Vuokra

The Vuokra, known colloquially in The Cluster as the Neo-Serphiads, the Menace, the Black Ones, or the Dark Ones, are a collection of malevolent, sapient entities from the dark corners of the universe that harbor an inherent desire to destroy any other sapient entities or large civilizations. Though possessing godlike technology and nearly limitless power, the Vuokra are not particularly intelligent creatures, notorious for having disturbing child-like mentalities that enjoy destruction simply for the fun of it.

Origins
The Vuokra are a race as old as the universe itself, possibly even older. Fragmented artifacts and records from the most ancient places in The Cluster suggest the Vuokra were born at the same time as the universe, and did not develop a civilization in the traditional sense. They appear to have always possessed their advanced technology, which raises a number of troubling questions concerning how the Vuokra acquired this technology in the first place. There are very few other examples of intelligent species being born alongside their inventions, and the possibility that the Vuokra may have been the creation of a higher power, while audacious, is very clear. What is certain of the Vuokra's origins is that they were once unified, and most likely originated from the same place in the universe. Over time, as they expanded outwards into the cosmos, the Vuokra became fragmented and conglomerated into the numerous tribes recognized today. The Vuokra tribes, although varied in their size and behavior, all share an innate drive to cause chaos and destruction, which is what motivates them to seek out other civilizations and destroy them, as well as wage constant war against each other. Different tribes are known to occupy different parts of the observable universe to different extents, which are constantly changing as different tribes gain and lose power. The area containing the Local Group lies within an area of relatively low Vuokra activity, and although the invasions suffered by The Cluster in its recent history have been very destructive, they are believed to be minor compared to the strength of Vuokra invasions in distant galaxies where their presence is much greater.

Biology
Vuokra are notable for not following any laws. They do not obey the laws of science, the laws of nature, or the laws of any civilization they have ever encountered. As a result, their biology (if it can be described as such) defies any and all conventions of how life should work. At their core, Vuokra are little more than a consciousness comprised of pure energy, resembling a formless, floating mass of bright light. This is the "brain" of a Vuokra, and it is the only consistent structure found in their forms across the universe. Surrounding this packet of energy is the "body" of the Vuokra, which is made of a completely non-reflective black substance. The sensor equipment of most civilizations register the bodies of Vuokra to be made of pure dark matter, but how this normally invisible and non-reactive substance is condensed and turned into a physical manifestation around a Vuokra is unknown. A Vuokra's body can take on any number of shapes or textures, but it usually defaults to a certain characteristic configuration, depending on what tribe the Vuokra belongs to.

Silver One Trillion Vuokra possess slug-like forms, with a pair of long tentacles that extend outward from the fronts of their bodies, where their grey-colored brains are located. They use these tentacles, along with smaller feelers on the sides of their bodies, to crawl forward on the ground. Due to their unique origins at the hands of artificial beings, the Vuokra of Silver One Trillion have numerous silver-colored components and devices attached in random places on their bodies, which blend haphazardly with the sludge-like texture of their dark matter bodies. Aside from producing light or acting as extra limbs, these devices have no apparent functions.

Pink Two Trillion Vuokra have a vaguely capsule-like shape that tapers off near the bottom of their bodies, with their bright pink brains at the top. Their bodies are extremely soft, having a texture similar to that of cotton. Pink Two Trillion Vuokra constantly float a short distance off the ground, and are capable of flight.

Red Six Trillion Vuokra bear a strange resemblance to the physical form adopted by Sil, a surviving Myrevi. They are tripedal in appearance and move using three featureless extensions underneath their bodies. The bright red brains of Red Six Trillion Vuokra are place at the front of their bodies, near their front two legs, acting as the singular, unblinking eye of the beings.

Green Nine Trillion Vuokra are formless blobs of dark matter, possessing no sort of unified shape. Their bodies have a gooey texture and crawl sluggishly along the ground, though they are capable of building up energy to fling themselves at great distances if they need to move faster. These physical traits are due to the imperfections generated in Green Nine Trillion during their creation process at the hands of Yellow Fifteen Trillion.

Yellow Fifteen Trillion Vuokra have simple spherical forms with several long tendrils extending out of their bodies, which they can use to manipulate objects. Their brains lie in the center of this sphere, making them almost resemble floating eyes, from a distance. Like Pink Two Trillion, the Vuokra of Yellow Fifteen Trillion are also capable of flight.

Blue Thirty Trillion Vuokra resemble humanoids, possessing long, extremely thin limbs that operate akin to a pair of arms and legs. Their thin bodies are oval-shaped, with a stretched blue disc in the center as their brain. According to rumor, the Vuokra of Blue Thirty Trillion are actually hybrids between a powerful race of alien humanoids and an ancient race of Vuokra.

Regardless of their exterior forms, all Vuokra possess similar abilities. They are extremely resistant to conventional weaponry, and can manipulate matter and energy around them to an unprecedented degree. Though this effectively gives Vuokra unlimited potential, their childish mentalities mostly limit their manipulation of matter and energy to simple tricks and gimmicks, such as lighting random objects on fire or vaporizing chunks of matter. Vuokra can reproduce through a process resembling binary fission, in which the brain of a Vuokra splits in two, creating two smaller clones of the original Vuokra. Vuokra can merge their brains and bodies into larger and larger forms, if necessary, allowing them to merge and split into various versions of themselves of varying sizes. Vuokra have no regimented process for this process of merging/splitting, and therefore reproduce very sporadically.

Psychology
When a civilization is unlucky enough to encounter a Vuokra tribe, a mistake they often are guilty of making is their assumption that the Vuokra, who possess unparalleled technological and military dominance, are frighteningly intelligent and methodical beings. This, in fact, is the exact opposite of how most Vuokra think. Overall, the Vuokra are primitive and childish beings, bringing about wanton destruction solely for the enjoyment and satisfaction it brings them. They have no conception of morals and do not care about the consequences of their actions. Everything they do is based on instinct and impulse. This, of course, only makes the Vuokra even more terrifying. It is impossible to determine exactly what they are going to do next. They might be completely oblivious to the existence of a creature directly in front of them one minute, and then they might cause said creature to spontaneously combust the next minute. The Vuokra treat all other life as toys with which they can do whatever they want with, and they delight in seeing all of the creative and interesting ways they can force other beings to experience pain or pleasure.

Objectively, the Vuokra should have never been able to develop or maintain a civilization on their own. Indeed, the Vuokra tribes cannot be classified as conventional "civilizations" as they do very little outside of perpetuating war and mass extinction. Despite this, the Vuokra still uphold an almost innate understanding of their own technology, and they are disturbingly effective tacticians in wartime. Considering they are completely unorganized otherwise, how the Vuokra are capable of managing their technology and military power without any sort of unified political system is unknown.