According to the legend, Odin himself was the one to unlock the secrets of the runes and with them the secrets of magic. He then shared this knowledge with the other gods. Odin and the other gods give small parts of this knowledge to their devout followers - this is the divine magic of clerics and paladins. Druids and rangers are granted their magic from their connection to nature itself. Wizards use the knowledge gathered through the ages to find the essence of the divine runes and bend them to their own will - the art of the arcane. Sorcerers are blessed with magic through birth or blood and fall outside of this spectrum, but any sorcerer will find the knowledge here valuable. Warlocks are closest to clerics in that their magic is granted by powerful entities, but they usually have a smaller understanding of the actual working of the magic. Bards are simply extremely gifted in languages and see the meaning in songs and poetry to such a degree that they can alter reality itself.

Runes

The basic written language, both of magic and of written script. These work both as script and as simple wards, for example a pendant with the Jera rune might be worn by a farmer to grant good harvests, or a Raido rune by a mounted warrior going into battle.

Rune	Name	Pronunciation	Primary Meanings	Associated Deity	Associated Skill
f	Fehu	f	Cattle, Wealth, House, Fruit	Sif
u	Uruz	u	Monster, Evil, Poison	Loki	Intimidation
x	Thurisaz	th	Giant, Storm, Lightning	Thor	Athletics
a	Ansuz	a	God, Goddess, Divine		Religion
r	Raitho	r	Ride, Journey, Progress
k	Kauna	k	Wound, Pain, Death, Destruction	Hel	Medicine
g	Getho	g	Gift, Power, Transition, Change	Hermod	Arcana
w	Wunjo	w	Joy, Love, Family		Persuasion
h	Hagalaz	h	Hailstorm, Snow, Fall, Spear		Nature
n	Nauthiz	n	Need, Emergency, Request		Insight
i	Isaz	i	Ice, Winter, Hidden		Stealth
j	Jera	j	Year, Harvest, Wisdom, Story	Balder	Performance
p	Pertho	p	Negation, Secret, Reject, Deny		Deception
y	Aehaz	ae	Tree, Bow, Bird, Flight	Uller	Acrobatics
z	Algiz	z	Moose, Horn, Shield	Heimdall
s	Sowilo	s	Sun, Light, Fire, Sight	Freya	Perception
t	Tiwaz	t	Bear, Warrior, Stone	Tyr
b	Berkana	b	Birch, Moon, Night		Survival
e	Ehwaz	e	Horse, Speed, Wild, Dragon	Skadi	Animal Handling
m	Mannaz	m	Man, Father
l	Laguz	l	Lake, Water, Life	Aegir	Sleight of Hand
q	Ingwaz	ng	Woman, Mother
d	Dagaz	d	Day, Time, Knowledge	Odin	History
o	Othala	o	Property, Sword		Investigation

The primary meaning is not the only meaning of the rune, only the most common ones. Other meaning is just as often due to metaphor and wordplay as the spelling. For example, the runic incantation for the spell Cure Wounds taught to paladins of Freya is 'Sowilo-Getho-Dagaz' - 'Freya-Gift-Time', a request for a literal gift of time from the sun goddess herself, while a cleric of Thor might say 'Thurisaz-Ansuz-Nauthiz' - 'Storm-God-Emergency', a call for aid to the Stormbringer. Neither is wrong, but they would not work for the other one. This is also why wizards might spend years and years trying to figure out the meaning of a rune (or find new ones with other powers) - their magic comes from the inherent power in the words and symbols themselves, a more primordial type of magic.

Some incantations change with the circumstances. For example, an incantation might take into account the age or gender of the target (or caster), or the time of year or the phase of the moon. Magic is fickle, but the power it grants is immense so the learning curve is still borne by many - and runes is only one of the factors involved. The somatic components to a spell can be just as temperamental, and not everyone has the innate strength of mind to harness the reality-altering effects no matter its source. Just knowing the words will not get you far, the spells require the proper state of mind and trust in their source. If the would-be caster of a spell doubts their own capacity, they will soon have their doubts fulfilled.

It is also very possible for the same rune-word to have two distinct and sometimes opposite meanings depending on how it is translated. This is a subtle art of context and experience. Consider sgl 'Sowilo-Getho-Laguz' - depending on context it could be 'Light-Change-Lake', an incantation for underwater Darkvision, or 'Sun-Power-Life', a healing incantation for a follower of Freya or Heimdall. The caster has a great deal of control over this distinction, and thus only repeating words that were you heard a magic user say is nigh useless. To actually achieve the effects the importance of the purely mental elements cannot be understated. It is so important that for some very powerful magi, the words themselves are no longer required - they weave the magic with their minds alone.

Complicating the incantation by adding more words of phrases to reinforce the meaning or make it more precise can result in a greater effect, but requires more skill and effort to perform the incantation successfully. A simple cantrip might just be a single word, but a powerful master-level incantation might be an entire poem that tells an allegorical story.

Example runic incantations

k Kauna-Thurisaz 'Pain-Storm' Inflict Wounds cast by a cleric.

aguk Ansuz-Getho-Uruz-Kauna 'God-Gift-Evil-Pain' More powerful Inflict Wounds cast by a cleric.

Pertho-Othala-Kauna 'Negate-Sword-Pain' Cure Wounds cast by a druid on a wound caused by a blade.

Kauna-Isaz-Laguz 'Death-Ice-Water' Power Word Kill (the rune sounds spell 'K-I-L')

Mannaz-Getho-Isaz 'Man-Transition-Hidden' Invisibility cast by a male wizard.

Othala-Getho-Laguz 'Property-Gift-Life' Animate Objects cast by a wizard on property that is rightfully his.

Pertho-Getho-Pertho-Sowilo 'Negation-Power-Negation-Light' Dispel Magic cast to remove a Darkness spell.

Getho-Isaz-Thurisaz-Ingwaz 'Gift-Ice-Steel-Woman' Armor of Agathys cast by a female warlock.

Thurisaz-Getho-Pertho-Ehwaz 'Storm-Transition-Negation-Wild' Control Winds cast to calm heavy winds.

Tiwaz-Ehwaz-Raitho 'Bear-Speed-Journey' Animal Messenger cast by a ranger on a carnivorous animal.

Sowilo-Pertho-Isaz 'Light-Negation-Hidden' Faerie Fire cast by a bard.

nir Nauthiz-Isaz-Raitho 'Request-Hidden-Journey' Pass Without Trace

esz Ehwaz-Sowilo-Algiz 'Wild-Fire-Shield' Wall of Fire

Ansuz-Getho-Jera 'God-Gift-Wisdom' Divination cast by a knowledge cleric.

Laguz-Raitho-Getho-Laguz 'Water-Journey-Transition-Water' Water Breathing

Sowilo-Getho-Ehwaz-Kauna 'Fire-Power-Speed-Wound' Fireball cast by a wizard.

Dagaz-Raitho-Pertho-Isaz-Othala 'Knowledge-Journey-Negation-Hidden-Property' Locate Object cast to find something lost by the caster.

Uruz-Pertho-Getho 'Evil-Negation-Power' Bane cast by a paladin upon a creature they intend to destroy.

Ingwaz-Getho-Tiwaz 'Woman-Transition-Stone' Hold Person cast upon a woman.

Getho-Hagalaz-Algiz 'Transition-Snow-Shield' Investiture of Ice

Getho-Ehwaz-Othala 'Gift-Speed-Sword' Magic Weapon cast on a bladed weapon.

Nauthiz-Ansuz-Getho-Laguz-Nauthiz 'Need-God-Gift-Life-Emergency' Mass Cure Wounds cast in a moment of desperation by a cleric.

Ehwaz-Aehaz 'Bow-Speed' Swift Quiver cast by a ranger.

Pertho-Sowilo-Isaz-Berkana 'Negation-Light-Hidden-Night' Darkness

Othala-Nauthiz-Uruz 'Sword-Reject-Evil' Wrathful Smite cast by a paladin.

Wunjo-Getho-Jera-Fehu 'Family-Gift-Year-House' The final blessing in a wedding Ceremony performed by a cleric of Freya.

Ansuz-Getho-Pertho-Kauna-Nauthiz 'God-Gift-Negation-Death-Emergency' Revivify cast by a cleric on a fallen ally.

Dagaz-Pertho-Algiz 'Knowledge-Negate-Shield' True Strike

Hagalaz-Isaz-Kauna 'Hailstorm-Ice-Wound' Ice Storm

Berkana-Sowilo-Pertho-Getho 'Moon-Light-Negate-Change' Moonbeam

Rune words for the schools of magic

Rune	School	Note/Translation
x or s	Evocation	'Storm' or 'Fire'
p or z	Abjuration	'Negation' or 'Shield'
k or pl	Necromancy	'Death' or 'Transition-Life'
i or pd	Illusion	'Hidden' or 'Deny-Knowledge'
d or gj	Divination	'Knowledge' or 'Gift-Wisdom'
r or n	Enchantment	'Progress' or 'Request'
g or ag	Transmutation	'Change' or 'Divine-Power'
o or f	Conjuration	'Property' or 'Wealth'