The Chrophii

The **Chrophii** was an extraterrestrial race that once lived on the planet Chropa, who tried to invade Earth as a last-ditch attempt to save their species as their own world became a “poisonous nightmare”. They were described as having been around for far longer than humans were, and as a result, their technology and firepower were superior to anything that mankind could develop for at least another few thousand years. Despite appearances that may indicate otherwise, they were incredibly cunning, intelligent and violent, as much as a human would be.

After their defeat at the hands of mankind, the Chrophii were rendered extinct.

## Origin

Coming from the planet Chropha, a terrestrial planet roughly half the size of Earth with an atmosphere as dense and thick as Venus, the Chrophiian species reigned there for millenia.. That is, until their very own advancement caused the slow death of their planet which in turn thinned the Chrophiian population to near-extinction numbers, with only 450,000 left of the 4.9 billion that once flourished there.

Due to the “head-start” that the species had, their technology had advanced way ahead of humanity’s and as a result, after realizing that the planet they lived on was dying, had prepared their forces for a swift invasion of another world. The planet that they chose was Earth, a world similar to what they have in terms of composition and resources, roughly over a light year away. The atmosphere was satisfactory as nitrogen is incredibly abundant there, being that it's a gas they rely on for respiration back on Chropha. This and many other coincidences with their own world led the alien race to target Earth as their new home. However, they were cautious. They soon realized that humans were surprisingly stronger than they were in terms of makeup and body mass, and they definitely had the advantage in numbers. To counteract this mishap, the Chrophiians created vehicles that proved to be immensely durable and easy to control. Creating these machines had them realize that they only needed 4 to 12 for a few hundred miles of land, and that the humans had tech that were too weak to destroy them without extensive, prolonged exposure. This made their confidence rise, intent on destroying Earth for no other reason than to find another home.

They landed on Earth in capsules roughly 300 meters (984 feet) high and 45 meters (147 feet) wide, targeting the middle of the Atlantic Ocean due to its proximity to a large chunk of the human population on either side, and its isolated location, making it perfect for their forces to arrange themselves (which they did speedily) without hindrance or interruption from onlookers.

As they assumed beforehand, their invasion was a strategic success, destroying every human resistance in a couple of days, forcing the survivors to resort to guerrilla warfare. While they did have some losses, these were considered laughably minute in comparison to the ones suffered by humanity.

## Appearance / Characteristics

All Chrophiians are roughly 3 to 7 feet tall, standing on three legs that are inarticulate, merely soft and bendable, almost akin to that of an octopus. In fact, they share more similarities with octopi as they also have a very smooth skin that secretes a sort of chemical that has the properties and consistency of slime. This “slime” is very corrosive and deadly when used on other living creatures other than another Chrophii, as it is strong enough to dissolve and liquify most organic matter with each. They use this chemical in a way similar to how some flies eat, regurgitating stomach acid and saliva to soften their meal until it reaches a soupy viscosity. They (the aliens) then absorb this through their skin, due to them having no mouths, stomachs or digestive tracts, ingesting the food intravenously. They seemingly have a preference for letting their Tripods prepare the food for them instead, only eating this way if they are/were separated from their own beforehand.

Another feature of the alien invaders are their bulbous, almost reflective heads that end in three (possibly four) of these orb-like protrusions on every side. They aren’t exactly known what they are used for, but it's possible that it might be their eyes, their heart/s, other organs or even their brain (or a collection of several). They are reported to be seemingly far physically weaker than humans despite being as large as them, as Connie, an average refugee with little combat experience was able to tear one apart while enraged (with her hands covered against the acidic mucus, of course). They do seem to be more dexterous and are capable of high bursts of speed when enraged or scared. They also have the ability to scale walls, surfaces at a steep incline or even upside-down surfaces such as a ceiling.

Along with being quite intelligent, Chrophiians are seemingly emotionally sentient as well, seeing as how they’ve displayed anger, annoyance, sadism and even mourning on several occasions, as they were seen once nuzzling and hugging the body of a deceased alien. One particular instance of such has happened during a run-in with one of the aliens, deserted in a building after its Tripod was discovered to be in a state of disrepair. Connie, who was rather angered at the time, threw a heavy piece of debris at the Chrophiian who then barely dodged it and cowered in a corner, covering its ‘head’ with its tentacle-like legs while shuddering, exclaiming high-pitched squeals and screams while the emotionally damaged woman proceeded to kill it by unknown means.

It can be assumed that they also take pleasure in killing human or animal life in some instances, as one Scouter was seen slowly crushing an injured soldier who helplessly begged for his life under its foot.

They seemingly have ranks based on what they are supposed to do during the war, and it can have comparisons to military jobs on Earth, as the Scouters (or their pilots) can be compared to troops or soldiers, the Harvesters to nurses of sorts, and the Uberpods to the commanders or captains of the group.

## Technology

The only sort of technology that the Chrophiians are seen with are their Tripods and the capsules that brought them to Earth over the ocean. The capsules themselves seem to be capable of faster-than-light travel, although this isn’t confirmed as yet. They have no sort of aerial or aquatic machines that were seen during the invasion, although it can be assumed that they either saw no need to bring such vehicles to Earth, didn’t have the capabilities necessary to bring them or never created such vehicles in the first place, although this hardly mattered due to the Tripods’ versatility and invulnerable nature, which allowed them to have the advantage even when outnumbered. As testament to this, only 147 of them were needed to completely destroy the North American continent.