First Language

The First Language is a primordial and mystical form of speech that predates the existence of the known world. It is believed to have been the tool with which the Demiurge created the Empyrean Universe, and to have been spoken by the Gods during the Reshaping, a transformative period when the New Gods of Empyrean arrived and reshaped the universe. Within the First Language, words possess the power to shape reality itself. The First Language is regarded as the foundational essence of creation, a source of profound mystery and power, connecting those who speak it to the very fabric of existence.

Though difficult, it is not impossible for mortals to learn this language, or more exactly, specific words of it called Power Words. It is hypothesized that the First Language underpins all Arcane, Divine, and Primal magic. Certain practitioners dedicate their lives to understanding the First Language, among these mages, known as Logomancers, the First Language is a revered and powerful tool that allows them to manipulate the very fabric of existence through words.

Origins of the First Language

The exact origins of the First Language remain veiled in myth and legend, but it is widely believed to be a primordial form of speech dating back to creation of the first gods before anything else existed in the multiverse. Many religious texts and mythologies across Ora suggest that the First Language is the native language spoken by the gods.

The particularly involved relationship between the New Gods and the mortals of Empyrean has presented perhaps more opportunity for interaction than in other universes. In fact, the question has been asked of at least two deities whose responses were recorded and passed down through writings and histories of the time. The veracity of these accounts is, of course, dubious, as both instances took place thousands of years ago, during the Reshaping. However, apocryphal though they may be, these legends still serve as a strong indication of the importance and power of the First Language, and its connection to the gods.

The Vexation of Primus

This account comes from the historical manuscript Kisun Ora - A Tale of Reshaping written by the Ishtaran poet Rasmus. It occurs during the Reshaping Year of Order. A soldier asks a Principality of Primus what power allows the gods to reshape the universe and the Principality responds:

Ask ye not how, Mortal,
only find comfort in Primus;
All reason comes from the One and the Prime.
Truly the One is your rock and your salvation;
it is your fortress, you will not be shaken.
Trust in the One at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to it,
for the One is your refuge.
Surely the lowborn are but a deception,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
Do not trust in your own power
or put vain hope in stolen magics;
though your riches increase, or your powers grow
do not set your heart on them.
For when Primus has spoken,
Creation has heard and is commanded.
Power belongs to Primus, your God,
and with the One, is the Adjuring Voice;
more than that I cannot say.

The Inscrutable Dyad

The second account comes from a Tabaxi folktale involving an encounter with The Dyad.

In the story, often called One Thousand Days of Fishing or The Fisherman and The Dyad, there is an old, poor fisherman living in a village near an oasis, who casts his net exactly four times a day. One day he goes to the shore and casts his net. First he catches a dead donkey, then a pitcher full of dirt, then shards of pottery and glass. On his fourth and final try, he calls upon the Dyad for good fortune and casts his net. When he pulls it up he finds a copper jar. The fisherman is happy, since he could sell the jar for money. He is curious of what is inside the jar, however, and removes the cap with his knife. A plume of smoke comes out of the jar and condenses into an avatar of the Dyad. The fisherman is frightened, but the Dyad is overjoyed and grants the fisherman a choice of the manner of his death.

The Fisherman is confused and distraught, he argues that since he freed the Dyad he should be rewarded. The Dyad responds that "...death is the reward for mortality and a choice of death is a just reward for my freedom". The fisherman, not wanting to die, begins to tell the Dyad a parable, called The Vezier and the Sage, wherein the two characters in the story come to a decision point and each tells a story in order to convince the other of their side. In each of these stories the characters begin a story as well until the narrative structure becomes many layers deep and with no story reaching its conclusion. The fisherman speaks long into the night until the next morning but does not finish the story. The Dyad, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone his execution in order to hear the conclusion. They eat together, rest, fish, and smoke from a hookah. The two go on to discuss the nature of mortality and fate, moral connundrums, rulership, and the responsibilities of those who have power over others. The next night, the fisherman begins his tale again, and as soon as the fisherman finishes a tale, he begins another one, and the Dyad, eager to hear the conclusion of that tale as well, postpones his execution once again. This goes on for one thousand nights, having philosophical discussions during the day and continuing the ever-deepening nested parable every night.

The tales vary widely: they include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques, and various forms of erotica. Numerous stories depict jinn, ghouls, dragons, sorcerers, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally. Common protagonists include Asmodeus, the historical Tabaxi caliph and adventurer, Nine Wisps, his Grand Vizier, Jafar, and the famous poet Rasmus. Sometimes a character in the Fisherman's tale will begin telling other characters a story of their own, and that story may have another one told within it, other times the Fisherman will conclude a story and then precede upward through the stories with conclusions before branching back out into new stories, resulting in a richly layered narrative texture.

On the 1001st day the Dyad decides finally to spare the Fisherman, but they do not simply refrain from killing him. The Dyad proclaims him free of death, outside of it, and utterly apart from the cycle of mortality. "in a voice otherly from the two before the solemn Dyad spake a Word of Power, and so stripped me from my doom" Thusly the Fisherman becomes immortal, but he asks the Dyad one final question. "How O' Unfathomable Fate has this been done? What word did you speak so clearly that the laws of Death did hear?

The Dyad replies not with words but with an equation written into the sand, then disappears, leaving the fisherman bewildered on the banks of the oasis.

Use Among Logomancers

Logomancy, in particular the study of the First Language, has deep roots in Ora's history. It is believed to have originated during the Reshaping, a time when the gods arrived, the universe transformed, and mortals first became aware of the First Language through observation of the Gods and their avatars and Principalitiesthat were active all across Ora during this time. The study of Logomancy often centers around ancient temples, libraries, and academies dedicated to the mystical arts.

Logomancers, a unique subclass of wizards in Ora, delve deep into the study of language, with a particular focus on the First Language. They believe that the true power of the First Language lies in the ability to speak words of power that can shape reality. Logomancers gain various features and abilities that enable them to harness this ancient and potent magic.

Logomancers have the ability to enhance their spells with Power Words, adding various effects such as gaining temporary hit points, imposing disadvantage on saving throws, dealing additional damage, and more. These Power Words allow Logomancers to fine-tune their spells to suit their needs.