Whispering Thread

The language of embroidery.

The practice of Whispering Thread has, in a way, been present since the first person took up needle and colored string to embroider a pattern on on a tablecloth, or stitch a child's name into the collar of a tunic. Pretty patterns were created to bring joy, while labels marked ownership. Whether practical or not, the use of embroidery has always been a valid form of communication.
It was initially during the Rebellion of Kellston that the simple practice stitching became known as Whispering Thread in certain circles. It was discovered later that the servants of the ruling nobility had decorated the collars and cuffs of their masters not just with lovely patterns, but with numbers of troops, locations of munitions, and sometimes even the names of enemy agents. All of this was in cipher of course, with different patterns noting a person or place, and color representing a status or response to a question. A single red rose on the left lapel, for example, meant that an enemy agent had been discovered but remained a threat, while a white rose meant an agent had been captured, or otherwise dealt with. A border of interwoven knots indicated scores of archers along the border of a town or fort, and leaves scattered among spirals of blue showed incoming ships.
The practice faded into obscurity a decade or so after the Rebellion of Kellston was quelled, though it was still used during the ensuing orcish incursion, rival noble encroachment, and eventual rebuilding of the state. As the area returned to a sense of normalcy, the situation was deemed calm enough to no longer require secrets and subterfuge. While no one would admit to spying on one's neighbors, the practice did seem less frequent over the next few years and eventually all but disappeared. Artistic embroidery has again become very fashionable among noble and common folk alike, only a small number of states within the Empire still utilize Whispering Thread to exchange sensitive information about political issues and certain military secrets. In the markets of the capital, however, and the shops of the coast ports, an embroidered chrysanthemum is usually only an embroidered chrysanthemum.