The Written Scripts

K. L. Miller • July 30, 2026

Share this article

Written forms of language reveal kinships that speech alone can hide. The pale-aelvar script, nearest in lineage to the lost ancient civilization, is the most distinct: fluid, continuous strokes that curl and weave like water. Soft, flowing, and, to my eye, undeniably beautiful. High-aelvar script appears to have been devised after the great cataclysm of the Binding; its lines are smoother and more regular, clearly adapted to a language that has shifted significantly from its ancestor, yet it still favors graceful ligatures and long, unbroken strokes. Wood-aelvar script is an outright divergence: angular, rune-like characters interspersed with small pictographic elements. It is built as much for carving into bark and stone as for ink on parchment. Human scripts, and what little we have reliably observed of dverger markings, show unmistakable influence from wood-aelvar script. The earliest human glyphs mimic those forest runes in their blocky forms, but over time they have been systematically pared down into discrete symbols for individual sounds rather than whole concepts or syllables. In technical terms, the humans moved from a semi-logographic, rune-derived system toward more strictly phonetic alphabets. A practical choice for merchants and bureaucrats if not a particularly elegant one.

More From the Blog

Black outline icon of a document with three lines and a folded corner

News

Black line icon of a rolled scroll or blueprint with top and bottom bars

Magi's Research Notes

Generic user profile icon in black outline on a white background

Characters

Black outlined folded map icon on a white background

Locations

Black line icon of a stack of books with a feather quill

Excerpts

Recent Posts

By K. L. Miller August 12, 2026
Welcome to the official home of The Assassin Priestess.
By K. L. Miller July 30, 2026
I had worked a forge for seven hundred and thirty-two years when a nightmare entered my workshop.
By K. L. Miller July 30, 2026
20th day of Redfall, in the Second Little-Moon’s Turn, year 1021 ÆC (Ætaine Calendar)
By K. L. Miller July 30, 2026
The High District occupies a gentle rise overlooking the Shad’li crossing. At its center stands Valentien’s Fortress, originally built to defend the river and now serving as the royal palace of Valmark. Its commanding position and proximity to the crown have made the district the preferred home of the city’s nobility.
By K. L. Miller July 30, 2026
The Western District is the oldest surviving part of Valmark, founded nearly four centuries ago where the Shad’li River could once be crossed during the driest months of the year. Although the city’s merchants later relocated to the newer Market District, the Western District remains an important entry point and a center of local tradition.
By K. L. Miller July 30, 2026
The Embersteps District stands upon a low rise near Valmark’s southern wall. Once known simply as the slums, much of the district was destroyed by a devastating fire several decades ago. It was rebuilt in brick and stone, though its narrow streets still twist unpredictably between crowded homes, workshops, and small neighborhood markets.
Show More