Founders

The **Founders** were an ancient group of Changelings from the Gamma Quadrant. They mainly existed within the Great Link. The Founders created the Dominion and reigned over all of its strategic decisions. Many races believed the Founders to be beings out of legend, and some of the subject species of the Dominion worshipped the Founders as deities.

## History

The Founders roamed through the Milky Way, exploring planets and seeking out other species so that they might expand their knowledge. The Founders had peaceful intentions, but were feared by many "solid" species. Many legends about changelings date back to this period -- stories about evil shapeshifters abound in the Gamma Quadrant's oldest species.

The Vorta had one legend that told a different story: they hid a changeling in one of their primitive forest dwellings, protecting it from an angry mob. In thanks, the changeling swore that they would become powerful beings helping to lead a vast galactic empire.

Eventually, the Founders discovered a rogue planet in the Omarion Nebula and chose here to settle and form the Great Link. Feeling that they could not be hurt by beings they controlled, the Founders began to guide the "solids" -- and, subsequently, broke them of their "love of freedom." They did, however, remember their promise to the Vorta and made them administrators, commanders, and civil servants. The Founders also genetically engineered the Jem'Hadar to act as their soldiers.

The Founders still wanted to explore the galaxy and so they sent out 100 infant changelings. These changelings were to explore, to learn, and then were genetically programmed to return to the Great Link around the 37th century. After Odo was discovered near the Bajoran wormhole, the Founders began to use their shapeshifting abilities infiltrate the political powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

This allowed them to become aware of the Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order -- who sought to strike the Dominion preemptively. The Founders relocated the Great Link to another world before the Battle of the Omarion Nebula, although all of the Romulan and Cardassian forces were eradicated.

It was, however, also because of these infiltrations that Odo was forced to kill one of the Founders. He was forced to return to the Great Link for judgment. In punishment, Odo was deprived of his shapeshifting abilities (until he merged with a terminally ill Founder some months later). Even after he had regained his abilities, the Dominion viewed him as a traitor for having killed a god.

In 3373 CE, the Founders launched an invasion of the Alpha Quadrant -- a full blown war erupted with the Dominion battling the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. Unbeknownst to the Founders, Section 31 predicted the war and had infected Odo with a virus when he had returned to the Great Link -- which was passed on to all of the Founders. A cure was created -- after the Dominion forced withdrew, the cure was given to a female Founder who was taken into custody. Odo returned to the Great Link in order to cure all of the changelings.

## Source

The Founders are derived from *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine*. For canon information, please visit:

* Memory Alpha