
## Table Of Contents

  * Acknowledgements
  * Foreword
  * Reference
  * People
  * Mastery
  * Places
  * Everything Else

All Things Real

(Reference for the Power Colors Saga)

Talee

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously

Copyright 2012, 2013 by Talee

First Edition: April 2012

**Smashwords Edition, License Notes**

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

# Acknowledgements

Thanks to all those who have supported my efforts by buying my books and especially those who provided reviews encouraging others to buy my books. I write for you, and am happy that you find my works entertaining.

A special thanks to my wonderful wife who has been patient with me as I spend hours developing the stories. She listens patiently as I speak of the adventures and twists of the plots, and encourages me when I grow frustrated. Olga is a true partner, and I constantly wonder at how blessed I am that she chose to spend her life with me.

This book is dedicated to my grandchildren who hopefully will enjoy reading all my books someday.

This text will be a living document growing over time and expanding as stories unfold. It is my intent to have it remain free or at least very inexpensive so that you can keep the most current version by your side at all times.

#

# Foreword

Long before time was reckoned in terms of months and years, there was only one planet on which mankind existed. That planet was called Arth and was in a constellation known as the Milky Way. Eventually mankind developed technology and clawed their way into space, first reaching the other planets in Arth's solar system, and then beginning to reach out to other solar systems. Eventually, history says Arth became over populated and needed to expand onto other planets to reduce the overcrowding.

Historians theorize that the scientists of Arth initially found four planets that they believed had viable atmospheres capable of sustaining an oxygen rich environment where humans could live. They named these planets Barth, Carth, Darth and Earth, and sent very large starships filled with specially trained survival experts on missions to find and settle these planets. Most of the planets were thousands of light years away, so they would be settled by the descendants of the individuals that had been loaded onto the starships. Before the settlements could be confirmed, however, there was a world war on Arth and during that war, records were lost and destroyed, leaving the exact locations of those original planets unknown. Only one, Earth has been rediscovered, and the others are believed to have failed.

Many millennia later, Arth once again launched into space, this time with faster than light starships, and through the use of talented power color users, almost instantaneous communications. In the second expansion, the multiple nations of Arth agreed to divide the reachable solar systems into four sectors, one for each of the major nations. These sectors became known as the Abas, Frin, Haas, and Tali sectors and eventually became independent realms in their own right, once Arth was conquered by the nation that owned the rights to the Abas sector.

For a very long time, power users in these sectors were virtual slaves, closely horded as irreplaceable resources needed to facilitate command, control and governmental communications across the huge areas of space that made up the sectors.

Even after technology was developed to allow communications across those distances without the use of the power users talents, the status quo was maintained with all the governmental bodies hording power users as their personal resources. Every child born was evaluated and monitored for signs of talents in the areas of power color manipulation and if they were found to have such talents they were quickly shipped off to government training and monitoring centers.

In the Tali Sector, it even became common practice to breed power users in the hopes of creating a new more powerful breed of power users. But as always happens when one group of people are kept as slaves of another, an uprising occurred, and power users won their freedom in every sector. The Tali sector was the first to grant freedom to power users and as a result many power users from the other sectors escaped and immigrated to Tali, giving it the highest concentration of power users in the end. Frin was the second to allow freedom for the power users, then came Haas and finally Abas.

Still for many years power color users were treated as second class citizens, and their abilities discounted as freakish. Finally, three rose up working their way through the education system and earning respect for their education based knowledge. The leader of the three was a woman named Trali; the other two included a soldier of great renown named Teal and an heir to the high administrator's office named Rhea. These three started a new kind of revolution converting the largest university in the Tali Sector into a joint skills university where the talents of the power color users were added to the knowledge of the scientists and educators, creating a massive explosion in innovation and creativity. In a few short years the Tali Sector produced cures for many diseases previously thought to be incurable, followed immediately by innovations in technology that so far surpassed the capabilities of the other sectors that they rapidly became the wealthiest and most powerful sector. And in the process, the three founders took over control of the government as well. Teal and Rhea were married and controlled the administrative and military branches of the executive, while Trali was elected to the high council and eventually worked her way into the most powerful position in the legislative branch of the government, known as the Speaker of the High Council.

Seeing their success, the other sectors went in two totally different directions. In the Frin Sector, the power users took over many of the universities and developed new innovations based solely on power user capabilities, quickly outpacing the Haas and Abas sectors and becoming the second wealthiest sector overnight.

The Haas Sector for the most part ignored what was happening in the Tali and Frin Sectors, continuing to see those who could use the power colors as useful freaks, nothing more.

But in the Abas sector, there was a revolt among those who could not use the power colors, and a group known as the anti-witch consortium formed a church called the Church of Norms which spread like wildfire across the sector. This church taught that those who had special talents and abilities that 'Normal' people did not have were evil spawn of the devil and should be shunned and pushed out of their society. On many planets rumors quickly spread of those with extrasensory talents or abilities in the area of power color usage, being tortured and killed to purge society of their evil.

Eventually, the government of the Abas Sector was taken over by members of the anti-witch consortium and laws were passed making it illegal to use the power colors or extrasensory talents, and these offenses were punishable by public execution.

A few years later, the Church of Norms began popping up across the Hass Sector and within a few more years the anti-witch consortium had taken over the government of the Haas Sector as well.

In the meantime in the Frin Sector a Srin Master (one of the highest level of talented power color users from the Tali Sector education system) named Sawtan seized control of the government of one of the solar systems and began his quest to take over the government of the Frin Sector.

With the governments of the four sectors being so diametrically opposed to one another, it was just a matter of time until they began to fight over control of all the sectors. As in all known history, the tides of power shifted and shifted again, and eventually the four sectors became one. But before they did, the elite of the Tali Sector sent settlement ships out once more into a new area of space, this time armed with much of the technology that none of the other sectors had been able to develop, including the ability to generate atmospheres capable of generating and sustaining oxygen rich environments on most types of planets. These new settlements formed a realm known as the Free Colonial System, based on the structures and beliefs of the Tali Sector.

The Power Colors Saga is a series of books based on the people and governments of these realms. Many worlds and consequently many societies and adventures occur in these books. The adventures range from wars and governmental intrigue, to everyday life on worlds where technology does not work, and the use of the power colors and extrasensory skills is the only way to accomplish many critical tasks.

Follow the lives of Torl, Lia and Seala as they change the fate of humanity and the lives of all the descendants of Arth.

*****

This text is dedicated to helping make sense of the people, places, and things that make the Power Colors Saga unique and different. It is organized into sections for People, Places, The Mastery, and Everything Else. Also at the end of the text, there are a few maps of solar systems discussed in the books. You will find information here that is not necessarily contained in the books, so keep this text handy as you read through the tombs of the Power Colors Saga.

**Books by this author**

****

Power Colors Tales:

P'Hilz Story Available now

The K'Jin Mission Available now

K'Jin Released Available now

Alla's Path Coming Soon

The Power Colors Saga:

__

_Torl's Journey Book 1 in the series_

_Rebuilding a Legacy Book 2 in the series_

_End of an Era Book 3 in the series_

_Seala's Burden Book 4 in the series_

_Taarl and the_

_Fools Game Book 5 coming soon_

Barth Novels

Dirk's Duty Coming Soon

Power Colors Short Tales

_Master Mixer Sslasl_

_Sslasl and the Mastery_

_Mika's Art_

_Zaable's Destiny_

General Reference

__

_All Things Real A reference to the people and places in the Power Colors books._

__

_Barth Reality A reference to the people and places in the Barth Novels_

# Reference

# People

Aalaw – Reporter for the Colonial Free Press Association and longtime ally of Councilwoman J'Irle. A short dark skinned man in his later years with curly white hair, a broad nose and large full lips.

Argle – Jin Master of the Prin order former apprentice and loyal follower of Master Flarr. A smallish man in his early adulthood with a great big booming bass voice. He shaved his head, but had brown eyebrows and goatee. His small brown eyes appeared to see everything as they looked around a large bulbous nose. His small thin mouth was a great contrast to the voice that came out of it.

Aarl – Individual who hired three assassins to eliminate Torl. Member of the high council of the Free Colonial System and representative of the Si'ile system (3 populated planets). Right hand man for Councilwoman J'Irle. A short heavyset man in his middle years with light skin and just a fringe of salt and pepper hair around his head. He wore a handlebar mustache that clearly was color altered to keep it black. His small beady eyes were a dark brown and his nose was narrow and pointed. He would be easy to identify in a crowd, but most likely was ignored in most crowds. Killed in a manner that made it look like suicide while in custody after an attempt to assassinate Torl.

Alaes – alias used by Seala during the journey from Earth to Sharing Six.

Alla \- A young woman, near Seala's age, with blond hair and an elegant heart shaped face which belied the fierce blue eyes. She was slightly above average height and very slender. She had been trained in the assassin's school on Whisper for nearly two years when Seala and Taarl brought it down. An excellent martial artist and expert with the sword and throwing daggers, she was also very skilled with the power colors. A natural leader with exceptional confidence for one trained in the school, she led one of the largest and most successful groups of students when the guild attempted to retake the school.

Alex \- A man in his middle years. He was of average height, and build with a strong face and a deep space tan. His curly black hair, calm brown eyes and proud posture caused him to stand out in most crowds. He had a chiseled body and carried both a quarter staff and a long bow which he handled with equal expertise. He had been an apprentice in the mastery, and an aid to a high councilor from Thrin before being captured and brought to the assassin's school. A trained politician, and martial artist, he quickly became a leader among the students and lead one of the groups defending the school when the attempt to recapture it came.

Ali \- Lar Master of the Laar order. One of the three masters claimed by K'Jin after they attempted to assassinate him. They had been sentenced to death by the council of fifteen free solar systems of the former Frin sector. He was a short stout man in his early middle years with close cropped blond hair and light skin. His gray eyes stood out in an otherwise common looking flat face.

Amyl \- Lar Master of the Juul order senior master in the Lyyn system. Promoted to Mir Master in the first testing by Torl on Sharing Six, and eventually became the third Prin master behind H'San and Lia. On her journey to the Prin mastery she had become recognized as one of the most accomplished and dangerous martial artists in the realm. A short woman in about her 30th year with caramel colored skin, large brown eyes that a man could get lost in, a small nose with a slight curve in the bridge, and full lips that were constantly turned up in a welcoming smile. Her pleasant calm personality put everyone at ease.

Andrs – Aarl's younger sister and heir became a member of the high council of the Free Colonial System when Aarl died. A short skinny woman in her middle years with light skin dark black hair and green eyes that appeared to know all. Her nose was narrow and pointed above full lips that were usually curved up in a smile. A Jin Master of the Laar order known for her exceptional political talents. She was a much more formidable political power than her brother had been.

Arz \- First officer to the boss of assassins on Whisper who handled contracts in the P'Inl and P'Eng solar systems. He was a particularly nasty man who was noted for his ability to make people reveal all their secrets. He was exceptionally sadistic and enjoyed other people's pain more than anything else in life. Seala acquires his memories while attempting to gather intelligence by scouring his mind.

A'Zir \- Station Commander for the western area control center of the council security division. Rank of Colonel, youngest of the Station Commanders. A tall very muscular man in about his 30th year with curly black hair kept closely cropped. His intent brown eyes accented his very dark skin and left one with the feeling that he could see into your very soul. He had just a tuft of black beard below his lower lip, a flat nose that flared when he breathed and was nearly as wide as his full lipped mouth.

B'Aan \- Station Commander for the southern area control center of the council security division. Rank of Colonel, second most senior of the Station Commanders. An average height very muscular woman in about her 40th year with long light brown hair infused with gray strands. She had a rather bland chalky face with slightly slanted green eyes above an over large bulbous nose and a small stern mouth.

Bal \- Kre Master of the Laar order and head of Master Amyl's security force. She was the senior master of the Laar order on Greentree until K'Jin achieved the Lar mastery and stepped into that role for a few years. When he left the planet to take a position in High Councilor Torl's service, she resumed the role once more.

Baz \- Sergeant of the northern area control center of the council security division. A short thin man in his middle years, with black hair and dark brown eyes. He had a rather bland looking face with a slight scar on his right cheek.

B'Dro \- Sergeant in the Tali sector defense forces. He was the communications specialist on duty when the report of new solar systems being discovered came in from the exploratory service. A career soldier completely dedicated to the service, he was known for following orders to the letter without question.

B'Eth \- Farmer's daughter on T'Ing, P'Hilz's only real friend, she was a short chunky girl with stringy dishwater blond hair and a scar across her right cheek where a family pet had scratched her as a baby.

B'Illi \- Young woman in about her twentieth year when she wandered into a small mining town looking for supplies. She was hit over the head, robbed and woke up in a cell with Seala deep in the assassin training center on Whisper. A tall slender woman with a slight build and short brown hair, she had left the family farm wandering from area to area looking for a place she could fit in. Had she remained on the farm, she would have been forced to marry an older man who had a small farm of his own a parse away from her father's farm. She was a third child and had no hereditary rights, and was not particularly pretty, so everyone thought she should be happy that a farmer wanted her as his wife. She wanted something more, so she left. That was the cover story she gave, some of it was actually true, but reality was that she was a double diamond assassin in the Whisper Assassin's Guild. She had been paired with Seala to find out how she had been able to walk right into the camp undetected. Very talented with telepathy, strategy and the power colors, she also had some skill with precognition and was able to escape after the attempt to retake the school was thwarted.

B'In \- Member of the high council for the Free Colonial System and representative of the Ginl system (4 populated planets). A short, round, very dark skinned man in his middle years with straight black hair, dark brown eyes and a sharply pointed nose above a thin lipped mouth that was perpetually pursed giving the impression that he had just eaten something very sour, in complete contrast to his eyes which twinkled with merriment.

Bora – First Seat of the High Council for the Si'ile solar system, and Jin Master of the Laar order. She was a short young woman with straight black hair, light brown eyes that were slightly slanted adding a mysterious look to her face. She had a small slightly pointed nose above thin red lips. The lightly tanned skin completed a look of dainty beauty. Here reputation on the other hand had nothing dainty to it, as she was known as a shark in the political waters controlling the solar system government with an iron fist.

Bree \- Lar Master of the Krial order senior master in the B'Aal system. She was a woman of average height in her middle years, with very dark skin, kinky black hair sporting just a few silver strands laced throughout. She had dark brown eyes set perfectly in an elegant face with a sharp straight nose and full lips framed by a strong jaw line culminating in a pointed chin. She carried herself regally and had a confident yet pleasant personality. She was one of the first of the masters chosen to become Torl's students as part of the rebuilding of the mastery.

Brin – Political advisor to the First Seat of the High Council. He was appointed by J'Anl, J'Irle's father and predecessor as First Seat of the High Council. A tall man about his 50th year, with curly dark brown hair, blue eyes and a small curved nose above a generous mouth that appeared to be in a permanent smile.

Burl – Jelru's master of plowing and planting. A member in good standing of the Church of Norms, and a friend of the old master witch hunter.

B'Zin \- Station commander for the eastern area control center of the council security division. A short, stocky, well-muscled woman in her middle years. She had long brown hair and green eyes with that intent look of a commander looking over her troops, in a face that otherwise might have graced the pages of a beauty magazine. She had a reputation as a no-nonsense commander who got the job done.

C'Arl – Member of the high council of the Free Colonial System and representative of the B'ask system (4 populated planets). Right hand woman for Councilman Ganz. A tall albino woman of indeterminate age, she had the features of a classic beauty with a strong nose and chin and full lips. She was extremely well built and in excellent physical condition, looking as though she could compete in the interstellar Olympics and win.

Carmel – Deputy Station commander for the northern area control center of the council security division. Acting commander after Charpil was relieved of duty for threatening Torl. Rank of Major, promoted to Colonel and given command of the northern area control center after properly handling the investigation into the assassination attempt in the council's chambers. Eventually promoted to General and given command of a battle wing. A tall well-muscled woman with long blond hair and blue eyes so intent that people felt a little uncomfortable when she looked directly at them, as if she might find a piece of lint on their clothes or some other minor fault that would displease her. She had a very strong face with a sharply pointed nose, thin lips and a square jaw, and looked every bit the commander of a semi military organization.

Caz \- Jin Master of the Krial order and apprentice to Lar master O'Rvl. He was a tall slender man in about his 25th year, with curly black hair and a very dark skin. He had a high forehead, large dark brown eyes, and a sharply pointed nose above large full lips. High Councilor of the underground colony on Sheltered Six.

C'Drk \- Major, second in command of the reserve forces stationed 50 sectors off Educator. He was a man of average height with just a fringe of salt and pepper hair around a bald head. His intense green eyes stood out on an otherwise unremarkable face.

Charpil \- Station commander for the northern area control center of the council security division who made a bad career choice by threatening to interfere with Torl's staff if Torl involved himself in the investigation around the assassination attempt in the council's chambers. Rank of Colonel.

C'Hrl \- Wife of J'Rod, she was a tall slender farm girl with long blond hair usually kept in pig tails and green eyes that sparkled when she looked at J'Rod.

Comz \- Councilwoman J'Irle's chief of staff and top political advisor. Comz was a tall dark skinned woman in her middle years with jet black curly hair and dark brown eyes. She had a regal look with a strong jawline, a pointed nose and very large full lipped mouth.

Cor \- Assassin in the Whisper Assassin's guild who had been in line for the position of First to the boss when Arz got the position. He was captured by Torl's security team during the cleanup on Whisper. He was tried, found guilty based on memories Seala presented at his trial, and sentenced to death for multiple murders.

Cr'Ono \- Wealthy farmer on a small planet called Earth. Married to D'El for forty plus years when they were approached by members of the power user's underground to see if they would be interested in taking care of a young woman from Tali who was homeless and with child. Being without children of their own and past the child bearing years, they quickly agreed and took the young woman known as Lia into their home adopting her as their daughter and giving her a home and future.

Darl – Security Specialist hired as a member of Torl's personal security team on Sharing Six. She appeared to be too young to be out of school, she was tall and very thin and had short brown hair with blue green eyes that looked more curious than confident. Her small narrow nose flared and her lips were drawn tight as she scanned the area constantly looking for anyone or anything that might be a threat.

Daas \- Apprentice to Master Nev who was pushed into the accelerated training that Master Masl had developed in preparation for the war with the witch hunters that she knew was coming. A short slender girl in her early adulthood. She had short cropped brown hair, brown eyes and a deep tan.

D'Eeb – Councilwoman representing the B'Aal system. A very short woman with black hair and a caramel colored complexion. Her dark brown eyes held a commanding look and her thin lips were typically pulled tight in concentration beneath a wide flat nose. She was a pleasant individual who seemed very dedicated to providing the best representation possible for her solar system. He liked her because she did not align herself with any of the other council members fully; instead she considered each proposal on its own merit and voted accordingly.

D'El \- Wealthy farmer on a small planet called Earth. Married to Cr'Ono for forty plus years when they were approached by members of the power user's underground to see if they would be interested in taking care of a young woman from Tali who was homeless and with child. Being without children of their own and past the child bearing years, they quickly agreed and took the young woman known as Lia into their home adopting her as their daughter and giving her a home and future.

Derk \- Initiate of the Krial order and student of Master O'Rvl. He was a short thin man in about his twentieth year, with long brown hair and a thin tuft of beard on his chin.

D'Han \- Station Commander for the lunar area control center of the council security division. Rank of Colonel, most senior of the Station Commanders. A short very muscular man in about his 50th year with just a fringe of gray hair around his balding head. His piercing gray eyes contrasted his deeply tanned skin and left one feeling very uncomfortable when he looked directly at you. He wore a neatly trimmed salt and pepper mustache between a flat nose that had obviously been broken and a thin lipped mouth.

Din – Mir Master of the Krial order and senior master of the Ibil solar system. She was a tall lean woman in about her 40th year with blond hair she wore down to her waist surrounding an elegantly beautiful face with bright blue eyes that seemed to twinkle as she spoke, a narrow pointed nose and large full lips. She was known to be an exceptionally skilled expert in the technologies associated with star travel, an accomplished master of politics and a martial artist of significant repute.

Dug \- A short young man in his early years with nothing of elegance or grace about him. He was built like a fire plug, nearly as wide as he was tall and bulging with muscles. There were several scars on his face and arms from beatings he had taken while at the assassin's school. He had been a worker in one of the mines until his talent with the power colors was discovered and his employment was terminated. On his way home from being fired, he was captured and taken to the assassin's school. One of the most unusual and uncomfortable leaders around, his strength and genuine concern for others made him a natural leader. An expert with the cudgel and skilled with the power colors, he had been a student for just over a year. He led a large group of students in the battle to hold the assassin's school when the attempt to retake it came.

Dumas – Reporter for the Aleron Daily News, a news service owned by one of J'Irle's most loyal supporters.

E'Dah \- Jin Master of the Laar order and Lieutenant in the northern area control center of the council security division. He was part of the force that rescued Seala and M'Ors from their kidnappers on Sharing One. A tall lean man in his early years with very dark skin, hair and eyes, with a round face, narrow pointed nose and full lips that were perpetually smirking as though he had just thought of something insanely funny.

Efrain – Secretary of security for the Free Colonial System. One of the appointees responsible for the security branch of the government, including council security, port security, and the secret service. Released from the post after displaying greater loyalty to the Kranus Star Ship Systems Corporation than the First Seat of the High Council.

Ellen \- L'Nar's wife. A short well-built brunette with large brown eyes, and a heart shaped face that beamed when she looked at L'Nar.

E'Lmr \- Station Commander for the off-planet area control center of the council security division. Rank of Colonel, commanding the largest of the military forces. A short thin man in about his 40th year with a shaved head and full, neatly trimmed brown beard. His deep blue eyes stood out against his pale skin. He had a small pointed nose that had obviously been broken and a thick lipped mouth above a square chin.

E'Mal – I'lle's administrative assistant tasked with helping her administer Torl's estate and non-governmental interests. He was an Initiate of the Laar order apprenticed to Jin Master Argle who showed some signs of having precognitive abilities. An average sized rather non-descript man in his middle years, with short brown hair, light blue green eyes that always appeared as though he were deep in thought, a small rounded nose and small mouth with thin lips. He wore a short mustache that wrapped around his mouth slightly adding a little width to his mouth. E'Mal was the type of person who could go unnoticed in any crowd. That combined with his keen sense of hearing made him an excellent information collection agent, and he was commonly used in that capacity.

Esah – Lar Master of the Laar Order and highest ranking master in the Si'ile solar system. Benefiting from the training sessions with Srin Master Torl, he quickly moved up to Mir and then Nar mastery and tested for the Prin mastery with Seala many years after Torl ascended to the First Seat. He was a tall lean man in his later years with closely cropped dark curly hair surrounding a very round face with dark brown eyes, an over large flat nose and large full lips that were in a perpetual smile. He was a noted historian focusing on the political influences of various realms and the interaction of those political influences. An exceptional martial artist with strong power color skills, he was well known and respected across the realm.

Ethan – Kre Master of the Miir order, second most senior master in the Iridian system, student of X'Aan. A short pudgy man in about his 30th year, with a shaved head, piercing brown eyes, a sharp nose and thin, almost non-existent lips, he had a perpetual look of concentration on his face.

Falz \- A senior councilor for one of the Frin sector free solar systems. He was the front for a strong group of powerful people who opposed the involvement of the free solar systems in the war with the witch hunters.

Farnle – Captain of a pirate ship become cargo hauler. A very old man with one eye permanently squinted. He was dirty, wrinkled, and very scarred from many years of poor living. Friend to High Councilor RinTorl and loyal to him after the initial trip to the Free Colonial System. Torl and Seala took the former captain with them upon arrival in the Free Colonial System and Torl gave the ship to Farnle as a reward for getting them safely out of the witch hunter territories.

Feldsood \- Expert strategist who trained Torl in the arts of distraction and misdirection as tools to hide his activities. Commonly called Guru Feldsood by the students in the Saal Monastery because he was such an expert at misdirection.

Felix Berril – Wealthy executive with the Teleron Corporation who is notorious for his taste for prostitutes.

Feril \- A Level Five Tax and Comp Tech who's specialty was bleeding off profits from corporate accounts for taxation and other purposes.

Fiegal – Jelru's foreman and confidant. A very competent and reliable man whom Jelru trusted implicitly. A tall man, very large of girth, and very quick of wit and action. He had been seen talking an angry mob into doing just the opposite of what they had planned, but had also been seen killing a Fire Cat with his bare hands. If one were smart, they did what he said when he said it and trust that he would take care of the rest.

Finkle – Jin Master of the Juul order known as an exceptional musician. A huge man considerably taller than Torl who had been considered tall back on Arth. He had a great paunch that jiggled when he laughed, which was quite often. Finkle wore his blond hair close cropped but had a full beard that reached the center of his chest. He had very bright blue eyes, a generous nose, and a large mouth that constantly had a smile on it. One got the impression that Finkle was the life of any party.

Finus – Thug on the pirate ship killed as Torl took the ship.

Finz – Assassin (female) captured during the final attempt on Torl's life on his initial trip to Sharing Six. Committed suicide while being questioned by Torl. Mated to N'Jerl.

Flarr – Lar Master of the Prin order and highest ranking master on Sharing Six when Torl arrived. He had specialties in both the use of the power colors and the martial arts. A tall slender man in his later years, his light brown hair was now heavily infused with gray. His blue green eyes held an intensity that demanded attentiveness, as they looked out around a large pointed nose. He had a canyon of a mouth from which boomed a strong baritone that could not be held to a normal conversational volume. Flarr was extremely personable and constantly told stories and jokes which amused any within earshot, which was practically everyone within sight.

F'Ox \- Srin Master of the Juul order and senior master in the X'Ax solar system. He was a tall powerfully built man in about his fiftieth year, with shoulder length silver hair and a full beard still showing streaks of brown. The large gray eyes dominated his face and immediately drew attention as they seemed to see right through an individual.

Franks – Representative of the Lyyn system (4 populated planets) on the high council of the Free Colonial System. Second most influential member of the coalition of council members headed by Councilwoman J'Irle.

G'All – Head Legal Councilor for the First Seat of the High Council. Former High Judge of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the realm. A small bald, dark skinned man in his late years, with a mousey face and small beady eyes.

Ganz – Representative of the Sharing system (6 populated planets), home of the capital of the Free Colonial System. Head of the second largest coalition of council members in the high council. J'Irle led the largest coalition. The two opposed one another on nearly every bill presented to the high council.

G'Erk \- Commander of the 1st Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and a Lar Master of the Laar order. He was a tall thin man in his late middle years. His salt and pepper hair was close trimmed and accented his deep space tan and dark brown eyes. His strong jawline was a perfect accent to his straight nose and tight lipped mouth. He was an exceptional tactician and seemed to be able to anticipate an opponent's moves before they even decided on what they would do. He was also a very strong telepath with exceptional telekinetic talents as well.

G'Hass \- Large heavy set woman in her later middle years. She and her husband ran an orphanage on G'Ham until her husband was killed in an accident at the chemical mixing factory that was the primary employer in their small city. Only the fact that her oldest orphan was very bright and extremely dedictated made it possible for her to continue the orphanage. Sslasl worked at every odd job he could find to keep food on the table while he studied for the mixer test, which he passed with flying colors. Then they were secure again financially.

Giln – Mir Master of the Iial order, and senior master of the Friz system. She was known as the consummate student of the mastery, with exceptional skills in the use of illusion and telepathy. She often used the power to entertain children with very complex skits that demonstrated the benefit of courtesy and fair play. She was a tall slender woman in her middle years, with long kinky black hair worn in a wide circle around her very dark skinned face. She had dark brown eyes and a large flat nose above a full lipped smile and a perfectly proportioned very fit body. She carried herself regally and her beauty added to the look of a queen in her prime. She was one of the first of the masters chosen to become Torl's students as part of the rebuilding of the mastery, and soon worked her way up to the Nar mastery.

Gorm – Kre Master of the Miir order second highest ranking master in the Wiss solar system. He was known as a master of projection and potions. He was a short obese man in his middle years, with straight black hair down to his shoulder blades, surrounding a round face with large brown eyes a bulbous nose and small thin lips.

H'Ana – Junior political advisor on Torl's personal team. An initiate of the Laar order and one of Torl's apprentices, she had been political advisor to a senior member of the council for the Sharing system prior to joining Torl's team. An extremely muscular woman of average height and build in her early years, with short brown hair, hazel eyes, a pug nose, and full lips.

Helg \- Assistant Station Chief for the executive intelligence service on Elos. A short slender woman in her middle years, she was a Lar Master of the Krial order with exceptional natural talents with telepathy, teleportation and precognition. Her short cropped hair had once been dark brown but now was laced with gray strands. Her face now held creases from years of stress and poor diet, but the sharp gray eyes that peered out from it clearly missed nothing. The air of confidence and strength about her left little doubt she was someone to be respected.

H'Erl – Head councilor on Torl's personal legal team of advisors. Former Judge of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the realm. H'Erl won several constitutional challenges to laws passed by the high council. They had been extremely surprised when he applied for one of the legal advisor positions on his personal staff.

H'Ing \- Commander of the 3rd Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and Kre Master of the Laar order. She was a very tall powerfully built woman in her middle years with close cropped curly black hair and very dark nearly black skin contrasted by bright green eyes. Her perfectly shaped nose sat above a full lipped smile that could melt a man's heart, but a bearing that left no doubt she was in charge of the situation. She was an exceptional esper and projective telepath and was noted for her ability to out think her opponent.

H'Jax \- Srin Master of the Iial order and highest ranking master in the underground colony on Sheltered Six. She was a tall slender woman of indeterminate years, with shiny black hair riddled with silver. An extremely muscular woman with a slender build and dark brown eyes that missed nothing, set in an extremely elegant face, she looked every bit the royal queen in court. As an extreme contrast to that she had a very soft and sweet voice that seemed to comfort one as she spoke.

Holm – First Seat of the High Council of the Iridian solar system. He was a short round man in his middle years with long brown hair that he wore in braids to his shoulders. He had light blue eyes that seemed to stare right through a person as though they were of no consequence, above an oversized bulbous nose and small thin lips. He was known to be more of a figure head than a leader, depending on the leadership of T'Gil and Lar Master X'Aan to establish policy.

H'San – Mir Master of the Krial order, senior master in the Ginl system made the long trip to attend the testing and was rewarded when he successfully completed the testing to become Nar Master. He later achieved Prin mastery in the same testing cycle as Lia achieved that level. H'San was a short powerfully built man in his later years, with a white fringe of hair wrapping around his bald head and joining to a neatly cut beard, also white. He had piercing green eyes above a small pointed nose, and almost no lips. H'San was a no-nonsense master known for his exceptional skills in technology. He was the architect of the government's realm wide data analysis and tax management systems.

Ibu \- Lar Master of the Prin order. One of the three masters claimed by K'Jin after they attempted to assassinate him. They had been sentenced to death by the council of fifteen free solar systems of the former Frin sector. She was a short slender beauty with shiny black hair and green eyes framing a round lightly tanned face.

Idar \- Transport specialist assigned to Taarl and I'lle on their honeymoon. Holding the skills and talents of a Kre master in the Miir order combined with considerable combat and security skills. She had been trained locally by the transport guild on Elos.

I'lle – Initiate of the Laar order that was on duty when Torl and Seala arrived at the border to the Sharing system. She validated Torl's weaves and welcomed them to the system as was required by their constitution. Later became his assistant and primary manager of his personal calendar. Worked with N'Jill to ensure his personal calendar and the calendar of the First Seat of the High Council did not conflict with one another. Promoted to Jin Master during the first testing session administered by Torl on Sharing Six. A relatively short muscular woman in her early years with a dark space tan and bright blond hair that could almost be described as yellow. She had large blue eyes, a pug nose, and full lips above a pointed chin. Most would describe her face as cute rather than beautiful or handsome.

I'Nga – Kre Master of the Laar order and the senior master in the Arnl system. She was a short squat woman in about her twenty-fifth year. Her short brown hair was cut to reveal her ears and collar as it surrounded a round pale face with green eyes that did not miss a thing, a pug nose and a wide thin lipped mouth. In spite of a body structure that made her look overweight, she was an extremely fit and exceptionally skilled martial artist and considered to be one of the best computer programmers in existence. She was one of the first of the masters chosen to become Torl's students as part of the rebuilding of the mastery and quickly improved her skills moving rapidly through the levels of mastery reaching the Mir Mastery by the time Lia reached the Prin Mastery.

Irnla – Security specialist hired by Torl on Silius Three, to guard captain Relos and protect Seala. A wiry woman in her middle years with a slight scar on her left cheek. She became his head of security and one of his most trusted confidants. Killed in the final battle with O'Mil's forces.

I'Ssa – Izzel's youngest sister and heir. She was a very attractive young woman of about 25 years, with long auburn hair and every ounce of weight in the right place. She had deep blue eyes that tried to draw a man in, and a beautiful full lipped smile that seemed to promise things it was certain she did not intend to provide. She saw Torl as a prize worth fighting for and tried hard to draw him in.

Izzel – First Seat of the B'Aal High Council, second most powerful person in the B'Aal solar system behind Councilwoman D'Eeb who was their representative on the High Council of the Free Colonial System. Izzel was a short round man in his later years. He amazingly had a full head of thick white hair that he wore shoulder length and parted in the middle. His light blue eyes appeared nearly white and very intense above a bulbous nose. He had a full white beard that he wore to the middle of his chest surrounding a full wide mouth that appeared to be constantly turning up at the sides as though he heard something funny in every statement made in his presence. Izzel reminded Torl of an old tale from Arth that he had also heard on Earth about a jolly old man who wore red clothes and brought presents to good boys and girls near the end of each year.

Jakel – Thug on the pirate ship killed as Torl took the ship.

Jaks – Initiate of the Laar order and junior member of Torl's security staff. He was a tall muscular man of about 20 years, with short brown hair and blue eyes above a perfectly shaped nose and a thin lipped mouth that when he wanted produced a smile that made most girls melt. He was a very handsome man and had quite a reputation with the ladies. As a three year initiate, he was near to mastery in most of his skills, and well ahead of the requirements in his martial arts skills. Taarl had set him down hard a couple of times for coming on to I'lle and flirting with Seala, but generally he seemed to get along with everyone. Killed in the final battle with O'Mil's forces.

J'Anl – First Seat of the High Council for the Free Colonial System, and father of J'Irle who succeeded him. J'Anl passed away suddenly when J'Irle was 30 years old.

Jardon – One of Jelru's friends and drinking buddies.

Jaselle – Navigation specialist level 3, hired by Torl on Silius Three, to assist with the trip to Sharing Six. A short woman with a slight build, light brown hair and brown eyes that appeared to be tilted slightly down toward her small pointed nose. She had small thin lips that constantly twitched at the edges as though she had just heard a great joke.

Jelru – Wealthy farmer on the out world planet called Earth. Secretly a member of an underground society who wished to overthrow the Witch Hunters. A plain, pale green eyed farm girl with overly large facial features, light brown hair, and a slight mustache.

Jen \- Jin Master of the Miir order known to be a true mystic and exceptionally talented esper. Promoted to Kre Master in the first testing by Torl on Sharing Six. Jen was viewed a little weird as she often smiled or giggled at things no one else could hear. A woman of middle age and average height with an average build, and a gentle attitude, but that was where average ended with her. Her long hair was blazing red and unruly as it framed the face of a classic beauty. Her bright green eyes seemed to see right into a person's soul, and her full rich lips beckoned to a man's heart. When she spoke her strong alto voice flowed like honey and demanded attention.

Jesse – daughter of Phillipe a farmer on Sinale Seven.

Jinks \- An alias used by K'Jin during his mission to find and contact the underground power color settlements in preparation for the liberation of the witch hunter territories. Jinks was a gambler of considerable skill, known for his skill with cards and dice, but occasionally successful with the electronic gambling machines too when he found an honest casino.

J'Irle – First Seat of the High Council for the Free Colonia System prior to Torl's arrival and claim of that position. She was the individual with the most to lose when Torl claimed his right as son of the Firsts of Tali. Representative of the Salaal system (6 populated planets). Leader of the largest political block on the high council. A tall well-built woman in her later years. Her hair was almost silver, offsetting bright green eyes beneath light brown eyebrows. She had a strong jawline and a small gently sloping nose. She would most likely be described as handsome rather than beautiful, but there was a clear air of authority wrapped about her like a robe. She would be noticed in any crowd.

J'Lin– Kre Master of the Prin order known for exceptional skill in multiple martial arts also extremely skilled in the use of power colors. Promoted to Lar Master during the first testing performed by Torl on Sharing Six. She is known as more of a monk than a priest, constantly seeking to increase her skills and mastery. A short heavy set woman of latter years. Her once black hair was now nearly white. She had skin the color of a deep tan with light brown eyes and a small pert nose. Her lips were full and in a perpetual smile that spoke of a very happy life. When she spoke, her voice crackled a little but retained a luster that caused one to listen intently to what she had to say.

Johnan – Jelru's master of transport. One of her most trusted aides.

Jonar – Information trader posing as a Miner class four on the Tiranus who attempted to befriend Torl and Seala during their cruise.

J'Rod \- P'Hilz's oldest brother and heir to the family farm. He was an outstanding farmer who consistently anticipated the market for produce accurately.

J'Zin \- Commander of the 5th Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and Kre Master of the Laar order. She was an average height woman in her middle years, with bright yellow hair contrasting her deep space tan and deep blue eyes. Her slightly over sized nose had clearly been broken and the knife scar across her left cheek pulled at what was once a beautiful full lipped smile. The intensity of her gaze left one feeling that they were being inspected any time she looked in your direction. Known for her creative and unexpected tactical shifts, she was also extremely talented with the power colors especially in the area of illusion.

K'arz – Lead political advisor on Torl's personal team. She had been an advisor to the First Seat of the Council for the Sharing System before joining Torl's staff. A tall woman in her early years with long curly black hair framing a beautifully gentle face with brown eyes a small flat nose and full lips that would entice any young man's heart.

Katera \- Information trader posing as a Miner class five on the Tiranus who attempted to befriend Torl and Seala during their cruise.

K'Jin \- Lar master of the Laar order, and agent of the Free Colonial System. After growing up as a disappointment to his parents, in a home with no real love. K'Jin found a home in the secret service working for the High Councilor. He was provided the best training available in how to survive and even prosper in the Witch Hunter's realm while moving from planet to planet searching for the underground masters to prepare them for the coming war. While on the mission to notify the underground colonies, he discovers the ability to call the power colors and has to abandon the mission sending others to complete it instead. He progresses very quickly through the ranks after discovering his ability and eventually achieves the rank of Srin Master. He becomes known as one of the key figures in the overthrow of the witch hunters.

K'Rin \- Commander of the 2nd Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and Kre Master of the Miir order. She was a very short powerfully built woman in her middle years with long auburn hair kept in a knot on top of her head. She had bright yellow eyes accenting her deep space tan. Her small pug nose sat above a full lipped smile that contrasted the air of sternness that surrounded her. An exceptionally talented magician noted for her ability to project both her will and her voice.

K'San \- Commander of the 4th Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and Lar Master of the Krial order. Twin brother of K'Rin, he was in his middle years with close cropped auburn hair, and a slightly feminine face with yellow eyes a small pug nose and a stern full lipped mouth that left no doubt he was in charge. Noted esper and exceptionally talented with the power colors especially in the areas of teleportation and illusion.

Lanl – Jin Master of the Juul order and an artist of great renown. A mousey man with long strands of beautiful black hair around a pinched round face. His dark brown round eyes appeared almost black as they peeked out from under a protruding forehead. He had a small pointed nose above an overly large mouth with smile creases at both sides. When he spoke the sound and tempo were quite feminine, and he was clearly uncomfortable around new people, but he was quite polite and easy to speak to.

Lerot – alias used by Torl during the journey from Earth to Sharing Six.

Lia – Mother of Seala, one of the early fugitives from the Witch Hunters who their way to Aleron. Born SalLia she had been renamed by Captain Relos to hide her true identity as he attempted to transport her to the Saal Monastery on Arth. That mission failed, and she was stranded instead on a farming planet deep in Witch Hunter territory. Formerly a high level bureaucrat with the Free Colonial System, managing external monitoring systems from Sharing Six. She became a good friend of Torl's and eventually his wife. She was the head of the advisory council of masters assigned to the First Seat of the High Council. Also a Kre Master of the Iial order with a very broad base of skills and talents especially noted for her skill with the use of the power colors. Promoted to Lar Master during the first testing administered by Torl on Sharing Six, and eventually to Srin Master not long before the mission to overthrow the witch hunters. She was fair skinned and tall with long auburn hair that bounced as she moved her head. Her large round eyes were light brown and settled above a perfectly shaped nose and full red lips. She had a strong jawline with a squared chin above a perfectly proportioned body. She was beautiful by any standard.

L'Nar - The younger of P'Hilz's two older brothers. He was an excellent farmer, but also an exceptional mechanic who had taught himself how to repair all sorts of farm equipment and transports.

Lyn \- Nar Master of the Narl Order, he was known for his political skill and extreme dedication to the High Councilor of the underground colony on Educator. He was a tall, lean man in his middle years, with dark brown hair and dark skin. His deep brown eyes were the key point of his slightly round face that featured a large nose and thin lipped mouth. He kept his hair trimmed neatly and his face clean shaven. He was always immaculately dressed and was extremely well respected throughout the colony.

Lynl – Kre Master of the Miir order known as the practical wizard. Lynl had exceptional abilities in healing with the power colors and great strength in telekinesis. A man in his late youth. He was of average height and average build with dark skin and black curly, almost kinky hair. His dark brown eyes had the look of wisdom way beyond his years. He had a large flat nose that was too large for his face, and a small mouth with thin lips that made him appear to be in deep concentration at all times. He was a pleasant man, but did not waste words when he spoke.

Mala – Forman and close friend of Lia, entrusted with the care and raising of Seala after Lia's talents were discovered and she had to flee. Lia signed over the farm to Mala who would raise her child for her.

Marqual – Jelru's family caretaker and master of the household. Something of a gossip.

Masl – Kre Master of the Juul order. Second highest ranking master in the Guul system. After apprenticing with Srin Master RinTorl, she quickly achieved Lar and then Mir mastery. Later taken into RinTorl's central team and assigned the task of solving fuel problems for the longer stretches the battle cruisers would have to travel in the war against the witch hunters. She was a very tall, extremely thin woman in her middle years. She wore her long red hair down below her waist contrasting her very pale skin and light blue eyes that seemed to twinkle with excitement. Her small pointy nose seemed almost out of place above her rather large full lipped mouth.

M'Elv \- Mir Master of the Krial order, he was the most senior of H'San's apprentices working as a professor at the largest university in the Giln solar system. He was well known for his mastery of most of the known martial arts and held title belts in several weight classes of the professional fighting ranks. A tall, lean athletic man in his middle years, he had very dark skin with wavy black hair displaying just a few gray strands. He wore his hair down to his shoulders, framing a strong face with piercing dark brown eyes and a flat nose above a large full lipped mouth. He tested for the Nar mastery in the same cycle as Taarl and I'lle tested for the Lar mastery.

M'Erk \- Commander of the 6th Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and Lar Master of the Miir order. A very tall man in his middle years with close cropped yellow hair, and a strongly masculine face with bright blue eyes a large pointed nose and a strong full lipped mouth above a strong square chin with a small dimple in the center of his chin. Master of illusion and skilled projective telepath, he could make an opponent believe he was somewhere he was not while leading an attack force directly at them.

Mika \- A short slender woman in her very early adulthood. She had long black hair and brown eyes that appeared to dance when she was happy or be deep wells when she was angry. Raised in the inner city where her father was an engineer in a transport factory, and her mother was a genetic scientist working on new strains of crops that would eventually be grown in environments that were less desirable for human habitation.

M'Irl – Kre Master of the Miir order known for her exceptional skills in illusion and telepathy. Promoted to Lar Master during the first testing performed by Torl on Sharing Six and reached the Mir mastery a few years later. She was a slender, well-formed beauty of average height with light brown hair that reached to her waist. Her intense blue eyes seemed to twinkle above a smallish rounded nose and full red lips that were perpetually curved up in a genuine smile. She was the third ranking master in the Ginl system.

M'Ona \- A political science major and friend of Seala's from the university. She was an average height brunette with bright blue eyes and a face that made men melt. She was nineteen years old when they went on the research trip to Whisper. Daughter of a wealthy politician from Aleron, she knew how to work the system to make things and people work the way she wanted. She liked Seala and Nissa because neither of them were easy to manipulate.

M'Ors \- Initiate of the Miir order and apprenticed to Jen after coming in from the Iridian system for testing. He was a young man in about his 17th year. Tall and slender with brown hair, brown eyes and classical features including the strong jawline and square chin. Enrolled in the university on Sharing Six he shared a dissertation course with Seala.

M'Ree \- Captain of a battle cruiser and Mir Master of the Juul order. She was the commander of the battle unit sent to attack K'Jin's ship when he entered the X'Ax solar system in the outer edges of what was once the Frin Sector. She was a short powerfully built woman in about her fiftieth year, with an air of competence and authority about her.

Nan \- High commander of the Sheltered Six military. She was a very tall well-muscled woman with long brown hair framing an elegant face and falling half way down her back. Her high cheekbones accented her bright green eyes and perfectly shaped nose.

Nev \- Apprentice to Master Masl the second ranking master in the Guul solar system. He was forever at her side and it was rumored that he was more than an apprentice. Whenever she traveled, Nev went with her. Like his master, he was tall and thin with very pale skin and blue eyes. Unlike his master though his eyes were almost white as was his hair. He was a great student and teacher of the mastery and produced many great masters over the years, even though he never passed Master Masl in mastery ranking himself.

N'Gin \- Head of security for the First Seat of the High Council on Greentree. He was an old soldier with an outstanding ability to anticipate trouble and take instant action. He was not as strong in the area of planning, but was a good leader and used his staff and the planetary senior masters to assist with those arrangements. A large powerful man with gray hair and green eyes that constantly scanned the area looking for any sign of trouble.

Nissa \- A sociology major and friend of Seala's from the university. She was a tall blond girl of about twenty years when they went on the research trip to Whisper. Her pale green eyes gave her a distinctly mysterious look. Daughter of a wealthy mining mogul from the B'Aal solar system, she was a bit rebellious, wanting nothing to do with the mining industry preferring big city life.

N'Jerl – Leader of the assassin team sent to eliminate Torl. The only assassin who failed to commit suicide after being captured. After being questioned, he was tried and convicted of attempted murder, and ejected from the ship.

N'Jill – First to the First Seat of the High Council for the Free Colonial System. She had been hired by J'Irle when she was the First Seat.

N'Jin – Assassin (male) captured during the second attempt on Torl's life. He committed suicide following his capture. Related to N'Jerl in some manner, possibly a cousin.

O'Gin \- Commander of Sawtan's defense forces and his right hand man. O'Gin was a tall muscular man who kept his head and face cleanly shaved. His eyes were emerald blue and intense above an oversized nose and a small thin lipped mouth.

O'Liv – Second daughter of the Queen of Kranus, and chairwoman of the board of directors for the power generation division of Kranus Star Ship Systems, the primary exporter of B'Aal Seven. She was known as a very quiet but effective leader who got the job done at any cost. A woman in her middle years, she was a short well-muscled and extremely well built woman with long blond hair, bright blue eyes that seemed to see everything, a small perfectly formed nose and a full lipped mouth that did not appear to know how to smile. Her extremely pale skin made it look as if she had never been outdoors in the light of the sun.

Olrud – Jelru's father, a very practical and reliable farmer who built a significant farming business.

O'Mil – Queen of Kranus also known as First Seat of the High Council of B'Aal Seven. She was known as a ruthless, firm fisted ruler who terminated those who failed to meet the goals she set for them. Often the termination was literal according to rumors. She had terminated two of her daughters who failed to meet goals and neither had been heard from again.

O'Rvl – Lar Master of the Krial order. Second highest ranking master of the Tanl system, selected to become one of the first group of trainees study under Torl in an effort to rebuild the mastery. He was known for his broad based skills including exceptional talents in teleportation and telekinesis and his strong knowledge of politics. A short man in his later years with a band of white hair contrasting his very dark complexion, he had dark brown eyes and a wide over large nose that made his small full lipped mouth seem even smaller. He wore just a few strands of white whiskers below his lower lip and above his jaw, creating a rather unique look. Benefiting from the training provided by Torl, he rapidly moved through the levels of mastery achieving the Nar mastery.

Osa \- High Secretary in the X'Ax solar system, and Mir Master of the Juul order. Her job was to handle foreign affairs for the High Councilor. She was a very pretty woman in about her thirtieth year, with short brown hair and green eyes that seemed to draw one in.

P'Aal \- Ambassador to B'Aal Seven and highest ranking member of the federal government residing on that planet. She was a tall heavy set woman in her later years who had dedicated her life to public service. Her fully gray hair surrounded a face wrinkled from the stress of dealing with problems experienced by the citizens of the realm. But her gray eyes still had a strength that spoke of the determination she still held. Her life's mission was to care for the citizens as they should be cared for by their government.

P'Aam \- Head cook in Master O'Rvl's household. She was a woman in her early middle years. Tall and slender with brown hair and pale white skin. She had confident blue eyes that were the focal point in a pretty face with a pug nose and small mouth with slender lips and a chin with a small dimple accenting its pointed shape. Her relationship with master Caz was supposedly a secret, but everyone knew they were in a rather serious relationship.

P'Etr \- Srin Master of the Miir order and close personal friend of Trali. He was a tall thin man in his middle years with a full head of white hair, a strong face with large green eyes and a broad mouth surrounding a straight sharp nose. Known for his love of live and exceptional generosity, he routinely went out of his way to aid others with whatever they needed. Generally when he was not at the university or a charitable event, you could find him at the hospital entertaining the patients with illusion and jokes.

P'Eri \- Commander of the 7th Star Fleet. Rank of Colonel and Kre Master of the Iial order. She was an average sized powerfully built woman in her middle years with short red hair cut in a very masculine style. She had blue green eyes accenting her deep space tan. Her small pug nose sat above a thin lipped mouth that displayed a sternness none could ignore. An exceptionally talented and creative user of the power colors. She was also noted for her abilities in telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation.

Phillipe – Farmer on Sinale Seven, a member of the underground that assisted witches in escaping the with hunters.

P'Hilz \- Initiate who successfully tested for the Jin mastery at the same time as Seala took her initial testing for the mastery. She took the power colors test with Seala, completing her testing as a Jin master of the Miir order. She was a short compact young woman with bright red hair and freckles across her beautiful face. With bright blue eyes sparking above a pert little nose contrasting her large full lipped mouth. She was a shy girl who spent most of her time studying the use of the power colors and extrasensory skills which she excelled at. She was the first in her family to test for the mastery. Her family being a poor farming family, she had come to the testing on a scholarship from her master.

P'Rinz \- Apprentice of the Laar order. He was apprenticed to Taarl and was a member of the High Councilor's personal security team. Assigned to travel with Seala on her trip to Whisper as a member of her personal security. He was a young man of about 20 years with outstanding martial arts skills and developing abilities with the power colors. Known for his loyalty and extreme dedication to completing any assigned task, he was second in command of the team sent with Seala. A tall slender man with dark brown skin and eyes, accenting his strong jawline and full lips, he had something of a reputation for being a ladies man. He was soft spoken and well educated fitting well into the university environment where Seala spent much of her time.

Q'Ami \- Kre master of the Iial order and Rhea's most trusted assistant. She was an average sized woman of extraordinary beauty with long curly black hair, a dark complexion, deep brown eyes that seemed to exude love and joy, a small pointed nose and a large full lipped mouth in a heart shaped face. Her very fit and perfectly formed body disguised the fact that she was an expert martial artist and had exceptional skills with most hand held weapons. If her smile didn't kill you her hands certainly were capable of doing so. She had a reputation as a man killer, but none every quite lived up to her expectations of the perfect man. She was renowned for he abilities with telepathy and projective empathy, but was also skilled in telekinesis and was very competent with the power colors.

Qck \- Srin Master of the Iial order and commander of the fleet of warships K'Jin brought back to free Shame. A consummate professional and extremely loyal to K'Jin after the initial battle, he was well respected for both his skill in the mastery and his knowledge of and talent with military strategy.

Q'Nol \- Sergeant in the Tali Defense forces, commonly used as an aid for the high commander of the Tali Defense forces when his staff was overburdened. A Jin Master of the Laar order and student of U'Sil. He was a tall dark skinned man with curly black hair, dark brown eyes and a broad face dominated by a wide flat nose and large thick lipped mouth that was usually curled up in a smile. He was known for his sense of humor and outgoing nature. He was also a very deadly martial artist and expert with most hand held weapons available to the military. Received a field promotion to Captain after an attack on Educator wiped out all the officers on planet.

Quintel – Reporter for the Salaal Free Press, and strong supporter of J'Irle.

R'Am \- Second of Tali and father of SalLia (Lia), he was a Srin Master of the Laar order, known for his exceptional command over the power colors and the arts of war, he was also an exceptional administrator and leader and one of the most trusted leaders in the Tali Sector. His friendship with and loyalty to Teal, a first of Tali was legendary.

RamSon \- Son of Torl and Lia, born nearly three years after they were married. Torl's first true blood child, although Torl counted RamSon's sister Seala as his eldest child. An exceptionally bright young man with bright red hair and intense brown eyes. He was blessed with exceptional natural abilities in the areas of telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, and precognition.

Relos – Former Colonel of Tali Sector defense force, reporting directly to High Commander Teal. He was a close person friend of Teal, Rhea, and more than a friend to Trali. Relos was the only non-witch member of Trali's team. He was a true master of space wars having never lost a battle until he was captured by Sawtan, who blocked his memories, and reprogrammed him as a vile pirate captain. As one of Teal's most trusted friends, he was sent to hide RinTorl with the monks of the Saal monastery on Arth in the heart of the Witch Hunter sector. He was later dispatched a second time to take SalLia to the same monastery, but was intercepted by Sawtan. Living his life as a vile pirate, he captured Torl and Seala and put Seala to work powering the engine of his starship. In the process of freeing himself and Seala, Torl broke through the mind block releasing the old Relos memories. The old Relos despised the pirate captain and he was never able to reconcile the two sets of memories despite the best efforts of Torl, Lia and the best psychological help available in the Free Colonial System.

Rester – One of Jelru's friends and drinking buddies.

Rhea – First of Tali, administrator of the government for the Tali system. Srin Master of the Narl order, she was an exceptional administrator and politician. Died just before her life mate Teal near the end of the purge. Torl's mother, she had turned him over to trusted friends who were forming a monastery on old Arth in an attempt to hide and preserve the few remaining scholars from the universities. She and Teal were too well known for them to hide, but they had concealed the fact that they had born a child. She was a tall slender woman in her middle years with curly red hair surrounding a strong face accented by overlarge blue eyes that sparkled as though she had just heard a great joke. Her petite pointed nose was covered with freckles as a counterpoint to her full lipped smile.

RinFaal \- High Commander of the Tali Sector coalition of solar systems. A Srin Master of the Laar order and outstanding military tactician. He was the first to speak to K'Jin when he journeyed into the former Tali sector in search of allies in the battle to overthrow the witch hunters. An average sized man with deceptively calm features and a mind that missed nothing. His dark brown hair was close cropped and he wore no facial hair at all. Dark brown eyes looked intently at a person around his beak of a nose. His strong jawline ended in a square chin beneath a slightly undersized mouth.

RinJin \- Son of K'Jin and SalNis, their third child and first child known to be able to see and identify any weave without fail.

RinSon \- Son of Bora and heir to the Frist Seat of the High Council for the Si'ile solar system. He was in his 19th year when the Si'ile solar system hosted Srin Master's Torl's testing session for the first time. A powerfully built young man of average height, he was noted for his sense of humor even more than his handsome face. He had black curly hair and a dark complexion with deep brown eyes that seemed to make women melt when he focused on them. His narrow pointed nose was a counterpoint to a large full lipped mouth that constantly twisted up in a full happy smile.

RinTorl \- Birth name of Torl, his name was changed by the monks to protect his true identity when he was sent to them during the purge.

R'On \- Initiate of the Krial order. Serving as a cook on Torl's personal staff. Killed in the final battle against O'Mil's forces

R'Uz \- Nar master of the Juul order and second ranking master in the Sharing Six underground colony of masters. He was an average sized man in about his 35th year when K'Jin came to the colony. He wore his dark black hair shoulder length framing a strong handsome face with square sideburns and a neatly trimmed mustache beneath a sharply pointed nose and above a small thin lipped mouth. But what most people noticed early on were his gray eyes which never stopped moving appearing to see everything all at once.

SalFas \- High Councilor of the Tali Sector Coalition. She was a Miir Master of the Narl Order and an exceptionally skilled leader. A tall slender woman in her early middle years with long straight black hair that glistened when her head moved. She had deep brown eyes that missed nothing above a pert nose and a smile that seemed to light up the room.

SalHaa \- Second daughter of K'Jin and SalNis and extremely talented with the power colors and nearly every extrasensory skill known.

SalLia \- Birth name of Lia. Her name was changed by Relos to protect her true identity as he attempted to transport her to the Saal Monastery on old Arth after her parents were captured by the witch hunters late in the purge.

SalNis \- High Councilor of the underground colony on Educator (aka Shame). She was talented in both governance and the skills of the mastery holding a Nar mastery in the Juul order. She was a woman in about her twenty fifth year when she was contacted by K'Jin in his effort to reach out to all the underground colonies. The only surviving child of a Srin Master and a medical doctor who was a third of Tali. Her parents were closely tied to Trali in the days when she was building the unity of mastery and science. Like her mother, SalNis was a short blond woman with bright blue eyes that seemed to bore right into a person. Her face was heart shaped with a straight nose that turned up slightly at the tip. She had a full lipped mouth that captivated people when she smiled.

SalZwani \- Oldest daughter of K'Jin and SalNis and heir to the First Seat of the solar system in which Educator was located. Exceptionally talented with the power colors, telepathy and teleportation.

Sarn – Chief executive of the power generation division of Kranus Star Ship Systems, the primary exporter of B'Aal Seven. He had worked his way up through the ranks by heading up a startup division and taking over the market it was intended to compete in. A tall heavy set man in his later years, he was completely bald but wore a gray laced black beard that covered only the bottom of his jaw line and his neck. His heavily jowled cheeks and upper and lower lips were kept neatly shaven, accenting the large thin lipped mouth and oversized flat nose. He was heavily tanned as though he spent all his life working outdoors. He looked out on the world from dark brown almost black eyes that moved continuously as if constantly searching for the danger he knew was present.

Sawtan \- A Srin Master of the Iial order who broke ranks with the Tali sector traditions. Became known as the man of wealth and position who being capable of using the power colors had abused this power and created a revolt against all who could use the power. The Witch Hunters had used his abuse of the power to label all uses of the power as evil. He was a short chubby man with long black hair, dark brown eyes, a small flat nose and large full lipped mouth. He wore a thin black moustache across the top of his mouth and then straight down to his jawline on either side of the mouth.

Seala – Daughter of Lia left with Mala, her foster father's foreman, to be raised when Lia fled for her life after being detected by the Witch Hunters. Accepted as initiate of the Krial order in the first testing by Torl on Sharing Six. A girl in her tweener years, when Torl found her on Earth and took her with him to the Free Colonial System. Now grown into a capable young woman, she was somewhat short with shoulder length auburn hair, large round turquoise eyes that twinkled when she laughed and shot lightning when she was angry. She had a perfectly shaped button nose and full red lips that constantly twitched in a smile or smirk before her experience on Whisper. She had a strong jawline with a squared chin above a perfectly proportioned, very fit body. While on Whisper, she used the power colors in an attempt to obtain information from the mind of a captured assassin and instead claimed the man's memories. When it became clear that she would not be able to safely manage the acquisition of those borrowed memories, Torl established a series of timed mind blocks allowing a few of the memories to return each month over several years. The need to constantly deal with these incredibly unpleasant memories which she had acquired changed Seala and caused her to develop a level of focus that went beyond that seen outside of a dedicated monastery. She also developed a new extremely powerful empathetic ability, feeling the emotions of others around her at will. To deal with these issues, Seala threw herself into the mastery studies and excelled, consuming knowledge and technique at an unheard of rate, moving through the levels of mastery at an astonishing rate. By her twenty eighth year she was testing for the Prin mastery and it was widely believed that her skills were closer to the Srin mastery than the Prin mastery at that time.

Sean \- Trali's executive assistant. He was a short thin man in his middle years with thinning light brown hair and a handlebar mustache. His blue-green eyes were always serious as though he had never experienced anything that could be considered funny. He had a small pug nose and a thin lipped mouth above his pointed chin, giving him an almost elfin appearance.

Selina \- Living Furniture Class One, actually an undercover customs officer trying to find and arrest Torl and Seala. A tall, slender woman with beautifully tanned skin. Her eyes were hazel and she was a quite buxomness blond.

Senli – Srin Master in the Saal Monastery Master Senli had been Torl's councilor and his sponsor for the Srin Mastery. Master Senli had been a friend of Rhea's and had taken a special interest in the wellbeing and training of her son.

S'Haa \- Srin Master of the Juul order and senior master in the underground colony on Educator (aka Shame). She was a tall powerfully built woman of indeterminate age with short red hair and pale skin. She had a strong jawline and square chin beneath a thin lipped mouth. But the intense blue eyes dominated her face and the air of supreme confidence she exuded demanded immediate respect. Chairwoman of the advisory council for the high councilor, she was in the inner circle and highly respected by the entire high council.

Sharl \- Jin Master of the Prin order. Something of an outcast among the Prin masters on planet having significant philosophical differences with Master Flarr. A tall slender woman in her early adulthood with beautiful long red hair. Her large blue eyes sparkled as she peered intently at a person. She had a smallish pointed nose that contrasted with her large full lips which were curved in a never ending smile. When she spoke her beautiful soprano voice carried across the room easily. Becoming an apprentice to Lia, she benefited from the exceptional growth Lia achieved through her association with Torl and moved rapidly up the ranks of the mastery, testing for the Lar mastery with Taarl and I'lle.

S'Hila \- A wiry woman in her early years with a very muscular build and a sense of confidence that commanded instant respect. She was relatively short with light brown hair and piercing green eyes that constantly moved scanning every situation for possible threats. An exceptional martial artist, she was even better with weapons and technology and was noted for her precognitive skills as well. Most of the senior masters considered her an equal even though she had no formal training in the mastery.

Sila – Young former security guard hired as a member of Torl's security team.

Sin \- Jin Master of the Laar order to whom I'lle was apprenticed prior to Torl offering to become her mentor. Promoted to Kre Master during the first testing by Torl on Sharing Six. Sin was well known for her ability to command loyalty and plan and execute battle plans that left the opponent defeated and demoralized. Also quite skilled in political maneuvers, most politicians gave Sin a wide berth. A rather non-descript woman of middle years. She was very powerfully built, with shoulder length auburn hair, round penetrating green eyes, with a flat, over large nose and almost no lips,

Si'Ng \- Captain and commander of the solar system defense forces in the Egoth solar system. She was a strong leader and was a Lar Master of the Juul order. Known for her ability to engender loyalty, it was widely believed that she would have moved up very quickly had she chosen to move into the sector military instead of remaining with the solar system defense forces.

Sirah \- Woman in her early years who had been trained to extract information from men using her beauty as a weapon. Recruited by the high councilor's intelligence corps who helped her develop her extrasensory skills to enhance her attraction and to improve her ability to read unshielded thoughts. A beautiful young woman of average height with blue hair which matched her deep, seductive blue eyes. She was naturally well shaped but enhanced that beauty with an unusual use of projective telepathy and could appear to be as young or old as she desired. She often posed as a high priced companion, but was equally effective posing as a woman of stature and wealth.

SoMin \- Second of Tali and mother to SalLia (aka Lia). Srin Master of the Narl order, she was an exceptional administrator and politician. Died with her life mate R'Am near the end of the purge. A short red haired firebrand, with fierce brown eyes and a sharply pointed nose surrounded by rose colored cheeks and lips that were typically turned up in a gentle smile that belied the fierceness in her eyes.

Sslasl \- Orphaned by unknown parents on the planet of G'Ham. Sslasl was raised in an orphanage run by G'Hass and her husband. When G'Hass's husband died, Sslasl took on the orphanage financial responsibilities and worked wherever he could to keep food on the table while he prepared for and pass the mixer test to get a job in the chemical mixing factory in the city he was raised in. He later became an apprentice to Master Masl and eventually became a master and fought in the wars against the witch hunters. During his life though, he always ensure that the orphanage where he was raised continued to be supported financially.

Taarl – Initiate of the Laar order. Promoted to Jin Master during the first testing by Torl on Sharing Six. Hired as a member of Torl's security team, and later promoted to head the security staff when Torl's top two security officers were killed. Promoted to Kre and Lar mastery in later testing sessions as he benefitted from being the leader of the security staff of the greatest master in the realm. A lean athletic man in his early years with sandy brown hair and azure eyes. He had a slightly oversized pointy nose, and wore a full beard surrounding his full lipped mouth. He wore his beard trimmed to just above stubble length and shaped it to accent his jawline and cheeks. Most would consider him handsome.

Teal – First of Tali, high commander of the Tali defense forces. Among the last of the Tali elite to be killed in the purge. Z'All Master of the Krial order, Teal was an exceptional commander, and extremely adept with the power colors. He was the only individual known to have beaten Sawtan in a power duel. His skills as a tactician and commander were used as a template for all those who aspired to command soldiers in battle. Torl's father.

T'Gil \- Eldest son of T'Lane and heir to the Iridian system's high council seat. Inherited the seat following the execution of his father T'Lane for attempted murder, assault with the intent to assassinate the First Seat of the High Council, and other crimes against the state.

Thril \- A woman in her middle years, of average height and build. She had short brown hair and an average build. The only memorable thing about her was the green eyes that seemed to drill right into a person, seeing everything. She was an expert martial artist and exceptionally skilled with throwing daggers and the power colors. She was a very quiet woman, but had taken a leadership role when no one else appeared to be stepping forward. She lead a small group of students in the defense of the chow hall where the prisoners were being held when the attempt was made to recapture the assassin's school.

Tindle – Name given by the individual who paid for the assassins who were to eliminate Torl, this was not believed to be the individual's actual name.

T'Lane – Representative of the Iridian system (2 populated planets) on the high council of the Free Colonial System. Executed for attempted murder, assault with the intent to assassinate the First Seat of the High Council, and other crimes against the state.

Torl – Son of the former elite of mankind. His parents died in the overthrow of the government run by those with the ability to use the power colors and to extrasensory capabilities. He was saved and hidden with a group of monks on Arth as they attempted to preserve some of what had been mankind's years of greatness. Born RinTorl he was renamed by the monks to hide his true identity. He was a man in about his 30th year when he reached the Free Colonial system and claimed his hereditary right to the First Seat of the High Council. He earned a reputation as an exceptional leader and servant of the people. He would become known as the man who brought about the fall of the witch hunter realm. Tall and lean, with bright red hair and freckles, his blue eyes reflected supreme confidence and strength.

Trali – Great scholar who established the Tali Sector Universities and championed them as a place where the use of the power colors was taught and extrasensory skills were enhanced. Trali was killed in the overthrow of Tali while attempting to rescue a friend from the witch hunters. She had big blue eyes with traces of smile lines around their outer corners from years of smiling and laughing. Her small pointed nose separated the incredible eyes from her perfectly shaped, full lipped mouth. Here too were the beginnings of smile lines, only the concentration creases in her forehead gave any indication of how driven she truly was.

Tul \- Apprentice to Nev, he was the first to accept Sslasl when he was brought in as a new apprentice to Master Masl. Tul was a rather short dark haired man in his early adulthood. His green eyes seemed to always dance with mischief, and that sense of mischief kept him from staying focused long enough to move up very high in the mastery. But his willingness to befriend new apprentices made him a valuable member of Nev's team.

Uart \- Lieutenant in charge of the communications support group on Educator when the witch hunter uprising occurred.

Uma \- Mir Master of the Laar order. One of the three masters claimed by K'Jin after they attempted to assassinate him. They had been sentenced to death by the council of fifteen free solar systems of the former Frin sector. She was a tall slender woman in her early adult years with long black hair and a dark complexion contrasted by bright blue eyes.

U'Sil \- One of Teal's assistants, and a Lar master of the Laar order. She was known to be one of the few people Teal trusted with sensitive intelligence information. A lean athletic woman in her early years with sandy brown hair and azure eyes. She had a slightly oversized pointy nose above a large full-lipped mouth that was usually stretched tight in a look of complete concentration. She had a reputation for noting every detail and accurately determining the truth from sparse information.

Url – Security specialist hired by Torl on Silius Three, to guard captain Relos and protect Seala. A short muscular fireplug of a man in his early years, and could only be described as ugly, with a nose that seemed to cover half his face and showed several previous breaks, and a single eyebrow that reached across the bridge of a cavernous forehead. Killed in the final battle with O'Mil's forces.

V'Ancel – Reporter for the Iridian Press Agency and strong ally of J'Irle.

Viktor – First Seat of the High Council for the Ibil solar system, and Jin Master of the Laar order. He was a noted politician with strong leadership skills that drew others to him. He had a reputation of being honest to a fault but reliable and dependable in any situation. A short stout man in his middle years, he had straight black hair surrounding a round face with light brown eyes that were slightly tilted, above a small nose and thin lips. A distant cousin of Bora, the First Seat of the High Council of the Si'ile solar system, he maintained a close relationship between their two solar systems.

Vin \- Nar Master of the Laar order and captain in the Tali defense forces. She was the senior master on the three fleets with Teal when he began the trip back to Educator after aiding R'Am in destroying a major portion of Sawtan's military.

Voz \- Colonel and Mir Master of the Laar order. She was one of Teal's battle group commanders. Well known for her ability to quickly analyze any situation and correctly deduce the strategy of the opponent. She was an exceptional commander who had earned the loyalty and admiration of her troops. An exceptional martial artist, she often sparred with much more senior masters and held her own quite well.

V'Ul \- Nar Master of the Krial order and senior among the masters K'Jin sent to Educator to help Srin Master S'Haa. He was a very large powerful man in his middle years with a dark space tan a broad face and deep brown eyes.

Walter \- One of Teal's assistants, and a Kre master of the Laar order. He was known to be one of the few men Teal trusted with knowledge of the missions he sent his starship captains on.

Waz \- Mir master of the Juul order and High Councilor of the underground colony on Shannon Six. He was a relatively short man with a slight frame and wiry muscles. In his mid-years when K'Jin contacted him with word from High Councilor RinTorl, he still had dark brown shoulder length hair surrounding a strong lean face highlighted by bright green eyes.

W'ndi \- Head of intelligence for the Tali sector. She was Teal's most trusted confidant and keeper of the secret codes used by all the spies deployed by his team. She was a very tall dark skinned beauty with long curly black hair and dark brown eyes and a small pointed nose above full red lips. Her official title was adjutant to the high commander, and normally was seen taking notes at his senior staff meetings. Most thought she was an extremely overpaid secretary for their flamboyant high commander.

W'Inz – Political advisor to the First Seat of the High Council. She was appointed by J'Irle when she was the First Seat, inherited by Torl. A short pale woman in her middle years with short dishwater blond hair, surrounding a pinched face, with intense bright green eyes, a narrow pointed nose and a small mouth that appeared to be permanently pursed in a look of disapproval. Dismissed from service early in Torl's term as the First Seat.

X'Aan – Lar Master of the Miir order, the most senior master in the Iridian system. Viewed as a wizard and a mystic with legendary skills, many feared X'Aan who believed himself to be the greatest surviving user of the power colors. A man in his middle years, of average height, he was slightly pudgy with dull blond hair, brown eyes that appeared to always look down a ski slope of a nose. He wore a goatee around his thin lipped mouth that usually displayed a smirk as though he knew some wondrous thing that no one else knew.

X'Aril \- Captain of one of the armored cargo ships sent in the third wave to the newly discovered solar systems which became the Free Colonial System. She was a Lar Master of the Miir order and had used all her skills to escape an attack that destroyed the rest of the ships sent in the third wave. They had run directly into a full battle group from the witch hunters which was maneuvering around to attack Tali from their least protected border.

Ye \- Sergeant of the guard for the underground colony on Educator (aka Shame). She was an average height woman with a slight figure and shiny black hair surrounding an oval face. She had deep brown eyes that appeared to be tilted slightly upward on the outside of her face creating a somewhat mystical appearance. She was assigned to escort K'Jin during his one day stay in the colony.

Yu \- Srin Master of the Laar order. He was one of the Srin masters K'Jin brought with him when he returned to Shame/Educator to aid them in their revolution against the witch hunters. A small compact man in his middle years, with long black hair and green eyes that missed nothing. He was an expert martial artist and also had excellent command over the power colors. He had been a lesser Srin master in his solar system and had volunteered to go on the mission.

Zaa \- Doctor on Sheltered Six who treated K'Jin after the battle to oust the witch hunters. An older man with gray hair and beard, he was tall and slender with blue eyes that always seemed to twinkle with mirth.

Zarnl – Owns an import/export business on Sharing Six focusing on clothing and jewelry. He made a habit of making passes at female employees.

Zax \- Captain of the executive yacht that transported K'Jin to independent planets on the Frin sector borders. She was a short compact woman with almost masculine features. Her sharp green eyes seemed to miss nothing and air of authority commanded immediate respect. She was an exceptionally skilled captain well respected by her peers and loved by her crew.

Zee \- Female witch hunter, would be assassin found in Rhea's office after the witch hunter rebellion on Educator was put down.

Ziin – Security specialist hired as a member of Torl's personal security team on Sharing Six. A man in about his 30th year; he was tall and lean, with dark skin and close cut very curly black hair. His intense dark brown eyes constantly scanned and his large flat nose moved as he appeared to be smelling the air to detect potential danger. Killed in the final battle with O'Mil's forces.

Z'On \- Initiate of the Laar order serving as an administrative assistant to Irnla. Killed in the final battle with O'Mil's forces.

Zum \- Colonel in the Tali Sector Coalition and assistant chief of security for the armed forces. He was an older gentleman who had made a career out of protecting sensitive information. Demoted to Major after being disrespectful to K'Jin.

Zwani \- A beautiful young woman in her thirtieth year. She was single and without child by choice when she volunteered to take on a portion of the mission K'Jin was unable to finish.

# Mastery

Jin Mastery – Jin was the first tier of mastery for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector and that mastery became the dominant level of mastery attained after the purge since most of the members of the higher orders of mastery were targeted early in the purge and only a few remained alive to train new initiates.

Juul order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the areas of power colors, politics and government, multiple realms of the arts, politics and government, and multiple martial arts. The Juul order was considered the elite artistic order before the purge.

Kre Mastery – Kre was the second tier of mastery (just above Jin) for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector and that mastery was highly valued following the purge due to the limited number of masters remaining.

Krial order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the areas of power colors, extrasensory talents, technology, politics and government the arts and the martial arts. The Krial order were considered the generalists before the purge.

Laar order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the areas of politics and government, multiple realms of technology and multiple martial arts. The Laar order was considered the elite military order before the purge.

Lar Mastery – Lar was the third tier (just above Kre) of mastery for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector and that mastery became extremely rare after the purge. Only three Lar Masters were known to have escaped the purge.

Iial order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the areas of power colors, multiple extra sensory talents, politics and government, multiple realms of technology and multiple martial arts. The Iial order was considered to be the elite of the elite before the purge.

Mir Mastery – Mir was the fourth tier (just above Lar) of mastery for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector and that mastery was lost after the purge except in the Saal Monastery where several Srin Masters continued to train new masters. Four Mir Masters had been produced and integrated into society before the monastery was purged.

Miir order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the power colors and multiple extrasensory talents. The Miir order was considered to be the elite magic order before the purge.

Nar Mastery – Nar was the fifth tier (just above Mir) of mastery for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector and that mastery was lost after the purge except in the Saal Monastery where several Srin Masters continued to train new masters. Two Nar Masters had been produced and integrated into society before the monastery was purged.

Narl order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the areas of politics and government, multiple realms of the arts, and multiple realms of technology. The Narl order was considered the elite governance and business order before the purge.

Prin Mastery – Prin was the sixth tier (just above Nar) of mastery for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector and that mastery was lost after the purge except in the Saal Monastery where several Srin Masters continued to train new masters. Prin masters were equal to a Srin in mastery of a single skill where Srin required mastery of all skills within their order. One Prin Master had been produced and integrated into society before the monastery was purged.

Prin order – Realm of mastery that required studies in the areas of power colors, the arts and multiple martial arts. The Prin order were considered priests before the purge.

Srin Mastery – Srin was the highest public order of mastery for any skill in the Universities of the Tali sector, and in the Saal Monastery. To attain this rank a master must dual and defeat Prin or Srin Masters in every area covered by their order.

Z'All Mastery \- A hidden mastery above that of Srin Mastery. Only three existed in the Tali sector when it fell, Teal, Rhea and Trali herself. This level of mastery required use of the power in levels that would burn out nearly any Srin master. Weaves taught to Z'All masters included weaves that could destroy entire planets, and those that could create planets in the form envisioned by the master(s) involved. The power used here was so great and the impact of misuse so devastating that knowledge of the mastery level was extremely limited, and only a rare few who had proven themselves to be not only powerful enough but also honorable and stable emotionally, were invited to study for it. It took the joint approval of all living Z'All masters to approve another Srin master to be invited to study for this level of mastery.

# Places

Aail Three (Quel) – Capitol planet in the Aail solar system. A very large brown planet where some of the most sought after artifacts ever discovered had been and continued to be discovered. The primary export of this planet was raw minerals mined on planet and in the mass of asteroids that were caught in its gravitational pull.

Abas Sector \- One of the four sectors originally settled by the descendants of Arth. The Abas Sector had the dubious distinction of having been the birthplace of the anti-witch consortium (more commonly known as the witch hunters), which spread and grew until all four sectors were eventually dominated by them.

Arnl One (Amelus) – Capitol and only planet in the Arnl solar system. A very large green planet whose primary exports include agricultural, manufacturing and scientific products consumed across the entire Free Colonial System.

Arth \- The first known planet to have a human population, it was known as the birthplace of humanity. In a first cycle of growth into a space faring population, Arth sent out four planetary settlement ships. One each destined for planets to be called Barth, Carth, Darth and Earth. Upheaval on Arth shortly after that launch threw the planet back into the dark ages of divisive countries fighting each other for control of land on the planet, and records of the actual locations of the expansion planets was lost. Earth was later re-discovered, but Barth, Carth, and Darth have not been located again.

B'Aal Six (Zelus) – Capital planet of the B'Aal system having a large star port and hosting the solar system's government and corporate centers. A mining and farming planet, which produced most of the food stores consumed on the planets in the system which could not support their own food production.

B'Aal Seven (Kranus) – Largest and most heavily populated planet in the B'Aal system. A manufacturing planet specializing in parts for in-system and cross-system starships. Not the capital planet of the B'Aal system but a very influential planet due to its wealth and the nature of its exports.

Barth \- One of the four original planets to be settled by descendants of Arth, it's exact location was lost and the planet has not been located since it's settlement. It is unknown if the planet was actually successfully settled or if some catastrophic event occurred eliminating the settlement ship that was to settle there.

B'ask Four (Elf) – Capital planet of the B'ask solar system. Renowned for its research and scientific facilities and breakthroughs. Also a large producer of custom manufactured products and unusual food stores.

Carth \- One of the four original planets to be settled by descendants of Arth, it's exact location was lost and the planet has not been located since it's settlement. It is unknown if the planet was actually successfully settled or if some catastrophic event occurred eliminating the settlement ship that was to settle there.

Darth \- One of the four original planets to be settled by descendants of Arth, it's exact location was lost and the planet has not been located since it's settlement. It is unknown if the planet was actually successfully settled or if some catastrophic event occurred eliminating the settlement ship that was to settle there.

Egoth Solar System \- A solar system near the Abas Sector border in the Tali Sector. This solar system boasted five populated planets and was known for their chemical refining plants and engine production systems. A wealthy solar system due to their production of starship fuels and propulsion systems, it was heavily populated and very influential within the Tali Sector.

Earth – Small blue planet, officially Sol Seven, re-discovered human settled planet near a small star called Sol. Most likely settled in the first or second expansion from old Arth. The name of the planet is generally believed to be an indication that this was the fourth planet settled by a fleet from Arth, however the first three Barth, Carth and Darth have not been rediscovered, and may not have been successful.

Educator \- Fabled capital planet of the Tali sector, and home to the great universities where the merging of physical sciences with the power color sciences and extra sensory skills was mastered and taught. A very large blue planet which produced food stores, and mineral compounds of all kinds but was most well-known for the scientific advances and new inventions in all areas of science. Renamed to Shame and mostly shunned after the fall of the Tali sector to the witch hunters.

Enel Three (Signal) – Capital planet of the Enel solar system. A middle sized red planet which produced unique food stores and specialized mineral compounds that were highly prized throughout the realm. Due to the small size for high value cargo produced here, exportation licenses for this system were among the most sought after in the realm.

Free Colonial System \- Realm spawned by the Tali Sector in hopes of establishing a place where the ideals and successes of the Tali Sector could be retained. It was originally intended to be colonies of the Tali Sector although distant colonies, but when it became apparent that the Tali Sector might fall, Trali, Rhea and Teal made sure they had what they needed to survive on their own and purged all records of the solar system discoveries. They also established a governmental template that would ensure the rights of their descendants should they be able to make their way to the solar systems that would become the Free Colonial System. After the fall of Tali, the new nation was isolated for many years before they started to have a trickle of immigrants escaping from the witch hunter controlled sectors that once formed four great nations. In their time of isolation, they discovered and expanded to many new solar systems and populations grew unchecked, through time, eventually becoming a nation much larger than the Tali Sector had ever been.

Frin Sector \- One of the four sectors originally settled by the descendants of Arth. This was the sector containing the Shannon and Signa solar systems along with 100 other others which Sawtan took control of before pushing into the Tali sector causing the war that weakened Tali beyond recovery when the witch hunters attacked as well.

Friz Two (A'Bal)– Capitol planet of the Friz solar system. A large gray mining planet producing raw and processed minerals as its primary export.

Ginl Five (Xuml) – Capitol planet of the Ginl solar system. A large blue planet exporting a large array of gasses and chemical compounds including those used as fuel in many of the military star ships. Also a large exporter of food stores and manufactured products.

Guul Nine (G'Ham) – Capitol planet of the Guul solar system. A large red planet whose primary exports include chemical and gas compounds used primarily in starship propulsion and food regeneration equipment.

Haas Sector \- One of the four sectors originally settled by the descendants of Arth. This was the first of the sectors and included Arth and Earth and was believed to have originally contained Barth, Carth, and Darth, the first three planetary expansions from Arth, as well.

Heel Two (Prime) – Capitol planet of the Heel solar system. An average sized green planet exporting all sorts of chemicals and chemical byproducts.

Ibil Two (New Tali) – Capitol planet of the Ibil solar system. A large blue green planet with a strong agricultural industry but was primarily known for its investment in education, with a large free university system which consistently generated some of the brightest and most well educated masters in the realm.

Imen \- Small green planet in the S'Ud solar system. It's primary industry is manufacturing and chemical compound production. During the fall of Tali it was found to be the production location for a material that when covering the body and head could hide an individual from detection using standard power weaves or telepathy. Teal destroyed the factory and much of the shipping capabilities of the planet during his surge into the witch hunter territories near the end of the war.

Iridian Six (Z'Mon) \- A medium sized blue planet whose primary industry is manufacturing. It has a large star port fitted with starship maintenance and upgrade facilities. Most starship owners are familiar with this planet as it is uniquely configured and supplied to make quick quality repairs and enhancements to virtually any model of starship.

Iridian Seven (Z'Alt) – Capitol planet of the Iridian solar system. A large green planet whose primary industry is farming, followed closely by mining and industrial manufacturing.

Lyyn Four (Greentree) – Capitol planet of the Lyyn solar system. A large green planet whose primary industries included food production, mineral refinement, and manufacturing of high temperature mining equipment.

P'Eng Four (Elos) \- Capital planet of the P'Eng solar system (three populated planets). One of two solar systems in which the primary star exudes notech leaving all its planets incapable of sustaining electronic or mechanical technology more sophisticated than the wheel. Starships are not allowed to spend more than a week within these solar systems and must be examined for technological degradation as soon as possible after departing the solar systems because of the effects of this gaseous substance. The primary exports of Elos include elithium, extremely rare Xum crystals which appear to amplify the effects of power color based weaves, and some of the most unique and coveted sculptures created from the mud pits in the northern hemisphere.

P'Inl Two (Whisper) \- Capital planet of the P'Inl solar system (four populated planets), one of two solar systems in which the primary star exudes notech leaving all its planets incapable of sustaining electronic or mechanical technology more sophisticated than the wheel. Starships are not allowed to spend more than a week within these solar systems and must be examined for technological degradation as soon as possible after departing the solar systems because of the effects of this gaseous substance. The primary exports of Whisper include exotic food stores, extremely rare Xum crystals which appear to amplify the effects of power color based weaves, and highly coveted handmade furniture.

Saal Monastery of Arth – One of the monasteries formed to hide and preserve the few remaining scholars from the Tali sector Universities. Here masters of the power colors, the extra sensory talents, and martial arts joined forces to present an image of religious zeal to hide their true mission. They worked to preserve the knowledge and skills gathered from generations of masters and enhanced greatly by the universities of the Tali sector. The purge had been very effective eliminating all who stood against it, and any who had publicly displayed skills in the forbidden areas. Teal and Rhea entrusted their son RinTorl to the monks at the Saal Monastery, where he was raised, trained and eventually merged back into society just before the monastery was destroyed and the last monks killed.

Salaal Eight (Riim) – Capital planet of the Salaal system, a large green planet, specializing in agricultural, mineral and manufacturing products.

Selba Three – Capital planet of the Selba system, having a small star port primarily focused on cargo shipments.

Shame \- New name of the planet Educator which had been the capital of the Tali sector and great symbol of the power of merging the mastery with science. This planet was shunned and the witch hunters destroyed any effective industry that grew to more than an internal supply level. No exports from this planet were allowed after the fall of the Tali sector.

Shanon Six – Capital planet of the Shannon system. Famous for its universities and financial systems.

Sharing One (Aleron) – The first planet in the Free Colonial System discovered by fugitives from the witch hunters. The masters in the Free Colonial System used their skills to hide the planet from all who did not have the talent. This was to be a safe haven for all who wished to hide from the witch hunters. Originally created by the joint use of the power by the three most powerful masters in memory, Teal, Rhea and Trali of the Tali Sector.

Sharing Six (Fleron)– Capital planet of the Free Colonial System, in the same solar system as Aleron, settled and hidden by those who had fled the witch hunters during the purge and in the years since. Also the planet where Lia had settled. Originally created by the joint use of the power by the three most powerful masters in memory, Teal, Rhea and Trali of the Tali Sector.

Signa Three – Third planet in the Signa system, having a space port and located strategically on one of the more used starship routes.

Si'ile Five (S'Gol) – Capital planet of the Si'ile solar system. A large blue planet specializing in the production of food stores, refined chemical and mineral products and manufactured goods.

Sinale Seven – Capital planet of the Sinale system, sporting a large star port and a number of interesting planetary features attractive to tourists who could not afford the tourist planets.

Silius Three – Farming planet in the Silius system. Being off the normal trade routes of the large commercial traders, this was a regular stop for pirate ships with goods to sell, and a need for food.

S'Ud Solar System \- A small solar system with three planets that housed manufacturing facilities. It was generally believed that one of the original witch hunters came from this solar system and invented numerous witch hunter devices which were used during the war that consolidated the four sectors under witch hunter control.

Tali Sector \- The largest and most wealthy of the four sectors originally settled by the descendants of Arth. This was the home of Educator the planet where Trali, Teal and Rhea brought about the first university that combined the traditional studies with the mastery. This created a universally applicable education system and some of the greatest advances every made by any society in the history of mankind.

Tanl Five (T'Ing) – Capitol planet of the Tanl solar system. A small blue planet producing primarily agricultural and manufacturing product.

Thrin \- Large red planet in the Tor solar system. It was a large mining planet known for its extremely rich deposit of elithium. It's location at the edge of the solar system made it the closest planet to the G vector border with the Frin Sector most of the time.

Tor solar system \- one of the least populated solar systems in the Tali sector, having only two populated planets, Thrin, a mining planet and Trop an agricultural planet and the capital of the Tor system.

Trop \- Capital planet in the Tor solar system it was a relatively small green planet producing primarily agricultural products.

Unx Four (U'Al) – Capital planet of the Unx solar system. A large red planet producing primarily mining products including several types of metal and the carbon based material used to stabilize the fuel used in starships.

Wiss Three (W'Ild) – Capital plane of the Wiss solar system. A medium sized brown planet producing primarily minerals and chemical compounds.

X'Ax Solar System \- A medium sized solar system with ten planets five of which supported life. One of the solar systems that was never reclaimed by the Witch Hunters after Teal destroyed their military capabilities.

Xul \- Capital planet of the X'Ax solar system. It is a large blue planet with strong agricultural and manufacturing capabilities.

# Everything Else

Access Terminal – device for accessing a computer system usually includes a vid unit and input devices.

Achilles lock \- Martial arts hold that applies pressure to the Achilles tendon causing considerable pain and if fully implemented tearing the tendon rendering the opponent unable to walk or stand on that foot.

ankle lock \- Martial arts hold that hyperextends the ankle joint causing considerable pain and in fully implemented dislocates the ankle.

Ansel – mineral used to create anti gravitational devices.

Anti-Persona – Devices that operated like a magnet for people by attuning to or reversing polarity with the minerals in the human body. It could be tuned to a specific person for the purpose of attracting or repulsing that individual, or to repulse everyone but that individual.

anti-witch consortium \- official name of the group that became commonly known at the witch hunters. This group of individuals sought to eliminate all people who had any ability with the power colors or extra sensory skills. They leveraged fear and hatred to take power in two of the sectors and military might to overcome the other two sectors.

arm bar \- Martial arts hold that hyperextends the elbow causing great pain and if fully implemented dislocates the elbow.

arm triangle \- Martial arts hold that chokes the victim by wrapping his arms around the neck and one arm in a triangle shape.

artanium – the primary mineral in Artan Steel, the material used as the outer skin of starships. Artanium is the hardest and most flexible material known to man.

Atmosphere Generator \- A device that used a combination of science and static power color weaves to cause an atmosphere to be generated and weather patterns to be initiated on planets with no or very limited atmospheric pressure. An invention created in the Tali Sector as a mechanism to offset the massive growth in population they experienced as illnesses were cured and people began living massively longer lives. The technology was lost in the fall of Tali.

Battle Cruiser \- Very large war oriented starship typically fitted with several hundred long range weapons and at least that many more lasers. Modern versions of these ships could be decoupled into 10 or 15 smaller ships that were somewhere between the size of a destroyer and a battle cruiser.

Birthday \- Anniversary of a person's birth. On this day each year, the person's birth is celebrated and they are deemed to be older by another year. Generally the biggest celebration day of the year for a citizen, and often a paid day with no work for citizens with regular jobs.

Blaster – Weapon of destruction that utilizes the combination of a laser and sound pulses to destroy anything in its path.

Blaster Cannon \- Larger form of the hand held weapon designed for destroying vehicles up to and including starships, or buildings. Typically mounted on a Starship or on-planet flyer, but occasionally mounted on a Travelor for ground based mobility.

Caf – Strong caffeinated drink made by soaking caf leaves in hot water.

Cash station \- An electronic device that allowed withdrawal of credit chits from validated accounts.

Central Authority \- The citizen oversight division of the witch hunter's government. This organization had authority to trace and monitor all forms of communication, financial records, traffic and private security cameras and any other electronic systems that would help them to identify potential criminal acts, or conspiracy. This organization answered only to the witch hunter high council, and could bring down anyone else with simple suspicion statements.

Church of Norms \- Religion created by the witch hunters to foster hatred of anyone who displayed talents beyond those of the average or normal citizen. All witch hunter party members were members of this church.

Cloaking Device – device that creates false conversations and sounds, while hiding all such activities from listening devices in a small area.

Comp Unit – Computer Unit.

Confuser – Weapon that disturbs the electronic impulses in the brain, causing complete confusion in the target individual.

Control Center \- Often present in executive offices, a control center was a special access computer console with access to all systems owned by an individual or corporation.

Council member \- Individual holding an elective or hereditary position on the high council. Also known by the terms Councilman or Councilwoman depending on gender.

Credit chit \- Available in various currency quantities, these were the government guaranteed cash forms of credit marks. Due to exchange rates, credit chits from one planet often did not exchange directly into the same quantity of credit chits from another planet.

Credit mark \- Form of currency typically defined as one hour's pay for a middle classed specialist.

crucifix neck crank \- Martial arts hold which hyperextends the neck causing significant pain and if fully implemented breaking the neck.

Day – A period of time equating to the amount of time it takes for the moon to become visible on the horizon once, until it becomes visible on the same horizon again.

Destroyer \- Fully armored warship built for speed and efficiency. Typically the size of a large commercial transport and fitted with 25 - 30 weapons varying from long range weapons to

Discrepancy avoidance routine \- A learning program that monitored programs designed to discover discrepancies in financial data and adjusted the protected systems to ensure none of the monitored transactions existed in the systems the routine was established to protect.

Double Diamond \- Term indicating a master assassin in the Whisper Assassins Guild. Roughly equivalent to a Lar master in skills, they were exceptionally talented in making assassinations look like accidents. Highly skilled in martial arts and weapons, and masters of the power colors techniques used to create natural disasters, and move about with stealth.

Drizzle system \- Watering system which monitored the moisture content of the air and soil adjusting it constantly to stay within the specified ranges, ensuring that crops grew at optimum rates and produced maximum harvests.

Electromagnetic blast \- also known as an electromagnet storm, can be created by some sophisticated devices or by a power color user. Creates an area where the air is so full of electricity that anything metal is instantly magnetized and anything electronic is typically burned out due to over charging the circuits with electricity. In small quantities this scenario is known as static electricity.

elithium – the primary mineral in the fuel used in starships. Elithium is highly stable and provides a burn that lasts 1000 time as long and renders 10,000 times as much thrust as the same volume of nitrogen oxide.

Ener drink \- Generic term for Ener juice and other forms of artificial adrenaline drinks.

Ener juice \- A common drink typically infused with artificial adrenaline, used to provide a temporary surge in energy.

Ensium – mineral used in the development of starship navigation systems.

enviradome \- A dome shaped environment generated by a series of devices working in unison. It created a livable space on planets with no atmosphere. Originally created to allow mining on asteroids, they were quickly adapted by the military to allow installations on strategically located planets.

Feans \- Small furry creatures that attached themselves to one and only one human. They maintained a psychic and physiological link with the chosen human, and could heal that human from nearly any illness or affliction. It was reported that they would attach to someone, and when that person died, even sectors away, they would die, in a very similar way. If the human died of a heart attack, they would die of a heart attack. If the human were shot by a laser, they would be found to have what appeared to be a laser burn in their body. They also appeared to die at the same instant as the human they had attached to. No one seemed to know how or why these creatures picked someone to attach with, but about one out of ten of the humans who visited the hatching areas would be attached.

Fin Wench – Notoriously wretched prostitutes which worked mining camps in the early days of space mining. They would commonly knife and rob their clients if they thought the client had more than a few credits in their possession. Now a term used to curse someone. Calling someone a child of a Fin Wench meant that they were dishonest whores with no future but to die on their back in a mining camp.

First Seat \- Title used for the head of the executive branch of any government in the Free Colonial System's governmental structure. The First Seat of the High Council for the Free Colonial System being the highest ranking member of the governmental body, but was still subject to the citizens who had to approve all taxation and the salaries of the high council and the First Seat. The position also had to work closely with the high council who controlled the purse strings.

Flamer – Weapon that excites electrons to the state that it causes spontaneous combustion in the target. The target actually burns consuming itself. In a tight focus it can be used like a laser slicing through the target instead of causing them to burn.

floatboard \- Popular among teenagers in large cities. This conveyance is an oval shaped board that uses antigrav technology to float in the air. They often are equipped with small jets allowing them to move a relatively fast speeds. A person stands on them and shifts their weight to cause them to turn left or right. Standing toward the back causes one to increase in elevation, on the front lowers elevation. Also available in two and three passenger editions.

Float Cot \- Portable rest center which floated and therefore could be stored near the ceiling to conserve space. Commonly used in city apartments to allow sleeping accommodations without taking up additional floor space in the often cramped quarters.

Flyer \- On planet flying machine, typically small machines, often privately owned. Some larger commercial flyers are used for mass transportation on regular routes or for longer distances. With most households owning small flyers, the call for the commercial versions is not great outside of the mass transit sector.

Frequency bender \- Device that bends frequencies around an area effectively hiding any individual in that space from detection by a persona detector.

guillotine \- Martial arts hold that involves applying a choke hold while facing the opponent. Typically this hold is applied when the opponent is bent over by wrapping the arm around the front of the neck while holding the head down with the shoulder or chest.

Gzlaa \- Large furry preditor native to the cold regions of Elos. These five legged creatures have huge paws with webbing between their toes allowing them to move quickly across deep snow drifts. They have large claws which are used equally well for climbing anything they can dig into, rip up rocks, or tear down trees. Gzlaa eat anything living but prefer warm blooded creatures when they are available. They mate in sets of three and once mated, the set can communicate silently amongst themselves, making them even more effective hunters. In the early years after the settlement ship landed, the Gzlaa, like other predators on Elos, enjoyed hunting the relatively helpless humans whose technology had failed them.

heel hook \- Martial arts hold which hyperrotates the ankle joint causing significant pain. If fully implemented could result in dislocation of the ankle or breaking of the leg.

High Administrator \- Hereditary position in charge of the executive branch of the government in the Tali Sector. This position had authority over the day to day operations of the government, including command of the military and police forces of the sector. Structurally, the second most powerful position in the government behind the Speaker of the High Council. In practice the High Administrator had more functional power than any other individual in the government.

High Council \- The legislative branch of any governmental body in the Free Colonial System. A combination of hereditary and elective positions who controlled the financial allocations and established the laws of the land. The High Council for the Free Colonial System was the highest legislative body in the Free Colonial System, but was answerable to the citizens who had to vote for all taxes and had to reapprove those taxes on a regular basis. The citizens also approved the salaries of all high council members on a recurring basis as an additional control on them. Most positions on the high council were hereditary, but if the hereditary family had no living members, the position was converted to elective.

High Councilor \- Common title used for addressing the First Seat of the High Council, synonymous with Mr. or Ms. First Seat.

Holiday – paid time off, usually earned based on the number of hours an individual has worked without time off.

Hour – A unit of time roughly equal to 100 Minutes. In the old system it would have been nearly two hours.

House Shutdown \- A witch hunter directed lockdown of all cities, ports and docks. Everyone is to remain where they are at the time of the shutdown order until the shutdown is lifted. Some exceptions for political VIPs are granted, but average citizens are forced to comply.

Ilk \- Large monster like beasts that were comfortable in the seas or the deserts, they lived on microscopic algae and dust mites but required extreme temperatures to survive.

Kimura \- Martial arts hold that hyper rotates the shoulder and cranks the elbow at the same time causing severe pain and if fully implemented can dislocate both the shoulder and the elbow, or break the arm.

Kranus Starship Systems \- Largest starship manufacturing corporation in the Free Colonial System. The headquarters of this corporation was located on B'Aal Seven known locally as Kranus.

Lady of the Darkness \- High end prostitutes, commonly on retainer with one or more executives. Often wealthy in their own right as a result of plying their trade with those who wished to have their identities kept hidden.

Land Grabbers \- Term used to describe greedy individuals who accused others of being power colors users in hopes of being allowed to take their property. In the last couple of years of the purge, they often took things into their own hands killing the inhabitants of desirable properties and then accusing them of being power color users.

Laser Canon \- Large version of the hand held weapon typically mounted on starships, even those not used in defense. Also common on flyers and even some Travelors. Used as a utility tool also in many mining operations. A utility weapon that has many uses and is simple and easy to power and use. The precision nature of the laser makes it less useful in war environments than blaster cannons, so while they always exist on battle cruisers, and destroyers, the primary weapon on those ships is typically not the laser canon.

Laser \- Hand held weapon or tool that emits a highly concentrated light beam which will cut through most materials with ease. A useful utility device which can be used for cutting, it is less effective as a weapon due to the cauterizing nature of the light beam and the precision required to make it fatal.

leg hooks \- Also known simply as hooks is a position where the attacker wraps their legs around the opponent from the back and slips their feet inside the thighs. This position secures the attacker's position on the back of the opponent.

Light diffuser \- device that bends light waves around a space effectively making anyone or anything in that space invisible.

Living furniture \- Dedicated high end prostitutes, furniture class prostitutes typically were leased on long term contracts, but could be purchased on resort planets for shorter durations.

Llonk \- Aggressive carnivore that helped control the population of pests. When their preferred food sources is not available they often feed on the docile farm animals such as Plox.

lunarbreak – Point in time when the primary moon of a planet rises above the horizon.

Malta Weed \- An exceptionally hard to kill fast growing weed which grew as vine and would strangle most cultivated plants.

Master Hunter – An expert witch hunter, skilled in all the tools of the trade.

Minute – A unit of time roughly equal to 100 second. In the old system it would have been called a minute.

Month – A period of time equating to the amount of time it takes for the primary moon to go through all its phases. In most systems this is between 30 and 50 day periods.

Notech \- A gaseous substance exuded by the unique chemical reactions on only two known stars, P'Eng and P'Inl. The effect of this substance is that all planets in these solar systems are incapable of sustaining electronic or mechanical technology more sophisticated than the wheel. Starships are not allowed to spend more than a week within these solar systems and must be examined for technological degradation as soon as possible after departing the solar systems because of the extremely corrosive nature of this substance. Only one planet in each solar system has generated Atmospheres because the generators have to be constantly protected by power color weaves to prevent them from degrading. Originally three had been planned in each solar system but the generators failed on the other planets before the cause was discovered and a solution defined.

Omoplata \- Martial arts hold that hyperrotates the shoulder using the legs to twist the arm. This causes significant pain and if fully implemented could dislocate the shoulder, tear tendons and ligaments and or break the arm.

optical presenter \- computerized contact lens fitted with proximity sensors and video analysis tools to allow projection of spatially relevant information based on both location and visual focus. It can be used for any number of data retrieval purposes, but is usually used in political environments to display information about people and places the wearer is viewing.

Parse – Standard unit of distance, approximately equal to 3 miles or just less than 5 kilometers from the old measurement systems.

Parting out \- Detestable but all too common practice of turning a human body into parts that could be used to replace defective parts or organs in other, more wealthy individuals. A highly profitable black market trade, it did require relatively quick delivery to customers to ensure a high probability of acceptance by the recipient's body.

Persona Detector – Device used to identify and record the mineral makeup of any individual in a given area. Typically these devices were tied to computer systems which related the persona to other data about the person. Commonly used to determine if people were in areas where they were not supposed to be based on their profession or position.

Plox – Large six-legged scavenger originally found on Silius Three and exported to most inhabited planets due to the flavor of their meat, their quick growth cycle and the ease of raising them in any environment.

porting \- A form of teleportation using the power colors, where a condition is the focus rather than a specific location. This form of teleportation, usually used in an emergency, was very draining, often leaving the power user exhausted for as much as a couple of months. The most common use was to find a place of safety when one was not known.

power projector – Device developed before the purge that enhances and projects collected power colors over great distances. These devices simply project the power to one who can use it, they are not capable of limiting its use, or filtering the colors sent.

Power sponge \- a dark colored mineral found on notech influenced planets, which acts as a sponge absorbing all the power colors in the area immediately around the mineral.

Power Storm – storm created using the power, results in lightning strikes, wind blasts, and ice darts going in all directions from the source of the storm.

Pro Pack \- A small belt pouch typically filled with a combination of first aid and food generation packs. Developed for those who liked to hike and bike in unpopulated areas, they became popular among all people when the witch hunters took control of planets, because they provided a form of security if an individual were forced to hide for a couple of days to avoid arrest and testing based on unsubstantiated accusations.

Purge \- Era in the early days of the witch hunter rule when witch hunters stirred up great fear of those who could use the power colors and had them hunted down, tortured and killed. Any property owned by one who used the power colors could be claimed by those who turned them in, thus encouraging the greedy to accuse anyone they thought might be a power user. The majority of the known power color users were eliminated in this four year period.

rear naked choke \- Martial arts hold that involves choking the opponent from behind.

Reprogramming station \- Facility set up by the witch hunters to erase all memories of an individual and replace them with memories that would result in a more desirable citizen. The most feared punishment ordered by the witch hunter government, it was typically reserved for those who could not be corrected through normal punishments.

Sand slug \- Actually more of a worm than a slug, these creatures lived on the droppings of other desert animals. A slow moving creature that sifted through the sand as it moved through clearing out all the impurities. They ranged in size from a few finger widths in diameter to more than a city block in diameter based on age and the richness of the animal life in the area where they cleaned the sand.

Second – Smallest unit of time tracked, it equates to the amount of time it takes for light to travel 1 parse.

Sector – Standard unit of distance approximately equal to 10000 parses.

Seepage \- In financial systems seepage is a term for transactions that round off authorized withdrawals to a predefined decimal place and pushed the difference into designated accounts. A form of theft that was hard to detect in most systems. This mechanism was commonly used by taxation bureau employees to augment their income.

Shalri Monks – Group of masters who formed the Saal Monastery on Arth.

Shield stabilizer \- Device which served as a frequency regulator, keeping the frequency within the desired ranges for optimum protection.

Skitter \- A small rodent notable for its ability to extend skin flaps as they jump allowing them to glide through the air between trees. They are small creatures with two front paws they use for holding food as they eat, and a rear paw with very sharp claws used to grip tree trunks and branches. Their rear leg is very powerful for the size of the animal allowing them to leap several meters in the air with no great effort.

Sleep juice \- Most common form of sleep drug used in cargo ship transport of passengers. Less addictive than most forms of the drug, and effective on most humans.

Sleep drug \- Narcotic used to put the human body into a form of stasis where only minimum oxygen was required, and only trace amounts of calories were consumed to maintain life. Commonly used for low cost travel on cargo ships or other non-passenger star ships.

Sliaps \- Large flying predator native to Guul Nine, commonly known as G'Ham. These large creatures were actually quite beautiful with large blue wings and bright blue eyes in their sleek golden heads. But they also had three taloned legs that nestled in their long brown body fur during flight and a full mouth of razor sharp teeth with which they could strike in the blink of an eye. When the planet was first settled, Sliaps found the new settlers to be easy targets and apparently tasty snacks. This prompted the settlers to kill them on site resulting in a near extermination of the species. Eventually, the Sliaps moved away from the human settlements and hid in the high mountains and large deserts which the settlers avoided.

Snooping Devices – Also known as a snooper. Monitoring equipment that recorded all sights and sounds occurring in a specific area. The slang term snooping devices came from the fact that they were normally connected to voice analyzers which would "listen" for specific words or statements made by persons who had previously used those words, and sent notifications to specified individuals when specific word combinations were uttered.

Speaker of the High Council \- Highest ranking member of the legislative branch of the government in the Tali Sector. This position was held by the most influential member of the high council and was a lifetime appointment once achieved. When a Speaker died or resigned from the high council, a new Speaker was elected by the other members of the high council within one month. This position controlled the process for voting on bills and had the ability to appoint members of the high council to committees which were in charge of creating and negotiating bills in specific areas of interest, such as finance, military, social entitlements, and law enforcement. Officially, this was the most powerful position in the government, in practice; the High Administrator had more ability to make immediate changes, and was the only one who could authorize the military to move.

Spike Shop \- A bar that served all sorts of stimulants and depressants. On most planets these institutions served as a major source of tax income and were therefor encouraged to have a wide variety of products, especially those which were addictive, but not fatal.

Spy proof \- protected from electronic eavesdropping devices and other monitoring mechanisms.

State Agent \- Undercover operatives employed by the government to infiltrate organizations and provide intelligence back to the government on the secrets of those organizations. Usually highly skilled and always very well connected, these agents could appear to be almost anyone.

Strr beetle \- A beetle native to numerous solar systems which consumes metal. A small silver beetle with an extremely hard shell and long sharp antennae which they use to slice through metal making chunks small enough to consume. This beetle was responsible for the total destruction of numerous starships in space before methods were developed to prevent them from being attracted to the ships. Wherever they are found to be native, steps are taken immediately to control or eradicate them due to the extremely destructive nature of their eating habits. A

Stun Gun – Device that uses electrical impulses to interrupt muscle operations.

Tangler – device that shoots a stream of sticky spider web like cords that are exceptionally strong and exceptionally sticky. Used to entrap the target individual without hurting them.

Taxation bureau \- Division of the government which was responsible for establishing and collecting taxes from all individuals and companies. Often the most corrupt of the divisions of the government, the unlimited access to all financial systems offered great temptation to underpaid government workers. A very high percentage of these employees supplemented their incomes by collecting taxes that did not exist and putting those funds into hidden accounts that only they could access.

Tele weaves \- slang for teleportation weaves which were power color weaves used to teleport individuals or materials from one location to another instantly.

Testing \- Torture based questioning used by the witch hunters to try and ferret out power color users.

threat detector \- A combination metal detector, chemical analyzer, and weapon identifier commonly used in starports and government installations to detect potential threats before they become issues. When used in conjunction with mental scans and physical search, they have proven to be 99.9999999% effective.

Tiranus – Large luxury star ship known for its casinos and luxury accommodations'.

Tracer – Rare power technique for tracing the destination or target of a power activity. To perform this technique the starting point of the power activity must be known.

Tracline – Strong sedative commonly used to sedate panicked individuals.

Tranque – Very strong drink containing extract of a rare cactus plan originally found on Silius Five then transplanted to most occupied planets. The name stems from the fact that when consumed in large quantities can cause a trancelike state.

Travelor – Anti gravitational vehicle used to move people or materials over distances on planets.

Truth detection scan \- Monitoring system that monitored the entire chemistry and muscular states of a person while they were be questioned. It was generally believed that it was impossible to lie while undergoing such a scan without being caught in the lie. In truth some individuals could be trained to a level that they could beat these devices, but most could not.

Vid Unit – projection device, for displaying video or digital displays.

Wake juice \- Stimulant used to revitalize the human body after extended periods of stasis. Commonly used to reenergize the human body after travel in non-passenger star ships.

watch lenses \- A small telescope like device, usually hidden in corners and crevices for monitoring halls and rooms. The devices were made of flexible material with mirrors and flexible rods in the body of the tube that could be used to turn the lens to focus in whatever direction was desired. Typically there were narrow walkways around rooms or halls that were to be monitored and individuals moved through the walkways from lens to lens to monitor the area.

Witch Hunt \- When someone was detected using the power colors, witch hunters sent out all their people and machines to locate and track down the user of the power colors. Even if the user had successfully gotten out of the area without being caught, they could follow the persona traces and track them down. This was known as a witch hunt and it usually lasted only a few hours at the longest.

Witch Hunters – Originally established as the anti-witch consortium, in the current days, the Supreme Governmental Police Agency a secret service type organization whose mission is to detect and eradicate all who use the power colors or display any ability with the evil extrasensory capabilities. They have the sacred mission to ensure that mankind is never again cursed by the use of these vile capabilities.

Witch Lock – Device that broadcasts psychic energy causing extreme discomfort for anyone sensitive to the power. Generally believed to prevent witches from crossing the path guarded by one.

Wok \- A five legged beast with no head, they absorbed nutrition from the ground. A creature unique to the Sheltered solar system, all attempts to export them to other planets had failed.

Work camp \- Prison camps which provided income to for the facility by putting prisoners to work in the most undesirable jobs available. Typically used when individuals were repeat offenders, or had performed a politically offensive crime.

Wwoln \- Small predator native to Guul Nine, commonly known as G'Ham. These ugly five legged, three eyed creatures lived off the small scavengers that were plentiful on the planet. Hunting in packs of 4 to 5 they looked very intimidating and were often mistaken by children and off-worlders as a threat. Early settlers often killed or drove off the packs and were soon overrun by scavengers.

Xil mountains \- A high mountain range on the southern continent of Whisper where Xum crystals are mined and refined in preparation for export around the world and to other planets and solar systems.

Xum crystals \- Extremely rare crystals found in only six known locations, all located in notech solar systems, which amplify the effects of power color based weaves making them more effective and in some cases allowing power color users of more moderate skill to generate advanced weaves.

Year – A period of approximately 365 days on planet Earth, longer on most planets. This is the period it takes a planet to rotate around the planet's sun.

Yorel – Large bird originally found on Silius Three and transplanted to most inhabited planets because of the flavor and quantity of eggs they produce.

## Solar Systems

Arnl Solar System

B'Aal Solar System

B'ask Solar System

Friz Solar System

Ginl Solar System

Iridian Solar System

Guul Solar System

Lyyn Solar System

Salaal Solar System

Sharing Solar System

Si'ile Solar System

Tanl Solar System

