Featherscrim

Featherscrim is the primary communication of the Order of the Jackdaw. Featherscrim is taught only to members of the Order, preventing the outside world from gaining access to the information recorded in the Citadel without support from the Order. It is a purely written code. It is logographic, with specific symbols indicating specific words. Specific combinations of symbols can be formed to create more complex words or ideas.

Featherscrim was first developed by Scrim Rhemne and the Jackdaw Lord, as a method of communicating between members of the Order who were bound to silence. They wanted to create a code that every member could understand, but that would keep information safe from the wrong hands. Over a period of several years, the two developed Featherscrim and then taught it to the rest of the Order. Over time, the code has expanded to encompass new ideas and new names. Each deity has its own symbol in the language, and these are representative of the deity's divine domain.

Featherscrim has more recently been accompanied by sign language, developed by the Order a few hundred years after its founding to ease communications between members. This sign language is learned alongside Featherscrim, and is used when members of the Order do not have the time or resources to communicate using written language. It is more commonly used when a Keeper and their entourage are doing research abroad.