The Old Tongue (Old Rhoynish)

[Tee]

Language on the continent of Esshar has taken several dips and turns over the time the peninsula has been occupied. Originally, the inhabitants spoke a mix of Astyan and Mavolian, which eventually coalesced into modern-day Essharan.

However, modern-day Essharan was also significantly impacted by a far older language that had been used by the Rhoynish people and their ancestors. A somewhat quick and gutteral tongue, Old Rhoynish was mainly meant to be used on horseback, often by people running at a full gallop. This language spread considerably thanks to the nomadic lifestyle of the Rhoynish, allowing them to trade with - or threaten - virtually anyone they came across.

As all languages do, though, the Old Tongue fell out of general use some time ago, known mainly today as esoteric knowledge by Essharans, or among the occasional Rhoynish who are still skilled in it. A different dialect of the Old Tongue, a more polyglot version with different loan-words, is commonly used among Rhoynish slaves when desiring a private conversation.

However, the most common use of the Old Tongue is not in conversation, but in reading writings that would otherwise have been destroyed if its true nature had been discovered. Many ancient and powerful runes and inscriptions are written in the Old Tongue, and historians - always competitive to display their mastery of the language - are typically quick to discover and catalogue any remaining examples of it; the older the better. 

Most of the occultic writing that predates modern times was written in the Old Tongue; those written in Essharan have for the most part been systematically destroyed by the Church.