Rune Caster: The last of the line.

Prelude

Runecasting an old and ancient art to divine the nature of beasts and nature of
man, after thousands of years the Druids of Klu'n loch Isle found a way to use them
for natural magic. The last of the Druids traveled to the city Kronipa with word to
the Higher family, a family of rulers whom have led the city to fortune and
prosperity. �Your magistrates we have done that which we hoped was possible� Kir
the Druid whispers to the room. �Runecasting once only a method to divine the
natures of man and beast, can be used for other means.� she falls silent as she
produces a small scroll to hand them. Ragni the Magistrate looks confused. Ragni is
the newest and youngest of the 12 Magistrates takes the scroll as though it's a
mere joke. �Oh come on now you cannot expec' us to belief this nonsense to be true.

How wrong he was, This singular line started the feud between the 12 and caused the
fall of Kronipa.

The 12 Original Magistrates were:

1 Ragni The Beast: Years served 30
2 Kagn Bloodserpent: Years served 150
3 Uugnai Wisperwalk: Years served 113
4 Gjirat Mousgker: Years served 105
5 Jainkx Omlaout: years served 407
6 Y'nic Cirse: Years served 362
7 Baun: Years served 1174
8 Grennu: Years served 1576
9 Shpaun: years served ~2500
10 Herr Bartre: years served 291
11 Rhul Noti: years served 812
12 Saturo Marcosin Years served 258

History did not forget the scroll or the Druids, It forgot the names of the 12 and
their lines that survived.

Three millennia pass and a Son of Marcosin reaches Klu'n Loch after reading the
fables of the past thinking that the stories had truth to them. The boy of 17 gives
no name nor is he marked by the Family line. Seeking the truth he walks into the
hut at the end of an overgrown trail. This is the telling of this boy and how being
of the line will bring him misery and pain.

Item descriptions.
Rune stamp: A caster created object that allows the Runecaster to craft the runes
needed for magic and cannot be used by any other then he or she that creates it.

Rune Stack; A weird rock that contains runes and will absorb runes to be used.
Seemingly endless storage.

Runes: Runes are a form of writing that can be inscribed into ore's stone's or
scrolls to be saved for a later time. The Best runes are of Copper, Gold, Silver,
and Leather in that order

Rune Caster An individual that has taken the training to use ancient magics and has
been taught by the Klu'n Druids....

The 5 rules of Rune Casting

1 The void is home
2 That which weighs more makes more
3 The rune dictates the morality not the caster
4 The ones who cast are not leaders nor are they followers
5 Scars earned are not to be taken lightly

Rune Caster is written by Jeffrey Millican

Rune Caster is a fantasy and all names and characters are fictitious. The story
areas and all references to real life areas, people, and faiths are merely
coincidence.
 Chapter ONE

�Praxus wake up, it's time for food� Krim a shory grey haird lady draped in
deep green robes standing at the door, her raspy voice barely a whisper. �I said
Food� she raises her voice to a shrill tone meaning that she had caught it this
time. The groggy feeling from training the last 3 years hasnt been easy on him his
once meaty frame has turned wiry and toned. �Tre Yars tis been since you arriv'd,
Tre yars �I've taught you, gave you knowledge you'v seek'd and today I feed you.�
He now looks at the haggard old druid like he couldn't remember what she was
saying. �Ohh has it been three years today?� the time passing dawning on him he
hadnt even thought of what day it was or how long hed been here. Just that he felt
free. �Well id not be feedin' you if it had'n been� The agreement Praxus made to
Krim was that if he caught the food and cooked it for 3 years she would train him
and on the final day she would use magic to do the work for morning meal. �I'll not
be letting you go a'fore the test and the food� Rising to his feet slowly and
pulling his tunic over his shoulders she counted the scars as she had done daily
over the time. Each scar a failure he'd made in training. �Gath'r yer bag yer robes
and yer supplies. Meet me at the stump.� Her raspy voice was always a grate on his
ears but he'd grown used to it. Upon the stump near their camp was a fire the meal
copper pot and a large piece of ore. Giving it a good thump realized it was solid
copper and probably well over 1000 kilos in weight. �Krim where did you find this�
gesturing at the solid ore boulder. Her normal hunch and rasp disappears as she
states. �As per the agreement I was allowed to use magic to gather the food to make
the meal and I wanted to give the leftover as a gift to you.� reeling back �1000
Kilos that's� starts to do the math on how many runes. �3 million and 40 runes lad�
She tells him �Took about half that to return my ability to speak properly.�
Staggering mentally to figure out how much the cost of it would be. �Roughly
40,000P within in the settlements. And its 2400 Kilos not 1000.� She states as if
she can read his thoughts.

She tells him of the fall and of the scroll. �Your line was thought to be dead and
now I had to train one of the 12 lines I am happy to have done so, even if it is
your birthright.� Krim smiles. �You look like him, a fierce man and champion of the
meek.� �Who� puzzled, Praxus has no idea who she is talking about. �Saturo
Marcosin. You look just like him except the eyes yours are trained like a warriors.
His were that of a Noble saint. Softer and eager to help.� �So eat and then I will
tell you the final secret to the Stamp and Stack� Eager to learn Praxus wolfs his
food down before she can finish her statement.
�We studied the Rune Stamp and the Rune Stack that each other created. Finding out
their secrets, a Rune Stamp is yours and yours alone I cannot lift it just as you
cannot lift the one I have� she pauses to swig from her water skin �the Rune Stack
on the other hand if another can read the activation dial can be used by another.
The Rune stack is also able to carry as many as a caster can make at any given
time. Do you remember the chalk I had you make?� Praxus nods �Well take that out
and write as many runes on the ore as you can put all 33 on it if you wish� Praxus
rushes to draw all 33 on the ore a hands breadth apart. �Good now use the chalk to
outline the ore and put your crest on it� After what seemed to be a minute �done�
�Stamp it with your Rune stamp and then turn the dial on the stack to collect that
rune or rotate it to Helas to turn the full ore at once equally� Praxus thinking
this was timed had it preset to Helas and stamps the ore. Slowly the ore shimmers
and vibrates as if the very core of the rock was being torn and churned to liquid.
His Rune stack warming to the touch. �I'd not touch it if you set it to Helas� Krim
laughs �unless you like scars and burns� this training felt like crafting the Rune
Stamp his first 3 attempts ending in scars on his chest. As the ore glowed a white-
blue hot it finally vanished and the hole left behind felt like a void. �remember
rule 1� a voice in the back of his head shouted. That was the test and rule 1 was
at the test the void is home. Praxus had all he owned on his back, with his robes
on, his training complete he was ready. �Thanks Krim� jumping into the void felt
like he was being sucked into a hole. His mother, sisters, family were long gone.
He was alone. When he stood and the feeling of the void was over he noticed that
the smell was familiar, sweet. �Praxus i-i-is that really you?� Praxus hearing the
name and the voice snapped around to see Keros �Finally I'm ho-� Keros snatched him
off his feet and slammed him to the door. Keros a gnome girl Praxus loved was there
arms around his shoulders.�Uh Keros? What did I miss?� Keros was about hip height
when he saw her last and for a Gnome that was tall, now she was his height, and had
her Sapphire hair in his face. �I went to the Reliquary of Wishes last year� The
Pride in her voice was hiding more then her face was showing. �I got picked and I
asked to be as tall as you� The color drained from Praxus' face. The Reliquary a
�Church for those who believe in wishing� were known to only pick those in the
donation families. Keros went every year. �Ah that would explain the size but the
strength� Praxus feared a side effect of becoming his height would include his
magical strength� �While you were gone I worked the farms, I pull plow's and till
the weeds� Praxus' farms, his weeds. �You kept my farm running while I was gone.
I.� he couldn't think. �Have something to show you.� The farm Praxus owned was far
from most people and only a handful of people ever visited. So doing magic here
wouldn't cause a scene. �lets go to the field I want to show you why I left.�
walking over to the field for the first time since he had left made him feel at
ease usually, this time Keros wasn't on his shoulder she was at his side. �stand
here and don't move. I don't want you hurt.� as Praxus explains that what hes about
to do is going to force the crops to grow in a day Keros is laughing at him as
though he is trying to play a game. �Rot Imkyu Jusan''a Kyyma� his hands pull some
dirt off the ground and scatters it to the wind towards the farms freshly sewn
crops. �How long ago did you plant these?� Praxus asks with a playful tone. �2
weeks this Monday� Keros responds. �Arctai Omu� as the dust lands the crops spring
from the ground and start to grow rapidly, bigger then Keros had seen since
Praxus's Mother ran the farm. �So you did it!� she squeals excitedly as she jumps
on him. The crops normally took months of care to grow. He had just done a crop
growth cycle in the blink of an eye. She thought crying with joy. �Oh months eh,
Guess that only means I aged them not caused the crops to grow in seconds.� he
sarcastically replied. �Might not of used the right chant, maybe the wrong runes,
oh the wrong dirt.� He quickly grabs another handful and tastes it �hmm, ah I
know.� sinks his hand into his grey robes �sodium plus Arctu Mehnuss� tossing the
dust to the wind again, the crops double in size and fall to the collectors.
On its way to the farm processing area the crops seemed to divide in half. Keros
stunned simply smiled and stayed close to Praxus. His breathing was natural the
smell of the fresh grown wheat and corn always left a hint of sugar on the air.

�How is that even possible?� the confused look on her face tells it all Keros
had never seen magic. Praxus spent the day telling her about Krim, the island and
the training it took to learn Runecasting. �So you left for 3 years to learn a
magic the rest of the world forgot about?� the inquisitive tone was full of wonder,
the hint of fear not well masked. Praxus had forgotten that the rest of the world
hadn't seen magic in 1000's of years. �No worries about being hunted Keros, the
world may have forgot but we haven't. And people are more scared to die by magic
then they are what it can do.� A heavy sigh leaves Praxus' lips as Keros notices
that his left arm is scarred to the knuckles. �That's new� pointing at the scars on
his arm. �almost like a pattern across the flesh� he replies �each one a failure,
each one a new understanding of how the runes work, how the area feels, how when
you cast, It's just you and nature. The understanding of it, how it works and why
it works that way.� Praxus sits down. �You want to learn it don't you Keros� The
smirk on her face fades as she slowly nods with restraint. �I don't want the scars
though.� Her gnomish heritage peeking through."Not to worry I can help with that, I
mean I keep the scars as a reminder of what I learned but I can reverse them or
hide them if you wish". praxus spoke tenatively as he remembered the ones on his
knuckles were the newest. Keros was cooking some corn and ham while Praxus was un-
loading his bag in his room. The smell of the food filled the air and was causing
him to remember that Keros couldn't cook. Some spices hung in the air as if they
had always been there, realizing that the smell in the air was his enhanced senses
picking up on everything around him.