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.

Solm

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Solemn Expanse.

The first language created on Haven to use the Hulmetic alphabet, Solm is slow and detailed, yet becomes almost guttural when referencing religion. Most prevalent tomes and scrolls use it because of the exact nature of its written form.

Verd

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Verdant Expanse.

This bastardization tongue is comprised of various Beastfolk tongues smashed together with Solm. Commonly known as the language of trade, it is one of the easiest Hulmetic tongues to learn. Yet few use its written form due to its chaotic and ever-changing nature.

Mohr

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Parched Expanse.

This tongue is a near-perfect blending of Solm and Mohnagi as the bridge between the Greenfolk and Humanity. Yet, the Desert Tongue is the least spoken of Haven's common Hulmetic languages and rarely sees use outside of the desert.

Telvnol

Alphabet: Dwarvic.
Region: Solemn Expanse.

Originally a language only spoken by Udirkith nobility, Blacktongue or Slavetongue is the third most commonly spoken language on Haven. It is more fluid than Ilromnol but is still a harsh and brutal tongue birthed in heart of Graystone's slave pens during the Udirkith's centuries long enslavement.

Common Elvish

Alphabet: Eldatic.
Region: Verdant Expanse.

The common tongue of the Elvenkyne and many Beastfolk, this is the second most commonly used spoken tongue on Haven. Considered by most to be a simplified version of High Elvish, it is known as the Poet's Tongue due to its sing-song tonal shifts and beautifully flowing script.

Mohnagi

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Parched Expanse.

Of all the Hulmetic languages, Mohnagi has the closest relation to Hulm. It is the preferred language of Shamans, Seers, and Magi alike because of its easy transition from normal speech to spellcraft. It is also the ancestral tongue of the Greenfolk, formed during their exile into the Parched Expanse.

Uncommon Languages

5e Ruling: When you gain a language proficiency you may select it from any of the Common or Uncommon tongues.

Ilromnol

Alphabet: Dwarvic.
Region: Moorwald, Throat of the World.

Ilromnol is a sharp, crude, but efficient tongue and is the most common tongue of the Udirkith. It is considered to be the best language of scholarship but lacks flexibility and subtlety. This tongue originated with the downfall of the Udrithi Empire when the Dwarves of the Stygian Throat broke from their Moorwald kin.

Goobish

Alphabet: None.
Region: Parched Expanse.

The sheer number of Goblins within the Parched Expanse cause Goobish to be a near requirement for navigating the salt desert. Most of this tongue's speech sounds more like the chaotic ramblings of a madman than a real language, and it has no written form. Few find a reason to speak this tongue outside of 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 secret phrases often slipped into everyday conversations. Those unfamiliar with the tongue are unlikely to recognize its hidden messages, yet it remains one of Haven's most widespread languages.

Gaushn

Alphabet: Guash-Runes.
Region: Solith.

The native tongue of the Jotunkith and Garkith, much of this complex language is communicated non-verbally through body language and bared teeth. Its written form is a sophisticated alphabet of ideographs made up of lines and dots that can appear alien to those who cannot read it.

Gutterspeech

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Ravenpeak, Seawatch.

The language commonly spoken by those who practice dark magic. This guttural tongue pulls from a primal place within all sophonts and causes unease wherever heard. Its written form is always written in sophontic blood and uses bastardized Hulmetic words twisted to suit the speaker's dark intent.

Exotic Languages

5e Ruling: Unlike other tongues, Exotic languages require you to use two of your language proficiencies to learn unless given specifically by a background, class, feat, or race.

High Elvish

Alphabet: Eldatic.
Region: Verdant Expanse.

High Elvish is the true tongue of the Elvenkyne and is rarely taught to outsiders. This tongue's long, flowing manner often replaces entire sentences with a mere handful of words that convey the meaning of many others. Its graceful, fluid script is rarely used by scholars as it takes up entire pages to express simple ideas.

Garas

Alphabet: Sylvanic.
Region: Verdant Expanse.

Garas is the ancestral language of the Pangarans, who are born with an instinctual understanding of this subtle tongue. This predominantly silent language is made up entirely of imperceptible growls and subtle twitches of fur, while simple pictograms comprise its written form.

Sauran

Alphabet: Sylvanic.
Region: Unknown.

The Saheels' common tongue is made up of hard consonants and sibilants often described as hisses, clicks, and growls. Its deep and guttural nature makes it incredibly difficult for other sophonts to speak. Until the Centaurs came to Haven, it had no formal written form as the Saheels preferred verbal communication.

Yulpic

Alphabet: Sylvanic.
Region: Yupic Island.

The Kushtaka's Yulpic tongue is one of the newest on Haven, and its chaotic patterns of high-pitched chattering and squeaks allow them to communicate underwater and even identify each other by sound alone. The Shorewall Military created its crude written form to better communicate with the Otterfolk during their original diplomatic missions.

Ragara

Alphabet: Sylvanic.
Region: Parched Expanse.

Ragara is the native tongue of the Grisgari. They communicate solely through trumpeting sounds and gestures produced by their dexterous trunks, that are impossible for other sophonts to mimic correctly. Its written form is the only Beastfolk tongue to use the Hulmetic alphabet and is closely related to Solm.

Vushnol

Alphabet: Dwarvic.
Region: Parched Expanse.

A strange mixture of Mohnagi and Telvnol, Vushnol is nearly impossible to translate and even harder to follow with its rapid-paced speech. Its script is unlike any other Dwarvic language, lacking any of the structure and rigidness of its cousin tongues. It is slowly dying out as many Sand Dwarves begin to prefer Mohnagi's simplicity over it.

Whistle

Alphabet: Sylvanic.
Region: Unknown.

The native tongue of the Alapicos has nearly faded away after the Beastfolk Purges nearly destroyed it. The wind itself carries the caws, screeches, and warbles of this tongue for miles in every direction, and 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 only by the Tritons of the Blacksea's depths, this tongue is made entirely of psychic impressions. Its alien script of twisting lines vaguely resembles the runic script of Gaushn. Yet, its writing is not read but interpreted as one guides their fingers along the lines the original intentions of the author guide their thoughts.

Aquan

Alphabet: Primordic.
Region: Helmont.

Aquan is the primordial language of water and believed, by Tritons who speak it, to be the precursor to many aquatic tongues. This tongue's flowing, shifting syntax is full of subtleties that are only made more confusing due to the fact its melodic tones can only be understood when underwater.

Ignan

Alphabet: Primordic.
Region: Unknown.

Ignan is the primordial language of fire and believed to be the Saheel's original tongue because of its focus on sharp clicks and hisses. This tongue is the polar opposite of Aquan, being incredibly straightforward and even blunt at all times. The long lines that represent its sentences in its written form use sharp peaks and valleys to depict individual thoughts.

Terran

Alphabet: Primordic.
Region: Unknown.

Terran is the primordial language of the earth and the first language of Solith and its native Jotunkith. The tongue's deep, reverberating tones are slow to express complex ideas but excel when expressing simple ones. Its written form is a much cleaner version of Gaush-Runes, consisting of only a few basic syllables used to phonetically spell words.

Auran

Alphabet: Primordic.
Region: Unknown.

Auran, the primordial language of air, is a breathy and relaxed language described as a slow exhalation of breath. The wind carries this tongue to the ears of others and is always heard whether whispered or yelled. The swirls and shifting patterns that make up its written form are only decipherable by the Alapicos, who are said to be its first speakers.

Archaic Languages

None of these languages are commonly available, these are only avaiable with GM approval or when specifically given by a background, class, feat, or race. These languages also cannot be understood with spells such as comprehend languages.

Hulm

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Ravare.

The original language of Humanity, Hulm is spoken only by the First Men and their most direct descendants the Solmites. The knowledge and understanding of this mystically powered language is impossible for other sophonts to learn, even including other Humans.

Sylvan

Alphabet: Sylvan.
Region: Solith.

The base language of nearly all the Beastfolk tongues, Sylvan is the language of the Centaur, Wyld Fey, and the Druids of Solith. In a way similar to Hulm, it has a natural power to its word that makes it an excellent language for spellcasting.

Udrithi

Alphabet: Dwarvic.
Region: Solith.

The most ancient of all Dwarvic tongues, Udrithi is the first language of the Udirkith and the primal tongue of power on Solith. In a way similar to Hulm, Udrithi words have a natural power to them that makes it ideal for spellcasting and especially for magical craftsmanship.

Celestial

Alphabet: Ellaric.
Region: Ravare.

Most commonly spoken by the monks of the Unseen Temple, who teach that Celestial is the language of pure divinity. Its spoken form is abnormal in that few can truly understand it but all will gleen thew true meaning of what was spoken. Its script is alien yet beautiful, capable of conveying deep meaning in each of its complex characters.

Crux

Alphabet: Ellaric.
Region: Solith.

The ancient language of the Godbeasts and believed by many Druids to be the original language from which all spoken Beastfolk tongues descend.

Gravetongue

Alphabet: Hulmetic.
Region: Solith.

The strange language of the Unfallen, Gravetonue is a language born of their agony and torment. It is the truest expression of their tortured souls trapped within their unliving shells of rot and bone, this dialect of misery pulls on the primal sorrow buried within all sophontic souls. It has no true written word and instead uses Solm in all of its writing.