Eleji

Eleji is a term used in a fictional world-building context to denote a language, a people, and a place associated with the same region. In the narrative, Eleji refers to a constructed language created for the Eleji Highlands setting. The language is agglutinative with subject–object–verb order, vowel harmony, and a robust evidential system. The writing system is an adapted syllabary inspired by historic scripts. In-world estimates place around 150,000 speakers by the late chronology. The lexicon includes words for social relationships, seasonal cycles, and woodworking techniques.

Eleji people: The Eleji are a highland ethnolinguistic group who inhabit the Eleji Highlands. They are organized into kin-based clans and maintain an oral tradition, with master storytellers and woodcarvers. They practice seasonal agriculture and terrace farming; craft networks include loom weaving and canoe building. Their social structure emphasizes elder councils and consensus decision-making. They maintain customary laws recorded in bilingual oral texts.

Eleji place: The city of Eleji sits at the meeting of the North and South Rivers, atop terraced hills. As a political and economic hub for the highlands, it features stone-built fortifications, timber houses, and a central plaza used for seasonal markets and performances. The city controls regional trade routes and serves as a cultural center for the Eleji language and arts.

Name and usage: The name Eleji derives from a proto-root in the language of the region, associated with light and dawn. In scholarship within the fiction, Eleji often appears as a symbol of resilience and intercultural exchange.