Harmonies and Reading Runes
What it is
Every world’s magic is a little different. Each world hides its own harmonies (spells that only it answers) and quirks (runes that act a little differently there). They’re drawn when the world is made, so this wiki can’t list them. You find them by casting.
New runes also have to be read before you understand them fully.
How to get it
Harmonies
A harmony is an exact sequence of three or four runes. Cast it and your spell goes off as normal, plus a twist: rain of falling glass, fire that mends friends, a second echo of the spell, and many more. A world holds about a dozen.
- Exact order only, with nothing before, between or after, like a secret spell.
- Always a real spell. A near guess still casts something, and never tells you how close you were.
- Craftable runes, Tier III at most, so an Amethyst Cord can hold any harmony.
- Never a secret spell, and never both runes of a signature fusion.
The first time you cast one, its name fills your screen, it goes into your Grimoire, and it gives 400 mana toward your next Heart Circle. If you’re the first in your world, everyone is told its name, but never its runes.
About one in four harmonies only wakes the first time at a ley crossing. Cast it elsewhere and you’ll see a shimmer and “but not here”. Once found, it works anywhere.
Torn Pages can carry a harmony’s name and riddle. The riddle names each rune in order, in a line of verse.
Quirks
A quirk tweaks one rune in your world under set conditions, for example “Here, Shock cracks harder in the rain”. It can make the rune stronger, last longer, or strike again faintly a moment later. What counts is where the spell lands: open sky or deep underground, day or night, moon phase, rain or snow, mountains, the Nether or the End.
Nobody is told about quirks. The first time one helps your spell you see a glint, get a chat line, and it goes in your Grimoire with 100 mana toward your next Heart Circle.
How to use it
- A twist is a small extra, never a second spell. It meets shields and armour like any damage, never hurts you or your friends, and never moves a boss.
- A found harmony costs 15% more mana and has a cooldown a fifth longer.
- Only from your Cord. Scrolls, passives and imbued items don’t wake harmonies.
- The Grimoire’s This world’s harmonies lists what you’ve found, riddles you’ve read, and other players’ finds by name. The rest are counted.
Reading runes
| Stage | The Codex shows | To move on |
|---|---|---|
| Unread | A short hint and a ? | Cast a spell holding it |
| Glimpsed | Its full text, with the numbers hidden, and a dot | Three casts that land on something, or five that don’t |
| Understood | Everything |
- A woven rune reads as far as its least-read part. A Knot always shows what’s inside.
- Your innate rune starts unread too.
- Creative players see every rune in full.
Tips and counterplay
- Try short sequences of three or four runes in different orders. Every try is a real spell anyway.
- Take a stubborn guess to a ley crossing. If it shimmers and says “not here”, you’ve found one.
- Keep your runes secret. Only a harmony’s name is ever shared.
- Want the numbers now? Every rune is on the Rune Codex.
A server can turn harmonies, quirks and rune reading off. See the FAQ.