Ossetic is by no means obscure, it's spoken by half a million people.
It does not have especially low number of vowels, in fact Russian has less vowels (6) than Ossetic (7).
Alanic language is kinda proto-Ossetic, because modern Ossetians descend from Alans. Northern Ossetia (region of Russia) is also officially called Alania. The Zelenchuk inscription which I mentioned is in fact Alanic.
Strictly speaking, Jassic is not a dialect of Ossetic, Jasses were an Alanic tribe which migrated to modern Romania/Hungary in the beginning of 2nd millennium AD. So their language and the Ossetic language descend from the common origin of Alanic. Presently Jassic language is dead, modern Jasses speak Hungarian.
It does not have especially low number of vowels, in fact Russian has less vowels (6) than Ossetic (7).
Alanic language is kinda proto-Ossetic, because modern Ossetians descend from Alans. Northern Ossetia (region of Russia) is also officially called Alania. The Zelenchuk inscription which I mentioned is in fact Alanic.
Strictly speaking, Jassic is not a dialect of Ossetic, Jasses were an Alanic tribe which migrated to modern Romania/Hungary in the beginning of 2nd millennium AD. So their language and the Ossetic language descend from the common origin of Alanic. Presently Jassic language is dead, modern Jasses speak Hungarian.