Feadhainn Language

The Feadhainn language (also simply called Feadhainn) was first spoken by the Feadhainn civilization that inhabited Duilintinn a millennia ago, during a period known as the Feadhainn Era.

## History

Both the verbal and written usage of this language survived both the devastation of the Dragon War and the influence of Waldren and the Common Tongue. Despite Waldren's attempts to enforce the usage of their language throughout Tirónar, Feadhainn remained widely spoken throughout the Draoidh Valley and Monaidh Plains for decades, with most place-names retaining their ancient names.

In the end, the convenience of the Common Tongue in a continent dominated by Waldren caused the Feadhainn language to fade from use. Today, the Feadhainn language is barely spoken in Duilintinn. For most citizens, it only survives in the kingdom's place-names- including the name "Duilintinn" itself.

Fortunately, historians and linguists are attempting to preserve and rediscover the lost elements of Feadhainn's language through the use of translation magic, scholarly research, and the accounts passed through the generations of Feadhainn's descendants.

## Writing

The script used for the Feadhainn Language began as a way to write down the math used in the process of diverting the Agrona River. Soon after Feadhainn's Golden Age began, this script was expanded upon to be used for writing.

Visually, this script resembles the real-world Ogham, with characters written top to bottom.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Feadhainn writings were destroyed during the dragon war. What little we know about Feadhainn now is almost entirely passed down through oral storytelling, which makes their history even more difficult to recover.

The few written works that did survive were either passed down through the generations as family heirlooms or discovered during the renovations of Feadhainn Era settlements. Most of what was recovered had been found in Monacoil, which had been slightly better preserved by the mages who settled there during the Interim Years. However, most of what would have initially survived the war had been ruined or destroyed long ago, as people continued to live in these ancient cities, and very little has been found.

In addition, reading these records is extremely difficult. The script of Feadhainn, much like their language, has been almost entirely forgotten. Only a handful of people of Feadhainn descent can read or write anything at all, and rudimentary fluency is only found in people who dedicate their lives to studying it. Even then, some exact translations of certain letters have been lost. And again, even if we knew exactly how to read the script, we'd then also have to be able to read the language *itself*.

What little that has been translated is usually the result of cooperation between mages and scholars of the Feadhainn language. With the aid of someone familiar with the language, translation magic can be used with limited success to read Feadhainn texts.

## Trivia

* The Feadhainn Language is a heavily bastardized Scottish Gaelic, due to the author's lack of knowledge regarding its proper use, pronunciation, grammar, etc. Prior to adapting the world of The Watch AU into a novel, the author plans to dedicate further research into the proper use of this language, potentially tweaking or overhauling the Feadhainn language entirely.
* The absence of the Feadhainn Language in Duilintinn's modern culture is inspired by the use of Elven in Bioware's Dragon Age series.