Petite Note: This page focuses on words used by the aliens in Aristasian lore and sometimes by Aristasians IRL. Raihiralan is the language of Aristasia Pura. If you are looking for IRL Aristasian slang and simple terms that developed over the years, please see this page instead Please also consider visiting T. G. Rowan, who is doing some amazing research into this subject and the origins of these words
I bet you already guessed! Aristasia Pura, like many genre-defying settings, has its own language(s). Presumably there are many, or at least many dialects. The root language of most native Aristasian words is Raihiralan.
To be taken seriously, a scholar surely would need to know it, and many religious texts are written in it. Common Aristasian expressions like "Rayati Raihiranya!" (we’ll get to that, if you don’t already know) have Raihiralan root words. Raihiralan dialects are still spoken in large parts of Estrenne Aristasia. It’s not dead, not like Latin. In the Motherland, it’s associated with nobility, intellect, and wisdom, antiquity, but not obsolescence.
I always got the sense that Raihiralan was meant to be seen as a sort of degradation of an older celestial or otherwise “higher” (perhaps primordial) language. Aristasian authors seemed allude to the idea. This works well with the general idea of words holding power, and, in Aristasia Pura, older tends to be more meaningful. This is clearly true of language in the setting, too.
Raihiralan doesn’t have its own alphabet; conversely, if it did, that was never preserved online. Some of the Aristasians seemed to believe these words were real, perhaps, and from another world, a real Aristasia Pura. As early as 2001 Isobel Trent, commented (to me on AOL Instant Messenger) that there were “bits of the old Aristasian language floating around,” but no one really gave much explanation of that. Where did they come from? Exciting stuff when you're fifteen, and believe me, I wasn't walking away after that, particularly given my extant interest in esotericism and the possibilities of something beyond the reality we saw everyday - the supernatural, one migth simply say.
Later on, through research into the phenomenon of occult scripts and languages themselves, I ran across the story of John Dee and Edward Kelley, from the 16th century. Working together and funded by royalty, this duo of occult scholars produced (channeled? created? constructed?) a language known as Enochian that is still in use today by occultists who work with Angelical powers.
I won't digress too far into the particularities of that, and you can read more about the Enochian language on Wikipedia for a short summary. It reminded me of Raihiralan, though - not because of any linguistic similarities - but rather due to the ambiguous (and, it is implied, supernatural) nature of its origin. Dee and Kelley, though, documented most of what they did, received support from the monarchy, and perhaps were more importantly - male. We know much more about them than we do Aristasia, just for that reason alone.
On the issue of where Raihiralan first appeared in any kind of public (earthly?) venue, regardless of its actual nature (supernatural or otherwise), we, once more, have to go back into the Mists of Time, and, in particular, one of the earliest known Aristasian precursor groups: Rhennes.
I've recently (as of August 2024) been in touch with the amazing T. G. Rowan, who is doing some amazing research into the origins of all this, much further than anyone I've seen before.
An unfamiliar eavesdropper on a Rhennish conversation would undoubtedly find it almost impossible to follow. Modern English sentences spoken with Rhennish pronunciation would prove a little difficult at first, but the many unfamiliar words and turns of phrase would make it much harder. For this reason, many Rhennes, in intercourse with outsiders, drop into a sort of imitation of Nodern English which is jokingly called half-Rhennish. Indeed, the Khennish spoken in some communities today is considerably less than half, and there are many born Madrians unable to speak a true Rhennish; a fact which has led to adaptations of certain Scriptural and other tradit- ional phrases in communities where the old speech has become all but in- comprebensible. Mother Alethea, who has oftes (wrongly) been supposed to be an innovator, was greatly anxious for the preservation of the Rhennish speech and of all the Rhenaish traditional narratives.
From An Introduction to the Language of the Rhennes published by the Madrian Literature Circle in 1981
News reports about the Silver Sisterhood, a proto-Aristasian group, describe them as speaking "the Rhennish tongue which dates back to the 14th century."
The Silver Sisters, related to a group called Rhennes, were an Irish religious commune of sorts containing many future Aristasians. Rhennes, who we'll focus on primarily here, seem to have a lot of ahistorical beliefs about ancient matriarchies, Atlantis, Amazons, etc.
Later, and you'll see this in Race MocChridhe's Critical Apparatus to the Eastminster Library Edition of the Clear Recital, there was admission of direct fabrication of these stories, which would mean the same of the language. At the same time, that selfsame book mentions that these ladies were keen on a book called Breaking the Time Barrier about past life regression - visions taken as fact could've played a role too, for all I know.
Some esoteric-minded Aristasians would see this as a mystical, channeled language like Dr. Dee’s famous angelical Enochian language. Others might just say people were elaborating on a vast roleplay worldbuilding project that went way too far, though. Who "discovered" it? Or, who constructed it? Who knows?
They call themselves Rhennes, in hour of a mythical goddess who was held-maid, half-mare. They have their own written language, a thriving musical tradition, and a deep culture and spiritual involvement with traditional crafts and a pre-mechanised lifestyle.
From The Irish Press, Monday, May 9th, 1983
In The Book of Rhiannë, said to be a definitive guide to the Rhennish tradition, we see terms like Noyarhennya… not particularly Irish, though we’re told that “Ireland has always been a stronghold of the Rhennish Tradition.”
It's not difficult to research online and find out that Rhennish isn't an actual language from the 14th century; there's the German-based Rhenish, but they were unlikely to be speaking that. I'm given to assume that Rhennish is (at least an early form of) Raihiralan, and that both are either conlangs, or channeled languages, whatever one chooses to believe.
RJ discusses how this matter, amongst pretty much everything else got confused because of, well... storytelling. A lot of which, we'll see in later pages I'm working on, has a ton in common with Aristasia - except taking place here on earth.
Much of the confusion is probably attributable to Lux Madriana’s invention of what might be termed the ‘Rhennish legendarium’—a body of myths and legends tracing the history of Atlantis, Amazonian empires, and finally the ‘Rhennish culture’ that was their last direct inheritor in Britain and preserved their faith down to the present. These stories most certainly did suggest a long, wending trail of direct initiatory lineage, but belief in them as literal, material history seems never to have been a matter of obligation, and the authorship of many of them as fiction appears to have been widely known by members of the community. Sr Angelina herself is said to have been popularly known in Oxford as ‘Amazon Jane’ on account of a novel that she was writing. It may be that the legendarium was more or less openly meant as part of the creative development of the ‘body of Madrian stories and songs’ for which Sr Angelina called.
Critical Apparatus to the Eastminster Library Edition of the Clear Recital, compiled by RJ page 307
The Madrians, bless them, have attempted to trace some of the etymology of these terms here, mostly to Sanskrit? I’m not a linguist and I won’t pretend to be one, but Noyarhennya sure does sound like Novaria, the name of Aristasia’s cultural center. This is especially true given that the term is sometimes spelled Novarya.
Of course, early Aristasian sources didn’t publicly mention this secret language, Raihiralan or Rhennish or whatever. Instead, they spoke of Westrenne, which was assumed (probably for convenience sake) to be identical to English in most ways.
The lingua franca of modern Aristasia is Westrenne - almost identical to Tellurian English - just as the lingua franca of late antiquity was Low Cairen. Like English and Latin, Westrenne and Cairen belong to the same family of languages, but are very different. A number of other languages and dialects exist both in the West (mostly in its Southern and Eastern parts) and in the East. Cairen is still used in certain official inscriptions and Low Cairen is spoken in parts of the East. High or Raihira Cairen is spoken in a few places among those who regard themselves as the True Heirs of the Empire and refer to themselves as Raihira Caeranyi. More than one eastern city-state or minor Empire claims to be the one true heir of Caire.
From a 2004 introductory page
This, too, fits with the connection to Rhennish, which was, according to RJ's compiled research in Critical Apparatus, a very private thing, often removed from scripture and glossed out. There’s some more evidence of a connection, in my opinion, in (some of) the names of months, etc, in the Rhennish calendar when compared with the later Aristasian/Chelouranyan calendar.
A lot of the words used clearly just come from other (local) cultures (Samhain, Werde, etc), but some? May have originated in whatever Rhennish actually was, conlang or linguistic melange, channeled tongue or what-have-you. The Madrians have put information about this calendar online here for you to peruse and draw your own conclusions.
Regardless, very little of Raihiralan language seems to have been really set down systematically prior to the mid-2000s. Almost all of the words included here come from later Aristasian sources, but I've marked the ones I remember, as older.
The date of the source, of course, doesn't mean the date that the words came into usage - just when they were first put online in a full, systematic fashion. If anyone knows of an earlier online source for Raihiralan specifically, let me know...
Much of this does come verbatim from this vanished, yet archived, page from 2009.
♄ designates words that (from what I can tell) appeared early in the Aristasian canon.
♃ signifies words that seemed to have appeared later, post-Bridgehead and in Chelouranya.
AMITY (♃): Amity is the bond of love that unites Aristasian societies and groups. It is the affective counterpart of thamë. The Janyati Sai Thamë and Sai Sushuri (the ruler of amity) are said to be sisters, and the two Aristasian sexes are ruled by Sai Thamë (melini) and Sai Sushuri (chelani) respectively. Thus the Amity/Thamë principle is fundamental to all Aristasian life and culture.
ANNYA (♃): The Janya of Fire. Also fire called by personal name in the East (some traditional Estrennes refer to the hearth-fire as "Sai Annya" as if she were a person).
ARKADYA (♄) (often "Tellurianised" to Arcadia): Eastern province of Aristasia corresponding (primarily) to the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. The tutelary Janya of Arkadya is Sai Rhavë (pron. Rah-vay and corresponding to the Tellurian planet Saturn, Aristasian planet Rhavë). Its Queen is the mature chelanic Viktorya (not to be confused with the young melinic Queen Viktorya of Novaria).
ATHAMË (♄): The reverse of thamë: disorder, chaos the breaking of the Golden Harmony. An act which disrupts the Golden Order in any way is athamë. A person who is in disobedience to her lawful superiors is athamë. Athamë always contains an element of "ritual impurity". Causing disruption in a holy place is a form of athamë that most Tellurians will readily understand. It should be realised that much the same feeling attaches in Aristasian life to disruptions of order and harmony even in "non-religious" contexts.
CHALWË (♄): Word of salute - usually accompanied by a physical salute in military contexts. It performs the function of signifying the acceptance of an order (like the Tellurian naval "aye aye"). It can also be used in place of a salute where one is not physically present. In some Elektraspatial rituals it is used to signify an act such a stepping forward and in non-physical classroom contexts is used as a request for the teacher's attention, equivalent to raising one's hand in a physical classroom.
CHARA (♄): Teacher. It is used as a suffix for one's teacher or for any learned person. It may also be used in order to acknowledge a temporary pupil-relationship (rather as ma'am can be used to acknowledge the superiority of another in some particular context). For example, a blonde being instructed on driving by her brunette, or a brunette having some philosophical point explained to her by her blonde might respond to her as (Name)-chara.
CHEI (♃): Honorific suffix, often equivalent to "Miss".
CHELAN (♄): The child-bearing sex among Aristasian (and other intemorphic peoples). In Sai Herthe, Chelani have fair hair (even among dark-skinned peoples) and so are colloquially called "blondes". Chelani outwardly resemble Tellurian female humans.
CHEN (♃): Dialectical variant of chei.
CHENYA (♃): Intensive form of chei/chen, meaning something like "most honoured".
CHERI (♃): Affectionate honorific suffix, often used to children.
DEA (♄): God (naturally seen in Her original Feminine Form). The term God is also used in Aristasia, with the same meaning.
ESTRENNE (♄): (Person) of Eastern Aristasia, usually including the whole of "Amazonia" and the eastern two-thirds of Arkadya. Estrennes speak different languages and have different cultures from Westrennes. The nation of Novaria and the Archduchy of Jenilow (in South-West Arkadya) are regarded as semi-Estrenne and contain large elements of Estrenne language and culture.
FILYANA/FILYANI (♄): (Blonde/Brunette) Follower of the Trinitarian religion of the Solar Mother and Lunar Daughter (Westrenne: FILIANIST). Filianism is the majority religion in most of Westrenne Aristasia and widely adhered to by Aristasians in Telluria. In Telluria Filianism is considered as a form of Déanism (the worship of Our Mother God). In Aristasia all religion is Déanic, so that term does not exist.
HAIELA (♄): 1. n. The first Estate: priestly and scholarly. 2. adj. Holy as in lhi Haiela Cantre (the Holy Chantress), traditional title of Sai Suanti.
HAIEL' RAIHIR, LI (♃): The Holy Empire.
HAYA (♄): Ancient ritual word signifying in-breath and then out-breath and thus - at the highest level, the expiration of the cosmos from the Spirit and its inspiration back into Her at the end of time. Now often used as a sort of cheer, as in "Haya Vikhë!"
HAYANA (♄): The Single Estate of the Golden Age, before the division of the Estates into four. Also used honorifically for the "Fifth Estate" (more strictly known as Stravë) - those who have renounced Estate and left material life to pursue the absolute Spiritual path.
HERTHE (♄): Someimes spelled Hertha. With either spelling it is a two-syllable word (final "e" is pronounced and sometimes marked with an umlaut). The "th" represents is the "hard" Aristasian "th" sound. The word has the following meanings: 1: The Janya of Hearth and home (not one of the seven Great Janyati). 2: The planet on which the Aristasian Empire exists. As with the Janya, the word in this usage is usually prefixed with the spiritual-honorific Sai. 3: The eleventh month of the year (Dec 26th to Jan 22nd). Vide Sai Herthe
HIERESKHINDI/HIERESKHINDA (♃): Literally "heart-child" (brunette/blonde). A common term of affection for a child and sometimes an adult loved one.
INFRAQUIRINELLE (abbr. INFRA) (♄): Large island to the West of Quirinelle. It is a protectorate of Quirinelle, ruled by Queen Elspeth. In external style it bears some resemblance to the less degenerate elements of the Tellurian 1960s.
JANYA (♄): An Angel or "Goddess" - the embodiment of one of the Divine Aspects. Plural: Janyati.
KADORIA (♄): Western nation of Aristasia, with a long coastline on both the Golden Ocean and the Sea of Doves. Kadoria is ruled by the brunette Queen Francesca. In external style its culture and style resemble that of the Tellurian 1940s. Its tutelary Janya is Sai Vikhë (corresponding to Tellurian planet Mars, Aristasian planet Vikhë).
KHINDI/KHINDA (♃): Child (brunette/blonde). Plural khindri.
LI/LHI, LIA/LHIA Li/lhi (♃) is the definite article "the" in Raihiralan. Li is the melinic/neuter form and lhi the chelanic form, used to refer to chelanic beings. Lhi is pronounced "hli" with a sharp, somewhat hissing aspirate. Lia/lhia is the possessive form, meaning "of the".
MA'AM (♄): One of those words whose hermeneutic qualities transcend simple etymology. In Raihiralan it is connected with the primary ma etymon meaning "mother" and with mam meaning breast, so the original sense is mother/nourisher. However the title is used in the sense of Menamatri below, meaning one who is set above one in the Golden Chain of Thamë. While its Aristasian/Raihiralan usage is not unlike English, is also has the special sense of affirming hierarchical obedience, and so may be used to signify the acceptance of an order or a temporary state of deference even toward someone who is only one's superior in a particular respect.
MAGDALA (♄): (Pron: my’dla) The third Estate. Literally "makers". Includes craftmaids and merchants of all types.
MATRI (♃): Mother. Title of a priestess.
MAYAMATRI (♃): Great Mother. A title of Dea.
MAYA MENAMATRI (♃): Great Little-mother. A title of the Empress (or sometimes of the Queen of a nation). The Empress is the greatest of the Little-mothers, or earthly superiors.
MELIN (♄): The non-child-bearing sex in Aristasia. In Sai Herthe, Melini have dark hair and so are colloquially termed "brunettes". Melini outwardly resemble Tellurian female humans.
MENAMATRI (♃): Little-mother. Used of a superior within the Chain of Thamë, who is a surrogate of the Mayamatri, Dea.
NOVARIA, NOVARYA (♄): Southern nation of West Aristasia, with coastline on the Sea of Doves. Novaria's climate varies from Continental in the north to Sub-Tropical in the south, with its southernmost extension just reaching the tropics. Novaria is, in some respects, the most traditional of the Western Provinces, having been settled by Estrenne peoples. Novaria is ruled by the young brunette Queen Viktorya. Its tutelary Janya is Sai Mati (corresponding to Tellurian planet Mercury, Aristasian planet Vathë).
PACCIA (♄): (Pron. pak-sia) The fourth Estate. Literally "bonded ones". In traditional societies (less often in the West) a paxit is bonded to her mistress by a traditional and formal bond which entails profound obligations on both sides. The paxit is bound to complete obedience, the mistress is bound to care for her paxit physically and spiritually in sickness and in health.
PAXIT (♄): (Pron. paxt) A bonded maid of the Paccia Estate.
QUIRINELLE (♄): North-Westernmost nation of Aristasia with coastline on the Golden Ocean. In some externals the style of Quirinelle resembles that of the Tellurian 1950s. Quirinelle is ruled by the blonde Queen Elspeth; the tutelary Janya of the province is Sai Sushuri (corresponding to Tellurian planet and deity Venus, Aristasian planet Sucri).
QUIRRIE (♄): Short for Quirinelle, but only in its adjectival sense. One talks of Quirrie music or Quirrie respectability, but to say "I live in Quirrie" would be unidiomatic.
RAIHIR (♄): Empire.
RAIHIRA (♄): The Second, or Noble, Estate.
RAIHIRALAN (♃): 1: Noble, knightly, ladylike, high-born. In the West, where the Estate System is weakened, it often refers to people of Raihira, Haiela and High Magdala birth seen as a broad "upper class". 2: Various closely-related nether-Estrenne dialects, known as "The Noble (Raihiralan) Speech" - also the older language that preceded them.
RAIHIRANYA (♃): Empress. The word is made up of raihir + ranya and thus means "mistress of the Empire". However, bearing in mind the full meaning of ranya, the implication is something like: "She who guides the Empire in the Way of Thamë".
RANI (♃): "Little Ranya" - often a governess or schoolmistress.
RANYA (♄): A teacher, usually a Spiritual Mistress or Mistress of a Spiritual Art (traditionally all arts have a Spiritual basis). Somewhat akin in implication to guru.
RANYAM (♄): Realm, Queendom.
RAYA (♄): 1: Lady (in the "lord" sense - there is no specific word for this in English). 2: The Sun, and the Janya of the Sun. Always prefixed with the honorific Sai.
RAYALINI/RAYALINA (♃): "Ladylike/noble one" (brunette/blonde). There is no real equivalent in English. It means a person of noble standing, though not normally titled (in which case it would be raya). Pl. rayalini. "Mel rayalini" ("my ladylike/noble ones" is a standard address to an assembly of educated people.
RAYATI (♄): The standard greeting for both meeting and departure, normally accompanied by a reverence or a small bow. Rayati is actually the salutation-form of Raya and means literally "Hail to the Sun" - the implication being "Hail to the Sun (or Divine Spirit) in your Heart".
RAYATI RAIHIRANYA (♄): Formal and military greeting, meaning "Hail (as an incarnation of the Sun) the Empress". Used regularly by military and some diplomatic personnel and by others on formal occasions ranging from State visits to school assemblies.
SARA (♃): Sister.
SARACHENYA (♃): Honoured sister. Respectful form of address to an elder sister, by blood or bond.
SARACHENYACHERI (♃): Dear honoured sister, a term of affectionate respect to an elder sister, usually by bond (and usually a personally-bonded rather than a group Elder Sister). Somewhat colloquial, but generally accepted as a legitimate term where the circumstances allow it.
SARACHERI (♃): Dear sister. Affectionate form of address to a younger sister, by blood or bond. It could be used to an elder blood-sister in circumstances where her seniority was not "active".
STRAVË (♄): (Member of) the "fifth Estate" - actually renunciates who have taken up a wholly spiritual life and passed beyond Estate. Cf. HAYANA.
STRIVATË (♃): The thread-Spirit: Dea Who joins all things "as pearls upon a string". Comparable with Sanskrit sutratma.
SUCRISHI (♃): (One) following the way of Love. When applied to individuals, Sucrishi is the brunette/plural and Sucrisha the blonde form. Adjectivally it is usually still Sucrishi but can be Sucrishilan.
THAMË (♄): As a common noun (spelled with a small t, as opposed to the name of the Janya), thamë is represents a concept untranslatable in modern English. It can be translated as "order" or "harmony", but it fully implies "the Sacred Order of the Universe with Dea at the head and all things in their proper place" or "the perfect Order of Being through which all things are united in a music-like harmony and all beings are saved".
The concept of thamë is central to Aristasian culture. The order and formality of Aristasian life attempt to attune maid's existence to the music of the spheres. The hierarchical and monarchical structure of Aristasian societies both reflects and continues the Order of the Heavens. The striving for grace and beauty in every area of life is founded on thamë. To an Aristasian bad manners, and even doing things in an incorrect or uncustomary way are considered equivalent to what Tellurians would regard as venial sin, since disruption of the Grace and Harmony of life is disruption of the Divine Order. Aristasian culture is based on tradition, form and the belief that there is a right and proper way to do all things.
TRENT (♄): Trent is the largest and central of the five Western Nations. It has a small coastline on the Sea of Doves and its climate ranges from decidedly cold Temperate in the north to Sub-Tropical in the south. With an external style similar to that of the Tellurian 1930s, Trent is looked upon as a centre of fashion and sophistication, especially by the more "home-like" Quirinelle. Queen Eleanor is the ruler of Trent and Thamë (pron. Tah-may and corresponding to the Tellurian planet Jupiter, Aristasian planet Thamë) is the tutelary Janya of the province.
VATHE, SAI (♃): (pron: vaat-hay) Another name for Sai Mati, usually implying her higher or celestial aspect, as the Divine Intelligence.
VAT'HE (♃): Insane - but originally in the sense of "Divinely inspired".
VAYA, SAI (♃): Janya of Air or Wind. Sometimes a name for the Breath-Spirit.
VAYABONDI (♄): Itinerant tribes who wander according to certain celestial indications read by tribal elders. Their wanderings lead them all over Sai Herthe. The name means "those bound to the Wind(-Spirit)".
VIKHELI (♄): 1. A member of any of the Armed Services. A warrior-maid. 2. A Vikhelic practice, as in: "Two-sword fencing was my main vikheli in High School".
VIKHELIC (♄): Having the quality of Sai Vikhë, therefore on many occasions equivalent to Tellurian "martial" (as in "vikhelic arts"). It can however have a much broader implication - for example the unbalanced Vikhelic tendency (of discord and opposition) lies at the basis of a patriarchal civilisation.
VIKHAIL (♃): Holy war, whether spiritual (the war against the false self or the forces of darkness) or material (war against an enemy of the Haiel' Raihir or Holy Empire). The inner and outer Vikhaili are not truly separate.
VIRVA (♃): Estate (in the sense of one of the Four Estates of the Aristasian social order). Pl. virvi, as in "li kadri virvi" - "the four Estates".
VINTESSE (♄): Northern nation of Westrenne Aristasia and the only one that is wholly landlocked. In external style it resembles that of the Tellurian 1920s. Vintesse is noted for its jinky music and its Pippsies. Vintesse is ruled by the moon and protected by the Janya Candré.
VYASUCRI (♃): The Way of Love. The love-approach to Dea. Cf Skt bhakti marga.
VYATHAMË (♃): The Way of (ritual) Works. Cf Skt. karma marga. As compared to Vyasucri and Vyavathë, the Way of Light and the Way of Love respectively.
VYAVATHË (♃): The Way of Light (or Intelligence). The Intellectual or Contemplative approach to Dea. Cf. Skt jnana marga.
WESTRENNE (♄): (Person) of Western Aristasia, usually considered as the five Western Nations plus Western Arkadya. The nation of Novaria and the Archduchy of Jenilow are sometimes considered, however, to be more Estrenne than Westrenne.
