[quote]"I would like to start with meeting the Spirits, but isn't there a way to find them that would not insult them? I feel that calling to them without pulling them suddenly from... wherever they are living."

"After I met with the Lady of the Pond I awakened with this rune on my hand." She raised her hand concentrating on it as she remembered the last time she had done so it had become visible. "I am not sure what it means. I know that the Witch uses runes, but do you know them as well?"[/quote]

Peck shifted his weight, uncomfortable with the thought of receiving a rune marking from a Spirit, but he stared at Anise's hand all the same. As he watched, a blue glimmer of light sparkled into existence on the back of Anise's hand, as if it were glowing from deep within her flesh.

He took a slow breath. [b]"The shape and form of a rune doesn't usually mean much,"[/b] he said with casual confidence. [b]"Each runewriter has their own style. It's the intention behind the rune that really matters -- what the runewriter wanted while drawing it, and how much they wanted it, and how much it's been charged."[/b]

He glanced to Anise's face, uncertain. [b]"Pirates learned them from the Spirits, who use them to control their elements. The runes that the Spirits use are powerful taboo, so I've never seen one before. So if the Lady of the Pond gave you a rune, she's attached an intention to you -- probably either to control you, or to give you control over water. Have you tried activating it?"[/b] After a pause, he figured Anise might not know the basics of runes, being an outsider and all. He extended his gauntleted hand, and touched a rune that was etched there. Beads of light rolled along his arm and gathered in a ball of bright light in his palm, that illuminated their surroundings. He touched the rune again, and the light faded to nothing.

Peck stood and looked around the darkened forest. [b]"As for the Spirits, if you want to travel we can probably find them. There was a forest fire recently -- the Lord of the Flame is probably there. You've met the Lady of the Pond."[/b] He looked up at the sky, thinking. [b]"The Lord of the Gust is probably up near the Roost, on top of the mountain. The Lady of the Stone is inside the mountain. The Lord of Shadow is . . . everywhere. But probably in the Deep Marsh."[/b] As he spoke, he pointed in the general direction of each Spirit's home. Save for the Lord of the Gust and the Lady of the Stone, they were all over the island. [b]"There's also another one -- the Lord of the Wood -- but we're not sure he exists."[/b]

[quote]"I think I'd like to learn those sigils now."[/quote]

Oseely's grin was bright and smug; the Lord of the Gust rolled his eyes and floated in the air. [i]"Well, I'm not sticking around to watch you get burned to a crisp, in more ways than one,"[/i] he warned Artemis, though there was a lilt of humor in his voice. [i]"Try not to singe her too badly, you pyre-happy barbarian."[/i] He gave Oseely a warning glare, but sighed in submission and disappeared in a blink.

[b]"Now!"[/b] Oseely announced, and he roughly swung an arm around Artemis' shoulders. [b]"I'll show you how to survive in the deadliest wilderness ya've ever seen. Now about those runes. You've got some. They're shoddy witch-runes, but they'll do for someone like yourself."[/b] He pointed at her boots, and the staff she'd stolen from the witch's house.

He picked up the staff and analyzed it with one eye screwed shut. [b]"Can't tell, think this one shoots lightning. Like every other damned thing those pirates make. Yeah, sure, it's handy, but it's boring. They've got swords and daggers and gauntlets and [i]breastplates[/i] that charge electric. Can't tell ya the number of Pirates I've found fried by their own armor, but do they learn? Nooo."[/b] He handed the staff back to Artemis and peered at the boots. [b]"Those runes are probably swiftfoot. Run fast! That's useful, I guess. But you've got a gryphon."[/b]

He paced in front of Artemis, tapping his chin and peering up at the stars and the bright moon. [b]"The basics of runes, huh? You wanna be a runewriter, huh? Well it's not hard. Everyone has their own set of runes, no two identical -- in fact, if you try to copy the witch's runes they won't work as well for you as they do for her. They're [i]hers[/i], not yours. The exception is the Spirit runes. They belong to us Lords and Ladies, and they're far too mighty for you puny humans to comprehend."[/b] He gave her a wink, and he leaned back against a tree with his arms folded.

[b]"So what I'm sayin' is, all you gotta do is want something bad enough, and draw a little picture that just [i]feels right[/i], and draw it on whatever you want to be affected. Just start drawing, you'll know what I mean, and you'll know when it's done. It's [i]instinct[/i]. That's your rune, nobody else's. Other people might activate runes you drew, but nobody else can draw your rune and make it work."[/b] He tipped his head and narrowed his eyes. [b]"Only thing is, summoning shit is hard. Takes a hell of a lot of dedication to make somethin' out of nothin'. Otherwise, though? Give it a shot."[/b]