XiC: Llavalites

 

Llavalites first made contact with the territories of Xi about 3 decades prior its formal establishment. This bio-cyberorganic race comes in blue, green, white and pink leathery tones of flesh. Far in their past, Llavalites survived on diets of aquatic organisms and reaper silk primarily- a mushy, sweet delicacy described like rice pudding, oft spiced with the grinding powder of masticated insects. From a young age their kind are incubated in watery tubes within reproductive stations, fitted with the latest mutations and cyborg grafts. A conclave of Llavalites form a single clan, and anywhere from 12-800 clans of Llavalites form a chapter that act independently of other Llavalites. They serve as space pirates, mercenaries, merchants and scientists, and at the top of their castes are priests and Hiveseers. Chapters travel in vast asteroid installments, oft built by Technoids- a distant but genetically close race that resemble large insectoids whom often serve as vehicles and livestock. The species are known to be both classists, looking upon those ‘without’ as spawn of the devil’s blackhole, and those ‘with’ as blessed by Avas Tera, their terrestrial goddess. According to Llavalite religion, the void is said to be impregnated with the work of the devil- their theology considers the great vacuum of space a work of darkness, and all aspects relating to the void, be they idleness, the gulph of time, gravity, nothingness and death itself the work of Avas Tenebris, great betrayer. Avas Tera is the embodiment of land, light and all that is present- to be present or have presence is the ultimate value of Llavalite religion. They praise great virtue in togetherness, unity, punctuality and being present-in-the-moment, aswell as consider an intellectualized mind one in a state of divinity.

Llavalites worship three celestial bodies- the Great Orb, the Dark Orb and the World Forge. Avas Tera, the world goddess, is associated with the Great Orb, and has five aspects: The green mother, the Red Mother, the Black Mother, the White Mother and the Gold Mother – corresponding to the terrestrial, starlight, night, day, and wealth. Avas Tenebris, the Great Void, is associated with the Dark Orb, and is reviled through all levels of the Llavalite society, as a manifestation of the devil itself. The World Forge is a neutral deity, a mindless hand of fate which spins the great wheel of the cosmos and is believed to juggle the stars in its hands by the invisible unseen forces of great particle interactions.

Because of their religion, Llavalites put great emphasis on the importance of land and the presence of physical mass. They are nomads, whose homeworlds are little more than refueling stations for growing food, harvesting fuel and resting, before moving onto the next world. Due to their quick consumption of resources, Llavalites are known to leave planets barren- they see this not as an act of destruction but simple consumption, as natural as any cycle of life and leave with the expectation the world will have been renewed in millennia when they return.

The species-classist system of the Llavalites is represented in 5 castes, Deltas, Arakaians, the Zalethor, the theocratic Seerclass and the alius. Deltas are notable for their pink flesh and essentially royalty, they live privileged lifestyles and are protected, pampered and pristine from birth. This caste wears excessive makeup- silver, green, bright purple lipstick and eyeshadow, colored polish and dyes, and elaborate jewelry. The Seerclass have white flesh, they’re known to be private and seclusive, but come secondary to Deltas. Seers are forbidden to indulge in desires or graft cybernetic armaments. Zalethor’s and Arakaians, blue and green Llavalites are the bottom class and majority of Llavalite society- they are known to compete fiercely, be it for pleasure or entertainment and have an evolved history of ingrained feuding. They also have a limited telepathic power, allowing them to sense potential harm, raw intent and empathize with others. Llavalites are born with a psycho-sexual response reasoning within their cortex, its oft said they kill for pleasure, but this Xi propaganda has been proven untrue- what they derive eroticism from is defending a mate or perceived target. This cognitive stirrup has led to Zalethor’s and Arakaians feuding in a way that seems volatile to Xi’ans and other civilizations, but is something between sexual rivalry and fraternity for Llavalites. Alius are the mutation caste, a rarity among their kind and are thus protected firmly, but not seen with utility or value. Alius do not take part in feuding, war or combat, oft designated to consort roles.

At some point in their evolution, Llavalites learned to tap into the Cascade coursing through the universe. It’s believed their psychic abilities allow them to naturally be in tune with it, knowing intuitively when it may appear and to what extent. This perk has allowed them to fine tune their technology and nomadic habits towards its usage, the vast number of Llavalite chapters using the Cascade as a flowing river to sail the stars with.  Cybernetic Llavalite Mechanics are the most sophisticated technical branch, they are typically associated with the construction, mining and maintenance of large meteor-ships, starfighters and vessels of all kinds. Llavalites typically employ technoids for these construction roles, and when possible or efficient, Llavalites will sometimes make use of a non-technoid humanoid’s business, particularly when transporting a large number of beings and in need of labor power. Llavalites’ own biological engineering allows them to manufacture their own mechanical extensions such as hands, legs, feet, eyes, noses and mouths, and they can even generate gizmos to easily accentuate their bodies. Mechanics are of highly respected standing within Llavalite Society.

Llavalites lack the ability to reproduce naturally through paired organic mates, instead a synthetic process called implantation is employed. It takes 4 weeks to implant an Llavalite in a host organism, their physiology allows for it to survive in a host body. Once the host organism gives birth to their broodspawn, they’re transported to a reproductive station to grow for several years within. Most Llavalites are not born, they are made as a larval cyborg, a proto-technoid attached to their proto-host in the form of a Mutated reaper stem. It was originally thought this plant would induce labor in their royals at a prior stage in their evolution, but no longer serves this purpose- All classes but Zalethors and Arakaian Llavalites are infertile, with Alius forbidden due to the rate of retrograde mutations in offspring. However when heated, processed for its chemical properties and properly smoked or ingested, the reaper stem has been known to cause hallucinations and somatic properties in Llavalites, related to psychic visions of their own unreal ‘natural’ birth and ‘mothering of ‘Avas Tera’.  This ritual is commonly done for recreation, and incorporated into many religious purposes for their priest Seerclass. Reaper stem also serves as a compliance drug in other species, a factor Xi has utilized and capitalized on in the past (through varying stages of legalization and illegal contraband), but this act itself is found ‘squicky’ by Llavalites. When asked to describe their perspective, it’s oft said comparable to a Llavalite injecting a human placenta into their veins or suckling on one for its high.

Nowadays, many naturalized Llavalites live as culturally assimilated Xi citizens, taking part in its military, entertainment, education and media fields with a minimal level of resistance and discrimination. Llavalites and Xi are very friendly and respectful to each other. These people usually come from lowborne caste bloodlines and are known to serve on some high levels of leadership in Xi governments. It’s quite common for a child born in Xi to have Llavalite blood, or to marry into an Xi’an family. Llavalites born in Xi usually have a naturalized citizenship, and may hold it for a longer period of time due to their social standing. Most importantly, the Llavalites born in Xi Reproduction Xi Reproduction Centers often excel in education and are quick to hold leadership positions in Xi government and security keeping because of their superior genetics and educational discipline. Xi citizens commonly refer to Naturalized Llavalites as ‘Homo Technic’, and are often very curious and excited to interact with them. Homo Technic’s receive more discrimination from Native, un-assimilated Llavalites within the great Hiveclans. They are referred to as ‘Avas Extrudus‘, or roughly translating to “Traitors of Avas Tera”, or those who have turned their backs on the Llavalite terrestrial goddess. While Homo Technic’s are permitted to enter meteor seeds and territory of their own kind, they are not permitted to take up occupations, claim Caste rank or receive any benefits of their kin.

 

Below, we follow two Xi’an Llavalites interviewing an Orchid Mantis. These Llavalites it must be noted for reference, are not of the Caste stock that hyper-fundamentalist and religious Hiveclan members typically are. One working in a security sector, and the other as a desk clerk for a Starcourt consignment shop managing inventory AI, these two liberal sorts would in all likelihood speculate, find the deeper fine points of Llavalite religion as foreign to them as the Waxkeeper’s. Perhaps a Hiveseer would’ve made for more constructive dialog in terms of cultural exchange.

 

 

Innerview ❂The Waxkeeper

Our-hive-priestess-upon-prophecy-of-the-cornelius-nebulae-disruption-asks-asks-of-/||\.-Explain-/||\-requested.-Others-of-the-Xi.-Be-meet-confer-and-inquires-inquire.-Diplomat-the-prayless-say.-Sss-sky-traveler,-welcome-buzz-buzz.-|-.-.-.-|--Question-seek-seek,-solitary-why-why?-Swarm-one-one,-strength-s-s-str-strng-strngth-together-together.-Alone-strange-strange,-why-why?-?||What-to-say-why-to-you?-To-you?.-|-.-.-.-|-A-question-for-me.-|-A-question-for-you. [Grace note: After much self-deliberation, I have decided to omit the swath of mantisial grammar and dialect for common convenience from here out. Some nuance may be surely be lost, but an equilibrium of conception and clarity must be considered.] Conversationally engaging, intriguing, an exchange. A debate. Commonality between kindred. Kind but not Kin. Xi Hives are foreigners. So strange. So so so very strange. My name is Aarika, also known as the waxkeeper. I am an Ex-prophetess of Lyreanthemum. Avatar of Grojeve Persetopia the Wiser. Two Xi nationals. Llavalites. How can I do this? I am a little bit better than I used to be. I am much better than I used to be. I never had many visitors except for the first day I visited this place. The people at the Xi Hive welcome me. I do not understand the Xi language. The translator works with us. Why have they come here to my Hive? Will they leave in time? I do not know if they will leave in time. How can I tell if they will leave in time? I don’t know if they will leave in time. They don’t speak my language. They come here to learn. To look at my Hive. To look at history. To speak to me. I do not know what to say to them. I cannot talk with them. I can talk with them. But they do not talk with me. They talk about Xi and Xi'an history. Their people travel the stars in rocks. We are much different. We live in nests. We pray to stars. We do not transverse them. They speak. They have questions for me. I cannot answer of shame and shyness. hey laugh. I can answer out of her Eyeness's instruction. Lyreanthemum is our congregation. It is gilded, gleaming. We revere the light. To shine our nest. Our brood. Our elders. In golden wax we light the path to good. To greatness. We believe in wax is light. Slippery shiny glossy. Bright. In gold we capture the light of stars. We encase our mates in this golden starlight as if making them stars. They are snickering. Disrespectful. I continue. The Eye of Mind. Our priestess. She prays to Stars. Stars respond in prophecy, I tell them this. I tell them of our religion. These heathens. They say they wish to meet with her. I say to them she is unavailable.

Is she busy, the Llavalites ask. Our Hiveseers have way too much frivilous time the Xi'ans say. I tell them she is unavailable because they are Unprayed- ancient text declared the Unprayed may not lay sight on Eye of Minds. It is such, almost copulation. A grave taboo. They do not understand what the Eyeness is. That is because they are Prayless, like most Heathens of Xi. Even as their eyes see a star-sailor's face at eye-level in the night's sky, they can't tell star it's a ship. I speak to them with eyes and ears. I speak to them with my hands. My hands are like tongues. Scythes to them, deadly. So ignorant. No like tongues I insist. I rub them together, the clicks and sparks have their own meaning, the translator explains. They cannot understand what my hands tell them. They want to know more of our religion.

To know of our religion is to know of Eyes of Mind. They do not know what Eyes of Mind is. I tell them it is the watchful gaze of Alexander. They do not know who Alexander is. I tell the Xi Heathens Alex was before our scalar cycle. Scalar cycles are anatomy of the universe. They stop and restart in moments of judgement sin and pain for the Highbright. Our priestess prays to our God of Mind, to reveal to her visions of Highbright past. They do not understand. The Highbright. The body is gross. The soul is subtle. I tell them I am the soul. We all are the soul. I tell them our souls are in the stars, spoken by the voice. The Highbright is a speaker, a god they think. Incorrect. I rub my scythes. I tell them the sky is the world. Worlds cycle. Journeys die. But Fuse. Resuscitate. Reincarnate. The Highbright is an Era. A scalar cycle represents one. Souls in one larval stage metamorphosis in another. Eye of Minds can see Highbright past.

Our kindred see this not with woe. Joy. Vision. Elation. Eyes of Mind. The Highbright is not a god. It is not a goddess. It is not a person. It is a speaker, an Era. In our religion, the Highbright is an Era. We pray to it, but not for us. We pray to it to heal us in time. To heal all. To find rest. We pray for the end of all things and cessation of suffering. The Highbright brings wonder, but the pain clings with it. The Alex of yesterbright is conscious of pain past. They seek to be liberated. We pray.  We have faith. We have hope. They are not interested in hope. They are interested in freedom. A futile concept. Our religion is ancient, since the beginning. Since the very beginning. They are so ignorant, these Xians. Prayless.

You are young in your ignorance. I tell them angrily not to listen to me. The Llavalites tell of their Caste system. Their people. Their ways. I know of their Castes. I have read of it. I care not for it. There is a question posed. Why am I no longer a Hive priestess? I tell them one is only a priestess when Orchid blesses one with aureate glow and occular drift. The translator explains. You had magic eyes? They burst into laughter. When our kind molt, as eras pass, the glow may go. The drift fades. My time as a priestess came to a close. I made a deal to serve. They say they will teach me about your religion. Teach us. Teach Llavalites and our Hive. I refuse.

 I say your ignorance is profound. They ask why. Why will you die if you tell them our religion? Is it because of their curiosity? They're so insistent, so militant. I heard many tales of Llavalites being such, many sources. I will die because of their ignorance. We have no freedom of choice. Our Gods are not for us. We are for the Gods. They think such things. They think the religion of my hive is a lie. A lie. They are so proud and self-righteous. I tell the translator I must be going, our priestess needs her waxing. Honeydip is her favorite ritual. I wax her, I shine her in gold. How do you respect your priestesses? The Prayless take the liberty of letting me know they're quite spoilt. They're laughing. They ask for my name. Aarika of Lyreanthemum. I end this session.