Maskform

The traditions of what was once the Gata-Akay have morphed to fit between the light. No longer are they the Beloved of Akay, but the Orphans of the Worlds. As the gods of their own image became the gods of all, the true form of their bodies were erased from memory. Now, the Orphans shift from form to form between the denizens of the Worlds, with not a god to watch over them.

The Orphans of the Worlds, more commonly known as changelings, speak with shape. Their flesh a mask of many faces, they communicate with one another using subtle shifts of form. As this Mask cant developed, the original language of the Gata-Akay faded away, the Orphans becoming more and more vigilant with hiding their identities.

When two changelings meet, they identify each other through a shift in the facets of the iris, something so subtle only someone who knew to look could notice. In public spaces, the changelings would communicate in Slow Form. Subtle shifts in the length and hue of hair, changes to the timbre of speaking voice, and numerous tiny blemishes on the skin can be used to convey hidden messages to one another over a normal sounding conversation.

In private, changelings can communicate in True Form. In this version of the mask cant, dramatic shifts in size, face, and body are used to convey meaning. While a rare occurence that typically no individual except changelings would see, the existence of the True Form of this language alone provides understanding about them. Not only do changelings lack "a true form" in terms of body, they do not have a voice to call their own. Even when there is no one to hide from, changelings will communicate not with sound but with shape. and the only thing constant is the soul. While some may have preferred forms, expecting a changeling to stay constant and unchanging might be as obsurd as telling a gnome, for example, to exist with only one sound.

Spoken by

• Gata-Akay, the Forsaken