Languages

The following languages are spoken by inhabitants across the lands of Narenfel.

Spoken by: Humans

Script: Commonscript

This is considered the common tongue, and is widely spoken by most all people in the nations of Narenfel, though it seems to have been developed by the ancestors of Callen Moor, Bramm, and Regimantis, since the same language exists on both sides of the continent. That said, there are many accents of Riginalia, generally identifiable with different colonies — for example, Riginalia in Callen Moor is generally spoken much fast and with fluid slide of words and phrases, while Riginalia in Regimantis is much slower and enunciated, with harder consonant sounds and emphasis on syllables. These accents allow characters to have some idea (generally speaking) from where another character might hail.

Spoken by: Ya’avin

Script: Lykanti

This is language of the Ya’avin, which has syntax roots in the Eldrath language.

Spoken by: Mythdrigg

Script: None

This is the name given to the clipped/clicking language of the Mythdrigg, spoken in the frozen tunnels of the Northern Necron and below the Frost Rush. Very few outside the Mythdrigg community speak Drig (though of course, there are a few Maugtheni Cahedrists who make it the focus of their life’s work). Drig is passed down through oral tradition, and is not written. There is no alphabet. Mythdrigg who need to communicate with others at a distance do so through their Dreaming abilities where language is not a barrier.

Speakers: Elflawvin

Script: Lykanti

Eldraath draws upon the script-like alphabet of Lykanti, though the language itself is different from that which was spoken in Everlock. Eldraath is primarily spoken by Elflawvin. Due to social tabboos, only a small handful of non-Elflawvin scholars and Cahedrists study this language.

Speakers: Omernari

Script: Commonscript

This is the “modern” hybrid-phonetic version Enari, the old language of Orh-Kish. Neo-Enari is primarily spoken by Omenari (the descendants of the Orh-Kish Empire), but uses Commonscript to represent the sounds and syntax of the language. Scholars point out that Neo-Enari is more of a hodgepodge than its own language. It ports in a number of Elderath and Riginalian words and grammatical conventions. It is assumed that the language was result of the tumultuous time after the fall of Mistmight, when the dying Enari race intermingled with others.

Speakers: Maugtheni

Script: Maugtheni

This is considered the language of scholarship (at least by Maugtheni scholars anyway).

The Maugtheni people are highly literate — much more so than those in the colonies — and there are few who cannot read and write. Outside of the Maugholdings, non-Maugtheni scholars, sages, and the well-to-do commonly learn Maugtheni. It provides the most access to books and documentation on a variety of topics. The Maugtheni alphabet is much more complex than Riginalia, with wide, complex characters that house hollow and filled circles connected by intersecting lines. These characters are placed one on top of another and read in columns. According to Maughtheni legend, they were inspired by the light of the first stars — the Sifforoth — and the constellations that grew from them.

Speakers: Odari
Script: Huhnreth

This is the guttural, “harsh” language of the Odari (at least by Riginalia standards), that has at its foundation the ancient Huhnreth language that existed during the time of the Orh-Kish empire. Unlike Neo-Enari, Reth is the modern evolution of Huhnreth, using its angular script and building upon its grammar and syntax. If a Huhnreth from the time of the siege of Mistmight were to be transported to the world of now, they could probably understand a majority of what an Odari speaking Reth was saying. Reth has been influenced heavily by Reginalia, and includes a considerable about of Reginalia imports into its language. Also of note: there is an amazing amount of vocabulary dedicated to horses, horseback riding, and horseback combat.

Speakers: Visric

Script: Maugtheni

In practice, this strange language is more of a system of gill flaps and barely audible sounds, rather than a full language. As such, only Visric are really able to speak it, unless aided by some sort of translation magic. However, unlike the Mythdrigg, who have eschewed the idea of a written language, Visric elder were fascinated by it (and the concept of a written language), and have worked with Cahedrists to codify it using the Maugtheni script. The rudiments of a Visric lexicon are currently being developed by several of the Cahedra.

ANCIENT AND EXOTIC LANGUAGES

While not commonly known, those who are associated with the Cahedra (or perhaps other scholars) may know some of these languages.

This is a written-only language primarily used for magic spells. It is highly inflectionally, and requires somatic movements as well – thus forming the basics of spellcraft. The Oldmage Period existed before the rise of Lazmaranth and Velthor – and those two civilizations apparently used this language, since it was the foundation of their spellcraft.

This is the elven language used by the people of Everlock. Most knowledge of the Orh-Kish Empire (and older civilizations) have been gleaned from Lykanti texts. Due to the unreliable reputation of Everlock, scholars and Cahedrists debate whether that information should be considered credible.

Uses a script called Kishra, an incomplete series of symbols that are still being discovered and deciphered by Cahedrists and scholars. True, ancient Ennari is somewhat lost, because it relies on a different set of symbols, and is still being pieced together by scholars. (Particularly Maugtheni). Original Ennari remains an enimga based in no small part of the fact that magic spells that allow languages to be understood/read do not seem to work on the fragments of Enari script that has been found. Neo-Ennari shares (probably) the same sounds, maybe roots, but how it was recorded is lost, and as a result, its not a known language.

Often referred to as Old Reth, this is the ancestor language to what the Odari speak today. It uses the same script, Huhnreth.

The language used long ago during the Wyntiri Empire, before the Turning. It is written in paired lines of Walvesi script, read right to left, then left to right, and so forth. Some traces of High Wyntiri language are still noticeable in the Regelian dialects of New Wyntiri.

A hybrid of Oldmage, using Infernal script, syntax and symbol. Like Oldmage, it is used in spellcraft, usually by warlocks or those who call upon Darker Powers for blood magic or binding enchantments.

Alien in its entirety. Ibn-Ori writing is incredibly rare, but is made up of circular characters, with levels of “depth” within its “shadowy ink”. Each of these interior layers seems to contain limited kinetic motion, and it is assumed that information is conveyed by understanding the synthesis of all these factors.