Rune

Runes are items that allow the wielders to gain special powers.

## Origin

Thousands of years ago, it is believed that people living on the Planet of Empires used to have special powers. They wrote their long-gone language on rocks, which encompassed an aspect of the creator's power. However, this is mostly just speculation, and no other information is currently known.

## Obtainment

There are many ways to obtain power from a rune. In some cases, just looking at or "being exposed" to a rune is enough, theoretically allowing multiple people to draw powers from one rune. Other times, the rune will be absorbed by the user, usually requiring physical contact. This causes the rune itself to either disappear or become a normal rock, and the powers are transferred into the wielders body. It's currently unknown what determines whether a rune needs to be absorbed or not. In very rare cases, a person can be born with the powers of a rune. The chance of "rune births" is greatly increased if one or both of the parents already have a rune.

## Abilities

Runes allow the users to gain special powers, though the powers granted differ from rune to rune. There are three main types. Elemental Runes are the most common. They allow the wielder to use elemental powers. Fire, Water, Earth, Sky, and Lightning are the most common, but there are rarer ones. Sensory runes are the second most common. They give the wielder increased senses in one or several areas, and in rare cases can give the wielder new senses. Modification runes are the most rare of the three main types, and are also the most vague. They can either allow wielders to use and enhance their already existing body parts, or give them completely new ones that normal humans don’t have access to. There is also a rune-specific weak every year where the said rune's power grows exponentially, usually the week after its creation.

## Other Uses

Rune powers can be stored and utilized in special types of weapons common in the empires. This can enhance the weapon and give it additional properties. This makes it so that technically anyone can use the rune, though the weapon can betray and attack a wielder it deems "unworthy."

## Drawbacks

All obtained runes cause unavoidable bodily exhaustion after use, as the user's body can't handle the powers of a rune. However, this doesn't affect people born with rune powers. Other than that, the drawbacks differ from rune to rune. For example, the Fuer rune causes burns after use, but the Modification runes can cause major injuries if new parts grow and disappear from the user's body. There is an implied "time limit" to how long a rune can be active for, and it can be increased with training.

## Protection over Runes

Due to the inherent power of runes, many empires want to make sure that they don't fall into the wrong hands, as a rune-wielding criminal is a lot more dangerous than a normal one. Because of this, many places have rules about who can and cannot have runes:

* The fire empire only allows royalty to wield it; there is a Fuer rune in the forbidden section of the library, but it is unknown if that is how they obtain their powers
* The earth empire royalty gives their strongest and most trustworthy soldiers the rune in a ceremony-like tradition
* The water empire seems to let anyone who can find the rune keep it, though most of the runes are found underwater and in dangerous places

## Known Runes

### Elemental

Can breathe fire
 Ice-wielding rune
Can create ice structures out of moisture
 Phigs
Can create laser beams, which can disintegrate organic matter

### Sensory

Gives almost all-knowing knowledge
Can emit energy signals from their mind