This page is intended as a tool for the instruction of ogres in the Old Stone Tongue of the ogres, called G'rot Tongu. Resources include a Common Tongue to G'rot Tongu Dictionary, a guide to ogre runes and symbols, and a brief history of the Stone Tongue.

The Stone Tongue

The very first ogres, the Garad, were taught to speak by Uron. The language they spoke became the G'rot Tongu. This language is widely guttural and reflects the noises of the elements: rushing water, blowing wind, snapping flame, and cracking rock. The later being the source of the language's name since the noises of rock are favored by Uron and Utezni who furthered the language. Utezni, after being carried to and from Myrk, wrote the wisdom of the universe upon five trees that were turned to stone by his magic. This wisdom was written in glyphs and runes. The runes themselves were not assigned meaning by Utezni; rather Utezni brought them to Yord and was able to give them manifestation on earth.

Utezni spent a great deal of time carving these runes and attempted to teach other ogres their secrets but many ogres did not have the time to learn them. Una was the most interested in these symbols but did not like how difficult they were to carve into wood, her preferred medium. So she created a system of writing that took less time and was easier to carve into wood. This Short Branch form was primarily used by shaman from then on to compose spells. All runes, glyphs, and spells are stained red to represent the blood of Utezni that filled the notches when he first wrote them. The only exception is the symbol for D'Zono the Cannibal. Evil places are her domain and ogres seek them not. If a place is cursed with D'Zono's power ogres take charcoal and hastily blacken the outward facing surfaces as a warning for other passers by.

After Utezni took to wandering alone, the Stone Tongue in written form became less common used primarily by shaman in rituals. As ogres became less populous and were forced to band together and trade with other monsters they began to speak the common tongue with them. In this way the Stone Tongue was used less frequently and ultimately lost. Some Shaman still know it but the words are mostly used to name ogres. That is way so many of the Stone Tongue words archived below are used in names.

Common Tongue (Hooman) to G'rot Tongu Dictionary

cleaver: vask

earth: yord

family: ut

great: u

half: hav

huge/strong: svarr

ogre: thur

stone: g'rot

strong/huge: svarr

tongue: tongu

wolf: ulv

Runes and Symbols

Ogres wander from place to place rarely staying very long in any one spot. As a result ogres rely on a oral tradition to maintain their legends and folk lore. However, Utezni did create symbols that are sometimes used by ogres. They fall into three groups: glyphs, runes, and short branch.

Glyphs

The glyphs are pictures of animals, beings, or places. These symbols carry mystic properties and are associated mostly with the Totems of the Ogres. Glyphs are mostly found on stone surfaces either chiseled into or painted onto the rock.

Runes

Runes are more abstract but still more intricate than short branch. The runes require a more trained eye to read since the swirling patterns are difficult to discern meaning from. Runes can be chiseled or painted into rocks accompanying the glyphs. Certain runes are commonly painted onto ogre clothing. In this way the runes are some of the most used of ogre symbols while the glyphs are rarely reproduced and short branch widely forgotten.

Short Branch

The Short Branch was developed by Una for a more speedy, simple form of writing. Short Branch is used to record spells almost exclusively onto wood. Shaman staves are most often marked with Short Branch.