Archon Ren and Archon Tau
The Xxlak system is home to the venerable Xxcha species. Located nearly equidistant between the Primor Gate and Quann Wormhole, the system is well situated for galactic access. It sits in one of the wealthier regions of the galaxy. These advantages aided the Xxcha in becoming the first of the great interstellar civilizations.
The system is home to the once truly twin planets of Archon Ren and Archon Tau. Before the Twilight Wars, both were fertile green worlds with shallow oceans and inland seas. A Letnev invasion forced the Xxcha to make a deal to keep their homeworld, Archon Ren—at least temporarily—and to cede their long-time colony of Archon Tau to the attackers. Years later, Sol forces conducted a two-year campaign to oust the Letnev from their fortified bases on Archon Tau. The devastating bombardments wrecked the ecosystem and turned the world into a cinder. Even thousands of years later, Archon Tau hangs in the sky like a burned, scarred ghost, continually reminding the Xxcha of the price of war and weakness.
Archon Ren
Archon Ren’s extensive lands and small seas are astonishingly diverse in animal life, with an ecology that lacks invasive insects but makes up for it with thousands of small reptilian species that fill many of the same roles. The world is plentiful in food, minerals, and ore, giving the Xxcha advantages in their plans for stellar expansion. The Xxcha are surprisingly evenly distributed across the land, with small to moderate settlements at most. Even the major urban center of Kklaj, the capital of Archon Ren, has extensive greenspaces and carefully manicured gardens threaded among the buildings and transitways.
Beyond Kklaj, the ttillons (Xxcha villages) range in population from a few thousand to a few tens of thousands. Each village typically includes shops, central transport hubs, education centers, law enforcement facilities, medical centers, and other necessities. Each uses local wood and other materials in their construction, and thus ttillons tend to blend into their surroundings. The Ssaalel halls, used for long philosophical debates and discussion, tend to occupy a place of pride in the center of each ttillon.
Xxcha villages serve as central distribution points for goods and services brought in from surrounding areas and other settlements. Transportation networks wind their way through the woodlands and rainforests, often following the landscape rather than being imposed upon it. These radiate outward from regional spaceports, allowing short-orbit transit hops to anywhere on the planet in a matter of hours.
Kklaj
The capital city is obviously the king’s domain. The king’s lands are the city’s center, its many square kilometers of botanical gardens containing countless species of trees and flowers from across the globe. Some of the gardens even keep carefully preserved specimens from the lost biomes of Archon Tau. Within the gardens sits Xxeeket Palace, much of it centuries old. It is built and sculpted entirely of Q’waar wood, which has a beautiful grain and surprising strength that master craftspeople and carpenters skillfully use to display the cleverness and wisdom of the Xxcha people.
The rest of Kklaj serves as the planet’s primary commercial hub and major manufacturing center. The Xxcha also locate their military command facilities in Kklaj, and they maintain heavy shield facilities along the city’s perimeter.
Library of Xuun
Among Kklaj’s premiere structures and attractions is the extensive Library of Xuun. Its elegant tower and the concentric rings of halls surrounding it gleam with polished Q’waar wood. Scholars from around the galaxy come to study the library’s ancient tomes and databases, some of which predate the Lazax Empire. The librarians are always adding to the collection and sometimes pay very well for rare or undiscovered forms of information. Despite appearances, the library is well defended from attackers and natural calamities. Centuries of work have copied and backed up the contents, and backups are held at a secret, protected vault elsewhere on Archon Ren. Rumors abound of a second vault on Archon Tau, but they are neither confirmed nor denied by the king and government.
Defense Facilities
The Xxcha refuse to be caught defenseless again. That was the somber vow of the ancient Xxcha rulers during the Twilight Wars, and a pledge their ancestors maintain even to this day.
Most military facilities are kept away from the general populace, leaving the lands of Archon Ren unblemished. The exceptions are the large bastion shield generators around Kklaj. But no such prohibition applies to orbital facilities. The orbits of Archon Ren are ringed in castellan stations bristling with guns and hangar bays for swarms of Xxlun fighter craft. Even heavier garrisons occupy the scarred surface of Archon Tau.
Archon Tau
Archon Tau is a constant reminder of past inability to fight off the Letnev, and it motivates the Xxcha to use their strength and knowledge to go beyond simply improving their defenses. Though burned and shattered, Archon Tau is not completely lifeless, nor is it useless. Xxcha industry is active there, as metals, minerals, and rare elements still lie beneath the surface. They are extracted to build weapons and warships. It might be easy for outsiders to believe that the Xxcha would simply turn the planet into a dumping ground or a place to use heavy industry indiscriminately. That is not their way.
Since Sol violently ousted the Letnev garrisons, Xxcha scientists and terraforming engineers have studied the world intently. Some scour the surface, collecting samples of surviving animals and plants for future cloning or perhaps genetic reengineering. Others do the same in the polluted waters and sickening sludge. Areas hundreds of square kilometers across serve as experimental restoration projects. They have had limited success.
The restorers and the industrialists clash in policy and planning sessions. However, the reality is that the world is big enough for both activities in most cases. The real debate is what could happen if the restoration becomes widely successful.
Millions live on Archon Tau. Many are employed or serve in temporary assignments from Archon Ren. Early restoration cities created for convenience and safety have developed into urban areas. Few Xxcha want to live isolated in the wastelands, but the military does make extensive use of some regions as training grounds for troops. While this riles some restorers, as training degrades the landscape further, they generally accept that it is required to prevent future tragedies. Beyond training, the military conducts regular patrols and maintains scattered outposts to keep an eye on things. It is not unknown for criminal elements to find an isolated area to set up shop in for years without detection.
Ttuiian
Ttuiian is the revered and somber memorial of the destruction of Archon Tau, located just outside the sealed city of Vveleer. Ttuiian’s war-scarred blocks of stone from around the world are arranged in interlocking squares. They are carved with the names of lost cities, settlements, and other important locations.
The Eyes of Llixkas
Named in memory of the Xxcha king who first armed his people in the face of aggression, this massive planetary defense station dominates Archon Tau’s northern pole. Its sensors can pick up a ship as small as a single fighter approaching Xxlak’s cometary halo, and its four massive cannons can target ships in orbit over either world. Several monitor cruisers hang in orbit over the facility, providing close defense against enemy assault.
Star Name and Type
Xxlak, orange dwarf star
Archon Ren Population Status
homeworld, 8.1 billion (95% Xxcha, 5% other)
Archon Tau Population Status
homeworld, 60 million (91% Xxcha, 7% Human, 1% Winnu, 1% other)
Government
monarchy under a king
Major Imports
Industrial machinery, foodstuffs, water (to Archon Tau)
Major Exports
foodstuffs (from Archon Ren minerals, raw ore (from Archon Tau)
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