Language

There are many different languages spoken throughout the diverse lands of Spokenword, and all the other worlds that inhabit the Tempered Planes. Below is a list of all languages that are known to be spoken in the Tempered Planes. Many languages have fallen into nothingness and have been forgotten with the course of time. These languages may still exist in some form today, but are illegible without the aid of magic. Because of this, only the most prevalent and important languages survived to be spoken today. For that reason, when you select a language(s) for your character, choose from the list below:

### Regional Languages

* **Common:** A language that almost every speaking creature of Spokenword can speak, this simplistic language was created by the Divine Daughter, Lillith, in order for all of her humanoid creatures to communicate with each other. For this reason, Common is both a religious, conversational, and a trade language, with many different degrees of formality, used to convey both basic ideas at its simplest, and have complex conversations at its finest, with humans being the primary group of people who speak the higher dialects of Common. Due to its divine origin, Common is spoken on every continent of Spokenword. It is even spoken across The Parallel in Elegy, but in a strange, alien dialect that can be hard to understand, influenced by the aberrant language of Deep Speech, it is known as "Elegaic Common."
	+ Common is the official language of Reunice, the Heart Valley Republic, Separill, Ashmark, Ridian, the Riverlands, the Steel Union, the People's Republic of Iron, Hlavormarle, Birdarth, Wintervale, Arigild, Wintervale, the Commonwealth of Voljord, and South Voljord. Across The Parallel, it is widely spoken in Theirhome by the vestren.
* **Ejuin:** During the Oldtimes, when primal tribes controlled Spokenword's lands, languages derived from Common were invented to help individualize the larger tribes and protect their information from spies of the other tribes. Ejuin was the derivative language of the Ejuwar tribe, the largest tribe in all of Valkeran, which would conquer the continent in order to form the Valkran Empire under the Warfather. In the Empire, despite mostly everyone speaking Common, Elvish, or Halfling, Ejuin was made the official language in order to give the sense of the Ejuwar tribe's power. Once the empire fell, Ejuin was quickly discarded. It was a guttural and choppy language born from Common, with a relatively small dictionary. It is considered a dead language today.
	+ The only people who still speak Ejuin are Historians of Brocheran looking to unearth old records and translate ruins, and some Composers for the same reason.
* **Lordstongue:** When Ildregaard was conquered and united by Great Lord Reayon I, all of its tribal inhabitants spoke Common to easily communicate with each other, or their own racial languages to further their culture. However, after the first Great Lord took down the Four Lords of Compass and brought the country together into one nation, there was a distinction to make. The people outside of the Great Lord's perfect kingdom were nothing compared to the prestige of Ildregaard's superior people. Scholars and intellectuals of the nation spent 100 years creating a new language, derived from the Common script, yet much more intricate, flowing, beautiful, and grand. That language became Lordstongue, a proper-sounding and proud language that displayed Ildregaard's magnificence.
	+ Lordstongue is the official language of Ildregaard, but it is also spoken in regions of Ildregaardian influence, such as Vekik Thaczil in Irralon, areas near Fort Zephyr in Ridian, and some parts of the Steel Union.
* **Alsahra:** Similar to Ejuin in many regards, Alsahra is the language of the desert, born from the strongest tribes of southern Brocheran that would form the culture of what is present-day Ulur. Alsahra is also derived from Common, using its script, but has a very diverse and vast vocabulary, leading to a language that is quite wordy, but in that wordiness there is beauty. Of all of the languages using the Common script, Alsahra is the most different from its parent language. It is silky and very flowing, with words cascading into each other like dunes of sand chained over the horizon, but some proper names and nouns are coarse and interrupt this flow, to both give these nouns importance and to make them stand out in the discourse. While under the rule of the Valkran Empire, Ejuin was the official language, but the people of the sands still spoke mostly in Alsahra, which has now long outlived Ejuin, showing the true perseverance and independence of the kingdoms of sand.
	+ Alsahra is the official language of all four Kingdoms of Sand in the Sands of Ulur and is rarely spoken outside of it, but some Arigildish and Freevalen traders that often trade with Ulur have learnt the language.
* **Riverspeak:** Derived from a strange synthesis of Elvish grammar and the Common script, Riverspeak is the most widely-spoken language of the Riverlands of Ridian, created to form a deeper connection with the rich nature of the Riverlands. It is a very primitive language and is not very good for conversation or writing, mostly used for prayer and rituals, as it deals with broad topics and deep, emotional connotations in its words. When spoken, the language is made of many long words that are said in quick succession, creating more a verbal scene than a coherent sentence, relying on context to fill in the logical gaps in the emotional sentences. The language has no written rules and is considerably hard to learn, so take heed before selecting this language to learn for your character.
	+ Riverspeak is only spoken in the Riverlands, where it is not an "official language" due to the lack of national government, but is spoken fairly frequently, yet Common and racial languages still outnumber it, except in religious contexts.

### Racial Languages

* **Halfling:** The language of halflings is derived from Common, mirroring their close ancestry with humans.The Halfling language isn’t secret, but halflings are loath to share it with others. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all halflings speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling. The Halfling language mostly exists to tell stories around the dinner table in a lively and happy manner.
	+ Halfling is a language that is not even spoken by all halflings, and rarely anyone who isn't a halfling. It is the official language of the Freevalen city-state of Carel and also the city-state of Halfhaven in Wintervale, both of which are communities that are derivative of Shyr, the great Arigildish city of halflings, where the language was invented. It is sparsely spoken outside of these lands.
* **Elvish:** Often considered the second-oldest language in the world, Elvish was first racial language invented in Spokenword, using the rich and graceful elven culture to create a beautiful language that was far separated from the divine-granted Common, the elves created a new script for their intricate language. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires. Elvish is the most well-studied, developed and widely spoken racial language in all of Spokenword, its age going back to Prehistory, with it being the source of many other languages aswell.
	+ Elvish is the official language of Trelstin, the Freevalen city-state of Myth Ha, the Wintervalen city-state of Noa Nim'Von, the city of Myth Scient in Arigild, the Quessir District of Reayonsgaard, and is spoken by almost all elves in Spokenword. Across The Parallel, it is widely spoken in two more alien dialects: one spoken on Feymoon by the eladrin (which is magical and whimsical), and one spoken by the drow in Underspace beneath Theirhome (which is depressing and sadistic, influenced by Deep Speech).
* **Dwarvish:** Similar in origin and age to Elvish, but not nearly as intricate, and quite the opposite in terms of sound, Dwarvish is a language born from the dwarves of Mekanön, where it then spread to the rest of the world's dwarves, as the language resonated with them, endorsed by [FORGE GOD]. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak. The language embodies the honor and strength of the dwarves and despite being a relatively small language compared to Common or Elvish, Dwarvish's well-thought-out and adaptable script became the basis for many other languages.
	+ Dwarvish is the official language of Dar Gerrow, the Freevalen city-state of Urngordar, the Mountain District of Reayonsgaard, many parts of Voljord (both the Commonwealth and the South), and is spoken by most dwarves in Spokenword. Across The Parallel, the duergar speak a dialect of dwarvish that has been twisted by influences of Deep Speech.
* **Gnomish:** Derived from the Dwarvish script, the gnomes found the simplistic script and grammar of Common unable to convey their complex ideas and academic topics, finding the complexity they wanted in the language of their close allies, the dwarves. Most gnomes had a truly daunting vocabulary, however, with extremely fine degrees of distinction in, for example, kinds of love or shades of green. Their language was thus ideal for academic, artistic, and engineering pursuits, and it was widely used in academic circles even among other races. Many sages of many races considered Gnomish to be a "scholar's language. Today, it mostly widely-spoken in Wintervale, the country with the greatest gnomish population.
	+ Gnomish is the official language of the Wintervalen city-state of Eirinbar, many general parts of Arigild and Wintervale, and the two civilizations at the end of the world: Kol Cap and Teludôr. Across The Parallel, it is spoken by svirfneblin in dialect heavily influenced by Deep Speech.
* **Orc:** Once again derived from the Dwarvish script, most orcs found no purpose for written language, but wanted a language of their own to stop "stupid elves from learning orc secret." The result was Orc, a language that is rough as it is simple. It conveys broad ideals in varying degrees of violence. Orc is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants. It has no script of its own but is written in the Dwarvish script.
	+ Orc is the official language of Gudjag, the only "semi-civilized" orc tribe in Spokenword, stationed on Mt. Krusid in Brocheran. Orc is spoken by all other raiding Orc tribes found across Brocheran and by all members of the Winter Horde in southern Anckerdemn. Orcs are extremely rare in other parts of the world. Across The Parallel, it is spoken by orogs in a dialect heavily influenced by Deep Speech.
* **Goblin:** For many years, the goblinoids of southern Mekanön had no true language, instead communication through vague gestures and a common understanding of survival in the swamps. That was until the dwarvish people of northern Mekanön started to migrate more and more south, where goblinoid spies would study them, raid their supplies, and eventually adopt their language and some of their culture. Nowadays, the Goblin language is a close relative of Dwarvish, though it is significantly more nasally and violent, focusing more on words and grammar used for war and survival than words used for love and art.
	+ Goblin widely spoken in Dar Gerrow, where it is most dwarves' second language. Outside of the Ash Tray, it is spoken by most of the goblinoids across Spokenword.
* **Giant:** The last of the Dwarvish-derived languages, Giant is the language of the now-extinct ancient race of giants, which all died off in Prehistory, fighting against the ancient beasts that plagued the lands. Proud fighters, but a small few, the giants fought valiantly but did not survive to the modern day, similar to the ancient dragons (yet they are not entirely extinct). Due to this, giants have no visible culture, gods, and the language of Giant is almost entirely forgotten, save for a few dwarves and Historians who wish to preserve it. Some people even believe a few giants exist to this day.
	+ Giant is a dead language, only spoken and recorded by a few souls in order to honor the memory of the giants.

### Exotic Languages

* **Draconic:** One of the oldest languages in the Tempered Planes, alongside Primordial, Draconic is the language of the ancient dragons that once ruled in prehistory. Dragons were among the first living beings made by the Divine Children, with Lillith making the good-aligned metallic dragon, and Nillian creating the evil-aligned chromatic dragons. However, most of them were killed off in Prehistory fighting against the ancient monsters of the world. Despite this, Draconic persists as an important and widespread language, using its own script, as old as Primordial's is. Outdating Common slightly, it is the oldest language in the Prime Material Plane. Draconic is a monolithic language, meaning it remained almost unchanged since its creation. It is a language of hard consonants and sibilants that usually sounded like hissing when spoken, like *sj*, *ss*, and *sv*. It also included a sound similar to a creature clearing its throat, *ach*. Today, the language is survived by the draconic humanoid races, the mortal descendants of the ancient dragons.
	+ Draconic is the official language of almost all areas of Jennutresk in Irralon, including Dara Thaczil and Sartdara Thaczil. Beyond that, it is spoken by almost all Dragonborn, Lizardfolk, and Kobolds that leave Irralon, as a tribute to their heritage.
* **Deep Speech:** Deep Speech is not spoken natively anywhere throughout Spokenword. It is exclusively spoken by the aberrations of Elegy, mostly the inhabitants of Underspace, a vast network of underground tunnels beneath Theirhome, and also by the monstrous aberrations of the Aberrant Wilds. Deep Speech is a language that supposedly came from the Eldest themselves, which allowed all of their aberrant spawns to communicate. It is unsure if the Progenitors spoke Deep Speech, or if they'd even have a purpose for language at all. The inhabitants of Underspace, the drow, svirfneblin, duergar, illithids, orogs, etc, learned this language from the much older and powerful aberrations that made their home in Elegy, such as beholders and slaads. It is made up of eldritch-sounding words and tongue-twisting sentences, some of which are unpronounceable by humanoid beings. It has no written component, which is why most deep-speakers have a second language.
	+ Deep Speech is widely spoken across all of Elegy, and almost every aberration, monstrous or not, knows the language. Almost all vestren learn it as a second language to Common, but they still prefer the rooted and humanized language over Deep Speech's chaos. It is not the official language of any lands, but its presence permeates Elegy.
* **Sylvan:** While it can be found in some areas of Spokenword and Chaparral where fey still reside, Sylvan is mainly spoken on the moon that orbits Elegy, a place full of magical forests and rich plant life, known as Feymoon (or as Shee'nodel in Sylvan). Feymoon is native to the fey, magical creatures of druidic origin, whose ideals fiercely oppose the aberrations of Elegy. While the two factions rarely fight due to the spatial distance, they hold a disdain for each other. Make no mistake, however: both fey and aberrations are spawns of the Eldest. Sylvan is a magical and whimsical language with no written script. However, ever since elves from the Prime Material Plane were accidentally brought to Elegy, in a similar vein to how humans were brought to Elegy and became the vestren, the elves were abducted by the fey, and brought to Feymoon, where they evolved into the eladrin through pacts and worship with the fey. Because of this, Sylvan is now written in the Elvish script, though in the eladrin dialect of Elvish, which is outdated.
	+ Sylvan is the only language, besides Elvish and Common, spoken on Feymoon. Ever since The Parallel reconnected with the Prime Material Plane in the Newtimes, some elves have taken to learning Sylvan, respecting the values of what the fey represent. It is also spoken in the few places within Spokenword where fey still reside, and in some areas of Chaparral where fey can be found.
* **Primordial:** Born from the temperaments themselves, the primordials are some of the oldest living beings in the Tempered Planes, such as the elementals of the Elemental Filters, or the creatures of pure energy that they spawned from themselves. While nowadays these creatures keep to their respective filters, their language has seeped past the elemental realms, influencing many other languages aswell as the mortal descendants of primordials. The language itself, Primordial, is a very old and archaic, but still holds together well as a language to be understood. It is disjointed and heavily context-centric. It is also the basis for the elemental languages Aquan, Auran, Ignan, and Terran. They were sufficiently similar that creatures who understood one of those dialects could understand the others as well. Primordial, as well as the elemental languages were all written in the Primordial script.
	+ Primordial is less spoken in the current day than the elemental languages, but it is still spoken by the yuan-ti of Tek-Yitluis, who are the mortal descendants of [BIG SNAKE PRIMORDIAL ANCIENT]. Aquan is the dominant language of the Filter of Water, Ignan the dominant language of the Filter of Fire, etc. These languages are sometimes spoken by beings in the Outer Planes that are respective to their filters, such as Ignan being spoken as a minority language in Abaddon. The genasi, while rare, sometimes speak the elemental languages, but due to their scarcity, no large genasi society exists. Primordial is rarely spoken outside of these parameters, but some warlocks learn it in order to commune with their patrons.
* **Infernal:** Infernal is the language of the devils, one half of Nillian's proudest creations: the fiends. Using the Primordial script, Infernal is an aggressive, harsh and violent language that invokes hate in its sentences. Mainly spoken in Abaddon, the language becomes more hateful and sinister based on its dialect. The higher your caste and status in Abaddon was, the harsher dialect you spoke. The harshest dialect, used only by pit fiends and the archdevils, was so utterly corrupt and evil that its malevolence could drag listeners into hateful despair just through hearing its patterns. However, it is said that Invarnish, the God of Devils and Prince of the Damned, speaks Infernal in an elegant, graceful, and sophisticated way that should be impossible for a being of his status. Infernal was invented by Invarnish when he gained dominion over devils, teaching them the language to instill his caste system with its status-based dialects, enforcing this culture over the hegemonic language of Primordial.
	+ Infernal is almost entirely spoken by devils, which exist almost entirely within the lawful evil plane of Abaddon. It is also natively spoken by the incredibly rare tieflings, mortal children of devils. However, some clerics, scholars, and cultists may take time to learn the language. It is especially important to learn for modern-day devouts of Nillian.
* **Abyssal:** Abyssal is the language of demons, the other half of Nillian's fiendish creatures. Similar to Infernal, it used the Primordial script. Abyssal is more similar to Primordial than its relative Infernal, but it a more twisted and chaotic version of the old language. The language often sounded like the screams of animals, the barking of canines, or swarms of insects, it was never consistent, but always sinisterly smooth. Abyssal was not a language that was invented, especially not by the uncaring chaotic devourer that is Demon King Marchosias, but is simply how the demonic tongue speaks Primordial. It is far enough from that base language, however, to not be considered a dialect.
	+ Abyssal, similarly to Infernal, has almost its entire speaking population being the demons of the chaotic evil plane of Bedlam. It is less spoken by mortals than Infernal is, as demons are seen as the inferior fiend-kin as opposed to the effective and structured devils, a fact which angers them greatly.
* **Celestial:** Celestial is a holy language, spoken by angels and gods, which is said to be the perfect form of Lillith's Common, the language which she granted to her mortal children. It is described as beautiful, soft, but surprisingly complicated. It is theorized that Celestial is as old as Primordial, and while the Divine Rakata had no need for verbal language, this was the language that they originally planned to teach to their children, only to find it was too pure for mortals. After it was decided that the language Common would be taught to mortals, Lillith imbued the Celestial language to her celestials, the purest form of being she created, uncorrupted by evil's temptation, like her mortal humanoids.
	+ Celestial is almost entirely spoken by the celestials, which include the angels of the lawful good plane of Nirvana and the guardinals of the neutral good plane of Meridian. It is also natively spoken by the incredibly rare aasimar, mortal children of celestials. However, many clerics, scholars, and priests may take time to learn the language. It is especially important to learn for modern-day devouts of Lillith.