It all began with the sharpening of the first flint and when the first flame was cast into the world. She awoke with it, El'Zadir, the goddess of civilization. The gift of progress to the world, as the races sought refuge from dangers. Their pleas were answered. With the hammering of progress, the rise of orders, the building of farms and cities. With it arose powers to drive and help mortal kind from their pain. To mould societies and to create kingdoms from the dust of the earth. A power-creating order from the wilds. A will of mortals that resulted in the birth of a god. But alongside its boons, it also came with its thorns. Hierarchies, stratification, wars, slavery, kings and tyrants.

The powers given to El'Zadir are complex. Her Domain grants the powers to guide, influence and control large groups. All in the name of what she seeks better for society. Her powers also help her create inventions, progress, and advance people. Her power to influence people allows her to coordinate in mass for great works. At the same time, she will set laws, structures, and hierarchies where she works. In an incredibly seamless form, almost like none went against her will. Forming order and law where she moves.

Essence


appearence

Rune Magic is a form of structured magic centered around using magical runes to invoke specific effects depending on the rune or combination of runes. It is simple to understand and complex to master. Rune Magic is built around an alphabet of runes that each directly describe an idea. For example, there can be two different runes that describe fire that attribute different effects to fire. One could be the searing flame of a fireball while another could be the comforting warmth of a hearth in winter. Thus, Rune Magic is extensively versatile in its applications when it is properly understood. Rune Magic, much like Mae-Alari's magic, is rooted in the soul of it's user. Thus, anyone that possesses a soul may learn to utilize Rune Magic.

To start learning rune magic requires that one either find a teacher who can impart the knowledge of the rune itself and the means to gain the experience required to inscribe the rune, or it requires the location of a Runestone. The first Runestones were created by Rúnaritari's hand, but it is possible for mortals to create their own. A Runestone is a collection of runes presented in a way that allows for their meanings to be learned through intense study, though the experiences connected to these runes will still be on the individual to gather.

Rune Magic is divided into four aspects: Binding, inscribing, harnessing, and reading.

The most important aspect is Binding: To bind to a rune is to know the rune in totality. It is understanding not just the shape of the rune, but the idea behind that rune and how that idea is applied. For example, it is one thing to know that a particular rune means "Comforting Fire", it is another thing to know that the rune is meant to bring about protection from the cold. Once a rune has been bound, it can be inscribed. However, the process of binding runes is a highly individual practice. Because Rune Magic still taps into the soul for power the process of learning each rune is different for each individual, to impart the protection from cold that a hearth in winter provides, one must experience it or an event similar enough to invoke the same desired effect. It is extremely rare to find someone capable of teaching a rune in a short period of time.

Inscribing a rune is the act of channeling the power of ones soul into a rune through an Inscribing Instrument. Inscribing Instruments can be anything: A pen, a chisel, a fingernail, a stick, anything that can be used to write. However, the process of channeling power into a rune takes a toll, and whatever instrument is used will warp and twist as the power passes through it. Inevitably, this leaves the instrument invariably looking more and more grotesque as more and more power flows through it. As such, those who use their bodies as instruments are cautioned of the long-term effects.

A rune can be inscribed on anything, though a rune inscribed on a non-solid object is going to be far more temporary than a rune placed onto a solid object. For example, a rune written on air or water will only last as long as they have energy due to the constantly shifting medium, and a rune written on ice will last until the ice melts, and so on. There are three things that affect the potency of an inscribed rune: Quality of the inscription, quantity of inscriptions, and the quality of the item that the rune is inscribed upon. Thus, having a finely crafted ring that has every surface covered in runes of healing is going to provide a much greater quality of healing than a crude approximation of a ring that only has a single healing rune inscribed upon it.

Important to properly inscribing runes is understanding how to focus their effects through conjoining. Conjoining runes involves layering or linking runes together in order to merge their effects. The more runes that are conjoined together, the more precise the effect is. For example, a ring with a protective water rune upon it would protect the wearer from all forms of water, which would make attempting to drink water quite difficult. However, the protective water rune could be combined with a protective wind rune in order to form a rune of protection from storms, which would then protect the wearer from getting wet in the rain and enable them to drink water without issue.

Harnessing a rune is quite simple. Once you've come into possession of an object or knowledge of a rune, simple meditation or study of the rune will enable you to harness it and produce whatever effect it might give. Usually the activation action is a simple expression of the users willpower onto the rune, but some users find it simpler to speak a command word, perform a specific action, and so on. Some runes will produce a persistent effect, while others will produce a limited time effect. All of it depends on what variation of rune is inscribed. A persistent healing rune would give something akin to a magical regeneration, but a limited time effect healing rune would only heal the users current wounds.

The last aspect of Rune Magic is reading runes. While it seems to be much less impactful, it is a critical part of understanding a rune in depth and ensuring that any purchased or found rune-inscribed items are what they say they are. To read a rune is to peer beyond the physical shape of the rune and into the magical effect that it has. Like with inscribing runes, this requires channeling the magic through a Reading Instrument. These, like Inscribing Instruments, can be anything that is either transparent or processes images. A steady waterfall, a pair of glasses, a monocle, the eyes, whatever. Much like with Inscribing Instruments, Reading Instruments will warp and twist as the power passes through them. Inevitably, this will leave them invariably looking more and more grotesque as more and more power flows through them. As such, those who channel the power through their eyes are cautioned of the long-term effects.

Rúnaritari's appearance is a bit of a paradox. At one hand she is beautiful, but at another her body bears the grotesque mutations derived from her mastery of Rune Magic. One does have to wonder why she permits this corruption to scar her form, since as a goddess she could simply rid herself of it, but perhaps she enjoys having the scars of her mastery on display. It's difficult to tell, but at the very least it seems to have been completely halted in its spread. Physically speaking, Rúnaritari, or Rúna for short, is usually around ten feet tall. She's also quite well endowed, and isn't particularly shy about it. Her right arm has been warped and transformed into a menacing claw. Bright and glowing green veins dance about just beneath the ink-black skin, and each finger is tipped with a deadly talon. Given her mastery of runes, it's highly likely that this arm is the primary one she uses to inscribe. The right half of her face has been similarly corrupted, with her right eye having lost all definition and becoming little more than a featureless green sphere. The corruption seems to have stopped here though, as all other marks upon her body are seemingly tattoos. Runa's hair is raven black and mostly woven into a neat braid, which is long enough to reach her hips Adorning the top of Rúna's head is a pair of striking antlers, each decorated with silver accessories and thin silver ropes. Just how she acquired these is a mystery, though she doesn't seem to perturbed by them. Though from time to time she does get rid of them for convenience. Uniquely, Rúna's ears are long and pointed, though one is stained completely ink-black by the corruption that swallows the right side of her head, she has tattooed the other partially black to match.

Her usual clothes consist of a red, black, and green dress that is somewhat tattered in certain places. The dress possesses a pair of fur-lined shoulder pads and is missing its right sleeve. On it's left sleeve is a intricate diagram of various runes, possibly an enchantment or possibly a simple reference. Dotted across the dress are several silver accessories, including some that hold up a series of decorative belts, some of which don't even try to loop around her. The left side of her skirt possesses a large, dramatic slit in order to permit freedom of movement, though it also has the added benefit of showing off Rúnaritari's rune-tattooed thigh and hip. This, coupled with the rather open neckline of the dress, reveal that she has etched a few sets of runes into herself. Their purpose is largely unknown, but they could simply be decorative. Finally, Rúna wears a pair of knee-high high heeled boots.

Naturally, being a goddess, Rúna's form and clothing are highly mutable, but she seems to favor this one the most.

Rúnaritari, much like her appearance, is a bit of a paradox in mannerisms. At first glance she gives off the aura of being a cruel mistress that enjoys the mutations and pain inflicted by her magic, but then she can be found making tools for mortals that are a bit more resistant to its corrupting effects. One would think that she would guard the knowledge of runes jealously, but she's willing to sit for hours to explain the meaning behind a rune or a particular variation of a rune. However, for as kind as she can be, Rúna does not forget or forgive transgressions easily, and is more than willing to add a note to her sleeve to catalogue who has wronged her. A particularly egregious event might even earn a tattoo.