A petite, pale hand curled its fingers, pressing against the cold and dark stone underneath. A chilling air swallowing Farra’s body as she lifted herself to her knees. She could feel the blood dried on her lip and chin, opening her eyes to see her blade laying beside her. Her stomach and head ached, but it bothered her less than the desire to know the fallout of the fight. She turned one way, seeing herself to be laying outside the council’s structure, hearing back and forth yelling coming from the other side. She turned to her other side, finding Gare standing over her. Her eyes shied away out of disappointment in herself.

“You weren't expected to win. Your feign at losing your footing was a good attempt, likely your best option. But you lack the strength or speed needed to take down an opponent like the one Bathalian sent after you.”

The words she knew to be true stung when realized by Gare's blunt and harsh voice. She picked herself up to her feet, leaning down and stumbling for a moment as she reached for her blade, finding her balance and sheathing it in her scabbard inscribed with the insignia of a red sword.

“What happened? Because of my failure.”

“After you fainted, Warlord Nirkosh declared your loss. Lord Erres rushed forward to your side and requested a mender see to your injuries. The council still hasn't concluded, I was asked to take you from the meeting now that the affairs involving you concluded, and make sure nothing happens to you while you lie unconscious.”

“But—what happened to Lord Erres and Lord Valen, and the conversation after?”

“The council was given time to deliberate over the bout. It was in that time you were examined and I brought you out here. So I can't say for sure, when I exited the matter proceeded how I expected it would. If you’re concerned that your defeat here made shams of the lords, then don't be. Anyone in the council who isn't simply serving their own purposes saw enough to know your abilities and work ethic are worthy of a soldier. It won't free many from the worry that Lord Valen and Lord Erres' hold you in too high esteem, but it was more than enough to demerit talk of you being pushed further. I’ll say your comments toward Bathalian about Verrika came as brash though, especially considering you lost.” Gare smirked with a hearty laugh. “It seems arrogance finds its way everywhere.”

Farra blushed, relieved to hear her defeat at least had little ill consequence for her lords who had put so much effort into her training.

“As embarrassed as you may feel about your defeat after all that talk, your devotion to the lords didn’t fall on deaf ears. Unlike Bathalian who twisted your words, others felt moved by your desire to serve Lord Erres. That is to say nothing about Lord Erres and Lord Valen's own court. Many officers were biting to rush to your aid.”

“It’s a relief to hear your words Gare.” The hairs on Farra’s ears and tails ceased their nervous bouncing, her thoughts drifting from concerns of her having tainted her lords' names, to the failure she proved to be in combat. “I will return to the Oracle then, there is no point in me moping out here.” Farra brushed the dust lingering on her tunic, wiping her eyes and attempting to scrub away bits of the dried blood marking her lips and chin in the process. She blinked, feeling her eyes water again, rubbing the sleeve of her top against them, turning from Gare to try and mask her disappointment, using the water to wash the blood.

“I'll escort you then.” Gare stepped closer to her for Farra to turn with a shake of her head.

“No. I can make it there myself. I have been afraid of being alone in the dark. But on the temple grounds I don’t think I feel that.”

“It's not a matter of the darkness, but other soldiers potentially causing trouble.”

“I would like to see what it is like to enjoy a lone walk, without fear of something creeping at me from the shadows.” She managed a smile despite the bits of dried blood still adorning her pale skin, another tear streaking down her face when she wiped it away.

“I will return to the council then.” Gare turned, waving a hand and stepping back toward the entrance where two guards remained posted.

She found her way onto the road stemming between the structure and promenade. Gare turned back to examine her surroundings and peer into the distance, looking around for any would-be potential issues, conceding to Farra’s wishes as he turned back to the council’s hall.

The trek back to Valen’s tower was quiet. But Farra relied upon it being the temple grounds to soothe her concerns regarding dark and quiet. She peered to the side, out toward the moon which had begun to softly shine down. She gathered from the council that those serving the moonlight were enemies, but despite that, the moon felt all too much like some impartial force in the sky. It seemed as if it looked past alliances and factions, instead shining its brilliance down and reminding one the lands were not all darkness. Her steps continued along the pathway. Farra’s steps were slow, taking the time to look out to the plateaus surrounding the temple grounds, thinking that placing a light among their cliffs might leave a beautiful light in all the darkness. Her thoughts were inconsequential, but this moment she had to herself after such embarrassment provided solace. If not for the people who had come to stand for her, she would never have had the opportunity to have such an experience of simply walking alone and embracing solitude. If not for her lords or their officers, she would have lost her life many times over most likely, often lacking the strength to stand for and protect herself. Another tear streaked down her cheek at the thought, the desire to not be someone dependent but rather that could properly serve her lords and be someone they looked to for aid burned within her.

The magical stones seen in so many other places lit the pathways with soft lavender light, giving some illumination to the shrouded structures on the bluff below. She could see the figures of individuals, going about their business below. She turned ahead, looking into the distance at the Oracle, rising against the barrier of mountains to its back, paling in height only to the temple itself. Perhaps enough time had passed to fatigue soldiers after a long trek to the War Faction’s capital due to the quiet. None were coming to or from the council other than herself. Farra reached a split where ahead lied the road branching into Valen's tower, and to the right was a staircase that connected to the bluff below. Her eyes and sight identified a group walking up. Farra froze for a little only to find all four individuals simply walk past her without a word, turning toward the direction both the tower and temple lied in. Farra decided to remain behind and not follow their footsteps, stepping toward the beginning of the staircase to overlook the grounds below. Her hair and tails blew in the gentle wind. Despite the darkness being cold like it did any other time, her body did not shiver, the chill of shadows failing to seep into her body.

The footsteps of the group faded into the distance, and then Farra in the same direction they had. She lifted her head back, looking up at the size of Valen's tower. From the outside it felt like something of a marvel, yet once inside she felt every bit of it was busy and easy to accidentally bump into unexpected objects. To a small extent, she dreaded pulling herself up all the steps to the top of the tower. But her tails bounced and she picked up her stride, eager to make her way to the top of the tower and resume her studies, hoping to find some answer to her helplessness. She touched her hand to the Oracle's gate, the gate shimmering in the darkness when it unsealed. She stepped through, followed by the usual loud clasp the of gate.

She glanced about to find no one inside. Her skin heated at the thought of Valen’s other pupils seeing her fail in battle. But, if there were group in the War Faction she felt she could be comfortable around, then it was likely Valen's students. She walked toward a desk, placing a cork on an ajar vial that shimmered. As soon as it was properly sealed an incandescent emerald light began to shine took the place of the shimmering colorless light. ‘They really should be a bit more careful,’ Farra mused while meandering to the bookcases, pulling a chair to stand on top of as she scanned through the rows of tomes. Many of the books were labeled with runes themselves to bypass the issue of language. She could now understand the meaning of some of these, and what they implied the contents of a tome to be. There was one in particular she was scouring Valen's library for. She half-suspected that he had not placed or constructed one with the contents she desired to explore. Row after row of things regarding controlling the flow of magic and elements, a somewhat intermediary application of runes, were all her eyes could discern.

Reaching toward the top of the bookcase would be more than difficult using any kind of prop. Farra looked behind the case, finding them to be embedded into the tower wall. Her smaller size and footing allowed her to balance on each shelf, climbing up and exploring what might be detailed on each spine. The tomes she found were too complex for her to understand the meaning of yet. She was looking for anything related to the matter of augmentation, remembering Valen say that it encompasses the subject of what she desired to know more technically. But numerous amounts of the spines had no sign of what they might be about at all, and given Farra's position, she could not pull any of the heavy books from their place on a whim without being hard-pressed to return it to its place. She descended the bookshelves, taking care not to lose her footing, finally jumping down once she felt close enough. Her stomach stung from the impact of landing on the ground, holding herself while crouching over and recovering.

From that position, Farra turned slightly, and it was upon turning she glimpsed the spine of a book that caught her eye on a shelf as low as it could possibly be. The shelves were not equally spaced she saw, this one was shorter than the rest, and its contents seemed a bit more hidden in one sense. One would have to touch their head to the ground in order to read the spines. Despite its label, the design of the book was unassuming, red like so many others. But the runes were unmistakable, it was those suggesting enchantment, which equated to augmentation for runic purposes. The proceeding rune represented life. The rune of life was one she was by no means familiar with or understanding of its purpose, but Farra knew what it implied the contents to be. Her hand placed her hand on the book, taking a moment to dislodge it from the shelf. It was stubbier than many others, what it lacked in height it made up for with width. Farra flipped through briefly. The pages were particularly worn, more than nearly every other book she perused thus far save for the very first tome introducing her to rune magic.

She took the book and ascended the staircase, placing it on top of each step before pulling her body up. She ached, and her head felt a slight pounding, but her desire was nothing more than to view the contents of the book up in the makeshift study put together for her.

The light left in the top room was of a pale blue, the same it was when Valen and Farra departed for the council. She set her weapon to the side, laying the book onto her desk and opening to the first page. The runes were complicated with an immense amount of symbols directing flow and motion of magical energies within runes immediately. Farra reached for a book set in the window's alcove, flipping it open and finding a page that had corresponding runes, it was a book she was heavily engaged in prior to the council meeting. She proceeded through, comparing each rune as she could, scribbling down with ink onto separate parchment what she could not understand. Her stomach began to grumble, but she disregarded the feeling, relishing the opportunity to study despite a tear-stained face and her body’s protests.

Time passed, and eventually Farra found herself surrendering to fatigue that had built across all the preceding days of training. When her eyes finally opened, Valen sat at his desk, examining and enchanting another weapon. Farra shifted at the sight for a moment, her hair disheveled as she roused from her sleep.

“Lord Valen, how long was I asleep?”

He turned for a moment, then looking back to his work. “Nearly a moon now. You were surely drained. A meal sits on the alcove left of your desk.”

The pain from both the gut punch and knock to her head were gone, her stomach howled at the mention of food. She looked down at the ground, well aware Valen would know the contents she was reviewing prior to falling asleep. She pulled her chair back, setting down and pulling the earthen bowl to begin eating a ration. The room remained silent, the only noises were Farra's quiet nibbling and when Valen shifted the weapon on his desk.

“Lord Valen, did I disappoint you?” She took another bite of a tuber.

“Yes and no. You have exceeded my expectations Farra.” He held the axe up on his table, examining it in an amber light.

“If you mean in reference to what transpired at the council, it was in a way unavoidable. Lady Bathalian sought to make an example out of you, and so she did. But whether that example helped her cause and hurt ours or not remains to be seen. I suspect it may work against her in time.” He stopped talking for a moment, setting the axe down with the crack of metal against metal. “Unless it's dealt lasting damage to your psyche, then we should have little to be worried about in that regard. The third trial was a farce. Perhaps my disappointment stems in a lack of your willingness to utilize your knowledge of runes for some disastrous effect in battle. But it was likely better you did not.”

Farra smiled, taking another bite before the lord continued on. “Was there anything else of your concern?”

Farra coughed, swallowing her food and setting the rest to the side.

“Lord Valen, I am sure you saw the book upon my desk.”

“Ah yes, that reminds me of why I was disappointed.” Farra froze. “Not in your unyielding desire to know, but the hastiness with which you approach it. Are you so hungry for power that you might risk your own life in pursuit of it?” Valen turned from the axe, stepping over to his apprentice and kneeling down to look at her closer.

The feirin caught her breath, seeing the book remaining on the same page from where she slept, pushed to the corner of her desk.

“Lord Valen, I wish to become a capable soldier to help your and Lord Erres' cause.”

“Not all soldiers need to fight.”

“But if I possessed the strength, is that not what you and Lord Erres would have me do?”

Valen stood, shifting over to a spherical apparatus lying in the corner of the room, containing what seemed to be a small storm inside of it, a storm composed of vibrant varying and twisting color. His hand laid upon it and as it did the storm churned all the more violently inside, as if tearing away at its own self in a rainbow of color.

“I have read partway through the contents of this tome Lord Valen. Would it not be better to perform the process now as opposed to later, so I become use to it sooner than later? You said it would take time and knowledge to properly utilize the runes once applied. But in that same vein, with the more time passes the more I grow accustom to my body as it is now—of how I wish it wasn't.”

“Your point is not lacking, but suppose the procedure fails, or you find yourself to regret the decision.”

Farra shook her head with a smile at her lord.

“Lord Valen, then please perform the augmentation. I have faith in your abilities, if it you are not up to the task then no one is. And just the same way my parents died, the same way I live on now knowing that Verrika died to save me, I will persist despite any discomforts.”

Valen turned back from her, scanning the shelves of the study carrying varying amounts of supplies, looking back into the orb which he held his hand over, the feeling of a low roar spilling out from his armor as the storm despite all its fluctuations, came to a serene swirl of a gradient of colors.

“Then it will be for the purpose of enhancing speed and strength.”

Valen's words voiced his capitulation to Farra's wishes. He lifted the hand from the sphere, the energy within the orb returning to a chaotic storm. He reached toward the wall of the tower, and upon touching a rune, it lit and sent a lucid white glow traveling in a line downward according to one of the tower’s etchings, letting out a quiet whistle meant to grab ones attention. He then stepped to one of the storage shelves inside the room, scouring for inks and trinkets. Despite his reservations toward disposing Farra to the procedure, the researcher inside of him knew it was a momentous opportunity. The same side of him that had brought rune magic to where it now lies within the War Faction was sparked. Brashness, experimentation, and exploring the unknown. Though this would not be uncharted territory in a strict sense, it was still dangerous, telling, and an opportunity to learn.

“Lord Valen, your request?” A man covered in a tunic and hood spoke, one Farra knew to study in the tower often. “Send for all pupils interested in augmentation. We will have a lesson none will want to miss. In fact, send for all pupils regardless of their focus. You will need to crowd around. I require you also to bring our most precious inks and rare trinkets up for me to review. Send for the smiths to create a needle with a point finer than any edge forged only from our purest ore reserves. Nothing else will suffice.”

“Yes my lord. At once.”

Valen picked the axe up off his workbench, setting it to the side. He inscribed a rune onto the surface, touching his palm to it and pulling back when steam spewed forth from the rune. He reached under the bench, pulling a cloth he used to then wipe the table down.

“Eat if you are hungry Farra. You will want as little distractions as possible. It will be some time before the pupils who are available can gather, and all the necessary instruments are brought here.”

“Lord Valen, I wish not to ask too much, or show any bit of hesitation. But should I want the runes amended or improved, is it possible?”

“Farra, just how much power do you desire?” Valen lifted a hand, a finger to the amber light hanging from the ceiling, changing it into an illuminating white light.

“As much as the faction needs me to have.”

Valen looked upon his bench before turning back to her.

“It is possible in theory, though I have never attempted to alter or append runes on an already inscribed living individual. Even that is beyond my current knowledge.”

“I see, that is good to know then.”

Without another word, Valen continued to adjust his workbench, looking through his supplies and contemplating the possible application of each. Farra returned to eating her food.

Hours would pass before the first pupils began to gather, including Kaladin. Then the individual that first came to the top of the tower brought back with him the needle Valen requested.

“My students, I am elated to see you have not squandered this opportunity to learn. This girl's wishes inspires my inquisitiveness for exploring potential applications of runes that in light of bolstering our armies, I had forgotten my passion for. Today I shall be partly reigniting my own curiosity, not in a way I have no knowledge of, but in one that I had abandoned in favor of other methodologies. I will be augmenting Farra's flesh and body with runes. This provides you all a rare opportunity to observe perhaps one of the most arcane and dangerous uses of rune augmentation.”

“I will begin by numbing Farra's sense to pain. Ordinarily I would recommend ensuring the subject is sedated and put to rest for two reasons. The first being it accomplishes the same task as numbing a sense of pain with the proper incantation. But also because one who has magical prowess may inadvertently activate the inscriptions being etched upon their body, resulting in a premature activation that could kill the subject or significantly harm others around them, if not both. However Farra we know to lack innate magical energies, so this shall not be an issue. She also is a fine student, and even as she is being operated on, this is a fine opportunity for her to gain insight to the process as well.”

Valen inscribed a rune onto the workbench, which he directed Farra to lay upon. She obliged, climbing naked onto the table and laying onto her back. The discomfort of sitting on her tails struck her, but she paid it no mind, she figured it would soon be impossible to feel at all. Her pale and petite body glowed under the white light. Valen then raised his gauntlet, placing it over her bare stomach. It felt cold. The entirety of his hand was larger than her torso. She felt a knot in her stomach when the rune beneath her began to glow, then soon after felt nothing more. She could only see with her eyes and mind. Even if she attempted to move her body was no longer able to, the nerves in her body felt dead.

“The augmentation I will be performing upon her is to increase both her strength and speed when the runes are active. Just as you would assume for any other enchantment in runic language, strength stems from both the burning flame and unyielding stone. Speed comes from the flowing waters and ravaging winds. Because this is a momentous occasion, and Farra is a dear pupil, I shall expend some of our most precious resources in etching these runes to ensure a proper and strong fit. You would do this for any weapon you wish to be potent in its enchantments, but the necessity to do so for an individual is doubly so, for failure in their body's runes could be more than just costly in battle.”

Picking up a fine brush with various inks at his side, Valen dipped the brush in a jet black ink, as nearly all of them were if not the darkest shades of different colors. Using one hand to procure two trinkets that were in fact the bones of some creature, he set one upon each of the back of Farra's hands. Around them he proceeding to drag the brush, effortlessly transcribing a complex rune upon each of her hand's dorsal sides. He then touched the tip of his gauntlet to each, a gentle wave resonating throughout the ink, proceeding the process for the other.

“I have the convenience of being able to perform this spell with no sort of assistance, however in this is a very exact and critical detail. Do not let the ink transcribed upon the subject dry or distort, the latter for more obvious reasons. It is necessary to ensure the ink's remaining wet, you will see why shortly.”

Farra's body gained no more sense back with the passage of time, the rune Valen utilized surely was more than potent enough to put her in a near permanent state of paralysis it seemed. Her body only naturally breathed, her heart relaxed as it felt no inkling of what was occurring. From her mind, she could see each rune Valen was choosing to transcribe upon her, numerous segments directing the flow of magic from one rune to the next, with conjoined elemental runes acting as the centerpieces of various parts of her body. Often a grouping of elemental runes were placed so close together, so exact, that Farra felt it could be interpreted as a combination of all four elements. But at times Valen would switch to an even finer brush, ensuring to distinguish the detail, picking up any drop of ink he felt out of place with the tip of his gauntlet. By the time he finished with the brush, Farra's hands, feet, legs, arms, shoulder blades, and hips all possessed runic markings of varying sizes.

“It is important, when considering the augmentation of the individual, that you are not etching or enchanting an object, but rather one of body and mind. This is where most of your understandings will begin to wane, and we venture into territory truly associated with this process.”

Valen continued by setting more varying trinkets upon Farra's abdomen, forehead, and chest, then transcribing three runes of numerous markings and interconnecting symbols to form a single runic grouping upon Farra’s body which Kaladin himself gawked at, unsure of Valen's designs. Through her sight, Farra knew Valen to be utilizing in some way the same rune she saw on the spine of the book. It was life, and another was spirit, conjoined with various markings directing to the varying runes.

“You see though the means to apply strength and speed are simple in concept, when dealing with the entirety of the body then even within one such as Farra it is critical to consider how the power of the runes be transferred and balanced throughout, lest you want someone feeling as if their body is horribly contorted, agonizing, and to cause them to wish for a swift death.”

Valen looked down, gazing into Farra's eyes whom had steeled herself thus far, though she felt nothing and did not think the drawing of runes upon her was as intimidating as his words. His gauntlet hovered over her face, taking one more brush to etch three more runes, one upon each of her cheeks, the higher parts of each rune coming close to overlapping with her bestial birth markings. Valen brushed the hair from Farra’s eyes, lowering a fine brush against her forehead to transcribe the third rune.

“We shall now begin the final aspect of the process. One that could be considered of similar nature to that of etching upon a weapon. It is at this point where you may no longer turn back once beginning, unless you wish to make someone's body ever susceptible to magical exposure. I ask for this reason pupils, that all of you refrain from any sort of magics for any reason. To ensure her safety this light shall drain the air of residues.”

The light that had been white until now above them turned into a lucent amethyst at Valen’s touch, one Farra was familiar with. Farra saw Valen take the needle that was brought to him between to fingers, holding it with surprising dexterity given the size of his hands, lowering it beginning at her foot. The needle slid inside, pricking into her flesh and sliding along the wet runes, slicing her body in the shape of the rune whereupon the ink began to seep into her skin in the same formation. From her body blood oozed forth, but with his other hand at a position far away, he held the blood in place, forcing it to slide back into the parted flesh and bind with the ink inside of Farra.

The feirin could only feel the tiniest of pricks on her end, but the sight of what was happening to her body caused her mind to shiver. Valen continued his work, bit by bit the ink he worked on last would fade into her skin, into markings that one could see if trying to discern a healing wound of near the same color as one's skin. Some students reeled back, seeing the blood flow from Farra's bare body. One student whispered to another, commenting on the tremendous amount of mastery Valen needed to be controlling Farra's seeping blood as he did.

Finally, Valen arrived to Farra's face. She winced even though she could not feel. She fully expected the pain of a needle being threaded inside and dragged along her skin, cutting her flesh apart. The tip of the needle pricked and penetrated into one cheek, shifting along and cutting it. Her mind shivered then relieved at the needle pulling away from her cheek, only for it to stab inside and begin the process on her other cheek. Valen examined the final rune on her forehead, pausing for a moment. It was in that brief moment, that if Farra could ever feel Valen's eyes they were gazing straight into her, but she knew not what sentiment they might have carried. His hand raised, the needle dropped, and the last rune began to complete itself when blood seeped. The blood, oozing and capturing the ink, retracted back inside Farra’s forehead with the motion of Valen’s hand.

“This completes a little over half the process. Because the composition of threading her wounds could compromise the design or latent state of the runes, I would recommend if at all possible, to let one lay and naturally recover. However, there is still her other side to do, and so we will now put her to sleep for the sake of finishing this in a single lesson.”

Valen held his open gauntlet over Farra's face, and she faded into sleep.

Farra had no concept of how much time passed when she woke, but when she did her body ached in curious formations, as if the symbols etched upon her were stinging and not her body. Teilve sat on her desk, Erres leaning against the tower wall, seeing her begin to rustle from atop the workbench. The very same amethyst light remained filling the room, and so it felt to Farra that no time might have passed at all, though the change in presences in the room suggested otherwise.

Teilve laughed, a bit differently than usual. It betrayed a sense of relief in him that Farra woke. Erres pushed off the wall, standing silent before speaking when the feirin raised her head.

“There was no need for this.”

Farra smiled, a tear rising from her eye, knowing that she had in one way disappointed her lord. But it was her hope that this single disappointment would pave the path for opportunity to make amends for the woes she had already caused him.

“There is no way to turn it back now my lord. Forgive me.”