Reality's Plaything 4: Savants Ascendant

by Will Greenway

  See Also: Eternity, kriar

  chyrith—An alien race said to be an offshoot of the Jyril. The Chyrith (allegedly) created the race of Baronians. These mythical creatures theoretically have the power to enslave and even destroy entire universes. See also Jyril.

  Coormeer—A small Kingdom to the south and east of Ivaneth. Coormeer is known for its moderate climate and the fertileness of the hills spread through the heart of its territory. Coormeer makes most of its income as a nation that barters trade. They have a large seaport and a sizeable overland freight industry. Cormeer is also known for its vineyards, and kingdoms from all over Titaan import the different wines made there.

  A few notable figures have dealings with or are part of Coormeer. The Justicar Sir Laramis De’Falcone hails from there and his family owns one of the major vineyards. Lord Mazerak Duquesne the savant of storms also hailed from Coormeer. Lastly, Princess Janai T’Evagduran of Malan holds the title of Baroness in Coormeer, and owns extensive lands there as a widow of one of the Kingdom’s nobles.

  See Also: Ivaneth, Malan, Titaan

  Corresont, Senalloy Moirae—Baronian battle-nurse originally serving Rakaar Hespian Steelsheen. Senalloy’s true origins remain a mystery, however it is certain that she spent quite some time on Karanganoi homeworld (c.f.) gaining the trust and confidence of the Kriar indigenous there. She speaks the Kriar high tongue fluently which requires some ten to twenty cycles of study. Her knowledge of Kriar technology indicates a close relationship with someone possessing engineering skills.

  As a battlenurse, Senalloy has extensive training in the treatment of magical and mundane wounds. As with most Baronians she has a fair degree of both magical and martial training. Even in her weakened state, she proved herself more than a match for Meridian Arcturan and would have killed him had Rakaar not interfered with her.

  Baronian age is difficult to judge, and their race has a nominal lifespan measured close to five thousand cycles. Usually by the time they reach the upper limits of their effective life spans they have gone through renewal or otherwise extended their lives. Senalloy’s confidence, knowledge, and ability make her at least a millennium old. She could however be far older. Her blood sister Luthice (c.f.) who works as a covert operative for Isis is speculated to be close to 30,000 cycles old. If this is true, then it is likely that Senalloy is close to that age and thus ranked as a member of the elder elite.

  See Also: Isis, kriar

  Corwin—Kingdom on the western border of Ivaneth. Biggest Kingdom (in terms of territory) on the continent of Sharikaar. Corwin is also the oldest settlement in Sharikaar. Corwin’s capital is Corwin city, a seaport with a population of just under 2 million people.

  See Also: Ivaneth

  Cosmodarus—Two major cities in the Ring Realms bear the Cosmodarus name. The great city wherein the goddess Isis rules is often called Cosmodarus the city of magic. Another city bearing the same name is in the ribbon realms of the purple plains. It too is called Cosmodarus the city of magic. It is rumored that at one time Isis lived or hailed from the Cosmodarus out in border realms. She may have simply brought the name with her and forgot the other existed. There is often confusion when a person claims to be from Cosmodarus, as both places are home to some of the most skilled and talented adventurers in the Ring Realms. Wren Kergatha was born in the ribbon realm’s Cosmodarus. The Kergatha family are the manor lords of Cosmodarus.

  See Also: ascendant, Isis, Kergatha, Liandra (Wren) Idun-daughter, magic

  Crowninshield, Elsbeth—Prime Counsel of the 27th Magiocracy of the Ring Realms. Elsbeth is one of the two acknowledged living members of the elder elite. Elsbeth is the long-time foe of Aarlen Frielos, and the primary head of an isolationist movement that is fighting to keep magic and technology separate. Elsbeth joined the Shael Dal shortly after Koass made the decision to allow Aarlen Frielos work off her debt to society within the ranks of the Protectorate. Elsbeth claims she entered the Shael Dal in order to maintain certain standards, but it’s most likely she wants to keep an eye on her hated enemy. If Aarlen is caught in a breech of probation, it is likely Elsbeth will be there to make sure Koass knows.

  Elsbeth is one of the most skilled mages known, and specializes in psychic manipulation otherwise known as ‘mind bending’. Like Aarlen, Elsbeth has the ability to time dive, but her skills are quite a bit less refined. Exact details are sketchy, but Elsbeth’s millenniums long feud with Aarlen is rumored to originate with the razing of one of the four core Ring Realms planets (presumably Elsbeth’s birthplace). The planet was subjected to a bombing that infected the inhabitants with a crippling disease. If this is indeed the case, it would also explain Elsbeth’s hatred of technology. There is some support for this story because it is rumored that in Elsbeth’s earlier days before she could alter her shape, she was both crippled and disfigured. The truth of this matter may never come to light as Elsbeth does not speak of her past but in generalities. As with Aarlen, Elsbeth’s exact age is difficult to pinpoint, but it is surmised she is about four to five millennia younger than Aarlen hence the difference in their powers and abilities.

  See Also: bit, Eternity, eternals, Frielos, Aarlen, magic

  crunchfruit—A sweet juicy fruit with smooth red or green skins. Green ones tend to have a sour flavor. On earth, if someone saw you with a bag of these, they’d ask you for one of your apples.

  cyber-unit—A cyber-unit is a portable computer typically carried in the field a cyber usually has an uplink to a more powerful ‘true’ cyber on Homeworld, but if communications are impaired they can function in stand-alone (non-networked) mode. They do not have personalities or any of the other features typical of Kriar organic ‘cyber’ life-forms.

  See Also: kriar

  cybermed—Several types of cybermeds exist in Kriar technology. There are portable cyber-units whose specific functions are medical diagnosis and treatment. These are merely scaled down versions of the ‘noble class’ cybernetic entities which provide medical care on Homeworld. Cybermeds are the ‘upper upper class’ of cybers usually having the most advanced hardware (8096 - 32,768) dedicated cpus. These specialized computerized doctors can do nothing short of miraculous healing, and can perform cellular and genetic alterations at the atomic level.

  A few cybermeds have become notable in Ring Realms history for their interaction with humans (and healing of same). One named Christians has been the ‘family’ doctor for house Felspar and Techstar for several decades. Another ‘retired’ cybermed named Dralthon has been instrumental in softening the technical assault by the Elsbeth’s Magocracy. It is said that Dralthon and Elsbeth are friends, but the Scarlet Mage denies this vehemently. Other people cite that Elsbeth has in recent years become extremely organized and no longer seems to rely on books or maps for reference. This suggests that she may even possess a cyber interface. Even if true, it is unlikely that anyone will ever get the technology hating mage to acknowledge the fact.

  Mercedes, a privately owned cybermed, has made significant contributions to the political situation in the Ring Realms Trade Alliance.

  See Also: cyber-unit, Crowninshield, Elsbeth, kriar, Mercedes, magic, magocracy

  —D—

  D’klace—The D’klace are actually a guild of assassins for hire. They are retained by the various kingdoms usually in a deterrent role much the way weapons of mass destruction are stockpiled in the modern world.

  The D’klace are actually a branch of the “all-world’s” or “masters” guild lead by half-god drow Adorne Doonweir. Membership in any branch of the overworld guild is a measure of status because of the rigorous initiation that must be passed in order to join. There is a close association between the masters guild and Dream Merchants. The rogue Kriar, Theln Azygos, is said to have ties in both organizations.

  See Also: kriar

  D’Shar, T’Gor—Active member of the Shael Dal wielding the Shaladen blade Korvel.

  See Also: Korvel, shaladen

  D’Shar, Tigress—Active me
mber of the Shael Dal wielding the honorary shaladen Swiftwind.

  See Also: shaladen

  D’Tarin, Algernon—Active member of the Shael Dal wielding the Shaladen blade Warstar. One of the nine Lords of Ivaneth, and master of the East wood. One of the core members of the Band of the Crescent Moon dating back to their first treks in Silissia. Algernon has one daughter, Val’Siden, currently married to Bertram Tarrantil.

  See Also: Ivaneth, shaladen

  daergons—The Kriar political group who followed the warrior Daergon Surr. This group was in power when the Kriar first came into conflict and consequently lost a war to the Jyril. The tactics of the Daergons were also the cause of the Protectorate war. Though technically the Kriar did beat the eternals while under the command of the Daergons, the victory is considered a loss because of the unacceptable cost of Kriar lives.

  See Also: Eternity, eternals, kriar

  dasta—Kriar word that has no literal translation. It is used interchangeably in context when referring to named cliques, organizations, or groups of people. Dasta Daergon was the political affiliation of followers loyal to Daergon Surr. In another instance, Dasta Fabrista is the entire host of people and creatures who live on the Fabrista Homeworld.

  See Also: kriar

  Delarn, Eladrazelle—One of the highest counsels on Homeworld and personal friend of both Vatraena Solaris and Dame Gwensulin Techstar. Eladrazelle is a 2nd generation Kriar and one of the oldest Kriar on Fabrista Homeworld. She is a scientist specializing genetics, and essentially the ‘mother’ of the matrix technologies relied upon by almost all-living Kriar.

  See Also: kriar

  demon—A generic term referring to any of a number of outer planes dwelling creatures created and utilized by the pantheon lords to wage war and intimidate lesser creatures.

  dom’ista—Elvish honorific. Proper form of address for the King. The translation is ‘Father Star’—or ‘Stellar Father’. In this regard it is similar to the common Term—“sire”.

  See Also: elvish

  draconians—The dragon race. In Gladshiem there are enough dragons to form a “community” structure. Tymoril and Kegara the two dragons which accompany Bannor on his adventures refer to dragonkind as a collective community.

  See Also: dragon, Tymoril

  dragon—These magical reptiles take many forms, colors, and sizes and live throughout the Ring Realms. What more can be said about them that whole volumes of material haven’t addressed?

  Draline Valharesh—See Vilesilencer, The.

  drek—Drek (along with dren) are slang terms in the Ring Realms which refer to less than desirable material. A common usage: The drek has hit the windmill.

  See Also: dren

  dren—Dren (along with drek) are slang terms in the Ring Realms that refer to undesirable material. A common usage: That’s a bunch of dren!

  See Also: drek

  —E—

  eh’san—Kriar language that has no literal translation. It is a military specific term that a subordinate uses to address a higher-ranking official. It is used in the same way as ‘sir’ is used to show respect. ‘Sir. Yes, sir!’

  See Also: kriar

  elder—Used to describe creatures (usually humanoids) that have lived far longer than normal human life span. Any creature with more than 500 cycles of living is considered an elder. Many elves fall into this category.

  elemental—In the broadest sense a creature that is manifestation or embodiment of one of the four elemental forces (stone, air, water, fire). Note that this extension is more or less metaphorical. Races such as Djinni and Efreeti are considered elementals (air and fire respectively). What gives them this distinction is their mastery of magicks which manipulate their respective element.

  Elf—Elves are a race of creatures seen throughout magically endowed worlds of the Ring Realms. It is popularly believed they are the descendants of the elder race called the Silcanna (also known as the silver elves). The patron of the elves, Carellion Lothlarian, is rumored to not be a pantheon lord but is instead one of the Silcanna. This has not been substantiated however. The elf race is noted for the longevity of its members and their close relationship to magic and nature. The elves themselves are split into several distinct hereditary branches (sub-races) that each have their own language and customs. These are the Gray-elves, the High-elves, Wood-elves (faeries), Mountain or ‘Valley’ elves, and Sea-elves.

  There is no particular racial bias or prejudices between these races and their dialects are derivative enough from each other that all of them can understand and communicate at a rudimentary level. Of the five, the aquatic semi-amphibious Sea elves are the furthest removed from the original hereditary strain and by necessity are the group that has the least interaction with both other elves and humans.

  Elves are typified as having the same approximate stature as humans, but having a tendency to be slimmer and more fine boned. Their ears and eyes are slightly larger in proportion to their faces than is typical for a human. The ear cartilage is upswept and pointed, this trait being most noticeable in Wood-elves. The eyes of elves have a luminous phosphorescent quality that is noticeable even in daylight. This ‘glowing’ quality enables elves to have exceptional vision at night, being able to resolve reasonable details in approximately half the light necessary for human viewing. Elven vision is tuned to longer ranges (being able to resolve at 40 feet what a human does at 20). This trait is at the sacrifice of close-up vision. As a consequence, Elven script tends to be quite large and their books rather thick. They often employ vision aides when it is necessary to read smaller print in any volume.

  The other characteristic of elves is their lifespan, which is typically over five hundred cycles. The gray elves are the most long-lived of elves, their lifespans extending well beyond two millennia. In fact, it is unknown exactly how long they do live because few that become great elders ever die of natural causes.

  See Also: magic

  elven—Of or being related to Elves. see Elf.

  elves—Plural of Elf. see Elf.

  elvish—The language of Elves. Elves have several distinct dialects, most notable among these being the high tongue spoken by the gray elf nobility. The most widely spoken dialect is called Dikeen or Dikeeni which simply means ‘dialogue’ or ‘speech’. The various tribes of wood, sea, and mountain elves speak variants of Dikeeni.

  energy—(generic) of or pertaining to any spectral force which can perform work (change states in matter).

  eternals—The seventh generation Eternals were evolved for the purpose of fighting of invasions of ‘foreign bodies’ and the cancerous infestation of germane life (temporal ‘trouble makers’). Each entity was imbued with complete mastery over a certain element, energy or power, and lesser control over other forms.

  Since the matrix provided more raw power than even than Eternals could control, the eternals were given the ability to surrogate their powers to other creatures. This surrogation is commonly referred to as avatarism. This same technique is practiced by the deities of the outer planes, and in some instances by grand magi. The surrogates of the eternals were dubbed the ‘Shael Dal’. The number of surrogates each Eternal can have is unknown. The time guardians, who also possess this power, and have been known to have as many of sixty-one functioning surrogates at one time. See Eternity. See also time guardians.

  Roster

  Name: Koass Vinax

  Title: Prime Commander

  Shaladen: Sharonsheen

  Power: Reality

  Name: Foross Kerall

  Title: Strategic Commander

  Shaladen: Stellaraac

  Power: Shape Shifting

  Name: Nethra Argos

  Title: Tactical Commander

  Shaladen: Nova

  Power: Space

  Name: Garn Ellon

  Title: Tactical Leader

  Shaladen: Warstar

  Power: Time

  Name: Sroth Mephista

  Title: Covert Ops Leader />
  Shaladen: Korvel

  Power: Life Energy

  Name: Areth Jalt

  Title: Intelligence Ops

  Shaladen: Starsong

  Power: Sound

  Name: Aurra Levon

  Title: Psych Tactics

  Shaladen: Starwind

  Power: Mind/Control

  Name: Yi Esperantil

  Title: Chronal specialist

  Shaladen: Krelstar

  Power: Time

  Name: Zarthel Benwarr

  Title: Magic/Tech spc

  Shaladen: Pulsar

  Power: Mind/Forces

  Name: Jarella Kepsforia

  Title: Security specialist

  Shaladen: Cataract

  Power: Dimensions

  Name: *Culavera Sajaer

  Title: Tactical specialist

  Shaladen: Jemfire

  Power: Reality/energy

  Name: **Leto

  Title: Satieroth Tactical specialist

  Shaladen: Cybersong

  Power: Fire/energy

  *Culavera is one of the oldest living beings in the universe, and the only creature surviving of the third generation of the Protectorate. Her powers are in actuality greater than those possessed by the prime commanders. Unfortunately, she cannot exert herself at those levels for very long.

  **Leto is a product of the fifth generation of the protectorate, and, like Culavera, much older than the rest of their peers. Leto suffers from energy ‘seizures’ as a result of not being sufficiently synchronized with the eternal’s power matrix.

  Roster of Shael Dal (surrogates)

  Name: Koass Vinax

  Title: Prime Commander

  Shaladen: Sharonsheen

  Surrogate(s): Megan Vinax

  Name: Foross Kerall

  Title: Strategic Commander

  Shaladen: Stellaraac, Snowfire*