Crinoor
| The Crinoor | |
|---|---|
 A Crinoor foot soldier on Avalon. | |
| First appearance | DYOS 11 |
| No. appearances | Several |
| Created by | Gruekiller |
| Profile | |
| Nickname(s) | Carnivorous Space Sea Lilies |
| Aliases | 'The Dark Scourge', 'Star Demons' |
| Address | Z'sto, Andromeda Galaxy |
| Nationality |  Crinoor Empire |
Crinoor are a race of hyper-advanced echinoderm-like creatures from the plant Z'sto in the Andromeda Galaxy. They are feared throughout the galaxy for their cruelty and immense military prowess.
History
For six-hundred thousand years they have scourged the Andromeda galaxy, causing untold misery and torment to the less advanced denizens of their local stellar neighborhood. Their homeworld, Z'sto, is said to be a world of fire and sulfur seas, much resembling some traditional Earth depictions of Hell (or Quaylespace). The first emperor of Z'sto, Rak'un the 'Magnificent', unified the world in a ten-hour war, or so Crinoor accounts say. After the unification of their homeworld, the Crinoor quickly developed Pathspace capability, affording them dominion over their arm of the Andromeda Galaxy. A grouping of six worlds in their local cluster were subjugated, and terraformed extensively to be more hospitable to their conquerors.
The first Crinoor raid on the Milky Way was approximately around the western Earth date of 1003 CE, when the inhabitants of a planet called Phana along the edge of the galaxy were plundered by the Crinoor, and their cities razed. Since then, the Crinoor have become a regular presence along the outer rim of the Milky Way, particularly the Orion arm, and are among the most infamous of all races.
DYOS XI
Around a decade before the events of DYOS XI, the Crinoor razed and blockaded the cities of Avalon, a human-populated world near the far tip of the Orion Arm. The planet contained uncommonly large reserves of Ununpentium, a rare metal described by some as 'galactic hemp' for its plethora of uses. For years the Avalonians suffered, until Gruekiller, fleeing Transatlasian forces in the company of Master Shake and Valerie, arrived in orbit. Running afoul of the Crinoor blockade, his shuttlecraft was forced to crash-land on the surface, outside of the city of New Damascus.
Making contact with the Avalonian humans, Gruekiller offered his services in the expulsion of the Crinoor from the system. Valerie soon encountered a few Crinoor again on the surface, readily dispatching them. Soon thereafter, Gruekiller, donning his trademark suit of power armor, flew into orbit, breaking into the Crinoor flagship. Admiral Kluth, leader of Crinoor forces in the system, ordered the intruder slain. When Gruekiller easily defeated the Crinoor soldiers on the bridge, Kluth made his escape, managing to take an escape pod and leaving the ship behind.
As a parting blow, Kluth ordered his fleet to fire on the flagship, now comandeered by Gruekiller. Overriding the halting thrusters on the fleet with a special code, Gruekiller himself bailed from the ship, leaving the entire fleet to barrel directly into an asteroid belt, thus ending the Crinoor presence in the system.
Kluth, escaping unscathed, vowed revenge on the upstart Gruekiller.
Biology
The Crinoor passingly resemble the Earth echinoderms known as crinoids, or sea lilies in some fashion, due to the large tendrils on their heads, but lack the distinctive five-pointed radial symmetry of the cnidarian phylum. Bipedal with sucker-shaped feet, Crinoor are forced to waddle awkwardly for locomotion. Thus, in combat, they usually make use of jetpacks for swift motion. Crinoor blood is black, and far more viscous than that of any humanoid local to the Milky Way.
Crinoor are well-suited for an aquatic environment, and rely on high amounts of sulfur to survive. Their eyes dry out quickly in oxygen, requiring them to wear masks when off-world. They have a ternary cardiovascular system, with three 'hearts' located near the gut.
