SAGA: City on the eastern shores of Barrow on Kana.  Saga was once known for being a place of  vice and wanton corruption and was seriously considered for destruction by the Sisterhood of Light in 94451ex–the first non-Calvert city on Kana to receive such attention from the Sisters.  However, a concerted prohibition effort by the matriarchal House of Woolover cleaned the city up and led to its renewal. Goddown Street, a quiet avenue in the heart of the city, unwittingly played host to the powerful Elder artifact Paramel for several years. The Paramel hung from a street lamp and was unnoticed by all. While it was present, those walking down the street were infused with insight and inspiration. When the Sisters caught up with the Paramel and removed it, a shrine was built under the pole from which it had hung.

SALUTING DAY: League holiday performed on May 1st in honor of the settling of Kana and Hoban. The modern tradition on Saluting Day is to share a bottle of spirits (usually Kanan Grain Spirits). Less potent beverages, such as Narva or Gasol can also be shared. In a typical situation, at a place of business, church, ball or other social function, someone, usually the highest ranking person, will bring in a bottle to share. That person will select a person, usually someone they don’t know, and have a toast from the bottle.  When the toast is concluded, a salute is offered. If the salute is returned, then that person gets the bottle and attempts to continue the chain, selecting other people until the bottle is empty. It is considered very bad form to seek the bottle out–it must come to you naturally. To not be offered a toast, or to be bypassed, is considered a serious social slap.

SAMMARCAND: The cloister of Sammarcand located south of the Remnath foothills is a stronghold of the Sisterhood of Light. An underwhelming structure in one of the most remote areas on Kana, it appears as nothing more than a boarding house for Sisters. What, if anything is going on underneath Sammarcand’s humble exterior is unknown.

SARFORTNIM COLLEGE: A small liberal arts college located in Blanchefort Village.  The college obtained fame for its claims that certain faculty had “discovered” the Black Hats techniques for generating the illegal Gifts of Sten, Point, and Mass.  The motto of Sarfortnim college is: aba vera, which is Vith for: “with light.”  Sarfortnim College is also well known for its brandtball team, the magenta clad “Rumbling 40’s.”

SAARI, CREWMAN, LADY OF FALLZ (03151ax–): Zenon: Tenth daughter of Lady Branna, Imperitor of the Science Ministry, the small, blue-haired Saari had a place set aside for her in the Ministry from birth. Instead, Saari dreamed of flying a starship and got her mother to get her an appointment as a junior helmsman aboard the Seeker. Unable to follow an order for an impossibly difficult helm movement over Metatron, the Seeker was badly damaged and Captain Davage lost. Guilt ridden and suicidal, Lt Kilos was able to restore her confidence and she served well in the recovery of Captain Davage upon their return to Metatron. She eventually became a Master Helmsman.

SADRIC, LORD OF BLANCHEFORT (02895ax-03105ax): (Si, ST, W) Vith: Lord of Blanchefort, father of Captain Davage. A handsome, dainty man Gifted with the rare Sight, Sadric was a man of many contradictions. Thin and beautiful, he was a true Man About Town, reveling in gossips and Society intrigues, he had many friends and was very popular. Yet, at the same time, he was the son of Maserfeld, a man known to be a brutal raider and brigand. Additionally, Sadric courted and married Hermilane, Lady of Hannover, a much older woman known for her martial skills and love of war. Sadric was also very friendly with the Sisterhood of Light, they welcoming him into their inner-circles and sharing secrets with him that they had with no other. It was said, prior to his marriage with Lady Hermilane, that he had a long-running affair with the Grand Abbess of Pithnar—she weeping with sadness that she could not openly love and marry him.

Sadric also had enemies: the House of Grenville. Whereas his father Maserfeld would string Grenvilles up, sack their holdings and kill them, Sadric preferred the more civilized methods of fighting—social slaps and slights, poisoned gossip, pranks and various other intrigues—his arch enemy Marist, Lord of Grenville his ever-willing opponent in these doings. Sadric was known in some circles for infiltrating posh Grenville parties dressed as a “Dark, mysterious woman,” and then enraging Marist by commenting in detail on the event and disparaging those aspects he found laughable.

Though an apparently frail man, Sadric was a master of the CARG, the ancestral weapon of House Blanchefort and forged a very fine CARG often called the KING CARG or the MASTERPIECE CARG. He forged it so that his father Maserfeld would not disinherit him. Sadric had three children, Pardock, Poe and Davage, Davage being the heir of Blanchefort. When his second daughter, Poe, was born she was attacked by five strange, savage people who emerged from thin air and tried to take her. Sadric, fearful for his newly born daughter, fought the intruders off, using his Sight, killing them all with his CARG. It was then that he saw his daughter had an odd black mark on her face and seemed to be in great pain. Sadric took her to the Sisterhood where they told him of Shadow tech and the Black Hat order and they warned that the Black Hats would come again. Fearing for his daughter’s safety, Sadric determined to end the Elder-Xaphan war with a grand unifying wedding. It took years of negotiation and planning to bring about and eventually, his own son Davage was selected the honor to marry the Xaphan. When his daughter Pardock refused to pass the baton, the dream of a unifying marriage was ended and Sadric, bewitched by Marilith, sulked the rest of his life away in his tower.

SALOMA: A regional dish native to the south of Bazz, consisting of diced chicken bathed in a red sauce of various vegetables. Like most of cuisine from Bazz, Saloma can be exceedingly hot if the local Wizuki Misery chili peppers are included.

SALONMAE, Spring of (qv: Pool of Salonmae): ancient spring located at the western end of the Garden of Zama floating over the planet Trimble. The spring as been noted throughout Trimble’s history for it’s seemingly magical properties, including: the ability to nullify any type of poison, the ability to quench even the most profound thirst with only a few drops, the ability to cure any disease, including vampirism, lycanthropy, etc, its ability to give power (fuel) to magic potions, spells, etc, and other, less-well documented attributes. Many of its abilities fade or diminish all together when taken from the Garden of Zama.

A runoff stream flows away from the pool, through an apple grove, and over the edge of the island, falling to Trimble as a waterfall. The water, though pure and clean, has none of the mystical attributes described.

Several stories criss-cross Xaphan space regarding the spring. One story tells that the pool is guarded by a mighty mechanical horse with jewels for eyes. Those with evil intentions are pursued and slain by the creature. Another story claims the ghost of the murdered queen, Queen XO of the House of Sevarr, haunts the spring. Those gazing into the waters claim to see the image of Queen Xo standing next to them.

SAMMIDORAN, COUNTESS OF BLANCHEFORT (ne: OF MONAMA (Astralon)) (03203ax–) (M): Lady Sammidoran was the youngest daughter of Lord Gabriel and Lady Velocan of the Astralon tribe, House of Monama. She was born in a jar, and was hailed as an Anuian and considered to be good luck.  She grew up in the bleached white halls of Castle Astralon, near the north bank of Lake Monama along with her seventy-one brothers and sisters. From an early age she exhibited mastery of many of the mystical powers the Monamas were suspected of having, especially her ability teleport anywhere on Kana in the blink of an eye and to see the future. A personable and outgoing child, Sammidoran had many visions of the future, the most vivid being that she would one day become the next Countess of Blanchefort, married to a boy not yet born. “Sam” found herself confined by the dreary, cloud-bound Monama lands and was, even as a small girl, intrigued with the idea of becoming a Countess to an Elder—something that was unheard of. After giving it much thought, she fell in love with this Elder lord—a person not yet born, and became utterly devoted to him. She even knew his name: Kabyl, Lord of Blanchefort and she would lay awake at night saying his name, just to hear the sound of it.

When Countess Sygillis of Blanchefort was ready to give birth to her first son, Sammidoran went with her parents to witness the birth—as her family was friends with House Blanchefort, a Vith house far to the north where it was cold all the time. When her grandmother lifted her up so that she could peer into the newborn’s crib, she instantly told her grandmother in Monama that she would one day marry this boy. As the boy aged, Lady Sammidoran spent a great deal of her time watching him, sometimes she would “blink” to his room and hide his things, just to tease and confound him. Sometimes, she would sing to him at night. Plucking up the courage, she shared her vision with Lord Davage and Countess Sygillis and they gave her permission to seek him out and strike up a friendship if she could. She did, speaking to him as a disembodied voice in the Chapel of Fercandia. To her delight, the boy, Lord Kabyl, proved to be amiable to becoming her friend and would often come to the chapel and read her the posts—the two good- naturedly arguing over the articles. Although Lord Kabyl wanted to meet her in person, she would not allow it, as she was afraid that, when he saw that she was a Monama, he would be frightened of her strange appearance. Sam was very beautiful, yet she wasn’t the golden-hair Zenon-Girl that Kay had thought her to be. Eventually, after five years, she relented and appeared to him in the Telmus Grove, and, as she feared, he was revolted and drew his CARG. Distraught and ready to commit suicide over her lost love, Sammidoran appeared to him one last time to give him his coat back and say goodbye. Lord Kabyl, however, had learned the error of his ways and told her that he missed her. He even offered to give her his CARG as a gift, which she accepted, and they became nearly inseparable. Before a year was out, they became lovers. Sam, however, was hiding the fact that she, along with all of her Monama kinsman, were slaves to a cruel race of beings who once inhabited Kana and wished to reclaim it. These beings would watch them through covert Gamma band slits and make them do things they didn’t wish to do. The punishment for non-compliance—to be turned into a Berserkacide.

Lady Sammidoran was tormented with a vision that, one day, she would be turned into a Berserkacide and ordered to kill Lord Kabyl. Monamas generally accepted their fate, for what could they do? But Sam saw a way out. Lord Kabyl showed her a book of arcane machines— in particular, a machine that could bridge to gap between two time temporalities. Sam knew that Lord Kabyl had the Dark Sight, and could interact with objects and people in the past, but could not maintain the connection. The machine, however, could. Discovering from Lord Lon of Probert, that one example of this legendary machine existed, Sam broke into the Sister’s stronghold at Hiei and stole a book detailing its location and power source. She discovered the machine was in three pieces, the third being held in Xaphan space. She then sold all of her jewelry and had the power source for the machine constructed—but she had to be careful, for her tormentors were always watching, and should they become wise to what she was doing, they would trigger her into a Berserkacide.

SAPP: Other (House Ruthven) —The SAPP is a unique LosCapricos weapon. It is a strange type of fabric that can be mentally molded into any number of shapes, including swords, shields etc. When in a molded shape, the SAPP is extremely hard and sharp. Ruthvens usually wear the SAPP on their person as clothing, such as a scarf, neck-tie or other innocuous article.

SARAH, LADY OF BLANCHEFORT (03214ax–) (Str, Si) Vith: Lady Sarah of Blanchefort was the first daughter of Lady Poe and Lord Peter of Blanchefort. She was the twin sister of Lord Phillip of Blanchefort. She was always notable for being the spitting image of Countess Hermilane of Blanchefort, her grandmother, right down to the blue hair and pugnacious demeanor. Although always ready and willing to start or participate in a fight, Sarah was a lot more like her kind and gentle parents then she liked to let on. She was a devoted sister and friend, her best friends being her twin brother Phillip and her cousin, Lord Kabyl, and together and three of them went on many adventures together. Sarah, though could be temperamental and quick to judge, and her nasty attitude towards Lady Sammidoran of Monama, who would one day marry Lord Kabyl, nearly lost her his friendship. Eventually, after a secret brawl between them, Sarah grew to love “Sam” as well. She always liked to say that any man who wanted to court her would have to fight her for it, and she was true to her word. Eventually, Lord Clement of Mystery would accept the challenge and, after a brawl, earned her hand. (LoE: TotEH)

SARBRUG-HOLD: (Isle of Sleeping Demons) Uninhabited island of approximately 1000 square miles in central Bazz located between the island continents of Stowe to the northeast and Westron to the south. In the early founding of Bazz after its terraforming in 744EX, Sarbrug-Hold was the initial site of Elder habitation, the Xaphan House of Sorrander founding the first cities of Ash-Tak, Night-Hold and Emilia-Stone, the capital after League Houses were disinterested in settling the planet. The Sorranders were soon forced from Bazz by the Boblytes, a powerful Hospitaler sect, but their cities remained. For several centuries the island thrived. The great Bazz hero, Darius Jones, came from Ash-Tak.

The Black Hat Sisterhood, hoping to create chaos, destroy Bazz and destabilize the League, launched a massive StT attack on the island in 00347AX. While the attack was beaten back by the Sisterhood of Light, so pervasive were the self-replicating StT’s the Black Hats introduced, the Sisters could never fully be rid of them, making the island uninhabitable in 00577AX. Declared a no-man’s land, the cities and habitations were abandoned in 00578AX and fell into ruin. Centuries later, the island remains uninhabited, though many commoners from Bazz often risk imprisonment to venture into the ruins of the island in the hopes of becoming “possessed” by demons said to inhabit the old structures, granting them extraordinary abilities for a limited time.

The island is composed of two peninsulas, the Pillar of Jones and the eastern Pillar of Gallia, after Darius Jones’ jilted wife. The northern reaches of these peninsulas are coated with gray Shadow tech residue from the StT’s and are fatally toxic to all, even to those wearing protective suits. South of these areas are a series of pagan ruins that are reasonably safe to explore. These ruins, the Halls of: Dark, Nightmare, Menlo and Hawk, and the Palaces of: Ether, Astral and Abyss, were originally left behind by the House of Sorrander as they were evicted from Bazz with the intent of cursing the planet. These old Sorrander ruins are supposedly where the Sleeping demons await bodies to possess.

SCYLLA VAULT: A type of vault used in Xaphan space to guard treasure.  A Scylla Vault is said to impregnable, with the only way to gain access to the vault being via the key, usually a complicated cypherlock system.

SEEKER:   A Main League starship, the Seeker was the one hundred, seventy-second vessel constructed of Straylight configuration.  It was captained by Davage, Lord of Blanchefort, and, under his leadership, racked up the most victories, ships captured and enemy crew incarcerated of any other League vessel.  A major factor in virtually every large starship battle with the Xaphans, the Seeker often times made it through the tightest of situations untouched.  It was nearly sunk in the skies over Metatron when its main spar was broken by Cloaked Ghome 7 transports.  As the Seeker clawed its way back into the upper atmosphere, Captain Davage was sucked out and fell to the surface.  Badly damaged, the ship’s spar was repaired by Sygillis of Metatron.

Captain Davage eventually went on to captain the Triumph -class vessel New Faith .  He secured the appointment of Gona of St Paris, who would captain it for another twenty years until he retired suddenly—word was that the Seeker was haunted.  The next captain was Stenstrom, Lord of Belmont-South Tyrol.  Falling out-of-favor with the Admiralty, the Seeker was half-scuttled and left for dead in a south polar-orbit.

SEN LA NA:  (Anuie: “Searcher”)  Title and occupation given to a Monama, usually female, who examines a newly born clutch of Monamas for any Anuian embryos.  The Aunian embryos, if present, can be extremely small and difficult to locate.  Time is of the essence, as an Anuian will die within minutes if it is not discovered and quickly placed within a prepared Anuian Jar.  Skilled Sen la Nas are always present at Monama birthings.

SENTRILS: (Cabalano: Fume, or to fume) Mythical metallic cubes of extra-League origins said to be capable of performing immense arcane functions, including the ability to ward off and dissolve Shadow tech. Sentrils command immense value and are often worth a planet’s bounty. They are often used in 3’s, placed in a triangular fashion. The distance between the cubes can be quite vast. A felt carrying bag known as a Fulmar Pouch can be used to transport the Sentrils and render their power inert. The Fulmar Pouch must be invoked during the creation of the Sentrils.

The Sisterhood of Light, as they did with the Brightstones and the Noab artifacts, claim ownership of any and all Sentrils, and to possess them can lead to a sentence of death before the Sisterhood. The Sisters actively seek out and investigate any lore regarding them.

In an alternate universe, Countess Kat of Belmont South-Tyrol possesses three Sentrils that destroy Shadow tech. So far, she has kept them out of the Sister’s gaze.

SERPENS MAJORIS/MINORIS: Two minor constellations that appear to the east and the west of major constellation Camalopardus (as seen from Kana). In Vith lore, they are considered to be two monsters hoping to devour the candle flame (Camalopardus), which symbolizes Elder truth. Primary stars are: Lemora, and Pelori.

SESTERCES: Unit of monetary exchange used in the Esther regions of Kana. Per the SBL, sesterces exchange at -4 against the solaris. Sesterces are usually small silver coins the size of a button, stamped with the bust of a regional Esther leader. Unlike other forms of currency of Kana, sesterces have difference stampings depending on where the coin was minted.

SEVARR, HOUSE OF (extinct, Vith) First notable House of Vith ancestry to be formed after the Great Betrayal of 000000AX. The House of Sevarr was created on the newly colonized world of Trimble from branches of the House of Zary and the House of Croatoa from Hoban.  The House ruled Trimble for several centuries, their home fortress being Centinos  Castle located on the floating Garden of Zama. They were known for their fair and just rule and their ability to ward off the growing power of the Xaphan armada. The final ruler of the House of Sevarr was Queen Xo, who died without an heir in 000602AX.

SEVEN, RIVER Third largest river on Kana,smaller only than the Withelwell and the Great Blue Pierce in Zenon. The River Seven marks the boundary between the Vithland and Hala regions of the northern continent. The river is actually a natural canal cutting through the northern continent and has no source and is saline.  It is fed by numerous tributaries and the salinity of its waters is greatly diluted.  The Southern reaches of the river branches off into two smaller rivers, the Killbane and the Kronos.

SHADE CHURCH: Underground training facility used by the Black Hat Sisterhood to collect and train prospective Black Hats. Built under a fallen temple dedicated to Loviatar, the Shade Church is said to be a place of unimaginable cruelty and suffering as most of the Shadow tech females confined there are killed under the Black Hats’ heel.

Shade Church is located on a barren planetoid near the League/Xaphan border. It is defended by a large armada, there not to protect the facility, but to utterly destroy it should the League attack.

SHADOWMARK: A black, twisting mark adorning the right eye of Shadow tech Males and Females. The presence of the Shadowmark indicates the presence of Shadow tech within their body. Each Shadowmark is unique, rather like a fingerprint, varying in size, shade and complexity of design. It is thought that the larger, darker and more complex the Shadowmark, the more potent the user is. The Black Hats carefully record the design of every Shadowmark they encounter, which they refer to as the Black Hat’s Key. Knowing the Key allows them to alter, diminish or nullify the Black Hat’s works if need be.

The Shadowmark of Shadow tech Males are usually invisible under normal light, they are only visible under certain spectrums of light.

SHADOW TECH: Old Vithian Gift of the body and a key component in Vortex magic, Shadow tech is a caustic, highly poisonous substance which caused the schism that separated the Sisterhood of Light and the Black Hats centuries ago: the Sisters wishing to breed it out of existence and the Black Hats wishing to cultivate and develop it. Shadow tech can only by cast by a Shadow tech female, but can only by passed down through the generations by Shadow tech males. Shadow tech is very rare, appearing in only one out of every million genetically applicable females, it is also very dangerous, killing most females born with it flowing through their bodies. All Shadow tech females and males are born with the Shadowmark, a twisting, inkvine mark starting under their right eye and wrapping up and around ending before their cheekbone.

Shadow tech, in the hands of a trained Black Hat can be made to do virtually anything, being limited only by the health and imagination of the wielder. It may be formed into weapons, poisons, complex machines, roiling storms and living beasts. Shadow tech is often associated with feelings of anger, hate and dread. It also tends to keep its user in a perpetual state of semi-consciousness. The Vith heroine of legend, Subra of the Mark, was said to be the first documented “Shadow tech female.”

SHADOW TECH FAMILIAR: A construction of Shadow tech that can be quickly created by a Black Hat or Shadow tech female. Forming Shadow tech into monsters and various functional items can be very time-consuming and rather difficult. Most Black Hats therefore practice creating a Shadow tech Familiar—something that they can create in a matter of moments. Black Hat Painters tend to create monsters as their familiars, Black Hat Hammers tend to focus on weapons while Black Hat Knives create body parts such as tails, extra arms and legs and sometimes wings as their Familiars.

SHADOW TECH GODDESS: A Wvulgrom—a hypothetical person from an alternate time continuity. The Shadow tech Goddess does not exist in the current time stream, though her possible existence was speculated on and dreaded by the Black Abbess. In an alternate time stream, the Shadow tech Goddess was a Black Hat so powerful in the use of Shadow tech that she quickly rose through the ranks and eventually faced and killed the Black Abbess herself. Unbridled in power, the Shadow tech Goddess eventually killed every living thing in her time stream, becoming the sole inhabitant in her universe. The identity of this hypothetical person is not known.

SHADOW TECH MALE: (qv: Invernans) Males who may pass down the Shadow tech trait to their female progeny. Shadow tech Males, though unable to cast Shadow tech, may tap into and use it to augment their Gifts and augment their bodies. Should they touch a female’s Shadow tech, the two of them are instantly elevated to the heights of bliss, where the male is fully able to command and control the female. StM’s are generally feared by the Black Hat Sisterhood for this ability. Many StMs are captured and held in stasis by the Black Hats—others are simply killed upon discovery.

SHADOW TECH TRAP: (StT or Snare) Any of a number of nefarious, often Cloaked contrivances made of Shadow tech used to create fear, mayhem and death. Shadow tech traps can take on any number of shapes and forms, however the most common appears to be a six-legged “cockroach”-like creature that latches onto a victim and will not let go until it has either run its course or is dispelled by the Sisterhood of Light. StT’s can be left in an area and there they will wait until they are “triggered”. They can be instantly deadly (sometimes exploding, lashing out and cutting) or they can perform “harassing” things like latching onto a victim and causing misfortune. As they are most often Cloaked into invisibility, a person may carry an StT for a long period of time and not know it. StT’s may also infect devices and machinery and cause them to either malfunction or provide false information. Persons infected with StTs of various types are so common, that the Sisterhood of Light will often remove them from people without bothering to inform them. Persons suffering from extreme bouts of misfortune or bad luck often present themselves to the Sisters to determine if they have been “Snared”  The Isle of Sarbrug-Hold on Bazz was declared “uninhabitable” by the Sisterhood of Light due to the high number of devious and self-replicating StTs placed there in 00577AX by the nortorious Ethyrelda of Waam.

Lady Poe of Blanchefort, a great innovator in the use of Silver tech, invented a variation of standard StT’s called an StT Pot, which can create vast amounts of programmable StT’s from a small space in a very short amount of time. Highly effective, one or two StT Pots can eliminate an entire army in a matter of moments.

As they are made of Shadow tech, StT’s are very difficult to dispell. The Sisterhood of Light is adept at detecting and removing them. Also, a branch of Xaphan Cabalism and certain wavelengths of light have recently been discovered to dissolve or kill StT’s as well.

SHUDDERLOCKE, ISLE OF: Small rocky island located off the southwestern coast of Pinthrop on Onaris. The Isle of Shudderlocke resides in a location that is greatly affected by tidal forces imposed on it by the passing of Onaris’ moon, Inthacron. Several times a year, Shudderlocke disappears entirely beneath the waves, emerging days later.

SHURLAMP, HANNA-BEN (ne: OF BLOODSTEIN  003257ax–) (D, W, C): Vith:  Professor Emeritus from the University of Dee, the beautful Grand Dame Hanna-Ben Shurlamp is the pride of her school.  She is well-regarded  for her learned contributions, not only in the arts, as was her specialty, but the various sciences a well.  The fifteenth daughter of the House of Bloodstein, she is the great, great, great granddaughter of Queen Ghome, a Xaphan tyrant.  A gifted and brilliant researcher, she married into a minor House of Calvert to a tiny teetotaler whom she appears to adore and secured a teaching position at the University of Dee in 003288ax.  She quickly advanced in tenure and became the university’s most notable and outspoken professor.  Her official titles and degrees are:

Professor Emeritus, University of Dee. EVoR, QrduP. NvPhD. Gran-Sequitor Hobanis-Realis and Knight of Bazz.

Her skills involving research into the various arts are acknowledged without question in the learned circles of the League–it’s her methods that have been long suspected as shady and called into question.  A scandal broke out in 003304ax when a rival, planning on publishing a wondrous new discovery pertaining to the pre-history of Kana was found dead at the bottom of the Withelwell River.  The local magistrates believed, after an extensive investigation, that the demure Professor Shurlamp had ordered his death.  She was later cleared of the charges.  Later that year, Shurlamp published a well-regarded paper pertaining to the Pre-History of Kana, one in a very similar vein to that of the murdered professor.

Rumors persisted that the good professor was a vile hoarder and outright thief of knowledge and a vicious opponent, as several more of her learned rivals turned up dead as well.  It was even said she actively employed mercenaries and Xaphans at various times to fetch her what she needed and to take care of others getting ahead of her.  None of those charges or rumors have yet to be proved.

SILVER TECH: A “Happy” version of standard “Mad” Shadow tech, Silver tech is a much more stable, safer to touch and longer lasting. Items created with Silver tech will last, unchanged, forever. Silver tech, along with Shadow tech, tends to extend the life of the female controlling it—she, along with anyone else being in close contact with it, being virtually immortal.

SIGHT, THE: (1) One of the original six Vithian Gifts of the Mind, the Sight is an extremely rare and difficult Gift to master. Almost unheard of in many areas of Xaphan and League Society, some argue that the Sight is an extinct Gift, or is wholly a product of myth. Additionally, the Sight must be inherited. Despite its difficulty to master, the Sight is a potent Gift which comes in six distinct aspects:

1. The ability to see things that are very far away.
2. The ability to see through obstructions.
3. The ability to see in the dark.
4. The ability to see things that are invisible.
5. The ability to see things that are very small.
6. The ability to see the near future.

Most Sighters, including those in the Sisterhood, can only do the first two or three aspects—to be able to perform more or all is virtually unknown. There is a seventh aspect which may or may not exist—the ability to see things in the past. It is said a master Sighter’s eyes glow with a golden, seductive light that has a mesmerizing and enthralling effect on those beholding it. Captain Davage, Lord of Blanchefort was said to have all six aspects of the Sight, including the disputed seventh.

SISTERHOOD OF LIGHT, THE: An ancient Vith sect formed to investigate the Gifts, the Sisterhood of Light is the supreme sect within the League and, some say, the real power behind their success. Aloof, polite, courteous, smiling, the Sisterhood goes about its business unchallenged, they doing as they please, their power and authority clear. It is said that they are not quite Elder, that they have evolved into something else, and that they are the Elders returned. It is said they put the darkness in the Hazards of the Old Ones, defending a dark secret that is there and they would do anything to protect it…even murder.

Nearly blind, they see with their minds and, rarely speaking aloud, they instead speak in a strange sort of telepathy that takes careful training to fully understand.

The Sisters are masters of all six Vith Gifts, their ability to use TK is astounding and it is they alone who protect the League from the Black Hats and their illegal Mass Gift, the “Phantom Hand” that can kill from light years away. The Sisterhood is also the only sect known that can neutralize Black Hat Shadow tech and render it harmless. The Stellar Marines was formed with the sole purpose of protecting the Sisters from the Black Hat Hulgismen—they being somehow immune to the Sisters power.

The Leadership of the Sisterhood consists of twenty five “Grand Abbesses” of colossal power, each located in a different holding. Many have never been seen, but a few, such as the Grand Abbess of Pithnar, Barton, Hiei and Horton are often seen publically. The Sisterhood does not recruit new members. Instead, they “select” notable males from League Society whom they feel will make a good Sister. They then go to that person, all smiles and politeness, and ask if he would like to participate in their “program.” The gentleman is then led to a bedroom where the Sister to be seeded waits. Before a moment passes, the Sister takes him by the mind and leads him into phantasmic fields of bliss and sound–there, he lingers for hours while the Sister engages him and is seeded. Those select gentleman who refuse the Sisters are taken anyway—it is not wise to refuse them.

Houses that anger or frustrate the Sisterhood, often find themselves chased from their holdings and bade to reform. Should the House continue to anger the Sisterhood, they have been known to declare Shuw-shun against said House and utterly destroy it, including every man, woman and child.

SIXTUS, LORD OF GRENVILLE (03100ax–) (Str, C, W): Remnath: Eldest of the current Grenville line and prominent Lord of standing, Sixtus of Grenville is a very powerful Lord and advisor to the Fleet Admiralty, though his is a civilian. Often and political and social rival to Davage, Lord of Blanchefort.

SK: (Stun/Kill), Standard issue Marine firearm, the SK fires a high-powered, armor-piercing round and a concussive puff of air that, in short-range, could stun an opponent.  It was designed specifically to face and take down the Black Hut Hulgismen guard with one shot–quite a feat considering the brutal and mindless nature of the Hulgismen.  The SK holds 25 shots—25 being considered a powerful, mystical number. Larger and heavier than the Fleet-issue MiMs, the SK was an accurate, reliable weapon designed and produced by the House of Dare.  It featured a “Flex Chamber” that allowed it to fire many calibres of ordinance, up to the standard-issue Marine .50 calibre short-jacket.  The Marine .50 calibre was utterly devastating.  Given its high calibre, its recoil when fired is so severe it could possibly kill the person firing it.  The Onaris art of Anthecary, a mild form of telekinesis that hardens the body, is required to safely fire it.

A variant of the SK known as the “Bowser” is a .75 caliber version of the SK.

SKULL CHARNEL CITY: A collection of huts and other modest structures said to be located somewhere in the Black Hat’s Shade Church training school. The place is often fought-over by the crawler trainees, seeking to claim it for their own.

SMOKLESS: Gun (House Crossland) –The SMOKLESS is a long, musket-like rifle of House Crossland. Like the DEATHLOKK, it is a weapon, that, once fired, never misses its target. Unlike the DEATHLOKK, however, the SMOKLESS must be aimed at a particular target. The SMOKLESS is invariably fatal when fired, never missing its target and never wounding.

SNAKE-HEAD WHORES: Sect of Vuggers operating in the Pentagulle area of the Street of Knowledge in Vain. They operate primarily out of the notorious Enselaco Bar. They are known for wearing a headdress of mechanical serpents with flashing red eyes. They are known for being able to steal a victim’s head very quickly, sometimes even without the victim’s knowledge. They rose to prominence when they became the personal whores to the ECSP, or P-Force. They then aligned themselves with the Nightrobes, or Blues, who furnished them with vast Vugging technology.

The Snake-head Whores are also able to control victims from afar by way of a construct known as a “Meat Puppet”.  If they manage to get an image of one’s head, they can control that person no matter how far away they might be.

SNUGS: A Silver tech familiar created by Lady Poe of Blanchefort. It creates warmth, completely nullifying the frigid temperatures of the north.

Snugs comes as either a full-formed hummingbird that can warm an entire room, or as a medallion that will warm a single wearer. Lady Sammidoran, a Monama, depends on wearing her Snugs to protect her form the cold, otherwise she would quickly perish without it.

SONS OF THE RAM: (qv: Ramsons) A mercenary fraternity based on the Gold Coast of Hoban.

SORRANDER-QUO, BATTLE OF: League battle waged against the Xaphan Armada in 000301AX. Baron Jalockie of of Sorrander was wanted in League space for the crime of  piracy. When he refused to turn himself in, the Barr Fleet was brought in to secure his arrest. Due to Sorrander’s distance from the League, the Fleet had to pass deep into Xaphan space. Although uninterested in assisting the Sorranders at first, the various Xaphan warlords, seeing an opportunity to lay a crushing defeat on the Fleet, attacked and surrounded the Barr Fleet, forcing them to retreat to Gothan. The Main Body of the Fleet was then mobilized  and eventually defeated the Xaphans in a series of battles.

SOUL DEVOURER: (In Esther: Manthee-Colous-Ver) A demon of the hypothetical Plane of Chaos which voraciously feed upon the life force or “soul” of Elder prey. They appear in various forms, most often as a slender female perfect in every way save that they have no face, only a huge grotesque mouth and a snake-like tongue.  Soul Devourers can be summoned and set against certain individuals. When summoned a Soul Devourer will relentlessly pursue that person until they have fed upon their soul. They cannot be killed, save through arcane methods.

SPECTRES: A gang of malcontented youth originally springing up on the Xaphan Loviatar, the family of Spectres enjoyed a dramatic growth over the course of several years where they took over certain parts of Hoban, Onaris and the Calvertlands of Kana. The Spectres were also the low-level errand-boys of the Black Hats, doing their bidding. Their primary goal was to search for and slay Shadow tech males, as Black Hats greatly feared them.

SPLENDOR OF THE VITH: Age covering the final five hundred years of the EX Time Epoch and the first five hundred years of the AX. During that time, the Vith Households of the Kanan north grew in power such that they rivaled or possible surpassed the Sisterhood of Light. They created great constructs known as Bowerchests to guard their treasures and Gellartrons to travel to forbidden places. The Sisters grew envious of the Vith’s power and, through subterfuge, managed to depower the Vith and deactivate their Gellartrons, which they considered to be heretical. The end of the age came when the Bowerchests disappeared from Kana and the final Gellartron was deactivated. It is said by some that the House of Bloodstein managed to keep their Gellartron operational and make use of it to this day.

SPRINT SHIP:   Class of medium-sized Fleet vessel known for their nimble, sub-Stellar Mach speed and great range.  The older types of Sprint ship were used more in an ancillary role, however the modern Trumbull-class of Sprint Ship is fully armed with SAR-Beam weaponry, making them a fast, light warship.  The Havoc-class of Xaphan ships are known to be direct knock-offs of the Trumbull Sprint ship.

STANDARD BANK OF THE LEAGUE (SBL):  Unifying financial institution of the League headquartered in the Kanan city of Bern.  With dozens of worlds all using different methods of currency, the SBL allows for a standard, agreed upon mechanism for orderly exchange. The SBL uses the solaris as its base currency.

STARE, The: (10) One of the original six Vithian Gifts of the Mind, the Stare allows one to, in just a few moments, look at a person and know everything there is to know about that person—their hopes, their fears…their secrets. An expert Starer is able to Stare a person very quickly and without any noticeable feeling or discomfort. A “Hard Stare” can create unbearable agony in a victim, even death if allowed to go on for too long. Due to the potentially caustic nature of the Stare, many illegal Gifts have been developed from it, including the Cloud, the Sten, the Mass and the Point. With the exception of a few master Starers, the Stare is a very slow Gift to enable, taking a full ten segments. The Sisterhood of Light often uses the Stare to their advantage. It is said there is an effective counter litany that can shield one’s mind from the Stare.

STARLAND: Unit of monetary exchange used in parts of the Barrow region on Kana, mostly in the cities of Saga and Tuk. Per the SBL, the starland exchanges at -2.5 against the solaris. It is a copper coin stamped with an image of the Paramel–a Noab lantern of great power that once resided in Saga on the face, and a Barrow Star on the reverse.

STEALTH MISSILE: “Dirty” cargo-carrying missile often utilized by the Black Hat sisterhood to transport operatives across Xaphan space and into the League. Designated MAUDE-2, the missile is large, fast, noisy, and dirty with a monstrously large scanning cross-section. It’s the large scanning profile, often as large as a planet, that helps mask its passage, as its speed makes it difficult to pin-point. The missile is uncomfortable and dangerous to ride as it has no crew or habitable quarters, requiring an occupants to wear an atmosphere suit. When utilized by the Black Hats, the missile is almost always composed of Shadow tech. When farmed out to various Xaphan Households, it is made of more conventional materials.

ST. EDMUNDS: One of the principle cities of Calvert situated on the sea near Lonely Hearts Point. A quaint industrious city made up of mostly Calvert House Minors, it was a popular tourist destination for House Majors from Vithland, Zenon and Remnath to go and gawk at the lower-class locals while enjoying the sunny climate. It featured the massive Empire Hotel, the largest in the League, where wealthy tourists opted to stay. St. Edmunds was also the scene for the infamous Fiend of Calvert and his unsolved murders. Fiend lore took hold in St. Edmunds as a cottage industry in the years that followed, featuring tours and themed attractions.

STELLAR MACH: Method of fast space travel made possible by use of the Stellar Mach Coil, a piece of Elder Tech. Stellar Mach is a very brutal method of travel and at 25% of all crewmen aboard Main Fleet Vessels are not able to withstand it for long. Even for those able to withstand its rigors, a usual Stellar Mach jump usually last no longer than 180 seconds.

STELLAR MACH COIL: A piece of Elder Tech, a Stellar Mach coil is a huge coil that reacts with an impeller of a classified composition. The effect is to propel an object at colossal speeds. A standard STRAYLIGHT vessel mounts 16 Stellar Mach coils, though only 10 are usually used for a “safe” Stellar Mach jump.

STEN, The: (8) Illegal Gift based on the Stare most commonly associated with the Black Hat Sisterhood. The Sten is an invisible force field that, depending on the skill of the wielder, can be extended and shaped. The Sten has a very repellant, shocking quality, and to touch its surface for more than a few moments is invariably fatal. A “Boxed-In Sten” traps a victim within a Sten Box, usually killing them in mere seconds. When engaged, a person using the Sten cannot move—they are rooted, or “Stenned” in place. The Sten is a very slow Gift to enable. Certain metals can bypass the Sten without impedance. Due to its dangerous nature, the Sten was declared illegal by the Sisterhood of Light in 0135ax.

STERTERGEN: Arcane painting or carving possessed with a spirit of vigilance.

STERTORS:  Branch of the Sisterhood of Light marked by their dogwood-colored cloaks. The Stertors travel about visiting the various Great Houses of Kana and test the children, proclaiming what Gifts they may or may not have.  The Stertors then present an Official Proclamation stating their Gifts. Children developing and practicing Gifts not so proclaimed by the Stertors may find themselves fined or, possibly, imprisoned.

ST. GALA’S VEIL: Ancient Curtain-Walled City (CWC)located near Jacarta on the southern continent of Kana. The complex was built by the House of Xandarr to serve as a southern staging point for possible invasions of the Remnath region in 677345EX. It was known at the time as Torrvenveld Keep. The fortress was known for its size and many towers and was occupied by the Xandarrs for many centuries. The Xandarrs there became estranged from the main Household, developing their own language and customs.

St. Gala’s Veil served as a temporary home for the Paramel, a Noab artifact of great power. It lit Ballwig Tower in an ethereal light. When the House of Xandarr left the League in 000000AX, they used the light of the Lantern to mystically settle on Planet Xandarr instead of striking out in spacecraft. The Sisters, hearing of the legendary light in Ballwig Tower reclaimed the Paramel in 0000004AX. In retribution, the Sisters scorched Torrvenveld, turning it into a burned-out shell, glowing in a ghostly, smoking light. It was rebuilt by the Giant-sized House of Gala in 000010AX who renamed it St. Gala’s Veil, after the “Veil of Light” leftover from the Lantern’s presence. After the Galas left Kana for the newly terraformed planet of Bazz, the castle was purchased and refurbished by a wealthy sect of letter-writers who would eventually call themselves “The Ballwigs”. It remains their headquarters to this day.

ST. MARE (or, MARE):  Third planet of  Pithos Pendinar, sitting 6am of the Great Xaphan Nebula.  St. Mare is a gassy ringed planet of superior size and  somewhat strategically placed within Xaphan space. The planet is populated, however it is not populated by Xaphans.  The inhabitants appear to be of Ming Moorland heritage.  In 000022ax, the House of Burgon attempted to invade and subjugate the planet.  The invasion was quashed with horrid results and the Burgons were said to be “cursed” for centuries afterward.  The Burgons claimed that the “ring” around the planet is not actually a ring composed of rock and other debris.  They claimed that upon approach the ring was discovered to be composed of floating “bodies” in space, and that these bodies suddenly came to life and attacked their ships. According to the Burgons, the attacking bodies were very persistent and difficult to be rid of. Many of their ships were declared “cursed” and either abandoned in space or intentionally scuttled.  After such a display, the Burgons retreated and no attempt to invade St. Mare has been considered since and the planet enjoys a sinister reputation and is avoided if at all possible.

It has been said that the Xaphan Vorsham Consortium harvests and sells dead Xaphan sailors to St. Mare to keep their “ring” well stocked.  This has not been proved.

ST. PORTER’S DAY: Holiday celebrated throughout the League promoting making new friends and new loves. It is said a new friend or love made on St. Porter’s Day is a friend or love for life. As it is a holiday sanctioned by the Sisterhood of Light, it is a paid holiday.

The Sisters created St. Porter’s Day to celebrate the extinct House of Bodice who left the League and perished in 000000AX. The Sisters felt guilty for their demise and declared the House never be forgotten–the name of the Holiday taken after Lord Porter, the Bodice’ last patriarch. The Sisters could never settle on a date for the holiday to be celebrated, and every year one of the twenty-five Grand Abbesses selects what day it will be held. Therefore, the holiday is rarely celebrated on the same day twice. The date of the holiday is announced by the Sisterhood on the beginning of the Kanan year.

STRENGTH, The : (2) One of the original six Vithian Gifts, the Strength is a very common Gift, imbuing the user with great power and endurance. A person using the Strength tends to have a hard “stony” feel to them. The Strength is such a common Gift that those without it are considered “weak.”

SUBRA, OF THE MARK (2994ex-0004ex): The eldest daughter of the legendary Vith Lord Homma and his gigantic queen Emmira, Subra was a beautiful, blue-haired Vith maiden. From a young age, Subra was known to have had an odd black mark around her right eye, giving her the sobriquet Subra of the Mark. She is written to have had the ability to perform a number of amazing things, including the ability to summon fog, which often aided her father Homma in his battles with the Haitathe. It is generally accepted that Subra is the first recorded instance of a Vith female commanding the emplosser, later known as Shadow tech. Subra joined her father in his ongoing war with the Haitathe and eventually began carrying her mother’s huge sword “Battleborne.” She is credited with “planting” the Mountains of Vith in central Vithland. Like most of her siblings, Subra was devoured by her father Homma in 2015ex. After his death, she emerged from his belly and went on to found several Vith Houses, including Durst, Clovis, Burgos and Holly.

SURRET : Other (House Mystery) –The SURRET of House Mystery is just that, a mystery. It appears as a simple piece of string that is usually worn wrapped around the wrist like a gauntlet. It is reported that, when the SURRET is wrapped around an object, such as a weapon, person or animal, that object “disappears” into the folds of the string. These objects may be stored there indefinitely and retrieved at a later time. Reports of Mystery fighters pulling impossibly huge and ancient weapons and beasts out of the SURRET are rampant.

SUZARAINE, LADY OF GRENVILLE (ne: OF GULLE) (03117ax–): (BH) Xaphan: Black Hat Hammer of a low order, Suzaraine of Gulle was considered a failure and an incompetent, the Black Hat leadership wondering how she survived the trials of the Church. Her small temple in the city of Gulle was often said to “leak.”

Sent with a group of other “marginal” Black Hats to Metatron to assist in the recovery of Sygillis of Metatron, she was forced to bear the Dark Man with her. Thus possessed, she engaged Captain Davage in a fierce battle where she was finally defeated. Her soul nearly consumed by the Dark Man, her broken body was saved by Commander Mapes, Lord of Grenville. Under his care, she recovered from her ordeal, fell in love and married him within a stellar year. A rather shy and reclusive person, she was, nevertheless, extremely intelligent and made many friends via correspondence.

SYGILLIS, COUNTESS OF BLANCHEFORT (ne: OF METATRON) (02990ax–): (BH) Xaphan: Black Hat Hammer and one of their top killers, Sygillis of Metatron was infamous for slaughtering a whole squadron of League Marines single-handed. Tiny, barely five feet tall, red- haired and green-eyed, she sat in her Temple in Metatron, a diminutive yet utterly evil and terrifying figure sitting atop her throne. She was often brought prisoners condemned to death, and there, like a bug on a spider’s web, they would stumble through the pitch darkness of her temple, eventually being killed by her. A particularly ruthless Black Hat, she was one of the Black Abbess’ favorites.

Select Black Hats have the occasional ability to see the future—Sygillis being one of them. She would later recall, sitting on her throne, having a vision of a tall man with glowing eyes searching for her in the dark. Her soul, being stunted and evil, didn’t understand what she was seeing, but, in later reflection, she understood she was seeing Captain Davage, her future savior, looking for her in the night.

She was captured by the League in 03189ax. There, instead of being executed by the Sisterhood, she was “saved” by the ship’s captain, Captain Davage. She, for reasons unknown, she did not attempt to kill Davage, and eventually was “turned” by him, and she fell in love. Annoyed by the loss of face for losing such a wicked Black Hat to the League, the Black Abbess determined to re-indoctrinate her into the Black Hats, destroy the Seeker and kill Captain Davage. She set a trap for her at her old temple which had turned silver as Sygillis fell in love. Knowing that the Black Hat time technology within the temple was in flux, if Sygillis entered or got near it, she would regress in time and become evil again, she harassed the Hulgismen within with “marginal” Black Hats and possessed one with the Dark Man, an intensely evil Shadow tech totem to kill Captain Davage. The Hulgismen, terrified, bewildered, cried out for help and the Black Abbess amplified their cries so that Sygillis would hear them and come. The plan fell apart when the temple, converted into a starship, escaped Metatron, the Dark Man was destroyed and more Black Hats were lost to the League.

Harassed by a jealous Princess Marilith of Xandarr, she boarded her stolen ship, the Triumph, and engaged her and the Fanatics of Nalls in a ferocious battle, where the Triumph crash landed on the remote planet of Gelt. There, badly wounded and out of her mind, she impaled the lot of them on Shadow tech stakes and roamed the field as the “Wailing Demon.” She was eventually saved and taken back to the League by Captain Davage who married her. Sygillis was the grandmother of Captain Hathaline, Lady of Durst who was the childhood neighbor of Captain Davage, and it was that shared psychic knowledge of him that helped cultivate her powerful feelings. She would eventually bear Davage twenty children. Breaking the usual tradition of Countesses staying at home in the ancestral castle, Sygillis went everywhere Captain Davage did, sharing in his adventures.

SYSTREL:  Language spoken by the various Monama peoples of south Kana. Systrel is a formal language used mostly when communing with the gods. Most Monama peoples know Systrel, but only the Nebulon and Darren tribes speak it on a day-to-day basis.

copyright 2015, Ren Garcia