Secrets and messages that people don’t want the wrong folks to understand.
That was the whole point to a special way of talking that was learned from someone in the know. The trick was speaking very specifically, and knowing, or hoping the recipient understood the true meaning. Created in the early days of the Wardens of the Sky to keep their stomping grounds hidden and secret, and to prevent too much overlap from other Wardens, the language was quickly picked up by smugglers.
A language that incorporated hand motions, tone, and even the right drawings and symbols drawn in a Shadowport or in the right (wrong) alleyway on a planetary starport.
Spacer’s Cant can easily be misunderstood, but once a user mastered it, messages could be stated in full exposure to law enforcement, bounty hunters, and Imperial officers themselves.
While the majority of common conversations wouldn’t track and carry, telling another speaker of a safe port, a ship identified to help those in need, discuss items needing to be fenced, or cast warning on a hyperlane were definitely easier.
It worked with Basic best, and could be incorporated into movements, a bet placed for an odd number could indicate that something was amiss, and referencing travel in a conversation about one world, could mean the world itself, or some along its route depending on where the conversation was occurring.
The trick was there was no one way to tell the story that could allow the Cant to be carried, but once you knew what you were looking for? It was hard to miss the messages.
That was the whole point to a special way of talking that was learned from someone in the know. The trick was speaking very specifically, and knowing, or hoping the recipient understood the true meaning. Created in the early days of the Wardens of the Sky to keep their stomping grounds hidden and secret, and to prevent too much overlap from other Wardens, the language was quickly picked up by smugglers.
A language that incorporated hand motions, tone, and even the right drawings and symbols drawn in a Shadowport or in the right (wrong) alleyway on a planetary starport.
Spacer’s Cant can easily be misunderstood, but once a user mastered it, messages could be stated in full exposure to law enforcement, bounty hunters, and Imperial officers themselves.
While the majority of common conversations wouldn’t track and carry, telling another speaker of a safe port, a ship identified to help those in need, discuss items needing to be fenced, or cast warning on a hyperlane were definitely easier.
It worked with Basic best, and could be incorporated into movements, a bet placed for an odd number could indicate that something was amiss, and referencing travel in a conversation about one world, could mean the world itself, or some along its route depending on where the conversation was occurring.
The trick was there was no one way to tell the story that could allow the Cant to be carried, but once you knew what you were looking for? It was hard to miss the messages.
