“Please, don’t stop.” Mistress Blossom had her eyes closed and a look of pleasure on her face.
I shrugged and kept going. This design took longer to draw than the previous ones I’d done, as it was more detailed and larger. I inscribed the shape of the mound of earth above the shaved hairline of her own mound, up toward the navel. Closely following the design on the floor, I worked upward toward the navel, bringing in the stems and eventually the petals of the flowers.
As I worked, I was more aware of my intimate control over the ink than I had ever been before. Each prick of the skin served to put the ink in place, but it was with my magic that I drew the intricate details of the design. The room was very quiet now, the only sound was the Mistress breathing steadily, moaning with pleasure every now and again.
Now that I was deep into the process of drawing a tattoo, thoughts of my proximity to her sex faded to the back of my mind, although she continued moaning occasionally as I worked. Amelia sat near me, holding the Core, and I stopped my work every now and again to dip the tip of the dagger in and draw up more ink. When I looked up and met her eyes, she flashed me a confidential smile.
At last, I guided the ink into the very last point of the drawing. Mistress Blossom opened her eyes and looked down at the design, then she gasped.
“My Mana pool!” she said. “I can feel it being drawn to the tattoo!”
Green light flickered through the whole design, as if there was green fire behind it. Mistress Blossom gasped. Then, suddenly, it lit up brightly, bathing our faces in a bright light that flashed between white, green, yellow, and red, like the leaves of a tree changing through the seasons. The Mistress threw back her head and cried out in pleasure. She put her hand to the tattoo as the light faded.
“It’s completely healed,” she said in amazement as she sat up, her dark hair tousled around her head.
“That’s part of the magic,” I said, standing up and stretching. “When you have the affinity, an elemental tattoo will heal itself completely once it’s done.”
“Oh, that was simply delightful,” she said as she sat up and pulled on her skirt again. “We must do that again sometime. The way the knife tickles against the flesh is heavenly.”
I laughed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you like the tattoo?”
Mistress Blossom bent forward to examine her new ink. The flowing designs of the tattoo stood out against the skin of her flat belly, filling the space below her navel. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “A fitting way to honor the memory of those noble centaurs.”
“The patrons in the tavern will see that, you know,” I said.
“I will wear it proudly,” Mistress Blossom replied. “I’m only sorry it’s not more obvious. You don’t think you could add some other colors to the tattoo?”
I shook my head. “I’m afraid I can only use ink from one type of element for the design. I have no idea what would happen if I tried to combine more than one color together in one tattoo.” I stopped as I said this and turned to look at Amelia. “I definitely have to try that out.”
She laughed. “Yes, you will have to try it. I’m not sure what requirements it would involve though, and it could be dangerous. We will have to wait until I can find out some more information on this topic.”
“Well, go on then,” Jacques interrupted. “Are you going to stand around talking all day, or are you going to test the new tattoo?”
Mistress Blossom looked at me expectantly, hopefully. “What do I need to do?”
“You will need to channel your Mana directly into the tattoo,” I said. “This may take some time for you to learn. I haven’t had to teach a Mage how to do it before.”
I’d taught Amelia how to channel her Mana since I’d given her a tattoo, but I wasn’t sure whether it would be easier or harder for a Mage. I knew a Mage didn’t directly manipulate their Mana, relying on item vectors to do the channeling instead, so I assumed the Mistress might have difficulty when using a tattoo for the first time.
“Don’t you worry about that,” the Mistress interrupted me. “I’ve been doing that for a long time now.”
“You have?” I asked.
“Of course. That’s how I use the spell I already have. You may not have noticed, but I didn’t have to perform any special movements or incantations to use my spell earlier when I repaired the tavern.”
“Remarkable,” Amelia marveled. “How did you come to learn this skill?”
“The knowledge required to manipulate Mana is an ancient art,” the Mistress explained. “This is how Mages always used to perform their craft. They only stopped doing this, and made it all dependent on their items, because the Arcanists wanted to ensure that no one could engage in unlawful experimentation.”
“Of course,” Amelia said. “I can see how that would be the case. I have read about differences in the way Mages used to perform magic, but I didn’t understand what I was reading. Too much information has been buried over the centuries.”
“And how did you come to acquire this knowledge?” Veronica asked. I knew she would be interested, since she’d explained to us what she had to do to cast her own spells. This knowledge could change the way magic was used significantly. This was the knowledge required to channel magic to vectors at will, without the need for special movements or specific magic words.
“That’s a long story for another day,” the Mistress said. “I have to try out my new ability now.”
She stood still for a moment and
