[✗] [World Lore] The Heart of the World

[Nooblius 5794]

 

Spoiler

[Purpose]

it’s Wednesday my dudes

 

Rune Lore is no doubt integral to the server’s history. Although many repeat the negative points of abuse perpetrated by previous ET years ago, that is by no means the core importance and legacy of the lore. It is fundamental to dwarven lore and beyond that the greater server lore. For that purpose and at the suggestion of the most beloved Zarsies, I am submitting the origins and core history of Rune Lore in isolation as World Lore. This is so that even in the absence of a Magic Lore, at least there are consistent themes for the story of the server, especially that of the dwarves whose entire pre-server lore and a vast majority of their server-time event lore is tied into it.

 

It is an undeniable resource for event lore, not just for dwarves but the greater server community, as well as patching up the inconsistencies in existing lore (golemancy and Material Alphabet). People all across this server want fun dwarf ruins events, and a common theme is runic/golemantic (same thing) technologies within that are lost beyond understanding. Not to mention it has existed for a vast majority of the server’s time and would be an outright disservice to refuse to at least patch up the hole left in the absence of a Magic Lore.

 

Outvoker may be controversial, but his use is not just sanctioned but explicitly directed by the Lore Master his esteemed highness Zarsies. If you don’t know who they are; don’t worry about it, some entity of non-importance. With the possibility of an Aenguldaemon as it was in the past being denied, as well as the Power of Thought lore being removed from canon, this is the only method that wouldn’t cause a serious retcon of themes of this lore, as well as tying logically into the themes of the Outvoker as opposed to fabricating an entirely new deity or entity.

 

A majority of the aspects of this World Lore are not by my own wishes for design, but instead specifically constructed to best fit into the greater server lore as clearly as possible. No major retcons of dwarven or greater server lore are required, only details added in where once were vague. I have written down many comments beneath the Explanations to explain my reasoning because I don’t want to waste the time of reviewers going back and forth on stuff. If accepted I would like to erase them as well as revise this purpose so it is less wordy. They are marked in italics and at size 10 (like this).

 

 

[Music]

 

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THE HEART OF THE WORLD

ᚱᚺᚨᛞᚨᚡ’ᚴᚨᚱᚨᚨᛞ-ᚨᛗᛟᚱᚢᚴ'ᚢᚱ'ᚱᚺᚢᚾ

 

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The Epic of Urguan

Apprentice of the Outvoker

 

In those ancient days where the four brothers lived in a world still full of mystery, Urguan, the progenitor of dwarfdom explored the lands in search of inspiration and purpose. Before the carving of vast stone halls under the mountains, he perceived the world he walked as crafted work of many parts. He pondered its form and determined that it held a deliberate design, and began to attribute themes and names to the world around him. So inspired was he by the natural beauty of the world, that he swore to worship its very shape and the parts he perceived within it, and bound himself in honor everafter to oaths of supreme craftsmanship and artisanry. Urguan knew this design as the Rhun, and its Gods the Brathmordakin; though outside of his stubborn kin few would pay mind to the traditions of the dwarves. 

 

That is not to say nobody noticed; for the dwarves were so zealous in their crafts that songs were sung and odes weaved into the hearts of travelers about their art. Far past the chasms of Khaz’Urguan, past the mountains and valleys of Athera, far beyond even the lands of mortals to the stars and realms of deities; ears were enchanted by myth of supreme craftsmanship. One such audience was that of the Outvoker, a caring entity who often concerned himself with the dealings of descendents. The legends of dwarven arts inspired the Outvoker to journey to the Halls of Urguan disguised as a simple traveler and meet with the Under King. He was shown the mighty crafts of the dwarves and bore witness to their devotion to creating even greater works.

 

Among the detailed engravings of stone and metal and surrounded by hoards of gems with light caught perfectly in them, the Outvoker concluded they would tutor the master of the dwarves. The Outvoker would show the dwarf how to craft with the secrets of the Materium so that he too may lead his kindred to greater heights in their pursuit of industry and craftsmanship. The Outvoker revealed himself as a nameless powerful artificer to Urguan, and offered him an apprenticeship. Urguan was hesitant to accept help from an unidentified stranger, but after witnessing the capabilities of the Outvoker his greed softened his heart and he accepted, determining that the magician must be some envoy of the Gods.

 

Firstly the Outvoker instructed Urguan on the knowledge of the Materium and its secrets, the functions of mana within all things and especially that essence which composes the soul; anima. Thereafter, the Outvoker forged a pair of great tools for his student, enchanted by his great power and focused with Thanhium. With the tools, Urguan was able to give purpose to the subtle energies of the world. Into each of his crafts he poured a little anima, a living engine at the heart of his works. Then, with the finer skills taught by the Outvoker, he laced webs of mana into being fuelled by that anima. Just as a mage crafts intricate spells with their will, Urguan could use his steady hand to bend mana into novel shapes with the help of the Magic Materium.

 

Content with spreading his secrets and hopeful that it might be used for the protection and prosperity of descendents, the Outvoker retired from his instruction of the progenitor dwarf and returned to his business across the cosmos. Though gracious (as a dwarf can be) for the donations of the Outvoker, the dwarf heart was stubborn by nature. All that Urguan witnessed did not challenge his zealous beliefs of the world’s design, but rather hardened his heart as stone. The dwarf reframed all great insights granted to him as further revelations to confirm his worldview. When he did go on to spread the story of his apprenticeship, he spoke of the glorious visitation of a direct envoy of Yemekar and of prophetic powers.

 

[Explanation]

Spoiler

The Outvoker is a mysterious entity cited in many lore pieces, involved with many magics early in the history. Unlike Aenguldaemons, or at leasttypically  moreso than them, he displays a concern for descendents, and wishes them to do well. After witnessing the stubborn dedication of dwarves to their crafts void of all other magics, the Outvoker determines that everyone would be better off if they were able to make even more things. So he goes and teaches Urguan some of the knowledge of the Materium and entrusts him to teach others, though does not reveal his identity or nature out of fear of interfering too much. The dwarves are a prideful people, so where there is absence of explanation they fill the gaps with their preconceived beliefs.

 

Due to the lack of an appropriate Aenguldaemon but necessity of an entity’s presence to maintain consistency with History, Lore and existing Roleplay, it was advised to follow the route of the Outvoker- especially being how this entity already has ties to materium lore, especially Thanhium. This has been explicitly OK’d. Previously, Rune Lore was tied to a deceased Aenguldaemon- either of no name, or dubbed Ogradhad.

 

The Wealth of the Dwarves 

Urguan and the Early Runes

 

Now armed with an arsenal of otherworldly – or perhaps in a sense particularly worldly tools, Urguan began to craft relics of unmatchable proportion. First he decorated the pillars of his halls, intricate runes running up and spiraling around their heights and across their arches, creating an impenetrable fortress of the mountain and cavern system. The many corridors branching forth from the central chasms and down into the depths were each enchanted in unique manners, creating an elaborate labyrinth that spread across the deepest darkness.

 

Content with his imbued halls, he led an expedition across the valleys and ranges of his homeland. From the cliff sides he had his workers carve out great statues which he struck with runes that forged potent souls. He raised the crags to life, and sent them to patrol his halls and obey the Under-King; the Runic Behemoths. On his journey back to his throne, he erected many great enchanted shrines both high above the mountain’s peaks and far below the caverns. 

 

His Underkingdom began to swell in prosperity far beyond the imaginations of his already wealthy folk. The coffers of the greed-cursed king ran deep with relics and riches unimaginable as his reign endured and his beard turned silver with age. Urguan knew that soon his reign would come to an end. Due to his paranoia he never had passed on the gifts of the Outvoker, and there was a legitimate risk that they would end.

 

Thus Urguan Silverbeard determined he would teach successors, not just the next Underking nor the leaders but all passionate crafts-folk. The issue became that Urguan himself did not carry the capacity to make tools equal to his own to pass to his inheritors. Furthermore he could not appoint a sole dwarf for throughout the graying of his beard he had developed a wealth of experience and Urguan knew that his sons were ambitious and their rivalries deep. No single son could be his inheritor in the arts he had learned, else in their greed they would use it to benefit their clan solely.

 

[Explanation]

Spoiler

With the Outvoker gone, Urguan goes about creating many relics with his pre-Runecraft tools and techniques, from just impressive structures to Runic Behemoths, overall expanding his hoard and decorating his realm. These crafts would exist beyond even the tinkering of his greatest successors because the methods which he made them with are far stronger than the magic he manufactured to pass to his successors, ergo no Runesmiths would be able to reverse engineer or tamper with their enchantments (ST discretion for events or certain items, though it would always at the very least require incredible effort extending beyond the confines of any Heart of the World based magic). 

 

This plays an important role in filling in some details and explaining key aspects that are solidified about pre-server dwarf lore and tying them together, one example being the Runic Behemoths which is one consistent theme as having existed since the reign of Urguan but never being controlled outside of his Silverbeard dynasty that died with pre-server era. This sets up an opportunity to reconcile dwarf lore with other lore, as well as creating a potential avenue for ET to pursue (with Management approval and community consideration, as this is brother lore). 

 

Eventually Urguan would decide to create tools that he could pass to his successors, but it’s not a simple process at all to manufacture magical techniques. In order to properly do so, he would have to put in a great deal of effort that consumes the time of his late reign. Urguan being absent at the end of his reign is already canon to dwarf lore.

 

The Heart of the World

Beacon of the Later Runes

 

Urguan began the quest into the depths of stone and darkness for inspiration and resources to replicate the tools bestowed by the Outvoker. He ventured immeasurable depths, far beneath the mountains and through twisting tunnels, beyond his own barriers constructed to keep his sons from danger. Hidden under shadow and stone, perhaps due to a Glimmerpoint or otherwise a focal point of the magical energies of the wider realm (or perhaps for no reason at all, who could possibly know the machinations of the dwarf brain?); Urguan was determined to create an intricate temple to serve as a foundation for his endeavor.

 

In perfect shadows he found a natural spire at the center of the chasm, and carved into it the runes of terrible power as taught by the Outvoker, though complimented with new runes. A daughter script to the Material Alphabet, inspired by the language he had made with his sons; Urguan created the Rhun Script. Over the course of time, the dwarf enchanted vast quantities of mana and meaning into his runes with the Outvoker’s tools. The stone was brought to life as it shifted in composition and constitution, creating a greater measure of soul that would haunt the animated stone. Its central spire would crack and shape itself into shining gemstones, the runes carved into it enduring and flaring with multi-colored light. Pillared halls rose from the chasm’s walls and carved into themselves, intricate depictions which mirrored Urguan’s heart; murals of the Brathmordakin. 

 

A labyrinthine temple bound with a mighty soul forged by Urguan, the beacon to a new script of runes and host of many of the progenitor dwarf’s workshops at the Heart of the World. Here in the Heart of the World, Urguan remained for a full year and with runes of his own design twisted into tools and techniques a magic of the Materium; the ancient art of Runecraft.

 

The Rhun Script of Urguan Silverbeard acted not as a simple replica of the Material Alphabet but served a specific purpose. Firstly, it was secretive if nothing else. It did not share the same characteristic of universal comprehension that the runes of the Material Alphabet did, though they did maintain an intrinsic meaning within them. Once carved the runes also required technique beyond just possession of the tools to properly enchant. For instance, a Rune of Magma would have to be either carved in the presence of intense heat, displayed to a volcano or likewise some process that helped teach the anima bound within the Runes of what meaning to then call out to the Heart of the World with. This acted as a safety that one could not activate runes without knowing their meaning, but as well a method of forcing his worldview onto his successors; each craft mandated a level of focus and effort. 

 

[Explanation]

Spoiler

In lieu of a deific power source, Rune Lore needs some sort of replacement and it obviously cannot be the canonization of the Brathmordakin because that would practically require rewriting all deific history (whether done via Spirits or Aenguldaemons). The community has decided that the best way to handle this is an ambiguous power source that can through RP be interpreted in different ways, established in the pre-server time period. In consideration of a very old dwarf redstone lore post, we will call this power source the Rhun whilst also alluding to a very old dwarf eventline and previous Rune Lore power source; the Heart of the World.

 

The Heart of the World is a gigantic enchanted shrine deep underground on top of a glimmerpoint. It acts as a battery that funnels mana towards itself, as a living construct which warps caverns surrounding it to protect itself, and a beacon which can be called to as a reference to the Materium. 

 

Carved into it is a lexicon of runes of both the Material Alphabet and Urguan’s dwarven Rhun Script, enchanting them together so that the Rhun Script’s meaning is derived from the runes of the Material Alphabet. When the runes of the Rhun Script are carved with the right tools and techniques out in the world, they call to the Heart of the World to assign themselves meaning, guided by the magic of the Runesmith and the process of the carving.

 

The Heart of the World itself is an event and world lore resource to reconcile dwarf lore with the rest of the server and set in stone an explanation as to what Runesmithing was in the past, and what Golemancy currently operates under. All ‘dwarf rune magic’ is tied towards it in one way or another, potentially with other factors interacting with it but ultimately rooted in the manufactured magic of Urguan Silverbeard’s Runecraft. 

 

At the consultation of Zarsies, it was determined it was best this was manufactured by Urguan, not just discovered, and then it would allow a justification for why the magic is fundamentally dwarven in aesthetic which is also explicitly allowed. Dwarven origins of Runecraft are no more racial locking than elven origins of Druidism. I don’t think anybody contests this, but it’s important for me to 

 

Rune Lore of the Ages

The History of the Runes

 

All that is known amongst the descendants is that in those far-off days of ancient kings, the folk of Khaz’Urguan were fueled by their greed and reached great heights of industry to expand their craft, and in their quest they encountered the Ancient Art of Runecraft. Longbeards within the modern dwarves will not hesitate to tell glorious myths on how Urguan was gifted the magic by the Brathmordakin and lords of all Creation, but in truth the only potential knowledge on the art’s true origins was lost in the Great Collapse of the Ironborn Blood Age. 

 

During this catastrophe, the Triumvirate of Runesmiths and the ruthless Ironborn both tried to keep the magic from the other’s grasp, resulting in the destruction of the ancient runic guild, most of its knowledge, and the desecration of the art by the Ironborn as they tried to piece it back together with what stolen secrets they had. After the rebellion of Simppa against the Ironborn, the damned clan took all remaining knowledge of Rhuncraft with them and the dwarves were deprived of their greatest blessing for centuries. 

 

Throughout dwarven history there would be multiple attempts at rekindling the hidden flame of the Ancient Art but few would last until the discovery of the Khaz’Rhun in Athera, where a golem taught a triumvirate of Runelords secrets of Runecraft, though the means of doing so were through a blood altar of Ironborn design, a patchwork version of runic techniques composed by Pherrax Ironborn to continue the art past the Great Collapse. This bastard iteration remained in practice for many ages under the leadership of many Runelords until one day suddenly the runes failed to work, and all acting Runesmiths found their tools inert. The reason for this second collapse is unknown, perhaps divine intervention of dissatisfied deities or perhaps a scheme of the fragmented Ironborn Clan to weaken the might of its nemesis, the united clans of Urguan.

 

Golemancy early on became an often separated discipline of Runecraft, for it did not rouse as much interest as the capacity of great weaponry amongst dwarven craftsmen. Instead, golemancy was an artistic discipline of Runecraft created by Gotrek Starbreaker in imitation of the great Runic Behemoths that Urguan made through greater powers,  focused on enabling the anima within all relics forged of Runecraft to be animated with life. Due to discrepancies in ancient and modern golemancy, it is theorized that similar to Atheran Runesmiths using Ironborn techniques, that Aegisian Starbreakers or perhaps later on were forced to replicate the tools given to them. With each iteration of Golem Anvil, it seemed less and less powerful and more reliant on the common mana of the golemancer, resulting in far weaker golems.

 

[Explanation]

Spoiler

Runecraft is the manufactured magic of Urguan Silverbeard, and within it are numerous disciplines including Runesmithing and Golemancy. Both have had numerous generations across the server’s long history, and therefore have as well in Roleplay evolved to justify those changes. These evolutions were spurred by the tools used at the time changing, and in the context of any future writes of Rune Lore would constitute a minor event to introduce new tools. 

 

Golemancy has always been tied to the same origins as Runesmithing, there is absolutely no reason to consider separating them as it would retcon a ton of history and events, as well there being no better explanation as to what Golemancy is. 

 

The current write of Golemancy does not actually explain what sigils are, the history/origins saying that they are a subscript of dwarven runes created in ancient times and then later in the post they are described as a modern invention. Being as to how there was no widespread RP distinguishing current golemancy from its immediate successor, I would advise retconning the idea there was ever any distinction (being how the vast majority of golemancers never Roleplayed the new sigils being not runes, and always just called them that in Roleplay anyways).

 

If accepted, Golemancy will be updated to include such details and clear up the matter of sigils.

 

 

Credits:

Spoiler

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/193964-kings-of-the-old-realm/ Zezimus Lore Post for ancient pre-server Dwarf Lore. I understand it’s not in the lore pages, but this is a good elaboration on backface google documents that have been the basis of event lore for dwarves. After this, I intend to make a backface history document to iron it out in even more detail.

 

Every old Runesmithing Lore was referenced for themes of that period, but were not a basis of this post. Generally, this piece can exist on its own.

 

Although I was the main writer, there were countless consultants over the months who gave both grammatical and moral support. My big thanks to all in the Wednesday Chat, personal friends who offered consultation and of course mainly Zarsies, HeeroZero and Zezimus who were the basis of much of this lore knowledge. Shout out to Arbrek, he’s a real one.

 

[rdowdy 236]

Strike the Earth!

Dwarf lore go brrrttt

[sneakybandit 1503]

And thus the clock strikes midnight

 

[Astrophysical 999]

Up yours, woke blood mages. We’ll see who cancels who.

[TheWaffleEater2 120]

Elves drool, Dwarves Rool

 

[ronin_champloo 5951]

hey can i be grandfathered into this

[Cpt_Noobman 1346]

"meet with the Under King"

 

[Terry 1859]

As the great Nooblius stated before;

 

Yemekar laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.

 

And that day comes soon.

[Elennanore 2709]

I will be his finest warrior.

[SimplySeo 5183]

Dwarf

[Fimlin 1696]

"Beards in belts."

[Pepto 287]

WANRAG

[The Harbinger 336]

Let the past be forged anew!

[UnusualBrit 2050]

On 2/16/2023 at 1:54 AM, ronin_champloo said:

hey can i be grandfathered into this

send 100 usd

[WestCarolina 1779]

 

Spoiler

@Noobliusknows da lawr...