Languages

Many different languages are spoken, written and signed by the people of Vendrith throughout the History of Civilisation. They are today broadly divided into Common Languages, Ancestral Languages and Special Languages - though some may fit into multiple categories.

Common Languages

Common Languages are usually based on geography and social standing. The language used by commoners in an area, usually within the same realm, is often not the same as those used by merchants, the royal court or sometimes even the guards, army or city folk. The Idurian language today serves as an important common language, spoken by courts across the territories he conquered across Canath and Mogxa, as well as serving as a language for merchants, adventurers and other travellers.

Common languages will have the Common rarity if they’re at home in a campaign’s region, Uncommon if they’re from elsewhere.

Common languages include:

• Idurian, spoken by all manner of courts and travellers across Mogxa, Canath and their neighbours.
• Encanuri, a longstanding common language/dialect of Canath which served as the basis of Idurian.
• Maux Xi, a common language spoken across large parts of the Mogxan empire. It is related to old Draconic, and thus shares its roots with the Vili language.
• Whetish, spoken by the common folk of Ferweth further from the capital.
• Ylfi, spoken in the City of Longdawn, capital of Ferweth. It is speculated to be related to the Shoony language.
• Geyli, a common language that once helped unify Galaens that fell out of favour, but is seeing some attempted revival.
• Vili, the language of the common folk of Vilhun, related to old Mogxan languages like Draconic.
• Sakvroth, something in-between a common language and an ancestral language spoken by a number of people in the Hommagong and The Rend. It was once the court language of the Kobold Empire, during which Hommagong learned the language for the benefits of dealing with and being recognised by their overlord. Kobolds still usually learn the language for pride’s sake.
• Skald, an old language of Fenrunr that for a long while only had a spoken form. It is speculated that the dwarven ancestral language is a written form of old Skald, and that both are progenitors of the “logical” language of Arcane Magic.
• Bay Pidgin, a common language formed as a mixture of the various peoples of the Rubyfirth Bay who went to Horiza during the second wave of migration. Centred on Adamsworth.
• Harza Pidgin, formed by the peoples of Horiza’s third wave of migration.

Ancestral Languages

Ancestral Languages are those languages so deeply tied to an ancestry that it’s assumed every member of said ancestry speaks it. This is usually correct when they grew up in their heartlands or nearby, or at least were born in a diaspora. A few however are so estranged from their homelands and people that they don’t speak their ‘own’ language.

Ancestral languages will have the Rarity of their ancestry, based off the specific region and campaign, or in the absence of such, the general list.

Ancestral languages include:

• Draconic, spoken by Dragons, Dragonblood, and the Kobolds of Mogxa. It is still the exclusive language of the Draconic Tribes, whom maintain its honour as a way to remain tied to the legacy of their legacy. It is viewed with suspicion by some in Mogxa’s government, but due to the prevalence of influential kobolds raised in it it’s difficult to suppress it. The language is certainly related to Maux Xi and Vili. Its written script was likely inspired by the Dwarven script.

• Goblin, spoken by the Goblinoids. Goblins themselves are concentrated around Canathi and Mogxan cities, whereas Hobgoblins spread the language more out into sparse areas.

• Vanara, a language spoken by the Vanara who live in closed-off communes. It shares a common ancestor to the Goblin language, but it maintained a much more complex and ‘finer’ grammar and sound to it.

• Gnomish, spoken by the mysterious Gnomes. It’s wispy sounds are difficult for other ancestries to understand, let alone speak.

• Halfling, spoken by the mysterious Halflings. It’s written form is reminiscent of the hieroglyphic Halfling Markings that appear on their bodies.

• Orcish, taught and spoken in the closed-off ethno-religious Orcish community.

• Kholo, an ancestral language of the Kholo from deeper Eydwin brought with the Kholo who migrated north, primarily to Galae. Its far flung roots make it particularly unintelligible to other language speakers around.

• Ysoki, spoken by the Ratfolk often around the Hommagong and cities of Mogxa. It often coexists with Sakvroth, which it shares much of its sound with.

• Iruxi, spoken by the Lizardfolk primarily centred on Veducia and The Rend.

• Tripkee, spoken by the Tripkee centred on Veducia and The Rend.

• Sakvroth, something in-between a common language and an ancestral language spoken by a number of people in the Hommagong and The Rend. It was once the court language of the Kobold Empire, during which Hommagong learned the language for the benefits of dealing with and being recognised by their overlord. Kobolds still usually learn the language for pride’s sake.

• Kitsune, spoken by the Kitsune of Vilhun.

• Dwarven, spoken by the Dwarves primarily found around northern Fenrunr, Mogxa and Galae. Its written script is likely inspired by the Skaldic language, and is perhaps the originator of the Arcane language. The Draconic language’s written script also seems to have come from Dwarven.

Special Languages

Many languages have either been lost to time, are magical or mystical in nature, or are only spoken by certain types of Monster or other Creatures. These require intense study by most humanoids to learn, which would require access to old texts, archaeological findings, or perhaps even the creatures in question to do.

As such, all of these special languages will have the Rare rarity.

Secret or coded languages include:

• Wildsong, a language taught only to Druids which is highly forbidden to teach to anyone else.
• Utopian, a language still not fully understood encoded in the written forms of the Utopian Promise documented in certain secret temples.

Forgotten languages include:

• Elvish, spoken only by the very few still-remaining Elves. The language is like their ancestry endangered, and attempts to transcribe or learn it by others is usually describes as unsatisfactory and missing much nuance.

Elemental or similar languages include:

• Petran, a language tied to Earth Elementals.
• Pyric, a language tied to Fire Elementals.
• Sussuran, a language tied to Air Elementals.
• Thalassic, a language tied to Water Elementals.
• Protean, a language tied to cosmic forces of chaos.

Monster languages include:

• Necril, something approximating a language uttered by certain Undead.

• Alghollthu, a language spoken only by the aquatic Alghollthu.

• Arboreal, known to be spoken by some animated trees.

• Jotun, a language spoken by various Giants, such as those in Far Ferweth.

Planar languages include:

• Empyrean, the language formerly spoken in the hierarchy of Haeven. It is today only maintained by a few high officials in certain Churches, such as those of Longdawn.

• Diabolic, formerly known as Fiendish, a language spoken by Devils and Demons, such as those in Crimson.

• Requian, a language used to communicate with souls in the River of Death.

• Fey, formerly known as Sylvan, is a language spoken in the Feydark and by a variety of Fey creatures.