Winning Vote: said:
[X] Plan Research Explosion
Snorri:
-[X] March: [Cost: 1 action] Begin event, "Fimir Campaign Pt. 1." [1AP]
-[X] The Road to Anoqeyån Pt. 2: [Cost: 6 actions] Master of the Odd will proc. Gain exceptional- understanding of Anoqeyån. [1AP]
--[X] Involve Yorri: [Cost +1 action] Gain x3 Yorri prods.
-[X] [Difficult] Understanding the Armour: [Cost: (6 -5) =1 action] Master of the Odd will proc. Gain Movement of Things Progress, ???. [1AP]
-[X] [Difficult] The Movement of Things Pt. 5, new totals: [Cost: (14 -7) =7 actions] Master of the Odd will proc. [1AP] [3 Prods]
--[X] Prod Yorri: [Cost: 1 prod] Gain 1d2+1 progress, can be taken multiple times.
-[X] [Difficult] The Mind of Things Pt. 4: [Cost: (10 -6) =4 actions] Master of the Odd will proc. [1AP] [6 Prods]
--[X] Prod Yorri: [Cost: 1 prod] Gain 1d2+1 progress, can be taken multiple times.
-[X] [Simple] Firebird's Feather: [Cost: (2 -1) =1 actions] Master of the Odd will proc. [1 Research Action]
-[X] [Simple] A Wonderful Endeavour: [Cost: 24 actions] Minimum completion date end of Turn 52. Peerless Production will proc for general actions. [0AP]
--[X] Petition the Hold: [Cost: 15 Kraka Drakk Favour] Gain 1 progress, can only be taken 3 times a turn and without action input. [45 Drakk Favour]
Karstah:
-[X] [Simple] Lion Autopsy: [Cost: 3 actions] Master of the Odd will proc. [1 Karstah Action]
--[X] Destructive Research: [Cost: 2 White Lion Corpses] Gain 1d2 progress, can be taken multiple times. [4 White Lion Corpses]
Retainers:
-[X] The Throng is Mustered: [Cost: 1 retainer action] Can be taken multiple times. Gain Bonus to Throng Rolls against Fimir, additional actions apply bonus to roll. Minor Chance for Casualties/Fatalities. [1 Retainer Action].
-[X] Secure the Woods: [Cost: 1 retainer action] Gain +20 Favour with Kraka Dorden and Ravsnvake. Dorden increases contribution and production of Warmachines towards war effort, Ravsnvake gains improved ranger weapons. The Karak will send forces to clear the groves by the end of Turn 48. Minor to Moderate Chance for Casualties/Fatalities. [1 Retainer Action].
-[X] Waywarding: [Cost: 1 action or retainer action] Gain bonus to Waystone rolls and update on status of Waystones. Can be taken multiple times. [1 Retainer Action].
-[X] ORDER: Write-in: 1x Frostbird Feather
━<><><>< 374 A.P. ><><><>━
Convincing Gloin about the benefits of Khazagar was simple enough, even still you can tell he was apprehensive about involving the Karak in what could easily spiral into a complete mess of the Runesmiths Guild's inner politics. But in the end your reputation, and the momentous debt he, Clan Ironarm, and the Karak itself owe you ultimately tip the scales towards his agreement. Though Gloin pointed out that the Karak could offer less than expected in terms of support so long as the war with the Fimir continued to eat its attention, it was of little concern to you.
Soon enough Kraka Drakk would be able to devote the sum total of its labour towards Khazagar when you get to cutting the Fimir in twain like a piece of firewood.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Nain thoughtfully examines the most recent hammer he's created, a commission from a promising warrior financed by his Clan's Elder council for deeds against the One-eyes. There is nothing objectionable to the work, if anything it is one of Nain's better creations as of late, and yet…
…yet he is not entirely satisfied.
Nearing two decades now as a Master in his own right and he's felt more stuck than when he was learning under Lord Hammerspite. As if reaching Masterhood was all his spirit and creativity could muster before sputtering out like a candle in the wind. Karstah, for all she confided her unfounded doubts and concerns to him, had found her purpose just as elders Dolgi, Fjolla and Snerra all had. Yet here he stands, alone in a shop where he runs a respectable, but altogether unremarkable business for a Runesmith. He's gathered wealth a plenty, more than enough for him to fall back on for centuries, enough that his shop is one of the larger ones in the area too, and yet it is so, so,
bare. Now, Nain has long since realized he appreciates a certain spartanness to his home and business, but this bareness is not so much one of aesthetics, but something more substantial and paradoxically ephemeral. There is no heart to Nain's forge, nothing that indicates some hint towards his passions and proclivities in the way that Master Snorri's workshop was a space brimming with neatly organized hoards of material and odd contraptions, Lady Fjolla's abundance of lenses and mirrors, Elder Dolgi's racks on racks of hooks and pulleys. His Workshop has only the necessities and a few odds and ends, and it is enough. There has been no need to branch out, no driving force that has pushed him to grow, and hasn't been for a while now.
To cut a winding diatribe down to one sentence, Nain has found himself in a rut.
Then again such circumstances were partly his own fault.
There was the fact that he was a student of the Gift Giver, one who had learned under Gottri Hammerspite. It was expected then, that he made many hammers and made them well, which he could say he did do, but it had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Folk came to him for good hammers, and he gave them good hammers, and so he became known for his good hammers and only got better with each one. With his productivity, he certainly could crank quite a few out, though not to the level that his teacher, or even Karstah, did. Paired with his reputation for offering "free" consultations, an odd way to phrase "chatting about what sort of Runes worked best for you," in his opinion, willingness to take payment for his commissions under more forms than simple monetary compensation, a suggestion he took from Elder Dolgi, and the generosity with which he valued them made him an attractive option among the more middling Clans, and his fellow newly minted Masters. Both groups had neither the numbers nor capital to hire a more prestigious Runesmith, while also desiring the opportunity to build connections and ply their trade.
Perhaps he ought to visit Master Snorri, see what he thought of his student's predicament.
A ringing bell draws him out his musing to stare at a young Dwarf who has entered his premises.
"'llo there,' he welcomes, waving a hand lazily, "What can I do ye for?"
"Ah, Borri pointed me this way," they begin and Nain nods, "Ya see I have this hammer…"
"Well hammers are something I'm well versed with," Nain says.
"It's a gift for my cousin Kraggrin. He's a right terror with his axe on the battlefield but can't maintain his gear better than he was thirty. Figure a hammer that helps him keep on top of that would be a fine gift for his birthday."
Nain blinks.
Well, that's certainly novel.
"What sort of damage are you expecting it to fix?" he begins.
"Ah, broken links in his chainmail, chips in his axe, dents in his helmet; simple wear and tear and the like. Don't reckon I can afford a hammer that could fix a split shield or a half-melted chest plate," the Dwarf explains.
Nor did Nain know of such a Rune. But maintenance? That, he thinks, he can just about manage. Ideas and thoughts pour through his head with an ease that he's not felt in a while and he can already feel his feet twinge with the need to tap and pace as his mind begins to whirr to life.
Nain nods.
"I can do it. Now," he says, leaning forward over the counter, "let's talk details and see if we can't come to an arrangement."
━<><><><==><><><>━
The phoenix, you are told during your Anoqeyan lessons, is a bird of great significance in Elven culture. Fiercely intelligent and noble in countenance supposedly, they were not only the symbol of their chief god but apparently also a fine companion and mount for the greatest among them.
Just another member to add to the menagerie of beasts the Elves find worth riding atop of.
But as intellectually interesting as the cultural significance it has to the Elves is, you are more interested in its magical capabilities. Being creatures so heavily inundated with Aqshy, they were apparently capable of somehow
reviving themselves in a burst of flames should they be injured grievously and the environment inundated with enough of the Winds of Magic. Though you are told that as they grow older their burning plumage cools and changes, the oldest of them literally becoming stone monoliths at the end of their lifespans. Accordingly, Menlinwen tells you the feather you possess belonged to a Phoenix about midway through its life, the orange edges glowing healthily even decades after being removed from their owner.
Their unique life cycle intrigues you greatly and is a source of inspiration and questions in equal measure. While it may not actually be accurate, you wonder if their lifecycle is reliant on converting
Aqshy into the energy it needs to survive. Such a phenomenon would partly explain the odd transition into beings of cold at the end of their lives, perhaps requiring more and more
Aqshy and heat as they grow older to survive until such a time that the draw becomes powerful enough that they outstrip even the speed at which their habitat can refill the natural environment. Menlinwen notes that your hypothesis, at least the same overall argument, was one of the theories in circulation about Phoenix life cycles, but the book she read it from was one she had only borrowed from a colleague. Even without direct confirmation for or against your idea, the exercise of coming up with it has at least given you a smidge of inspiration. The idea of creating an array that could do something similar with the Winds in general sounds a great deal like your Smelter, at least in broad strokes.
Theory aside, in terms of Runecraft the Phoenix feather was of some interest. Your work reveals that it's about on par with Hearthstone for most Runes, but had startling similarities to the Great Eagles whose feathers you use for a bevy of Runes. The implications of the latter may point to a related origin, or perhaps it implied nothing at all. Given how magic operates both were equally likely you'll admit. Much to your chagrin and disappointment, the Phoenix Feathers had little use in the way of healing Runes, a surprise given the creature's miraculous abilities, but perhaps you required a different organ or body part to impart that effect.
Without a body, something you believe would be hard to come by, you cannot say.
Still, another reagent is another reagent, and you'll take what you can get.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Karstah nods as she passes by yet another member of the Stonemasons Guild on her way out of the Guildhall, the contract with the Guildmaster stowed away snugly with the ones she had gotten from the Carpenters, Metalsmiths and Brewers. Calculating the time in her head she mentally breathes a sigh of relief, realizing that there'd be no need to rush to the remaining Guilds she was slated to meet for the day. All of them relating to the herculean endeavor her Master had concocted and was only now beginning to put into motion. Her part in these endeavours was meeting with various Guildmasters and relaying her teacher's individual requests and, depending on the situation, either negotiating on terms or deferring it back to him. Even if she had, mostly, gotten past the ease with which her teacher was willing to let strangers live and speak in the Workshop, there were still several things that concerned her when it came to Master Snorri's plans for the Workshop, for
Khazagar, that refused to be smothered.
The reactions of the Guild, the inevitable questions about her teacher's right, the ensuing challenges that would no doubt come from its creation. And perhaps the overarching question that encompassed her thoughts.
Would it be worthwhile? It was simple enough to say so, but who knew what the future held? Some unforeseen consequence could very well spiral out of control and ruin the possibility of an idea like Khazagar ever being visited by anyone ever again. She cannot entirely criticize herself for such doubts, not when the mind behind the whole enterprise also had several concerns himself, but she wouldn't let it affect her work. She'd trust in her Master's wisdom, just as she had for most of her life, but Karstah reckoned she could still ask every now and then for clarification.
But for now, the only thing she would focus on was doing what was asked of her
━<><><>< 376 A.P. ><><><>━
You can now safely, if not happily, say that you have answered the question of what exactly Mhorni is. But yet in so doing, have only found yourself in the possession of yet many more questions.
By means that are currently beyond the scope of your understanding you have somehow bound a magical entity to not just your armour, but most of your equipment. But exactly what type of elemental Mhorni actually
is still eluded you. Mhorni's abilities are more in line with the elemental constructs described in your Elven texts, though the materials it is made from certainly differ from what is expected. Where most elementals are generally composed of a singular substance Mhorni is a complex amalgamation of several different substances, and more confoundingly his composition
changes depending on which pieces of equipment you wear or hold.
Barak Azamar for rock and stone,
Zharrgal for metal and flame, and lastly
Skarrenbakraz for lightning and wind. The seeming modularity of it lends itself towards multiple interpretations, of which you find two the most compelling.
The first, is that Mhorni was once a greater being split into multiple parts and each segment respectively bound to each part of your armour.
And second, that Mhorni is a fusion of several lesser elementals coming together as you equip your gear.
Functionally speaking the results and implications of both are the same. You now reckon that Elementals are to be far more malleable than you had first thought them to be, though in what way you could, as of yet, not say. Regardless it sends your mind wandering through a forest of possibilities. If you could recreate a construct in a similar fashion to Mhorni, simply forming itself out of the natural environment from surrounding material, you could make a far more versatile and perhaps useful form of Gronti.
But the same question still hangs over your head regardless.
How?
How did Mhorni, or whatever it is that became Mhorni, find itself bound to your armour in the way it was? The binding was a fluke, perhaps one you may be able to one day recreate, but ultimately a fluke nonetheless. The answer clearly has something to do with the Anvil, obviously, but
how it's involved is once more just out of reach. Yet another problem held behind the monolithic, yet seemingly more and more surmountable, obstacle that was Durin's Consternation. A part of you wonders if you could ask Menlinwen, but common sense smothers the idea in the crib. She is not worthy, and though Mhorni may not technically be a Runesmithing secret, the facets around his creation very much are. Never mind the grim taste playing around with the remit of the law leaves in your mouth, hypocritical as it may seem in the eyes of your more Conservative peers, you are not so divorced from reality as to do something like that.
Bugger it.
You need perspective, a second opinion.
You'll have to badger Master Yorri.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Your teacher has an odd glint in his eye when you come to him with your theories, one he tries to keep guarded at first, but a knowing look on your part makes him give up.
"You're asking the wrong question," he tells you after taking almost half an hour to collect his thoughts.
"I don't see how I am," you reply, looking at him curiously.
"You wouldn't," he mutters, "What's done is done, I suppose. You are on the path and beware to anything that tries to stop you."
You wait for Yorri to continue, but are only met with silence. That is the state of things for what feels like an age; You, patiently waiting, and your teacher seemingly lost in his memories.
Just as you're about to open your mouth, Master Yorri finally tells you something of actual substance.
"The Anvil. Go to it, and you will see," he tells you, staring you dead in the eye but with a look that tells you his mind sees something else entirely.
━<><><><==><><><>━
After setting up a few tasks for Karstah to undertake while you're gone, you pack up the necessary supplies and begin the long trek back to the Anvil, back to the site of
Skarrenbakraz's creation. Yorri does not come with you, grunting about some other business that he needs to see to, though he does make sure to remind you to bring your equipment when you do alongside a list of other things that he says will be of use to bring or do.
This place brings about mixed feelings in you, on one hand, you have created a peerless wonder here, on the other you were crippled for two decades and left with several burning questions that call your understanding of Runecraft deeply into question.
Wearing your equipment, again at Yorri's cryptic insistence, you begin the trek to the Anvil's resting place. Even twenty years later the damage from your foray here is still partly evident, with bits of rock finding themselves lodged out of their resting place to some new location, the trail they left in their wake breaking the walls of several pools. The resulting mix of liquid sometimes comes out beautifully in multihued metallic pools or sometimes congeals into a mud-grey mixture that stands out starkly from the colourful environment. You give it all a single look before putting such thoughts out of your mind as you stare at the dim pillar of orange-gold light that looms overhead.
It is still active.
Steeling your nerves, even as memories of
painandgoldandswingandchantand- rise up from the depths of your mind, you march on towards the Anvil. Only the quiet wail of the wind, the dull roar of the Anvil and two sets of footsteps accompany you. Little changes for most of your walk, but once you get around fifteen meters from where the Anvil lays, the pillar of energy twists and bends in response to you, or more likely
Barak Azamar, by gravitating towards your ever-closer presence. At around ten meters a stray tendril of energy flies away from the main pillar and reaches towards you, as if being drawn up a straw.
As it does so, you instinctively activate
Barak Azamar; letting your skin turn to stone and your eyes flare into luminous brilliance. Perhaps in response to your actions and/or subconscious thoughts Mhorni walks forward and intercedes itself between you and the Anvil, as if the magical rock were another foe the construct could slay.
You grunt, equal parts angry at yourself for such a reaction and surprised at Mhorni's actions. Sensing your intent, you watch as your shadow stands aside to let you pass before falling back in behind you.
Another one of the Elemental's mysteries was its ability to respond to your thoughts. You have no clue if Mhorni is as sophisticated as a Gronti in terms of its understanding of Dwarfen culture and mindset, or if it simply cheats by scanning your thoughts to figure out what to do. The latter of the two options raising only more questions about how it can parse that information to understand your intent and actual desires, let alone draw it out of your mind in the first place.
The thought is pushed aside as you break through the layer of mist and energy, momentarily tensing as your arm breaches the wall only to relax when you feel little save a slight increase in heat, and behold the source of all this nonsense.
The Anvil and the chamber it rests in look different from before. Where there was once a multicoloured hunk of shimmering metal in a circular half-sphere of stone, now rests a far more ordered structure and ruined chamber. You glance at the vaguely dwarf-shaped indent in the wall, take note of the splashes of cooled metal splattered on the wall and pooling at the base, and purposefully move on to examine the Anvil itself. Where before it appeared to have an entirely random and unordered pattern to the materials that comprised itself, the Anvil now sports a triangular gradient of colours across its surface. Brilliant gold makes up the entirety of its face, the metal of the striking surface polished to such a mirror sheen that you can see your face on it, and continuing on for a bit before the edges begin to transition into an equally bright silver. The change continues, progressing along the sides before the last bit of gold fades away, creating a sort of downwards facing arrow, that continues the pattern for another third of the surface, the silver growing dimmer and dimmer until it's more akin to steel then shifting to varying shades of blue and purple as if being tempered by a great source of heat, before turning into bronze and then gold-flecked copper that fuses with the stone floor.
Besides that, the Anvil itself appears changed in terms of shape; rather than looking like a split and melted piece of stone it now appears more like a hunk of wax that has been repeatedly heated and shaped into form. Drops of metal frozen in time as they travel down its surface, breaking up the color gradient and giving an otherwise lumpy appearance at the top while the base is more akin to columns of basalt seemingly rising up from the ground. Your mind conjures up images of a bundle of fitted hexagonal candles that were melted together and moulded into the rough shape of an anvil, with a blade shaving away the top to create a flat striking surface.
Even as you stand, stare and wonder at the sight in front of you, you already have a gut feeling about who, or what, the culprit could be. It's hard not to really, given how the column of energy surrounding you has seemingly pinched itself towards where you stand, how random tendrils break away and are absorbed by your equipment or Mhorni, or how the energy itself has begun shifting colours to have random flecks of teal light that have only grown more common the longer you stood here.
Vague memories, damaged by your ordeal over two decades ago, of you forging the Rune of Fury come to mind. You had considered the possibility that as the Anvil drew down from above,
Barak Azamar drew up from below. You can only guess as to what this odd teal tint could mean, but your gut tells you that it most certainly has something to do with your armour's ability to draw up the Deep Magic. Could your work here have been potent enough to create a conduit to whatever the source of Deep Magic could be? Or at the very least weakened the barrier that usually makes pulling it upwards such a difficult endeavour? That last thought, of weakening the barrier, makes you pause and think. The energy seemingly comes from below. Before you had likened Barak Azamar to a miner, digging greedily to haul up the energy from beneath like ore out of a mine. Could you create something that did the same? A Rune that metaphysically dug down towards the Deep Magic of the earth and dragged it back up for use?
It seemed possible.
But that was a thought you could stow away later.
Yorri's words echo in your mind and you find yourself scratching your head as you continue to mull them over.
You're asking the wrong question
As if asking How wasn't a proper question! It shouldn't have happened, why on earth would an Elemental found itself bound to your armour the way it had? Runecraft did not make such errors or cause such oddities, its stability was its greatest strength. Could the amount of magic in the air have somehow overridden even the Runes' ability to contain and direct the Winds? Surely not. Could you have made an error in the painful haze of
Skarrenbakraz's creation? Maybe, but what you did to seemingly bind an Elemental to your armour was beyond you. Some odd interaction between the Winds and the Deep Magic? You can't say for certain, but as you watch the flow of energy slowly turn more and more the shade of power that thrums through your armour you have a feeling there may be more there than you realize.
Could the question be
why?
You turn your thoughts towards such a stance, and things begin falling into place. Why was Mhorni, or whatever it was that created Mhorni even in your vicinity? To the best of your knowledge, your armour only drew up energy, not conjured nor cajoled beings from the aether into this reality. You can't discount the possibility of simply having drawn them in with the amount of power being thrown about, but that left the question of why your work
bound Mhorni the way it had. Runes did not allow for such irregularity. If Mhorni was a being of Aetheric, why had it not been consumed by the Runes and turned into the formless and orderly power source that all magic is transformed into by the workings of Thungni's craft? They could be for the same reasons that Daemons are not, you admit, and its not as if you've ever tested Runecraft against Elementals or Elemental Incarnates either, but what makes Mhorni stand out, in particular, is the nature of its existence. As you've noted, Mhorni is
bound to your armour, and that usually cannot abide. Runes do not appreciate foreign magic attempting to meddle with their workings, and yet here Mhorni is, hale, whole and arguably benefitting from the Runes effects. Which itself only makes you wonder
why that is the case. Elemental or no, you did not bungle these Runes, you made sure of it. So why do they see Mhorni as a non-threat at worst and an ally at best?
There is something here. Some piece of the puzzle you cannot yet grasp beyond the haziest, most general, understanding.
You stare at the energy flowing around you, noting that about half of the flow now consists of the same teal energy as what
Barak Azamar pulls up from below. Mhorni and Deep Magic,
Gronti and Deep Magic, there is a connection there beyond the mere reality that the latter powers the former…
But just what or how that connection takes shape eludes you, and continues to do so for the remainder of your visit.
━<><><><==><><><>━
You return home defeated, but not empty-handed. While the mystery behind Mhorni remains unsolved your time pondering has given you multiple ideas to explore and perfect. The most promising of which involve a more complete version of a Rune that could theoretically mimic the effects of
Barak Azamar, if to a more limited degree, and, surprisingly, a codification of notes on how to potentially improve the Rune of Brotherhood. The former for fairly obvious reasons, and the latter of which you've idly been chipping away at over the decades and centuries of your life, but whose progress was greatly expedited thanks, in large part, to your fruitless quest to understand
how Mhorni interacts with the Runes you create.
But before you can go about finishing that work, you are informed by Rudil that Snerra had wanted to meet with you at your earliest convenience. You are mildly surprised, but acquiesce easily enough. Snerra came and went as she pleased, but it wasn't common for her to
schedule something. It had only grown rarer in the decades since her ascension to Runelord.
Setting up a time is easy enough, and two days later you find yourself face to face with your niece who very suddenly shoves an ornate box towards you expectantly. Grumbling at her only ends up with you getting pouted at, and consequently you take her package.
Giving her a final, quizzical glance you look back down and open her gift.
It is an artificial eye.
One of the finest you've seen to boot.
The orb is a perfect sphere of Pure Gromril decorated like a highly stylized eyeball. Seven concentric rings of various types of gold surround a circle of black opal that bears the Rune of Forged eye to create the iris and pupil. Seven triangular holes have been cut into the rings surrounding the pupil, breaking up the otherwise uniform shapes to reveal that the sphere is actually
hollow while also allowing the light from within to shine through. If you squint you can just barely make out the blurry shape of the two other Runes carved into the back of the eye.
"What do you think?" Snerra asks.
"Thank you lass," you mutter, still staring at the orb, trying to observe the Runes carved within, "If I may ask, what Runes did you use? Can hardly see past this blasted light,"
Here your niece perks up, looking childishly excited despite being a woman over four centuries old.
"Ah, well besides the Rune of Forged Eye, there's the Rune of Smednir and the Master Rune of Thungni," she supplies easily.
You begin to nod before the enormity of what she says reaches your brain.
There must be some sort of miscommunication on her part because you're fairly certain you just heard her say the Master Rune of Thungni. Something which is patently impossible of course, there is no Master Rune of Thungni to your knowledge. Naming a Rune after an Ancestor was not lightly done for obvious reasons. Of the ones you know to exist, all have been made by the Ancestors themselves. Some by Gazul supposedly, but the vast majority were generally believed to have been discovered by Thungni Himself. Some of his children have certainly created derivatives, versions of the Master Runes of Grungni and Valaya meant for weapons and the like, but the ultimate point was that the right to give such a name to
any Rune, was almost solely the realm of the Ancestors. Mostly out of a sense of perfectly understandable reverence given the odd properties surrounding the Ancestor Runes most knew of, but also because it was understandably considered the height of hubris for anyone saves the Ancestors Themselves to claim that they knew enough to bestow such a name on a Rune. Even Grimnir, who you saw literally carve his Runes into a stone tablet, something which you do your level best to simply leave be because you know full well that trying to figure out how
that worked would end in madness, was an Ancestor.
So of course Snerra must be speaking nonsense.If there was an unspoken rule about the Ancestor Runes there might as well be an official one regarding Thungni! None of Thungni's students, not his Children, not Alric, nor Durin, could or did claim to know such a Rune. A Master Rune of Thungni, ha! Nonsense. Utter Nonsense! That would either mean your niece was far more prideful than you thought her to be or…
"Thungni," you mutter, "But why now? Not as a mark against you, but He founded this Guild and Dwarfs of equal or greater worthiness have made no mention of knowing this Rune. So either its a recent invention or He deemed it necessary to teach the Rune now. But when did he have the time to-
Your eye widens as it falls into place.
"-the Conclave, of course. But I'm still left wondering how and why. The other three he chose, do they also know?" you wonder, looking at your niece.
Snerra has a sad smile on her face but says nothing.
"-Right,
right," you grumble in understanding, though it is tinged by a hint of exasperation, "Oathbound I imagine, I shall pry no further."
You regard the eye in a new light. It was already a mighty gift, one you would have been hard-pressed to repay even before realizing the enormity of its implications.
"I'll strive to be worthy of it then," you tell her solemnly.
━<><><>< 378 A.P. ><><><>━
Two more Hearthwardens fall in the line of duty.
Rudil tells you that clearing the woodland marked out by Dorden and Ravnsvake was easier said than done. The wolves possessed a low cunning that made excursions a dangerous proposition even for your Retainers. After two of their number were slain and a further half dozen injured in what could only be called an ambush, Rudil ordered the size of the parties he and the rangers of both Holds sent out be increased alongside a host of efforts to maintain cohesion and remain within sprinting distance of each other. Something that would prevent any more deaths on your side for the rest of the mission, but made actual clearing efforts much more difficult.
The remaining years of the conflict are ones full of paranoid scouting parties scouring the land for signs of their quarry broken up by periods of brief but brutal combat as the Wolves struck or were struck upon themselves. The latter grew in frequency as the wretches were driven closer and closer to the edge of desperation until at last the pack's alpha male was slain by Still Wing, the diving blow from the Brana literally breaking the beast's spine in twain. After that, the fight and the level of cunning their foe possessed seemed broken permanently, and your retainers simply ran them down wherever they could be found. All in all things could have gone worse, and though an initial setback was had, those woods were firmly in Dawi hands by the end of the second year.
For their efforts, both Dorden and Ravnsvake saw fit to gift many of your retinue with trinkets and jewelry made up from their now slain quarry alongside several Masterwork crossbows. Several of your retainers return home sporting wolf pelt cloaks, fang carved necklaces and other such trinkets, the whole band led by Rudil's second holding aloft the massive skull of the Alpha, gilded in silver and etched with Golden knotwork, from atop a banner pole of stout Wutroth.
At the very least you take solace in knowing that the dead had not perished in vain.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Skarri has been subjected to riding Thunder Wing for nigh on a decade now. He has grown used to the bitter chill and thin air of high altitude, thanks in part to the clever application of Runic talismans he created after suffering without them for five years. And with the safety of his father's slowfall pack and modified leather harness, has learned to no longer grab hold for dear life whenever his friend decides to be particularly daring in her aerial acrobatics.
What he means to say is that this particular leap is going a bit too fast, too soon.
"So let me get this straight, you've got it in your head to have me wave around a spear like a wazzok while you fly through the air just like those Elgi dragon riders do?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"The logic goes that by riding a mount, me, the rider, that's you, can impart a greater deal of force through their weapon! We shall be a living bolt of steel and fury, screaming death and ruin from on high!"
"If that's the intent, why not just… I don't know, carry such a thing yourself? Not that it's arguably even necessary, can't you manage something similar with just your talons? I've seen you bring down unsuspecting Elk for most of my life, I don't think a big metal stick will do much more damage than what you already possess Thunder," Skarri says skeptically.
"The compliment is accepted, but you are looking at this incorrectly. I do not presume to set a precedent, start a movement or any similar goal, rather I wish to simply experience the act! I told you then that I would show you the wonders of the sky, and such an experience is not complete without knowing the thrill of hunting from the heavens, then striking at your prey from on high like a bolt of lightning made flesh! Know this my friend, I do this for you, not for myself."
I'm fairly sure I never asked for this, he thinks. Only to yelp as his companion starts poking at him with her beak, clearly sussing out his feelings on the matter and finding them wanting.
"Damn you, stop it! Bah! Sure, sure, why not! Just stop pecking my arm, you feathered ball of insanity. I imagine you want me to build this lance doohickey too don't you?" he says in exasperation.
He glares at her enthusiastic nodding.
Not an ounce of shame to be found.
━<><><>< 380 A.P. ><><><>━
Though it took a few years of effort to collate the notes and bring everything into order, you've created a variant of the Rune of Brotherhood that is altogether more inclusive in its selection, something that sounds simple in theory and yet proven anything but. From your work you've discovered that the limitations of the base variant are there for practical reasons as well as simple limitations of skill . Your version of the Rune has increased the strain upon the material it's been inscribed on, not enough to be a concern but to your trained eye it is apparent enough. By your reckoning there will come a point where improving the Rune of Brotherhood will become, not untenable, but require a sturdier material to bear the energy it requires.
The source of this increase, as far as you can tell, is solely due to your efforts to widen the Rune's list of acceptable targets. Going from individuals one could generally consider a close comrade to someone that could be considered just another brother in arms. As for why this was the case you had a few ideas, and of that number you put weight on only a select few possibilities. The most obvious cause was simply growing the list of targets, and in a sense that was correct. As you've come to understand the intricacies behind such Runes a running theme makes itself abundantly clear to you. The Mind is paradoxically both fiendishly complex and imminently simple to understand, and such a duality reflects itself in the Runes relating to it.
On the whole, all living things generally work from the same baseline functions. Fear, hunger, joy, these most primal impulses are the easiest to touch, to influence you've found. The Rune of Fear was one of the earlier Runes that Thungni discovered after all. Next came those emotions that were generally shared, if not for the same reasons, as all others. Pride in work well done, resolve in the face of adversity, things that did not come naturally, but were instilled by the culture and life one lived and was immersed in. The Runes that bolstered flagging wills, that invigorated quaking limbs and reminded you of the long and proud legacy that one stood atop, those were more complex but were buoyed by shared experience and understanding.
The hardest thing to touch was the individual; the unique views, quirks and understandings that come from the myriad of factors that life throws ones way. Which is why the Rune of Brotherhood is so difficult a Rune to touch. You've slowly come to the conclusion that the Rune is only able to do what it does by levying upon closeness between allies. It is, after all, easier to understand the thought processes and impressions of someone you've known for centuries as opposed to a complete stranger. The Rune, you reckon, has less work to do in that regard, as the mind of the one receiving that knowledge is otherwise well prepared to understand it, or requires little to no altering. Between strangers, that foundation does not exist, and so the Rune of Brotherhood must labour all the harder to build the necessary structures.
You realize now that taking this work further will be far and away more difficult than before. Your far-flung hopes of creating a method of transferring knowledge beyond death, of it being retained yet stand. In fact, you're more certain than ever that it
can be done. Only now you're more aware of just what sort of work it will take to be done. To properly convey thoughts, impressions and understanding
exactly as the original recipient found them, and ensure that they remain within a receiver's mind? It will require nothing short of a Master Rune, and more pressingly, a material capable of withstanding the amount of energy such an effort would undoubtedly take.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Karstah absentmindedly hums a quiet tune, her focus trained solely on the body in front of her. Runed containers at varying levels of fullness and other instruments needed when breaking down and examining a corpse sit atop several wheeled carts arrayed behind her, like a crowd of onlookers.
As part of her ever expanding list of duties as heir, Master Snorri had seen it fit to have her do an autopsy on the lion corpses he'd bought so many decades ago and create a report for him based on her findings. Both as a means of testing her, and, he admits plainly, to save himself the effort. Of course this was all dependent on her being halfway decent with her work, but that went without saying.
Her nose reflexively crinkles at the smell even as her mind focuses on examining the organs for any signs of damage. It isn't the first autopsy she's conducted, nor likely the last, but it's the part of being a Runesmith she enjoys the least. It reminds her too much of her time in Whitebeard's throng, of the stench of blood and offal. Only the potential hope of finding a useful reagent or two from the carcass brings anything remotely positive to the job.
She'd rather be examining the feathers if she were honest.
━<><><>< 383 A.P. ><><><>━
Uncovering the underlying mechanics behind
Barak Azamar's ability to draw up Deep Magic is no simple feat, especially when a not insignificant amount of said capabilities almost certainly came from the Greedy One's Heart. Nevertheless you're able to break down differences in the construction behind Valma's Runes and some of your own creations to rebuild the "foundational," construction that allows a Rune to draw up Deep Magic from the bowels of the earth. Further, you've also ensured that the Rune in question actually allows for that energy to be
used by any Runes within its sphere of influence, something that took up the vast majority of your time actually. Still, it was a necessary effort because not everyone had a piece of equipment that let the Runes they created draw upon this wellspring of energy naturally. Fortunately, while you could no more alter said Runes that way with the Rune of Siphoning, you found a way to cheat. With your growing understanding of the Winds of Magic paired with your, none too shabby, understanding of Runecraft you have found a way for the Rune to break down the energy of the Deep Magic in a process similar to the Rune of Spellbreaking, turning it into energy that
any Rune can accept. The real masterstroke in your mind though, is the work you've done to contain this change to the periphery of Runes within the Rune of Siphoning's area of influence by using work similar to that found across most Warding Runes, that way you don't have free floating Winds of Magic potentially coalescing into
Dhar. The final result is a Rune that dredges up the Deep Magic from below and, like those sprinkler gadgets the Engineers have set up on the ceilings of the Underfields beneath the Karak, then spreads it evenly across the whole area of the Rune's influence. Any items bearing Runes
within that field are noted, and through mechanisms whose underlying properties are still unknown to you, break down the otherwise unusable energy into the regular Winds most Runes are designed to absorb.
You call it the Rune of Siphoning.
And it is not complete.
For all the good work you have done here you are vexed by a problem whose solution somehow eludes you. Much like the Runes you inscribed in your Master Rune testing area the Rune of Siphoning is Static, and loses almost all efficacy if moved continuously, requiring time to regenerate its field of influence. Your educated intuition and simple experience tell you that this is perhaps a fault of
how the Rune draws up the Deep Magic at first, having to redig an entirely new shaft to reach the source once more so to speak, but there are a few things that remind you it's a challenge that
can be overcome.
Namely the Master Rune of Waking, and
Barak Azamar.
So you know that, theoretically at least, the Rune can be made mobile, but you simply haven't managed it. You can put the Rune on a structure easily enough, and idly note that the bigger the Rune the more far reaching and effective it becomes at its job, but nothing else. Attempts with banners proved unacceptably poor, the effects of the Rune requiring three hours to re-establish itself to something approaching noticeable before taking another six hours to
four days to become usable depending on location.
There is a reason why you liken it to a group of miners hauling up the riches of the earth.
Much as you wish to keep tinkering away and iron out these last few inefficiencies, there simply isn't enough time. So you leave the, admittedly serviceable, Rune behind and don your panoply in the name of war once more.
━<><><>< 384 A.P. ><><><>━
The camp you were staying in looks more akin to a small fortress than a temporary encampment and that reflects in both its name and purpose. Because the front has moved so far westward, the campaigns have stretched far outside the range of Dwarf controlled territory and easy resupply. Therefore a new strategy had to be put in place several years ago as the Throngs went beyond the farthest Dwarf settlement of note, and this frontline fortress was but part of that strategy.
It was agreed that a portion of the Throng's strength, the one usually held in reserve, would be given the task of securing the supply lines for the main thrust of the Dwarf offensive. Firstly by building a proper road directly to the front lines, then by erecting fortified hardpoints at key locations and watchtowers and supply depots at set intervals between each hardpoint. Over successive years of campaigning these locations would be expanded upon as supplies came in every campaign season, transforming from little more than fortified camps to fortresses that projected Dwarfen power while being capable of at least stalling any potential offensives the enemy could take. Staffing these fortresses was a combined effort from multiple Holds, each one offering a portion of its warriors to serve a period of time at a fortress before being rotated out by their kinsmen. Far outnumbering them and effectively serving all year round were large groups of Rangers from all over the region sent at the behest of their lords, their combined strength put under Brokk's command to do what they did best. Which meant conducting deep scouting excursions into enemy territory, monitoring the roads and passes, as well as keeping a watchful eye on any potential enemy movements.
This was one of the earliest camps raised and it showed. Years of Dwarfs slowly building its defenses up even as the war moved beyond its reach had turned it into a bulwark of stone walls and artillery emplacements overlooking the only pass into the valley. You watch for a time as the garrison interacts with the Throng, gruff nods and a few words exchanged while stone, food and ammunition are brought in to restock what was lost over the last winter. The Throng will stay for a time, waiting for their sister Throngs from the other Holds to arrive before marching out to the front together, sections breaking off as mentioned earlier to reinforce and resupply the previously built fortifications, and relieve the current defenders so they could head home either with the trickle of wounded that would occur over the course of the campaign or with the armies as they marched back east at the season's end.
During your time spent waiting for the other Throngs to arrive you end up having a few conversations of import.
Pick 3:
[ ] Vragni Silverbrand and his horde of attendant apprentices.
[ ] Sven Baragmaker nodding in satisfaction as a truly gargantuan Bolt Thrower is hauled into camp.
[ ] Brynna quietly watching a group of Zornish warriors go about their duties.
[ ] Gimli boisterously speaking with several other Dwarf nobles from other Holds.
[ ] Let them come to you.
Random Encounter.
━<><><>< Gain ><><><>━
- +3 Progress to A Wonderful Endeavour, new totals:
[Cost: (24 -3) =21 actions]
-- -45 Favour with Kraka Drakk, new totals: Favours 440
- +1 Progress to The Road to Anoqeyån Pt. 2, new totals:
[Cost: (6 +1 -1) =6 actions]
-- +3 Yorri Prods.
- Epiphany from Turn 44 Unlocked! +2 Progress to Akazit
- Lion Autopsy Complete!
-- +1 Progress to The Movement of Things Pt. 5b
-- +1 Progress to Diction Direction Pt. 2
-- [Tier 2] White Lion's Heart x2: You do not know of a Rune that requires this ingredient, but suspect that it is best used to evoke the creature's physical ferocity or its supposedly regal and patient temperament.
-- [Tier 2] White Lion's Lungs x2: Can be a replacement to [T2] Dragon's Lung. Otherwise Runes that manipulate sound or emotion are likely to take on a more bestial and animalistic quality to them.
- Firebird's Feather Complete!
-- +1 Progress to Akazit
-- +1 Progress to Movement of Things Pt. 5b
-- [Tier 2] Phoenix Feather x1: Can be a flame oriented replacement to [T2] Great Eagle's Feathers. Otherwise it is a suitable ingredient on par with a Hearthstone in terms of use.
- +3 Progress to Akazit, new totals:
[Cost: (10 -3) =7 actions]
-- Your memories of what happened at the Anvil are full of holes and using several synonyms for the word, "pain," but the moments beforehand are far more comprehensive. The amount of power you witnessed, the form of the Anvil and the shifting shades of the metal. Magic and heat, these seem to be the catalysts of change. Your experimentation with the Phoenix's feather, and the reading you did as part of it also seem key.
- Understanding the Armour Complete!
-- +2 Progress to The Movement of Things Pt. 5.
-- +2 Progress to The Movement of Things Pt. 5b
-- Mhorni is an elemental, thought what kind you do not know, that has found itself bound to your armour
-- Whatever you've done has irreversibly changed The Anvil of the Earth. To work there is to more easily draw upon the Deep Magic of the World.
-- 3/3 Major Charges available, when doing a difficult request you can choose to use the Anvil and have the resulting piece of Runecraft be subject to its energies.
- +1 Progress to Diction Direction Pt. 2, new totals:
[Cost: (8 -5) =3 actions]
-- Karstah has written an acceptably detailed report about the lion corpses, enough that her observations regarding the creature's Lungs and overall vocal system has sparked a stray thought or two that seem to be fruitful avenues for further research. Mimicking potentially divergent or utterly alien vocal chords, or perhaps even weaponizing sound far more directly.
- The Movement of Things Pt. 5 Complete! The Movement of Things Pt. 6 Unlocked!
-- New Rune Unlocked!
Rune of Siphoning: Runes in radius of this Rune can slightly draw from the Deep Magic and recharge faster.
Structural Only.
--- While nowhere near as effective as
Barak Azamar it acts upon the same principles. You think. The result is nevertheless the same for the Deep Magic is drawn up and made useable. However you are limited in its application, as it must remain stationary, though the effect is more pronounced the bigger the Rune is. Your best analogy is comparing it to a crew of Miners digging through the earth, they cant build a good tunnel if they keep getting moved around.
--- You are just as confused as to why you cannot make a mobile version when you know
Barak Azamar and Gronti can manage such a feat.
- +5 Progress to the Movement of Things Pt. 6, new totals:
[Cost: (16 -5) =11 actions]
-- You've proven the theory with the Rune of Siphoning, but you want to see if you can improve the amount of energy you pull upwards. Never to the extent of Barak Azamar does, but certainly more effective than the existing Rune at the very least.
-- Your work has made you well aware that the usual result of such efforts draws on the Deep Magic It leads you to question how exactly you pulled up Mhorni.
- +4 Progress to The Movement of Things Pt. 5b, new totals:
[Cost: (14 -7) =7 actions]
-- Mhorni's existence and the nature of how he manifests have inspired you. Upon closer observation, you reckon that, with the right Rune, you could create a sort of living Core, from which a greater body can be fashioned around through use of the surrounding material.
- The Mind of Things Pt. 4 Complete! The Mind of Things Pt. 5 Unlocked!
-- Rune Improved!
Rune of Brotherhood: Lets a dwarf temporarily assimilate skills used by close comrades in range.
Criteria broadened from close comrades to comrades.
-- You have begun to understand the methods of widening the Rune of Brotherhood's "net," so to speak. But there's still a great deal of work to be done, especially so if you intend to make the effect more widespread and longer lasting.
- +11 Progress to The Mind of Things Pt. 5, new totals:
[Cost: (16 -14) =2 actions]
-- Understanding the intricacies of the mind is no simple feat. Harder still is to adequately transfer the experiences and skills of one Dwarf to another. By your best estimates, and from cryptic discussions with Yorri, you reckon that the idea of long term skill transfer, and the obvious prize of transferable memory is
theoretically possible. Theoretically in the same way that Gromril Chain is theoretically possible mind you, but then again you've arguably cracked that puzzle too.
- Snerra's Legendary Creation of Note, The Eye of the Ancestors: An eye of Pure Gromil decorated with gold and black opal to mimic the appearance of an eyeball, seven triangular holes around the "pupil," emanate the light of Runecraft from within the hollow sphere. The works of the enemy are put under the exacting eyes and standards of the brothers Smednir and Thungni, and they find it
wanting. Its flaws are made as obvious to the mortal world as they are in the eyes of the sons of Grungni. No shoddy work, be it mundane or arcane, shall stand before the Ancestors and remain unseen and unbroken.
--
Combo, Fracturesight: [Master Rune of Thungni (???), Rune of Forged Eye (???), Rune of Smednir (???)] Errors in creations are made apparent to the user, on command the eye glows and causes the faults and mistakes of an item before it to become more and more evident to the point that it can fail completely. Magical enchantments falter or find themselves undone entirely.
-- Genius's Touch
-- Prodigal Mind
-- ???
- Action Unlocked! Reverse Engineer the Master Rune of Thungni?
Retainers:
- Waywarding Complete!
-- +10 to Waystone Rolls.
- The Throng is Mustered Complete!
-- +10 to Campaign Rolls.
- Secure the Woods Complete!
-- +40 Favour with Kraka Dorden, new totals: Favours 100
-- +40 Favour with Kraka Ravnsvake, new totals: Favours 40
-- -2 Hearthwardens, new totals: 118/120 Hearth Guard
- +1 Raven Cloaked recruited.
- +1 Longbeard Warrior recruited.
120 -2 +2 =120/120
━<><><><==><><><>━
AN: Don't mind me, just failing to keep my updates short. Two years! Two years this thing has lived, what a trip. Honestly, I completely forgot we hit the anniversary, but I'm touched other people somehow remembered. The last part of the update was a real struggle to put out, but there's a point where it's no longer worth keeping the update in limbo over it until I was actually happy with the result. I am, despite what some may say, not a Dwarf after all. Otherwise, apologies for the delay, hope you enjoy it and don't forget to C&C. :^)
