The Runestones: Transliteration, and Some Thoughts

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[Originally posted on r/Hellblade in August 2020]

I got the idea to transliterate the runestones into the Latin alphabet to see if it meant anything, and this is what I got:

ᛋ ᛖ ᛖ ᚲ · ᚺ ᛖ ᛚ ᚨ ᛋ · ᛏ ᚱ ᚢ ᛏ ᚺ · ᛁ ᚾ · ᛗ ᛁ ᚱ ᚱ ᛟ ᚱ · ᚷ ᛟ ᛞ ᛋ · ᛒ ᛖ ᛏ ᚱ ᚨ ᛃ · ᚢ ᛋ · ᚢ ᚾ ᛗ ᚨ ᛋ ᚲ · ᚠ ᛖ ᚨ ᚱ

S E E K · H E L A S · T R U T H · I N · M I R R O R · G O D S · B E T R A [Y] · U S · U N M A S K · F E A R

(It's a little anachronistic that it's in the Elder Futhark, but honestly I don't blame them because it looks far cooler than the Younger Futhark)

Analyis time-

  • SEEK HELAS TRUTH IN MIRROR- On the surface level it's foreshadowing that Hela and Senua are one and the same, but in a way that doesn't spoil the ending since the entire rune circle can be viewed from the beginning of the game. However the concept of mirrors and sight are a recurring motif in the game, and it could also be-

    • Foreshadowing the Valravyn section where Senua learns to use Druth's iron mirror to see past illusions and darkness (beginning to unravel Hela's truth). The quote I'm looking at specifically is Druth saying "Within [the mirror], you will see the face of the darkness that you fear. And if you focus, like I have taught you to, you will also see that as much the darkness has you trapped within it’s veil, it too is trapped within yours."

    • Also possibly foreshadowing the scene in Hela's hall where she confronts herself in the mirror and realizes that the dark voice is her father Zynbel, which is the beginning of the ultimate realization that she and Hela are the same.

  • GODS BETRAY US- Obviously a reference to Senua (and Druth)'s "fuck the gods" attitude. It also could be a reference to Zynbel's attitude of "the gods will save you through my hand," reinforcing the theme of the damage people can cause when claiming to take the will of the gods into their own hands. Especially due to the use of the word "betray"- the gods never claimed to be on Senua's side, but Zynbel and the rest of her village did.

  • UNMASK FEAR- I don't have too much to say on this one, probably just straightforward along the lines of Senua facing her fears and confronting her past to free her future. The word "unmask" represents the runes in the Helheim section, which might be a reference to how much of the Helheim level is Senua un-repressing her repressed memories. And "fear" being the four runes in Hela's keep, that's an easy connection to make.


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