs are rare, and even rarer are those who can replace limbs.

  The first steps in caution are of the utmost import, but so too are the later steps. Test your enchantments and spells rigorously; find every flaw before you attempt to cast it on yourself. Understanding and perfecting your craft prior to creating the enchanted item or spell will save you pain, heartache, woes and ire.

  The book continued to outline several other nuances for a dozen or so pages more before getting into the actual theory and practical knowledge related to crafting a rune circle. For the most part, the author kept these instructions focused on spell craft but touched on how they could also be used to create enchantments or inscribe materials for more temporary magical effects.

  Under the moons and stars, Lios learned much about spell craft. In a way, the sequencing of runes, and the importance of ordering them correctly, reminded him of dull memories of coding languages. Having used a decent amount of C sharp and Python between his career and personal projects, he was able to translate the material and understand it fairly easily.

  He read deep into the night, absorbing and collating the information as best he could through drooping eyes. Before long, his eyes grew heavier, far too heavy to keep open. Sometime before dawn his father found him leaning against the well. Ezekiel smiled at his diligent son and carefully pried the book from the boy's grasp. He then gingerly, far more gently than was possible on Earth, lifted Lios up and carried him to his bed. He didn’t go so far as to tuck the boy in, but he draped a thin blanket over his body, listening with amusement as Lios snored.

  Lios woke up confused. He knew this was not where he had fallen asleep; he also knew he had had his book clutched in his lap before he dozed. With a start, he jolted. Furiously, his eyes flickered around his sparse room. His panic quickly abated as he saw the book on the floor beside his bed. He climbed out of the bed and stepped out of his room, still dressed from the night before. His eyes widened at the light streaming in from the windows.

  This was the latest he had woken up in years.

  A stifled giggle caused him to whirl towards the kitchen. Elaine had a hand covering her mouth as she watched her son look about in confusion. “LiLi, you can’t just sleep outside; your pa and I got worried. He brought you in before heading out to work. You’re lucky the bugs didn’t get to you while you were napping.”

  “Mooommmm, don’t call me that!” Lios sighed heavily after his mother used the nickname Rose often used. A twinge of a smirk played at the corners of his lips even as he whined.

  “Hmm... so, only your little girlfriend can call you that?” His mother teased once again before continuing and interrupting Lios’s retort. “You don’t have enough time to practice, but there were a few kids hanging out outside that I think wanted to talk to you. When did you make so many friends?”

  “Oh? Who is it?” Lios asked curiously, taking a peek outside and seeing four kids plus Rose chatting out by the well, in the soft spring sunlight. He recognized all four of the strangers but knew the one name. Keagan. The rest he had also seen at the little sword fighting contest a few months prior.

  “Just go out and talk to them already. Oh! But here, eat this first.” She said, handing him a breakfast sandwich wrapped in butcher's paper and pointing at a cup of fruit juice.

  Lios nodded absently and swiftly devoured them both. Then he slipped on his boots and grabbed the training longsword from his collection and stepped outside to greet his visitors. There was a dull chatter that faded as he started walking towards them all. Rose waved at him and smiled; he waved back, of course. As he did, the other four turned to face him. Keagan stepped forward and held out a hand to shake.

  “Rose told me your name is Lios. I mean, I heard it at the fight night, but... And she also said that you train every day out here. We came to ask if you’d help us train too.” The boy was rather well-spoken for being nine or so, at least a year older than Lios.

  As he spoke, Brioche poked out from the forest and rushed toward the gaggle of kids. There was a brief screech as the tan ball of fur exploded into motion in their direction, but it stopped when Rose squatted down and accepted the barreling tackle of the fox into a hug. The solitary girl other than Rose timidly approached Lios’s friend.

  “My name is Maya... Is this your fox?” She blushed as she held a hand out for

  Bri to sniff.

  “Hmm.. She’s a wild fox who I happen to be friends with.” Lios said, scratching the back of his head. “So you all want to train with me? I won’t say no; I just don’t know how much help I can be.”

  “Mostly, we wanted to spar with you. Maybe you could give us some tips when you think of them. You were obviously better than me, and I’m better than them right now...” Keagan said sheepishly.

  Brioche nuzzled the top of her head into Maya’s tentative palm, eliciting a squeal of delight from the girl. Lios took a moment to think about what they were asking him, but he found no downsides and didn’t mind helping them. Besides, having training partners around his age would only help him improve as well.

  “I’m certainly willing to spar with you all, and give you some pointers. If you want to train with me, I usually train from first light until lunchtime. Do you all have training weapons to use? I have a few, but it depends on what you want to fight with.” Lios rambled as he began thinking of all the logistical elements to training them.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “I don't have one.” A gruff-looking kid said, standing taller than even Keagan, who appeared to be the oldest as well as a spokesperson for the group. “Oh. My name is Ento. Preferably, I would use a great sword, like me da.”

  “A great sword? The closest I have right now is this longsword. We can use this as a base to learn techniques on so that you'll be ready for something heavier when you get your system.” The young swordsman said idly, walking toward Ento and handing over the sword by the hilt. He then turned his attention to the smallest of the group, content to leave Maya to fawn over the fox for a few more moments. “And you?”

  “Ralphy. And I have one I just didn’t bring it.” The boy seemed to squirm under Lios’s gaze, unable to maintain eye contact and seeming to put a slow effort behind his words. Each word was enunciated carefully, bereft of any stutter, but Lios could hear the nerves behind them.

  “Gotcha. You were using a rapier when I saw you last, if I remember right. How about you, Maya?” The girl looked up, tearing her focus from the fuzzy friend to realign on Lios.

  “I... I don’t really know. I just want to learn how to protect myself and my little brother.” She looked down, self-conscious that she was not better prepared like her companions.

  “Hmm... How about a spear then? Or we could try to go for a sword and shield, but I think a spear would be better. Let me go get one so you can try it out.” Lios waited for her timid nod before jogging back into his house, flitting past his mother as he grabbed a spear, his falchion, and a rapier. Lastly, he tucked a short sword into his belt.

  With arms full of dull training weapons, he attempted to skirt past his mother, but she took easy notice of him and called out. “LiLi, invite your friends in when it’s time for lunch. Oh, your dad said you could be a little late to the barracks today too.”

  The boy tried to stifle the groan that came from her using Rose’s nickname for him. He swallowed most of it, but she still heard his consternation when he muttered a “Yes, mother,” which of course caused her to grin behind his back.

  Soon enough he was before them all again, Brioche now back on the ground yipping as Maya and Rose played with her. Once he was back with everyone, he handed his rapier over to Ralphy, who noted the chips in the blade from all the times Lios practiced with his father, and then the spear over to Maya, who took no notice of any such thing. Ento was already swinging the longsword with Keagan calling out adjustments and tips.

  “So how about a spar to start? Normally I practice my forms first thing in the morning, but I am a few hours late, so let's try to hit each other instead?” Lios said jovially, stabbing the falchion into the ground and drawing his short sword instead.

  “Okay, who do you want to go first?” Keagan asked.

  “Maya, what sort of experience do you have with a weapon?” Lios asked, taking his new role of a trainer seriously. He felt a flurry of butterflies, nerves twitching as he struggled not to feel like an imposter. He certainly didn’t feel like he was knowledgeable enough to teach others, but he at least had some knowledge he could pass on.

  “None...” she said shyly, holding her spear awkwardly.

  “That’s fine. We all have to start somewhere. Let me show you some techniques to practice while the rest of us spar.”

  She nodded at the suggestion, and the others stepped back to observe or play with Brioche, who was ferociously nipping at ankles, causing the children to giggle. It didn’t matter that she was a wild animal; she was tame enough to know not to hurt humans, especially after spending much time with Lios and his family.

  Lios took the spear from Maya and took a stance with it. “In the future, when you get access to the system and if you decide to continue down this path, you’ll be able to choose between a few fighting styles. My father has taught me techniques for a dexterity-based, strength-based and balanced spear style. I’m going to teach you the balanced style that he showed me, the same as what the guards use from what I understand. Now, take the spear and try to match my stance.”

  He handed the spear over and had her take a stance. Her feet were a bit too close, so he stood behind her and used his feet to direct hers. Her hands a bit too far apart on the shaft of the weapon, he helped her to fix her grip. After that, he slowly and methodically showed her some techniques, just a few and enough to be effective with a spear.

  “There are great advantages to using a spear. The first is that you have reach, so long as you can keep the spear between you and your opponent, your opponent will struggle to reach you. You can also get a lot more leverage than your foe, allowing you to move faster and strike harder since you typically have more room to move than they do, more time to gather inertia.”

  “What is inertia?” Maya interjected, with a bit of sweat already beading on her forehead. He had shown her a few techniques to try, and while the spear was light, moving it around and carrying it for so long made it feel heavier by the minute.

  “Inertia is like... It's the force of movement, to put it simply. If you were on a carriage, for example, and it was going full speed while you were standing but suddenly stopped, you’d keep going full speed if that makes sense. In terms of spear work, when you generate enough momentum or inertia, there will be a higher impact than if you started from here to strike someone.” Lios punctuated the instruction by demonstrating a close strike, with little room between him and his opponent. Then he followed with one where he lunged a full step, the strike causing the air to whistle from the spear slicing through the air.

  He continued to show her some basic techniques, starting with a basic thrust. Standing still, he had her guide the strike with her left hand and push with the right, the hand on the butt of the spear, showing her how to twist her hips to generate some of that leverage and inertia even while not moving forward. Next, he showed her to thrust while stepping forward, adding a bit of power to the strike. After that how to block to the right or the left, he stood in front of her and casually waved a sword near her. The last thing he showed her was how to strike with the butt of the spear when an enemy got close.

  Of course, these techniques were all the simple foundation of spearman-ship. These were the skills used by farmers turned to soldiers, easy enough to pick up and become effective footsoldiers; these were techniques passed to entire armies in times of crisis. Lios didn’t plan to end her training here. No, he would, if she was interested, show her techniques that took actual practice and skill to use. His father had shown him a few, showing why he was both the head of the guard training and the vice captain of Arborton’s defenders.

  Once he had her set up, he left her to practice techniques while Lios approached the three boys, who were chatting and petting Brioche. She was lying on the grass with her belly exposed, laughing as she accepted belly rubs. It brought a serene joy to Lios to see her so happy. It felt like only yesterday she had been on his kitchen table with him and his mother fighting to save her from the rottfang bites.

  “So, now that we’ve got Maya going, who wants to spar?” Lios asked casually, getting the attention of all three boys.

  Keagan immediately rose to his feet, brushing off the grass and dirt that stuck to his pants. The nine-year-old then grabbed the longsword from Ento, as he had not brought his own weapon either. None of them seemed to have intended to practice today, but they didn’t shy away from it.

  Lios grinned and picked up his falchion, the wide curved blade reflecting sunlight, though not much as the blade was nowhere near polished. He and Keagan stepped away from the others, who were watching with excitement and curiosity. Lios gave a countdown, and at three the boys clashed. Unlike the last time, they didn’t stop when one of them landed a blow on the other; Lios called out tips with each strike.

  He and Keagan danced around the field, the grass taller than their ankles brushing against their calves. Keagan’s blond hair dripped with sweat before long, his chest heaving from the exertion of swinging a sword for even a dozen minutes. Bruises were likely to form all over his torso and limbs, despite Lios attempting to be gentle. Still, the boy didn’t stop even as he started slowing down.

  In contrast, while Lios sweat, his hair was not so wet as to be matted down. Currently, his locks were decently long, having grown them out over the fall and winter, and he was due for a cut. The young swordsman also didn’t feel the same weariness as his sparring partner, having spent so many hours for so many days training. His body was used to the exertion, and despite still being below the age of ten, his muscles had grown lean and strong. Cable-like.

  After nearly half an hour of sparring, Lios called an end to it to let Keagan get some rest. He picked out a few foundational techniques and some footwork exercises Ezekiel had taught him and showed them to the other boy. Ento and Ralphy also watched carefully and emulated Lios, determining that these were movements they could use as well.

  After taking a short break for water, and making sure it was still far from lunch time, Lios took Ento and Ralphy on at the same time. It was a bit of a selfish request. He wanted to see if he could handle fighting two people at once. Keagan had certainly grown in the months since Lios had fought him, but so had Lios. Ento and Ralphy, as it turned out, were not bad fighters by any means. Well, not for their ages, of course. Ento was the same age as Keagan, while Ralphy was a few months older than the Earthling.

  They still didn’t manage to land a blow on Lios, his years of practice and sparring against his father paying off, but they got close on a number of occasions. As promised to his mother, they broke for lunch when the suns were overhead. Afterwards, everyone went off to do their own things as Lios went to the barracks to help for some extra coin.

  Even though he no longer needed money to get the books on runes, he enjoyed having something to do in the afternoons and enjoyed the monotony of work. The tasks he performed were still simple. He polished armor and weapons for higher-ranking guards, the recruits still being asked to manage their own. Sometimes he would make deliveries to various townsfolk and found himself becoming increasingly recognized around town. Other times he would just sweep or, on rare occasions, he would cook a dinner for the guards. This became more and more frequent after they learned he was actually pretty good at cooking for his age, crediting his mother for his talent.