Each race has their own unique mother tongue, though the Tarans worked hard to make sure each race had the opportunity to learn Common. As such, for those races who receive the opportunity to choose another language, here are all the options, listed and defined.
Tara's Languages
Common. Tarans, before they dawned the name, sought a way to connect with their neighbors in the new and disjointed world. they noted a similarity between linguistic patterns, compromised where they had to, and finally constructed a language that could be spoken by all races, thus uniting all races with common ground and a new culture of connectivity. Because the language united the races, they were originally going to give the common language the name of the world, "Taran"; however, as this would be confusing--for Tarans and all other races to speak Taran, the language was dubbed Common, and the creators of the race were named Taran.
Low Kulnic. Low Kulnic (Wyllt) is a echoing song of the Myrrdin that carries long distances to convey mood, call for assistance, herd livestock, and the like. Low Kulnic is often seen as a piece of music where its mood asks something of the listener (I feel excited, I feel there is danger, etc).
High Kulnic. High Kulnic (Myrr) is the circular writings of the Myrrdin people. Because Myrrdin live long lives, their communication can often seem disjointed, but it allows them to sew together eloquent and masterful prose. Their writing reflects them. Most Myrrdin write on clay and start in a circle as far out as they can write, as they begin to write underneath the words written on the first line, these words below can modify the words written above, creating layered puns, idioms, new messages, and the like.
Malcantese. the Gol use a kind of throat singing or use of overtone in their language along with stresses and tones on words; this creates a hyper tonal language that uses a great deal of their lung capacity. One can often tell who a book-learned speaker is based on how winded they are after or during conversations.
Silbar. It is a whistling language, built around note and tonal fluctuations to create words, so it is not a quiet language. Races who cannot fix their lips particularly will have difficulties whistling this language.
Logematrian. Logematrian is an entirely logical language that borrows its script from Common. While most would hope their language would be logical in and of themselves, Logematrian takes it a step further by limiting the ability to communicate emotionally and subjectively, thereby lacking names; instead communication is entirely factual and necessity/request based, with the exchange of “purely” factual information and degrees of formality. As if to eliminate any risk of being misunderstood, there is little to no linguistic recursion, or the ability to take a sentence and add information to it.
Logematrian in its more formal, or “pure” form, is completely long winded to most other races. However, its saving grace is that this language is spoken by using flashing lights to convey letters in a word. Each letter has a particular pattern, and each word thereby has a unique pattern. Simmias have the ability to flash these lights through each others robotic eyes, carrying on a silent, though flickering, conversation at breakneck speeds. The most practised Simmias speaker will often have conversations much faster and more formally than a new unit. Nonnative speakers have learned to speak this language by using a hooded lantern, but are particularly slow. For this reason, Simmias adopted common as well.
Xnoisaqu.Vespids still use the tongue of their hive mind, Xnoisaqu, pronounced “No-Ee-Na-Klu” or derogatorily “Noise-Sack” to non-natives. While there was no need to speak in their initial world, as the hive mind grew weak, language was needed to carry messages long distances, which developed, what other races refer to as the 'click language’. While Vespids consider this title either derogatory or the result of ignorance, it is more than a simple means of communication, but also of echolocation. Vespids can use clicks to feel the room around them or an object, but then can deliver that exact object into the mind of another Vespid through their language. As such, their language is greatly freeform in structure.
In essence, while most languages involve simple speaking, even with telepathy, Vespid language involves seeing. In this way, Vespids can transfer an exact image, idea, or even memory from themselves and give it to another. Surely, other races would be glad to learn how to communicate exact ideas back and forth or even echolocate with their idea, but only Vespids are capable of either. As such, a foreign speaker is easily noted by the follow-up and clarifying question they ask.
Additionally, Vespids are able to transfer exact feeling though their phermonal glands, spore-like. While this can have a nauseating effect on other races or novice “smellers”, Vespids glean exact emotional detail. As such, Vespids have learned to write their “click language” in phermonal ink. This creates an exact and transferable story from author to audience. Some authors have even been known to leave their works unsigned, leaving their reputation up to phermonal prevalence alone, while the rest of the races have to steal away to the nearest toilet to vomit or wear a mask that blocks out the scent entirely to appreciate a Vespid romance.
Secret Languages
Oghama. Oghama is a language kept between the Blood Druids. It's script and spoken language is fairly limited due to the amount of coding put behind it. Blood Druids codify their script in referential phrases and Blood Druid specific symbolism resulting from the references. Additionally, their script is written on a single line whose bumps, curves, and direction represent words and transitions, while depth and neatness represent tone. These scripts are often so strange that they look like bug trails as they burrow and chew through--which is often where druids will hide their symbols. The spoken language of Oghama requires specific tools, namely the ability to mimic local animals. This includes mostly birds and some mammals. With the language, a Druid has three main means of speaking: they request aid (help or directions), they alert others of danger, they keep in contact (by participating in a call and response to keep track of one another over long distances)
Thieves' Cant. Whether it is used as the language of the criminal underbelly of the town or between common folk who like to talk shit behind their boss's back. Thieves Cant employs a series of symbols used to mark safe houses, fenses, good areas to loot, areas sanctioned off, and the like; they also use phrases to codify plans and the like. For example, to "Make sure to tuck in the kids by the eleventh bell" means, "Watch for and avoid guards. Meet me at 11."
Yahuanyi The secret language of the women among those within Queqiao.
Haseic It is an ancient language from the proto-Taran life before the Great Cataclysm that forced the worlds together. Oddly, it is used by three main groups; 1) among the elderly Taran peasantry who refused to switch to Common, 2) among lawyers and high society who still make their laws in Haseic, and 3) within the clergy of the Sophia in the territory of
the Kingdom of Owtla.
Trademan's Knots.The Tradesman’s Knot language is an entirely visual and tactile language involving three strings and the pattern in which braids, knots, or beads are strewn together as words, phrases, or even whole sentences. Meanwhile, the feel of the threads, their material, and how they are braided all speaks of the author’s tone.
While Tradesman’s Knot was once used only for travel, they are now found everywhere in Dracovian culture with an expanded vocabulary to reflect the Dracovian daily life. They can be used in woven jewelry, in the creation of garments, but most notably, they are used to write stories. Dracovians were once an entirely oral tradition based culture, but with the addition of the language, some have made it their life mission to record their entire race’s history, a tactile language that can be traced back to the dawn of their time.
Extraplanar Langauges
Devaedic. This is the language of the planes, Gods, Demons, ancient monsters, and practitioners of faith. When speaking this language, no lies can be spoken. If one attempts to lie, the truth shouts from them in a voice not their own. Additionally, no one person can write a book in Devaedic as it represents the truth of the universe. Doing so is considered a magical feat. When a Devaedic text exists on Ars Materia, the book is blank to those who don't speak the language. It is thought that this was so that mere mortals could not tamper with the universal truths; however, it is noted that any attempt to rewrite this kind of text has resulting in nothing but catastrophic failure. As a result, more evil creatures have bastardized the language for their benefit.
Ashuran. "Double-Speak" is the most common name for the bastardized Devaedic. It allows for natives to speak in two voices, with Devaedic being the first voice and, ironically, with Ashuran as the second but true voice. Ashuran, when written, was written on the first screws, which is fitting because of its talent for twisting the truth. The text will be bold where it wants the reader to read, and tiny, hiding behind other words where it seeks to slip by untruths. Contracts are signed at the top of the screw, on the flat head. A native speaker of Ashuran often has the ability to materialize these sorts of screws, with the most powerful having 50ft long screws minimum, with the weakest having a small pin-prick worth of a screw.
Firespeech. Dracovians utilize their ability to breathe fire as a means of communication; the roaring of a bonfire, crackling of wood, and popping of embers--these are the sounds they use to speak. Speaking in this way requires a good amount of diaphragm control and, of course, the ability to breathe fire. However, the best, non-Dracovian translators have usually been practiced minstrels or bards with a torch.
Oddly enough, Fire Elementals from Primordial utilize this same language, though as beings of pure fire, they swear by all that can be consumed that Dracovians have accents.
Sylfege The common tongue of Silverglass is one of song, and the inspiration for the original Myrrdin lyrical language of Low Kulnic. As the progenitor of this language, their grammatical structure is that of notes where a phrase can be a chorus, the key and tempo of which dictating tone or mood. For those of Silverglass, the best speakers are those with the best voice (and not the ones who have the most cunning thing to say). Indeed, a simple hum is enough to silence a room if the voice is pure and crystalline enough.
Inherently magical in nature, the words that are spoken within Sylfege are usually not sung but are magically binding. Most requests demand something of the listener and often tonally end in a question; the most common of these requests is "Will you give me your name?" This is why there are so many tales about not giving your true name to a being of the Silverglass, as one can lose it forever, binding them to that being and the plane itself.
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