Natural Languages
The natural languages of the Varolian are those that are not innately otherworldly, and can be both understood and spoken by any intelligent mortal without the need for special organs or magic.
Óssan
The official language of The Republic, known and spoken by the vast majority of people across continent.
Written Óssan
Literacy in The Republic amongst non-mages is the highest in the world, with over 10% of the population able to read and write at least simple sentences. It is likely thanks to, and the reason why, almost any scroll, book, or log for the last 500 years has been written in Óssan.
Praelan
An offshoot of Óssan (though to say so often invites violence) that was invented and strongly pushed onto the citizens of Praelos following the nation's split from The Republic.
Written Praelan
Despite the languages similarity, the main differences between them Praelan and Óssan rest within their written forms. The Praelan alphabet has been deliberately changed and made anew, with many letters written using notably different symbols compared to the older language.
Common (Gátian)
A sort of hybrid between Óssan and Praelan that formed as the island peoples of Gátia found their footing and began trading between the two nations. It has quickly become a core language learned by anyone who trades or travels, as it ensures that one can be understood almost anywhere in The Varolian. There are those who suspect that it's rapid rise to prominence was deliberate, and that, given another century or so, it will become the only human language anyone cares to learn.
Elvish
Written Elvish
Dwarvish
Written Dwarvish
The strange nature and incredible skill required to write Dwarvish in the style of Lofsjarna is almost enough to have it labelled a mystic language in its own right:
- A single massive rune is carved across the entire writing surface, its meaning simple enough to convey what the message as a whole is about (such as "War" or "Gold"),
- Within that rune full words are carved in smaller script, explaining to even untrained eyes the important matters ("We are being attacked by orcs in the South" or "A new ore vein has been found to the East")
- Within those runes in script that can be difficult to spot for some (dwarves have very keen eyesight when it comes to small details!) are details not meant for casual observers ("We are moving 50 warriors to defend, but will need reinforcements soon. " or "Two different clans have claimed ownership of the area, so guards have been stationed to prevent a brawl.")
- This process can continue so long as the Dwarf has the skill to carve the ever-shrinking details, with some able to produce such impossibly small runes that they are completely unnoticeable to the untrained eye, and only legible via magic or a dwarven magnifying glass. In this way secrets can be hidden in plain sight, ensuring that even if a dwarven message is intercepted, there are few outsiders who could read right down to the finest, innermost layers.
Despite the obvious pride dwarves have in creating and carving such an artistic script, when they are writing messages intended to be coherent to other species they are of course able to write in a manner more like that of other languages, though most dislike doing so.
Giant
Written Giant
Giant is a runic language with symbols quite similar to dwarvish, but are written much more traditionally, like the other languages in The Varolian.
Orcish
Orcs have no written language, relying on orration to keep their stories alive. Orcs who dwell in human cities tend to pick up whatever language is written there quickly enough if they have the desire to.
Goblin
Goblin is a grating language to listen to, full of chittering noises, strange words, and high-pitched vocalisations. It can be almost comical to hear a bugbear speak this native tongue, for there are few grunts or growls like orcish where such a dangerous creature can utilise an intimidating voice (though pointing this out will practically guarantee an axe to the head... if there wasn't one headed there already.)
Similar to orcs, goblins have no written language of their own, and even less desire to learn the languages of others. Hobgoblins tend to be the exception to this, generally learning to write in Common to better coordinate and speak across long distances.
High Óssan (Old Irikan)
Believed to be the language spoken by folk everywhere before
The Archonomachy, it has few similarities to the Óssan spoken today, leaving it as a language to be cared for only by historians and archaeologists.
Written Irikan
The written form of this ancient language is even more drastically different to its modern day descendants that the spoken form. Written as a series of lines and arrows, it looks more like Draconic than any other language (though remains somewhat easier to read and write.)
Druidic
While possible to learn, Druidic is a secret language learned only by those of druidic nature, and very rarely by rangers who frequent their ancient groves. Said to be similar to elvish, it is used by druids to communicate without worry that other folk are listening in.
Written Druidic
Used to leave secret messages to each other, written Druidic is simply a series of either perfectly straight or occasionally diagonal lines, able to be easily carved into trees or scored into the dirt. It is not thought to have any complex words or grammatical rules, simply relatively conveying concepts such as "danger here" or "strangers passed by 3 days ago".
Mystic Languages
In a world full of otherworldly beings, there there are many arcane languages spoken or written that require extra skill, or magic, to learn and use.
Draconic
In the old days perhaps there were many mortals who could speak this tongue, and even now there are historians who can learn to understand it. But the mystical nature of this language that should be dead remains within all dragonborn and half-dragons; they instinctively know this tongue and can fluently engage in conversation with other draconic creatures even if they've never seen or heard of it before in their life. It is a language that is harsh on the throats of non-native speakers as well, made up of many growls and harsh syllables.
Written Draconic
While anyone could potentially learn to read draconic, only those with claws or exceptional skill with a chisel can write it. It is a language of tears and scratches in stone, where the slightest shift in one's wrist could alter the meaning of a word or phrase. Those with dragonblood in their veins find making these minute details as natural as moving their hand at all, while even master calligraphers battle with the limitations of their pens.
Sylvan
As befits the musical nature of Arkadia, Sylvan is a language which cannot be spoken; it must be sung, for many of the words have no direct syllables, but are simply created by holding a note of a certain pitch for a certain length of time. To attempt Sylvan without extensive training or prior bardic experience will likely leave one screeching like a tone-deaf mutt - a mockery even to untrained ears.
Despite the difficulty (and potential humour) involved in learning it, when a master of this fae tongue "speaks", the world listens. The beauty of well-sung Sylvan is impossible to describe in mortal tongues, and can elicit fierce emotions in all who hear it - a jig can bring a crowd to rapturous dance, while a lament unleashes a wave of sorrow too great for many to bear. There are many elves who claim that Sylvan is the original language of the Gods, and was used to sing the world itself into being. Though these claims are likely false, there is no denying the language holds power.
Written Sylvan
A strange "script" of dots and squiggles written across multiple lines at the same time, the height of any given symbol indicates the pitch one should sing with, while the symbol itself could mean anything from the word to say or the duration to hold a note for. As knowledge of this language slowly spreads beyond elven communities, some minstrels have taken to using a simplified form of it to write musical sheets with, as a way to teach others a melody visually alongside the traditional way.
Auran
Terran
Ignan
Aquan
Infernal
Infernal is the language of the Underworld, spoken by demons, ghosts, and other dark entities. It is not a language that is learned, but understood innately by those with a connection to the realm below, such as tieflings. Many dark spells or rituals will use infernal words as their foundation, for they will often ensure greater power is granted.
It is an arcane tongue for many reasons, foremost of which is the pain it causes to those unconnected to The Underworld; people who hear Infernal spoken aloud are often struck with headaches and nausea, which seem to grow worse the holier their spirit. Secondly, it is a language spoken with two voices; whenever a tiefling or cultist speaks they are always joined by a second, darker, voice. this means that even folk who can learn to understand the language will still be unable to speak it without the aid of magic or incredibly precise teamwork.
Written Infernal
The concept of written infernal is a new one, recently discovered. This is due to how it is written; an author must write in another language they know while willing their words to change. The result is a strange script with no real similarities to any worldly languages, that seems to shift and jump on the page while causing headaches to worldly folk who attempt to read it. Attempts to replicate the writing without having a connection to The Underworld have failed, resulting in nothing more than scratches on parchment that refuse to translate via magic.
Celestial
Celestial is the language of the Heavens, spoken by gods, angels, unicorns, and other beings connected to the realm above. It seems to be the equal and opposite to Infernal in many ways - it soothes those who hear it, causing pain only to darker creatures. Rituals of healing and protection will sprinkle in a word of Celestial here and there, though like Infernal, to speak it properly requires multiple voices.
It is a melodic language that sounds much like singing, with an unearthly choir filling in gaps or repeating syllables as needed, with this tongue being even more impossible to learn than its unholy reflection, for the number of voices varies not only by word, but by speaker as well. An aasimar may have two or three singers in their celestial chorus much of the time, while a true angel might speak with a dozen mouths or more.
Written Celestial
Ever two sides of the same divine coin, written Celestial was discovered not long before Infernal was. The method for writing it is the same, but the effects it has on readers is reversed: many people feel at peace while reading this ever-glowing script, even if they have no way to tell what it actually says. Some experiments have begun based around writing healing scrolls with Celestial instead of more common tongues, to see if their effects may be greater.
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