Xyon

"That violet pearl we call Xyon is more than just a simple world amongst worlds. It is our home, our heart, and our future. We could never lower it to the simplistic and insulting description of 'just another planet'."

- Shala Alla Tok

Xyon is a large world located in the Ianthina system in the Xai'athus region of the known galaxy, and home to the Xai civilization. Ruled by the planetary government known as the Xai Ascendancy, Xyon has a recorded history going back some 7,500 years from the Xai's creation by their father and present leader, Malakai Madora, and their current history in the modern day. The planet has a population of 12.2 billion, and is largely covered by massive crystalline cities made of sardonikium, a naturally occurring mineral growth on Xyon.

Home the majority of Xai living in the Ascendancy today, Xyon has been at the heart of all matter involving the Xai, whether politically, religiously, or militarily. Xyon's role in the development of the Xai's culture and society has also been of utmost importance, as most themes adopted by the Xai throughout the Ascendancy's territories usually have their roots on Xyon. Considering the holiest of all worlds, Xyon is also the heart of the religious lives of the Xai. Protecting the world is of the most importance to these pious ones.

Given the bloody past of the Xai, Xyon's place in their civilization is both a testament to their endurance and their ingenuity, as it serves as a beacon of their power and might in the face of adversity. Where as many other species would simply abandon their homeworld in search of wealth and glory elsewhere in the stars, Xyon occupies a place of prominence in the culture of the Xai, who not only refuses to abandon it for riches found on other worlds, but make it a goal to visit it as part of their religious customs.

Terrain
Xyon is a relatively large planet with a diverse ecosystem ranging from warm and cold oceans, extensive mountains ranges, and a number of deserts, plains, and grasslands. Forests and jungles can be found near the planets equator and north regions, and the two artic poles of Xyon possess landmasses which were buried beneath snow and ice during the planet's last ice age. The urban centers on the planet are numerous, with thousands of cities and towns dotting the surface, and mega-cities such as Oxida Nova taking up thousands of miles of space as they house tens of millions of residents. Such metropolitan areas are few, but such is their size that they can be clearly seen from space during the day, without the aid of the city lights at night.

The planet has a single massive ocean, the Pharian Ocean. The ocean alone constitutes 53% of the planet's surface area. The planet's surface has long consisted of a single super-continent, which formed the other 47% of the planet's surface aside from the oceans. The continent houses the entirety of the planet's population. Countless thousands of islands and archipelagos surround the continent, and are home to some of the major leaders of the planet who reside on them. The development of artificial islands and continents have since prompted the Xai to begin building floating cities akin to those built on Vesta and Pacifica, allowing the planet's massive population to move into more spacious accommodations outside of the crowded cities.

The urban regions inhabited by the majority of the Xai are different from those of the rest of the planet. The surface is black and rocky, with protruding crystalline growths known as sardonikium, a substance which the Xai use to build their most important cities and buildings. These regions also produce vastly different materials and resources which are usable to the Xai population of the planet as energy sources and building materials. Before the Colonization era, the entire planet was partially covered in this form of terrain, though when the Xai had a number of functioning colonies beyond Xyon, the better half of the landmass on Xyon was terraformed in such a manner that the crystalline growths began to spread to the major areas and settlements.

Xyon is the third planet in the Ianthina system, as well as the only inhabited planet in the system. The planet is 13,765 kilometers in diameter, and home to more than twelve billion people. The planet has an orbital period of 490 days, divided into 70 weeks, then seven days each 24 hours in length. Xyon has three moons; Marza, Karus, Axon. The moons have long since been colonized by the Xai, who number in the tens of millions on smaller moons, and more than 100 million on the largest one. Geologically stable and sound, the planet has never suffered from a single natural earthquake in its history that most Xai can remember. Only when they performed an act unacceptable to their god did they suffer for any seismic activity.

Weather
The planet of Xyon possess temperate weather for most of the year, with cooler winds prevailing near the end of the planetary cycle. Given the huge cities that dominate the planet, pollution and waste flood the planet, causing disruptions in the planet's atmosphere. Clouds tend to form within the cities of Xyon, and due to the heavier and warmer air pollution underneath the clouds, this results in high precipitation, causing flooding in the lower levels of the planetary cities and environs. Hurricanes are commonplace outside of the major population centers, where the warm weather of the planet's equator combine with the fast winds coming from the north and south, creating hurricanes that crashing into the landmasses of Xyon. While not catastrophically destructive, they tend to result in high-cost repairs in regions where wealthier Xai reside.

During the last three months of the year, the northern and far southern portions of the planet see large amounts of snows, while the middle regions of the planet see a consider drop in temperature. Instead of the dangerous flooding seen during the height of summer, blizzards appear instead, though most often in the far north. Xai from Ix tend to visit Xyon during the time so as to enjoy the high culture of the planet while still enjoying the weather native to their home planet. Given the harsh conditions in which the Xai were accustom to during their earliest years of life, the weather does not bother them as much as it would to non-native life off-world. Thanks to their stronger skin and tolerance to pain, the Xai require far less protective wear during Xyon's more unseasonable weather.

Culture
"Mind yourselves. This is the center of high culture and the arts. Only the best may enter these halls as a member of our fellowship."

- n/a, chancellor of the University of Xyon

Xyon has long been the heart of Xai civilization, and the source of all major resources that originally sustained the Xai Ascendancy's colonial empire in its infancy. The importance of Xyon to the Xai has long seen the result of millions of Xai returning to the planet to visit the world at least once to see their true homeworld, making the largely symbolic if not religious pilgrimage to the world a must for any "sane" Xai living today. Xyon is also the selected shine world of Xanus, the god that created the Xai. Those living on the planet can expect Xanus' full attention and protection, albeit if they are considerably pious and faithful. Thus, pilgrimages to the planet are a common for locals living in the massive cities of Xyon. As it is the center of the Xai civilization, a large number of the Ascendancy's most prestigious universities and centers of learning can be found on the planet, such as the University of Xyon and the Tok Theology Academy, both located in the capital city of Oxida Nova.

The inhabitants of Xyon itself are considered cosmopolitan, business-savvy, and politically active, with active interest in the affairs of government and trade. They are known for their desire to collect wares and trinkets from the colonies, and maintain a tight grip on order and unity within the Ascendancy. Though the people of Xyon are far removed from the troubles around them, they have been known to try and prove that they are very capable of sharing in the toil of their brothers and sisters elsewhere, often signing up to join the Obsidian Guard to ensure stability throughout Xai space, and return peace where war and violence reign supreme. Outside of this, the inhabitants of Xyon are well known for their luxuries and cultural dominance throughout Xai'athus, and producing most of the best-known figures of the Xai.

As is the case with other planets held by the Xai, family and religion are considered major aspects of a person's life, and many Xai residing on the planet are often off-worlders simply visiting the shrines and sites on Xyon as part of a lifelong desire to see the homeworld of their people. Fighting within the family circle or with brothers and sisters of the faith is considered dishonorable and shameful, and seeking to resolve issues rather than start them has been a defining trait of Xyon natives. Xyon has a proud history, and many of its people seek to maintain the lore and legends of the past, often visiting the tombs of their ancestors and requesting their guidance on matters or simply inquiring of the lives of those at the time they walked the planet.

Religion
Being the center of Xai civilization and history, Xyon is unsurprisingly of utmost importance in Xai religion. The Church of Xanus is based on the planet, and Xyon serves as the church's main headquarters. The planet is held as the foremost shrine world of the Ascendancy, and though it may be difficult to see in the massive skyscrapers of Xyon, countless cathedrals can be found littered all over the planet, allowing devout Xai to seek out a place of worship successfully. The head of the church, Patriarch Shala Alla Tok, can be found at his residence in the Grand Cathedral of Oxida Nova, which doubles as a major palace and center of worship on Xyon. At the end of the massive stairway leading up to the plaza of the cathedral lay two large statues of Shala and his wife Dalla Nya Tok, built of nullium on sardonikium pedestals.

An entire district of Xyon's capital, Oxida Nova, is dedicated to the church, with entire religious complexes and churches built within an area housing more than 800 million people. The Xai Inquisition is based off of the planet, and from Xyon maintains all of its major offices throughout the Ascendancy. The larger of the two main offices of the Grand Inquisitrix is located on Xyon, the other on one of Xyon's moons, Marza. There, Sophia Madora, the current Grand Inquisitrix, works to maintain the purity and loyalty of the church, within the church and outside of it. Religious orders such as the Knights of Xyon are based on the planet as well, and operate mainly within the circle of the Patriarch of the church.

Military
Xyon is both the headquarters of the Obsidian Guard and the capital of Xai Ascendancy, and thus, much effort has been made to protect the Xai homeworld. Black Fleet Xyon, one of the fifteen Black Fleets of the Obsidian Navy, is based over the moon of Marza. From there, the fleet patrols the space between Xyon and neighboring Onyx, keeping the region clean of Kordanian and Iconian pirates, as well as Elysian terrorists. The largest garrison of Obsidian Guard personnel are located on the planet of Xyon itself, with three full corps based on the planet solely dedicated to protecting Xyon and its three moons. All are under the direct command of the Supreme Commander of Xyon, Malakai Madora, who alone has the authority to command the military forces on the planet. He along with his father spent centuries strengthening the military to the elite force it is in the modern day.

A permanent garrison of twelve Obsidian Guard legions and half of Black Fleet Xyon are stationed on the planet and its three moons. This makes the planet near impossible to attack or even considering invading. Countless orbital cannons dot the planet surface, and the rings of the planets house thousands of unseen weapon platforms. Six ionic barriers protect the planet from bombardment, and several power generators fuel Xyon's virtually impregnable defense grid. With only the best of Xyon's military personnel staffing the defense, all with centuries' worth of combat experience, Xyon's inhabitants can sleep with the knowledge that no expense has been spared in protecting the homeworld. So far, few enemies of the Xai have actively attacked the planet, with the past civil war being the only time the planet was openly attacked by a hostile force.