The Broken Halo

Chapter 292: 292: Runes

Akaza was actually very surprised by how everything went according to Simon’s expectations.

Everything he said and did in front of the Tibat, Agramormos, and Balafar was what Simon told him to do.

Before the Iron Fangs attacked the First Years, Simon told him to set up a meeting with the leaders of the Vipers Nest, Stone Crushers, and Black Thorns.

He was confused when Simon told him to do this, but he did it nevertheless.

After the extortion and creation of the bet, Simon communicated with him in the middle of the night and told him to do some things.

Getting information on some of his classmates was one thing, making two extra copies of the book he sold to the three leaders was another, then Simon told him what to say and do in the meeting with the three leaders.

Simon told him that at the end of the day, he should make sure that the Vipers Nest, Stone Crushers, and Black Thorns attack his classmates.

’He told me to give them the suggestion where they attack the First Years on the bridge and where the Iron Fangs are kept in one place and observed by more members of the three groups.’

’He said that they’ll most likely take up his suggestion since it made perfect sense and was literally the best option for them to make.’

’And they actually took it.’

’It’s terrifying to think about the fact that he predicted what they might say, do, and the decisions they would take.’

Akaza looked at the ground with a slight furrow of his brows, confusion flickering in his eyes.

’But there’s something I don’t understand. If he plans on making the Iron Fangs to gather up in one location, then how does he plan on protecting his classmates?’

’He didn’t tell me what to do after this. He only said that we’re going to go shopping, then he’ll tell me where to gather the Iron Fangs to.’

’Surely, he doesn’t plan on failing to protect his classmates?’

Akaza was very confused about this aspect of Simon’s plan.

’If the msmbers of the Vipers Nest, Stone Crushers, and Black Thorns don’t see all the members of the Iron Fangs or majority of the Iron Fangs in one location, then the three leaders would definitely not battle the First Years, and that would ruin everything.’

’And if the three leaders are not able to contact the their watchers, then they’ll know that something is wrong.’

’So, how does that bastard plan on protecting his classmates?’

Akaza released a sigh of frustration because no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t see how Simon was going to actually protect his classmates.

’Anyway, it’s his problem. Not mine. I’ll send him a message that the three bastards have accepted his proposal.’

As Akaza was sending the message to Simon, Simon was in a class he was a little bit interested in.

A class on runes and chaos runes to be specific.

Instructor Valdin stood in front of the class beside a large stone board that was filled with strange diagrams and writings.

“Runes are structured imprints of one’s intent or will on the world. They are a way for an individual to take something abstract like fire, shadow, force, decay, or motion, and give it a stable, repeatable form in the world.”

“If chaos or aether is energy, then runes are the language that tells that energy what to do.”

A wooden stick appeared in Instructor Valdin’s hand, then he used it to touch a bunch of strokes on the stone board beside him.

“At their core, every rune is made of strokes, but these strokes are not random lines. Each stroke represents a fundamental directive.”

“Think of them like this.”

He touched a straight line on the stone board.

“This straight line represents direction or flow.”

He moved to a curved line.

“This represents containment or cycle.”

He moved to a sharp angle.

“This represents release or rupture.”

He moved to a closed loop.

“This represents stability or preservation.”

He lowered the stick.

“On their own, strokes are meaningless, but when arranged with precision, they form a rune structure which is also a complete instruction.”

He paused for a moment then he took a step the right and began to walk.

“A rune works because it encodes three essential things.”

He raised a finger.

“Number one. Concept. This means what the rune represents. Is it an element like shadow or fire? Is it erosion? Acceleration?.”

He raised another finger.

“Number two. Function. This defines what the rune does with that concept. Is it meant to create? To amplify? To suppress? Or to redirect?”

He raised the third finger as he turned and walked to the left.

“Number three… Behavior. This describes how the rune interacts with energy and the world. Take for example, a fire rune… Is it meant to continuously burn? Is it meant to be explosively released into the environment like a blast? Is it meant to be a gradual release?”

“Before creating a rune, one must be able to answer these three questions or you must know what you want for the rune.”

“This would allow you to know what combination of strokes you’re to use.”

Instructor Valdin paused, then he took a step forward with his hands behind his back and started climbing the steps.

“Runes don’t actually create power.”

“They shape existing energy, whether that energy comes from the user, the environment, or a higher source like demon kings, gods, and so on.”

“When energy flows into a rune through the strokes which act as pathways, the rune acts like a filter + instruction set, forcing that energy to behave in a specific way.”

He paused, then he turned and started walking down the steps.

“Runes can allow you to control an element you don’t have an affinity for, though it’ll be difficult.”

“And if you’re able to create runes and master them, you’ll become a Rune Master.”