Fiction:Revolution and Redemption/Year One

This is an introduction to the events of the Marks of Birthright story arc. Be aware that it is a more detailed narrative in order to explain the Xol'Etra's way of thinking as well as the introduction to the Singul'Aren entity.

It Begins
Calm. Serene. Those were the words that crossed the mind of a certain Xol'Etra in an uncharted region of space. He floated alone, constantly turning in an unpredictable direction in its own center, majestically stretching its hands to point opposite directions from each other and with his glowing eyes shinning with a dense, yet attractive light. If seeing a Xol'Etra standing watch on his full glory wasn't enough, perhaps the place where he was observing that galaxy was even more appealing.

He stood right outside the immense and incredible gravitational pull of a galaxy's core, nurturing from its gravity waves and maintaining a stable position just above its very "hole".

Magnificent indeed.

His thoughts were so powerful, he could easily transmit those warm thoughts about peace and serenity throughout the entire waves of different psionic links he sensed across the many star systems around the galaxy.

He oversaw with painless waves of psionic energy, quickly examining every single creature with psionic potential. The Xol'Etra were an immortal, god-like race for many organizations and civilizations of the world, yet their social traits were as low as a warring, degraded empire whose sole purpose is war. They were indifferent to others, they only saw order and balance. They existed to bring balance to these species, and that required a sacrifice a common Xol'Etra wouldn't even call a risk.

For him, as well as for every Xol'Etra out there, there were three types of living beings in all. First, were the people with no psionic potential at all, those people could live their lives being their own masters, Xol'Etra fought to preserve them as they could prove potent assets in the future. Second, those with enough psionic potential to prove useful to keep balance in the universe. These were immediately exposed to the Pharia essence, their psionic link, and became guardians of Order. If they were converted by their own will or forcefully converted because of past criminal tendencies with those powers it did not matter, for their would serve the Xol'Etra glorious cause for eternity.

However, that calm and serenity the Xol'Etra felt was not because everything was going according to plan. More like it, he was fascinated on the way the many intelligent forms of life developed in that galaxy. For instance, as he went deeper into the galactic core he could sense a million minds with a low developed yet still progressive psionic utility in their daily affairs. They defied gravity and had an enormous size, living and nurturing in a photosynthetic way on a lonely white dwarf star. He kept his mind long enough to understand their behavior. These "sentient-asteroids" only purpose was to hunt and feed of the radiation contained by the stars in every step of their evolutionary process. Still, he was marveled in the way they kept selecting their 'prey' so much as to avoid stars with capability of holding life. The Xol'Etra carefully took a sample of the methodic way of thinking in that species. His mind then replicated the information, and sought a good way of using selective individuals of that species for his people's own purposes, the Universe's purposes.

In that very moment however, part of his focus lay within the dangerous pits of a planetary nebulae. There a dozen of powerful consciousness stayed put, awaiting their master's orders. They all floated, their own psionic energies protecting them from the void of space, in a synchronized way while preventing the numerous heat waves the nebulae produced to move them away from their position. They were completely still. The Xol'Etra had them hiding in purpose, since he was well aware that there had been sightings of several ships belonging to the reckless cult of the Deathmarch. Something like that would normally go unnoticed by a Xol'Etra when the evil-doers attempted to attack an advanced civilization, such advanced species could counter the attackers or simply evade it, flee. The cult was, after all, a part of balance and order as well.

This time was different. This time, there was no potential opposition to the cult in that galaxy that could successfully maintain balance. If the evil-doers should arrive, they would easily corrupt all that peace and serenity he had communed with the galaxy. Such was the reason he had requested a small squad of psionic servants to repel the invaders, even if he could easily single-handle the cult.

Many would call it mercy. They called it Balance.

The Psionic lord quickly took a few moments to enter the mind of one of them in particular. He was bigger than most of the individuals there, possessing a reptilian form and wearing a distinctive helmet that would cause terror in the Xol'Etra's enemies almost instantly.

For him, he was merely a pawn. For the galaxy however, he was known as Master Kroc.

The hero of times past against the demonic Legion of the Deathmarch was too powerful to die on the faithful moment the Xol'Etra spawned into existence. His consciousness wandered in disarray across the planes of reality itself until it was collected by his own 'breed'. A tragic outcome, even for a Xol'Etra's way of thinking. Still, there was nothing that could be done, Kroc was useful for the cause of Order and Balance in the Universe. No matter how tragic and heroic an individual's story was, if his/her present state had purpose inside the transcendent psionic lords, he would be recruited either way.

However, the psionic aura that surrounded Master Kroc was enough to break the Xol'Etra's power at will. Moreover, this magnificent, all powerful being was not sure if Kroc had decided to remain under his control or rather break and fight for the Xol'Etra under his own terms. That Civatron's systematic and strategic thinking was all the way too elusive for a Xol'Etra to notice. Besides, there was also the fact that he could not enter that warrior's mind fully.

The Xol'Etra's eyes suddenly shone even more.

Another link connected into the Xol'Etra's psionic entanglement, unknown to what the being had ever sensed in his transfinite existence. It surprisingly appeared in the same cluster where his minions had been hiding.

It was not a ship nor a fleet belonging to the cult of the Deathmarch. However, he could sense the same signature demonic energy in that thing that normally would appear in a powerful cultist, or even a Xhodocto.

He ordered his warriors to attack, as he had been ordered not to let any demonic presence into the galactic territory. He would have no mercy to that intruder, since that place was protected by the Xol'Etra's might.

"Anomaly detected. Proceed to engage, furthermore eliminate." he coldly announced to his servants.

However, his psionic link to them was disturbed. He suddenly began to sense a chaotic wave of messages from the individual minds of his squad. He amplified his power to get a better analysis of the situation.

What he saw was surely surprising.

The intruder had long sensed the Xol'Etra hunters and had purposely arrived near their location to provoke a fight. The enemy seemed more and more focused on eliminating the psionic users as the battle went on, and was successful in doing so.

As the psionic signals from his warriors began to fade from his control, he quickly closed his arms unto his chest, and proceeded to channel his energies in order to teleport to that location.

In an instant, he was one kilometer away from the fight.

He witnessed the different bodies, ethereal and corporeal, of his warriors dispersed through space and slowly disintegrating into psionic dust.

They had been destroyed, annihilated by an unknown force of chaos.

Only one of the servants remained. The one he could not fully control: Master Kroc.

The Krassio was swiftly fighting and barely holding against the creature attacking him. Flying, attacking, defending himself against the violent cuts of his opponent.

The Xol'Etra glanced at the enemy for the first time. It was dark skinned, no noticeable eyes, four arms and a powerful demonic aura. It was a formidable foe, the psionic Lord was fascinated.

He did not budge, he wanted to study this new creature.

Meanwhile, Kroc was grasping his last moments as well as he could. The creature had at some point finally struck a deadly blow. He floated defenseless in the void of space, awaiting the creature's final blow.

The Demonic entity did not spared even a second, as it quickly fired a blow of darkish flames towards the Krassio.

Yet it did not reach its mark.

Kroc opened his eyes. His mind seemingly shocked as the flame stood motionless before his chest, just a few meters away from him.

The Xol'Etra's eyes opened even more, his mind sensed a greater force now. Somehow, a more powerful entity had appeared right before his eyes.

The new combatant slowly made himself visible. The Xol'Etra watched as a bigger being appeared, filled with psionic energy to the core, yet there was something else into his power the Xol'Etra could not even grasp, something superior to the very concept of psionic energy or the Pharia itself.

The new entity slowly touched the flame, and it was dissolved... no, transformed into a new type of power bolt. The newly formed attack flew towards the enemy creature and made a clear hit in its chest.

The creature flew without being able to stop for a few kilometers away when it regained consciousness again. The Xol'Etra noticed that the creature felt in disadvantage.

His senses quickly served him right, as the demonic entity casted a dark flame and entered it, disappearing from his line of sight into a wall of darkness the Xol'Etra could not surpass.

The battle was over, it seemed. The psionic lord was now intrigued with the being holding the overpowered psionic aura.

It was not a Xol'Etra, he would simply recognize its signature power. Somehow it felt familiar, but it was simply greater and different.

More over, it disrupted the order and balance his kin had fought to protect for a while now.

He prepared his mind to attack, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden detection of several more psionic links entering that area.

Suddenly, a vast fleet had arrived, using psionic portals to bend space and time and diminish the time-span of traveling through the cosmos. The Xol'Etra recognized the myriads of vessels almost instantly. One of the two groups were the Krass, once holding the title of Psionic lords themselves. However, there were only a few million arriving there compared to the exact six trillion Krass peacefully inhabiting three galaxies in a far corner of another multiverse, protected and serving the new holders of the title with much antipathy towards their new masters. The second group and the smallest, was the entirety of the void dwellers called "Vaalaa" by those few organizations that know them. They had managed to reach the number of 1.4 million ever since the conflict dubbed "Second Tigris War" by many species. They were thriving, but they had always evaded the Xol'Etra constant recruitment for their already infinite army of servants.

Why were they in a place where the Xol'Etra had a clear presence? Moreover, Why would they coincidentally appear the same time as those two enigmatic entities?

The answer seemed to be obvious: the superior psionic form floating before him.

Even the psionic lord himself was involuntarily attracted to him, so it was logical to assume the others, also psionic entities, had sensed him and had come to see it for themselves.

That being was certainly disrupting balance by the minute.

He had to be eliminated... No, more like it, he had to be assimilated into the Pharia, he had to become the Xol'Etra's minion and bring that sophisticated essence to them.

However, he also came to the logical conclusion that the superior psionic form was out of his league, and more importantly, that he was already aware of his presence.

He was not able to do anything from the beginning, the Xol'Etra felt as a mere observer of the recent chain of events. As such, he projected himself away from there, he needed to rally with his kin and retaliate to such threat to their order and balance.

He casted away, each time farther and farther until he could no longer sense them.

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