Mazi Sign Language

The wind rages on as it always does in the Desert of Kalir. You walk ahead of your family, in search of shelter before the cold of night befalls you. The wind picks up, rough sand fills the air, like sharp tiny blades that could cut your skin. You see a cave in the distance, and turn towards your family, who has fallen behind. You remove the cloth on your face to shout, but your mouth fills with sand, and your muffled screams are drowned in the howling storm. Time is of the essence. If you can't communicate the direction the cave to your family, you may lose them to the desert. But if you return to them, you may lose track of the cave.

The Sadina peoples have faced such dilemmas since the dawn of their desert nation. Communication over distances, to those at least not privileged enough to possess strong magic, is a daily challenge. The nomadic Mazi Sadina clans are perhaps those who are troubled the most by this, so it is only natural that they developed a solution.

Simply called the Mazi sign language, it is a method of conveying simple ideas, words, or phrases using only one hand raised above one's head, allowing for sending messages as far as the eye can see. The hand in question is almost exclusively the right hand. This is to emphasize the importance of what you have to say, showing that you're dropping your tools or weapons to accommodate communication. Skilled "speakers" can use both hands at once to convey more complex ideas, though to an interpreter this would be like reading half a line of text mirrored. The meaning of each individual sign is not set in stone, but open to interpretation based on context. For example, an open hand with fingers spread usually means "open," but depending on context and expectations can mean "cave opening," "empty field," "no people present," and many other things.

Block, Blocked

Close, Closed

Open, Empty

Trap, Pitfall, Danger of Falling

Trapped, Stuck

Up, Sky

Though developed for the desert, some Sadina have taken the Mazi sign language to sea. Not only is it great for messaging the barrelmen and masters, but it is a reliable way to identify kindred ships, and separate them from impostors.

---

Sign illustrations are public domain, found on Wikimedia Commons