to weather a storm brings many tall mountainsnom waworsun tel kankat natoy natoyanos — Common Runic Idiom (Hover for translation)
Runic, or as its known in the tongue
Akonosni, is one of the most ancient languages in Nonvyrox, being one of the original languages brought to the world when
The Weaver emerged from the
Leylines. When traced back, many languages have their origins in Runic and its dialects.
History
The true origins of Runic are unclear. Theres a chance that it was a language that stemmed from the tongues of the divine as they first arrived on the mortal plane. Other theorize that it was developed by the hands of
The Weaver and
Thoura as a way for them to communicate with the mortals and grant them the ability to cast spells.
As it developed further into
The Dawning and more so in the
Age of Creation, the language developed dialects from those who were reaching new heights of magical potential. This is when some of the better recorded variants of Runic were developed. The different communities wanted to find a way to make their communication about magical concepts and existence simpler.
In the modern day, Runic is most commonly found on ancient relics and ruins, there are few who can speak Runic as a primary or even secondary language. Those who can are often the most academically driven or are linked intensely with history. There are some
Automaton who have an innate ability to speak the language, especially those who have recently been reawakened from the
Age of Creation.
to chase earth's value is to conjure no growthropantorut nosis nomyrunsa telans kanuns kon — Common Runic Idiom (Hover for translation)
| Language Family |
Ancient |
| Common Dialects |
Arvadian
Locathran
Rhyndar
Morreni
Sovastra
Hlotris |
| Script |
Konsans |
| Spoken By |
Arvadian
Ancient People of Nonvyrox
Deities |
Dialects
Over the millennia since the first possible word of Runic was spoken and the first stone carvings were made, the Runic language has changed drastically. Inspired by the communities who used it for their own purposes, different dialects helped to forge paths that led to new and emergent languages that are now wide spread across the realm. All of these dialects use Konsans as their writing system, though some of the symbols have developed different meanings within each of the dialects.
Arvadian
Read more: Arvadian
Among the most diverse of the dialects of Runic, Arvadian eventually evolved into a language unto itself. However, for many years it was still intellegable as a dialect of Runic. The Arvadians were inspired by the words and language spoken by majestic and terrifying creatures that they worked alongside, leading to several root words from ancient Primordial and Draconic becoming core to the language. Modern day languages such as Draconic, Infernal, and Primordial all seem to stem from Arvadian.
Locathran
Read more: Locathran
Spoken mostly by those who remained on the ground, Locathran was a dialect of Runic that was once commonly spoken by those who would engage in trades and mercantile efforts. Typically having their own tongue would allow fellow merchants to communicate more effectively, while also hiding their prices. However, over time Locathran became a more commonly spoken tongue for those who were not arcane users of any kind, especially due to how wide spread the mercantile class was. The Common tongue and Halfling, both languages of freedom and communication, stem from Locathran.
Rhyndar
Read more: Rhyndar
Rhyndar was one of the first dialects of Runic to start to exist. It was designed to be easily spoken and heard in the depths of mines. Even in the earliest days, the first dwarves, gnomes, and miners wanted a shorthand to keep track of everything they were mining and working on. After many decades of using different words and root words for certain nouns, they became core to the tongue of those who worked under the surface. Both Modern Dwarvish and Gnomish stem from Rhyndar, with the words innate connection to the world underground.
Morreni
Read more: Morreni
An interesting dialect of Runic, Morreni stemmed primarily from a geographic change. It was developed by those who walked from the mortal realms into the
Fae Lands, a world where truths mean more than anything. This linguistical difference was made even more important as different people populated the Fae Lands, despite an ancesteral difference of existence, the people had a common language. This would stem into
Sylvan and eventually branch out to
Elvish, Goblin, and
Orcish, the modern day equivalents all having this original origin of Morreni.
Sovastra
Read more: Sovastra
Sovastra developed in the city of
Sovmora and is one of the most well documented dialects of Runic, having been preserved somewhat in ancient religious texts that managed to survive
The Shatter. It was only discovered to be a dialect of Runic in 614 AR, after similar glyphs were found in ruins around
Vilura. Much of the language evolved into a dialect of the Common tongue, but there are some elements of Sovastra that survived in modern day Celestial, allowing those who speak the language an easier time comprehending Sovastra, and Runic in itself.
Hlotris
Read more: Hlotris
Considered by some to be the dark dialect of Runic, Hlotris was designed to flesh out more of the more unusual and strange aspects of language and was often used between societies to keep information secret. There are some historians who believe that Hlotris was designed to be a mirror dialect to Arvadian, hiding their information rather than making it public and obscuring the grandeous nature of the culture. While much of Hlotris was destroyed in the transitional period of
The Shatter, some of it has survived in modern day Undercommon and Abyssal, with certain root words being taken from and used in Deep Speech.
Phonology
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
|
n |
|
|
|
| Plosive |
p |
|
t |
|
|
k |
|
| Fricative |
f v |
|
s z |
|
|
|
h |
| Trill |
|
|
r |
|
|
|
|
| Approximant |
|
|
|
l |
j |
w |
|
| Vowels |
Front |
Central |
Back |
| Close |
i |
|
|
| Mid |
|
ə |
o |
| Open |
|
a |
|
Phonotactics
Syllable Structure
- The syllable structure is (C) V (C) (C).
- C contains all available consonants.
- V contains all vowels, including diphthongs.
- The Coda can't contain /h/
- In the Onset, there is no clustering.
- In the Coda, clusters are a nasal followed by one of {p, t, k, f, s}
- Monothong Vowels (except ə) elongate when left open.
Romanisation
m → <m>
n → <n>
p → <p>
t → <t>
k → <k>
f → <f>
v → <v>
s → <s>
z → <z>
h → <h>
r → <r>
l → <l>
j → <j>
w → <w>
a → <a>
ə → <u>
i → <i>
o → <o>
ij → <e>
oj → <oy>
aj → <y>
aw → <ah>
Grammar
Word Order: Subject-Verb-Object
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: Preposition comes before the noun
Possessor/Possessed: The Possessor comes before the Possessed
Nouns
Nouns have 7 possible cases:
- Nominative Case: subject of a verb.
- Accusative Case: direct object of a verb.
- Genitive Case: possessor of another noun.
- Dative Case: indirect object of a verb.
- Locative Case: location, either physical or temporal.
- Ablative Case: movement away from
- Instrumental Case: a means or tool used while performing an action.
First Declension
| Case |
Singular |
Dual |
Plural |
| Nominative |
Suffix: /an/ |
Suffix: /ana/ |
Suffix: /anos/ |
| Accusative |
Suffix: /un/ |
Suffix: /uns/ |
Suffix: /unsa/ |
| Genitive |
Suffix: /is/ |
Suffix: /isi/ |
Suffix: /isi/ |
| Dative |
Suffix: /av/ |
Suffix: /avo/ |
Suffix: /avo/ |
| Locative |
Suffix: /ok/ |
Suffix: /oka/ |
Suffix: /oka/ |
| Ablative |
Suffix: /ap/ |
Suffix: /apa/ |
Suffix: /apa/ |
| Instrumental |
Suffix: /ak/ |
Suffix: /akta/ |
Suffix: /akara/ |
Second Declension (Vowel Final)
| Case |
Singular |
Dual |
Plural |
| Nominative |
Suffix: /n/ |
Suffix: /na/ |
Suffix: /nos/ |
| Accusative |
Suffix: /s/ |
Suffix: /ns/ |
Suffix: /nsa/ |
| Genitive |
Suffix: /si/ |
Suffix: /soy/ |
Suffix: /soya/ |
| Dative |
Suffix: /v/ |
Suffix: /vo/ |
Suffix: /vo/ |
| Locative |
Suffix: /k/ |
Suffix: /ka/ |
Suffix: /ka/ |
| Ablative |
Suffix: /p/ |
Suffix: /pa/ |
Suffix: /pas/ |
| Instrumental |
Suffix: /ka/ |
Suffix: /kar/ |
Suffix: /kara/ |
Numbers
Runic has a base-12 number system. The numbers are also broken down into sets of 6, which can be counted by counting each finger and then a closed fist.
| Number |
Runic |
| 0 |
tova |
| 1 |
os |
| 2 |
am |
| 3 |
no |
| 4 |
ir |
| 5 |
wu |
| 6 |
ko |
| 7 |
osra |
| 8 |
amra |
| 9 |
nora |
| A |
sira |
| B |
wura |
| 10 |
kora |
| 100 |
jatra |
| 1000 |
kinja |
When numbers go to a higher context place, the number is said as "X of Y" where X is a base digit, and Y is the place. For example, to say 2A6B it would be:
am kinja sira jatra ko kora wura
two one thousand seven hundred twenty-eights, ten one hundred forty-fours, six twelves, and elven
This would total to the decimal number of 4,979. Which might seem weird to those used to a decimal system, but is a common way of couting for those who speak Runic, with twelves being important to the language.
Verbs
| Stative |
Non-Past |
Past |
| Perfective |
Present
stem |
Past
stem + (o)t |
| Imperfective |
Habitual
stem + (a)ns |
Past Habitual
stem + (a)not |
| Dynamic |
Non-Past |
Past |
| Perfective |
Present
stem |
Past
stem + (o)t |
| Imperfective |
Imperfective
stem + (a)ns |
Past Imperfective
stem + (a)not |
| Habitual |
N/A |
Past Habitual
stem + (o)rut |
Pronouns
| Case |
1st Singular |
2nd Singular |
3rd Singular |
1st Dual |
2nd Dual |
3rd Dual |
1st Plural |
2nd Plural |
3rd Plural |
| Nominative |
os /os/ |
ma /ma/ |
fa /fa/ |
osa /osa/ |
mya /maja/ |
far /far/ |
osu /osə/ |
myu /majə/ |
fya /faja/ |
| Accusative |
osun /osən/ |
mas /mas/ |
fas /fas/ |
osans /osans/ |
myns /majns/ |
faruns /farəns/ |
osunsa /osənsa |
mynsa /majnsa/ |
fyunsa /fajənsa/ |
| Genitive |
osis /osis/ |
masi /masi/ |
fasi /fasi/ |
osasy /osasaj/ |
myasy /majasaj/ |
farasy /farasaj/ |
osusya /osəsaja |
myusya /majəsaja/ |
fyusya /fajəsaja/ |
| Dative |
osav /osav/ |
mav /mav/ |
fav /fav/ |
osavo /osavo/ |
myavo /majavo/ |
faravo /faravo/ |
osuvo /osəvo |
myuvo /majəvo/ |
fyuvo /fajəvo/ |
| Locative |
osok /osok/ |
mak /mak/ |
fak /fak/ |
osaka /osaka/ |
myaka /majaka/ |
faroka /faroka/ |
osuka /osəka |
myuka /majəka/ |
fyuka /fajəka/ |
| Ablative |
osap /osap/ |
map /map/ |
fap /fap/ |
osapa /osapa/ |
myapa /majapa/ |
farapa /farapa/ |
osupas /osəpas/ |
myupas /majəpas/ |
fyupas /fajəpas/ |
| Instrumental |
osak /osak/ |
maka /maka/ |
faka /faka/ |
- |
- |
- |
osukara /osəkara/ |
myukara /majəkara/ |
fyukara /fajəkara/ |
Writing System
Konsans
Read more: Konsans
Konsans is the combination of two writing scripts, Konsretta and Sanspon. Konsretta is a logography that was used to write a symbol for each word in Runic, while Sanspon was designed to write out each possible letter in an alphabet. However, it seemed that neither of these would suffice entirely for the language. Sanspon would lead to really long pieces of writing, while Konsretta would be an infinitely big set of symbols. As a result, the two were combined, if there isn't a symbol for a word it is spelled out using Sanspon, if there is a symbol, its written in Konsretta.
Dictionary
Key:
adj. adjective | adv. adverb | art. article | conj. conjunction | det. determiner | interj. interjection | n. noun | num. numeral | prep. preposition | pron. pronoun | v. verb
Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2025
Answering: "
An ancient tongue from which many common idioms spring"
All work is copyright Owen Davies 2025, all rights reserved.
Love the fact that the different dialects of Runic are where many of the modern languages stem from. That kind of detail always helps bring a conlang to life.
Explore Etrea | Summer Camp 2025
Its something I've toyed with for a while, but also has a bunch of derivational meaning if all language comes initially from magic.