Speaking in Tongues, a Guide to Languages
Summary
This article is not found in-setting but is rather so players can easily understand what languages there currently are within Ravare. It will be expanded as I learn more about languages, dialects, and create new articles.
Common Languages
5e Ruling: If you see a race gives you "Common" you can pick any two common languages.
Telvnol
Alphabet: Dwarvic.Region: Solemn Expanse.
Originally a language only spoken by nobility, it is now known as "Blacktongue" or "Slavetongue" by the Dwarven people. Its words are more fluid than that of Ilromnol but still harsh.
Common Elvish
Alphabet: Eldatic.Region: Verdant Expanse.
Spoken by most Elves and many Beastfolk, Common Elvish is the second most spoken tongue within Haven. Due to it's sing-song tonal shifts, it is also known as the Poet's Tongue.
Mohnagi
Alphabet: Hulmetic.Region: Parched Expanse.
Of all the Hulmetic languages, Mohnagi has the closest relation to Hulm. It is the prefered language of Shamans, Seers, and Magi because of it's easy transition from normal speach to spellcraft.
Uncommon Languages
Ilromnol
Alphabet: Dwarvic.Region: Moorwald, Throat of the World.
Sharp, crude, but efficient Ilromnol is the most common language among the Dwarves. It is considered by scholars to be the best language for writing manuscripts but terrible at poetry. Its origin is traced to the fall of the Udirkith, when the dwarves of the Stygian Throat broke ties with their Moorwald kin.
Goobish
Alphabet: None.Region: Parched Expanse.
Due to the sheer number of Goblins within the Parched Expanse, Goobish has become almost a required language for navigating the salt desert. It has no written form, and most of its speech sounds more like chaotic rambling than a real language, few find a reason to speak the tongue outside the desert.
Boreal
Alphabet: Guash-Runes.Region: Throat of the World, Stygian Throat.
The most common language spoken in the harsh Throat, Boreal, is a complex blending of the Solm and Gaushn languages. It is a strange blending of the harsh languages, intermixed with an elaborate array of gestures and posturing, often using a speaker's entire body as they speak.
Thieve's Cant
Alphabet: Fingerspelling.Region: Haven.
The argot of Haven's underbelly, Thieve's Cant is a language of subtle gestures, and phrases often slipped into everyday conversations. Those unfamiliar with the tongue are unlikely to recognize the hidden messages slipped into a conversation, and it serves both Haven's thieves and rebellious elements excellently.
Gaushn
Alphabet: Guash-Runes.Region: Throat of the World.
The tongue of Goliaths and Giants, though it is a verbal language, much of it is communicated non-verbally through various hand gestures and barred teeth. Its written form is a sophisticated alphabet of ideographs made up of lines and dots that can appear alien to many who do not understand the strange script.
Exotic Languages
High Elvish
Alphabet: Eldatic.Region: Verdant Expanse.
Spoken only within Ravenpeak and Wyldkeep, High Elvish is the true language of the Elves and is rarely taught to outsiders. It is spoken in long, flowing words that replace common sentences, and a single word is capable of containing the weight of hundreds. Its script is graceful and fluid, taking up entire sheets of paper to express seemingly simple thoughts.
Tabian
Alphabet: Sylvanic.Region: Verdant Expanse.
Tabian is the ancestral language of the Tabaxi, and each one is born with an instinctual understanding of it. It is a nearly silent language made up of almost imperceptible growls and subtle twitches of whisker and fur. The written form was developed by much later than many tongues of Haven, not appearing until the Druids began caring for the Gorgewald Forest.
Sauran
Alphabet: Sylvanic.Region: Unknown.
The language of the Lizardfolk, Sauran is a tongue of hard consonants and sibilants often described as hisses, clicks, and growls. The deep, guttural language is only spoken with great difficulty by any race other than the Lizardfolk and it was not until the Centaur came to Haven that a written form was even developed. Few Lizardfolk have bothered to learn the written form.
Yulpic
Alphabet: Sylvanic.Region: Yupic Island.
The Yulpic language of the Kushtaka is rather new to Haven, its patterns of high-pitched squeaks and chattering are a chaotic mess to other races. The language allows the Kushtaka to communicate underwater and identify each other by sound alone. Its written form was developed by Shorewall during its first attempts to communicate with the savage people.
Loxodoni
Alphabet: Sylvanic.Region: Parched Expanse.
The Loxodoni tongue is only spoken by the Loxodon, who use their trunks to communicate with each other. The language consists of a wide range of trumpeting sounds and gestures made solely with their dexterous trunk; while other races may learn to interpret these, they cannot speak it. The written form of Loxodoni was developed after the Centaur arrived on Haven.
Vushnol
Alphabet: Dwarvic.Region: Parched Expanse.
A strange mixture of Mohnagi and Telvnol, this language is nearly impossible to translate and even harder to follow with its rapid-paced speech. The script of Vushnol is unlike any other Dwarvic language, lacking any of the structure and rigidness of its cousin tongues. It is slowly dying as more and more Sand Dwarves begin to prefer Mohnagi.
Whistle
Alphabet: Sylvanic.Region: Unknown.
The language of the Alapico is nearly extinct after the Beastfolk purges, and soon this ancient tongue may fade away. The wind itself seems to carry the tongue as the caws, screeches, and whistles that make it up can be heard for miles. Its written form is a strange adaptation on the Sylvanic alphabet modified to be made solely with their oddly shaped feet.
Deep Speech
Alphabet: Seveti.Region: Blacksea.
Spoken by the Triton of the Blacksea depths, Deep Speech is comprised entirely of psychic impressions. In its written form, it is an alien script of twisting lines only vaguely resembling the runic script of Gaushn. Its writing is not read but interpreted as a Triton guides its fingers along the twisting lines, their thoughts guided by the original intentions of the author.
Aquan
Alphabet: Primordic.Region: Helmont.
Aquan is the primordial language of water and believed to be the progenitor to many underwater tongues. Its flowing, shifting syntax is full of subtleties of meaning and can be confusing to those not well versed in the language especially due to its melodic tones only able to understood when underwater. The Triton of Helmont have used the language for centuries.
Ignan
Alphabet: Primordic.Region: Unknown.
The primordial language of fire, some believe Ignan to be the original tongue of the Lizardfolk because of its focus on sharp clicks and hisses. The tongue is a polar opposite to the ambiguity of Aquan and is incredibly straightforward and even blunt at times. Its written form is made of long lines representing sentences with sharp peaks and valleys depicting individual thoughts.
Terran
Alphabet: Primordic.Region: Unknown.
The primordial language of earth, Terran's rumbling tongue, is said to be the first language of the Giants and Solith. The language's deep, reverberating tones are slow at expressing complex ideas but can convey deep meaning and exactness of intent when with simple ideas. Its written form is a much cleaner version of Gaush-Runes, consisting of only a few basic syllables.
Auran
Alphabet: Primordic.Region: Unknown.
The primordial language of air, Auran is a breathy, relaxed language described as a slow exhaling of air. Whether whispered or yelled, the tongue will always make itself heard to those around it as the wind itself carries it. The few examples that exist of its written form from the early days of the Alapico are indecipherable swirls and shifting patterns.
Archaic Languages
None of these languages are commonly available, these are only avaiable with GM approval. These languages also cannot be understood with spells such as comprehend languages.
Sylvan
Alphabet: Sylvan.Region: Verdant Expanse.
The base language of all Beastfolk tongues, Sylvan is the tongue of the Centaurs, Fey, and Druids. In a way similar to Hulm, Sylvan, has natural power to its word that makes it an excellent language for magi.
Udrithi
Alphabet: Dwarvic.Region: Moorwald, Throat of the World.
The most ancient of all the Dwarvic tongues, Udrithi is the first language of dwarven people and one of the most ancient on Solith. In a way similar to Hulm, Udrithi has a natural power to its word that makes it an excellent language for magi and magical craftsmanship.
Celestial
Alphabet: Ellaric.Region: Stygian Throat, Throat of the World.
Most commonly spoken by the monks of the Unseen Temple, Celestial is said to be the language of divinity. Its script is alien yet beautiful, capable of conveying deep meaning in each of its complex characters.
Crux
Alphabet: Ellaric.Region: Unknown.
The ancient language of the Godbeats.
Gravetongue
Alphabet: Hulmetic.Region: Solith.
The strange language of the Unfallen.
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