Would someone explain "rage" to me? (and a few other things?)

[Odindusk]

Hi there - new player and I've sorta just fumbled my way to a level 5 mage while slowing learning the game through trial and error. Few things I'd love to have answered that I haven't previously come across in other threads.

1) what does rage do in this game? I don't understand its function.

2) what is "initiative"? A couple of spells/items mention this.

3) is the damage of a unit's attack a direct result of how many members are currently in that unit? Like sometimes something in my party will hit for 1-3 damage. And I don't understand why.

4) my intuition says that 3/3 Alchemy is a must, but I'm not sure if the rune investment is worth the runes that it will help me to save later on in the game. Thoughts?

5) sometimes one of my units will be able to move, and then attack. And other times that same unit will only be able to move and then they're done. What causes this?


Thank you much!