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Book 2: 39 – Blood is Thicker

  Rayna surprised Phoenix by arriving earlier than everyone else as she was setting up her new tool kit and going through her [Guide Book] to help dispy the tattoo options for her friends, who had all agreed to py test canvas.

  She was pnning to test it on herself first by putting a mana regeneration tattoo on her thigh where she knew it wouldn’t normally be seen in case it turned out horrible. She was putting a lot of faith in the Knowledge Tome to help her mediocre art ability.

  Based on the information she had absorbed in her knowledge tome on magical tattoos, even if she messed up so much that the magic didn’t take, it wouldn’t be a complete disaster as it could be covered up ter with a functional version. Once the magic took hold, however, it would remain and take up the “slot” on the body.

  She could have multiple tattoos, but they couldn’t be pced too close to each other or offer the same effects. Plus, they needed to be the same Caste as she was. If it were lower, the power of her own Caste would burn off the attempt, which sounded painful, and if it was too high… Well, that sounded even more painful and limb-explodey.

  Another interesting thing she found was that there were rger tattoo temptes that took up more “slots” for more powerful effects. However, her basic skills, with no abilities to back them up, made those as much of an impossible dream as brewing a legendary potion of miracles.

  Even if it didn’t look the best –as long as the runes were right– she knew it would still be functional for providing mana in a pinch. The Crystal Caste tattoo would slowly gather mana over time, which she would then be able to trigger like a mana potion when it was full.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to train with an actual tattooist first?” Rayna asked from the seat Phoenix had set up earlier. She curiously watched Phoenix carefully prick her skin with the small needle at the end of the device she was holding that reminded her of a quill pen. It was currently infused with the magical ink she had mixed together earlier and was a shimmery blue color that she was hoping would turn out pretty.

  “I don’t have time for that. Besides the pns currently being made to take down House Ruwena, there’s still a blood moon going on, remember?” she absently replied as she concentrated on not messing up the intricate pattern of swirling runes. “Paul told me earlier that he would be back with our mission for the assault on some pce called ‘the stronghold.’”

  “Are you ready for another mission?” the bard asked curiously, gncing at her with those slitted pupils in amber.

  Phoenix spared a gnce at those eyes and asked, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Rayna squirmed in her seat a bit awkwardly, either due to the conversation topic or because her two fluffy tails didn’t seem to like that particur chair design, but she wasn’t sure. “Saiya said she talked to you about what almost happened to her after our mom and aunt died… While I haven’t been through something like that, I saw what it did to Saiya…” Rayna paused for a moment as though struggling to find the right words, “Um, I just wanted to tell you… Well, I yelled at you before, but I was just worried, ya know?

  “I don’t want you thinking I wanted you to kill people, even though something like that was gonna happen. Like, you were totally right to put him down. I mean…” Rayna gave a frustrated groan and rubbed a furred hand down her face, “I’m so not good at these kinds of talks. This is more Saiya’s thing.”

  Rayna gave a heavy sigh and looked back towards Phoenix, who had paused her tattoo work to curiously watch her friend, “What I’m trying to say is that I’m gd you’re safe and proud of you for protecting others despite your aversion.

  “I might not fully understand the emotions you’re dealing with, but I was able to be there for Saiya, and I wanted you to know that I’m here for you as well. I like to think I be a good support for my sisters.”

  Phoenix’s eyes went wide at the statement as she asked, “Sisters?”

  Rayna grinned at her and nodded, “Definitely. After everything we’ve been through, we’re bonded by more than just blood retion, but by the blood we’ve had to spill to protect each other.”

  She returned the smile before refocusing on her the tattoo while she spoke, “There’s a saying from my old world that I learned was often misspoken. People will recite ‘blood is thicker than water’ to say that one should always side with family: their blood.

  “The actual quote, however, is ‘the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.’ It was meant to say that the retionships we make are stronger than the ones we’re born into. That the family we choose is the strongest bond we can make,” she expined, then paused for a moment and added, “I didn’t fully understand it until now.”

  “So, you feel the same?” Rayna asked with a hint of excitement.

  Phoenix gnced at the happy voxen before turning back to stabbing her thigh some more, “I think so. I’ve never had siblings before, though. I had fellow patients, and some became friends, but most weren’t there for long or were there long enough to pass away. My best friend, Jin, was only two years older than me. She died when I was fifteen.”

  After a pause to double-check the pattern in her [Guide Book], she said, “I only had my mother for most of my life. Now, I have Paul and all of you.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to accept Lord Waynd’s adoption offer?”

  “I did st night. Or this morning? It was still dark outside. We haven’t filled out the paperwork or anything yet, but he seemed really happy that I agreed,” she replied. Then, she began the process of spreading a yer of a powder mixture she had made earlier over the still-wet tattoo.

  “Congratutions!” her friend replied, with a cp of excitement, “You’re officially joining the ranks of the nobles! That means I can take you to the really wild pces when the blood moon ends.”

  Phoenix scrunched her nose as she gave her a dubious look, “The nobles are the wild ones?”

  Rayna gave a mischievous smirk that looked extremely fox-like to her, “They can afford to be. Whenever we’d visit a city where they gathered, they would always throw money around to show off and make crazy things happen.”

  She shook her curls in dismay. Then, she used the feather portion of the device to dust off the powder, and the two women looked over her first tattoo. It almost reminded her of the runeforged markings with the metallic glint it gave off, but it was condensed and tightly swirled around in the localized area.

  “Not too bad when I have a pattern to follow,” Phoenix commented as she moved her thigh to watch the light reflect off of it.

  “Alright, me next since I’m here,” Rayna said excitedly as she pulled the chair over and started looking through the [Guide Book] like it was a catalog of tattoos, which it obligingly provided.

  “Hey, since I have you here and, you know, sisters share things, could I get you to do something I’ve been dying to see for a while now?” Phoenix asked while cleaning her tools in preparation for the next one.

  Rayna raised an eyebrow at her and said with a slight warning, “It better not be my arse. Too many creeps think it’s okay to take a peek just cause they wanna know how tails work.”

  “What? No! I mean, I guess… now that you mention it, I am curious–” she broke off the thought as she noticed the ft look the voxen gave her and crified, “Actually, I’m good. I just wanted to see your full profile. Just touch the book and think of your whole self.”

  Rayna nodded in understanding, and soon Phoenix had the precious information added to her compendium.

  Name: Rayna Dewsong

  Species: Voxen (Sandstep)

  Caste: Crystal 9

  Attributes

  Strength (Gem): Crystal 9

  Agility (Swift): Crystal 9

  Fortitude (Dance): Crystal 9

  Mind (Song): Crystal 9

  Magic (Shatter Bard): Crystal 9

  Natural Talents

  Crystal Attunement

  Fantasia Attunement

  Movement Disposition

  Nomadic Heart

  Tails of Power

  Titles

  Orphan

  Cn Leader

  Syer

  Adventurer

  Aspects

  Song

  Echolocation (Perception Passive)Siren’s Cry - Crystal 9 (85%)Percussion Strike (Css) - Crystal 10Dance

  Stepping Tune (Movement Passive)Blink Step - Crystal 10Sonorous Stomp (Css) - Crystal 9 (82%)Swift

  Agile (Boon Passive)Beyond the Boundary - Crystal 10Swift Encore (Css) - Crystal 9 (76%)Gem

  Gem Encrusted (Utility Passive)Arcanist Gem - Crystal 10 Crystalline Distortion (Css) - Crystal 9 (69%)Shatter Bard (Css)

  Reverberate (Aura Passive)Battle Symphony - Crystal 10Shatter (Css) - Crystal 9 (96%)

  The other members of their party began to show up as Phoenix started working on the tattoo Rayna had picked out. It behaved like a minor sprinting ability that would grant a burst of movement speed when activated. The small tattoo looked like a silver wing made out of runes that went on the side of her knee, where Phoenix thankfully didn’t have to fight against fur.

  Saiya was the next to show up and picked out a different small tattoo that she put on the back of her neck, which would allow her to boost the effects of her next heal cast slightly. This could make her critical life-saving abilities more impactful at the most dire of times.

  When Uriel arrived, he picked the same tattoo as her, having a simir issue with burning through mana at a dangerous rate. Luckily for Phoenix, Rayna had taken up the job of filling in the silence so that she could focus on the task literally at hand. She was nervous about making a mistake with her friends despite them all seeming completely unconcerned.

  Their leader was the st to arrive, and he didn’t look particurly happy as he expined that their party had apparently been put on standby temporarily. He wasn’t able to get many details, but it sounded like they were being considered for the rger expedition that was being pnned.

  “The expedition sounds like a good opportunity, though,” Rayna pointed out, “Means they’re looking at us like a real party now instead of one made from brand new Adventurers or outsiders they don’t fully trust,” the bard said, then gnced over at Phoenix for a lingering moment before adding, “It might also be the fact that a Waynd is in the party now.”

  Dazien gnced at her in mild surprise before bowing his head and saying respectfully, “Congratutions, Noble Waynd.”

  “None of that title nonsense with me,” Phoenix retorted as she continued working on Uriel’s right bicep, where he wanted to pce the tattoo—only certain tattoos had pcement requirements like Rayna’s. Then, she inquired, “Why would being a Waynd change things? You and Saiya are already nobles and have been Adventurers for a while now.”

  “Yeah, but our cn is known for music, not amazing Adventurers. Plus, we’re outsiders; they’ll pick cultivating their own people over us. Not to mention that, currently, the Waynd family has the most political power in the city, second only to the Duke.”

  “The Rule of Caste,” Uriel stated as if that was expnation enough.

  “Yup,” Rayna continued. “Everyone knows Lord Waynd will likely ascend to Ruby during the blood moon. The other Emeralds can sense his power, despite none of them being combat-oriented, and we all saw and felt it during the siren battle. Once he cultivates his Caste again, he’ll be the sole Ruby Caster in the tundra.”

  “So because I’m his heir now, I’m suddenly being treated differently?” Phoenix asked, not quite liking the sudden shift that felt undeserved.

  “It could also just be the results from our st mission,” Dazien interjected, “We did well. The report the fort commander gave was well received by the AOA. Plus, we’ve been fairly consistent in our results, if not in which types of missions we accept.”

  He strolled over to look at the glowing book hovering nearby with images and brief descriptions of the tattoos that Phoenix could do. The group made a few more specutions, but there wasn’t much they could do until the AOA called for them.

  “Why did you seem upset about the assignment, though?” Rayna asked Dazien after a moment.

  “Oh, I’m not,” he replied, running a hand through his hair and adding with a hint of embarrassment. “There’s just this AOA functionary that will often give me a hard time. I try not to let him get to me, but sometimes it’s difficult not to get in a foul mood after needing to deal with him.”

  “Have you compined to the higher-ups?” Phoenix asked.

  He shrugged. “I mentioned it in one of their compint forms, but that was years ago. I’ve given up at this point and just deal with it. It’s not like he’s refusing to give us missions; he’s just… Well, never mind, I don’t want to think about him anymore. Can you give me this tattoo?”

  She nodded at the one he pointed out, and they returned to comfortably chatting as Phoenix finished Uriel’s tattoo that matched her own. Dazien had chosen a simir tattoo to her and Uriel, but his replenished health instead of mana. When she finished the shimmering red swirl of runes on his bicep, mirroring his best friend, she began cleaning up the mess of tattoo supplies, trying to stall for time to gather her courage.

  “I, um… I’ve been wanting to talk to all of you about some things,” she hesitantly said during a lull in the conversation. They immediately focused on her as though they had been waiting all along for her to approach them like this.

  She felt even more uncomfortable under their gazes but swallowed her anxiety and said, “It’s about my secrets… I think I’m ready to talk about them.” Then she tapped at the center of her chest, “The first is this one.”

  The voxen twins looked confused for a moment, and Phoenix pulled down the colr of her dress so that they could clearly see the Soul Mark embzoned on her pale skin. They both looked shocked at the discovery that she was Chosen by six different deities, and the scene they had witnessed with the Cultivator finally made more sense. However, neither of them spoke, allowing her to continue.

  “Dazien and Uriel saw it before. After I got hurt in a fight,” she expined briefly, “I didn’t tell them why I got it, though, except that it was tied to a divine quest.” She gestured towards her book, which they had all become accustomed to over the st few months of it chasing after her with information and ill timing.

  She made the quest reappear for them as she summarized, “The quest has three parts. The first is to find the three lost relics of the Tyrandian Monarchy. The second is to find its lost heir. Then the third is to overthrow the current regent and pce the heir on the throne. I get a bonus if I manage to avoid causing a civil war.”

  The other four members of her party stared in silence as they processed the information, and Rayna was the first to ask, “Wait. The gods want you to fix Tyrand?”

  She nodded solemnly and then went over the story of her encounter with Hero and Rebel shortly after meeting Paul. Phoenix even pulled back her sleeve to dispy the rainbow runes tattooed around her wrist, binding her in an Oathbond to the two deities, which made most of the group –except Rayna– all the more somber. She also added that she hadn’t really brought it up because her only clue from Schor was to hit Sapphire Caste first.

  The Shatter Bard seemed the most excited as she excimed, “A quest from Hero! That’s amazing, Phoenix! I’m even more stoked to hit Sapphire now! Once the blood moon ends, and we get done with the parties, we’re totally gonna go on this epic quest, right?”

  Phoenix was caught up by her friend’s enthusiasm but said with a bit more reservation, “I would love for you all to join me. I don’t think I can do this on my own.”

  She paused as she gnced towards Dazien, who seemed unusually quiet. He stared at the book deep in thought, and she added, “That is… if our party leader is okay with it.”

  He gnced up with his amethyst eyes, but before he could respond, the door to the room opened, and Paul ordered the group, “Follow me. We’re gathering at the AOA building. The announcement is happening now, and the expedition is about to begin.”

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