Roughly two-fifths of the way down from the northernmost extent of the Bungash Mountains, the coast of Tragacanth curves in to cut a broad triangular inlet from their eastern slopes. Known as ‘Treachery Cove,’ it has long been associated with maritime misfortunes both natural and otherwise. Nestled among peaks overlooking the cove and accessible only via long stairways cut into the rock lies Cloudstone Cloister, a complex of buildings little changed in five hundred years of habitation.
Constructed as a nunnery, for over two centums now it had hosted a secretive clan known as the Sisters of the Code. Originally charged with securing certain sacred texts and messages by encoding them in complex cyphers, with the advent of the digital age on N’plork the group had turned their mathematical and cryptographic talents to computer programming. Through rigorous training and academic discipline, they developed skills that rivaled and then surpassed those of the most elite coders. They kept entirely to themselves and guarded this knowledge, as well as their own existence, closely, using it only in service to the Cloister and even then anonymously.
Cloudstone had been built in stages over a period of decades on a rocky plateau surmounted on three sides by much higher ground, including the second tallest peak in the Bungash Mountains, Mt. Guqwil, named for an early goblin explorer who mapped much of the range. It consisted of a central meeting hall surrounded by residences, a scriptorium/library, storehouses, and a sizeable garden with agricultural outbuildings, along with various administrative offices.
There was not a great deal of animal life to be seen in and around the Cloister, but one creature that did make its presence felt was the large black avian known as the mountain boogla. It was tough, intelligent, and resourceful; for these reasons it was adopted as the mascot of Cloudstone. Eventually the leader of the Sisters became associated with it and was anointed ‘The Boogla.’ Banners were woven and cunning icons graven using that symbol, which artifice now graced the walls and parapets and altars of Cloudstone Cloister.
The initial residents of the nunnery were primarily goblins, gnomes, and elves who dedicated their lives to quiet piety and self-reflection. Even a monastic retreat needs some form of income, however, and the isolated nature of the Cloister made it ideal for conducting activities of a somewhat clandestine nature. The nunnery gradually became a clearinghouse for sacred texts belonging to a variety of faiths, some of which were subject to varying degrees of official suppression. To combat this, the sisters trained themselves in mathematics and became experts at cryptography. They employed this acumen to create seemingly innocuous documents with the sacred writings embedded in them, extractable only by sisters with the cryptographic keys.
As oppressive regimes passed largely into history and the need to obfuscate sacred writings diminished, the sisters turned their attention to the burgeoning field of computer programming. Acolytes were trained rigorously in mathematics from novice onward; this academic regimen now proved ideal for transferal to programming. It was not long before the Sisters of the Code came into being.
The Sisters of the Code, known affectionately as “scodes,” represented only an elite subset of the residents of Cloudstone. They were chosen after an increasingly demanding series of examinations testing both physical and mental prowess where computers were concerned. Over time the activities of the scodes came to dominate life at the Cloister and eventually they were recognized as the primary reason for the sisterhood’s continuing existence. The Boogla, then, became the ceremonial title for the chief of the scodes, chosen for her abilities both as a programmer and leader.
While membership in the scodes, as with the sisterhood in general, was limited to females, each sister had the right and, in some cases obligation, to go forth in the wide world to find a mate for the purposes of reproduction. While the males could not reside in the Cloister proper, a small village outside the main compound had been established where sisters could live with their chosen mates and raise children. They would still be expected to perform a limited set of duties for the Cloister, but were given sufficient time for parenting, as well. Children raised in this manner were given an excellent education and allowed to choose their own paths in life without hindrance. Those female children who freely chose to join the sisterhood were subject to less rigorous entrance scrutiny because they were already indoctrinated into the beliefs and customs of the Cloudstone life.
It became apparent over time that aptitude for coding had a significant genetic component. The most accomplished scodes were frequently scions of the previous generation’s elite. While nurture was certainly involved in that phenomenon, the additional influence of nature was undeniable. Kanitha was actually the fourth Boogla, all of them from her familial line. Her mother Teritha, grandmother Malthea, and great-grandmother Elibora had been The Boogla in their turn. Neither was she the first Boogla to live somewhere other than Cloudstone for part of her term of office. Malthea had raised a son named Kezish in the village of Fimbra at the base of Mt. Guqwil, commuting to Cloudstone when need arose.
With the advent of high-throughput computer networks and teleconferencing, of course, remote administration was greatly simplified. Even though she was Royal Consort and Magineer Liaison, Kanitha still journeyed to Cloudstone as often as possible. A special squad of all-female RPC had been recruited and trained explicitly for her protection during these forays, in fact. Further, a narrow-gauge branch line was built from the Port Zog-to-Tillimil eastern coastal carriage trunk up into Fimbra for her convenience and security.
Only time will tell if Kanitha’s daughter Leitha will follow in the matrilineal family tradition. With her mother’s intelligence and Tol’s arcane genes, though, she will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with regardless of the path she chooses.