The Runic Artist Chapter 14: Chapter 332 - Too Hasty

Read chapter 14 of The Runic Artist by Ellake on NovelPedia.

Chapter 332 - Too Hasty Nate slowly let Divine Energy syphon off from his Vessel into his Regalia as he replenished his paint. Below him, in the centre of the training compound that had been temporarily gifted to the Risen Sun Sect, Ankh’aris taught his pupils. “What does it mean to be Quick, Fili?” asked the ancient dragon. “Anything that is done fast is Quick, Master,” answered the diminutive woman. “You say the words you know I want to hear. Now prove you understand them. Give me an example.” “Figuring out that we were being used as bait was an act of Quick thought.” Ankh’aris growled, clearly not convinced. “Noticing Luci was approaching before anyone else was Quick?” Nate smiled. Fili sounded even less sure with her second assertion. Ankh’aris simply moved on, not even bothering to agree or disagree. “Each of you have a Truth. That Truth defines how you connect with our Reality. If you wish to grow and advance then you must recognise not just a few ways with which your Truth is a part of the greater Reality. You must find the multitude of ways that it relates to it. The Truths of our Reality are not some neat, little tapestry. It is a convoluted cobweb given form by the minds of every sapient being. And in case you haven’t noticed, plenty of them are morons. Luci, name some examples.” “Yes! My turn! Well, my Truth is Solar, because that’s what I am. But Solar is lots of things. It’s Light, and Heat, and Radiation, but it’s also Brightness, and Burning, and there are elements of Space to it because you know…Solar objects are all in Space. Except when they’re not. Cause they fall down! So, there is Gravity and Falling and Impact because that’s what happens when they hit something! Like BOOM! Especially if it was a BIG object, because they come in so many sizes so it’s Shape and Size and of course they’re made of different materials so its…” “Thank you Luci,” interrupted Ankh’aris with what Nate suspected was an amused smile. Nate watched as Luci did a very humanlike hip twist back and forth as she looked down. She was fooling no one with her act but Ankh, the big softie, gave in to her anyway. “You gave an excellent explanation, Luci,” added Ankh. “Yes!” cheered Luci. “Can I go play with Auntie Kiri now?!” Ankh’aris made a shooing motion and the young solar dragon vanished in a flash of light, likely going to try and spar with Kiri. Or maybe spy on her. Who knew with that one, as she had stopped complaining about her humanoid form and started taking an active interest in what humans got up to. “Do you understand now?” asked Ankh’aris, his yellow eyes roaming over Wulfgar, Fili, Frick, and Jak. “I think so, Master,” replied Fili. “You want to know the…Truths…that relates to our Truth. So, Celerity, when I move Quickly or Alacrity when I am the first to react or…” “Cognition,” suggested Nate. “For speed of thought,” replied Fili. “It’s more than just those though,” continued Nate when Ankh’aris didn’t reply to Fili. “It’s not just about what you can do quickly. It’s about anything that can happen quickly. What if Time moved faster? Would that be Quick do you think? Or if something burned in seconds…like Incinerate. Or something falling fast…that’s Gravity. You need to not limit yourself to the basic understanding of your Truth.” Wulfgar was nodding along but it was Jak who chimed in next. “So, it could be Heroic to feel Joy when everything happening to you should cause Sadness?” “Yes. Heroism exists in context. Which means you can make it whatever you want it to be,” interjected Ankh’aris. “For the rest of the day, while you work on developing your Vessels, I want you to consider all the Truths that could relate to your own. Anyone who fails to return with at least seven will instead have to hone their combat skills against me.” The last words lit a fire beneath the others. None of them, even Jak, got the sheer enjoyment out of fighting that Kiri and Luci seemed to. Spending a day getting punted around the compound by Ankh’ar