Neruan

Neruan is a constructed language developed for the fantasy setting of the Shattered Continent. It is spoken by the Neru people who inhabit the northern highlands and nearby coastal towns. In the narrative, Neruan functions as both a native tongue and a ceremonial, lingua franca among disparate communities.

Linguistic features: Neruan is an agglutinative, subject–object–verb language with vowel harmony and pitch contrasts. It has a five-vowel system and a moderate consonant inventory. Syllables are typically CV or CVC, with stress commonly on the penultimate syllable. Nouns carry case and number through suffixes, while verbs encode tense, aspect, and mood with suffixal paradigms. Adjectives usually follow the nouns and agree in case and number.

Writing and dialects: The Neruan script is a syllabary descended from ancient carvings and is used in religious texts, inscriptions, and literature. Two main dialects are described in the lore—Northern Neruan and Coastal Neruan—with subtle phonological and lexical differences.

History and cultural role: Neruan is said to have emerged from river-trade contact and temple ritual in the early eras of the setting’s chronology. It achieved prestige as the language of scholarship and guilds and remains central to Neru identity in stories and games. Scholarly works and dictionaries within the universe document its grammar and vocabulary.