Chapter 18
Running was and always will be a blessing and a curse. It was monotonous. The act of running in and of itself is to run towards the goal of not running anymore, whether it be because a finish line is reached or a level of proficiency is met. With that type of goal, it is extremely hard to not want to look for excuses to stop early. On the other hand, it can be a great medicine for the mind. Being able to empty the mind of stressful thoughts and activities even if it’s just for a small amount of time can give relief which is not insignificant. Zale fit into both of these perfectly. He was in pain while running because his burns had not fully healed yet. On the other side though, while he ran he didn’t think about the tub of eels that awaited him as soon as he was fully healed.
It was like this that Zale finished his morning workout. If any student in the martial training room in the past looked at Zale in difference, they now stole many glances at him with respect and sometimes fear. It seemed that his acceptance into the Glyph Masters guild had spread. While he refreshed on water and performed his daily showcase of kata and technique to Malchi, many youths approached Zale asking to exchange pointers. Zale was never even able to respond. Malchi wielded a broom and batted the students away until no one dared to get close. When martial training ended and students began to file out of the training room for lunch, Zale was stopped by Malchi.
“After lunch you can go to the Glyph Masters guild and receive your guild card and apprentice booklet. I would recommend purchasing other books while you are there. It may be some time before you will have the opportunity to return,” Malchi said as he inspected Zale’s burns which were healing very quickly.
Zale nodded in understanding and went off to the dining hall. He got his food to go and raced to the streets of Delvers Ridge. The guild halls were located across town right on the edge of the city’s namesake. The “ridge” was actually a cliff that dropped over a thousand feet into the Desert of Valjir. The desert was officially part of the neutral territory, and was incredibly dangerous. The guilds were located closest to the desert because it was the entrance where mercenaries and travelers from the neutral territory would enter the city. The guild halls weren’t just for guild members to purchase information and take ranking tests, it was also where the guild sold its wares and services. The people that needed these items and services the most were actually the mercenaries and adventurers who sought fortune in the desert. Many rare beasts and ancient dangers existed in the desert that ended lives daily. However, fortune is almost always acquired only after tightrope walking over disaster.
Zale had never been to this section of Delvers Ridge before so he was very excited. He noticed right away an increase in street stalls trying to peddle weapons, armor, rare hides, tonics and herbs, sometimes even a spirit artifact. Zale found it hard to believe that they were true spirit artifacts; most likely they were counterfeits. The streets were also much more crowded. He saw many groups of people that obviously had just come from the desert. They looked dry and dehydrated with rips in their clothes and scars on their bodies. They had seen battle with something or someone and lived to tell the tale. True warriors. Zale looked in awe as they passed him. There were even other youths like himself who walked the streets hopping from one shop to another looking for the right tonic or weapon.
The Glyph Master guild was the smaller of the four guild buildings, but it still had steady traffic going in and out of it. The only reason Zale was able to tell the building was the Glyph Master’s guild was because the outside walls were covered in small glyphs that pulsed with different colors of neon light. It was very flashy, much more so than the other guilds which all had modest signs. It seemed to Zale that the Glyph Master guild was trying very hard to compensate for being the smaller guild. Unlike the other guild halls which had people clamoring to get into them and do business, the Glyph Master’s guild was rather desolate.
Zale pushed through the door and walked into a large lobby with one desk. There was no merchandise to speak of, and certainly no books or teaching materials. The one desk was completely bare except for a single bell. A staircase was located directly next to the desk with a sign that read: Ring bell for assistance. Second floor is off limits, enter at your own risk.
Ring.
The bell rung loud, the clear sound echoing in the guild hall. A glyph appeared on the wall by the staircase and glowed bright blue. Zale was surprised because there was certainly no glyph on the wall before he rang the bell. He looked around at the walls, desk, and sofa that made up the entire lobby and wondered if there were any other glyphs that weren’t visible. A static sound came from the blue glyph.
“Take a seat, I will be down shortly,” said a voice coming through the static.
Zale took a seat and waited patiently. The voice was too distorted to make out age or gender so he couldn’t picture a face at all. After a couple minutes of waiting, a woman in her mid-thirties walked down the stairs followed by an older man at least in his seventies. The woman stopped behind the desk while the older man continued to walk toward the exit. He stopped and looked Zale over, then continued out the door.
“You must be the student that passed the guild test yesterday, Zale Ashwater isn’t it. Only person in Delvers Ridge that passed this year, congratulations. My name is Rebecca Sealfey, I manage this guild hall so any questions or concerns you have about the guild feel free to ask,” Rebecca said as she took out a large binder from the desk and put it on the table.
Zale stood up and went to the desk, presenting a letter of introduction that Malchi had given him. “Nice to meet you Miss Sealfey.”
“Rebecca is fine,” she responded as she looked over the letter quickly and handed it back to him.
After handing the letter back to Zale she took out a small piece of glass in the shape of a card. A glyph was etched very finely into the glass card. If Zale hadn’t been paying attention he wouldn’t have even noticed it.
“This is your guild card. It has all your guild information on it so that other guild halls can recognize you as a member. Drop some blood onto the glyph to bind it so no one can impersonate you if it is stolen or lost,” Rebecca said as she handed him the guild card.
Zale didn’t hesitate to prick his finger and drop blood onto the card. The glyph glowed a faint green before fading back to a simple etching. Zale pressed his consciousness into the card the same way he did his spirit gem out of curiosity. A mental image of his guild rank and accomplishments appeared in his head. Zale Ashwater: Apprentice. Seeing that Zale had bound the card Rebecca continued.
“As you know you start out at the apprentice level which only gives you access to the very basic functions of the guild, mainly buying different glyphs. While ascending guild ranks can become difficult later on, to rise to rank one all you need to do is be able to form a rank one glyph on your own in under three seconds. Depending on your talent and how much time you dedicate to practicing it could take a single month or a couple years to reach this level of expertise.”
Zale knew it wasn’t going to be easy joining a guild, but years just to leave apprenticeship was a scary thought, especially since he was the one paying them. At least in a normal trade, apprentices were paid or at least compensated food and housing.
Rebecca passed over a large book to Zale.
“This is the beginner’s theory and guide to glyphs as well as the three basic practice models. You should know that none of these three are rank one glyphs, so once you master them you will have to purchase a rank one glyph to learn and practice with to leave your apprenticeship behind. This binder here is a catalogue of the books we have available for purchase if you want to buy one now.”
Zale took the beginners book and flipped open the binder to have a look. He had come all the way to the ridge, he might as well just purchase a rank one glyph and be done with it. The binder was a little overwhelming however. There were over a thousand pages, with each page cataloging different books and giving a short summary on their contents alongside a price.
Luckily rank one runes only took up a small portion of the binder. Even so, it still took Zale over an hour to sift through the different books and weigh his options. He found out very quickly that many were out of his price range. He was given a little over forty gold coins by the Senior Abbot of Jeskai City when he was chosen to be sponsored. Some of the books cost fifty gold or more, while the cheaper ones were only about twenty gold. Rebecca let him take the binder to the couch so he was more comfortable while he read. At first he tried to find a glyph that was related to lightning to match his passives but there were only a few rank one glyphs in the lightning attribute and they were all different ways to produce flashes of light. He was hoping for a lightning glyph that could burst electricity out like the eel.
There were many rank one glyphs that produced interesting effects but were all so situational Zale found it very hard to find a way to rationalize buying them. For example, there was a water glyph in the book that when applied to clothing gave the user increased mobility underwater. Zale would most likely not ever need an ability like that. He was looking for something that could increase his combat ability. Finally, he narrowed it down to three. One could be placed on clothes to make them as tough as rock, protecting him from arrows or swords. This would be very useful to his defense. The second was used on spirit artifacts to make them unbreakable. This was one of the key glyphs that Artificers hired Glyph Masters to engrave on their completed work. Zale could use this glyph to make money. The third was a fire-based trap glyph. It could be placed on essentially anything, and when touched would explode. There were many trap glyphs that were in the binder, but this specific one called Three Deaths caught his attention because it could grow in power as the Glyph Master did peaking at a rank three glyph.
It was a tough choice. Defense, money, or utility. After thinking about it seriously he decided on the fire glyph Three Deaths. In the end he figured he would use it for a very long time, and he needed something desperately that could even the playing field when fighting against active abilities. While he wasn’t sure how he could make use of Three Deaths, it was the best option for his current goals. He put the binder back on the desk.
“I’ll take Three Deaths please.”
“That will be thirty-eight gold,” Rebecca replied.
Zale emptied out his bag of money and watched as Rebecca took almost everything he had. When she was done he only had six gold coins left. It was still a lot compared to how much his family made, but compared to how much things cost in the world of Elemental Masters and guild materials six gold was nothing. He made a mental note that the next glyph he bought needed to be one that could make him gold. He would need reliable income if he wanted to continue training as a Glyph Master after he reached rank one. It was true what they said about money making the world go round. Zale knew money and power went hand in hand. They nurtured each other by destroying everything else. Zale knew anyone could get money and power if dealt the right cards, but only the greats could get both and hold onto who they were before. Zale took both books and left the guild wondering if he would still be the same person that ran from a burning barn into the woods after the school tournament. He sure hoped so.