Rune of Three

**Note: This article contains information about content that was planned or conceptualized for fan work it featured in, but was ultimately scrapped. Information about scrapped content should not be considered canon to fan work in question.**

**Rune of Three** is a magic discipline meant to appear in *Little Witch Academia: Witches of Midgard* series.

## Overview

A magic discipline which just as impressive as The Way of the Nines, Rune of Three is performed through combining the powers of three namesake Elder Futhark Runes — Kaunan (ᚲ), Ehwaz (ᛖ), and Hagalaz (ᚺ) — in a conjured magic circle the caster held with either the tip of their wand/staff or runegreipr's emitter. To do so, the caster must focus while using their free hand to draw a circle made of magic energy on the air before placing either the tip of their wand/staff or emitter of their runegreipr at the center, shaping it into Rune of Three Circle itself. From there, the Circle has a limited number of uses relative to the caster's focus and skill before dissipating. The caster can also dispel it if no longer needed.

Though spells from other magic disciplines supposedly can be casted through Rune of Three Circle and even amplified as the result, the only exception of this rule is Elemental Magic since the Circle already has its own elemental power. Not to mention about spells exclusive to Rune of Three discipline alone.

With its greater focus on elemental power derived from the three namesake Elder Futhark Runes, Rune of Three is reputed to be tempestuous enough to bring disaster for even most experienced of witches and wizards. But ask those who have mastered it and they'll tell you that there's no doubting the strength of this magic discipline.

Despite being invented during Great Age of Magic specifically at some point after Odin taught humanity its basis Rune Magic, the development of Rune of Three was influenced by certain knowledge which supposedly not discovered until centuries after Ragnarök. Apparently, the curious group of research-minded witches behind this craft weren't above peering into future to find perfect ways of using magic and that among intriguing visions of the future which caught their attention most being the usage of geometric shapes in black magic practices of the Middle Ages and alchemy of the late Renaissance period. Their understanding on the knowledge acquired from such vision was limited at best yet sufficient for them to work on what would eventually become Rune of Three nonetheless.

### Elder Futhark Runes of Rune of Three

There are three Futhark Runes which involved in this magic:

* **Kaunan (ᚲ)**: A rune that symbolizes torch, wound, skill, and creativity.
* **Ehwaz (ᛖ)**: A rune that symbolizes steed, speed, and partnership.
* **Hagalaz (ᚺ)**: A rune that symbolizes hail, destruction, and change.

### Applications

#### Elemental Manipulation

The main focus of Rune of Three is manipulation of three elements in addition of conjuring them; magma, frost, and storm. Each element possesses its own components and is naturally weaker than and stronger than another;

* Magma, whose composition being fire and earth, is strong against Frost but weak against Storm.
* Frost, whose composition being water and cold, is strong against Storm but weak against Magma.
* Storm, whose composition being lightning and wind, is strong against Magma but weak against Frost.

Mastering all elements of Rune of Three is possible, though it must be noted that one has easier time manipulating the element they displayed best affinity with.

#### Runic Shield

The conjured Rune of Three Circle can be expanded into a large shield to protect against frontal attacks. Though effective as much as barrier generated via. Magical Barrier Spell, continuous attacks will quickly dissipate the Circle thus reducing its remaining amount of use — it's advised to use such gimmick in conjunction of aforementioned spell or something similar for better defense.

#### Runic Enchantment

By carving Rune of Three Circle onto the surface of an object, the caster can enchant it with the Circle's magic, be it endowing said object elemental properties and abilities or creating a powerful ward to prevent anyone from touching it.

## Known Users

* Hendrik
* Turid
* Colborn
* Erik the Ageless
* Eitria Ulgrimsdottir

## Creation and Conception

BSoulstone conceived Rune of Three as a magic discipline exclusive to Witches of Midgard-verse series. During its development, the craft's working name was simply *Runic Magic* and revolved around the use of Elder Futhark to simulate the desired magical effects. After studying the meaning of each runes, he simplified the craft by using only three of them (Kaunan (ᚲ), Isa (ᛁ), and Hagalaz (ᚺ)) and changed its name to the current one to reflect that.

It was originally intended that there were two variations of Rune of Three technique; one was channeling individual rune's power, and another was channeling the combined power of three runes. BSoulstone initially conceived the former involving the use of any of three different geometric shapes each with its own purpose (triangle for offense, hexagon defense, and circle support/miscellaneous) before replacing them with a simple magic circle (one composed of a large circle enclosing a triangle that in turn, enclosing a smaller circle with the utilized individual rune at the center). Shortly after BSoulstone notified his friend, whose username being Kattheindigowolf, about the development of Rune of Three's concept, he realized the proposed concept too convoluted and revised it by scrapping the former downright and expanding the latter's applications.

However, it took consulting with a fellow Discord user under the username of Bogling Hat Guy BSoulstone truly finalized Rune of Three. In addition of revising the shape of its magic circle, BSoulstone replaced Isa (ᛁ) rune with Ehwaz (ᛖ) after Bogling Hat Guy rightfully pointed out the former would create a poor combination with Kaunan (ᚲ) and Hagalaz (ᚺ) if utilized together.

The magic discipline of Rune of Three was inspired by various concepts of using magic via. magic circle in various works such as Eldritch Magic from Marvel Cinematic Universe's *Doctor Strange* and Spell Circle ability from Disney's 2020 TV Show *The Owl House*. Like the former, Spell Circle revolves drawing a magic circle complete with a specific glyph to cast a specific spell as demonstrated by the show's protagonist, Luz Noceda. The concept of magma, frost, and storm on the other hand, was inspired by elemental power of Storm-type Javelin from *Anthem* game which further popularized Fire, Ice, and Lightning Trope (a trope revolving three core magic elements; fire, ice, and lightning).

## Notes and Trivia

* More powerful beings such as Pomokai Holoholonas of Hoddmimi's Holt and storm weasels of Jötunheim need neither wand nor staff to perform this craft, let alone runegreipr; they will the circle to appear on either their palm or in front of their face instead.