“Pérha, whose name meant “prayer”, came from the coastlands and spoke in a strange accent. She pronounced Deghóm’s name in her own tongue: ‘Demagóma.’ Deghóm had heard that accent all her life. It was Méri, the common language of the sea-peoples. Their own dialect was simply called Déngi, ‘the tongue.’ The girls said Deghóm sounded like a foreigner, but they loved her none the less for it. Pérha told the story of Deghóm’s birth solemnly, like a prayer taught to a child. Even amid the song, she heard her milk-mother’s soft voice. “Tunégata, lubagúna… She was so weak, that dear woman…” LanguageFragmentMilk Mother Book:In the Day of the Flood Source: In the Day of the Flood