Darukhan

Written by TheirGraceGrace

It was now Elkaf's turn. He stepped up onto the stage as the crowd cheered and clapped. He exchanged a curt nod with the organizer of the festival and planted his feet firmly on the stage.
He decided to go for one of his classic acts first:

"You green-livered rot-smelling cheesemonger! The only cheese you can make is green, as all you make is rot and decay! Even your own stomach grumbles at the prospect of devouring your own handiwork!"

The crowd laughed. One yelled out an insult back, so he took that as a cue to try out a new one he had thought up that morning:

"You molten-blooded, mutton-munching moron! When I came to visit you yesterday, I bumped into you in the market and someone asked why I was talking to a pile of flaming poop!"

The crowd booed loudly at that one, and he stepped down from the stage. He was a sure bet to win the festival's insult contest now.

Writing System

The Darukhan language has, in formal/religious documents, four separate alphabets corresponding to the tone in which the sentence is meant to be uttered:

• Fire: exclamation/disbelief;
• Water: statements of fact;
• Air: questions or doubts; and
• Earth: alteration with other alphabets for variety.

In quick notes or less formal settings, the Fire alphabet is used exclusively due to its simple structure.
Each alphabet counts 25 symbols, and each alphabet has a different aesthetic in mind:

• Fire: straight dark lines;
• Water: curved but clear symbols;
• Air: short strokes with lots of curves and details; and
• Earth: A mixture of dark straight lines and curved light lines.

Geographical Distribution

The various scattered Darukhan villages throughout Sedesta contain the major speakers of this language.

Phonology

The language contains a total of 25 sounds, including 9 vowels and 16 consonants.

Morphology

Nouns and pronouns decline into one of three cases (nominative/accusative/genitive) and one of two genders (masculine/feminine).
Prepositions, like verbs, can be conjugated in one of three patterns, with the prepositions for "in" and "to" being merely attached to their object as a prefix.
Verbs are much more complicated, with there being six "houses" or uses of verbs (transitive/intransitive/receptive/passive/reflexive/infinitive) and one of four tenses (past/present/future/subjunctive).

Syntax

The usual word order is VSO, but question or emphatic sentences often have their indicated portions come before the verb (like "it is John who did..."). Emphatic sentences also use a particle, ima, to indicate their emphatic nature.

Vocabulary

Due to the extraterrestrial nature of the Darukhasi, no other languages on Sedesta are similar, and the vast majority of Darukhan words are of Darukhan origin.

Spoken by

Darukhasi

Common Phrases

thïtan

hello

dradha

goodbye

Common Female Names

Aithat, Berkït, Dhïra, Elamit, Eladrag, Fadat, Galit, Godhët, Ïvrït, Këna, Mineta, Pörot, Rüdhet, Thïta, Urtül, Vöta

Common Male Names

Amdö, Bakö, Dogäth, Elkaf, Eltïdh, Foto, Ghir, Koro, Mëtri, Nakïdh, Omer, Röthe, Undër, Vikhar, Vöthe

Art Credit: emperorcharlesii (me!)