Chronophage

**Time Wraiths** are a variety of poorly-understood phenomena classified as dangerous apparitions. Chiefly, a time wraith is an entity which appears to exist in a state beyond regular space-time. Such entities are documented as behaving in ways that defy normal scientific conventions.

Generally, time wraiths appear as a heavily distorted humanoid, often with portions of the muscular and skeletal structures visible. Time wraiths are in a constant state of motion, with parts of the body being continuously ripped apart, regenerated or twisted beyond recognition. Time wraiths appear to be in a continuous state of agony, screaming and moaning at all times and shuffling aimlessly until confronted with a normal space-time entity.

Time wraiths behave erratically toward living entities. Some flee once they percieve they are being watched. Some attempt communication before giving up and continuing to wander aimlessly. Yet others are mindlessly aggressive toward any living thing, including flora and fungi. Whatever process created them has driven them irreversibly into insanity.

Time wraiths display a number of bizarre capabilities. Many are able to phase through matter and energy as though it were nonexistent. An individual can appear in multiple locations simultaneously with no regard for distance. Even time itself can be affected by their present. It can seemingly slow, skip, loop or even reverse at random and for different lengths. Living things can age rapidly, or even the opposite may occur. Presently, there is no known way to "kill" a time wraith. Individuals dispatched through great effort and firepower simply reappear later at a different location, unfazed by what happened to them. Time wraiths appear to have no conscious control over anything that they do or what happens around them, or even awareness that it is happening.

Time wraiths have been known throughout history across the galaxy. Exceedingly rare, time wraiths nonetheless provided the basis of many cultural myths about vengeful spirits and demons. Today, several hundred time wraiths have been documented on planetoids and asteroids across the galaxy. Most are solitary, with the largest known concentration being on the planet Forlorn. The "Allegheny Four" are a collection of four time wraiths - three male and one female - that haunt a remote plain on Allegheny's southern hemisphere.

Very little information exists as to how time wraiths work or why they came to be. A Bedran science-fiction waypoint series suggests that time wraiths are past, present or future time travellers who were "mutilated" and forced into a state of existence outside the usual governance of space and time. These unfortunate souls either suffered an accident in the process of time travel or were caught in a paradox created through their own actions. Of course, this theory has no basis in reality.

## Chronophages

There is a persistent legend across multiple galactic cultures that dates back to ancient times. The legend holds that there is a particular variant of time wraith. They appear as having a distinctly humanoid silhouette, clad in dark outfits and unburdened by the shifting nature of other time wraiths. They are translucent - "like a reflection on brightly lit glass" - and appear to phase in and out of visibility at will. These "Chronophages" (lit. "Time-Eater") are reputed to have full possession of their faculties and complete control over their actions. They have been described as being able to fade in and out of visibility, levitate, teleport short distances, move with blinding speed, strike with unnatural strength, hasten or slow time, and even reverse time by several seconds. Bedran legend holds that Lord Bedras encountered and fought a Chronophage in the earliest days of the Bedran Empire. He did not kill the entity, only succeeding in driving it off and being wounded in the process. Legends of Chronophage-like entities exist in every known galactic society, ranging from mythological devil creatures to seemingly historical encounters as recently as several centuries before the present day. No direct evidence for Chronophages exist, but many superstitious people believe fully in their existence. Crypto-historians claim to have identified five individual chronophages that have appeared multiple times each across history.