Divine Runic

Summary

Divine Runic is not a true language, and very rarely used as one. Rather, it is a wide collection of pictograms with meanings that vary greatly depending on region, race, and cultural norms, although many more common runes will have almost universal meanings. Generally, the runes depict common symbols and animals that have great significance in the lives of those who use them. Because divine runic is not tied to any one language and many of the commonly seen runes have various origins, they can also be understood regardless of one's language or culture.

History and Origins

Divine runic, although its name suggests a deep connection to the gods, did not originate with them. Instead, many of the oldest symbols used as runes originated with the Dragons, as commonly used pictograms to leave messages behind long after an individual had left an area or passed away. The oldest of these symbols are the cardinal directions and symbols for the largest and most powerful dragonflights, thought to have primarily been used in laying basic maps of rivals and competitors around a den site.
Many of the newer runes, primarily depicting animals, are thought to have originated among mortals who had long since become familiar with the forms dragons used them in, such as humans, vampires, and the omnia, as way of making their own basic markers for the territories of various gods, or warnings about ones who may be in an area. Runes for shelter, dragons, danger, and camp in particular have a long history of being used by mortals to warn and communicate with others.

Usage

Usage in Magic

Although not a form of magic themselves, divine runic has been adapted in its usage to harness much more broad, basal magics into specific uses based on the meanings of the symbols used. This varies incredibly based on not only the meaning of specific runes, but intent of the user, their interpretation of the rune's meaning, and what type of magic is funneled into the symbol and its placement.
With fire magics, one can use the runes for water, wind, a combination of the runes wind and water, or stacking multiple fire runes to change the temperature of their spells.

Ritual Use

In many cases, particularly in worship of the gods, runes can be used to symbolize things that are intangible or impractical to utilize physically, particularly with offerings. Many areas forbid the practice of sacrificing animals, and so runes representing a god's sacrifice are used in their place and ritually destroyed.

Symbolic Use

Although the practice has died down compared to eras such as the age of dragons and War of Black Ash, many runes are still used in some regions as warnings and for communication. This is particularly popular with the omnia, who make great use of the rune for shelter, using it to mark safe havens and among them is a common mark of other omnia in an area.

Specific Rune Meanings

Combination Runes

Ice- The rune for ice, snow, or in general, the concept of cold, is a combination of the wind and water runes overlaying each other.
Eclipse- This rune is formed by combining the lunar and solar runes. It can be quite literal in meaning that an eclipse is or has happened, or to mean twilight, sunrise, sunset, or dusk. Combined with the cardinal directions, east or west, this can be taken to mean the time of day.

Notable Users

Ludovic, the god of polecats, is a famous user of divine runic in his magic for multiple purposes. Often, Ludovic uses it as a way to bolster his barrier spells and increase their strength using the runes for the bull, the boar, and cardinal directions for increasing a barrier's strength from a particular direction. The god also will use elemental runes on his barriers to increase their strength against other magic. Curiously, Ludovic's skill in using runes allows him to manipulate magic he ordinarily would not be capable of using or in ways that are not normally possible, such as combining different forms of magic that ordinarily would be volatile and incredibly dangerous when used in tandem.
Amos Vulapin, one of Ferventi, God of Wolves's sons, also makes use of runes with his brother Odii as a way of marking targets at a distance. Odii will use runes such as the flare to make a target visible and negate illusion magic, making them incredibly visible even to those with poor or short range vision like his brother, who will then shoot down the marked target from a distance. The sight rune also has this effect. By Amos using the cardinal directions, a rune representing the target, and the flight and soul runes, he can make Odii's spear or arrows seek targets.