Marterran

The lost language of Marterra

Marterran was the language spoken by the Marterran people, the natives of Marterra. In the year 104, Leric I invaded Marterra, renamed the three islands that made up the nation to Favont, Torelund and Hetela, and then destroyed any evidence of the Marterran language, including books, statues, and signposts.

History

Etymology

Marterra is a Malagaleuse word meaning "sealand". The first recorded use of the word was in the Scriptures.

¹Lucian travelled north to a sealand, and there, with his avarice, he opened a rift between worlds, between our perfect world, and the pit beneath, and from inside crawled a thousand and one cursed angels. ²Lucian was ashamed and turned to his brothers and sisters for help. ³Athelris gave the evil a strange language to stop their influence on others, Naurvine deepened the waters around the islands so that no one may come by chance, and Perile strengthened the winds to redirect any ship far away from Sealand. ⁴These creatures from the pit, now trapped where the land meets the sea, were hereby to be forever known as Sealanders.

Translated From the Plaso Di Vochay Scriptures

The name Marterrans would have used to describe themselves, their language, or their country, has been lost to time.

Destruction

What was known as Marterra is now made up of three separate countries: our country, Favont, Torelund, and Hetela. Following the Invasion in 104, the Marterrans disappeared from across the islands, and Leric I ordered 'the destruction of anything that displayed the Marterran script'.

Because of Leric’s use of the word, script, it is believed that the Anana language, which uses a different writing form compared to the rest of Magnus, has the most similarities to Marterran. Before their persecution and removal to the Stiriphese, it is imagined that the Ananan people initially kept hidden evidence of Marterran, but that this was also lost to time.

In Torelund and Hetela, King Leric I never had the opportunity to carry out a full invasion, and therefore, the Marterran language remained in use for a long time. However, when subsequent rulers of Favont began to take an interest in the islands, evidence of Marterran was destroyed there too.

Living Memory

Aeryn DeSteffen is the only person alive who has heard and spoken Marterran.

Shortly before 104, she married the Marterran prince, Escaban Marisa. However, she has not spoken the language or seen the words since 104, and so has since lost all knowledge.

Relations

Though lost and no longer spoken, Marterran is considered one of the four core languages of Magnus. The language map below shows what languages it has influenced.