Sae
Sae grew up alone. Her parents were stationed on an iron deposit's mine, and conceived her in the city proper. They were re-stationed on the mine, and Sae never heard from them since.
She was taken in by the Runewright, a Titled essence worker who was on a shortlist Health keeps for prospective caretakers in situations like this. For the first eleven years of Sae's life, he was a good caretaker. A little strict, as some parents are, but she never worried beyond what the average kid worried about.
Then, her surrogate father found he couldn't hold his hands straight when etching into the surface of a custom glyph order. His customer base included individuals planning a revolt; his backing out would result in members of the revolt hurting him or Sae.. His only choice was to ignore it.
The Runewright was able to hide this issue for a year and a half before his quality began to suffer. His glyph quality slowly declined over When his customers threatened him over the loss in quality, he turned to Sae. She had been taking glyphwork lessons at his insistence, though she was in early days.
He withdrew her from her current teacher and taught Sae himself, giving her an extremely narrow focus in what each client needed. She was twelve and a half at this point.
This was enough to keep his customers, but pressure mounted on Sae. For her teenagehood, she was the main driver behind her caretaker's private glyphmaking business. Eventually, she was allowed a more thorough education in glyphs, essence, and runes.
Aside from glyph etching practice, she was limited to only crafting the glyphs necessary for her surrogate father's client base. By the time she was fourteen, she was better than anyone her age for crafting glyphs. However, her studies were failing; her father's clientele required more and more glyphs, and for someone who isn't Titled, it was difficult.
As a minor form of rebellion, she would etch her glyphs with a distinctive style, along with a signature on the back. S. N., for Sae Nove. This gave her some minor satisfaction, but the stress still mounted.
This is when the Runewright, feeling his Title loosen around him since he wasn't etching glyphs anymore, merely coaching someone else, began to push Sae to be his successor as a Runewright. Simply passing on his Title didn't work; he concluded that Sae simply wasn't skilled enough with glyphmaking, and pushed her harder and harder.
Sae internalised this heavily. She was trapped, suffocated by the constant demands of her from the Runewright, and their familial relationship completely collapsed. For the next three years, she was pushed relentlessly towards becoming the youngest Titled individual in recorded Sankhurst history.
At seventeen, one last comment from the Runewright pushed her over the edge.
-
"Sloppy." The Runewright spat. Sae watched from the corner of her eye as the Runewright clamped his hand around his mug. "The client needs this kinetic glyph to draw in essence as fast as possible for its material."
"Yes, sir." She muttered. She couldn't fix it; can't put material back in the carved-out line. "Should I restart with another brick?"
Disappointment emanated from his body. A frown crept across his face. "The fact you even have to ask that is proof you're too far from ever getting a Title. Four years, Sae." He took a drink from the mug. Sae watched it shake, minutely, as it approached his mouth. He was holding something back, barely.
Four years. The same disappointment, the same lack of care. No matter how well she did, there was always something. Half a decade's worth of resentment simmered in her gut.
It was never going to be enough, was it? She wouldn't ever measure up to her guardian. Not in a way that he cared about.
"Are you really so surprised? You're only making a teenager do the work your business needs, I figured you were smart enough for that." A dark laugh fell out of her. "I'm about as unlikely as anyone else to find my way to a Title."
She knew this wasn't helpful, but she just couldn't do it anymore. It had been six years of constant work. Nobody, Titled or not, could or should deal with this.
At her words, his expression hardened. He stepped back as if struck. "You can't be saying that, self-doubt isn't the way forward." He rubbed his hand against his leg, brows furrowing. Tension held his body straight, infecting his voice. "Someone has to succeed me. I've spent years building this. You think anyone else can do what I did? You think they wouldn't just let it all fall apart?"
Sae leapt up from her chair. "You chose a child for this?! You could’ve hired an essence worker and let me have a normal childhood!" A plaintive note crept into her voice, but she couldn't it.
The Runewright — a funny Title for him, given he hadn't etched a glyph in years — glared at her. "There are things you don't understand. Things I can't tell you, dangers you don't know about. That doesn't excuse your treatment of me."
She felt her grip tighten around the glyph and the etching tool. She needed to breathe, but the anger wasn't letting her pull in a deep enough breath. "My treatment of you? I'm your ward!"
He shook his head. "You have no idea. If you'd just listen, I can explain—" Sae interrupted him.
A weight of exhaustion pressed into her chest, leaking out into something sharp and bitter. "I don't want to understand! I'm failing my classes! I haven't been out with my friends in years! Whatever danger is out there, it certainly doesn't need a seventeen year old to ward against it!" Her entire body was shaking, frustration rolling through her chest.
Her caretaker clenched his fists. Fear rocked her composure; he wouldn't hit her. He had been the worst father-type in the books, but he hadn't done that.
"I don't care what you want. You're needed, and you're going to fulfill that need, Sae." He scoffed. "What exactly do you think is the end result here? You throw a childish tantrum of the demands placed on you by society and everything becomes better?"
The Runewright leaned towards her as if to jump at her. "I can't etch glyphs anymore, Sae. You need to take up my responsibility. Someone has to."
The combination of the clenched fists and the leaning forward hit some deep-buried instinct in her, and she hefted the brick she sloppily inscribed the kinetic rune onto. "Don't take another step forward. You can't make me take up your responsibility."
She didn't want to have to hit him, but his expression... the guardian she trusted was gone. All that remained was this man.
A curt laugh snuck out of his mouth. "Oh, yes, I can. You think the last few years have been rough? The work so far has been easy, Sae. They're going to eat you alive when you truly take over." He took another step forward, and Sae's body reacted without conscious thought. The rune-inscribed brick left her hand before she thought to hold onto it, frustration overwhelming her thought.
As the solid brick smacked against his face, eyes widening in shock, she came to a realisation.
Her rushed work had etched the intake rune fully, allowing essence to sneak in. It was poorly etched: the essence only came in at a trickle, but any amount was enough for the glyph to start working.
The client wanted a glyph that could collapse a chunk of rock through force. Sae had etched a glyph that would shoot force out in several directions around the glyph... strong enough to punch through solid rock.
She barely had the time to figure out what would happen in their mostly empty apartment before the glyph went off, shattering into pieces as lances of force shot out from it.
If she was better at glyphwork, it wouldn't have been drawing in essence. Her guardian hadn't caught it because he was disappointed in her. Her breath would've hitched, and fear would have curdled in her gut... if she had more than a second before the lances of force shot through the roof and walls behind her guardian.
A terrifying groan echoed as the roof began to cave inwards.
It seemed to collapse in slow motion. Her mind raced, body reacting too slowly. What could she do that wouldn't worsen the situation? Before she could take a single step, a piece of the roof hit the Runewright, causing a pained shout. It was all she heard before the rest of the collapsing roof blocked her view.
The last thing she felt before darkness took her was the shame of failure.
-
After Sae and the Runewright were taken from the wreckage of their apartment, the Runewright dismissed Sae from his care. The Captain, Hiram, agreed to take her upon discussing the matter with Health, and took her aboard the Shanty, his ship.
Geneviah
Geneviah was born to dysfunctional couple in Sankhurst.
Her father was deemed incapable of caring for her, and moved to the mines once he refused to give up custody and became violent. Geneviah had forgotten what he looked like by the time she was six months old: she only grew up knowing her mother and older brother.
Her mother was an errandwoman for the Sankhurst Municipal divisions, and spent most of her time running across the city to deliver messages. Her older brother, Neddrick, shortened to Neddy by Geneviah, took care of Geneviah as a young girl.
Eventually, as she aged, she took on more and more of the household responsibilities until it was split between both her and her brother equally. Her mother, body struggling due to her work running across the city, was given a more comfortable position as a clerk for the Hydroponics department.
Given this, she was able to be home more often, but a rift had grown between her kids and herself. They were still close, but they were both competent teenagers by this point.
When Neddrick turned eighteen, he applied with Housing to take full-time care of Geneviah. Her mother fought this, but given her history of delegating care to Neddrick, he was defined as the primary caregiver for Geneviah.
When Geneviah turned 17, becoming a full adult in Sankhurst's eyes, she decided to keep staying with him. They upgraded to a two-bedroom apartment as they were both adults.
Geneviah herself bounces around from job to job for the last two years. She thrives on variety, and Commerce allows her this by shifting her assigned work designation. Her most recent venture is the docks, working as an unloader and loader for various supplies for ships leaving Sankhurst.
-
Geneviah cannot believe she is doing this.
Her mouth moved faster than her regret, assenting with her ridiculous statement. "Yeah, I'm pretty good with glyphwork. These hands have etched so many glyphs." She flexed her hands in front of them, an oddly unsettling motion to her eyes.
Too late to back out now! Going all-in on the "bluffing to get new job I've never had before" train, I guess!
The man - she had garnered he had come here to hire an essence worker, not much else - sighed. "Kid—who are you again?"
She flashed a smile. "Geneviah, your newest esser. You can call me Geneviah, though."
Internally, while the man digested her name and appearance - not an unfair thing to do, given that she was dressed thinly for March - her brain screamed in panic.
I've never even done essence work in a professional setting! Only in the classrooms, and even then, I wasn't the best at it.
I barely even remember the glyph alignments, for crying out loud.
The man, whose name she really needed to ask for, turned to the essence worker for hire he had originally been talking to.
"Look, I don't really want to do this-" He raised his hands in preparation for the shout from the private esser, but all he got was a choking sound. In Geneviah's mind, victory bells chimed.
"You cannot be serious! She walks up and spouts some crap, and you just drop me?" The esser-for-hire's expression was hilarious.
"Look," he started, haltingly. Geneviah was resisting the urge to show any smugness on her face. "She's got that feeling of knowing what she wants to do. And besides, I've got this..." he paused.
"Instinct, I suppose."
That word caught in Geneviah’s mind. Her victorious feeling started to dim, replaced by cold disbelief as the man beside her bolted upright, eyes wide.
"You're Titled?!" He exclaimed, drawing the eye of every other private-for-hire in the surrounding stalls. "Please, teach me. Tell me how you got there, I've been trying for years..."
Geneviah's disbelief turned to ice in her veins. She placed it, now. This man was Titled? And he had fallen for her blustering? If she wasn't combing through her own shock, she'd be begging for a Title in the same way.
She didn't know what she'd want a Title for, but they're the goal. Anyone who's anyone, like the Governor, has one.
The man - the Titled man - shook his head. "Desperation isn't a good look. Besides, I already said: I'm taking the girl with me." He turned away from the man, who was still asking for tips on gaining a Title. "I assume you need a minute to finish up your work?"
Another wave of shock hit her system: he had seen her working here? Why would he trust her blatant lie about her skills? "Y-yes. Gotta finish up my shift before I take on any other work."
The man nodded. "Well, I'm Hiram. You can call me the Captain, but I'd prefer Hiram." He muttered something too low for Geneviah to catch before his eyes snapped back to attention.
Hiram clapped his hands. "Well, I can tell you about that later. Tell you what: meet me back at my ship-" he pointed to the ship Geneviah had been loading full of rations before she made this fool decision to get involved. "- and I'll tell you the specifics. Bring a bag of clothes in case you do decide to go, we're leaving tonight."
Geneviah could only nod. A Titled man, and she'd be stuck with him for the duration of the job. Probably on the ocean. She had done some wild things for new experiences: not including breaking into the Hydroponics department to retrieve her sleeping-on-the-job mother, but... this took the cake for her.
Hiram clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Sounds good! I'll see you after your shift, then."
Geneviah could only watch as he walked back to the boat, dark blue coat waving behind him. What had she gotten herself into?
Still, she couldn't help but let a slight grin form on her face. She had to warn Neddy she'd be gone for a while: couldn't pass up on this.
-
From this, she was able to join up with Sae on the Shanty. The Captain didn't believe her about her skills, but his Title did tell her she'd be useful for the trip. He also believed she could be a good help with Sae's hard exterior, who was on the boat Geneviah was working on.
Geneviah is, primarily, scheming. She's happy-go-lucky, ready to go with the flow, but also a hedonistic person: she wants to experience everything the world has to offer with the people she cares about, and currently, that's only Neddrick.
Hiram, the Captain
Hiram's childhood will not be explored in Runic.
We start in his late 20s. He's a deckhand for the vessel Shanty, a fishing boat. He manages two roles: glyph replacement and piloting the ship when the captain of the vessel was sleeping or otherwise indisposed. The Shanty had a single esser at the time, and a great burden was placed on this esser.
One day during a routine trip, after gathering fish from one of their spots, they passed through an essence-rich area. The essence was so dense that it started impeding reality; kinetic force was shot through the ocean, sending pillars of water up into the air. Small whirlpools were formed due to gelid and torrid essence, sending the ocean into a frothing frenzy.
The captain of the vessel had never experienced this before, and panicked.
He went out to see if the esser was okay, leaving Hiram on the wheel, when annihilative essence burst into reality, darkening the entire ship and blotting out both light and communication.
While the annihilative essence subsumed the ship, the ship was tossed over a wave, and plummeted into the ocean's surface, knocking the entire cabin around.
When it cleared, Hiram was the only one left on the Shanty. He came into his Title then, meditative and calm due to the shock of losing both his captain and his esser.
He was able to navigate the ship back to shore, skating by on nearly running out of glyphs, and only discovered later that he was Titled; he hadn't even noticed in the calamity.
Hiram was awarded the ship Shanty for his efforts in bringing it back, and offered to continue his old captain's job.
The Captain accepted.
Ever since then, he's had two essers on board, both of which is trained in steering the boat. He also modified the front of the ship to be a sleeping area, with dense enough cover to avoid essence penetration in the same way the cabin avoids it.
When Sae was seventeen and he thirty-one, he took her on board as a constant esser. She's learned a lot from him; he views her as his own kid, a wayward teen. He will never tell her that, though; Hiram is a moderately reserved man around Sae, careful to avoid triggering any remaining issues with the Runewright's treatment of her.
When she first came aboard, he had to let her tire herself out trying to prove herself. Only after she was exhausted did he set his expectations: get your work done, and I'll be happy. She's never failed him since.
He brings Geneviah on the ship on a whim due to an Instinct from his Title. From his, he gains new challenges in how to manage both Geneviah and Sae at the same time, especially once it comes out that she doesn't know how to essence work all that well.
His Instincts are:
- Seaworthiness (Passive) - Judges the ocean and gives him a churning or calm feeling on his current direction.
- Solidarity (Passive) - Feeds him unease about certain crew members who are feeling bad about the voyage.
- Chart (Active) - Tells him whether a proposed plan for seafaring is likely to result in a good voyage.
- Motivate - Tells him the right direction to handle a crewmate under stress, who may snap or shut down entirely. Keeps them moving on the ship.