Sky-Speech
Sky-Speech, or Tùnethkièl, is a language - or more accurately, an ability, that helps communication with flying beasts and birds. While the Mìsii could understand many languages, they, being birds, cannot speak them. It, therefore, falls to sentients who are born with the ability to communicate with winged creatures or have painstakingly learned how to.
A Language Rarely Spoken
While we have classified Sky-Speech as a language, we have encountered very few who actually spoke it. So far, only Ki-E-Vwa was known to have mastered it, and even he prefered to speak with creatures in Foyiitùn or Parànti. The reasons this is usually the case are:- Miscommunication proved too easy with the wrong trills.
- Not all those who understood Sky-Speech were musically-gifted.
- The most common creatures bipeds communicated with did not mind hearing other languages. They may even be amused at attempts to sing as they do.
The Native Wild Folk
By virtue of the demands of life, the native Wild Folk, or Fàlisénii, were also able to understand variants of Sky-Speech but kept no written records of it, nor who among them harnessed that skill. However, a clear parallel can be drawn between them and the Foyii: they lived in, were surrounded by and depended on Nature to survive. This commonality seems to underpin the likelihood of a person or peoplegroup learning, or innately knowing how to understand the languages of flying creatures.One-Directional Variation
I hope the reader does not think the following statement is there to belittle their intelligence - however, for the sake of a complete record in the Bezélian Archives, it must be stated: Anyone can send a message with a gifted flying creature, for they do not need to understand the messenger's response. That said, anyone's words can be misunderstood, even by the Mìsii. Thus while instructing can be carried out by one person, communication requires active listening by both the sender and the Messenger.Bird-Dance
All creatures are prone to frustration in various forms and even the good-natured, other-focused Mìsii can succumb to annoyance. Often flying for hours with minimal breaks, discovering that their recipient does not understand them has, at times, led to frictions between themselves and the Paràntii in particular. This frustration was partially overcome by some leaders of the Blàmìsii in what people called "Bird Dancing". The Bird-Dance was their equivalent of "sign language" - the communication of messages using hands and postures in place of words.Example
Here is an extract from the records around the second Qalathii/Foyii Schism:The bird motioned to Jewan to stand in front of her, waving a wing this way and that until he was exactly where she wanted him to be. Bemused, Jewan only just followed, but knowing these intelligent birds only ever worked for the good of the realms, he did his best. Once he was in position, the three Blàmìsii formed a line one behind the other. "You are making me see one bird, yes?" Jewan asked. A nod from the front Blàmìs helped to confirm his assumption. She lifted a leg and held it towards him, curling her toes. "Like a claw?" Jewan asked. "Is she using that to indicate the Kyadii?" a Neophyte asked. The Blàmìs nodded again.Skirmishes and Schisms
Chapter 3 (Not yet published)
Bluebirds and Snowbirds
While having two distinct times of year in which they are not hibernating and therefore able to communicate messages, there is no significant difference in the language used by the Blàmìsii compared with that of the Aszilmìsii.Aunwii
Little remains of the records regarding the Aunwii, or Ravens in the Common Tongue. What is certain is that mages in the distant past used to be able to commune with the dark birds and the Aevyormii/Auskàlii have always been friends and allies of them. As such, there is no written record of their language in the Bezélian Archives nor of who within Qal'ath or its own allies, may have understood it.Other "Flying Creatures"
While the broad definition of Sky-Speech includes other "flying creatures", there were not many others known where such communication was required. The Dragons, naturally, communicate with the Paràntii and Foyii in their own tongues. The same was true of the Aevyormii.Smaller Creatures
In the case of the smaller Flutter-Lizards and the like, "communication" was more akin to telepathy than actual speech: a mental understanding of the approximate will of the other. This particular variation is, in fact, more common than Sky-Speech proper and manifests in those with a particular heart for aspects of nature. This is how Frehghan was able to connect with with the former pillbug which later became the being known as Lyth, before the creature itself was able to speak. (See: The Legacy of Lyth)Insects
For insects and related species, the only known application is to be behaving in a way that clearly indicates no harm is intended. This has its uses, especially if the bee population spikes, or the gnats of the Wild Marshes overpopulate, however. This proved most noteworthy in the co-called Averted Plague in 157AFD which nearly led to a total evacuation of the Wild Folk. The then-chief stood between an insect cloud and his people, holding his staff out indicating a dividing line. Subsequently, a simple fence was erected, denoting a safe area for the Viperflies.Article Sections
Spoken by
Comments