Runecasting

A system of spellcasting based on the runes of the Futhark rune language, Runekasting, Runecasting, or Rune Magic was the primary means of magic use among the Taznikanze before the rise of Elementalism (see both the religion, Elementalism (Mana) and Mana Elementalist Magic. According the the Legend, the secret of the runes was revealed to the Goddess Heldrasil while she was hanging from the Mana Tree; her daughter, the Siren Frilya, taught the secret of runecasting to mortalkind.

Runecasting is a tradition that takes a great deal of discipline and time. However, once mastered, the runes make for a very flexible and powerful spellcasting system that can be invoked with little physical strain on the caster. The trade off, however, is time, as etching the runes takes much longer than most spellcasting traditions. (There are, however, some workarounds; see runestaves and runestones, below.)

Much less commonly practiced in the Mana Dimension than Mana Elementalist Magic or even Arythian Magic. However, like Mana Elementantist Magic, rune magic has experienced a bit of a resurgence recently. Saeder-Krupp in particular takes great interest, and employs many rune mages as enchanters and operatives. Lofwyr supposedly has mastered the rune himself, although he supposedly has mastered several magical traditions.

The Engraving

The Engraving is the basic spellcasting technique of runecasting. The runes of the Futthark are carved in such a way to form a sentence, and then, through a simple thought, the energy of the runes springs to life, resulting in a spell. In a simple spell, a rune mage might carve “fire” in a wooden wall, causing the wall to burn down. Longer sentences become exponentially more complex and therefore take more time to carve, although the ability to set conditionals is part of the strength of the tradition; for example, “detect bullet” and “raise bullet barrier” can be combined, or even “explode in a ring of fireballs if Dark Wrath soldiers come within ten meters.” Some very sophisticated spells may take days to complete, however.

The runes need to be carved in wood, metal, stone, or other material, or, at a minimum, traced on the ground in dirt. Attempting to write the runes on paper or trace them in the air has led to either fizzles or spectacular failures.

Runestaves

Because Engraving takes a long time, most rune mages have a stave with several spells on it already. Rune mages can cast any of these spells on a whim if they have their stave; activating runes already etched is a trivial exertion of effort, and in a long battle a rune mage while outlast most other magical opponents. Usually rune mages place a simple security glyph on their staves so that none but the creator of the stave can use it. Most runestaves are between four and six feet tall. In most cases, the number of spells that can be etched on the stave is not a matter of surface area but the material the stave is made out of. Industrial metals such as steel and highly refined materials are basically useless; simple wood is considered the ‘basic’. One step up are staves inlaid with gold and silver. Staves incorporating magilyte are more powerful. Dreamstone, though not native to Mana, has been found to make excellent Runestaves. The ultimate Runestaves, however, are created from the wood of the Mana Tree itself. Runestaves are very difficult to make, but the creation of one is a very important step in a rune mages training. A decent rune mage with a good quality stave will probably have about four spells on it.

Runestones

A runestone is a small, smooth stone, slightly larger than a quarter, with a rune engraved on it. A rune mage can cast spells by arranging the rune stones into whatever he needs and activating them. This, however, destroys the stones involved; unlike runestaves, runestones are not reusable. Used by rune mages when they get into situations that they didn’t plan for, but arranging the stones is much slower than most magical traditions.

Applications in Enchanting

Rune magic has significant uses in enchanting and creating magical items, due to its ability to set “trigger” spells and the fact that its magic is tied to the object the rune is engraved on. Rune mages have virtually no peer in their ability to anchor spells. In the era of the Taznikanze, ships were made to fly by engraving a rune of air, a sort of armor was created that would heal the wearer whenever they were harmed, a seemingly bottomless bag was tailored, and a whole castle rendered indestructible. In most cases the users of these items need not be a mana user themselves. The leading producer of enchanted items with the rune magic tradition is Saeder-Krupp. In addition to selling items, S-K also has a consulting service where a rune mage can arrange a custom enchantment for you.