Iruaric

Iruaric (pronounced "EE-roo-rick") is the language of an ICE Age race called the Lords of Essaence. These were a highly advanced group of humanoids, with powers on the scale of demi-gods. They were almost entirely destroyed in the civil war between the Empress Kadaena and her cousin Utha at the end of the First Era. Iruaric was the language used for spellcraft with the Arcane sphere of power, and when properly spoken (by the few races capable of it) had psionic properties. However, it was the ancestor of most Shadow World languages, and was often preserved in its descendants such as the dragon language or the Elven tongues of Iylari and Erlini.

According to the archaic GemStone III specific lore, ancient Iruaric was a hieroglyphic language that often fails to translate exactly, even into more modern forms of the same language. The Dark Shrine is such an intra-language translation. There will often be a multiplicity of meanings in the same symbols, representing "many aspects of the same idea or word." More modern forms of Iruaric, such as the Second or Third Era, are phonetic but vary widely with culture. The "hieroglyphic" nature of the ancient form of the language is specially relevant due to the many subtle Nyarlathotep references.

Examples of Iruaric

While there is nothing corresponding to the Lords of Essaence in Elanthian history, the language was never completely removed from the game, and can still be found in isolated instances or in the form of "easter eggs" in the modern history.

"Kadaena Throk Farok": "Empress, Guardian of the Forbidden"
"Marlu lyxatis kort. Thro dyar K'mur.": "Marlu, Cruel Master. Guard the Dark Queen."
"Fash'lo'nae": "Fash, Spirit of the Past"
"Phoen": "The Traveler"
"Fasthr K'Tafali": "Fasthr, Lord of the Half-Heads"
"Vruul": "The Enchanter's Sight" (loosely, composite of "vuul" and "arul", the Eyes of Kadaena)

External Links

• Iruaric Glossary (Tomes of Kulthea #1157)