Hrud

The **Hrud**, also known as the **Nocturnal Warriors of Hrud** and by the scientific name ***Troglydium hrudii***, are a xenos species that inhabit the galaxy, first encountered during the Great Crusade.

## History

According to the record-keeping of the Hrud, they were an ancient race that predated the time when Mankind became the masters of space and their tribes have been living a parasitic existence for longer than what was known to humans. The Imperium of Man first encountered the Hrud during the era of the Great Crusade, though according to the Liber Historica Vangelia, the Emperor of mankind had encountered these aliens before this time, ordering them cleansed, something only halted by the Age of Strife. During the time of the Great Crusade howeverm the task of exterminating the Hrud fell to the Watchers of Akhet, their campaign culminating at the deverstating but conclusive Battle of Gyre Deeps. Many believed the race to be extinct after their defeat, but occasional reports still arise mentioning small numbers of their species passing outside the boarders of Imperial Space.

## Biology

Physically, Hrud tend to be impossible to study as they wear ragged cloaks which they wear habitually and helps conceal their true form. This is namely a misshapen morass of decomposing filth though it is known that they have a female gender. They have been depicted as being a a crouched, diminutive creature swathed in rags, its face obscured by a hood, and possessing a rat-like tail. It seems that the Hrud prefer darkness and are basically scavengers and tunnel-dwellers. They are found all over the galaxy, though never in large numbers. They are considered to be parasites, and when they are referred to it is usually as "infesting" a place. In addition the limbs of a Hrud have a bone structure similar to the human spine allowing the limbs to bend in any direction (hence the nickname "bendies"). They also exude various poisons from their skin. Their bodies liquefy rapidly upon death - conveniently making detailing the creature impossible.[1b]

The bodies of this species is known to be perfectly adapted to the life of opportunistic predators and they are able to synthesize a staggering array of different poisons. Any humans that were adopted by a tribe tended to adapt and live on these poisonous emanations. Thus, their departure can leave a human that had lived amongst them to die in a state of toxic shock as their bodies became deprived of these poisons. In addition, they are able to slip past even the most narrowest of tunnels. Furthermore, they generated what they called a *"ssaak"* or *"see mist"* which is a distortion field that is actually biologically generated from their bodies which allows them to confound the eyes of any enemies. Many outsiders did not know whether this ability was a physical ability, a property of the chemicals they produced or simply a trick of the light. What is known is that the Hrud tend to be shrouded in darkness, even when in a cell with full light they are able to conceal themselves. This is why their species became known as *"shadow creepers"* and that legends spoke of them being nearly invisible.

Another notable quality amongst the race is that they produce innate entropic fields from their bodies. This has the side effect of aging their surroundings leading to objects such as crops turning to dust due to prolonged exposure and Humans suffering from premature aging. These time distorting fields are capable of wreaking havoc on entire worlds during mass migrations which are caused by the simple presence of the Hrud.

## Society

This mysterious species are noted as being a nocturnal race who are one of a number of Xenos breeds attracted to darkness. From the interrogations of a Human slave that served the Hrud, its known that they are a secretive race of subterranean scavengers who lived in tunnel-cities known as *"juunlak"*s. These typically are formed near the greatest centres of Human population. They tend to be fiercely tribal and are expert scavengers of technology to the point that they can easily assemble from a mongrel collection of weapons and devices with the resources they have at their disposal. Ancestry and family-ties are two elements that are considered all-important in Hrud society which defies the *"filthy scavenger"* image that Imperial scholars view the xenos species. Outsiders tended to never doubt the existence of the Hrud though not much was known about them by humans with rumours speaking of secret societies of these aliens living onboard ships though they tended to be used as bogeymen to scare infants. Hrud have demonstrated a unparalleled fastidiousness in the field of record-keeping where they compile vast stores of historical, cultural and technical information.

During times of population growth, this species is known to undergo what they called a *"peh-ha"* which is a mass migration. Once the population of a tribe reaches as a particular level of saturation, the Hrud members begin to form a schism as they separate from one another. These individuals begin to stow aboard transports and Space Hulks in order to begin the formation of a new tribe at a distant site. Among the items they take is the amassed knowledge of the *"Raheed"* which is the *"masstribe"*. Entire nomadic nations of such Hrud have flourished on the areas between decks on board Imperial vessels. According to the findings of many of the Magos Xenologists of the Mechanicum, the Hrud are known to take other species such as Humans into their tribes where they were given the role of a *"zanhaad"* that were a sort of slave-cum-pet. The secretive nature of the Hrud meant that many knew of their existence but little else was known about their civilization leading to them being considered an enigma to the Imperium.

Hrud religion tends to be unusual in the sense that the clarity of their mass-memory means that their legends, if not real, are based on real events. This beliefs hold the view that their race were created by a benevolent pantheon of gods known as the *"Slah-haii"* or *"most ancient"* who intended for them to bask in the sun and be fruitful. It is said that this changed when their gods entered into a war against the *"Yaam-kheh"* or *"Mirror Devils"* which saw them either slain, crippled or forced to flee. Their legends say that only a single member of their pantheon still exists known as Qah , a god also known as *"He Who Lingers"*. This solitary member of the godhead is said to had recognized the dangers that would fall upon his beloved children and thus changed them into a race of nocturnal scavengers. Around 500,000 years ago, Qah is said to had told the Hrud that he had other great works to attend to and disappeared. However, he said that he would return to reunite at the time of the *"Raheed-skeh"* which was the appointed time when the tribes would come together for a final battle against the Yaam-kheh.

## Technology

Though little was known about this reclusive and dangerous species, it was known that they dwelled only in darkness and possessed strange, warp-based technology that allowed them to walk between worlds. This even allowed them to corrupt the flow of time with their simple presence. This mysterious nocturnal species were also the creators of **Hrud fusils** that were a warp-plasma based weapon. Fusils remain one of the few scant artifacts of the Hrud that occassionaly come up for sale in the Imperium and were also in high demand. In functionality, they worked as a form of *"plasma musket"* that uses an unfathomable mechanism to phase a plasma bolt between realspace and the warp. Thus, any shot from a Hrud fussil bypassed the defenses of the target though they were unpredictable. Despite this being the case, they are favoured by assassins and even Agents of the Imperial Throne. Those weapons that find themselves on the black market are modified to accept Imperial plasma cells though if the mechanism itself is badly damaged then it cannot be repaired by human hands. According to the Mechanicum, Hrud fusils are a simple symbiosis between melta and plasma technology that are able to fire columns of fire hotter than a star when the mechanism was activated.

## Sources

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	+ 1b: pg. 80
	+ 1c: pg. 81
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* 4: Warhammer 40,000 3rd Edition Rulebook, pg. 116
* 5: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex)
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* 23: White Dwarf 49 (2015) - *Codex:Apocryfa Extra - The Hrud Rising*
* 24: Imperial Armour Volume Two - Second Edition, pg. 21