Language of the Ethereal
in Deliverance reference
An entire language known as Ethereal is the primary method of communication between Lightbearers, and also the language to manipulate the Synth energy. The language itself is simple and words are very short.
When Lightbearers talk to each other via Ethereal, they can do so via thought combined with the Synth, similar to radio. However, like mortals familiar with commanding the Synth, it can also be vocalised, as the Synth is all around in the atmosphere. Precise pronunciation is required when manipulating the Synth energy.
Structure
As the words are extremely short (no more than three letters each), they are perfect for transmission by the Synth, as pioneered by the Lightbearers. This allows for their communication to travel for a great distance, and for it to arrive with limited degradation.
Vocally and in the mind, pronunciation is literal. There is no past or future tense and several words may have different translations into other languages, but the meaning generally remains the same. For an affective translation, it may take a few attempts to find the correct word.
The power of the words combined is used for Synth manipulation, or conjuration. The very utterance or communicated thoughts passing through the Synth energy is enough to disturb it, creating localised modifications in space-time, based on the words used. This often results in either environmental effects or other changes.
One key trait surrounding Ethereal is that it has no contractions — there is no “I’m” or “they’ve”. The Lightbearers, when communicating with mortals in their native language, never use them in speech or writing as using them is unfamiliar. Also, in Ethereal, words used to qualify or reinforce other words are missing, meaning that when performing literal translation, the result will be fairly broken. Again, this optimisation is to reduce the number of words for Synth-based transmission.
Continuing its simplicity, there is also no direct use of tense with translations favouring present tense, but varying depending on circumstance. In addition, nearly all words are nouns or adjectives meaning verb usage is not expressively common.
For written Ethereal, a series of single glyphs for each word are the official script, similar in appearance to runic writing. But they can also be written using more common lettering.
Basic words
Below is a translation list for common pronouns.
| Ethereal | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| o | OH | I, me, myself, my |
| on | ON | You, yourself, him, her, it, itself, his |
| no | NOH | Them, themselves, these |
| y | AYE | And |
| th | T-UH | But |
| ny | NEE | Not |
| i | EE | Or |
| qi | K-EE | Who |
| qo | K-OH | Where |
| qa | K-AH | What |
| qow | K-OR | Why |
| qan | K-AN | When |