Bang! Bang! Me hammer strikes true.

Bang! Bang! Allow the shape to come through.

Bang! Bang! Me hammer strikes true.

Bang! Bang! Made me anudder horseshoe!

~Goibniu, The God of the Forge and Brew

Crow spent the rest of that day and the next in bed. He had some internal damage and thirteen broken bones. The lacerations weren’t that bad, and Luthais spent a lot of time setting bones and feeding him pills that Song Lin created. He also felt his body had received a lot of benefits from that fight.

Still, neither of the Song sisters visited, but he knew they were at the fight. Could sense it.

“Are you really leaving with Torcail?”

“I have to. It is just an instinct I have, and I fear my involvement with the upcoming war.”

“Crow, remember you are still a kid. Even if this war reaches our doorstep, we’d have sent you someplace safe with the rest of the younger generation. It is good that you will accept responsibility but know your limits. I sense you need to leave with Torcail too, but be careful of him. Your father and I came across their organization in the tower a few times. They trade anything, including people, if the price is right and the risk is low. He’ll keep his word, but you need to think through how he words everything. You need to always watch your back.”

“Mara is coming with me.”

“She is? Well, that’s good. That girl is more than you think. The few times I’ve talked to her, her insights into people and their motivations are amazing. More than that, it shows her observation skills are well above average. It is a shame the Teonet clan never gave her a chance to shine—forced her to act silly, so everyone saw her as a pariah.”

“Uncle? Can I have your Medik research and a kit?”

“You want to become a Medik?”

“I think the knowledge will be helpful in my travels, and if something happens, I can use those skills to provide a living or… I don’t know. Create my own luck.”

Luthais nodded his head. With Crow’s ability to memorize everything, he really could use the information and possibly expand on it.

“Alright, but I’m treating you as my disciple, so you aren’t allowed to share this knowledge unless I give you permission. Further, I expect you to do some research while traveling and help expand on it. I don’t care what you want to study, but my research is meticulous and well documented. Yours should be just as good, if not better.”

“Would you like me to take a vow?”

“Naw, you are my nephew, I trust you. Just wanted you to know the rules. I’ll create a few vestiges for you over the next few days. I’m aware you want to spend your remaining time in the Triskelion Archives, but you must come back for the last day of Yule. The Maddox clan all know you are leaving, and some have gifts prepared, got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, you are cleared. Go see Gavin. He wants to finish that thing on your back. This should be your last session, and he promised it’d take about two hours.”

***

False Dawn Workshop was quiet as usual, but Crow saw three other people besides Gavin working at various stations. A blacksmith, a bowyer, and one station with a kiln he never investigated. It looked like the guy was making glass. Gavin waved Crow over, but on the way, he watched the glassblower curiously.

“You haven’t met Jannon or Mavis. Mavis is the blacksmith, and she is a master, so treat her respectfully. Jannon is a glassblower, but he also has formation and imbuing skills. He creates pill and potion bottles that will preserve the contents stored inside. Mostly, his specialty is glass enchanting. And you know the bowyer…”

Crow frowned and looked over at the man again. From this angle, he could see the old man’s face and immediately ran toward him. Before he could enter the barrier, Gavin grabbed him.

“Stop. Barnes is creating vestiges, so you shouldn’t disturb him. He will die shortly after Yule, so he is leaving his legacy behind. It is an important last rite for a Bard, but don’t worry, you’ll see him the day before the Trial of Tur Briste. I’m sure you were told that your attendance was mandatory.”

A sense of sadness and loss caused Crow’s eyes to sting. Barnes was family, and after all the years they spent together, he knew the old man’s time was running out. Crow didn’t want to accept that truth, so he always ignored it. Knowing there were only days left, he felt a void of sorrow.

“Come,” Gavin said softly, sensing Crow’s mood. “We asked too much of him. All he wanted to do was spend his last days with you. Guiding you in the Way of the Bow. So your grandpa allowed him into this place, and he’s been at that station day and night.”

Mavis appeared behind them at some point and gave Crow a hug. She smelled of soot and iron, and her arms were like steel, but her broad face full of freckles and smiles was like sunshine. Not sure why, Crow hugged her back.

“You may not remember me, but I’m your aunt Mavis. When you were a baby, I watched you while your mother slept or had to do other things outside our ancestral grounds. You rarely made a noise, and I’m not sure you ever cried, at least in my presence. I’m very sorry about Barnes because he is an amazing man. His accomplishments rival Bards who’ve survived for thousands of years. When he moved into the ancestral lands and stayed with you, I frequently drank with him and your father. He dotes on you, boy. So honor him well.”

“I will,” Crow said, a small sob escaping him. It was muffled because he buried his face in Mavis’s shoulder. He didn’t even mind that she was filthy. He could feel the fire from her, and it was comforting.

“Alright, now go with Gavin. I’m here filling orders, but I’ve been waiting to see this masterwork completed. Same with Jannon, even if he won’t say it.”

Crow chuckled and wiped at his eyes while trying to control his breathing and emotions once more. The life of a cultivator was about finding one’s center, and it always felt like a bit of a cheat to Crow. It allowed one to escape emotions—escape the pain and joys of life. Early on, he knew containing his feelings would not be his way of doing things. Passion drove him, and he refused to seal his emotions. Instead, he used them to fuel his defiance.

Mavis stepped back and ruffled Crow’s hair before all three of them went to the Scarification table. Crow stripped out of his shirt and laid down on the table. He could feel Mavis’s rough and warm hands touching the design carved into his back.

“This is magnificent. Who would have thought you had this talent in you, Gavin? I know the details of it and the how and why, but the inspiration is…”

“The boy. He’s the key. Five Elemental Knots, Shield knot, Mitigation knot, and a new one I call the Tempering Knot. Then the entire design is the Elemental Subversion, which makes nine in all—”

“You seriously designed a sacred pattern?” Mavis asked. Crow had read about that in his formation studies, and it had little relevance outside of Druid culture. A Lesser Sacred Pattern was created with three overlapping formations. A Greater Sacred Pattern, or by default a Sacred Pattern, was created using nine patterns—or three by three is the more appropriate way to say it. However, it just implied that the number three was sacred and had nothing to do with power or strength.

“We’ll see shortly if it works,” Gavin muttered, and Mavis went silent. He grabbed his tools and powders and cut the last part of the inner design into the boy’s flesh. Crow had grown numb to the pain, using different mantras, meditation, and breathing techniques to block out the pain. He had learned all kinds of tricks since he’d been cursed, all to help ease the pain.

Mavis stepped in to help out and soon wiped the blood off Crow’s back and handing Gavin items he needed. The two worked silently, so Crow barely noticed. The only thing he sensed was his body shaking and shifting as Gavin cut his flesh open and peeled it back to insert the powders. These all caused his skin to be raised, and with this last set of incisions, everyone could see the final pattern. Each symbol representing an element had its own unique coloring similar to that of the Shield related to the corresponding elements. Centrally, the three-headed bird now stood out as pale unmarked flesh. The most wondrous thing about the design was the depth because a cultivator using Mana Sense could see the power glowing deeper inside Crow’s back.

“Beautiful,” Mavis’s awestruck whisper reached their ears.

Gavin made the last incision and then stitched the skin closed, sealing in the powders. The moment he finished, Crow felt a surge of energy from his Source, igniting the Soul Fire curse. Crow lost his mind for an indeterminate amount of time, but not really from pain. It was more like an awakening. There was pain from the curse and the power coursing through the Scarification tattoo in its entirety. It just felt like it didn’t belong to him.

Crow knew that later, once the Scarification tattoo was fully ignited, it’d passively draw on his Source, but to activate, it needed a lot more mana than Gavin predicted. It wasn’t all bad, the fire that normally debilitated him changed. He could even feel it pooling at the top of his back, the part he knew was related to the Fire Knot.

Suddenly, Crow’s tense body, bulging muscles, and popping veins went limp. The veins disappeared. The muscles that felt like they were about to rip, went lax, and his entire body practically deflated. Gavin found it odd the boy hadn’t screamed at all, didn’t even make a sound other than gritting his teeth.

“Is… it working?”

“Something is happening. Look at the Scarification. The Fire Knot is turning blackish red and has a bit of a glow now.”

“The Shield Knot, it’s glowing faintly too. I can see the parts below his flesh lighting up.”

“Mmmm,” Crow groaned and groggily opened his eyes.

“You okay, kid?” Gavin asked.

“Mmm, what?” Crow asked, turning his bloodshot eyes toward Gavin, but he stared blankly at the man as if he didn’t recognize him. “Who’re you?”

“Damn, I killed his brain,” Gavin said and looked toward Mavis, who realized something was up. “Since his memories are gone, I’ll have to lobotomize part of his brain to revitalize it. That should start his regenerative abilities gained from opening his Source. Although he’ll permanently lose his memories. What do you think, Mavis? Let him keep his memories, knowing he’ll die. Or wipe him clean—”

“What Elkan shit are you spewing, crazy old man!?” Crow jumped off the table, and when he saw Gavin’s face, he knew he’d been outplayed.

Mavis and Gavin looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“You are too green, li’l Crow,” Mavis said while holding her sides and wiping her eyes. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world, but she really had a brilliant smile.

“Fine, you old bastard. You win.”

“Good, now cultivate using the Druid method, but turn your back to me.”

Crow turned around and closed his eyes. The Maddox clan’s cultivation, only passed down to those with Maddox blood, was a way to attune mind, body, and soul to the natural world. Only by attuning himself to the natural world could he draw on the ambient mana and power his Source.

Immediately, Soul Burn acted up, but there was a noticeable difference from before. It still burned, but the intensity was much lighter. Crow realized he’d already been cultivating using this method for almost fifteen minutes, which was much longer than the five minutes he could do previously. And he felt like he could last another ten minutes before he couldn’t take the heat.

“Look,” Gavin pointed at the Fire Knot. “It continues to… fill?”

Gavin saw minuscule changes that a mortal human’s eyes could not see. The fire rune or knot was increasing in intensity.

“Is that the resistance, then? The deeper the color, the more he gains?” Mavis asked.

“I think so. It is a shame he is leaving shortly, or I’d try to test out the other elements.”

“Can this be repeated?”

“If we can find the materials again. Some of the beast cores I traded with the Beastmen, and it wasn’t cheap. I’m afraid the costs are highly prohibitive for this thing. I can probably create a lesser version of it.”

“Hmm, regardless, the Tempering Knot you created, I wonder if that is something I could transform into making weapons or armor.”

“You want to use it to temper—that’s interesting. Allow it to absorb specific elements even, to give it a higher rarity and even ability.”

Cough! Crow wanted to get back to the archives. This conversation was interesting, but he had another half of the conservatory to read through. He still wanted to look at other books on techniques, abilities, wood carving. He recently decided to read up more on medical talents. Luthais’ stipulation on his work gave him a few ideas.

“Alright, get out of here. Remember our deal about writing some of those books down. Oh, and see me when you are done there. I want to see the progress you made—so don’t forget to cultivate.”

“I know, I know. How thick is your face, old man? Aunt Mavis, thank you. One day, maybe we can work together on a project.”

“Oh? Did you have something in mind?”

“Well, I had an idea for a bow…” Crow proceeded to describe it and then left shortly after. But not before seeing Mavis’ eyes light up. One the way out, he glanced once more at Barnes and frowned.

“That damned brat, why is he so manipulative?” Gavin grumbled after seeing how he played Mavis.

“I’d say he has been hanging around you too long. Don’t think us Scholars don’t know your reputation!” Mavis laughed and went back to the forge.