| Overview The Magog are a race of bipedal, furred sentient beings that were the single most feared species in all the known worlds of the former High Nenomause
History The Magog's origins are unknown. This ultra violent species seemed to appear out of nowhere attacking Known Space with great force. After a vicious strike on several of the Commonwealth worlds on the edge of the galaxy (most notably at Brandenburg Tor) the High Guard was stunned by the appearance of such an enemy; Commonwealth Military High Command felt that it no choice but to send the a ship to ascertain the source of the invasion. It would be during this mission that the ship discovered the World Ship. The Magog quickly responded with a Point Singularity Projector immobilizing the vessel while thousands of Magog warriors swarmed over just as it retreated back to slipstream. Every single member of the roughly 4000 member crew were subsequently killed by the Magog as the ship's ai wandered lost in the slipstream. The Treaty of Antares was soon signed to ensure an armistice, but the Commonwealth and the Nietzschean fleet practically annihilated each other and the Magog crossed the Quarantine Zone in great number destroying all forms of civilization. 300 years into the Long Night an ANDROMEDA-Class Medium Cruiser rediscovered the World Ship and dropped a Nova bomb destroying the World Ship's sun. It is estimated that it would take two to three years before the Magog could replace it. Eventually the World Ship was repaired and all attempts to destroy her proved too much; Not even every Nova Bomb had much effect. In a desperate gamble a captain tried ramming the World Ship, causing it to supernova and destroying the World Ship and killing the Magog leader and creator. Physiology The Magog are coarse-furred bipeds which average 4 feet 11 inches in height. They secrete paralytic venom from their fangs and are armed with razor-sharp claws with superior senses which include echolocation abilities, swift reflexes, and physical strength. In addition Magog warriors have been known to spit what appears to be a form acid from their digestive tracks directly into the face of their enemies immobilizing the victim before they feed on them. They're incredibly resistant to injury and damage and extremely intelligent though Magog cunning seems almost entirely directed toward killing other sentient beings or using them as unwilling hosts for their progeny. Though they can and have been known to use weapons they usually do not, prefering to swarm their opponents on foot fearlessly charging over the bodies of other dead Magog to attack. Reproductive Method The Magog are all one gender and reproduce by laying eggs in the paralyzed bodies of large sentient organisms. The Magog "parent" then watches over the host for the time it takes for its young to hatch and eat their way out of the host organism who dies a slow agonizing death. Interestingly the resulting Magog young seem to contain small amounts of DNA from the host as well as the Magog parent. The rate at which Magog offspring grow to physical adulthood is believed to be a function of how much food is available to the young. This fact in addition to the Magog's numerous offensive adaptations have lead many to believe that the Magog were originally engineered by the Spirit of the Abyss. Culture Magog society seems to be little more than an aggressive all-consuming horde. They produce no distinguishable art, music, literature, or other signs of culture. It's not known how such an aggressive, uncooperative species could have developed the spaceflight capabilities and sophisticated technologies the Magog are known to possess. In fact some researchers theorize that the Magog are not a natural species at all but rather some kind of bio-engineered weapon programmed to replicate themselves and destroy everything they come in contact with. Only the Magog know for certain and they've steadfastly refused to answer questions regarding their own origins. While the Magog are an aggressive species they do not hate their enemies. To them it is simple matter of predator vs prey with themselves as predators and with every sentient being in the known worlds as prey. It should be noted that the Magog do have a concept of religion as they worship and obey the Spirit of the Abyss like it is a god. Within the Horde the possession of weapons and armor is a sign of rank and ability to command other non-armored Magog. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| As a general rule Magog hardware is hunted down whenever it's seen; However they have World Ships and Swarm Ships. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Tiamist Magog. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview. The Way also known as Wayism is a pacifist religion founded by the Magog prophet The Anointed One. It teaches about an entity of love and peace called The Divine. The "People of the Way" (Wayist) follow this religion. Beliefs. Wayism is presented as an omni-religion with an overall overtone of Zen-Buudhism. The phrase 'blessed be' which is taken from Wicca/neo-paganism is frequently used by believers. Some Wayist monasteries reflect a gothic architectural inspiration that is part of monotheistic religions. Divine. The Divine is the term used for the god figure in The Way religion. It is stated to be the sentient life force of the universe itself. History. The People of the Way were formed following the Nietzschean Uprising against the Systems Commonwealth which saw the collapse of that great interstellar civilization. In the aftermath of the Fall and the Long Night the Magog emerged from the Magog Quarantine Zone in large numbers by CY 9886 and began to attack all of known space. Amongst the worlds they attacked was one where a human holy man was paralyzed by the Magog and later infested with Magog eggs. He managed to remain conscious during the entirety of the incubation period and spoke to his Magog captors of the various human religions of his world as well as a number of philosophies. His words had a resounding effect on the Magog who renounced violence and thus created the Wayists. Though the holy man died in the birthing process of the Magog progeny, these newborn became the first converts of the new religion who rallied behind the teachings of their prophet, a Magog that was only known as the "Anointed." By 9892 the Wayists came upon the isolated world of Kalfus IV and renamed it Krishnamurti which became the center of their learning as well as their young religions first Novitiate. Following the death of the Anointed the religion was held by a number of successors who held the title of Keeper of the Way. Similar feats of conversion of feral Magog continued in the years afterwards with Brother Thaddeus Blake travelling into a horde of Magog on the planet Kingfisher and converted them to the Way. The Magog Restorians replaced attempted to replace several key Wayist with nanobot copy as part of their plans to destroy the nacent human defense leagues. A Wayist discovered the Hajira and converted their species into Wayists and also attempted to retain their innocence due to the fact that they possessed genetic memory of their ancestors. However the colony was under attack from slavers. Brother Blake was killed in the struggle as he attempted to prevent the Hajira from learning violence. In desperation the Hajira known as Tiama raped a Magog and implanted his eggs in her body. The newborn progeny were successful in eliminating the slavers and retained the Hajira genetic memory thus spawning an entire brood of Wayists warrior monks at the expense of the Hajira's innocence. Background. Much of the background and teachings of the Wayists were based around the words of the Anointed, based on an amalgamation of several human philosophies. As a result of those teachings the Wayists tended to be peaceful as well as generous beings that consisted of believers from many different species. Their ultimate goal was to strive for good and follow the path shown by the Anointed. This remained the case even after the Anointed had passed away with the Wayists following his successors. The belief of the Wayists centered around a deity that encompassed all of existence which they called the "Divine" which was responsible for creating everything. Amongst the ranks of the People of the Way included clergy of many different orders. There were a number of different philosophical paths within the Way which included "the Mountain Path." This belief was one of acceptance by the believer of the surrounding environment and they forsook medicinal treatments, instead accepting even disease as part of their faith. Locations. "When events test men, angels then appear." -- Wayist Verse CY 1015. "My pain belongs to the Divine. It is like air. It is like water." | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tiamist Magog. Tiama (last name unknown) was a devoutly religious Hajira who fought for the freedom of her people against the slavers who threatened their planet. She had a younger brother who sought a less violent solution and became a Wayist. Tiama ultimately died after stealing genetic material from a Wayist Magog which she used to infest herself with Magog larvae in an attempt to create fierce warriors to assist the Hajira in their battle. The genetic memory Hajira inherit from their parents made her Magog offspring far less feral in a general sense than their species. In the end her sacrifice was instrumental in driving back the slavers and her "children" remained with the community under the care of Arun. Since then some of Tiama's children have left Serendpity with Hajira caretakers. They have settled many world protecting their charges- Rather pointedly. Tiamist Magog espouse peace as an ideal but will not let ANYONE threaten their charges. They will not lift a finger in self-defense but if anyone threatens a Hajira they will kill without remorse, pity, or hesitation, and feel absolutely no remorse for whatever suffering they inflict in their victims; Perhaps due to the nature of their founding (Tiama's "rape" of Rev Bem) they breed in their victims whenever possible. Any would-be Tiamist Magog that shows the SLIGHTEST deviation from the breeding with willing victims or would be victimizers is slain without pity but isn't used for breeding as their genetic memory might contaminate future generations- This line is finished and they want nothing to do with it. Note: Tiamist Magog only consider the Hajira especially the members of their own community as charges unless the local authorities claim an outsider as one of the community. If an REF member regardless of why he's there or what he's doing is threatened by another outsider the Tiamists in the community will not do much to help him unless it is a Magog that has attacked him or the local authorities ask for the assistance. That is why Hajira settlements that have joined the UGC have made it a point to inform their Tiamists that UGC members on their worlds are friends. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal Standing. Wayist Magog have NO rights under UGC law; Part of the reason is the Restorian counter-cult. The Restorians were wiped out before even the coming of the UGC but the specter of their outrages hangs heavy upon the Wayist movement. The Tiamists fare no better; Their only 'legal' protection is in the presence of Hajira settlers who will not brook their favored guards to be harmed- The only exception to their anti-violent stance. They are legally treated of the property of the Hajira who are FULLY responsible for the actions of their "pets." This notwithstanding Wayist and Tiamist Magog are for the time being considered under the protection of the UGC in the same sense that cattle are, although in this case the "cattle" have certain rights; Murdering a Wayist or Tiamist Magog can be a capital offences. For their part the Wayist and Tiamist Magog take very little offense; They themselves can't tell the difference between their members and wild Magog if the wild Magog is wearing the Orange robes of the Wayist or the Yellow robes of a Tiamist and have on occasion killed fellow members of their own and each other's factions is "unfortunate misunderstandings." | |||||||||||||||||||||
| As a general rule Magog hardware is hunted down whenever it's seen; Clearly marked Wayist and Tiamist Magog are exempt. They are authorized to have World Ships and Swarm Ships; However, these are CAREFULLY tracked. Wayist Magog rarely make use of Swarm Ships since they don't need an attack platform. Tiamist Magog don't make use of World Ships, since they always traveling with their Hajira protectees. They paint their ships very bright colors to make them easier to see; They also have installed radio transponders so that other parties can see them on radar. They also use individual sized rail guns though Tiamists are much more likely to use them in defense of a charge. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Krishnamurti. Location. A remote and uninhabited world during the Commonwealth era, Krishnamurti's (formally known as Kalfus IV) isolation made it an ideal location for the newly-formed Way to establish the young religion's first Novitiate in CY 9892. Krishnamurti remains a main center of Wayist learning and activity to this day. Some in the Wayist hierarchy have proposed opening the planet to outside visitors seeking spiritual enlightenment or natural wonder (the planet's Shouting Cliffs are famous throughout known space), a move has been strongly opposed by the Novitiate's administrators. The planet has however been opened up to UGC and High Nenomause Commonwealth observers to ensure that the Wayist movement remains a truly peaceful movement; A full legion of Swiss Custodes are garrisoned here with orders to defend the Wayists and massacre them on a moment's notice (an order the Novitiate is well aware of and has adamantly refused to oppose). Starlight and Stillwater Orbital Monastery. Starlight and Stillwater Orbital Monastery is a Drift originally located on a large asteroid in the Omicron Theta system, and is a well-known place of contemplation and learning operated by the Wayist faith. Visitors are greeted by the monastery's famous hand-carved statue of the Anointed, who holds the always-lit Eternal Flame of Knowledge in his hand. Originally founded by Restorians who operated the station as an outpost, the plot was uncovered, and the Restorians massacred- Unfortunately, a lot of innocent Wayist Magog were killed as well, a shame the Wayist movement has yet to fully absolve itself of, even if everyone else has long since commended them for "purging" the infiltrators. There had been an interest to move the observatory to Kishnamurti for many years; However, until the UGC came along with fold technology, it was impracticable. With the Council's help, Starlight And Stillwater now sits on the edge of the Sukarit Globular Cluster. | |||||||||||||||||||||
