The Dross

**The Dross** are an species of alien insectoid parasitic organisms that invade and infest worlds, as they did on the Veruki's planet. There are different theories as to what their nature is.

The species live in Dross Hives and are controlled by Dross Matriarchs. Invasions by the Dross are called "harvests". Dross Matriarchs reside within Dross Harvesters.

## Nature

Not much is known about the Dross, but there exists several theories as to their origins and nature. An unnamed long-dead traveler wrote a text proposing four possible theories, located in among the collection of tomes in the Crystal Palace in the Luminous Peak region of the Ultravoid. These are:

*Theory 1: The Dross are an ancient parasitic lifeform that can survive indefinitely in the vacuum of space, drifting from planet to planet, destroying all biotics in their wake.*

*Theory 2: The Dross belong to a hive-mind, following the bidding of a treacherous matriarch that hails from a blighted planet.*

*Theory 3: The Dross travel to populated sectors of the universe through wormholes in order to feed on biotic lifeforms every few millenia.*

*Theory 4: The Dross are war machines that turned on their creators and annihilated them, and now seek biotics to use as living batteries to power their offspring.*

## Anatomy

The Dross are insectoid in appearance, with segmented bodies covered by shell exoskeletons. Their shells are purple in color. They have three-toed feet.

## Trivia

* Heart Machine initially planned to have the Dross appear in the game as enemies and even created 3D models for them, however only the Dross Matriarch remains as an example of a member of the species that is actually shown in-game. Interestingly, however, several models used in the game, including many character models, have parts such as limbs that are taken from Dross body parts that the team modelled to originally use for said Dross enemies. This can be observed in the game's files when looking at the models and observing the names given to the individual body parts that make them up. Similarly, there are many texture files that were made for and are still used on those parts, whose names identify then as "Dross" textures.
	+ An example of Dross body oarts being repurposed for ofher models in a way that is meant to be clear and add to the worldbuilding is the Veruki war veteran Lyris. She uses a Dross leg and foot as a prosthetic to replace her right leg, and a Dross hand as a prosthetic to replace her left hand, having lost those original body parts in her people's struggle against the Dross invasion on their planet. It can be assumed that she took them from dead Dross and repurposed them this way, but it is never explicitly stated in the game but is rather a visual detail meant to add flavor to the game's worldbuilding. However, since the Dross leg and foot does not match the tissue of the rest of her body and instead seem to be of a material similar to that on the Dross Matriarch's body, it is a safe assumption.
	+ An example of a character model that uses repurposed Dross body parts but where it is not meant to explictedly be part of the narrative or worldbuilding is the model of the Voidrunner Verse.