"Alright" I stretched my arms out and cracked my neck. "Intermediate Runemaking, let's check this out." I knew I still didn't have all the materials the course said I needed, but I figured even if I couldn't do the walkthroughs I could at least start learning the material ahead of time.
[Intermediate Runemaking Lesson 1: Interconnected Rune Layers
[Up until this point you may have noticed that all of the rune devices we've made so far have been comprised of a single spell rune modified or adapted by a number of surrounding logic runes on a single plane or 'layer'. If this were to continue it would serve as a major bottleneck for the potential of any devices we seek to create, but luckily there is a way to link several different planes or 'layers' together to form larger more adaptable devies, but before we get there, it's important that we are clear on several pieces of terminology.
[First, what we've made so far are all 'single-layer rune devices.' 'Device' here refers to any rune structure centered around a single spell rune, whereas a 'layer' is what we call the rune structure on a single plane. Layers are generally made up of a three ring structure, though not all rings have to be present to form a layer. In order these are the input ring or the logic ring, which contains the battery and other logic circuits, the spell effect ring or output ring, which includes the central spell rune, and the tertiary or aftereffects ring, which modifies the device's mana flow. Within rune rings are individual 'circuits' which are groups of runes organized for a singular purpose, and then finally the individual runes themselves.
[In order for us to create multi-layer rune devices we have to connect the layers with a rune structure we call a 'causality chain' or 'interlacing.' The first example we have is also the most basic—A primary layer which can be composed of any of the rune devices we've looked at so far (here we use a light stone as an example), connected with interlacing to two layers that only contain battery circuits.
[It's key to note here that these expanded layers form a single, larger structure within the devices three rings. Battery layers must be connected together from a single input before flowing into the layer containing the spell rune where the secondary output ring takes place, and finally the flow may go to any layers dedicated to tertiary effects before dissipating.
[Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's dive into what the magnification stone we've acquired is, and how to use it with our mana stones…]
I pushed the window aside as I went over to the bed to lay down to digest all the information. "I guess it's nothing that crazy, but it still makes my head spin…" I reached up my hand to grasp at the empty air as I tried to let what I'd just read sink in.
"Too many terms, though, goddamn, I feel like there's about to be a pop quiz or something…'interlacing,' 'layers,' 'devices,' 'causality chain….' Fuuu" I sighed. "And if that's not enough, I can't even do it all without the mana stones and the magnification stone…Although I wonder…The interlacing is just runes to connect layers, can you do it if there's enough space on a material or would that like explode or something?" I sat up suddenly motivated.
I sorted through the stones on my desk trying to find a larger one. "Hmm, would this one work?" I held up a stone about the size of my palm trying to imagine squeezing two rune layers onto it. "Well, let's try. I'll probably screw this up the first time anyways…"
I started engraving a simple light layer onto the stone squeezing the circuits onto one half of the stone so I would have space for another on the other side.
"Hmm, I guess if I keep it simple, it should be fine." I finished the first layer and started to look at the interlacing instruction in the course material.
"Ok, wait, but this is all how to connect one layer of a mana crystal to another, it's not actually…Haaa, this is difficult. I guess they're kind of assuming you're working with mana crystals…"
I sat there staring at the instructions for a few minutes, glancing back and forth between it and the rock I was working on. "Nope, this isn't going to work," I sighed after a while.
"Ok, what about…how exactly does interlacing work, maybe if I can figure that out…" I exited the intermediate course and navigated to the encyclopedia entry for interlacing rune layers.
"Ok, 'interlacing is a method of integrating rune layers into a single device…works by chaining together inputs and outputs of individual layers…' Hmm, but how does this actually work?
"'Developed by Archmage Garion III in the thirteenth century F.A… Said to be one of the founding principles of modern runesmithing…' Ok here we go 'forms a short-wave interchange between the opposing sides of the interlinked runes, creating a channel which functions similar to the more basic 'flow' runes, allowing it to channel mana across a short distance, linking layers together as pieces of a greater whole…'"
"Haha, I really don't get it. 'short-wave interchange' the f***?" I scrolled through the pictures in the encyclopedia article and chanced upon one that showed two different interlaced layers side by side. "Maybe if I copy this it will work?" I zoomed in on the picture, trying to piece together the individual runes.
"Well, let's give it a try, I guess…" I started copying out one side of the runes onto the outside of the light layer I had set up. "Ok…" I activated it with a little mana. "Well, the light layer works, and the interlacing's lighting up, so at least it's valid runes…" I tried then inscribing a battery circuit on the other side of the stone along with the alternative form of interlacing that I saw on the other side of the picture.
"It's weird that the interlacing's a little different. Does that imply a direction, maybe? I don't know, let's see if it works."
I tried lighting up the first layer again, but nothing happened with the second layer. I tried activating the second layer to see if that was where the problem was, but it also activated without interacting at all with the first. "Hmmm, did I do something wrong?" I tried examining the picture closely and comparing it to what I'd made. "Maybe it's different for different spell runes?"
I pulled out another larger stone to try it on, and quickly inscribed the spell rune layed out in the picture. After I finished the first layer I once again activated it just to make sure. "Wait, what! What the hell!?" When I activated the first layer on the second stone, the second layer on the first stone lit up as well. But then after a moment the first layer on the first stone also started lighting up and the whole thing short-circuited and all of the interlacing runes immediately burned out and became unusable.
"Ok, wait, what the hell just happened?"