Secret Characters #4 - THE THIRD CREATURE

Welcome to the fourth post of Secret Character Month, an ongoing project to develop art for upcoming arcs in Cryopod Refresh. Please be aware that this post and the others after it are going to contain spoilers.

You've been warned.

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The Volgrim.

A name that channels fear throughout demonkind. The so-called protectors of the galaxy. A Type-3 civilization that has expanded their territory to encompass the entirety of the Milky Way. They have harnessed the energy of thousands of stars. They stand atop a pyramid of life where no other subjugated species may touch them.

In Cryopod Classic, the Volgrim were a humanlike species. They resembled Lucifer, in that they had humanoid bodies and possessed a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.

But, that is no longer the case.

The Volgrim in Refresh are a completely different species compared to the ones that appeared in Cryopod Classic.

While the Volgrim in Cryopod Classic were something of a hivemind, with five 'Founders' at the top of their hierarchy, the Volgrim in Refresh are anything but. They include five visually distinct sub-species, each one with its own goals and intentions. Some are warlike. Others, peaceful. What they all share in common is their desire to explore the known universe and to improve their species to its highest limits.

Of course, where their views differ... that is what makes them far more interesting than their incarnation in Classic.

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Today's post is all about the third of the five Volgrim subspecies: The Changelings. 

Changelings are the second largest in population among all of the Volgrim. Compared to the Ascended, their numbers are fairly minuscule, but they make up for it by controlling vast numbers of worlds. While Psions use the worlds under their control for hunting and military purposes, the Changelings rarely interact with or modify theirs.

Above all other things, Changelings are observers. They study lower life forms, take notes, and go out of their way to avoid interaction. Much like the Federation's Prime Directive, Changelings have a strict code about non-interference with primitive life-forms. Of course, nothing beats hands-on observation, which is where their name comes from.

Changelings have a unique ability to change their appearance. Each member of the Changeling subspecies is bred and created inside of a chemical vat. Their bodies, flexibile like few others, will be morphed and shifted to blend in with the native populations of given planets. They tend to infiltrate the highest echelons of various primitive societies, often passing legislation or enacting laws to slow the growth of said species; all to prevent them from achieving Technology Level X, where X is a number indicating space and warp travel.

For centuries, rumors spread around Earth about the existence of 'lizard-people,' or 'reptilians' infiltrating the highest levels of government. Ancient Aliens were often hinted at assisting in the creation of the Pyramids of Giza, or of Stonehenge's wondrous stone circle. Naturally, such silly conspiracies were laughed off by the general public, but little did humanity know; their existence was not a joke. They controlled Earth from the top down, but only a select few people knew. Even they barely understood the scope of the Volgrim's control.

Humanity, firmly under the thumb of the Volgrim, were little more than puppets dancing in the grasp of alien overlords. But, one may ask, what changed? What led to the Energy Wars? Only time will tell.

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A funny fact: Changelings were the easiest Volgrim subspecies to design. In fact, they were the first. The entire reason there are five subspecies instead of making all Volgrim a single Changeling species is to insert conflict and warring subfactions into the story. As such, I have very little beta artwork to post for them.

Pretty straightforward. One thing you guys may notice in the final WIP design is that there is a strange symbol on the Changeling's chest. MWTX is going to create five custom faction logos for each subspecies, but that will be the final step. In the future, I will update the Volgrim designs to include their logos.

The next Volgrim design will be for the Technopaths! Ooooh, spooky!

Thanks for reading!