Low Ortegan

"A stack of documents in an unknown language? Let me see- oh. What you have here is probably a bunch of tax records or business ledgers. Not worth much. Oh, don't get that look. Delving dungeons which are old Ortegan ruins isn't always going to bring you good fortune. You're lucky it wasn't a laboratory, or you might have met a terrible fate. Four silver for the lot."

— Michi Shatterdown, Imperial Arcanist

  In the distant past of Erisdaire there was the empire of Ortega which was based in the west, but vanished in a cataclysmic release of magical energy. Those who survived formed the basis for the cultures and nations which in turn became the foundations of the current current nations. Similarly, the language was preserved and changed over time. Ortega actually had two different languages, currently referred to as "High Ortegan" and "Low Ortegan". While High Ortegan was the language of Mystics and scholars in ancient Ortega, the so called 'Low Ortegan' language used by the lower classes was far more commonly found in use. It used much of the same letters, but the sounds were quite different. As a result, it was possible to read a single sentence in either language and have it be completely different. And because of events around the magical cataclysm, it is much more difficult to find writings in High Ortegan to study. This means the present-day "Imperial Common" is derived from Low Ortegan, as is "Myrisian Common". Very few significant differences exist, allowing the major powers in the west and east to communicate with little trouble.

In current days, actual Low Ortegan is not used any longer and is difficult for those who are unfamiliar with it to read or speak. Only ancient scrolls, or etchings, can be found to have it. Most written works of importance have been translated to newer languages, often with appended notes from the scholars to cover subtle problems with the way the language evolved over time. Scholars can draw a path from Low Ortegan through Old Rhylian, then through its successor in Imperial Common. In the east, the development of the language took more steps as there was an additional period where the Myrisian people developed a concurrent language meant for use in describing arcane magical behavior. This language ("Arcane Myrisian") eventually fell out of use entirely, in favor of using symbols to describe processes which would have been spelled out in text. The current Myrisian Common includes some pieces incorporated into the common usage, due to magical objects being far more common in those lands.

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