Author's Notes
Runes are a very unique type of lettering, and their history and supposed power stretches back to at least 200 CE. Odin's recollection of how he acquired the runes seemed like a great piece of information to include in the Book of All Letters, a collection of mythological histories of writing. Odin sacrifices himself in search of more power, and discovers the runes while hanging from the tree Yggdrasil, a world tree in Norse mythology, said to stretch through all known realms. The Ginnungagap, translated as "primordial void," was a term used to relate what existed before the world's formation, while Mímisbrunnr is said to be a well at the very base of Yggdrasil below all other realms. Incidentally, Mímisbrunnr is also said to the well of knowledge and wisdom, and there's a fascinating tale of Odin sacrificing his eye previously to the giant Mímir (guardian of the well).
The URUZ word Odin speaks to heal himself is the name of the rune charm associated with healing. I would've liked to detail all eighteen of the charms he learned, but there wasn't enough room in the word count, so I settled for just this to establish his success with using the runes.
I really enjoyed the idea of someone bargaining with the universe, and the idea that Odin sees past all on the physical realm for a fraction of a second is fun. There probably isn't such an easy way to acquire the knowledge of how the universe is structured together, but the idea of all existence tied together with a structure or series of forms is beautiful. We see all kinds of patterns repeating themselves in nature all the time (fractals, spirals, cubes, etc).
The majority of this piece in the storybook stems from one beautiful snippet from The Poetic Edda:
"I know that I hung on a windy tree
nine long nights,
wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run.
No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn,
downwards I peered;
I took up the runes,
screaming I took them,
then I fell back from there."
-Hávamál, The Poetic Edda. Translated by Carolyne Larrington
Image Information
Banner
The first known inscription of Elder Futhark in order (on the Kylver Runestone, Gotland, Sweden, c. 400 CE). Norse Mythology
Twine
"The harsh and blocky lines of runes"
Odin's banner, Pinterest
"The runes slowly disappear from the page"
Rune fabric, Pinterest