Church of Xyon

"This holy organization was founded with the sole purpose of ensuring all Xai had a link to the Creator where ever they went. Though we all share an inseparable link to him, we must all remember that we own him greatly for our existance."

- Matriarch Dalla Nya Tok

The Church of Xyon is the state religious body of the Xai Ascendancy, and the only religious organization in the entirety of the Xyon Sector. Lead by Matriarch Dalla Nya Tok, the Church has been the guiding force of the Ascendancy overseen by the Patriarch, Shala Alla Tok, who too was a founding member of the organization. The Church has existed since the beginning of the Xai species in 1 XE, and has been a major player in the Ascendancy's politics and decisions. However, the sole reason the religion exists is to give the Xai a direct connection with the Creator through the millions of priests and nuns that serve him across the sector as vessels of his power. The size of the organization's members total two trillion, as all Xai are considered members of the Church.

History
The Church of Xyon was founded in 1 XE, the year the Ascendancy and the Xai were created, the purpose of the Church to ensure that the Xai never forgot who made them and to whom they served. The religion was originally led by the Patriarch of the Xai, who's job it was to lead the Xai in a manner honorable in the eyes of the Creator. However, by 500 XE, his duties running the interstellar family of the Xai was growing to large for him to handle the labor indusive role of spiritual leader as well. Thus, in 506 XE, Shala Alla Tok handed the role of leadership to his wife, Dalla Nya Tok, who would remain the Church's leader for the next fifteen millennia. Under her, the Church focused on ensuring that all Xai, regardless of subrace, would remain within the religion, given that the growth of heretics led by the Xanians, sought to develop emperor-worship of the Xanian Emperor.

During the Xanian Wars, the Church led the humanitarian efforts focused on freeing enslaved Siriusians, Cybrians, and Ixians from Xanian control, and offering sancutary to Xai fleeing from Xanian armies at their shrines and temples, where the Xanians, though aggressive, respected the Creator enough not to attack the holy places. The Church's influence in politics after the war grew as the Xai came to appreciate the protection provided by their god who kept the Xanians at bay outside the Church's sancutaries. Thus, while the Patriarch came to represent the political power in Xyon, the Matriarch represented the religious power in Xyon, both equal in name and power, though the Creator would always put the Patriarch ahead of his wife given religious reasons.