"…This bond you said I'm forming with the dagger? If I used it for the Anar sacrifice ritual, would that strengthen it?

"Um…" The Mynharran hesitates.

"Because I should really kill you." I stand to loom ominously over his sitting form. How dare he? How dare he think he can manipulate me just by mentioning my mission and my homeland? For what I've been fighting for nearly a quarter of my life and will likely spend the rest of my life working for?

He leans back away from me, his hands defensively raised. His head… the way it's tilted back to keep it ever so lightly farther away exposes his throat. An inadvertent act of supplication? Hah, I've been using the animal communication spell too much.

"Ah…Um. Yes, that ritual would at least not weaken the bond, but it is not good to use it for such. It might not weaken the bond, but it will twist it in directions that you will not wish for."

"…Huh. I actually believe you. And you know what?" I smile and make a gesture out of letting go of the imperial dagger, which I instinctively gripped. "You're right. You're not some foe for which I have no other recourse."

He sighs in relief, lowering his hands.

"Because you know, it's the ritual that does the killing. The blade doesn't need to be fatal on its own."

His face freezes in alarm as he realizes the intent behind my words. He tries to get up, but I'm already lunging. My knee smacks into his face and sends the back of his head smashing into the cave wall. He seems dazed by the attack, so I grab the side of his neck with one hand and yank him to the ground. Stradling him, I draw my chevalier dagger and repeatedly smash his face with the pommel.

I pause briefly and observe that while his nose is mending, it's not nearly as fast as before. Whatever absurd healing spell he used, it seems it's more of a strain on him than he let on, and likely takes a moment to build up its power after dropping it for cordial conversation.

He takes the pause in the beating as an opportunity to stab a knife into my side, but lacks the power to penetrate my three layers of magic clothing – likely not even the gambeson. I snatch the offending wrist and pin it effortlessly above his head. He's surprisingly weak; whatever boon Mynharra has granted him, strength isn't part of it.

To think how worried I was about him being a threat. Once again, it was all just bluff. Showing his absurd strengths to hide the gaping holes in his lopsided development.

I grab his other arm and pin both of them easily with one hand as I use the enchantment on the chevalier dagger to siphon out my blood and draw the runes on his face.

"You'll regret this!" he spits, bloody saliva spattering on my face as he speaks.

"Doubt it." I continue working.

"I…I … I have more rituals I can get you. Like the one before. I can teach you the modification!"

"Now what happened to it being important for me to figure it out myself?"

"I can teach you the regeneration spell!"

"Any healing spell you could teach me worth your life would be so advanced that it would take years to learn. During which you could betray me at any time simply by revealing what you know."

"If that is why you're doing this, then you should certainly stop. I am not the only one who knows. I am part of a group, and they will be more likely to tell if you kill me."

"I don't know if that's true, but I do know that you know my secrets. Either way, I'm going to have to kill you all eventually, so I might as well start with you. Besides, if I'm as important as you claim, then I'm sure they'll send another messenger."

I finish tracing the blood runes, and his expression settles into a familiar seething hatred as he realizes that there is nothing he can say that will stay my hand.

"I'll see you again," he says, with a steady tone of certainty.

"Hah! Now I really know you're a charlatan. I give your soul to Anar!"

He screams as the blade penetrates his heart, and I am blasted by pleasure.

I'm on the ground, my back raised in an arch, my limbs spasming, thrown about by the ecstasy like a rag. I'm facing the ceiling where fractal patterns of rainbow lights dance across it. Complex polygons converging on a central point.

What's happening? It's never been like this before. The pleasure so intense. Was he Mynharra's favoured?! Even that shouldn't explain this… unless. Was he a noble too, or did he have some other multiplicative factors?! Anar! Anar is blasting me with the pleasure and power of a hundred peasant souls! More! More than a quarter of what I gained in all my time in Caethlon!

Moments pass as my breathing steadies, and I gradually acclimate to the sensation. I sit up and gag, spitting out a bloody chunk of meat – my tongue. I reach my fingers in my mouth and find a new one already completely regenerated. I don't know how much time has passed, but it can't be that long as the storm is still raging outside… The storm! It was nearing sunset. If I'm lucky, I can still take advantage!

"Stay here, I'll be right back," I say to Pelliphos, but cut off the connection before he can reply.

I rush out of the cave and bound up to the top of the hill in a handful of leaps. I peer out to the horizon and… yes, there, faint behind the clouds, I see the orange glow of the setting sun. Wasting no time, I invert the eye and begin to chant. I'm immediately submerged in the grand harmony of all things, but the power of Anar steadies me. Where before my mind would easily be overwhelmed by the raging depths of the storm, now it's like splashing through puddles.

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In mere minutes I complete the lightning bolt spell. My first 'real' combat spell! Giggling, I try it out on random trees, blasting them apart. I even destroy a boulder, leaving the chunks glowing red. I shouldn't leave so much of a trace, but no one's around, and anyone who sees the aftermath of my glee will just assume the storm did it.

But then my eyes catch the still orange glow of the horizon. I still have so much time! I can't waste it!

I move on to upgrading my plant grower spell and quickly learn the rapid growth version. Unable to resist, I try it out once and grow a seed to maturity in less than a minute that would have taken an hour before.

I move on to the area version, but the Eye slams close without warning. Evidentially, it's unwilling to negotiate more for it in such a short time. I never knew there was a maximum progress before! Unperturbed, I move on to my other spells and sigh in relief when it allows negotiation.

I start with upgrading my healing spell and make rapid progress before the Eye slams shut again. I move on, making rapid progress in upgrading all my spells, even those I've long neglected and didn't plan on improving. The eye seems like it's about to slam shut for the basic illusion spell too, but then suddenly relents and finalizes the learning.

Three new spells in a night! I laugh uncontrollably. Has anyone ever made such progress!?

The sun sets and the storm moves on, but I continue to study. After all, with so much power coursing through me, I'm still making more progress than I would even in a sunset storm, even on the Spindle. Besides, it's not like I'll be sleeping with this much power continually rejuvenating me.

Eventually though, I run out of spells that the Eye is willing to let me make progress on. Cursing at not bringing a spellbook to save weight, thinking that I couldn't possibly need to start learning more spells than I already am, I rush back down and search the Mynharran. My heart beats rapidly when I find a thin folio of spells and quickly flip through it… Damn, they're all too advanced for me. Even with Anar's power I would make little progress without intermediate spells laying the groundwork.

Sighing, I look around and realize I have little to do until sunrise. I might not need rest with this powerful of boon, but Pelliphos does… Do I even need Pelliphos? Right now, I'm probably twice as fast and far more enduring than him. I would make it to Lingonhil quicker on my own.

"Your selected mate must be worthy indeed," Pelliphos says as I reestablish connection, staring at the Mynharran, "that you must eliminate so many rivals."

"…You have a strangely focused mind, Pelliphos." I can't help but smirk as I tell him my plan and that he should stay in the cave for a couple of days. He objects at first, but is assuaged when I say I'll leave out all the food and water and will unsaddle and brush him before I go.

"And should another come across this cavern and take me away while you're gone?" he asks in one final act of protest.

I glance at the corpse and smirk. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

There are a number of potent blood runes that I've never managed to get to work, and others only a few times. Not all blood runes require that you be under a boon to use, but the best ones do. For instance, I've only gotten the book illusion to work one time, and I was glutted with power then – but not nearly as much as now.

Unfortunately, without the Biblio to reference, I can only remember a few of the more complicated, but the area concealment sequence is one of them. I stab the Mynharran again and paint the walls with his blood until I feel the power click into place. With that, only I, or someone with knight's sense specifically looking for the cave could hope to find it.

I would, of course, be hesitant to use runes made permanent with lifeblood, except that with the liquifying beam I can just destroy the surface I place them on later. Smiling at the realization, I quickly prepare a few interesting tricks on some mundane objects I have in my pack or find on the Mynharran, using a set of fine brushes I took for divinatory purposes.

Mostly nothing too fancy, as I'm limited by the objects. The first rune that I place on all the items is one I've never succeeded at, which turns itself invisible as well as any other runes placed on the item. It's a complicated thing, as runes want to be seen, and so hiding them while still getting them to work requires significant power.

The first item of note is the knife he tried to stab me with. It's an interesting little thing. Magical, of course, but nothing of note except exceptional sharpness, even for an enchanted blade. But the design is unusual. Rather than a normal handle, there's a metal frame for your fingers to go through and hold that way. On the end of the handle is a small metal knob that seems very effective for bludgeoning. The blade itself is barely more than a finger length and very curved with a vicious point. I like it, very easy to conceal. I'll have to get another one like it after I use up this one.

The blood runes I put on it are the most powerful I can remember, and far too potent for a mundane blade; even most magic ones will quickly crumble after use. I practice it on a rock to make sure I remember it right, and it immediately shatters as I make the last brushstroke. Smiling, I apply the sequence to the blade.

Once I feel the power set into place, I gingerly slide the blade into its sheath. Fortunately, the sheath is also magical, and has an enchantment to prevent accidental drawing – a necessity to even consider using the rune, as even its creator would not survive a wound from it. A scratch would prove deadly, as necrotized tissue would near instantly spread from it until the entire body is consumed.

Unfortunately, this will likely make the knife a single-use weapon, but a very potent fallback option if I ever run into another with the level of regeneration as the Mynharran.

I also apply the death runes to three of my basic magic bullets, since I don't need to worry about them accidentally cutting me. Then I make various lesser, but still complex, runes until the unused blood fully coagulates and I'm unable to make more.

Nothing too interesting. Just some maledictions to be placed near or used by the intended target to deplete vitality or sanity. Such as on brushes, mirrors, pens, another magic knife (this one of a more orthodox form and lesser enchantment) or a small box that I use for writing supplies to be concealed under a bed. The latter actually traps the drained vitality, allowing it to be absorbed later by whoever opens it. The efficiency is terrible, perhaps one millionth or less, but it's one of the few ways to permanently increase one's power without the risk of sacrificing. I'll have to find some more boxes, as the form factor is the only rune sequence I can remember to achieve such a transfer.

The last rune I make is another concealment one on a blanket, which I wrap all the miscellaneous curse items in. I don't have a good target for them right now, but no reason to waste the boon as I can't make them without a hefty sacrifice (even a noble mage wouldn't do). So, I'll find some place to stash them later and trust the concealment rune.

It's about halfway through the night when I finally start running (stopping briefly to find the bolt I shot the Mynharran with). The moonless night almost seems like day to my enhanced night vision, and I'm able to make out details a mile away as if they were in arm's reach. I move lithely and silently, a shadow in the night and the minds of those who might see me.

I run until sunrise without sign of fatigue. Seeing the light start to creep over the horizon, I rush up the nearest hill and begin to chant. Fortunately, the Eye seems willing to resume negotiations, though it does seem to shut close more quickly than last night. Still, I make rapid progress, though I don't finish any more spells.

An hour after that, I make it to Lingonhil – a half day earlier than planned.

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