Runesmithing

**Runesmithing** is the art of creating and manipulating runes. Runesmithing is part of the preparatory phase in Forgemastering and is performed either before or after the Bonding process. Normal Forgemastery is akin to fake magic, giving an object a spell that can only be turned on and off. Runesmithing, instead, makes the enchantments work like true magic, giving their master the ability to activate, shape, and amplify the imbued spells at will. The runes also allow the wielder of the artifact to alternate between consuming their own mana, that of the pseudo core, or both, whereas regular artifacts can only feed off a fixed power source.

Once a Forgemaster find the proper sequence of runes, any mage capable of executing the spells in the correct order can create an artificial mage that's programmed to do just a few things, but it does them to perfection. Runes have no stray thought, no distraction, nor do they make mistakes. This way, the Forgemaster that follows the blueprint only has to succeed once to create something that can exceed even their own limits. The pseudo core provides the mana that the runes channel exactly in the way necessary to fulfill their purpose (e.g. the white crystals on the Sword of Saefel that Tyris programmed to use Domination).

Runesmithing is a state secret in the Griffon Kingdom and reserved for Royal Forgemasters and ancient magical bloodlines, as it allows them to work with Davross and Adamant, therefore giving the Royals a monopoly over the most powerful artifacts made from the strongest metals. To become a Runesmith, one has to either commit to the Kingdom (become a permanent military member, join the Mage Association, get a role in a Great Academy, etc.) or marry into a family important enough to gain access to resources.

Runesmiths consider rings to be high tier items due to their limited surface for engraving runes, unlike weapons and armor. They are more difficult to craft because a single poorly placed rune can greatly reduce the enchantment's efficacy.

## Menadion vs Bytra Runesmithing

**Menadion's Runesmithing** allowed mages to apply a new effect to a pseudo core without making it more complex. Each set of old runes allowed her creations to overcome the boundaries or Forgemastering. This way, she could craft items impossible to make even for someone with her talent, because she would inscribe the most complex properties outside the pseudo core, avoiding the need of a new pseudo core to just add a single enchantment.

Enchanted metals can hold many pseudo cores and an enormous amount of energy, but with the old methods, no mage could tap into their full potential because even Awakened have only so much mana. Runesmithing allows one to add the most complex enchantments in the preparatory phase and to craft the most complex pseudo cores without worrying about exceeding one's limits. New runes are even better - Menadion needed a set of runes for each pseudo core she wanted to affect, whereas **Bytra's Runesmithing** allows each set of runes to influence all the pseudo cores at the same time. As long as the enchantments applied synergize between them, the complexity their pseudo cores can reach and the power they hold can go surpass the regular limits.

* **Regular Tier 5 Forgemastering**: an artifact is comprised of pseudo cores, mana pathways, and a circulatory system. Without runes, there's a limit to how powerful each enchantment can be, and to make matters worse, it's easily replicable. An Awakened doesn't even need spells to understand how it's done and steal a work, since the only thing they have to study is the pseudo core (i.e. Gatekeeper).
* **Menadion's Runes**: the entirety of an artifact's surface is covered in a fit network of runes. Each rune is linked to a single pseudo core, making it more powerful and altering its structure so that reproducing the artifact with just Invigoration is almost impossible. Without a proper spell, there's no way to distinguish which set of runes is linked to which pseudo core since only the maker knows the exact number of runes each set is comprised of. Each core is more complex than it seems and their shape and size vary accordingly to the mana channeled, making it impossible to distinguish what properties belong to the core and what to the runes. (i.e. Ruin)
* **Bytra's Runes**: despite usually having the least amount of runes, these artifacts have the biggest and most complex pseudo cores. Unlike those realized with Menadion's runes, their size don't vary with the activation and the pseudo cores are so close that they often overlap. Studying it even with spells is nigh-impossible - all craftsmen use the extra space to add a personal set of runes whose only purpose is to prevent the artifact from being examined by a rival Forgemaster (i.e. War). Bytra's method requires careful planning because you must be careful that the set of runes you apply have no side effect on the pseudo cores.

## Runesmithing vs Bonding

The correct positioning is required for both crystals and runes; a slight alteration is all that it takes to turn a masterpiece into an utter failure.

The Bonding process of Forgemastering and Runesmithing both create a circulatory mana system, but while Bonding is highly susceptible to external influences and changes its course based on the obstacles it meets, Runesmithing relentlessly follows the instructions embedded in the runes. Only after the crystals become one with the metal and their circulatory mana system stabilized does one move onto the second step, Runesmithing. The sets of runes seep inside the metal, spreading their veins through its whole structure and relying on the Forgemaster's mana to overcome the resistance generated by the presence of the crystals.

These two steps creates a complex network of mana channels, as if the crystals create arteries that spread the mana evenly while the runes create veins that allow the residual energy to return to the pseudo core without overloading the object, leaving the heart. The runes also carry the Forgemaster's energy signature, so with each set of runes they engrave, they reduce the rejection between the mana generated by the crystals and their own, making the Forgemastering process easier.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 675
2. ↑ Chapter 872
3. ↑ Chapter 864
4. ↑ Chapter 674
5. ↑ Chapter 732
6. ↑ Chapter 865
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Chapter 1077
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chapter 922