Loross

Loross was the Netherese noble tongue and one of the languages of the people of the City of Shade.

Writing System

Loross, like Netherese, used the Draconic script. Outside the City of Shade, Loross could still be found in the tomes of archwizards found in the ruins of High Netheril in the desert.

Geographical Distribution

During the empire of Netheril, the Netherese people were divided by class. The nobles lived in High Netheril, in the floating cities above, while most commoners and the middle class lived in Low Netheril on the ground below. The nobles spoke Loross, while the commoners and inhabitants of Low Netheril spoke its sister language Netherese.

High Netheril fell in −339 DR, and the majority of Loross' speakers died in that catastrophe. By 1372 DR, Loross was considered a dead language. It was considered unlikely that anyone alive at that time knew its proper pronunciation. However, in that same year, the City of Shade returned from the Plane of Shadow. ("Thultanthar" meant "shade" in Loross.) Its inhabitants were remnants of the ancient Netherese city of Thultanthar, so presumably, its rulers, who became the shades, spoke Loross.

In addition to the shades, all members of the Cult of the Shattered Peak, a secret society dedicated to preventing Netherese magic from being rediscovered, were required to speak Loross.