The Topaz Art: Runelore is syntactical but based on writing, words. language and symbols is the most obviously so of the Color Manna magic systems.
The five vowels/verbs are Create, Destroy, Transform, Perceive, and Control. The consonants/nouns are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit, Plant, Animal, Mind, Body, Image, Manna and Luck/Fate. The Vowels are linked to the
Classical Planets. Create/Venus, Transform/Mercury, Destroy/Mars, Control/Jupiter and Perceive/Saturn. The Consonants are linked to the Zodiac Constellations but the relationships change constantly. The Sun and the Moon are inflections in the system that can change nouns into verbs in different ways. And as Calvin and Hobbs reminds us "Verbing Weirds Language!'
Although the seventeen runes each represent a word, runes are individual letters. And the Runic Language is complex in grammar, vocabulary, and poetics. Powerful spells require long invocations that both rewrite and charm the universe into co-operation. Enchantments are based on Runic inscriptions. In order to achieve more refined control over these magics, rune charms are written down. Elegant calligraphy can both make spells more potent and easier to cast.
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