Nail tattoos and tattooers

Table of Contents

Even if my priority remains seducing the Dark Lord, I still need to do a bare minimum of preparation now that the war is coming closer. A bit more on the self defence side at least.
The priority is obviously to get new nail tattoos while I still stand a chance... Getting new ones is never fun and I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm not some kind of squeamish Light mage! The prize will be well worth the price...

Alina Lange

---

Nail runic diagrams

What

Tiny runic diagrams that are positioned at the end of each finger.
Since we mostly practice magic through our hands, those diagrams act directly on our perception and control of magic to enhance them. They can also be used to grant us a few special abilities (fire ball conjuration is always a favourite).
The diagrams are small & so limited in what functions they can have. It's also best to have similar ones on all fingers of one hand so as to have them balance each other.

1st evolution

This started as tattoos being placed on the finger tips, however this was found more often than not to interfere with the nerves placed there to sense & control magic rather than enhancing them.
The tattoos were moved to the opposite side of the fingers, under the nails, which proved to be a lot more effective.
Placing them required pulling off the nails, but this was an advantage. The pain coming from the process was offered in sacrifice in a ritual that contributed to power the magic.

2nd Evolution

When the Light managed to seize control of society and to outlaw anything Dark, this "barbaric" ritual was banned too.
As an alternative, they changed the tattoos for nail polish—a ridiculous alternative! Very often the polish wears off in an unequal manner, thus potentially leading to unbalanced runic diagram that can endanger their wearers.
In addition, enemies can always tear their nails off to get rid of them! Tattoos are sooo much safer!
Anyway, only the Light is stupid enough to do that...

---

So, what to choose for my new tattoo design? So many things feel essential and I can never get a tattoo without immediately regretting my decision and having to endure it for the next year... Increased protection, the ability to detect foreign magic near me, to increase my senses at will, to better control my magic for distance-magic...
All right. I'm a rune mistress, member of the rune guild and I do enjoy a challenge! Let's see what kind of combination I can come up with! I should be able to squeeze everything in one design even if I'll have to establish a priority order for their power...
What's going to be harder is finding a good tattooers. Since those damn Light mages have outlawed rituals and nail tattoos, almost all tattooers have disappeared from the country. Of course, there are always people willing to do it on the sly, but I don't want a rush job by a non-professional! What use is it if I make a perfect design but I choose an incompetent that won't have the skills to recreate its minute details?
My parents usually get a family friend to do ours, and the results have always been disastrous. But it's not like we do so by choice... And with the war coming, any would-be tattooer, skilled or not, is going to have their schedule full.
Oh.
What about asking de Coroy? Since he's started to informally mentor me and we've been collaborating on a few projects, it's also in his interests for me to get good-quality tattoos! And even if it's not confirmed, I'm pretty sure he's in the Dark Lord's inner circle. He's bound to have access to a tattooer and to be able to give me a recommendation so that I can get on their schedule!
I'll just have to be sure to book an appointment with our usual nail technician right after to hide the tattoos with some polish on my nails, and then I'll be able to go back to worry solely about my Dark Lord.

Alina Lange

---

Related Articles

Magic

Types of Magic Runic magic · Alchemy and Enchantments · Rituals · Intent-based magic · Runaway ritual magic · Astral rituals · Runes Materials Crystalline materials and their use in magic · Blue Syndrome · Orichalcum · Hydrargyrum—Mercury · Caustic butterfly · Crimson rhubarb · Feisty lettuce · Plants contaminated with runaway ritual magic Technologies Transportation portals · Candied magic · Nail tattoos and tattooers · Light-activated artefacts · The Royal Protector's pearls · Illénian battle staff · Canal and river barges · Exposure to runaway ritual magic · Miraculous cure-all · Semaphore network