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Herd animal ancestry |
The Qugu were an intelligent species that lived on their home planet of Seht and five other star systems before being rendered extinct by the Hive. They had black eyes and cephalopod-like bodies mounted on two inverted legs with a singular arm protruding from the chest, all cloaked with a large mane of fifteen tentacles[1].
History
The Qugu evolved from herd animals and were infected by a virus that profoundly influenced their society. The virus rewrote the Qugu's genetic code so that they were compelled to ritualistically offer their limbs to be amputated by another species called Jaw-beasts. Once the massive, sessile jaw-beasts had consumed Qugu cells, the virus converted the cells into eggs, which would develop and eventually hatch within the jaw-beasts. In turn, the jaw-beasts produced a nectar-like substance that the Qugu would consume to experience hallucinogenic visions.[2].
The Qugu homeworld was called Seht and orbited a large white star called Se'Tar along with eleven other worlds. Three other stars were close enough to their system to "color the sky"[1].
The planet was defined by a great Mountain that stood rigid and cut against the sky, floodplains engulfed the Mountain's shadow to every horizon. In the surrounding region coral forests dotted by mossy patches were rooted into red sands and maize-streaked stone. The shallow steeps were geothermally active, rich in silt and aromatic lichens grew there. These depths flow through subterranean channels that eroded the foundations until the surface falls into the slithering grooves that covered the planets[1].
The Qugu of their ancient past lived in the sunken valleys at the Mountain's base and even if they were on the verge of dying, their evolution pushed them forward into the maw of the jaw-beasts, enormous mollusk creatures. Here they allowed themselves to be devoured, their bodies splintered, fractured, then melted and then decomposed and gestated until they were churned into nectar and their rot seeded the groves that drank from the pools beneath the Mountain, a process known as "death-grove" awakening[1].
Qugu society seems to be a gerontocracy run by "elders" who oversee communities of Qugu called "groves." They group themselves into "lines" which determine part of their name and they appear to hold their lines in high esteem. The Qugu seem to have no concept of gender, with all Qugu using neutral pronouns like "they." The Qugu also follow a religion based on ancestor worship, praying to them and asking them for guidance. The elders appoint those they deem worthy to important positions like warden.[1]. The Qugu military is run by a typical hierarchical system of a "Warden" who oversees a fleet with Captains beneath them who then relay their sub-commands to their sections of the fleet[1].
The Qugu were attuned to the Darkness and could commune with the memories of their ancestors through it.[3] The Darkness would also allow the Qugu to communicate their thoughts and emotions directly to each other, as well as control their technology with their thoughts and movements of their tendrils[1].
By the time the Hive encountered the Qugu, they had become a spacefaring civilization that controlled five star systems and possessed advanced technologies and mastery of the Darkness[2][1]. Their space ships were able to move in coordination like amorphous ripples across magnetic fields and the Admiral and their captain were connected through the Darkness to react as one entity, allowing them to draw dozens of their fleet units together, direct them into formations and coordinate battle strategies between the captain's subcommands the the drone's activities. As a result, when a ship was destroyed, the emotions of despair, terror and grief of those inside were shared among the rest of the units[1].
Their fighting space ships were called "War-pearls" and were shaped like sleek horizontal teardrops that made them nearly invisible against surrounding space. They had sleek hull plates that could part to release dozens of drones like weapons, shielding and utilities, to move around each ship and form into tight-knit squadrons. They were also equipped with fusion batteries strong enough to disintegrate Hive Tombships and their drones could chain power between ships and flow fusion energy through them to fire a powerful unified beam as a last resort tactic[1]. In addition, to move their ships from one star system to another, the Qugu used a system of Gates that folded space and transported them almost instantaneously[1]. They also possessed "ark-ships" apparently ships equipped to accommodate larger numbers of Qugus and capable of undertaking longer journeys into space[2][1].
According to Oryx, it was Savathûn's brood that encountered and swiftly exterminated the Qugu and their jaw-beasts[2]. The Hive forces that invaded and annihilated them did not use complex tactics, simply opening an immense rift between the Ascendant Realm and space to bring out their warships en masse and overwhelm their enemies[1], and then proceed to chase and eliminate their fleeing ark-ships[2].
When he reported this in the Books of Sorrow, he omitted any mention of the Qugu using the Darkness, likely at the behest of the Witness's interest of presenting itself as the only voice and form of the Darkness. The Witness itself, however, locked away a singular reference to the Qugu aboard Essence, in the form of a crystallized memory of a member of their race, which the Guardian would recover during the incursion to kill Nezarec[3].
Known Qugu
Trivia
- Their naming system follows a name and surname style. The surname comes first, originating from the Qugu's line, and is separated from their name with an apostrophe. For example, the name Te'Qal means they are from the "Te" line[1].
List of appearances
- Destiny: The Taken King (First mentioned)
- Destiny 2: Lightfall (Mentioned only)
- Episode: Echoes (Mentioned only)
References
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