EBRON, BATTLE OF: Battle waged by the Sisterhood of Light and the Stellar Fleet against the Xaphan Armada in 000257AX. The object of the battle was a mystical Elder artifact known as the Paramel. The Paramel shown like a star in the Ebron System after the passing of the Elder Va, and the Sisterhood of Light had difficulty regaining control of it. The Xaphan House of Sorrander sought to capture the Paramel and take it to Xaphan space. The battle was waged on several fronts and was the longest continuous battle in League/Xaphan history.

EDAMATHROMBO:  “Scion of the Vith”. In the early days of the EX time epoch, the Vith were the greatest and most war-like of the seven Tribes of Man. Through Acquisition, most of the Vith Great Houses had made themselves quite powerful. The Sisterhood of Light, uncomfortable with their growing power, secretly sought to “tame” the Vith by removing, through guile and purchase,  many of their more powerful arcane objects and deactivating their Gellartrons (See: GELLARTRON). The Sisters were cunning and patient in their efforts, and, after several centuries, had de-powered the Vith to their liking.

Many Vith Households were aware of the Sisters’ efforts, and they were also aware that to resist would, in all probability, lead to war with the Sisters and the rest of the League. To protect their greatest treasures they set out across the cosmos and founded Edamathrombo, the secret place and Scion of the Vith. There, they staked their claims and hid their most precious possession, safely out of reach or knowledge of the Sisters. Though the location of Edamathrombo was far from the League, the Vith could access it at any time via their Gellartrons. The Vith left a powerful garrison there dedicated to the defense of the planet should the Sisters, or other invaders, come.

Eventually, and as the Sisters intended, the Vith forgot about much of their former glory and, as their Gellartrons were deactivated, forgot about Edamathrombo and the wonders hidden there. It fell out of Vith lore and, in most writings thanks to the manipulations of the Sisters, is considered Hell or a place of damnation (qv: Edam, Vith word for Hell). What became of Edamathrombo or the garrison left to defend it is unknown.

EEORT: Medium sized, mammalian scavenger resembling a seal that lived in the dark waters and foul bilges of Ergos.

ELDERS: 25 ancient beings of colossal size resembling small planets or moons. Requiring starlight to survive, they shared the star, allowing life to flourish. Requiring certain types of starlight, they made use of a race of beings called the Elder-Kind. The Elder-Kind, flying ships of their creation, fared the stars, seeking out suitable candidates for their use. It is not know whether the mighty Elders created the Elder-Kind themselves or simply collected them from elsewhere. The Elders communed directly with a small sect of Elder-Kind called the Vith, and through fox-like animals. In thanks for their service, the Elder-Kind bestowed, Life-long youth and freedom from disease to the Elder-Kind. To the Vith, they went a bit further, offering them The Gifts of the Mind to help in combating the Haitathe– six powerful mental skills and, additionally, the Gift of Immortality.

The greatest of all 25 Elders was Nylax. Other known Elders were: Auld, Va, Selax, Terfall, Merian, Jinnannon, Boraster, Falquil and Brona.

Eventually, the Elders began disappearing. They either died, left the area or were transformed into something else. They were replaced by the Xaphans, creatures of similar size and shape, but greedy and evil. The Elders, falling into helplessness begged the Elder-Kind to fight the Xaphans, as they would destroy all life. Most of the Elder-Kind, devoted to them, promised they would fight the Xaphans, while a small few, defected the served them.

ELDER-KIND (qv: The People of the Elders): Humanoid species that, for ages, served the mighty Elders, faring the stars looking for suitable new stars for them to consume. Their place of origin is unknown—it is possible they were created by the Elders themselves. They were given sundry Gifts from the Elders as a result of their service: life-long youth, freedom from disease and a series of mental powers called the Gifts. Spreading out over dozens of Planets, the Elder-Kind created a loose association called the League of Elder. Some disaffected Elder-Kind nobles of Vith stock betrayed the Elders and went to the Xaphans and became their mortal enemies.

ELDER PROMISE, THE: A promise exacted on the Elder-Kind by Nylax, the last of the Elders. The promise is a huge historical document which can be boiled down to the following:

• –Do not kill the Xaphans.
• –Fight and hinder the Xaphans wherever they may go.
• –Protect all life from the Xaphans.

The Promise has bound and driven the Elder-Kind, and later the League, for centuries.

ELDER TECH: Elder technology used by the League in their ships and weapons. The most prominent use of Elder tech is the canister, a simple “guided missile” which is actually rife with Elder Tech, making it a weapon of near unlimited destructive power. The second is the Stellar Mach coil, a mechanical construct capable of near unlimited speed.

ELEPHANT FESTIVAL: Grand festival in Blanchefort Village held yearly on the 23rd of May celebrating the migrating elephants as they cross the bay for summer.

ELEPHANT GREEN: Deep coastal forest located in western Vithland on Kana. The Green is deeply overgrown and generally unpopulated due to a lack of river coast and inaccessibility.

EMILIA-STONE: Ruined city located on the Isle of Sarbrug-Hold on the planet Bazz. It is located in the south central section of the island between two peninsulas to the north. Founded by the House of Sorrander in the early days of Bazz, it was a thriving city until the Black Hats attempted to destroy Bazz with StT’s in the early AX days. The city was abandoned when the Sisterhood of Light declared the island a No-Man’s land shortly thereafter.  A figure of Bazz lore. Princess Gallia, was said to have come from Emilia-Stone.

EMMIRA: Homeworld of the Elder-Kind during the BX Epoch of Time. The BX epoch was known as the “Age of Riches” and ancient tales tell of Emmira as being a true paradise. Eventually, the Elder’s need for sustenance forced the Elder-Kind to move on and Emmira was abandoned. An Ancient poem reads:

Lament you not for Emmira

                                                Place of sound and sorrow.

                                                Look you to this day, brave soul…

                                                A bit of Emmira’s light we borrow.

EMMIRA, THE VITH MAIDEN/THE SWORDLESS (??—002010ex): Vith matriarch and figure of lore. The ancient history of Emmira of the Vith tribe is lost to the ages. It is not known where she was born or in what year. Only her life as wife and queen to Homma, Lord of Telmus Falls and her death is clearly chronicled. Emmira is first mentioned in 000401ex. The northern reaches of Vithland were ravaged by a terrible war waged between the Vith, lead by Lord Homma of Telmus Falls, and the tribes of Haitathe who were terrorizing the region under several flags. Under the might and leadership of Homma, the Haitathe were steadily being pushed back out of the north. One particularly large and brutal Haitathe, Horta, stood on the plains of Magravine and called Homma out, to face her in a single contest. Homma obliged, and after a ferocious battle, emerged victorious. As Homma returned to his camps, at his side strode Emmira, the Vith Maiden. The Vith asked where this woman had come from, and Homma said she was a gift from the Elders for his bravery in slaying Horta (it is conjectured that Emmira was simply the Haitathe Horta in disguise—that, impressed by Homma’s strength, Horta fell in love with him and disguised herself. If that is the case, then many of the modern Vith Great Houses have Haitathe blood in their roots.)

Emmira is always described as a fair, incredibly beautiful woman. She is described variously as being between ten and thirty feet tall—the most usual number being about sixteen feet. She was said to speak in an odd accent and had a vicious temper, that only Homma could control her to any extent. Earlier texts describe her as carrying a huge sword named “Battleborne,” however she gave her sword to her eldest daughter, Subra, and, afterwards, is sometimes known as Emmira the Swordless.

As Homma pushed the Haitathe ever southward, Emmira stood at his side and, after every great battle was won, she would bear him a new child: Lennibus (M), Subra, Magravine, Terfal (M), Xenon (M), Tartan (M), Lacerta.

As the years wore on, Homma began to fall victim to his own success and power and went  mad. Whether cursed or otherwise influenced it is not known for in 2015ex he developed a Haitathe-like taste for Vith flesh and began devouring his own armies. As he turned to devour his children, Emmira stood before them, and was herself devoured by Homma. It was said that she protected all those afterward who were devoured by Homma, for, after his death, her children and legions of Vith emerged from his belly unharmed.

On a happy note, stories tell of a forgiving Emmira picking up the lost soul of her husband, taking him by the hand and leading him away from the battlefield to the stars where they could rule as king and queen forever.

In modern Vith lore, Emmira is seen as a guardian and protector, watching over those who need help most. Many Vith castles have cathedrals or chapels dedicated in her honor.

EMPIRE HOTEL:  High-end hotel located near the wharf in the Calvert city of St. Edmund’s. Hotel well known for being the scene of several murders attributed to the killer known as the Fiend of Calvert. It was speculated that the Fiend might have been a guest of the hotel, or even one of the staff, though no arrests were ever made. Also well-known for its restaurant serving regional Calvert dishes and its wealthy guests come to Calvert to People-watch.

 

Originally, the hotel was a giant fortress built by the Vith House of Burgon in 477921 EX, intended to be used as a staging post for the conquest of the Calvertlands. The fortress, built to giant-sized Haitathe specifications, was completed, however the Burgons fled the League in 000000AX and the fortress remained unoccupied for centuries. Initially given a wide-berth by the Calverts due to its imposing appearance, eventually the seascape surrounding the fortress was taken up by the city of St. Edmunds. In 0010452Ax, the Fortress was bought by the Calvert House of Loin who first utilized it as a convent for daring women, then as a hostel for available youths, then as a full-blown hotel. It has since become a symbol of the city and of Calvert as a whole.

The hotel is considered by some a CWC (Curtain-Walled City) where the facility maintains unique customs, and, in some cases, separate legal status. These unique features are reserved for frequent guests only, often referred to as ‘Empirelites’. For these select persons, the hotel serves in its various restaurants, a unique cuisine enjoyed nowhere else on Kana.  They wear unique clothing tailored for them right there in the hotel. They listen to austere music and have access to floors and whole wings not listed or available to the general public. There is a reported room known as the Fiend Suite, where the Fiend of Calvert was said to have stayed and plotted his murders.

 

ENDECAR:  An electro-mechanical device that may be preloaded with up to four separate languages or dialects.  A standard endecar appears as a black disk, several inches high mounted with up to four “speech trumpets”.  Each “speech trumpet” both receives speech in a given language, and recites back speech received from the other trumpets (assumed to be different tongues) in a fully translated form.  For example, an single endecar may be programmed with League Common, Anuie, Bazzal and Hobanic.  A limitation of the endecar is that the various speakers must stay within their particular trumpet’s “cone” in order for it to function.  The trumpets are usually color-coded for easy identification, and they also “dampen” the speaker’s voice, so that other people using the device won’t hear the original language spoken.  The endecar is not “fluid” and must have the various languages downloaded to it prior to use.

ENDUROCON:  A type of ball or social gathering that, in theory, has no end. Endurocons began on Hoban but are spreading throughout the League, though attempts are being made to ban them in certain locales. The goal of an endurocon is to see how long one can last before needing to retire for rest. Ball-goers who last the longest receive a great deal of acclaim in the social circles of the League for their feat. Ball-goers at an endurocon are not permitted to sleep, however, they may excuse themselves for brief periods to freshen up. A whole pharmacopia of drugs and other items are available to assist ball-goers to stave off the need for sleep. There is a legend regarding Lady Hermina of Conn, who while in attendance at an endurocon on Planet Fall, was said to have been impregnated by a male guest, came to term and had her child all while never having left the ball–a period of two and a half years.

ENG: Home of the Elder-Kind during the DX Epoch. Eng was said to not be an ideal world and was rather harsh.  Upon leaving Eng at the end of the DX Epoch, the Elder-Kind were said to have not missed it much. The precise stellar location of Eng is up for scholarly debate, as the Elder-Kind last set foot on it over 100,000 years prior and knowledge of its location was lost. It is believed to be somewhere 12pm of Ming Moorland, past the vast darkness of the Bell Nebula. A few expeditions to set out and re-discover Eng have been proposed, but not acted upon.

ENNEZ, SAMARITAN (03125ax–) (–) Onaris: A Brown from the city of Innari on Onaris, Ennez joined the Hospitalers and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a Samaritan in the pervasive “Knickerbaum Order”. Strong and powerful with odd, popcorn hair, he was best known for his long stint aboard the Seeker and his running friendship with Captain Davage. Known as a wild spirit, he eventually settled with an equally wild Monama woman, Lady Tellerran of the Fphenook tribe.

EPHYSIANS: Sect within the Grand Order of Hospitalers, the Ephysians involved themselves with learning advanced medical arts knowledge and herbal remedies.  It is thought the Ephysians consulted with Xaphan Cabalists in the expansion of their knowledge.

EPOCHS OF TIME:  There have been six long periods of time in the history of the Elder-Kind, known as Epochs.  Each Epoch has been marked by the slow but steady migration of the Elders across space and, accordingly, the Elder-Kind relocating to a new home world. After the Elders passed on, it was decided to reset the Epoch to AX once again.

• AX  –The Long Lost age centered on the world Lemmuria
• BX  –The Age of Riches centered on the world Emmira
• CX  –The Age of Youth and Health centered on the world Cammara
• DX  –The Age of Decline, where the Elders became weak and sick, centered on the world Eng
• EX  –The Age of the League, where the Elders passed away, centered on Kana
• AX  –The Age of Exploration following the Great Betrayal, centered on Kana and elsewhere. birth of the League.

ERYNES, THE: Sect of elite Dirty Courtesans hailing from Carina 7 and making their base on the Z-Encarr continent of Planet Fall. The sect is notorious for their ability to extract information, implant suggestion, implant false memories and cause death simply by using sex. Their methods are much swifter and much more effective than technological or torturous means. The Erynes make use of a potent form of the Weed that turns their eyes a glowing red. The use of “Red Eye” Weed quickly burns the Eryne out, weakens their bodies and causes them, in most cases, to go blind.

ESTHER: 1)–One of the Seven Tribes of Man symbolized by the Sword, a tall, hearty people from the east.  The primary Houses of Esther are: Oyln, Gamboa, and Conwell.  2)–Region of the eastern continent characterized by flatlands and vast swamps.

ETHYLBERRY: The so-called “Dust of the Gods”, ethylberry is a minute but highly energetic material once thought to be shed by the gods in their passing.  Certain gods were once said to give it to the young folk as payment for certain acts or deeds. Old Xaphan X-O vessels used ethylberry as an alternate power source.

ETHYLRELDA OF WAAM (02761ax–) (BH): A Black Hat of fierce power, Ethylrelda was clearly one of the most powerful Black Hats of all time. She was notable for having survived the most engagements with the Sisterhood of Light, and for killing, in a stand-up fight, the Grand Abbess of Kentaro. Her huge spherical temple in Waam moved, rolling slowly in a southward path, the city having to adjust itself and flee from its slow roll. After 400 years of service, Ethylrelda, despite the Black Abbess’s Clutch, developed a rudimentary consciousness of her own, and she began to long for something more than just being an evil Black Hat. She became obsessed with becoming a wandwilla, a legendary creature that is a mixture of Shadow tech male and female. When Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort arrived in the city looking for the third piece of the Oberphilliax, she detected his presence and immediately sought him out, using her Spectre henchmen: the Yard to welcome him into her presence. Krotan, the leader of the Yard, had fallen in love with Ethylrelda and wished to join with her himself. He took the piece and presented himself to Lord Blanchefort, where he was branded as a Shadow tech male. Ethylrelda then joined with Krotan and became a huge wandwilla in Waam.

EV: (Encoded Vitals) A person or persons carrying a complex encoded message within their bodies. which can be decoded and read using one of several methods. A secure and virtually untraceable method of preserving and transporting information, most EV’s do not know they are carrying a message within them.

EX-COMMONS: The ruling body of the League. The Ex-Commons meets four times a year (as measured on Kana). It has no permanent meeting place or venue, rather the Ex-Commons moves about, trying to visit all portions of the League as it can, though its organizational offices are located in Armenelos on Kana.

The Ex-Commons is composed of several members of each Great House, along with any local persons of note and, in cases where the Great House feudality is not practiced (as on Bazz) the elected officiates of local systems.

The Ex-Commons is the only organization in the League that has any sway with the Sisterhood of Light—at least on the surface, the Sisters accept and follow the edicts and judgments passed down by the body (After the Sisters went on a “purge” following the Kestral Affair, it was the Ex-Commons that reminded the Sisters of their duty and got them to stop).

EXTRA-PLANAR ENTITIES: (Qv–E-PE’s) Creatures from a theoretical alternate reality or plane of existence, Extra-Planar Entities are spreading. They can be extremely dangerous to the fabric of the Universe. There are different types of E-PE’s of varying degrees of destructive capabilities.

Wvulgrom: A Wvulgrom is an alternate version of yourself from a different reality. A Wvulgrom is not a copy of you and nor is it a changeling or doppelganger. A Wvulgrom is you, it even shares your atomic mass, it simply exists in a different reality. They can be of a similar note in terms of wants and needs, or they can be completely different. It is possible for a Wvulgrom of yourself to be either dead or not yet born. Vast gulfs of time can elapse between the lifespans of Wvulgroms. In some instances, a Wvulgrom might look completely different than its alternate counterpart, or, in rarer cases, might be a different gender or might not even be human.

PLANARITES: Planarites are individuals who, knowingly or unknowingly, enjoy a special Extra-Planar status across the various realities.

Kaidar Gemain: The Kaidar Gemain or “The One Who is Everywhere” is a person who exists in all realities. This is a very rare circumstance as most beings do not exist in all realities but only a small percentage (The Equation of Opposites determines how many Wvulgroms of oneself may exist throughout the realities). The Kaidar Gemain commands vast extra-planar powers. People are drawn to him or her. They are often highly lucky, often gifted in unusual ways. The Kaidar Gemain is the pinnacle of extra-planarism.

Merthig: The Merthig is an unusual entity. “Merth” is the old Cammarian word for “soul“, therefore the Merthig is the soulmate of the Kaidar Gemain. The Merthig is most often the pre-selected mate of the Kaidar Gemain, and is with him or her the most (but not always) across the realities. In realities where the two are together, they are both much more potent than they would have been otherwise. The Merthig often displays astounding skills, Gifts or other talents–this they derive from their association with the Kaidar Gemain.

Merten: The Merten is almost a Merthig, but not quite. Mertens often times carry encoded messages within their very bodies. The method of extracting the information often times leads to the death of the Merten.

V Dogan: Possibly one of the most bizarre of all the Planarites, the V Dogan is a type of demon that has escaped its universal shackles and exists within the Nodes of Reality. The V Dogan has no fixed place of universal residence and can appear out of any Hall of Mirrors. They attempt to get past the Anatameter and exit via the Hall of Mundane, though they are normally unsuccessful. In cases where a universe had become a Spiralata, the V Dogan is more likely to be successful in escaping. V Dogans are spreading, multiplying like a virus and, just when one has been destroyed, another pops up again elsewhere. They tend to create chaos and are generally quite destructive to the fabric of the universe it has contaminated, often leading to destruction by the Shadow tech Goddess. As they exist within the Hall of Mirrors, they are Impassable in Time, meaning they have always existed, from beginning of time to the end. They are difficult if not impossible to eradicate

A V Dogan can look and act completely different, depending on the Node of Reality they appear from. They can, on occasion, be reasonable, other times they can be mindless and demented. They are persistent and extremely difficult to be rid of. The cybernetic creature Bellathauser is a known V Dogan demon.

Tempus Findal: Much has been written regarding the odd, lonely creature known as the Tempus Findal, the One and Only. This entity exists in only one reality. It is the soul survivor of a Planar Event known as a Findalmarch in which all but one aspect of itself dies. This lone survivor becomes a creature of immense destructive power. It is immune to the Hall of Mirrors and can cross the planes however it wishes, it can appear fair or foul. It can create heart-stopping fear and has the strength of twenty men. The only way a Tempus Findal can die is either at the place of its Findalmarch, by an artifact of the place or by the hand of another Tempus Findal.

It, more than any other creature, is drawn to the Kaidar Gemain. Once it detects one, it will travel across the universe if it must to get to him or her. It will kill any in its path, especially the Merthig whom it takes great delight in killing, and then it will latch onto the Kaidar Gemain and bleed him or her dry, feeding like a parasite though it can appear charming and benevolent. Once it becomes gorged with power, it will sometimes forget what it is and believe it is a simple mortal again, but always, its hunger will grow and drive it mad afresh. If two Tempus Findals enter the same reality, they will locate each other and fight to the death.

A Tempus Findal, if allowed to feed unchecked, will drain a Kaidar Gemain such that they fade out of existence in a reality and, therefore no longer exist in all realities. They become a sad, forlorn creature called a Gogol and fade from existence.

copyright 2015, Ren Garcia