There are numerous secondary and tertiary guilds to represent all kinds of artisanal craftsmanship within dwarven society. Some of these crafts are brought under a single larger guild that is responsible for handling the end result of the lesser crafts. The Runescribe guild is responsible for bringing together the lesser guilds of The Runecrafters, The Runesmiths and The Scribes. The combination of the heavily specialised talents of these lesser guilds results in the well known magical runes that are central to dwarven magicks.
The way in which rune magicks work is mysterious. Dwarves have a natural resistance to all forms of magickal ailments and afflictions but are talented in drawing the latent power out of otherwise inane materials. Exposing the lifeforce held within stones, ores and minerals. Although the guild is a non-religious organisation it’s structure is based around that of ceremony and ritual. It is a requirement in the process of rune creation that the ancestral kin that passed the knowledge are shown the appropriate respects. Honour of your history is incredibly important to the dwarves and not abiding by this rule and can lead to severe punishment or even being
outcast.
The ancients in retrospect seem to have just stumbled upon some of the appropriate ways and alignments of runes to draw out some power and then over generations this practice has been refined. In modern times, runic inscriptions are capable of improving many properties of items. From simple runes to decrease the rate of wear on work tools to more advanced runes which cause the fires of a forge to change the metals being heated within them, causing the metals molecules to align in a way which removes imperfections. It is likely that more combinations are to be discovered but the traditions of runecraft are hard to break and progress in this area is slow.
The guild is also responsible for the appropriate rune-branding of those deemed to be lost in the eyes of the law. Every city that abides by common dwarven law will be outfitted with a branding hall; A torturous place where the poor unfit souls undergo the painful and humiliating process of runebranding. Resulting in the creation of another unfortunate member of the
Outcasts.
This is a submission for my first ever Summer Camp in 2024 - I hope you enjoy my writings and I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback!
I enjoy the idea of ritual and ceremony being performed in a non-religious way by the dwarves. I need some of their rune magick on my fabric scissors, please! :)