“Being of Matter, you are -unfit-. You are -description-. Yet you are -flawed-. Your flaw is -thus-. The solution is -immaterial power-. Destroy thus -the flaw-. Destroy thus -the flawed-. Destroy thus -the material-.”
- - The process of becoming Infused
“01000100 01100101 01110011 01110100 01110010 01101111 01111001 00100000 01100010 01101111 01100100 01111001 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 - 01110010 01100101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100100 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 - 01100110 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 - 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000001 01100010 01111001 01110011 01110011 00100000 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 - 01100010 01100101 01100011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 00001101 00001010 0√∞”
- - Unknown
The Infused are the rank-and-file soldiery in the armies of the Void. Many were once living thins, dragged into the Abyssal Domain by the will of a particulary powerful user of Void Energy. There they are subjected to unceasing psychological torment as their reasons of existence are rendered to nothing. Broken in mind, even those possessing the strongest of wills succumb to the solution which is offered to them. When they return to this reality, they are not quite dead, but cannot be said to truly alive, either. Infused can rather be seen as inverted spirits - a shell of the Void in the shape of their former selves filled with -and animated by- the will that irrevocably changed them.
Thus crafted, the Infused have become one with the oblivion and achieved a dark enlightenment. They are not slaves; rather, they see everything in exactly the same way their changer does and hence are unquestionably loyal to it. No longer seeing themselves as flawed, the Infused feel finally whole and see it as their divine mission to spread this dark gift to all existence, so all might cease and be whole in nothingness.
This is not the only way an Infused might be created. The Abyss in which they dwell is the interplay between existence and non-existence. Only the most powerful Void users, such as Ara Maya and Xizothano Ada, know how to this interplay to their advantage. They can forge entirely new vessels to fill with their wills, vessels which were never living beings to begin with - though with the restriction that the species in whose image the vessels are shaped must have a strong connection to the Void to begin with. This can occur at an almost industrial scale and such beings, though originating from only a few individuals, make up the vast mayority of all Infused.
The hands, feet and heads of these beings are a searing white with black specks, soon turning to aquamarine limbs and necks that ripple with energy underneath the skin, and the to black torsos speckled with motes of white like distant stars. All Infused cast not shadows but pools of a cyan light, which likewise emanates from their eyes. Hollowed Infused -the older and more powerful amongst their kind- look slightly different, with limbs that are largely shaped from a dark aquamarine brine. The oldest and most powerful amongst these -the Hallowed Infused- have heads and tails composed of a similar un-matter, which like their fluid arms might bulge as if continuously affected by strong tides.
Upon their creation, all Infused gain new abilities to make up for their former flaws or unfulfilled desires, serving to fuel their feeling of wholeness. Yet at the same time, the two generations of existing Infused are radically different from one another - not in appearance, not in manner of creation, but in species. Indeed, the Infused created by Ada by are were without fail his revived followers: Nebulorians and Crimson Volver. In contrast, the Infused believed to be created by Ara Maya are drawn from a variety of sources, with some seemingly older than the existing universe.
Encoutered Infused
Common
Those species who used the Void imprint the shape of their kind on the interplay between IS and NOT that forms the Abyss, allowing the deities of that place to craft legions of Infused in their likeliness.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Void Eye Infused are believed to be created from the crew which first activated the Gate to the Abyss. Seen since the First Void War, they were encountered before contact was made with their species proper. The Void Eyes have ever sought tranquility but, pressured on all fronts by those who hate the Void, are often pressured into fighting. Infused Void Eyes can shape abyssal resonance into simulacra of their own eyes, which act as floating turrets to help them vanquish their foes. | |
| The Nebulorians have ever served the Void, but their layered society kept the knowledge of how to wield it contained to their elites. Not so with Infused Nebulorians. These can channel the Void into spheres, which they can either throw as a grenade or release to travel in a straight like a rocket. Needless to say, both variations are equally destructive to all matter caught up in the resulting detonations. | |
| The Volver owe everything to the Void, yet mostly forsake it. They claim to be genetically perfect, yet lack the capacity to take foes with them in death. Volver Infused do not differ from regular Volver in all but one aspect - they explode in an lingering brine pool upon destruction. This is no simple enhancement - it is also retribution for spurning ancient and thirsting gods. | |
| Robust and sturdy, the Khilai use the Void to enhance their famously-wrought armors. Their style of warfare is primarily defensive, often dual-weilding shields to keep their foes at bay. Yet sometimes this is not enough, and so Khilai Infused have the central energy node of their shields replaced with an Abyssal whirlpool that can erupt, geyser-like, to knock enemies back. | |
| Majestic griffon-like beings, Solarians worship light and abhor darkness. The Void says that light and darkness are but two sides of the same coin, and that in the end it will devour both. Of course the Solarians deny this to protect their faith, though they still came into contact with the Void due to their Fordanta Allies. As Solarians worship the sky, so do Soladian Infused wield the deep accordingly, blinding their enemies with abyssal blackness. | |
| Physically frail, the Izirainy are a peaceful species committed to two things: trade with aliens and spaceflight, which is the prerequisite to more trade with aliens. The power of the Void was offered to them by the Fordanta, and the Izirainy used it to travel vast distances and avoid wars. This desire for serenity resonated with the Abyss, and so Izirainy Infused can protect their allies in sheaths of glowing cyan unreality. | |
| The Vyendans are technocrats who were introduced to the Void thanks to their allies the Fordanta. They have Void technology for the sake of having Void technology, and believe that extensive cybernetics would keep them safe. This was partially true as those that ruled the Abyss spurned them. But use of the Void is use of the Void, and so Infused Vyendans came into being. As obsessed as the Vyendans with the acquisition of new technology, Vyendan Infused invert this to shut down technological and even essence-based skills. | |
| The Fordanta, much like the Khilai, traditionally used the Void for energy and navigation. So skillful were they that a well-trained Fordanta could match a supersoldier many of other states. It is little wonder, then, that the Void uses Infused crafted in their likeliness as commanders. Yet the value in taking out such warriors is obvious, and so these beings can create what is essentially a mix between a Bubble Shield and an Annihilation Field to protect themselves. |
Rare
Species that do not use the Void likewise don't leave their imprint on the Abyss. Therefore, Infused from these are individuals had to be tempted, and as a result are more powerful than the commonly-encountered amongst the Abyss-shaped. Most of them are drawn from the United Knights Alliance, for they oppose the Void most ardently, yet Infused from other species are not unknown.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Soldarians see themselves as model soldiers, and to a large extend this is true. Having evolved for low-oxygen enviornments, on most words with life on them the amount of oxygen makes them deceptively strong for their sizes. Of course the Infused do not depend upon oxygen for existence. Each is instead sublty bathed in an abyssal resonance which allows them to persist in reality. Soldarian Infused breathe this resonance like a gas, and so they become stronger the more of them are around each other. Knowing this, the godforms which rule the Abyss send them against their enemies in packs. | |
| The Nataak have ever preferred lightning-fast raids. Sadly, while young Nataak are indeed quite speedy, mature Nataak only get slower with age. Not so those of their kind who have become Infused, however. Infused Nataak can turn into a superfluid state at will, travelling across the ground with great speed before materialising elsewhere. This makes them infuriatingly hard to pin down, something which they exploit to full advantage. | |
| Antroths, much like Nebulorians, have a netural capacity for essence manipulation. A sort of niche partitioning has thus taken place: while Infused Nebulorians use their essence powers for offense, the much rarer Infused Antroths use theirs for area denial, strategically summoning abyssal upwellings to eat away at the land and any foolish enough to encroach on them. | |
| The Kulaung are noted for their skillful use of jetpacks, both to get to the enemy and to escape from them. Yet even with technology, there is always a speed limit they will have to adhere to, lest they smash themselves upon landing. Kulaung Infused, being created out of will and possibility, simply ignore this restriction. Both their landings and takeoffs create shockwaves of Void Energy that are devastating to nearby matter. | |
| The Vanara are natural shapeshifters able to take on the forms of other races, however they while they can change their form they cannot change their mass limiting the number of species they can copy. Vanara infused get around this limitation by drawing in matter from other dimensions allowing them to alter their mass and take of the forms of species large then they are. | |
| The Dragowar prefer melee combat to above anything else, and are good at it. Therefore, soldiers are often wise enough to stay away from the hulking warmongers. Dragowar Infused do not share this weakness, as by breathing in deeply they pull nearby matter to their into their maw like a vortex, simultaneously stripping them of their defenses. |