PAAGS:  A socal game often played in Xaphan society.  Paags is a more violent version of Perlamum, a game similar to chess often played by ladies in League society.  The object of Paags is for the players to select a group of six to eight champions and then have them meet in several preselected places.  There, the champions are goaded into conflict.  The winner of Paags is the player whose champions win the most confrontations.

PAINTER: Type of Back Hat. A Black Hat Painter specializes in the Cloak and the creation of elaborate illusions. Black Hat Painters were the first to create a fully encompassing Cloaked illusion, thus the “Painted” illusion as they came to be called. Black Hat Painters also specialize in creating terrifying Shadow tech beasts, which can be extremely potent. Not nearly as brutish as Black Hat Hammers, Painters tend to have a bit more free will and intelligence.

PAIS: The Sisterhood of Light’s kitchen at Pais north of Esther is where most if not all of the food consumed by the Sisterhood is prepared. The Sisters do not eat everyday food, depending instead on the strange fare produced at Pais. Not a glamorous place, Pais was nevertheless well-defended.

PALM SPRANDER A device that reads the print, contours and average temperature of a person’s palm. Often used on weapons to ensure that unauthorized persons cannot make use of the weapon.

PANELED:  To be summoned before a civilian courtroom and interrogated at the expense of the accused. The justice system in the League is made up of a number of courts which are presided over by a panel of appointed jury members. For those of lesser status, or for those with little money, the court process is a swift, if not dreary experience. For those of standing with wealth, they may be “Paneled”, which means they face trial in an oppulant House of Justice with all expenses being paid for by the accused. The accused is expected to pay for the venue, all food and lodging accomodations and even the attire worn  by those bearing witness against them. The term “On the Bag” is term meaning one is actively being interviewed while in court. While being Paneled, anyone with an issue or grievance with the accused may come forth and interview the accused, thusly, being Paneled can be a drawn-out and humiliating experience.

PARAFLIES: Huge insects resembling dragonflies, Paraflies, or “Tuleeflies” as they are known in the north, are rapidly spreading across Kana and the League in general. They are metallic blue with green bellies and shiny, rust-colored wings. Although they do not appear aggressive, they tend to swarm in mass and make a loud, buzzing sound. Certain strains of Paraflies have proved to be highly poisonous and armed with an impressive stinger. Mass extinction of whole strains of Paraflies have clogged streams and brooks in the south of Kana.

PARDOCK, COUNTESS OF VINCENT (ne: LADY OF BLANCHEFORT)(02974ax-): (Str, Sta, D) Vith: Eldest daughter of Sadric, Lord of Blanchefort and Countess Hermilane, Pardock was a rowdy, willful youth whom Sadric often said was “Maserfeld reborn as a blue-haired woman.” Inheriting her mother’s martial spirit, Pardock learned to fist fight from her mother at an early age—a skill she would make use of often, especially in the bars of Blanchefort village, where, in disguise, she would brawl with the locals. Headstrong, she often butted heads with her father over social matters. Sadric wished her to marry into House Champion, as such a pairing would bring great acclaim to both houses, she, however, fell in love with Ferddie, Lord of Vincent, enraging her father as House Vincent bore the stigma of being…stupid. Her fine Blanchefort blood, reinvigorated House Vincent and rid it of the “Stupid” stigma forever.

Pardock is best known for single-handedly stopping “The Wedding” a highly placed wedding intended to put an end to the long-running League-Xaphan war. Her younger brother Davage was to marry Princess Marilith of Xandarr in a highly public wedding that was the talk of both societies. Loving her brother very much and being highly protective of him, Pardock Stared Marilith at a pre-wedding dinner in order to determine what her true intentions might be. Her Stare was terrifying—she saw a maniacal, evil woman who was planning a mass genocide and planned to use her brother to accomplish that end. Fearing for her brother’s life, Pardock threw down the baton at their wedding the next day, thus preventing the wedding from being completed. Sadric never forgave Pardock and rarely spoke to her until his death a year later.

Pardock had seven children, her second youngest, Enoch, became known as a great Black Hat Fighter, he freeing over a hundred.

PATTERN: The mill at Pattern, north of Eshter, is a Sisterhood of Light stronghold. It is there where most if not all of the clothing worn by the Sisterhood is made.

PAX, LORD OF ADRASTUS (006942ax–) (St, D, C) Zenon :  Lord Pax of Adrastus, a stately Zenon House from Mercia, was a well-regarded man about society and an Admiral of the 9th Fleet. His family fortune came from farming and the production of fine cheeses, breads and a various types of vinegar. Though a capable man, his rather tart demeanor lead him to acquire the nick-name “Admiral Vinegar” in Fleet circles.

PENTAGULLE: District in the Xaphan city of Vain located in the center of the Street of Knowledge marked by the Three Mountains.

PERLAMUM:  A popular chess-like board game on Kana and Hoban that is as much a social networking exercise as it is a board game.  First, the two players set the ante, or stakes.  Usually the stakes are quite high with players putting up titles, holdings, vast quantities of money and so on.  Then a Game Master is appointed.  The Game Master takes the Perlamum pieces and distributes them throughout the League, either hiding them in certain locations or entrusting them to select individuals.  The Game Master then gives a cryptic set of instructions to each player detailing the wherabouts of each piece.  Each player then sets out to recover the pieces, usually taking a year to do so.  Once the year is out, the players meet and play the game with whatever pieces they have managed to recover.  Players may attempt to Ensack the opposing player’s pieces, that is, to recover them themselves.  Any Ensacked piece may then be used against the player. Being entrusted with a Perlamum piece is considered a great honor and status point.

Extra Pieces:  Perlamum has all of the pieces found on a chess set, with the addition of  two more which may appear after the game has commenced, the Missive and the Jester/Harlequin.  The unpredictable and disruptive nature of these pieces can easily throw off a well-planned game and create chaos, accordingly these pieces are the most difficult to recover.

 The Missive: The Missive appears in either of the positions formerly occupied by the Rook. In order to appear, five game moves must have been completed, both Rooks must be present and both Rooks must not have been moved–the Missive then replaces one of the Rooks (player’s choice). The Missive may move one row forward or one row back and occupy any square in that row.  The Missive may also jump other pieces, with the exception of the opposing player’s Pawn.  The Missive has a great deal of reach and is a very potent piece. Typically, the Missive is one of the more difficult pieces to quest for.

The Jester: The Jester may appear in any empty space surrounding the King and is often used to thwart Check. Afterward the Jester moves as a Pawn.

The Harlequin: An Ensacked Jester (recovered by the opposing player) may be used as a Harlequin.  The Harlequin may appear in any empty space surrounding the opposing King, instantly placing  him into Check.

Due to the unpredictable and disruptive nature of the piece, the Jester/Harlequin is often the most difficult piece to recover.

PETER, LORD OF BLANCHEFORT (ne: OF RUTHVEN) (03043ax–) (–) Esther: Peter of Ruthven was the second of three brothers. His parents, Lord Stephen and Lady Chersa, were fully absorbed by the House of Oyln, and, as such, Peter grew up under the wing of the Duke of Oyln. Peter was a quiet, gentle boy who, from an early age, showed a great aptitude for mechanics and complicated systems. As a man he, along with his two brothers, joined the Duke of Oyln as he became a galactic pirate—the Duke relying heavily on Peter’s mechanical skill. On a mission, the Goshawk gang rescued Lady Poe of Blanchefort from the Black Hat’s Shade Church. Like two pieces of a puzzle, Peter and Poe immediately found an affinity for each other which quickly grew into romance. Soon, with great fanfare, they were married. Peter created the original Tuleefly, which was then copied by his wife and become the template for the prolific Paraflies which would eventually spread out all over the League.

PHANTOM HAND, THE: League term for the Mass, an illegal Black Hat Gift.

PHILLIP, LORD OF BLANCHEFORT (03214ax–) (Si) Vith: Phillip was the second son of Lord Peter and Lady Poe of Blanchefort and was the twin brother of Sarah of Blanchefort. A thoughtful, cerebral boy, Phillip was handsome and had inherited his father’s considerable mechanical skills. He was also a natural pilot, and from a very young age flew the Goshawk with his proud father sitting in the side chair. Phillip, though fairly quiet and thoughtful, had a love of adventure and romance and a weakness for wild, strong women. He and his sister Sarah were best friends with their cousin, Lord Kabyl, and together they enjoyed many adventures. Phillip got a little more than he bargained for in the city of Waam, when a local magistrate, Thomasina the 19th of Waam, fell in love with him. She relentlessly pursued him across the city, determined for him to stay in Waam. Though outwardly outraged, Phillip found a deep attraction to the beautiful Thomasina and enjoyed her pursuit. Eventually, after following him to Kana and engaging in a violent fight with her, he accepted her advances and, eventually after a protracted and rather contentious courtship, they would marry.

PITHNAR: An Old Vith ruin near the Tartan forest on Kana and Stronghold of the Sisterhood of Light. Although a charming ruin of the surface, Pithnar was a bustling research center beneath. Pithnar is one of the few Sisterhood strongholds that allow a measure of interaction between the Sisters and the local population.

PITHNAR, GRAND ABBESS OF: One of the 25 Grand Abbess’ of the Sisterhood of Light, the Grand Abbess of Pithnar is one of the few of her ilk who is commonly seen in League Society. A beautiful and outspoken individual (she can speak plainly to the general populace) she is considered something of a celebrity in League Society and is often seen aboard Fleet vessels— especially the SEEKER.

It was a well known “secret” that the Grand Abbess once had had a long standing love affair with a Great House Lord. House Grenville lore makes claim to this story, stating that the Grand Abbess’ “lover” was Lord Herdie of Grenville, but it is believed that her lover was actually someone else, possibly Sadric, Lord of Blanchefort. Such a relationship is strictly forbidden and, heartbroken, the Grand Abbess had to let her lover go and watch him eventually marry another.

There is a strange, beautiful plant that grows in and around the Pithnar ruins and nowhere else. It is said this plant grew up in places where the Grand Abbess’ tears fell.

PLANAR BRIDGE: (qv: teleportation device) Any device meant to cross from one point to another by means of astral travel. Lesser known in League space, Planar Bridges from the Xaphan world of Wunderland are known to work fairly well. Planar Bridges have several severe drawbacks. They tend to “pull” their surroundings into the astral plane for a short time. It is also very simple to place “blocks” over certain areas that will be fatal to the user of a Planar Bridge. Such drawbacks limit their use and appeal in most quarters.

PLANAR WORLD: Theoretical world that exists either at the threshold of a wormhole, or some other type of dimensional gateway. It is said Planar Worlds can be made to disappear and reappear in random or, possibly predetermined places. The Xaphan world Wunderland is said to be such a world.

PLANET FALL: Sole planet of Rho-Procyon, Planet Fall is a gas giant that is a marvel of modern engineering. Though an inhospitable Jovian planet, Planet Fall is rich in ionized trace elements that the Lords of the League were keen on tapping in 0643ex. The planet was, and still is, quite dangerous due to gravity effects—hence the name, as ships often “fell” into the gassy face of the planet, pulled down by the gravity.

The League engineers hit upon the idea of “carpeting” the upper atmosphere. In 0548ex, they began building huge, inter-locking grids of metal paneling, allowing their sheer mass to keep them stable. Eventually, the League engineers had “gridded” continental-sized chunks of the planet’s atmosphere, eventually constructing three massive grids of continental size. Each grid was fully contained with a workable atmosphere and featured a “counter gravity” which neutralized the crushing effects of Planet Fall’s powerful planetary gravity, Planet Fall was soon colonized by the Houses of Hoffman, Burbeck and Ziddacer. Profiting from the resources extracted from the gassy interior of the planet, the Houses thrived and Planet Fall became an odd, if not important League World. The three “continents” on Planet Fall are called Hoffman Plate, Deckard and Z-Encarr. Planet Fall has over forty moons of varying size, the largest of which are: Miranda, Mizar, Klobos Moedron and Centibak. Ages prior, Moedron began falling into Planet Fall, however, its inertia has made its descent extremely slow, though it is currently beneath Planet Fall’s outer layer of clouds. When it does hit the planet core (in several million years) Planet Fall will ignite into a small Type A star. Currently, Moedron is the fastest celestial object ever recorded in League charts.

Planet Fall is also the nearest inhabited planet to Codis, the star declared forbidden by the Sisterhood of Light.

Planet Fall uses a rare type of precipitated quartz called a billet for its currency.  A three inch rod of quartz equals one billet.  Per the SBL, the Planet Fall billet enjoys a high rate of exchange, with four billets equalling one Kanan solaris.

Though the perils of navigating near and approaching Planet Fall are well-charted and sound bouyed, most ships make use of the Order of Tuggers to helm their vessels. The Tuggers are expert in safely traversing “The Gallery” as it is known, a vast area of intense gravity, killing radiation and high-speed debris.

POE, LADY OF BLANCHEFORT (02987ax–) (St) Vith: The second daughter of Sadric, Lord of Blanchefort and Countess Hermilane, Poe was born with a strange black mark around her right eye. Immediately after her birth, a fierce group of howling, filthy people tried to abduct Poe, they “appearing” out of thin air. Sadric, defending his infant daughter, fought and killed them with his KING CARG. Appearing to be in great pain, Sadric took Poe to the Sisterhood of Light, hoping they could do something for her. Seeing the mark on her face, they informed him that she was a Shadow tech female and that the Xaphan Black Hat Sisterhood would try to abduct her again—other than that there wasn’t much they could do for her—they knowing very little about Shadow tech themselves. Through observation, Sadric learned that, every seven days, smoke would come out of Poe’s mouth, and after that she would be all right for a while. Eventually, Sygillis of Metatron determined that Lady Poe was actually suffering from Shadow tech poisoning and was a Shadow tech female. Sygillis taught Poe how to manipulate her power and she became quite adept, her little animal creations were works of sheer genius, the most powerful of which was Carahil, a seal who became a god. Poe would later meet and fall in love with Peter, Lord of Ruthven and would marry him. She would later give birth to five children: Milos, Sarah, Phillip, Millie and John.

It has been speculated that Lady Poe of Blanchefort is the identity of the mysterious Shadow tech Goddess, a Wvulgrom who was so powerful, she killed every living thing in her alternate universe.

Lady Poe’s Familiars. Lady Poe was well-known for her Silver tech familiars. Most Shadow tech females have one or two familiars that they keep ready for use, however, Lady Poe had eight that she could create at a moment’s notice. Most were small and created in the shape of animals. All were “stamped” with Lady Poe’s Blanchefort Coat of Arms.

• Tweeter: A mechanical canary, Tweeter could guild one to a desired location.
• Fins: A tiny goldfish, Fins could heal most any injury
• Snugs: A hummingbird (either full-formed or as a pendant). Snugs could create a field of warmth warding off the most savage of cold.
• Whisper: A lady bug. Whisper creates a cone of either silence or invisibility that cannot be breeched by eye or technology.
• Shadow: A tiny cat. Lady Poe could not Cloak, however with Shadow walking at her side, she could walk invisibly.
• King: A kingfisher. A rarely used familiar, but always ready. King was a protector, fully able to attack and kill just about anything with his beak. Lady Poe sometimes created King and gave him to her children Lady Sarah and Lord Phillip to keep them safe on their adventures.
• Paraflies: A large blue and green bug. Paraflies were created to protect Kana from the Killanjo demons.
• Bark: A small dog. Bark was a sentinel, ever vigilant, able to detect invisible and hidden intruders.

POINT, THE (6): Illegal Gift based on the Stare, the Point is exclusively associated with the Black Hat Sisterhood. The Point is aptly-named: Point at someone and they die, usually by exploding outwards in a terrible spray. If the victim is Giftless, the Point is instantaneous, if the victim possesses Gifts, the Point takes several seconds to build energy and react. Once the Point is begun, it cannot be stopped. The Point is a feared weapon and a favorite of the Black Hat Sisterhood. Declared illegal by the Sisterhood of Light is 00125ax, it is an executable offense.

POLTAVA: (Blanchefort PtVa) A small, high caliber hand gun formerly produced by the House of Blanchefort. The PtVa (or “Poltava” as it was known)It was designed by Lennibus of Blanchefort and was prized for its high caliber and reliable firing mechanism. Years later, Lord Sadric of Blanchefort, who disliked the manufacture of firearms, ended the production run and converted his factories to begin producing fine fabrics and textiles. Sadric also took the inventory of Poltavas and had them destroyed, thus the weapon virtually disappeared over-night. The weapon is highly prized by collectors for its rarity. Other modern firearms, such as the Grenville 40 are based in part on the Poltava. Lord Davage of Blanchefort is said to wish to resume manufacturing the Poltava, but has yet to do so. The Blancheforts keep a small cash of beautifully-made Poltavas that are worth a small ransom

PONDER (or PONDERLOCK): An encoded navigational beacon used by star-faring vessels to place their position in space without broadcasting it to the general populace.

PORTATOR: Xaphan appointed official.

PRENTISS, HOUSE OF: Zenon: Great House of the northern Zenonlands. Current ruling family: Lord Dorn and Countess Merci (formerly of Cone).

PRIORY: Sisterhood stronghold aboard Fleet starships, the Priory is not under the command of the ship’s captain. The Priory contains a portal of some type allowing the Sisters to come and go as they please—the compliment of Sisters aboard any starship changing from day to day. If a starship is on the verge of destruction, the Sisters uses the Priory to escape to safety, leaving the crew to their fate.

PROBERT, HOUSE OF: Calvert: Great House of Ardan though their roots come from Calvert, House Probert began in low-standing, having a preponderance of Brown blood in its roots. Always known for having great, practical minds, a by-product of their Brown origins, House Probert made a name for itself by engineering a number of modern marvels. Wadlow of Probert designed the mighty Webber class of Teacher-based star vessels, and his son Milos became the Fleet’s chief engineer, designing the Straylight and Triumph class of Main Star vessels. The ancestral weapon of House Probert is the CEROS, a formidable, well-designed throwing weapon.

PROGENITOR SKULL: Arcane item of Xaphan Cabalism, a Progenitor Skull is a skull (either human or animal) that has been treated with a number of chemicals and salts. After the treatment, the skull is seeded with a type of poppy grown on Holly. These poppies grow out of the mouth and eye sockets. Allegedly, they can perform a number of arcane effects.

PROGRAMMABILITY: Status symbol in the League, gauging a gentleman’s worth by how many times he has participated in the Sister’s Mating Program.  Being favored by the Sisters means a great deal in terms of prestige and honor, and those with high Programmability, find themselves as social A-Listers. The Stellar Fleet especially values a person’s Programmability when determining promotion and status.  There are several levels of Programmability:

• Igni:    A low level implying disatisfaction from the Sisters.
• Denti:    A very novice level hinting at no disatisfaction or satisfaction either way.
• Allendi:    A participation of two or three times.  Allendi implys potential growth and promise.
• Canistronmi:    Implies great promise and budding maturity.
• Ellendi:    The gentleman is very satisfying to the Sisters.
• Profundni:    The Sisters are in open awe of the gentleman. A four or five time participation
• Magni:     The Sisters welcome the gentleman into their council.  He and his line are beloved by them.
• Pel: The Sisters are intoxicated by the presence of the gentleman.

The Pel status is a rare, almost mythical status.  The inverse of Programmability is the black mark of Venta Nomi–which implies imperfection and a flawed line.

PSY: Psy energy is one of the 3 schools of magic in the League. Psy energy comes from mental energy, in particular, from TK. Using Psy energy, a practitioner has access to vast powers. The Sisterhood of Light is the sole practitioner of Psy magic. Its use is illegal outside of the Sisterhood.  In Xaphan space, the Black Hat Sisterhood practices a limited form of Psy magic, as their abilities with TK pales in comparison with the Sisters.

copyright 2015, Ren Garcia