Stryxis

"Do not fear, biped. We Stryxis are no threat to you, just poor scavengers and merchants, not like yourself, biped—with your ship and friends. They are good friends, yes? Good friends, strong and pretty. Are they for sale? We Stryxis have pretties too: deadly weapons, secrets, lies, hatreds, and joys. All of these can be yours, biped. Tell us, what is your pleasure?"

- Sirred Fain, Stryxis Merchant Master

The Stryxis are a sparse, nomadic xenos race with a reputation as untrustworthy traders, wanderers, and sometimes slavers and pirates. Encountered infrequently in Koronus Expanse, their reputation is a dark one. The Stryxis are a truly hideous xenoform to look upon beneath swathes of ragged, bone-coloured cloth and trinkets, described variously by human onlookers as a gangling and multi-eyed creature that resembles a human-sized, skinned, dog embryo. Yet they communicate easily with willing humans through a common language of greed, curiosity, and self-interest. Scavengers and obsessive hoarders, they possess a wealth of technology stolen and bartered from countless races. They delight in trade, attaching worth only by perceived value and rarity of things they can grasp in their bony talons. They seem to care nothing for conquest or territory, abstract wealth, nor even their own species, but are driven instead by avarice and viperous petty intrigues. The Stryxis will trade with almost anyone, human or xenos, even the worshipers of the Ruinous Powers, but they despise the Eldar. They will kill them if they can, and avoid them otherwise.

Overview
The Stryxis are a xenos race of wanderers, traders, merchants, and keepers of secrets. Scattered throughout the region in bands of nomadic tribes, the Stryxis make their way across the stars trading with those they encounter. They have a reputation for being untrustworthy scoundrels, yet there are many who would deal with them, if they could only stand their hideous appearance. The Stryxis are a truly bizarre race of xenos. No one knows where they originated, and the only home they seem to have are caravans of ramshackle and barely-operational voidships. In fact, the Stryxis are widely known for taking anything that even remotely appears to be space-worthy and converting it into a viable vessel. They are a hierarchical species, and their government and system of laws, if they have such an organisation, is either so complex as to be incomprehensible to humanity, or is simply completely nonexistent.

In either case, they are a race for whom betrayal and double-dealing is the norm, especially amongst their own kind. Aside from buying and selling whatever strikes their fancy across the Koronus Expanse, the Stryxis also deal in slaves, soldiers, and vat-grown labour—which they simply refer to as "meat." One of the oddest facets of Stryxis culture is their nearly irrational hatred for the Eldar. Stryxis will often go far out of their way to attack the aloof xenos. Failing that, they will simply avoid them at all costs. None but the Stryxis and the Eldar themselves know the reason for this loathing, and neither side has provided an answer to the mystery.

Physiology
To humanity, the Stryxis appear truly hideous. They are often described as gangling, multi-eyed creatures that resemble a human-sized, skinned dog embryo -- an evocative, if somewhat inaccurate, portrayal. All Stryxis encountered seem to have the same general appearance. One of the oddities of the race is that there appears to be no gender variations and no young have been encountered by outsiders. No one outside the race itself knows how they continue to breed, and the Stryxis avoid discussing the topic.

Stryxis have a pugnacious face, with an upturned nose faintly reminiscent of a Terran bulldog and four small, beady eyes. Imperial xenobiologists theorise the Stryxis have a terrible sense of smell, but make up for this with greater visual and spatial acuity. The Stryxis have two arms ending in three-clawed grasping appendages, and two canine-like feet. They have a stooped posture and a bobbing gait when they walk, meaning they often seem shorter than their 1.8 metres. A Stryxis is able to fully rotate its hands and arms, swivelling its joints within their sockets. However, their physical anatomy is not readily apparent, as the aliens almost always swathe themselves in stinking, ragged clothes and voluminous robes. An adult Stryxis often adorns himself with all manner of trinkets it finds appealing, often without regard for the ornament's actual meaning (or previous owner).

Society
The Stryxis are wanderers and nomads who skirt across the Koronus Expanse in rickety fleets of ships. Their dark reputation as double-dealing backstabbers, shiftless grifters, pirates, and slavers mean many avoid them. Yet there are many Rogue Traders who deal with these bizarre xenos, as they possess a wealth of hoarded technology and information about many of the goings-on within the Expanse. While they care little for conquest and territory, or petty wealth, they have a unique understanding of concepts such as avarice and treachery. It's considered a point of pride within Stryxis culture to be able to wrap subtle lies within the truth. Those who are lauded as masters of this technique are able to spin webs of falsehood and deception within a foundation of truth to the point that the two are inseparable. The Stryxis hold no loyalty for those they deal with, and the aliens will not hesitate to betray an erstwhile "partner" in search of a greater gain. As many have noted, the Stryxis have very little concept of value as it pertains to items of worth, and will as gladly buy worthless baubles as they would platinum ingots, and oftentimes for amounts that have little to do with the item's actual worth in the eyes of other legitimate traders.

Dealing with Rogue Traders
"Yes, honoured biped, that is a strong and powerful weapon. The Stryxis will sell it to you, honoured biped, and warriors as well. They are strong meat, honoured biped, the best we could grow!"

- Stryxis Weapons Merchant

There are some canny Rogue Traders who see these nefarious merchants for what they are: collectors. The Stryxis do not seem to be overly scrupulous in what they collect. However, there are often gems to be found amongst the dross they horde, in the form of weapons, valuable items, and even information. It's something of an open secret among Rogue Traders -- at least those who don't mind dealing with them -- that the Stryxis are virtual treasure troves of legends, information, and dark lore concerning the Koronus Expanse. Sebastian Winterscale even said on occasion that if a Stryxis merchant could not obtain an item, it didn't exist. That colloquialism is just as true for baubles and trinkets as it is for the secrets they sell. Naturally, brokering a deal with the Stryxis is different than setting up a buy from any other merchant-trader. These xenos have different outlooks and apply different values to items than humans do. A Stryxis may ask for a seemingly worthless bauble in exchange for valuable information, or demand vast sums for trivial items. However, they are always willing to bargain.

Slavery and Piracy
The Stryxis are also known for their dealings as slavers and pirates. Thankfully rare, the number of Stryxis who turn to these distasteful ventures are nevertheless often highly influential within their society. However, there is often no way to tell the difference between a Stryxis who wants to sell merchandise and one who simply wants to take it by force. In fact, most Stryxis alternate between piracy and trade depending on the circumstances. However, they are a somewhat cautious race in general, and will not risk piracy unless they are assured of success. Therefore, they are often more likely to turn to slavery.

Depending on who is asked, the lines between a Stryxis pirate, merchant, and slaver are often blurred. A known merchant and arms dealer might bargain with his clients one day and sell them into slavery the next. The only constant seems to be that they do whatever is in their own best interests at the time, which is why it is always best to deal with the Stryxis from a position of strength.

Although Stryxis slavers have no qualms about attacking ships and settlements for slaves, they prefer to have others do the work, and simply purchase their "meat." To the Stryxis, the slaves are simply another commodity to be traded and sold. In some ways this benefits their victims -- slave pens are crowded but sanitary, and overseers rarely resort to lethal measures. A slave killed is profit lost, after all. However, the slave-traders of the Stryxis are still reviled and shunned throughout the Expanse. Once a slave is sold, a Stryxis does not care about its fate, and stories abound of entire cargos being traded to dark powers or vile xenos for unspeakable sacrifices or perversions. Likewise, a Stryxis will not hesitate to perform surgeries or behavioural modifications on slaves to make them more valuable or suited for a customer's needs. A Stryxis will purchase almost any race as slaves. The only notable exceptions are those species who can easily dominate the Stryxis (such as the Rak'Gol) and the Eldar - whom the Stryxis will waste no time in attempting to eliminate with extreme prejudice.

There are also those who have need of fighting soldiers to help them wage war. For them, the Stryxis can provide these needs in the form of slave-mercenaries who are controlled by a single Stryxis handler. The slaves are controlled by a variety of means from with bomb collars and excruciator devices to mental conditioning or drug-fuelled compliance. The Stryxis are happy to contract out their soldiers for limited engagements or lengthy campaigns, and once the matter concludes, they pack up any survivors and move on to the next war. Stryxis slave-mercenaries are often equally desperate and brutal. Those who do well and survive to fight again and again are sometimes released from their servitude to make their way through the galaxy as they see fit. This does not happen often, but the mere possibility makes the mercenaries utterly savage in combat. However, it has been noted that on the rare occasions that the Stryxis participate in conflict themselves, they do not use their slave-mercenaries. Instead, they rely entirely on vat-grown warriors, perhaps preferring utter loyalty to convenience and low costs.

Stryxis pirates are really no different than Stryxis merchants, save that they turn to violence more readily. The xenos pirates tend to utilise better-armed and armoured caravan-ships and attack targets of opportunity they come across, such as ill-defended ships and colonies—often demanding tribute in the form of whatever strikes their fancy. Should the hapless victims not have whatever these demented xenos desire, the pirates attack. If, by the grace of the God-Emperor, they should be able to comply with the insane depravities of these aliens, then they simply send over a party to gather the items and return another day.

Stryxis Technology
Stryxis, known void-nomads, are not thought to possess any type of advanced technology, instead it's believed that they simply scavenge and take nearly everything they own. For the most part this is true. However, they are quite content to take advantage of other species' ignorance of their true technology. The appearance of the Stryxis and their ramshackle fleets belie the sinister and complex nature of their technology. As flesh–crafters, the Stryxis combine technology and biology together to shape creations that are both functional and extremely elegant, at least to those with an eye for such things.

The Stryxis tend to favour energy weapons. Their long-range armaments primarily consist of ornate and archaic-looking las weapons, similar in many ways to the las-weapons of the Imperium. However, Stryxis melee weaponry follows a very different path. Stryxis blades, called æther blades, have an ethereal-like quality to them; they are able to pass through the solid material and directly attack the living being beneath. However, they are highly vulnerable to psychic shields and wards, and almost useless against the daemons and other warpspawn. In the Imperium, they are also known as "ghost blades," and the Inquisition is very eager to apprehend anyone who possesses one.

In addition to their unique weapons and fields, the Stryxis flesh-crafters are able to grow and create virtually any manner to biological creature they need. Using the term "meat" to refer to the hordes of slaves and other non-Stryxis in their custody, these vile xenos will gladly trade and sell them to the highest bidder; they also far outnumber the Stryxis aboard many of their vessels. The Stryxis are not above taking custom orders for their fleshworks, and are supposedly even capable of growing small armies for those who can meet their price.

Stryxis Vat-Brute
Vat-brutes are the massive slabs of muscle hat have been created by the Stryxis flesh-crafters for a variety of tasks. They are vaguely humanoid, resembling something of a proto-human with smooth and featureless faces, and androgynous features. Their intelligence resembles something close to a mono-tasked servitor, with very little creative thinking outside the tasks they are created for. Vat-brutes can be used for anything from heavy labour to combat.

Stryxis Vessels
"Depart in 60 seconds or you fire upon us, honoured biped? Hmmm...what if we leave in 180 seconds and we exchange five of our crew for one of your fine, proud, biped ships? No? Ten of our crew?"

- Unidentified Stryxian vessel, making a counteroffer

The Stryxis encountered by humanity within the Koronus Expanse seem to be an entirely spaceborne species; no homeworld for the race has yet been identified. While uncommon, they seem to regard the region as within their sphere of influence, and seem to be very well informed regarding major developments from the Stations of Passage to the edges of the Rifts of Hecaton. The Stryxis travel the void in starships that appear as ramshackle as their owners. The Stryxis will take anything capable of traversing the void and mount engines and other components on it. Some of their vessels are hollowed-out asteroids, old Space Hulks, salvaged vessels, and discarded refuse that have been "renovated" by the Stryxis for travel through the void and Immaterium. Often, the hulls of salvaged vessels are towed in long strings, forming massive caravans. How they are able to do this without blowing themselves into the vacuum of space is anyone's guess.

One might look upon such a vessel and assume it is no match for a warship. However, Stryxis ships are often as deceptive as their masters. Their ramshackle hulls can be protected by powerful force fields, and something about the ships defeats all but the most powerful augur attempts. Finally, their ships project ethereal beams of "ghost energy." Although they are no more effective than standard macroweapons at penetrating armour and void shields, they have a disconcerting and utterly lethal effect on the crew inside. Xenographers suspect the Stryxis must equip their looted vessels with examples of their own advanced technology. If this is the case, this would support the theory that the Stryxis, while playing the roll of simple merchants, do reserve their most advanced technology for themselves.

Stryxis vessels tend to travel in small convoys of three to five craft. They typically shy away from conflict, though the Rogue Trader Jabez Caul, who has had many dealings with these unpredictable aliens, has reported witnessing them, on occasion, engaging in frighteningly intense battles with other Stryxian convoys. The motive for this internecine conflict remains unknown, though it is rumoured Stryxis caravans engage in opportunistic piracy when faced with a notably weaker or outnumbered opponent.

Stryxis Caravan Vessels
Imperial Navy intelligence tentatively classes the larger Stryxian vessels as "Xebecs," with the smaller vessels referred to as "caravan vessels." It is unusual to place an entire xenos race’s ships into two classes, but Stryxian vessels defy established classification. In appearance, Stryxis Xebecs vary tremendously. They are caravan vessels in the most literal sense of the word. Each Xebec consists of a vessel (usually a bulk transport, although raiders, frigates, and even light cruisers have been used) retrofitted with massive plasma drives. Stretching behind it on hundreds of huge chains are the stripped hulls of additional vessels, as many as four or five to a Xebec. These vessels are almost always of human or another alien manufacture. The Stryxis seem to live in the stripped hulls as well as the lead vessel, though they've also been known to sell a hull to an interested party.

The Navy is particularly perplexed by the baffling inconsistencies in Stryxian technology; while some Xebecs bear the latest Imperial technologies, others rely on truly primitive spacefaring techniques, such as the use of centrifugal force to create artificial gravity. There seems to be no logic to Stryxian shipbuilding (such as it is) and it helps cement their reputation as rag-merchants and scavengers. Although Stryxian Xebecs appear to use plasma drives, Explorators who have had the opportunity to observe Stryxis ships are convinced they actually utilise a more potent power source, hidden somewhere in their ship. Many observers have also speculated regarding the nature of Stryxian warp travel. They certainly appear to travel through the warp, though no one is sure how they navigate within it. Some have suggested that they are making short, unguided hops, in the manner of the Chartist Captains, but others point to instances of previously identified Xebec caravans appearing at different ends of the Expanse within only a few months, something humanity can only achieve using the Astronomicon and Navigators. Any attempts to ascertain the truth behind this are met with long and conflicting stories from the Stryxis, each and every one undoubtedly a lie. If there is one constant for the Stryxis besides their willingness to trade and hatred of the Eldar, it is a universal refusal to reveal secrets about themselves.

Stryxis Components
Although most Stryxis ships make do with devices and Components scavenged from other races, they do show some glimpses of their own strange technology. The following is a list of the most commonly found components within a Stryxis vessel: humans, though the exact workings are unknown. When asked, Stryxis often mention "warp currents unseen by two eyes," but give no further details. own sustainer systems for this reason. all but undetectable
 * Xenos Warp Engine - The Stryxis seem to use a type of warp drive similar to
 * Phase-reality Field - These seem to protect against warp incursion by keeping a vessel slightly out of phase with its surroundings during transit. ghost-field array. Certain Mechanicus agents would dearly love to obtain a sample of this technology, as it provides more robust protection than that found on Imperial vessels for what seems to be the same power draw.
 * Stryxis Environmental Architect - The Stryxis are oxygen-breathers like humanity, but prefer damp, humid, and cool surroundings. They tend to use their
 * Ghost-Eye Deep Void Scanner - The scanning devices the Stryxis use are extremely potent. However, even when they actively scan an opponent, they are

Stryxis Weaponry
Strangely, weapons are one area where the Stryxis show absolutely no interest in using salvage from other races. They almost exclusively use their own inscrutable technology instead. The Stryxis do not utilise lance weapons, tending to prefer exotic energy weapons that have an utterly lethal effect on the crews inside starships. These are referred to as "Ghost-light" macroweapons by those who have encountered them, and are utterly reviled by most voidsmen. Stories abound of corridors filling with a pale gray light—like fog before dawn, and crewmen keeling over dead without a mark on their bodies.