Frostbound

~~

Runes and Spells are sometimes thought to be the same thing in different forms, and that assumption is widely held in the Universe. Even if it is wrong.

Spells are an expression of mana. A spell circle or matrix is an inherently magical language, created to connect with and influence mana and only mana.

Runes are far more than merely magical. They are the truest expressions of power. They connect with the world, not just magic, and use that connection to influence reality.

If a comparison had to be made, they are far closer to Laws than they are spells.

True Runes are the language of the Universe. Meanings made into structure that are baked into the very fabric of reality. A Strength Rune carries the very meaning of Strength in all its forms. No error in translation can be made.

Sadly, they are also much harder to learn than spells. True Runes, otherwise known as Primordial Runes, are impossible to learn by mere mortals. It takes an immense mind, in both strength and caliber, to comprehend them and that is reserved only for godhood. The higher echelons of it at that.

Over the eons, Runes have been simplified. Muddled and made easier for the mind to understand. This distillation has also weakened the true meaning of what the Rune was supposed to represent.

If the Primordial Rune for Strength is a shining star of the purist light, the Basic Rune for Strength is a hazy torchlight filled with smokey impurities puttering and about to go out. While the names of the stages of Runes have changed, the number of them has not.

For anyone who has spent any time reading or learning Runecraft, the phrase Nine Tiers will come up often. From the strongest Primordial Rune, down to the most Basic Rune, there are nine stages, or tiers.

While the Nine Tiers rule of thumb applies to most known runes, it does not apply to all. There are some Runes out there that can't be simplified that much and fall short of the nine stages that most other Runes fall into.

This is why there is no Basic Rune for any Spatial or Temporal affinity Runes. They are simply too complex to be broken down further than eight stages or if they can, no one has figured it out yet. Even then, only the most basic of concepts from that Tree of Runes can reach that low.