Shannon had had the right hunch. His own knowledge of the local languages was rudimentary. His mind was quick and he had picked up words and phrases and had even made an effort to dive into some grammar. But he could not speak the language fluently.
"I would recommend asking my niece that question," he advised. "You might have noticed that, when I address them, you understand my speech just as well. I speak the All-Tongue. It is the only way to keep up with Midgardian languages. You can miss a mere few centuries and everything changes in the realm of men. Wars, genocide, cultures lost and born - it is astonishing what races as short-lived as yours bring about during the span of a few decades. You blink and suddenly people say 'L - O - L' instead of, you know, laughing. What an absurd thing to do." Katherine had told him the meaning of those three letters and its origin. His opinion of humanity had sunken just a little bit further that day.