Cipher methods Symbols
Dovahzul (Skyrim Dragon Language)
Dovahzul (literally ‘dragon voice’ in Dragon) is the constructed language of the dragons of Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda, 2011). Designed by Adam Adamowicz (also responsible for the extended Daedric alphabet) and Bruce Nesmith (the game’s lead designer), it has an embryonic grammar, a several-hundred-word lexicon — documented by the community on Thuum.org — and most importantly a distinctive runic alphabet: 34 glyphs (26 letters + 8 digraphs) with characteristic claw marks.
Dovahzul is the basis of the Thu’um (Shouts) the Dragonborn (the player) learns throughout the game: Fus Ro Dah (Force Balance Push), Yol Toor Shul (Fire Inferno Sun), etc. It’s also the language sung by the Greybeards at High Hrothgar and by Paarthurnax atop the Throat of the World.
How does the alphabet work?
The cipher uses a monoalphabetic substitution: every letter of the plaintext is replaced by a glyph drawn from a fixed correspondence table. It is one of the oldest cryptographic techniques on record — already described in antiquity (Caesar cipher, ~50 BC) — and the most directly readable family for a beginner.
The table holds 26 glyphs for the 26 Latin letters (no dedicated digit glyphs). To encrypt, read the text letter by letter and replace each letter with its glyph; to decrypt, consult the same table the other way round.
The 8 authentic Dovahzul digraphs (AA, AH, EI, EY, II, IR, OO, UU) are not handled here — we stick to the 26-Latin-letter table to stay reversible.
Cryptographic strength: weak. Because every plaintext letter always maps to the same glyph, the cipher falls to a frequency analysis in a few dozen words (in both English and French, E remains the most common letter, an immediate entry point). Monoalphabetic substitutions are therefore used today for their decorative, playful or pedagogical value — not to protect real information.
Historical and modern usage
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) — carved on Word Walls scattered across Skyrim, on dragonic sarcophagi, and chanted by the Greybeards.
- Dragonborn DLC (2012) — used by Miraak and the Solstheim brotherhood.
- Skyrim community — tattoos, cosplay, dragon-themed plates, Thuum.org as central reference.
- Compare with Daedric (another Bethesda script we already ship): opposing aesthetics, same designers.
Related variants
- Daedric (another Bethesda script) — see our dedicated entry.
- Full Dovahzul with the 8 digraphs — not implemented here, kept for a possible revision.
What are the weaknesses?
- Monoalphabetic substitution — immediate frequency analysis.
- Documented alphabet — public table on Thuum.org, UESP, dCode.
- Close glyphs: some runes (D/G, K/X) look alike at a glance.
The 26 glyphs
