User:Noctrine/Runes

= Reason = Saving to rewrite for the Suikoden Task Force.

= Stuff = The 27 True Runes are key elements in the setting of the Suikoden role-playing game series as the embodiment of the world and the source of all magic.

Background
The backbone of the world of Suikoden and the power that allows the existence of the universe, True Runes are effectively the deities of the Suikoden world. Each True Rune represents a certain power and, together these powers create the fabric of reality.

Wholly sentient and with independent wills, each True Rune holds immeasurable power. Many have been the cause of wars or have turned the tides of war in a matter of moments. True Runes are often sought by those in power due to their ability to grant agelessness to their bearers. All bearers of True Runes stop aging beyond their prime and become immune to disease and all other natural causes of death, although one could still die from physical causes such as accidents or murder. While all True Runes are believed to be equal in overall power, the ways in which they may influence their environment are varied, being capable of destruction, creation and transformation alike depending of each particular case, thus some Runes may be unsuitable to be compared on the basis of destructive power.

A True Rune's sentience or ego can overwhelm a bearer who lacks the strength of will to resist it and some cases, when unsealed and carried by an individual; the Runes may be able to drive their bearer insane. This often reduces a True Rune's holder into a mere vessel controlled by the Rune to achieve its own purposes. However, with time and the sufficient strength, it is possible for a Rune bearer to learn how to resist their burden and potentially twist the Rune to his or her will. It is however unknown whether one may actually achieve complete control of a True Rune, whether a Rune may merely be complying out of its own will, or even whether it would bend the bearer's perceptions to meet its own ends. Some True Runes may even prefer not to take a living host, but instead reside elsewhere, such as is witnessed by the Beast Rune taking up residence inside a castle.

Although uncertain whether collective or individual in each case, all True Runes are believed to hold a certain purpose which they would pursue with no other consideration. Depending of each particular one, the True Runes may lead their bearers to either save or slaughter thousands of lives alike depending of how it may suit their purposes.

As the True Runes possess a will, they alone may decide who would be their bearer, being able to reject undesirable candidates or even abandon a host which become unsuitable. When the bearer of a True Rune dies for whatever reason, the Rune often vanishes and hides from the world until it considers it appropriate to show itself once again, though in the same fashion, some would immediately choose a new host if they see fit. Due to the nature of the True Runes, possibly due to their willpower, it is impossible by normal methods, for a body to play host to more than one; however, the court magician for the former Scarlet Moon Empire, Windy, claimed to possess a method that would allow her to bear two True Runes.

Hikusaak, the High Priest of the Kingdom of Harmonia and bearer of the Circle Rune, is rumored to have the goal of acquiring and controlling all 27 True Runes for the purpose of creating a world of true order. To circumvent the limitation of one True Rune per bearer, Hikusaak created clones of himself, each to bear one True Rune and be loyal to Hikusaak unto death. The Harmonian Bishops Luc and Sasarai are two such clones. Whether any other such clones are currently active is unknown.

Each True Rune governs specific aspects of reality in the universe such as chaos, death, darkness, life, light, and order. Each Rune allegedly holds an alignment in the Order-Chaos scale, and all 27 True Runes together maintain a balance in the world. The removal of a single Rune from this balance could tip the scales in favour of one side with dire results upon the world. In addition, should a Rune ever be actually destroyed to the point where it may cease to exist, as was attempted by the Bishop Luc, the resulting explosion could potentially level an entire continent, if not more, and forever alter the forces of nature. With no such event ever being recorded, the description of the outcome is only known by Luc's estimation of the devastation. In a way, the destruction of a True Rune is both a symbolic and literal rebellion against destiny in the universe of Suikoden.

Cosmogony

 * ''In the beginning, there was "darkness." Then, the "darkness" shed a "tear."
 * From that "tear," the brothers Sword and Shield were born.
 * Shield claimed it could defend against any attack.
 * Sword claimed it could slice through anything.
 * The brothers began a legendary battle.
 * At the end, both Sword and Shield shattered.
 * Sword became the sky, Shield became the earth, and the sparks from the battle became the stars.
 * As for the jewels, they fell to the ground and became the True Runes--The runes that all other runes were born from.

It is uncertain as to the true origin of the 27 True Runes, but the story of Sword and Shield, the two brothers, as presented here from Suikoden II, is widely believed by the populace of the Suikoden world to tell the origin of the Runes. In short, the story states that the two brothers, Shield and Sword, fought with one another; when the two finally managed to defeat one another, they formed the world and the jewels that had adorned them became the True Runes.

List of True Runes
Listed below are the known True Runes, in alphabetical order. 18 True Runes have been confirmed thus far. Information listed on here is up to, and including, the Second Fire Bringer War in 475 of the Solar Calendar. All information on bearers is accurate to this year, given official information.

Beast Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Harmonia, Blight Family
 * Current Bearer: Unknown
 * Child Runes: "Beast Rune"

The Beast Rune represents animalistic rage and passion, and is a prime example of the freewill of the True Runes. Once thought controlled by Harmonia, the Beast Rune relocated itself to the newly constructed L'Renouille Palace. To cover the fact that they could not control the Rune, Harmonia had one of their high priests 'present' the Rune to the Blight family of Highland as a gift. The Rune spent most of its time dormant in the throne room of the palace until awoken by Luca Blight in the year 460 of the Solar Calendar. During the conquest of Muse, many of its citizens were sacrificed by Luca to fully activate the Rune. After the death of Luca by the New City-State Army, the new king of Highland, Jowy Atreides, used his own Rune, the Black Sword Rune, to help hold back the Beast Rune at great danger to his own health. Following the flight of Atreides from the palace, the Rune was awakened by Leon Silverburg when the New City-State Army stormed the fortress; despite popular opinion, his objective was for the invaders to put the Rune back to sleep. After presenting an incarnation of itself for battle, the Rune was defeated and fled from L'Renouille when the castle collapsed. Its current location is unknown.

Moon Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Neclord
 * Current Bearer: Sierra Mikain
 * Child Runes: Unknown

The Moon Rune which represents compassion and destruction contains one of the greatest curses of all the True Runes - the bearer turns into a vampire and goes on a blood thirsty rampage until the bearer can master the rune. The Rune has only ever known one true bearer, Sierra Mikain. Upon coming in contact with the rune, she went on a killing rampage forcing her to seek refuge within a forest to prevent herself from harming others. As she gained mastery over the rune, the compassion powers of the rune were tapped into and she managed to control her vampiric impulses. Sierra Mikain, as the first vampire, would later become Coven Mistress of the Blue Moon Village, which she created by turning into vampires those people who had cast their past away and wandered into the forest. She placed the Rune at an altar at the center of the village, and through the powers of the rune, the vampires were able to curb their bloodlust and thrive on the rune's compassion. However, one of the vampires of the village, Neclord, would eventually steal the Rune in a quest for power. This resulted in the vampires in the village having to resort to consuming human blood for survival with the exception of Sierra Mikain, being the original vampire who was free from such fate. Some vampires chose to die while others became renegade vampires preying on humans for survival. These vampires who were influenced by the rune directly are known as runic vampires and are essentially stronger than lesser vampires who are subsequently bitten and transformed by other vampires. Lesser vampires can be destroyed by holy artifacts and are susceptible to sunlight, while runic vampires are immune to these effects and can only be destroyed by the Coven Mistress herself and the power of the Night Rune. Eventually, Sierra Mikain would track down Neclord during the Dunan Unification War; he was attempting to activate the powers of the rune by sacrificing 100 people to it. It is not known, however, what powers this may bring forth. Despite being physically away from Sierra, the rune still recognized Sierra as its true master and Sierra was able to retrieve the rune and bind Neclord's powers with little effort. The rune has remained with Sierra ever since.

The name of the True Rune is subject to some confusion; though it is referred to as the Moon Rune in the Suikoden games, a publication released in Japan refers to it as the Blue Moon Rune out of mistype probably.

Circle Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Unknown
 * Current Bearer: Hikusaak
 * Child Runes: Unknown

The Circle Rune which represents order and stagnation is borne by High Priest Hikusaak of Harmonia and is shrouded in mystery. Not much is known about the Circle Rune. The Kingdom of Harmonia itself is a representation of the Circle Rune's role of imposing order in the world and its power of bringing peace and harmony. It is believed however that the stagnation aspect of the rune may have becomed more prevalent, halting the progress of the Kingdom. It is speculated that Hikusaak used this True Rune to create clones of himself (Luc and Sasarai) for the sole purpose of bearing the True Wind and True Earth Runes, respectively.

Dragon Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Joshua Levenheit
 * Current Bearer: Milia
 * Child Runes: Unknown

The Dragon Rune is one of the runes that ties the human world to others, allowing dragons to cross over into the human world and survive there. Should the bearer die and the Rune go without a host, all dragons currently in the world are said to perish and no others allowed access. Once held by Joshua Levenheit, the head of the Dragon Knights of the Toran Republic, the Rune was eventually passed to his second in command, Milia; as the dragon Bright did not perish between the events of Suikoden II and Suikoden III (when the transfer must have taken place), it is reasonable to surmise that simply passing a Rune from one bearer to another does not cause the aforementioned extinction of dragons. The Rune also has some power to banish summoned monsters, as it is used in combination with the Back Gate Rune to dismiss the army of monsters summoned by the Front Gate Rune at the last major battle of the Gate Rune Wars.

Gate Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Unknown
 * Current Bearer: None
 * Child Runes: Pale Gate Rune/Blue Gate Rune

Once held by the Gate Rune Clan, the Gate Rune possesses the ability to connect the various dimensions of reality in the universe of Suikoden. Because of this, the bearer holds great responsibility. When the Clan was wiped out in 78 of the Solar Calendar, the Rune was split in two by Leknaat and Windy, who then went their separate ways to keep the Rune safe. Later, the two halves of the Rune would find themselves on opposing sides of the "Gate Rune War" that saw the formation of the Toran Republic. Currently, the Rune is still divided, with one half (the Back) possessed by the seer Leknaat; the location of the Front Gate Rune is unknown as Windy plummeted, most likely to her death, from the Floating Gardens above Gregminster at the end of the war.

Back Gate Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Unknown
 * Current Bearer: Leknaat
 * Child Runes: Pale Gate Rune/Blue Gate Rune
 * A half of the Gate Rune, the Back Gate Rune is possessed by the seeress Leknaat in her sanctuary on Magician's Island. At the end of the Gate Rune War, she would use the half, along with the assistance of Joshua Levenheit's Dragon Rune to banish the monsters summoned by the opposing force. It also helped bringing back Gremio from the netherworld when the other 107 Stars of Destiny were gathered before the final battle. Although not confirmed, it is believed that the Back Gate Rune grants her the ability to create her visage to appear before others from the safety of her tower, as well as insight into the destiny of the universe of Suikoden.

Front Gate Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Windy
 * Current Bearer: Unknown
 * Child Runes: Pale Gate Rune/Blue Gate Rune


 * A half of the Gate Rune, the Front Gate Rune was possessed by Windy and used many times in her attempts to gain power for herself, including spawning the "Black Runes" used to control the various members of the Scarlet Moon Empire. At the end of the Gate Rune War, she would use the Rune half to summon forth an army from the World of Emptiness with the assistance of Yuber and, supposedly, his Hachifusa Rune.

Hachifusa Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Unknown
 * Current Bearer: Yuber
 * Child Runes: Eight Devil

The only thing known regarding this Rune is that it is said to be held by Yuber. Although it may be linked to his status as a creature from another world, Yuber was seen to have summoned an undead dragon, a power which is believed to be linked to the Rune. Furthering this belief is the novelization of Suikoden which states that he had a legion of his own summoned creatures at the last battle of the Gate Rune War. Due to Yuber's connection with Pesmerga, it is often speculated that Pesmerga also holds a true rune. However, this has not been confirmed.

The most common fan translation for Hachifusa is Eightfold.

Night Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Viktor
 * Current Bearer: Edge

The Night Rune represents the power of the night and is one of the unique phenomena of the Suikoden universe. According to an ancient tome, the Night Rune was once one with Sun Rune, but took the form of a sword to sever the bond between them. The Dawn and Twilight Runes are fragments left behind from the fission. The Night Rune itself with the power of the night is said to allow the existence of "creatures of the night" which includes zombies, skeletons and vampires. This powers also means that the rune has the explicit ability to destroy such creatures at will.

The rune's new form, known as the Star Dragon Sword, is capable of speaking to the outside world as if it were a living person. The rune's powers are manifested in the Sword and as such is capable of destroying "creatures of the night". This makes it the bane of runic vampires who are otherwise immune to just about everything else. The powers of the sword 'exposes' the vulnerability of a vampire and allows regular weapon and magic to harm it. The sword was used by Viktor against the vampire Neclord. The Rune is also mysterious in that the sorceress Zerase claims to be the daughter of the Night Rune, and that she had her own Star Rune bestowed upon her by the Rune itself. The sword was also witnessed communicating with the Vampire Coven Mistress Sierra Mikain as if they were past acquaintances when the rune was in its previous form. While the rune itself has never technically had a human bearer that anyone is aware of, the bearer of the Star Dragon Sword has been listed as the bearer here to keep track of the location of the Rune. When the protagonist of Suikoden III defeats Edge in combat, the sword convinces the protagonist instead to accept Edge rather than take the sword away from him.

Rune of Beginning

 * Current Bearer: Riou(If second ending in Suikoden II is chosen); none (if best ending achieved)
 * Child Runes: None

The Rune of Beginning represents the chaos of birth in times of creation and is unique in that, ordinarily, it is divided into two other Runes: the Bright Shield and the Black Sword. The bearers of these runes are said to have the power to 'judge war'. As such, the Rune's amazing amount of willpower drives the bearers of its two halves into the destiny of battling one another to the extent of waging war until the Rune is reunited. The Black Sword and Bright Shield Runes individually are not True Runes and as such does not grant agelessness unless they are united and become The Rune of Beginning. However, the adopted son of the hero Genkaku, Riou, and Jowy Atreides overcame the rune's will when Riou refused to take the life of his friend at the end of the war.

Black Sword Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Han Cunningham
 * Current Bearer: Jowy Atreides-Blight
 * Child Runes: Unknow


 * An incarnation of the destructive forces necessary to facilitate "the beginning", the Black Sword Rune manifests itself similar to the "Sword" from the creation story - all of its spells are attack related and manifest themselves as deadly blades. To avoid defeating one another, Han Cunningham had an agreement with Genkaku to seal their Runes away. When Jowy Atreides later acquired the Rune, it would drive him away from his lifetime friend, Riou, and cause them to become the leaders of opposing sides of a war that would force one of them to destroy the other, their two destinies forever intertwined. However, Jowy began to use the Rune to keep the Beast Rune sealed, showing that the Black Sword Rune is, at the very least, as powerful as other full True Runes, but yet showcasing its inferiority when the action eventually cost Jowy's life. Eventually, the two would overcome the curse to fight one another thanks to Riou refusing to end Jowy's life. His action allowed the manifestation of the power of the Rune of Beginning along with the power of the 108 Stars of Destiny to bring Jowy from the brink of death which resulted from his excessive usage of the Black Sword Rune.

Bright Shield Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Genkaku
 * Current Bearer: Riou
 * Child Runes: Shield Rune


 * An incarnation of the protective forces necessary to facilitate "the beginning", the Bright Shield Rune manifests itself as the "Shield" from the creation story. The rune grants its bearer great defensive powers. All of the spells of the Rune are generally healing or protective in nature, or otherwise enhance the status of those accompanying the bearer. Although they were friends, Genkaku and Han Cunningham had been driven to fight one another because of the Runes. To save themselves the defeat, they sealed away the Runes. When Genkaku's adopted son, Riou, claimed the Rune, he and his lifetime friend Jowy Atreides would eventually be forced apart by the Runes and become leaders of opposing forces. While bearing the rune, the Bright Shield rune showed its powers when protecting Riou from the powers of the Moon Rune used by the Vampire Neclord, although it did cost him great exhaustion. Riou would eventually allow the two to overcome the curse when he refuses to end the life of Jowy, resulting in the manifestation of the powers of the Rune of Beginning in the action of breathing life back into Jowy with the help of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

Rune of Change

 * Previous Bearers: Sindar Leader
 * Current Bearer: Unknown
 * Child Runes: Unknown

This True Rune represents and embodies change throughout the universe. The Rune's whereabouts and powers still remain a mystery. It is however said that the Leader of the Sindar bears this rune on his head, apparently forcing the Sindar to move from place to place as a curse. It is also said that the Sindar eventually came to rest at a place called the "Eternal City”. The Rune of Change allows the inhabitants of the Suikoden World to grow and adapt. The rune in nature retains the balance of the Suikoden world to allow its growth and development.

Rune of Life and Death

 * Previous Bearers: Ted's Grandfather, Ted, Fog Ship Guide
 * Current Bearer: Tir McDohl
 * Child Runes: Darkness

The Rune which governs over Life and Death, more commonly known as the Soul Eater because of its nefarious curse. In return for an immense destructive power that is said should never be released in full strength, the Rune will claim the lives of those the bearer holds dear and consume their essence. The shape of the Rune is similar to a grim reaper with a scythe.

Until 150 of the Solar Calendar it was guarded within the Village of the Hidden Rune, kept by their elder. Following Windy, Neclord and Yuber’s assault upon the hamlet the Rune was passed on to his grandson Ted in order to maintain it out of Windy’s grasp. Ted wandered the world for many years following the destruction of the village and eventually came across the Fog Ship, where he met the Fog Ship Guide and temporarily surrendered the Soul Eater to him. When the Guide tried to take the Rune of Punishment from Lazlo, Ted fought on Lazlo’s side against the Guide and reclaimed his Rune. Ted would eventually part ways with Lazlo, wandering the world until being found by Teo McDohl. When Windy came searching for the Rune, it was once again passed on to Tir McDohl. Through him, the Rune’s curse would eventually claim Odessa Silverberg, his close friend Gremio, his own father Teo and finally Ted himself.

During the final duel with Windy, the Soul Eater rejected the witch’s will and chose to remain with Tir, summoning the power it had taken from his loved ones and freeing him from Windy’s spell. To date, the Soul Eater remains in Tir’s possession, who has chosen to become a wanderer in order to guard the Rune, and to avoid Rune's possible influence on other people.

Rune of Punishment

 * Previous Bearers: Queen of Obel, Graham Cray, Cray's Son, Rakghi's Father, Steele, Brandeau, Glen Cott, Hero
 * Current Bearer: Lazlo
 * Child Runes: Condemnation

The Rune which governs over Atonement and Forgiveness. The Rune of Punishment is known as one of, if not, the most dreaded of the True Runes in regards to their curses. While it may grant their bearer an enormous power, it will consume their life force in return, and should the host perish as a result, the Rune will immediately transfer to someone in the close proximity and further the cycle. This particular characteristic of perpetuating its presence within the world and choosing bearers seemingly on a whim is unusual among the True Runes, which often remain asleep for great periods of time and sparingly choose a bearer of their liking.

All but two of the known bearers of the Rune of Punishment have perished having their lives consumed by the Rune’s curse. Having being discovered by the Queen of Obel on the hand of a man who had sealed himself in the Obel Ruins and subsequently perished, she was chosen as the next host only to die after using the Rune only once, in order to save the Obel forces from a pirate assault. Eventually the Rune found its way to Graham Cray, the first of the only known survivors who could not stand the burden and severed his lower left arm to free himself. However, the Rune selected his son as the next host.

Following the boy’s unavoidable fate at the hands of the Rune, it moved through history, eventually finding its way into the hands of the pirate king Steele, who passed it onto Brandeau upon his death. After the latter’s demise due to his usage using of the Rune's power to destroy a group of Marine Knights from Razril, Glen Cott became the next unfortunate bearer. He would eventually use the Rune to protect Razril from a pirate attack, allowing the Rune to finally take Lazlo as a host.

However, and even though he was forced to make use of the Rune in several occasions, Lazlo bore the curse well, and through his forgiveness of his wayward friend Snowe Vingerhut and the power of the 108 Stars of Destiny, the Rune finally shifted from the state of Atonement into Forgiveness, freeing himself from the curse and allowing to make full use of the Rune’s power at will.

Although no word of him has spread to the foreign regions over a century and half after his adventure, it is believed that Lazlo still lives as the bearer the Rune of Punishment. According to Leknaat, should Lazlo ever give up the Rune, it would resume its cycle and once again consume the lives of whomever may come upon it.

Sovereign Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Rugner Family, Barbarossa Rugner
 * Current Bearer: Unknown
 * Child Runes: Unknown

The Sovereign Rune which represents absolute rule is one of the examples of a Rune taking up host on something that isn't living - the Rune was embedded into the sword of Barbarossa Rugner, the Dragon King Sword. Prior to the possession by the Rugner family, the Rune was stored in the Holy City of Rupanda, which would later be renamed Gregminster with the rise of the Scarlet Moon Empire. As the heirloom of the Rugner family, the Rune would be embedded in an object possessed by each ruler as a sign of their absolute rule. The Rune offered protection against all other runes, including the sorceress Windy's Black Rune, as well as allowed Rugner to transform himself into a golden three-headed hydra. The current location of the Rune is unknown as Barbarossa plunged off of Gregminster's Floating Gardens with Windy, taking the sword, and thus the Rune, with him.

Sun Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Armes Dynasty King, Arshtat Falenas
 * Current Bearer: Falenan Royal Family
 * Child Runes: Dawn, Twilight

The Sun Rune which governs over light, warmth and nurturing is the treasured possession of the Queendom of Falena. Previously belonging to the Ancient Armes Kingdom, the Rune requires the bearer to also possess the Dawn Rune and the Twilight Rune, which are related but not True Runes, to avoid the side effects of the Rune. However, the King of Armes, at the time, did not possess the two other Runes and began to go insane, eventually causing the destruction of the land to a barren wasteland, while thereafter nurturing the land once again, turning it fertile. When the Queendom of Falena came into existence after the land was nurtured once again by the Sun rune, the Runes of Dawn and Twilight were kept in palaces near Sol Falena, with the Sun Rune itself kept in the Sun Palace proper. Much later, the Dawn Rune was stolen, during which time Arshtat Falenas took the Sun Rune onto her own body and used it against the town of Lordlake, essentially destroying the land to end a growing rebellion. As the Dawn Rune was never recovered, Arshtat was slowly driven insane by the Sun Rune. She died during a violent coup, whose executors attempted to use the Sun Rune themselves to enforce their control over Falena while the Queen's son raised an army to stop them. After a long civil war, the Sun Rune was recovered. During the final battle, the nurturing powers of the Sun Rune was activated through the will of the 108 Stars of Destiny as well as the combined influence of the Dawn and Twilight Runes. The powers of the Sun Rune brought back the life of Lyon, bodyguard and soulmate of the Prince. The rune is thereafter housed in Sun Palace with the Dawn and Twilight Runes alongside it.

Although he technically never bore the Sun Rune, Marscal was able to translate Sindar texts and is able to draw power from the rune.

True Earth Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Unknown
 * Current Bearer: Sasarai
 * Child Runes: Earth, Mother Earth

The True Earth Rune that governs over the natural element of Earth is possessed by the Bishop Sasarai of Harmonia. The Rune is one of Harmonia's enslaved runes, with Sasarai serving as a cloned host. In 475 of the Solar Calendar, the True Earth Rune was briefly stolen by the Bishop Luc, though it was later recovered from a Sindar ritual site. It grants the bearer to manipulate the very earth itself for devastating attacks as well as soothing support magics.

True Fire Rune

 * Previous Bearers: The Flame Champion
 * Current Bearer: Geddoe, Chris Lightfellow, or Hugo (Hugo in the Manga)
 * Child Runes: Fire, Rage

The True Fire Rune which governs over the natural elements of fire was once possessed by the hero of the grasslands, the Flame Champion, circa 425 of the Solar Calendar. It grants the bearer the ability to use devastating fire magics that can burn through anything. During the Harmonian-Grasslands War, the Flame Champion lost control of the Rune and caused a fire which raged across the Grasslands, decimating both the Harmonian Regular Army and the allied forces of the Grassland Clans. The aftermath of this caused Harmonia to sign a secret fifty year peace treaty. At the end of the peace treaty, it became apparent that the previous Flame Champion had given up his True Rune and elected to live out the rest of his days with his wife. In Suikoden III, three different people can eventually become the bearer of the True Fire Rune: Chris Lightfellow, Hugo, or Geddoe. In the manga, Hugo, the son of the Karayan Chief at the time, accepted the responsibilities of the Rune and led a united army of Zexen, Grasslanders and Harmonians against the Bishop Luc. Briefly during the war, the new Flame Champion lost the Rune, but recovered it just prior to engaging with Luc in battle.

True Lightning Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Geddoe
 * Current Bearer: Geddoe, Hugo (Geddoe in the Manga)
 * Child Runes: Lightning, Thunder

Little is known of the True Lightning Rune prior to it becoming borne by Geddoe at some point during the first Fire Bringer War. Unlike his friends Wyatt and the Flame Champion, who bore the True Water Rune and True Fire Rune respectively, and chose to seal their runes following the war, Geddoe chose to keep his with him, hiding it with a simple glove as he wandered throughout the world visiting faraway nations following the war. Much of Geddoe's travels - or whether or not the rune was used at all during this time - is unknown.

Geddoe's travels eventually lead him to joining the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force, where he declined to reveal the True Lightning Rune's existence. Despite forming a close-knit unit with several other mercenaries, Geddoe told none of them about the rune itself. The Rune's existence would only become known to them as the Second Fire Bringer War broke out in the Grassland - there, as Geddoe became drawn into the events of the war, he revealed the True Lightning Rune, using it to battle Luc's plans to destroy a large part of the Northern Continent in order to destroy his True Wind Rune.

Following the end of the war, Geddoe rejoined the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force and continued his journeys as a mercenary, taking the True Lightning Rune with him on his journeys as he was unsure of what to do concerning it.

True Water Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Wyatt Lightfellow
 * Current Bearer: Chris Lightfellow, Hugo (Chris in the Manga)
 * Child Runes: Water, Flowing

The True Water Rune which governs over the natural elements of water first entered history in the hands of a man known as Wyatt Lightfellow. It allows the bearer to manipulate water and ice utilising their properties for attack as well as potent healing magics. During the Flame Champion's war against Harmonia, Wyatt used the powers of the Rune to assist the Fire Bringer against Harmonia. After the end of that war, Wyatt visited numerous locations, sealing the Rune to prevent its misuse and potential capture by Harmonia. Wyatt would later try to reclaim the Rune under the name Jimba to protect it from Luc, but was seriously injured when the power of the Rune was unleashed at the last of the seal sites. When Wyatt perished, the Rune was taken by his daughter, Chris Lightfellow, who chose to assist the new Flame Champion. Although the Rune was briefly captured by the sorceress Sarah, Chris would recover it from a Sindar ritual site.

True Wind Rune

 * Previous Bearers: Luc
 * Current Bearer: Unknown
 * Child Runes: Wind, Cyclone

The True Wind Rune which governs over the natural elements of wind is the only elemental rune currently unaccounted for. The Rune was stolen from Harmonia when the bearer, a young boy named Luc, was kidnapped from Crystal Valley. Aside from the control of the wind, the Rune is capable of being used for minor summoning, as its bearer, Luc, was charged with protecting the Magician's Island using it (it is possible that this summoning, however, was done using a Pale Gate Rune which Luc was later shown to possess or simply through the usage of sorcery he learnt from Leknaat). Luc would use the Rune only once before leaving Magician's Island for good: when he used it to wipe out a unit of Harmonian soldiers interfering in the Dunan Unification War, causing the Bishop Sasarai to retreat from the location of that particular battle. In 475 of the Solar Calendar, he sought to destroy the Rune using the power of the other four elemental True Runes. However, thanks to the new Flame Champion, Hugo, and his Fire Bringer, Luc was stopped. The ruins where the ritual was occurring were destroyed after the final battle, and Luc perished. The current whereabouts of the Rune are unknown.

Other Runes
In the Suikoden series many other runes have appeared often, but of which there is only one of within the game and show no connection to known true runes. These runes may provide a hint as to what other true runes may exist; however, it could also be that many are not actually runes at all, but are merely classed as such due to gameplay mechanics. 'Other runes' include:

Blinking Rune

 * Known Users: Viki
 * Child Runes: Unknown

The Blinking Rune has appeared with Viki in every game of the Suikoden series and using it Viki can teleport herself and/or the players party to previously visited towns. The Blinking Rune is often speculated to be a True Rune, however this has not been confirmed or denied by Konami. Feeding the speculation is the fact that Viki appears across the whole series despite the century long gap between Suikoden IV and the others. However, there is evidence that Viki merely disappears from time and space for periods of time- in Suikoden II when she teleports in front of the player for the first time she comments that the last thing she remembers was the victory celebrations from the end of Suikoden, backing this up is the fact that Viki also appears as a child in Suikoden III and Suikogaiden Vol. II. Also against this is the fact that it is possible to acquire a second Blinking Rune in Suikoden II in the ninja hamlet of Rokkaku, and in Suikoden III through treasure chests guarded by optional bosses. In Suikoden V, an item called 'Blinking Rune Piece' was introduced, which allowed the Player to change their party members anywhere.

Charm Rune

 * Known Users: Jeane
 * Child Runes: Unknown

The Charm Rune has appeared with Jeane in every game of the Suikoden series in which she is usable in battle. The Rune causes others of the opposite sex to become infatuated with its bearer. This is evident by both in-game dialogue made by characters and also its ability in battle which charms the enemy into refusing to attack.

The Charm Rune is often speculated to be a True Rune, however Konami has denied Jeane owns a true rune. Feeding the speculation is the fact that Jeane appears across the whole series despite the century long gap between Suikoden IV and the others. There is evidence that Jeane's appearance is due to the Charm Rune. Animals and human characters with extrasensory abilities have been known to sense that she is not all that she appears to be. In Suikoden 3, while playing as Koroku, a dog character, if the player talked to Jeane, she even asked Koroku to 'not tell anyone' because she 'doesn't want to scare them'. While in Suikoden V, Genoh remarked that he sensed someone old upon meeting Jeane. The Night Rune was able to transform itself into The Star Dragon Sword,So I believe it possible that Jeane herself is the living incarnation of The True Charm Rune if you think about it what an ingenious way to hide itself

Godspeed Rune / True Holy Rune

 * Known Users: Cedric, Cathari, Stallion
 * Child Runes: Holy Rune

A unique rune that gifts its bearer with tremendous speed of movement. Chronologically, its first known owner was a young boy from the Island Nations called Cedric, who claims to have been born with it. Approximately a century and a half later, a member of the Howling Voice Guild named Cathari had it in her possession, and it was last seen with the wandering elf Stallion.

The translation of this rune’s name is a matter of great confusion for most fans, particularly those who mistake it for a True Rune. The original term comes from Dai Zhong, a character in the Water Margin novel on which the Suikoden universe is loosely based. Dai Zhong was said to possess a method that allowed him to travel through great distances in a small amount of time. The original Japanese term for this rune could be loosely translated as “Truly Divine Transportation Method”, which became “True Holy” in the first, second and fourth games. During Suikoden III, the term appears not in a rune, but in a skill as “Holy Dash”, and Suikoden Tactics had both a “True Godspeed” and the lesser “Godspeed” (What has the regular Holy Rune is Suikoden I) as skills. Suikoden V finally employed “Godspeed Rune” again, although this time in reference to the higher rune and making no mention of its lesser form.

Trivia

 * Due to a translation error, the Beast Rune appears in both Suikoden II and Suikoden V, however the rune which appears in Suikoden V is actually the child rune of the one which appears in Suikoden II.
 * The Rune of Life and Death is usable by the player in three Suikoden games (Suikoden I, II and IV), the most out of all true runes.