Umbral Scouts

Scouts are the smallest, sleakest, and swiftest members of the empire, known for their elegance in both appearance and social temperament, they are experts at illusion and finesse. Their purpose is to spend decades on a chosen planet, blending in seamlessly with the general population and frequently reporting back to the homeworld to relay information of their findings before returning to acquire more.

An important aspect of their job would to not cause any potential damage to the planet, or its inhabitants, scouting is to be a silent and peaceful operation. During the invasion, they show the rest of their colony the weak points in a society or physical makeup of the planet. During invasions, all bets are off, and scouts are free to be as violent as they need to be in order to make the operation a success. Primarily, only one scout is assigned to a planet at a time, only being replaced in the event of said scout being killed or lost in some other way.

Scouts are well known for their abundance of energy based abilities which are used to blend in on their chosen planet. They are capable of producing visual and auditory illusions en mass which they use to alter their appearance, cause commotion so as to distract, and to confuse a target of oncoming attack. Scouts are so talented at illusion and cloaking that they are able to make a city on fire look as though it were simply experiencing a beautifully sunny day.

Scouts are without a doubt the most intelligent members of the Adumbral Empire, so it's an understandable question as to why they subject themselves to a colonial livlihood that views them as ever so expendable. It stands to reason that there is likely a biological reasoning behind their everstanding loyalty to their colony, or perhaps simple fear of retribution from the vast army of soldiers, or even the Empress herself. Whatever the reason, there has never once been a documented case of a Scout going against the Empress.

In spite of their undeniable usefulness to the Empire, as well as their intellect, they are all at the bottom of the pecking order. It is often scouts are lost simply due to a Soldiers deciding to pick a fight with one to show off.

## Abilities

* Scouts are able to completely conceal themselves... and things around them. By manipulating light refractions, they are able to create mass illusions, big enough to inflict an entire planet.
* Like all members of the Adumbral Empire, scouts are able to utilize The Obscurred Pathway
* Caustic saliva
* Using immense ability in its body via music, they able to use a short tune to revive a dead or dying ally, however, if it is not sung at the same time as another member of its species song of life, it will perish shortly after. Similar to that of The Obscurred Pathway, all members of the Colony are born with a unique song they can utilize. Due to the fact that this is based in musical power, it can be outsung by another entity, rendering the song useless.
* They can reach into the consciousness of another being and rip it from their body, temporarily rendering them unconscious. They often bluffs, claiming this to be the soul, giving them the nickname "Soul Catcher"