Baalak on 6/12/2007 at 19:28
That is AWESOME!
[RIGHT][INDENT]- Baalak called Amazed![/INDENT][/RIGHT]
jtr7 on 6/12/2007 at 20:59
There's so much! Can you narrow it down? For instance, what would you like to see here besides a bunch of links to other threads?:D
Another direction this could go is a discussion of the differences between all the hand-gesture spell-casting, and how the Keepers specifically draw symbols in the air; the Hand Mages twirl their hands just like ghosts and Priests, but cast very different spells. The Mechanists use glyphs (quietly), the Hand Mages have glyphs, too, but only the Keepers use Glyphs that have a mind of their own.
Some names, not all used, apparently:
Aranides
Bethisik
Discarta
Invertamus
Penteclees
Trillogem
Unbinding
Baalak on 6/12/2007 at 21:11
Well, I'm not sure exactly what to start with. I'm curious about the Glyphs having a will of their own. What sort of will do you think that is? If belief makes Gods, what made the glyphs, and what does their belief cause?
They do indeed seem different from spellcasting that the other casters perform. While both involve the movement of the hands (Solmatic components), I always imagined traditional casting to involve incantations as well, where a Keeper's Glyphs are completely silent and likely invisible to those not permitted to see them.
What all can the Glyphs do? They seem very powerful. Where does this power come from? Where did the Keepers learn of them? What do the glyphs which are known to other groups do, if anything?
I suppose this comes into a broader question: What are the different types of magic capable of doing, and how are these properties used by their casters?
Feel free to link as much as you want, jrt7. Just be warned- I read very slowly.
[RIGHT][INDENT]- Baalak called Curious.[/INDENT][/RIGHT]
jtr7 on 6/12/2007 at 21:33
When looking at the following, I think it's more important to observe HOW the Keepers speak of the Glyphs. The Keeper culture, psychology...religion, as it were.
m08c0707: "Who is the master? The scribe who writes the glyph or (darkly) the glyph who seeks a scriber?"
m08c0708: "Do not speak so. I am master over the glyphs I use...surely."
AULgamalljournal: "Gamall's Journal
My efforts have met with obstacles, hindrances, delays...but there is a benefit to having Garrett alive. He can easily do what I cannot. The thief, the sneak. I know everything, and he knows nothing. My success is assured. It is time for recollection, retrospect. Decades, centuries past. I remember the day Somersault found the glyph. My glyph. And I knew, even I signed the covenant never to touch it, that it would be mine. It called to me. It sang me its song. Then it was foolish, trusting Vandolyn who shared with us his insight to use the glyphs against the accelerated aging. And it worked. Better than I hoped. And now I am more than any of them could have imagined. Of the recent past. The child Lauryl, whose form I used to hide from the others for so long. Sealed her grave with the glyphs, so that her skin would be mine for as long as I needed, wanted it. How did she escape? I still am unsure. And Orland, so easily manipulated by the letters. Signed with a C, any other would have unearthed my simple ploy. How easy it has been to remove from the Libraries the books that refer to me. And now for the future. I surmise that there are others following my path, my destiny. All they lack is the Glyph of Transmutation. And when the time comes, I will give it to them, my brethren, and more. I am become Glyphs. The time of secrets is almost over. A new age approaches."
AULdaegarbook: "Chronicles of Daegar: Epilogue
Imagine our great excitement at finding the new glyph. Somersault was the first to discover its secrets. But it wasn't long before our excitement grew to concern, then fear. Fear for the future, fear that the glyph could fall into the hands of an unbalanced mind. For we Keepers are human, and humans have weaknesses. With no way to destroy it, we enshrined it, sealed it with all manner of glyphs, and have set down these words to speak to the future. Do not heed the call of the Glyph of Transmutation - the glyph that can be used to steal another's form. Do not seek to unlock the seals that hold it. Let it sit, forever unused. And most of all, may balance be with us, the four entrusted with this terrible knowledge, task, and burden. Signed,
Keepers Daegar, Somersault, Gamall, and Vandolyn"
AULdiocenletters: "The Letters of Diocen, Book 5
To the Council- I am nearing the end of my ability to serve as Interpreter. My apprentice, Caduca, though blind, is highly gifted. She should be my successor when my time is ended. For the future, the prophecies are clear and rife with warnings. With the help of the young acolyte that chose thievery over us, we shall eventually overcome the first two trials. Then a third dark age will approach, but here the glyphs are not so clear. Interpreting this third trial will be Caduca's life work, and her eventual undoing. She knows this, and accepts her fate with dignity and balance. Interpreter Diocen
To the Council- This will be my last missive. The glyphs have taken all from me. I hope my efforts have not been in vain, and that my warnings have not fallen on deaf ears. I await a resolution on the matter of the glyphs I have postulated. If there is a Glyph of Transmutation, then there is terrible danger. A shape-shifter glyph would be too much a temptation for any Keeper. We must scour the old texts for any references to such a glyph. It is possible that early Keepers found it...but that the knowledge was lost. And it is how that knowledge might have come to be lost, that brings me great unrest. Interpreter Diocen"
cad_obs_scribe2: "To shape a glyph is to shape history."
cad_obs_scribe3: "The glyphs reveal all...remember that, scribe."
gmh_idle3: "They think they can control me use me shape me but ha ha ha I am the shape I control I use and they are all too blind to see...."
gmh_idle4: "Strong strong young and alive they were. Bring me their strength their blood their life their shape and make it mine mine yes mine and I am here and they are gone...."
Snakeskin on 6/12/2007 at 22:44
The glyphs certainly seem to have a mind of their own, or Will if you like B. I believe that they are 'signs' bestowed with this power, and the imprint is somehow contained in the aetherial world.
The power of the glyphs can be invoked in the right way, and by using the same sign that was once bestowed with that power.
Extrapolation Warning - critics beware :erm:
Could it be that the glyphs contain concentrated elemental energy, in the same way as i think of souls. Seen through the aether, a glyph would certainly glow very bright with this energy, and since they in this manner are similar to spirits or creatures, some of them develop minds and wills of their own?
jtr7 on 12/12/2007 at 08:46
Out of sync, I know, but two more obvious spirit-world/afterlife bits from Thief:
Angelwatch
Soulforge
Angels and souls....
