Xerthari

11

From the crimson dunes of Xyraen Prime to the frozen void of the Ovinex Expanse, the bonded mercenaries Threxil and Vaeryn are whispered legends—The Crimson Fangs. Neither mortal nor machine, they are Xerthari, an ancient vampyric species born in the eternal darkness of Nerathos, a rogue planet drifting beyond starlight. Theirs is a species of hunger, feeding on essence, the life-force that hums beneath all living things. To starve is to wither into madness; to feed is to thrive. Threxil and Vaeryn were bound by the Symbraxis Rite, a rare ritual uniting two Xerthari into one shared consciousness. Threxil is the silent predator, a master of the glaive whose strikes rend flesh with inhuman speed. Vaeryn, his voice and counterpart, wields the void itself, conjuring crushing waves of shadow that devour minds. Though separate in form, they think as one—if one should perish, the other would crumble to dust. Exiled centuries ago during the Xerthari civil wars, they abandoned the dark tunnels of Nerathos to walk among the stars. Aboard their vessel, the Shadowblight, they became mercenaries-for-hire, carving a reputation as death incarnate. Empires have risen and fallen beneath their blades; warlords whisper their names with awe and fear. Yet for all their power, they are not driven by greed. They hunt the Endspark, an artifact of myth said to restore dying worlds and silence the hunger that torments their kind. To them, it is salvation, the chance to transcend their curse. But to find it, they must walk a path of alliances and blood, seeking those brave—or foolish—enough to stand beside them. When the Crimson Fangs cross your path, one question remains: will you fight with them or become their prey?