.^^ the Bone Athame ^^

— James —

We made our way into a different portion of the house, which up into a massive greenhouse, one half normal garden, and the other half filled with all the avionics one would need to grow several types of magical herbs.

In layered trays, six high and twelve across, they were organized thoughtfully, according to the different frequencies of light necessary for every type plant, providing the specific amount of 'sunlight' needed for optimum growth, while they all floated in a thick bed of vitamin-rich magic-filled mud.

I nodded slowly. "Impressive..."

"Oi! Who's this fuck? I was sleepin, I was!" A mandrake growled.

"Shut up, Mandrake, no one cares if you were sleeping, plants don't sleep. You're being dramatic." A Helheim Ice-Flower said derisively.

"Ooh, coming from you, Ice-Queen?" They bickered, and I sighed.

"What's wrong?" Siobhan asked, concerned.

"Your mandrake is an asshole, and the Ice-Flower is being a bitch, but most of these plants are entirely non-sentient, as I said they would be. Trees are generally the only non-magical plants that have voices." I explained.

She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Huh... well, what about the magical plants? Are they happy with their placements?"

"Not at all, but they won't be happy if you move them, either. They like to bicker. I made the mistake of rearranging my collection of Bonsai, one time? Did not go well." I snorted.

"So... they don't like where they are, but if I move them, they'll be even more ornery?" She asked.

"Only I would hear it, but yes. They just like to bicker, as I said." I nodded.

She hummed. "Alright... Not what I expected, to be honest..."

"Did you expect something from Alice in wonderland, where they sing and dance and give directions?" I asked dryly.

She smiled. "Maybe a little. But now I teach you some more. Let's go see the library, child."

"We're already done with the practical testing?" I asked.

She nodded. "I just wanted to see your knowledge of Runes, but it's clear you have a decent repertoire. Now I'll show you how to carve them in the air, the most basic of Skald skills, and the most used, as well."

"Alright, sounds good." I nodded, and bid the plants goodbye, then followed her into the stairwell, which we took all the way up to the top floor, the sixth story. This floor was the only one that didn't have the cut-out in the middle, looking down on the dining room.

She sat us both down at a small table, one of many, scattered around the large library, nearly the same size as the one in Athenos's Basement. "Alright! First, you'll need an instrument to carve the Runes. An Athame, or Wand." She said calmly.

I sighed. "Of course wands are real. I hoped they weren't, but here we are..."

She smiled. "Yes, my children were loathe to use the tool as well, but here we are. Try this." She set a small wooden dagger in front of me, and then traced a Rune in the air, which meant 'Balance'. "Trace that, if you will. Get a feel for it." She nodded.

I picked up the wooden dagger, and set the tip against the Rune, tracing it slowly. The tip heated up, on contact with the white Rune, as if it was meeting fire, but fire with actual substance. Like Crystal.

I pulled back, and then tried to make my own Rune, next to the first one. The magic I pushed into the wand was instantly amplified, making me grin, but when it met the air, it turned into something so hot and bright that it instantly blinded me, and made the wand evaporate into so much smoke.

A cool hand was pressed to my eyes, and slowly my eyesight recovered, to human levels. I shook the hand off, and completed the healing with my own magic.

"I take it that was not supposed to happen?" I asked, still blinking spots from my eyes.

She hummed. "I underestimated you. The wand failed, and your eyes were damaged because of it. Had the wand been strong enough, it would have looked something like my own Rune."

"Alright... what about doing it with my fingers, like you, or sheep's blood, like the other girls?" I asked.

She blinked. "They used sheep's blood on the Ward, and you still broke it?"

"Yes. It was badly written, possibly because of their hurry." I shrugged.

She hummed softly. "Interesting... either way, you don't have the control necessary to use your hands, or mind. Also, using sacrificial blood only amplifies the Rune, it doesn't grant it any greater stability. No, you'll need a wand that can handle your magical strength. That's the problem with Runes, see? They demand a basic portion of your magic, regardless of how powerful you intend to make them. You can only amplify them, never make them weaker." She sighed.

I nodded and reached into my bag, pulling out the thigh-bone of the Fire Giant I'd taken in Muspelheim, condensed down to only a foot long. "Alrighty, then. I'll just make one of my own." I shrugged, then paused. "Any specifics I need to know? Or just a bone dagger?"

She hummed. "No, no specifics. Everything that makes it special happens after it's forging."

"Alright." I nodded, and started the Crafting, right then and there.

The bone melted, slowly but surely, when exposed to the fire I'd made from the Ice of Hel and Dragon's Fire. It simultaneously froze the bone, and melted the ice, turning it into liquid.

Once finished, I poured magic into it, and enchanted it carefully with Stability and Focus spells, every step of the way. Once it was shaped like a normal bone dagger, I began the smaller details. I made sure it had an Obsidian-sharp blade, as well as a chisel-type Diamond-Tip, and a core lined up carefully with the tip, allowing me to use it as a chisel, if need be.

I bound the handle in the leather that I had made from the skin of the same fire-giant, carved carefully with spells of stability, focus, and strength.

Spells of safety were placed against the blade, absolutely forbidding it to cut anything on accident. Not even paper. Intent was required for even the smallest of incisions, just like Athenos's scalpels, where I had learned the spell originally.

Then I got an idea, and grinned, melting down the crystal dagger Aunty Durham has given me, and placing it inside the handle of the new dagger, with an exposed bit of crystal on the hilt, which looked just like the rest of the dagger.

Once done, I quenched the Virgin Dagger in the blood of a Frost-Giant, courtesy of the one and only Khiame Thunder-Eyes himself. The dagger soaked it in, and the temperature settled on neutral.

I looked up, and grinned at the wide eyes of the Elf-Skald. "What? Never seen a Master CraftSmith Forge?" I asked teasingly.

She smiled. "No, no I haven't. It's impressive. I like all the spells for stability, they're a nice touch... what kind of bone did you say this was?" She stroked the spells, before the dagger dropped into my hand.

"Fire-Giant. The blood was Frost Giant. The crystal was Fae, and the spells were my father's invention." I explained, and slid it over in front of her.

She smiled and wrote a small Rune in what looked like Aramaic, or maybe cuneiform, then pressed it to a clean spot on the blade, then tried to flip it over, failing, I flipped it swiftly, and she pressed another, different Rune to that side.

The careful coating of protective magic I'd placed was ripped away, at the very tip of the knife, and the core slowly became a conduit of some kind I'd never seen, under my watchful gaze. Then it was done, and she nodded. "There we go! Now try again."

I nodded, and then tried the Rune again, picking up the dagger with little to no effort. It came out craggy, misshapen, and flickering, but it drew itself, which was a start. I laughed, interrupting the woman who seemed like she was going to try to comfort me. "Well, it's a start!"

She blinked, and smiled. "Yes. It is, that."

—

Over that entire week, I spent nights at the Skald Library, and days with my father, in Miami, sometimes visiting my friends in Greece.

Sleep was for the weak.

I learned several new things about Runes, such as how different languages linked them together, changing their meanings, or how certain languages used Runes as a part of their normal languages, making them easier to learn, but weaker, as they were more common.

Apparently, the more ancient and rare the Runes were, the more raw power was associated with them, but the harder they were to write.

I immediately went to find Kari.

She was in her office, which wasn't that odd, for 6'O'Clock PM, but she was reasonably surprised when I portalled in. "FUCK!!! Child, do you have some sort of death wish?" She growled at me, deactivating the fire-ball spell that was circling her hand.

I grinned. "I need to know the oldest Rune Language you can write out for me in its entirety."

She blinked. "Why?"

"I'm learning to be a Skald, and I need Old Runes. Older the better. Oldest is best." I nodded.

She grinned. "Oh you little fucker... how'd you manage that?"

"I sold Warren like a dowry. He's getting married in a few months." I smirked.

She roared with laughter, slapping her desk. "You're serious?!? Like a prize pig?!? How'd he take it???"

"Well, She's quite beautiful, and his type, so he took it rather well... and repeatedly, if her victory story is to be believed." I grinned.

She giggled, covering the snorts of laughter that weren't too far away. "Oh that's adorable! Alright, back to business... you said you needed the Oldest I had?"

"Yep. Got any errands I can run, while you write it down?" I asked.

"Yeah, Go sell these, and get me some good materials. Crystals, if you can." She nudged a basket of novice talismans towards me.

"I'll do you one better, and get you diamonds." I nodded, and carried the basket out.

"Yeah, good luck with that... they're not worth Gypsum." She grumbled.

The merchants were surprised at the low quality of the goods, but I explained I was just selling them for a friend, and by the end of it, I had a paltry sum. Then I started selling the ones I'd built up, and before long, they were all out of money, or just not buying from me anymore.

Then I began buying, getting huge amounts of giant diamonds and other jewels from the Miner's Guild, the Dwarf-run Precious Metal and Gem's auction-house and Bank, the ones who backed Summer's Academy's Banking System.

They, too, stopped selling to me after I spent a couple million euros, and I shrugged, heading off to Miami, after making a withdrawal.

—

I poured the diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, topaz, amethyst, and quartz crystals onto Kari's desk, not really caring when they spilled over onto the floor, and piled up.

"I hope that's enough to show my heartfelt appreciation?" I grinned.

She blinked at me slowly, and then frowned. "I won't accept this."

"Nonsense, the Gift is already given. Now may I have the Runes you drew for me?" I asked casually.

She shook her head. "No. I refuse to take this ridiculous gift."

"Then give me a Tithe of the money you get for selling them all, in the next few months. 50% should do it." I shrugged.

She thought about it, and sighed. "Fine, That sounds fair. Now help me pick them all up, you little asshole."

I grinned and helped her place them all into an infinity chest she had, like my bag, for her materials.

Then I picked up the last diamond, the shape and size of a human eyeball, and hummed. "This might be useful... I'll keep it. Now, Runes, please and thank you?" I asked, tucking it in my pocket.

She nodded and handed me a thick book, with about a hundred pages, all made of leather, instead of paper. "That's the oldest Runes I've ever encountered. They're supposed to be Proto-Asian Hieroglyphs, from 7-8000 BC."

I nodded slowly, then got an idea, writing the two Runes that Siobhan refused to translate for me. "And what do these two mean, while I'm here?"

She gazed at them, and hummed. "Altered Aramaic, circa 3000 BC. It translates to something like 'Claim The Power' and then 'Control The Power'. Some sort of ritual?" She asked.

"Not entirely... I'll let you know if it works out." I shrugged, and jogged out with the leather-bound journal in my bag.

Once I was inside the Skald Library, I sat down at a table near the back, and pulled out my sword in its dagger form, then the Athame Dagger. I touched the two together, and held my breath as they merged. The look of the dagger didn't change, but I felt the difference. It grew into a sword made of bone, at my command, and then a spear, then back down to its dagger form.

"There a reason you're altering your Wand?" Siobhan asked, sitting across from me.

"Yes. I don't like the look of the Runes you placed on it, which allow you to take my power, if you so choose. I've decided to neutralize them." I said calmly, and did just that, replacing the old Runes with ones I wrote myself, digging a piece of the dagger into itself to do the writing, before reabsorbing it, and repairing itself.

She blinked. "Those Runes were in place so that I could train you properly."

"I'm sure they were. But just in case, my power is entirely my own, not yours." I raised an eyebrow at her as my energy began to climb, to new heights, no longer being drained against my will. "Now! What's today's lesson?" I asked, smiling.

She frowned. "You had too much power, for a beginner. You'll end up killing yourself."

"Madame Siobhan, if you think I'm surprised that you attempted to use me as a rechargeable battery, please don't insult my intelligence. Let's move on, the past is the past. What is today's lesson?" I reiterated slowly.

She blushed, and then looked away from me. "I didn't-"

"Focus, please, I'm not offended, you don't need to be defensive. But I do need training, as you say. So let's continue." I said sternly.

She frowned at me, and sighed. "Fine. Today we're trying to combine Runes, to make an Interpretative Rune. They're more flexible than normal Runes, and can be used to make some very interesting effects."

"Sounds fun! Let's get to it!" I grinned.

—

At the end of a month, I decided it was time to try my luck at overpowering the Axe of Thor.

I traced all the magical channels in my body, and located ten major places where bundles of the channels got close together. The forearms, calves, shoulders, hips, the heart, and the base of the neck were all the biggest and tightest groupings.

At each of them I carefully carved a diamond shape, with the wand, pushing magic into it like a Rune. Instantly, they traced out the channels, racing out along them, and then darkened the skin above them, like tattoos.

It didn't look the exactly same as my usual channels, as the areas between the lines weren't empty, but instead taking the shape of various Focus, Power, and Stability Runes, strung together and forming one increasingly strong Bind-Rune, so no magic leaked out of the new System.

After that was finished, I Enchanted the center of each diamond with the same abilities the leather sheets of vellum we wrote on had, to take the Rune, use it up, then wipe itself clean, removing the Rune as if it never existed.

Each diamond was in some way connected to the others, once it was finished. The connections reaching out from my heart spread out in four directions: Up, to the carotid and jugular, for the base of my neck; Down, to the hips and by extension, the calves; and then to either side, along the collarbone, to the shoulder, and then down to the forearm.

I decided to expand it, and while I left the basic structure alone, and the ten diamonds, I spread the Bind-Rune over all the skin of my body, adding in Runes of concealment, which made the entire thing disappear into my skin, unless you looked at it with your mind's eye.

This way, it was still active, and whichever portion I was using would have to appear, but otherwise it stayed just under my skin, and I was able to remain somewhat normal-looking.

The concealment Rune was, along with its compatriots, open to interpretation, so I knew that if I simply didn't want to be found, I could just will it, and unless they had some of my hair, given to them by my own will, (like Father and Mum did, each of them,) or they had a way of overpowering my Runes, they'd never even be able to see me, much less find me.

The final step, I took Warren's long-standing advice, and branded my bones, as well, with different Runes. These were Runes of Power, durability, strength, speed, healing, and so on, every type I could think of ever wanting, and just like my skin, all of them were in the Oldest, most powerful Rune Language I could use, though I did make an exception, hidden deep inside the spells, that if I found an even more powerful language, I could change it all to that one. Just in case.

I let it all happen, breathing through the pain, and then meditated, filling the Runes on my skin slowly, and carefully, spreading it so that every single Rune activated.

I felt my father and mum both panic, suddenly loosing track of me, (mum had insisted on the same psychic link as father, and I hadn't really cared to complain, if it gave her some peace of mind,) but sent soothing feelings their way, and continued after they'd calmed down.

Once I was sure it was all finished, I gripped the base of the axe, and froze.