Since the universe operates on 3 dominant linguistic families (Latin, Germanic, Slavic) + regional derivations + technical institutional languages (clerical cant, military code, demonic tongue), this document catalogues the linguistic texture that characters can use in dialogue.
"A priest speaks three languages: Latin for God, the vulgar tongue for man, and silence for the demon." — an Aureline proverb.
I. The hierarchy of the official languages
Latin — three canonical variants
High Ecclesial Latin (Latina Coronata)
- The official liturgical language of the Clerical Order.
- Used in the Mass, the sacraments, pontifical documents, canonical decrees, exorcism.
- Not spoken as a street language; only in a sacred or learned context.
- Pronunciation: archaic, preserved — soft palatalisations, V as W, AE as AI.
- Characteristic: a dense sacred vocabulary, a complex syntax, a melodic rhythm.
- An example of a canonical phrase: "In nomine Hashmalis et Coronati, sit benedictum hoc opus." ("In the name of the Hashmal and of the Crowned, may this work be blessed.")
Aureline Latin (Latina Aurelina)
- The vulgar language of the continent of Cross — the everyday speech of the Clerical Order (the 7 States) + the cultivated class of Velinia.
- Derived from Ecclesial Latin with palatalisations, elisions, simplification. Analogous to real popular Italian, with a Victorian-formal touch.
- Spoken in: Aurum Roma, Ferrumkar, Pradel, Castrum Limentis, Coronata, Vallium, the Schola Maior, Velinia (the upper class).
- Regional variants: Northern Aureline (more Germanic influence), Pradian Aureline (more Slavic influence), Maritime Aureline (more Venetian influence).
- The accent: strongly musical. Long vowels at the end of a phrase.
- An example: "Where are you going, father? To the Catedrale, or to the mercato del sale?" (the characteristic Aureline-Italian-analogue mixture).
Meridian Latin (Lingua Meridiana)
- The archaic language of the Kingdom of the South (Meridia). A Latin sub-tradition older than High Ecclesial — preserved by southern isolation.
- Analogous to real Calabrian + Sicilian, with a strong presence of Arabisms (an inheritance of ancient trade).
- Spoken in: Stromakra, Cassina, Aurifluum, Vela Tarda.
- Characteristic: a guttural R, clipped final vowels, a syncopated rhythm.
- The Riti Meridionali are celebrated in this language, not in High Ecclesial Latin — a source of a mild schism.
- An example: "Mar' do Sulle bujju oggi, frate." ("The sea of the south roars today, brother.")
Maritime Latin / Velinian (Velinian)
- The dialect of Velinia the Most Serene. Latin with a strong Adriatic-analogue influence.
- Analogous to real Venetian + Dalmatian.
- Spoken in: Velinia (every class), Porto Coro, Sereniva, Carcabella.
- Characteristic: final L becomes U (castelo → casteu); short words, a rapid rhythm.
- A speciality: a mercantile and dockside slang with nautical terms.
- An example: "Ze ora de partir, sior. Vento bon." ("It's time to leave, sir. Good wind.")
Germanic — three canonical variants
Nordsprek (the Tongue of the North)
- The official language of Königsmark.
- Analogous to real High German + Old Norse.
- Spoken in: Königsburg, Norderfeld, Eisturm, Reichshamn.
- Characteristic: deep guttural consonants (a guttural R, a harsh CH), long compound words (noun + noun + noun).
- The liturgy of the Royal Church of the North is in a mixture of Nordsprek + Ecclesial Latin.
- An example: "Mein Bruder, das Schwert des Mikahels ist gesegnet." ("My brother, the sword of Mikahel is blessed.")
Kantonsdeutsch (the German of the Cantons)
- The Germanic-Alpine dialect of the Kantonal Confederation.
- Analogous to real Swiss German.
- Spoken in: Bernkanton, Genfkanton, Zürikanton.
- Characteristic: CH as a harsh kh, an aspirated final K, diminutives in -li.
- An example: "Grüezi, Herrli! Wo gönd Sie?" ("Greetings, little sir! Where are you going?")
Brytonsh (High Insular)
- The official language of Brytonia.
- Analogous to real Victorian English, with a Celtic-analogue substratum in the Highlands.
- Spoken in: Brithon, Manchaster, Edinhrad, Liverhal.
- Characteristic: rounded vowels, a lingual TH, short words.
- A sub-variant, Cael (the Celtic-analogue), is spoken in the Highlands and Caer'n.
- An example: "By the Solar Cross, mate, where's the master gone?"
Slavic — one canonical variant + a corruption
Vychodski (the Tongue of the East)
- The official language of Vykhradia.
- Analogous to real central Slavic (a mixture of Polish + Hungarian + Romanian).
- Spoken in: Vykhrad, Bielgrod, Cherniwicz, Solnica.
- Characteristic: a harsh CZ, SZ, RZ; nasalised vowels; a singing rhythm.
- A Magyar-analogue influence to the south.
- An example: "Druzye, idemo na bój! Za Vykhrad i za sviata Cross!" ("Comrades, let us go to battle! For Vykhrad and for holy Cross!")
Pacto-Kvar (the pactuary corruption)
- Not a language properly speaking — a mixture of Slavic + archaic Latin + Semitic suffixes + demonic sounds. Spoken in the 7 cities of the Pactuary Heptarchy + some pactuary communities infiltrated across the continent.
- Characteristic: broken words (consonant-vowel-consonant in irregular patterns), a guttural whistle between words, a ciphered vocabulary that changes from city to city.
- It can be identified by the trained ear of an Inquisitor — a "wrong" sound, a harmony inverse to that of Ecclesial Latin.
- To speak Pacto-Kvar in a zone of the Order = summary execution by the Inquisition if it is heard.
II. Cants and professional argots
Clerical Cant (Argo Coronata)
- The internal argot of the Liturgists, Canons and Mitred. Technical-liturgical terms that laymen cannot understand even if they hear them.
- Vocabulary: ~800 canonical technical terms.
- Examples:
- "To crown the ash" = to carry out an emergency field exorcism.
- "A candle at the vigil" = a fully illuminated cleric, on limited borrowed life.
- "Whiteness taken" = a White Medium in a continuous trance.
- "Fresh ink" = a recent Hashmal revelation, not yet canonised.
- "Salt at three" = a sign that the pactuary man is at Stage 3 of possession.
- "The eighth choir" = a reference to the corresponding Archangel (each cardinal is "responsible" for one Archangel in the Vigil of the Seven Candles).
Military Cant (Lingua Castrensis)
- The argot of soldiers, officers and commissars. A mixture of High Ecclesial Latin (official) + troop slang (popular).
- Each House of the Knights of the Seal has a military subdialect of its own:
The argots of the Knights are of the Office, not of the House — the House says where one serves, the Office says what one does (People — Clerical Order). This is why two knights of opposite Seals understand each other technically and two of the same House do not.
- The Office of the Choir (offensive combat): direct language, short commands.
- The Office of the Vigil (patrol): a language with a loaded silence, communication by gesture in the field.
- The Office of the Line (engineering): dense technical language.
- The Office of the Ash (heavy cavalry): ritualised language, formal oaths.
- The Office of the Bell (artillery): a ciphered mathematical language (ballistic codes).
- Examples:
- "To tread three" = to lose three soldiers (coded).
- "To sing the candle" = to call the Chaplain of the Company.
- "A trio of steel" = a trio of weapons (rifle + knife + revolver).
- "The One knows" = an expression of cynical resignation (= "God knows", popularised).
- "Fallen glass" = a soldier killed by toxic Hashmalite in the field.
The Mercantile Argot of Velinia (Argo Velinian)
- The language of traders, captains and bankers.
- A dense monetary + dockside + banking vocabulary.
- Examples:
- "A break of the wax" = bankruptcy (wax was the seal of a contract).
- "A cantonata" = a loan at high risk (a reference to the Cantons).
- "Blood on the sail" = a war that affects a trade route.
- "A broken wave" = a ship lost + its cargo.
- "A silent Doge" = a political authority unavailable for diplomacy.
Industrial Workers' Cant (Argo Vitrio)
- The language of factory workers — especially the Broken Glass (the Hashmalite miners).
- Influenced by Brytonian slang + Aureline Latin + Vychodski (urban immigrants).
- Strong in a vocabulary of industrial heresy:
- "Black lung" = a miner killed by toxic Hashmalite.
- "Bitter candle" = the workers' drink (wine diluted with counterfeit Lumen).
- "The alarm bell" = an imminent revolt; the signal for a strike.
- "A crowned master" = a paternalistic parish priest (an insult).
- "The bread of the Choir" = rationed factory bread (an insult + irony).
Pactuary Cant (Argo Inversa)
- The language of the hidden pactuary men infiltrated into Christian society.
- A mixture of inverted Ecclesial Latin (some words in switched order) + visual signals + hand gestures.
- Difficult to detect; the Inquisition uses specific tests to identify it.
- Examples:
- "To crown three" = a coded greeting among pactuary men ("Crowned three times").
- "A broken bell" = a safe place (a church where the bell does not ring properly = under demonic influence).
- "The road of the pact" = a coded trail into a pactuary zone.
- "A son of the Hour" = a pactuary man born after 1780, the heir of a family pact.
Academic Cant (Argo Scholae)
- The language of the professors and students of the Schola Coronata + the lesser universities.
- A mixture of technical Ecclesial Latin + student slang.
- A vocabulary dense in demonology, theology, ballistics, liturgical chemistry.
III. Special canonical codes
The Code of the Seven (Codex Septem)
- A system of ecclesiastical cipher for confidential communication between the Cardinals and the Pontiff.
- Based on a substitution of letters by specific liturgical words + a numerical transposition based on the 7 Archangels.
- An example: the letter "A" may be represented by "Mikahel" (Archangel 1), "M" by "Selaphiel" (Archangel 5), and so on.
- The Inquisition uses a simpler variant (Codex Septem Minor) for operational communication.
The Code of the Stars (Codex Stellarum)
- A system of astronomical-visual communication between fortresses. Each visible star in the night sky maps to a code word. Military watchmen read the sky during night communication.
- Used on the Limes Orientalis front and in the Vigil of the Ranges.
- It crosses centuries — the system works even if one fortress falls (the other fortress can still "read the sky").
The Demonic Cipher (pactuary writing)
- A system of visual glyphs used in pactuary contracts, the sigils of the 72 Infernal Kings, signs of identification among pactuary men.
- Each sigil is a coded set of geometric lines.
- To read a sigil without liturgical authorisation = a risk of passive possession (the sigil of the Infernal King tries to "reach" the reader).
IV. The demonic tongue properly speaking
Hor'kava — the language spoken by the greater demons
- An ancient language, older than Latin. Spoken by the high fallen during the Theomachy (see The Theomachy) — according to heretical records.
- The sound: deep and guttural, with vowels that vibrate in multiple harmonics simultaneously (impossible to reproduce with the human vocal apparatus without pactuary training).
- An inestimable vocabulary: its words can change local reality if spoken correctly. A full pact requires speaking certain key words in Hor'kava.
- To hear Hor'kava in a conscious state without liturgical protection = a risk of passive influence (whispers in the dreams afterwards).
Sin'Marka — the language of the Four Mothers
- A variant of Hor'kava proper to the Mothers. Older still — Lilith affirms that it is the original language that God used in creating, before even Ecclesial Latin. The Curia denies this categorically.
- The sound: a singing feminine multi-voice, simultaneous, with a whisper below the audible voice.
- Used in rituals of the invocation of the Mothers (Lilith, Naamah, Agrat, Eisheth) by Lilim-witches.
Enokhita — the language of the fallen Watchers
- The language of the 20 original Watchers, taught to humans before the flood (the real Enochian tradition). Analogous to real archaic Hebrew + Aramaic.
- Spoken by Shemyas, Azzal, Kohabel, Penmuel, and others when they communicate with humans (they prefer it to Hor'kava because it is less dangerous).
- It possesses an alphabet of its own of 22 letters + 5 angelic sigils. The Codex lies in pre-Cataclysm ruins.
- Hermetists try to reconstruct it. The Dawn of the Hashmal claims to master it partially.
V. Conventions of narrative use
In dialogue
- High Ecclesial Latin: use short quotations in italics at liturgical moments. Careful with excess (the reader can lose the rhythm).
- Popular Aureline Latin: translate into natural English with a Victorian Italian touch (the use of "che", "ma", "ecco", Italianate expressions).
- Nordsprek: a Germanic accent in indirect prose. When direct, short hard sentences.
- Brytonsh: a Victorian English touch — formal address, a commercial-pragmatic vocabulary.
- Vychodski: Slavic inversions (the verb at the end, particles), proper names in -in, -ov, -ek.
- Velinian: a Venetian looseness with a musical lightness.
- Hor'kava / Sin'Marka: never transliterate a whole word — only broken whispers in italics, sounds without translation. Keep the mystery.
In narration
- Each region uses a local vocabulary integrated naturally.
- Toponyms follow the linguistic family of the region (do not translate Königsburg into "Castle of the King"; keep Königsburg).
- Proper names keep their original form (Mattei in Velinia, Ostrowski in Vykhradia, von Reichmann in Königsmark).
Signs of a pactuary man in dialogue
- A hidden pactuary man speaks normally, but avoids certain liturgical words ("Choir-Cross", "Solar Pontiff", "Mikahel").
- At a moment of tension, he may let a word in Pacto-Kvar slip — a sign for the reader (and for a nearby Inquisitor).
- Whispered Hor'kava in a dream = a pactuary man at Stage 3 or beyond.