Editing Runes (section)

== Usage ==
The basic theory is that one uses a rune to communicate your desire to the smallest, ambient spirits, and they perform the specified task.<ref name=":1" /> The rune serves as a kind of tiny [[hallow]], a place for the minor spirits to inhabit and congregate.<ref name=":6" /> A rune can be used on it's own, in combination with other runes, or as part of a complex magical [[circle|diagram]],<ref name=":8">[https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/1-8-spoilers-inventories/ Inventories]</ref> as long as the symbolism communicates your wishes to the spirits in accordance with tradition.

Runes can also be used in the production of [[vessel|vessels]],<ref name=":5">Dolls, lifesize models, and a variety of mannequins, staggered through the streets.  Some had faces, others were blank.  Many were undressed.  Ten or so were gathered around Fell’s car en-masse, hugging it, standing on it, or steadily bashing it with hard plastic hands.<br>
Each one had a rune inscribed on their forehead.<br>
[...]<br>
“The good news is they have a weak point,” Fell said.<br>
“Glowing runes?” I asked.<br>
“Yes.  Even a scratch or a smudge will 
disable them.  The bad news is that it isn’t sensible to go after them 
individually.  The ''very'' bad news is that the Sisters are 
elementalists.  They specialize in natural forces.  Not every rune there
 is the same.  Pay careful attention.”<br>
[...]<br>
Sure enough, though, the runes differed here
 and there.  Each was outlined in the same way; they were drawn inside a
 circle with rays extending outward.  What was in the middle fell into 
four or five different sub-groups.<br>
“The one in the red dress, that looks like 
it walked out of a display case?  The rune in the center of its face is a
 variant of the ''fire'' rune.  I would ''not'' be surprised 
if it happened to violently blow up if you got too close to it.  There 
are a lot of them around the car.  There are others with breeze runes… 
they move a little faster in general.”<br>[...]<br>“Does it have something to do with that sun shape the runes are drawn inside?”<br><br>“Ah.  Yes.  Reaching out,” Fell said.  “You make something warm and you drive it to seek out other warm things.  In this spirit world, there aren’t many things that are ''truly'' warm.  It’s only a reflection of the physical world.”<br><br>“Breeze runes,” I said.  “Could that also mean breath?”<br><br>Fell glanced at me.<br><br>Silently, we turned to look at the mannequin-vessels.<br><br>Only a handful were moving with any meaningful velocity.  Slowly and steadily.  The detonation runes.<br>[...]<br>Air-imbued vessels to pursue us by a half-step for every breath we took, two or three steps for every word we spoke.<br><br>Fire imbued vessels to steadily seek out our ''warmth''.  Slow, inexorable, and Fell suspected they would blow up if they got too close.<br><br>Earth-imbued vessels to track us by our footsteps.<br><br>There were two other kinds.<br><br>The ritual had used a representation for ''water''.<br><br>I could make them out, now.  They were limp, arms dangling at their sides.  When the wind blew harder, they shifted slightly, willows bending in the breeze.<br><br>It was ominous.  As a general rule, the ones that more often didn’t move so far.<br><br>When ''those'' ones moved, how far would they go?<br>[...]<br>And with the act of ''magic,'' the ''water'' vessels woke, closing the distance to us in heartbeats.


- [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/category/story/arc-6-subordination/6-07/ excerpt] from [[Subordination 6.7]]
</ref> [[ofuda]],<ref>“I can help,” Ty said.  He held up the stack of papers.  “Did these a bit ago.”<br>
“Those are?”<br>
“Command words.  ''Ofuda''.  A Japanese style of practitioning. 
 I didn’t really know what I was doing, so I went down the list and 
copied out words.  Figured it’d be better to get a virtually guaranteed 
one or two out of the deck right than risk getting ''none'' or ''all''.”<br>
“Don’t suppose you have any paper?”  Alexis asked.  “I wouldn’t mind something to write on.”<br>
Ty reached into a pocket and handed some over.  “Go for it.  Runes 
work, but you really need to frame it, so the paper is the diagram and 
contact with anything but the ends or the edges releases the ''word''.  Runes will just go off right away, indiscriminate.”<br>
- [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/category/story/arc-12-duress/12-02/ excerpt] from [[Duress 12.2]]
</ref> or [[hallow]]s,<ref name=":6" /><ref>Vessels or hallows can be formed by setting aside a shrine, totem, item, or person, and washing them with clean rainwater, transferring the water with clean hands or a ladle designated for the purpose.  Glyphs, motifs, or tortoise-related decoration may help discourage other spirits and draw the Tortoise close. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sCD7oh0DBxdAhnPrjaUkSTen87tMuMROYLl_774iKsw/edit Beastiary: Tortoise Spirits]</ref> and in linking items for [[sympathetic magic]].<ref>[[Malfeasance 11.2]]</ref>

A rune might be "powered" by drawing it in [[blood]],<ref name=":2" /> charging it with some other source of [[power]],<ref name=":16">“We could teach you a rune or two,” Nick said.<br><br>“No power to supply to said rune,” I answered.<br>[...]<br>Something like the sphinx could theoretically learn some magic to a degree.  Like, shamanism, the source might differ, but she could learn the runes, still appeal to the spirits, and make an offering, hoping to achieve a small effect.



- [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/category/story/arc-6-subordination/6-01/ excerpt] from [[Subordination 6.1]]
</ref><ref name=":9">Avery jumped, wind stirring and kicking up cobwebs and dust all around her feet.  She cleared a good six feet, flailed her arms around momentarily, and then landed in a crouch.<br><br>“Ow,” Avery said.  “Okay.  The air rune doesn’t soften landings much.”<br><br>“That’s cool though,” Lucy said.  “You’re not going to break your face open or snap your leg when you accidentally launch yourself?”<br><br>“I hope not!”<br><br>“Air spirits are playful and capricious,” Edith said.<br><br>“They change temperaments easily.  Giving them power helpsmollify them, but be careful.”<br><br>“Alright.  This is cool though.”<br><br>“Super cool,” Verona said.<br><br>“Even with the ability to draw on the assembly of Kennet Others for power, you’ll want to be careful with how often you use that.”<br><br>“Save it for things that matter?” Lucy asked.<br><br>“It might be better to use it for things that don’t matter," Edith said.  “They’re not above pranks, and you don’t wantto fall awkwardly at a key moment.”- excerpt from [[Lost for Words 1.8]]
</ref><ref name=":18" /> or making it from an offering of food. It will also draw on one's reputation with the local spirits; if a rune is overused, the relationship could worsen to the point where the relevant spirits direct their focus against you,<ref name=":1" /> although the offering of power reduces this risk.<ref name=":9" /> Breaking the connection between a rune and the person powering it could break the rune's effect.<ref name=":3" />

Some shamans would make a habit of making a larger offering later after using a rune, establishing a pattern of rewarding the spirits for cooperation.<ref name=":1" />

Employing runes is generally limited to awakened [[Practitioner]]s,<ref>I wasn’t a practitioner anymore.  I knew stuff, but there would be no drawing runes on the ground and commanding spirits.  It didn’t help that
 the spirits didn’t follow the same rules ''[[Mirrorverse|here]]''. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/category/story/arc-10-mala-fide/10-01/ excerpt] from [[Mala Fide 10.1]]</ref><ref>“What happens if she kept some of my magic notes and she’s copying them?”<br>
“It shouldn’t work,” Matthew said.  “Not without a power source, or the emphasis and attention on her words and actions that comes with being Awakened.  Even if she had the notes.”<br><br>“It could,” Edith said.<br><br>Matthew raised his eyebrows.<br><br>“It would need a few things.  If her word wasn’t trusted, it would slow her down a great deal.  But if she knew enough to be careful about that…?”<br><br>Edith trailed off, leaving it almost as a question for Verona.<br><br>“I didn’t write down any of that, pretty sure,” Verona said.  “Nothing about awakening, or words, really.”<br><br>Edith continued, “…then it could be accidental.  She’d have to be isolated or otherwise be unusually principled about when, where, how and how honestly she chooses to speak.  She’d have to be unusually dogged about copying and setting down patterns.”<br><br>“So, like, cooped up in her room, not talking to her parents, drawing the same runes over and over again?  I could ''sort of'' see that second part.  Not the not talking to her parents bit, probably.”<br><br>“It’s unlikely,” Matthew said.  “That’s a lot of effort repeating something that isn’t working on the first, fifth, tenth, or fiftieth try.”<br><br>“Yeah,” Verona said.  “Hard to imagine.  She’d need something that let her think she had a shot.”<br><br>Matthew sighed.  “A bit of a relief, then.  Besides, most would become Other, instead of Awakening in a raw way.  With no clear power sources on hand, she would be draining from herself.  Depending on the practice she’s trying, and how well, she could spend too much of herself and invite the wrong thing in.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/back-away-5-2/ excerpt] from [[Back Away 5.2]]
</ref> but [[Other]]s can in theory build up the necessary rapport with [[Spirit]]s to use them.<ref name=":16" /> [[Eva]] the [[Witch Hunter]] claimed to be able to use them, but this may have been a lie.<ref name=":17">“Telling the enemy how to defuse your bomb?”<br>
“Not quite.  I saw Andy ''build'' it, or I was in the same room watching TV while he built it, same thing, but I couldn’t defuse it if you gave me ''twenty'' tries.  I’m just saying.  Last I saw, other two were cornered, afraid to even get close.  Rune of exile on the thing to keep it from being tampered with by other spirits, keep the ''boom'' muted.  She’s shaking, trying not to shake too much, or she’ll go out with a ''bang.  ''You can’t feel fear, or you don’t feel it the same way.  How do you feel, hearing that?”<br>[...]<br>''She can lie'', I told myself.  The self-assurance wasn’t very effective.<br>[...]<br>“There’s no bomb on any of them.  See how they’re doing.  We have only a few minutes to prepare for sundown.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/10/04 excerpt] from [[Malfeasance 11.11]]</ref>
===Alternatives===
Technically any symbiology can be used to to direct and communicate with the spirits, such as hand signs and painting.<ref>Her hands moved at her sides.  Fingers crossing.  Moving through sequences of gestures.  It wasn’t a common way to practice, but it was a convenient one.  Any symbol worked for communicating to the spirits, if established through sufficient pattern.  Even hand motions. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/09/13 excerpt] from [[Let Slip 20.d]]</ref>