Database and Lore

Vuilo II, Capital of Subclan Xixik

*Spoilers if you haven't read past Gabatrix: The First Peace arc* “The deserts are our seas. The sands we wash upon our bodies. Have your water worlds, for we will always live in the climates that you deem hostile. In the end, we thrive, we exist, and we fight,” Hevatren the Enduring. The world of Vuilo II *Click* serves as the capital world of the Xixik Shal’rein subclan. Their species, planet, and history are mended together. Their more minor influence is measured in the fact that they have managed to survive against overwhelming odds while making the best and wisest decisions. These actions had proven to be pivotal in saving them from destruction when countless other subclans had failed. Vuilo II is a planet that few would find exceptionally welcoming, but this is the defining strength of the Xixik. Their ability in living on a desert world had gained them a name that is well covered by human scholars, often referring to them as the “Sand Sharks” or the “Desert Hammerheads.”  History The origins of the planet Vuilo II come from the ravaging wars of the Shal’rein clan. Their history of subclans fighting subclans was endless. Subspecies fighting subspecies were familiar to the point that survival of the fittest was prevalent. By 160,000 years ago, the early Xixik people consisted of the “hammerhead” variety of Shal’rein. They had learned to create their own vessels and fought the same as any other Shal’rein were capable of. However, by 120,000 years ago, the Xixik would fall into a series of horrific defeats. By then, the Gok’Shinta had been long but forged. Their ever-ongoing expansion would place them in the sights of several subclans. Many choose to ally with them or face inevitable destruction. The Xixik had been one of the many unfortunate ones to go through this scenario. Their leadership had been stubborn and would resist countless times. Their goal was to ensure that their worlds wouldn’t be conquered. By 110,000 years ago, the Xixik would ultimately watch their capital, Vuilo I, be taken over by the Gok’Shinta. A daring assault led by Hevatren would usher in what was considered the most remarkable evacuation ever made by the Itreans. There was a legend that Hevatren was an adopted son under the Jusa Dynasty under the Shala subclan. He was trained in the aspects of survival, strategy, and politics. He had compassion for the Xixik even though he was never a native Xixik. However, he had married a noblewoman of the Xixik and ultimately decided to live in Vuilo. The Xixik were not discriminatory towards Hevatren, and it was shown that he had worked his way to the right hand of the Xixik monarchy. However, when Vuilo was conquered, the monarch of the Xixik people was killed, including much of his family. Hevatren wasn’t in the capital world at the time of its defeat. However, it was here that he would seize the opportunity to launch a massive campaign against the Gok’Shinta. His goal wasn’t to retake lost territories as the opposing subclan was too powerful to win against. They outnumbered the Xixik forces almost 6 to 1, but that wasn’t the point. His goal was to help usher in a massive evacuation to worlds owned by the Xixik. Over four worlds were evacuated in the end as Hevatren would launch daring raids to delay and isolate Gok’Shinta fleets. It was enough that he would save billions of Xixik lives before the Gok’Shinta would engage in genocidal campaigns to eradicate the hammerhead subspecies once and for all. Hevatren was calculating in his ideals. He had time to evaluate the Shal’rein people and debate the survival of the Xixik people. The issue was that if they found new worlds, they would ultimately be chased off them as the Shal’rein would forever expand into them. However, Hevatren was raised from the planet of Givern for a short time. The desert world provided ample opportunity for him to survive in the harshest of warm weather. In the end, he had reached a conclusion. The goal of his people was to find the worlds that the Shal’rein generally disliked the most. Despite the insanity of the decision, Hevatren had decided that three desert worlds would be chosen as the new homes for the Xixik. The hope was that if they had managed to colonize these worlds successfully, the other Shal’rein would hold little desire to capture them. The reality was that Hevatren was both correct and wrong with such a move. The first desert planet established 109,995 years ago would be named Vuilo II, and it was the complete opposite of Vuilo I. This was no easy feat for Hevatren to prove. Food and water supplies were scarce. Vuilo II was almost an entire desert. The muddy north and south poles had just enough water to supply a large population. The rest of the surface was covered by small mountain ranges and almost endless sand dunes. The heat index was worse than the Savannah Desert on Former Earth to the point that it reached unsafe levels for humans to ever live on. There is no denying that establishing the colony on Vuilo II had led to the deaths of millions. However, it can be argued that by then, Hevatren’s refuge fleets were already starving and at the breaking point. For the Xixik, some agreed with Hevatren’s idea that living in a desert was the best decision. Life was challenging for the colonists, but within years, the people had adapted to living in desert conditions. Moisture vaporators and deep water tunneling had been made to scavenge water. In addition, the people had learned to farm, raise, and eat the native wildlife. The desert sand sharks were an enigma to the Shal’rein. It was later revealed that Hevatren had established a repour with the Shala subclan. Using his expertise in diplomacy, he secured an alliance with them. At the time, the Shala’Ko’Ken were growing in number and strength in order to repel the Gok’Shinta. The Xixik’s desire to have worlds that the Shala’Ko’Ken had less desire for significantly worked in both sides' favor. Givern, Shal’tar’s hot desert world, would serve as a trading post and diplomatic center for future relations between the Xixik and Shala’Ko’Ken. By the time Jalgren swept into the Shal’rein territories, the Xixik were no match against him. The fleets over Vuilo II were quickly wiped out and marked the end of the unique Xixik vessels they constructed. Surprisingly, the Xixik capital was one of the few worlds that outlasted many of the other Shal’rein capital worlds compared to Shal’tar and Zhav’Tren. The people had long learned to live in challenging situations. Despite significant efforts for Jalgren to bombard them from orbit, the Xixik would continue to find new places to harvest food and live with the little water needed to prevent their population from starving into submission. Jalgren said it best. “When I tried to conquer Vuilo II, it was like punching a Giok’o. The desert sharks were like massive slugs, nomadic and unending. You could try to hurt them, but they never flinched and ignored every blow you made against them. I had fleets standing in orbit. Xixik cities were struck, their power generators destroyed. Even their vaporators were knocked out. Yet, they refused to surrender.” According to Jalgren, the Xixik would be the last Shal’rein world to surrender to him. Most of this was attributed to the fact that the Shala’Ko’Ken convinced the Xixik to give up. After years of negotiation, Jalgren lived to his promise that the Xixik wouldn’t be forced to move off Vuilo II by surrendering. During imperial control, Vuilo II served as a hub of new ideals brought forth to them. The 20,000-year time period would be mostly quiet Vuilo II. When the Empire of Jalgren was falling apart 10,000 years ago, Vuilo II would be one of the last to join up in the fight against it. Most of this was attributed to the fact that the Xixik had very little to offer for the Rototrein Rebellion. The capital world had no shipyard available, few factories, and little ability to manufacture vehicles and warships. The Xixik could only offer their own soldiers to fight alongside other Shal’rein armies, which was sufficient. It was the goal, however, for the desert sharks to come up with ways to contribute. By the end of the Rototrein Rebellion, Vuilo II did get enough industry and war training established to serve the Rebellion in a better fashion. In reality, the Xixik people served as desert shock troops, and it was mentioned that some were grand demolition experts. After the end of the Jalgren Empire, Vuilo II and the rest of the desert worlds of the Xixik were free once again. Unlike the Pre-Imperial years, the Xixik had even less fear of fighting other Shal’rein subclans. The Trial of the Gun had been established, and the threat of Shal’rein on Shal’rein internal strife was almost all but mute. Regardless, Vuilo II resumed a close alliance with the Nak’Ko’Ken, and the post-Imperial years proved productive for the planet. The population tripled in size. Internal industry, education centers, and commercialism started to rise in the Vuilo II economy. A basic shipyard was constructed, and the capital world would help build a tiny percentage of the Nak’Ko’Ken warships. It was said best by Itrean historians that Hevatren’s motto had become engrained by the population. The desert was their home. However, the population did embrace new ideals from the other subclans, and Vuilo II would help spread those ideas in both ways. Vuilo II would be invaded a few times by other Itrean clans, but most of these were space battles only. The last 10,000 years had lived up to the promise that most Itrean species had little value in wanting a desert world that was barely suited for life. With the Shal’rein residing on it, the desire to conquer it was even less. It would be the Emphra War, where the Xixik would face their most brutal opponents. The alien invaders spared none in their ongoing assault to consume the entire Itrean people. Vuilo II was no different. There would be four assaults against the capital world in 2281, 2283, 2287, and 2291. The first three assaults penetrated the defenses and reached the ground. The Emphra was very close to consuming the planet in the first battle. With little knowledge of how to defeat their enemies, they spread through the deserts like a silver tidal wave. Most of the Xixik believed that the desert heat would be an end to the horrid invaders. However, they learned the hard way that deserts provided little defense. The Xixik often described these years as the “Glassing Desert Era.” Nukes were heavily employed, being dropped and detonated, radiating a large portion of the atmosphere. It was the only method until a safer way to kill them was discovered. Interestingly, even in the worst-case scenarios, the Xixik only lost 10% of their population to the Emphra. This is a drastic difference when compared to the much higher percentages lost by the other Itrean subspecies. Most of this was due to the fact that large portions of their planet were uninhabited. Vuilo II was no different in the casualties. The Xixik population was never that large to begin with, but they had also learned to be nomadic when using their home planets for defense. Each assault by the Emphra also dramatically decreased the number of casualties inflicted upon the Vuilo II population. By the time the fourth assault came, the Emphra fleet was destroyed before even touching the ground. The Xixik had been long repairing their damages way in advance before the war ever came to an end. Once the Emphra War ended, Vuilo II was one of the first of many planets to repair their cities at a quickened rate. It would take twenty years, but environmental restoration had proven fruitful. The glass deserts began to crumble to sand again, and the nuclear radiation was cleansed from the planet. Even the wildlife would bounce back in numbers. Of the few worlds that belonged to the Xixik, Vuilo II, perhaps, faced its worst opponent in a lifetime, but the people had endured. Much like many of the worlds of the Shal’rein, Vuilo II was a peaceful world during the Itrean Republic years. Many often compare the Xixik as just another set of followers to the Nak’Ko’Ken. However, their politicians still carry a unique trend in attitude. They serve as a polar opposite, being a people that originated from the water to embrace the sands of the desert. It’s very likely that the Xixik will never fade from such a history. Their music is often compared to former Mongolian desert rhythms. Their culture reflects different trends in clothing, from veils, topless dresses, and tan and brown boots. The planet also serves as a Shal’rein training ground in various explosives, desert fighting, and vehicle operation.