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The Runes Rune is a confusing term. It refers to many things, but they are all indeed Runes, weather we wish to admit it or not. The most common usage in modern times is referring to the Magical Runes: Small chips of painted stone engraved with magical symbols and possessed of a weak magical power. These items draw on the same mysterious energy as the Rune Artifacts, but are not believed to be powerful enough to take over the mind of their owners, and are thus exempt from the traditional laws regarding Rune artifacts. The Magical Runes' primary use is to allow mortals to weild magic. In the past, very few among the mortal races have posessed even weak magic. However, the Magical Runes can allow one to unleash the latent magical potential present in all matter. A secondary modern use is refering to Rune Shards, which have powerful effects. Used carefully, these items can change a person considerably, making them stronger, faster, or smarter. These objects are made of a jet black material, and are believed to be fragments of destroyed Rune Artifacts. As such, they should be treated with extreme caution. Their high value and the desire they are known to elicit is a stark reminder of the insidious power the Runes once held over the hearts of mortals. The Rune Artifacts are a different matter alltogether. Much wisdom is lost regarding them. They took many forms, although mostly armor and blades. They were forged of a rough black material much like iron, but were light as a feather, and enscribed with haphazard jumbles of arcane symbols pulsating with a blood-red glow. A warrior wearing Rune Armor was completly consealed. At night, they were said to appear as glowing red spectres in the darkness, and struck terror into the hearts of all who saw them. The Rune Artifacts grant great powers to their users. They strengthen the mind and body. Rune weapons had the frightful power to disease those they wounded. The Runes inspired the allies of those who weilded them and terrified their enemies. But this was but a shadow of their true power. Those who used the Runes invariably become consumed by them. They turn to the paths of evil, slowly but surely. From there, they continue their downfall. They lose their minds, and become little more than murderers and brigands. In the end, even their bodies are twisted, and they become demons. Mindless beasts under the total sway of the Rune Lord Talazar. The Rune Artifacts are believed destroyed. Those demons that remain do not weild them, and the forges deep in Talazar's Castle have lain dorment and sealed since ages unknown. There is, however, one source of worry for the wise. The demon Melkor the Immovable weilds a red-tinted blade enscribed with faint symbols along the blade. This blade has been named the Symboled Blade of Destruction, but some believe it carries the marks of the Runes, and may indeed be a lost Rune Artifact, although its powers seem somewhat diminished from the terrors of legend. |