A Note On Pronunciation and Language

Xatiq is a word with a long, varied history within the language. It descends initially from the theorized Proto-Ledaic xatiq*, thought to mean something along the lines of uncanny, bizarre or deformed and in its Modern Vema form is shatix, meaning foreigner or any being from the Underworld. Depending on the particular linguistic theory, some hold that there was some form of vowel on the end of word, but the exact one and its existence in the first place is debated. When it entered the Old Ledaic discourse it held a similar meaning to its root, referring to any deformity ranging from blindness to heterochromia, but its semantic space underwent a shift around the rule of the Three Immortals approximately 2000 years ago (~500-300 BFI). To this end, there are two popular theories as to the reasoning to the shift, both related to the Three Immortals.

The Kyphotic Theory, or The Secondary Kakistocratic Theory, holds that the semantic shift occurred primarily in reference to the local thaumaturge-king assigned to the area by The Lich. Unlike the Immortals, his name was preserved as Yatam Xatiqqi Kigaqvade Veeman, or literally Yatam the Deformed, King of Vema.Yatam’s deformity was explicated by scribes of the time to be one of the back, possibly either scoliosis or a hunchback. Yatam was also a foreign ruler, from either the early Nav tribes or Pagora. These scribes also universally described Yatam’s rule as wildly unpopular to the Vema alongside their unilateral dislike of the Three Immortals. This semantic shift would then derive from this unpopular rule, conflating him with the less savory elements of the Underworld like devils and lampads.

The other theory, The Necrotic Theory, or The Primary Kakistocratic Theory, holds that the term’s conflation instead descends directly from The Lich’s physical appearance. She was, in all of her depictions, rotting or corpse-like in countenance, though the degree is frequently debated. This theory, whilst popular in certain academic circles, is also controversial amongst more historically strict linguists. While it is generally agreed that The Lich, alongside her other compatriots in the Three Immortals, existed historically, the extent, breadth and depth of her feats is a subject of great debate. Literalists hold that they were as depicted, whereas mythicalists hold that between the active disinformation created by their enemies, their own propaganda and the drift of oral histories from actual events has rendered a very inaccurate picture of their actual lives and appearances.

These debates aside, the book Gareth owns on the subject of Vema thaumaturgic rites is also wildly inaccurate; it would, perhaps, be more accurate to call it an amalgam of earlier Ledaic rites as recorded by ancient Pagorans, some speculation on Vema rites based on observation, and incorrectly translated rites from Vema monument-stones. As accuracy is essential to the preservation of any thaumaturgic rite, this results in the method being entirely different from any modern Vema method of thaumaturgy.

For those readers unfamiliar with Vema, it may seem deceptively simple to pronounce Vema words, but one should not be so hasty. A table of pronunciation is given below.

Vema

IPA

English or Other Comparison

A a

/a/

As in “hat” for many American English Speakers.

Aa aa

/aː/

As above, but held for longer.

B b

/b/

As in “bat.”

C c

/t͡sʼ/

This sound does not exist in English. However, it does exist in several Native American and Circassian languages - such as Kabardian “tsa.”

Cc cc

/t͡ʃʼ/

This sound does not exist in English; the closest equivalent would be /t͡ʃ/, the sound produced in the word chase, but this form is ejective. Tlingit ch’eet is a good example of the sound.

D d

/d/

As in “dog.”

E e

/ɛ/

As in “bed” for most English speakers.

Ê ê

/e/

As in “may” for most English speakers.

F f

/f/

As in “for.”

G g

/g/

As in “go.”

Ĝ ĝ

/ɣ/

This sound does not exist in English. It’s pronounced much like /g/, but as a fricative sound, like /f/ or /v/; an example of it can be found in Irish “a dhorn.”

H h

/ʍ/

This sound is not present in many dialects of English. It’s pronounced much as /w/, but without voicing, like /k/ or /t/. However, some dialects of Southern American English have it in words like “wine.”

I i

/i/

As in “free” for most English speakers.

Ii ii

/iː/

As above, but held for longer.

J j

/d͡ʒ/

As in “John” for most English speakers.

Jh jh

/ʒ/

As in “vision” for most English speakers.

K k

/k’/

This sound does not exist in English. It’s almost identical to English /k/ but it is an ejective. An example of this sound is found in Quechua “k’aspi.”

L l

/l/

As in “land.”

Lh lh

/ɬ/

This sound does not exist in English. It’s very similar to both /ʃ/ (as in “shame”) and /l/ (as in “land”). An example of this sound is in Welsh “Llwyd.”

M m

/m/

As in “mom.”

N n

/n/

As in “nape.”

Nh nh

/ɲ/

This sound does not exist in English, but it is very familiar to many English speakers through Spanish. A common example of it would be Spanish Niño.

Ng ng

/ŋ/

As in “walking” for most English speakers.

O o

/o/

This sound is not common in American English, but British speakers can find it in “yawn.”

Oo oo

/oː/

As above, but held for longer.

P p

/p’/

This sound does not exist in English. It’s identical to /p/, but it is an ejective. An example of this sound is found in Quechua “p’acha.”

R r

/ʀ/

This sound does not exist in English, but it is familiar to many English speakers through French. It’s found in “rendez-vous” in some French dialects.

S s

/s/

As in “song”

Sh sh

/ʃ/

As in “shame.”

T t

/t’/

This sound does not exist in English. It’s identical to /t/, but it is an ejective. An example of this sound is found in Quechua “t’anta.”

Th th

/ð/, rarely /θ/

As in “though.” In some dialects in certain circumstances it’s realized as in “thought.”

U u

/u/

As in “boot,” though this varies heavily between dialects, and in Vema is more cardinal than English.

Û û

/ɨ/

This sound does not exist in most dialects of English. It’s similar to both /i/ and /u/, existing between the two. An example of this sound is found in Arhuaco “ikʉ.”

Uu uu

/uː/

As /u/ but held for longer.

V v

/v/

As in “van.”

W w

/w/

As in “want.”

X x

/x/

This sound is not present in most English dialects, with the exception of Scottish English words like “loch.”

Y y

/j/

As in “yard.”

Z z

/z/

As in “zone.”

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Excerpt from A Consideration on The Dream-State of The Underworld (1833 Edition)

By Reborn-Free-Of-Sin

It is, in the course of human history, necessary to consider the radical suggestions of both theory and practice to achieve any sort of progress in the realm of a given science, and this essay shall elucidate my own, personal radicalism. The ideas I present in this essay are, indeed, ludicrous to the central establishment of the Pagoran orthodoxy; to their eternal march of reason; and to their continual commitment to the depths of thaumaturgic “physics.” However, as we have often seen in the past, radical ideas are rejected by the orthodox in initiality only to be later accepted as convention. Take, for instance, the trials of Vladim Zvedov regarding his invention of the steam engine, not even out of living memory. The Pagoran High Court attempted to charge him with fraudulent business practices on the grounds that his entirely conventional, intuitive design relied on thaumaturgic methods, when in truth it was by science alone that he made his engines run.

In inverse to this, then, is my proposition related to the nature of The Underworld. This is, as with all chthonic sciences, something without any easy answers, or indeed answers at all, and to this end I would say that that is my precise answer to the nature of The Underworld.

That is to say, The Underworld is anthropogenic in origin and asemic in meaning.

From its sole, base character, we can divine some universal truths about The Underworld - namely, that its entrances occur only in subterranean areas and in the the presence of a human in a state of intense focus or trance, that it has been independently discovered by numerous cultures across the world, and that things may be dragged back from it as a manner of attaining any number of boons. There are subtleties beyond this, obviously, within the laws of thresholds, devils, and so on, but my concern is rather with the broad strokes as opposed to these subtleties.

You see, my compatriots in the budding field of psychology and psychoanalysis have struck upon a rather consistent and persistent pattern within the human behavior of dreams. The human dream, according to various works including those of Lloyden Ferell and Ester Quayle, is at its core a reflection of our inner life and most subconscious desires. When one is stricken with mania, dreams flow similarly; with melancholy, melancholic dreams; with change, new dreams that are foreign and bizarre to us, reflections of both our deep fears and desires. Equally important are their discoveries in the area of the universal, underlying consciousness and the existence of latent psychic capacities to influence the flow of the world through means of psychic projection. Now, consider how precisely thaumaturgic rituals are arranged; how they require certain intonations in certain languages with certain rituals to complete certain tasks, to create certain stimuli within the Underworld. This is the core of my proposal - The Underworld is a form of psychic projection consistently created through the thaumaturgic ritual method; it is a sort of dream-state in which reality is allowed to bend to the laws of the dreamers, as opposed to the dreamers being forced to awaken and bend to the world of pure rationality and physics.

This, in turn means that the meaning of the Underworld is distinctly not divine as other philosophers and thaumaturgic scientists have proposed, but rather a pure creation of human beings, and hence as meaninglessly asemic as any other human artifices compared to the divine creation of all nature. Through the remainder of this essay, I will elaborate upon this theme, provide further individual proofs to its credit, and consider some of the criticisms that may be levied against the proposition, though I am certain that I will not be able to address them all in any reasonable period of time.

[Scrawled in margins:

Baptismal name - Sagatian?

anthrop. Origin, but what with regards to the accusations of unscientific meth. on part of Ferell, Quayle?

Ask Gareth to order books on psychoanalysis - sounds fascinating]

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Dear Mr. Gareth Polemchuk

So, the wild man finally returns to civilized life! I hope this letter finds you well, and you have not yet lost your ability to read. Removing jest from the equation, we’ve been dearly missing you, and we’d love to hear of the result of your sabbatical. We’re holding a party on the 23rd; if you’d consider coming, we’d be glad to have you…

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To buy:

Candles (Good ones)

Incense

Chicken and carrots - soup this week

Pick up psychoanalysis book (something cheap, finances tight)

Lamp oil

Parchment Journal

Ink and ink pens

Cocaine, Heroin, Chloroform, Fuller’s Solution (Test each for best results)

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“And for your impudence, your unkindnesses laid upon me, I will be merciful,” said The Flagellant, “I will not kill you.”

By then, the people of the city of Bilratia had gathered about, in baited breath, their protectors dead and gone.

“I will merely hew all humanity from you,” said The Flagellant.

[The remainder of the obelisk’s record is destroyed]

Addendum to The Founding of the Pagoran Nation by Remanded-by-Three-Waters Stavitche from Bilratia Tablet 6a, trans. by Remanded-by-Three-Waters Stavitche