Elven

The Elven language of the Elves originated in the Cherti Mountains and is thought by the Church of the White God to have grown out of Celestial and by the Church of the Black God to have grown out of Draconic.

Geographical Distribution

Elven is seen by the elites of Ruslavia as a highly cultured and expressive language. Initially hailing from beyond the Cherti Mountains, and brought to the courts through the Bashirov Royal Family, it is now spoken as the preferred language of the Ketterzan nobles. Many modern works of literature are written in Elven, even when Elven is not the author's first language, and much of the high brow literature is stilted and poorly expressed as a result. Noble children are encouraged to speak exclusively in Elven and are often chastised and punished if they are heard to use Common Ruslavian. The most common punishment across the schools of Ketterburg is to force children who break this rule to remove their school colours (e.g. apron or blazer), and to stand all day in a corner of the classroom. While they are "in disgrace", they are served their meals last out of everyone, and forced to eat them standing up. Ironically, in the Cherti Mountains themselves, Elven is the equivalent of Common Ruslavian; it is the language of ordinary citizens. The Courts of the Cherti Mountains speak the language of their aligned Orthobog sect, (Celestial or Abyssal). Meanwhile, in the Sabrelands, Elven is considered the language of the middle classes, with High Drow being the official language of the Snow Queen's Court.

Root Languages