servitor prior knowledge:overseers (servitors) are ascended keepers to the spire. not much is known to the characters about their creation but the religious belief is that they are the holy manifestation of the planet, trying to reverse the dying planet. the majority of the inhabitants believe overseers are god (overseeing the planet) and the spires are their tools. a sentinel is selected by the overseer to assist with many of the arduous tasks that come with the spire's (and its subsequent wards) upkeep. the sentinels appointment is revealed by augury. there is no mistaking who is chosen for sentinel, nobody can enter the wards unless the overseer allows it. seeing the physical form of an overseer (if one is not the spire/sentinel) is impossible. not many can percieve divinity outside of dreams or omens. their body is imperceptible in all other instances except inside the spire's wards. however, they can still choose to disperse the perception inside at will. they maintain this enigmatic role mainly to avoid having involvement with mortals. the misconception about their godhood lends for troublesome requests disguised as prayers. in addition, the spire's sake is to elongate the lifespan of the planet itself. to involve mortals is to put the spire at multiple risks (physical endangerment, dissension, political strife, sectarian conflict, etc).

a unique bit that the overseers have is that they don't thematically fit with their world. it has plot prevalence but it's not a question thats brought up by the characters. afterall, the only time that they're visible is to their sentinel, and sentinels are bound by loyalty to their 'god'. you wouldn't question the validaty of god if he showed up clothes you have no prior concept of, you would be too distracted that god is right in front of you and chose YOU.

binary II's spire: binary II's spire is reminiscent of exogenic fulgurite. (exogenic fulgurite is referred to as fossilized lightning. it happens when lightning strikes a sandy surface and partially melts into glass, creating an irregular shape with branching limbs as the lightning diverges beneath the surface). binary II's spire is about 23 feet in height (7m) and exudes a sharp, staticky energy that prickles the skin if too close. a low humming sound can be heard reverberating from the spire. the spire and its wards are located within a large eolian cave system (caves eroded into the side of a desert cliff face).

binary II's overseer: xute is quite large in stature compared to the rest of binary II's inhabitants (who have adapted shorter statures for the environment). his theme follows a lot of high altitude cultures, specifically surrounding the himalayas. he wears a tibetan ankle length robe called a chuba, which is made from sheepskin and wool and tied at the waist with a sash. the upper half above the sash is utilized as a pocket for carrying things. xute also wears a lot of adornments to accompany the robe; he's beaded designs onto the arms and neckline, wears beaded rosaries, large dangling earrings, all brightly dyed and colored. he also wears gloves to cover the lightning scars hes obtained from years of touching and handling the spire.

characterization: xute is often reticent, enjoying quiet contemplation and placidity. he has the air of a retired warrior. in his spare time he enjoys meditation, wood carving, and playing strategic games like go. sometimes, the recticence slips through and he'll hold on tightly to the things that he takes interest in. On a passing whim he aided haoran, he thought nothing of it until haoran slipped into his purview once again after a decade and some change. he took interest once finding out haoran had thrived all these years afterwards.

haoran, who didn't want anything to do with his birthclan, was furious at being thrust into the position of sentinel-- where his clan resides below at the cliff's bottom. the two's relationship started very rocky, mostly haoran spewing vitrol and xute switching between finding it funny/annoying. a lot of their first interactions were characterized with haoran's poorly contained outbursts and numerous escape attempts. what really helped smoothen things out was the fact that they only had each other to interact with. it lead to haoran reluctantly joining xute during their downtime to play go. xute had offered to let him go free if he managed to beat him. even after hundreds of losses, thousands of days, haoran slowly started to look forward to the matches, and subsequently, looking forward to time spent with xute. he still really doesnt like his duties, he was happier not being stuck in a cave 24/7 working with an electrically charged spire that harms him when he has to touch it every day. its like hating your job but you stay because of your coworkers.

xute, as someone who's had to fight for every gain, every possession, holds very tightly onto things he considers his. slowly gaining the trust and acceptance of another person (especially when he hasn't had any socialization in hundreds of years) had created a weird almagamation of feelings in him. mostly limerance with deeply repressed and compartmentalized feelings. haoran, who's also never really had a lot going on in the social development department, also has a lot of issues with boundaries and codependency. that and a dash of alexithymia and you have two horribly repressed dudes who are in a Not relationship. a lot of their interactions (that they pretend just never happened) usually manifest as braiding parts of each others hair, tame mutual grooming (painting nails, polishing horns, brushing hair), sleeping in the same bed.

A/N: a large driving force in why haoran continues to deprioritize himself and stay doing a job he hates is because xute is someone who chose him. after being devalued and marginialized basically his entire life, he's unconsciously choosing to weather conditions he despises so that he can continue feeling loved.