Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

Questions from Readers

I'm hopeful I can turn the lore parts into an encyclopedia or textbook of sorts when I sort myself out. They will be posted into later parts of this story.

Questions from Vainel:

1) How did runes come into being?

All Karma's magic stemmed from celestial energy, from celestial showers resulting from the planet's orbits around the sun. All magic started in the First Family, who had twin girls born with magic: Karma and Hanna. One was blessed with bringing magic (summoning), the other with giving magic (celestial). They could never get along and were always at each other's throats. When they turned eighteen, they were exiled to either end of the country, later split into the countries of Karma and Hanna of today. Their magic diluted over time. Karma had unlimited potential in celestial magic, which could link with the elements, bond souls to bodies, and alter physical states around her. At the end of her life, Karma decided to split her magic to share with humans, allowing them to prosper using her celestial magic. Humans later harnessed the traces of her celestial energy into rune, burst, and flash magic.

2) What are the other countries like?

Hanna is the northern neighbouring country to Karma, separated from Karma by treacherous mountains, and uses black summoners' dust to summon creatures from a different realm. During the story, the ruling king, Mephis Tophalis, dies, and his son Fautos Tophalis ascends to the throne. Their lands are desolate and frozen and their people tough and determined. Demon summoners usually begin as a young child, found to be able to communicate with nature's creatures, and is then sent on a pilgrimage around Hanna to learn the language of all the creatures, completing the pilgrimage in Acrise. This respect and understanding of life at the end of the journey allows them to communicate and control the demons they summon. Unfortunately, repeat occupancy of Acrise made pilgrimages incomplete and summoning unstable, taking away valuable arsenal of Hanna.

Moakai is the country to the east bordering Karma. This is the country Seiren was banished to after she was tried for treason. A desert to the east separates Karma and Moakai. Moakai is home to  travellers and hunter-gatherers who survive dry conditions through constant moving for lush lands. Long stretch of desert prevent them from wandering into Karma. Native animal population has a tendency to be murderous and venomous.

Teirrin used to be a country that lay in the southwest of Karma. A magical war between Karma and Hanna about 2000 years ago resulted in devastation of the lands there, leaving a hazardous wasteland and a small collection of survivors. The Teirrinese had attempted to sacrifice that country to recreate celestial magic with primitive research, and failed. Cronin Sallows, the king's mage whom Karis Bonneville replaced, subsequently got hold of their research and developed it further. Rashira Miracle, the second Miracle monarch, invested in mages to create the magical border at Teirrin about 1700 years ago to prevent the wastelands from spreading, earning alliance of the survivors.

3) What are the different types of runes and how are they different? What about burst and flash magic?

Images are available on my Facebook Author page (click via my profile) -- I will polish them at a later date.

Magic in general

Rune magic: requires drawing of runes to summon energy. Can be drawn in any medium onto any medium, but effects may be unexpected if not on traditional chalk and paper. Powerful but time-consuming to create. Runes can be primed and sealed onto ceramic tiles and used (one use) by laymen. Little limit in type of media it affects, works with most materials.

Burst magic: magic linked to gestures and concentration on the mage's behalf. Power depends on user and concentration. Element-based (Fire -> Wind -> Water -> Earth in difficulty) but has limitations in potential depending on user. Easiest to learn initially, difficult to use on regular basis. Requires emptied brain and no emotions.