BY DR. MANJIRI PRABHU*
It was the Runes and Runestones that took me to Sweden.
And Rune Divination.
I have claimed previously too that the destinations of my destination thrillers have always called out to me in different ways — through messages, invites, dreams, friends, and visions. I believe that this time, it was the magical runes that beckoned me, and hence this brief introduction to what set the novel rolling.
Voice of the Runes is based in Lund, Sweden, and takes place in Lund University and the Cathedral. A close friend of mine, Terri, kindly hosted me for two weeks in southern Sweden, Skåne, as I researched for this rather intense and unusual novel. A beautiful countryside cottage, flanked by rapeseed fields with stunning sunsets, three handsome cats for company, long roads between golden hillocks and lavender fields, and off-route walking paths that strayed into deep woods and hidden lakes — the checkered grey and white sandstone walls of the ancient and iconic Lund Cathedral and its reputed 350-plus-year-old university… altogether an inspiring setting for a romantic suspense novel.
But what drew me to Sweden was the runes and runestones. Runes are alphabets that come from the ancient Germanic people and convey the concept of secrecy. In Old Norse, rune means a secret, secret lore, a magical sign, and even wisdom. In Old English, it means a mystery or a secret council. In Old Saxon and Old High German, it means the same — a mystery or a secret.
There are various theories around its origin — the Latin theory, the Greek theory, the North-Italic theory, and the Indigenous theory. But basically, runes are supposed to be without a beginning or end and are said to have eternal patterns. Apparently, they represent secrets, mystery, magic, and wisdom, with mythological, cosmological, and psychological relevance to our existence.
This small extract from the novel explains the concept better:
In Norse mythology, the Norse God Odin is called the God of Magic, and he was the one who extracted the rune wisdom from its source, and assimilated it within him in such a way as to be able to bring the knowledge to the world. He hung upside down from a tree for nine continuous nights, hungry and thirsty, till he learned what he had to from the runes. In Norse mythology, this is said to be a shamanistic initiation through the nine worlds of the world tree, right up to death, entering this space of death momentarily. This is where the rune wisdom lies and gets integrated into the body. Then the body immediately returns to Midgard or Earth with the rune wisdom encoded into your body and brain, ready to be passed on to the world.
Since my thrillers carry a whiff of the mystical and esoteric, what better premise to base a book on than this? For Re Parkar, who solves cases with his sense of energy, this was a perfect foundation for a mystery thriller.
As my main character Maddy explains in the book — when we speak of runes, we speak about three things: the rune alphabet, which is used in runic language (rune stones mostly engraved with the Elder Futhark alphabet); the small runestones with the alphabet engraved on them, which are used in divinations and magic; and finally, the runestones, which are large pillar-like gravestones or boulders raised in memory of lost loved ones. Sweden is famous for them, and the country’s most southern region, Skåne, boasts a large number of runestones. Ancient and valuable, they are preserved outside churches, by the roadsides, and in fields — some in the university campus too, and also in the Kulturen, the open-air museum in Lund.
A tradition that began in the fourth century, the runestones are from the Viking Age, with about 3,000 runestones in Scandinavia. It is the inscriptions on them that really make them meaningful. For a Vitki — that is, a sorcerer or a magician — the signs and hieroglyphs on the runes indicate a powerful interaction with cosmic energy and intellect.
For a mystery writer, this was pure golden creative wisdom. Leaning heavily on the mysticism that surrounds the rune alphabet, the novel Voice of the Runes takes the reader on a trail to many locations in search of runestones.
One of the most important locations is undoubtedly the Runstenskullen — the rune hillock or knoll in the university campus, which showcases six memorial gravestones. These runestones were a gift from the Society of Preservation of Skåne’s Relics and History, for the 200th anniversary of Lund University in 1868, mostly brought here from various sites across Skåne. Some date the stones to the mid-1000s. But today, in the midst of the busy university campus, these engraved runestones still stand tall and hold their own.
Another significant runestone can be found inside the Lund University Library. The interiors of the building are cool, and the brick arches and walls offer a unique character and a literary aura to the library. But it is the towering runestone cemented to the floor on the right side of the entrance that immediately arrests your attention. Seven feet tall, Lund 1 Runestone is a very special one. It has carvings on all four sides with images of two wolves, a man’s mask, and a lion’s face. The wolves have a mane and pointed ears, and a shield and sword are attached to the body. It is open to numerous interpretations, as Re Parkar, my investigative detective, soon realized!
Another important runestone can be found in the courtyard of Church Holmby Kyrka, a short distance from the university. The church, with its oblong white structure, brick-colored sloping roof, and spire at the far end, looks solitary despite the trees. In the corner between two walls stands the unique runestone. The runic text is carved upside down in a semicircle around the edge of the rock. But it is the single picture on the face of the boulder that grabs your attention with its expression and clarity. The runic bands are straight, and the ends don’t peter into serpent or beast heads like other pictures on runestones do. This style is called the RAK-style runestone. A picture of a Viking ship with beaks at two ends signifies that this isn’t a normal Viking ship either. The writing on the stone says: “This stone was raised by a person called Sveinn, in memory of his father Þorgeirr.”
Southern Sweden and Lund — filled with the aura of Norse mythology, with unexpected runestones turning up around corners, their messages and energy subtle and mystical, with trails and clues hidden in their engraved, mysterious carvings; landscapes that altered from green fields to dramatic seaside cliffs and accompanied by gusts of winds and silver mists — I knew that charinspirer Re Parkar and his 48-hour mystery was supported by the best suspense ingredients and headed to an exciting destiny.
*Dr. Manjiri Prabhu is an award-winning international author, short filmmaker, and the curator & founder/director of two international festivals.
