Languages in Valenor

Valenor is a world influenced by several supernatural forces. The magic of the world of Valenor touches all people even before they are born, but in different ways. Some people (magicians) are naturally adept at using magic, and the majority is not. Thus every human being in Valenor is born with the gift of speech of one or more languages.

There are more than a dozen different languages spoken in Valenor, and the speakers of any one language need not have anything in common with each other. Two strangers from the opposite ends of the world can meet and discover they were born with the same language. Some people try to find common factors between speakers of different languages, or believe there's something bigger into it, but nothing's been proven, and most people don't believe it's a big deal.

Most people in Valenor speak Adlic which has been the Common Tongue (lingua franca) of the Natharian Empire for centuries, and unofficially so for even longer. Typically everyone speaks Adlic in company, and only use their own language if they encounter someone who happens to share it. The languages are sometimes used as secret codes, and there are, for example, chivalric orders that only allow one language. On the other hand, there are groups that regard speaking your exclusive language as lack of common courtesy.

Practically every human in Valenor speaks Adlic, some more fluently than others. Some are born with it, most are taught to speak it at a very early age. All official business is obviously conducted in Adlic. Adlic is also the sacred language of Cinderhill, and presumably the only one the Dragon understands.

(Source : Mike Pohjola, author of The Age of the Storm)