…but not so well that these creatures did not suffer every moment of their tortured existence from the side effects.
And suffer they must have. For their organs are aged well beyond what the rest of their bodies and simple math would suggest. You have only seen similarly poor examples from truly sickly and weak drakk; enlarged hearts and fatty livers, failed kidneys, distended stomachs, and brains that are the right size but rife with malformity and growths to name a few.
That is the cost for the power they possess.
Because these sad wretches are indeed mighty. Where their organs are withered and broken, worn threadbare from corruption and the stress of keeping the rest of the body alive, their muscles and skin are tough and strong. Stronger than a dragon of their age could ever naturally be, more comparable to a freshly matured Wyrm for the younger specimens, and a true Wyrm for the eldest, than the newly weaned welps you have realized they truly are.
The enhancements come with a cost.
The blood.
It is, well potent is one word for it, and horrific is another. The truth is that it's probably somewhere in the middle. It is, to your great surprise, effectively the blood of an Elder Wyrm when viewed with your Windsight eye. Such is the nature and amount of magic held within that you theorize it may be the only reason the organs and by extension the creatures did not die from their transformation.
When you make the ultimate test by trying to run one of the Smelters with it, you feel a mix of revulsion and awe to see that it works.
It is the sort of gnawing horror of seeing something beyond the pale and knowing just enough to comprehend the necessary skill needed to make such a thing happen.
You are no friend to the drakk, the siblings are Shard wyrms ya see and yes that makes it different, but even this incites pity within you. The Fimirs' sorcerers somehow managed to prematurely age these poor creatures with magic until they reached the size and strength of an Elder Wyrm without any concern for the consequences of such rapid development. That their bodies swelled with power a-plenty and that was enough.
Looks like Snorri has gotten a better understanding of the blood through this.
Then she raises her hammer.
Power Flows
In her mind she can already see the final form of her work. The first Rune to be struck, the Rune of Amber, to hold those under the Banner's aegis together against whatever it is that would seek to separate them. The Rune is ready, eager to rise up from the depths of her mind to be wrought onto the wondrous metal beneath her gaze.
And she is the conduit.
Will guides it
Karstah begins the striking by bringing her hammer down against the orange Adamant, the first blow heavy and purposeful. The ring of metal on metal reverberates through her Workshop, lingering longer than expected. It is an oddity she pays no mind to, bringing all her focus onto the task in front of her.
A second strike follows, then a third, and so it goes. The steady sound of metal hitting metal like some Engineer's contraption beginning to run, or like a heart beginning to beat.
Let song remind you
The first words of the Rite leave her lips unbidden.
"Honour to Vanya, beloved of Thungni the Ancestor. In memory of her strike for each decade of her span…"
Karstah is making a very important item as seen with the chanting bits.
You're lucky both young Kazador and Lord Hammerspite had vouched the veracity of your claims. Otherwise there would have been a strong chance that all of Izril's Runesmith Clans would have come for you and Karaz-Kazak-Rhun to kill and reclaim respectively.
As it is apperantly by Royal Decree, one no doubt vouched for by the Runesmiths, you're barred from entering Karak Izril without an escort, read minders and spies, to keep an eye on you. You don't need Rorek to tell you that most of Izril's Runesmiths are wroth at the thought of you claiming the hammer and terribly embarrassed to have been literally sitting ontop of it for centuries without realizing. Mostly because you aren't an idiot, and because Magda and Modi, your Brotherhood colleagues from the Hold, moved to Dron in the medium term to not deal with the social fallout of being known associates with you.
That part you do feel bad about.
Sucks that Snorri's assocates got hit by the fallback.
Whatever the truth was before, the relationship between the Runelords of Clans Gemlinling and Aldbaraz had solidified over their mutual contempt for you. So much so that they had further sealed their newfound friendship by pushing for more matches between their Clans. Rorek would not be surprised to see a Gemlinling weapon Rune on Aldbaraz axes and Aldbaraz armour Runes on Gemlinling platemail in the near future, or for the Clans to end up learning some of the secrets of the other in time.
Good for them you guess.
People uniting in hatred of Snorri and him going great for them is funny.
And then there was the worst reaction of the four. Clan Grungagril were quiet, the sort of quiet that only happens when a Dwarf's a hairsbreadth from violence as Rorek puts it. Of them, your fellow Runelord can only say he's seen far, far more Grungagril Runesmiths dropping what they're doing and chipping in to The Brilliant Hall than before. They had something of an active rotation before this point, keeping one portion of their Runesmiths working on their joint work with the other Clans and letting the others rest and work on their own personal projects. But your act is an affront to their pride as Runesmiths and a crime against Thungni, and as can do little beyond declaring a punitive Grudge against you, they have also turned that offense into the sort of productive spite the Dawi know all too well.
Malt and seethe.
As for the rest of the south, well Rorek isn't as connected, but the sheer volume of activity your actions generated let him learn a great deal. That and because most of that activity seems to alternate between cursing your name and cackling at Izril's Runesmiths. You aren't surprised that more than one of Izril's rivals have taken the opportunity to tweak their noses over it. The Hold had a reputation for being as snooty over Runesmithing as Zorn was over…well everything actually ya see. Something you can corroborate from your letters with the Burudin and Brotherhood too at least. Brynduraz especially, seems all too happy at Izril's misfortune, leading the charge at mocking them, even as they grumble at you despite being the one who made it possible.
The Runesmiths squabble, but in your heart you know it is not the usual sort of clucking and prancing of the past. This is the kind of conflict that arises in the wake of a power vacuum, in the wake of great and tragic loss.
In the wake of Thungni's disappearance.
Rorek's letter makes a part of you wonder if you ought to have taken the burden on. —
I will reach you.
—but then you remember, and you find the resolve to ignore the whisper in your mind.
Besides, going by everything so far, you're fairly sure you would have killed multiple Dawi from the rage-induced strokes if you had claimed the title of Thungni's Heir.
Ah, that doesn't actually make you feel better to think about.
Snorri made his choice and has come to terms with it, the bits about I will reach you is the positives but the blacklash is the negative reason for it.
As part of your ongoing efforts to be more, bah, social, and get the thought of your earlier research out of your head, you let yourself be wrangled into attending a tournament held in Khazagar. It was a martial contest sponsored by King Gloin. The rules, as you understood, was that a Runesmith would test their weapon Runes against each other, although they would be wielded by a warrior of that Runesmith's choosing. The winning warrior was to earn a place among the Huskarls, and the Runesmith the patronage of the Royal Clan. Understandably, every contestant submitted a greataxe of some sort, as the weapon had become the traditional choice among Kraka Drakk's royal retainers. A clever thing for Gloin to do, you reckon; to poke and prod and give reason for visiting Runesmiths to invest time in the Hold by finding a warrior they could trust to wield the weapon they made. A connection was the goal you reckon, if it blossomed into anything more all the better, but the King was heeding his father's wisdom and trying to entice as many of the visiting Journeymen and Masters to stay on a more permanent basis as possible.
Gloin is really good at politics.
You feel a genuine sense of surprise at her presence, and immediately begin to wonder why she was here. Then your mind dredges up the list of names that were participating in this contest and everything falls into place.
One Buri Bryndazson was competing in this tournament, wielding an axe crafted by a Zornish Runesmith.
Ah she's trying to reconnect with her family.
"Gone all out then and gave yourself new eyes too eh?" you ask, staring at Brynna's new set of prosthetics
This pair of eyes used amethyst for the iris instead of the amber and gold you first saw her use decades prior, a trio of two obscured Runes in conjunction with the Rune of Forged Eye.
"One benefit of disfigurement," she explains calmly, "I can pick my gaze as freely as I can choose a necklace. Perhaps a set with Ruby and Hearthstone next honoured Elder?"
That's a cool fashion statement.
But that is not enough if you're a member of Clan Ironarm. Not for a Royal Clan, expected to lead from the van of the Hold's Throng, not for a bloodline of warriors descended from Valiant, Doomed Grimnir in the last Hold He ever set foot in before He walked off into legend.
The fact is, he's not cut out for the sort of high intensity conflict that his bloodline prides itself in. At one-hundred and twenty-five his forefathers were regularly dueling elder Trolls and his own father was waging an all out campaign alongside his grandfather. It paints a stark contrast when only now, as a Longbeard, is he deemed just acceptable enough to go out and not get himself killed leading an Ironarm charge into the enemy flanks.
Were that all he brought to the table, Otrek Gimlisson would be just an unremarkable, subpar Thane in a long line of Clan Ironarm's many Thanes. Not a death knell for any Royal Clan, but he'd be someone not spoken of quite so proudly as others were by his descendants.
Thankfully for him, what Otrek Gimlisson lacks in his family's iron arms, he makes up for with his gilded tongue.
He is the finest speaker and diplomat in five generations by the estimates of his Elders, and Clan Ironarm hasn't let such a talent lie unused. King Gloin has been sending Gimli's son out on diplomatic meetings in some capacity since he first showed signs of his aptitude as a boy of sixteen. A life of building connections, affirming old bonds, mediation and judgements have honed his mind to the point that the King trusts him enough that has granted his grandson with a great degree of independence to maintain the prestige and honour of Kraka Drakk. Moreover it was a good way to stave off rumours that the heir of Gimli Three-axe was a goodfornothing layabout by giving him the ever important, if not so awe inspiring, job of diplomat while Clan Ironarm kept training him so that he could at least fight well enough to not die.
He's a social expert, diplomat and politician not a warrior and that's okay but it's expected for him to be a warrior given his lineage and position.
But then, in your efforts to manipulate the vision of the Rune of Windsight to reflect the desired "kind" of aetheryc senses, you noticed that you could actually alter that same light interacting structure in the Rune, the one you pulled from the Rune of Forged Eye to be precise, and get startling results. This modified Rune allowed you to see everything, but it was all blurry, the lights strange, and far too intense.
Instinctively, you had tried to block the light with your hand, but when you did you noticed that everything became visible. Not in colour, and rather poorly done all told, but noticeably better.
So, in a fit of unbound curiosity, you dropped what you were doing and decided to pursue that avenue of research instead.
That actually makes sense given how long he's not been looking into it, it was another branch of research that made him think about it.
Otrek Gimlisson is not a fighter. He has spent most of his adult life in diplomatic talks, settling disputes and using his charisma to the benefit of his people.
But he is a good leader, proven so in peace, and now she sees here also with the potential to be the same in war.
Takes a special sort of foolish bravery, or perhaps desperation, to volunteer yourself to be the distraction for a dozen Slave Wyrm riding Fimir nobles. Especially when you're about as talented as an apprentice in his first year of study.
He may not have a lot of skill but damn if he doesn't have the guts.
- [Mid 474] The Metalsmiths Guild has always had a noticeable, but unofficial presence within Khazagar as no sensible Smith will turn away the chance to have good proper Runework inscribed on their goods, ever since the institution's completion. But now Gormak's successor, Thurgar Drominsson, has come to you to ask the same question the Engineers Guild had decades prior.
-- With your go ahead, the Metalsmiths went about their business without delay. A tournament was held at the turning of the year, a day of significance to the Cult of Smednir. Another Pure Gromril smelter was to be built, and the honour of this work alongside a portion of the Smelter's first decade of output was to be the prize. The nature of the reward made the list of contestants limited, but in return they were all Master Runesmiths who could be trusted with the task. The winner, one Ongki Dweisson of Kraka Drakk, won such an honour with a set of tongs that allowed the wielder to manipulate and carry massive, unwieldy pieces of metal with childish ease.
Good to see this working out.
- [Early 475] It's only tangentially related to your institution but it's a literal and proverbial stone's throw away. It seems Dwalin's doing something in Khazid Okraz. Some strange combination of inn and stage from what you gathered. Well as long as he doesn't cause any noise complaints that's his business…
Dwalin is cooking something up.
- [Early 476] The Vaulted Forge, the Grongrungral. A simple name compared to the grandeur of the other three other locations it is no doubt being built in response too. Unlike the Glittering Lords of Izril and their Khazrilaz, the Rhunrikkal Brynduraz make no great proclamation of honouring the past, nor veil themselves in some twisted proof of orthodoxy as Khazagar or The Kazad a Grungnaz do. No. Forthright with the truth, it is a place of similar purpose to SIlverbrand's Citadel, but its rule is a rotating council of the Hold's Runelords. Fifty Years, shall a Runelord serve as Master of the Forge then, barring extremis, they shall not serve again until all of their living colleagues have done the same. King Bryndurak has already agreed to the Runelords' petition to claim an ancient, long since exhausted mine junction in the lowest Deeps of the Hold.
Seeing more and more of these things popping up is great and plays to our plans.
- [Late 478] Skalla Honestheart, a Master Runesmith known, perhaps infamously so, for her hatred of the Blue Trickster
has come to Khazagar. Deeming the institution acceptable enough for her to share some of her repertoire of Runes, mostly those designed to counteract and exploit the weaknesses of the Changer's minions, with those worthy in Khazagar. That her son and grandson are here, has also certainly played a part you reckon.
-- She has begun teaching her eponymous Master Rune to those worthy as a start. Options unlocked!
Anti Chaos stuff really needs to be spread.
- [Early 479] Jorri's first major project as Guildmaster of the Caravaneers Guild has been announced. After decades of work finagling, saving and negotiation, the first stage of his "Realm Route" name pending, will soon become a reality. A chartered path of Under-inns, rest stops and paths that will, starting at very reasonable rates, allow a Dwarf to travel the length of the Karaz Ankor from Zorn to Kraka Drakk, in a comfortable, predictable and most importantly safe manner. One of the greatest physical obstacles to travel has been struck a mortal blow. Oh aye, a King need not use this service, but the common Dwarf? Why, it opens a host of possibilities. Journeymen, Apprentices, young adventurous Dawi or kin who simply live a great distance away have had the world open up for them just a bit more. Subsidizing this relatively inexpensive form of travel, are several hard won contracts with various Guilds to give them access to the services that Jorri's Guild now maintains. It is a great gamble on Jorri's part, because he's betting on Dwarfs wanting to leave their Holds, and that enough Dawi buy in that they make lowering the individual cost feasible. But by his reckoning, if he builds it, they will come.
Huh looks like Jorri has gotten a lot done, good for him.
- [Early 480] Halfway done, the Brilliant Hall is already a sight to behold. A towering central keep with long, multi-story, hallways branching out from three of its seven sides and four massive chambers between them. Within that core, a council drawn from seven of Izril's greatest Runelords shall sit, and there shall they judge those who come before them. Great is the recrimation, or the reward, for those who test themselves against the judging gaze and implacable wisdom of these vaunted elders. Treasures without equal or Runes of great might shall be given to those who pass the tests of the Council, and burning shame or trial for those unworthy or not yet proven. It is a burden of great responsibility, and some say power, and is to be closely guarded against the unworthy. Beyond this, the Brilliant Hall is also a repository and font of wisdom; not of Runelore, or secrets of the Guilds, but history, in example and in word. In honour of Thungni, His Brother and Father, shall mighty treasures be held here in safekeeping until they are wielded in great times of need and put away once the work is done. In honour of Gazul, stories and sagas chronicling the great Dawi of Izril's past shall be open for all to see and learn from. In honour of Valaya, lessons in more mundane and universal wisdom, for foundlings and those willing to learn shall be taught. In honour of Grimnir and Morgrim, contests of arms and craft shall be held to show the Runelords that their wielders and makers are worthy of Thungni's Gift.
Damn that's impressive good for them.
- The Secrets of Light Pt. 2 complete! The Secrets of Light Pt. 3a Utility and The Secrets of Light Pt. 3b Power unlocked!
-- You've collected a small trove of light manipulating Runes in your time. Some destructive, some novel, all left largely to the wayside as you pursued other things. In your time you've tinkered with improving the power of these Runes, to…middling success. But as part of your efforts to improve the Rune of Windsight you stumbled upon a strange phenomenon that allows you to see better in the dark.
-- New Runes unlocked! (see vote)
-- Master of the Odd [6/15] > [7/15]
This has been around forever so it getting finished is great.
I still can't help but laugh at how the various Runelords are doing exactly what we want by building these various Rune facilities.
All according to Keikaku.
I do like how the Brilliant Hall represents a cogent response by those who object to doing things Snorri's way.
It's explicitly a council of elders deciding If You Are Worthy and rewarding that with one off secret lessons. As opposed to classes and seminars.
But it's also a way for them to put new stuff out into the world so they can make their own points, and thereby remain a live opponent to Snorrism politically.
So it's the product of someone who recognized they were actually losing the fight for legitimacy because Snorri was delivering results and their philosophy was just incoherent negation. But they also waited to see where the other projects were going, and made their move only after seeing philosophy, style, and facilities that they were in dialogue with. I hope we meet them!
This part right here is actually treading closer to a guild structure than anything Khazagar did. They're consolidating power in a clearly structured manner.
The part about it being a power-share between runelords with clear term limits potentially gives it greater institutional stability than the crazy project of That One Weirdo Up North, which is potentially troublesome from the perspective of answering the "is this a guild?" question.
Rune-themed community center, in the other hand, is an interesting approach.
Also, I am voting Heat Vision, if only in the hopes of eventually finding the rune that lets you fire actual heat vision.
It being a guild is a lot more true for that place then Khazagar.
love the way this differs from our college. It's more of a gatekept but open Library/Vault split. Not one where you learn to be better technically, but somewhere you can go to check your roots and see where you fare in comparison. Not of much use to those already well off and well connected dawi who have complete learning and solid ways, but to the orphans and the dispossessed, to the depressed and the ones who fear they have strayed, this place could be a brilliant source of comfort and learning. A place of comfort that reminds those dawi that the ways of your people are kept and will carry on to those that pass through it's halls.
I imagine adding to it's record to also be one of those feats that will be as legend. Only the most dwarf-like of dwarf acts of dwarf life. Record par excellence worthy of being a guidepost to the next generation. And anything Snorri related will be likely barred from the place which I assume will only add to the mythologized non-existence of the Gift Giver.
Everyone is doing things slightly differently.
