Rune Gallery
The Rune Gallery is Ashvault’s grand hall of inscriptions — an immense vault where glowing glyphs, ancient rune tablets, and magical etchings from countless ages are displayed and studied. It serves as both a museum and an arcane research hub, drawing scholars, runescribes, and ambitious artificers from across Mythralune. It is said that within these walls, runes whisper their secrets to those willing to listen.
Purpose / Function
- Original Purpose: Archive and safeguard rune knowledge essential to Ashvault’s industries and defenses.
- Current Purpose: Still serves as the city’s primary repository of rune lore, but also operates as a competitive laboratory where rune-mages test new inscriptions — and occasionally suffer spectacular failures.
Design
- Shape & Size: A vast cruciform hall nearly 300 ft from end to end, with towering ceilings supported by massive basalt pillars etched with protective runes.
- Materials: Black stone walls inlaid with channels of molten glass, which flow with dimly pulsing orange light.
- Color Palette: Ebony, ember-red, and subtle arcs of blue or violet from charged glyphs.
Entries
- Main entrance is a pair of colossal iron doors covered in shifting, living runes that only open to authorized sigil-bearers or when commanded by the Rune Wardens.
- Smaller side entrances exist for apprentices and suppliers, guarded by mundane and arcane locks alike.
Sensory & Appearance
- Sight: Walls alive with glowing inscriptions. Some runes float slightly above the surface, rotating or drifting like leaves on a current.
- Sound: A low harmonic resonance — some claim it is the voice of the runes themselves. Occasionally a glyph releases a crackling or chiming note when near certain people.
- Smell: Ozone, scorched parchment, faint metallic tang.
- Touch: The air feels charged, like before a lightning strike.
Denizens
- Rune scholars, scribes, artificers, and apprentices scuttling between projects.
- Occasional bound rune wraiths (manifestations of failed or incomplete rune spells) kept contained within glowing sigil cages.
- Ember moths, small magical insects drawn to rune-light, flit through the halls.
Contents & Furnishings
- Freestanding stone plinths holding rune tablets of obsidian, bone, or dragon scale.
- Long worktables littered with inkpots of glowing rune-ink, styluses, and stacks of failed rune drafts that smoke or jitter.
- Shelves stacked with vellum scrolls and heavy rune-codices bound in iron.
- Floating sigil nodes that drift overhead, cataloguing new inscriptions.
Valuables
- Priceless rune tablets from the Elder Forge Age, including patterns for elemental binding, soul anchoring, and iron memory.
- Vials of ever-burning rune ink that can write spells directly into objects.
- Secret research on hybrid rune-crafting — combining elemental runes with planar glyphs to stabilize portals.
Hazards & Traps
- Misdrawn runes may lash out with wild bursts of magic, setting intruders ablaze or casting them into stasis.
- Certain areas have defensive rune arrays that automatically trigger wards of paralysis or explosive glyphs if approached improperly.
- Failed experimental runes sometimes coalesce into aggressive sigil-wraiths.
Special Properties
- The gallery is built atop a ley fracture, drawing raw magical power up into its halls — enhancing rune potency but also increasing volatility.
- Certain rune walls can be “read” by placing a hand on them, temporarily sharing knowledge or visions tied to the rune.
Alterations
- After the Great Rune Breach of 529 AR, entire wings were rebuilt with additional containment wards and sigil-sealed vault doors.
- New chambers added for collaborative rune projects under the watch of the Ember Council.
Architecture
- Harsh, imposing geometry typical of Ashvault, but softened inside by flowing molten glass inlays that carry runic energy through the structure.
- Exteriors adorned with stylized hammer-and-flame motifs, symbols of Ashvault’s forging legacy.
Defenses
- Protected by layers of passive and active rune wards — including barriers that can repel planar incursions or flood entire halls with searing arcane light to purge intruders.
- Rune Wardens (elite guards trained in counter-sigil combat) patrol constantly.
History
- 406 AR: Founded as the Hall of Inscriptions.
- 487 AR: Site of the Rune Accord, where rival smith guilds standardized protective runes for the city walls.
- 529 AR: Partial collapse during a catastrophic hybrid rune experiment, leading to dozens of casualties and the accidental creation of three rune wraiths.
- 564 AR: Successfully developed the “Forgeheart Runes” that protect Ashvault’s Great Forges from collapsing under molten strain.
Tourism
- Restricted tours offered to wealthy visitors or foreign dignitaries, usually culminating in controlled demonstrations where runes animate statues or inscribe fire in midair.
- Merchants outside sell tiny, lesser runic amulets said to “share the gallery’s blessing,” though most are harmless fakes.
Founding Date
406 AR
Type
Underground / Vault
Parent Location
Environmental Effects
The gallery is suffused with a subtle ambient magic that hums through the very air. Visitors often experience tingling sensations, phantom whispers, or fleeting images of possible futures. Some inscriptions bleed gentle light, painting the air with sigil-shaped motes.
Owning Organization
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