Runes
The Thirty Core Runes
Although there are several distinct runic systems in Glorantha, some of which are well known or in widespread use, we present here the one that was developed by the God Learners of Jrustela. They were called the high runes or core runes, and were believed by the God Learners to be the primal runes that empowered all of the other, lesser runes. Some of the concepts of this runic system are common to most cultures; others are almost unique to it.
Thirty runes make up the core runes. They are divided into the Five Worlds, the Ten Ancient Polarities, the Five Elements, the Five Movements, and the Five Forms. These categories are mutually exclusive, but are also complementary. The elements are the raw matter used in the creation of the physical world, while the ancient polarities are the energies that make up the worlds of the Other Side. The interactions of matter and energy are in turn determined by the movements, which determine the patterns the other runes create. Finally, the forms can be seen as the inhabitants of the worlds, the basic forms of life whose creation is the ultimate expression of the other runes.
The Five Worlds
The God Learners are unique in Gloranthan history in that individual members were able to perceive, recognize, and even explore all of the planes of the Other Side. They codified much of the understanding of the four magic systems that are portrayed in this book, and they recognized that the Five Worlds (including the Mortal World) were the basic divisions of the universe, and thus the most powerful of the runes. Each of the following runes is almost unknown outside of the God Learner runic system. Each simultaneously designates a philosophy, a world, and a magical power in the universe. Each is used to designate one of the essential transcendent philosophies of Glorantha, and they are sometimes identified as the magic runes.
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Middle/Mortal/Physical World |
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Divine World/Theism |
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Sorcery World/Sorcery |
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Spirit World/Animism |
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Mysticism |
The Ten Ancient Polarities
The ancient polarities represent abstract forces that are commonly referred to as powers. They are said to symbolize the ancient Gloranthan court, identified by the different magic systems as the first gods, laws, essences, or distractions. They are always arranged in opposing pairs that contest against and/or balance one another to shape existence. As the elements are the raw materials of the Physical World, the God Learners recognized the power runes as the primal energies that make up the Other Side.
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Harmony |
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Disorder |
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Movement |
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Stasis |
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Fertility |
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Death |
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Truth |
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Illusion |
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Cosmos |
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Chaos |
The Five Elements
The elemental runes are the basic materials from which the world was made, the raw and lifeless essence, inert until acted upon by other forces, at which point their potential for creation was realized. They are the ground you walk on, the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the light of the sun. Often systems exclude one of these elements (such as Darkness or Air), while others add materials to them (especially the Moon), but the following runes were counted by the God Learners as the Five Elements and are recognized in most places as the basic forms of matter.
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Darkness |
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Water |
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Earth |
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Fire/Sky |
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Air/Storm
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The Five Movements
The movements represent the most primal manipulation of the runes possible. Although each culture or magic system addresses the powers of the Other Side differently, all forms of worship of and interaction between the other runes can be seen to stem from these five actions. At least, so claim the God Learners, who used them to show what aspect of an element, power, form, or even world was represented or used by a deity or spirit. Some runic systems call these condition runes, though most such systems include any otherwise uncategorized concept within this category.
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Equal Exchange |
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Theft, Unequal Exchange |
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Balance |
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Annihilate/Void |
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Recreation |
The Five Forms
The form runes characterize the different living entities found in the Middle World. They are the basic molds that were used to populate the worlds. Although each species or type of being theoretically has its own unique rune, the God Learners recognized that the five following runes depicted the most basic forms taken by life.
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Mineral |
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Plant |
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Beast |
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Man |
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Otherworld Entity |
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