In a distant time, those we know as animals had the gift of speech. Aktu, the goddess of all things, gave written speech to all living creations in the land of Mankahar, so they might know the power of trapped words.
But Dakus, king of those who called themselves Man, used the written word to discover how to Pacify his fellow beasts, and rob them of speech.
He did so on a mass scale, so that his kind might control and rule over others. And so the Order was established: a society of animals who vowed to fight Dakus.
Because Dakus's power was gained through a book, the animals of Mankahar reasoned that the written word must be an evil, a punishment sent to sow discord and slavery.
And so Aktu's language was banned, and those who knew how to read or write were termed "omatjes," sorcerers who should be put to death. The animals destroyed all artifacts with the written word, killed all those who practiced it, and forbade its teaching.
But language, unlike other living things, does not always die so easily.