"First, we have Truth, this glyph may only be cast if you haven't lied recently. We will be practicing this one today."
Headmaster Larry put out his palm and a letter was formed out of his purple blood. It looked like a sideways H with an X through it. The spell he had stored, Firework, went off, making a loud noise and a flash.
"Now, this method doesn't cost Eneru after you store the spell, but it does literally take blood from you, so using glyphs will both hurt and fatigue you. Also, once you use a glyph, you can no longer use it until you store a new spell in it." Headmaster Larry took a breath "Now, we will learn to store a spell."
Headmaster Larry held out his palm and took a special looking knife from his pocket.
"You have to draw the glyph absolutely perfectly, additionally, you have to use a knife that conducts Eneru to draw the glyph."
He started to cut a new glyph in his hand. He didn't flinch and the knife glowed. After a moment he showed us his glyph, it was like an upsidedown V with a normal V overlapping. Also, there were no wounds, they closed as soon as he finished his glyph
"This one is Order, you cannot use this glyph to cause chaos. For example, the glyph would reject an offensive spell. You store a spell by simply willing it to be. Try this glyph."
I was given a knife and Headmaster Larry told me there were healers nearby.
I held out my hand and put the knife on it, but I couldn't draw the glyph, no matter how long I stared at my hand, I just could not cut.
"Ingen, are you done?" Headmaster Larry asked. The majority of the class had already drawn it.
"Sir, I can't cut my hand."
"What do you mean you can't cut your hand? Are you afraid?"
"No sir, I thought I was ready, but for some reason, I just can't."
"Ok, watch this." Headmaster Larry pushed the knife into my hand and it went all the way through.
'AHH! That's messed up!' If Spirit had the capability to puke, he would have.
"What the hell?" I said in a panic
"Do you feel anything?"
"Uhh... huh? I guess not." I started shaking the knife around while it was still in my hand. "Interesting. Guess I'd better take it out."
'Why?! You're torturing me!' Spirit was experiencing a different type of pain.
I took out the knife and a healer closed the hole.
"So is this an enchantment or a product of glyphs?"
"Glyphs, I had the intention of drawing a glyph but 'messed up.'"
"Oh, so like this?" I drew the glyph and willed it to hold my spell Flying Flare. "Does verbal empowerment work?"
"Yes."
"Ignus, Lex, Moten, Rapse."
I drew the glyph correctly the first time and it flashed once I finished.
"So now I test it?"
"Sure. I heard Ignus so we will be going outside."
We left the room and I aimed my hand upwards, only an awkward silence followed.
"So, uh, how do I actually use the glyph?" A few students giggled at that.
"The same way you would cast a rune, except with blood instead of your fingers."
'Morbid, all of this is so morbid!' Spirit sent me his thoughts.
Despite Spirit's protests, Flying Flare flew from my hand, and my blue blood evaporated as it was used for casting.
'That hurts!'
A very bright light illuminated the early morning sky, drawing the gaze of many students.
"That's quite the spell. Tell me, what is the purpose of 'Raspe' in that spell?"
"Well it repels downwards the light that would have been sent upwards, it's a spell that requires you to use will to cast properly."
"Impressive, however, I'm here to teach glyphs, not spell-making, so now I will criticize you. Using Order for that spell was a bad idea, it caused a distraction in all the classrooms so its effectiveness has likely been reduced. Also, you did not activate the glyph fast enough, letting more blood leave you."
"I will work on it, prof."
"Next up is Daniel." Headmaster Larry said.
We all watched our classmates try their first blood glyph and I found that none of them quite surpassed my skill in spell-making, they were almost all better at blood glyphs.
"No criticism" Headmaster Larry would say whenever they did well.
'Now I know how the students in my physics class must have felt' I mused to myself, feeling a little smug.
"Class is over Ingen, what are you standing there for? You have to get to alchemy."
"Sorry!" I had been musing for too long and my head was not where I was.
I took off and instinctively started to practice flow manipulation.
About halfway through my flight, I felt a headache set in, then my real arm started to seize up, a spark of black lightning set my hair alight.
"Not NOW!" I dove towards the ground and started to draw the runes for Flying Flare.
My parachute deployed as I neared the ground and the black lightning continued arcing off of my horns and into anything metal, including my Changeling Armor. My body continued separate spasms from both the breakthrough and the black lightning.
"EJECT!" My Changling Armor crawled off of me and laid in a puddle. My Flying Flare flew out of my hand to the sky and I screamed in pain as my head felt like it would split.
Then it did, kind of, my skin flipped over and started to have Eneru integrated into it. The process happened over and over, laying my muscles bare, enhancing them, then reorganizing them to be more efficient.
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"WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?" Nurse Nalep shouted over the thunder the lightning made. "I CAN'T GET ANY CLOSER!"
'Ward! We need a barrier!' Headmaster Larry shouted over a forced mind-link with Ward.
"Indse! Peren! Nue! Jente!" Ward cast a construct of lightning near me that attracted the black lightning, acting as a barrier. "THAT'S THE BEST I'VE GOT!" He shouted.
The black lightning started to corrupt the lightning rods, slowly taking control of them.
My screams pierced the day, waking those who slept in and making birds in the forest take flight. But I stayed awake, mostly because of Spirit, who sometimes would take over and bear the pain.
'I plead with the God of Beasts, please allow me to share the burden of my companion's pain!' Orin willed his message to his deity, who responded personally.
'Protect your pack little one, I grant your wish, simply think the runes Bure and Fune.'
The runes were burned onto Orin's spirit core and he knew them like he had cast them a thousand-thousand times.
Orin did as instructed. Suddenly my body hair, teeth, and fingernails morphed into fur, fangs, and claws. Orin and I thought as one.
"ARRG!" We half shouted, half howled.
'I don't want to die here.'