Runes

Runes are sigils that are used for magic, calling upon the spirits to perform certain actions. There are common runes that are taught through texts and then there are exclusive runes that interact with certain types of spirits, like Zeitgeists.

Types of Runes

Privacy Rune: A rune that wards off people.<ref>He’d grabbed three little paper packets of sugar, and tore two open. I watched as he tore them open, then emptied them. They missed his drink entirely, forming a little dune onto the table, with grains dancing across the slick, not-quite washed surface.

He moved his cup, placing it onto the pile, and sliding it across the table. When he lifted it, the sugar was left in a crescent shape where it had been dragged by the underside of the cup. He emptied the remaining packet, a smaller pile in the center of the crescent, and then three lines, fanning outward, on the other side. The edge of the paper packet helped give the three lines form.

Almost half of a typical ‘sun’, as a child might draw it, with the rays fanning outward, and a dot in the middle. - Excerpt from Bonds 1.5</ref>

Telekinesis Rune: A rune that moves objects. <ref>“Let’s check,” I said. I walked over to the desk to put the book down, stepping over the dagger. I flipped through it. One page with an image dominating half of it. A symbol was outlined, with arrows suggesting directions for drawing it. A spiral, drawn from the outside in, then a triangle, with one point at the center, all as one motion. - Excerpt from Bonds 1.7</ref>
Unlocking Rune: A rune that unlocks locks.<ref>Can you open locks?”

“Not a trick I know,” I said.

She drew a small notebook from her pocket. She drew out an image. An hourglass shape with a circle in the middle. She drew a small pad of sticky notes from another inside pocket. “Draw something like this, put it on the doorknob, and empower it.” - Excerpt from Damages 2.5</ref>

Silence Rune: A rune that muffles sounds.<ref>“I’m going to show you two more. One for quiet, for the chain.”

“Quiet is good,” I said. "And the other one?" - Excerpt from Collateral 4.10</ref>

Wind Rune: A rune that conjures a blast of wind.<ref>He showed me the shotgun. The butt-end of the weapon had a symbol inscribed in the wood, so it sprawled all over the wooden surface, curving around to the other side. I turned to look, but my view was obscured as he pushed it closer to me. Against my chest, into my hands.

[...]
He nodded, letting go.

“That symbol is one for wind.” - Excerpt from Collateral 4.10</ref>

Unidentified time rune: A hidden rune that looped a staircase in an Escher style<ref>One section of stairwell, connected Escher style, top to bottom.

“Find-” I winced at the pain in my arms. That pain joined my hearing and eyesight among the things that were getting muddled, hard to compartmentalize or stop focusing on. “Find the rune.” Excerpt from Conviction 5.3- </ref>

Electricity Rune: A rune that electrifies whatever touches it.<ref>A sticky note with a rune on it.

The goblin managed to activate it.

This time there was an arc of electricity. - Excerpt from Subordination 6.12</ref>

References