Gehennan
The language of pain
In the dimly lit halls of Gehenna's fifth layer, a gathering of infernal beings unfolded. Over the roaring flames and the cracking of burning stones, the voice of a creature named Ghul'kul, belonging to the lineage of Zhar'ghul, resonated. "Bher ghulzhel," he growled, his voice resounding through the vast cavern. The stone inflicts pain. His followers, an array of grotesque figures writhing in the hellish glow, responded in kind, their voices combining into an ominous chorus of agreement. "Bher ghulzhel." Ghul'kul then raised a jagged stone high above his head, glowing red in the flickering light. "Zorumn grathkul," he decreed. Eternity awaits. The cavern echoed back, a hundred voices repeating the promise of torment to come. Each word spoken in Gehennan seemed to hang in the air, heavy with meaning and infernal power. The weight of their language permeated every inch of the cavern, each guttural utterance carving itself into the memory of every creature present. In Gehenna, Gehennan is not merely spoken; it is experienced, a brutal and potent communication of raw power and dread. In its speech and script, one finds the soul of Gehenna, a raw, harsh reflection of the relentless torment and power struggles that define this realm.
Gehennan is the infernal language spoken in the burning realms of Gehenna, the intricate labyrinth of layered hells. Its words emanate a tangible aura of unease, much like the lands it was born from. Gehennan is guttural and harsh, like the grinding of tectonic plates, the seething of molten stone, and the smothering heat of unending flame. Its words, steeped in the spiritual essence of Gehenna, are composed of searing sounds that burn themselves into the memories of those who hear them. The language's phonology is steeped in deep, rolling R's, gutteral G's and Z's that zing with an infernal energy.
An intricate, jagged alphabet, known as Ghozhum, represents Gehennan in writing. These characters are unsettling to behold, their cruel, sharp angles and jarring asymmetry reflecting the inherent dissonance of Gehenna itself. Each character seems to emanate an aura of dread, a feature that, once read, leaves a lingering sense of unease. Reading a sentence in Ghozhum is akin to running fingers over hot, serrated steel.
Writing System
The Gehennan script, known as Zhorask (the tongue of fire), is a testament to the relentless nature of Gehenna itself. Each stroke, each glyph is a product of eons of torment, wrought into an unholy art form of communication. The letters are drawn with the brutality of raw power and intricate complexity, as if each one is an entity holding a dark story of its own. The script is unique, almost cryptic, in its organization. It's non-linear, much like the twisting and turning paths of Gehenna. Letters don't simply line up neatly from left to right or top to bottom; instead, they sprawl, curl, and intersect, forming an intricate web. A sentence in Zhorask can look like an abstract piece of art, making it a language as visually expressive as it is spoken. For example, the Gehennan phrase "Zhar ghorlum" meaning "The fire consumes" would look like a flame devouring an object in the Zhorask script. 'Zhar' the symbol for fire, is drawn as a flame, broad at the base, narrowing to a sharp point at the top. 'Ghor', the symbol for consume, resembles a mouth with jagged, uneven teeth, as if ready to devour. 'Lum', the symbol for it, is a smaller glyph nestled within the mouth, like a prey about to be swallowed. The phrase "Bher ghulzhel" meaning "The stone inflicts pain" creates an equally vivid image. 'Bher', the symbol for stone, is drawn as a sharp, jagged object. 'Ghul', the symbol for inflict, resembles a whip or a lash. 'Zhel', the symbol for pain, is rendered as a complex glyph that's intentionally difficult and unsettling to draw.
Phonology
The Gehennan language consists of a variety of guttural, voiced, and fricative sounds.
Vowels: The language includes eight vowels: /a/, /ɑ/, /ə/, /ɛ/, /i/, /ɨ/, /o/, /u/. These open and back vowels contribute to the guttural quality of the language.
Consonants: There are twenty consonants: /b/, /d/, /g/, /ɡʲ/, /v/, /z/, /ʐ/, /ʝ/, /j/, /k/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /p/, /r/, /s/, /t/, /x/, /ʁ/, /ʃ/. These consonants include a mix of voiced and voiceless stops, fricatives, nasals, and approximants. The /ʁ/ is a voiced uvular fricative, producing a deep, throaty sound characteristic of Gehennan.
Stress: The language uses variable stress, which can alter the quality of the vowel it falls upon.
Morphology
The Gehennan language heavily utilizes inflections.
Inflection: Words can change in form to represent tense, mood, aspect, number, and case. This is often achieved through the use of prefixes and suffixes.
Genders: Gehennan includes three genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter. Each gender has a unique set of endings.
Tenses: Different tenses are indicated using a combination of prefixes and suffixes. For instance, the prefix 'vu-' might indicate future tense, while '-as' suggests past, and '-el' is present. Moods can also be signaled using infixes like '-ir-' for the conditional.
Syntax
The syntax of Gehennan allows some flexibility due to the language's highly inflected nature.
Word Order: The default word order in Gehennan is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). However, due to the extensive inflections, the word order can vary without losing meaning.
Adjective-Noun Agreement: Adjectives precede the noun they modify and must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
Locative Cases: Gehennan has a complex system of locative cases, indicative of the multilayered world of Gehenna. This system allows for distinctions between not only basic locations (e.g., on, in, under) but also movement towards or away from these locations.
Vocabulary
"Zhar" (fire)
"Ghul" (spirit, ghost)
"Kur" (dark, darkness)
"Bher" (stone)
"Narl" (death)
"Vrok" (power)
"Zhel" (pain)
"Yug" (blood)
"Lum" (light, illumination)
"Bhav" (life)
Tenses
Present: "-el"
Past: "-as"
Future: "vu-"
Conditional mood: infix "-ir-"
Sentence Structure
The default sentence structure in Gehennan is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). For instance, in Gehennan, "The spirit (Ghul) commands (Vruknel) the darkness (Kur)" would be "Ghul Kur Vruknel".
Adjective Order
In Gehennan, adjectives precede the noun they modify, agreeing in case, number, and gender. For instance, "Dark spirit" would be "Kur Ghul".
Structural Markers
Possessive: "-'s" after the noun, similar to English.
Plural: "-i" at the end of the noun. E.g., spirits = "Ghuli"
Definite article: "the" = "Dha". E.g., "Dha Ghul" = The spirit.
Indefinite article: "a" = "Ya". E.g., "Ya Ghul" = A spirit.
Negative marker: "no" = "Nil". E.g., "Nil Vruk" = No power.
Spoken by
Common Phrases
Zhar ghorlum - The fire consumes
Bher ghulzhel - The stone inflicts pain
Zorumn grathkul - Eternity awaits
Bhulz rorg'ul - Suffering is wisdom
Thren gholgor - Fear is power
Common Unisex Names
s Gehennan is a gender-neutral language due to the nature of the inhabitants of Gehenna, it doesn't use gender-specific pronouns or have gendered conjugations. Here are some common phrases, personal names, and family names.
Zhargor - Flamebearer
Ghul'kul - Painweaver
Rorg'zhel - Sagesorrow
Grath'ul - Eternal One
Threnghol - Fearmaster
Common Family Names
Bhorgumn - Endless Torment
Grath'ulz - Timeless Pain
Zhar'ghul - Burning Agony
Rorg'kul - Wise Weaver
Thren'zhar - Fearflame
In Gehenna, a being's personal name often reflects its role, its power, or its abilities, and a family name, if applicable, represents the lineage's prevailing characteristic or notable ancestor. It's worth noting that in Gehenna, the concept of "family" is fluid and can be more akin to alliances, factions, or associations.
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