Languages are an important, practically integral, part of the occult world in the Secret Histories universe, ranging from modern/common languages such as Greek or Latin, to historical such as Sanskrit, to deeply occult such as Killasimi and Vak. They are primarily encountered in a literary sense, as either obstacles to the access and understanding of a book's contents or as context to its origins, history or author.[1]
Additionally, some languages (usually the more occult or ancient ones) seem to bear power and influence on their own, as Hyksos is known to have "addictive qualities" and Killasimi holds a particularly woeful nature to its words.[2][3]
Language itself may have been inherited by humanity from the Seglaz-kind Carapace Cross, probably in the form of Cracktrack, as indicated by the language being written in the "convolutions of his own Carapace".[4]
Spoken language—rather than primal carvings and glyphs like Cracktrack—as a trait of humanity played a pivotal part in the entrance of the first Know into the House of the Sun, though it is vaguely unclear if speech was a cause or consequence of the event. Various Determinations in Book of Hours state that speech was the reason, perhaps even "tool", with which the Peacock Door was sundered, while a vision in the Priest Legacy states the bearing of words as a result of the entrance into the Mansus.[5][6] The first spoken language was perhaps Vak, as it was doubly the Peacock Door itself and identifies as a language older than humanity.[7]
Cracktrack[]

'Written in Cracktrack'
Commonly known as the first and most primal language, the native tongue of the world, Cracktrack appears to be a collection of symbols and patterns expressed through natural means such as animal tracks or the shapes of clouds and hills. The language has no proper name for itself, resulting in what is often considered the rather underwhelming title of Cracktrack.[8] It is so ancient as to predate humanity, being the tongue used by the Carapace Cross after being gifted from the light above the world. It is suggested that this "gift" of language was the catalyst for the entrance of life into the waking world, and that as long as Cracktrack is spoken life will persist.[4][9][10]
Cracktrack's associated Powers are Nectar and Scale, both deeply connected to the earthly world and its history, much like the language itself.
Deep Mandaic[]

'Written in Deep Mandaic'
An occult and secret dialect of real-world Mandaic (which is itself a dialect of eastern Aramaic used by a Gnostic sect in remote Persia), Deep Mandaic is spoken as the language of a sect within sect, used now by adepts and practitioners of the invisible arts. It is said to have been the tongue of the Shadowless Kings in one History, and the basis of incantations of the Children of the Leashed Flame in another.[11][12]
King Crucible refers to Deep Mandaic as the tongue of the Unburnt God, another title for the the Forge of Days, and it is claimed to be the birth-tongue of the Mother of Ants as well.[13][14]
Deep Mandaic's associated Powers are Forge and Lantern, from the language's connection to the Forge of Days and by extension, the Glory.
Ericapaean[]

'Written in Ericapaean'
A classical Greek-adjacent, elegant language with a name hard to pronounce in any language, including itself; Ericapaean is a tongue of supposed unparalleled beauty and allusiveness. Used occultly in ancient Greece by the Orphics and Eleunsinians, and more interestingly by the Sibyls of the Rhine—12th century german mystics and intellectuals. It is claimed to allow for further expression of sensations and states of mind too subtle for grosser languages.[15][16] The name comes from a title for the Orphic primeval deity Phanes, Erikepaios, meaning "power".[17] Phanes is often depicted as a deity emerging from the Orphic Egg, a cosmic egg with a serpent wound about it.
Ericapaean's associated Powers are Lantern and Winter, though as Rory Morrow—later known as the Sage-Knight, possible Name of the the Red Grail—notes, techniques reliant on the language's unique qualities seem to serve better to entreat Names of the the Vagabond than those of Lantern or Winter Hours.[18]
Fucine[]

'Written in Fucine'
Originating from the marshes surrounding the lost lake Fucino—known by Horace as the land of witches—Fucine is an old, dry language used presumably in rituals to Heart-related Hours such as the Thunderskin or the Twins.[19][20] Overlapping in some ways to other languages, particularly Latin and Greek, it is known as the tongue of witches for its complexity akin to the "scratchings of maddened rats".[21][22] It is named after the Fucine Lake in Italy, once one of the largest in the country before being drained in 1878.[23]
Fucine's associated Powers are Heart and Knock, presumably from its connection to the previously-mentioned Hours invoked in the Fucine Marshes folk-dances and association with the vigil-songs of the duendrazones of the Mansus, as well as the enmity of the Mother of Ants toward the Twins, giving the language some of her attention.[20]
Hyksos[]

'Written in Hyksos'
An originally souther-levantine speech, Hyksos takes form as a written language through the Shepherd-Kings and their imposition in 16th and 17th century BC Egypt. Originally used in their wards and snares, it is a language whose curved and sharp-edged script boasts certain "addictive qualities" and delight in its swoops and hooks.[2][24]
Hyksos's associated Powers are Grail and Edge, related to the language's delight and its involvement in wards and snares.
[]

'Written in Kernewek Henavek'
An old and forgotten language of Celtic-Brittonic roots, Kernewek Henavek is the supposed precursor tongue to modern Cornish with (expected) lexical similarities to Welsh and Breton.[25][26] An explicit example of the language is given as the title of a book in Book of Hours: "Ud Rocashaas", perhaps interpreted as "the spirit flees the shadowed places".[27]
Kernewek Henavek's associated Powers are Scale and Forge. The language's ancient forgotten nature ties it to Scale; Forge may come from the language's links to southern and southwestern England and the country's own history with the Sovereigns of the Leashed Flame, though this is purely speculation.
Killasimi[]

'Written in Killasimi'
Uniquely obscure, Killasimi script is woven on thread instead of written with ink consisting of a tight web of lines and angles that appears more as a tapestry than a language. It is said to be the tongue used in Nowhere and by the Dead, as well as the native tongue of the House of the Moon (if it were to have one). Additionally and much like Hyksos' addictive nature, Killasimi appears to have a certain intrinsic supernatural sorrow in its words. As its said: "Read it and weep".[3][28][29]
Killasimi's associated Powers are Winter and Moon; being a language not to be spoken in daylight (which evokes both Powers), and in association with Nowhere and the Dead for Winter and the House of the Moon for Moon.
Ramsund[]

'Written in Ramsund'
A language of secrets with an unmentionable true name, Ramsund is a lively and cheerful tongue with a script of chaotic straight lines and edges. Said to be used at the Roost of the aviform Hours, most references to the language are done in the context of these Hours, suggesting a stronger connection between them than most languages.[30][31]
The language of the birds is a common element in Indo-European legend and mythology, a mystical, perfect language of secrets and divine revelation. The name Ramsund originates from the Ramsund Carving in Sweden. which depicts the hero Sigurd learning the speech of birds after tasting the blood of the dragon Fafnir.[32] The Conference of the Birds, a Persian poem about the birds of the world searching for their ruler, also takes its title from the language, and appears to be associated with the Thritige-kind of the Carapace Cross.[33]
Ramsund's associated Powers are Moth and Sky, from the language's chaotic nature and connection to the aviform Hours.
Sabazine[]

'Written in Sabazine'
Sabazine is a cryptic language based on stylised glyphic depictions of hand-shapes and knots, related in some way to Alexander the Great and his forays into Persia and the Indian subcontinent.[34] Sabazios was a deity from Asia minor and was worshipped by the Phrygian king Gordias, who famously presented Alexander with the Gordian Knot.[35] A common icon of Sabazios was a bronze right hand curled into a gesture of blessing.[36]
Sabazine's associated Powers are Moth and Lantern, related to the language's perplexing and revelatory nature regarding Alexander's contrasting actions with the King of Kings—a ruling title common in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent—differing in the Histories.[34]
Vak[]

'Written in Vak'
A quasi-Brahmic script, it is claimed that Vak was the first language spoken by humans, though it existed long before as the language heard in the House of the Sun.[37] Vak is not only a language, but also served as a Name of the Horned Axe, and now acts as the Peacock Door which humanity rent open when they first entered the Mansus.[38][39] It is the exception, the Great Scar, the enemy of Calyptra, but also their servant.[40][41]
Vak's associated Powers are Knock and Rose, as the language is also a Door of the Mansus and a wound through which the energy of the Mansus leaks out.
Theories and Questions[]
- The Ericapaean Illumination tale could refer to how the World and the eight Principles came to be. The great golden king referring to the Glory, from which the Hours draw their power and which shines upon the Mansus. The rebels, whom the advisor worried about being the gods from flesh and blood who took over the Mansus in the Lithomachy.[42]
- Kernewek Henavek might be the language of the Flint herself. Brancrug is located somewhere in Cornwall and is where Flint was first discovered by the Cross.
Sources[]
- ↑ Language
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hyksos
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Killasimi
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cracktrack
- ↑ Speech, the Sword, Speech, the Wound & Speech, the Key
- ↑ The Vision of the Peacock
- ↑ Vak
- ↑ Tutoring: Cracktrack
- ↑ A Tongue of Earth
- ↑ A Tongue of Sky
- ↑ Learn something of the Deep Mandaic
- ↑ Study Deep Mandaic with a Tutor (Success)
- ↑ Study Deep Mandaic with a Tutor
- ↑ Deep Mandaic
- ↑ Ericapaean
- ↑ Tutoring: Ericapaean
- ↑ Phanes
- ↑ A Novel Method for Invocation & Contrition
- ↑ Fucine
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lake Fucino Recordings
- ↑ Develop an understanding of the long-dead Fucine language
- ↑ Fucine: An Unfamiliar Language
- ↑ The Fucine Lake
- ↑ Hyksos: An Unfamiliar Language
- ↑ Henavek
- ↑ Henavek: An Half-Familiar Language
- ↑ Ud Rocashaas
- ↑ Fabric and Fibre
- ↑ Killasimi: An Unfamiliar... Language?
- ↑ Ramsund
- ↑ Ramsund: An Unfamiliar Language
- ↑ The Language of the Birds
- ↑ The Conference of the Birds
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Sabazine
- ↑ Gordias
- ↑ Sabazios
- ↑ Acquire some knowledge of Vak
- ↑ 'I am Vak, both the tongue and the Goddess...'
- ↑ Peacock
- ↑ The First Enemy
- ↑ The Arrangement
- ↑ The King and the Key