Curses & Cocktails by Rowland S.L

Author:Rowland, S.L. [Rowland, S.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-02T06:00:00+00:00

19. RUNECRAFTING

Rhoren had always found gnomes to be quite intriguing. Not for their jewel-toned hair or short stature, but for their industrious and innovative nature. As a race, they were pushing Aedrea toward the next age at a prodigious rate. While their inventions had always been worthy of being called a spectacle, they had recently begun to embark down more practical avenues, using the art of runecrafting to change the very way of life for their people.

Many mages had a disdain toward this new way of thinking, taking offense to a contraption that could mimic the powers of those empowered by the gods.

Rhoren had never felt that way. His powers hardly ever felt blessed. If the gnomes could invent weapons capable of fighting off behemoths, he would celebrate their achievement. Alas, the gnomish council had passed laws to stop the runecrafting of weapons. Enchanted weapons still existed in the world, and they were prized by adventurers, but most were from ages past, and new weapons were crafted in secret.

His father had traveled to Aethervale, the twin islands to the west of the continent, and learned to make several cocktails while there. The gnomish lands were also home to some of the greatest scholars, inventors, and runecrafters throughout the realm, and their university was regarded by most as the preeminent educational institution. According to Charence, the gnomes had nurtured a society built on curiosity by pressing the boundaries of magic and technology. Runetech, they called it. Which was part of the reason Rhoren and Kallum found themselves inside the Aethervale Guild of Tinkerers, Runecrafters, and Magical Engineers.

The windowless building was located within the Guild District. Brilliant white marble gave the building an air of mystery, drawing the eye but offering little insight as to what awaited inside.

Their teal-haired guide led them down a hallway toward the guild showroom. Her shimmering hair draped over her shoulders, and though she barely came up to either of their waists, she had an authority about her.

A soot-covered gnome slammed a door as he stepped into the hallway. His hair stood on end, frizzled. When he removed his goggles, the absence of soot left him looking like a masked raccoon.

“One of these days.” He sighed. “One of these days.”

“Are you familiar with runecrafting?” Their guide asked as they passed by, her voice high-pitched and nasally.

“Somewhat,” answered Rhoren. He’d studied runes during his youth but quickly found that he didn’t have the runecrafter’s touch. Runecrafting took a delicate hand and an amazing amount of skill to harness the power of the elements within the ancient symbols.

“Not really,” Kallum said sheepishly.

“Do not worry.” She smiled, turning to face them. “Many call runes the Language of the Gods and believe them to have been passed down from the gods themselves. Anyone is capable of carving or writing runes, so long as they have the skill, but there are only a select few capable of charging runes and calling forth their power. We call them runecrafters. They are similar to mages in a way, acting as a conduit between item and mana.

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