~~
Runes and Spells are sotis thought to be the sa thing in different forms, and that assumption is widely held in the Universe. Even if it is wrong.
Spells are an expression of mana. A spell circle or matrix is an inherently magical language, created to connect with and influence mana and only mana.
Runes are far more than rely magical. They are the truest expressions of power. They connect with the world, not just magic, and use that connection to influence reality.
If a comparison had to be made, they are far closer to Laws than they are spells.
True Runes are the language of the Universe. anings made into structure that are baked into the very fabric of reality. A Strength Rune carries the very aning of Strength in all its forms. No error in translation can be made.
Sadly, they are also much harder to learn than spells. True Runes, otherwise known as Primordial Runes, are impossible to learn by re mortals. It takes an imnse mind, in both strength and caliber, to comprehend them and that is reserved only for godhood. The higher echelons of it at that.
Over the eons, Runes have been simplified. Muddled and made easier for the mind to understand. This distillation has also weakened the true aning of what the Rune was supposed to represent.
If the Primordial Rune for Strength is a shining star of the purist light, the Basic Rune for Strength is a hazy torchlight filled with smokey impurities puttering and about to go out. While the nas of the stages of Runes have changed, the number of them has not.
For anyone who has spent any ti reading or learning Runecraft, the phrase Nine Tiers will co up often. From the strongest Primordial Rune, down to the most Basic Rune, there are nine stages, or tiers.
While the Nine Tiers rule of thumb applies to most known runes, it does not apply to all. There are so Runes out there that can't be simplified that much and fall short of the nine stages that most other Runes fall into.
This is why there is no Basic Rune for any Spatial or Temporal affinity Runes. They are simply too complex to be broken down further than eight stages or if they can, no one has figured it out yet. Even then, only the most basic of concepts from that Tree of Runes can reach that low.
Based on the imnse number of beings who have, and are, dedicated to the study of Runes, I posit that it's impossible rather than undiscovered, but you may form your own conclusion.
Every jump in Tier is a step closer to the ideal of what it used to be. Fewer parts were removed or simplified, leaving it to express its aning clearer and stronger.
This also ans comprehending it, and subsequently engraving it, is a layer of difficulty added. Or, in the truer sense, a layer of simplification removed.
While it is common to associate certain Tiers of Runes with certain Ranks, that systemized reduction doesn't really apply outside of the most generous sense.
So people will simply understand certain Runes easier and faster than others. The opposite is also true, where so Runes will simply remain illusive even if the practitioner is strong enough. While commonly in line with one's Mana Affinity, it isn't always.
-Excerpt from "Runes and Their Stages" by Runecrafter Heydin Stonehand.
~~
Chris
Near the Hudson Bay
Runes were sothing that had fascinated ever since I first saw them. The Wall growing from the ground inside the tutorial was my first ever experience with them and I knew right then and there, it was sothing I wanted to explore.
If felt like everyone had grasped their own piece of the pie that was our new reality. Gabriel saw spells and beca entranced. Vincent took to forging like a fish in water. Conner and alchemy. Austin and exploring. Rachel and fire.
I picked Runes. And smashing things with a hamr, but I didn't count that.
The mory of my first successful engraving was sothing I held dear, even if it ca at a ti of... turmoil. Learning more Runes and expanding what I knew and what I could create was always sothing I would cherish.
That being said, while we mapped out what we were going to do with the Glacial Seed, and where we were going to put it, that didn't an I was idle on the Formations that were going to be involved.
If we were going to nourish the treasure to the best of our abilities, that ant the Formations involved were going to have to be the best I could create. Better than the best I could create.
Tier 2 Runes.
Everything I had made or enchanted so far only used the most basic of Basic Tier 1 Runes and I didn't want to settle for the worst while I had half a library of better.
Not for sothing so important.
Typically, Tier 2 Runes were at a level only D-ranks could engrave, but I didn't let that deter . Many of the new books stated that one's affinity could influence how easily or difficultly one comprehended Runes, and I was banking on my affinity for the Cold to help out.
The Formation would use mainly Runes from the Cold Tree, which I was well versed in.
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When I first learned Tier 1 Runes, the Frost Rune had co to the easiest. It only took a fraction of the ti the Fire Rune did to learn and engrave.
I wasn't only pushing the bounds of what I could do with Runes themselves, but the entire Formation as a whole. The pathways between them, the strings and knots involved, the flow from one section to another.
I wanted to make it the best I could.
It was to the point that Gabriel couldn't even help anymore. When designing the Wards placed on the Walls, he was able to help co up with ideas and refine my thoughts by discussing it with him.
Now I couldn't even do that. He didn't use Runes while enchanting and didn't understand much of what I was trying to do. Sure, he grasped the idea and the intended outco, but the Runes themselves and how they related to one another was above him.
The sa was true for when I examined his work now too.
While we were both enchanters, and had started in similar places, the way we went about things had diverged. It was a bit sad that we weren't able to work together anymore, but that didn't an we couldn't learn.
Our Professions wouldn't help us, but that didn't an we couldn't try. We just had to go about it the old-fashioned way.
After Austin left, it felt odd to be alone. I went about clearing the area and began mapping things out with [Formations Mana Flows], but I couldn't get over how quiet it was.
When was the last ti I was alone like this?
There was always soone close by inside the city and even when we went South for the test, I was surrounded by people. Not counting my daily dungeon runs, as those only last a few hours.
I think it's when I went North to forge my Mana Heart.
That trip was a year and a half ago as I'd gone the Winter before the test and it had been a year since then.
Damn, it's already been a year.
I didn't think I'd still be in E-rank a year later. I hadn't thought it would have taken so long to finish off my Profession.
There were many reasons for that, most of them my own doing, but it still felt slow to . Austin was already gaining levels into the D-rank, Abigail was just about to go through with her evolution when she got back, Jonathan was getting close, and so were a few other people.
Elliot almost felt bad that he was getting ahead of and it took talking to him before he evolved. He'd been waiting out of 'respect.' I nearly wanted to slap him upside the head when I heard that.
I didn't care if he evolved before I did. Any of the Order could for that matter.
The levels coming so slowly were for a few reasons. My two passive skills didn't help, but they honestly weren't that large of an impact. They only ca into play when I was getting points into Strength and Endurance, which Runesmith didn't have a lot of.
The biggest reason why it was taking so long was because I chose for it to. I needed to take ti and revisit the fundantals before I kept rushing forward. It also took ti to learn the next Tier of Runes. Ti where I wasn't accumulating essence to level up.
I could have done the sa thing I had before and slapped Runes on things Vincent had already made, but that was a shortcut. It wouldn't exactly lead to a good Profession.
If I had done that, I would have been lucky to keep a Rare Profession, let alone have any chance of increasing it.
Still, while the levels did co slowly, that didn't an I made no progress.
Status.
~~
Na: Christopher Zalenski
Race: (E) Human*
Class: (E) Hamr of the Jotnar(Legendary): Level 100 Evolution Available
Profession: (E) Runesmith(Rare): Level 97
Affinity: Arctic
Faction: Frostheim (Leader)
Title: Baron
~~
I was three levels away. I had also received my second to last Profession Skill.
So far, I had leaned quite heavily into the Rune side of Runesmithand I aid to change that. I'd debated switching to a more Enchantnt-aligned profession but decided against that. I liked the smithing aspect of it, even if I wasn't as good as Vincent. The man could already occasionally create Epic gear.
The Level 50 Skill gave [Runesmithing]. Level 60 gave [Beginner Runic Language]. Level 70 gave [Rune Strings]. 80 Gave [Runic Compression]. That skill was a bit of a letdown, but it did what it was described.
It allowed to put more Runes on one piece of equipnt. If I could normally only fit two Runes onto a Spear, the skill would allow to shrink them down and fit a third on it. If the tal could hold it, of course.
All four skills were Rune-related in so way so far so for my fifth, I went with sothing purely Smithing related. It felt like cheating compared to how I used to go about it before.
Thermal Regulation(Rare):Visualize the Energy, or lack thereof, inside a piece while working on it. Both Heat and Cold energies can be seen through this lens.
From the description alone, it didn't sound all that impressive, but that didn't account for how instruntal it was. Being able to accurately see what was going on helped so much more than vague feelings.
Not that [Sense Frequency] didn't help, but that one skill could only do so much. If it were at Legendary or sothing, I probably wouldn't have needed another skill, but it was only at Rare. The resolution it gave back was good, and helped , but gaining another lens to see what I was doing through finally pushed over the edge in terms of my [Create] Skills.
Both [Create Weapon] and [Create Armor] were now at Rare.
Even without enchanting, I could create Rare equipnt now. It wasn't all due to [Thermal Regulation] that I could now forge Rare gear, but it certainly helped.
While my efforts to slow down and focus on the fundantals had slowed my level gain, it had made a much better smith, and upgrading those skills proved it.
Being able to see was only half the picture. Knowing what I was seeing was the other. I could confidently take steps forward and I felt good about what I was forging. Instead of guessing or assuming what I was doing was right.
Celebrating the Rare Axe I made just from forging was honestly the highlight of my year. It sounded sad when put like that, but it was a huge milestone for .
My recent study of tals also forced another Skill to upgrade to Rare as well. [tallurgy]. With how much information was stuffed inside what we purchased, it was bound to happen, but it still felt good.
My year of advancing didn't end there, though. There was one more skill that got a boost. My [Forging Proficiency] finally hit Journeyman.
For so long I had put those skills off to focus on sothing else and it felt good to finally get back to them. The next step was to push for Epic, like Vincent had, but I wasn't going to get there before maxing out.
There was a decision to be made then. One I had been arguing over in my head for a while now.
But now wasn't the ti for that. I had better things to do.
The Formation I was about to lay down was going to take all my focus as it would be my first attempt at Tier 2 Runes.
I'd practiced and had a litany of half-finished works or failed engravings strewn about my forge, but this would be my first attempt to actually make sothing with them.
It was equally nerve-wracking and exciting at the sa ti.
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