Ghyll:Alezan Script
One of the few remaining traces of the ancient Alezanians are the few writings they left behind. Though numerous scholars, Occultologists and researchers have tried through the ages to decipher this strange language, none have been successful to this date. A few scraps of knowledge have been uncovered through diligent research, but the key to the mystery remains lost to us, and many doubt we will ever read the books of this mysterious and forgotten race.
Their alphabet didn't have any vowels, and we can only guess they were implied by the context, which is one of the reasons it is so hard to decipher the language. Written from the bottom right-hand corner and upwards, a special code-line runs from the middle of the left side of the page to the right. This accentuates the contents of the entire page, and is a brief summary of its intent.
The script itself was recorded by etching it into plates of glass-like crystal. By pouring sand on the plates so that it filled the grooves, the text appeared. The only reason some of the plates have survived through the centuries is the fact that the crystal is much more solid than it appears, and can withstand surprisingly harsh treatment before finally shattering. In recent years, the theoalchemist Harv Gretborn managed to replicate the strange material, enabling damaged plates to be copied. The process is extremely expensive, however, so mass-production of Alezan Script replicas is not possible at this time. Nonetheless, some researchers are quite willing to pay handsomely for copies of the ancient plates, in the vain hope they will be the lucky ones to decipher them at last.
Many have wondered why it was so important to record the script onto plates. Why can't one simply copy them on the standard luminous pages, or an ancient equivalent, we use in our day-to-day business? The answer is simply by design. Six years ago, in -5 EC, the esteemed researcher Wilhelmina Corinne Bardway revealed that if two or more plates are stacked on top of each other, new patches of text appeared as the different lines and curves joined each other. Simply put, the pages can be superimposed to reveal hidden massages and chapters. Later she also revealed that, in some cases, the crystal itself fractured the light so that some of the letters and circles changed places, thereby changing the entire meaning of the text. Thus, the only way to copy the script as it was originally written is to copy it on the original material, since it can hold far more information than normal paper can record. It has since been revealed that the crystal can perform superluminescent radiance storage, which raises a whole lot of questions beyond the scope of this article.
These new facts reveal quite a lot about the ancient Alezanians. Firstly, they were well versed in the properties of crystals. Secondly, they were highly intelligent and felt that much of what they wrote had to be kept secret and encoded. Finally, it shows that the Alezanians were just as fascinated by light and its properties as we are today. Many AuroAnthropologists find this extremely interesting, and point to it as proof that we have more in common with the ancient race than previously believed. They claim that anyone with so much knowledge couldn't have been all that bad. This doesn't exactly help their reputation, given the feelings towards Alezanians in the common populace.
It should also be noted that even though Hackleford “Hack” Vermeer, founder of the NeoAlezanians, claims that they alone have deciphered the scriptures, one should not take his word for it. The NeoAlezanians blatantly claim their ancient rituals and teachings are genuine and collected from the translated plates, but since there is no proof whatsoever, nor any forthcoming, one cannot seriously consider them. We must only assume that the Alezan Script is as much of a mystery to them as it is to us. Some wish it would stay that way, considering what sort of people the Alezanians probably were. Who knows what is actually written on those plates...
Citations: Harv Gretborn, Superluminescent radiance storage, Wilhelmina Corinne Bardway.
--Lankin the Mad Mage 09:30, 19 May 2005 (EDT)
