The Dark Tongue
While the Church of the Light is well organized and structured, the cultists that fall under the umbrella of the Dark Ones are more diverse and isolated from one another. While communication between the groups of Dark Ones is usually very limited, there exists a need to identify fellow cult members, and secretly communicate amongst themselves, thus the Dark Tongue was created.
The Dark Tongue is not a full language, it is instead more like a hidden code that is inserted into normal communications, as well as a series of signs and symbols that can be surreptitiously placed around a location to indicate where and how to contact the local cult members. In this manner it is very similar to Thieves' Kant and the Pirate Patois of the Sernas Sea. Most cult members only know enough of the Dark Tongue to identify themselves as members, and to find their brethren when in a new location, while leaders and long-time members, especially those that travel a lot on the Dark Ones business, tend to know many more words, signs and symbols.
Due to the need for secrecy and keeping it's true members safe, new members are usually not taught about the Dark Tongue until they have proven themselves, so the low-level members may not even of its existence until they have served for months or years. Being taught the Dark Tongue is a seen in many groups as a rite of passage into the confirmed membership of the group, and it is considered required for any position of trust or leadership.
The roots of the Dark Tongue go back to the Great Fallen Incursion, and the years that followed as the Tiefling population rose. Many of the words, signs and symbols were developed from those early Tieflings, borrowing heavily from the Thieves' Kant that the Tieflings picked up as they joined guilds across Kyrn as a way to hide and survive as they were hunted. Many of those thieves guilds became the first cults of the Dark Ones as the Tieflings influence spread.
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