Endowments

The main magical system of the series relies on a system of "endowments"—transferring attributes which are inherent to every living creature. These attributes are transferable to and from both man and animal. (Attributes can even be transferred between members of different species; so, for example, brawn or the sense of smell from a dog can be transferred to a man.) Once an individual gives an attribute to another, the giver (called a "dedicate") loses that particular attribute until the death of the recipient; and if the recipient dies, the attribute returns to the giver once again. Each person can only give one endowment in their lifetime. Attributes which can be endowed upon another include brawn (physical strength), grace (physical dexterity), wit (memory and clearness of thought), metabolism (speed at which the body's processes operate), glamour (physical beauty), voice (both volume and persuasiveness), stamina, sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, talent, will (strength of will), bloodlust, and pain. Talent and will are more difficult to transfer and the means to do so are only known by the Inkarrans. Endowments of bloodlust and pain are perverse in nature and were devised by the one true master of evil to strengthen her troops and torture the humans, specifically Fallion.

#### How Endowment works

Endowments are transferred with special tools, called forcibles. A forcible is a rod cast of a rare material called blood metal, with its tip shaped with the rune corresponding to the endowment to be transferred. Files and other tools can be used to refine the shape of the cast rune any time after casting. The finished forcible resembles more than anything a small branding iron. The method of creating forcibles, and the supervision of their creation, is part of the duties of a special class of magician called a facilitator. When the forcible is ready, the facilitator invokes its power, which causes the instrument to glow. The facilitator touches the forcible to the dedicate, who experiences a brief burst of excruciating pain as they are branded. The instrument glows more brightly, and leaves trails of light when moved through the air. An expert facilitator can tell whether the endowment worked properly by examining the forcible and the light trails. If satisfied, he touches the instrument to the recipient, who receives the attribute along with a feeling of ecstasy and is also branded with the rune. The dedicate experiences the corresponding loss of that attribute. The forcible's virtue is expended by this process, and the forcible and its metal may not be reused.

#### Dedicates

A dedicate must give up his attribute willingly; the simple act of touching him with a forcible is not enough. However, unscrupulous Runelords can threaten a potential dedicate's friends and family to force cooperation. Some also purchase endowments; poor folk will sometimes become dedicates to gain that money for themselves or their families. Dedicates are normally selected from individuals whose attributes are strong; one selects a strong man to dedicate his brawn, a person with excellent vision to dedicate sight, and so forth.

#### Special characteristics of certain Endowments

* Not all attributes are alike; five are known as "greater endowments" which can be deadly to give. They include brawn, grace, stamina, metabolism, and wit.
* Individuals must be careful that their physical endowments, such as brawn and stamina, are similar in number, or the borrowed brawn may literally tear the body apart (for example). This could happen to individuals who choose poorly in the balance of endowments or who have only certain forcibles available, but the more usual cause is the death of one or more dedicates, resulting in the loss of their attributes. Such individuals are sometimes referred to as "warriors of unfortunate proportion."
* Individuals endowed with metabolism move faster than ordinary men, but they pay a price: they age at the same proportion. A dedicate who provides metabolism sleeps until his lord dies, not aging at all. A dedicate who gives up metabolism requires virtually no caring for at all, other than a cat or rat terrier in the vicinity to ensure that the mice don't eat the flesh of the comatose dedicate.
* Individuals with large numbers of glamour and voice endowments can become so beautiful and so persuasive that men will obey them even when they know rationally that it is a poor idea.
* Two individuals who endow each other with wit become mentally linked. This is the basis of the Days' power. An individual endowed with wit learns much faster and remembers more than other men, but if his dedicates of wit die, then much of this knowledge disappears, as those memories are in fact stored in the others' brain(s). If he later receives additional endowments of wit, he must relearn what he once knew.

#### Vectoring Endowments

A dedicate can "vector" endowments, and is also thereafter referred to as "a vector" themselves. That is, they can receive one or more endowments of one particular attribute, and then dedicate that same attribute to another, who benefits from the endowment supplied by the vector and those supplied by all of that individual's dedicates. Each endowment requires space on the skin for the rune branded by the forcible; runelords who intend to acquire hundreds of endowments (such as Raj Ahten) must have them vectored from others because there isn't sufficient room on their bodies otherwise. There is also one other benefit to using a vector to gain endowments through them. A person with a dedicate also receives all endowments of the type vectored to them which are given to that same dedicate later; and, this happens regardless of the distance between the vector and the runelord! So, a runelord can receive an endowment from a person, leave, and at any time and distance, receive more endowments through that dedicate. In this way, facilitators can continue to vector endowments to a traveling runelord, without requiring their presence; facilitators, dedicates, and forcibles need not travel with the runelord or be found elsewhere during their travel. One disadvantage to using a vector, for the runelord, is that with that one vector's death, the runelord is suddenly deprived of all of the vector's collected endowments as they return to their original dedicates. With attempted assassination of dedicates being a common and expected tactic in conflict, this makes it all the more important to protect vectors well.