Val stood off to the side, relieved to hear there were other survivors in safety, not too far off. If things went well, he might be able to join them later and get a clearer picture of what happened.
Meanwhile, Karl issued some tasks to the two ravens.
"Huginn, check on the goblins regularly, I want to know their movements and whether this is a clan or merely displaced stragglers. Muninn, you keep an eye on the humans, do not reveal yourself to them, but if danger approaches and there's no time to report back, try to warn them." Karl instructed the ravens, but these instructions did not seem to align with his previous words entirely. Val suspected it was more for his benefit to convince him to remain at the camp, but regardless of Karl's true motives, he was content with the result.
Accepting their tasks, the two ravens hungrily took to some food. It seemed they had used a lot of energy.
Did they fly non-stop? Val watched as the two devoured bits of meat and grain as if they had not eaten in days.
Finished with his breakfast, Val set aside his bowl and walked over to Karl, who was studying the smoldering campfire with a stern look in his eye.
"So, where do we start? What kind of magic was it that my father's ancestors practiced?" Val asked.
Karl did not look up from the fire but began to explain. "Their magic was based on runes. A god, gifted the knowledge of runes, to those willing to learn. It would later be adapted to form their written language, but through study and practice of the original forms they could invoke a myriad of powers."
"Really? So I just need to learn these runes, and I can use them? How many are there?"
"Twenty-five runes in total, though the number who could comprehend every rune could be counted on a single hand. Stories suggest it was impressive to even master three."
"Only twenty-five? And three was impressive? Why so low?" Val had thought twenty-five runes should be simple to learn. He had studied Japanese and Chinese in school, memorizing the various readings and meanings of several thousand characters was difficult, roughly a couple dozen should be trivial.
"Many of the runes have very nuanced and complex meanings, while some are more primal and straightforward. Runes are not terribly flexible, but they are focused, powerful tools. Naturally, some would be more commonly useful than others. The people who would bother even trying to learn them all would be mainly the elders and scholars. Of all the words in your language, who do you know would learn them all?"
"You must know some of these runes yourself, right? I assume you wouldn't be telling me this otherwise."
Karl gazed up at Val and had a wry smile on his face. "I suppose it would expedite things to show you."
He extended an arm towards Val, a large palm facing upwards. In a moment, a symbol seemed to carve its way into the very space above his hand. It was as if it were written with blue light, reminding Val of long exposure photos where shapes are captured as trails of light. The instant the rune was completed, it was replaced with a flame bursting to life in his palm.
The flame captivated Val. In a moment that felt much longer, he had witnessed fabled magic in use before his very eyes. His mind started piecing pieces of information and suspicions together, connecting threads seemed to sow themselves across his thoughts. He looked at Karl in mild disbelief with a realization that had sat within reach had he bothered to look. He smirked, delight and disbelief lingering in his eyes.
"I think I believe your stories now, 'Mr. Wednesday'." Val said as doubt and uncertainty fled to the far corners of his mind.
Karl closed his palm into a fist, snuffing out the mystical fire, erupting in a fit of laughter. Huginn stared at Val in mild disbelief, and Muninn seemed to smile with her eyes.
Ravens, an elder missing an eye, mastery over runic magic, Val was confident that the 'man' before him was once a god, honored with the gift of Wednesday to those who would speak the Germanic languages. The god otherwise referred to as Wotan, or Odin, rose from his chair and beamed at Val with his clear blue eye.
Before Val had felt indescribably small before Karl, now he felt smaller, realizing the true nature of the man.
"So, you mentioned I'm 22 years behind if I want to use magic, I'm guessing you have a way to make good on time, or you wouldn't be showing me all of this," Val remarked.
"I do. It's a brutish method, it might even kill you, interested?" Karl grinned.
Val grimaced but agreed nonetheless. "A chance to learn magic from a god, a master of the ancient runes? At least if I die this way rather than fleeing from disaster, I reckon there's a pretty nice place waiting for me."
"Well said, boy! My wife truly has better eyes than I." Karl's grin could not grow any further.
At this moment, Huginn found his words again, desperation marked his tone. "My lord, please reconsider! This may not even work, and it would be better served to restore even a sliver of your power! Even if this does work, to what end? He will not gain even a fraction of the power you could! If it kills him, then the opportunity will be wasted in its entirety! I beg you—"
"Enough!" Karl commanded.
Val raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what this was about, but it seemed related to their argument yesterday.
Sly old man, you've been planning this from the start.
"So, what's going to happen?" He asked.
Karl took a pair of tongs and fished out the stone in the fire. It had grown even more translucent than before and seemed to be even hotter. It almost had a clarity, like a slightly opaque crystal.
"This stone, despite its size, contains a significant amount of power. In the absence of anima to bind itself to, magic will sometimes find themselves in rocks and metals, forming bonds with each other using the object as a medium. In time they will crystalize completely and form a stable structure. Such stones can be used as a long-lasting fuel or be used in the construction of other implements. Before that, though, they will become increasingly unstable, sometimes they even explode if there's too much magic for the medium to contain. I have waited for that moment, when its capacity to draw in aether from its surroundings is highest. We will use this to forge an enchantment, a brand of sorts, it will draw magic in much greater quantity, containing it like a vessel. It will nourish you; through it, your body will grow stronger at a staggering pace. As you grow stronger, it will grow with you, feeding your body with greater power, you may not even outgrow it, but if you do, you will be powerful. In the past, these enchantments paved the way for one to ascend beyond mortal limits. How far it will take you will largely be up to you, however." Karl explained seriously, as he deposited the stone in a small pot.
"I'm guessing to catch up on two decades, this won't be so simple."
"It might, but I have confidence in you surviving it."
"Fair enough, when do we start." Val asked.
"Now." Karl pulled out a massive chain with shackles on both ends and a large steel spike. The chain looked like one that would tow a truck or lift a gate.
The corner of Val's mouth twitched as he considered the implications of what Karl would use those for.
Karl motioned to Val and the ravens to follow, heading towards the stream, carrying the pot and chains.
Moving upstream, they came upon a wider section with a large boulder jutting out in the middle. Karl waded into the stream and climbed to the top with the chain and spike. In the next moment, displaying herculean strength, he rammed the spike deep into the boulder through one of the links, anchoring the chain to the rock.
"Undress, then come here, these chains, while crude, will restrain you for your own safety during the process." Karl directed.
Val could not help having some regrets as pieces fell into place in his mind.
Karl was no longer making light of situations. "I suspect this will be the most painful experience you've ever had, take a moment, and steel yourself if you wish to survive this."
Taking his time with his clothes, Val thought of his family, friends, hoping they were still alive and well. He resolved himself with the belief that they were out there somewhere, and he'd survive this to find them and build a new home. A place where they can laugh, play, and live as they once did. Drinking, complaining about work, having fun at the expense of each other. He was determined to gain enough power to protect those he cared about and ward off any who would harm them, be it goblins or far worse.
Val took determined steps into the stream. His mind was elsewhere, focused singularly on surviving this ordeal, barely feeling the chill of the water that once bothered him.
Karl watched him approach with a meaningful eye. "Good, whatever reasons you found, hold them tightly and do not let go. Remember this feeling, after this, that resolve will carry you anywhere you wish to go. My advice though, ignoble as it may be, is to focus on yourself for now, your own personal self preservation."
The two ravens observed in silence as Karl fastened the shackles to Val's wrists. Huginn was stoic, unreadable, his eyes seemed conflicted, perhaps a glimmer of respect, but Muninn had a look of worry in her eyes.
The shackles were uncomfortable and cold. With Val's arms being hung from above, they were already digging into his wrists.
To Val's surprise, Karl took the glowing stone directly in his hand. The sound of sizzling flesh reached his ears, but Karl did not seem bothered. Veins protruded from his swelling arm as he gripped the stone tightly.
Bright blue light glowed from Karl's eye, the air felt heavier, his entire body seemed to swell, and color suffused his skin as if he were growing younger.
Suddenly the stone shattered in his grip, fire and red light attempted to escape in all directions, only to be caught by an invisible force. The flames faded, but the red light split, bent, and turned around as if having a will of its own, gathering in Karl's open palm. Runes shaped from blue light again carved themselves into being above his palm, threads of red light sought after these symbols. They seemed to be absorbed by the runes, but upon entering, the runes were stained as a color like flames spread across them.
Karl stood in silence, focusing solely on the construction of rune after rune. As the runes absorbed light, they shrunk in size and began to neatly arrange themselves in a circular shape. An apparent sentence of blazing red runes shaped themselves into two rings, one enclosing the other. In the middle, a single rune took shape, larger than the others, looking like an arrow pointing upwards. The remaining threads of red light all converged on this one rune, and it too glowed red hot.
Val now understood what Karl meant by a brand, mustering all of his courage, to not look away, he focused intently on the magic. Two rings of glowing runes rotated counter to each other.
Karl took a few steps forward, grasping Val's shoulder with his free hand, and then pressed the brand into Val's chest, above his heart.
A searing pain took root in his chest, he convulsed as the air left his lungs, and his body reflexively tried to struggle away from the source of his pain. Between Karl's grip and the boulder they chained him to, he could not escape the brand.
"Focus, boy! Look at me! Breathe, grit your teeth, and bear the pain!" Karl stared at Val, trying to capture his gaze and instruct him.
Sweat appeared all over Val's body as his entire body felt like it was burning. His eyes turned bloodshot as his pupils narrowed, and after what felt like minutes of pain, he forced in one breath, only to spend it screaming. He could not control himself as tortured screams traveled through the woods.
"Good! Scream, shout, yell if you must! Just stay awake and bear the pain. We're almost past the critical step." Karl himself looked to be struggling to maintain his spell. Signs of exertion and sweat showed on his forehead.
After a few minutes of agony, Karl withdrew his hand and released Val, who immediately slumped forward, unconscious.
Where Karl had placed his hand, there appeared bloody seared flesh and charred skin. In the badly cauterized wound, a construction of runes, two rings, the outer one half a foot in diameter still seemed to blaze, in the center a symbol like an arrow or a 'T' with its top side bent downward, glowed red hot.
"… Is he alive?" Muninn asked with great concern.
Karl waded out of the stream and collapsed to the ground, sitting against a tree for support.
With a grim expression on his face, Karl answered. "He is, he's survived the first step, and I've reinforced his body to the extent I could. Now comes the real trial. Either way, I suspect the boy has ten days at best."