Abelas
the Sentinel

Independent Dragon Age roleplay blog.

est. Jan 2015 !

prayers
Anonymous

Hello there! I was wondering if you could translate a phrase for me into Elven, if you have the time? How would you say "You are fine with me"? Like, if you were telling someone that they didn't need to apologize or be nervous around you? Something along those lines, if that makes sense.

fenxshiral:

Savhalla.

For accepting an apology, you would either use one of the many phrases for ‘thank you,’ or you would simply say Vhallan nar abelas, or Vhallan abelas - I accept your apology (lit. i accept your sorrow). 

For stating that an apology isn’t required, you could say a few things:

Tel’ema abelas - Do not be sorry. Lit. Do not have sorrow. 

Tel’nuvenan nar abelas / Tel’nuvenan abelas - I do not want your apology. Lit. I do not want your sorrow. Depending on the tone this is said in, it would either mean that they don’t need to apologize, or that you don’t accept their apology. 

Banal ema sul abelas - There is nothing to be sorry for. Lit. There is nothing to have sorrow for. This is oftentimes shortened to banal abelas in informal conversation. The latter, depending on the intonation, can also mean an accusation that they are not sorry. 

Tel’emas banal lasa ma abelas - You have nothing to be sorry for. Lit. You don’t have nothing to give you sorrow. This is a much more emphatic version of the previous. It should be noted that in Elvhen, double negatives serve to enforce the negative, they do not result in a grammatical error. For example, while the phrase, “not nothing,” is incorrect in English, in Elvhen it would serve to emphasize ‘nothing.’ 

In terms of nervousness, while similar phrases could be used in English, they can’t in Elvhen. A similar phrase in Elvhen would along the lines of, Banal hara o’em. Nothing to fear from me. 

Sathem.

“In i’ve'an, garahnen re val, i valaan ea ir'elvyr'rasem. Aron mar bel'ghi'lanen'era'mana, es'an ema vindhruen, y sil i eolas isalem vera.”

COMPANION CODEX ENTRY: ABELAS OF THE ELVHEN / THE SENTINEL OF MYTHAL
Where Willows Wail

theharellan:

When we walked, we walked where willows wail
whose withered windings won’t wassail.
We weary-worn with wited wale,
were waving with wanion ward.
When wishing waned, we wighters warred.
When wolfen wan, we wastrels warred.

A lullaby to a local Denerim and smaller villages south. A recent addition to the archives, having only gained notice among local minstrels in the last two decades, although the oral record may have simply been lost to Blight. It was originally catalogued with other poems of war common to the Alamarri. Recent excavations at the newly discovered temple to the primitive goddess Mythal now suggest an elven connection, with the discovery of a small carved tablet, which reads:

Tel’enara bellana bana’vhenadahl,
Sethen’a ir san’shiral, mala tel’halani
Ir sa’vir te’suledin var bana’vallaslin,
Vora’nadas san banal’him emma abel revas.
Ir tela’ena glandival, vir amin tel’hanin.
Ir tela las ir Fen halam, vir am’tel’elavhen

While meter and alliterative differences abound, the two texts share length, tone, and the not-insignificant “wolfen” imagery of an elven trickster deity, the Dread Wolf, Fen’Harel. A literal interpretation is impossible, as some form of lyrical shorthand is employed throughout, and it differs greatly from modern formal Dalish:

We/it lost eternity or the ruined tree of the People,
Time won’t help when the land of dreams is no longer our journey.
We try to lead despite the eventual failing of our markings.
To the inevitable and troubling freedom we are committed.
When we could no longer believe, we lost glory to war.
When the Wolf failed/won, we lost the People to war.

                               - Documented by minstrels assisting the
             University of Orlais in cataloging folktales of Thedas

thelusty-qunarianmaid-deactivat

Hi I'm sorry about all that drama you've had to go through and I understand if you're to busy to answer a word/name translation request. I normally wouldn't ask but I really respect your work. Would there be a name meaning "sun light" TY So much

fenxshiral:

An’eth’ara!

The elvhen word for sunlight is vunlean.

‘Sunshine’ or ‘Sunlight’ as a name would be Vunlea (fem), Vunleas (masc) or Vunlean (neut).

Sathem.

nyehcromancer:

arinnhanson:

samswritingtips:

A breakdown of medieval armor, since a lot of pieces are required to create a full suit.

ref

Ref

sirladysketch

I really appreciate all of the work you've been doing on Project Elvhen, it's been invaluable as I write. Thank you! I was trying to find a word in that I might use as a basis for the meaning of my Lavellan's name "Remli." The closest thing I found was the word for slave, "Girem’lin." Do you have any suggestions for ways to flesh out her name that are a little less grim? I figured Remli is more of a nickname anyway, but any advice would be much appreciated! <3

fenxshiral:

Essentially, any past participle of a verb that ends in -ra could be used as a base for the name, as -em is the morpheme used to create a past participle of a verb. Girem, for example, is the past participle of gira - to buy, to have or to own. Part participles can also be used to create new verbs, such as the case with verema - to receive, to pick up, to take hold of, which is created from verem, the past participle of vera - to take, to remove, or to deprive.

There is a list of the verbs that end in -ra:

alas'nira - to dance
banal'vara - to exile, to banish, to displace, to expel
bora - to throw, to shoot, to give something not wanted
dara - to go, to pierce
dera - to touch, to stroke, to reach
dira - to hit, to punch
elvara - to make difficult, to make long
elvyra - to make easy, to simplify
era - to sleep, to dream
felgara - to grow, to burgeon, to germinate, to develop, to bloom
gara - to come, to arrive, to happen, to enter, to get, to move forward, to occur
gera - to get, to buy, to take
gira - to own, to buy, to have
ha'lam'shira - to abandon, to desert
hara - to fear, to dread
inmuinbora - to cough
ir'vera - to steal
ladara - to heal, to mend, to soothe
nera - to like, to enjoy
nira - to celebrate
para - to bag, to contain, to purse
shira - to journey, to travel
sildeara - to feel, to have emotion
souvera - to tire, to be tired
sura - to arrive, to come, to create, to act
sylvira - to fly, to soar
tara - to stand, to rise
uth'then'era - to go into an unending sleep, to die, to go into uth’then’era
vara - to go away, to leave, to depart
vegara - to return, to come back
venira - to master, to perfect
vera - to take, to remove, to deprive
vira - to go, to travel, to walk

Any of these words could be turned into a past participle and used with lin for a name meaning a person who embodies that quality, i.e. Nirem’lin - celebrated blood / celebrated person.

I hope that helps. Send me another ask if you need more help. 

Sathem.

Anonymous

What would birds of prey be called? Is there a name relating to raptors that you can think of?

fenxshiral:

Raptor or Bird of Prey is aenorean. Literally: prey bird. 

Anonymous

Would it make sense in the language for there to be a single word for "childish hope" or "childish fantasy"? Or would it be more of a phrase? For context, I wanted to use something to that effect in a drabble about my Dalish Warden (who is still telling themselves that Tamlen might be okay) as a way of cursing themselves for acting that way.

fenxshiral:

It would make perfect sense for such a phrase to exist. In fact, such a phrase (three actually) does exist:

Esha’linor las  - childish hope

Esha’linor nuven - childish wish / childish dream / childish fantasy

Tela ha’lam’dera - unreachable goal. lit. cannot reach end

sathem.

Anonymous

I don't know if you've already been asked this, and my apologies if you have, but are there are terms of affection other than the given of 'vhenan' and 'emma lath?' Things less intense and more along the lines of 'dear' or 'darling' or 'cutie' or 'my sweet.' Boyfriend or girlfriend or other. Something between 'lethallan/in' and 'vhenan'. Thanks a bunch, you're amazing!

fenxshiral:

I don’t recall being asked something similar, but my memory can be shoddy, especially as the number of asks I get continues to climb.

In terms of endearments, you have to remember that endearments are usually born from the language. For example, while you could translate darling or sweetie into Elvhen, it would be like translating ‘baby,’ into Portuguese. Calling your lover bebê or docinho in Portuguese would be just be weird. Instead, you’re going to be using things like chuchu, gato/gata, or meu querido/minha querida — just to name a few. Likewise, while querido translates back into English as ‘dear,’ or ‘darling,’ calling somebody chayote or cat in English would be just as weird as calling somebody docinho in Portuguese.

Also mind that some of the endearments on the Elvhen wiki page are unfortunately just plain wrong from a grammatical/linguistic standpoint.

With that in mind, onwards to Elvhen endearments:

For Anyone:

Da’assan: little arrow. An endearment used, usually for hunters, but can be used for anyone. Typically used to describe someone who is forthright, straight shooting, etc. Usually used by someone more experience/older towards someone less experienced/younger.
Da’mi / Da’mis: little blade. An endearment used, usually for hunters or warriors, but can be used for anyone. Typically used to describe someone who is stubbon, but effective. Someone who goes to get what they want, and someone who does something regardless of consequence. As with da’assan, it is usually used by someone more experience/older towards someone less experienced/younger.
Da’lath’in: little heart. An endearment used to describe someone who is emotional, carries their heart on their sleeve, is very empathetic, or very sympathetic to the plights of others. Typically used to describe a young person, but can be used for people of all ages who meet the description.
Da Fen: Little wolf. An playful endearment for close friends, family and lovers. Used with those who are the same age or older.
Da Fenlin: Little wolfling. An endearment similar to Da Fen, but used for those who are younger and/or less experienced.
Ara halla / ‘Ma’halla: My halla. An endearment for a very close friend that you trust implicitly.

For Children

Ara iovru / ‘Ma’iovru: My bear cub, my baby bear.
Ara vherlin / ‘Ma’vherlin: Kitten, baby cat
Ara Dharlin / ‘Ma’dharlin: Pup, puppy, baby hound
Ara hallain / ‘Ma’hallain: My little halla calf, My baby halla
Ara da’adahl / ‘Ma da’adahl: My little tree
Ara da’ean / ‘Ma’da’ean: My little bird
Ara da’isenatha / ‘Ma’da’isenatha: My little dragon
Ara vherain / ‘Ma’vherain: My lion cub, my baby lion
In the above examples, the possessives are often omitted.

For Parents / Grandparents

Mae: Mommy, Mom, Ma
Bae: Dad, Daddy, Pop
Maela: Nana, Nona, Grammy
Baela: Popop, Nono, Grandpa, Poppy
Iovro’shan: old bear
Fen’shan: Old wolf
Isenatha’shan: Old dragon
Vheraan’shan: Old lion
Iovro’bae: Papa bear
Iovro’mae: Mama bear
Fen’bae: Papa wolf
Fen’mae: Mama wolf
Isenatha’bae: papa dragon
Isenatha’mae: mama dragon
Vheraan’bae: papa lion
Vheraan’mae: mama lion

For Lovers

Ara’isha / ‘Ma’isha: Husband/boyfriend. Lit. my man
Ara’asha / ‘Ma’ahsa: Wife/girlfriend. Lit. my woman
Ara’esha / ‘Ma’esha: Partner/lover. Lit. my person
Ara’len / ‘Ma’len: Husband/boyfriend. A much more poetic variant. Lit. Myself, my male person
Ara’lan / ‘Ma’lan: Wife/girlfriend. A much more poetic variant. Lit. Myself, my female person.
Ara’lin / ‘Ma’lin: Partner/lover. A much more poetic variant. Lit. Myself, my person
Ara sa’lath / ‘Ma’sa’lath: My one love
Ara lath / ‘Ma’lath: My love
Vhen’an’ara: Heart’s desire. Lit. journey of the heart
Arasha: My happiness
Ara blarteralas / ‘Ma’blarteralas: My mountain flower
Ara av’in / ‘Ma’av’in: My mouth. A very personal and slightly sexual endearment. The meaning is essentially, “I love you so much, and desire you so much, that my mouth tastes like yours.” But also means, “We understand each other on such a personal level, that you could talk for me.”
Ara haurasha / ‘Ma’haurasha: My honey. A very sexual endearment that essentially means “You make me wet,” or “You make me hard.” Fyi: Haurasha (honey) is slang for precum, and the wetness of the vagina. 
Ara sal’shiral / ‘Ma’sal’shiral: My life. Essentially, “Love of my life,” or “You are my soul’s journey.”
Gaildahlas: The elvhen word for embrium. Similar to the english endearment ‘sweetie,’ or ‘baby.’
Fenor: Precious. Similar to the english endearment: Dear, or beloved. 
Fenorain: Little precious. Similar to the english endearment ‘darling.’