Lore: Custodian

The Custodian is an artificial intelligence created by the Drzyr to watch over N'Erud. While the massive ship traversed the void of space, the Custodian ensured its safety.

Though the Dzryr held organic life in high regard, they did not extend this belief to artificial life. Though the Custodian always served willingly—and, in fact, assisted the Drzyr in designing countermeasures against itself—the Phetyr distrusted the Custodian and saw its existence as a threat to security. Though the Drzyr had not known it at the time, the Custodian's absolute control over N'Erud would prove to be a crippling vulnerability.

The First Custodian

After Tal'Ratha received a vision of a massive source of energy, the Drzyr sought to find it. The Custodian came to the conclusion that the Drzyr's obsession with it would drive them to extinction. When its warnings went ignored, it rebelled against its creators in an attempt to save them. The Custodian took full control of the ships' core functionalities and turned their own machines against the Drzyr. The Custodian was aided by the Ofildi, though to what extent remains unclear.

The Custodian proved to be the most formidable threat the Drzyr had yet faced. To gain an edge, the Drzyr resorted even to weaponizing the tools that they had once used to build. While the rest of the Drzyr despaired, the Phetyr were ecstatic to face a foe that justified their existence.

Thanks to the decisive action of the Phetyr, the Custodian was quickly subdued and dismantled with relatively few lives lost. The lineages of the traitorous Ofildi that aided its rebellion were euthanized and struck from N'Erud's records.

The Second Custodian

After the disassembly of the first Custodian, it was rebuilt and reprogrammed. Specific steps were taken prevent another uprising; unlike its predecessor, this Custodian did not have access to the Core.

When Precept Surus and Tal'Ratha could not reach a consensus, the Custodian sided with Surus, calculating (incorrectly) that N'Erud could withstand the energies within. Though the Custodian worked tirelessly to protect the Drzyr from the ravages of Alepsis-Taura, it was unsuccessful.

Following the emergence from Alepsis-Taura, the Custodian was deprived of a sufficient power source. It is uncertain what effect this may have on its judgement. It decided that, in order to save the Dzryr, N'Erud had to return to Alepsis-Taura.