From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Magic (Runelords)
Magic (Runelords)
The Runelords is a fantasy novel series written by David water elementals disperse and mingle with whatever
Farland. The series is characterized by magic systems in- other water is around, or seep into the ground.
tegral to the whole structure of human society. These
two systems are the magic of the elements and of endow- Air
ments. Air Wizards are powerful but chaotic, able to fly, com-
mand the winds and weather and air itself. Most Air
Runes Wizards are Inkarran, a pale-skinned nocturnal sub-
species of humanity. The most notable exception was
Runes make up the basis of the world’s magic. The great- King Anders, an air wizard from South Crowthen. It is
est of these symbols and signs of power were the Runes possible that Anders’ powers of Air came from being pos-
(or Seal) of Creation. The Seals of Creation were inter- sessed by a locus, an evil being of Air and Darkness,
twined with the One True World, an ancient world which though it is equally likely that he was wizardborn him-
all others are but pale shadows of. There, everything was self, as the Anders line can draw its descent from Senda-
grander, suited perfectly to its purpose. The One True vian, an Air Wizard who served Erden Geboren. The An-
Master of Evil, the mightiest of all loci, tried to claim the ders kings have a history of madness as they grow older,
Seals of Creation, and in so doing, broke the world apart. especially a dangerous preoccupation with the wind.
Most works of magic require the use of runes. These An Air Wizard’s elemental can leave and return to its
symbols each carry power, some greater than others. body. The body is essentially dead once the elemental
Some runes can be used by normal people with minor ef- leaves, but it can pass back in through the mouth and
fect, such as runes of healing drawn over water to wash nose to bring the original body back to life. They only
wounds, or runes of breaking and strength used to cut have a short time to return and can be stopped by placing
stone. However, if a wizard employs such a rune, they can clods of dirt in the mouth and up the nose of the body.
magnify its effect hundreds of times; runes against fire
might make wood unburnable, while runes of breaking Earth
could cause earthquakes.
Earth Wardens serve the power of Earth, and each War-
Runes are also the basis of endowments, as forcibles
den is charged to protect one specific living species. Bin-
of blood metal must carry specific runes to grant specific
nesman served humans, the Nut Woman served squirrels
endowments - a forcible which brands the rune of me-
and Averan serves the Reavers. In the past there was a
tabolism can only be used for metabolism, though the
Reaver Earth Warden who served his own folk, but he
forcible itself could be recast to bear a different rune.
was slain by other Reavers. The Duskin were reputed
Each rune is said to be a fragment of the Seal of
to be the strongest Earth Wardens ever, able to control
Creation.
the very substance of the Earth itself while human Earth
Wardens could only control animals and plants. Averan is
Wizards an exception to this, demonstrating Duskin-like skill over
Wizards are those beings, human or non-human, which stone. Averan is also unique in being able to consume the
serve one of the Elements. In giving up some of their brains of Reavers to gain their memories and later being
freedom and self to the Element they serve, they are re- able to take the memories from their minds by mutual
warded with the power to do the bidding of that Element. agreement.
Most wizards have elementals of some kind growing in Earth Wardens pass through stages in their training
them, creatures whose bodies are made wholly of their corresponding to the seasons. When they first learn their
element. A Flameweaver who dies releases a living col- powers, their clothes become covered in seedlings which
umn of fire, while an Air Wizard can leave his body as eventually grow into a living garment that has numerous
a living current of wind. Water Wizards hold a special magical properties. This garment changes color to reflect
living body of water within themselves. An Earth War- the age and advancement of an Earth Warden’s power,
den does not leave an elemental, but instead plant life shifting from Spring to Summer to Autumn and finally
quickly sprouts out of his own body upon his death and to Winter. In the first stage of their training, all Wardens
takes root. Elementals dissipate shortly after their wiz- choose a staff which helps them channel their power and
ards’ deaths; fire elementals become regular fires which perform their greatest spells. This staff is taken from a
burn out, air elementals become still air, and presumably tree and retains its life for as long as the wizard lives.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Magic (Runelords)
Earth Wardens live very long lives, being nearly im- ter magic and survive in the water much better than any
mortal until they finish their "task" as defined by Earth. normal human could have.
Binnesman was revived from near-death situations by
the Earth because humanity was still in danger and he Time
was required to protect it. While none of the books have examples of wizards serv-
Earth Kings and Earth Wardens are closely related, ing Time, it is suggested that Time is an element or power
with the Earth King having many if not all the powers of just like Fire, Earth, Air and Water. The Days thought
a vastly potent Earth Warden and being able to supply his they were serving creatures called the Time Lords, but
power to other Earth Wardens if needed. Indeed, much of there was never material proof to support their convic-
the difference is on a matter of scale. tions.
Fire Wizardborn
Flameweavers are beings who serve fire. Unlike other The people who have the inherent talent to become wiz-
types of Wizards, the powers of Flameweavers manifest ards are known as the wizardborn. They may not realize
in very different ways when handled by Reavers as com- such talent, but it is within them. The novel of the same
pared to humans. name has four characters who come into their own as
Reaver Flameweavers focus their power through wizards, one of each of the elements - Averan begins her
crystalline staves and brand themselves with flaming training as an Earth Warden, King Anders gains his pow-
runes of power. In general, they seem to be stronger than ers as an Air Wizard, Myrrima is offered the power of a
human Flameweavers, possibly due to their ability to ab- Water Wizard, and Raj Ahten becomes a Flameweaver.
sorb the magical strength of dead Reavers by eating their
brains and glands.
Many human Flameweavers are uniformly bald, their The Elemental Powers
hair being burned off by their power when they use The four Elemental Powers (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water)
strong spells, and particularly when they immo- are the closest thing the world of the Runelords has to
late—burst fully into flame. They use no instruments or gods. A wizard does not merely have the gift of magics re-
tattooing as do Reaver mages, relying on fire itself as lated to his or her element, but is instead actively chosen
their talisman for summonings, divinations and spells. by the Power and granted these talents. The Power might
Some Flameweavers refuse to immolate, limiting their speak to its wizards, though usually indirectly—Earth
power, because they believe it burns out their souls to speaks through the rustling of leaves and the stirrings
give themselves over to Fire so fully. of animals, Fire through the crackling of flames, Water
Flameweavers are able to feed on destruction, gath- through the babbling of a brook, and Air whispers upon
ering power as they please Fire by acts of arson. Their the wind. Very rarely, for the mightiest of wizards, such
spells focus around heat, fire, and divination. They are as the Earth King, the Power speaks more directly,
able to hurl fire, drain heat from a single living being, though it is still rarely intelligible to those who are not its
and are also the only wizards able to summon creatures wizards. These words may come from physical manifes-
from the netherworld. Some can use their power to sense tations - avatars born of the element - or through visions
other people’s souls, seeing the "spark" of life, and detect and dreams.
the presence of a locus feeding on and suppressing that While they may deal with mortal men and women,
spark. the Powers are still vastly alien to humanity. They do not
think as humans do, nor on remotely the same scale. A
Water wizard may at times understand his or her Power only
Water Wizards are the only wizards to be more common- through great difficulty, for there are concepts in the
ly animal than human. Numerous giant sturgeons have minds of the Powers that do not have words in any hu-
great magical power and other fish are rumored to be man language. Indeed, to grow close to a Power is to give
Water Wizards beyond any human ability. Those humans up some of one’s humanity, as a person becomes a more
who are gifted by Water often develop fish-like muta- perfect vessel for that Power within the mortal world.
tions such as gills and the ability to live entirely under- Many Water Wizards disappear into the oceans once they
water. It is rumored that no Water Wizard still living on grow too much in strength, for the world of men does
land can be very potent, implying that the greatest of not concern them anymore. Similarly, Flameweavers be-
their kind move into oceans or rivers. come concerned only with destruction and consumption,
Myrrima is a Water Wizardess who refused the call of Air Wizards become as mad and chaotic as their element,
the oceans and remained on land, permanently diminish- and great Earth Wardens may turn their backs on hu-
ing her powers. However, she was still able to work wa- mans to deal only with the animals under their charge
- and may seem completely insane due to their altered
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Magic (Runelords)
perspective. Many wizards undergo physical changes, re- receives wit becomes able to remember more, but
sembling a being made out of their element, or adapting someone who receives wit and will is able to stay up
so they might live better within it. The Powers also some- all night and better use their other endowments. In
times grant extended life to their wizards, though this is the same way, someone who receives brawn and will
not so much a gift as it is keeping the wizard around to becomes unstoppable, willing to charge and not back
continue upon his or her duties for the Power. down. The rune to grant this endowment is kept a
Some also worship other Powers, which are not rec- close secret by the Inkarrans.
ognized much by the rest of humanity. Some think of • Talent - endowed using "hidden runes" known only
War as a Power, personified as the Dark Lady, who a rare to the Inkarrans, said to transfer certain talents,
soldier might call upon for aid in combat. Such figures as such as skill in musical performance
the Sum of All Men are also likened to living Powers, be-
cause their might is such that they seem as implacable Runelords
and unstoppable as the Elemental Powers. A noble recipient of an endowment is called a Runelord,
by the runes that mark his flesh from the endowments
Endowments taken. There is no real limit on the number of runes one
can have, but past a certain point, adding another en-
The main magical system of the series involves the pass- dowment of a certain type can be essentially pointless.
ing of attributes on from one person to another. These For example, it is generally accepted that a Runelord
attributes, called endowments, can be found in man and with four to five endowments of wit will remember
animal alike, and using forcibles (branding irons forged everything that has ever occurred in his entire life.
of a substance called blood metal) can be transferred to Normally, endowments need to be given willingly,
others. Once an individual gives up an endowment, they and Runelords often give great speeches when looking
lose that attribute and it is granted to the recipient until for new Dedicates, explaining why they need their en-
the death of one or the other. A person can only grant dowments and how giving them will help their country.
one endowment in their life, but can receive as many as On the other hand, Raj Ahten has so many endowments
they have room on their skin for (or an unlimited num- of Voice that he can convince any man to give him his en-
ber through Vectors). dowment.
"Pragmatic" Runelords buy endowments from those
List of Endowments who offer, usually the very poor who need money for
• Brawn - increases strength of muscles, but not bone their families and are willing to give up a lesser endow-
structure ment such as hearing or touch, allowing them to still
• Grace - increases balance, agility, and dexterity live their lives without a crippling limitation. Some con-
• Stamina - essentially increases endurance, the ability demned criminals are given the option to grant major en-
to not need rest, to recover and regenerate quickly dowments as an alternative to execution. There are also
• Wit - increases powers of the mind, ability to Oath-Bound Lords, who swear never to make or take the
understand and remember but does not increase offer to purchase an endowment, but instead take those
wisdom only freely given out of a genuine desire to give one’s
• Metabolism - increases physical speed but also strengths to their lord, whether directly or to the lord’s
increases how fast you live, therefore seems to slow knights. The Oath-Bound Lord considers it his duty to al-
time to the recipient but also reduces one’s lifespan ways serve his people, and only takes endowments so he
• Sight - increases vision (distance/acuity etc.) might personally better serve them.
• Smell - increases sense of smell
• Hearing - increases hearing Wolf lords
• Voice - increases the range and possible volume of Traditionally, Wolf Lords are people that have taken at-
one’s voice, and the ability to direct it, allowing one tributes from wolves or dogs (such as smell, enabling a
to be more persuasive, be heard across great man to track like a hound). The term Wolf Lord has also
distances, speak to a specific person across a loud come to mean any Runelord who is rapacious and greedy
room, or even speak with such command that one is by nature, who coerces others into giving up endow-
forced to act as ordered ments through blackmail or force. Endowments can also
• Glamour - increases physical beauty and self- be given between animals, and few Runelords would ride
confidence into battle without a Force Horse. Raj Ahten is known to
• Touch - increases contact sensations employ Force Dogs as well, and Force Elephants are not
• Will - increases the desire to exist and act. A unheard of out of Indhopal, which can act as living bat-
runelord who receives such an endowment has all of tering rams to bring down a keep’s gates. Often a Force
his other endowments affected too. Someone who animal is the alpha male in a pack or herd, which makes
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Magic (Runelords)
it easier to get the lesser animals in the pack to give up Many Runelords feel responsible for their Dedicates,
their endowments. and will lavish attention on them in repayment, although
Those who take animals’ endowments are consid- the taking of endowments is sometimes used as a punish-
ered, at best, morally suspect and repugnant, seen as so ment.
greedy they would strip the endowments out of an ani- If a Runelord is killed all his Dedicates will receive
mal, and incapable of getting any human to give up en- their endowments back, being able to live normally, but
dowments. Endowments from animals also supposedly will be unable to become a dedicate again.
make the person more animalistic, especially if one was
to take an endowment of wit. Still, there are lords who Vectors
argue that being a Wolf Lord in the classical sense is more When a Runelord is not able to be present to receive an
ethical and worthy, when a single endowment from an endowment, they are granted through a vector. A vec-
animal can keep dozens of men from having to give up tor is a person who has already given an endowment to
the same. a Runelord, and is therefore linked to him. Subsequent
endowments can be given to the vector, which in turn
Facilitators grants the endowment to the Runelord. For example, if a
The ability to transfer these attributes lies with Facilita- dedicate of brawn is given an endowment of brawn from
tors, who use a special rare metal called ’Blood Metal’, someone else, that additional endowment will be passed
more precious than gold. This metal is melted and to the dedicate’s Runelord.
formed into a sort of branding iron called a forcible, This process allowed Gaborn and Iome to receive en-
which is used to transfer the attribute from the giver dowments even while they were deep within the Earth
(called the Dedicate) to the Runelord. Forcibles lose their searching for the One True Master.
power once used.
There are several schools for facilitators, which are Serpents and Serpent Rings
better at some attributes than others, and who are con- A long line of vectors is called a serpent. A serpent allows
stantly researching how to improve the process. The for a single type of endowment to be transferred along a
Scorrel chants, for example, are too draining to use very series of vectors so as the head of a serpent is killed the
safely for the major endowments, which the Weymouth vector following will be little less than the head was on-
school is much more skilled in taking. Individual facilita- ly losing that endowment. (A serpent 20 men long that
tors are also better or worse at transferring specific at- lost the head would have a new head that had the endow-
tributes. ments of 19, and so on and so forth.) A serpent can also be
What distinguishes skilled facilitators from the rest is converted to a serpent ring by having the head of the ser-
the ability to transfer the attribute with minimum met- pent endow the tail of the serpent, so that a pool of the
al use and cost to the Dedicate, who can often die during attribute is created in which any member of the serpent
the transfer of some of the major attributes (drained too ring can call on the pooled resources of the other. With
greatly of brawn, Dedicates can die because they are too combat abilities such as metabolism this can be danger-
weak for their hearts to beat). ous because if more than one part of the circle requires
the pooled metabolism it weakens the primary user. One
Dedicates clear instance of a serpent ring, is the Days wit serpent
Those who give up their attributes (voluntarily or not) ring in which the Days exchange endowments of wit al-
are called Dedicates. The Dedicates are kept in (relative) lowing them to draw on a shared mind.
comfort by their Runelord for several reasons. The at-
tributes a Runelord receives are only with him whilst his
Dedicates are alive. Therefore, a common tactic to de-
feat a particularly powerful Runelord is to attack his Ded-
icates, rendering one at worst a warrior of unfortunate
proportions (too many of certain attributes unbalanced
by too few of others, such as not having the stamina to
handle the dangers of high metabolism) and at best, a
weakened lord or a normal individual.
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