A few days ago, God of War Creative Director Cory Barlog mentioned that Kratos' son is the only one among the rather mismatched pair to actually understand ancient Norse. This sparked my interest, because the kid has a tattoo evidently written in runes across his arm and hand, as you can see in the pictures below (one is the character model by Rafael Grassetti, while the others are stills from a high bitrate version of the gameplay demo shown at the E3 conference).

First all, the runes are Elder Futhark, the oldest form of runic alphabet used from the 2nd to the 8th century. The language appears to be old Norse, possibly with integrations.

The phrase running along the forearm is "stjrkrarmr" possibly repeated twice (the second part is always covered, but begins with "stjrk" and appears to end with "mr"). It means "strong arm" or "strength of arm."

The one circling around the forearm says "happskejtr." Even this one is probably repeated from what we can glimpse of the parts out of focus. It means "lucky arrow," or "luck with the arrow."

Lastly, the one on the back of the hand says "hrada hond," which means "quick hand."

The presence of the tattoo sparks some definitely interesting questions, considering that the kid is the only one who knows the language. Did he apply the tattoo by himself? If he didn't, who did? Kratos probably wouldn't be able to write in a language he doesn't know, and even if he could, why would he?

Looking at his character model, the kid surely didn't have an easy life. We can easily notice a multitude of scars all over his face. Unfortunately, these are questions that won't find an answer until Sony Santa Monica spills the beans, or we actually get to play the game.

Speaking of Elder Futhark, Sony Santa Monica used the runes on quite a few tweets yesterday, you can see them below, with a translation for each. This time around just the runes were used, but the language hidden behind the alphabet is actually modern English.

If you can't read the runes, just paste the squares on your Notepad, and they'll appear.

"The world is bigger than you know."

"Focus not on the past a new journey has begun."

"Sharpen your weapons war cannot be denied."

"Change comes for all."

"The path we take is clear and there is much to learn."

"Are you ready to stand and fight."

"Your resolve is admirable."

"Your loyalty is commendable."

"A warrior does not forget those who fight beside him"