The Crimson Rune Details

I'm always a hesitant in placing my ideas online like this since I'm always afraid someone will take them and make them their own [Not saying anyone here would do that, just paranoia].

Synopsis:

Shards of a shattered Rune are scattered across the globe.  Ordinary people gain magical abilities by possessing a single shard.

No one knows where the shards came from or how long they have been in the world, but they all want to make the shards whole again.  The bigger the shard the stronger the magic is, and so there is a power struggle to claim the shards.  Each shard will merge with another if the shard is possessed before it's master's heart stops or the shard vanishes in order to find another master.

Story Elements:

Magic

All the abilities the characters showcase are done by using their own strength, or stamina.  Like running a Marathon, your body is tired from the run.  Essentially that's what happens to your body when you use magic, the bigger the "spell" the more taxing it on the body to "cast".  But, just like running, you can raise your stamina by training.

Because magic is so taxing the longer living shards have adopted Martial arts and Sword arts in order to protect themselves.  This also helps in their stamina training.

Of course you can't die from exhaustion, but it could be very dangerous if you pass out from it while you're fighting.

The Shards

The shards are actually part of a much bigger Rune that was shattered thousands of years ago.  Though it's not common, there are a few "Masters" that can tap into the "memory" of the shard they carry.  Though they haven't been able to make out what's happening in them, some have made conjectures on where it came from and why it was shattered.

Though shards give power to the "master", as well as long life and a moderately stronger body, it does take something in return… the "master's" life.  Should the shard be removed from the body for any length of time the master would start to feel heavy and slowly they start to be unable to breathe.  After sometime the master will die and the shard will belong completely to the new master.

Should the masters heart stop for any reason then the shard will vanish, unless it's possessed before hand, and the body will turn to dust.  In order to possess the shard of another you must "merge" the shard with your own before the master’s heart stops.  The larger the shard the more power your magic has, so the more shards you find the stronger you become.

Characters:

Nate

Nate is a hot-head.  He grows angry easily and it seems only his childhood friend and fiancee, Sara, is able to calm him down.  He's been in trouble with the law on numerous occasions for fighting.  He's someone that accepts things rather quickly and usually able to adjust to things really easily.

Despite his anger he’s rather understanding of people and can sometimes figure out what they are thinking by looking at them.  He is over-protective of his friends and family and a good portion of his fights have been because of that.

Nate has some martial art training from when he was kid and was bullied.  He also has battle experience from his many fights.

Anna

Is the mysterious girl that teaches Nate about the Shards.  She's been alive for over 200 years and she's very powerful, the third largest shard[Sable is the biggest and Crimson the second].  She looks, even though she's over 200 years old, about 19.

She a reserved character, not very forth-right with information but is very honest with her feelings.  She was in a relationship with a previous Crimson, Alex, for almost 100 years.  She actually sees a little of Alex in Nate and she starts to replace her previous lover with Nate, despite the many warnings from Azul.

She trains Nate on how to use the shard properly.  She also accompanies him on missions.

Azul

Azul is 600 years old and he acts as the father figure to Anna.  He gives her advice and guidance, as well has protects her whenever he can.  He originally met Anna when she attacked him to get his shard but he beat her and spared her life.

Azul also becomes a sort of historian for the Rune since he has the ability to see fragments of the Rune's history.  Though he has no idea what the fragments mean or what order they need to be in.

The Little Demon

The Little Demon is something like a guide for Azul and the rest.  Though he’s called a demon he looks like an 11 year old.  He’s able to locate shards, but only after they have found masters.  He also seems to know more about the Rune Shards then he tells and Nate frequently suspects him of playing games.

Sable

Sable is almost 400 years old and has the biggest shard of the Rune.  Being alive for that long has caused him to become really strong, though he was strong in the first place.  He now controls a large amount of demons and humans as his own personal army.  He's cruel and devious, obsessed with power.  Knowing he can take the shard at anytime from Nate, he actually allows him to get stronger as a way to play with him.