My Nymph Hieroglyph Project: inspiration & spark

This post is Part 8 of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. Start with Part 1 here.

This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore.

Find more linguistic content in my Language Directory.

In Part 1 of this series, I got excited about language and started inventing a number of tongues for my fantasy world. My language development has stalled out a bit these days, since I already have so much established. However, my current language project circles back to the illiterate nymphs of the tropical glade.

Though illiterate in modern times, the nymphs were once a thriving civilization that traded with the forests of Ryerin to the north. Akin to the ancient Mayans, the nymph civilization fell during a major catastrophe, and they fled their stone cities into the jungle when the Colkh'rak invaded.

Check out this Author's Manifesto for more of my inspirations!

Inspired by the complex glyphs of the Mayans, I envisioned the ancient nymphs with an impressive and artistic writing system that allowed each scribe great creative expression of individuality. Though I have no writing samples yet, this project is ongoing, and I hope to include some ancient A'lari glyphs in the first edition of Broken.

As of now, I'm super delighted with my language trees, and I have an exceptional foundation to keep world-building for my Tales of the Known World saga. Aside from the occasional line of foreign dialogue in the novels, which I use (sparingly) to emphasize language barriers, I use my languages to invent consistent names for the places where certain cultures live.

I also use the language rules to change place names from one language to another, such as the Suteki town of Zejawehe, which becomes Zeja'e on elvish maps. Similarly, the elvish town of T'gran'rh is represented on faerie maps as Tigranirsh, pronounced basically the same but transliterated differently.


That's it for this series! Check out my latest inspirations for more.

Download the Author's Manifesto here, or start your adventure below.

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Publishing My Language Mess: inspiration & spark

This post is Part 7 of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. Start with Part 1 here.

This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore.

Find more linguistic content in my Language Directory.

In Part 1 of this series, my first taste of linguistics set me on the path to inventing over seven languages for my fantasy world. As I got ready to publish Awakening, I needed to iron out some leftover inconsistencies between the languages I'd invented and the spellings and pronunciations of different names and places.

The dark tongue of Colkh'rak, spoken by the dark elf invaders of Allana, was actually a pidgin of the dark elf language Dyau and the daemon language with no vowels. Heleki, the ancestral language of the humans of Kholl, arose from Meri, and it mingled with the Colkh'rak language when the invaders landed there. This mingling gave rise to the Khollic language spoken during modern times.

Check out this Author's Manifesto for more of my inspirations!

I published Awakening without knowing the last of these details, confident in my ability to hand-wave any inconsistencies I discovered. When I went to make my language appendix for the second edition, I codified everything and came up with my last adjustments.

The language of Ryehren was spoken during the ancient Golden Age before the invasion, and it arose from Meri. Similarly, the language of the Sutek Desert arose from Meri, so ancient Suteki is akin to Meri whereas modern Suteki is more a dialect of Allanic. This left only the last vestiges of defiant pronunciations and the strange spelling of the Trophek Reaches.

By necessity, I created the language of Trophek for my Tales of the Known World saga. I ruthlessly cataloged every instance of a place or name whose pronunciation didn't fit its native language. Aside from the way /f/ was spelled using "ph" for some places, good old English let me evoke a number of strange vowel sounds for certain letters.

I decided that Trophek was a human language from the rugged northern isles, and their ancient culture had spread, much like the Vikings, to the coastal mountain regions along the northern edge of the Known World. I ascribed unusual readings for Trophek's vowels, solving my pronunciation issues and leading to unexpected readings like Trophek (TRAW-fih-k) and Porthal (PAW-rth-ey-l).


That's it for this post! Up Next: Taking a stab at hieroglyphs...

Download the Author's Manifesto here, or start your adventure below.

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Portent XV of Broken: a riddle in rhyme

In the novel Broken, there are 24 portents fortelling the events of the unfolding saga.

Start with Portent I here.

These and other riddles in rhyme are gathered in the Portents Directory for you to explore.

Enjoy!

With dawning day to empress go
And stoic say the gravest word
Of sands betraying royal plea
To coming Way await in turn

No aid reply to elven plight
Though doomed decry the sacred wake
Until the sigh of passing crown
Evokes the dynasty of peace

Untroubled squander days ahead
Let battle wander where it will
In guidance ponder Way's return
As darkness yonder breaks the line.


Can you decode the future Tales of the Known World?

Share your interpretation!
Comment below with your take on this portent.

This prophesy is weird from head to toe. Its rhymes are mid-line, the portent called forth by a council of men from the Sutek desert. The council seeks advice on their actions in the coming war, and their portent comes to pass at the end of Broken. What could the passing crown foretell?

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Download the Prophesy Appendix:

The merfolk culture is built on the prophetic Gift. Nearly all men produce a portent every twenty days, and they devote their lives to interpretation. For more about the role and inner workings of prophesy, check out the Prophesy Appendix above.

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Alongside every prophesy is an attribution block. This block contains a byline giving the name of the person who said the prophesy, and a dateline giving the day the prophesy was first said. Here is the attribution for this portent:

Council of Tsugen
2:3:3:2/5, III:IX

The portent attributed here has not yet been interpreted. It was said recently, and it will be repeated every twenty days until either it is correctly interpreted, or it comes to pass.


That's it for this post! Up Next: While timeless rigors dissipate...

For the Prophesy Appendix, enter your email above.

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Life is an adventure.
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