Xenodocheio

Xenodocheio is a tiny, peaceful island, dedicated to peaceful coexistence and immaculate hospitality. Visitors are greeted with joy and fellowship, as without them, there could be no Xenodocheio.

## History

In ages past, the people of Xenodocheio were part of a vast civilization, spreading far beyond their home planet. They were a people of culture, science, and wisdom. They were as close to a utopia as any civilization could hope to aspire. However, nothing is permanent in creation; even the stars themselves will wither and die.

The Xenodochean Confederation was governed by a council of worlds, with the Arch-Overseer acting as the head of the council, albeit in a mostly ceremonial role. Most Arch-Overseers had accepted their position and served the council well; the few who did not were swiftly removed from their position. Harmony reined in the Confederation for thousands of years.

### The Obsession

The last Arch-Overseer was a cleric, obsessed with the pursuit of immortality. He was shrewd, hiding the depths of his obsession from the council, passing off any glimpse as nothing more than a curiosity or philosophical interest. The cleric discovered ancient texts describing a temple dedicated to Lady Time, an ancient goddess of creation. The texts stated that any who seek favor may petition Her at the temple. There was a cost, though the texts did not speak of what that may be. The cleric arrogantly assumed if the reward was immortality, the cost couldn’t possibly be so terrible.

The cleric was wrong. Instead of translating the ancient texts himself, he had outsourced it to an eccentric professor of antiquity at a lesser-known university–the professor’s eccentricity being a useful cover for their sudden and unexplained disappearance after the translations were complete. The professor’s translations were inaccurate, as gaps in the texts had been filled in with translations from a related language, changing much of the meaning. The professor and cleric thought they were translating ancient religious texts when in fact, they had translated a book of recipes written by an ancient order of nuns at the temple of Lady Thyme, the goddess of a different kind of creation.

When the cleric petitioned Lady Thyme with his mistranslated knowledge, She corrected his assumptions and offered to bestow upon him the gift of perfect confectionary. The cleric grew hostile and insisted his translation was correct and it was She who was in the wrong.

This angered Lady Thyme, who up until this point, had been hospitable. She granted his request for immortality–as a goddess of even a different kind of creation has the power to bestow eternal life–but he would never again enjoy food or drink and would have a hunger and thirst that could never be sated. The cleric, dismissing this as a curse, returned to his home, confident that he finally received his just desserts. Then his stomach rumbled.

### The Fall

The cleric’s unquenchable hunger and thirst drove him increasingly mad until in a fit of blind rage, he tore off his executive assistant’s right arm and ate it. Only then was the cleric’s hunger finally sated. He disposed of the assistant’s body in an automated garbage chute and thought nothing more of it as he hurried to his office to make a spreadsheet of the most edible council employees. Later that evening, the former executive assistant awoke with a terrible hunger and thirst and climbed out of the garbage bins to find a midnight snack.

A thousand years later, the Confederation lay in ruins. All but a handful of people on Xenodocheio had been devoured or become one of the Devourers. Through a series of fortunate circumstances, the survivors were able to secure an antique generational ship and set off into the dark to find a galaxy far, far away from the doom that had engulfed them.

### The Arrival

Many thousands of years later, the ancient generational ship, long having fallen into ruin, crashed into the ocean of Ilistrus. The survivors cobbled together a small ocean vessel from the wreckage of their ship and sailed across the sea, settling upon the first tiny speck of land they found. And thus, a new Xenodochieo was born.

## The Future

Originally hailing from a hot, gaseous planet with a thick atmosphere, the Xenodocheans were well suited to the multitude of gas giants filling their galaxy. Their new home is a terrestrial world that is too cold, too rocky, and with an atmosphere that feels like a mere veil that could fly away with a strong breath. Still, they persist in building a new life for themselves. Though few in number, they still retain the spirit of their past and strive to recreate their culture, though on a much smaller scale.