Runes
Runes
Runes are a collection of symbols believed to predate the splitting of the People's Soul, found in ruins throughout the continent. Runic symbols can have several meanings depending on whether they appear rightside up or upside down, though the meanings are also influenced by those around them.Reading
The current understanding of runes leads to there being three major components:
- The symbol itself
- Orientation
- Connection
These three components come together to create a pye. Often circular in composition a pye can be formed into many shapes, some appearing as five-pointed stars, and others as flowers. These pyes are believed to function similarly to a sentence, though some Pye's are larger, functioning more like phrases, one has been found to contain a whole story, the contents of which are still being deciphered. Several historic pye's have been deciphered, including one believed to have foretold the splitting of the People's Soul.
Verbal
There is no current phonetic reading of Runes, though they have been assigned names by researchers. As understanding of each rune changes the names assigned change, and there are also ways to denote the orientation for notes.
The nomadic languages, both forest and desert, are believed to have descended from the runic language, though there is no proof to back up those claims. The hypothesis stems from the similarities in the two languages, even though both developed on opposite sides of the continent. There are also strong similarities with the temple language of the Souls. Where the central countries share a language enforced through occupation, the nomadic languages and the Temple language remained largely untouched and untampered with. Many studies of the runes occur in collaboration with nomadic linguistic studies.
Symbols and Connections
The symbols that constitute Runes can be broken into three pieces, two of which are required for the formation of a pye, the third being optional.- Primary Rune Set: These are the core runes that can be separated into meanings, feelings, things, and actions. These often mimic shapes and patterns that can be found in nature throughout Edith.
- Connections: These help form the shape of the pye and set an underlying tone to the message being conveyed. Originally these were thought to be four original sets representing the four original cardinal souls and four primary feelings, being straight/neutral; curved/happy; looped/sad; and spiked/angry. The understanding of these connections has since expanded to include the thickness (as compared to the primary rune set), direction drawn (following brush strokes clockwise or counterclockwise), and the curvature of the lines.
- Secondary Rune Set: While not required these rune sets, using completely different runes to the Primary Rune Set, can convey nuances that the Primary Rune Set would have difficulty doing.
Main Researchers
The main players in the research of Runes are- The Moonwin University of Ancient Studies
- The Moonwin Royal Archives leading family (The Kriay)
- The Facility of Old Souls in Geld
- The Historic Capital in Holton
- The Midden Forestry Inheritance
Interesting Notes
- It is believed that this language is derived from the Souls themselves, as the symbols are found in several places throughout nature, including Rune Butterfly wings, snail shells, and stone formations.
- The largest cache of decipherable runes is in the Lonthan Desert, buried in ruins. The second largest source is in the Sarli Forest.
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