Grom Empire, The

The Grom are a mostly hostile race, motivated by anger, hate and revenge. They claim that nearly the entire galaxy was within their grasp, many years ago. They also claim that they will one day rise to their former greatness, exacting revenge on those who apparantly wronged them. Either way, they aren't really that much of a threat at this point, just full of hot air.

Biology
The grom actually have some of the most interesting biology in the known universe. Their main bodies are nothing special, however, they have a seperate, moving "core" that functions much like a normal creature's brain. Destroying a grom's main body may be relatively easy, but unless the core is destroyed as well, the grom will survive. This core also has the ability to "possess" another creature, should it somehow get inside. Fortunately though, the core is easier to kill than the grom itself, so unless it sneaks up on you, it's not a threat.

It is very easy to tell if a fellow creature has been possessed by a grom. The grom core has a large, bulbous eye near its center. Due to the core's need to be constantly exposed to oxygen, it is neccisary for this eye to poke its way through to the outside for the core to survive. Some say that poking this eye while it is exposed kills the core, allowing the host to live, others say that the eye has a clear, thick, protective film around it's eye. Still others say that when a grom core dies, it releases poison, causing both the core and its host to die.

History
(Note: The following is translated into English from Master Grom's (current Grom leader) "correct" version of grom history, any records here may or may not be correct, and anything about the great and mighty grom gods you should disregard immediately.)

     Since the beginning of time, the Grom Empire was a strong and powerful army, heck, we use to own almost this entire galaxy. Honestly, no one could have, or at least should have, been able to stop us. The Grom Empire used to possess some of the most advanced tech in the universe (stuff like light speed travel, genetic engineering, teleportation, pretty much the works).

     Some of our leaders got a bit...erm...arrogant, and began starting wars they were certain we would win. Turns out having everyone else hate you even more than they already did DOES have its disadvantages, as so many empires attacked at once, it was hard for our empire to keep up. Nearly our entire great civilization was wiped out.

     Lucky for us, the great and powerful gods came down to us, protecting the last two, most isolated planets under our control. They promised us we would return to our former greatness, and more! Progress, however has been slow, and its been hard for our civilization to grow (guess they actually remember us, heh heh...). One day, however, we will return to our former greatness, on the great outstretched wings (well, we don't actually have wings, so...err...arms I guess?) of our leaders and our gods. All sons of those who devastated our lands will pay for their cruelty to our kind, and we will rule the galaxy, nay, the UNIVERSE!

(After that, its a bunch of rubbish about stuff like "ALL HAIL MASTER GROM" for the rest of the book...)

Culture and Society
Not much is known about grom culture, the few planets they have left are extremely heavily guarded, so they're almost impossible to observe up close. They seem to eat nearly anything, but they tend to eat only living things, as in, STILL living. Despite their military's incredibly hostile nature, grom citizens are actually usually very docile and calm, unless they percieve you as a threat. Due to their past, they aren't very trusting, even among themselves, and even simply things, like exchange of money or spice are only done with many witnesses around.

The closest thing that grom government could be compared to is communism. The leader of the Grom Empire (currently Master Grom), is in charge of literally everything. Well, not everything, there are some rebel grom, those that don't believe the lies of their government and fight for their entire society to start over, but they're even more alone than the normal grom. Literally no one likes them, at least yet, there's rumors they plan on meeting younger races, races of whom they might be able to start over and gain trust. Until then though they're a target to literally everyone.

The grom military is highly trained, highly sophisticated, and with the right tools, highly deadly. Their special designed armor absorbs most damage for them, allowing them to take down hundreds, sometimes even thousands of enemies before death. However, this armor is highly expensive to make (usually only the current grom leader and the highest military officials have them), so most troops are armored with cheaper alternatives, or even completely unprotected.

War Efforts
Under normal circumstances, the grom would be wholly envolved in the war effort (in fact, a select few are), but due to their reduced size, the grom mostly stay in hiding. However, when a nearby planet is weakened by war, they're usually the first to jump on the occasion to attack.

Tactics
Should you ever encounter a grom army, there are a few things you should know. Due to their reduced size, they now mainly attack via one of two methods. Either they'll wait for your group to split up into much smaller groups (usually single digits), and wipe you out bit by bit, or they'll surround you, making their forces appear much larger than they truly are. However, rarely, VERY rarely, they will actually attempt a full scale invasion. Should this happen, keep in mind that this invasion is as risky for their empire as it is yours.

Should you ever get into a position where you must fight the grom, remember that they don't truly die until you destroy their core. This core should be watched closely, and preferably killed on sight, as this core also has the ability to control other creatures' brainwaves upon entering their bodies. Also, remember that grom soldiers usually have weak or no armor, meaning short work can usually be made of them when they don't have a clear advantage.

Notable Figures
Master Grom - The current grom leader, he tend to be rude, sarcastic, and quite a bit insane. He claims to be a scientific genius, and to his credit, grom tech has come a long way since his reign.

Angel Grom - Angel Grom is (supposedly) the leader of an isolated group of grom that managed to keep the technology of old. She, along with others from her group supposedly use some of this technology to "shapeshift" and spy on other alien races. Master Grom claims to have met these grom, but no one believes him, well, except his followers...

Elder Grom - Elder Grom is ex-leader of the grom. He's Master Grom's father, and had the second longest reign to date, right after Alpha Grom, the first leader of the Grom Empire. His reign was passed on to his son when he (supposedly) had a change of heart about what his people had done. He went into hiding, and is now rumored to be the leader of the rebel grom.

Summary
In short, the grom claim to be a once great empire, but are mostly full of hot air. They tend to be vicious, rude, and generally unpleasant to be around to the point that its suprising they haven't been wiped out yet. Should you ever get into combat, the most important thing to remember is that as long as their cores are not destroyed, they will be able to keep coming back.

