Language & Speechcraft
Developer Notes: Cireth, or more commonly, Standard is a language every civilized and educated knows. It is the language of the Old World Empire.
Speak, Read, and Write
Cireth Standard
It is assumed any and every Character mastered by a Player knows Cireth Standard, and the majority of Supporting Characters are also at least fluent in speaking Cireth Standard. Illiteracy is not prevalent. Less than 5% of all Ager Ethen are Illiterate, and of those only 0.02% can’t speak Cireth. With that said, Cireth is usually a second (or later) language for most species.
Learning a Third Language: All Characters begin the game with Cireth Standard as their second language and their Archaic Natural language granted by species selection. Each additional language learned costs 5 Growth Points.
Natural Languages
Barcha
Few words of Barcha lay outside of craftsmanship terms. Barcha is extremely verb heavy, but it allows them to precisely communicate instructions for fine and complex motor control, tool usage, and measurements. The base 10 system from Barcha designs is mixed in with Craftsman’s parts per unit volume math.
Megredan
Of all the languages, Megredan is poetic and abstract. Most translations of Megredan, especially those without context, are nearly impossible to understand. Called the Giant’s Riddles because how does a pale sky on a summer day relate to anything but the weather?
Miliaphaw Fae
The language of the Fae, common among the Aulrufae, is a deeply emotional language. Nearly every word has synonymous variants which include the expression of emotion in connotations. While this language is easy to learn and understand, its root is the Wordsake, so few learn how to write or read it.
Onymi
The language of engineering. Nearly every document with any kind of technology uses a mix of Onymi statements and Barcha mathematics. This language is usually written so small non-Onym are incapable of reading it without a magnifying glass, if they can read it at all. Onymi is hyper efficient consisting nearly entirely of noun-verb combinations.
Savent
Brutal, to the point, and often a mix of all the languages. The majority of their common phrases are euphemisms for violence and vulgar. Savent lacks much technical terminology, so you’ll find Barcha, Onymi, and Cireth Standard mixed in. Savent does not have an alphabet or written language.
The Story Guide’s Notes
While this list is currently short and sweet, as we produce content which includes new languages, they will be added here. Let’s talk about using languages in the game for just a paragraph here.
Languages can be used to drive a Character’s Story mostly specific to that Character. Playing translator, or being the only one who understands what is being said and also being the only one who can respond. An Archaic language no one knows can drive a party to find someone who is able to translate. Language is a powerful storytelling tool which I don’t like to gloss over too often, but like with any sweets, too much is a bad thing.
Vorcrux Campaign Notes: Altera Enrina
The education of all Cirrus Ethereal is one of the core tenants of Altera Enrina. They offer language arts and mathematics teaching in nearly every single nation, nearly every town. They are the prolific drive behind the spread of Cireth Standard, and any Characters may study under them to learn nearly any language.
