To send a message to another settlement beyond the range of a single signal, use either a chain of signal stations on high ground, each within sight of the next, or a relay of runners. A chain is fast but carries only a few simple messages and needs staffed stations all the time, while runners carry anything but are slow and exposed, so most neighbouring settlements need both, plus a shared code book and an agreement on who staffs what.
Part of Signal Systems and Communication
Inter-settlement communication links two or more communities across distances too long for a flag, mirror, horn or drum, by relaying signals or messengers.
Two Systems, Two Strengths
| Signal chain | Runner relay | |
|---|---|---|
| Carries | An alarm and a few coded messages | Any message, written or spoken |
| Speed over 50 km | Minutes to tens of minutes if every station is ready | Hours |
| Staffing | A watcher at each station, at all times | Runners on call at each station |
| Exposure | Everyone in sight sees the signals | One person on the road, alone or in pairs |
| Fails when | A station sleeps, or weather blocks sight | A runner is delayed, hurt or taken |
Details of each are in Relay Networks, Signal Tower Chains and Runner Systems.
Worked Example: 50 Km Each Way
Example inputs: stations 10 km apart, and 3 minutes from a station seeing the previous signal to showing its own. The 3 minutes is an assumed value, not measured.
- Chain. 50 km at 10 km spacing is 5 hops, so 5 x 3 = 15 minutes from the first signal to the last, if every station is awake.
- One walking messenger. Walking at 5 km/h, an ordinary pace and a figure I am recalling: 50 / 5 = 10 hours.
- A runner relay with 10 km legs. At 10 km/h each leg takes 1 hour, so 5 legs take 5 hours plus the time to hand over.
The chain wins by an order of magnitude on speed, and the runner wins on content. A settlement that has only a chain can say “danger” or “all clear”, not “send 40 sacks of seed and tell us who came through”.
What The Neighbours Must Agree
- A common code book. The same patterns must mean the same thing at both ends (Simple Code Tables).
- Who staffs each station. A chain between two settlements has stations in the land between them. Agree who feeds the watchers and who stands the watch.
- How alarms are verified. A false alarm on a chain spreads to every station (Authentication and Security).
- Rules for forwarding. A station passes on exactly what it received and nothing else.
- A way to say no. Either side can stop relaying without the whole arrangement breaking down.
These are diplomatic as well as technical agreements. The approach in Negotiation from Strength applies: meet on neutral ground and settle the arrangement before the first alarm.
Where Telegraphy Comes In
A line of wire between settlements carries messages without anyone standing a watch, but it needs poles, wire and trained operators. The telegraph articles in Telegraph Network are the later step. Until then the chain and the runner are the working tools.
Common Mistakes
- Building a chain with no agreement. Stations on a neighbour’s land need their consent and their watchers.
- Using only one system. A chain cannot carry detail; a runner cannot raise an alarm in minutes.
- No test. Run a full test message end to end at least once a season.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Relay Networks — how relay stations pass a message on
- Combine with: Code Systems — the shared code both sides need