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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11830 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 16:10:38
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Just started on Swords of Eveningstar. As many are, I would expect, you've begun to pick up on the little "realmsian" slurs (tluin, sabruin, stlarn it, etc...). However, I noticed something when Jhessail was casting her first magic missile (known to her as Battlestrike). The activation word was "alavaer". This stuck in my head obviously because of the closeness to the common Thayan saying of "alavairthae" which means "May your skill prevail". Makes me wonder if Alavaer (or Alavair) has a meaning in ancient Mulhorandi (which later became Thorass according to some texts). I would think the thae part of Alavairthae would make reference to Thay and/or Thayd, but it could also perhaps be the part of the sentence that means "prevail". Alavaer and Alavair could thereby be variations akin to "May your Skill, "By my skill", or even "By my Power". Or I could just be rambling. Anyway, thought it interesting.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 16:24:26
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| Ask Ed? :) I'd love to know..... |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 16:58:28
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Command words for spells seem to be personal (in much the same way that, in theory, every single wizard writes spells in his own language, hence read magic becoming necessary).
From the modern arcane elven-like command words we often hear now, to the cheesier ones used way back in books like Spellfire and Azure Bonds  |
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 17:02:20
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Always interesting to see what the human mind comes up with. That you acutally remember the Thayan saying and than start to draw compaartives and so forth... amaizing!
Go ask Ed for I would like to know as well. |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 23:49:35
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Just started on Swords of Eveningstar. As many are, I would expect, you've begun to pick up on the little "realmsian" slurs (tluin, sabruin, stlarn it, etc...). However, I noticed something when Jhessail was casting her first magic missile (known to her as Battlestrike). The activation word was "alavaer". This stuck in my head obviously because of the closeness to the common Thayan saying of "alavairthae" which means "May your skill prevail". Makes me wonder if Alavaer (or Alavair) has a meaning in ancient Mulhorandi (which later became Thorass according to some texts). I would think the thae part of Alavairthae would make reference to Thay and/or Thayd, but it could also perhaps be the part of the sentence that means "prevail". Alavaer and Alavair could thereby be variations akin to "May your Skill, "By my skill", or even "By my Power". Or I could just be rambling. Anyway, thought it interesting.
I would tend to think that any derived Thayvan command words for spells would reflect their overall attitudes on viewing magic as nothing more than a tool to dominate others. Whereas, as in the example given, such a command word would reflect the spellcaster's inherent belief that magic is something more than just skill and ability, and something other than just a tool for domination.
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Alavaer and Alavairthae
