The laughter and cheer from within the lodge joyously spread out into the street. Emily couldn't tell what was going on inside, but from the mischievous look in Ra's eye, she was about to find out.

"Come with me," he said as he grabbed her hand and plunged them into the mass of people.

No one seemed bothered as they passed, and those who did got a glare from Ra as they moved to the front.

When they hit the back of the line Ra leaned forward to the warrior in front of them.

"I have a challenger from outside the tribe and wish to see what she is made of, may I pass?" he asked.

The man turned around with an absentminded look on his face – his attention clearly still focused inside, but then he saw Ra and Emily, and his eyes widened.

All the while, Emily was trying to see over his shoulder at what was going on inside, but even with her natural height advantage, she was dwarfed by these people and their lanky limbs.

"Of course, please go ahead," he said as he got out of the way and took up the spot behind them.

Ra then repeated this process until he got to the door. Surprisingly, no one looked all that worried about giving up their spot, and Emily couldn't tell whether that was because Ra was with her or because of something else.

Either way, they got to the front door very quickly.

Emily was just cursing the genes of these freakishly tall tribesmen when a gap opened up, and she could see into the room.

The space was large, with ample room for people to stand and spectate. A secondary level, packed with bodies, loomed above, the weight of the crowd pressing down like a living ceiling. Fires burned throughout the lodge, casting flickering shadows that writhed along the walls like restless beasts. The acrid scent of burnt herbs and nicotine clung to the air, thick and stifling.

Emily wrinkled her nose at the oppressive heat and the tang of sweat that saturated the room. On any other night, she would have turned around and left. But something interesting caught her eye.

At the center of the room, four large tables stood evenly spaced. Resting atop them were four warriors in various states of undress.

Hunched over them were Shamans, their elaborate headdresses swaying as they worked. Their eyes were clouded with a skill, some trance-like awareness beyond ordinary sight. Each held a pair of thin sticks, methodically driving them into the flesh of their subjects.

Emily's eyes dilated as the realization struck her.

They were being tattooed.

Obviously, they didn't have the modern convenience of stainless steel needles and machines, so the process was long and arduous. The warriors seemed to be enduring harsh pain each time the stick fell. And the crowd cheered them on. But amongst all this chaos, that was not even the most amazing part of the whole process.

No, the most interesting part was what happened above the tables. The fire in the room let off a plume of smoke, which coalesced above the working pairs and took shape. Colors wove themselves into the white smoke, displaying images of battles similarly to a light show up on a white screen of mist. Some projections were small and faint where the shaman had just begun tattooing, while others looked like full-bodied canvases. The scenes depicted life-and-death fights between creatures and the individual on the table.

It was mesmerizing to watch as the fight unfolded on a loop. Each time the scene came to a close, it looked more vibrant, and more details were in focus. By the time the tattoo was finished the whole crowd could see a victorious fighter standing proud.

Emily didn't even try to stifle her vibrant smile. No wonder so many people wanted to be here. They were showing off their battles and could watch each other's fights in rich detail.

Some cheered when the fighter got a particularly good hit in while others laughed and gave pointers to those who had fumbled and almost died. Everything was laid bare to the crowd. It felt similar to watching a playback of a game so that one could study where they went wrong.

Emily stared up at it, amused, and felt Ra tug her by her wrist again. The next person allowed her to advance down the line again, and by now, there were only a dozen people in front of her.

Emily turned to look at Ra.

"Let me guess you want me to get a tattoo," she said dryly.

Ra nodded.

"We all get one to prove we a strong warriors, the Inkbinder will take care of everything, the only thing you have to do is endure," he said with a sly grin.

She squinted at the man but didn't argue. The thing about tattoos was that to Emily they weren't all that permanent. If she really wanted to she could have her blood pull the heavy particles in the ink from her body and completely remove it.

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The bigger thing was that this looked like a long and painful process; the only incentive to do it was people's respect… and her own boredom.

Emily watched as the line in front of them shrank through both the Shaman's efforts and Ra's.

During this time, Emily watched a number of people go up. Some images contained powerful monsters and deadly fights. In contrast, others were more routine and simple. Either way, the more deadly the fight, the larger and more detailed the end picture would be. There were also people who gave up halfway through the tattoo, but no one seemed to mind. They sent a few good-natured hollers at them, but from the looks of things, they could simply pick up where they left off when their nerves had returned.

Ra watched one such individual leave and turned to look at Emily.

"The needles are made from an indigenous creature here in the desert. Their barb causes intense pain, far more than a normal bone needle," he said with a light tone.

Emily squinted at the man.

"Are you trying to scare me? Because that type of thing won't work."

Ra's smile broadened.

"Not at all, just letting you know what to expect."

She could see he was being genuine but there was also a hint of mischief in his voice that wasn't present in his brother's.

Which reminded her, where did her other two guides go? She found Tao and Mo shortly after that. They were on the second floor, relaxing and watching them with drinks in their hands.

Deciding that if she was doing this, she may as well do it right, she called to her Ruby guardian and made sure it only healed her if she went into shock. It shouldn't interfere, but if they tattooed enough of her skin, it might cause the skill to kick in.

When they finally got to the front, a strange hush fell over their portion of her room. Ra went ahead to greet the Inkbinder.

"My friend, this here is Emily, she is-"

The shaman-looking man held up his hand. "I know who she is, she's the foreign Shaman. Have you gotten permission from the Hearthspeaker to allow her to undergo this rite?" the Inkbinder asked.

Ra's face twitched for a second, but he nodded.

"Yeah, the old man said it was fine."

The Inkbinder scrutinized Ra but eventually shrugged, losing his strict demeanor.

"Whatever, I'm interested in seeing what her soul shows us."

This caused Emily to start.

"Wait, don't I just tell you what I want? I'm not comfortable with you looking at my soul."

Ra and the Inkbinder exchanged a look and snorted. Emily didn't like the idea of him looking at her soul. What if he could tell she wasn't from around here?

"Don't worry, I'm nowhere near powerful enough to see your soul. My skills help reflect a recent life-or-death battle and imprint it on your body. I have no control over what comes out, nor can I see anything from it," the Inkbinder said.

This calmed Emily down as she looked up at the trail of blank smoke.

"Alright, are we doing this or should I take the next person? He continued.

Emily sighed and shrugged.

"I can choose the location, right? Follow my spine."

The Inkbinder nodded, and Emily removed her travel tunic, remembering to cover her front. She didn't mind people seeing, but just because that was the case did not mean she was an exhibitionist. She lay down on the table and got a better look at the instruments he would use to tattoo her. They were currently resting in the fires to serialize them; they glowed red, and he dunked them in a bucket of water beside the table.

The needles were made of highly sharp enamel needles, and there were different sets of them depending on what he needed. As the Inkbinder began, he mixed paints and colors his title told him he would need, and from the looks of things, there would be a lot. Most had gotten at only three or four colors, but he had already mixed over a dozen

This seemed to be a good sign as Ra nodded encouragingly at her.

"Close your eyes and let it flow," he said as he stepped out of view, and the Inkbinder moved forward. His eyes were already a milky white as his title no doubt engaged and his skills began to guide him.

Emily watched as he did a test jab and lowered her Tested flesh to the minimum.

A strange calm had spread throughout the room as more people saw her in the hot seat, but the room never quieted it was just laced with interest as people watched the Shaman begin his work.

The moment the needle stuck into her flesh, Emily jumped. This searing pain exploded across her back like tiny arcs of electricity. The barb hurt both going in and coming out of the flesh and then nothing as the Inkbinder waited before continuing. Almost as though he were allowing her to back out.

Emily had endured quite a few types of pain in both her lives, and this was well up there. However, she wasn't about to tap out on the first jab. It was surprising how nefarious that barb was, but it wasn't enough to get her to throw in the towel.

When the Shaman resumed and the second stab fell, she didn't flinch. After that, the real battle began as the Inkbinder tapped their tool continuously, spearing her flesh at an incredible rate. She'd watched how efficient they were, and with their skills and their speed, they were comparable if not faster than modern methods, causing the outline to take shape in minutes. The smoke above them wavered, and though Emily could not look behind her, she saw the image of her battle with the young Wyrm clearly in her head.

It was as though she were reliving everything from the joy of ascending into the clouds to the fear of taking its fiery breath head-on.

As she walked through the battle step by step, she could indeed see where she had made mistakes, and with each repetition, the detail became more clear. Above entertainment, this was a highly effective tool for training one's fighters. The visualization alone was an incredible tool for a warrior to hone their reflexes, but above all else, it greatly improved decision-making in the heat of combat.

Each time she repeated the fight, it became clearer, but so did the pain. As time went on, the smoke above started to draw gasps and murmurs of excitement.

Emily allowed herself to completely open up to the experience, and as she did so, she moved into her mental exercises out of habit. Letting the experience and pain wash over her. And without intending to, the scene changed.

The world she'd fought the Wyrm in melted away, and buildings made of glass and concrete rose up to meet her. The peaks of skyscrapers just reached her feet, where she drifted above. Blood surged around her as she sent millions of liters of crimson down into the streets, spearing bodies and killing anything breathing in her path. Screams and flames echoed in her mind as she murdered an entire city.

Blood points: 627

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