Setting:Mosaic/Important NPCs

This article is related to the Mosaic project.

The Wanderer

On the Classes of Mosaic:

"The Mosaic contains all things, a flowing pattern of sigils and glyphs, all sourced from the True rune, the ultimate descriptor of reality. We, who live on this mortal world, merely catch glimpses. But I tell you now, this is not true for all.

You've probably heard of Sigilists. Most of your villages have an old man who knows five or six runes and can work them together faster than you could believe. Some start younger than him. I kid you not when I say, less than a year past, I met a Sigilist of twenty one years of age who had mastered twenty one runes. His companions considered him a prodigy, and he certainly had stories to share, but to understand them, first you need to understand the runes.

Who here knows a rune or two? Most of you? Good, so you at least understand the basics. The runes control the world. No, the Runes are the world. Control the runes, change the world. Its that simple. However, I'd bet most of you can use one rune at a time, at most, right? to heat up your cocoa, or keep going to till the field for another hour, and other, normal things like that?

A Sigilist has power. Real power. He can take the runes in his head, and draw them out, and string them together into things that, normally, wouldn't work at all. The man I met last year had such great mastery, he brought rain with a single gesture, on an area which had been in a drought for months!

Yes boy, you're right. Keeping runes in your head ain't the only way to do it. I can see you've got a runic tattoo on your arm- Araedi? - A bit bold of you, but I can see why you'd take it. The Runemarked do a similar thing, storing their runes on their flesh, but they use em just like the Sigilists. Well, a little less mastery-

What's mastery? You don't even know that? Oh dear, this is going to take a while. You sir, the farmer. You said you know the rune of growth, yes? And you understand the growth of your crops, and your children, and your livestock, almost instinctively- yes, you didn't tell me that, I know anyway- That's mastery. If you know a rune, you can understand what it represents.

Mostly it’s not in your waking mind, but if you simply let your noggin rest for a moment, you might just find the knowledge becomes accessible, at least a little.

Anyway, those with a Runic tattoo have a lesser mastery than those who memorise it, cos the rune itself is farther from their mind you see? Well, the physical distance might be a factor too, but it makes no difference how you see it.

I'd be surprised if any of you'd seen em, the Graven Blades keep a low presence in these parts, but they use runes too. Etch em into their swords and shields, only broken up. To normal folk, just looks like a nice pattern, but to them with knowledge- those who have mastered many runes, and other like myself- you can see the runes hidden within.

A runed blade is dangerous. They may have even less mastery of the world than Runemarked, but they make up for it with a perfect understanding of battle. That’s what makes em so scary. A skilled swordsman who knows a few strong runes can go straight through any mundane soldier, skill or equipment be damned.

You probably have a couple O' Glyph Carvers roundabouts, and though they may not look it, they got just as much power as the others. They work their runes into crafts- Like your hoe, or your shovel. Minor things like that are their bread and butter, and pay the bills. But they can make grander things. I've seen a building, larger then this hall, stand up on six giant legs and walk away, all thanks to the runes carved into it by its creator. Didn't half frighten me, and caused the bandits who'd thought to raid it to run off screaming.

You might've seen a runefist passing by, some few years ago. They're odd blokes, but always wise. Don't know any runes themselves, at least in the normal way, but if you can, get a glance at em while they're practicing, doing all these strange movements, punching and kicking the air. Watch closely, and you'll eventually catch it- The runes are in the form, the style. However, don't let 'em catch you watchin' if they said no. An angry runefist is more dangerous than a Graven Warrior, as they don't even need a sword to shred you in one blow.

I'd guess you never saw a Bloodscribe though. The red priests mostly come from the north, and probably wouldn't bother a rustic little hamlet like yours - no offense intended. They're odd ones, and know less about the runes than any. They just have faith, and faith has its own rewards. Got its own costs too though. Couple O' times I’ve seen a Priest so drained by his sacrifice than he's collapsed after working a miracle, and has to be helped by his attendants. What do they sacrifice? Well, technically, it could be anything they value, but generally, they give their lifeblood as an offering to the gods. Yeah, it is kinda weird. They're usually more unbalanced than the other sorts- too little blood to fuel the brain, most likely.

There's another couple of ways to use runes, but those are ones that you likely wouldn't spot, even if one was stood in front of ya.

One you'll probly've seen, even if you didn't recognize it, are the Dancers. Proper names Somato-something or other, but since no one can pronounce it, most just call em dancers. They hold the runes in their mind, like the Sigilists do, but cast it through movement, kinda like the Runefists. Still, it’s hard to tell whether a simple gesture or dance is actually a spell, since they have a great skill of keeping things hidden, deceptive like.

Anyway, I best be moving off - oh, I did say a couple didn't I? Yes, there is one more way to use runes. It’s kinda boring, but if you wish I’ll include it for completeness sake. They're called Mirrors, or Mimics or many other names, but they don't actually use runes, in the normal sense. They just understand runes. Look like normal folk, like you or me, but if someone around them has unnatural talent with runes, they can leech off that. What's more, and what's not usually known, is that they can also improve another’s weaving, or break it just as easily.

Nope, there's no way to recognize a mimic unless you want to. Heck, I might be a mimic, or I might just be an old man whose heard a few too many stories. How would you know?

Anyway, I need to wander off. I thank ye kindly for your food and tales, and I humbly hope you appreciate the little I can tell ya. But i hear the call of the next town, and especially of its reputation for good cider..."