Xaimni is a beautiful lakeside city built in the shape of a five-petaled flower, on the magical nexus planet Rococo located in Symphony. It is a mecca for psionic users.

The city largely exists, as many places do in the Aleph sector, in two histories - Before the Tyrants, and After. Before, Xaimni was a quiet psionic mecca on a largely uninhabited planet of dangerous things, home to a race now for the most part extinct. As the planet was met with interstellar travelers and colonist from foreign systems, its population grew and so too did the number of disciples and practicioners of the temples and schools. But, when the Tyrants came - for the rich, incredibly mundane oil reserves the city sat on - the practice was very, very forcibly outlawed and many died. If it weren't for the Stem, the mindscape formed by the collective conscious of the survivors, it is likely that the practice would have been died out entirely. But, thanks to the Mindscape, the knowledge survived.

When the Tyrants fled the planet, they left the city in a state of disarray and on the verge of ecological disaster thanks to their refining operations. But, a Hekate executive, Darius Richman, saw a business opportunity and prevented it with Hekate tech, thus putting the city in his debt - one he said would go away on his death. Annoyingly, he hasn't died yet, but he is very much a hands-off ruler of the city, lifting the ban on psionics in the process. Since then, the city has actively maintained the balance between the five main schools in a defensive capacity to prevent another invader from doing what the Tyrants have done.

Xaimni attracts mostly psi-sensitive species to its grounds, and its identity as a mecca is tantalizing to any dedicated practitioner of the arts. Humans and Gim are the most common, though it's not unheard of to see Tinians and Rolaan, and rarely even Vaen.

The following player character and non-player characters are natives of Xaimni:

• Counsellors, Politicians and Elected Officials -
  • Darius Richman - The owner of Xaimni and a Hekate executive. They generally stay out of Xaimni's political affairs, though they exert their influence every now and then. Somehow he's been living since the time of the Tyrant occupation and therefore kept Xaimni's agreement with him (post saving it after Tyrant evacuation and salted earth protocol) still active, as it was “until death”. Everybody else is super bitter about this.
  • Khuduk Tahmai - The Grandmaster of the Way of the Embodied Essence. Khuduk has the oddest disposition of all the grandmasters, maintaining a jovial and joking attitude. They died during the Tyrant Invasion, but they got better and are now a skeleton man, inhabited by their own soul. They are rumored to have unbreakable bones.
  • Kytes and Katia Lakai - Grandmasters of the Way of the Animate Substance. These siblings operate separately most of the time, opting more to experiment with their creations in different paths of research. Kytes treats each and every one of his many puppets as if it were one of his children, while Katia instead focuses on continually improving a single design. Both are rumored to have given their favorites consciousness.
  • Casua Walter - Recently ascended gradmaster for the Way of the Suspended Thought. A cunning and brutal fighter, they murdered their former and the school's previous grandmaster in a longstanding feud going back to the deceased's decision to name another as the school's intended successor, rather than Casua.
  • Jiǎng Hua Xiu - The grandmaster of the Way of the Ephemeral Breath. Hua Xiu was a singer in her youth but turned to learning the arts once she found the aptitude (and the desire to defend herself from unwanted suitors). She has a flair for the dramatic, but understated and enjoys doting on the young. It should also be noted that most of her Manifestations take on a floral theming, and she enjoys using a sword.
  • Mx. Bell - The mysterious avian being that is the grandmaster of the Way of the Expansive Inkling. With more than the standard amount of arms and wings and a tall figure, Mx. Bell cuts an imposing swath through any room they stride. They go by the name Bell since nobody could ever pronounce their original name, and they've been around so long that they forgot their own name - before the Tyrant invasion, in fact. They can play multiple instruments at once.

• Businesspeople
  • Sev Yin - The master of the Heliotrope Market. This Vaen has a head for numbers and somehow manages to keep the market well-stocked despite their inability to practice much of the psionic or magical arts. Hint: It probably has something to do with the Hekate Frame they use.
  • Skarn Lagle - This Mindeye is the master of ceremonies at the Lotus Garden and utilizes passive empathy to tend to every patron's needs. They've gotten adept enough at this that their empathic field covers the entirety of the Lotus Garden's grounds.

• Celebrities
  • The Ringmaster, Chad - The Ringmaster, Chad is a massive Gim woman that leads the festivities in the Stormforged circle. They may not be the strongest person, but the sway they hold in the community is power enough. Plus, it's always a fun day when they decide to participate, often in a battle royale. Needless to say, their charisma is contagious.
  • Fel FiDaan - The head of the Ptah of Generous Morals. Fel has the honor of being kicked out of four out of the five primary schools for brutality, though nobody is sure which is the school that finally told them no. Their style is flexible, but highly analytical and proactive.

• Groups -
  • Way of the Embodied Essence - This school largely focuses on the imbuing variety of psionics. Two distinct paths of thought exist, with numerous branches thereof - one, focusing on internal strengthening and making one's body nigh invulnerable. The other focuses on extending oneself, manipulating their own form for their own needs.
  • Way of the Animate Substance - This school's puppeteering is unrivaled. Much of their craft involves taking rare materials to construct sturdy or versatile bodies to complete needed tasks. While some students directly manipulate their constructs through psionic strands, most opt to “program” their puppets with thoughtchains.
  • Way of the Suspended Thought - This school is purely focused on the art of kinetics, largely telekinetics. No mere rock thrower is found here, instead the students often focus on artful and intent-ful manipulation of matter as a way to refine their own mind.
  • Way of the Ephemeral Breath - This school's primary talent resides in the Manifestation side of psionics, though more focusing on temporary ones to suit short-term purposes. That being said, students learn how to craft permanent ones as well to hone their abilities.
  • Way of the Expansive Inkling - This school is the most internal of the five primary schools. Much of their teachings involve expanding one's senses and managing one's body. Through this, they also learn how to surpass their own limits or impose ones on their foes.
  • Path of the Generous Morals - The largest of all the secondary schools in Xaimni, though the term school is applied very, very loosely in this group's case. It's more of a delinquent gang than anything else, consisting largely of students that were thrown out of the major schools for one reason or another. They generally make a ruckus for anybody they're around, but tend to avoid pissing off any of the grandmasters. That being said, many of the locals call it the Path of the Open Hand, because the delinquents often demand “Open your hands and give us your money!”¹⁾

Most phenomena inside Xaimni are psionically focused.

• The Stem - The Stem is Xaimni's mindscape, actively and passively maintained by the many masters of the craft. It is easy to access for any practicioner of the art, and is often used by the Grandmasters to meet and discuss the city's needs and ongoings. The Stem is also passively used to pass information throughout the city (largely news bulletins and the morning weather).

• Impressions - Impressions are a form of sapient Manifestation that turn up in Xaimni, usually a collated embodiment of feelings given tangible matter. Oftentimes said feelings are fighting related and they are a huge hassle to deal with, requiring a strong practicioner to beat into nonexistence.

• Thought Finches - Thought Finches are a strange form of bird, more of a pest than a serious epidemic, but they have a tendency to land on people's heads and tap into their thoughts, subsisting on their surface idea before flitting off. Due to this, they have an especially negative reputation with the creative types in the Cerrobend Petal. There are some who utilize Thought Finches as a therapy animal to deal with intrusive thoughts, though the treatment must be used sparingly.

• Surreal Event - A Surreal Event is a form of thought virus that occurs through the Stem. Oftentimes it is a benign thing and goes away on its own, but on occasion it turns malignant and threatens the people of Xiamni who access the Stem, and thus requires direct intervention from the maintainers.

The city is primarily self-sufficient, utilizing farming outside the city and fishing of the nearby great lake in order to sustain its population, though a not-insignificant portion of the city's revenue come from fortune seekers or tourists trying to see the psionic arts on display.

The following occupations are synonymous with Xaimni's residents.

Xaimni is a city of stone and wood. Very little glass is used, and a significant amount of treated wood makes up the Petals. Much of the outskirts of the Petals have a boardwalk feel, while the main roads use brick and anything in between uses cobblestone paths. The Pistil has the most solid material, using creatively arranged stonework for its roads. Many of the buildings feature sky wells/impluvium to let in light and air, and very few buildings are above five stories. Xaimni's buildings are largely packed together tightly, with stone layers in between to aid in reducing the spread of fires. Pagodas are rare but have a presence in the city.

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The Heavenly Platinum Pistil is the geographic center of the city, and where most of the important events happen. While Xaimni has no official seat of government, the owner's estate is here and this is the place where multiple grandmasters are often found.

• Heliotrope Market - The Heliotrope Market is Xaimni's premier auctionhouse. While the other districts have their own markets, this is where all of the most elusive ingredients end up being sold and bid for fervently by those wishing to advance their skills. or attain status.

• Warū̂kh Publishing House - The most reliable source of knowledge in the city. This publisher compiles a monthly almanac, a weekly pamphlet, and a daily leaflet in order to keep up with local demands of a reliable, unhackable source of information on various aspects of Xaimni - particularly the value and availability of rare resources.

• The Stormforged Circle - The Stormforged Circle is where the skilled of Xaimni show their skills off. Serving as the city's primary form of entertainment in a sporting sense, this arena has a splending mainstage and many substages in a massive complex taking up most of the exact center of Xaimni.

• Skyruler Castle - Darius Richman's estate, located on a spire far above the Stormforged Circle. It is a gaudy, tasteless piece of architecture that everybody in the city hates, but often hosts out of towners for “business parties” that often go horribly, horribly awry.²⁾

• The Lotus Garden Teahouse - This is where the well-to-do of Xaimni go to enjoy a nice meal, though the place is very careful to house grandmasters with their own private rooms as to not invite the ire of any of them.

One piece of prevailing wisdom in the Sulphur Petal is: Never start a ceramics store. The Sulphur Petal tends to house more rough and tumble thanks to the disciples of the Way of the Embodied Essence and their self-enhancement abilities making them much more likely to survive being thrown through a wall. As such, the district itself tends to look far more run down and property values very low.

• The Foundational Rock Pavilion - This pavilion houses the Way of the Embodied Essence. This Pavilion has many low-detail tapestries hung to catch wayward initiates being thrown out of training areas, but otherwise is made of many easy-to-replace materials due to the nature of the school. It's not uncommon to go in and see half of it cracked one day, and come back the next to see it all repaired but the other half cracked.

• Aislinn's - A tavern that has a reputation for being fairly tame, not due to atmosphere but due to the fact that the owner has broken far too many of the patrons that cause a ruckus. All in all, the nicest place to catch a bite or a drink or gossip about the latest arena matchups.

If one needs a crafting good, it is likely found in the Bauxite petal. The presence of the Way of the Animate Substance promotes a lively artisan community, all aiming to catch the eye of a patron student of the school.

• The Living Flame Pavilion - The home of the Way of the Animate Substance. The halls are kept immaculate, though it belies the truth that the rooms of the school are often filled to the brim with parts as the place is filled with workshops and in-use storage containers. Lower-level students have to use a communal workshop and a communal supply while more achieved students get personal workshops and storerooms. An array of puppets largely keep bits and pieces from cluttering up the place, but it is ever an uphill battle. Much of the school is stone, as wood would end up getting too damaged too quickly from the constant use.

• Solarian Hall - This warehouse-esque building houses the biggest flea market in Xaimni. A variety of shops, from blanket displays to full (albeit thin-walled and very small) stores populate this place. If one is seeking something, it will likely be found in Solarian Hall.

This petal is the one that juts furthest into the lake and houses much of the fishing and hatchery operations of Xaimni. Much of the city's dietary needs are met here, including some aquatic farming.

• The Flowing River Pavilion - This estate houses The Way of the Suspended Thought. This is the most utilitarian of the schools, with a wall of foliage surrounding it and on the inside walls covered in soundproofing and wood to help insulate it and aid in the clearing of the students' minds.

• The Petrified Coral Pavilion - Less an actual dojo and more a warehouse that everybody avoids, this complex houses the Path of the Generous Morals, a group of ex-students that were thrown out of Xaimni's major dojos for one reason or another. The place is rather run down but filled with some expensive goods, but a lot of the patchwork is Manifested material since it's cheaper than replacing the wood.

The arts flourish in the Cerrobend Petal. Under the careful administration of the Way of the Ephemeral Breath and more importantly Grandmaster Jiǎng, the vast majority of the city's artisans are kept here to aid in inspiration of eachother and the students of the Ephemeral Breath. It's not uncommon to find the streets decorated with hanging coloured paper and crafts displayed on every corner.

• The Extending Branch Pavilion - This pavilion is where The Way of the Ephemeral Breath calls home. This one opts for a far more open air approach than the other schools, restricting its buildings mostly to housing or storage rather than training. Much of the land is carefully tended garden. The open air and beautiful surroundings is thought to help promote creativity in manifestation.

• The Unity Consultation Agency - The UCA exists for one purpose - to aid in the infusion of magical beast parts into other substances or beings. There are many ways to combine the strength of a powerful beast with oneself, and all of them difficult. The UCA tries to make the process easier through in depth research and procedures to achieve this goal.

Infrastructure helps keep a city running and thriving, and most of the services that manage that and provide utilities are housed in the lodestone petal. Electricity, water, waste, sewage - all of the work is housed in this district.

• The Tonal Bell Pavilion - The serene halls that house The Way of the Expansive Inkling. Unlike the other schools, this one values harmony and synchronicty - the primary garden of the school houses a series of 12 massive bells, and most of the exposed halls have some form of wind chime hanging from their awnings - and much of the internal chambers are vaulted and massive, as if they were a church. Yet, somehow, the place never seems discordant.

• Hmokh Hospital - The primary care facility for the city. While smaller clinics exist throughout, this is where most of the heavily injured are treated.

• The Hibiscus Garden - This is a minor school in Xaimni, whose practitioners are dedicated to the maintenance of the Stem and are masters of the mindscape. They stay out of most of the inter-school fighting since they are far more interested in the possibilities their craft.

ANY OTHER NOTES