Miralian Cipher Language in Erisdaire | World Anvil

Miralian Cipher

I find it hilarious you people are so worried about what it says. I can tell you right now, it's not important. Because if it was, someone would have left it in a way it could be read!
— "The Shadow"
  Many generations ago, a large codex of unknown origin was discovered in Durrsk. Specifically, it was uncovered when a city was trying to expand its walls and discovered an ancient crypt. Adventurers conscripted into investigating the crypt returned with the book and many other objects which predated any Imperial settlements in the region. While remarkably preserved, the book was written in a script none had encountered before. Originally this had been thought to be simply an individual method of making the book harder to read. After reports surfaced of similar script having been found before through the region, scholars began to study the various sources in the interests of understanding it.

Scholars discovered a number of things about the language over a short time, such as identifying much of the script as runic letters borrowed from both elves and dwarves with almost no alterations. Furthermore, due to these borrowed letters it was impossible to utilize magic to translate the contents. Each source seemed different enough to suggest there were actual words and phrases varying, but translations were not making any sense. An arcanist named Mirali suggested it could be either encoded using a cipher, or enchanted to prevent someone else from reading it. When it was determined to have no magical properties, the writings were dubbed 'the Miralian Cipher' after her suggestion.

To the current day, only two dozen examples of the Miralian Cipher have been uncovered across all of Erisdaire, ranging from the original codex to carefully preserved scrolls, and even to small samples present on stone tablets. No successful translation exists, rendering them more of a curiosity to scholars than a source of information.

The Rime Monolith

Perhaps the most peculiar instance of the cipher is located along the shores of the Aurora Bay, in the form of a carved pillar of basalt. The stone itself is clearly not from a local source, but it is also positioned nowhere near a known settlement to be seen. Careful investigations have also turned up no ruins close enough to suggest people capable of placing the monolith where it is. The carving is actually done so the cipher script is not inscribed, but rather raised from the surface of the stone in a tight spiral beginning a foot from the ground and ending at a point ten feet above.

Unlike other samples of the cipher, the 'Rime Monolith' has been detected to possess some magical aura to it. The aura is faint enough to suggest the stone was only momentarily affected by strong magic rather than enchanted. Without more thorough examination, nothing can be established for certain, and a thorough examination risks a disruption strong enough to damage the cipher's presence. As such, no arcanist has been willing to risk the destruction of potential knowledge in pursuit of an answer which is - at best - unimportant.

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