Zompist Bboard Again

Bindingverse a.k.a World of the Dragon Empire
Thread for the neatest conworld idea i’ve come up with so far. The name Bindingverse refers to the main form of magic practiced in-universe which involves suppleting Spirits (of which there are many kinds) to do your bidding (or some mutually agreed on compromise) (btw only demons can actually be bound to stuff specifically your soul so it’s dangerous, really wouldn’t be demonology without being dangerous). Sapient races pretty much occupy the middle ground between purely physical trees and lesser animals and Spirits which are beings of pure energy and creative will which makes them unable to fully exist in the material world. The practice of this magic is available to all (sapient or even just sentient) creatures and practitioners are known as Enchanters (in english at least) (also could call them Shamans and this magic type Shamanism). The second type of magic is only available to Sorcerers (it’s called Sorcery btw) which is a closed class referring to people with Spirit ancestry (mostly first generation it tends to drop off after that which cannot be prevented even by mating with other Sorcerers). It’s probably more unstable and wild but you don’t have to supplete Spirits to perform it. It’s also actively distinct from Spirits' pure ability to shape the spirit world to their desire and actually better for long term material world manipulation. The usage of the creative/active Divine forces and uncreative/static Void forces also probably constitute a third class of magic or possibly not.

Anyways the speakers of Proto Elenyiwa at least are most likely humanoids based on foxes (think temporary illusory capabilities) in contrast to the more otter-like “Nikeeya” (they have more adaptation to water and are also pretty tall) who make up the core race of the Dragon Empire (native name pending). The exact speakers of the language are a Bronze Age society with rather sophisticated civilisation but only Logographic writing (they import alphabetical/syllabic writing from the west and Iron working from the east in the near future).

Info about the actual language.

Proto Elenyiwa (derived from *elenjiba “person”)
Phonology
*m *n *(ɲ) *(ŋ)
*p *t *c *k
*(b) *(d) *j *(g)
*s *ɬ
*(z) *l
*l· *j·

Consonants in parenthesis cannot appear initially
For obstruents the top of a pair of consonants is the high gradation form while the bottom is the low gradation form. These alternate in the morphology of the language
The voiced “stops” are most likely realised as at least fricatives at this point given their reflexes through they pattern as stops
*l· and *j· are archiphonemes which refer to instances of *l and *j which don’t alternate with *ɬ and *c under the effects of high gradation, nasal + *j· does also not resolve as *ɲ

*i *u
*y (e) (*x (o))
*e (ɛ) *o (ɔ)
*a

*x is an archiphoneme which surfaces as *o in all cases but becomes *y under the effects of fronting.
All vowels occurred in long or short forms with long vowels being marked by a dot (·). Word final long vowels were consistently shortened

Syllable structure is (C)V(N) where N equals a nasal or a fricative (*j is counted as a fricative for this purpose)
Word internally only fricative+stop, nasal+fricative and fricative+nasal clusters are allowed as nasal+stop clusters resolve as a single homorganic nasal. Geminates of any consonant which can occur initially are also allowed

Stress
Primary stress either fell on the second or third syllable (or first syllable in words with 2 or less vowels) with secondary stress falling on every other even (in the case of second syllable primary stress) or odd (in the case of third syllable primary stress). In addition a few words had a downstep on the third or second syllable (marked by a grave accent) while others lacked accent (marked by a grave accent on the first syllable).

Brief Grammar
Proto Elenyiwa is an exclusively suffixing, polysynthetic language with rather productive morphological alterations in both consonants and vowels. Default word order is SVO and the language is Head Initial (in regards to verb-object and noun-adjective order) but has Genitives precede the nouns they modify and clitic order is generally unknown and possibly variable at this stage of the language so i’ll assume they come after.


Also example words (for elaborate material culture stuff)
*abedy· “round barley”
*pesta “rye”
*tadagam “millet”
*ki·uja “buckwheat”
*malí·l·u “field”
*malílubesta “acre/open field/farming division lit.field+rye”
*calba·za “sheep”
*nù·be “ewe”
*inù·be· “kid”
*lu·kue “drake”
*tel·à· “duck”
*pabada “duckling”
*telà·ki “duckling/baby duck/duck egg”
*tantus “tusker”
*mi·mja·kìɬ “elephant”
*luɬmo·ny “elephant calf”
*ɬa·zà “horn/tusk”

*aspedi “aspher”
*kumidam “bronze/metal”
*kagi· “gold/mirror/jewel/shiny object”
*kagyja·nu· “bronze mirror lit.shiny ancestor”
*aba· “jewel”
*kaná· “village”
*amne·ka “city”
*na·di “tributary/country”
*te·lípo “clan”
*ni·baku “crest”
*ni·kuka A.”written/inscribed” V.”to write/inscribe lit. crest+to make small version off”
*tukuge “topic”

*oseja “law”
*nunoseja “crime lit. anti+law”
*a·nu·oseja “tax lit. ancestor+law”
*nudumys “peace”
*amnekaos “war pos. city+law”
*nunnudumys “strife lit. anti+peace”

*punu “table/surface”
*labani “basket”
*kulgoda “pan”
*pa·ge “coin”
*pà·zki “boat”
*obxlu “house”
*obxna “building”
*putam “fort/castle”
*tà·nu “wall”
*unytas “bridge”

*acuj·a “bow”
*ajadami “arrow lit. bow+small item associated with”
*acijasi “spear”
*suzkai “to pierce”
*kakemi “axe”
*kibalsi “pickaxe”
*miekka “knife”
*ku·iŋa “hoe”
*kubúdu “jar/vessel/pot”
*kubútaɲx· “pottery lit. jar+clay”
*liketa “to cut”

*pavy·e “ribbon”
*nasduja “dress”
*kaljeabuso “helmet lit. marten+pelt”

*jakosa· “food”
*sitaci A. “edible” V. “to taste”
*o·ska “meat”
*adunjo·ska “preserved meat lit. spider+meat”
*ume·ne “milk”
*kaka·spi “cheese”
*à·tami “beer” (I)

Noun Morphology Part 1

Stem Plurals
A few plurals are marked by changes to the stem. These fall into 5 types.

Backing of the last vowel + lengthening of the last vowel (this is the most common)

*ɬa·kili “stoat” > *ɬa·kilu “stoats” (note the final vowel does not surface as long due to final shortening)
*sisko·si “weasel” > *sisko·su “weasels”
*kimo·nyba “otter-ergative” > *kimo·noba “otters-ergative”
*nidie “vixen/female kitsune” > *niduo “vixens” > *nidie·mi “vixens-dative” (note the final two vowels are still fronted under the effects of the dative)


Fronting of the second last vowel + lengthening of the last vowel

*ko·ppas “clam” > *ke·ppas “clams”
*obolulai “house-lative” > *obylu·lai “houses-lative”


Suffixing *-an/-en/-on (of these *-on surfaces after nasals, *-en surfaces after front vowels and *-an elsewhere)

*aŋácas “squirrel” > *aŋácasan “squirrels”
*naɬagi· “she wolf/dog” > *naɬagi·en “she wolves”
*kisi·nan “wild cat” > *kisi·nanon “wild cats”


Suffixing *-ti

*te·lípo “clan” > *te·lípeti “clans”
*kaná “village” > *kaná·ti “villages”


Suffixing *-mu/-mi (this one is mostly restricted to kinship terms) (*mu- is masculine and *mi- is feminine) (also note this one is more of an example of lexical derivation and coexists with the regular plural through the regular plural is only used with neutral possession)

*aca·ja “father” > *aca·jamu “fathers” (refers to your father as well as your maternal uncles a.k.a members of your family)
*ama·ta “mother” > *ama·tami “mothers” (refers to your mother and her sisters)
*kaveli “brother” > *kavelimu “brothers” (also refers to a woman’s husband)
*si·skonas “sister” > *si·skena·mi “sisters” (also refers to a man’s wife)
*syrikku “maternal male cousin” > *syrikkumu “maternal male cousins” (depending on the daughter can also refer to your brothers and your husband as well)
*kerippe “maternal female cousin” > *kerippemi “maternal female cousins” (depending on the daughter can also refer to your sisters and your wife as well)



*-ossy can also be considered an irregular plural but it’s usage is even more limited
*kinata “baby” > *kinatossy “twins”

Regular plurals will be discussed later.

Case
When 2 forms are given the first form is for vowel stems the second is for consonant stems
Nominative: Unmarked
Ergative: *ba
Accusative: *HG/LGX+*ni
Oblique: *HGci/*HGXji
Dative: *LG+*mi/*my~*me~*mo (Also note the special Dative *dil/*di· (the second form is used with another suffix) which is used exclusively with kinship terms referring to people in your own clan)
Lative: *lai/Xlai~ɬai
Instrumental: *su/Xɬu
Essive: *zena

There were also Ablative and Locative clitics.

Ergative
Subjects of Intransitive verbs
Low animacy subjects of transitive verbs
Subjects in clauses which can be treated as intransitive despite being technically transitive

ma·kona·ba kina acijasi
chief-ERG + have spear
“The chief has a spear”

nijo·ba na·gu kaló·na mijagisezy
1.pl-ERG + do squid play-POS.x
“We are playing the squid game”

When a female agent acts on a male patient with the male patients permission (to mark the male patient)

na·pa nimikù·liso kinatamlabadi
na·pa nimikù·-liso kinatamla-ba-di
woman love.3A husband-ERG-POS.1.sg
“The woman loves my husband (with his permission)”

Note for the first 3 explicitly female or feminine agents would use the Dative instead which means nouns which refer specifically to females lack an Ergative.

kimx·nyunami kaganlu·
kimx·nyuna-mi kaganlu·
attractive.woman-DAT wake
“Hottie is waking up”

Accusative
The accusative marks the object of a sentence.

ido akujdalisota nituo
ido akujd(t)a-liso-tati nit(d)uo(ie)
3.sg.f entertain-3.A-excitedly vixen-pl-ACC
“She entertains the vixens excitedly”

Oblique
Certain constructs selected for obliques. Otherwise it could be used to imply atelicity.

ɬiujatelgi talagakubu i·ɬi ninaka
ɬiujatelgi talaga-kubu i·ɬi ninaka
enchantress talk-pot to daughter-ACC
“The enchantress was instructing her daughter”

ɬiujatelgi talagakubui·ɬi ninaka
ɬiujatelgi talaga-kubu i·ɬi ninakaci
enchantress talk-pot to daughter-OBL
“The enchantress was instructing her daughter (but didn’t finish or she didn’t understand)”

pokx· panzinlisone kaɬí·kacyma
pokx· pans(z)in-liso-ne kaɬí·ka-cy(i)-ma
raccoon overpower-3A-once crab-OBL-abs
“The raccoon hit the dead crab (but wasn’t finished opening it)”


Dative
Refers to the indirect object or beneficiary of a sentence, also marks the recipient of orders or wills.

kisizeminimi limija pajá·na ɬa·kiɬu
kisiz(s)e-mi-ni-mi limija pajá·na ɬa·kiɬ(l)u(i·)
kit-DAT-POS.pl-3.sg fox give-3 stoat-pl-ACC
“The fox gives his kits stoats”

kisisenimi limijami tabazi·badi ɬa·kiɬu
kisise-ni-mi limija-mi tabaz(s)i·-badi ɬa·kiɬ(l)u(i·)
kit-pl-POS.3.sg fox-DAT show-3-DEM stoat-pl-ACC
“The fox wants his kits to show him stoats”

Lative
Indicated motion towards an object and generally selected for prepositions.

sabe ninakanu kaná·laini
sabe(·) ninaka-nu kaná·-lai-ni
walk-3 daughter-POS.3f.pl village-LAT-POS.3f.sg
“The village's daughter walks towards her village”

Instrumental
Marked the tool by which an action was achieved or the path which was used. The instrumental required the usage of verbal affixes expressing motion and location.

aca·jadi panziŋaɬí·nesia asinasu
aca·ja-di panzi/n/-ŋ(k)aɬí·/ka/-ne-sia asina-su
father-POS.1.sg overpower-crab-once-to rock-INST
“My father prepares the crab with a rock”

aca·jadi panziŋaɬí·nedx·ki asinasu
aca·ja-di panzi/n/-ŋ(k)aɬí·/ka/-ne-dx·-ki asina-su
father-POS.1.sg overpower-crab-once-on-via.heat rock-INST
“My father prepares the crab on a rock via its heat”

aca·jadi panziŋaɬí·nedx·sia asinasu
aca·ja-di panzi/n/-ŋ(k)aɬí·/ka/-ne-dx·-sia asina-su
father-POS.1.sg overpower-crab-once-to-on rock-INST
“My father prepares crab by hitting it on the rock”

The order in which the instrumental could appear was fairly free.

sazádisu aba sabe·cajuin amne·kalaidu
sazádi-su aba sabe·-c(j)a-ju-in amne·ka-lai-du
forest-INST 1.pl walk-1.2-extended-in city-LAT-POS.1.pl
“Through the forest we travel to our city”

Also note the instrumental is not interchangeable with the locative.

sazádi pama aba sabe·cajuin amne·kalaidu
sazádi pama aba sabe·-c(j)a-ju-in amne·ka-lai-du
forest LOC 1.pl walk-1.2-extended-in city-LAT-POS.1.pl
“In the forest we travel to our city”

aca·jadi panziŋaɬí·nedx·ki asina pama
aca·ja-di panzi/n/-ŋ(k)aɬí·/ka/-ne-dx·-ki asina pama
father-POS.1.sg overpower-crab-once-on-via.heat rock LOC
“My father prepares the crab on a rock via another source heat”


Essive
Indicates appearance, shape, form or even being. In most daughters the Essive generally begins sentences. Note the dative marks impermanent transformations.

nidiezena taga·dinɬyca·niji nidesu·na·mi kaná
nidie-zena taga·din-ɬy(x)-ca·ni-ji nidesu·na·-mi kaná(·)
vixen-ESS deny-4-CONT-via.magic sorceress-DAT village-ACC
“As a vixen it is forbidden for the sorceress to enter the village”

However if the modified noun was the accusative it often appears as the last noun in the sentence though this was more frequently changed in many daughters.

na· pansinnakatodulno ki· anjetidazenadi
na· pansinna-kato-dul-no ki· anjetida-zena-di
1.sg overpower-1.2-CON-TERM-finish 2.sg-ACC enemy-ESS-POS.1.sg
“I’ll defeat you if you become my enemy and that will be the end of it”


Plurals
Very simply marked with *-ni with not much complication other than a directly preceding *a was raised to an *i and an *o was raised to an *u

*lokkima “seagull” > *lokkimini “seagulls”
*sime·lba “smelt.erg” > *sime·lbini “smelts.erg”

Possession
Nouns were required to inflect for their possessor and certain nouns were required to be possessed (mostly kinship terms and body parts). Females used different 1st and 3rd person forms and in addition there were separate forms for female 3rd person possessors.Number was marked by ablaut.

Singular = *-i Dual = *-y Trial = *-a Plural = *-u

1st person = *d-
1st person female speaker = *k-(appears as *si/*sy in singular/dual when stressed)
2nd person = *tx-
3rd person = *l-
3rd person female speaker = *m-
3rd person female referent = *n-
3rd person female speaker + referent = *Lna-

In addition there was a neutral possessor *-zy which was used with certain adjectives and when you didn’t want to specify the possessor of a noun which required possession. It was also used with inanimate possessors.

amne·ka padazinizy
city weapon-pl-POS.x
“City weapons”

In addition you could turn a verb into a noun with this morpheme as long as another noun possessed it.

kaló·na mijagisezy
squid play-POS.x
“Squid game”

Been working on the actual magic system of the world...

Magic of the South
Each of the 6 main races of the south is gifted with innate magic power over 1 domain of magic. There’s probably more elements in the middle and northern thirds of the world other than the Radiance which sustains the creative, energetic and living aspects of the world and the Void which sustains the dull, static and empty aspects of the world but i haven’t worked them out yet. Kinda a retcon of the previous system but there will still be the possibility of spirit suppletion. The elemental names these are known by are variable by culture see Fire and Earth both being known by the name Metal and Ice and Aqua both being known by the name Sea/Ocean.

I was inspired to do this section by Biblaridons video on the seven essences through fitted to my tastes (I don’t particularly like magic systems which come with heavy downsides)

Ice: Enhancement, Might, Strength (Material Energy) /Winter/
The magic of physical enhancement: those gifted or trained in this magic acquire great physical size and strength which can be seen in the greater size and height Nikeeya (the race innately attuned to this magic) obtain relative to other races. Ice magic grants the ability to directly enhance physical attributes such as force and resistance. Nikeeya also have elemental power over cold, frost, snow and sometimes water which manifests particularly when they have gifts over other types of magic. Also note in universe cold is it’s own separate type of energy as opposed to the absence of heat, the kind that keeps matter together. Ice magic is noted for its great consumption of energy.

Lightning: Evocation, Manifestation, Power (Immaterial/Spirit Energy) /Summer/
The magic of a yet unnamed race which focuses on destructive and creative forces and grants control over heat and dissonance. Lightning magic can cause any element to manifest in a chaotic manner and consumes energy as much as Ice but this time to keep things working and moving or even to cause damage to matter. LIghtning magic is the most chaotic of the six schools of the south.

Earth: Enchantment, Blessing, Conception (Material Quality) /Early Spring/
The magic of enhancement of objects via imbuement of qualities or blessings as well as the affection of states over places. Earth is wielded by what is known in the Dragon Empire as the Avari “Makers” who can fashion items to specific design or enhance items or even bind them to their soul creating inalienable ownership. Avari also possess powers over rocks, gems and metal which manifests particularly when wielding other schools of magic.

Wind: Enchantment, Illusion, Appearence (Immaterial/Spirit Quality) /Early Autumn/
Focused on the immaterial and particularly attuned to the spirit world of change and power: Air Magic can also enchant objects with new qualities similar to Earth but these will fade over time and cannot enhance its existing qualities. The Iluudho (temporary name subject to change) are fox-like creatures who have the greatest gift over the spiritual world and magic of all races but it manifests over the ever changing wind and spirit world. Wind magic grants power over appearance and the ability to imprint thoughts and images into others but is ever fleeting.

Fire: Industry. Creativity, Forging (Material Change) /Late Spring/
The magic of creation and the shaping of new items. Like Earth it grants the ability to fashion items to one's desire through it does so through particular creation. It also grants the ability to magically enhance mass production of things. The unknown race which has affinity towards it has elemental power over fire, lava and metal.

Aqua: Change, Seasonality, Manipulation, Emotion (Immaterial/Spirit Change) /Late Autumn/
The magic of the tides and seasons as well as the overwhelming forces of change, Aqua represents the flow of essence and emotion through the world as well as the shaping of things with no human desire. Wielders of Aqua experience volatile emotions and states but can influence others to new ones with great skill. The yet unnamed race with natural affinity towards Aqua also commands power over the tides and winds.

Magical Freezers
Due to the nature of the Bindingverse heating or cooling or freezing and diffusion work differently. One the concept of ambient temperature is less applicable to the world but also the concept of ambient states as due to magical fluctuations in the freezability of water a lake could easily be partially frozen (assuming horizontal irregularities) or more rarely even have ice rising to the top and gradually dissipating (assuming vertical irregularities) also note ice is still lighter than water in universe through it is possible to change that (but it is hard). Anyways since temperature and freezability are magically alterable you can create freeze or cool objects using magic. This can be accomplished through several schools of magic.

Water: Can cool or freeze objects due to altering their magical properties or alternately can create cooling or freezing zones (most effective with Water especially Ocean Water due to elemental affinities and second most effective with normal air). Technically these have to be maintained but they can do it on a whim. With access to Memory Water (which is Water with only spiritual impurities) or through the alteration of Wells (Which are intrusions into the physical world of Spiritual Energy and Creation) which is much harder especially with larger Wells they can create permanently freezing charms but both these materials are not available everywhere (and in the case of Wells are hard to move). Water Magic is flexible so you could easily create Ice Cream with it.

Ice: Elemental affinity towards cold done. (Also non-permanent but with no caveats like Water Magic) (Also note they can use their magic to expand such freezing or cooling zones) (Ice Magic is also not to easy to create ice cream with at least without great technique which usually implies Water hybridisation)

Earth: It would take great effort as well as primary affinity (so for the most part only Avari could do this) to create an Enchantment which freezed or cooled objects through this would take considerable time and effort as well as great skill. Such Enchantments like all Enchantments wouldn’t be movable without great effort. Due to the limitations of Earth Magic (at least as wielded by Avari or possibly inherently tied to Enchantments of the physical world in general) you couldn’t create Auras around objects without innate chilling properties (such as Biting Metal or Coldstones) so it limits the portability of such things). Ice Cream making Enchantments are possible but rare but careful cooling of milk Enchantments to make ice cream are more common.

Air: Through the usage of Gates (parts where the boundaries between Physical and Spiritual realms are weakest) you could create Freezing Enchantments at these locations which would last until a Spirit stopped them (Spirits interact with Gates a lot). Creation of Enchantments outside these places or Blessings (Auras located on living rather than created things) which do this (be careful not to make the aura freeze the Blessed individual) would require dabbling in Water magic. You could also make someone drinking milk perceive themselves and having ice cream.

Fire: Due to Fire Magics innate heating properties you could not use it to freeze or cool stuff on its own. It is however useful in combination for this purpose.

Lightning: Due to Lightning Magic heating/destructive/evocative properties it would not be practical to create freezing effects with it without destroying whatever you want to create (so no ice cream).

Combinations
Water/Ice: Alteration properties of Water and innate cooling of Ice done.

Water/Earth: Probably the most notable and easy way of making lasting cooling/freezing Enchantments as it combines Waters state altering properties with Earth's Enchantment creation properties. This magical combination is naturally found in Inuudho (enemy affinity for Earth and allied affinity for Water) and Nikeeya (allied affinity) but not too often. Shares both the limitations and strengths of both Water and Earth.

Water/Air: Allows you to create cooling/freezing Blessings as well as temporary Enchantments (as sieu with Air’s limitations).

Earth/Fire: Assuming you aren’t Radiant (so your created items don’t naturally emit magical heat) you can with great effort and technique create items which cool/freeze. This combination is only naturally available to Nekonya (the Fire race, they’re catlike if you can’t tell by the name) and Avari which each have their own difficulties doing this sort of Magic with Nekonya that being there tendency to be Radiant and with Avari their lack of ability to alter an object's fundamental properties.

Earth/Fire/Water: The premier combination for creation of artifacts which can chill stuff. If you have more affinity for Fire you can make the artifacts/items/relics easier, if you have more affinity for Earth you can make Aura bigger/more potent. If you have more affinity for Water you can make the aura more potent or more technical (so makes better ice cream). This combination is naturally found only in Nekonya and is once again not available if the user is Radiant.

Earth/Ice/Water: Naturally available to Nikeeya and allows for expanding freezing/cooling zones.

Earth/Water/Air: Naturally available to Inuudho and allows for usage of a Well/Gate as a Locus (magical center) for a freezing/cooling spell or transportation of an already existing freezing/cooling effect from a Well/Gate.

Ice/Water/Air: Naturally available to the water species (i like the idea of them having at least Raccoon face masks). Basically allows for easier creation of temporary Water/Air Enchantments.

Fire/Earth/Ice: I guess it’s possible this combination could make cooling/freezing artifacts with more ease but note that elemental affinity tends to break down with more magic types being added.



Other Magical Curiosities
Runes: Obtainable with Earth but most easily available with Earth and Fire. These are items which help in the fashioning of items. With pure Earth magic you can create these out of any object with an affinity or use a Rune on any object with affinity to impart an Aura on it. Fire removes both of these limitations and allows you to make the Imbue (Magically write in properties towards an item/artifact/relic/created thing) whatever kinds of magic the Rune has (this time without the requirement of Earth Magic).

Burn Runes: Using evoked fire to create Magical Scars of Spirit (also visible on flesh) which sorta act like less effective Runes. Only works on living things and is usually illegal.

Light: Comes in three Magical varieties. Fire Light (which hurts and heats), Ice Light (which is most light and is quite benign) and Air Light (which is only perceived and the stuff Illusions and Mirages are made off).

Summer Aurora/Winter Aurora and possibly Autumn Aurora: Three types of Auroras with affinity for Fire, Air and Ice respectively which possibly alternate on a seasonal basis (not necessarily related to yearly seasons). All originate to the Icey South.

Magic Types
Shadow Magic: Basically evil magic notable for granting immortality to most seasoned users. Has a lot of potential and exists across all three Thirds of the world.

Rainbow Magic: Magic utilising all six types. Most easily available to those with Spirit ancestry or more rarely to those with two grandfathers of opposing types (so think a Nikeeya whose grandfathers were Nekonya and Inuudho). Not quite as versatile as Imaginary magic and is technically only a combination of the other six types.

Imaginary Magic: Magic most effectively wielded by first generation Spirits and Primordia. Has basically boundless possibilities outside of time manipulations (only achievable with primordial Radiant Magic) and complete erasure (only achievable with primordial Void Magic). Amongst the inhabitants of the Physical Realm it is most often wielded by Inuudho (assuming they decouple themselves from mortal thought patterns and attachment). The most efficient wielders of Imaginary Magic however were the nation of Cathai whose ancestral rites could result in the distillation of Magic to its most primal form through most examples of this type of Magic are arguably just Shadow Magic). Examples of Imaginary Magic include the creation of the Physical Realm, Bindings of Magic, Creation of the three Thirds of the world as well as the Barriers separating them and possibly the Curse of Wasting (which only affects the South).

Nations/Regions
Cathai: A region/nation group/empire in the west of some continent most notable for its particular type of magic enabled by most of them being Nekonya. Ancestral Rites utilise mostly Fire and Earth magic to Enchant and Process bones thus binding the spirits of the deceased into a sort of limbo (through attempts at making a more comfortable afterlife are seen). When combined with Lightning (to inflict spiritual markings) and Water (to alter spirit) can be frighteningly versatile and powerful. They’re pretty dark. If anyones interested I'll make the Cathai language and region collaborative.

Proto Macro Insular
A distinct language family which i created to derive words from. Its breakup is probably before the breakup of Elenyiwa. Named for its primary branch which is spoken in the islands to the east. Most likely has a japonic style sub branch with an old japanese style descendant. Also primarily spoken by Inuudho. A design goal with this language's phonology was to have multiple paths to voiced stops in daughters hence the complex phonology.

Phonology
Mainly
*i *u
*a

Also in closed syllables
*e *o

Also any vowel could be long in open syllables or the stressed (second) syllable of a word.
Diphthongs also occurred with either the first or second element as a glide, While rising diphthongs often occurred after maximally inflected onsets their coda counterparts replaced the final sonorant in coda positions through counterexamples did exist. Triphthongs also occurred.
Diphthongs were rare with *e and *o but were relatively frequent in triphthongs.

*p *t *c *k *kʷ
*s *ʃ *ç *x *h
*r *l
*w *j
*m *n *ɲ *ŋ
18 Consonants

(S/N)(C)(L) syllable structure in onset
2 consonant clusters were more varied for example peripheral obstruent + coronal obstruent or coronal obstruent + peripheral obstruent
(L/N)(C) syllable structure in coda
(L)(N)(S)(C)(L) was the maximum syllable structure allowed medially

Numerals
*sati “one” > *saθi
*pcajli “two” > *ftseli
*nanjui “three” > *nájui
*makari “four” > *makari
*tsakuri “five” > *takuri
*strani “six” > *stráni
*juki “seven” > *juki
*ɲrjawi “eight” > *ɲrjoi
*xkʷronti “nine” > *xkʷrǿnti
*xaki “ten” > *xaki
The numbers appear in their feminine animate forms. To make the masculine animate forms change the final *i to *u and to make the inanimate forms change it to *a. The combinatory forms were created by deleting the final vowel. An exalted form *-aj also possibly existed with possibly an exalted masculine form in *-aw

Pronouns
Reduction of all these pronouns to affixes except for the 3pl is common.
First is Singular second if plural.
1
*nu
*na
2
*tu/*ti
*ta
3
*mu (m) and *mi (f)
*saj/taj
Note the expected reflex of *ti > *θi only occurs as a 2.sg respectful or 3.sg feminine respectful in Central-Eastern-Insular.

Verbs
Aspect
Including the unmarked. Proto Macro Insular most likely had 4 aspects in total.

Unmarked: Ditto
Imperfective/Durative: *-ni + mutation of an *a to *i or *ay to *ē
Focused on an action over its duration or alternatively an action that is not completed or completable (go vs walk)
Inceptive/Momentative/Non-Durative: *-kō or *ŋō after nasals
Either focused on the beginning of an action, an action as a single moment or on an action through the lense of it being completed (which excludes presents) the exact meaning depending on the daughter. According to some the Inceptive meaning developed out of opposition to the Terminative.
Terminative: -pā
Focused on the final moments of an action or alternatively on its completion. Has evolved into a Perfect in some daughters.

Completive: -kʷ or *-k after a long vowel (also shortens that vowel)
Had multiple uses. A. focused on completed actions. B. in certain aspects placed those actions as being before another. C. created certain adjectives/adverbs out of verbs.

Possessives
Marked another noun as being modified by the verb.

For humans 3 persons existed
*-nay: first person
*-kju: second person
*-ta: third person

3 Instrumental existed
*-kī: with fire
*-jō: with magic
*-stī: with a person usually a leaders authority

Finally a locative existed in a few daughters
*-kʷsa~-kʷsō: Locative

Possibly the language lacks verbal morphology but this is just a draft. (Or perhaps it could be fossilised in certain daughters).

Nouns
A simple system of deriving collectives was seen by lengthening the vowel (possibly with some vowel changes). Only occurred in open syllables.

Prepositions
The language possibly only has one Adposition *as/ans (or something else) which combines with verb roots to form what would be a prepositional phrase in other languages. Erosion in later daughters means it eventually develops into consonant mutation.

Words
*tsajma “eye” (*sajmá·) > *tájma
*sātaw “tongue” (*ca·to “tail”) > *sāto

*sunti “fire” > sýnti
*kʷaxti “water” > *kʷāti
*kʷaxtaj “sea” > *kʷātaj
*tutay “sea/ocean/water surrounding an island” > *tutay
*ninti “wind” (niní·) > *nə́ti

*naçtuj “sun” > *nǣti
*xlosmint “moon” > *xlimint
*tari “star”
*aniti “sky” > *ánəθi “spirit world”
*ntēi “light”
*xulunç “shadow/darkness” > *xulȳn

*cmai “leaf” > *smai

*sklawar “whale” (*salkao·) > *skloer
*selkia “seal” (*zelkýa) > *səlkiə
*palkī “fish” (pelikí·) > *felkī

*nkʷina “dog” > *nkʷínə “puppy”
*nkʷinaj “female dog” > *nkʷíne “dog”
*nkʷini “female dog” > *nkʷíni “female dog”

*mēlu “bee” > *mēlu
*antu “ant” > *antu

*ntujaj “wolf” > *ntiaj
*watīna “fox” > *watīnə
*watīnaj “vixen” > *watīne “spirit/kitsune”
*kalixkō “wildcat” > *kalikkō
*najkēnuj “weasel” > *nekēni
*awtiklu “otter” > *oθiklu
*çaçtuy “sable” > *xǣti

*kupō “stone”
*nikyay “bronze/aspher/iron” > *nikyay
*tuŋar “metal/silver”
*lawreŋ “gold” > loreŋ
*nikʷōsa “gem”
*cali “worked metal/metal jewelry”

*xkʷen “sword” (*akipe·) > xkʷən
*kāta “spear” > *kātə “stone”
*payam “bow” > *feom “spear”
*jonsaj “bow” > *jǿθe
*oktaj “map” (*otté·) > *iktaj
*nikanin “axe” (*nicany·) > *nikanin

*skrwal “flute” (*askirol) > *

*ŋkent “house” > *ŋkət+os
*koxpē “ceremonial structure” > *koppē
*ōkajmi “village” > *ōkemi

*melnaj “honey” > *melnaj

*loçci “spirit” > *lø̄tsi
*tçaŋna “spell” > *tǽnnə
*mini “enchantress” > *mə́ni

*kryat “red”
*runi “blue”
*jajɲaj “green” > *jájɲe

Verbs
*ajmi “to”
*ajmi-ná “to infinitive” > emi-ná > *emmá
*sana “for”
*juni “give”

And Sound Changes
*p > *f before *a/o
*p > *f before another consonant except in medial CC clusters
*o/ō > *i before an *s/ʃ/h or stop initial stop cluster other than *stop + liquid
*t > *θ before front vowels
*ts > *t
*s > *θ before *a
*a > *ə when final
*i > *ə before *i
Laryngeal to gemination of the following obstruent before a long vowel, in the case of *ç this also fronts any back vowels to true front vowels
*ŋ assimilates to a following nasal creating geminates
Glides between vowels are lost affecting the previous vowel
(*h lost)

More Changes
(*h lost)
*ç umlauts back vowels it’s in contact with
Initial laryngeals lost next to another consonant
Final Laryngeals lost lengthening the previous vowel
*c > *ts
*a/ə > *o before a labial
*a/ə > *e before a liquid

Central-Eastern-Insular Proper
Stress moves to the initial syllable if it contains a long vowel or nasal
Nasals lost before fricatives and *k (except for *ŋk)
Nasals lost before another consonant after another nasal including *y and *w
*e in closed syllables reduces to *ə
Unstressed *ay and *aw reduce to *e and *o
Final *uy > *i
Intervocalic *ç lost
Fricatives lost before nasals


*p *t *k *kʷ
*ts
*f *θ *s *ʃ *x
*r *l
*w *j
*m *n *ɲ *ŋ

*i *y *u
*e *ø *ə *o
*æ *a

All vowels except the schwa could be long or short

thethief3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:53 amDue to the nature of the Bindingverse heating or cooling or freezing and diffusion work differently. One the concept of ambient temperature is less applicable to the world but also the concept of ambient states as due to magical fluctuations in the freezability of water a lake could easily be partially frozen (assuming horizontal irregularities) or more rarely even have ice rising to the top and gradually dissipating (assuming vertical irregularities) also note ice is still lighter than water in universe through it is possible to change that (but it is hard). Anyways since temperature and freezability are magically alterable you can create freeze or cool objects using magic. This can be accomplished through several schools of magic.

The pun was not initially intended, but: Seeing it explained and what it does is really cool.

Practicalities and issues with Cum based magic.
Assuming in your conworld that your sapient races are from the spirit world or basically just bound spirits and can use magic this would strongly imply their semen (Cum) has magical properties unless you assume some sorta system where magical transference mostly happens in the womb which would possibly lead to other errata such as half births of purely spiritual beings. Lets just assume females have innate magic related to sex and reproduction but it is hard to extract unless you assume stuff like magical periods. This could functionally lead to a Cum Economy where cum is traded or extracted for its magically enhancing powers which lets just assume for now constitute some sort of baseline magical enhancement through euphoria and sensory enhancement/overload could also be experienced in large quantities. Besides that it would be essential or useful in various magical compounds and due to its life giving properties would be required for usage in various magical automata or constructs. Presumably different races with different magic would have different properties (i.e Avari cum making stuff protected from harm and Nikeeya cum resulting in expansion of liquids or gasses). If Cum interacts with female magic to make for extractable half births these could presumably be more useful for advanced constructs and other such stuff. Birth would also be accompanied by the release of magical energy which could potentially be violent or even healing.

Just some maps i did a while a go of Southeastern Elania (the name i currently have for the region the Elenyiwa family is spoken in). In Pink is the fledgling Macro-Insular family which has begun its breakup. In blue is some unnamed family derived from Siberia (the placeholder name i have for the continent) (seen in the southwest) while in Green is Elenyiwa proper. Light blue is the island family of languages in contact with the planned daughter while Lime Green is the extent of the planned daughters dialects. I think i should increase the size of the north south expanse of the main continent.

Other notes about magic
Breastmilk
Kinda like female cum in the sense it's magically potent but breastmilk generally has different properties and is more varied and based on species. Breastmilk is essential in child raising and children not given breastmilk tend to have noticeable defects. Giving children breastmilk from mothers other than their own species results in alternant effects and magical properties based on the specific to the race they receive it from and when combined with alternant paternity can result in alternant magical profiles.

Nikeeya
Nikeeyan breastmilk when consumed by adults gives enhanced strength and regenerative properties and can heal wounds when applied to them if the Nikeeya has strong Water magic. For unknown reasons when Nikeeya don’t give their children breastmilk they don’t develop much of a personality or capacity for independent thought and tend to just follow commands but generally grow to the same size as other Nikeeya through their physical abilities are reduced. When given to other races Nikeeyan breastmilk in large quantities will enhance growth. Nikeeyan breastmilk is fatty and good for making ice cream.

Inuudho
Has illusory properties and can enhance dreams. When given to children of other races it enhances their ability to make use of the spirit world while an Inuudho not given her own races breastmilk can’t dream. Inuudho breastmilk shimmers.

Avari
Consumption creates a protective enchantment which makes children difficult to kill and also causes Spirit Energy to become attracted to the drinker. Also sometimes used in the fashioning of metal items to apply a Spirit Energy attraction effect. Avari breastmilk feels golden/angelic to touch and drink.

Nekonya
When given to children allows for the transfer of innate knowledge of magic. When given to adults temporarily increases their magical Radiance causing them to emit heat when using magic. Also used as a magical binder to mix two types of metal with different magic (either natural or imbued) into one artifact creating hybrid imbued items. Nekonya breastmlik will create heat if violently shaken.

Lightning Race
Tingles when shaken. When given to children enhances their raw magical power but makes it more difficult for them to do more technical stuff with it without training. Lightning Race breastmilk can have currents carried through it.

Water Race
Prevents two liquids from mixing or when applied to Memory Water gives it that property. When given to children it gives them the ability to make use of multicoloured magic more effectively. Water Race breastmilk is like milk coloured glass but liquid and also resists freezing.

Other notes
The six races of the Center region transfer their race through the paternal line. This means when they have children with the races of the South (and North) it results in hybrid races 36 with Southerners in total or possibly 72 if we make Central Female/South male couples have alternate hybrids due to alternate transference. The magic of such hybrids would most likely vary based on whether they are south or north of the border due to magical differences in the South and Center. Presumably populations of such races would filter into the South via weakenings in the border between them.

History of the World
Of note is the Bindingverse now refers to the spell which binds spirit to its spirit realm the “First Binding”.

Most fundamentally the Bindingverse consists of just 3 elements.

Void: The stuff between Radiance which can erase matter and pretty much anything as well as sever the connections between something and its past (which does something, i’m not sure what).
Radiance: The creative energies of the universe whose constant expansion facilitates time and all tangible things.
Spirit: It’s unknown if Spirit is born of the interaction between Void and Radiance (Void Culling parts of Radiance) or is a separate element born in creation or is more primal than both being born with the creator of the universe known as “Dav́enya in Eastern Draconic from earlier *dava “birth” + ni “nominaliser” + ya “feminine honorific”.

Spirit with some culling from the Void facilitates Thought which creates movement within the nascent Radiantospheres which with further culling from Void leads to Ideas the basis of First Generation Spirits. The Proto Sea Culture tell of two great early spirits in the Nebula which would eventually form the Bindingverse. Ao the sisters of stability and Maya the brother of Freedom. The Fisherfolk of the islands Northeast of the Dragon Empire tell of the First Daughter of a similar brother with his wife who culled the nascent Bindingverse from most of its Nebula. It is not long after the First Binding was probably made.

It is notable early Spirits reproduced via dying and hoping their descendants filled a new Idea space but increasingly due to intermingling and generationality (through new First Generation Spirits were still being created in the “Great Forge”) the spirits divided into 7 Tribes based on likeness and affinity. One of these tribes was afflicted with a proclivity for death but despite and perhaps because of this they became the greatest of the seven tribes. One of the greatest of this Tribe wanted a solution and sought to reproduce without death. Eventually after being lead by a nascent Idea in the Great Forge (Known simply as “Thirst” among the Dragons and many other Nephilim) tempted them into the idea of murder to create new members of his tribe. He presented his idea to a great congregation of his Tribe and in secret to many others. Many accepted but those who didn’t became known as Outcasts. Conflicting details tell of either an initial murder known as the “Day of Tears” in which many spirits were murdered either of other Tribes or the Outcasts or the beginning of the First War. The First War ended with eventual victory for the other six Tribes and the Outcasts but at a cost part of the Great Forge was corrupted and broke off into the Shadow Forge which became the basis of the Shadow Realm. The remaining Forge was extremely chaotic which created constant Wraiths (chaotic, thirsting spirits) at its edge as well as in the still connected Nebula of the Bindingverse. Also the problem of death preoccupied the Spirits which led to further modifications of Spirits resulting in the creation of Wanderer Spirits and Home Spirits which were symbiotic and could create new Spirits through intermingling without death. Mixing of Wanderer Spirits and Home Spirits of two different Tribes led to the creation of 12 more minor Tribes. It was spirits of one of these tribes (the Life tribe) which created the Great Tree which stabilised the Great Forge and allowed for the creation of new First Generation Spirits but at a much slower rate.

Eventually the new Spirit Tribes divided into 3 regions of the spirit world based on affinity. Monocoloured Tribes lived in the Spirit Wilds of untamed magic and thought. Allied Coloured Spirits lived in the Glades of constant life energy. Finally Enemy Coloured Spirits lived in the more civilized Cities.

Eventually the Spirits thought of the idea to create the mortal world to give a home to the new Material spirits who liked solid Ideas and things. After petitioning many First Generation Spirits at the Forge they eventually created the material part of the Bindingverse as well as possibly the magic that governs it (based on the 18 Great Tribes). It is unknown if the Bindingverse was originally divided into 3 inhabitable Thirds and the 2 polar regions of the south as it was in all historical times but regardless these are the state of the Bindingverse’s 5 spheres.

South Pole: Originally it had a Spirit Dance like the north but for unknown reasons it destablised into a Maelstrom centered on 3 kinds of Magic. The Energy magic creates its biting cold and lightning as well as its expansive factors. Its Quality creates its portals between the spirit world proper and it as well the great sense of force and Magic present in the area as well as temporary sanctuaries from the full force of the Maelstrom. Finally its Change magic facilitates its ability to wildly change matter as well as changes in its force.

The South: Based on the magic of the six Original Tribes minus the rebellious seventh. Due to the nature of magic there the six races of The South have grown to great size over countless generations only stopped by the Curse of Wasting of unknown origin.

The Center: Characterised by its Roil (stolen from Zendikar) and extreme fertility which creates shifting terrain especially at the chaotic and sometimes icey center. The six races of The Center are based on Allied Colour Tribes of the Spirit World.

The North: Based on the Enemy Coloured Tribes of the Spirit World. Is much more civil and calm then either The South or Center with great cities coming here much earlier.

North Pole: Characterised by the Spiritdance phenomena with six native types of magic (3 based on enemy coloured opposition, 2 based on triads and 1 based on all six colours without being Rainbow Magic). Inhabited by the Noa Nephilim who build great cities on its fringes.

Notes on Dragon Empire diachronics

The vernacular of the Dragon Empire was derived from "Proto Siberian" the main language family of the Nikeeya of the Southern Continent. Specifically it descends from the languages of those who populated the islands to its east. The language has several cousins which share further sound changes with it all spoken on the "American" continent specifically in its far east. In time they would develop religous worship centred around Dragons and possibly other powerful Nephilim as well as elements associated with them like fire, light, wind and the sun.

As for the grammar, Proto "Siberian" is reconstructed with 32 or should it be 30 consonants i will probably get rid of the *m variants unless i need them.

*p *t́ *t *ḱ *k *kʷ *ʔ
*ċ *ċʷ
*ś (s) *s (z) *š *šʷ
*δ́ *δ *x́ *x *xʷ *h
*ĺ (ɬ) *l
*j *ẃ *w
*ḿ *m *mʷ *ń (n) *n (l̃) *ŋ́́ *ŋ *ŋʷ
32 Consonants

It also had the 5 cardinal vowels and a maximally CGVC syllable structure where G was a glide. Dragon Empire proper has added an additional C to medial clusters through any initial clusters which would have occured due to syncope have instead simplified.

Dragon Empireish diachronics
Tenative sound changes
*ḿ/m/mʷ collapse as *m
*s/δ/l all become *n (this probably happened in stages and was sometimes absent from codas and clusters which showed alternate reflexes) (*susiki “breast” > *nuniki > *nuńiki > *nøńci) (*suksiki “bow/ski” > *nukniki > *nuńiki > *nuńići) (*lumája “moon” > *numéä > *numéä > *numéä “equinox”)
*ċ/ċʷ to *r (*kāċʷapát “heart” > *kórapát > *kórawá > *cárvá)
2 stages of palatisation of *t first to *l and then to *s (*t́ instead becomes *l unconditionally at least when not in clusters) (*nekwéti “one” > *nikwíli > *nikwíli > *ṅukwíli) (*nekwāte “dog” > *nikwési > *nikwési > *nikwési > *nikwési )
Any remaining coda *s converts to a diphthong with *-i
*δ́/ĺ > *θ
*š/*šʷ > *ɬ
*e > *i
*o > *e before *i and alveolars
Glides lost ablauting the previous vowel, i’m not sure if i want the Dragon Empire long vowels to come from this stage
*t > *s in clusters
Long Vowels become accent shifts rather than the reverse, new long vowels are formed via velar fricative loss, degemination and liquid loss
Back Fricatives lost ablauting the previous vowel if labialised or palatised and lengthening it in all cases
Possibly *k > *t in clusters, to alleviate the loss of *t in clusters
Other labiovelar and palatovelars become glides except before another consonant where they merged with their plain counterparts
I’m not sure what to do with *ś and *ń, turning *ś into *s seems to obvious and i already have *š for *ɬ and i don’t want to turn it into *j like palatovelars. I think i could retain *ń
Final nasals lost nasalising the previous vowel

From Proto Western Isles to Para-Dragon Empire
*k > *x after *u and *a
Gradation (probably triggered by stops and *r which were subsequently lost in final positions
*p > *w intervocalically before back vowels, *m before another consonant and *X otherwise
*k/x > *w except after another consonant where it becomes *j
*t > *j intervocalically *δ before a liquid or nasal and *l otherwise
*s > *z
Consonant clusters in the same environment often simplify to geminates depending on the cluster
Vowel Loss condition via pitch accent and what vowels would be lost between what consonants
Certain clusters simplify resulting in new palatal consonants

Dragon Empire Changes
Glottals lost
*x > *h
Alveolars palatise before front vowels except finally
*o > *e before sonorants
*o > *a before *a
Further ablaut creating the new phoneme of *ɛ
*ŋ lost becoming *m between vowels and *u after other vowels

Red text indicates changes i have made in the new revision of the language

Words
*okʷja “water/liquid” > *okja+t > *avja “alcohol”
*āk(ʷ)a “to make” > *áka+p > *áva+ri = *avári “maker” and *áva+nju = *ávanju “to make”
*upór “egg” > *uvó but *upérʔi “egg-Dat” > *uéri
*áċċʷōna “blood” > *ó·ròna > *ó·ro “red” and *o·réna “blood”
*susiki “breast” > *nuniki > *nuńiki > *nøńci
*uklan “ritual > *uxną > *uxną > *oxiną “music”
*okipan “to poke” > *okipą > *okpą > *akća+ri “spear”
*mi·ċkesi “spear” > *mí·kini > *mí·kini > *mí·ćinni “sword”
*jóŋsí “bow” > *éŋłi > *émiłi “bow” stem *emiłí-
*kišókʷi “boy” > *kiłéwi > *kłéwi+ma > *xéwima “man”
*suksiki “bow/ski” > *nukniki > *nuńiki > *nuńići
*sulkajá “tongue” > *sunkeä́ (B) > *suŋeä́ (nk > *ŋ after an unstressed vowel) > *sumeä́
*kāċʷapát “heart” > *kórapát > *kórawá > *cárvá
*lumája “moon” > *numéä > *numéä > *numéä
*nekwāte “dog” > *nikwési > *nikwési > *nikwési > *nicwési

As for grammar nouns almost certainly had possessive prefixes and possibly case particles/suffixes.
Verbs were more complex with several prefixes and suffixes as well as stem changes for aspect.

Verbs
Perfective = Unmarked
Imperfective = Reduplicated

Unmarked = Unmarked
Perfect/Resultative = *i ablaut
*a > *ai *o > *e *e/u > *i but *i > *u

Continuous = Unmarked
Discontinuous = *+nī (probably from *nīkas “to scatter”)
This is most likely a stressed clitic at this point as it retains its long vowel without shifting stress in the later stages of language.

This would grant us 8 verb stems through there should be more (maybe 9, 11 or even 15) i'm thinking a Repetitive and Anterior.

Notes on the aspect usage
UCP (unmarked/continuous/perfective) = Unmarked/Aorist: The default tense in older texts but became disfavoured compared to the Imperfective (UCI) probably at a point postponing the spelling changes in the Classical or Draconic language. In general at this stage it would generally have a past meaning kinda like if english’s simple present got demoted to a simple past but still retained its perfective meaning. So...

came send-1.sg letter-ACC
“I had sent a letter”

Came here is an auxiliary signifying past tense (since the verb has inherent past lexical meaning). You wouldn’t even need it in most cases to signify this meaning rather than emphasising it. But...

came REDU-send-1.sg letter-ACC
“I was sending a letter”

Frankly I'm inclined for the auxiliary to come after the language doesn’t need to be completely head initial and adjectives and genitives preceding nouns is too english. Previously independent verbs used as auxiliaries (through most of them still retain independent usage through you couldn’t consider the Vulgar language to be an SVC language (you never see developments in most dialects like “my Nekonya girlfriend slaughtered the pig, skinned it and turned its skin into iron” without the connecting particles” through “eat, shop” is nearly universal).

An example in various stages...

1.sg bring-1.sg gift-pl
“I bring gifts”
By the stage of the Draconic language it would be nothing more than another simple dative “give” and say 500 years in even using it on its own would be considered archaic instead you get.

1.sg take-1.sg LNK come-1sg gift-pl
“I take gifts and come with them”
“I bring gifts”

Soon it's an auxiliary construction
1.sg REDU-come-1.sg REDU-take-1.sg gift-pl
“I come and have brang gifts”
“I bring gifts”

Similarly people are now using come (the lexically present tense version which is a separate root from the past tense) instead of a preposition for “walk to the city”. Perhaps they’re using the accusative instead of the lative (which confuses prescriptivists “you have been already but you’re not using the Atelic or Telic”) or perhaps no case at all “The city isn’t acting on you for god’s sakes”).

Besides that the Aorist is used in literature when you want to be ambiguous with aspect or with Gnomics “The sun rises in the morning”

UCI = Imperfective: The default form of the verb by the Draconic stage. Used in generic sentences “The water rushes” “The sun shines on the plants” “She was happy at the sight of the butterflies”. In the Old form of the language you used the Aorist for reportatives “The Avari forges the sword” but by Draconic you would use this tense.

PCP = Atelic: When you want to emphasise an action isn’t completed.

write-ATL-3.sg came-ATL-3.sg 3.sg.f-letter-ACC
“She was in the process of writing her letter”

PCI = Progressive: When you want to emphasise the continuity of action.

write-PROG-3.sg came-PROG-3.sg 3.sg.f-letter-ACC
“She was writing her letter and is writing her letter”

UDP = ??? or possibly Translative: As a translative it would express the transformation of the action.

3.sg write-IMPF-3.sg ink-INST word-ACC
“She wrote words with ink”

3.sg.f write-TRANS-3.sg ink-INST word-ACC
“She wrote ink to words”

Also you could change the instrumental to an accusative
3.sg.f write-TRANS-3.sg ink-ACC word-ACC
“She wrote ink as words”

UDI = Habitual: Ditto

3.sg.f forge-HAB-3.sg smith-INST day
“She’s a smith today”

PDP = Telic: When you want to emphasise the completion of an action.

3.sg.m write-TEL-3.sg came-TEL-3.sg letter
“He wrote a letter”

3.sg.f forge-TEL smith-INST day
“She became a smith today”

PDI = ???: I dunno, I want to lose one of these combinations by the Draconic language and this one seems the easiest. I guess it’s a completed, but interrupted action viewed over a period of time.

I’m thinking other aspect stems as well such as a repetitive *nokama “walk” > *nonokama “walking” and *nonokamema “walk and walk”. The language also has subaspects which will probably get complex with the amount of aspect stems in use. This could lead to redundancy say inceptive stem is the default way of marking an inceptive but you also have an inceptive subaspect but because the inceptive stem was originally a posterior you don’t get “i began began to sing” you get “i began to sing again”. Since this system of subaspect is an innovation and the proto language already has one you probably get something like “i began, began, began to walk'' somewhere in an early poem written by a writer speaking a different city's dialect but influenced by the standard language (most likely somewhere in the early empire and probably in a previously prestigious city). Mood prefixes on the other hand are a retention from the proto language though more have probably been added.

Other details
In addition the verb inflected for voice (usually to add arguments but a middle (possibly an innovation) also existed. Even more arguments could be added with applicatives which would come after incorporates (you could even add new incorporates after). Speaking off incorporate they probably occurred directly after the proto languages stem but desire to see stem = all non aspect prefixes made all but a few lexicalised incorporates shift the incorporate to after new aspect stem material. Besides that incorporation usually involves the deletion of word internal vowels.

Other than that Proto Siberian had the following independent pronouns through note the actual reflexes mostly show up as person marking or as obscure genitive or accusative pronouns.

*mV “1.sg”
*I dunno it’s not really relevant at this point “2.sg”
*tV “3.sg.m”
*nV “3.sg.f” through it also is seen developing into a feminine first person

The vowels are not really relevant since they’re not retained but they vary too wildly. The consonants are also identical to the possessive prefixes on nouns but these show consistent *a vs *i alterations in the singular vs plural.

Anyways by before the preproto stage these became suffixed onto verbs. The *-t which was used as a 3rd person marker left its mark as consonant gradation so *p/k > *w and *t > *r. I’m thinking fortition for nasals so *n > *nn or *nt the latter of which descends from weakened *nt clusters most likely after unstressed vowels (a parallel process occurs with *mp and *ŋk so you see *m and *mp alterations as well as *m and *uk alterations). So...

*janté “to blow” (which is also nominalised as wind) (or should it be *ḱanté or *ŋ́anté to get an initial *j) becomes *entí > *endí > *enín “to blow-1.sg” but *entí “to blow-3.sg”. In the vernacular of the dragon empire you would only see 2 variations in this stem for the most commonly used ones (termed modes) for the perfective and imperfective stems respectively (stress shifts in the imperfective change which consonants or clusters manifest). Relatives see gradation in stem suffixes however. By the way 2.sg is unmarked and a 3.sg feminine may or may not exist combining both features of the 1.sg (the 1.sg is descended from the 3.sg after all) and 3.sg.

Nouns
Nouns probably have the following: Possessive Prefix + Root + Plural + Case. More could also be seen (most likely absention).

Possessive Prefix: Already Mentioned

Plural: Dunno what it is yet but goes back to the proto language, by even the Old stage the language would have lost the dual.

Case: The accusative (*-m or *-n) is the only case which goes back to the proto language but more where suffixed. By the time of the Old Stage it was marked via ablaut from previous nasal vowels. So *i > *u *u > *o *o > *a *a > *e *e > *I dunno about the umlauted vowels. Besides that i’m thinking the following.

Dominant: For beneficiaries and causatives and other stuff.
Allative: For destinations of motion
Ablative: For sources of motion
Instrumental: For a bunch of stuff

Notes on the orthography.
The earliest texts in the language do not mark the second Gradation (*t~*d~*dh) which is taken to not exist at this stage and use the *w glyph for later *v (borrowed a ligature of *p + voiced fricative diacritic the Avari Nation which founded writing in the sphere was partly featural). Similarly the symbol for *δ was a stylisation of the *t glyph + voiced fricative diacritic. Gradation was later marked (with clear diacritics) but was purely allophonic so *t when the syllable didn’t have a coda or was followed by a liquid, *d after a nasal and with a following consonant or coda and *dh otherwise. A spelling reform made *dh be used after a liquid and with a coda (although some always asserted it was pronounced this way.

*p~b~bh *t~d~dh *c~g~gh *qu~gu~ghu

All stops underwent gradation but in the spelling reform we see the addition of *s~z to the gradation table. There’s a tendency in modern daughters to merge *bh with *v, *dh with *δ and *z with *ζ (which was likely *z in the earliest stages of the language since it derives from and *s + voicing ligature) in reflexes but not all daughters undergo these mergers.

I’ve done some work on a new language. It’s spoken by speakers of the water race over a fairly large area shaped like the Beic sphere of Almea. The grammar presented here is after the speakers adopted writing from another people speaking a related language (through writing ultimately originates from a different family). It’s logographic so you would have to pierce together the actual words from Rhymes in poetry and native commentaries on dialectal differences. The actual setting is a fairly early urbanised society which is mostly monarchical with some local councils.

Letic Grammar

Phonology
This dialect has 21 Consonants which is about average for a Letic dialect.
*p *t *ts *c
*v *ɬ *s *ʂ *ɕ *h
*r *l *ʎ
*w *ɥ *j *ɣ
*m *ḿ *n *ɲ

Most notable are *ʂ deriving from earlier *ś which has merged with *s or *j in all other dialects and *ɕ as the standard reflex of *q which in other dialects becomes *c, *kʷ or glottalises and is sometimes lost. The *ḿ phoneme which possibly represents either *mʲ, *ɲʷ or *mɲ is also shared by only one other dialect where it derives from palatisation of *m, here however it derives from labialisation of *ɲ. Any single consonant can occur in onset or alternatively no consonant can occur. Many roots are often monosyllabic but compounding is extensive especially when creating more refined meanings.

10 Vowels
*i *y *u
*e *ø *o
*ɛ *œ *ɔ
*a
The 10 vowels are found across most dialects with very few dialects in this period having more or less. Any of these vowels can be long or short.

17 Diphthongs
*ei *ey *eu *øi *øy *oi *ou
*ɛi *ɛy *ɛu *œi *œy *ɔi *ɔu
*ai *ay *au
And the diphthongs are standard

In addition any syllable can either have a coda sonorant (spelt *r), nasalisation (*with a tilde) or both in which case the coda sonorant manifests as a nasal rather than a liquid.

Contrastive pitch accent in compounds which creates minimal pairs like *ramá “hero” vs *ráma “heroic spear” and *pɛ́mã “watercress” vs *pɛmã́ “seaweed”.

Grammar
Default word order is SVO

na may jẽ
NOM cat leap
“The cat leaps”
“The cat has lept”

na may tar jẽ su
NOM cat on leap mouse
“The cat leaps on the mouse”
“The cat had leaped on the mouse”

na may i jẽ su
NOM cat to leap mouse
“The cat leaps at the mouse”
“The cat had leaped at the mouse”

kœr na oiɣɛr ka ii
DEM.2.INA NOM sword cut spirit
“This sword cuts spirits”

VSO is instead the standard way of forming a question

jẽ na may su
leap NOM cat mouse
“Does the cat leap at the mouse?”
“Did the cat leap at the mouse?”

If you wanna make a question out of sentences with auxiliaries front the auxiliary instead.

na may i ji jẽ su
NOM cat to SUB leap mouse
“The cat may leap over the mouse”

ji na may i jẽ su
SUB NOM cat to leap mouse
“May the cat leap over the mouse?”

na may i ju jẽ su
NOM cat to go leap mouse
“The cat will leap over the mouse”

ju na may i jẽ su
go NOM cat to leap mouse
“Will the cat leap over the mouse?”

Certain Verbs could occur as both independent verbs and auxiliaries

ma ju
1.sg.NOM go
“I go”

ma ju car
1.sg.NOM go chant
“I will chant”

Other verbs could be used as noun modifiers

na cã jur cy wa
NOM city head choose 1.sg.ACC
“It is the capital he has chosen”

me cy
egg choose
“Which egg?”

Numerals
*ɔ̃ “one”
*tu “two”
*tso “three”
*nɔr “four”
*co “five”
*sɔ “six”
*mĩ “seven”
*tor “eight”
*na “nine”
*jɔr “ten”
*ɕavi “hundred”

Contractions of earlier forms resulted in new numerals
*jɔr+ɕavi > *jɔrvi “thousand”
*ɕavi+ɕavi > *viɕa “ten thousand”
Also see *vivi “million”

Higher numbers were formed analytically

jɔr tu
“Twelve”

tu jɔr
“Twenty”

jɔr ɕavi tu
“A thousand and two”

jɔr tu ɕavi
“A thousand and two hundred”

tu jɔr ɕavi
“Two thousand”

To count insert a *la between each number

tu la tso la nɔr
“Two, three, four”

*e “But” can also be used to change your quantity

co ʂeu e sɔ
five shrimp but six
“Five shrimp, no wait six”


Noun Phrase

Noun Phrase was generally
Preposition - Possessive - Demonstrative - Nominative - Number - Noun - Adjective

øø jũ sa cɔ̃ na ɔ̃ cã sairo
with king POS DEM.3.INA NOM one city forest+ADJ
“With the kings one forested city”

To create possession use an oblique pronoun . This can co occur with a nominative case.
wa na woi
1.sg-ACC NOM louse
“My louse”

Non pronoun possession uses *sa also

jũ sa na tije
king POS NOM glorious+NOM
“The king’s glory”
“The glory of the king”

A possessive can include an entire noun phrase.
nɔr jũ sa jaa
four king POS land
“The four kings’ land”
“The land of four kings”


Prepositions
These could occur with the nominative in exceptional cases. These always head a noun phrase and due to their behaviour as well as name in native grammars are known as “Applicatives”.

øø na púɲa ɣɔʂa œ i wawa
with NOM anger+act=fury good+pure came to 1.pl-ACC
“Great fury came to us”


Predicates
Simple predicates were formed by placing the noun next to its modifiers without any intervening particles.

jũ weʂime
king word+harmonious+person=poet
“The king is a poet”

kala teme
queen book+person=scholar
“The queen is a scholar”

wa na ḿõ taa joi
1.sg.ACC NOM wife thigh big
“My wife has big thighs”

Ambiguity in regards to the English translation is often resolved via word order. But all cases of ambiguity cannot be resolved.

vai cala wɛ
reign queen red
“The red queen’s reign”

vai wɛ cala
reign red queen
“The reign of the queen is red”
“The red reign of the queen”

Demonstratives
Letic has 4 degrees of deixis and also distinguishes animates and inanimates with its Demonstratives.

1 2 3 4
INA *u *cœr *cɔ̃ *sa
ANI *ta *jõ *cĩ *sɛ

Of these *cœr, *cɔ̃, *sa, *ma, *jõ and *sɛ derive from obvious sources.

*cœr = *kani the old proximal demonstrative
*cɔ̃ = *kamdo the old distal demonstrative
*sa = *sapwa the old word for “far”
*ta = *ta the first person possessive pronoun
*jõ = Nasalisation of *jo the 3rd person pronoun, *kĩ is also derived from nasalisation of unknown sources.
*sɛ = *sasi the old word for person, note in this dialect proper it would be a borrowing from another dialect as the expected word is *sa

The inanimate demonstratives tend to be stable across dialects. The animate demonstratives on the other hand are often replaced.

*ta for DEM.1.ANI is a very peculiar development among the central dialects as well as Masau. Its usage probably derives from *ta being the earlier subordinate pronoun and is still most frequently found in subordinate clauses.
*jõ for DEM.2.ANI is not seen in dialects where *jo never suppleted the original pronoun deriving from *pa “3.sg”
*cĩ for DEM.3.ANI is often suppleted given its unknown origins
*sɛ for DEM.4.ANI is not seen amongst inland dialects of non-central regions, instead we often see homophony of animate and inanimate demonstratives as well as a variety of lexemes grammaticalised here.

The 1st set of pronouns are used as the suppletive elements of a subordinate clause.

cãtsi ɣɔ ma tytsi nai u
city-3.sg great 1.sg-NOM run-3.sg DAT DEM.1.INA
“Great city! It is you i run too”

Other than that they appear as the demonstratives for things the user has extreme closeness too.

u tãĩsau
DEM.1.INA sound+move=beat
“It beats (as in my heart)”

ta tãĩsau
DEM.1.ANI sound+move=beat
“It beats (as in my soul or my will)”

Verb Morphology
Stem + Person Marking

Stem
Default stem is the perfective or unmarked. To form the Imperfective reduplicate the first CV

ju
“Go”

pɔr
“Stay”

nau
“Swim”

juju
“Going”

pɔpɔr
“Staying/Resting”

nanau
“Swimming”

Person Marking
3 Person marking suffixes are attested.

2 Descend from the proto language.

*-tsi “1”

*-wa “2”

While the 3.sg is an innovation

*-ra “3sg”

These weren’t required in early stages of the language and usually only occurred in combination with their corresponding free pronouns in the first sentence of a phrase. So...

ma sũtsi ra
1.sg see-1 man
“I saw the man”

jãntsi jo
approach-1 3.sg-ACC
“I went up to him”

ḿo ve jɛnii ɔ̃
3.sg-NOM miss arm one
“He was missing an arm”

ɣi ma caasii ra
so 1.sg-NOM die+causative man
“So i killed the man”

Later they became mandatory and the use of subject pronouns began to decline

Multi Verb Constructions
Letic disfavours straight serial verb constructions but has many ways to convey the intended meaning without resorting to subordinate clauses.

The most obvious is *øør “while” which is probably a verbalised form of *øø “with”

ḿo ty øør ɣɛ
3.sg run while fall
“He runs while falling”
“He runs and falls”

Alternatively you can create subordinate clauses. These are formed by suffixing the same person markers as you would use on verbs to mark their subjects which are replaced with Demonstratives in the main clause.

cœr cãra ɣɔ wa na ʂãn sṹkɔ u
DEM.2.INA city-3.sg great 1.sg.ACC NOM people craft+up=build DEM.1.INA
“This great city, my people built it”

wi øø wa jɛniiɥɛtsa u ma ɕime
TOP with 1.sg.ACC-1.sg hand-1 DEM.1.INA 1.sg.NOM craft+man=crafter
“It is by my hands, that i am a crafter”

Subordinate clauses are not limited to topicalising subjects. See the following example.

ju ḿo tuja cĩ ma ju ɕu
ju ḿo tuja cĩ ta-X ju ɕu
go 3.sg.NOM fight DEM.3.ANI 1.sg.NOM-3.pl go affirmative
“Who will fight them? Me of course!”

tawitsi sau jũ tata ʎɛ cãwé
1.pl-1 change king DEM.1.ANI-RED give city+word=law
“When we become king we will give the laws”

wi ma sau ɣɔ wa ta sa mɔ̃ntɔ ta tujaɣø luli
TOP 1.sg.NOM change + great = inherit/bestow 1.sg.ACC father POS mother+son=birthright DEM.1.ANI fight+end=strike.down 2.pl.acc
“And when i inherit my father’s birthright i will strike you down”

Alternatively a subordinate clause could expand on a concept which could be explained in the main clause. In these cases you would use an alternate Preposition.

na pɛ ju ve cã
NOM leaf go LAT city
“Leaf goes to the city”

na pɛ ju u mi cã tai wɛ
NOM leaf go DEM.1.INA LOC city tell red
“Leaf goes to the city that Red tells him about”


Applicatives/Case Markers
Letic Prepositions are often referred to as Applicatives in native grammars (the literal term would be Application “Shard” referring to a particle as opposed to an actual “Word”). You can use them to change which arguments appear in a sentence.

ḿoḿi ʎɛwiwí tɔɔ
3.sg.NOM+F give+showing=present flower
“She presents flowers”

ḿoḿi ʎɛwiwí nai cala
3.sg.NOM+F give+showing=present DAT queen
“She shows things to the queen”

ḿova cacara titsy
3.sg.NOM+M IMPF-cut-3.sg clean+fowl=poultry
“He is cutting poultry with a knife”

ḿova cacara øø
3.sg+M IMPF-cut-3.sg INST
“He is cutting with something”

ḿova cacara øø tu
3.sg+M IMPF-cut-3.sg INST bone.knife
“He is cutting with a bone knife”

Most “Applicatives” don’t upgrade transitivity to do that you would introduce another Applicative. In most cases this would be the Dative or a reduction of it reflecting probable earlier use as a lative (it derives from *naxipo “going to” which is also used in the derivation *naiju “going to” and cognate with *nœyp).

ḿova cacara øø tu nai titsy
3.sg+M IMPF-cut-3.sg INST bone.knife DAT clean+fowl=poultry
“He is cutting poultry with a bone knife”

Note with the actual dative you use the verb *vu “to hand” in place of the other one.

ḿoḿi ʎɛwiwí vu tɔɔ nai cala
3.sg.NOM+F give+showing=present hand flower DAT queen
“She presents flowers to the queen”

Some don’t however, all of which are polysyllabic.

mawi nanɛitsi amɛ nɛtsi cã lœy
1.pl.NOM go.IMPF-1.sg river through city salmon
“We go along the river to the salmon city”

ni vi suvi øønɛ jo
2.sg.NOM hold flesh+fish present 3.sg.ACC
“You will present her the fish meat”

With such verbs you can easily front the indirect object to focus it but you have to front the whole sentence.

suvi øønɛ jo vi ni
flesh+fish present 3.sg.ACC hold 2.sg.NOM
“It is the fish meat you will present to her”
“It is to her you will present the fish meat”

With other indirect objects you must create a dependent clause.

tura ḿova cacara øø u
bone.knife-3.sg 3.sg+M IMPF-cut-3.sg with DEM.1.INA
“It is with a knife that he is cutting things with”

This sort of behaviour earns the term “Applicative” in the sense they demote the former direct object to an oblique. Later texts would take this a step further by making it so the Applicative prepositions object is the one which is fronted like in standard sentences while the Dative (or often as of this time Lative) using object was designated to be backgrounded. Backgrounding was also seen with noun incorporation via Verb+Applicative+Object > Verb+Object through this never occurred with Datives.


The verb “Sau”
A versatile verb which had many uses. It is glossed as “to change” and has the suppletive imperfective *rarao

wa na may sau nai mɔ̃n tu
1.sg.ACC NOM cat change DAT mother today
“My cat became a mother today"

nṹja sau
spring change
“It became spring”

nṹja rarao
spring IMPF.change
“It’s becoming spring”

Besides a direct translative it could serve as a marker of passive change where English would employ a different verb.

tɔɔ hãn sau nṹja
flower bloom change spring
“Flowers bloom, so it is spring”

Some Example Sentences
This one is in another dialect, the one which gives rise to the dialect of Maondae (through the city was not built at the time).
jãn ɲoḿi caico pailɔ́ wi mõnʎɛ u ɲo ɲokʷy ʎɛsĩ́ jo
act 3.sg.NOM+woman amend+NEG goddess then mother+give of 3.sg-NOM 1.sg.NOM+SUB give+sacred 1.sg.ACC
If she displeases the goddess, then as her mother: i offer myself.

ɣyr viko wema øø sɔ̃titsi sa tar nɔɔ corte ta øø wawa sa cã́nɣoi
IMP do+NEG live INST god-1 POS fear can supplete DEM.1.ANI INST 1.pl.ACC POS powder+stuff=incense
Do not live in fear of the gods, they can be suppleted with our incenses

Some poem i already presented.
na ly sɛr cutí tsy
NOM rabbit INST.2 mouth+clean=eat.formal fowl
“The rabbit dines on the fowl”

na cu cɛrju mi sɔ̃n
NOM moon leg+go=chase for sun
“The moon chases the sun”

o vytá bu tɔ ny
introductory resp+father bury son 3.sg.ACC.resp
“A father buries his son”

In analysis the first 2 parts of the poem are mean to be absurd with rabbits normally herbivores eating fowl and the moon chasing the sun (traditionally the moon is interpreted as a man being guided by her lover*1). The final sentence is tragic and also meant to be a continuation of the absurd. Later interpretations would note that the moon chasing the sun results in the same motion which would indicate that despite the absurdity of this construct death is still present in both tales. In context this poem was written by the king of a major city state after his son and heir died. Succession would pass to his daughter who was later revealed by memory stones hundreds of years later to have orchestrated his assasination because she didn't think he would be a fit ruler and also because he was in love with a Cenyu which would mean the lineage of rulers would be of a different species.


And 2 more which are kinda NSFW

More Poetry

A poem about the markets
ɣɔ tsu najɛɛ jɔɔmá coco
good fruit day market fresh+fresh
“Good fruit day, market fresh”

nẽ tɛ vɛvɛ lẽ tɛ tãɣoi
smell any bunch+bunch taste any eat+stuff
“Smell any bunch, taste any food”

ɣɔ came jɛ̃ɛ̃n mɔɔ tã caimĩ
good sell+person meet, stroll eat refined+fill
“Nice vendors i meet, delicacies to eat”

ma jɛ̃ɛ̃n ɣu cɛ̃n wa cɛr vĩĩvĩĩ
1.sg.NOM meet some dog, 1.sg.ACC heart leap+leap”
“I meet some dog, my heart leaps and leaps”

A poem about a lover
viha cãã li sũsi
long+snout fox 2.sg.ACC see+to
“Long snouted fox, your look”

mo sũwã o paasii
enchanted see+intently collect mind+causative
“Enchanted gaze, we collect memories”

ciicor waa sii wa sĩ
NEG-put.on.clothes 1.sg.ACC.EMPH CAUS 1.sg.ACC 2.sg-POS
“Undress mee! make me yours”

ni wɔir wa ni cúvĩĩ
2.sg.NOM man 1.sg.ACC 2.sg.NOM moon+leap
“You’re my man, it’s your night”

Spirits
Loopers
Perform rote actions forever and ever until destroyed or disrupted (which results in either their death or change of course). Not much to say here and they are the simplest kind of continuous Spirit.


Reappropriators
A collector spirit whose magic and nature allows it to claim possession over items and actions. This “possession” allows them to manipulate or store items and also call other like items they “own” to them, sort of like a portable collection. “Possession” of actions on the other hand allows them to manipulate the intent and effect of the item. “Possession” is based on categories and works based on an internal language which means you can know exactly what they are doing via spirit mind reading but they can also utter their intentions but the language they use is not necessarily imbued with effect every time they can for example simply describe “i have a teapot” without repossessing the nearest teapot through this necessarily invokes a subjunctive or pseudo subjunctive form or in some cases a non-imperative form.

Say...

daji yo napi futa-buki
have three green tealeaves
Would repossess 3 green tealeaves if they were nearby.

dajima yo napi futa-baki we
have-SUB three green tealeaves SUB
Would inform someone they have three green tealeaves.

Since “Possession” is based on categories and intent they can shift around what they chose to “Possess” so for example if you had a pot of tea they could “possess” the pot allowing them to manipulate it or “possess” the tea which entails more clumsy manipulation of the pot but it could still be done since they could theoretically chose to ignore the ability to manipulate liquid in air and just use the pot as its vehicle. They could also possess “tea sets”, “green things” or “that thing you like/are using” for similar effect (mind you most never really think this much and instead just obsessively hoard one or a few kinds of things that take their fancy and most don’t understand stuff like “sharing” or “trading” so good luck ever getting your things back without confronting them which can be dangerous).

With “possession” of actions on the other hand they can manipulate the effect of the action and as with “possession” of things is based on categories so if you were say intending to grab something and bring it to someone they could manipulate you into grabbing something else or who you bring it to. What categories these manipulate involve the intent of the maker. Unlike with the “possession” of things to manipulate an action requires it had some degree of Intent behind it (they probably manipulate the latent Intent inherent in every item and no you cannot cheat this by say “making a cup for decoration” and expecting them not to be able to treat it as a “drinking vessel”). As such they couldn’t manipulate the heat rising from a fire (but could probably manipulate the fire even if it occurred by random chance). The verbal manipulation of course means their languages invariably inflect for possession of verbs and helps them get around in the spirit world where you invariably encounter things “being” something instead of things which are something permanently (at least if they aren’t degenerated enough to not recognise verbal possession which many are but these kinds usually inhabit the material world exclusively).

Reappropriators are rarely possessing great intelligence or any at all and tend to be prone to “degeneration” and will in almost all cases increasingly desire to possess only a few things or repeat certain actions incessantly. They rarely have any creative impulse and often cannot even perform a wide array of actions without necessarily reappropriating it from someone else though they do possess independent thought. Intelligent ones do assist and they tend to be amiable and flexible but note it can often be easier to get something for at least temporary usage from a less intelligent one as long as they “possessed” them under using categories based on their usefulness where an intelligent one can demand a trade or require you give a reason. Less intelligent but not completely degenerate ones usually manifest as some sort of Trickster as the constant array of new sensations and motivation to play ruses which necessitates some degree of thought which staves of “degeneration”. More intelligent ones also usually have a “purpose” such as to be a sort of merchant (less intelligent ones who follow this path will rarely acquire items other than through exchange and will not know how to swindle more items out of others resulting in them changing into other spirits) or even the ability to craft primitive items for people. Even greater intelligence entails more complex goals, expert acquisition of collections with underlying reasons given for each item taken or some sort of trade being offered or even more sophisticated crafting. Such spirits generally desire to interact with people but aren’t as amiable as actual people due to operating on idiosyncratic moralities which can lead to conflicts in justification which will eventually lead to “degeneration”. As such even the most intelligent rarely last more than 10 years and getting into the hundreds or thousands before “degenerating” is extremely rare.

Actual death of these spirits is caused by eventual devolution into incapability of recognising the reasons given for their collections in which case they begin to neglect, give away or even destroy their collections such death spirals are usually irreversible as at the point they are usually to unintelligent to learn. “Birth” usually involves separation of intent and is more commonly a form of twinning and requires a certain degree of intelligence in the sense they need to conceptualise alternate needs and desires. “Fission” of two conflicting collection patterns are also seen but most Reappropriators come into being via nascent Spirits fusing with Thoughts of collecting things as well as with some degree of affinity for Intent. More intelligent spirits sometimes create “Fetcher” spirits instead which don’t have the same proneness to degeneration or independence.

One field where these spirits excel at is preservation. Since they work of Intent, if they possess something they preserve its Intent forever preserving things like freshness, durability or enchantments. Domestication of these spirits to take advantage usually takes 2 forms: fusion with other spirits, usually dogs who are more amiable to people or demonology which only works with their demonic variants which tend to be malignant or chaotic. The latter is disfavoured for various reasons while the former is extremely hard to do especially for any long period of time.


Paradox Spirits
Time is a constant here and its forward flow is near unchangeable but due to interactions with the Void (due to its time altering effects) this can sometimes be reversed. Such effects are usually minor, changing major events in the flow of history or just intermitta and phenomena would entail collapse of the whole system which the Bindingverse is highly resilient to (such collapses are why many other “Universes” do not last as long). However spirits which work of such paradoxes are seen due to transposition of linguistic ideas and categories into the real world.

Promise Spirits
A simple kind of Paradox Spirit these are parasitic in the sense they cannot exist without a host and prey on the simultaneous want to be a maker of something and need or desire but usually the former of something. So for example if you had the idea to be a potter and you needed more pots to store stuff a Promise Spirit could manifest and grant you the needed amount of pots. Now here’s the catch: you now need to make the pots yourself so at some point the spirit can send them back in time to your previous incarnation. Due to the nature of Promise Spirits this is most often resolved in about a year with the spirit only causing you to think more obsessively about the new skill you are about to acquire before it claims the completed items for your past self (they may even still be present when you craft them just more damaged). However over time the disturbances will become more erratic. The affected individual will see guided paths to help them get on track where previously they saw glimmers which enticed them and fate will intervene to get you the materials needed in crafting. The mental effects begin to worsen including visions of the affected one as a master of their craft and urges. Prolongation of life and healing of debilitating injuries are also seen and the Spirits can act as Guardian Angels preventing death itself before the necessary items are crafted. At a certain point however the Spirit gains the ability to manifest the items out of the necessary materials for the affected individual through this is always an extremely short time before their death in most cases as it is only ever used as a last resort.