"Alright, you can go now. These Obsidian weapons are for fighting the White Walkers. Consider them a gift from me. When you get back, tell Mance Rayder that I'll be waiting for him here next spring. He can choose to submit to me, attack the Wall, or just wait there to become a Wight!"
Mako said to The Lord of Bones, who was standing before him along with over 500 tribal warriors. They had once been Mako's prisoners.
Fearing they might die at the hands of Wights on the way back, Mako also gave them a large supply of food and Obsidian weapons, instructing The Lord of Bones to lead these loyal followers back to Mance Rayder.
In this entire battle, Mako had captured over 3,000 prisoners. The Lord of Bones' army of over 6,000 (the Warg tribe had over 3,000 members) had suffered heavy casualties, with many fleeing. They were also attacked by Varamyr and his group, leaving only a remnant of over 1,000 soldiers hiding in the forest.
Mako's goal was to let them return alive, to spread his name among the Wildlings. Only then would he have a chance to subdue more of them. It had to be said that the White Walkers had given Mako a great deal of help. Their constant slaughter made it impossible for the Wildlings to live a normal life, which was also why Mance Rayder could unite them.
Although many Wildlings were marauding thugs, this didn't mean everyone would plunder. Some Wildlings still lived by hunting and raising livestock, but the invasion of the White Walkers disrupted everyone's lives, plunging many Wildlings into famine and fear.
These Wildlings brought over by The Lord of Bones were also mostly in this situation. Therefore, under Mako's food offensive and his policy of treating people differently, many captured Wildlings had different thoughts. Within a few days, a large number of Wildlings abandoned their so-called "free will" and swore allegiance to Mako.
The Lord of Bones looked at Mako with a complex expression. The changes in the lives of his people had made him change his view of Mako, this "Southerner." Although the Wildlings had always despised the act of kneeling, when famine and the threat of death came, it all seemed so ridiculous. Life was always more important than this so-called "freedom"!
After speaking, Mako ignored the costumed freak and led his men back into the city. The Lord of Bones stared after them, unable to speak for a long time.
Moreover, during this time, the Three-Eyed Raven and his group had been tracking the Night King's whereabouts. However, this guy, after being tricked by Mako the last time, seemed to have vanished, and even the number of White Walkers in the Haunted Forest had decreased significantly.
But Ygritte had said that the Night King was very cunning, like a venomous snake, preferring to hide in the shadows and ambush his prey. She herself had fallen for his tricks several times before.
Mako was also helpless about this. The lands beyond the Wall were simply too vast. For thousands of years, the White Walkers had been secretly accumulating power, and there was no way to know what other tricks they had up their sleeves. So, Mako could only take things one step at a time.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Mako returned to his room, surrounded by his soldiers. Many people had gathered there already: Moonshadow, the Three-Eyed Raven, Narkissos, Ygritte, and Brynden Rivers – all of Mako's magical units had come together today.
Fang entered with Mako. The purpose of their gathering was to study how to activate the Life Energy within Fang's body. After all this time, Mako had basically mastered the method of using Magic to catalyze Life Energy.
Although the Red Comet was still over two years away, Mako wanted to decipher the mysteries of this world's Magic early. Many documents and mythological legends described that other civilizations had existed on Westeros before the First Men landed. The Three-Eyed Raven had also discussed this with Mako, but because it was so long ago, he only had a vague impression.
Therefore, Mako had been working hard to study Life Energy, hoping to find a way to improve himself and his subordinates.
It was just that the Life Energy converted from Magic was very unstable, often being consumed for no reason. After many experiments, Mako thought of using Obsidian as a medium for storing and casting spells. The ancient Valyrians had always used Obsidian for spellcasting, and the Children of the Forest also used Obsidian for spellcasting.
After research, Mako discovered that the magic of the Children of the Forest was somewhat similar to prayer. They obtained the use of Magic by sacrificing Life Energy to the Old Gods. In a way, this kind of magic was more like divine magic.
The magic of the Valyrians, on the other hand, was mainly based on Blood Magic and Fire Magic. Mako noticed that this magic also required sacrifices, using the Life Energy in blood as a sacrifice to cast terrifying spells.
Since gaining the ability of "Elemental Vision," Mako was finally able to glimpse the mysteries of Life Energy. After studying for some time, Mako found that Life Energy was not inactive; it was too active. With only a little guidance, it could unleash incredibly powerful forces.
The activity of Life Energy was too strong, allowing it to mobilize many powers in this world, even time and space, the two most powerful forces. This was also why the magic here was basically related to prophecy.
The reason magic sometimes worked and sometimes didn't was mainly because the human transcendents in this world hadn't developed corresponding methods of use. There might have been a gap, or perhaps they were still in a barbaric era.
So this gave Mako infinite directions for experimentation. In his previous life, he was in an era of information explosion where all kinds of wild ideas existed. Just the use of magic alone had been deduced into many methods.
Standing on the shoulders of many giants, Mako was also able to deduce a magic usage method unique to him from this knowledge: "Magic Tattoo"!
Mako, through his study of Valyrian Blood Magic and the rune magic of the Children of the Forest, had experimented with a brand new form of Ancient Rune Magic. There were five basic pronunciations and writings in Ancient Runes, all imbued with Magic. However, the ancient First Men had gradually forgotten how to use these five magical runes. Mako, through his own research, replicated these five runes and, based on them, invented the writings for the five rune languages: "Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth." Moreover, combining these different rune languages would produce various magical effects.
Mako had, several days prior, used 5 points of Magic to activate the Life Energy within Fang's body. This powerful force had instantly awakened his ability of Greensight, but Mako had been continuously suppressing this power with Dark Magic, preventing him from converting his Life Energy into the unique power of a Greenseer.
At this moment, Fang was sitting cross-legged on the ground, baring his upper body. Mako walked over and slashed open his wrist, releasing a large amount of blood, then used "Vitality Regeneration" to heal his injury.
Next, Mako mixed some Obsidian powder with this blood. As Mako had predicted, the blood, brimming with Life Energy, reacted with the Obsidian powder, turning all the Obsidian powder in the container into a dark red liquid.
Mako observed through "Elemental Vision" that the crystals in the Obsidian powder had been completely softened. This "blood lake" substance had now become pure Life Energy, no longer dissipating outwards. So, Mako took out a fine needle, dipped it into the liquid, and began to carve the first rune onto Fang's back.
There was no pure word for "Gold" in the Ancient Tongue, so Mako used a method of combination. The five characters in the Ancient Runes were "Fu, Lei, Ai, Te, Ken." The magical energy of "Gold" symbolized strength, sharpness, nobility, defense, and destruction. After arranging the five basic runes, a brand new word, "Gold," was created.
Since it was the first time he had carved it, Mako seemed a bit unfamiliar, taking over an hour to complete. After this new magical rune was completed, it was as if it had come to life, constantly growing and changing on Fang's back, directly occupying half of his body.
"Hmm! How can this be? I was planning to carve a few more! Is the energy too strong? Fang! How do you feel?"
Mako watched the blood-red runes spreading out like branches, which made him quite curious. He turned to Fang, the one experiencing it, and asked, "What's happening?"
"Hiss! Lord! I... I feel like my back is on fire! Even my bones ache, like something is melting into me! But I can handle it. This feeling is amazing!"
Fang endured the pain and replied to Mako.
Mako patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's almost done. This energy has begun to operate on its own. You can start by figuring out how to control it. Try to condense the most suitable attack you can think of in front of you."
Fang perked up at these words. Guided by Mako, he continuously channeled the newly emerged rune energy within his body. Gradually, a giant silver-gold Direwolf appeared in front of Fang. It looked just like a real wolf, but Mako knew that it was a phantom creature formed from rune energy combined with a trace of Life Energy.
"Sastin! Put that wooden stake at the door. Fang! I'll open the door in a moment. See if you can control it to attack the wooden stake outside!"
Mako directly ordered Sastin to bring over a wooden stake to test the power of Fang's new magic.
Fang looked at the giant Direwolf in front of him, a hint of excitement flashing across his face. He nodded with difficulty and said to Mako,
"Alright! Lord, Lord!"
Following that, this magic wolf let out a roar and attacked the wooden stake. Just as it was about to hit the stake, the newly-appeared magic wolf suddenly exploded, quickly disappearing without causing any damage!
Fang closed his eyes and immediately fainted. Brynden quickly went over to support him, preventing him from hitting his head.
"Failed? What do you all think?"
Mako murmured to himself, then turned to ask the people around him.
Moonshadow answered first: "Mako! I sensed the aura of the Earth God and the Animal God. That rune seems to have gained their favor!"
"No! There are other gods' auras mixed in. This rune seems to be recognized by all the gods. The powers of various gods are trying to blend into it. The gods seem very interested in it!"
This was what the Three-Eyed Raven said.
"My Lord! Your rune carving is truly remarkable. I can feel it's still growing. It seems to have formed a symbiotic relationship with Fang. It's peaceful, yet it also appears to be eroding. However, in a way, it's also repairing Fang's injured body."
That was Narkissos's assessment.
"I think..."
The group discussed their opinions amongst themselves until Fang slowly woke up. Mako immediately ran over and helped him up, patiently asking about his condition while continuously using "Elemental Vision" to examine his body. Finally, the rune had stopped growing, and Mako could examine it closely.
By now, the rune on Fang's back had completely merged with his body. One could see tiny, vein-like strands growing from the rune. They had connected with Fang's central nervous system. Within a specific area on Fang's forehead, a ball of light was slowly circulating.
It continuously transformed the incoming "Life Energy" into rune energy suitable for use. It appeared that this rune magic was essentially a success and had begun to provide power to the host. The primary reason for Fang's initial failure was the excessive consumption by his body at the beginning.
Seeing that his experiment was largely successful, Mako was overjoyed. He then issued an order to everyone:
"Alright! It seems this experiment has been very successful. We can now try to find some willing Wargs to test it out. Of course, ordinary people can also come and try it out to see the specific effects. From now on, you will seek out suitable subjects and activate their "Life Energy"! I will do the final carving!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Narkissos and the other two departed to carry out the order. The Three-Eyed Raven stayed behind with Moonshadow, and this little fellow, with an air of seniority, said to Mako:
"Lord Mako! Our people have increased again, now reaching 100. I've already spoken with them, and they've agreed to leave with you for the island of Skagos! The lands beyond the Wall are becoming increasingly dangerous. You are right, we need to recuperate and thrive!"
Mako was delighted to hear this and said, "Excellent. Believe me, when I possess even greater power, I will transform them all into beings like the Children of the Forest, for natural beauty is what they should have! War is not your strength; you have many other uses!"
The Three-Eyed Raven smiled and said, "Lord Mako! I have always believed that you will lead our people towards a brighter future. However, I think we can now discuss your marriage!"
"Uh! Cough, cough, cough! You... what did you say? Did I hear that right?"