Ink Mage 1

by Dante King

  Veronica’s skin welled up around the punctures as the ink flowed in. The round orb in the design’s center required a lot of maneuvering, so I had to swap between working on the lightning forks periodically. If I filled in the entire orb without stopping, the whole design would become one huge welt.

  I could feel Veronica’s breathing coming in and out as her back rose and fell. The motion gradually became steadier as I continued. This was a very new experience for Veronica; I couldn’t imagine how overwhelming it must be for her.

  Come to think of it, it was pretty new for me too. It wasn’t all that long ago I had been a slave. Veronica’s determination to help as many slaves as she could in Brightwater made me feel as if we had a bond already, and I could feel the bond deepening as I tattooed her.

  I rested my left hand on the smooth curve of her shoulders as I steadily drew the Lightning Rune with my right hand. Veronica’s muscles still tensed sometimes as she readied herself for the sting of the knifepoint.

  “Are you sure it’s not too much pain?” I asked. “We can always do some of the design now and continue again tomorrow.”

  Veronica shook her head. “The pain is just right.”

  Jacques let out a burst of laughter. “Sounds like you’ve got the same… unusual proclivities as the good Mistress.”

  “It’s not that.” Veronica’s voice was steady. “I’m leaving behind the ties with my old life as a Vector Mage, as an Astros-trained Mage. I’m not going to be a simple mercenary anymore. My destiny is intertwined with the return of an Ink Mage to the world.”

  Amelia stepped forward and laid her hand on Veronica’s, resting on the towel. “We support you, Veronica. You’re going to become a Rune Sorcerer.”

  I gave Veronica’s shoulder a squeeze. I was impressed by what she was doing; it seemed like a big step. I wasn’t sure what it was about her past that made her want so badly to leave it behind, though. I would have to ask her more about this at some point. For now, I was glad to be able to help her do it.

  We worked on, quiet now, watching the gorgeous design unfold across the smooth skin of Veronica’s strong, toned back. The tattoo plunged into the valley around her spine, rising up to the crest of her shoulder blades, flowing down toward her lower back, and her tight round buttocks. The bolts and forks of lightning appeared to skewer the empty spaces in a kind of spiral of energy.

  I hadn’t had a chance to see any Lightning augmentation runes, but given how much space I’d had to take up with this foundational rune, I assumed I would have to draw any others in the spaces in between the bolts of lightning. That wouldn’t be a problem, of course. In fact, the foundational tattoo seemed almost designed with spaces for augmentation runes. As long as Veronica could learn to channel Mana into the first tattoo and then into the support runes, it would function just like my Fire and Cold tattoos.

  As I worked the ink into the last fork of lightning, everyone was tense, waiting for the climactic moment when the tattoo would be complete. Despite her calm, I could tell that the pain was getting to Veronica now. She made no sound, but there were beads of sweat at her hairline and I could tell from the set of her jaw that she had her teeth clenched.

  It was not surprising; the huge tattoo was a mass of welts, and her smooth skin had bled more than mine or Amelia’s had when getting tattoos. Mistress Blossom had silently brought crisp, clean towels as needed to wipe the blood from the pinpricks as I worked, and now three of them lay sodden on the floor at my feet.

  “Nearly done,” I said to Veronica, and she gave a tight little nod. I took a breath and used dagger and Mana to guide the ink into the final detail of a lightning fork.

  The whole tattoo flickered, and Veronica gasped, sitting up with her hands flat on the bench. A sudden blaze of bright purple flashed out and filled the room, and Veronica sucked in a deep breath as she saw the light. Then a burst of lightning appeared, and to my amazement, it ran from the central orb of the design quickly out to the edges of the tattoo and back. The blood was reabsorbed into the skin of her back as we watched, and the welting disappeared. The design shone out bright purple again for a moment, then faded leaving the crisp lines of the tattoo looking fresh and clear, but without any suggestion of a wound remaining.

  I smiled. It was my best work yet.

  Jacques gave a low whistle of amazement, and Amelia and Mistress Blossom stood gazing at us with shining eyes.

  Veronica picked up the towel she had been using to pillow her head on and draped it down her front, shielding her breasts from sight. She looked down at the garment she had been wearing. She was a bit pale.

  “William, will you please help me back on with my garment?” she asked.

  Mistress Blossom stepped forward. “Here, dear, try this instead,” she said. From a drawer, she had taken a leather garment of very fine workmanship. It looked as if it was made of soft calfskin, and it was dyed a dark shade of red.

  I stepped back and looked away, giving the two women a moment together. When I looked back, Mistress Blossom was admiring Veronica in the new garment. The fine leather neatly contained Veronica’s breasts. It came down to just above her navel and rose enough to shield her modesty while still showing her chest off to good effect.

  “No straps round the back, you see,” explained the Mistress. Veronica turned to show off the tattoo, and I saw that the leather chestpiece was secured round the neck and round the shoulders but did not cover the tattoo at all.

  Veronica sat upright and looked around at the expectant faces.

  “I like this,” she said, gesturing to the leather on her chest. “It’s very soft against my skin. How’s the tattoo? Does it look good? It felt marvelous when it was completed, and there’s no pain at all now. I wish I could look at it properly. Is there any way for me to see it?”

  Jacques chuckled. “Bit of a problem, that is.”

  “I have something that might help,” the Mistress said, walking over to the table at the end of the room. She came back with two mirrors, one larger than the other. I’d seen mirrors in Aranor before, but they were expensive and uncommon. Katlyn had always wanted one but had never been able to afford it.

  “Those are quite rare, aren’t they?” I asked.

  “They are,” Mistress Blossom confirmed. “But I had to acquire the best of items to equip my cellar.”

  “What are they good for?” Jacques snorted. Evidently, they were beneath his attention as a thief.

  “Mirrors can be really priceless in the value they offer,” the Mistress explained. “I use them before going out to attend to my customers, to ensure my appearance is the best it can be. One can’t overestimate the importance of such things. Plenty of my patrons stay longer and buy more beer because they like what they see. It might not seem like these things are related, but you would be surprised.”

  Jacques did indeed look surprised, and he nodded thoughtfully as if this was a new idea for him.

  “In addition,” the Mistress continued as she brought the mirrors over, “these can be used to observe your form when you’re fighting, and ... when you’re doing other things.”

  Jacques chuckled at this, and Amelia shuffled her feet. She still wasn’t quite used to Mistress Blossom’s forward manner.

  “Here you are, dear.” The Mistress handed the small mirror to Veronica. “William, could you hold this large mirror behind Veronica, so she can see?”

  I quickly worked out what she meant, holding the large mirror a little lower but still providing a line of sight over Veronica’s shoulder. Veronica held the small mirror up so that it caught the reflection of the large mirror, allowing her to see the spread of the tattoo across her back.

  She reached one hand behind her and ran her fingers over the design, where she could reach it. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. She put her hand on mine and looked at me. “Thank you, William. This means a lot to me.”

  She shivered, suddenly, and reached down to pick her tunic up from the bench where it had lain. Pulling
it over her head and down to cover her new leather chest piece, she turned to me and asked, “Would you help me with the straps?”

  I moved behind her to do up the ties, covering most of the tattoo with the fabric of the tunic.

  “Well then,” I said once I was done, “do you want to try your new tattoo out?”

  “Of course,” Veronica said. “What do I need to do?”

  “This could be a little trickier in your case,” I said. “You don’t have the experience that Mistress Blossom has with manipulating Mana. But don’t worry; we’ll work it out.”

  Veronica held her chin up and sat straight, expectantly, with her hands folded in her lap.

  “To begin with,” I said, “you will need to take a strand of Mana away from your pool.”

  “I can sense my Mana pool,” Veronica said. “I’ve always had to sense it to know what the level was before casting a spell. But I’ve never tried pulling some of it away.”

  “It’s really quite simple,” Amelia said. “I’m surprised you weren’t taught that during your training in Astros.”

  Veronica grimaced slightly at the mention of the training. The memory was obviously a bit of a sore point. “I was always told that couldn’t be done. The training was overseen by the Arcanists, and they always checked up on our training and gave lectures about what we could and couldn’t do. I was told I had to rely on my items drawing on my pool for me. That’s what items were for, they told us. Now it makes me wonder what I even bought items for. You can probably draw tattoos that do all these things for me. Did I waste all that money?”

  “I’m sure they can still be used for something,” I said. “I doubt that I can replicate all the effects your items provide. Besides, we might be able to find a way for your items and the tattoos to work together.”

  Veronica frowned, still a bit skeptical.

  “Magical weapons and clothing existed even when Ink Mages were still around,” Amelia reminded us. “Vector Mages and Ink Mages are not mutually exclusive. They both have a purpose. William is able to make us into Rune Sorcerers with his Ink Mage powers. We just have to rediscover where rune use and vector use overlap.”

  Veronica nodded. “I look forward to that; I want to become more powerful. I don’t want to feel powerless ever again when people are in danger.”

  “And together we can achieve that,” I said. “First, you need to be able to manipulate your Mana.”

  “You said that was simple, Amelia,” Veronica said. “How do I learn to do it?”

  “It’s a difficult action to describe,” Amelia said. “It’s a bit like walking; it would be hard to explain it to someone who’s never done it. Just try to concentrate on your Mana pool, then imagine taking some of it away.”

  I smiled at Amelia and nodded. She was really starting to shine in her role as a teacher. Perhaps if we met up with Katlyn again at some point, Amelia might be able to explain Mana manipulation to her as well. I had a strong suspicion that Katlyn could do the same thing Amelia and the Mistress could do, since I had given her a tattoo and I suspected she also had the Fire affinity.

  Veronica concentrated hard, her eyes boring into the dirt floor below us, her nose scrunching up from the effort. She looked cute when she did that.

  “I think I can feel it,” she said. “I can feel a chunk of Mana. It kind of seems slippery and smooth, like it will pop out of my hands if I try to squeeze it.”

  Amelia and I chuckled at this. I could understand from experience the sensations she was describing, even if the words were inadequate. It was hard to explain what it was like grasping something with the mind.

  “That’s good,” I said. “Now you need to push it into the tattoo. Don’t worry if it gets away from you a few times, just grab it again and keep going. You should be able to tell when it goes in properly; it will just feel right.”

  “And we should see the tattoo glowing as well,” Amelia added.

  Veronica nodded and began to concentrate again. She sighed a couple of times, and I could tell she’d lost grip of the mana, causing it to shoot back into her Mana pool again. But her face was determined, and it was clear that she wouldn’t give up.

  At last, she smiled. “I can feel it. It’s in.”

  We all waited.

  Veronica looked at us. “What’s the matter? Is the tattoo glowing? Did I do it right?”

  “The tattoo’s not glowing,” I said. “At least, I can’t see any part of it glowing.” A couple of bolts of lightning stuck out at the nape of Veronica’s neck, but they were a dull purple, just as they’d been moments before. Nothing had changed.

  “What have I done wrong?” Veronica asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I don’t have a lot of experience with this, but if it felt to you like the Mana went into the rune properly, then it should have lit up.”

  “Could something be different this time?” Amelia asked. “It’s hard to say, since the tattoo is mostly covered up by Veronica’s tunic.”

  Veronica reddened slightly. “And I’d like to keep it that way, if possible.”

  I could tell she was feeling quite self-conscious from being observed.

  What might the difference be? I looked at the runes on my arms, unobscured by my short-sleeve tunic. They’d always lit up as soon as I fed Mana into them. The same with Amelia’s, which I could see on her right wrist. Even the Mistress’s tattoo, clearly visible since she wore her skirt low on her hips, had lit up on the first attempt.

  Maybe that was it.

  “Could it be that the tattoo needs to be visible,” I said. “Maybe you need to take the tunic off.”

  Jacques snorted. “Sounds like a fine excuse to me.”

  “Perhaps William should take his trousers off?” the Mistress added.

  Amelia looked at her, puzzled. “How would that help?” She pondered it for a moment. “Are you suggesting that William’s Mana is connected to Veronica’s? I’ve never heard of such a thing before.” Amelia’s voice was in awe. She was learning so many new things tonight.

  “Not at all.” Mistress Blossom waved her hand. “I just wanted to see William without any pants on. It would make the evening quite memorable.”

  Jacques burst out laughing. I was unable to repress a smile at the Mistress’s sense of humor. Amelia huffed. She could be a bit gullible sometimes.

  “Let me try something,” I said. I walked to the table where we’d done the tattooing and picked up one of the towels which lay there. Picking it up, I wrapped it around my Fire rune tattoo and held up my arm so everyone could see. Then I concentrated, moving Mana from my pool down to the tattoo, and attempting to conjure a flame on the palm of my hand. Nothing happened.

  “That’s it! The tattoos don’t work if they are covered up!” I exclaimed. Then I dropped the towel and tried again. Immediately, flames leaped up from my hand. I withdrew the Mana, killing the flames, then looked around at the others.

  “All right,” said Veronica. “I’ll take off the tunic. I just want this rune to work.”

  Veronica turned sideways, and with my help, she removed the tunic again. She looked down at her breasts. The leather garment that Mistress Blossom had given Veronica covered everything up in all the right places, but though more modest than her old undergarment, it was still sexy.

  “That’s definitely better,” Jacques said, nodding approvingly. Veronica glared at him.

  “Hey.” He put his hands up. “It’s not about trying to get you naked. I’ve got no skin in this game, remember? The little fellow down there doesn’t get excited anymore.”

  I chuckled at this. Veronica glared suspiciously at Jacques again, not entirely convinced that he was telling the truth.

  “Did you want me to prove it?” Jacques offered, reaching for his belt.

  “No,” Veronica almost shouted. “No, that will be fine, thank you. I suppose you’re right.”

  She looked around at us, arms, belly, and shoulders and back all bared.

  “It’s a bit
harder to concentrate now,” she complained, then laughed. “I’m not used to having this much skin on display.”

  “Close your eyes if it helps,” Amelia suggested. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be afraid of with us.”

  Veronica smiled at Amelia’s reassuring words, then closed her eyes, concentrating once more. After a moment, I could see from her face that she had succeeded again. She was learning quickly; she’d already pushed Mana into the rune again.

  This time it worked.

  The whole design lit up, flooding the room with purple light. It was even brighter than when I’d first drawn the tattoo. Veronica evidently had a lot of Mana. I couldn’t wait to see what it would be like when she learned to control it well.

  Veronica opened her eyes. She saw the purple light shining on the walls and ceiling and smiled. “We did it.”

  “You did it,” I said. “You’re learning quickly.”

  “What now?” she asked. “What do I do with my Mana now?”

  “You should be able to push it out and create lightning,” I said. “At least that’s how our tattoos work.” I pointed to Amelia as well as I said this.

  “Try directing the Mana onto your hand now,” Amelia said.

  Veronica concentrated again. She held out her hand in front of her. She’d seen Amelia and I doing that earlier when we were demonstrating our skills.

  “It’s not working,” Veronica said.

  I could tell she was a little bit frustrated, but she looked determined. I was pleased with how much trust she had in us already. The bond between the three of us was strong already. Such friends were hard to come by.

  “Don’t worry if it doesn’t work straight away,” I said. “Just keep trying. Your rune might not work quite the same way as ours do; it is a different element, after all. Just relax and let the Mana flow where it will.”

  “You can do it, Veronica,” Amelia said. “Your magic will guide you.” She wasn’t saying anything new, but sometimes it helped just to receive some ordinary encouragement.

  Veronica closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her face loosened as she stopped trying so hard to concentrate.