If the glyphs were discovered 'simply' by drawing characters with a focus of mage-like will, then that's something else. The glyphs injure the user, whether out of imbalance and corruption, especially if the user has grown addicted to an effect. Balance is surely required to gain cooperation. The glyphs seek to control those of undisciplined mind that dare to use them.

But.no evidence of Glyphs, unless they were erased as with the Final Glyph, though not so final.Ĭontrol the glyphs lest ye be controlled. The Precursors definitely had connections with the Four Elements, though what that was we don't yet know, and we know the Precursors had technology that had the Mechanists in awe. The Keepers were able to tap into the elemental magics to create the Elemental Wards (sought by the Hand Mage elementalists and, for some reason, an opera singer hoped to use the Water Talisman's power), to keep The Eye from wandering where it would, to cause catastrophe, madness, and death just for kicks. There is so much natural sentience that it's feasible for the Glyphs to come from the planet itself, though not necessarily as the single 'organism' that statement suggests.

The SENTIENTS primarily include precious stones, metals (mineral ore from stones), and a severed hand. Azaran the Cruel was an Earth Mage, and the rising of the dead bespeaks of the connection between necromancy and the earth element.Ī book from TDP/Gold tells of the swirling magic of sentient rocks and plants that can be warmed to lull the rocks and plants to sleep. The Earth element is by far the most important element that drives the plot. The 'heart of The City' and all it's wicked and cataclysmic events, the landmarks used by the ancient Keepers to mark the nodes of the Final Glyph failsafe, all the natural necromancy and elemental magics, all make it a very powerful place on that continent of unknown proportions.

The glyphs appear to be sentient, or a means of communication by a sentient force (perhaps the planet itself, if not that territory The City is founded on).

All ancient glyphs compared