Sormai.

Perhaps one of the least well understood planets in Ingenseria, there's one good descriptor for it: red. It's very, very red. From the maroon sky to sands like tiny rubies, a tinge of red colors all that is not pitch black here. Moreover, it is all but bereft of life—the Zyol have no presence here, not anymore, and how they survived and evolved on this planet is a mystery lost to time, known only to the reticent Zyol themselves. Wracked by constant tectonic activity, the sands of the planet's vast deserts are kept smooth and loose, and strange black stone warps the landscape every sixty days or so, appearing and disappearing from and beneath the sand. No monolith is seen again after it appears and disappears underneath the sand, and the extreme difficulty of exploring the planet means that little to no research has been done.

The only life present are strange wisps of psionic energy, clusters of psionic microbial life that grow on the black stones and appear only for brief periods during which they hop from one to another before it's smothered by sand. Whether due to the Zyol's thoroughness or the constantly shifting nature of the planet, after millions of years there is nary an iota of evidence that any sapient life ever inhabited this planet, and any onlookers would regard it as almost uniquely lifeless, its air thin and strangled by a seemingly sourceless charge of psionic energy that causes chemical-like burns and illness to most life.

And, as mysterious as the planet itself, are the Zyol.

Numbering at only 127 at any given moment, the Zyol have always been an incredibly small species with a well-defined social structure. When one perishes, another is bred to replace it, and no more; the number can never exceed 127, the exact number required to maintain the way of life the Zyol have enjoyed since anyone can remember, even the Core. Apparently free of most emotion and wielding only a learned sense of necessary empathy with no true understanding of remorse or restraint, the Zyol operate more like machines than people, distinguished only by flesh and unusual mysticism.

The exact point of separation is rather uncertain with respect to Zyol. Though they are organized into a form of Overmind, helmed by a spherical device known as the Core, they operate only slightly less efficiently detached from this Overmind. Their lack of emotions and force of personality means it is difficult to truly distinguish any one Zyol from any other but for their appearances, and even then differences are faint; yet, with no reduction in social functions when a Zyol separates from the group, it seems likely that they are all individuals that choose to organize through their Core.

The Core is a sphere of metal-plated flesh and the central component of the Zyol Overmind. It is apparently of the same species as the Zyol, and only one is known to have ever existed; for millions of years, the Zyol have carried with them the same Core, and in that time it has recorded and stored the memories and experiences of every Zyol who had ever lived. The Core has difficulty communicating by itself, although it does appear to be a unique entity, but those who do manage to speak with it find enormously valuable historical data contained within a strange mind. Arguably, it is the most expressive and emotional of any Zyol, having formed rudimentary but heavily stunted emotions—mainly joy, sadness, and glimmers of empathy. The Zyol share these emotions between them, each getting approximately 1/126th of them; as such, the tiniest signs of emotion can occasionally be detected in Zyol, and they at least have an understanding of the concept of empathy and the practical benefits thereof, though do not possess the more complex emotions relevant to it.

The Core also serves a central purpose to the Zyol's increasing mysticism—its rudimentary emotions have allowed it the curiosity necessary to create a simple religion surrounding the Red Void, associating the void's colors with the Zyol themselves and listening to the telepathic emanations that have been ingrained into the fabric of space and time therein. It is the only being known to be capable of detecting these signals, outside of extremely sensitive and costly telepathic receivers. It has not revealed its capacity for telepathic communication, but the strength required to pick up on the subtle background signals and parse them into usable data indicates a telepathic processing strength equivalent to that of things like the Sleeping Heart and the Overseer.

Compared to its small legion of drones, the Core can seem almost childishly curious. To be fooled by that would be hubris unmatched, however, for the Zyol drones are one of the most robust and physically powerful sapient species to ever exist, and their ability to warp space and control reality inside of the Red Void has made them its undisputed wardens.

The Zyol individuals themselves have a uniquely resilient body in many ways. Even the ravages of time seem to ignore the Zyol; each individual can live for millions of years, their lives coming to an end only when they suffer sufficient trauma, an almost impossibility in their tightly controlled environment and with their extremely advanced medical technology. Their minds are as sharp as a blade the moment they are formed and tend to stay that way until the day they die. They additionally do not need to respirate, although they do need to eat and drink. Zyol are immune to all forms of contracted disease, and no substance demonstrates significant toxicity to them.

Taking the place of where one would expect a humanoid's head to be is a small cluster of microbial life. This microbial cluster is a distant relative of the wisps seen today on Sormai, and takes on a similar appearance. It gives shape to a pall of psionic energy that pours from their neck, forming a depthless red sphere of wispy, fire-like energy. The purpose of this cluster seems to be to provide a shell of telekinetic energy to the encapsulated lens. Their brain is in a dimensional limbo, usually held within pockets of Redspace far out of reach, where a 'lens', a small, transparent circular disk, allows them an access point to the present location of their physical body. Psionic energy flows into and out of this lens, giving commands to the body and helping power the brain within.

The Zyol possess a body that at first seems largely mechanical. The largest portion of their body consists of a heavy 'chestplate' formed of chitin-like material despite its metallic properties, manifesting with different shapes depending on the individual. There are two circular vents at their upper back which faintly billow with apparently constantly overproduced energy; in combat, they practically blast energy from the Zyol's body which so efficiently generates it that it cannot actually contain all of it. The excess energy vented can fill an enclosed space and cause chemical-like burns and illness much like the air of their homeworld, but in this case only damages those the Zyol intends to damage.

They also have eight 'arms', which in truth are two tight clusters of four fleshy, chitin-sectioned tendrils at each of their shoulders which form more of that depthless red telekinetic energy around them into whatever shape is most desirable, usually with a thin layer of energy around most of the tendril and a hand forming at the end thereof. Anything from blades to tools can be formed at the end of these tendrils, and although the energy cannot be projected for long at great distances, they can extend the reach of their telekinetic arms quite a distance and reel objects back into their grasp or pull themselves towards objects if necessary. The tendrils themselves are quite stretchy, and terminate in a chitinous point sharp enough to puncture flesh easily, allowing them to be launched into and through targets even with no psionic assistance.

Starting just beneath the chest is another squall of psionic energy, which carries them along at a uniform height of 182cm and gives them an almost regal appearance, as if wearing a long skirt or robe that drags slightly behind them. A set of three strange spikes extends about a third of a meter each into the psionic energy from inside the chestplate, and these spikes can unfold into long, thick and heavily plated spider-like limbs that can either increase their speed significantly or take over if, for some reason, they incapable of maintaining their psionic propulsion.

In spite of their almost complete lack of most emotions, the Zyol do possess a few recognizable feelings: they do feel ennui and boredom, though are not nearly as affected by it as humans and have centuries worth of patience if it is necessary. They want much like other creatures want, they still get pleasure from doing things that they enjoy or that stimulate them, and although they feel no empathy for the most part, they feel an undying sense of loyalty to their compatriots. No Zyol has ever defected or even indicated a desire for such, and would be eager to give their lives if it would further the cause of the Core or their fellows. They feel empathy for each other and can apparently empathize with any creature joined into the Overmind, although this is quite difficult as the Overmind is extremely esoteric, specialized and overwhelming after millions of years of development, suited only for the Zyol and the way they think.