The most basic form of magic which takes its powers from symbols naturally found in nature. These simple shapes, or runes, can be combined to create the spell effects that we see today. Despite its ancient origins, this form of magic is still utilized today, as you can never stray too far from the basics
Discovery
This form of magic was discovered by nomads in ancient times by witnessing and replicating naturally-occurring shapes in nature; these ever-present shapes could be witnessed from things as simple as the shapes of gashes, to lightning crackling between clouds, or even the spreading of roaring wildfires. These symbols (the earliest including including ᚠ for fire, ᛚ for lightning, and ᛋ for slashing), when replicated by early humanoids through cave paintings or even artistic offerings to the Gods were found to emit traces of their native element, and certain members of society who had deeper spiritual connections to these symbols were found to have greater success with drawing the power from these symbols. These were the world's first spellcasters, and their discoveries were spread amongst their people, who would use these painted symbols on flat surfaces such as slabs of stone, chunks of bark, or even pressed leaves to create powerful runes which could help them do anything from hunting and gathering, to cooking, to even healing their sick and injured.
Over the course of thousands of years, the runic alphabet was assembled through brute force experimentation by early spellcasters, eventually encompassing physical interactions (such as sound, slashes, and force itself), all of nature's elements (from poisons and acids to cold and lightning) and even harnessing elements whose roots are of Astral origin (radiant/necrotic). While establishing this alphabet, spellcasters who were perfecting the symbols' forms would practice by writing these symbols next to one another, this proximity amplified and manifested their effects into physical phenomena, creating the world's first spells.
A list of the simple runic alphabetical symbols is located below:
| ᛒ, Bludgeon |
ᛋ, Slash |
ᛈ, Pierce |
ᛏ, Sound |
ᛉ, Gravity |
| ᚠ, Fire |
ᚴ, Chill/Cold |
ᛚ, Lightning |
ᚨ, Melt/Acid |
ᛟ, Poison |
| ᛪ, Mental |
ᚾ, Necrotic |
ᚱ, Radiant |
ᛞ, Channel |
|
Access/Availability
Any basic spellcaster knows of the runic alphabet which has been established for nearly 8,000 years, and spellcasters utilize the symbols' primal power in the casting of their spells often without even realizing it. On top of the capability to physically draw these symbols on stable flat surfaces and even embued mediums (including on one's own spellbook), runic symbols can even be drawn by movements of the caster or by the spell's components.
In order for a spellcaster to cast rune-embued spells, they must have a spiritual connection with these runes, which can often be assisted by runes themselves, such as the Channel rune of ᛞ. Modern spells not only require careful studying and replication of runic symbols by the caster, but also for their spells to be casted using strengthened mediums known as spellcasting focuses. The combination of all of these factors explain the existence of spellcasting being divided between spellcasting classes and spell levels.
Complexity
Casting using the Runic Arts uses a pre-determined sequence of Runic symbols whose medium is embued with energy by the caster in their set order to manifest the spell into the Material Plane. For example, the spell Fireball was discovered upon an enlightened caster's enscribing of the runes ᚠᚠᛞᛒᛞᚠᚠ onto early papyrus, while its more complex younger-brother, Delayed-Blast Fireball was discovered over a thousand years later upon a high-level caster performing specific movements while focusing on the enscryption of ᛪᛞᛉᛉᛞᚠᚠᚠᛞᛒᛒᛒᛒᛞᚠᚠᚠᛞᛉᛉᛞᛪ on their warded tome.
Nearly every modern spell, even those casted using
Geomancy and
Mystek, typically utilizes the Runic Arts in some manner. Due to the basis of Runic magic being that of wild power of nature itself, this method of spellcasting lends itself much better to high-energy spells which do not require stabilization (including elemental spells such as lightning storm, thunderwave, or even darkness)
This makes the combination of these ancient symbols endless, however their precise effects are nigh undeterminable except through experimentation. Over thousands of years of experimentation through the use of these symbols in varying mediums, spells have been discovered and standardized to be spread among casters across Aekko.
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