Pathfinder Chronicles - Gazetteer - Asamnet

swallowed by jungle still depict script from ancient times
thought to be related to the lost ancestor language.
Shadowtongue: As a willing vassal of diabolical
Cheliax, secluded, shade-haunted Nidal enjoys all the
benefits of cooperation with the most powerful human
kingdom of western Avistan without the usual oppression
and exploitation common in the empire’s other holdings.
The nation’s unusual cultural and religious traditions
mesh well with the ascendant wickedness of Cheliax
and remain protected from outside inf luence. Foremost
among these traditions is the secret language known as
the Shadowtongue.
Thought to have been handed down from the Midnight
Lord Zon-Kuthon to the people of Nidal during the
lightless terror of the Age of Darkness, Shadowtongue
is a soft, sibilant language in which many syllables are
pronounced with a delicate intake of breath. The overall
impression is of a whispered tongue that sounds to most
ears as if it is being spoken backwards. The reclusive
winged folk of the Devil’s Perch call the Shadowtongue
Whisprin, and claim that the language itself stands at the
root of Nidal’s legendary cultural malignance.
Skald: The lore of the Linnorm Kingdoms suggests
that Skald came to the people of the northland by way
of dwarves in the Age of Destiny. The lyrical, somber
language shares several characteristics with Dwarven,
including a complete runic alphabet. The language is
not Dwarven (thanks to thousands of years of subsequent
development), but a Skald speaker can communicate with
a Dwarven speaker with some difficulty.
Thassilonian: The ancient human Empire of
Thassilon f lourished in the era of Old Azlant and
perished in the same great catastrophe. The monolithic
stonework of the dead empire lingers still in northwest
Vudrani
East of Taldor, east even of the Kelesh deserts and the legendary Pit of
Gormuz, lies the sprawling Kingdom of Vudra, an earthly paradise of
immense temples and infinite wisdom. A power of undeniable inf luence,
Vudra is nonetheless a great distance from the Inner Sea. In western
Avistan, the dark-skinned, exotic Vudrani are oddities to be gawked
and marveled at, legends to those not inured to the wonders of the
worldly markets of Katapesh or Absalom. The Vudrani recognize
the importance of both nations with territorial holdings on the
Isle of Jalmeray. Agents of the island colony often go on diplomatic
missions throughout the region, but they are trusted in few courts
outside Absalom.
The Vudrani worship a bewildering array of thousands of unusual gods,
a religious system little understood outside their homeland. They garb
themselves in luxurious garments of the finest cloth, favoring loose-fitting
clothing appropriate to the warm clime of their homeland. Their culture places great
value on beautiful, deliberate movement and the ability to spin a good story. They
speak Vudrani.
Gazetteer: Characters
Avistan, from the massive Storval Plateau and the
southern cities of Varisia to the treacherous mountains
of Belkzen to the edge of the Lands of the Linnorm
Kings. The enigmatic runelike script is based upon
magical symbols important to the Runelord dictators
of ancient Thassilon and is little understood by those
outside academia. Still, Thassilon’s grasp was extensive
in ancient times, and its language survived long after
the fall of its mighty runelords.
Tien: The “common” tongue of Tian Xia is an
amalgamation of words from a dozen languages spoken
in the ancient empires and border kingdoms of the other
side of the world. Tonal differences play an important
role in Tien, so that two words might sound the same to
outsiders but have vastly different meanings depending
upon pitch and tone. True to the rigid, complex societies
of Tian Xia, Tien boasts a wide array of words connoting
politeness and courtly procedure. Seldom heard in
Avistan or Garund, Tien is spoken occasionally in
Absalom, Katapesh, and the northern nations bordering
the Crown of the World.
Varisian: The rolling, sultry tongue of Varisia’s natives
can be heard throughout Avistan, making it a common
“middle ground” language between strangers in the River
Kingdoms and barbarian lands of the north. Its written
form shares the alphabet used by Taldane.
Vudrani: On the border of the Far East stands the
great Kingdom of Vudra, a near mythical place of
wonders and untold riches. Its lilting, birdlike language
is common throughout interior Casmaron, but is
quite rare in the Inner Sea region except perhaps in the
markets of Absalom and Katapesh, and of course the
Vudrani colony on the
Isle of Jalmeray.
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