Brou
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History
"Life on Kroma"
Since there was light, there was Kroma. That is what the historians say.
Per year, the sun up in the high changes, and with its warm light it casts its favor upon a few, who in its quiet wisdom it chooses to lead the world forward.
It took on a dawning hue for what was to be its last turning. The grasses and the sky, like a chameleon to the leaf that shelters it, met the new year with assimilation.
Orenj, the new sovereigns, were in control for that time. Theirs was the reign that ended all.
They were the only race that was capable of bending the reality of the world. Their structures and devices are constructions of pure will, a reservation of their conscious for shelter and convenience. There were some things that they could not forge with will, and this angered them.
Monoliths. Built through a mysterious and supernatural deposit of ore, hidden beneath a rolling grassland whose vegetation has leeched a reddish tinge from it since eons past.
The tall, pointed structures with cryptic etchings that resonate energies that the Orenj cannot manipulate, were a product of another kind of people. They were the hulking humanoids of the west lands called the Brou. All that could be deduced is that they were somehow attuned to manipulating this mysterious and deeply-dug rock and creating these structures out of it.
All the Orenj knew is that the power they radiated was something that they craved, and that they needed to find a way to get to it; to conquer it.
B.E.A.M.
An acronym for Brou Excavation, Agriculture, and Mining. This group consists of a spectrum of skillsets, from those who swear by strength, to the mystics and savants. Based in the Carmine Prairie, they detect fragments of the red rock, dispatch diggers to expose the treasured ore, and it is pulverized out of the rest of the rock.
This ore is not only used for the monoliths. It is also used for creating sturdy, eerily polished armors, tools, and crushed into powders for fertilization of plants, as well as part of dyes and remedies.
B.E.A.M was dissolved a week before doomsdrab.
Doomsdrab
The increasingly aggressive command of the ruling Orenj had come to the edge of tolerance. B.E.A.M stopped feeding supply of unrefined ore to them, and this caught the attention of prince Cucurbitas.
He, accompanied by an excessive force, personally visited their capitol and attempted to coerce B.E.A.M. to produce again with the threat of annihilation. The Brou maintained their stand, and after an embarrassing defeat, the prince's forces surrounded the capitol, reciting the forbidden mythal, Doomsdrab.
Citizens poured outward in response to interrupt it, but it was too late. The prince uttered the final words and as a nexus directed all the fury of the mythal through him upon the city. Doomsdrab was set in motion and the world trembled and scarred so badly that the the moons Lu and Ma were ejected from orbit.
Approximately 1/3 of the planet is now an unsafe zone, and to make matters worse, this zone changes. A wandering night; an oppressive disc of lifelessness crawls about the world daily, weakening all who dawdle in its embrace for long. The perimeter is guarded by automatons who extract anyone they detect in the unsafe zones. Those who stay beyond reason become pale shades of their former selves and expand its corrupting touch as an aura, if the accompanying aggression and madness isn't enough.
After the inevitable anarchy, some cartels formed to survive, while others emerged to loot the world. It is thought that the tear that deposited some entities on Earth was trans-dimensional, since Kroma has never been heard of, nor has anyone been able to locate or observe the planet.
They called him 217.8
The first Kromais refugee to make contact with Earth society. He is probably the friendliest one known.
This Brou was known as a type 217 in Kroma, and did not have a name issued. The 217 suffered the most in the days leading up until Doomsdrab.
Lacking in intelligence, the 217 are naturally very strong. They excel at menial tasks that require such raw power. This does not mean their work is not justly rewarded, as they are highly esteemed for being helpful.
In the unfortunate last days of normal life on Kroma, increasing demand for monolithic ore deposits lead to a draft of the type 217, leading a peaceful society down a spiral of exploitation and pain.
Stress and suffering causes this variety of Brou to summon greater strength, but in prolonged periods, takes a terrible toll on thier bodies and lifespans. As the times grew dark, former friends would inflict stress on the 217 to keep them functioning at peak performance.
It was common to see a 217 fall over dead from overexertion just footsteps away from others.
Seeing how they were damaging their people for the sake of the new Orenj kings' lust for their ore deposits, the esteemed figures of Kroma decided to defy the impulsive prince Cucurbitas when he arrived at the quarry, causing a brief melee where the prince slew a hero of the 217.
This particular one, 217.8, found an older, dying 217 out in the field once the battle broke out. This one had an armor that was awarded last year for winning a melee contest that is pronounced in English as "smashie." He gifted the armor to 217.8 before he died. By the time 217.8 confronted the prince, all visible resistance fighters had fallen. Disfigured from handling energies far above the capabilities of the prince's body and mind, he hovered above what could be described as a hole in midair that was of total darkness.
After tackling the prince, they both were swallowed by the tear and separated.
217.8 ended up in a sewer in a major city, where he climbed his way out. After being detained and questioned, and determined not to be a threat, he was permitted to be among citizens. Because of his predisposition to help those in need, he eventually became classified as a superhero. Recent acts include assisting in the rebuilding of a storm-ravaged town, helping stop a hostile and unethical mega-corporate takeover, shielding a bus stop full of civilians from an out-of-control waste management truck, and helping push back an alien invasion with ground combat.
His personality is quite simple. If he has an emotion, he will feel it strongly without the inhibitions of a mature adult human. He is curious, and will poke around to figure something out. He has a love of food, and remembers people most strongly by the food they eat or make. His learning rate enables him to at least attempt something new, but with great chance at failure. He excels at using his strength and durability to help or protect those he cares about.
