Inscription

In the tradition of his people, Psyre had come to the bank of the river in order to inscribe his his Runes. The Runes were a mystical power, the essence of the universe. A universal language of magic, they are what make Nature deserve the capital N and the the Wild the capital W. Some strange, omnipresent, intangible might that could be seen in everything, they deserved -no, demanded- respect. Here, on the bank of the river, one could gaze into the homeland of the Runes as one inscribed them, and it had been his people's tradition to do so for centuries. Psyre clambered down so that his feet were in the chill water and picked up some mud. With the mud, he began to trace the outlines of the Runes he would inscribe. He began on his left index finger, where he lightly drew a small air rune, one that called the wind to serve, but only a bit, and only for a moment. Once he had traced the rune, he carefully blew on it until it dried. Then, he began with the shields. In the center, he drew a heater shield with a howling wolf. His artistic skills weren't great, but with the homeland of the Runes before him, his inspiration was boundless. Radiating out from the center shield, but smaller than it, he made a parma with three arrows, a kite shield with a tree, a round shield with a winding stream, and a scutum with a blazing inferno. His hands were hard-pressed to not shake as he drew, but he was patient and took his time in order to make his inscriptions the best they could be. Again, he blew on the outline until it dries, perfectly preserved on his skin. By now, he was very cold, his exposed forearm almost freezing, but the ritual existed for a reason. He gathered some kindling and small sticks and lit a small fire. Once it was lit, he pulled a still-burning stick from it and carefully blew it out. Then, using the charcoal, he blackened all the space on his arm and hand except for the spaces covered by the mud.

Here, on his arm, he had gathered the spirits of water, fire, earth, and air. Now, all he needed was will. He pricked his right middle finger and put a drop of blood on one of the wolf's teeth and another on the air rune. Once they had dried, he carefully peeled the mud off his skin, revealing the bare, sun-tanned flesh. At this point, his inscription was done. Now, all he had to do was make the marks permanent. The inscription was putting the power there, which he had done. No place better to do so than here. And no better way than through combining the elements and topping them off with the human will. To make the power stay, however, he would need to make the marks linger. He picked up the tools from his bag and began inking the areas of clear flesh.

(Exit. Topic words = 509. Requesting +10 Memory and the inscription of Servant Wind and Soul Shield (left index finger and left forearm, respectively (each takes 250 words to inscribe))

Approved.