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Language & Symbols

Desert Scholars

10.1 The Al-Qadiri Language

  • Language
    Al-Qadiri (a tonal language with many sand-related idioms).
  • Al-Qadiri has five tonal registers, each associated with a different domain of knowledge: the low register for history, the mid-low for ethics, the middle for everyday speech, the mid-high for astronomy, and the high register for Sand-Weave incantations. A single word can carry entirely different meanings depending on the register in which it is spoken.

10.2 Writing Systems

  • Writing System
    Sandscript, a flowing script that mimics the movement of dunes; readable only by those with the Sandsight mutation or a Memory Crystal interface.
  • Glyph-Script
    a simplified, non-magical variant of Sandscript developed for trade documents and diplomatic correspondence, readable by anyone literate in the basic alphabet.

10.3 Symbols & Iconography

  • Symbols & Iconography
    the Open Eye (knowledge), the Spiral Dune (balance), the Twin Stars (celestial guidance).
  • The Broken Chain
    a lesser-known symbol representing freedom from ignorance, displayed at the entrance to every Madrassa.
  • The Sand-Glass
    an hourglass motif representing the passage of time and the patience required for true scholarship, commonly carved into the lintels of archive entrances.