Chimespeak

Chimespeak is a method of communication used by various armies on Gothurgard to relay information to their soldiers during the chaotic skirmishes that make up the Eternal War. As the name implies, chimespeak is "spoken" using a set of large bells which are struck in a complex arrangement to convey a large number of concepts. While soldiers often refer to it as the "language of the chimes", it is better understood as a cipher or code, and its vocabulary is limited to language which would be useful on a battlefield.

Development

While the Eternal War has been raging on Gothurgard since the realm's first ages, chimespeak is a relatively new innovation, having been first recorded in 12 PC. It evolved from the use of war drums to issue basic commands during combat. However, as advances in warfare caused battles to grow larger and more complex, the relatively simple tattoos and drum rudiments being used were found to be lacking. Additionally, the cacophony of combat drown out the sound of the drums and prevent them from being heard further away, limiting their effective range.
Many solutions were attempted to solve the issue. At first, the armies used larger drums, but they quickly became targets for enemy archers, who would pierce the drumhead and render them useless. Smoke signals were too reliant on proper weather to be used, while the introduction of siege weapons which could project flame introduced the possibility of confusion. Flares or fireworks required soldiers to be looking in the air at the opportune time, which could potentially be a deadly distraction in the middle of a battle. Horns and other wind instruments largely had the same problems as drums, being too unsophisticated (at the time) to produce the range of sounds required for the transmittal of complex information. Stringed instruments were too soft to be heard.
It is uncertain who first began using bells to create signals, but they quickly proved to solve all of the issues. They could be built quite large, so as to create a sound which could carry quite far. They were made of metal, which meant damaging them from afar was difficult. Finally, they required fairly little training to use, needing only to be struck with a hammer on the outside to produce a loud, high ringing which could be heard from quite a distance.
At first, the bells merely replicated existing practice of the war drums, but the uses of the differing tones soon became apparent to commanders. As the soldiers adjusted to the chimes and became more comfortable distinguishing them, concepts such as "retreat" or "advance" were simplified from extended rhythms to individual tones. These tones then started to get strung together to issue more complex orders. Eventually, different variations developed between different armies to ensure commands could not easily be intercepted by the enemy. These continued to evolve over the centuries, eventually forming individual dialects which are mutually unintelligible.

Usage

Chimespeak is communicated through a set of large bells, attached to a tower. The number vary based on dialect, but the most common is between 16 and 20 bells. Each bell has a hammer attached by a cord to a lever at the base of the tower. When the lever is pulled, the hammer strikes the bell, producing a tone. Typically a single operator handles the levers, with a single backup, as multiple operators can cause confusion. Chimespeak operators require extensive training to ensure they know what levers correspond to what chime and what combinations need to be pulled to issue commands. Mistakes with an order can be fatal.
Each tone represents a concept or modifier, such as attack, move, speed, large, or side. These tones can be combined together to form more advanced concepts. For instance, the tones for backward and move mean "retreat", while the tones for negate and move means "hold". These are then strung together, creating a full sentence which creates a full sentence. Soldiers thus need only learn a number of concepts equal to the number of chimes used by their army to understand a wide array of commands. Even those with only 16 bells have trillions of potential terms, though most dialects use a few hundred at most.
While most armies share a similar set of concepts, the combinations of tones to make those concepts are very different. This serves multiple practical purposes, including preventing other armies from easily deciphering orders and making the orders of other armies unintelligible so that soldiers do not receive false orders.