Last update: September 11, 2006

Alphabets and Languages of Minaria

Part I- Alphabets

Minaria has six alphabets, each with a series of symbols and runes.

Draconic

The oldest alphabet is Draconic. The name Draconic refers to the primary and oldest writers of the script, dragon-kind. Wyrm, the tongue of dragons, uses draconic script, and so too do ancient human and humanoid languages (like yaun-ti), who were influenced by the dominant predators of a forgotten age.

It is also the simplest of the three scripts, with many runes emphasizing whole thoughts or ideas. Surprisingly, there can be certain combinations of draconic characters that form complex words and concepts, suggesting that draconic itself may be derived from a predecessor script. The modern draconic script is crude and very angular, with sharp finishes to letters or words. It is roughly similar to Westron, sharing many basic conceptions.

Draconic scripts predate the Lloroi Empire, although the languages that were then spoken are now lost. Draconic as a script was suppressed by the Lloroi in favour of their imperial script, Cirdal, but draconic script influences survive, and at least one modern language, Trajan, uses draconic script.

One example of such a lost draconic script lies in the ancient site, the Faces to the Sea. At these pre-Lloroi monuments on the coast of Rombune, draconic script symbols have reportedly been found, though from no modern language. The very few Old Race artifacts that has been preserved suggest that they used a proto-draconic script, suggesting a link between the two.

Cirdal

The second oldest script is Cirdal, a script imported into Minaria by the Lloroi race. Cirdal is a complex script, usually left to right and/or up and down. It is more complex than simplistic draconic, with a more sound-based system and fewer complete thought/idea runes. Cirdal looks complicated, with many cross slashes and dots denoting different pronunciations and ideas.

Cirdal replaced Draconic as the common strict under the Lloroi Empire, as the ruling race and its servitor races all used a unifying imperial tongue (Lloroi). Cirdal is the root script for several non-human languages dating from the time period two thousand years before the Cataclysm, and is survives in use by the Elves, Ogres, and amongst the Ercii.

Most historical texts also use Cirdal symbols as Lloroi (more commonly referred to as “the Auld Tongue”) remained the language of culture for centuries after the fall of the empire, and the imperial script continues to be seen as a “highest” form of writing, especially by its modern practitioners.

Westron

The most common script found in Minaria is Westron, a human-oriented offshoot from old Draconic. Westron is a modern script foreswearing ideas in favour of phonetic sounds, improving and expanding the original collection of runes. Most modern Minarian languages have adapted Westron, including Mivioran (Common), Vrajeen, Cephallese, and Eloian. Westron is a soft script, with many rounded strokes and few differentiations between forms. There are 28 letters in modern Westron (roughly conforming with English).

Westron scripts are found everywhere in Minaria, though few predate the Cataclysm, as the script evolved in the aftermath of the collapse of the Lloroi Empire, as old Draconic styles grew popular again in the culturally-liberated speech. The older script evolved side by side by human civilization, reaching its modern form some 1000 years ago.

The continents of Reiken and Girion also adapted Westron. Some scholars believe that Westron originated in Reiken and spread eastward. They base this upon the fact that the oldest Westron texts (approximately 1750 years old) are Reiken in origin, and that Vrajeen is a less evolved version of Mivioran (Common). Other scholars attribute this to the fact that the Lloroi suppressed Westron scripts in Minaria after their conquest, but their reach did not expand across the western seas, and Westron survived as a script in Skara Brae.

In modern times, Westron has also become the predominant script for trade and commerce.

Rashic

The alphabet of the southern Girionese nations is a foreign script, imported into Minaria after the Cataclysm. The criss-crossing lines and sickle-like swirls in the lettering are considerably different from other scripts. Rashic derives its name from its continent of origin, and to the culture of the overseas invaders who fought for domination over Afgaar, Padilla, Bomgol, Gazzohla, Sama, and the Witchlands from c. -250 BC to c.300 AC.

It is not a popular alphabet, even amongst the southern nations, having given way over time to Westron characters.

Nithric

The humanoid races of Minaria use a different script, one that is crude but effective in conveying complicated ideas. The script, Nithric, has its roots in old Draconic, but was adapted by the younger races, particularly the Trolls, Goblins, and Ogres. Nithric is a short, sparing script, easily and quickly written. Many human rangers learn the script for use as trail shorthand.

Nithric is primarily a modern language, and has few treatises written in it, largely because modern Goblin-speak and Troll are languages more concerned with speaking brisk military commands than writing sonnets. That being said, however, a fine collection of the myths of the Trolls has been translated back into their script and is proudly displayed in the Great Hall of the Stone Face.

Dwarf Runes

The Dwarf Kingdoms of Minaria utilizes a rune script that is unlike any other in Minaria. The Dwarven rune symbols are geometric designs, which, when arranged in certain orders, formulated words or phrases. Dwarven scripts can be read in any direction, radiating from a central character or rune. Dwarves in Moonrune use a modified system, which incorporates certain Cirdal symbols (labeled as “degenerate” by the dwarves of Ghem). The Gnomes of Minaria also have adapted the runes for their own use.

Part II – Languages

There are twenty-two tongues commonly spoken in Minaria: Thirteen human and nine non-human. Additionally there are some dialect versions of several of the languages that minority races also speak. Each of the human languages is prevalent in different geographic regions of the continent, usually in proximity to its origin point. The non-human languages are primarily racial in origin, and every-day speakers of those tongues are most often found in their respective racial enclaves. All of the languages, however, are spoken as secondary tongues in other parts of Minaria.

LANGUAGE	ALPHABET
Bel-Beni	Cirdal
Cephallese	Westron
Dwarvish	Dwarf Runes
Elvish	Cirdal
Eloian	Westron
Gnomish	Dwarf Runes
Goblin-speak	Nithric
Halfling	none
Kelgan (Shucassami)	Westron
Lloroi	Cirdal
Mivioran	Westron
Marya	none
Muetaran	Westron
Parrosian	Cirdal
Rashi	Rashic
Temple Language	Westron
Trajan	Draconic
Troll	Nithric
Vidaran	Westron
Vrajeen	Westron
Wyrm	Draconic

Bel-beni

This imperial tongue is the last surviving cultural remnant of a once mighty Girionese empire. Bel-beni, a soft spoken and musical language, is still spoken by hundreds of thousands of people, even though the originators of the tongue have passed from history. Originating in the Yyng-Go in the pre-Cataclysm period, the Bel-beni language evolved from a variety of regional dialects spoken in Sama, Urta, and the Yyng-Go, reaching in a final form during the Bel-beni Empire (c.900 AC). Most of the lands south of Kelga spoke the imperial tongue after 900 AC. Even with the fall of the empire to the dreadful magic of the Scarlet Witch King, the tongue persisted.

The written form of Bel-beni uses the Cirdal script, suggesting distant ties to the Lloroi, the predecessor imperial power, but with a completely different grammatical structure, with verbs following subjects. The language has a rich variety of adjectives, more than any other language. A standing joke in the north is that speakers of Bel-beni can tell you 48 ways to describe a tropical fern.

Bel-beni as a primary language holds sway in Sama and the Witchlands, and Yyng-Go. Throughout central Girion, Bel-beni is secondary tongue, including Gazzohla, Kelga, the Westward Isles, Anuwin, the Southwestern Coast, and Yannagyhara.

It is sometimes referred to as the “Southern Common” for the ease of its use in Girionese commerce.

Cephallese

Cephallese is a human language most common in southern Minaria and in the barbarian frontiers between Minaria and Girion and between Minaria and Trazig. The tongue is named after the ancient lakebed around which most of the civilizations that spoke this language resided. Cephallese incorporates elements of both Parrosian and Marya, and was used in Khuzdul, Adesse, and elsewhere in the South Plains before the arrival of the Shucassami. The conquerors adopted Cephallese and spoke it alongside their native Kelgan.

Cephallese originated in the southern Lloroi Empire and there is a heavy Lloroi influence in the conjugation and sentence structure. Cephallese is a beautiful language of poetry, with a romantic sound and extended vowel sounds. Because, the language is very cosmopolitan, adapting new words from other languages, it is difficult to precisely establish where the roots are, but the modern written form utilizes the Westron script.

It is the primary tongue used in Shucassam, and a secondary tongue in Muetar, Kelga, Yannagyhara, Afgaar, the Coastland Heartlands, the Barbarian South, Pon (a former possession), Hothior (ditto), and the Banished Lands.

Although not a native tongue to Zefnar, Cerphallese shares similar Lloroi roots and the two cants were easily translatable. Today, the great freeport is home to many tongues.

Dwarvish

Dwarvish is one of the oldest languages in Minaria, though it was greatly influenced centuries by subjugation under the Lloroi Empire. Words from pre-Lloroi Dwarvish are embedded in the language, but the written script and grammatical structure are heavily based on the Lloroi tongue.

Dwarves resent any implications that they are culturally indebted to the Lloroi race, and are quick to correct any poor scholar foolish enough to suggest such. Dwarves have an extensive cultural rivalry with the Elves, and the shared root grammar is a touchy point.

Few non-dwarves are given an opportunity to learn Dwarvish, and fewer still use the tongue in day-to-day life outside of the Dwarf Kingdoms. It is a secondary tongue for their neighbors (Immer, Neuth, Trazig) cultural inheritors (Pon), and their racial enemies (Zorn, the Wild Reaches, and the Shards of Lor).

Dwarvish is shorter and harsher than Lloroi, even though the written form uses the Cirdal script, but the subjects still follow verbs. Dwarvish is usually written right to left, but this is not an absolute rule in a culture where steles and runes arranged from top to bottom are preferred for all but the most complex of texts.

Note: Ogres also use a form of Dwarvish. The ogre tongue appears to be a race-specific offshoot of the Auld Tongue, with similar grammatical structure. Ogre has no known written form, however, as the shrewd humanoids seem to easily adapt to other races’ letters when necessary.

Elvish

Elvish is another language that has its roots in ancient Lloroi. The Auld Tongue lasted longest as a common language in Ider Bolis, and the imperial language heavily influences modern Elvish. Many Neutharian elves study rudimentary Lloroi as part of their upbringing.

Neutharian Elvish is a pleasure to listen to, with beautiful tones. To the uninitiated it sounds like Lloroi or Shucassami, but to the trained ear, Elvish has more subtle nuances. Poetic adjectives are innumerable in Neutharian Elvish.

The written form of the language, which uses the Cirdal script, is equally stunning. As repository of most pre-Cataclysm culture, Elven temples, monasteries, and libraries have made writing more than an art form. It is a passion, and the sheer beauty of the flowing script is testament to that zealousness. In a nod to a uniquely Elven culture, Elvish is written human-style, left to right, but the grammar underlying is Lloroi in sentence structure.

Elvish is more widespread than Dwarvish, as Elven culture is less reactionary and reclusive. Elven customs are well known in Addat, Mivior, due to its popularity as an Elven religious centre. The presence of the Ercii on the borderlands of the Elven nation also helps spread the tongue as a secondary language to nearby Immer, the Wetlands, Lered, and the Barbarian North.

Note: The Hacidar Botanni also use Elvish as their primary language, although it has a distinctive dialect, with harsh sharp words unique to the Underdark.

Eloian

Eloian is a language is rarely spoken in Minaria, save for members of that race, traders at the Well of Lered, and scholars from the Eaters of Wisdom. The language is rooted in Old Vidaran, and sounds old-fashioned to modern speakers of the Immerite tongue. The language is longer and more formal than Vidaran. When written, most Eloian use a cursive Westron script to transcribe their language, another cultural holdover from a more civilized era. The grammar has little changed in four centuries, and the language itself has few borrowed phrases, save from Mivioran and Muetaran.

It is a primary tongue only in Camptown and a secondary tongue in Lered and Willowik, but nowhere else.

Gnomish

The gnomes speak a dialect that is unfamiliar to most Minarians, which is consistent with the theory that gnomes evolved elsewhere and were brought to the Minarian plane centuries ago. Gnomes tend to utilize the common tongue around them when in casual conversation, but pockets of deep gnomes exclusively use Gnomish. They have adapted the Dwarf Runes to create their own unique written language. Gnomes also tend to record many of the scholastic works (magical or otherwise) in the gnomish language, as its relative obscurity and few fluent readers and writers often make for better security.

Goblin-speak

Goblin-speak is brisk, short, chirpy language, most common in Zorn and the Nithmere mountain range. It is also spoken by many in the barbarous southern island of Xe and in southern Gazzohla.

Goblin-speak uses many runes in a Nithric script when complex ideas are being conveyed. It is not frequent and many speakers of Goblin-speak, including members of the race, are illiterate. The rune-heavy written form is ideal, however, for shorthand, and is popular with rangers and fighters.

Goblin-speak is more often used to convey commands and the inflection of the language presumes a commanding tone unless otherwise noted. Very often non-fluent speakers of Goblin-speak have been confused by the aggressive tones of seemingly innocuous questions and reacted badly when no offense was originally intended.

Note: Most humanoids in Minaria, from kobolds to hobgoblins, speak a dialect of the mother tongue, although it can be difficult for most races to understand each other’s language beyond very basic concepts (“food”, “war”, etc.)

Halfling

The halfling tongue is uncommon, spoken mainly by members of that race, and only then in private or family conversations. Whenever a non-halfling is present, halflings will automatically switch into a common tongue. Halfling is also lacking in a written form, as the language is passed down by word of mouth within families.

Kelgan (Shucassami)

Kelgan is the language of the barbarian tribes who inhabit the savannahs of Girion. It is a unique rhythmic tongue, with many rises and lows in pitch, quite different from the more common Marya, which other barbarian tribes speak a version of. Unlike Marya, Kelgan has its roots in the Auld Tongue (Lloroi), suggesting that the tribes are descended from Lloroi ancestors, or Lloroi-influence ancestors. Some uneducated Minarians refer to the language as “Shucassami” because their only experience with the tongue comes from those speakers who hail from the Kingdom of Shucassam, where the barbarian dialect has been grafted on to the existing native culture (Cephallese).

Kelgan (or “Shucassami”) uses the Westron script and is a very precise and grammatical written language, with a crisp, easy-to-write written form. It appears to have been specifically constructed, lending credence to the idea that the relevantly recent origin of the written language suggests that it was the learned priests of the Spires to the Sun who devised the written form of the Kelgan tongue, as part of some unspecified protection or bargain.

It is the primary tongue in Kelga, and a popular tongue in Shucassam, where the ruling houses speak it almost exclusively. Kelgan is a secondary tongue in Afgaar, Banished Lands, Barbarian South, Llyra, Muetar, Padilla, Pon, Yannagyhara, Yyng-Go, and in the Witchlands.

Lloroi (The Auld Tongue)

Lloroi is the ancient imperial tongue that once bound millions of subjects to the Lloroi Empire. Although not native to Minaria, Lloroi expanded rapidly in pre-Cataclysm times, as the Empire vanquished its opponents and dominated the continent. Lloroi influenced all the other Minaria languages, especially the non-human offshoot languages of the elves, ogres, and, though they hate to admit it, the dwarves.

Lloroi is a melodious singsong language, harsher than Shucassami, but smoother and softer than Mivioran or Vrajeen. Given that the subjects follow verbs in Lloroi, it is not surprising that it is written in large looping letters from right to left.

Lloroi suffered a rapid decline in common usage after the Cataclysm as humans began to dominate Minaria and the Lloroi and their servitor races were gradually crowded out. In a bit of irony, however, Lloroi survived as a scholastic language long after the Empire had crumbled. Both elves and dwarves used the imperial tongue extensively in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, as their surviving Lloroi texts were seen as a higher literary form than the barbaric “gutter languages”. As the vernacular languages, both human and non-human, flourished Lloroi began to be seen as old fashioned and relegated to dusty libraries of scholar living in the past.

Today there are few day-to-day speakers of Lloroi, save for the members of the race. Lloroi is primarily a written language, using the Cirdal script, and practiced mostly by scholars. It remains a “classic” language course at institutions of higher learning.

It is a primary tongue only in Anuwin, but because there is trade in Shucassam with the last remaining great Lloroi temple, the Spires to the Sun, the language is not uncommon as a secondary tongue, or in Lloroi-influence areas like Kelga, the Westward Isles, Gazzohla, and the Coastal Heartlands). Centres of higher learning (e.g.- Lered) all across the world also tend to have speakers of the tongue for purposes of scholasticism. Elves also have an affinity with the Lloroi language, dating back centuries to their preservation of ancient texts.

Mivioran (Common)

Mivioran is the universal tongue of Minaria, used by those active in commerce and trade, and readily spoken as a second language where it is not the mother tongue. Mivioran uses the Westron alphabet and is a glib tongue tat readily absorbs words from other languages. Mivioran is a descendant tongue of Vrajeen, having originated in Reiken. Scholars, mainly in snobby Pennol, look down on Mivioran.

It was brought to Minaria in 250 AC, but only gained widespread use in the 700s. Mivioran was adapted by the Soraskier barbarians as their language of commerce, and was similarly used elsewhere in the trading ports in Minaria, and Girion. After 900, the language gained additional currency when it became a second language for the Free Kingdoms of Reiken, in large part due to the influence of Mivior in liberating those nations from the Luwamnas. As a universal second tongue, Mivioran continues to have a solid grip on popular language.

It is spoken as a primary language in Mivior, Hothior, the Banished Lands, Lered, and the Wetlands, and a secondary tongue in most areas of Minaria, in Reiken, and in northern Girion. Surprisingly the community of mages in Zards also uses Mivioran as a common tongue.

Marya

Marya’s origins lie in the barbarian migrations south into Minaria in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. With barbarian control over the northern half of the continent, their primitive dialects dominated societies. Marya is an amalgam of various barbarian dialects, adapted to ensure communications between various tribes. The parlance spread far and wide, such that both the northern and southern barbarians can make themselves understood by fellow barbarians, regardless of where they are from, but because the language is a mish-mash of words poached from other dialects and languages, no definitive written form exists.

It is a primary tongue in the Barbarian North and South, and a secondary tongue in Afgaar, the Dwarf kingdoms, Immer, Kelga, Trazig, the Southern Coast, Zards, and Yannagyhara.

Muetaran

Muetaran is a modern offshoot of the ancient Trajan language, which suggests the tongue had its origins in the Mueta tribe’s long migration west during the 8^th and 9^th centuries. The language uses the Westron script, but there are three extra symbols that could only have been derived from Draconic origins. Fortunately for the translators of Minaria the symbols are rarely used and are in fact relegated to rather old-fashioned words rarely coming up in casual conversation and even less in written form.

Muetaran is spoken widely because of the political and cultural supremacy of the empire in recent centuries. Although only a primary tongue in Muetar, secondary speakers of the tongue can be found in Hothior, Immer, Lered, Shucassam, Pon, Zorn, and the Dwarf Kingdoms of Ghem and Alzak.

Parrosian

Parrosian is the primary cant of the seafaring nation of Rombune. The modern Mivioran word “Rombune” meaning “pirate brotherhood” is actually derived from the ancient Parrosian word meaning “scavenger”. Although a language of humans, Parrosian too has its roots in Lloroi. The Umiak peninsula fell into the sea during the Cataclysm but old languages die hard. In the case of Rombune, the servitor races adapted their master’s tongue and script to create a unique language. The Parrosian language, which evolved in a maritime culture, is brisk and lacks flowery verbiage, which lends itself to naval commands. The written form of Parrosian uses the Cirdal script, although it is written in modern style from left to right.

Parrosian is primarily spoken day to day in Rombune and nearby Afgaar, which, until the 10^th century, shared a common heritage. It is a primary tongue in Padilla, the Westward Isles, and Zefnar. Interestingly, the tongue is also the primary language of the City of Llyra. It is a secondary tongue in Hothior, Kelga, Mivior, Reiken, Shucassam, and Yannagyhara.

The Selkies of the Silkien Coast speak a dialect of Parrosian, the only non-humans to have the language and writing as their mother tongue.

Rashi

The language of southern Girion, Rashi has its origins in the distant continent to the southwest. Brought to Minaria after the Cataclysm, the language predominates wherever the invaders held sway. Rashi has a complex alphabet that is largely incompatible with standard Minarian symbols. A few elements suggest similarities to the Cirdal script, but most folk switch to Westron writing and Mivioran when they run into trouble so few scholars in the north know the intricacies of this foreign tongue.

Rashi is primarily spoken in Bomgol, Gazzohla, and Xe and as a second tongue in Sama, and Padilla, the Westward Isles, Llyra, Reiken, Yannagyhara, and the Witchlands.

Temple Language

The Temple Language of the Gulsa is a tongue rarely spoken in public, and then usually only in Reiken. The language has a post-Cataclysmic origin, having been created in the early 200s AC to serve the needs of the Luwamna covens in exile in the Reiken wilderness. After assuming power in 250 AC, the guttural cant became the standard tongue of the Reiken intelligentsia (such as they existed) until the Luwamnas’ fall in the late 1000s.

The inflections of the tongue are menacing, not dissimilar to Goblin-speak. Many scholars attribute this to the origins of the language in a religion that demanded obedience through fear. The Temple language’s written form uses the Westron alphabet.

As a primary tongue, it is for all intents and purposes dead, having no speakers in any public place in Minaria. There are pockets, however, in Reiken, particularly Burev, where the Temple Language can still be heard on rare occasions. Another place that supposedly is governed under the tongue of the Lords of Chaos is the Tower in the Clouds in southeastern Girion, ruled by the Luwamna sorcerer Starbeard. Most places of scholasticism in Mivior have a few speakers of the dying tongue on hand for research purposes. It may be that high-ranking members of the Imperial Knights of Muetar, the Forri of Hothior, or the Golden Legion of Mivior also have speakers of the Temple Language, for the purposes of interrogation.

Trajan

Trajan is a unique language, because humans primarily speak it, yet its written form uses a Draconic script. Sometimes called “Khosite”, because its origins are rooted in the pre-Cataclysmic society destroyed by the Lloroi, Trajan is spoken as a day-to-day language only in Pon. The great wyrms, magic wielding and powerful, infuenced the early human civilization of Khos, which was known for its use of arcane and spiritual magic.

With the fall of Khos, the language fell out of favour in the Lloroi province of Vultelina, but had a renaissance after the Cataclysm when the indigenous population fell into barbarism and the Auld Tongue was banished or forgotten. The language continued to evolve in the barbarian tribes living in Pon, the Blasted Heath, and western Trazig.

Trajan is spoken day-to-day primarily in Pon only. The tongue is no longer the province of the barbarians however, as the civilized courts in Marzarbol, Ghem and Adeese also have secondary speakers of the language for purposes of communication and trade. Muetar and Zards also have experience with the cant as a secondary language.

Finally, there has been a recent surge of interest in this primitive tongue for the sand-wyrms of the Blasted Heath are fluent with an ancient eloquent version of Trajan in addition to their own tongue, suggesting past links between humans and dragon-kind.

Trajan, a consonant-heavy language of 22 letters, is still largely confined to south eastern Minaria and the eastward continent, because the tongue has few grammatical rules in common with all the other languages of Minaria and it is difficult to assimilate. Trajan scriptures rarely indicate vowels, making them tricky to translate. Marzarbol is the center of the modern Trajan-speaking population.

Troll

Troll (not Trollish) is a slow language, ponderous, yet without complex grammatical structures. The language mirrors the race of its primary speakers. Deep downturns in vowels mark the speech, which is probably why it is rarely spoken in day-to-day life outside of the Troll enclaves. By virtue of its all-encompassing geographic presence, however, Troll has evolved as a default language for many cultures. If Mivioran is unsuitable for a conversation or trade, than Troll is occasionally resorted to, for its simplistic subject-verb construction lends itself to barter and simple transactions. Additionally, Troll enclaves are found across the continent and a good translator of Troll is relatively easy to find anywhere in Minaria.

Troll uses the Nithric script when written. Troll texts are usually religious or commercial in nature, so it is rare to find common everyday writing in the language, even though Troll is much less cumbersome to write than it is to read.

Note: The Pygo giants of Ulhig also use a dialect of Troll, suggesting shared origins in the distant past.

Vidaran

This is the mother tongue of the frontier country of Immer and surrounding territory. The Vidaran language evolved from Marya, but as civilizing influences were brought to the Vidara, new words came into being. The Soraskier barbarians spoke one of the earliest versions of Vidaran by the early 500s, and the language peaked during the early ninth century, when it became the official tongue of the Kingdom of Maragon. That kingdom’s collapse in the mid 900s and the arrival of new cultural influences slowly whittled away the dominance of the language. Other words entered the Vidaran language from Mivior (via Hothior) and Muetar.

Old Vidaran, a version of which was spoken the earliest inhabitants of Hothior, is still spoken in some backwards parts of Immer and in the Maragon province of Muetar. The Maragonese make it a point of pride to hold on to the cumbersome grammar of their forebears, if only to gain intellectual snobbery over the conquering culture of the Mueta. It uses the Westron script. Eloian is a dialect of the older Vidaran.

Modern Vidaran is a secondary language in Hothior, Lered, the Barbarian North, the Wetlands, and in Zorn.

Vrajeen

Vrajeen is a human language derived from the Reiken continent. It was brought to Minaria by traders prior to the Cataclysm, but only became a prominent language after the founding of Haliya in the 9th century and the exchange of cultures and currencies with Mivior.

Vrajeen uses the Westron alphabet, albeit with 28 characters. Many of the ancient texts in the library of Boliske are in this stilted script, confirming that Vrajeen as a written language has existed longer than Mivioran

Vrajeen is primarily spoken as a mother tongue in Reiken only, although is a secondary language in Mivior and the Coastal heartlands. The seafarers of Padilla have also made a point of learning the tongue, to better serve their trading relationships.

Wyrm

The ancient language of the dragon-kind is almost a dead language. Long predating the Lloroi Empire, the dragons of Minaria had a long and complex culture, with a language to match. Wyrm was the first language of magic in Minaria, and many modern spellcasting conjurations still contain trace verbal or written elements from this language. There are suggestions by scholars that Wyrm may be a base version of the tongue of the Old Race, bastardized over thousands of years, but there are no surviving texts from the mysterious predecessors of the dragons to back up such a theory.

Wyrm’s written form uses the classic Draconic alphabet, and forms the basis for most modern spellcasting runes. Unpretentious, but powerful broad-stroke steles are the norm. It is rumoured that the dead city of Khos used the Wyrm tongue and that remaining inscriptions in that desolate place still bear the draconic runes.

Outside of the arcane field, Wyrm is rarely read and spoken even less. There are few great worms left from the previous ages. Most are reclusive and desire to be left alone. It has been centuries since the dragon-kin took any interest in the rapidly expanding world of two-legged creatures, and the language reflects that. Wyrm is somewhat stilted, excessively formal, and foreign-sounding, no matter whose tongue it rolls off.

Only in the great schools of magic is Wyrm taught. In parts of Zorn, wyrm is spoken because of the proximity of Winter’s Rest, a lair of a great Air Dragon. Most human speakers of Wyrm hail from the desolation of the Blasted Heath, where a lair of sand wyrms preys upon southeastern Minaria or from the Shards of Lor.

Note: The Yuan-Ti of Gazzohla speak an ancient dialect of Wyrm, suggesting kinship with the great dragons of the past. This language is rarely heard in human society, except in the temples of the priests of Halas.

Regional Languages of Minaria

Each character has a home region.

He automatically receives the Automatic language from that region + one language from the list of Bonus languages.

The character is fluent in both languages to the extent of his intelligence.

It does not mean he/she can read or write the language, only speak it sufficiently to carry on some form of conversation.

Additional languages (as derived from Intelligence/Knowledge) must be selected from the list of Bonus Languages of the character's home region

A non-human character can select either his race or geographic area for languages and feats, but not both.

Region:	Automatic Language	Bonus Language Options
Afgaar (inc. Silkien Coast for non-Selkies)	Parrosian	Cephallese, Kelgan, Lloroi, Marya, Mivioran, Troll
Banished Lands (inc. Freeport, Hubbleglum, Stubstaff )	Mivioran	Cephallese, Eloian, Gnomish, Halfling, Kelgan, Muetaran
Barbarian North	Marya	Dwarvish, Elvish, Goblin-speak, Mivioran, Muetaran, Troll, Vidaran
Barbarian South (inc. Blasted Heath)	Marya	Kelgan, Mivioran, Shucassami, Trajan, Troll, Wyrm
Coastal Heartlands (inc. continental Rombune, Zefnar and Vah-ka-ka)	Parrosian	Cephallese, Halfling, Kelgan, Lloroi, Mivioran, Vrajeen
Dwarf (non kingdom)	Dwarvish	Gnomish, Goblin-speak, Halfling, Mivioran, Muetaran, Troll
Dwarf Kingdoms (inc. Alzak, Ghem, Aws Noirs, Moonrune, Tostog)	Dwarvish	Goblin-speak, Mivioran, Marya, Muetaran, Troll, Trajan (Ghem and Alzak only) Elvish (Aws Noir only) Lloroi (Moonrune and Tostog only)
Neuth (Kingdom Elf)	Elvish	Dwarvish, Lloroi, Marya, Mivioran, Troll, Vidaran
Eloia (Tail Person)	Eloian	Elvish, Gnomish, Mivioran, Troll, Vidaran (and old Vidaran)
Ercii (regular Half-Elf)	Mivioran	Bel-beni, Cephallese, Elvish, Muetaran, Trajan, Troll, Vrajeen
Ercii (Wandering People)	Mivioran	Bel-beni, Cephallese, Elvish, Lloroi, Muetaran,, Trajan
Gazzohla	Rashi	Bel-beni, Lloroi, Kelgan, Kua-toa, Wyrm
Gnome	Gnomish	Dwarvish, Halfling, Lloroi, Mivioran, Muetaran
Hacidar Botanni (Dark Elf)	Elvish	Goblin-speak, Mivioran, Ogre, Temple, Troll, Vidaran
Halfling	Halfling	Bel-beni, Eloian, Gnomish, Mivioran, Muetaran, Rashi
Half Goblin	Goblin-speak	Dwarvish, Mivioran, Rashi, Troll, Trajan, Vidaran
Hothior	Mivioran	Cephallese, Gnomish, Halfling, Muetaran, Parrosian, Troll, Vidaran
Immer	Vidaran	Dwarvish, Elvish, Marya, Mivioran, Muetaran, Goblin
Kelga	Kelgan	Bel-beni, Cephallese, Dwarvish, Lloroi, Marya, Parrosian
Lered	Mivioran	Cephallese, Eloian, Elvish, Gnomish, Lloroi, Muetaran, Troll, Wyrm, Vidaran
Lloroi (inc. Anuwin)	Lloroi	Bel-beni, Cephallese, Elvish, Kelgan, Mivioran, Muetaran, Kelgan, Trajan,
Llyra	Parrosian	Bel-beni, Kelgan, Mivioran, Rashi
Mivior (inc. Boliske)	Mivioran	Elvish, Halfling, Parrosian, Temple, Troll, Vrajeen,
Muetar	Muetaran	Cephallese, Goblin-speak, Gnomish, Halfling, Mivioran, Kelgan, Trajan, (old) Vidaran,
Elf (non Neuth Kingdom)	Elvish	Eloian, Gnomish, Lloroi, Mivioran, Vidaran, Wyrm
Padilla	Parrosian	Gnomish, Kelgan, Marya, Mivioran, Rashi, Vrajeen
Pon	Trajan	Cephallese, Dwarvish, Goblin-speak, Kelgan, Mivioran, Muetaran, Troll
Reiken (inc. Zir, Haliya, Burev)	Vrajeen	Gnomish, Halfling, Mivioran, Parrosian, Rashi, Temple
Sea of Drowning Men (inc. Westward Isles, Golkus, and Thores)	Parrosian	Bel-beni, Gnomish, Lloroi, Mivioran, Rashi, Vrajeen
Southwest Coast (inc. Bomgol, Xe, Sama)	Rashi	Bel-beni, Halfling, Goblin-speak, Parrosian, Marya
Shucassam	Cephallese	Kelgan, Lloroi, Mivioran, Muetaran, Parrosian, Trajan, Troll
Selkie	Parrosian	Bel-beni, Halfling, Lloroi, Marya, Mivioran, Rashi, Kelgan
Trazig	Unknown (but emissaries from Hatu Khagan used Trajan)	Dwarvish, Goblin-speak, Marya, Mivioran, Trajan, Wyrm
Willowik	Mivioran	Elvish, Eloian, Halfling, Muetaran, Troll, Vidaran
Witchlands (inc. Yyng-Go)	Bel-beni	Kelgan, Goblin-speak, Halfling, Rashi
Yannagyhara	Marya	Bel-beni, Cephallese, Kelgan, Mivioran, Parrosian, Rashi, Troll
Zorn	Goblin-speak	Dwarvish, Goblin-speak, Mivioran, Muetaran, Troll, Vidaran
Zards (inc. Shards of Lor and Witches Kitchen)	Mivioran	Dwarvish, Goblin-speak, Marya, Trajan, Troll

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