ANCR-701 Lessons

This evening, the atmosphere in the dim castle is a bit more fevered than usual. For many students, it is simply due to the promise of midterms following their lessons. However, for the older students — particularly the Seventh Years — there is the looming promise of the exams they must sit at the end of the term, and a reminder that their year is already half over. It is strange, then, that many of the more diligent students of Ancient Runes are nowhere to be found, even in the minutes before class. 

The mystery is resolved when the clock strikes the hour, ushering in not only Professor Wessex, but the missing students as well. The Ancient Runes Prefects trail behind the blonde professor, most wearing looks of purpose and confidence, likely just having finished a meeting with the Slytherin woman. The assorted students take their seats quickly, as Professor Wessex wastes no time in starting her routine, and then the lesson.

Introduction
Today marks the halfway point of this year — your last year, though I need not remind you, I am sure. Before the various assessments following the lesson, we will be covering two separate, though briefer, topics today.

The first of these is on the subject of inscription methods: the last piece of the puzzle, at least in concrete or physical terms. After this lesson, our theoretical dissection of runes will focus more on the abstract. It is in this realm that our second subject of the evening falls: types of alphabets. Neither are terribly long discussions, but combined they neatly balance our two halves of the curriculum, and present a wealth of information.

Inscription Methods
Last week, we thoroughly discussed what types of materials could be inscribed, and before that we learned of the different methods of activating those inscriptions. We have not yet, however, talked about the methods of creating those inscriptions. As our curriculum includes the Elder Futhark, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Rongorongo, Proto-Canaanite, and Phoenician, all of which are etched into their surface prior to various activation methods, it may seem that there is only one way in which to create an inscription. This is not accurate.

Indeed, even in merely the scripts we have covered in this class, there is more than just etching available. In the Elder Futhark, runes meant to be activated can also be burnt into wood. With Phoenician, paints infused with the activation potion can be applied directly to clay pottery potion without being applied on top of an etched inscription. Additionally, even the simple act of carving or etching can be done in many ways, as you will see. In the next portion of the lesson, I will briefly outline as many of the options as is possible without becoming repetitive and redundant.

Burning
To burn or scorch a rune into a surface, ancient witches and wizards used tools, usually made of metal, though sometimes smoldering sticks were substituted. These tools were then applied to a surface. This worked well with large pieces of thick wood, bone, or hide, though the same process can be done more delicately on smaller pieces depending on the skill of the inscriber and the tools used. If wondering why magic was not used for this purpose (and those that follow), the answer is two-fold. First, many witches and wizards of the past did not use wands as such (either because wands had not yet been invented or because they were not used in that part of the world). Secondly, in many cases it is considered poor form to use magic to create a rune (apart from the obvious step of activating). Many people feel this makes the runes more unstable, unpredictable, and short-lived (in that it may cause an overload of magical power that drains from the object quickly). Of course, as with any theory, there are opposing viewpoints as well.

Carving
This is done with a sharp metal object, like a knife or other weapon, sharp rocks like flint, obsidian, or diamond, or with whatever is on hand that is sharp enough to pierce the inscription surface, such as wood, bone, or rock surfaces. Additionally, there are quite a few instances of witches and wizards simply using magic — cutting spells — to achieve this end, though the concerns as noted above apply. There have also been occasional reports of carving tools becoming a kind of foci on their own, though only after frequent and repetitive use throughout the lifetime of the same person. As mentioned — and is particularly true with regards to carving — in some cases, depending on the script, both carvings with cutting spells or accidental foci create a sort of “resonance” that can interfere with intended magical effects of the inscription.

Chiseling
Most often used on rock, this specific method is distinguished from carving because it is a two-step process: a sharp object is held to the inscription surface and is then struck by a heavy, blunt object repeatedly. This method, while widely used, is a touch crude and carries a higher probability of damaging the inscription. For example, chiseling can cause hairline cracks if not done carefully, which may result in further damage over time, interfering with the runes’ magic. This inscription technique works best with — and is most commonly seen on — large freestanding stones, cave walls, or cliffs.

Painting or Drawing
Considered by many to be of lesser use because of its lessened permanence, the practice of applying paints or drawing a figure onto a surface is also possible. This is seen on pottery, papyrus, parchment, and more. While it is magically viable, there is some truth to the prejudice that it is easier to degrade, as it can be washed off the surface without the actual destruction of the artefact itself. That is, the surface may still survive, but the inscription will be removed, which is less likely to happen with burning or carving. In some civilizations, this has been mitigated by baking the paints and the pottery, or by adding layers of paint or glaze on top of the inscription.

Weaving
While it is rather material-specific, there is also the option of weaving. Obviously, this can only be done with textile-based artefacts or similar objects. Sadly, these degrade quickly and even the few surviving examples are often not excellent, as parts of the inscription may have begun to unravel, causing unstable enchantments.

Other Arrangements
Anything which does not fit in the other categories belongs here, which makes for quite a motley crew. I will not go over each possible type here, as we would be remiss to assume all inscription methods have been discovered. However, the most common examples deal with large-scale inscriptions using the geography of the land, such as an arrangement of trees on a large hill, trenches dug into the earth, or piles of stones that make an image or symbol.

Writing Systems
With that finished, we will move onto our discussion of alphabets or, more accurately, writing systems. While you may not have realized it, we have been discussing this topic throughout your five years in this class, at least in small ways. In the past, I have referred glibly to any runic script as an alphabet, but this is not entirely true. It suits most peoples’ purposes, as they have no need to differentiate, but the advanced student of runes will often find themselves in a situation where they need to be specific. 

We have talked in the past about the terms “logographic” versus “syllabic” as well as “ideographic” and “pictographic.” Indeed, for some of you, these differentiations were difficult to wrap your mind around. These are just names of different forms that writing systems can take and ways in which writing systems are used. As an example, a pictographic writing system (or pictographic script) is made up of picture-like symbols which are used to decipher meaning.

Alphabets, abjads, abugidas, and syllabaries are simply other kinds of writing systems that all have one thing in common: they use characters to represent single sounds. So, for example, in the Latin alphabet, the character “B” represents the sound “b.” This may sound very straightforward, with little room for multiple types, but this will be clear in a moment.

Abjads
Also called “consonantal alphabets,” these writing systems only have characters that represent consonants. Vowels are left up to the reader to fill in on their own, which can be difficult to do if that script is not well-documented or newly discovered. The name “abjad,” similar to “futhark” and “alphabet” comes from the first letters of the script. In this case, the letters are Aleph, Beth, Gimmel, and Daleth. As you may be able to guess, abjads are most prevalent in ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.

There is a high correlation of abjads that are also magical scripts, for example, Aramaic, Phoenician, Proto-Canaanite, Nabatean, and Sogdian. It is not entirely certain why this is, though there are leading theories. In some cases, scholars point to the small number of symbols in abjads as a reason for why so many have bridged the gap to become magical. Others posit that the shared culture of the Middle East, with which abjads overlap significantly, may have somehow influenced the people who use these writing systems to create a higher percentage of magical scripts.

Abugidas
In this writing system, there are both vowels and consonants. However, while there are specific characters for each consonant, there are not for vowels. Instead, the vowels are noted via diacritic marks, or additional strokes added to the consonant. These are often equated with alphasyllabaries (or the similarly named syllabic alphabets) and while there is technically a differentiation to be made, it is so miniscule that we will not be covering it in class in any detail.¹ 

Alphabets
Likely, you will be most familiar with this form of writing system. For the sake of completion and attention to detail, we’ll define it briefly. An alphabet has unique symbols for both consonants and vowels, rather than incorporating the vowels as part of the consonant sign. 

Alphabets are less frequently magical, though there are examples, and many believe this is owed to the fact that they are a sort of “antithesis” to ideographic scripts. That is, alphabets are the furthest a script can get from having ideas or concepts linked to it. Though this is, of course, impossible to prove in any qualitative or quantitative fashion at the moment.

Furthermore, often an alphabet will have separate ideographic ideas attributed to each symbol, such as is the case with Avesta, Elder Futhark, and Theban.

Syllabaries
Syllabaries are made up of characters which, predictably, represent whole syllables. That is, “ma” would be represented by a specific symbol, as would “mi” and “mu” and so on. As you can imagine, this type of writing system often has many characters to work with. However, depending on the corresponding language, some sound combinations might not exist. As an example, in Mycenaean Greek, a language which pairs with Mycenae, the sound “fa” cannot be made, thus there is no symbol for this grouping.

Because syllabaries are so closely linked with the sounds that the letters make -- and often do not develop true ideographic meanings -- they are unlikely candidates to become magical scripts. However, in the cases where these writing systems are magical, nearly all of them share the same activation technique. The majority of  magical syllabaries discovered to date are activated via spoken word.  

Important Notes
Of course, it bears mentioning again that a writing system can develop and over time serve more than one function. Indeed, Egyptian hieroglyphs were used as an example in your Fourth Year. As I explained then, they were first a pictographic writing system, which then changed to a logographic one, and finally to a syllabic script. Similarly, an abjad can develop over time and become an alphabet, though it may take many generations to do so, and the writing system (and accompanying language) may have changed enough to be called something else. 

Lastly, there is no one officially better writing system for magic, only trends that have been observed. Abjads are not inherently more magical, nor are all syllabaries automatically mundane, as you will see when you complete your assignments today. Still, knowing these trends is important to your study and the discovery of new magical scripts. 

Closing
Before you leave for the evening, be aware that most people do not make these distinctions. Outside of professional magilinguistic circles, calling Phoenician a “magical alphabet” is to be expected, as the differences between types of writing systems are negligible to anyone who is not studying the tiny details of a magical script. Indeed, more often than not, you will even hear magilinguists refer to the whole lot as “alphabets,” if the distinction is not necessary to the point they are making or the conversation they are having. Do not agonize over these distinctions constantly in your note taking or exams, though be aware of them for the purpose of study as well as in any academic articles you go on to author. 

That is quite enough for one lesson, even as Seventh Years. For now, we will end the lecture and proceed with the midterm, which will be delivered in two parts: one for the theory we have covered so far, and the other a practical application of what you have learned, requiring you to dissect a specific script.

Once that is finished, there are a number of other assignments. Firstly there is your N.E.W.T. review assignment. Even this week, there is no time to take a break, as we have covered a fair amount over the last six years. As always, it is optional, but be aware that neither ambition nor knowledge takes a week off. Secondly, there are two other mandatory assignments, a quiz on the content covered in the lesson, as well as an assignment that requires you to identify if the indicated scripts are alphabets, abjads, or otherwise.

The next time you are in the Room of Runes for a new lesson, we will be moving steadily, brutally onwards with no time for review, so reading through the sections of Lydian, Maori Petroglyphs, and Tocharian in your textbook is required. These scripts will be useful to contextualize our discussion of magical traces, what they are, and how to detect them.

Footnotes:

1. To elaborate, nearly all alphasyllabaries (or syllabic alphabets) are also abugidas, and vice versa. Their overlap is so widespread, that the distinction is typically made only when it is pertinent to your specific field of research. Notable exceptions include hPhags-pa, which is an abugida, but not an alphasyllabary and Lao, which is an alphasyllabary, but not technically an abugida (and also not a runic script).
   
   

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