Defending Yourself Against Magic | Tuesday, 4th period

[nuclear_snide]

"Well, I've had no screaming diatribes from the school board, so I'll assume last week's lesson was a success." Bob wasted no time in getting down to business.

"So. Runes. Protection's less about one specific combination and more about context and combinations." He drew two runes in the air. "Fire, water. Put them on either side of a circle," he demonstrated, "and they oppose each other. They can summon or block out other forces. Put them together," another drawing, "and they work together, giving you steam if you're working literally, or a more diffuse and malleable power, if you use them more symbolically."

He kept drawing, until he had an entire set in the air.

🜀	🜁	🜂	🜃	🜄	🜅	🜆	🜇	🜈	🜉
🜊	🜋	🜌	🜍	🜎	🜏	🜐	🜑	🜒	🜓
🜔	🜕	🜖	🜗	🜘	🜙	🜚	🜛	🜜	🜝
🜞	🜟	🜠	🜡	🜢	🜣	🜤	🜥	🜦	🜧
🜨	🜩	🜪	🜫	🜬	🜭	🜮	🜯	🜰	🜱
🜲	🜳	🜴	🜵	🜶	🜷	🜸	🜹	🜺	🜻
🜼	🜽	🜾	🜿	🝀	🝁	🝂	🝃	🝄	🝅
🝆	🝇	🝈	🝉	🝊	🝋	🝌	🝍	🝎	🝏
🝐	🝑	🝒	🝓	🝔	🝕	🝖	🝗	🝘	🝙
🝚	🝛	🝜	🝝	🝞	🝟	🝠	🝡	🝢	🝣
🝤	🝥	🝦	🝧	🝨	🝩	🝪	🝫	🝬	🝭
🝮	🝯	🝰	🝱	🝲	🝳

"There's also a listing of their basic meanings, which I hope Elsa brought." He looked to her. I'd like you all to work out at least one protective circle using them, and explain what it's meant to protect against. Don't worry about powering it just yet; today is for theory. Discuss, question, surmise, and extrapolate."

He beamed at them all and waited.

[OOC: Sigh. So apparently Windows hates Unicode. I'll upload the glyphs as a pic tonight once I'm on my Mac. Sorry, guys!]

Comments

Re: Listen to the lecture, ask questions

[not_every_mage]

Anders was antsy as he sat in class. Needful Things had looked closed when he went by earlier, and there was a satchel of mossy rocks burning a hole in his bag. (Not literally.) He managed to stop thinking about getting his phylactery for long enough to realize the basic concepts Bob was talking about were similar to what he knew of runes at home, though he did notice one important difference.

"You just sketch them?" he asked, raising a hand. "You don't need lyrium or anything else to charge them?"

Re: Listen to the lecture, ask questions

[nuclear_snide]

"They do need power, yes," Bob answered. "That's for later. I'm not familiar with lyrium, though; is that a type of power?"

Re: Listen to the lecture, ask questions

[not_every_mage]

"It's a sort of mineral," Anders explained. "Very highly charged with magic. We use it to craft runes, or mages can take a potion made of it to restore themselves if their natural power runs out."

And then there was the way Templars used it, but that felt like a much longer conversation.

Re: Listen to the lecture, ask questions

[nuclear_snide]

"Hm." That sounded interesting! "I've never seen anything quite like that, though of course there are some substances that hold magic better than others. Runes in my world would generally be charged by a wizard or sorcerer themself - or themselves, for the more powerful ones. Though you can charge another object and set it to discharge the power into a rune when it encounters one." He shrugged. "But the rune itself would probably have to have at least minimal power of its own to activate the object..."

Oh, lord, Anders; you'd gotten him into geek mode.