Crypographic stylus

Developed for the Alliance forces during the Mage War, the cryptographic stylus was a cornerstone of the Alliance's military communication network.
The stylus is a fifteen centimetre painted copper rod, a little larger and longer than a typical fountain pen, with an offset nib that rotates around the shaft. Yutaaq officers were supplied with an adapter that extended the length and width, making it more comfortable to hold.

Use

The user would set the encryption by opening the case to expose a series of toothed brass wheels; the first four wheels had to be set to the date the message was sent. The second four wheels were then set to the user's unique identification code.
With the device set up, the user then wrote a message in plain text, using block capitals, and the offset nib rotated around the movement of the stylus, automatically encoding the message and removing the need to issue field officers with codebooks.

Decryption

Messages sent to communiation headquarters would have the officer's unique ID cross-referenced with a biological sample (most commonly hair or a quill (the Alliance did not have any ljudoy officers) to ensure the message source was valid. Blood was not used as it does not retain its arcane connection after the donor's death.
With the identity of the sender verified, the decoder would enter the message into a decryption typewriter, which would print the decoded message. The four digit date-code and sender's identification were encoded into the first four couplets of the message.

Limitations

Another case of Alliance over-engineering, the stylus created an extremely secure way to communicate with anyone who had the decrypton device. However, the stylii were only issued to officers and keyed to a single user, so a unit which had lost their commander was forced to use unsecured telegraphy as a primary means of communication.

Item type

Communication

Weight

7-15g

Dimensions

15-25cm

Ornamental-Straight-and-Oblique-Holders

Cryptographic stylus (encryption cogs removed)