Ancient Surian

Surian language is very pragmatic and all of the vowels can vouch for it.

Winter language

In Surian the words for death, sleep, night, stability come from the same root, i.e., Winter or SR/THR. The language does not pay much attention to the vowels but when it does, it divides them into two categories:

1. Warm (or Expressive or Summer): a, e
2. Cold (or Quiet, or Winter): o, u, i, y

As to why is that the case, one needs to experience the insufferable chill of the biting wind that sweeps though the Surian land. The short weeks in which its dry and warm would be the summer. Expressive vowels demand a bit more movement and are differentiated from one another. This is not the case with the "Quiet vowels", whose fate is to be clumped into one bag and to be used interchangibly. Interestingly enough, this is likely a cause for so many versions of the words borrowed from the Surian to other languages after the migration.

Vowels were not the only victims of the harsh Surian climate. Some consonants are never spoken or at the very least do not have Winter/Non-Winter versions. This is the case for the voiceless sounds, like TH (as in THought) which is solely a basic/Non-Winter version. In winter, though it changes into typical hissing S.

Winter speech is generally ill-suited for expressive communication. Many thoughts formed with it are expressed briefly, with as little mouth opening as possible. Gestures and body language are important and speech is used only to denote the most important and in-person details, which could not be conveyed on a distance. Ironically, Winter speech can be very personal and intimate, though it would make a poor medium for rounded poetic sentences.

Winter of all memories

Honouring the thought

A snowy winter is a moment for things to be forgotten (or remembered). People spend time recalling old stories and retelling them in the family warmth. A snowy winter is the time to let go of the conflicts, to forgive and let things go. People will sometimes carve symbols on ice sheets or icicles and leave them outside to be covered with a snow blanket. There lives a different version of the idea, though and it involves writing something on a more lasting material, like skin, bark, wood, fabric, stone etc. and leave it on the glacier. If the memory is accepted, then it is claimed by the gods and remembered in the ice for eternity; or at least until the coming of the moon-eyed snake.

The coming of the Moon-eyed snake

While this day was typically considered a cause for celebration it did come with a tradeoff. The myth behind it, called "the Descent of the Snake" explains that "there shall come a 'winter of all memories', when all memories will be brought to life and swallowed by the moon-eyed snake, who will take them down below to the land of all-night". When that happened, some Surians remained behind connecting the Land of All-Night to the depths of the Lake of the Memory. Nowadays, no Surians live in the ancient region and most of them have joined the highland tribes of Laqru and Yrkyt.

Most folk took the event as a sign to follow their god and the River of Memories and thus started the Great Migration that would eventually leave behind only grass, goats and wind-swept summits. Now, people would not think water to be the Great Snake god by itself. The idea was that a snake or a giant fish was swimming just beneath the surface, as if clad in a shiny cloak. It was a perfect explanation for the sudden expansion of the small stream into a raging river. It was brimming with power centered precisely in the moment of the event, pushing forward through the land in a crawling fashion. Those, who followed the river eventually arrived to the shores of Lake Yüründ where the Surian folk split once more. Some have taken Lake Yüründ to be the new dwelling of the ancient memories and have brought their belief of keeping the memories by their Ice/Water god. This is likely how the legend of the Caretaker was born.

Some, though have decided to follow the river flowing from the Lake Yüründ up to the Sea and somewhere along the way have met the Elnä (the boat folk). Both tribes shared a tradition of sending off their dead to the sea depths. The Surian contribution was the extension of the tradition to all memories and thoughts to be remembered (or forgotten). Over the years many forms emerged. Perhaps the most amusing one is the act of engraving the names of the sailors and their stories on the bottom of the hulk so the sea gods would safekeep their memories.

Idioms