RUNELORDS

By Mark Kilfoil (mkilfoil@ASGtechnologies.com) (13 March 1995)

Description

The Runelords are masters of the word and the symbol, able to manipulate existence with a fine pen stroke or a string of syllables. They are also wise of the lore of many centuries, and seek to preserve it whereever it is found. This lore comes in multitudinous forms: everything from ancient runes found engraved in old temples to the poems of some of the most influential writers.

Traditionally, these members keep copious notes, recording every dusty tome and pictogram with a steady hand, faithfully preserving the power locked within. A few of the modern members have begun to use computers and scanners for their notekeeping, although they have found that the power is somehow diminished when stored in such a form, and most members disdain any sort of artificial, non-living recording. They do, however, make use of Scribes.

The Scribes are a race of beings from antiquity, curious beings of seemingly no substance, except when they choose. They hail from the spirit world, and agreed centuries ago to help these mages in return for full access to the information found. When a new member of the lords joins, she is invited to a special ceremony, during which a Scribe is linked with the prospect with a spiritual silver cord, much like the one which binds her soul to her body. Over the course of time, the Scribe and Runelord become a close pair of friends, even though they may appear to be carping curmudgeons.

The Runelord may communicate with his Scribe without speaking, as the spiritual cord which connects them transfers basic thoughts between them easily. It is, however, a limited thought transfer, and images and words specifically are rarely transmitted; for this reason, many lords still speak with their Scribes, and show them things visually, but in a pinch or when out of vocal range, they will utter a silent "come here" message.

A Scribe-spirit's appearance is a highly individual thing. The spirit can in fact take any shape at any time, but tends to keep one shape as a default, which it determines from the mage when the link is formed. Many scribes take the form of a small, gnome-like old man, with a kindly smile and knowing eyes. Some are pets, like a dog or cat or bird, and there is even a rumour of one that formed into a secretary! Basically, a scribe is the closest these mages come to a familiar.

Most refer to the Scribe simply as "my scribe", although it is not uncommon for the Scribe to be given a name. Scribes have no sex, although a few have found it desirable to maintain one sex and set of sexual attitudes and have in fact fallen in love with their link. Imagine the awkwardness of a spirit without any sex suddenly taking on a gender, and discovering the attitudes anew! The bond between a lord and her Scribe transcends any contact the mage can have with this world, so at the very least an intimate friendship develops.

The Avatar

The Scribe has a more direct link with a mage's Avatar than a mage himself in many cases, being able to connect on some spiritual level that a starting mage cannot obtain. Yet the mage gradually gets closer to this contact as they improve.

Nature of the Scribes

[At this point, several options presented themselves to me, so I present to you these several options, to pick and choose or ignore as you feel is appropriate to your campaign.]

The Scribe as the mage's Avatar. It would be very easy to see that the mage, during the special ceremony described above, is actually Awakened, and that the Scribe is in fact her Avatar. This would mean that the Scribe would from time to time drop hints about a situation, and that the scribe will always advise that the mage know the meaning behind the symbols, and not just the symbols themselves. This also fits the idea that a person's Avatar may have been a mage before, and that knowledge that this mage could gain would be useful not only for this mage but for the successive mages who hold this Avatar (thus the curious nature, and the pact to share all knowledge). Of course, this path would consitute the mage being in very close contact with his Avatar, an uncommon occurrence.

The Scribe as a lesser, "partner" Avatar. This thought comes from the 7pt merit "Avatar Companion" (Book of Shadows, p37). This idea is interesting, and doesn't require any modification of the presentation of the ideas. However, I would stress that this should not be revealed immediately to the mage, and in fact might never be realized by most Runelords, and should always come as a shock to the character (and probably the player too). I would give the character this merit "silently", and not make him pay for it, but balance it by making the Avatar want certain knowledge and be willing to coerce the mage into getting it.

The Scribe as strictly a spirit. This is how I started out thinking about Scribes, although the idea has gone beyond that now. In Garou terms, the spirit would be a jaggling or gaffling (or on the rare occasions, an incarna) which is somehow bound to the mage, as if it were a fetish. It would have the charm Materialize, perhaps Reform and Airt Sense, and perhaps another. A guide to how much Power the spirit has would be the characters combined Destiny and Avatar, multipled by a suitable number.

The Scribe as Wraith. Perhaps a wraith scholar has a mage as one of her fetters, with the Passion "must learn everything she can". This idea would make the Runelords extremely rare, but might introduce other elements of Wraith if desired.

The Tremere

Runelords are masters of lore, even among others of the Order. It comes as no surprise then that they are aware of Tremere's deed and his offspring. However, instead of being angry at their cousins they indeed feel immense pity, because their magick is only a shadow of what it once was. Nonetheless, the Tremere collect massive amounts of magickal knowledge, and the Runelords have been known to do dealings with the Tremere from time to time, exchanging information, and even forming friendships with some of them.

Also, there are some Tremere who were Runelords before their transformation, and still study the art in an attempt to hold on to their past. These are the most difficult of the Tremere for a Runelord to deal with, however, as these former Runelords often feel contempt for those who have the power they lost.

Sigils, wards and tattoos

The most powerful tools that the Runelords use are the symbols that they find. In them, they see immense powers captured in flowing lines, accurate curves, and beautiful symmetries.

A diagram is just lines without meaning. The meaning comes from the interpretation of the diagram. The interpretation of the diagram causes magick, so the Runelords believe. But simply knowing what something means isn't quite enough, however. You also must believe in the symbol, and put your will behind it. This is what separates the Runelords from your average person reading the symbol: a person may understand the symbol, but not have enough force of will (Arete) to force it to be. "It is not so much that you must believe the symbol," remarked one Runelord, "but that you must make the world believe it, if only for an instant."

Often, Runelords carry a selection of their runes with them, in the forms of sigils, wards and tattoos. Sigils are simply symbols the mage has learned, wards are physical objects which contain a symbol (such as charm) and tattoos are a form of personal magick/protection which the user simply has to trace and force their will, or even activate each day.

Runelords and the Traditions

If you are indeed using Mage and the Traditions, the Runelords have a very unique position: they are an intellectual unit, formed of members from each Tradition, not to mention Sleepers, and are therefore not bound to the idealogies of any of these groups as a whole. That is to say: the interest these mages has transcends the Tradition they may have started in, and exists alongside the beliefs of others. For this reason, many of those who are prominent in the Lords are branded as Heretics, except for those who came from the Order of Hermes and the Virtual Adepts, whose respect for symbols and information, respectively, brings the Runelords closer to their own frame of mind.

For particular (stereotypical) bends on Runelords, consider the following list:

Ahl-i-Batin: The finely crafted curve, the sharply straight line, these things hold a power that most only marvel at, and we seek to master.

Akashic Brotherhood: The ancient scrolls of the Masters say many things of wisdom. That wisdom should be preserved and taught, and word-smiths (Lords) occupy a special place in the Way.

Celestial Chorus: Of course the hymns of The One must be kept, and knowledge of infernal symbols gives us mastery over them, and we will then know how to remove these terrible influences from the world.

Cult of Ecstasy: Music, man, has been around for ages. Tellin' stories, the power of a good poem.... To not recognize and harness that power for the better good, man, what a waste that would be.

Dreamspeakers: Gaia sings to us in our Dream; we do our best to record the music with our scratchings and marks, as we also try to keep the memory of our accomplishments alive with our symbols.

Euthanatos: [I really couldn't think of a good, stereotypical view that a Runelord Euthanatos would have. Sorry.]

Hollow Ones: [Ditto for a Hollow One.]

Order of Hermes: We have always professed that there is power to the word and symbol. The Runelords are a fine group, spreading this knowledge and accumulating it, making it complete.

Sons of Ether: Formulas!! Formulas!! Everything is a formula; learning that formula is of utmost importance! We must learn how to decipher our own words, to learn what drives them, and then I can complete my masterpiece! It's the only thing I need! I have the monkey brains, the gyrosomatic syllabic prestidigitator, and the polymolecular tera-Nain generator, and all I need is a few of these formulas... hey! Where are you going!?

Verbena: Nature has a way of showing itself to us through symbols. Through an examination of those symbols, we hope to see the nature around us better.

Virtual Adepts: Information, it's an info-nation! Words are what the world go round, and everyone knows the power of an icon!

However, the most important thing I can stress about the Runelords is their capacity to cut accross the Traditions, and stand, in a way, as a separate Tradition. In this way, then, they could be defined as having words and symbols, in some form, be their foci for everything. I would also suggest that, like Technomancers, they get a bit too carried away into their paradigm, and have a hard time seeing that the emanations of power are internal, and the words and symbols were merely keys to unlock your mind to its potential. Therefore, they should not "lose" foci in the same way as others, but, starting at Arete 5 or so, they have some of their magickal effects require no foci. In other words, the mage gets use to something, is in a hurry, wants to do it and does -- much to her bewilderment. However, it does not happen easily, and they may find that using the foci is too much of a draw because it's easier. This is the time when they need a guiding voice the most, whether from their Avatar, the Scribe, or a more advanced Lord.

[Sorry about no concrete system for this, as of yet. I may devise some guidelines, but I dislike the strict calcifying of rules in this case. There should be no "magic formula" for this enlightenment, only situations highly tailored to the specific individual involved.]

Also, Runelords tend to have an interest in all forms of symbols or words, but some will actively ignore certain parts. For example, Lord who was formerly a linguist might take more interest in specific words and word origins, but pass over the symbols as "inconsequential"; by the same token, a Lord who is heavily into symbols might dismiss words as "sanitized".

Usually, however, Runelords speak, read, and write in a number of languages, have studied history, linguistics, literature, symbology, etc. and have a good artistic ability. Of course, they only have a bit of this when they start, coupled with a keen curiosity in these matters.

Runelords, Lords, loremasters, scroll-keepers, masters of the past, cultural socialogists, filters, literary scholars, arcanists... there are many different names by which they might be known, although Runelords is the one I designate as the most common. It may not be "Politically Correct", but it feels right for a loose organization that has existed for as long as people puzzled over the power of the word, it signifies a kind of dignity (Lords) and also shows its age (the masculine Lords being used). An alternative might also be Runemistress or runelady, but it doesn't have the same hard syllables (and holds a different power...). I look to Doctor Who (a long-running British sf show): they were Time Lords, regardless of sex.