Xyrbyx

The Xyrbyx (zer-bicks), sometimes called the All-Seers, the Universals or the Gray Guardians, are an incredibly ancient race of aliens that have existed for billions of years, first developing their civilization shortly after the Big Bang. With technology nearly on-par with that of the Vuokra, the Xyrbyx see themselves as the only civilization capable of permanently removing the scourge on the universe that is the Vuokra, a task they have been trying to accomplish for eons.

Origins
Though they were very hot and chaotic, the early years of the universe were not completely inhospitable to intelligent life. In a distant, unremarkable galaxy, a race of aliens calling themselves the Xyrbyx developed a thriving interstellar civilization, their dominance practically unchallenged in the empty universe. However, unbeknownst to them, even more ancient forces were at work in the background. The Vuokra had just recently reemerged from their pocket dimension of dark energy, and were scouring the newly-created universe, destroying anything that stood in their way. The Xyrbyx, unfortunately, just so happened to fall within their path of destruction. Though reeling in response to an unexpected attack from the Lost Tribe, the Xyrbyx were no pushovers, and would not be defeated easily. They put up an impressive resistance, and eventually, their victories against the Lost Tribe began to mount. It wasn’t long before the Xyrbyx had single-handedly defeated the Lost Tribe, permanently removing them from the universe. In their climatic final battle against the Prime Mothership of the final Lost Tribe armada, Xyrzyzyxyx, the leader of the Xyrbyx, temporarily merged her consciousness with that of a Vuokra, and experienced a terrifying vision of an all-consuming blackness. It was this vision that convinced Xyrzyzyxyx that, for the good of all sapient beings across the universe, the Vuokra had to be stopped. Using advanced Vuokra technology acquired from the Lost Tribe, Xyrbyx civilization was catapulted into the universal-scale, making the Xyrbyx the only alien race to have developed a universal-scale civilization in the entire history of the universe.

Biology
According to various recollections made by traveling Xyrbyx, their species was originally reptilian, resembling large lizards that stood upright. However, the Xyrbyx have long since abandoned their biological forms, becoming advanced transorganic beings similar to the Vuokra. All Xyrbyx resemble various 3d shapes, from cubes and prisms to complex icosahedrons, about 15 to 20 ft in width (4.6 to 6 m). The shape of a Xyrbyx does not have any connection to their purpose in Xyrbyx society or their function as a being, it is simply an aesthetic choice made by each Xyrbyx individually. A Xyrbyx’s body is comprised of an extremely durable gray-colored metal, with numerous small grooves etched all around it in a maze-like pattern that is unique to every Xyrbyx. A faint white light can be seen within these grooves, which grows brighter whenever a Xyrbyx is engaged in any sort of activity, including movement and communication. Every Xyrbyx also has an “eye” fixed to a specific point on its body, which is nothing more than large, circular white light. Unlike a Vuokra brain, a Xyrbyx’s eye does not have any sort of functional purpose, and simply serves as another aesthetic feature of their body. All Xyrbyx are capable of moving around via levitation, and they possess many of the same abilities Vuokra have, including telekinesis and short-range teleportation. Their bodies can resist incredible amounts of damage, and are virtually immune to degradation or decay.

Due to their transorganic forms, the process by which Xyrbyx reproduce is entirely artificial. The Xyrbyx manufacture their young in massive factory complexes, called Xyrbybozym, that exist on all of their motherships. Using Xubuxoxcy, a Metasubstance produced exclusively by the Xyrbyx, the “brains” of developing Xyrbyx are imbued with the shared knowledge of all Xyrbyx as it is being created and then wrapped in an exterior of gray Xyrbyx metal. Once this is complete, the newly-created Xyrbyx immediately has all of the abilities of of every other Xyrbyx, and can quickly adjust its exterior form to suit its preferences. Thanks to this process, all Xyrbyx share the same collective knowledge, allowing information to persist in their civilization even across massive intergalactic distances. How the Xyrbyx retain their individuality despite their interconnectivity as a race is a question no civilization has ever managed to answer.

Psychology
Owing to their role as the ultimate enemies of the Vuokra, the Xyrbyx are the psychological opposites of the Vuokra in many ways. They are curious and cooperative, more likely to silently observe developing civilizations as opposed to destroying them. Though ruthless towards the Vuokra (and any that might be aiding their goals), the Xyrbyx are quite amiable towards other alien races, always looking for potential allies that could help them fight the Vuokra. Even though they possess commandeered Vuokra technology, the Xyrbyx are still inferior to the Vuokra in many ways, so their combined efforts across the universe are focused around studying the Vuokra in the hopes of discovering better ways of fighting them. The Xyrbyx frequently claim that, once they know enough about Vuokra technology and tactics, they will have no trouble wiping them out, but there are still many mysteries surrounding the Vuokra that the Xyrbyx have yet to unravel, even after millions of years of study.

Since their civilization operates on the universal scale, everything done by the Xyrbyx happens over immense time spans. Likewise, countless civilizations have risen and fallen in The Cluster without ever having encountered the Xyrbyx, since they are estimated as having visited over 20 million years ago. Very small groups of Xyrbyx have been encountered by a select few civilizations during the more recent history of The Cluster, but these interactions have never produced anything of value. Apparently, the Xyrbyx knew of the invasion Red Six Trillion would launch on The Cluster millions of years before they arrived, which had led them to construct the two Xyrbyx Mainframes located in The Cluster so as to collect information from the invasion. Much to the dismay of the few minor civilizations that received this news, the Xyrbyx could not have stopped the Vuokra from attacking The Cluster, a fact that persists even beyond this collection of galaxies. Thanks to their careful monitoring of their actions, the Xyrbyx can usually predict what various Vuokra tribes are going to attack next, but their lack of military supremacy renders them unable to stop these attacks from commencing. All Xyrbyx deeply regret the fact that they cannot stop the immense carnage the Vuokra wreak all across the universe, and are forced to bear witness to the deaths of countless civilizations. Only time will tell if they can ever bring this malevolent force to its knees.