The transformation into a divine entity allowed the heroic spirits to become aware of an alternative form of strength when the giants of Order needed it the most.
Giants of Order are immune to spells, so they can't cast them. That's an acceptable trade. But their anti-magic domain went further than that. It not only destroyed their environment, but it also destroyed mana artifacts, magic weapons, and magic equipment.
It meant that they couldn't use mana equipment as mana entities and their infertile environment forced them to migrate often. Migration caused conflicts which quickly escalated to war. It is one thing to be able to turn an environment into a desert but Origin water in origin streams was also affected.
At first, they had success in their wanton expansion. They were born mana entities with very strong bodies that could go beyond the strength of a mana entity. They conquered their plane until it became infertile. The origin streams dried up and the vitality of the world became next on the menu.
Then they turned their attention to the ancient battlefield when a great general that broke through to transcendence appeared. They marched into the ancient battlefield with pride and ignorance. It turned out that they had eaten more than they could chew.
The ancient battlefield is where the big boys of the realm of high heaven play. The giants were beaten back easily. Their unique divine ability made them targets for research to the extent that they were even hunted in their plane. They were almost hunted to extinction.
It was then that one of the generals that they enshrined became a heroic spirit. He died and came back as a demigod. The acquisition of a half-divine body created a phenomenon in which divine power interacted with the law fragments of the deceased Hero. This phenomenon enlightened the heroic spirit into creating totems.
He bestowed totems on the Warrior's bodies. These totems allowed them to finally use weapons. Having a weapon can do wonders for a warrior when spells can't be used. Their strong bodies finally came to good use with weapons fitting their level.
The totems empowered their already powerful bodies and allowed them to beat back their oppressors, but its effect ended there. The totems ensured their survival but they couldn't allow them to flourish on the ancient battlefield.
There is a limit in the plane due to the lack of origin energy. That limit doesn't exist in the ancient battlefield. Their inability to become lords of law and the enmity of other races prevented them from even getting a foothold on the ancient battlefield. This didn't change even when gods began to appear in their race.
Gods can't leave their planes unless they fall. The only loophole is if they want to attend the trial of heaven, then a passage will be opened for them in the divine plane that leads into the tower of heaven. Still, the presence of gods allowed them to develop totems into the advanced form of rune-making that it is today. Giants of order pride themselves on the Stigmata something that is arguably unique in the entire realm or high heaven.
Helios began writing on a piece of paper. It is more of a drawing than writing but it can be called anything since he is using tiny words written close together to draw instead of lines or strokes. He is practicing his Rune making to become a runemaster.
The major difference between Totems and Rune making is that totems need a being with a divine will, such as a god. A Rune needs knowledge of law fragments and divine energy which can be acquired from divine crystals. So anyone can be a runemaster as long as they have knowledge of runes and divine crystals while only divine beings can create a totem.
The fusion of the two fields creates Stigmata which is what Stelios the sun god is capable of. It is the epitome of the field that is only achievable by a god who has knowledge of runes. That knowledge and divine will can create a miracle, but Helios is not impressed with what the giants of order have been able to do with it.
"Backwards people. You can make anything but you create weapons. Why not make your body into a weapon?" He continued to mutter as he worked.
Rune-making manipulates law fragments in the body of giants with divine energy to take advantage of the power of the law of order.
The law of order that world gods create enables them to create a world and other stuff. Rune-making is only an imitation of that power. It relies on the strong body of giants of order to shoulder the burden of creation instead of a world and the law fragments of order on them to imitate creation instead of the full law of order. Those two conditions are important.
The power of creation needs order, even if it is a created law of Order or it will cause a backlash. The universe will resist any sort of creation. Only the law of order can reduce this resistance and make creation possible as opposed to the law of Chaos that likes destruction.
The law fragments on the body of giants of order is not the law of order, but they can be elevated to the level of an imitation with the power of divine energy. Once all these conditions have been met, then creation is possible, if only temporarily.
What Helios finds silly is the choice of creating weapons when there is a limited amount of resources available for Rune making. A giant of Order has a finite amount of law fragments and each one that has been used can not be reused only slightly modified.
That means you have to be careful about what Rune you tattoo on your body and who does the marking. The tattoos reach the bones and cannot be hacked off. Even if you lose a limb, you will regrow the limb with the tattoo because giants have mana bodies and the tattoos are part of their existence.
It is the willful ignorance of possibilities by the giants that baffles Helios. Weapon runes helped them in the past but times have changed in the realm of high heaven. Laws and concepts are the latest things. Like the portal runes on Staniel's body. They create a portal that leads to his storage somewhere far away. Something like that is a Stigmata but Helios is looking beyond that. For example, upgrading that portal Rune into a pocket space within a separate dimension on the body.
Creating a pocket dimension will require the knowledge of laws beyond which the best Rune grandmasters are capable. So it is understandable that they can't do it since they can't comprehend laws. The one that can be achieved by even rune masters is to consider the body as a material that is to be forged and enchanted with runes to create an excellent weapon. They already have a strong body, why not capitalize on it and make it a strong weapon?
"This is looking good. More and more practice and I might get it."
He admired his work. He had been writing with a practice Rune pen of his own making instead of the divine Rune maker that consumes divine power to alter runes. His rune pen creates simulated law fragments on the special paper he is working with.
It helps him to practice his Rune making with life-like simulations of the behavior of runes. This is better than the way other Rune apprentices practice. They need real law fragments to practice which can only be gotten from the body of giants
The fertility of giants of order is low naturally and the mana-less environment has reduced that fertility to an all-time low so they have a small population to work with. That requirement is one of the things holding them back from progressing. Without a large population to work with, they can't practice. And if they can't practice, they can't progress.
Practice makes perfect but aspiring rune makers can't practice as much as they want. The mana pen can't work with other giants because they can't control their anti-magic domain. Their domain will disrupt the operation of the pen. Even if they can use it, he doesn't have the intention to share. The only reason to share something good is if you'll get something better from it. Since he is not getting anything from sharing, he will keep it to himself.
Most of the problems the giants of Order face are due to their anti-magic domain created by the law fragments in their bodies. It killed their environment and also prevents advancement in technology.
He said as he admired his work. "This is not so bad. Apart from the gods and the constant supervision, being a giant isn't so bad. Rune making is unique and worthwhile to study. It is the power of creation in a small spark."
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