Scipher
Scipher is the secret written language of the Orphan Scions. Their history is technically included in the rest of the annals of the Dome, but the data they are allowed access to is so stripped down that it is virtually useless to them. This language was created so that they might have a private history of their own, a record of their lives to be passed down. Not to the children they were not permitted to have, but to the future scions, children set aside "for the good of society", bereft, lost, rootless in a society that valued its lineages above all else.
Scipher is solely a written language. It uses different words, and a distinct alphabet. It is written on walls, under beds, on sheaves of paper tied with string that decay so easily compared to the computerized records, but have been recopied over years to retain the words. About the only thing they don't use it for is tattoos, because that would leave it visible to the proper Cardinates of the Dome, and they would be curious. Some might disapprove, and then that would be one more small privilege lost.
Writing System
The alphabet started as a simple substitution cipher for the letters, to enable a further layer of encryption, to avoid detection. It has since developed into a more elaborate series of pictographs. There are over four hundred of these symbols, and in proper conjunction they convey a great deal of meaning. The letters are rather vertical, compared to the usual alphabet. This probably developed to better hide the language as it matched the style of the abstract decor used for most Dome architecture.
Geographical Distribution
The language is only used by the scions of the Dome, and only within the primary dome. Those that leave the scions to become proper cardinates do not take the language with them, and do not use it with others. It remains their secret, only used within their most private places.
Spoken by
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