• Graded • Learning how to Speak

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

-

23rd Vhalar, 710


Kirei jumped up at the first shout. She had been in this horrible place for less than a full trial, but she had already learned two things. One was that a raised voice must be obeyed...even if one had no idea what the person shouting was saying. No allowances were made for those who did not understand the language the one giving the orders was speaking in. The other thing that she had learned was that while the winged demons that had enslaved her might be beautiful, they were dangerous. They were cruel to their slaves even when the slaves did exactly what was wanted of them. And when they didn't, well...Kirei had seen one of the girls in the group she had been placed with beaten into unconscious just for daring to look up at one of the winged demons when he was speaking to her. It was a lesson that Kirei had learned well. She had no desire to suffer a similar fate.

Taking her cue from the other girls, Kirei dressed hastily, and stood in line at the water basin so she could wash up. When one of the winged demons approached her, she flinched, and kept her gaze carefully on the ground. He said something, but Kirei didn't understand a word of it. All she could do was stand there silently, and hope that he didn't take her non response as disobedience. The winged demon repeated himself, and by his tone, Kirei knew that he was getting irritated with her. He cuffed her head with a blow powerful enough to make her ears start ringing, then shook her roughly before flinging her aside, and walking away. The other girls ignored her, moving around her as she stood slowly, and took a few trills to gather her wits before getting into the line once more.

"Don't worry. I'll help you as much as I can. We half slaves have to stick together. For now, just watch what the rest of us do, and do the same. I'll talk to you again when I can." came a whispered voice as she was washing up for the trial.

Startled, Kirei whirled around, searching for the owner or the voice. It was the first time she had heard someone speak Xanthea since coming to this horrible place. After a few trills of searching, she saw a girl standing hear one of the water basins. The girl was a Sev'ryn, and looked to be about her age. She grinned at Kirei, winked once, then was gone. Kirei smiled to herself. It was good to see at least one friendly face in the nightmare she had found herself trapped in.

Kirei didn't see the girl again until after they had eaten their meager breakfast, and the dishes were being cleaned up. One of the winged demons appeared to be giving assignments out to the other slaves, because she could see them quickly heading off to do whatever they had been told as soon as the winged demon stopped speaking to them, She dreaded the time when it would be her turn to get an assignment. How could she possibly obey any order she was given when she had no idea what was being said?

One of the winged demons approached her, and Kirei braced herself for whatever punishment she would be given for her failure to obey. But rather than painful blows, the winged demon said something in an annoyed tone. The girl she had seen earlier moved into view.

"It has come to the masters' attention that you do not know how to speak correctly." she said in perfect Xanthea.

Kirei carefully resisted the urge to frown. She hadn't been punished yet, and she didn't want to cause the winged demon to lash out in anger if he didn't like her expression. But...what did the girl mean, exactly? She knew how to speak just fine. She just didn't know the languages spoken by the winged demons, and their slaves. When a response seemed to be expected of her, she simply nodded.

"In their great wisdom, and understanding, the masters realize that they cannot expect your obedience if you do not understand what you are being ordered to do.

The winged demon barked something at the other girl, and she bowed her head in acceptance.

"This unworthy slave has been given the task of teaching you how to speak correctly. There is a place not far from here where this one might teach you without disturbing the masters."

With that, the girl began walking, presumably to wherever they were supposed to have their lesson. Kirei had more questions than answers, but she knew better than to ask any of them now. That would earn her a beating for her efforts. So she followed the girl in silence, hoping that she might get some answers when they weren't under the watchful eyes of their "masters."

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

-

"The place" turned out to be a small storage room not far from the dining area. Once the door was safely shut, Kirei turned towards the other girl.

"Thank you for being willing to teach me the languages they speak here. My name is Kirei. What's yours? And what's with this place? I know I'm a slave now, but..."

Kirei fell silent when the other girl raised a cautioning hand.

"You musn't speak of such things. In Athart, slaves are not allowed to have names unless their masters give them one. Names are dangerous. Those that are born into slavery are never given names when they are born. Half slaves like us are punished until we give up our names. The Avriel masters prefer that we forget that we ever had names at all."

Kirei tried to digest what she had been told. Not allowed to have names? That was...Kirei didn't really know what to think about that. How could someone not have a name? Kirei made the decision then and there that no matter what, she would never allow anyone to take her name away from her. It might be all she had left, but she would keep it.

Decision made, Kirei considered the rest of what she had learned. The city she was in was called Athart. And from what she could tell, it was a city of slavery. Other places had slavery, of course. It was common in Rynmere. But never before had she seen, or heard of a place where people were born into slavery. The girl had called the winged demons...the "masters"...Avriel. So the winged demons had a name. Athart was the city of the Avriel, and the Avriel were a race of slavers.

"You called us half slaves...what does that mean?"

"Children who are captured and enslaved the way we were are called half slaves, or wild ones. Such slaves are considered to be even more worthless than children who were born slaves because we are more likely to disobey an order, or cling to ideas that we have no right to. Like names."

Kirei nodded slowly. That made sense. Someone who was used to freedom was going to fight for it. They would refuse to obey orders out of principle, and try to escape if given even the slightest chance to do so. Kirei knew that she herself would. But someone who was born into slavery...someone who had never known what it was to be free...they wouldn't fight. Why would they? They didn't know what had been taken from them.

"And this place...?" Kirei asked to change the subject, and hide how uneasy she felt.

"This is the Athart slave school. It is where children who are slaves are raised, and taught what they must know in order to please their masters."

Kirei stared at the girl who had spoken for several trills. She sounded like a slave who knew nothing else. As if a school that raised and trained slaves was a good thing. But a flash of something in the girl's eyes told Kirei that it was all an act. Kirei couldn't help but be glad for that.

"How were you captured?" she asked at last.

"I was born in Desnind. When I was eleven, I began having dreams about my familiar. My dreams led me to a city called Nashaki. But when I was trying to get my bearings, I was captured by the Tower of Flesh. They...well, they're kind of like this place. Slaves are trained there. I managed to pretend to be a good slave long enough to earn their trust. I was given an errand in the city, and I managed to escape. But I got lost in the desert, and I was captured by Athart slavers."

Kirei nodded, giving the girl a sympathetic look. Bad enough to be captured and enslaved at all...but to be captured again after she had managed to escape? Especially for someone who was from the homeland of the Sev'ryn people. Kirei vaguely remembered that Desnind was the city of the Sev'ryn, and that slavery was unheard of there.

She noticed a tree tattoo on the girl's left wrist.

"Did you get that tattoo the first time you were captured? Or did the winged...err...the masters do it?"

Kirei hoped it was the former. She didn't want to think about the possibility of the winged demons deciding to give her a tattoo, too.

The girl smiled wistfully.

"Neither. My parents gave it to me when I was thirty trials old. It's a tradition among my people. The tattoo shows us that we are part of something outside ourselves, and that we are never alone. Each Sev'ryn chooses where their first tattoo will be placed; it is the first spot on their body that they point to when they are old enough to be given the tattoo. This is important because it reflects the need for everyone to choose their own path, and make their own decisions."

Kirei nodded, fascinated by what she was learning.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

-

She wanted to ask more, but was silenced by heavy footsteps heading their way. Both girls froze as the footsteps stopped right outside the door. When they moved on a few bits later, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think we better focus on what I am supposed to be teaching you now." the girl said after a few trills.

Kirei nodded, but she had one more question she felt she needed to ask first.

"You use the word I in reference to yourself when it's just us, but when the...the masters are around, you say this one, or this unworthy one. Why is that?"

Must remember to never call the Avriel winged demons out loud. That might well get me beaten to death.

"Slaves are not people. They aren't allowed to have thoughts and feelings, or hopes and dreams of their own. They exist only to serve their masters. As such, there is no "I" for a slave."

Kirei frowned. She knew that she had to obey that since she was a slave now. Fighting it would only bring her more pain. But she didn't have to like it.

"Okay, the first thing you need to know is that you aren't learning one language here. There are two that you need to learn. Dehasin is the language that is spoken by slaves. It is the one you will hear most often here, and the only one you are allowed to speak. But the Avriel masters speak Lorien. At times, you may be given an order in that language, and you will be expected to obey it instantly. For that reason, it is a good idea to learn the basics of Lorien; enough so that you will understand any orders you may be given in the language."

Kirei nodded to show that she understood.

"So, you're basically teaching me linguistics." she said with a smile.

One of her favorite parts of going to school was when the teachers would teach her words in Rakahi and Common and ask her to teach her classmates words in Xanthea.

"If I keep learning new languages like this, I'll be a polyglot."

The girl gave her a puzzled look.

"Linguistics? Polyglot?"

It was Kirei's turn to nod.

"Linguistics is the study of languages. So basically, by teaching me Dehasin and Lorien, you are teaching me linguistics. Well...sort of, anyway. But rather than learning the languages themselves, understanding linguistics is knowing things like language families are groups of languages that share similar characteristics. Or that it is easier to learn a language if you are already fluent in another language within the same family because some words are similar. And a polyglot is a person who knows, and is able to use several languages."

The girl smiled.

"Were you a teacher before you were captured, then?"

Kirei snorted.

"Hardly. I was still going to school."

When I bothered to show up, anyway...

"No one was going to ask me to teach them anything."

"I don't know about that. After all, what else is teaching if not sharing what you know with others?"

Kirei nodded, giving the other girl a thoughtful look. She had never quite thought of it like that before, but the other girl had a point. But they were there for a reason, and neither of them wanted to risk getting punished, so they bother turned back to the task they were supposed to be working on.

"Vocabulary is a big part of learning a new language, and it is probably one of the easiest to learn. Why don't we start there for now?"

The girl sounded uncertain, as if she wasn't used to teaching languages to other people. Her suggestion seemed like a good idea to Kirei at first, so she nodded. But then she hesitated.

"Am I going to need to know how to read Dehasin, and Lorien? Or just be able to speak them?" she asked.

"Both, why? Well, you'll need to be able to read and speak Dehasin. Lorien is just a spoken language, though. Avrielian Script is the written language of the Avriel masters. It is unlikely that you will ever need to learn how to read or write it, though."

"Then can you teach me the alphabet in Dehasin first? When I was younger, my teacher said that it was easiest to start with learning the basics when it comes to learning a new language. The alphabet forms words, and words form sentences. So by starting with the alphabet, it builds a foundation that I can build on by learning vocabulary, and so on."

The girl looked thoughtful for a few trills, then nodded. She found a few scraps of paper, and an ink pen. Then she carefully wrote out each letter of the Dehasin alphabet, naming each letter as she did so. When she was done, she gave Kirei the chance to practice for a while. Kirei carefully wrote out both the capital and the lower case versions of each letter several times while saying them out loud. The girl made corrections when Kirei pronounced one wrong, and had her start over repeatedly until she got them all right. Then it was time to move on to learning words.

The girl began teaching her a large variety of words. To make it easier for her to learn, the girl chose specific categories of words for her to learn, such as important question words. When she focused on a category of words, she tried to teach Kirei every word within that category that she could. So while they were focusing on question words, she learned the words for asking each type of question; who, what, where, when, how, and why. But she also learned the words she would need to provide simple answers to questions, such as yes, no, and because.

Another category of words the girl taught Kirei was basic directional words such as north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, and the like. Kirei also learned more basic directions, such as right, left, up, down, come, go, and stop. The girl was very patient as she did her best to teach Kirei. With each new word, she would say it clearly so that Kirei could hear how it was supposed to be pronounced. Then she would wait while Kirei repeated the word over and over until she mastered how to say it. And every so often, she would quiz Kirei on the words she had learned to make sure she wasn't forgetting any as she tried to learn new ones.

The correct forms of address was another set of words Kirei had to learn. Since she would be cruelly punished if she dared address one of the masters in a way that they deemed inappropriate, the girl made sure to teach her words like master, mistress, sir, ma'am, and the like. After Kirei had begun to get those down, the girl taught her how to count. She also included counting words, like hundred, thousand, and so on. Once Kirei proved she could say the words, the girl showed her how to write out the numbers as well. As before with the alphabet, Kirei practiced writing each one carefully.

Breaks were spent in this fashion, and Kirei found herself enjoying every bit of it. Learning Dehasin was an absolute must for her if she was to survive long here; that much was painfully obvious. But she found that she truly loved learning a new language. It was like being given the key to a whole new world of information. Luckily, she seemed to be able to memorize the new words quickly. Kirei had a feeling that a failure to quickly master at least a working understanding of Dehasin so she could follow orders would result in punishments that she really didn't want to think about.

[Navyri]

Kirei Qe'Azour

Skill Points

Solo - 10XP
These points may NOT be used for magic.

Skill Knowledge

Linguistics: is the study of languages
Linguistics: a polyglot is a person who knows, and is able to use several languages
Linguistics: language families are groups of languages that share similar characteristics
Linguistics: it is easier to learn a language if you are already fluent in another language within the same family because some words are similar
Linguistics: start with learning the basics; the alphabet forms words, and words form sentences
Teaching: sharing what you know with others

Non-Skill Knowledge

Language: Dehasin
Dehasin: spoken by human slaves in Athart
Dehasin: alphabet
Dehasin: basic directional terms (north, south, east, west, right, left, up, down, come, go, stop, etc.)
Dehasin: basic question and answer words (yes, no, who, what, where, when, how, why, because, etc.)
Dehasin: proper terms of address (master, mistress, sir, ma'am, etc.)
Dehasin: numbers, and counting terms
Language: Lorien
Lorien: the language of the Avriel masters
Lorien: is a spoken language only
Language: Avrielian Script
Avrielian Script: written language of the Avriel masters

Location: Athart
Athart: City of the Avriel
Athart: City of slavery
Location: Athart Slave School
Location: Desnind
Desnind: City of the Sev'ryn

Race: Avriel
Avriel: winged demons
Avriel: beautiful, but dangerous
Avriel: cruel to their slaves
Avriel: slavers
Race: Sev'ryn
Sev'ryn: are given tattoos of trees when very young, marked at a place the baby chooses themselves by pointing to it
Sev'ryn: follow dreams to find their familiars

Slaves: aren't supposed to have names unless their master gives them one
Slaves: children who are captured rather than being born a slave are called half slaves or wild ones
Slaves: must never dare to look at their masters

Names can be dangerous.
A raised voice must be obeyed.

Other

Loot: N/A
Fame: N/A
Injuries: Ringing ears, and a headache caused by a hard cuff to the head. It will fade on its own within a few breaks.