Vassian language
(Note: In accordance with Vassian culture and tradition, all Vassian words in this article are to be displayed only within Vassian sentences)
Vassian( /’vəssijən, ‘vas-, ‘væs- / also Vessian, Bessian, The Crypt Language, The Deep Language; Vassian: Πεαλαμεας γεαν Βεασσισκσα γαλς, βυθισκσα γαλς romanized: Palamas gan Vassishsa gals, Vithishsa gals) is an Indo-European language spoken by Darzelians and others in The Rhodope Confederation, Bulgaria, Greece, the Vassian Dyaspora in Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, and as a liturgical language by worshipers of Darzelas worldwide.
Name
Vassian-speakers refer to their language as Vassian, from the same root as Greek ἐΰς meaning “good” or “happy.” In poetic, religious, or traditional contexts, it may also be used “The Crypt Language,” “The Deep Language” and similar translations of a Vassian word meaning “the depths, the bottom, a basement, the lower inside surface” from the same root as Greek πυθμήν.
The word “Thracian” when used to refer to the modern Vessian people or their language is considered a derogatory exonym, from the Ancient Greek Θρᾷξ , meaning “to stir up trouble, to irritate.” Additionally, although “Darzelian” is sometimes used to refer to the language of the worshipers of Darzelas, this usage is not preferred.
Classification
The first modern scholars of Vassian placed it within the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European family. Others have attempted to ally Vassian more closely with Greek, Phrygian, or Albanian. Some have proposed an “Albano-Slavic” family, including Vassian and the extinct Dacian and Illyrian languages. Modern consensus is of a “Thraco-Dacian” family, perhaps related to the Illyrian and Albanian languages. Similarity to Balto-Slavic may be due to a genetic relationship or to coincidentally similar isoglosses. Similarities to Greek, Bulgarian, and Romanian are due to areal effects.
History
Records of Vassian go back to classical times, in the form of sparse inscriptions and glosses in Greek sources. In the 4th century, however, the sibyl Maiden Deepest and her brother-priest Encryptor converted many Vassian speakers to Darzelism. The Darzelians retreated to mountain Depths and hid from the outer world until the sibyl Kori Epigi and her God-Consort Andrei Igorovich Epigi initiated the Decryption in the fall of 1878. After the Rhodope War, the Vassian language became recognized as one of the official languages of the Rhodope Confederation, and it was permitted to be heard by non-Darzelians. In 1941, a dispensation of the sibyl Moma Zavarishta and brother-priest Oghuz Zavaren permitted Vassian to be spoken by non-Darzelians.
