Greetings, Professor Halberd here again to further enlighten you about the enigmatic group commonly known as the ‘Riddlesbrood’. As you may know I work, without their knowledge, at Extempory College's Ancient Linguistics Department, and I have dedicated my petty life to the uncovering of the diabolical plans of this 'menticidal' touring Theater (at least that’s what they say they are).
I found a new clue to how these rascals move about our world unseen! You see, since the Pandemic began in the early months of 2020, I was deemed ‘non-essential’ by the faculty and was ejected from my lavish office. However, my superiors had no idea of how important my research was for their safety! I felt duty bound to sneak in each night and continue my groundbreaking efforts for their own good. However, I saw a sign on the wall that said ‘Masks required at ALL times’. Even though I was alone and cloaked in darkness, I felt compelled to obey. But as I was now without employment and also without means to purchase masks I risked constant infection! Fortunately nearby there were two grocery stores, an Aldi and a Whole Foods. Moreover their parking lots were littered with discarded paper masks. Therefore, even though I'd been jabbed by all three pharmaceutical companies I decided I would recycle these masks both for the environment and my own health and safety. Assuming that the patrons of Whole foods were more sophisticated and likeminded, I chose the masks I found there instead of the deplorable ones. Fortunately, I found so many, I was able to wear three at a time!
But back to the matter at hand….
While retrieving some masks I chanced to find an old flyer on the ground. Once I examined it I noticed that it was advertising an outdoor show by the very Riddlesbrood charlatans that I have been talking about! On the back of it was a curious watermark with a selection of faces. Excited, I rushed back to the campus (as it was only 1AM) and snuck back in through the window of the girls locker room, a path I knew well. Once in my old office I deciphered the watermarks and found out many clues about how these cultish rouges refer to their homeland and also some idioms that they may chance to utter.
Apparently, in the Brooding language, toponyms (or place names if your uneducated) cannot be formed from the names of people, individually or collectively; place names are formed either from descriptions of the landscape or features of the terrain or region, or from old names inherited from their homeland’s antiquity, such as the name of their sacred mountain, Karthoguhst. As an example of the former, our own Poconos are known to them as Maapbaakaug Thletle, “The Heavy Mountains,” for reasons that are probably known only to them.* Most toponymic structures are very similar to those of our local native Lenape or Whippenong place names; for example, I have heard them refer to our northern hamlet of Weehawken – Lenape for “Place of Gulls” – as Hawbrenghaus, with the same meaning.
They do not seem to conceive of the land itself as being associated with the people who dwell thereupon. The people of Harken may have a king – for instance, they make reference to a king of a people called the Skuhrimlander. They live presently in the region known as Staizoonad ‘the Uplands’, but one could not say that their king is Melkeeyor Staizoonald ‘King of Staizoonad’; he is Melkeeyor Skuhrimlandelir ga– King of the Skuhrimlanders – and nothing more. The Riddlesbrood thus do not consider anything permanent; they see others as people wandering the face of the earth, not as defined political nations.
I also found these idioms rather interesting.
Benin aw febraenam sha stai aindthen aw fethlaenam.
"A wheel in a rut is better than life in a hut."
Tleste faebran ga oten…
"When the curtain opens/rises…"
PS- I also found a derivation from this: onduhten faebraln ("curtain-opening") which I believe means "opportunity" or "potential." Another cultural note is that faebran "curtain / veil" is the same word used to describe all of Harken, Nool khauma Faebran - "the World beyond the Veil." So there's another built-in cultural metaphor. What it exactly means I do not fathom…yet! Learn more about my discoveries on Body Parts, which i uncovered after a threat on my very life!
Andarchitaen aiyoon driksta; chaath aiyoon feyananduhtauspid
"Rehearsal turns into cheers; laziness turns into jeers." (It even rhymes!)
Architaen (the root of andarchitaen) can mean either "rehearse" or "practice, exercise."
Driksta "cheers, applause; honor, kudos" is one of the words in khlaitidriksta "congratulations". Feyananduhtauspid is from fe- ('bad, nasty, rude; broken, defective') + -na- 'together' + atauspid "to laugh at someone, to mock, to make fun of,"
…so roughly "to laugh meanly at someone together."
So I hope this helps you, my loyal readers, to understand how secretive and enigmatic these thespians are. They clearly do not believe that the garden state…nor any state...is rightfully ours but instead presume we merely temporarily occupy it. This lack of respect for our borders is unacceptable.
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