League of Xenoi
How brilliantly unwise to look upon your betters.The League of Xenoi are a little-known organisation outside of Vexua, the shrouded nation they rule over with a grip stronger than steel. They are both the legislative and executive power in Vexua, with their counterparts in the Valence Brilliance serving as the judicial branch.
Xenoi by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
To everyday citizens of Vexua, the League are their faceless leaders and the hand behind every moment of their ironclad schedules. They are taught to swear absolute loyalty to the League. Doubt is not something that exists in their hearts - it is not permitted to.
The League are a beacon to the citizenry, and for the most part, they don't know that life can be any other way.
To the rebels, the League are dictators and monsters both. Wielding incredible power not only over the minds of the populace but also over the many weapons of destruction Vexua carries, the League are the final enemy they must either defeat or escape to obtain some manner of freedom from the nation in which they are trapped.
Few ever escape the League's steel watch save for the freedom of death, and even that seems tainted by the abhorrent technologies Vexua have developed.
Structure
Must we suffer this intrusion?Little is known of the League of Xenoi in most regards by their own intent. Indeed, the knowledge presented in this article was hard earned: Vexuan scribes on diplomatic missions were permitted to elucidate some of the functions of their illustrious leadership after communing with the League themselves.
The League is comprised of seven distinct individuals who remain anonymous to the majority of Istralar and whom never leave Vexua itself. The League elects only those who excel to their ranks: they are comprised of the highest achievers in Vexuan society across numerous metrics, including social skill, knowledge, engineering talent, and the like.
While ascension to the League is reserved for the truly brilliant, they must remain sharp. Ascension is a lifetime appointment: those who are appointed and begin to weaken with age are ascended again (though to what they are ascended, nobody outside of Vexua - or potentially the League itself - is certain), and new minds are brought in to replace them.
The League share a close mental link that permits instant communication across any distance and also, supposedly, links into their nation's many security systems. Through this, they may immediately be looped into any emergency or give orders throughout significant incidents, which reduces risk.
Contact by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Public Agenda
We serve our people, as our people serve us. The brilliance we shine shall see our people ascend to new greatness.While there are many assumptions on what the League of Xenoi want, both they and their allies in the Valence Brilliance have put out various statements over the years speaking on what their nation's aims are, and where their leadership aims to go. In essence, their aim has and always will be to see Vexua reach wholly new levels of technological and magical advancement.
Puppeteered by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Every aspect of their society - from the control they maintain over every moment of their citizens' days to the strange pulsing lights that shimmer beyond their island's shields - is all, supposedly, relevant and necessary for this task. The realms of ethics and morality are irrelevant for they do not permit advancement where advancement can be found.
Naturally, their goal is worrying to pretty much everyone else. While progress itself is not harmful, the League mandates a nigh fanatical focus on it, sparing little - not even their own selves, given the requirements of their posts - for aught else. The lives and souls spent in service to their goal are wasted, and even the surface of Istralar remains permanently marred by their twisted experiments.
Yet no mortals have the power to stand against them, and the gods that once would have interfered are forbidden from doing so. Thus: the League continue, their power growing with each passing day.
History
The past holds only relevance in its failures, and those, we care not to share.Unfortunately for the historians of Istralar, the League is incredibly secretive about its history. What the rest of the world knows can only be gleaned from their interactions with the League over time. It is known that the League did not exist for years beyond the the Worldrend; their society for many years was one ruled by a democratic council, one eventually trirumvirate in nature.
Only once Vexua isolated itself from the world on a permanent basis via a series of arcane barriers, doubtless inspired by Kudara's own shield, did the League come to be.
Early whispers of powerful magic from beyond Istralar's reaches began in the mid-2000s, suggesting that the League has been in power for over three thousand bloody years.
Their interactions with the outside world have been minimal, limited only to occasional trade of arcane items or to deep warnings of the consequences to other nations' actions.
It has long been rumoured that they have a history of interfering with political situations through the spread of their androids or through covert operation; conspiracy theorists like to suggest that they even orchestrated events like Meihua's fall and the ongoing War of Empires.
If there's any truth to these theories, the League has never admitted it. They respond to conspiracy with silence.
Interference by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
[ FURTHER INFORMATION HAS BEEN RESTRICTED ]
We Speak for the Stars
It's pretty weird that we don't have any idea who's actually in the League itself, isn't it? We don't even know what Xenoi means. Whenever they do introductions, the names are always just... titles. Member of the League: Chief Engineer, for instance. And that's if they bother introducing themselves. It's rare enough for them to speak directly, since they usually just send a representative, but... they're terrifying. Not a foe you want to face unprepared, and how does one prepare for the utterly unknown?
Androids
In addition to their leadership, the League are the ones behind the creation of androids. Their handiwork ensnares each of the pseudo-humans, visible in each glowing mark upon their synthetic skin. It is said that androids are soulless slave-beings, stripped of all rights inherent to mortal creatures. To indicate otherwise would be to displease the League.. The recent investigations to determine whether androids are as sentient as anyone else, then, will inevitably stir up trouble with the League - and through them, with the nation of Vexua. The future seems ominous with this in mind. The League are not kind to those that challenge them, but the rest of the world has long been forced to carve out exceptions into laws around slavery for Vexua's androids. If it comes out that the artificial creatures have their own minds and souls... what then?
Eternal Watch by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
You have to be quiet when criticising their weirdo League. Those who do it too loudly tend to disappear. I don't know why they can get away with that when nobody else can, but you can't even mention it as a problem without something going wrong for you thereafter.
Oooohhhhh I don't trust them. Also Ascended 'again' yeah I got a guess what that means. Nighty night! However more to the point....the idea they hold such power as seven individuals does illustrate perhaps the necessity of their level of remaining truly anonymous, truly unknown as a their person. Because if its just seven mortals (maybe a large assumption but we gonna roll with it) I am reminded of an assassin from another time and world's saying about power. "No matter how powerful the wizard, a dagger through the eye will seriously cramp their style." So I at least respect the game they playing, so careful to be truly anon, keeping their identities so far removed. That's wise, that's sound thinking. Certainly a dangerous bunch, and I can see why they make many uncomfortable. Well written Han, amazing narrative weaving as always, and certainly one I shall be tucking into my collection if for nothing else but my own dangerous further curiosity... :)