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.

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. It required meditative practices, martial arts practices, 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 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 of this technique was the ability to enter a state of physical suspension, suspending breathing and even stopping 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.

Penpahg D'Ahn passed away some time around 860 DR.

Legacy
Penpahg's teachings lived on, being practiced by a 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 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 and injured herself. She ultimately countered the curse with her meditation and concentration techniques and later resuscitated Pikel Bouldershoulder by adapting Penpahg's technique.