The Temple of the Exploding Head

PRINCESS VROC OF XANDARR, second only to her famous sister, Princess Marilith, is a very well-known daughter of the House of Xandarr.

She was born in 003124ax, the eleventh daughter of the House of Xandarr. As per Xandarr tradition, the eleventh daughter is considered very unlucky and she was put out on the terrace to bake in the sun and die. According to legend, an eagle came and suckled her until she was brought back in. Generally shunned and kept in rags, she was sold into prostitution by her father Hezru, King of Xandarr when she was ten. Unlike her sister, Marilith, Vroc was not considered to be overly attractive, and failed as a prostitute. Not knowing what else to do with her, the king sold her to a meat market in Burgon to be consumed. The House of Xandarr was never known much for its morals or couth.

What happened after that is largely unknown. It is said Vroc was purchased and taken into the Black Hats. The Black Hats had a powerful hatred of the House of Xandarr after the horrific “Triumph Affair” where many of their order were killed by the Sisterhood of Light, and they craved revenge. They set to Princess Vroc, augmenting her with tinctures and other such dark magic. In any event, when she emerged some years later, was much more than what she was and hopelessly insane. Her tortured mind had snapped in the darkness with the Black Hats.

In the dark of night, she returned to Xandarr Keep and killed her family, strangling every last one who was there. She then arranged their dead bodies at the grand feasting table–a place she had never been allowed to sit. She often sat there with them, taking bread and chatting and eating rotten food as if they were still alive. She carried on that way for years, while the Black Hats secretly prepared Xandarr for their revenge–they planned to kill every last being on Xandarr with an ocean of Shadow tech. Occasionally, the Black Hats made use of Princess Vroc, using her to abduct victims and to lure in their enemy, Captain Davage.

After the Black Hats were defeated, Princess Vroc escaped. Believing Captain Davage to be her “father” and Sygillis to be a “harlot”, she attempted to blow Castle Blanchefort up, but was thwarted and brought to the brink of death. Having mercy on her, Captain Davage returned her to her lone surviving brother, Balor–who hadn’t been home the night Vroc killed the rest of his family. He took her back to Xandarr and, under his care, she regained the spark of her sanity.

Princess Vroc was small and rather skinny, unlike most of her family who tended to be full and rather tall. She had bright blue hair, a usual Xandarr trademark. Either through natural talent or Black Hat augmentation, Vroc was extremely strong–much stronger than a girl of her small size should be. She was also a swordsman and pugilist of incredible skill, being very nearly the match of Captain Davage whose skill as a swordsman was well-known. She was a master of the BEREN, the LosCapricos weapon of House Xandarr. In the aftermath of the Black Hat attack on Xandarr with the planet in ruins, King Balor began offering lessons in swordsmanship and many wealthy League lords came for tutoring with Princess Vroc. The income derived from these lessons helped rebuild Xandarr and return it to prominence.

In her days under the spell of the Black Hats, Vroc wore men’s clothing and wore her blue hair cropped in an unflattering fashion, causing many who saw her to consider her quite ugly. Countess Sygillis of Blanchefort said she was “hideous”. After she was returned to Xandarr with her brother, she began dressing in the light, revealing clothing typical there and grew her hair out. Ringed and painted, Vroc did not appear ugly at all, in fact Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort was quite taken with her.

copyright 2011, Ren Garcia, Carol Phillips, Justine Marie Hedman