Languages

An index of languages spoken throught the World of Empala.

Languages of the Plains
Druidic- Druids, of course, use their own private language when speaking amongst themselves. As has been stated, they also use Eldar in some rituals and are well versed in Threem.

Eldar- The language of a long forgotten civilisation. It is used by druids and shaman in some of their rituals. Any written form is lost to the mists of time.

Plainspeak - The common tongue of the nomadic tribes (with the exception of the Threem). Though it has no written form, there is a very established oral tradition maintained by bards and shaman that has preserved centuries of history as well as myth and legend.

Threem - The Threem use Plainspeak in their dealings with the other tribes, but amongst their own they use a language based on whistles and animal calls that outsiders call Threem. It is said that theycan use this language to communicate with the denizens of the forest, a rumour cemented by the fact that many druids are well versed in this tongue.

Wyrmtongue- Legends tell that when the tribes first emerged from their caves the land was ruled by mighty winged serpents: the dragons- or wyrms- of legend. Possessed of magical powers, they often took human form and interfered in human affairs for their own amusement, sometimes siring children. It is said that all sorcerers can trace their magical powers back to an ancestral liaison with such a wyrm.

Regardless of the veracity of such legends, there exists a language used principally by sorcerers in their magics known as wyrmtongue. Shaman are sometimes versed in wyrmtongue, too, and are not entirely averse to teaching it to their friends. Again, any written form is unknown to the tribespeople.

Languages of the Empire
Imperial- The lingua franca throughout the Imperial Territories. Within the plains it is known to some senior settled peoples who trade with the Empire. It has a simple written form used by merchants, nobles and priests. Literacy is not widespread. Imperial evolved from the language of the priests and, as administrators and the distributors of food, it spread out of the metropolitan centres and across the territories of the Empire.