Hi Tibians,

I wanted to share with you the results of my work on the functioning theory of language 469. And believe me, I’ve searched through more than one forum, watched plenty of videos and familiarized myself with practically all long-standing theories regarding this mystery.
I’ve spoken with NPCs, read Tibian books, and gone through interviews with Knightmare and other staff members that could potentially point me toward a solution — not to mention the new AI technologies I tried to use. Maybe it wasn’t an obsession, but I certainly spent far too much time on it.
Since I’m writing about a theory, it means I still haven’t found a way to decode the bonelord language. However, in my opinion it’s a functional theory, meaning that all NPC responses and other in-game sources seem to confirm my observations.
I’m no longer an active player and I don’t intend to invest any more time into this, so I’m leaving here everything I have, hoping it will guide someone. I’ll check in from time to time — if you, the player, find the answer, then when you announce it, please let the community know that I helped lead you to the final solution.

Now, to the point — in my view, the key to solving this mystery is TIME. Yes, time. And a clock face.

Why? Let’s assume that all hints are within the game — that is, we discard references to famous mathematicians, magic, Kabbalah, numerology, and other out-of-game theories.

Following the transcripts of Wrinkled Bonelord:

Zero is “obscene” because it’s the beginning of time — Tibia did not yet exist; zero is treated as the start (possibly the date January 7th 1997, although I’m not sure whether we should focus on real time; I’d rather lean toward in-game time — perhaps Wrinkled Bonelord gives different answers at specific hours on the Tibian clock?)

That’s also why 1 is “Tibia,” because when time began in the game, Tibia came into existence.

Their name isn’t constant — it’s a complex formula that continuously changes for the observer, just like time.

And here is the most important point: according to the Wrinkled Bonelord, their language is based on mathemagics and — crucially — “To decipher even our most basic texts, it would need a genius that can calculate numbers within seconds in his brain.”
This raises the question: why would a genius need to calculate anything quickly, “within seconds,” if it’s simply a book and one could read it slowly? This is what led me to the theory involving time. And this is the key to the puzzle. The numbers need to be divided or incorporated into seconds somehow in order to provide the key to deciphering the code — “numbers within seconds.”

Let’s also address a common mistake in interpreting the Wrinkled Bonelord’s statement:
“I’m 486486 and NOT ‘Blinky’ as some people called me … before they died. So don’t … confuse your numbers, as my kind says.”
People often assume that 486486 translates to “Blinky” and build theories around this, while the Wrinkled Bonelord explicitly tells us that this is not the translation and that it can mean anything except “Blinky.”

A Prisoner & the Riddler from Paradox Tower:

Another thing supporting the time theory is the dialogue with A Prisoner from Mintwallin. This is the only known in-game reference to mathemagic in Tibia besides Paradox Tower and its Riddler (completing the quest grants the “Mathemagician” achievement with the note: “Sometimes the biggest secrets of life can have a simple solution.”).
The Prisoner’s answers to the question “1+1” are four different ones: 1, 13, 49, and 94. If you add one number to another, you should always end up with either 1 or 13 within each of these combinations. For years people tried calculating these numbers in bizarre ways, but to me it’s simple and there’s only one common denominator: a clock face.
On a clock, 1 and 13 indicate the same hour. And all of his answers are unified by the arrangement of clock hands. Only then does the Prisoner’s response become consistent in every instance.

Avar Tar from Edron:

Another issue is Avar Tar, who can recite one bonelord verse where he adds spaces that could theoretically help us identify what the words might be. Unfortunately, to me this source is unreliable, just like many of the other stories this NPC tells, so I wouldn’t try to translate it or treat it as meaningful to the matter.
The only potential connection could be the rhyme the Prisoner uses when asked about time:
“Better save time than committing a crime. I am a poet and I know it!”
If this directly translates to Avar Tar’s line, then we’re in business — but I doubt it.

I’ll leave you here. I recommend further exploration — there are only a few believers left in solving this, and I hope this post sparks new searches for answers.

If you have facts disproving or confirming these theories from other NPCs or books that I forgot to mention here, please share them in the comments. If somebody formed this theory before me and I was not aware - apologies for wasting your time!

Best regards,
Kalahan