Arlain

Arlain, literally 'Our People's (Language)', is the language spoken by the Ancients during the time of the Dichotome. In modern times, it is considered a dead language, and very few Civil scholars can read or understand conversational Arlain. Characters in ' Den and the Wolves' , such as Den, Rane, and the Bykan-rid retained their Arlain from ancient times and converse with one another almost exclusively in their native tongue, as well as some minor characters who attempt to read spell books, such as Baroq Dreadson. Some associate the language with evil forces, namely black magic. ' Den and the Wolves' , written by the Poet, Alexib, was originally transcribed entirely in Arlain. It's initial translation by modern literary scholars, described by the narrator, originally led readers to believe the story was called, 'The Flood of Heaven's Animals '. The confusion came from the stem word  'den ' to mean both 'to lie' and 'to soak'.

Common uses throughout the story
Majority of geographical locations within Arlok maintain their original Arlain titles. For instance, each of the continents are named after the Arlain words for the four cardinal points: north (Nirtoh), south (Siytoh), east (Eada), and the wide west (Win Wenada). Areas that end in the suffix -ris, such as Temparis and Bykan-Ris, retain the Arlain phrase for 'place' (lit: Temple Place, Bykan Place). The stem word ir, pertaining to the element water, is commonly found in sea and river names, eg: New Eir Sea. Places ending in -dair refer to caves or mountain lairs, such as Dargendair and Wot Eo Dair.

Some character names throughout the story also have Arlain origins: Den, the main protagonist, adopted his own name, translating literally to 'Liar', after abandoning his birth name, Xinear (Other). The name of the antagonist, Rane, translates literally to 'The One'. Millari's name is made up of two Arlain stem words (mill and ari), and loosely translates to 'A Thousand Beauties'.

Spells (muanii in Arlain) and drycraft are cast by reciting the names of various elements, rocks, animals, or spirits by their Arlain titles. Den often uses flint-like fire rocks, or firrok (called kindlinite in Civil), to light campfires.

Stems, prefixes, and suffixes
The Arlain language consists of a series of 'stem' words, around which layers of smaller particles (prefixes and suffixes) are built upon. For instance:

Ada (stem; to choose)

Ada + -ma (suffix; noun) = adama, a choice/certainty

Ra- (prefix; name/title) + ada + -rid (suffix; person/job-holder) = Ra-adarid, a judge

Multiple stem words can also be joined to form the amalgamation of those words, involving any number of prefixes or suffixes, eg:

Aluma (stem; to fly) + -ii (suffix; physical object) = alumii, sky

Alumii + muan (stem; black) = alumiimuan, an eclipse

Alumiimuan + -us (suffix; descriptive) = alumiimu'us, ecliptic

Multiple repeating vowels are typically omitted for simplicity, creating a contraction, as shown by apostrophes.