Rune

This article is a stub. You can help 1d4chan by expanding it

Runes are the specific letters in a runic alphabet, a form of writing created with the intent that it will be carved into solid surfaces. This gives it a distinctive shape of angles and lines, lacking the curves used in liquid-based writing styles. In the real world, runes are associated with the family of ancient Germanic languages, most famously that of the Vikings. Runes were used both for day-to-day writing, and also in certain magical practices, most notably in the form of divination.

Historically, the runic alphabets begin with the Elder Futhark (so named for the first six runes in the set), which appeared in Scandinavia and Germania on stone works around the 2nd Century A.D, though some theories postulate that Elder Futhark is way, way older. It is divided into three sets of eight, making for a total of 24 runes in total, though some (admittedly weird) people insist on the existence of the 25th "blank rune", though this is not supported by either archelogical evidence nor any of the myths.

Centuries later during the Viking Age, Elder Futhark becomes strictly used for magic purposes and gives way in everyday writing to the more simplified Younger Futhark used by the Norse during the Viking Age and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc which was used by the people of England before a Latin-based alphabet supplanted it. Centuries after this saw the rise of Medieval Runes, which were used by primarily Christian mysticism.

Finally, you have the Armanen runes, but since they were invented by a folkish nutcase and fanatical national socialist named Guido von List, most scholars and modern day heathens tend to deride them as nothing more than another Nazi attempt at co-opting and corrupting Norse mythology and culture.

In /tg/ media, runes commonly appear as a form of magic. Runes may be the literal alphabet of magic, or may be a methodology by which magic can be bound to physical objects in order to create enchanted items. Dwarves often are depicted using runic alphabets as their writing style of choice, as it's typically presumed that dwarves would rather record lore on stone or metal. Rune-based mages have appeared in various games, most notably the Runemaster, Runecaster, and Runepriest.

Runes are sometimes used interchangeably with sigils and glyphs.