Penpahg D'Ahn

Grandmaster Penpahg D'Ahn was a monk of Tabot who settled in Ashanath in Thesk in the 9 century DR. He created a distinctive martial art practiced centuries later by Turkel Bastan and his student Danica Maupoissant. He was titled "Most Holy One". "You anticipate the attacks of your enemy. You do not react, you move before your enemy moves. As the bowman fires, his target is gone. As the swordsman thrusts ahead, his enemy, you, are behind him. And as the dragon breathes, so its flames shall touch only empty stone."

- From the writings of Penpahg D'Ahn

Teachings
Penpahg taught a powerful martial art based around unarmed combat, with many strikes, kicks, locks, and wrestling maneuvers. One was a claw attack called Eagle Talon.

It had a philosophy of strict personal discipline and lawful behavior, married with physical training in order to attain harmony of the soul and complete control of the body and very being. Danica considered that while elves might have the physical grace and control necessary, they might lack the focused discipline required. It required meditative practices, martial arts training, concentration techniques, and channeling the hidden powers of the body. Those who studied it often dedicated themselves to it completely. However, the tests and training could be deadly.

One extreme test of discipline was called Iron Skull, or Gigel Nugel, a maneuver that allowed one to break through stone using just their head. The test was involved, taking many minutes of concentration and clearing the mind of distractions, chanting and motions to harmonize body and spirit, and mentally challenging the stone itself to convince the practitioner they would succeed.

The practitioner developed keen senses and with concentration and meditation, they could notice unseen and invisible beings and identify traps. By entering a meditative trance, they could even see things as they truly were, though this took four hours to achieve and lasted for only two.

Also through meditation, they could control their bodily functions, to limit injury and slow bleeding, and in effect partly heal their wounds. The pinnacle technique was the ability to enter a state of physical suspension, slowing or even stopping breathing and the beating of the heart to such a degree they appeared to be dead to almost all observers. This state could be maintained for up to eight hours. Danica expanded on this, adapting the technique for coming out of suspension to restart a stopped heart in another by striking the chest.

Penpahg's scrolls were labelled with pictograms: crossed fists signified a combat technique, an open eye signified a concentration technique.

History
Penpahg understood that the body possessed powers beyond comprehension and expectation, and learned to focus them to fulfil his needs. He founded a monastic order based on his teachings, and Cadderly described him as a prophet.

Penpahg D'Ahn passed away some time around 860 DR. Cadderly joked it was probably by hitting his head on a rock, but Danica didn't find this funny.

Legacy
Penpahg's teachings lived on, being practiced by his small and secretive monastic order and recorded in rare and precious scrolls. The Edificant Library in Erlkazar had acquired a collection by the mid–14 century DR. However, he and his practice remained barely known in western Faerûn.

In the 1350s DR, Master Turkel Bastan, a Tabotan monk and follower of the long-dead grandmaster who had settled in Westgate, taught the martial art to his apprentice, Danica Maupoissant. Circa 1360 DR, having taught her all he could, he bade her travel to the Edificant Library to learn directly from the scrolls kept there.

From then on, Danica dedicated herself to mastering Penpahg's techniques and philosophies. However, she had some difficulty deciphering the old texts and consulted with her lover, Cadderly Bonaduce. When the Chaos Curse afflicted the Edificant Library in the, Danica became obsessed with attempting the dangerous Iron Skull test on a very large block of stone, in order to be a true disciple of Grandmaster Penpahg D'Ahn. Cadderly stalled her, by convincing her to wait so the event could be properly documented for future students, though she later attempted it alone, repeatedly, and injured herself. She ultimately countered the curse with her meditation and concentration techniques and later resuscitated Pikel Bouldershoulder by adapting Penpahg's technique. Five weeks later, fully recovered, she attempted it again, in the proper frame of mine and before an audience. She successfully broke the stone and, when she awoke, achieved the highest rank of the disciples of Penpahg D'Ahn. The following year, Danica entered a state of physical suspension to avoid the gaze of the vampire Kierkan Rufo.