Eltharin, sometimes spelled Elthárin,[10a] is the language of the Elves. It is incredibly complex in structure and massive in vocabulary, fabled in High Elf culture as being a devolved and very simplified version of the language spoken by the god-like beings the High Elves remember as the Old Ones. In truth, Eltharin itself is a simplified version of the Elves' arcane language, Anoqeyån, which is the closest surviving mortal language of the Known World to the words spoken by the Old Ones.[1a] Th