Scoriography

Scoriography is the written language of dragons. It is inscribed by carefully burning and melting stone, and meant to be read with the tongue. As such it is a 'four-dimensional' language, incorporating both raised and shaped characters, and taste. It is meant to be read in the unnamed language of dragons, but translates well into common. Dragons who know how to inscribe Scoriography are called Scoriographers.

Use

Scoriography is primarily used to record a flight's history on the walls of its eyrie. Dragons can also write in books made from large stone slabs. A variant, called "micro scoriography" has also been used occasionally on smaller surfaces. Books on many subjects do exist, and since scorography has changed little owing to being, quite literally, "set in stone", it is easy to read even ancient texts.

Alphabet

Scorography uses a distinct alphabet and conveys meaning at a variety of levels. The depth or height of a character indicates intensity, while the shapes form consonants and the taste forms the vowels. In theory there are four vowels, but in practice only three are used. These correspond to the four basic taste-centers: bitter, sour, and salty. Since it is challenging to make rocks taste "sweet" this vowel is never used.

The language is self-defining, meaning there is no real reading-comprehension required. Once the simple mechanics are understood and the basic forms, it becomes quite easy to interpret the general meaning. It is said, however, that only dragons can truly appreciate the subtle nuances because the height of the characters is meant to correspond to meanings in the spoken tongue.