Had he be able to, and had he known exactly what it said, he might have known what effect having a powerful secondary Rune would have on him.
Skithblathnir was not quite a True Rune, but it was a powerful Rune that was copied of the Sleipnir True Rune.
Frey's ship will always find its path,
avoiding storms and nature's wrath,
Skithblathnir travels o'er land and sea,
With fair wind behind, it travels free.Frey's ship it was for long years past,
Yet Loki once held it in his grasp,
His trickery be in the cost,
Be calm of heart, or else be lost.
Not as powerful as the Sleipnir True Rune, it nonetheless had considerable power. When activated, the traveler could pass over the most treacherous land or walk across water without effort. The wielder could always make good time, as if they had a tailwind pushing them forward.
The bearer could also find his way to any fixed geographic location. All roads would seem to lead to their destination.
Yet it bore its problem. If dark emotions clouded the heart of the wielder - "Loki's cost" would manifest. Even simple land would seem treacherous, water wouldn't completely support the wielder, and the traveler would lose their way.
Ryoga's travels were about to take on entirely new levels of complication.
A typical Lightning Rune was able to charge an area with electrical force. The bearer could sense electrical flows, had some resistance to electricity, and had several specific electrical attacks they could wield (Thunder Runner, Berserk Blow, Heavenly Thunder) if their own magical power was sufficient.
The next step up from Lightning was Thunder. A more powerful Rune (considered a Tertiary by those who ranked such things) - it was rarer and much more expensive. Thunder allowed the wielder to sense and manipulate electricity, but the attacks were much more powerful and potentially devastating.
Tatewaki Kuno was well practiced and powerful with his Thunder Rune. Though he could unleash Berserk Blow and Heavenly Thunder (twice a day for the heavily damaging and stunning effect of Berserk Blow, while he could only call the potentially devastating Heavenly Thunder only once a day), he was now learning in his science class of biology and of the nervous system in particular.
The implications were obvious. Even to Tatewaki Kuno, who viewed it as the heavens providing for him.
Akane was desperate. She could handle Tatewaki Kuno most days, however the advantage he had in that Thunder Rune was bad and her research had indicated it would only get worse. If Kuno ever got a clue, besides being a sign of the apocalypse, he'd be able to zap her on a regular basis.
She'd checked into people who actually knew how to use Lightning Runes and the lesser Thunder Sword Rune and had been very much dismayed to see that people could end up limp as a wet dishrag from certain attacks. She also observed that Thunder Runner had an area effect that would be difficult to dodge.
She'd saved her money up and done what she could, finally finding a way she might be able to get a Rune of her own.
Since she wasn't a weapons specialist, the martial arts Runes were of a limited selection. Most had a simple single effect, like the Armor Skin Rune, or allowed a single powerful attack like the Grasp Of Morpheus.
Once she selected one, she'd be stuck with it.
Which brought her here, a place which was apparently not completely above board or entirely legal. Eyeing the dirty little shop which was about all she could afford, Akane took a deep breath and entered, planning on getting:
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(Posted Mon, 20 Feb 2006 04:41)
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