ANCR-701 Lessons

Prior to this lesson, the front of the Room of Runes, specifically Professor Wessex’s desk, has clearly been set up to showcase examples for today’s topic, or to house demonstrative props. Today, there is a wide variety of runic artefacts that have been chosen to display some extremes of materials. There is what appears to be a clump of hillside, suspended in midair via preservation charms. Nearby, there is an assortment of all types of clays, stones, and metals, running nearly the full gamut of the geological spectrum. Rocks with streaks of green crystalline formations are next to red clay pottery, which in turn are placed beside gleaming gold lamellae. There is also quite an impressive array of animal products, both magical and otherwise, with impressively large teeth, striped hides, and even what appears to be a fire crab shell.

Students have the time before class to take those sights in, though some appear to be reading — whether belatedly attempting to cram the information into their brains, or simply as a way to freshen up prior to the lecture. As the clock tolls the evening hour, books are stowed in bags or placed on the corners of desks as Professor Wessex makes her appearance and does her brief pre-class routine before beginning.

Introduction
Hello again, Seventh Years. Our lesson today focuses on the materials that various cultures and individuals over the years have used for their inscription, as well as pertinent details, possible shortcomings, and other considerations to make. As you can see, there is a plethora of options to choose from, but not all are suitable for every script type. Some scripts have very specific material requirements, while others do not. We will additionally be touching on the theory of materials — that is to say, why certain scripts have strict requirements, or why certain materials are better conductors — in as much detail as possible.

Natural, Magical, Theoretical
We will start in reverse order. In this case it is necessary to talk about the hows and whys before we get into specifics. As we do so, we will briefly mention trends, culture characteristics, and history to create basic workable theories. The specifics are easier to discuss, as they are just explanations of facts. However, this preliminary grounding in theory should hopefully help cement those facts in your mind.

Discovering which materials are conducive to magical runic inscriptions has long puzzled magiarchaeologists and other researchers. A prime example of this is Kharosthi. Magiarchaeologists struggled to find magical manuscripts, despite knowing that the script had magical meanings. Many believed that the prestigious birch bark manuscripts were the key to unlocking Kharosthi’s magical effects. However, the answer was eventually found to be a specific type of coin made from a particular assortment of metals. Only these artefacts had activated magical ability. Once this was discovered, researchers all over the world were able to reproduce the magical effects the script had been purported to have, thus opening up new areas of research into each symbol’s meaning. Usually the correct material is not quite so specific or elusive to uncover. However, in all cases, this knowledge is crucial to uncovering a script’s full potential.

Over the years, it has been accepted that there is a great preference among ancient societies — from one end of the world to the other — for natural materials, although what is considered “natural” varies significantly. In some cases, societies favor the “most living” option. By this, I mean that when the option between a rock (which neither is nor was ever alive) and an animal hide (which comes from a previously live creature) presents itself, the animal hide is a much more likely choice. However, by contrast, materials that are sturdy enough to stand the test of time are also favored in many other cultures. 

From these facts, scholars have created a few working theories. The most prevalent one is that ancient civilizations favored natural materials because of their perceptions of the world and magic. They saw magical creatures, wand woods, and the like and developed the notion that magic came from nature; therefore when they made magical inscriptions, they chose the materials that they believed to be most inherently magical. However, it bears mentioning that man-made materials were not nearly as prevalent in the times of ancient civilizations. They did not have abundant commercialized or fabricated materials to choose from, which may have limited their options and skewed these results.

However, no matter which of the two aforementioned theories you ascribe to — or if you believe a separate one entirely — this does not explain why certain materials continue to be most suitable, even after the original societies have died out. It only explains why these materials might have been chosen in the first place and used for the duration of the civilization. This puzzle has a much more complicated and less straightforward answer.

There are some who say that life (and therefore nature) and magic are two sides of the same coin. They are intrinsically linked. However Kharosthi and Adinkra are just a few examples that seem to fly in the face of this theory, producing runic artefacts of great power only on materials that are man-made. Problematically, this theory does not entirely account for those exceptions to the rule, and this is the main thing that stands in the way of more widespread acceptance.  Additional counterarguments to this theory also point out that many present-day witches and wizards around the world have preconceived notions about the usefulness of man-made materials in magic. 

A secondary theory suggests that individual scripts may have their own “preferences” of sorts, meaning, for example, that the symbols of Phoenician inherently “know” that they are to be used on pottery. As you can likely imagine, there are numerous obvious criticisms of this theory, not the least of which is that scripts are not conscious. More, as we have mentioned, the scripts in and of themselves are not magical. Beings like us must use our own inherent magic to cause an effect via a script. Regardless, this theory does fill in some gaps not addressed by others, and so it persists despite logical flaws.

There is a collection of less popular and lesser known theories, such as the theory of geographically and historically available items having precedence, but again, the how of it — how a script could “know” that one material or another is in its geographic region — is unexplained. All in all, there is no widely accepted explanation of this phenomenon that takes into account all of these issues, but study continues in an attempt to add to the body of information we have.

Tiers of Materials
Now that we’ve touched on theory, it’s time to expand upon it with concrete examples. As you know, there is a wide variety of materials that can be used for runic inscriptions. If you can think of it, it has likely been used. From our discussion of theory, obviously it would be inaccurate to say that living materials are better or more suited for all scripts across the board, but scholars typically organize them into groups that range from “most alive” to “least alive.” Obviously this is a bit of a misnomer in that very few of these materials are actually alive at all, but these are general considerations to how “removed” they are from when they were last living, which dictates where they are in the list.

Living Beasts and Beings
While uncommon, it is possible to inscribe a living creature with runes and magically activate them. This can be done to beings like ourselves, or goblins, or they could simply be beasts like Jobberknolls or trolls. That being said, typically it is not very pleasant, as most inscription methods (which we will discuss next week) would require piercing flesh. In most modern societies, these types of inscriptions are voluntarily selected and most frequently include runes in the form of tattoos or ritual scarification that are magically activated afterwards. However, the enchanting of livestock with runes is still fairly common and may involve branding or carving the runes into the horn, tusk, or hoof of the animal.

There are a few dangers associated with this practice. First of all, using yourself as an anchor for a runic inscription can be uniquely draining. Despite the fact that runes do not normally take magic from the host material and are instead activated by their inscriber (or some other party), applying magical runes to living beings, for one reason or another, can have a latent pull on that being’s magic. It is uncertain what causes this to happen, but most ascribe it to the unpredictability of combining runic magic with a being that has its own magical source, which brings us to the second issue. Even if there is not a latent drain on a being’s magic, it’s possible for there to be interference or interaction between the two sources of magic, which makes something as simple as casting the Wand-Lighting Charm potentially disastrous. This is also problematic, though usually to a lesser extent, for magical creatures, as evidenced by the tale of a medieval Graphorn breeder who used Magyar to magically brand his beasts and make them more fertile. As recorded in his journal, he awoke one morning to find they had all shrunk down to the size of teacups and never returned to their proper size. 

Living Plants
As a natural counterpoint to living animals, it is also possible to inscribe runes on pants that are still alive. Most frequently, this includes carving something into a tree trunk, but more temporary runic enchantments have been recorded on delicate flower petals, or even encouraging plants such as vines, grass, or trees to grow into a specific shape. It is interesting to note that hillsides and other expanses of land — so long as they are covered with foliage — also fall into this category.

As with living beings and beasts, there does exist some danger in inscribing magical plants with runes. This is partly because magical plants may not very much like being dug into and may fight back (not unlike magical creatures, though most people typically forget about plants). However, the other reason is, as before, it can cause unpredictable magical effects, especially if those plants are used in potions or other remedies.

Animal Parts¹
This category is distinctly separate from living beings and beasts. Once a being or beast has passed on, the teeth, tusks, horns, bones, hooves, claws, hides, or anything else that can bear a legible inscription are still used as surfaces for runic magic.

As a note, while most of the materials listed above come from beasts, in the past² it was common enough for bits of beings to be used in the same manner. A human’s skull, a goblin’s claws, a vampire’s teeth, or a yumbo’s hide were all potentially inscribable objects in one area of the world or another in the past. These objects were often enchanted via runes — and potentially other forms of magic — and then used as talismans or amulets to be kept on one’s person or used to protect one’s lands or dwelling. As a note, the parts of the creature or being used need not be magical. It is just as common to see inscriptions on whalebone or elephant tusks.

Plant Parts
Similarly to the previous section, once a plant is no longer in the ground, it can still be used for runic inscriptions. Purely due to ease of inscription, trees or other plants with thick, woody stems are chosen for this purpose. There is still some use of more delicate plant parts such as leaves or flowers for temporary purposes. However, because disconnecting them from a living plant shortens their lifespan considerably, this is not generally done except in very specific situations (and when it has been done in the past, the inscriptions themselves have not survived to the present day).

As a note for the various plants and animals sections, there much less of a concern regarding loss of limb when using magical flora or fauna that it is no longer living, though the possibility is not entirely eradicated.

Earth
While technically never living, because of their close proximity to nature, items of earth are considered on the fringe of “living items.” This includes rocks, clay, pottery, cave walls, mountainsides, and similar items. Granted, the example of a grassy hillside is often contested and could fall either under the living plants category or this one. However, as stated, it is generally agreed upon that if the hillside has an abundance of foliage covering at least seventy-five percent of the surface, it would fall under the “living plants” category. Rocky hillsides, sandy plateaus, or cliffs (though not necessarily common inscription choices) fall into this category instead.

Man-Made Products
Lastly, we have items whose creation requires the intervention of humans or other beings. Substances such as metals and metal alloys are considered the most natural or living options in this category, as their base product before they were tempered came from the earth. However, this category includes nearly everything else not mentioned in the earlier categories, including — possibly to your surprise — rubber, asphalt, and mixes similar to mortar. 

Most of these materials, as I hope you know, were not used during the original period of use of any ancient runes. However, resurgence, or use by modern practitioners, may cause experimentation or force users to choose other materials, as the traditional options are extinct or are unavailable in some other way.

Multi-Material or Monogamous
Our last discussion for today touches on the ability of some runic alphabets to be inscribed on several different surfaces without sacrificing potency or longevity. On the opposite side of the spectrum, will also examine some runes’ inability to be effectively inscribed and activated on anything other than one particular surface. More importantly, in the following sections, we will give a name to this phenomenon and explain the basic terminology and concepts associated.

Nearly all runic alphabets have an “ideal surface” or, in other words, a material with which that runic script works best. This ideal surface may be as specific as the one used for the Proto-Canaanite script, whose most ideal surface is fired clay pottery, or it can be as wide as Germanic runes and span multiple categories — in this case, anything once or currently living. As always, there are some exceptions to this rule, but nearly all have a most ideal surface.

However, continuing with the example of Germanic runes, we know it is possible for some runes to work on materials that are not their most ideal surfaces. Germanic runes will work on metal and metal alloys with little trouble and adaptation and, in fact, have been made to work on cement and asphalt in modern experiments. These possible, but not ideal, surfaces are commonly referred to as a script’s “acceptable surfaces” or “workable surfaces.” 

Lastly, most scripts have at least one — and usually significantly more than one — surface upon which their particular brand of runic magical simply will not work. These are termed a script’s “dead surfaces.” Unlike Germanic runes, some scripts will have many categories’ worth of dead surfaces. In the next section we will discuss a script’s properties with respect to determining how specific and particular its most ideal surface is, if it has other workable surfaces, and how wide a range its dead surfaces are.

Script Sociability
Now, as we just discussed, scripts are not conscious, so they cannot be “social” in the traditional sense. Script sociability is used to indicate how well a script “gets along” with the possible list of materials. That is, how many different materials can be used alongside with this script and to what degree the potency of the magic is affected by using a non-ideal surface. Therefore, a script like the Elder Futhark, which is quite flexible and spans multiple material categories and also works rather well on its acceptable surfaces, is considered a highly social script.

This descriptor is not very specific; there are not distinct categories for sociability, nor are there any points or numbering systems. That would be far too messy, and the factors that script sociability include are very difficult to quantify accurately, thus making any categorization attempt highly subjective. Instead, this term is used by academics in the field to explain the unique situation of a given script that they are studying or working with. For example, a curse-breaker may ask a magilinguist colleague if there is any need to worry about a curious Kadamba inscription on the cave wall. The magilinguist would be able to reassure their colleague that no, there is no need to take further safety precautions because Kadamba has a low sociability and will only work on its most ideal surface.

Closing
This brief, though suitably thorough, overview of materials and their magical nuances comes to a close here. Obviously, there is much more to be discussed about the specifics of each script. However, with the knowledge and understanding of the concepts and terms covered today, you will have no problem intelligently discussing any alphabet or abugida you encounter.

For your assignments today, you have a rather light workload. Consider it an accidental gift and use the time wisely as next week will be back to our usual programming: you will have your midterms and a practice N.E.W.T. assignment available. This week, you merely have your customary quiz, along with an assignment on a variety of scripts’ most ideal materials. Voluntary assignments include trying your hand at identifying how social a variety of scripts are as well as a review of the information covered in Year Four.

Next week, we will be covering the different kinds of scripts and their contents — that is, consonants and vowels and what this means for magilinguists. Before then, be sure to read the sections of your textbook on Mycenae, Nabatean, and Sogdian in preparation.

Footnotes

1. A pedantic note here: technically speaking, if you find an inscription on an insect part, you may consider it to be in this category. As this is so rare, researchers have ultimately decided that it does not need its own section.

2.There are still cultures that use human or other beings’ remains to create runic inscriptions, but this is almost exclusively limited to rituals related to the afterlife and is meant to help the deceased pass into the next level of life or death.

Original lesson written by Professor Venita Wessex
Image credits here, here, here, and here