After the break, Master Kjeld began teaching Mai about the basics and went over the essential aspects of blood runes.

"A Rune Master uses mana to create a rune. It costs mana to use spells and runes. Using a rune costs only half as much mana compared to spells," Master Kjeld said. 

"You cannot fail when creating a blood rune because you draw with your own blood. But that doesn't mean your blood rune will be ugly or not work optimally. It's all about how strong your soul is, not how much mana you have in your body. It's important to distinguish between the two."

"There are two ways to create blood runes: 
1. You make your quill draw. 
2. You draw with the help of your quill." he continued.

The latter option had the strongest effect but was also more difficult to do and required more mana.

"How do I know how much mana I have?" Mai asked, now very curious about the blood rune process despite having looked down on it during the break.

"There are mana detectors you can check yourself with, divided into colors. The Dancing Poppy has one you can borrow. Remember to check your mana before creating a blood rune if you plan to do so." Master Kjeld replied.

Mai furrowed her brows and asked, "Shouldn't I be checked now before I start?"

He shook his head, explaining that she wouldn't be able to create a strong rune as she didn't yet know the method. He asked her to take out a golden book with a star of gold dust on the cover.

"The Book of Gods." Mai read, feeling her heart beat faster.

"If you choose option two, you must have the gods' acceptance before you can create it. I asked you to take an Azure Drop as a precaution so you have extra mana. One pill is enough for a Spirit Master to cast a powerful spell. All Rune Masters must create a blood rune once in their lives to understand the process, so you must do the same."

Master Kjeld asked her to take out her quill and perform both methods. He promised to guide her through the entire process.

"Prick the tip of your quill on a place on your body where you want to draw your blood, but choose a place you don't use much. I can see you're right-handed, so use your left hand, arm, or leg, for example." he instructed.

Mai brought her quill to the inside of her left wrist and felt her heart race loudly in her ears. When she saw the sharp, skewed end of the quill, she hesitated and bit her lip.

"Does it hurt?" she asked in a small voice.

"It only feels like a little prick, and some may not feel it at all. Since the quill isn't soul-bound to you, you might not feel anything. I don't know because I haven't experienced it before." Master Kjeld replied, but his last sentence made her nervous.

She gathered herself, lightly pricked her skin, and suddenly felt something moving beneath her skin. It tightened and pricked intensely. Suddenly, the quill began to move, vibrating. Mai felt a tingling sensation in her skin and suddenly heard a loud sucking sound coming from under her skin. She felt a cold rush in her stomach, and her heart climbed into her throat. When she realized what was happening, it was too late. The quill immediately began to draw blood, and small bumps moved up it, and suddenly, the large white feather turned into a blood-red color. It suddenly pulled out of the skin, and in the same second, Liam appeared in front of her, wrapping a white cloth around her wrist, which stopped bleeding.

"Draw a Chamomile Hand following the book on the paper." said Master Kjeld, nodding, and Mai immediately began.

She slowly drew the first flower petal, which turned out nicely because she had drawn it before.

"Stroke 3 Complete." read a text of red dust hovering over her hand, which she only noticed now.

"With blood, you have to do it quickly, or it'll clot." said Master Kjeld, suddenly stressing her, and she hurried to continue drawing.

Shortly after, she managed to draw a Chamomile Hand again, but it was now red with thick lines.

"Congratulations. You've created a Blood Chamomile Hand."

The writing was thick golden with a glowing red edge. The chamomile flower suddenly glowed on the paper, awaiting Mai's next move.

Master Kjeld clapped loudly and praised her many times for creating her first blood rune. She didn't feel anything magical about it other than losing her blood.

She suddenly became worried about blood loss. Unfortunately, the blood was used, and the rune was drawn. There was no turning back. If one tried to retract their blood, they would suffer severe side effects.

"Rune Masters can't use their own blood runes, only normal runes, but we don't need that. We can use spell books since we have enough mana." Explained Master Kjeld, putting Mai to work on option 2, drawing her own blood rune with the help of her quill.

"I hope you've eaten your Azure Drop." he said, pointing to the center of the stones and asking her to lie down on her back with her hands folded on her chest.

The second method required approval from the gods, depending on which rune from the book one chose.

Mai saw Liam holding a black book in his hand over her, which he placed on top of her hands. She was asked to skim through all the pages and find the rune she wanted to make as a blood rune. Mai preferred to create her own and stopped at a light pink Amaryllis belladonna, which was trumpet-shaped. It caused vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pains if ingested and rashes if touched.

"Amaryllis Belladonna - God Ehlma." she read, furrowing her brows.

"Who is God Ehlma?"

Everyone stared at her, even the blacksmiths who had been busy working, casting glances her way.

Everyone knew the gods, knowledge learned as children.

Liam revealed that God Ehlma was one of the many gods who watched over their world, the God of Nature.

"So, I have to contact that god, I assume." Mai said, seeing Master Kjeld nod.

She didn't like it because the gods hadn't helped her in her previous life.

First, she had to draw the rune in her mind, and afterward, it would establish a connection to the god it was linked to.

Mai lay down, closed her eyes, and imagined the Amaryllis Belladonna connected to God Ehlma. It was dark, and suddenly, she saw red dots, which she was sure were her blood vessels in her eyelids. She shut out the outside world, and it became completely silent. Suddenly, there was a muted sound of a water droplet, growing louder. She imagined the Amaryllis Belladonna again, and suddenly, it appeared in front of her, glowing in a beautiful matte pink color. It vibrated and emitted white dust that spread everywhere, illuminating the darkness.

A huge green forest suddenly appeared around Mai, and she was greeted by a pleasant warm breeze. There was a lovely scent of flora and fresh nature, and she heard birds chirping in the trees, their gentle melodies caressing her ears. There was a woodpecker tapping on a tree, creating a loud echo. A small golden butterfly suddenly landed on her nose, its long thin legs tickling. Mai felt oddly comfortable because she was normally afraid of butterflies. But now, she felt no fear. She noticed she was standing, and on both sides of her, there was a long avenue of tall linen trees forming a large, bright path in front of her. At the end, a middle-aged man in a long white robe with golden curls and a golden curly beard walked around. Next to him stood a large white stag with its back to Mai, which suddenly turned and stared at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she made eye contact with the stag's chalk-white eyes. Suddenly, it snorted with its nostrils and nudged the man, whom Mai had already guessed was God Ehlma. For who else could it be?

God Ehlma suddenly turned around, staring at her, and furrowing his brows.

"Why is there a nymph here? Has Frokda forgotten her?" he muttered, stepping towards Mai, and suddenly he stood in front of her, their noses almost touching, and she felt his warm breath.

"No wait. Frokda has nothing to do here. The only ones who come here unexpectedly are the greedy messengers. But they are only men." God Ehlma muttered, suddenly moving his right hand towards Mai's cheek.

She thought he would give her powers, but suddenly she heard a loud snapping sound, and everything around her turned pitch black. She blinked and suddenly was met with Liam's handsome face. Around him, the others stood, staring down at her.

"Did it work?" Master Kjeld suddenly asked.

Mai sat up, furrowed her brows, and answered in a low voice, "No, I was rejected."

"Hm, maybe it's your gender." he commented, stroking his chin.

She sensed no irony in his voice and didn't want to give up after just one attempt, so she asked, "Can I try again?"

She looked in the book again and suddenly saw the word Valari and stopped.

"Goddess Valari," she read, remembering Valari's Cloak that Hilda had used.

She became curious and asked, "Who is Goddess Valari?"

"She is the God of Weaponsmith. Her most known symbol is the Crimson Dragonfly, a moon flower." Liam replied, and with everyone's help, Mai found the section for moon flowers and was surprised to see so many pages with only them.

She found the Crimson Dragonfly flower, which had four wide wings resembling fans that together formed a circle resembling a large daisy. The bud was black, and the petals were red. 

Mai lay down, closed her eyes, and shut everything out again. In her mind, she repeated the same method as before and waited. Seconds passed, and suddenly a woman appeared in front of her. She wore a long-sleeved red dress and sat on a chair, staring at Mai. They made eye contact, and Goddess Valari furrowed her brows.

"Why is there a woman here?" she muttered softly.

"My lady, are you ready?" a voice suddenly asked, belonging to a woman.

Goddess Valari muttered, "It must be a mistake."

She snapped her right hand, and everything blackened for Mai, who blinked and found herself back in the real world again.

Once again, she had to awkwardly explain that she had been rejected, and Master Kjeld furrowed his brows and suggested she give up, but she refused to give up and asked for one last chance. He believed that if one had been rejected by a god the first time, it made no sense to continue. He concluded with the sentence, "Never anger the gods. It has consequences."

Mai refused to give up, and they had a heated argument for several minutes until Liam and the other men intervened, showing their support for Mai. Master Kjeld finally relented.

"If it doesn't work, I'll give up. I promise." Mai said in a clear voice.

She found a Moon Lily, a white lily, which had a healing effect associated with Goddess Avari. She remembered that Laila had sung Avari’s Hymn in the Enchanted Maze.

Mai saw a woman sitting in a garden in front of a large flower bed, leaning over a small pond in front of her, staring at her reflection. Suddenly, she turned her head to the left and made eye contact with Mai, who felt a flutter in her stomach. Is she going to reject me too?

Goddess Avari stood up, furrowing her brows, and asked, "You don't look like Frokda's nymphs. Who are you?"

Mai quickly got to the point and said, "I need your powers to create a rune. Can you help me?"

Goddess Avari furrowed her brows again and replied, "I don’t quite follow. How did you end up here? The spirits don’t end up here..."

"I'm in training to become a Rune Master." Mai interrupted, hoping Goddess Avari would understand her.

"Impossible. You're a woman!" Goddess Avari said but fell silent for a moment as she studied Mai with her eyes.

"If you can truly create a rune without my help, then I bless you." she suddenly said, smiling kindly at Mai.

She snapped loudly, and Mai was sent back to the mundane world.

Master Kjeld immediately asked how it went, and when Mai expressed her intention to create the blood rune, she invented a quick lie.

"I made contact with one."

It wasn't entirely a lie. They had had a brief conversation.

He was happy for her and asked her to sit back in her place.

He looked at her with a serious expression and said, "The other method requires you to use your own blood, and the quill helps you correct your strokes, but since you're not soul-bound to it, you have to create your blood rune without its help. It'll be harder, so are you sure you want to go through with it?"

"Didn't you say that everyone had to go through the process to qualify as a Rune Master? In that case, you know the answer." Mai replied, feeling her heart pounding loudly in her ears. The process scared her since she hadn't made contact with a god.

Would they find out?

She bit her lip and looked at Liam, who sat to her left, and they made eye contact.

He suddenly looked at Master Kjeld and said, "Master, wouldn't it be better for Martin to learn to open the gates first? Maybe that would help."

"Have you forgotten he needs his tool first before that can be done? It also borrows the powers of the gods." Master Kjeld replied, suddenly shooing all the blacksmiths away while the rest of the men moved away from the stone square, leaving only Mai behind.

"Why are you all going so far away? Isn't it just a rune?" she asked, feeling her hands trembling.

Master Kjeld coughed and replied, "We're just taking precautions. The stones have a barrier that automatically activates if something happens. It was built by the founder of Korral, so nothing in the world can destroy it."

Mai didn't feel reassured by his words when he said it that way and furrowed her brows. Was it smart to lie about the gods?