"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."
Rita Mae Brown
Chapter 9: Language of Eldia
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ᛞᛖᛞᛁᚲᚨᛏᛖ ᛁᛟᚢᚱ ᚺᛖᚱᛏᛊ
Dedicate your Hearts.
Heh… Floch Forster .
Loyal even beyond our old world.
I never expected to see this language again. Nor did I see any reason to bring it up after coming here. But seeing it again… certainly makes me nostalgic all of a sudden. As messed up as it may seem to be nostalgic about a world like my old one.
Ever since I came to Remnant, I've always found some way to think about home. From my talks with Armin about the ocean to flying with my friends using vertical maneuvering equipment, there's always something that made me think about home.
But Floch's writing on my weapon was the last thing I expected to see.
The last time I ever used it was showing Cinder how I could write my name, and that was almost 7 years ago. It was just a demonstration, but it was the cornerstone of showing her how different our worlds were to each other.
But the similarities are still there.
One of the first things that surprised me about Remnant and my world was that the modern day Eldian language and the language here, Remnant Imperial or Imperial for short, sound exactly the same. But on paper, they're completely different things. Visually, everything I saw on signs and paper were completely foreign to me, despite audibly sounding the same.
Dina, upon seeing the writing on my weapon, was surprisingly excited. Although she had her memories of her past life on Earth from Marley, she could never properly remember what the language looked like, with it always appearing as in incomprehensible blur. I also assume that her being a teacher at the school is also a factor in her excitement as well.
So, working together with her, I've put the Eldian language to paper as well as translate it to Remnant Imperial and vice-versa:
A - ᚨ
B - ᛒ
C - ᚲ
D - ᛞ
E - ᛖ
F - ᚠ
G - ᚷ
H - ᚺ
I - ᛁ
J - ᛃ
K - ᚲ
L - ᛚ
M - ᛗ
N - ᚾ
O - ᛟ
P - ᛈ
Q - ᚲ
R - ᚱ
S - ᛊ
T - ᛏ
U - ᚢ
V - ᚢ
W - ᚹ
X – X
Y – ᛁ
Z - ᛉ
Turns out some of the glyphs in the Eldian language share a similar appearance with certain letters in Imperial. It also turns out that some of the translated glyphs repeat themselves with other translated glyphs, such as the C-K-Q letters, which definitely caused me and Dina some confusion and headaches when trying to translate.
Though secretly, I found it pretty amusing to see Dina gripping her hair in frustration, almost like she was about to rip it and scream. Mom definitely had a laugh at the sight of her friend so stumped.
Haha.
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*AHEM*
Anyways.
Since getting the language written down letter by letter, Dina began practicing writing words and sentences. First, she started off with Imperial, then she would start translating it into Eldian. She wanted to become fluent in her native language once more, a way to reconnect with her roots so to speak.
It started off simple:
Earth - ᛖᚨᚱᚦ
Paradis - ᛈᚨᚱᚨᛞᛁᛊ
Marley - ᛗᚨᚱᛚᛖᛁ
Titan - ᛏᛁᛏᚨᚾ
Eldian - ᛖᛚᛞᛟᚨᚾ
Remnant - ᚱᛖᛗᚾᚨᚾᛏ
Mistral - ᛗᛁᛊᛏᚱᚨᛚ
Kuroyuri - ᚲᚢᚱᛟᛁᚢᚱᛁ
Ambrose Farms - ᚨᛗᛒᚱᛟᛊᛖ ᚠᚨᚱᛗᛊ
Grimm - ᚷᚱᛁᛗᛗ
When she was done with that, she began to try her hand at writing sentences in Eldian:
Hello, my name is Dina Fritz. Welcome to Kuroyuri.
ᚺᛖᛚᛚᛟ, ᛗᛁ ᚾᚨᛗᛖ ᛁᛊ ᛞᛁᚾᚨ ᚠᚱᛁᛏᛉ. ᚹᛖᛚᚲᛟᛗᛖ ᛏᛟ ᚲᚢᚱᛟᛁᚢᚱᛁ.
Nightmares come and go, but they never stay gone. But instead of focusing on what you fear when you wake up... focus on what you love.
ᚾᛁᚷᚺᛏᛗᚨᚱᛖᛊ ᚲᛟᛗᛖ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚷᛟ, ᛒᚢᛏ ᚦᛖᛁ ᚾᛖᚢᛖᚱ ᛊᛏᚨᛁ ᚷᛟᚾᛖ. ᛒᚢᛏ ᛁᚾᛊᛏᛖᛞ ᛟᚠ ᚠᛟᚲᚢᛊᛁᛜ ᛟᚾ ᚹᚺᚨᛏ ᛁᛟᚢ ᚠᛖᚱ ᚹᚺᛖᚾ ᛁᛟᚢ ᚹᚨᚲᛖ ᚢᛈ... ᚠᛟᚲᚢᛊ ᛟᚾ ᚹᚺᚨᛏ ᛁᛟᚢ ᛚᛟᚢᛖ.
We are stronger when we are together, than we are when we are apart.
ᚹᛖ ᚨᚱᛖ ᛊᛏᚱᛟᛜᛖᚱ ᚹᚺᛖᚾ ᚹᛖ ᚨᚱᛖ ᛏᛟᚷᛖᚦᛖᚱ, ᚦᚨᚾ ᚹᛖ ᚨᚱᛖ ᚹᚺᛖᚾ ᚹᛖ ᚨᚱᛖ ᚨᛈᚨᚱᛏ.
And after she was finished with sentences, she decided to write down our names in Eldian:
Eren Yeager - ᛖᚱᛖᚾ ᛁᛖᚷᛖᚱ
Carla Yeager - ᚲᚨᚱᛚᚨ ᛁᛖᚷᛖᚱ
Cinder Fritz - ᚲᛁᚾᛞᛖᚱ ᚠᚱᛁᛏᛉ
Lie Ren - ᛚᛁᛖ ᚱᛖᚾ
Nora Valkyrie - ᚾᛟᚱᚨ ᚢᚨᛚᚲᛁᚱᛁᛖ
Eventually Mom had to pull Dina away from writing when she became a bit TOO focused on writing, and forget that she had to take a break eat something. Reluctantly, Dina stopped and came down to join everyone else for lunch. It was around this time Nora and Ren had joined us.
During lunch Dina, after some curious probing from Nora and Ren when they saw the papers, explained what the two of us had been up to. Cinder recognized the writing, having previously seen it when we had first met 7 years ago, and helped teach me to read Remnant Imperial. Ren and Nora were both surprised to learn that Eldian and Imperial sounded the exact same verbally, but were completely different when written down. Mom didn't know what we were up to when she came and dragged Dina out but was happy to see and remember her original language again.
Whilst looking over the work Dina had done, the others noticed there was a section that wasn't written by her but me instead, recognizing my handwriting. Dina had asked me to write out a sentence in Eldian so that she could see what it looked like when she attempted it. She said it could be anything that came to mind.
After my encounter with Floch and the others from Paradis, there was one that thing that popped into my mind.
ᛁᚠ ᛁᛟᚢ ᚹᛁᚾ, ᛁᛟᚢ ᛚᛁᚢᛖ. ᛁᚠ ᛁᛟᚢ ᛚᛟᛊᛖ, ᛁᛟᚢ ᛞᛁᛖ. ᛏᚺᛖ ᛟᚾᛚᛁ ᚹᚨᛁ ᛏᛟ ᚹᛁᚾ, ᛁᛊ ᛏᛟ ᚠᛁᚷᚺᛏ.
When Nora asked me what it was that I had written down, I translated for her and everyone else.
"If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. The only way to win, is to fight."
It was a philosophy that many on Paradis followed. Me, Mikasa, Floch, and presumably the rest of the Yeagerist controlled military adhered to as well. I wanted the others to better understand the mindset and reasoning behind Floch and the others actions, and why they followed this frame of mind.
Despite the dire/cynical undertone of the words I had written, Ren was fascinated with the Eldian language, and so was Nora surprisingly. The two of them, along with Cinder, asked me and Dina if we could teach them to read and write Eldian. Ren was interested in learning about an entirely new culture, especially one that was from another world, and Cinder wanted to further connect with me and Dina both by learning the same language as us.
Nora's answer was the most surprising: Us Titans should learn and connect with the language from which we came.
Even though her and the others weren't Eldian by blood, nor did they originate from Earth like myself or Dina, the power of the Titans was a thread that linked us together far deeper than blood could. To her, they were "honorary Eldians" and wished to cement that by learning the language.
Though she did deflate a little with dread when Cinder pointed out that this would come with "a lot of homework" if she really wanted to know, which made us all laugh.
Never change Nora. Never change.
I have to admit… it actually feels nice. The idea of teaching the others Eldian, the language of our people, and was touched by the reasoning Nora had given me.
Eldians were treated like shit. Worse than Faunus, worse than insects to be crushed underfoot. Marley and the rest of Earth conditioned Eldians to fear and hate themselves, including their own cultural roots. So, hearing that someone wanted to connect with those roots, to actually go as far as to call themselves honorary Eldians as a badge of pride… it makes me want to smile.
But at the same time… I can't help but be so… angry and disappointed.
Why is it that I had to be reborn in an entirely different world just to experience this? Why couldn't Earth be more like Remnant?
Why…
…did things have to turn out this way…?
Eren Yeager
Citizen of Kuroyuri – Kingdom of Mistral
Hunt Inquisitorius – Inquisitor #1
[STATUS: Permanent Reinstatement, authorized by the Mistral Council]
Greetings and, in the words of a certain android, Salutations everyone! The Avenging Titan here! Hope you all are doing well, and I hope this wasn't too long of a wait.
The story behind this chapter and the idea behind it is actually a funny one. I was watching some gameplay of God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök on YouTube one day. And while I was doing that, it suddenly hit me, and I felt like such an idiot that I wanted to smack myself
Attack on Titan is heavily inspired/influenced by Norse Mythology.
There are many examples of this, so I will go through them one by one:
Ymir: This is one of the most blatant references to Norse Mythology in Attack on Titan from Isayama. In both stories, Ymir was the beginning of it all, as the first Giant and first Titan respectively. In Norse Mythology, Ymir was killed, and his remains would be used to forge the world itself as we know it. In Attack on Titan, after the death of Ymir Fritz, her body would be chopped up and eaten by her 3 daughters by Fritz. Laying down the foundations that would see her power passed down through her descendants in the Eldian Empire.
The Tree: In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil AKA the World Tree, is that on which the Nine Realms exist and are connected. And while it is never explicitly referenced by name exactly, it is most certainly felt in Attack on Titan. After being hunted like an animal, Ymir Fritz would come across a massive tree, where she would then come into contact with the source of all living matter and give birth to the Titans. The connection to Yggdrasil is further established when Ymir's power became split into Nine different Titans, like the Nine Realms in Norse Mythology. It is also important to note that in the Coordinate, which all Eldians are connected to, appears as a large glowing tree in the world of the Paths.
Eren and Odin: Both characters share and are moved by a single obsession. For Odin it was knowledge and wisdom, for Eren it was freedom. One can even make the argument that Eren also wanted the same as Odin, as what Eren considered a part of freedom was to not live in ignorance about the world, due to being raised in the confinement of the Walls. Both characters also possessed the ability of future sight, which Odin sacrificed an eye for him to gain. Funny enough, Eren would also sacrifice an eye in order to blend in and gather wisdom and knowledge in Marley.
Ragnarök/Rumbling: Both worlds have their own equivalent of the end of the world. For Norse Mythology, this was the event known as Ragnarök, a cataclysmic battle that would see the death of the gods and the destruction/rebirth of the world. In Attack on Titan this would come in the form of The Rumbling, a massive hoard of millions of Colossus Titans which would trample the world and all who inhabit it. Both Eren and Odin foresaw the events long ahead of time, and despite their efforts, would meet their deaths in battle. Surtr the Fire Giant in Norse Mythology was also the one responsible for burning the world to ash, while Attack on Titan had the millions of Colossus Titans reduce the world to rubble and fire/ash.
Both stories would even have their own climatic battles and the forces who fight these battles. In Ragnarök, Odin has under his command the Einherjar, undead warriors from the Norse afterlife of Valhalla who prepare for the coming battle. By day they would set out and battle each other, and by night whoever had been wounded and killed would rise again, ready to fight again the next day till the time of Ragnarök. During the Battle of Heaven and Earth, Attack on Titan reveals that it has its own version of the Einherjar in the form of the past Nine Titans. The Founding Titan possesses the ability to summon past incarnations of the Nine Titans that were possessed by Titan Shifters throughout history, all under the command of either Eren or Ymir, and seemingly could be summoned infinitely.
Both stories also have an "epilogue" of what happens in the aftermath of these cataclysmic events. In Norse Mythology, there are those who survived the ordeal of Ragnarök, and work together to try and create a better world from the ashes of the old world. In Attack on Titan, following Eren's death and the end of The Rumbling, the remaining 20% of humanity try and rebuild a better world from the ruins of the old, and to not repeat the same mistakes.
Though we all know how that turned out.
With the long-winded explanations aside, after realizing the connections between Norse and AOT, I came to Court with an idea that eventually be utilized here and in Chapter 43 of A New Path: What if the language of the Eldian Empire were Norse Runes? To keep with the Norse inspiration the series already has.
I eventually came across the website "Valhyr" when searching online, which is website dedicated to all things Norse. From things like clothing, jewellery, games, wallpapers and more. In one section of the "Art & Games" tab is the "Text to Runes" convertor, which translates English to whatever version of Runes there are. The version that we used for both stories is called Elder Futhark.
Also, one thing that Court mentioned to me was that "English" wouldn't really work for Remnant, seeing as Remnant doesn't have an England for there to be an English, and the language pretty much stayed the same after Darkness destroyed everything. So he came up with the suggestion for Remnants language to be dubbed "Remnant Imperial" or "Imperial" for short, seeing as Remnant has Kingdoms and an old medieval history.
Court and I plan to use the language for more ideas in the future, and I hope you all enjoy what we come up with when the time comes.
This is The Avenging Titan, ᛊᛁᚷᚾᛁᛜ ᛟᚠᚠ. That means signing off.