Nagassi

The ritual language of the Naga is subtle, even to the point where many other species miss that it is being used at all. This allowed it, of all the many languages once spoken across the continent, to survive the Raithar Empire.

Traditional naga dances are considered to be "in" Nagassi, and tend to be somewhere in-between poetry, religious text, dance, and spellcasting. Not everything in Nagassi has a magic effect, but by the nature of the language itself, everything has at least latent arcane energy.

Phonology

Nagassi does not use sound (as species with ears tend to perceive it) but movement and vibration. The vibrations are produced with the naga's full body, including their lungs but especially the belly scales that are in contact with the earth. Some of the vibrations do produce a hissing or thrumming noise, but the sound is incidental. In fact, it is generally considered sloppy, akin to slurring or mumbling in a traditional, spoken language.

Morphology

Movement is used to convey a base "word" or meaning, while the accompanying vibrations indicate tone and can be used to shift meaning. Context and connotation are built into the tone, and each base word has a wide range of potential meaning. However, naga do consider the base words to remain the same and resist assigning spoken synonyms based on tone, as that would elide the base meaning. This makes the language particularly difficult to record and translate (which may also be the point of their resistance).

Syntax

Nagassi syntax is based on motion: each word must flow smoothly to the next, not only aesthetically but also accommodating the flow of arcane energy through the dancer's body. For those with less arcane inclination, ancient rules dictate what moves may accompany others, and which can open or close a dance. A particularly gifted dancer may employ unusual or unique syntax, obeying only the movement of energy within and around them--these dancers tend to be powerful spellcasters, but are considered just as valuable and powerful as storytellers.

Known To

Naga

Important Dances

Vikari's Dance

Tells the legend of Vikari's Gift

Dance of Ashes

Tells of the fall of the Raithar Empire and the founding of Shaodan

Dance of Rest

Last rites, performed to return an individual soul to the earth to rest