I mean I'm still not seeing this as having anything to do with the runesmithing beyond the existence of Bok, which is sufficiently unique that I'm not sure we can derive much from its existence.
The only other thing that might indicate a connection is the tale of Ghazul severing the glittering realm from the Aethyr, but since we don't fully know what that even means or would entail I don't think we can really say that proves rune magic and earth bound magic are connected that way.
Allright here are the points. The citations are getting a little unwieldy so I've put them at the bottom of the post and numbered them.
1. The wizards of the empire believe that Dwarven Runes use Earthbound (undifferentiated) Magic, just in much larger amounts than the Telcesian model would seem to allow for. [Cite 1]
2.Mathilde's description of Earthbound Magic [cite 1] and Kragg's description of the effects of his runes (stripping the personalities of the winds away) [Cite 2] line up very well.
3.Dwarven Runecraft demonstrably uses both significant material components (ground Diamond from Eye of Gazul, Dragonfire for some lost runes etc) and conceptual resonance - We are explicitly told about the latter. [Cite 3]
4.The Elemental texts indicated that: a) Using resonant materials can enable Earthbound Magic levels to reach above the natural point where they would turn back into winds (though the magic has to be grabbed and used fast before it resonates with the winds and turns back into them); and b) that Wizards, who naturally bring the background level of winds up, meaningfully decrease the level of earthbound magic that can be reached in an area.
5. From point 4b we can infer that someone who repels all winds in an area (such as a runesmith) would make the maximum level of earthbound magic increase in their presence.
6. By matching points 3 and 4a we can infer that Dwarven ruencraft uses these principles at some level. Given point 2 it seems likely, or at least plausible that Dwarven runecraft converts the winds into Earthbound magic (cite 4 + AV recharging) then immediately feeds that power into generating the effect that the runes describe.
7, While obviously there is much, much more to Dwarven runecraft than these basic principles, these do seem likely to represent a significant chunk of the foundational mechanical principles that Thungi would build on with his runes.
8. Dwarves can be incredibly touchy about what exactly is covered by 'guild secrets' and talking about the principles (or asking 'hey is this secret?') has at least the potential get you grudged even if you came up with all the information in an entirely above board fashion from other sources. On top of this, what might not have been considered 'secret' in the golden age might be considered so now, and can vary depending on which runesmith you asked: see Thorek's comments on knowledge used to construct the original waystones when we recruited him.
9.Even if the above doesn't impinge on guild secrets, it offers a clear starting point from which wizards who blessed with more curiosity than concern for consequences to start poking at Dawi Runecraft to try and see what makes it tick.
10. On Bok, if at the very base Dawi Runecraft and Elementalism utilise similar principles it is conceivable that combining Elementalism and Runecraft could have a multiplicative effect i.e. the conceptual resonances strengthening each other.
*Cite 1:Mathilde explains Earthbound Magic
This is sometimes referred to as Earthbound Magic as small amounts of it can be drawn out of almost any mundane object, and this undifferentiated magical energy is believed to be what allows for witches, hedge wizards, the Hedgewise, and Elementalists to create magics that don't align with the Teclisean model. It's also believed to power the Runes of the Dwarves, which take in whatever Wind is available and somehow break it down into undifferentiated magic, which would be believed impossible to do in large quantities if the Dwarves weren't so clearly doing it.
Cite 2: Kragg's POV
of cannon. Chamon in arms and armour, Ghur in the steeds of the manling knights. Ghyran in the scattered plants clinging gamely to life, Shyish soon to blossom below. And centred on the Citadel, nascent but rapidly growing, the growing energies of an imminent Waaagh!
Kragg was as blind to the Winds of Magic as the rest of his kin, but he knew them all.
A twitch of a finger triggered the release of tamer energies. If it sought the same effect, manling magic would attempt to goad Aqshy into changing the nature of his hammer, and it would succeed or fail based on the ability of the wizard and the whims of chance. Rune Magic did not allow for these variables. When magic flowed into a Rune, the ancient art of Thungni stripped it of its wayward personality and troublesome independence. The magic in Kragg's hammer heated it until it glowed red in the same way that water flowed downhill, as the inevitable result of inanimate forces.
Cite 3 Building the tower of Gazul:
day by day the largest Rune you have ever seen is constructed out of layer after layer of ground diamond. Apparently Gazul's realm is metaphorically below the mountains, and diamonds are born literally below the mountains, so there's a conceptual link between the two. Unlike other Runes you've seen made, this one doesn't snap into a new nature once complete; the air chills in an instant as a blue fire you can only see out of the corner of your eyes burns its way slowly through the diamond dust, leaving it transparent and utterly invisible unless you can spot how light bends as it passes through the Rune. Then, to your surprise, it is not installed in the tower. It is, instead, buried in the deepest point of Karag Nar, right on the boundary between where mountain ends and where the rest of the world begins. It's also directly under the tower, measured to within a hair, and over the course of weeks a steel beam is built from the tower to the Rune, displacing several rooms in the process and leaving a rather forbidding steel pillar glowing with a faint blue light in the center of your entrance hall.
Cite 4 An anvil of Doom rune charge process:
In the context of one of the Anvils, a Rune did not mean a carving upon an object, but an object in its own right - a piece of metal in the shape of a single Rune, but itself covered in dozens or even hundreds of smaller runes. Once fully crafted, it would begin to siphon magical energies from the air, and days or weeks or months later it would be ready.
