Runes and Meta-Magic

I've received some requests to further explain Torin's meta-magic and runes in general so I'm going to put them here

Meta-Magic
To understand meta-magic you must first understand at least the theory behind normal magic. Magic is the use of certain types of mystical energy (99% of the time: mana, it is not believed to be possible to use multiple types of energy in one spell, though it's possible to "align" mana to elements.) to achieve otherwise impossible effects. This is done by taking this energy giving it some form or imperative.
Meta-magic is a branch of magic that is relatively unknown and barely explored. In general it can be described as magic that only effects other magic which uses the same energy type. So mana-powered meta-magic can only effect mana-powered magic.
Meta-magic can be further grouped into two categories the General, and the Specific.
General meta-magic is a standard spell with no variation, it's effect on another spell will always be the same thing, regardless of what the other spell is. An example of this is Torin's grayspace portals, it does the same thing every time. General meta-magic is very quick and easy to cast.
Specific meta-magic is much more fluid and can be broken down into several stages.
1)Access: The part where the meta-mage attempts to override the original caster's control of the spell, this is the longest part of any meta-spell. The more powerful the spell the harder(read: requires more energy)it is to access it
2)Alteration: The meta-mage has access and now changes or introduces elements to the spell. This is a very short part of the spell taking only as long as it takes for the mage to will the changes, but it is by FAR and away the most energy consuming, the energy it takes is proportional to the changes made.
3)Enaction:Basically the meta-mage releases the now changed spell(giving up access) and it does whatever new thing it's going to do.
A general rule of thumb is that it always takes slightly longer to gain access than it takes to cast the spell in the first place.
Meta-magic is completely non-elemental, attempting to introduce elements to it results in it not working at all.

So thats meta-magic in a nutshell...In the above "spell" is defined as any coherent compilation of mystical energy.

Runes-
Runes are a way of putting a spell in written form, not just so that it can be read aloud(which it can't, not with runes at least, no one knows how runes are pronounced, or even if they can be) but so that the very symbol itself can create the spell. Runes can re-create almost any spell but many are useless (since there is no living being controlling it) of course some spells are only useful in runes(since there is no living being controlling it).
Runes cannot cast the spell they represent without mystical energy, and so are useless until the object they are engraved on is charged with energy.
Runes that are well made only cast the appropriate spell, however runes that are poorly made tend to generate heat or other forces and deform the object they are engraved upon (meaning if you botch the job your likely to lose whatever you engraved it on).
The major advantage of runic magic is that almost all rune spells are either constant effect or instantly cast, as the rune is able to cast magic far faster than a human ever could, the downside being that runes must be engraved and have no will of their own. It takes some few minutes to create even simple runes and complex ones can take day or weeks, further runes do not care if they are used the way they were intended, they simply fulfill the spell.
Triggering.
Runes must be "Triggered", which is to say that the spell-rune is encased in another rune, which defines the conditions under which the spell is cast. The triggers may respond to temperature, impact, sound, contact with certain materials, or react to magic in general, just certain types of magic, many other factors, and any combination of the above.

Random facts about runes:
Runes that generate fire are fairly rare, as the intense heat is often capable of deforming any material the rune might be on. If there ARE fire runes on an item odds are on the item is also runed or in some other way ensorcelled to reject heat.
Runes which in anything is repressed, contained, or otherwise restricted are known as Seals and are extremely hard to produce.
A golem produced by runes requires only one rune to bring it to life. If you want it to actually DO anything however it requires more runes, and if you wish for it to react to outside stimuli the complexity almost guarantees that it will take weeks.