Languages

Language is an important foundation of a community and it is a medium that ties the continents and their people together; even if they speak different languages with the exception of Common. Language is a symbol of civilization and its existence is vital in both communication and in magic. Below is a list of the main and most spoken languages in various realms and kingdoms.

Common
It is also known as “The trader’s tongue’’, Tradespeech and Vreyala. It is the most common form of an international language and its usage has spread not only to all of Rythalion but the whole of Aldmeer through trade. Other forms of common speech exist besides this one in parts of the world but this is the most used one since it has been the most spoken and the most widespread since way before the Scarring.

Luari
This is the mother language of all dialects spoken by the Lenavi race. Experts say that this is the oldest constructed language since the old lenavi civilization was one of the first civilizations to rise from the history of the world. There are words in Common and some other languages that have been derived from Luari and even some commonly used names are in Luari as well. The most common examples of such names are the names  Aldmeer  which means  Primordial Sea  or  Sea of the Primordials  and  Vreyala  which means  The all-tongue . The race’s name has a meaning in Luari as well of course, and it means The People referring to the Lenavi race as a whole. Another less common word that is nonetheless sometimes used among people is the word for Vampire which is  Alkatar  and means Damned one or The damned.

Elvish
The language of the elves. It is the most popular and used language in Faliaanti and people there learn elvish as their primary language. It is an intricate language with a graceful and fluid script. Besides its usage from elves it is also used to decorate monuments and some magic items in other cultures. The drow speak a different version of this language that has elements from both this language and another version of elvish that the drow below the surface use.

Nashir
The language that is spoken in Nashira. Nashir uses a complex and rich script which has blended into other languages of realms near Nashira; mainly realms where settlers from Nashira traveled to and settled in. It’s one of the most rich and well-constructed languages in Rythalion.

Eoldan
The language used in Eolda and its empire is a mix of Luari, Common and Nashir. It has some unique words made up from the fusion of these three languages and it sounds strange to people not from Eolda. The Eoldan Empire tries to promote that the language is superior to others and that in fact Nashir has taken words from the Eoldan language and script and that Nashirans added them to their language; a statement that is simply not true.

Gnomish
Spoken in places that are inhabited by Gnomes like the Silver Isles in Eolda or the city of Naharim in Risalla Desert, gnomish is an intricate language with fluid tones. This language is known for its overwhelming vocabulary which contains a great many words that describe the same thing but each word emphasizes a different aspect of the thing in question. For example the animal “horse” has a word for it in gnomish that is “Blerken”, but the words “Qulvren”, “Vreline”, “Kartamar” and “Gnirem” also mean horse but each one has a certain aspect of the horse and its importance or its usage being accented. I.e. Qulvren means “the horse which moves the carriage or cart” or “Horse for pull” while Vreline means “the horse which I use for carrying messages swiftly across cities”.

Heikkonar
This language spoken in Heikkon is a mix of Common and Goblin; a result from the time when the first Hobgoblin King conquered the land and created the kingdom. It uses the Goblin script and some words from it have been used by other realms in order to refer to war and conquest, two words that Heikkon used frequently since they were aggressive and war-like with a reputation of savages (the reason why such words were used to name war by other realms in the first place). Now, under benevolent King Gevdai’s rule, such words start seeing a small decline overseas but their usage has left a mark on linguistics. Goblins and Hobgolins rarely speak it outside of Heikkon and goblinoids that aren’t from Heikkon or grew up elsewhere use the Goblin language.

Goblin
Spoken by Goblinoids across the land, it is a language not as popular as Heikkonar mostly because many goblins outside of Heikkon prefer not to speak it because many of them believe that if you speak Goblin to someone who isn’t a goblin, they will steal their meaning and soul and that in time the language will cease to exist because it will mix with other languages. The example of this that some goblin scholars give is the existence of Heikkonar and how it is a form of death for the Goblin language.

Vjalcan
People in Vjalca use this language which is a mixture of Old Vjalcan and Draconic. This is because before the civil war and the change in government, some of its rulers were descended by dragons and some were raised in families that worshipped dragons. Consequently they knew draconic and dubbed it as the “True Speech”. After many years the two languages became one and the New Vjalcan was born, a language spoken in Vjalca to this day.

Orcish
It is spoken by Orcs and sees much use in cities and settlements mostly occupied by Orcs and Half-Orcs. Because some Orcs and Orcish Clans in famous points of history have had strained relations with some realms and at times being utterly barbaric, most people see the language as the language of brutes and barbarians. That is a stereotype though, one that the language shares with the race that speaks it.

Tejarin
This language was used by the old empire of Tejar which has long since been lost. Port Aruku and Ilika speak Tejarin as their main language albeit with a few new additions in its grammar and vocabulary.

Risallanej
Risallanej is spoken by communities that exist in the vast Risalla Desert. People of the Risalla Clans in and out of the Jewel of Risalla speak it as well as people in Port Vylen, Al Ajur and Naharim. Saramar also uses Risallanej but then again Saramar uses many languages with Common as its main one since it has one of the most diverse populations in the continent.

Lacrientan
Also known as Qazal, this language is spoken in the realm of Lacrienta. It was created by Queen Qazali and royal linguists of hers. It utilizes some aspects of Ancient Naresil, the ancient language of the long gone and dead Neryl Civilization.

Draconic
The language of dragons, half-dragons and dragonborn. It is used wherever dragons dwell and in settlements and towns of dragonborn. Many magic incantations are in draconic and the language is taught in magic schools and academies like Evira’s Academy of Spellcraft.

Duevrakai
This language is otherwise known as Dwarvish. It is of course mostly used by dwarves. However, this language has two different dialects dubbed by linguists Surface Duevrakai and Deep Duevrakai. The original version which is Deep Duevrakai is spoken by the reclusive and so-called Pale Dwarves or Duergar. The common or surface dwarves that people in Rythalion know are dwarves that are descendants of exiled dwarves that once lived underground as duergar and have therefore altered some aspects of Duevrakai. Both dialects are similar to one another and use a similar script. However, the dominant dialect of Duevrakai in the surface is of course Surface Duevrakai and other languages that use this dwarven script use the Surface version of the language.

Yohssal
The language spoken by the people of Yohssalu. Yohssal was created organically after the Yuan-ti Empire collapsed during the Scarring. It uses grammar and syntax from the various dialects and languages the former slaves of the Yuan-ti spoke, along with some aspects of the language used by said Yuan-ti. It even uses a script similar to the one the Yuan-ti used.

Sign Language
Sign languages are used among people with deafness and muteness disabilities and there are also many that know sign language in order to communicate with them. Sign language can prove useful in other situations as well such as occasions when the speaker must be silent and when caution and quiet is of utmost importance. Consequently, many adventurers and mercenaries opt to learn variants of a sign language.

Other languages
There are other languages that are not that widespread or as used as the languages above. Some of the less widespread languages in the continent are Giant, Infernal, Abyssal, Celestial and Primordial. Then there’s Sylvan which is spoken by Fey and some elves and other personages, Tilder which is an almost dead language in the Free Realms and Iriphess which is the language of the Yuan-ti. Other additions in this list are the Undercommon that are used by traders in the Gloomdeep, Naresil which is used by the Neryli which still survive but do so in the Gloomdeep, and the Deep Speech which is used by aberrations like Illithids and Beholders.