A short background to Ebon Language

When the Ebons were first discovered by Intruder he was amazed at what he saw. Intruder had learnt how to manipulate the Universe using the fundamental formula that binds everything. This Formula or Ebb allowed for subtle changes to be undertaken by those that understood it. Intruder had learnt this manipulation when he had arrived in the Conflict Universe and thought that besides him, Slayer, Senti and the rest of the Kilneck, there were few others who could change the Ebb. His arrival on Static showed him a race that not only understood the ideas behind the Ebb but used it in their everyday speech.

Different from the Conflict Races, the Ebons had only a basic grasp in a verbal language. Howver to compensate for this they could project images into each others head. These images were simplified sections of the Ebb, broken down into base components which the Ebons used for communication. Because of the simple nature of the Ebons, most of their communication revolved around each Ebon mentally transmitting the image they were thinking about to nearby people. A hungry Ebon would be predominantly transmitting the symbol for 'hunger' to all within a small radius of him.

Some of the Ebons that Intruder was watching had learnt symbols that allowed them to do simple tasks through manipulating the Ebb. An Ebon wanting to light a fire would concentrate on their symbol for fire next to some wood and the fire would be lit. When Intruder announced his arrival to the Ebons they were in shock. This was the first alien that they had met who could talk to them in the same way. What is more Intruder taught them other letters, other glyphs which allowed them to do more powerful abilities. By the end of the Conflict War Intruder had taught the Ebons enough symbols so that they could survive in the hostile environment that was to become the World of Progress. Intruder also taught them to speak Killan, so that they could easily communicate with the other races that had been spared by SLA Industries.

The Glyphs that are on Glyph Cards are the direct symbols that were taught by Intruder for the different abilities. As they appear on the cards an Ebon has an inate ability to be able to use them, drawing on their Flux to create the abilities. The symbol on each card is a complex design and so an Ebon would have to have the card in front of them to use the ability. The cards proved impractical due to the number that an experienced Ebb-User would have obtained - finding the correct one at a critical moment was awkward. Additionally, misinterpreting the symbols would cause unpredictable abilities. An alternative was required and Dark Lament then produced the DeathSuits which could allow the Ebon to cast more powerful abilities, but also to protect themselves from any harm due to misunderstanding glyphs.

Glyph Cards

Each Glyph Card is for one specific rank of an ability, for example Rank 3 Blast. All abilities are rumoured to be avavilable on the Black Market, except for Protect abilities. These were designed specifically by Dark Lament when they produced the DeathSuit. Glyph cards at a rank of above ten are very, very rare on the black market and would cost upward of 100,000 UNIs.

The main advantage of the Glyph Card is that any Ebon can use them even if they would not normally have a rank as high as that ability. For example an Ebon with Red Thermal at Rank four could use a Red Thermal glyph card at (say) Rank 6. One of the reasons that Glyph Cards are now outlawed is that Ebons can use high abilities beforte they can really handle the consequences.

A glyph card acts as a short cut for the ability and as such does not allow the Ebon to 'learn' the ability. In the above example it doesn't matter hwo many times the Ebon uses the Rank 6 Glyph Card, he will never be able to formulate it through his DeathSuit until he has spent XP on increasing his Red Thermal ability to rank 6. The reason for this is that with the advent of the DeathSuit all of the Glyphs were modified to take the DeathSuit into consideration. A Glyph Card does not have these addditional symbols and as such would not work.

Advancement Glyphs

There are some Glyphs which allow for an increase in the Ebons knowledge of the universe. These Advancement Glyphs are highly sort after and can fetch a high price on the Black Market when found. These cards are more dangerous than the normal cards and can cause irreversible damage to the Ebb User. Howver if the Ebon is successful their Formula rating is increased.

Each Advancement Glyphs has a rating that reflects the level that the Glyph can increase Formula to. For example a level 6 Advancement Glyph would only be of use to someone whose Formula is below 6. If the Ebon has an Advancement Glyph he can learn from he rolls a negative Formula test, ie: a Fear test substituting Formula for COOL. If the roll is 10 or under the Ebon has successfully increased his Formula to that of the Card. If the roll is 11 or higher add ten to it and consult the Fear chart for Psychological effects. Any modifiers to COOL should be taken to Formula instead.

Advancement Glyphs are highly illegal but are seen in the same light that Frothers see Shatter - something to try and get hold of even if it kills you.