Nova Terra Equestriae

The following morning, around 5AM, Severnaius and his crew were already hard at work. Severnaius and his crew gathered on the deck of the ship. The village of Õsametes still seemed distant, but the memory of the colorful unicorns and their peculiar culture lingered in Severnaius' mind.

"We need to make progress," Severnaius said, addressing his crew as they stood before him. "Today, we will return to the village. But we must proceed with caution. We know little of their customs and less of their language. Our goal is to build trust, and to teach them Hegamonian to gain understanding."

Laurentius nodded in agreement. "We should also see if we can gain more from that scroll. It might hold more secrets than we realize."

Severnaius gestured to one of the younger crew members, Cretheos. "Cretheos, Bring the scroll with you—we’ll need your eyes and insight. I also want you to bring a notebook, And to the rest of you, continue fixing the ship. We'll be back by noon."

So, Severnaius, Laurentius, and Crethos walked on the stone road once more. As Severnaius, Laurentius, and Cretheos made their way back to Õsametes, the sun rose.

Upon reaching Õsametes, the trio was met with curious glances from the unicorns. The unicorns had gathered in small clusters, resuming their daily tasks, and seemed to be discussing the visitors among themselves. Severnaius noticed that some unicorns were peering out from behind their homes, clearly interested but somewhat scared.

Severnaius and his crew approached the village of Õsametes with renewed determination. The morning light cast a warm glow over the quaint village, making it seem even more inviting. The unicorns, while still curious, appeared more receptive to the visitors as they observed the trio approaching.

Severnaius knew that teaching the unicorns Hegamonian (Latin), would be a complex process, but it was crucial for building a bridge between their cultures. The first step, he thought, was to start with the basics—simple words and phrases that could help in everyday communication.

As they entered the village, Severnaius spotted a group of unicorns engaged in various activities. He decided to approach a unicorn who was tending to a small garden. The unicorn had a Orange coat and a rose on her flank.

"Salve," Severnaius greeted with a friendly smile. He gestured to the unicorn and then to a nearby flower. "Hoc est flos," he said, pointing at the flower.

"Flos?"

"Bonum, quid est tuum verbum pro flore?"

The unicorn simply looked at him, not understanding Severnaius.

"Hmm, maybe I should try another way, iryga sasaki? (what are you)" Severnaius pointed at the flower.

"Ẽjatoḟu, Va mi Ẽjatoḟu. (flower, that's a flower)"

Severnaius motioned for Cretheos to step forward who was holding a small, leather-bound notebook. Cretheos began jotting down each term and its corresponding object.

Severnaius called the Unicorn again, and pointing to himself, said "Ego Severnaius," He hoped the unicorn would understand he was referring to himself. The unicorn blinked, tilting her head as if trying to make sense of what he was saying.

"Ego," Severnaius repeated, pointing to himself, Then he gestured to the unicorn.

"Roid mi Ḻestẽma Kolga (I am Heart Cloud)" The Unicorn responded

"Lestema Colga, Hoc est tuum nomen? (Lestema Colga, that's your name?)"

"Nomen? Iryga mi nomen? (name? What is name?)"

Severnaius then pointed at himself, saying "Nomen mihi Severnaius est. Nomen tibi est Lestema Colga? (my name is Serevaius, your name is Lestema Colga?)"

"Nomen… novur? (name?)" Ḻestẽma answered. Thinking novur was name in their language, Severnaius responded.

"Ita! Novur mihi Severnaius est. (My name is Serevaius.)"

"Se, wer, na, yus. Sa." Ḻestẽma repeated.

Severnaius smiled, encouraged by Ḻestẽma’s attempt to pronounce his name. He could see the curiosity in her eyes, even though she still didn’t fully understand what he was saying. The exchange had sparked a small connection, and that was enough for now. So Severnaius took the scroll which was in his bag, and showed it to the unicorn. He pointed in a series of glyphs in the center, and with his little knowledge of the language, he asked

"Iryga? (what?)"

Ḻestẽma Looked at the scroll, and she read the text.

"Õsametes" she replied, and Cretheos noted the word, and its Amatekian translation as:

Õsametes -

Severnaius continue to ask Ḻestẽma to decipher the map, and Cretheos noted each word down. The process was slow, but it was methodical, and progress was being made.

Before they new it it was nearly sundown, and Severnaius said farewell to Ḻestẽma and went back to the ship.

Later that night, Cretheos was up attempting to decipher these glyphs, they already had transliterations, they just needed to find out how the writing system works. The writing system was an alphasyllabary, with each glyph representing a consonant-vowel combination rather than a single sound. Cretheos looked at the Latin transliterations of the scroll. He wrote down each glyph and what he believed was its Latin correspondence, and Crethoes neatly arranged them in rows and columns, but then Severnaius knocked on the door, looking tired but hopeful.

"How is the deciphering?" Severnaius asked, peering at Cretheos’s work.

"I believe I've managed to match most of the glyphs to their Hegamonian counterparts. However, there's an issue with these what I call Letterae quietae, they seem to be present after vowels and I'm not sure what there for."

Severnaius thought for a moment. "Could they be silent or have a secondary function? It could be like Patrian (French), certain letters or marks serve to modify pronunciation or denote specific sounds, even if they aren't pronounced themselves. They could also mean they were once pronounced."

Cretheos nodded again, looking thoughtful. "That seems plausible. We need to understand their function better, but it’s challenging without hearing the actual sounds."

The next day, Severnaius, Laurentius, and Cretheos returned to Õsametes, and the Hercules was fixed. The Neputunus was still damaged, and Severnaius ordered them to put all attention on fixing the Neptunus.

As the trio entered Õsametes, the unicorns greeted them with curious eyes, though they seemed more accustomed to the trio’s presence now. Ḻestẽma, the unicorn who had helped them the previous day, waved as they approached her garden. Severnaius returned the wave with a smile, grateful for her continued cooperation. The early sun illuminated the village, casting long shadows across the ground.

As they approached Ḻestẽma, Severnaius, took the leather notebook from Cretheoss bag and wrote Õsametes and asked Ḻestẽma to read it.

"Cretheos, Laurentius, put all attention on the way she says the word." Severnaius told them.

"Õsametes." Ḻestẽma read the glyphs.

"Hmm, There seems to be some kind of sound in the first vowel." Cretheos noted. "It's not just the written symbol. It seems to be influenced by the nasus"

"What do you mean 'influenced by the nasus'?" Laurentius asked.

Cretheos paused, looking over his notes again, before explaining. "What I mean is, the first vowel sound, it's not just a pure vowel. There's a hint of nasalization, like in Patrian when some vowels are followed by an 'n' or 'm,' and they take on a nasal quality. In this case, it's subtle but distinct."

Laurentius frowned, thinking it over. "So you're saying the first vowel in 'Õsametes' is nasalized? How would we note that down?"

Cretheos nodded. "Exactly. In our Latin transcription, we could mark it with a tilde over the vowel, like in certain Vulgar languages"

Severnaius nodded thoughtfully, taking in Cretheos's explanation. The discovery of nasalization was another step toward understanding the unicorns’ language, and he could sense they were on the brink of a breakthrough.

"Good work, Cretheos," Severnaius said. "Let’s note it down carefully. This detail could be essential for properly understanding their speech and making progress in teaching them Hegamonian."

Severnaius and his companions continued their linguistic work with Ḻestẽma and the other unicorns for the next two weeks. Each day was a step closer to unlocking the mysteries of their language, and with every breakthrough, the trio felt a growing bond with the village. They had learned that the Amatekian writing system was not as impenetrable as it seemed, and the unicorns, for their part, became more willing to help, eager to share their culture with the strangers from afar.

Despite the progress, Severnaius knew their time in Õsametes was drawing to a close. The repairs to the Neptunus were nearly complete, and soon they would have to return to Imperium.

Two weeks have passed and Severnaius and his crew have fixed the Neptunus and Hercules, during this time, Severnaius had also taken the opportunity to learn more about the unicorns and their culture. He also decided to return back to Imperium to report back to the emperor about the new island.

"Salve," Severnaius called Ḻestẽma and she trotted, her eyes curious. The merchant had prepared a small ceremonial necklace, adorned with precious stones from Aretia, as a gesture of goodwill and respect.

"Salve," Severnaius said with a smile. "Vis nos (Come with us)" He said, whilst going on the ship.

Ḻestẽma nodded and went on the ship. After some preparation, they set sail. Ḻestẽma looked at the island, knowing it'll be a long time before she'd see it again. The island became further, and further, and before they knew it was open sea once more. On his time on the ship, Ḻestẽma continued to study Hegamonian.