Precursor (Awakening)

The Precursors were an extremely technologically advanced race originally native to the Pinwheel Galaxy. They were classified as "Transsentient" beings by the Forerunners, having the ability to travel among galaxies and accelerate the evolution of intelligent life. 
Originally believed to have been driven from the Milky Way galaxy by the Forerunner Ecumene, the Precursors in reality withdrew willingly, never defending themselves and simply marveling at the sheer violence the Forerunners were capable of. Though they were driven to near-extinction, the Precursors' numbers slowly began to recover over the succeeding ten million years. Eventually, most of the surviving Precursors would adapt their physiology and essences to form the central intelligence of the Flood species, forming the initial framework of the Gravemind. At least two residents of the Milky Way, the Primordial and the Augur, would remain unaltered following the creation of the Flood, and oversee its uprising against the Forerunner Ecumene. 
== Description ==
The Precursors' anatomy was unique. Their inner structure was composed largely of form-changing cells capable of rapidly alternating between functions and adjusting interaction with neighbouring cells. This granted the Precursors a limited shapeshifting ability, though most appeared as enormous insect- or crustacean-like beings with chitinous exoskeletons, eight to twelve legs, and four to six eyes.
Though they were capable of changing their form whenever they saw fit, the Precursors appeared to have been bound by oath to remain in one form past a certain stage of their lives. This led to the creation of several physical divisions within the Precursor species.
Precursor Primes were the oldest and most powerful, psychologically and politically, of the Precursor species. Comparatively small, around 12 meters in height, the Primes were masters of the use of neural physics. During the Precursors' reign over the Milky Way, the Primes would plan the creation of each individual species and conceive the blueprints for the majority of Precursor technology, including the Star Roads. 
Precursor Magistrates were directly subordinate to the Primes, and were somewhat more humanoid than other Precursor variants. Responsible for both ensuring conformity from individual Precursors through subtle telepathic link and for the protection of Precursor-created species, Magistrates were known to use telepathy to "indoctrinate" lesser minds that opposed the will of the Primes; an ability that they shared with Warmongers. 
While the Primes were responsible for planning each species the Precursors created, Precursor Sculptors were responsible for the creation. Their understanding of biology far exceeded that of even the Forerunner Lifeworkers, and they were capable of flawlessly altering the nucleic acids that formed the basis of most life in the Milky Way galaxy. A species recently created by the Sculptors would often be relatively free from genetic imperfection, though the Sculptors would make no attempt to correct mutation when it inevitably arose, preferring to let nature take its course.
Precursor Warmongers were a caste developed following the Forerunner-Precursor war. Despite their somewhat bestial appearance, Warmongers were unparalleled strategists, and with the Augur the last surviving Prime, it was largely the Warmongers who planned the uprising of the Flood against the Forerunners. The Primordial, the only Precursor apart from the Augur to remain unaltered and not enter suspended animation following the Precursors' withdrawal, was a member of the Warmonger caste.
== History ==
The Precursors first arrived in the Milky Way galaxy around 4,800,000,000 BCE, although the extremely limited evidence suggests that the species itself is far older. They rapidly established their presence across the galaxy and began to manipulate it to their own desires, seeding the Milky Way with life and creating the galaxy's diverse composition of species.
Over the course of countless years, the Precursors would allegedly design thousands of sapient species with the intention of finding a suitable successor race to their own dominion. The majority of these races would be deemed "unsuitable" after testing and eradicated or abandoned by their creators. Around 10,000,000 BCE, one of their creations, the human species, would be chosen to succeed the Precursors as holders of the Mantle of Responsibility. Another Precursor-created race, which would eventually come to be known as Forerunners, seeking to gain control of the Mantle of Responsibility for themselves, would strike against the Precursors, who did not retaliate, merely retreating from the vicious onslaught.
== Culture ==
Category:Species (Awakening)