IX

Concerning the Script of the Gazhigam

The script used by the Gazhigam is said to be wholly different from the script of Ahasṭṛṭhaḥr and other Prekrds. Alike to Ameg̃išár, there are scant physical remnants left of the script itself, and the associated language for which it was initially developed.

However, it seems the use of the script and the characters themselves were altered such that it was supposed to resemble the likeness of moving snakes. And given that the only attestations for its existence seem to be in the form of murals, reliefs, and stone inscriptions, it can be safe to assume that no written form has made its way on paper like surfaces.

Indeed, the artifacts that could potentially hold this script may still be there. But if so, they must be situated in locations that are hard to reach. Perhaps in the ever-expanding desert of Upaurikṣhetvar, that by the current day, has already consumed most of the central continent, or deep within the earth where access to such realms has for the better part of recent excavations been denied by the Foremother herself.

Regardless of the veracity of its existence, due to its scant referenced nature in the compositions and its seeming lack of importance (at least by those recording in older ages) in the overall history of the world, even were we to find its wayward remnants, they may never be deciphered, with it to be left as but a sigh in the annals of a now bygone story of our history.

X

Concerning the Prosody of the Vālukyāvaḷūr Hymns

Another form of meter used in Ārhmanhaḥ is a 3+2 word link meter, where every alternate verse will be either of 3-word or 2-word phrase conjunctions. This meter, unlike the others, is left unnamed. Like the other meters, however, there is no consistent marking of accented, long or short, or high or low syllables. But in addition, there is no consistent syllable count for each verse. The determination of a word split becomes based more on the idea of inter-related syllables and words that are conjoined together, rather than any definite split on a word itself, which gives rise to inconsistent variations of total syllable count per verse.

Its usage seems to be firmly set within the compositions originating from the southern continent of Ārhmanhaḥ, Drgstyṃhaḥ. As to why the people of Vālukyāvaḷūr use it, it could be as Erezuri has said of her people, that they descended from those that came from the south since the splitting of the continents. And given the static nature of language as a whole in this world, even including the spread of the various Prekrds, it could be the case that such forms or variations within overall liturgy and prosody arose before even the split of the continents.

Much of the prosody written in this style mirrors Psalms and Lamentations from the Bible and so one could use those works as reference for reconstructing and performing such hymns in Ahasṭṛṭhaḥr.

An example of this is given in book three of the Ṃārhaḥnyahm:

Dehaḥṃār kudahaham seli

Kudahaham nivroyiti

Upyari tethradhva tethaḥ

Ahamvahm ahv’apreti

Rodhya’dhyavahm nah’ham yavhō

Yavhaḥ rakzh’hamzūrvahm

Nizir vahmse Ishvhaḥṃ

Nizir vizhmṛtārhaḥ

In this translation, it was opted to keep the Ahasṭṛṭhaḥr phrases as such to match the original intent, rather than morphing it into a more recognizable form, such as the more Sanskritic variants that are commonplace throughout the various compositions.

While Ahasṭṛṭhaḥr is a versatile language, it becomes difficult to contract and make sense of some verses because of the need to demarcate conjunctions and phrases. One would need a sheet detailing stress points for it to be performed properly, and what to say of the tune or its musicality.

As it stands now, there is little that can be had on this style of poetry, yet one can still appreciate the diversity it adds, perhaps in its many forms within the corpus of later Ahasṭṛṭhaḥr compositions originating from the south.