Psionic Scourge

The Psionic Scourge, also simply called the Scourge, was an alien race of unknown origin whose arrival on Thesilae marked the beginning of the Age of Eclipse. They used their advanced, incomprehensible technologies to destroy Thesilae's nations and create their own global empire, enslaving Thesilae's mortal people in the process.

History

Before Thesilae

While the origins of the Psionic Scourge are unknown, bits and pieces of information about their history have been re-constructed from the various stories that have been passed down by the mortal peoples they brought to Thesilae with them. Mostly, these stories recount the Scourge's intergalactic conquest and the events which led to the destruction of their slaves' various homelands.

The Age of Eclipse

The arrival of the Psionic Scourge on Thesilae marked the beginning of the Age of Eclipse, an era in which the peoples of Thesilae were enslaved and their cultures were almost entirely erased from existence. The Thesilaens fought valiantly against these invaders, but the Scourge's strange and mysterious technologies allowed them to not only eliminate Thesilae's various militaries, but to spread their numerous forces across the globe in the blink of an eye. Thus, the war was lost before it could even begin.
The Scourge replaced the great cities of the giants with their own alien metropolises of smooth, black-walled obilisks which cast great shadows over the lands, or otherwise attempted to blot out the sun. Their settlements extended far underground, often deep into the Umbralands which extend like a vast web under the surface of the world. They cut down the forests and burned the grasslands, and reduced the art and architecture of the mortal peoples to ash and rubble.
Several attempts were made by the Thesilaens at throwing off the shackles of their oppressors in the first few years of their subjugation, but none were successful. Years of enslavement rapidly became decades, and those decades soon became centuries. Generations of people, both native and non-natives of Thesilae, toiled under the sadistic rule of the Scourge, with no signs of relief on the horizon. Do not let it be said that no attempts at freeing Thesilae were made. Would-be heroes off all kind, many given power by the gods themselves, rose from time to time and occasionally made great strides in freeing their people. But most met the same fate, and were vaporized by the Scourge.

The Discordant Rebellions

It can not be said for certain what caused the Discordant Rebellions to succeed where all other attempts at uprising had failed before, but nevertheless they did succeed. Backed by the combined might of the Ethereal Gods and many of the Ascended Gods as well, several mortal heroes rose suddenly and seemingly all at once. Across the globe, dozens of rebel groups formed, and began to launch a variety of attacks on the Psionic Scourge. They worked strategically, destroying important infrastructure and power sources so that the Scourge could not focus their full power on squashing all of the rebels all at once. And although these assaults were not always coordinated (in fact, many of the rebel groups were unaware that other rebel groups existed at all), they proved to be more than the Scourge was prepared to handle. It was no quick war- the Discordant Rebellions spanned the course of several hundred years- but gradually the Scourge's numbers began to thin and, eventually, what remained of the Scourge returned to the stars from whence they came.

Description

Appearance

There is very little diversity among the Psionic Scourge, when it comes to their appearance. Individuals range from six to eight feet tall, and are typically quite thin. They have supple flesh covered in a thin layer of mucus which makes their skin glisten wetly when exposed to any form of light. Their skin is most often a bruised purple color, but occasionally a Psion is born with vibrant blue or sickly green skin instead. All Psions have milky white eyes and a beard of four to six long tentacles which they can move with just as much precision as their arms. These appendages have led Thesilaens to sometimes refer to Psions as "squids".

Biology

Since the Psions killed in the Discordant Rebellions were either recovered by their own kind, or were burned by the rebel forces before additional investigation could be done, very little is known about their physiology. However, they reportedly do not consume physical matter, instead feeding on the psionic energies which radiate off of sentient creatures. Over time, the creature a Psion is feeding on becomes duller and stupider, eventually dying outright when their brains can no longer support basic bodily functions such as breathing.

Personality

Psions rarely permitted mortals to access their thoughts, except for when they were communicating orders telepathically. As such, little is known about how they percieved themselves or the world around them. What few glimpses into Psionic thought mortals have been given has proven to be enigmatic at best and downright incomprehensible at worst. Study of Psionic artifacts is conducted with a great deal of care, due to the numerous cases of sudden-onset insanity which have resulted from careless interaction with them.

Artifacts

Notable Locations

General Information

Also Known As

• The Scourge
• Psions
• Squids (deragatory)

Creature Type
Aberration
Size
Medium
Average Height
6 to 8 ft.
Average Weight
125 lbs.
Average Lifespan
Unknown
Speed
25 ft. (hover)
Vision
Darkvision
Languages
Telepathy, understands all languages

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Location Information

Favored Climate
Any
Favored Terrain
Underground