Kitaran

Of all the beastfolk kryn, the kitra-kryn are the most community orientated. Before they were accepted by humans - in a time where their communities were still reeling from being cursed with mutation magic - the kitra-kryn were well aware of societies’ mistrust of beastfolk. They created a cipher that would allow them to pass messages between fairne. It meant that any outsiders who planned to read the contents of their messages would first need to decipher the message, then translate it from beastfolk to their native tongue.

Originally, the kitra-kryn did plan on sharing the cipher with the other kryn, but by the time it had been tested the other kryn had already gone their separate ways. The ayjiir-fairne of the kitra-kryn made sure that all of their kryn would know how to use the cipher.

Used by

Kitra-kryn fairne

Created by

Desh (of the Canisten fairn)

Kitaran Cipher by SunlanceXIII

There are three different symbols for each letter of the alphabet. The position of a letter within a coded message will determine what symbol is used.

The first letter of a message will use a symbol from the first tier - as shown by the blue symbols above. The second letter of a message will use a symbol from the second tier - as shown by the orange symbols above. The third letter of a message will use a symbol from the third tier - as shown by the green symbols above. After the third letter, it restarts back at tier one. So the fourth letter would use a symbol from the first tier, the fifth letter would use a symbol from the second tier, and the sixth letter would use a symbol from the third tier. This continues until the end of the message.

The symbols themselves are reused; there are only 26 symbols in the kitaran cipher. The first tier is used as a base. For the second tier, symbols for the odd letters of the alphabet (so the 1st, 3rd, 5th etc.) are moved seven places to the right, whilst symbols for the even letters of the alphabet (2nd, 4th, 6th etc.) are moved nine places to the right. For the third tier, the first tier is once again used as a base. Here, symbols for the odd letters are moved six places to the left, whilst symbols for the even letters are moved eight places to the left.

Luth kneels down and inspects the symbols carved into the top of the tree stump. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to decipher kitaran, so I might be a little rusty,” he calls over his shoulder.

“It won’t have changed?” You ask, kneeling down beside him, curious.

He glances at you briefly, a small smile on his face. “No. By the time anyone had figured it out, society had… re-evaluated its opinions of us. For the most part.” Luth turns back to the carvings with an intense focus you would never have expected from him. “Our ancestors at the time didn’t see the need to change it and honestly, unless you’ve studied kitaran before, you probably wouldn’t know what you were looking at in the first place.”

Leaving Kitaran Messages

After its creation, the kitaran cipher was used to convey longer messages between fairne. Updates and warnings were the most common messages, followed by invitations to visit other fairne or letters to simply let another fairn know you would be visiting them. Information on certain individuals was also passed around through kitaran cipher; these were people who were unflinchingly against the kitra-kryn and beastfolk as a whole, and would have liked to have hunted the beastfolk to extinction.

Now, longer messages in kitaran are a thing of the past. Kitra-kryn tend to use the cipher to convey minor warnings or information. Messages like ‘danger ahead’, ‘allies’, ‘trading partners’ and ‘shortcut’ can be found spread throughout Ma’rune. On occasion, one may come across a longer message, but these are typically from an age long since passed.

One such message from long ago is the message left on the Stones of Varnir - the entrance marker for the path up to Everlight Peak. The message reads ‘Beware the dangers of the mountain. They care not for saint or sinner’ and was left behind by the Fielan fairne who disappeared into the mountains, never to be seen or heard from again.