Reference Note
This page preserves the deeper script-reference material while formatting it as a web archive. The existing Languages page remains the readable overview; this page is the detailed visual and technical layer.
The Two Scripts
The glyphs in this section are the written forms of two related scripts. Proto-Veranthi appears first: the mortal adaptation of the original, developed by elvish scholars in the late First Age using quill and ink rather than chisel and stone. Its characters retain the geometric skeleton of the original but soften angular joins into curves where a mortal hand requires it.
Vel-Drath follows: the pure First Age forms, cut into stone by beings whose hands are stone, containing no curves and adapted for nothing.
Proto-Veranthi
The elvish adaptation. Partial, softened, readable through mortal scholarship, and central to Thessaly Vorn’s banned work.
Vel-Drath
The original First Age form. Angular, stone-cut, concentric, and not fully separable from the Drevari who carry it.
Proto-Veranthi
The elvish adaptation. Seven of these nine characters have identified correspondences in Vel-Drath — the bridge glyphs. The remaining two appear on the tablet in positions that suggest structural or numerical function. They have not been successfully translated.
Vel-al
Vel-al
/ve-/ · origin
Origin; first. Three horizontal strata joined by a curved left bracket.
Ash-ren
Ash-ren
/ar-/ · voice
Voice; breath. Branching form with a central vertical and four curved branches.
Dur-om
Dur-om
/du-/ · stone
Stone; endurance. Circle with horizontal chord and descender.
Kel-a
Kel-a
/ke-/ · memory
Memory; the held thing. Diamond with vertical spine.
Thal-iss
Thal-iss
/th-/ · time
Duration; time. Square spiral retaining full Vel-Drath geometry.
Orn-vel
Orn-vel
/or-/ · truth
Spoken truth; named thing. Arc with three horizontal ticks.
Vrath
Vrath
/-ath/ · firstborn
Firstborn; named before naming. Curved cross.
[unread]
[unread]
structural marker
No confirmed proto-Veranthi parallel. Recurs in positional patterns.
[unread]
[unread]
possibly kallite
Diamond with both axes crossed. No elvish equivalent known.
Proto-Veranthi Character Reference
Vel-al
/ve-/ · Origin; first.
Three horizontal strata joined by curved left bracket. The curve replaces a Vel-Drath angled join — signature of quill adaptation.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: vel
Ash-ren
/ar-/ · Voice; breath.
Branching form — central vertical with four curved branches. Original Vel-Drath has straight diagonals.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: ash
Dur-om
/du-/ · Stone; endurance.
Circle with horizontal chord and descender. The circle replaces a Vel-Drath hexagon; the descender is preserved unchanged.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: dur
Kel-a
/ke-/ · Memory; the held thing.
Diamond with vertical spine. Uniquely, no adaptation — the diamond form could be inked without loss of meaning.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: kel
Thal-iss
/th-/ · Duration; time.
Square spiral. The only proto-Veranthi character retaining full Vel-Drath geometry unchanged. May function as a numeral.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: thal
Orn-vel
/or-/ · Spoken truth; named thing.
Arc with three horizontal ticks. Most frequently found in elvish marginalia on pre-Collapse texts.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: orn
Vrath
/-ath/ · Firstborn; named before naming.
Curved cross. Believed etymological root of the name given to the first Drevari found.
Bridge glyph · Vel-Drath: vrath
unread · Structural marker, probable.
No proto-Veranthi parallel identified. Cross-and-bars. Appears three times on the tablet in the same positional relationship to surrounding characters.
unread · Possibly denotes kallite.
Diamond with both axes crossed. No elvish equivalent known.
Vel-Drath
The pure First Age script. No curves. No adaptations. Cut into stone by beings whose hands are stone, with no concession to any instrument incapable of holding a precise angle. These characters were not taught to the younger races. They were inherited by the Drevari from the full chain of vel-kel — ancestral memory going back to the First Age.
Unlike proto-Veranthi, which can be partially parsed through its elvish descendants, Vel-Drath cannot be read without a speaker. Thessaly Vorn’s work on the bridge glyphs provides seven entry points into the system, but the remaining characters have resisted all transliteration attempts. Vorrath has indicated that the script’s full meaning is not separable from the person who carries it.
dur
dur
/door/ · stone
Hexagon with six internal spokes. Appears on load-bearing keystones.
[rect]
[rect]
threshold
Three nested open rectangles. Found at thresholds and doorway lintels.
[step]
[step]
entrance mark
Stepped form found above every identified entrance in the Karath structure.
[hex]
[hex]
load-bearing
Elongated hexagon with crossing diagonals and horizontal equator.
reth
reth
/rehth/ · path
Star-and-bars. Believed directional.
drath
drath
/drahth/ · language
Zigzag with baseline. Tentative identification: language.
khal
khal
/khahl/ · light
Six-ray sunburst. Tentative identification: light or kallite.
iss
iss
/iss/ · absence
Lines with a gap in the middle rows. The gap is the meaning.
reth
reth
/rehth/ · path
Two arrowheads on a horizontal axis. Passage in both directions.
an
an
/ahn/ · great
Large diamond with both axes full-span. Scale is the meaning.
Vel-Drath Character Reference
Load-Bearing Marker
Load-bearing marker, probable.
Hexagon with six internal spokes meeting at centre. Appears exclusively on load-bearing keystones. May denote structural function rather than language.
Permission Mark
Permission mark / threshold inscription.
Three nested open rectangles. Found only at ruin thresholds and doorway lintels. Informally: the permission mark.
Entrance Marker
Entrance marker.
Stepped form — two towers, one gap. Found above every identified entrance in the Karath structure without exception. The threshold mark. The gap may be the point.
Unknown Hex Form
Function unknown.
Elongated hexagon with both crossing diagonals and horizontal equator. Most geometrically complex character identified. Has not appeared twice in the same structural position.
Directional Marker
Directional marker, probable.
Star-and-bars. Appears in three separate ruins, always at the geometric centre of the structure. Believed directional.
Drath — Language
drath · Language, probable.
Zigzag with baseline. Tentative identification: drath (language). The zigzag may represent the wave-like carry of sound; the baseline grounds it.
Khal — Light
khal · Light / kallite, probable.
Six-ray sunburst. Tentative identification: khal (light; kallite). Radiates from a central point — the physical description of glow.
Iss — Absence
iss · Absence / forgetting, probable.
Lines with a gap in the middle rows. Tentative identification: iss (absence; forgetting). The gap is the meaning.
Reth — Path
reth · Path / passage, probable.
Two arrowheads on a horizontal axis. Tentative identification: reth (path; through). Opposing arrows may indicate passage in both directions — a threshold, not a destination.
An — Great
an · Great / vast, probable.
Large diamond with both axes full-span. Tentative identification: an (great; vast). The form spans the full available space in all four directions. Scale is the meaning.
The Seven Bridge Glyphs
The two scripts share seven characters — the bridge glyphs — which are the thread Thessaly Vorn followed to her banned paper and, eventually, to the events that follow.
These characters have confirmed correspondences in Vel-Drath. Phonetic assignments are provisional; Thessaly Vorn’s paper identifies them as functional roots rather than a complete phonology.
Story function: the bridge glyphs are the partial key. They let Thessaly prove the connection, but they do not let her reach the center of the text.
The unread characters: two proto-Veranthi characters have no confirmed parallel. They appear in recurring positional patterns, suggesting structural or numerical function. Vorrath has read their meaning but declined to translate them into common speech.
The Concentric Ring System
Vel-Drath is not written in lines. It is written in concentric rings, outermost first, spiraling clockwise toward the centre. The outermost ring is the context. The innermost ring is the most important truth of the text.
This is why Thessaly Vorn failed to read the tablet: she was reading left-to-right. The seven bridge glyphs she identified all sit on the outer ring — the oldest, most-adapted layer. The inner rings are pure Vel-Drath that her methodology could not reach.
The tablet Sable finds contains three rings. The outer ring is the warning. The middle ring is the demand. The inner ring contains the name of what is coming, which Vorrath reads aloud and does not translate.
Grammar Rules
Rule One — Subject · Object · Verb
The verb always comes last, as a conclusion. You must know what exists and what it concerns before you can understand what is happening to either. A sentence beginning with a verb is a question, not a statement.
Vel-kel dur-ath kel-thal-om.
Origin-memory · stone-firstborn · carried-through-time [completed].
“The stone-firstborn has carried the inherited memory through time.”
Rule Two — No Articles, No Conjunctions
There is no “the,” “a,” “and,” or “but.” Concepts are placed beside each other. Their relationship is inferred from order and context. The language assumes that if two true things are named together, their relationship is self-evident.
Vel-dur thal-kel iss-el.
World · time-memory · forgetting [ongoing].
“The world is forgetting its time-memories.”
Rule Three — No Pronouns
There is no “I,” “you,” or “they.” Names or descriptors only. A Drevari refers to itself as dur-ath or by its given name. To be given a name in Vel-Drath is to be seen.
Ash-orn-vel vel-orn ash-el.
First-voice-of-truth · founding-truth · voices [ongoing].
“Thessaly speaks the founding truth.”
Rule Four — Aspect, Not Tense
Actions are not located in time — they are classified by completeness. There is no future tense. What will happen is either already happening (-el) or is an eternal truth (-ath). The Drevari do not have a word for probably.
Iss-thal vel-dur reth-el.
Void · world · moves-through [ongoing].
“The void is moving through the world.”
Rule Five — Questions Invert
A statement ends with a verb. A question begins with one. Vorrath almost never asks questions — he states what he observes and waits. When he does ask, the group listens closely.
Ash-el kel-vel?
Voices [ongoing] · the-remembered-one?
“What does the remembered one wish to say?”
Selected Phrases
The following phrases appear in the novels or in Sable Dunmore’s records from the years after the Gathering. They are offered with breakdowns to illustrate how the grammar operates in practice.
Kel-thal-om. Vel-dur-kel.
“You have carried this carefully. The edges are not worn.”
Held-through-time [completed]. World-stone-memory.
Vel-dur thal-kel iss-el. An-thal. Vel-orn kel-ath.
“The world has been forgetting its memories for a great age. The founding truth holds.”
World · time-memory · forgetting [ongoing]. Great-age. Founding-truth holds-eternally.
Kel-ath.
“I will not. No. This is not released.”
Holds-eternally.
Vel-dur-vel-vel. Iss-thal reth-el. Kel-orn vel-ath.
“All of you. The forgetting moves. The truth we carry is older than it.”
All-worlds. Absence-time moves [ongoing]. Held-truth endures-eternally.
Using the VelDrath Font
The VelDrath.ttf font file maps the script characters to the Unicode Private Use Area. In a production environment, the font can be installed or embedded by the site owner, then used to display glyphs by their Unicode codepoints.
Install locally: install the font, set it active in Word or InDesign, and access characters through Insert → Symbol → More Symbols → select VelDrath.
Use on the site: the current bundle does not include the font file, but the glyph map below preserves the full character set for later implementation.
Design guidance: use VelDrath sparingly for glyph samples, artifact inscriptions, section dividers, or translation callouts — not for normal body text or navigation.
Character Map
The glyph map below is a reader-facing guide to the script forms used throughout this page.
| Glyph | Name | Meaning |
|---|
| | Vel-al | Origin / First |
| | Ash-ren | Voice / Breath |
| | Dur-om | Stone / Endurance |
| | Kel-a | Memory / Held thing |
| | Thal-iss | Duration / Time |
| | Orn-vel | Spoken truth / Named thing |
| | Vrath | Firstborn / Named before naming |
| | Unread character | Structural marker, probable |
| | Unread character | Possibly kallite |
| | Load-Bearing Marker | Structural / load-bearing, probable |
| | Permission Mark | Threshold inscription |
| | Entrance Marker | Found above every identified doorway |
| | Unknown Hex Form | Function unknown |
| | Directional Marker | Direction or orientation, probable |
| | Drath | Language, probable |
| | Khal | Light / Kallite, probable |
| | Iss | Absence / Forgetting, probable |
| | Reth | Path / Passage, probable |
| | An | Great / Vast, probable |