Tyrrish knots (Runes)

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Written by: Cory

Runes - Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros

Basgiath is built on runes but the Basgiath War College doesn’t teach runes at school. They are considered a Tyrrish custom which has been mostly lost after the unification. Runes hold wielded power woven for set purposes.

Runes are a skill the Tyrrish once controlled and perfected, but it was banned a couple hundred years after the unification of Navarre, even though many of the outposts and Basgiath itself were built upon them

There are many types of runes, some which are simple and others which are incredibly intricate. Marked ones are taught runes and have an upper hand when it comes to them.

Runes serve a purpose beyond decoration. They represent strands of magic harnessed from riders and fliers’ own power, meticulously woven into geometric patterns designed for specific functions. These enchanted patterns are then infused into an object, ready for immediate activation or for future use. This process is referred to as ‘tempering’.

Every shape has meaning. Runes are similar to a logosyllabic language, like Old Lucerish or Morrainian.

Notable examples of use of runes:

-On Violet’s daggers gifted to her by Xaden Riorson
– The runes on the Rybstad chest which hold items placed inside suspended in midair
Runes inside the wyvern
– The intricate rune on Brennan’s palm

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7 responses to “Tyrrish knots (Runes)”

  1. Is there a theory on how runes will come into play going forward or in the resolution of this whole series in Book 5? I have so many questions and not many answers.

    The runes on the daggers Xaden gifted to Violet: He gave her a dozen daggers. We know the runes on 2 of them are for different purposes – opening a door when it’s needed and counteracting Cat’s heightening emotions gift. What else was Xaden forward thinking enough to put into those runes that will help her on this journey? Does every dagger serve a different purpose?

    Rune on Brennan’s wrist: Does it counteract venin or serve some other purpose? If other purpose, what purpose does is serve? I’m thinking protective of some sort, but from what or whom?

    Runes in the wyvern: I may have had this one incorrect before. Runes may be something new in the wyvern, not something that’s been in them for hundreds of years. But either way, they’re intricate and what do they do? Make sure the wyvern don’t actually die EXCEPT via Violet’s raw power? Is that why the venin want Violet so bad because she’s the only thing that could ever fully defeat them?

    Runes on the wardstones: What do they mean? Do they tell how to get wards up the same way Lyra’s journal does? Are they protective? What do they do?

    Basgiath was built on runes: Why? Again, protective runes or runes that mean something else?

    1. Is there a theory on how runes will come into play going forward or in the resolution of this whole series in Book 5?
      >> not yet, but I am working on one. And I think Cat will be instrumental to this. I believe she will be top of her class for runes and the most powerful rune maker, similar to Colonel Mairi…

      The runes on the daggers Xaden gifted to Violet: He gave her a dozen daggers.
      >> 100% I am certain they all have their own role. We just haven’t learnt them all yet…

      Rune on Brennan’s wrist
      >> Ugh, this is so debatable but I think it’s because he is some sort of venin. My question is though, how come that The Assembly allows it. Like, they all know runes…

      Runes in the wyvern
      >> I do not get the runes in the wyvern. I am assuming that somehow wyvern cannot exist without runes. Dark wielders can only make them using runes.
      “The stones used to create them were nothing but cold, marked rocks.” Stones? Do dark wielders have runes?[…]
      A half hour—and some creative knife work on Mira’s part—after locating the pair of wyvern bodies, Mira draws back a polished chunk of what appears to be onyx marked with a complex rune I couldn’t even begin to replicate.
      And the damned thing is humming.
      Oh shit. Is this why wyvern have suddenly reappeared? Did someone give the venin runes?

      Runes on the wardstones
      >>“Basgiath was built on runes,” Beyond this, we do not know what the runes on the wardstones mean. Also, indeed, who told Lyra and Warrick how to build the wards? We just know that Tairn said this as well “We don’t exactly have opposable thumbs for weaving wards or runes.”
      We have so much to uncover, it feels like 3 books won’t be enough. We need to know what’s going on with the runes, with Andarna, with the isles, with the three brothers (well in this case Violet, Mira and Brennan), why is history repeating, how to defeat venin, who is General Venin, who was Mr Sorrengail, what’s Lilith hiding, how to deal with Xaden, AND SO MUCH MORE.

  2. And one more. The protective runes the rebellion kids were given before their parents were put to death. Activate once and sounds like the runes caused the relics to appear. BUT, and I find it hard to believe this is an oversight on Yarros’s part, in Fourth Wing we were lead to believe the Codagh gave all the rebellion kids their relics, but in Iron Flame it sounds like the relics were caused by whatever dragon incinerated the parent and therefore caused the rune to activate. Therefore Xaden’s would be from General Sorrengail’s dragon not Codagh. Am I missing something here?

    1. This is what I’m reading right now, and I’m trying to make sense of it.

      If we go back to FW, here is what we learn about rebellion relics
      “A dragon did that?” I whisper.
      She nods. “Mom says General Melgren’s dragon did it to all of them when he executed their parents, but she wasn’t exactly open to further discussion on the topic. Nothing like punishing the kids to deter more parents from committing treason.”

      What I understand, is that Codagh burnt the parents (gosh this sounds horrible to even write). In doing so, the runes activated. “It was designed to counter the signet of the rider whose dragon would kill them”
      So technically, you could say that Codagh, be extension, did give them the rebellion relic. Which appeared when the parents were executed and indeed has the purpose stated: it counters the signet of Melgren to see the battle’s outcome before it happens.

  3. But it was the third brother, who commanded the sky to surrender its greatest power, who finally vanquished his jealous sibling at a great and terrible price. —“The Origin,” The Fables of the Barren

    Brennan is a venin. Something Naolin did crated the ruin on his palm that day….maybe it wasn’t Naolin who drew from the earth but Brennan…. the wyvern are newly controlled by the the ruins.

    Omg it’s Brennan. Violet is going to have to fight and kill her brother….

    1. I think so too. I think Brennan is not…as we think he is. And Sgaeyl can sense it.

  4. I miss violets scribe brain in Iron Flame, and i was expecting her to suck up all knowledge, I hope that in the next books she travels and gather all knowledge to then form some type of master plan which everyone else will only understand later, like in throne of glass. for he to be pulling all string an not to act rashley, this includes things like the Runes, i am sure she can find a way to set traps / illusions etc.

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Hello! This site is dedicated to the Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros. I’ve made this place to explore the rich world of Empyrean, full of characters, theories, and places. Each post is carefully researched and updated with the newest details from the series. This site is also a great spot for discussing theories about the Empyrean Series. 🐉
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