Aeternapes

"I’ve been in the field for decades now, and not once have I come across an enigma like the Aeternapes."

— Anonymous zoologist

The Aeternapes, better known as Lux Monkeys, are a non-sapient species of apes found all across Cosmoria. This is largely due to their highly nomadic nature, as the species migrates to different worlds seemingly at random. However, instead of being intentionally introduced to said worlds or smuggling themselves aboard ships, the Aeternapes travel by shifting through the Lux Aeterna itself.

Characteristics

Appearance

The Aeternapes are a simian species, standing as tall as an adolescent human. Their bodies are covered in dark fur, though it becomes brightly-colored as they become charged with Aeternal Energy. They possess blunted claws on their toes and fingertips, which helps them with climbing on many different surfaces. Their upper and lower canine teeth protrude slightly out of their mouths, with males having bigger teeth than females. They have three eyes, with their central eye seemingly glazed over. However, they are capable of seeing from this eye, except that the only thing that this eye sees is sources of Aeternal Energy, particularly the energy that Magi give off.

Biology

Aeternapes possess a special organ in their brains that is connected to their third eye. This organ, a semi-crystalline structure located near the frontal lobe, is known as the “thaumic sensor”. The thaumic sensor picks up traces of Aeternal Energy in the environment, which allows Aeternapes to track it down easily. When they get close enough to the source, the Aeternape goes into a frenzy, much like a shark that smells blood in the water. It will then proceed to attack the source, seeking to consume its Aeternal Energy. In their frenzied state, an Aeternape’s fur will begin to glow brightly, growing in intensity as more of their kind enter the frenzy.

Aeternapes are omnivores, but their preferred food is the flesh of thaumically-sensitive beings such as Magi. They primarily use group tactics to try and lure prey into a corner, pouncing on it and viciously beating it to death. Once they have consumed all the Aeternal Energy of their prey, they revert back to their calm state, going about their business like nothing had even happened.

Lustrous Aeternapes

Rarely, an Aeternape will be born with a shimmering coat of silver fur. It is theorized that they are born when a female Aeternape enters its frenzied state while pregnant, but this has not been confirmed. They are larger and more aggressive than regular Aeternapes, easily becoming the alphas of their troop. When they become enraged, their fur turns to a bright golden color, letting loose powerful arcs of Aeternal Energy. They are even able to activate their teleportation abilities at will, jumping short distances to close the gap between them and their prey.

Behavior

Aeternapes live in groups of up to several dozen individuals, known as a “troop” led by the largest one among them. The troop travels across whatever planet they land on, searching for any source of food. Aeternapes in civilized areas can often be seen raiding farms and storehouses, leading to many across Cosmoria seeing them as little more than pests. It is not uncommon to see farmers hiring people to shoot any Lux Monkeys that intrude on their property.

Should there be no food left in their current environment, the troop will gather in a large circle around the alpha. They will start to wildly scream into the air, building up more and more Aeternal Energy in their bodies. When the energy reaches a critical point, the entire troop vanishes, disappearing in a massive flash. The troop will then reappear on another planet, but they have no control over what world they will end up on. It could range from anything from a lush jungle paradise to a hellish volcanic planet. Given that this ability takes a large amount of energy to be used, any teleporting troop that finds itself on a world without food will eventually die off.

History

Origins

No one in Cosmoria is sure where the Aeternapes even came from. Some say that they evolved naturally, gaining their teleportation powers in response to threats in their environment. Others claim that the species was artificially created or, in some circles, taken from their original homeworld and experimented on. However, the truth is far more ancient than what the peoples of today think.

The Aeternapes are actually an evolutionary offshoot of the Dökkálfar, the ancient species created by Father Zaphenim that would later evolve into other races such as humans, Vexlores, and Ekrosians. The Dökkálfar that would become the Aeternapes were those who chose to live on the Hedonist Worlds, the paradises for mortal beings created by Mother Sachitel. The Dökkálfar enjoyed peaceful lives on these worlds, all their troubles seemingly gone as they lived under the watchful eye of the Second Angel. However, as time went on, the Dökkálfar began to lose much of their mental acuity, their millennia of living in ignorant bliss beginning to show its effects. They grew shorter, their bodies being covered in thick fur as their minds continued to deteriorate. Eventually, the Dökkálfar became little more than animals, left on their Hedonist Worlds by their own mistakes. But despite their loss of sapience and the ability to pilot spacecraft, the devolved Dökkálfar were still able to escape into wider Cosmoria.

During their long period of evolution, their brains began to change in a strange way. Thanks to their years of consuming thaumically-sensitive foodstuffs found on the Hedonist Worlds, the Dökkálfar grew the semi-crystalline “thaumic sensor.” This provided them with not only the ability to seek out sources of Aeternal Energy, but to establish a short-lived connection with the Lux Aeterna should enough of them convene. Sensing a possible threat, the Cherubic Sentries stationed on these Hedonist Worlds sought to exterminate the Dökkálfar before they could spread out. However, the Dökkálfar were long gone by the time the Sentries arrived, vanishing into the unforgiving currents of the Lux Aeterna.

The Plague of Apes

The Dökkálfar would not be seen again for a very long time, millions of years going by before being seen again. They would be encountered around 127,000 BCE by explorers from Sedrua as they were settling a forested world they found suitable for colonization. The Dökkálfar were largely ignored by the Sedruans at first, being documented as just another new species for their databanks. They would soon come to realize their true nature when a group of Sedruan biologists studying a troop of Dökkálfar witnessed one of their teleporting events. When the troop rematerialized back into the material plane, they found themselves right in the middle of a Sedruan city, and right in front of a pair of traveling Magi at that. Upon sensing the large amount of Aeternal Energy that the pair gave off, the entire troop entered their frenzied state, lunging at the surprised Magi. The pair was quickly torn apart, with the troop being killed by law enforcement shortly afterwards.

While initially believed to be little more than a one-off incident, Dökkálfar troops began popping up on more Sedruan worlds, with some even being seen as far away as Florathel. The Sedruan government quickly scrambled their science teams, capturing many specimens to see just what made these creatures tick. Despite their best containment efforts, they weren’t able to stop the troops they captured from teleporting away. It was even worse for the science teams that had Magi in their ranks, as they had to deal with dozens of raging Dökkálfar constantly bashing on the walls of their cells. Upon finding out the Dökkálfar traveled through the Lux Aeterna whenever they teleported, the species was renamed as the Aeternapes.

Stopping The Spread

As the scientists slowly increased their understanding of the creatures, the Sedruan government proceeded to issue a shoot-on-sight order for any Aeternapes found, offering substantial payments for each one killed. This attracted many hunters eager for a payday, but the species’ teleportation powers quickly proved to be an issue for any hunting parties tracking them. Eventually, Sedruan scientists devised a method of tracking the Aeternapes by introducing foods filled with nanobots that would enter the bloodstreams of the Aeternapes upon being eaten, activating after a certain time.

With their new tracking methods, the hunters were easily able to trick the Aeterapes into vanishing before striking while the troop was weak. Without the energy to fight back, the Aeternapes were slaughtered en masse, their numbers getting so low that they were driven into near-extinction. The survivors, those lucky few that did not eat the nanobot-spiked foods, went into hiding.

The Return of the Aeternapes

With the mass culling of the Aeternapes, the Sedruan government rejoiced as they thought they had eliminated what had been a pesky invasive species. However, the Aeternapes had not been wiped out. Some survivors remained, hiding on far-flung worlds not yet encountered by any starfaring civilization. From these planets, there was more than enough food for them to not have to teleport anywhere for many millennia, slowly rebuilding their numbers as time went on.

Several thousand years later, as the Triumvirate Civilization crumbled and Sedrua shrank in size, as new powers took their place, they began to encounter the Aeternapes once again. While nowhere near as widespread as they once were in ancient times, the Aeternapes are still regarded as one of the more dangerous invasive species, with people constantly reminded to remain on high alert for any sign of them.