Glyphs

Glyphs

A glyph is a form of magic that relies not on the body’s physical limits but the knowledge of the user and their willingness to prepare. A glyph is a set of runes etched into a location to draw a desired effect from the world around them. A glyph user’s ability in magic is not what determined the strength of their spell, rather, the steadiness of their hand and a strong knowledge of the glyph system in itself. More often than not, a glyph will be created from one of three abilities.

Tattoo Glyphs
A tattoo glyph is a glyph that has been etched into someone’s body, usually over the course of months. It can enhance a person’s physical traits, though can only effect a certain part of the body. For example, a strength glyph put on someone’s arm can only affect the arm it was put on. It should also be considered that a glyph is extremely long in its script and limits the number of glyphs a person can have on their body. Breaking a glyph with a cut or a scar renders the effect powerless unless the scar or cut can somehow be removed.

Card glyphs
A card glyph is a simple glyph that has been put on a card with the last stroke to its creation unfinished. When the last stroke is added, the card takes one second before the effect that was placed on it takes effect. These cards are usually used in battle do to the simple nature of the spells that can be fit on them. Simple, physical spells such as creating fire or wind gusts are the most commonly seen usually take a few days to create.

Full glyphs
A full glyph is an spell cast with glyphs for much more complicated purposes than the previous examples. A full glyph can take years to complete in their concept phase and even longer to etch into a wall or a floor. More often than not these glyphs are used for locking away locations with a strict set of parameters and creating elaborate illusions. No known glyph has been created for mind invasion and it remains unknown if they can even achieve such a goal.

Who Uses Glyphs?
More often than not, the ability to use glyphs is not taught in school. An incomplete knowledge of the system is a dangerous thing. Instead, the ability to use them is usually taught in temples and other isolated locations.