Mona, renamed Marquise by the Trilliant Ring in 3200, is a major planet in the Pavvis system (Hex #0008). It is home to a Psionic Academy, the only known academy in Acheron Rho outside Hroa. Mona - and the Pavvis system - remain at the periphery of the sector, remaining largely outside direct Imperial control since The Scream. Due to the importance of the rogue academy, several factions have taken an interest in the planet, most notably the Trilliant Ring.
Marquise is a chilly world, roughly 1.2 times the size of Earth. Its frigid atmosphere and the scattered remnants of its biosphere are the result of a massive ecological catastrophe that occurred in its antediluvian past. While the majority of the planet is covered in large swathes of frozen tundra and ponderous glaciers, there remains a verdant belt of growth around the equator.
The planet of Marquise is possessed of one city, called Mona. Prior to being renamed by the Trilliant Ring, Mona the city and Mona the planet shared their names. Mona is located near the planet’s warm equatorial zone where the majority of the planet’s population lives. At the heart of this city is the Psionic Academy, where only those afflicted (or blessed) by MES may be admitted. Citizens of the city are kept out of the Academy, unable to venture onto the grounds or approach the facility's high walls.
History[]
Before the Scream[]
It is difficult to know the history of Marquise, and indeed all of Pavvis system, from before The Scream. Seemingly never a main hub of travel and trade for the Empire, records for the area are sparse. House Serpens is known to have had a presence on the planet before the scream: facilities to house the more dangerous kinds of psionic research. The residents of these facilities, however, surely met the same fate in The Scream as all those with MES - madness and death.
Isolation and Reconnection[]
With such a concentration of psychic activity, The Scream was devastating to Marquise. Most of the planet's population was killed or driven insane. The remnants of its past civilization destroyed or buried and forgotten to time. During the period between The Scream and the planet's reconnection, Pavvis was left to its own devices. The system was too far from any other important center of commerce, material, or government and was one of the last planets to be reconnected.
The population centers on Marquise's sister planets of Ascher and Intaglio soon found themselves with distressingly large amounts of unstable MES patients. It occurred to the leaders of those worlds that there may be facilities which could aid in the treatment of such individuals on Marquise. With this in mind expeditions were sent to Marquise to investigate. When they discovered a largely intact facility, it was decided it could be repurposed into a place to train Psionicists in the system: a new Psychic Academy. Residents of the two planets with MES were essentially exiled to Marquise to isolate them from the rest of the system and limit the damage they could cause.
The Pavvis system was officially reconnected with Acheron Rho in 2777 by House Vela. On Marquise itself, a Psionic Academy had been built but now used an independently developed curriculum expounding the virtues of self-denial and control. While likely based on data left behind by Serpens, the methods used on Marquise today bare almost no resemblance to those of the more well known academy on Hroa. The Academy, now operated by MES exiles and refugees, is known to accept all those seeking training, even the poor and the ignoble.
Upon first contact, Marquise and its Academy were found to be very sparsely populated. Ascher and Intaglio had been sending their MES-afflicted there for the past century, but the Academy had become as much a monastery as an institution for developing MES skills. The planet lacked development outside of the Academy’s walls. Distant as Pavvis is from the rest of the Empire, trade and travel was slow to resume with the system. As word of a far off academy finally reached the ears of the Empire, interest began to grow. Among those interested were House Serpens and the newly formed Trilliant Ring.
After Marquise's reconnection, around 2850, House Serpens attempted to (re)establish communications with the planet. However, intervention from other Houses and factions during the First Imperial Civil War made diverting resources to such an expedition costly and ineffective. Without the means to support the Academy materially, its administrators were leery of allowing what they saw as a foreign power from gaining influence. Similarly, the Trilliant Ring were seen as interlopers and outsiders, but ones that could be materially useful.
Rogue Academy[]
Credit to W-E-Z
The Psionic Academy, once the remnant of a psi-tech research facility run by Serpens, has been developed into a proper school for training psionic talents. It has become a refuge for those suffering from MES, regardless of their circumstance. MES patients who are either unwilling or unable to attend the Academy on Hroa often come in search of second chances. This has led to an eclectic mix of pupils and faculty, including those who are otherwise too poor, mischievous, or dangerously unstable for traditional MES studies. While this charitable nature has given Mona's academy a positive reputation, it has also left it in poor material condition. Fortunately, outside factions have pledged support to the Academy; even those with less than wholly charitable intentions.
The old facility has been renovated over the centuries. Changing from cold laboratories and dusty hazard suits, to rough cells, homespun robes, and subsistence farming, and finally being replaced with pleasant dormitories, warm clothes, and contracted professional harvesters. The funding for this transformation was largely on the part of the Trilliant Ring who saw the unaligned Psionic Academy as a convenient specimen for its pretech studies. In addition to recruiting choice candidates from the Academy's graduates, there remain troves of buried pretech beneath Trillia IX. These pretech mysteries can only be properly examined with psychic training, and recruiting on such a large scale might otherwise draw the attention and suspicion of the core worlds.
While the Trilliant Ring has been the investor prompting much of Marquise's modern development, its direct influence on over Academy’s administration has always been slim. The funds Trilliant provided have been invaluable for building the Academy into a proper school; however leadership of the Academy has been careful to keep the Trilliant Ring representatives at arm's length. Their fondness for luxury is often highlight as an example of the danger of self-indulgence during lessons. Meanwhile, much of the Academy's faculty have come from humble origins and are mistrustful of these wealthy patrons.
In recent years Trilliant has attempted to bridge this gap with the arrival of the corporation's charitable arm, Facets of Charity. The subdivision has created their own program, the Venture for the Advancement of MES Treatment, as a method of collecting those diagnosed with MES and assisting with their transport and enrollment into Marquise's Academy. While this has built some goodwill with the Academy, some of the Trilliant Ring's other ventures on the planet also merit considerable suspicion.
Geography[]
Mona is a frozen world for the most part, subsumed by an ice age of unknown origin, with vast frozen steppes sweeping away into towering alpine glaciers and further barren polar ice sheets.
There is warmth here, however. Deep underground the heat of the planet stirs the roots of life, and above, near the equator a strand of green still grows. Here the humans that inhabit Mona make their lives. Near the single great City of Mona there are farming enclaves that stretch as far as they may to the north and south until the snows kiss their fields.
The planet itself has been found to possess unique properties. Its soil and climate type allows the growth of a particular type of grape which are used to make a very fine wine. Trilliant has been eager to exploit these resources and has thus developed large tracts of the precious arable land on Marquise into the Crystal Vineyards (called so for the light frosts that are instrumental in the conditioning of the grapes).
Locations[]
The Crystal Vineyards[]
When the first Trilliant Ring prospectors visited the Academy of Marquise they were gifted with a wonderful treat in the form of Mona Ice Wine. Brewed by residents of the Academy from grapes grown in the hills near the snow line, the vine seems to be a product of the unique climate and soil of Marquise. The Trilliant prospectors were delighted with this delicious drink and it was soon seen as some recompense for the long, tedious journey to Pavvis system.
Decades later, via direct Trilliant funding and much political pressure, the Crystal Vineyards used to produce these fine grapes have spread across much of the planet's arable land. Enclaves are contracted to grow and ferment this rare and delectable wine which is then shipped and sold at extravagant price to Trilliant customers across the sector.
Meleg Basin[]
Far to the north of the Academy, hidden among deep ravines and blinding snow storms, there is the Meleg Basin. The basin is frozen, as is all the land this far north. However, some glimmer of volcanic warmth caresses this shelter. From that warmth, protected as it is from the ferocity of the elements, grows a very special plant - a plant called the Articus Cactus.
The Articus roughly resembles a large wintry version of an Old Earth saguaro cactus. Its pale white skin grows with an oddly uniform crystalline appearance and is covered in long red spines to protect against some predator of ages past. Its trunk splits into several branches from which sprout vibrant red fruit. Many cacti show evidence of branches being carefully harvested, and this is indeed the case because the flesh of this cactus is highly prized by the residents of Marquise's Academy.
The Articus snow cactus was discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) by the residents of Mona a few centuries ago. The fruit from the plant is considered quite delicious and if prepared properly can give a very pleasant floating sensation. The flesh of the cactus itself though is extremely unique. When consumed it can help those with MES gain greater control of their faculties. The Academy prizes these Articus segments for their ability to aid new and dangerous sufferers of MES with gaining control of their powers.
Recently, internal disruption at the Academy has caused the Trilliant Ring to take greater interest in its governance. This expansion of oversight brought the existence of the Articus Cactus plant to their ever curious attention. Trilliant researchers procured a small harvest of cacti to study and discovered some remarkable properties. The Articus Cactus fruit was found to make astounding mojitos and - when combined with some of Marquise's fine wine excellent sangria. Further, the cactus flesh itself was determined to have extreme psychoactive properties. These revelations were soon conveyed to Trilliant HQ and a new product line was established along with the dispatch of a care-taking force to Meleg Basin to keep production safe.
The Nexus Expanse[]
On the opposite side of the planet from the city Mona. Covering approximately one fifth of the planet's habitable land, The Nexus Expanse is the sector's largest private zoo and nature reserve. It is owned and managed by the Trilliant Ring. It is home to every known species in the sector that exists (or once existed - the latter recreated as synthetic animals), as well as synthetic versions of every Jaegergem, with a special area for visitors to capture and do battle with them. These animals are marketed as a tourist attraction for those willing to spend time in one of the most isolated regions of an already remote planet.
The Trilliant Ring's synthetic animal research division is headquartered in the Nexus Expanse, owing to Mona's sparse population and distance. That way if a synth animal escapes it can't harm the local population. This allows the research into more dangerous kinds of synth animals, designed for causing harm, or even the creation of new ones.
The Tourmaline Towers[]
The Tourmaline Towers are a trio of extravagant superstructures assembled to become a Trilliant enclave on the outskirts of the City of Mona, in the Pavvis system. A few of the towers' functions include Resort and Service facilities, Psitech Research Centers and Shielded Grow Bays. The name of the Towers is derived from the mineral tourmaline that is found in abundance on Marquise and was inlaid to the surface of the towers to give them a deep orange glow.
Planet Tags[]
Psionics Academy[]
This world is one of the few that have managed to redevelop the basics of psychic training. Without this education, a potential psychic is doomed to either madness or death unless they refrain from using their abilities. Psionic academies are rare enough that offworlders are often sent there to study by wealthy patrons. The secrets of psychic mentorship, the protocols and techniques that allow a psychic to successfully train another, are carefully guarded at these academies. Most are closely affiliated with the planetary government.
Enemies:
- Corrupt psychic instructor
- Renegade student
- Mad psychic researcher
- Resentful townie
Friends:
- Offworld researcher
- Aspiring student
- Wealthy tourist
Complications:
- The academy curriculum kills a significant percentage of students
- The faculty use students as research subjects
- The students are indoctrinated as sleeper agents
- The local natives hate the academy
- The academy is part of a religion
Things:
- Secretly developed psitech
- A runaway psychic mentor
- Psychic research prize
Places:
- Training grounds
- Experimental laboratory
- School library
- Campus hangout
Gold Rush[]
Gold, silver, and other conventional precious minerals are common and cheap now that asteroid mining is practical for most worlds. But some minerals and compounds remain precious and rare, and this world has recently been discovered to have a supply of them. People from across the sector have come to strike it rich.
Enemies:
- Paranoid prospector
- Aspiring mining tycoon
- Rapacious merchant
Friends:
- Claim-jumped miner
- Native alien
- Curious tourist
- The strike is a hoax
Complications:
- The strike is of a dangerous toxic substance
- Export of the mineral is prohibited by the planetary government
- The native aliens live around the strike's location
Things:
- Cases of the refined element
- Pretech mining equipment
- A dead prospector's claim deed
Places:
- Secret mine
- Native alien village
- Processing plant
- Boom town
Orbitals[]
Farim Project - Gas Giant Mine[]
- Occupation: Scrappers in the ruined old mine
- Situation: The workers are in revolt
This gas mine which once orbited the nearby gas giant of Farim lost its orbit around the time of The Scream. When rediscovered it was ferried to Marquise, where it has remained ever since. Recently, a team of scrappers began to salvage the ruined mine, but the work has been suspended as the scrappers revolt against the entity managing them.
Gastre 3 - Space Station[]
- Occupation: Eccentric oligarch and minions
- Situation: Black market for the elite
Lasswitz 4 - Space Station[]
- Occupation: Deranged but brilliant scientist
- Situation: Black market for the elite
There is little official information on the Gastre and Lasswitz stations, which are heavily guarded and bear no identifying markings or designs. Those who observe the stations will occasionally see ships from some of the sector’s less savory organizations docking there. Some reports claim that the stations exist so the Trilliant Ring can sell its products to entities like “House” Vagrant and the 14 Red Dogs without having to invite these groups to Igliza. When asked directly about the Trilliant Ring’s involvement on Gastre and Lasswitz, a representative said, “Pavvis is a dangerous place, and our shipments to [Marquise] don't always make it to their intended destination. It's not surprising that stolen goods can end up in the hands of criminals."