The hound was still alive, barely. Its chest rose and fell shallowly, and its body was burned beyond recognition. Shawn was still standing in front of the beast, breathing heavily, and Vena stood beside him, eyeing the creature.
Vena stepped forward and readied her sword. “I’ll finish it off.”
“Wait.” Shawn threw out a hand to stop her. “Let me try something.”
Vena raised her eyebrows, but stepped back. Shawn was low on energy. He could feel it, as if lungs he never knew he had were only half full. But he still had enough left for one test.
He retrieved the rune of Hunger from the pouch, feeling the weight in his hand. If this functioned the way he thought it did, he could become strong. Extremely so.
His energy was already moving merrily, ready for more after his pyrotechnic display. He slipped it down to his elbow, pushed through the resistance, which was less than it had been, and prepared. The feeling of the power tracing through the guiding track of the rune was familiar, even as blue sparks flew from his hand, streaming towards the hound.
The sparks enveloped its head and shoulders, continuing down the body, and it slumped one final time. This time, Shawn could both feel and see the paths of power, visible to the eye as streaks of shadow shot through with turquoise sparks. They flew towards him, disappearing into his core.
Shawn felt the wisps settle into his core, bringing with them a tiny amount of stolen power. This isn't enough, Shawn thought. I need more.
He wasn't entirely sure what he was getting closer to, but he could feel a connection solidifying, albeit slowly, given the miniscule flow of power. Shawn formed his hand into a claw, spiritually grabbing at the flow, wrestling for a grip. He got one, and pulled. The flow expanded dramatically, becoming a torrent of shadow that linked the center of the creature to Shawn’s chest.
In Shawn's spiritual “eyes,” the stolen power burst into his chest, flowing everywhere. It filled every limb, every part of his body, and then…kept expanding. He was starting to feel a small amount of pressure on his body, a slight tightness. He didn't need to understand much about this magic to know that that could not be good. Shawn dropped to his knees, no longer focusing on staying upright. Distantly, he could hear Vena shouting his name, dully feel the rough ground pressing into his knees, but at the moment, he was only focused on not letting this power split him like an overripe peach.
The power, a roiling current, filled him completely. With a flex of will and focus, Shawn visualized the flow reversing, returning to his core rather than moving away from it. The flows at the tips of his fingers and toes slowed, pausing as if to think about his proposal. Shawn leaned harder, wrenching the power back into line. You obey me! he shouted into his own body, reeling in the power towards his center. He was dimly aware of being flat on his back, muscles trembling. His strength flickered, just for a moment, but that small lapse in focus allowed the power to surge back out to his extremities. A pulse of pain shot through his body, both physical and spiritual, and he screamed. His fingers were trembling, and he couldn’t feel his lower half. Nevertheless, he scraped his mind together and bent his entire being to the task, losing himself in the sea of his own churning spirit.
Meanwhile, in a long forgotten corner of the world, buried deep under layer after layer of ice, something stirred for the first time in millenia. It unfolded itself slowly, still believing itself to be dreaming. It was hungry. Always. It could not remember a time that it had not had at least the barest curl of hunger within its stomach.
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But now… It smelled something delicious. A scent that promised true satisfaction, satiation. True power. All that It had to do was go find it. Slowly, the rest of Its mind began to unfurl, coming out of Its multilayered dream. The seals and runes of long dead sorcerers shattered as it paced from one end of the tiny cavern to the other. Finding no flaws in the protection of the ice, It realized: Someone else would have to free It. It shrieked, calling beyond the world, and Its call was answered.
Multiple incomprehensible shapes broke into the world, shattering space and time to arrive at Its side. It did not speak, but It directed Them regardless. They never hesitated, slipping through the barest gaps in the runes to appear outside of Its prison. They chittered once to each other, then disappeared in all directions. Searching for two people. The Promised Prince and the Fabled Jester.
The power threatened to consume Shawn if he lapsed in focus for a moment. It raged against his control, wanting to move, to change, to be used. Slowly, steadily, Shawn drew the power towards his core, packing it together in the center. As he did, the power slowly became lighter and lighter, eventually resembling a light blue corona in his chest.
Shawn hauled and reeled for what seemed like hours, alone in his own spirit, until the power was packed downwards, trembling, in a semi-stable core. Shawn watched it for a moment, as one would a carefully balanced dish, before daring to open his eyes. Vena stood right above him with a rag in her hand.
“Shawn! You’re ok!” Vena stood, dropping the water-soaked rag on his chest, which he just realized now, was bare. His shirt was unbuttoned down to his stomach, and there were angry red marks stretched across it. That must have been from the core, Shawn thought.
“Now, you have to tell me what the hell that was!” Vena shouted, adverse to her original relieved tone. “You say you have an “idea” and cast your stupid blue stuff on that thing, and then get hit with a shadow beam and collapse? Do you know how much I thought the prophecy was ruined because I let you do that?”
“I’m ok, Vena, really, I’m fine,” Shawn replied, holding up his hands. “In fact, I might even be better than fine in the long run. I have more power now than I ever have. I just have to finish stabilizing it.”
“Oh, well that’s good,” Vena said. “Except it’s not! You don’t learn to swim by jumping into the middle of the ocean!”
“Well, this time turned out fine. I’m going to have to stabilize it fully now.” Shawn closed his eyes, visualizing his spirit. It appeared much faster than before, and he could see each junction clearly now. His elbows and biceps seemed to have a small coil within them, much better than the blockades they used to be. So as I take in power, my spirit gets stronger. Good to know.
Shawn refocused on his core, tamping it down into a stable ring. At first, it wouldn’t keep its form, springing back out into a barely contained corona. But then Shawn had an idea. If I allow it to move like it wants to, maybe I can guide it into a loop. Like a circuit. Shawn grabbed one end of the corona, guiding it along. He pulled it outwards, down, back inwards, and then around the other side, slowly, guiding the energy, creating a channel. He repeated the circuit, formed into the shape of an infinity sign, a couple of times, then allowed the energy to flow, slowly, on its own.
It held. The power flowed stably along in a core that felt somehow deeper than it had before. And Shawn felt a connection solidify between him and something else. He tried to trace it with his mind, but found his perception simply slid off as it got too far from his own body. Interestingly, he could barely see Vena, at the edge of that distance, sitting against a rock, watching him. Her energy was strong and defined, with sharp channels all throughout her body. It looked carefully cultivated. He would have to ask about that.
Then he felt something familiar. With one last look at his core, Shawn opened his eyes, greeted by light gathering into a dark, miniature star before him. It swirled together, whirling strangely to his eyes.
Vena looked over. "What is that?" she called.
Shawn smiled. "It's another rune."
The dark star whirled a couple more times, contracting more each spin before collapsing inwards, disappearing. Shawn was already holding out his hand as another rune fell from where the star once was, landing in his outstretched palm. He gazed at the design on it, tracing the lines with his eyes, seeing the miniature channels for power, and understanding what they meant. And he smiled even more when he saw what it was. Shadow.
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