Sansico

Sansico is the primary in-game language in *The Light of the Darkness*.

## History

The Sansico language is a very old language, originating from the extinct Sansios people, very different from the blacks and whites in the era of the game. During the Sansios age, the world was not divided between light and darkness.

## Description

Sansico is a middle ground between a fully developed language like Elvish in The Lord of the Rings and a simple transliteration. This is so the writing and voice acting can be believable.

Sansico has four dialects:

* Ancient Sansico: the original Sansico language.
* Pegahmo: an ancient variant from a historical subculture.
* Black: the dialect used by the blacks.
* White: the dialect used by the whites.

### Differences between black and white Sansico

The most significant different between black and white Sansico is their alphabets, but they also have minor pronounication differences, similar to the differences between Brazilian Portuguese and standard Portuguese. The differences are mild enough that blacks and whites can easily understand each other.

In Sansico white, the letter "U" is considered a letter associated with darkness and thus considered a "inferior vowel." In writing, the U is always misaligned down to reflect this. Black Sansico does the same with the letter "A," which is associated with light, a inferior element to the dark creatures.

### Numbers

Unlike humans in the real world, whites only have four fingers on each hand, so they use a base 8 numbering system. Blacks have only three fingers on each hand, which led to a base 6 numbering system.

Sansico digits function similarly to Roman numerals. The most basic digits represent these numbers:

* 0
* 1
* the number of digits on one hand, so 4 for whites and 3 for blacks
* the number of digits on two hands, so 8 for whites, and 6 for blacks
* at least the second and third powers of the number of digits on both hands
	+ for whites, these are digits for 64 and 512
	+ for blacks, these are digits for 36 and 216

Additional digits are formed by combining these most basic digits together into compound digits. When a digit is formed from two or more equal basic digits are combined side-by-side, or when larger basic digits are on the left of smaller ones, this indicates the digit's value is determined by adding them together. For example, the digit for 2 is a combination of two 1 digits and the digit for 3 is a combination of three 1 digits. In white numbers, the digit for 7 is combination of a 4 digit to the left of three 1 digits.

Higher compound digits are formed by a multiplication or a combination of addition and multiplication. This is indicated when smaller basic digits are to the left of larger ones. The smaller basic digits are first added together and then multiplied by the larger digit. For example, the digit for 12 in black numbers contains two basic 1 digits to the left of the basic 6 digit, and the digit for 16 in white numbers similarly contains two basic 1 digits to the left of the basic 8 digit.

Note that the higher basic digts, meaning those for 8, 64, and 512 in white numbers and 6, 36, and 216 in black numbers, are only used in compound digits. Those specific numbers are represented as compound digits where a basic 1 digit is to the left; in other words, they are written as being multipled by one.

Compound digits are always formed as no more than one multiplication problem, and the addition is always on the left. Any numbers that can't be formed this way are instead expressed in multiple separate digits which are added together, with larger digits on the left. So, in white numbers, the number 17 is written as the digit for 16 followed by the digit for one. Similarly, in black numbers, the number 13 is written as the digit for 12 followed by the digit for 1.

## Fonts

The Sansico fonts, given as rewards for $25 backers or more, are inspired by old typographies, specifically Roman typography for White Sansico and Gothic typography for Black Sansico. The White symbols have more horizontal emphasis and "stability" while Black symbols have oblique emphasis and has a look less "stable".

The White Sansico font was developed by me Fernando Rabello, and the Black Sansico was developed by Magno Laureano, both of which are based on a system of symbols sketched by Daniel Mafra.