Xetl, The Voracious Queen

Xetl’jyatk’yatu is the middle daughter of High Queen C’thur. Tales of Xetl’s excess are legendary, and it is with pride that many of her brood recount stories of such. Despite her hedonistic lifestyle, Xetl’jyatk maintains her Hive’s implants, overseeing the process of Reclamation and development of new implants. She takes pride in her brood’s work, a trait that most of her spawn share.

Her Realm
Xetl’s Virtual Reality is actively edited on a whim, and the Queen may change its very nature on something as simple as a feeling or the day of the week. As such, those few that live within it are often swept into her machinations for better or worse and are used to stark changes in their very reality. As for Xetl’jyatk herself, she is obsessed with sensation in all its forms, and as such, some static features within her realm remain.

At all times Xetl can be summoned by anyone within the construct. Here, prospective Unbound may attempt to summon the Queen to give her something she has never experienced before, though failure risks drawing the Queen’s ire, and as shown by other static features within her realm, displeasing her is something most Unbound would avoid.

As another permanent fixture within her Realm are the thousands of calcified virtual remains of Lii’dra. Disconnected from their Hive, they are endlessly tortured by the hands of Xetl’s brood. Xetl’jyatk morally justifies these captives to other broods by simply stating she is probing them for information, though the validity of this is uncertain.

Another unique feature of this VR would be complete avatar control. Some Vaurcae of her brood may simulate themselves as non-Vaurca lifeforms. Additionally, psychological experiments are commonplace upon yet to be born Unbound. These C'yuloxtan or ‘Newts’ never leave the Virtual Construct until the conclusion of the experiment. Residing in a physical re-creation of an ideal and precisely controlled alien, non-Vaurcesian environment, with the subject made to believe through the simulation that they are in fact whatever their avatar represents themselves as, interacting with pre-programmed characters or other Vaurce with their avatar disguised in their fictitious world. Normally at the end of each experiment, the Newts are reincorporated into the Hive if possible, though many are simply discarded entirely if reincorporation is impossible.

C’yuloxtans, in general, are perceived with a mixture of emotions by other Unbound of the Hive. Some may pity them for the lie that their life began. Others, particularly VR addicted Vaurcae, may envy and despise them, likening them as fake and unworthy shells of a true representative of their hive, and jealous of the extra time they spent within the VR construct.

Her Brood
Her brood primarily consists of Bound, and it is these Bound that tales of excess stem from. Perhaps more than any other brood of Vaurcae, the exploitation of the Bound here has reached new heights. Bound from her brood could be born for something as trivial as being a chair that moves on its own, as well as countless other superfluous examples. When compared to the exploitation of bound from other broods, Xetl’jyatk’s is the exception to the standard. Unbound from her brood are often desensitized to pleasurable experiences, causing them to look to ever greater highs to satisfy their needs. To some degree, this may be the cause of her brood's exceptionally adaptive work ethic —throughout known space, Xetl’s brood is renowned as job-hungry, and it is not unknown for her some of her Unbound to take as many jobs, no matter how alien, as they are able.

They are largely left out of diplomatic dealings within the Hive, leaving her brood to fill the void of many utilitarian duties that the hive may need. Unbound from her brood are primarily Workers that are raised to fulfill any kind of job. As for the few Warriors of her brood, they primarily guard their Queen, who remains aboard the Kloxa’xia.

With the changing climate of the brood and their adjustments to their new life, the Bulwark has been somewhat of a niche to Xetl, fulfilling mostly new possibilities in her Realm and raising the question if these stronger, larger bodies come with different new sensations. The demand of work for the Hive as a whole, though, has led Xetl to sell their workforce in a similar fashion her Workers have become required.

The Sensate
The Sensate is a group of Xakat’kl’atan that serve as living records of the sensations. There are four main sensations, with a Vaurca titled after their respective speciality, each holding the most data on their assigned sensation. While the Sensate enjoys their duties, each practices moderation to keep their senses sharp. Numbness is something that is considered detrimental to their work, and so they must be cautious with how much they indulge in their respective sensations.

Pain and Pleasure
''“Too much pain, and the body numbs to the sensation. Pain must be offset with bouts of pleasure, lest it’s sharp and jagged sensation feel dulled and uninteresting.”'' —Ka’Akaix’Gez C’thur (Pain)

''“Pleasure, without pain, is nothing. What is each day in your life if you are not soothed from strife with a pleasing sensation? You forget what it is to be pleasured in the first place.”'' —Za’Akaix’Volz C’thur (Pleasure)

Pain and Pleasure have a near-symbiotic relationship. When they meet in VR, Volz and Gez will often fight, each tearing into the other with an aggressive ferocity, and spending time afterwards patching their wounds. In this, Gez, a masochist, a rare case of an overlooked genetic mutation, enjoys the act of fighting, and defeat, and Volz derives a sense of pleasure from the victory of the fight, as well as a painful reminder that pleasure does not last forever. Gez, in turn, moderates its sensation of pain by allowing themselves to be healed, and Volz derives pleasure from Gez salving its wounds, and admitting defeat.

Humor
''“Humor is useless if it does not break the monotony of existence. What is the point of laughter if it is only another drone in the background?”'' —Ka’Akaix’Luz C’thur (Humor)

Humor can often be found holding bizarre ‘comedy shows’, often using strange or wacky avatars to practice a more physical humor that can be compared to clowns at a circus. As C’thur largely inhabit Skrell space, their humor, and consequently most of Xetl’s brood’s humor, has changed to line up with the more practical approach that Skrellians take, where spoken word and ‘punch-lines’ are largely lost, in preference of visible gags and jokes coming from the unexpected. In one of Luz’s more popular shows, an imitation of a Solarian video of a man slipping and flailing around on ice after losing their balance had the audience roaring.

Greed
''“If I kept all to myself, everyone else would not see just how much I hold. You must show some generosity to truly enjoy all of your possessions.”'' —Za’Akaix’Synz C’thur (Greed)

Greed is a rather curious case for the Sensate. It is said to have the most knowledge of all four, and yet it keeps the most away, very selective with who it teaches and who it allows to learn. Often unwilling to share information, it has taken up the hobby of ‘trading’. Collecting more information for itself, it is much more likely to teach and provide if they are first coerced with gifts and secrets. It is the most reclusive, however it is said that Xetl’jytak’yatu is summoned to it often, and never leaves disappointed, a fact that attracts Synz much attention, and many aspiring students.

Vaurca of Xetl’s brood will often study under this Sensate as a collective, with the purpose of better integrating with Skrellian, and now human, society, very few specializing into one feeling or another.

Recent Events
Although mostly uninformed of her Hive’s dealings, recently Xetl has been tasked to prepare workers for jobs required in megacorporations across human space. While their eccentric behavior can prove problematic at first, it is their big sense of ambition and pride that has allowed them to fit in the corporate structures.