Danger Arceneau
The Widow
O I R I A N C O M P A N I O N H O U S E
F L O A T I N G R O C K G A R D E N S
R Y L O T H
A Companion is a skilled, well-educated and well-respected member of a guild of professional courtesans/entertainers, somewhat similar to cafarel. While they do frequently engage in a form of state-sanctioned prostitution, they are nonetheless treated with a great deal of respect and deference from nearly everyone in the Southern Systems and the Mara Corridor.
Registered Companions are culturally well-educated with training in a number of areas, including psychology, music, fencing, and languages, as well as unarmed martial arts. In the Outer Rim planets, Companions were typically trained from a very young age, either accepted as slaves or refugees under Danger's care.
Orian House Rules and Companion customs
- A Companion is allowed to choose his/her own clients
- It is not unusual for a Companion to choose female clients as well as males
- A Companion must have a yearly physical examination in order to keep his/her license
- A customer who behaves badly enough can receive a "black mark in Danger's Companion registry," after which no registered Companion will contract with them
- A form of tea ceremony is a part of the traditional opening to a meeting between a Companion and his/her client
- A Companion frequently provides a form of psychotherapy for his/her clients
- Trainees come from refugee Twi'leks or slaves brought into Danger's protection.
The oldest profession in the 'Verse has one of the oldest and most respected cafarel houses in the Southern Systems. Prostitution as it had existed in the Galaxy - was replaced by a Confederacy of Independent Systems-approved profession officially titled 'Companion'. The Companion's Orian House established Orian Houses throughout the Southern and Confederate systems to train its members. The House establishes its own laws and rules. For example, House law states that no House may ever be run by a man. The law also states that a Companion is free to choose her clients.
Originally a female organization, the Guild has since allowed males to enter. The men undergo the same training as the women and, like the women, they service both sexes. The Houses exist to provide training to the Companions. No work is ever done inside a House.
Girls and boys as young as twelve may begin training, which includes a well-rounded education and years of physical discipline, religious study, and the arts. Girls and boys are taught dance, martial arts, calligraphy, how to play musical instruments, and singing. The children undergo rigorous testing on all subjects, and those who fail are sent back to their homes. They are taught the art of love play only upon successful completion of their schooling.
Companions must pass a test in order to gain their registration. To maintain that registration, they must also pass a yearly physical evaluation conducted at a licensed med-center.
Clients must pay a subscription fee to earn a place in the client registry. Danger Arceneau and the Companion must approve of the client. If a client ever mistreats a Companion, that client will earn a black mark in the client registry, preventing him or her from ever securing such services again.
A Companion House is run much like a monastery and refugee hom, protecting its inhabitants and sheltering them from the outside as they undergo their training. The services a Companion performs for the client are steeped in tradition and ritual. A Companion greets a client and bids that client farewell with ceremony, and the act of lovemaking is designed to make each client feel that he or she is special and valued - only one of the reasons an evening with a Companion is so highly sought after.
Contracting with a Companion earns the client 'an evening of pleasure' that goes far beyond the sexual encounter. A Companion is trained to listen, to entertain, to soothe, and even to offer advice, for they are well-versed on any variety of subjects from politics to the economy. A Companion knows traditional and contemporary dance. They are skilled musicians, schooled in literature, and stay current with all significant newsworthy events. They have a high degree of empathy and are trained in psychology, so they can understand their client's needs.
The beauty, elegance, and skills of the Companions have earned them the highest respect in social circles. There is no stigma to bringing a Companion to a party, as doing so proves you have both money and the ability to impress the Houses, whose members set very high standards. However, few Companions marry the wealthy prince and go off to live in the glittering castle. While of the social elite, Companions still exist outside society. Though a Companion is welcomed as an escort at a party, a Companion would not be so well-received as husband or wife. A Companion might commit to an exclusive, long-term contract, but that would still be a business arrangement. A Companion is encouraged to enjoy the work, but is taught to stay emotionally detached from the clientele.
Most Companions work on the border planets, entertaining clients in their own suites or meeting them elsewhere. Some choose to travel and may contract with a luxury liner—servicing clients on a cruise or flying the ship's shuttles to visit clients on nearby worlds. Few Companions choose to travel on their own or ally themselves with a small ship, and even fewer visit the outer worlds. Those who travel off the beaten path can pick and choose their clients, though they may not make as much money as working on the wealthy Confederacy worlds.
