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Aragrakh was the second oldest of the Draconic languages,[5] emerging sometime before the First Sundering.[6] It was descended from Auld Wyrmish and a precursor to the Draconic tongue spoken in the Present Age.[5] It boasted many of the same variant names as its precursor. These included Auld Wyrmish, Auld High Wyrmish, Old High Wyrm, and Old High Wyrmish.[2][5][7][8][note 1]

Aragrakh saw more widespread and everyday use than Auld Wyrmish,[7] continuing to see use well into the mid-14th century DR.[4] By 1372 DR, Aragrakh had become considered an "ancient" language that only saw use among wyrms and great wyrms,[1] the oldest ages of dragons.[9]

Speakers[]

For much of history, this language was spoken by all varieties of dragons on Toril, acting as a sort of universal language to communicate across species.[4] By the late 14th century DR, when the language had largely fallen into disuse outside of wyrms and great wyrms,[1] among the few younger generations of dragons to study the language were the members of the blue dragon clan Blood of Morueme.[10]

Beyond dragons themselves, Aragrakh was learned by most members of the Cult of the Dragon[11] and sometimes known by sun elves,[12][13] as many sun elves sought to learn dead languages like Aragrakh so as to increase their access to ancient works.[13]

Auld Wyrmish was also somewhat common as a secondary language among some specialty priests in the Realms, more specifically those who tended towards learning the tongues of dragons or other monstrous creatures.[14][15] These included the noroghor of Abbathor,[14] the wyrmkeepers of Tiamat, and the wyrmlairds of Tchazzar.[15]

Derivations[]

Aragrakh lacked any regional dialects,[6] but the various racial dialects that each dragon species possessed was derived from it.[4]

Dictionary[]

O[]

Oum Kouram
"Peerless Ruler"[7]
Oum Or
"Supreme One"[7]
Osvithien
"Sanctuary"[16]

Unknown Words[]

Auld Wyrmish included a word for "mold".[17][note 2]

Writing System[]

For much of its existence, Aragrakh was written in the same script as its precursor, Old Draconic.[2][3] At some point the language transitioned into instead using the same draconic script alphabet used by modern Draconic.[1]

Notable Speakers[]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

  1. In many of the cited sources author Ed Greenwood confusingly uses the term "Auld Wyrmish" interchangeably as another name Aragrakh or a distinct precursor language. In order to reconcile these discrepancies, Ed Greenwood's description of Aragrakh as the "later, more everyday and widespread language" is selectively used on this article to infer what sources using the term "Auld Wyrmish" are in fact referring to Aragrakh.
  2. What exactly this word is was never stated within the cited text.

Appearances[]

Adventures

Novels & Short Stories

Organized Play & Licensed Adventures

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 85. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ed Greenwood, The Hooded One (2008-10-27). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2008). Candlekeep Forum. Archived from the original on 2024-04-13. Retrieved on 2024-04-13.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood, The Hooded One (2008-10-27). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2008). Candlekeep Forum. Archived from the original on 2024-04-13. Retrieved on 2024-04-13.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 25. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ed Greenwood (2019-02-24). Draconic Language Tree Theory Confirmed & Draconic names for Draconic (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2024-04-13. Retrieved on 2024-04-13.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Ed Greenwood (2020-03-16). Emergence of Aragrakh (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-11-23. Retrieved on 2024-04-13.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Ed Greenwood (2019-02-23). Relation of Arragrakh to Auld High Wyrmish (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved on 2024-04-13.
  8. Ed Greenwood (2021-01-30). Etymology of Abeir and Toril (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved on 2024-04-14.
  9. Andy Collins, James Wyatt, and Skip Williams (November 2003). Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 10–15. ISBN 0-7869-2884-0.
  10. Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl (July 2002). Silver Marches. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 13. ISBN 0-7869-2835-2.
  11. Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 52. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.
  12. Roger E. Moore (January 1999). Demihumans of the Realms. (TSR, Inc.), p. 4. ISBN 0-7869-1316-9.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Reynolds, Forbeck, Jacobs, Boyd (March 2003). Races of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 41. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 45. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-0786906574.
  16. Travis Woodall, Stacey Allan (May 2021). Volatile Thoughts (DDAL10-08) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Plague of Ancients (Wizards of the Coast), p. 13.
  17. Erik Mona (June 2000). Twilight of the Dirty Turtles. Living City (RPGA), p. 8.
  18. Eric L. Boyd (July/August 1998). “Sleep of Ages”. In Christopher Perkins ed. Dungeon #69 (Wizards of the Coast) (69)., p. 70.
  19. Rand Sharpsword (February 2003). More of the Conclave of Silverymoon (HTML). Rand's Travelogue. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved on 2010-10-31.
  20. Ed Greenwood, Eric L. Boyd (March 2006). Power of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 121. ISBN 0-7869-3910-9.
  21. Richard Lee Byers (December 2004). “A Novel Approach: The Rite”. In Matthew Sernett ed. Dragon #326 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 34–35.
  22. Ed Greenwood; Sean K. Reynolds (2003-05-21). Miirym, "The Sentinel Wyrm". Wyrms of the North. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2016-08-13.
  23. Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 39. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.

Connections[]

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