Palina Sigaretta's Ltd. - 1754

[Draeris 3124]

A HELENA COMPANY, 1754

 

The path to life’s greatest pleasures are filled with the gravest of consequence, or come with the hardest of labor. To enjoy the finest wine, an entire generation of vintners had to precede it. To taste the juiciest of fruits, it must have grown from the best of soils. To pleasure the best of womankind, the man must deal with her family. Mankind truly is cursed to endure pain before pleasure. But what if the epitome of pleasure comes with something the size of your palm? Have you ever tasted pure serenity on your tongue? The ecstasy of love engraved in the texture of dried herbs? Due to Illatia’s finest, you can: let us introduce you to the Palina Sigaretta. 

 

THE STORY OF PALINA

Like any good Illatian story: it begins with a woman that knew how to dress. She had entertained the settlers of the Adrian tent camp for quite some time. Despite her exposure, she kept the intrigued Illatians mystified by her identity and secret. All they knew was her stage name Palina, and all they could get was the image of her from a distance. 

 

Artist interpretation of Palina, 1754

 

In the winter of 1750, Palina disappeared without a trace. Unbeknownst to her, she had entrapped Angelo Montelliano into an endless feverish dream: where he chased the first person to be unreachable. With an inferno of passion in his heart, Angelo sought his brother Guiscard. With Angelo’s taste and Guiscard’s academics, they developed what could be a first tangible, handheld form of lust. A Palina: hand rolled dried herbs with a secret Illatian ingredient, bringing ultimate sensation to the mouth of its consumers. 

 

It was only after great success among Illatians, that Marco Montelliano and his brothers sought to introduce this delight among the general populace. After a decade, the Palina becomes a commodity available to all of mankind.

 

HOW IT’S MADE

The Illatians pick specific herbs from the outskirts of Helena, which they put to dry under the radiance of the summer sun. Once this process is complete: they mix the herbs into big canisters and crunch into refined bits. They then add a secret ingredient only known by the elder family members.

 

They then put the mixture onto a very thinly sliced parchment, applying a small roll of other parchment in the middle of the left side. They then roll the parchment into a cylinder shape using the roll within. The friction caused by rubbing the sides of the parchment against each other causes them to stick together: forming a solid roll known as a Sigaretta. 

 

Twelve of them are neatly placed into a small leather satchel: kept in shape by light metallic squares that the leather is attached to on the top and bottom. This is called a Pacco, which you can refill by buying more Palina’s from your local Illatian. 

 

IN ILLATIAN CULTURE

 

An Illatian woman smokes a Palina, 1749

 

Illatians generally value pleasure-inducing instruments or activities. The more pleasure one can get, the more (assumed) wealth he or she has. For the Illatian plebs do not have time to indulge themselves with fine beverages and women, as they usually work the lands of their agrarian home. 

 

Smoking has multiple functions in Illatian society. Not only is it a social affair, as everybody enjoys the same indulgence within a room. But it is also a psychological endeavour, seeking serenity after loads of ecstasy or hardship. The lone smoker is as common as the social one, neither more or less respected than the other. 

 

Palina’s are considered a piece of Illatian culture, as much as their tongue or fruits. It is therefore a grave insult if one deems Palina’s to be of low quality, or prefers Korvassian Shisha over its Illatian alternative. 

 

[Enlightenment 2300]

Marco Montelliano blew out a puff of fragrant smoke, a smile upon his visage, “Ah-h-h, god bless Palina.. I’ll need to have-a some to give out.”

[TheNunnery 1853]

Valeria would sit on a random bench in Helena as she’d look over the paper with a curious look, as they looked over the paper, the woman made a small comment to herself in a formal tone. “How interesting this is, hopefully this company will flourish.” 

[rukio 8924]

”They better not be talking about my beloved Paulina.” Edgar would declare with contempt from Morsgrad. “Unless she approves of this, of course.” He’d add after a while.