Languages of the World
Bae'Ravah · Naru · the Common Tongue · Bohd
Arcadia speaks in many voices. Most of the mainland trades and quarrels in the Common Tongue; the oldest folk of the island of Nareen still speak flowing, compositional Naru; and beneath them both lies Bae'Ravah, "The Ancient Wisdom Tongue" — the lost language of the original Baelak, a sacred tongue of balance, trauma, healing, and spiritual understanding that modern beastmen have all but forgotten. Across the sea, the Bohdkin of Hevetica speak Bohd. The tabs below hold the complete Bae'Ravah dictionary, phrases, numbers, grammar and calendar, followed by Naru and the other tongues of the world.
Bae'Ravah — The Ancient Wisdom Tongue
Bae'Ravah [BAY-rah-vah] is the lost language of the original Baelak — the divine beastmen so rare that most Arcadians count them a myth within a myth. Its first speakers called themselves the Fus'Ravahn, "Children of the Divine," an ancient feline beastman people who are now gone; the cat (kata) was sacred to them as their base form. Modern beastmen have forgotten this sacred tongue, and it survives today only in the keeping of the last of its ancient speakers — a story for a later book of The Chosen Chronicles.
The language emphasizes concepts of balance, trauma, healing, and spiritual understanding, and it prizes directness over grammatical complexity. It has no direct equivalent for "the": the article is implied by context and added only in translation to the Common Tongue. Below is the complete dictionary of some four hundred words; use the search box above to find a word or a meaning.
Basic Numbers (1-10)
Tens (20-90)
Large Numbers
Core Philosophy
Bae'Ravah prioritizes directness and simplicity over grammatical complexity. Meaning comes from precise vocabulary rather than elaborate sentence structures. The language reflects the Fus'Ravahn value of honest, straightforward communication.
Basic Sentence Structure
Standard Word Order: Subject + Verb + Object + Time/Place
Bae'Ravah: "Vek frish kara hor'sinta" → English: "I walk home today"
Questions: Question word + Subject + Verb + Object
Bae'Ravah: "Qua dak gish?" → English: "What do you make?"
Basic Grammar Rules
Verbs never change form regardless of subject or tense. Time is shown with separate time words.
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| I walk | Vek frish |
| You walk | Dak frish |
| They walk | Kelth frish |
| I walked yesterday | Vek frish tor'sinta |
| I will walk tomorrow | Vek shevek frish zen'sinta |
| I am walking | Vek frish nal |
Nouns never change form. Quantity is shown with number or quantity words.
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| One child | Uni bafu |
| Many children | Manu bafu |
| Some children | Sevek bafu |
| Twenty people | Du'tona opa |
| All enemies | Koral raka'vul |
Simple juxtaposition - no possessive markers or changes to words.
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| My pain | Vek rikta |
| Your strength | Dak braj'va |
| Their home | Kelth kara |
| The warrior's blade | Mok'tunak swix |
Use comparison words for all comparisons. No comparative/superlative word changes.
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| You are stronger than me | Dak erza mooka vek |
| This is more beautiful | Tis mira mooka |
| The most dangerous enemy | Raka'vul bav'glek mooka koral |
| As strong as | Erza equas |
| Less painful | Rikta loche |
"The" is optional and shown by context or "eth" when emphasis needed.
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| The house | Kara (or "eth kara" for emphasis) |
| A house | Kara |
| Houses | Manu kara |
"Keth" negates any verb or adjective.
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| I do not walk | Vek keth frish |
| You are not strong | Dak keth erza |
| They will not come | Kelth keth shevek doveka |
Time Expressions
Tense Through Time Words
| English Tense | Bae'Ravah Method | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past | Time word + base verb | "Vek frish tor'sinta" (I walked yesterday) |
| Present | Base verb (+ "nal" if needed) | "Vek frish" or "Vek frish nal" (I walk/am walking) |
| Future | "Shevek" + base verb | "Vek shevek frish" (I will walk) |
Common Time Markers
- tor'sinta - yesterday
- hor'sinta - today
- zen'sinta - tomorrow
- nal - now
- ren - soon
- giva - later
- horva - always
Practical Translation Examples
Simple Sentences
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| I am tired | Vek voos'tana |
| You need rest | Dak mikta rest |
| She will heal | She shevek shim |
| We fight together | Thol krivek opanu |
| They are afraid | Kelth ketra |
Complex Sentences
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| I remember many old friends who died | Vek shwea manu mak mosh'mak vok vosh'dak |
| You will understand this pain later | Dak shevek yeshva eth rikta giva |
| My healing journey is slow but necessary | Vek shimah na salo yel mikta |
| Some truths hide in darkness | Sevek veridak nim sul umbra |
Emotional Expressions
| English | Bae'Ravah |
|---|---|
| My heart is broken | Vek emosha sashata |
| I feel lost and alone | Vek tu'vesha sas'weka vel sawas |
| You carry heavy grief | Dak fortu mord'uul gorga |
| We share blood-bond through trials | Thol malek zhak'mor topeka examu'ti |
Special Grammar Notes
Cultural Speech Patterns
- Drop articles when possible: "Pain teaches wisdom" not "The pain teaches the wisdom"
- Use present tense for universal truths: "Rikta gish braj'va" (Pain makes strength)
- Emphasize through word choice, not grammar: Use precise vocabulary rather than complex structures
Emotional Intensity Through Repetition
- Strong emphasis: "Gaks gaks gaks!" (gossip gossip gossip!)
- Certainty: "Y'lu y'lu!" (yes yes!)
- Dismissal: "Unk unk!" (no no!)
Quick Reference Guide
Remember:
- No verb conjugations - same verb form always
- No noun pluralization - use quantity words
- Simple possession - pronoun + noun
- Time through separate words - not verb changes
- Negation with "keth" before what's being negated
- Comparisons with mooka/loche/equas - no word modifications
- Cultural concepts may need explanation - shimah, zhak'mor, vala'dak tum have no direct English equivalents
- Context matters - some words like "tora" have multiple meanings
- Preserve emotional weight - don't simplify profound concepts
The Arcane Calendar
The Bae'Ravah calendar terms follow the ancient Arcane Calendar, the reckoning of divine mathematics that Atonia first carved from pure logic. Each period is named for the elemental and divine forces that govern time itself: the calendar runs on 8-day weeks representing the eight primary cosmic forces, and twelve months of 32 days each, for a perfectly divisible year of 384 days. Dates are spoken as day name, day number and month name — Kaia'sinta mor septa sul Zhakaran, "Spiritsday, the 7th of Sangrien." It is the elder of Arcadia's two calendars: during the Great Withdrawal the merchants turned to the 365-day Astronomer's Calendar that Athea, Weaver of Stars, wove to follow the sun, and the two are set side by side on the Calendars page.
Time Periods
Days of the Week (Oxa'sinta)
Months of the Year
Naru — The Old Tongue of Nareen
On Nareen, the island southwest of Arcadia, most people now speak the Common Tongue — the trade language everyone learns for dealing with travelers and merchants from other lands — but the oldest among them still speak Naru, the ancient native language of their people. Naru is characterized by flowing, water-like sounds and compound words that build meaning through combination. The language reflects the Nareenese worldview: fluid, interconnected, and deeply rooted in nature.
Naru is a highly compositional language. Complex concepts are built by combining simpler root words, reflecting the Nareenese belief that all things are connected and built from fundamental elements. When words are joined, no letters are cut or shortened from either part — the only exception is a repeated letter at the junction, which is written once. So seru (large) and mai (water) become serumai, the ocean; and Nareen itself is an orunahoikaremai — land surrounded by water.
Compound Word Formation
| Roots | Compound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Seru (large) + Mai (water) | Serumai | Ocean |
| Mina (small) + Cho (wind) | Minacho | Breeze |
| Wama (flow) + Mai (water) | Wamamai | River |
| Wama (flow) + Oru (earth) | Wamaoru | Valley |
| Fesa (fish) + Wero (worker) | Fesawero | Fisher |
| Sishi (many) + Starra (star) | Sishistarra | Constellation |
| Suma (take) + Hirusha (life) | Sumahirusha | Kill |
| Sumahirusha (kill) + Wero (worker) | Sumahirushawero | Hunter |
| Tokamu (together) + Matsu (love) | Tokamumatsu | Marriage |
| Haru (special) + Matsu (love) | Harumatsu | Boyfriend / girlfriend |
| Oruna (land) + Hoika (surrounded) + Re (by) + Mai (water) | Orunahoikaremai | Island |
| Lura (blessing) + Semsa (tree) | Lura Semsa | Cherry tree |
Naru Grammar
Naru follows Subject-Verb-Object word order. Questions open with a question word.
| Naru | English |
|---|---|
| Yi era te wamamai. | I see the river. |
| Ishla hura wo matsu. | She dances with love. |
| Te leo sei ervu. | The sun is warm. |
| Wera yu levasa? | Where do you go? |
| Tima festua koma? | When does the festival come? |
| Qi sora tera? | Why do tears fall? |
Sei serves as "am," "is" and "are" for every person. Negation is simply noh (not) placed before the word it denies.
| Naru | English |
|---|---|
| Yi sei osha. | I am lost. |
| Matsu sei monea. | Love is sacred. |
| Usa sei tokamu. | We are together. |
| Yima namu sei Amina. | My name is Amina. |
| Yi noh nesua kesika yu. | I do not want to hurt you. |
| Tat noh sei pontua. | That is not an accident. |
Plurals are formed by adding s to the end of a word.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Doma (person) | Domas (people) |
| Romala (flower) | Romalas (flowers) |
| Starra (star) | Starras (stars) |
| Cor (eye) | Cors (eyes) |
Naru verbs do not change for tense. Timing is carried by context, by time words (toa now, toma today, yemasa yesterday, tomasa tomorrow, ferta later), or by the future-intention marker wia (will). Optional suffixes can add precision, but the Nareenese prefer context and flow over rigid grammar.
| Naru | English |
|---|---|
| Yi caru mai. | I carry water / I carried water / I will carry water (timing from context) |
| Yi caru mai toa. | I carry water now. |
| Yi wia caru mai tomasa. | I will carry water tomorrow. |
| Le nimo pata yemasa. | He walked the path yesterday. |
| Yi caruna mai yemasa. | I carried water yesterday (suffix -na emphasizes completion). |
| Yi carusey mai toa. | I am carrying water now (suffix -sey emphasizes ongoing action). |
Naru suffixes are optional tools for poets, storytellers, ceremony and emotional emphasis rather than everyday speech. They may be stacked, in the order verb tense, then continuous, then other modifiers: huranaseychialah, "was dancing in a cute, sacred way."
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -sey | Continuous, ongoing action | Wama (flow) → Wamasey (is flowing) |
| -na | Past, completed action | Matsu (love) → Matsuna (loved) |
| -ro | One who does something (casually, as a trait) | Hura (dance) → Huraro (a dancer) |
| -wero | Profession, occupation | Tesa (teach) → Tesawero (teacher) |
| -chi | Diminutive, small, dear | Chino (child) → Chinochi (little child, baby) |
| -loh | Without, lacking | Mai (water) → Mailoh (waterless, dry) |
| -shi | Excessive, too much | Wama (flow) → Wamashi (overflowing, flooding) |
| -alah | Sacred, blessed | Pata (path) → Pataalah (sacred path) |
| -koma | Becoming, turning into | Nias (dark) → Niaskoma (darkening) |
| -toa | Just, recently | Com (come) → Comtoa (just arrived) |
Sample Sentences
| Naru | English |
|---|---|
| Ei soramai tera, ten romala wama. | If rain falls, then flowers grow. |
| Yi matsu yu beca yuma olua sei norita. | I love you because your soul is beautiful. |
| Usa nimo pata ni serumai ana chi cho weyshua. | We walk the path to the ocean and hear the spirit wind. |
| Nareen sei orunahoikaremai hoika re serumai. | Nareen is an island surrounded by ocean. |
| Omasa amatsa, noh lua. | Speak truth, not lies. |
| Missa wama tenas wamaoru. | Mist flows through the valley. |
| Kirashu ni Nareen. | Welcome to Nareen. |
| Ei yu sei osha, yi wia caru yu homa. | If you are lost, I will carry you home. |
Common Naru Phrases
Naru Vocabulary
The full Naru word-hoard, alphabetically. Naru words are given first, then their pronunciation and meaning; where a word is itself a compound, its literal sense follows in brackets.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
The Common Tongue (Arcadian)
The Common Tongue is the trade language used throughout most human settlements of Arcadia — the speech everyone learns for dealing with travelers and merchants from other lands, and the tongue into which Bae'Ravah and Naru are rendered when they are translated. Even on far Nareen most people now speak it, keeping Naru for their elders.
Bohd — The Language of Hevetica
From The Senach, a series in development; details may change. Across the sea, the towering, long-lived Bohdkin of the Imperial Republic of Hevetica speak Bohd. Only one word of it is yet fixed in canon, and it is a slur: Senach, the Bohdkin word for an Arcadian, meaning literally "godless savage." The Bohdkin mock Arcadians for having been abandoned by their gods — our gods would never leave us — and when Hevetica comes to govern Arcadia, the Bohd language comes with it, imposed by edict. What "Bohdkin" and "Hevetica" themselves mean in Bohd, and the shape of the language's grammar, remain to be revealed.