Runes are the "language" of the Dawi, imposed upon the metaphysical and ever-changing nature of magic and the Realms of Chaos( Warp as we call it). Runes in the metaphysical sense are permanence, rules and order made manifest, and though it was tied to Khazalid in its very conception, the Runic tongue is permanent in a way that Khazalid, any Dwarfen tradition or craft can only ever hope to be. A Rune's definition is therefore unchanging, it does not care for time, lingual drift, or accents, but its meaning can be altered. Just as many words can have multiple meanings in certain contexts, so too does a Rune when made in a certain way. A different line, a deeper cut or even an alternate way of writing the same Rune can vastly change its metaphysical meaning and therefore its corporeal effect on reality. This is why runesmiths have chants, rites and other rituals when inscribing Runes, they were first and foremost a way to remember the correct way of "pronouncing" the written Rune, and to a minor extent impart the metaphysical meaning into the mind of the runesmith. This extends to the material that Runes are made from as well. In this case, their imprint on the Realm of Chaos carries that weight over to the Rune being made from it, adding weight to a certain definition that Rune would be using. Theoretically, if a Runesmith is absolutely perfect in their striking, they could make any Rune with nothing but will, a hammer and a chisel, but mortals are anything but, and so must tip the scales and put metaphysical weight on the runic definition they want.
To illustrate better, imagine Latin or any other dead language. Now imagine that language being formed and having everything, and I mean everything, that ever could, was or will happen being condensed down and attached to a runic equivalent. Of course, since there's literally everything being applied to a very large, but in comparison infinitely small, section of Runes, you have multiple definitions or meanings applied to the same Rune. Sorta like how a word has different contexts, affixes, suffixes or permutations and the like. So it's a sort of situation where there's a lot of theoretical possibilities, but limited practical realities for several reasons with some listed below:
A. As a derivative of Khazalid, Runes don't like abstracts.
B. Dwarfs will never think to make a Rune like that/its abhorrent to them. Like, say, a rune that helps you commit betrayal? Theoretically possible, because everything has a rune, but this being a construct of Dwarfen make, it's effectively impossible to achieve because Dwarfs don't do that, and that specific definition is outweighed by other "definitions" that is more dwarf appropriate, like the Grudge Rune for instance.
C. The more general the definition, the more metaphysical weight it has compared to more specific stuff.
Extrapolating from there Runic Combos as you can likely guess, are the rune magic equivalent of stringing along words to convey a message. Of course, as each Rune is added, it takes more and more power to convey the idea into reality, thereby limiting the number of Runes that can be inscribed on an item because 99.999% of materials cannot handle the energy of more than three Runes.
Master Runes then are special because they encompass very complex concepts and ideas usually with a lot of extra stuff involved. Basically doing in one Rune what a Runic combo does in three, but better. Like how I can say "happiness from pain" or just use Schadenfreude, there's more meaning and therefore power in that one word than those three combined. I won't make a German comparison mostly because I don't know enough about the language to do so. But I think the idea gets across.
So as an example, you have the Rune of Fire. The Rune of Fire as the dwarfs understand it would make your weapons burn hot and cleave through material more easily, melting metal and burning flesh. Because dwarfs understand fire and heat more along with those terms yes*? Now, theoretically, that Rune of Fire also encompasses fire hot enough to match a dragon, but that effect is harder to achieve because it's more specific than just fire in general, so if a runesmith wants that "definition" they use dragon bits to weigh the scales in its favour. Imparting the material's power to get the rune effect they want. In a similar sense, a rune that keeps you warm from the cold or shields you from fire is similarly derived, to varying extents, from the rune of fire, and those similarities can be seen in their overall construction.
The Master Rune of Conduction is not only fire, but the concept of getting something very hot then transferring that energy into whatever I hit. This "definition" requires either a very precise, even by dwarf standards, series of marks done in the right way or you can tip the scales so to speak by using Magma Dragon's Blood.
So in essence materials impart reality into the Realm of Chaos, by solidifying the specific definition of a Rune and are key to its construction because that specific effect is all but impossible to achieve through technical skill alone. A theoretical "Perfect/Ideal Runelord" who understands everything and has the precision of a god could make every Rune with nothing but a chisel and hammer but it's such an absolute outlier that it's effectively impossible. Sorta like a theoretical phenomenon in physics being proofed in math but there's no practical example in reality?
TLDR: Rune Magic is the dream of every Longbeard ever, Weaponized Language
AN: Behold one of the rambles that keeps this entire quest working. Please don't break it. :^(
