Xraki

The Xraki are a species currently residing in a different dimension, beyond a Precursor Origin. The Xraki were formerly a ward race of the Scryve, before turning against them upon encountering an extradimensional entity called the Gluttonous Eyes.

Biology

Xraki are a strange looking species, with four eyes and a central mouth. They are bipedal, but with four arms instead of the usual pair of legs. This gives the Xraki an unprecedented ability to control machinery, as their four arms can be used for gripping controls, as well as keeping them aloft. This is reflected in their ships, where the controls require an Xraki to hold themselves aloft to pilot the craft.

This comes from their homeworld, a relatively low-gravity world where the Xraki spent much of their peaceful existence. This ability to move in low-gravity environments caused the Scryve to mass conscript the Xraki for use aboard their spaceships as marines. In these low gravity environments, Xraki are extremely dangerous warriors, capable of besting even Scryve in combat.

Unfortunately for the Xraki, they are extremely vulnerable to extra-dimensional forces, as seen with their interactions with the Gluttonous Eyes. Most Xraki alive today are under the influence of these entities and have been driven mad as a result. However, the Xraki have proven themselves to be vital tools for the Gluttonous Eyes, as some of their kind possess the ability to slip between dimensions, based on their “weight”, as “skinny” Xraki can slip through the Origin without difficulties.

Culture

Xraki prior to their corruption were a patient, diligent race who seemed to willingly interact with the Scryve in a military capacity, even assisting them on scientific matters, in spite of their lack of engineering expertise. This level of trust seemed to be reciprocated by the Scryve as well, allowing the Xraki to serve on their ships in a military capacity, something no other ward species has been known to do, even the Measured or the Drenkend.

Unfortunately for the Xraki, they were corrupted by the Gluttonous Eyes and their entire culture was turned to revenge on the Scryve and furthering the agenda of the entity they served. To this end, the Xraki inhabited a single world within the realm of the Gluttonous Eyes, where they existed in a bubble of order in the face of complete chaos. This bubble wasn’t immune to the effects of the Eyes and indeed, every Xraki born over their thousands of years of imprisonment was corrupted on an intrinsic level.

The Xraki’s thirst for revenge isn’t entirely without self-awareness, as they feel sorrow for being left to the Gluttonous Eyes in a brief moment of clarity when the Captain of the Vindicator encountered them for the second time. However, it does define their culture as it currently stands, having been operating in the shadows for thousands of years to destabilize the Empire, sending out forerunners to prepare the way for the Xraki’s final return. Some of these forerunners have managed to gain control of their own thoughts away from the Eyes and have expressed concern for their kind, hoping there is a way to free them and return the Xraki to their freedom and peaceful ways.

History

The Xraki evolved on their low-gravity world with an Origin orbiting in their system. They were a peaceful and thoughtful species, until they were discovered by the Scryve. Upon discovering the Xraki’s abilities in low gravity environments and the Origin, the Scryve occupied their system, enlisting the Xraki into their military warmachine.

The Scryve took the Xraki aboard their ships and soon every ship in the Scryve navy had a contingent of Xraki marines for low-gravity combat. In this time, the Scryve began their experiments with the Precursor Origin, aiming to find out more about other realities. Unfortunately for all involved, this drew the attention of the Gluttonous Eyes. Xraki exposed to the Eyes were changed, driven insane and corrupted by the entities.

Soon, Xraki everywhere within the Empire began to change, rather than being a local infestation. It seems to have been the result of being a member of their species, something conceptual rather than biological. Many Xraki used to be stationed on Scryve ships, taking half of the fleet with them within the year. The Xraki turned to war with the Scryve, killing billions. During the early stages of the war with the Scryve, the Xraki captured most of their fleet, as all Scryve ships had Xraki marines on them. To compensate, the Scryve used their recently created bioweapon, the Pinthi, on Xraki colonies, wiping out billions of the infected aliens. Eventually, the Scryve managed to push the Xraki back and managed to seal them beyond the Origin. The Scryve left behind alarms for the Origin, in the hopes of curbing the Xraki in the future.

The Xraki forerunners started working in the background for generations, having gone coreward after their war with the Scryve to gather power. For the Xraki in the gluttonous eyes dimension, they began building ships ready to help consume the galaxy. Upon returning to Scryve space, they provided the Phamysht with weapons to distract the Scryve so the Xraki can attack the Origin and open it to allow the rest of their species and the gluttonous eyes through. They gave strict instructions to the Phamysht not to ask for help against the Scryve to prevent the rise of a second galactic power to contend with.

However, unfortunately for all involved in galactic politics, the Captain of the Vindicator opened the Origin, unleashing the Xraki back onto the galaxy and triggering the final stages of the Scryve War. As the Phamysht had served their purpose, the Xraki turned on them, destroying their ships one by one. After this, they turned their attention to the Scryve Empire, massacring the Scryve ships who’d been fighting the Phamysht.

The Xraki ships were based on a hodgepodge of Precursor and Scryve technology, due to possessing little in the way of engineering abilities of their own, relying on scrambled technology to achieve their goals. It is ultimately, quite effective. However, the Xraki were released too soon and their wave of aggression begins to stagnate, as ships aren’t able to leave the Origin quickly enough to keep up with the losses they are sustaining from trying to fight every sentient species at once, including the Scryve.

As the Xraki offensive began to stagnated, the Federation of Allied Species gathered a fleet to assault the Xraki system and destroy the Origin. As the fleet engaged the Xraki ships, the Captain of the Vindicator attacked thr Origin itself, allowing the Pinthi aboard this ship to get in close. The Xraki within the Origin itself, ensuring its workings, are infected by a new strain of Pinthi that are able to control them for a short time. They reattached the Scryve lock to shut the Origin down and to prevent the flow of Xraki ships from coming through.

This ultimately dooms the Xraki offensive and stifles their ability to wage war. Those few Xraki left behind after the Origin’s shutdown have begun to show signs of more cognitive thought, with one notable forerunner joining the Syndicate and taking mercenary work to stay alive. This lends hope to the idea that the Xraki can one day be saved from the Gluttonous Eyes, though none want to open the Origin again to find out.