History Characters / XComTheHadesContingency

* [[Characters/XabiarverseEtherealCollective]]: The Ravaged One

* [[Characters/XabiarverseCouncilOfNations The Council of Nations]]: Ali Ennor, The Male Speaker, The Female Speaker, Patrick Rush

* [[Characters/XabiarVerseXCOM XCOM]]:

* [[Characters/XabiarVerseCouncilOfNations The Council of Nations]]: Ali Ennor, The Male Speaker, The Female Speaker, Patrick Rush

All characters tropes go on the respective Xabiarverse [[Characters/Xabiarverse character pages]]. Characters appearing in ''FanFic/XCOMTheHadesContingency'' are listed below with the character page they are currently on.

''The Hades Contingency'', ''The Atlas Protocol'', and ''The Advent Directive'' have substantial AdaptationExpansion from ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' and ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}'', including drastic changes to canon characters and many original characters. In keeping with wiki policy, spoilers for all stories in the series are unmarked.

[[foldercontrol]]
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!Earth Characters
!!XCOM
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
!XCOM
The Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, formed by the Council of Nations as a contingency against the possibility of hostile alien life, and reactivated in the wake of the Ethereal Collective's invasion of Earth. XCOM's mandate was originally to carry out the will of the Council of Nations but became independent following the events of ''The Atlas Protocol''.

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* ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure: The Zeus Contingency, which responds to a failed ground mission with mass bombardment of the operational area to deny alien victories.
* NGOSuperpower: XCOM under The Commander has a fully developed intelligence operations branch capable of altering world events, a near-monopoly on the most powerful alien technology including psionic powers, and a full suite of weapons of mass destruction including chemical and nuclear arms.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: Averted. As is frequently noted, "civilians are not a priority" for XCOM and early on the Thanatos Contingency is enacted, permitting XCOM soldiers to kill any person who obstructs their mission.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Commander]]
!!The Commander
A CIA operative sent to bring an end to the War on Terror, a task which he accomplished through mass atrocity and terror and was condemned for. After surrendering to ensure the survival of his subordinates, the UN faked his death and hid him away for the day that they might need to use him again. When Earth was invaded, he was placed in command of XCOM and returned to war with the same ruthlessness he always had.

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* AFatherToHisMen: Perhaps the Commander's highest held principle is the good treatment of his subordinates, who he provides high autonomy and no restrictions other than those he sees as necessary. It takes a catastrophic loss in the war for him to even make genetic enhancement mandatory for XCOM soldiers.
* FrontlineGeneral: Occasionally would deploy under the cover of being one of his own former soldiers from the War on Terror, but stopped doing so after a narrow brush with death that would have left XCOM leaderless. Returns to the field later on in the war when XCOM's survivability has substantially increased.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Claims he takes no pleasure in committing atrocities, and simply follows the most effective path to victory without emotional involvement.
* IGaveMyWord: Will always keep to an agreement if he offers one, and for that reason is very particular about his terms and when he extends such an offer.
* NoNameGiven: Only ever called the Commander, even by his closest allies. He claims his real name is unimportant and has gone unused so long as to be irrelevant.
* MilitaryMaverick: Always focused on outside-the-box strategies, including those which are generally considered illegal, and does not stand on much formality or regulation for his subordinates.
* TheUnfettered: To the greatest extreme possible. The Commander disregards the idea of morality as idealism and will undertake any action he deems to be necessary. In the War on Terror, this involved nuking cities and mass crucifixion of terrorist relatives and sympathisers, including of children. In the alien war, this included human experimentation, terror attacks against nations complying with the aliens, and uniting the world under his personal vision of perfect government.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Moira Vahlen]]
!!Moira Vahlen
One of the world's foremost scientific minds thought to have been a victim of the War on Terror, Dr. Moira Vahlen had merely gone underground to work directly for the Council of Nations. Though initially accustomed to working within the usual ethical restrictions of research, the Commander's irreverent attitude towards limitation in war soon awakens in Vahlen a cold and obsessive passion towards radical projects.

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* MadScientist: By the time she's experimenting on humans and creating a virus to wipe out the sectoids, it's clear that Vahlen loves what she does.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Her reaction to the enactment of Hades Contingency on Germany, which she was critical in carrying out. Notably radicalizes after reaching this point.
* PlayingWithSyringes: Her primary activity after being set loose by the Commander. Vahlen starts with extremely ambitious projects and soon enough has moved onto using death row prisoners as disposable test subjects, one of whom is later found to be innocent through mind reading.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Raymond Shen]]
!!Raymond Shen
Chief Engineer of XCOM, Dr. Raymond Shen often comes into conflict with the Commander's vision of how the war should be conducted due to his moral principles, which are challenged as the war intensifies.

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* TheEngineer: Creates the majority of breakthrough equipment used in the war, including gauss weaponry, [=MEC=] soldiers, and the WHEEE. The latter two are some of the only non-psionic weapons which are able to threaten Ethereals.
* InternalReformist: Occasionally steers the Internal Council towards attempting less radical solutions before resorting to the Commander's preference.
* MoralityChain: Tries to serve as one to the Commander and Vahlen on the Internal Council, but is rarely successful due to both rejecting moral arguments.
* SacrificialLion: Is killed by Patricia when she attacks XCOM's base.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:John Bradford]]
!!John Bradford
Central Officer of XCOM, Bradford serves as the second-in-command and organizes solider deployments. Thoroughly a soldier's soldier, Bradford doesn't take any emotional investment in the war but is also not dedicated to the Commander's worldview. Eventually killed by The Ravaged One during his assault on XCOM, and replaced as Central Officer by his subordinate Ariel Jackson.

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* NumberTwo: Second in XCOM's command hierarchy if the Commander is unavailable.
* SacrificialLion: Torn apart by The Ravaged One while defending the Citadel's command center.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Peter Van Doorn]]
!!Peter Van Doorn
UN General Peter Van Doorn served as one of the other major commanders in the later parts of the War on Terror, and in that role followed the UN regulations that the Commander spurned. Though they greatly differed in perspective on the worth of the UN, the Commander held respect for Doorn on account of his effectiveness and loyalty to his forces. During the alien war, Doorn is rescued from an alien ambush by XCOM, and thereafter joins the Internal Council once the UN's sabotage of XCOM is revealed to him.

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* DefectorFromDecadence: Joins XCOM in protest of the Council infighting while humanity faces an existential threat.
* FourStarBadass: Almost universally respected for being able to balance the demands of war with ethical demands during the War on Terror. Even the Commander admires his good judgement despite disagreeing with having standards in war.
* TheOnlyBeliever: Doorn truly followed the ideals of the United Nations, which as the Council shows was not a common conviction.
* SacrificialLion: Torn apart by The Ravaged One while defending the Citadel's command center.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shaojie Zhang]]
!!Shaojie Zhang
A former member of the Triads, Zhang betrayed them for assisting alien infiltrators and thereafter was rescued by XCOM. After refusing to turn him over to the UN, the Commander employed Zhang's rare talents in the establishment of XCOM Intelligence, which serves to steer world events in XCOM's favor.

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* ConsummateProfessional: Like the Commander, Zhang acts in whatever matter he believes is necessary, and unlike the Commander he almost never displays regret for those actions.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Betrayed the Triads due to their short-sightedness in assisting the alien invaders.
* FalseFlagOperation: A common technique of his is to plant evidence blaming the aliens for atrocities by XCOM Intelligence. As everybody is set to believe this of the aliens anyway, it's effective.
* SociopathicHero: Fights for Earth through black operations, often ordering the deaths of innocents and committing atrocities.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Patricia Trask]]
!!Patricia Trask
One of the early XCOM soldiers, Patricia Trask comes into greater prominence after the discovery of human psionics, which reveals her as one of the most powerful human psions ever discovered. After spearheading research into the psionic arts, she joins the Internal Council as its Psion Representative. Following several telepathic conversations and blackmail from the Imperator, Trask learns the truth about the state of the galaxy and defects from XCOM to become the Imperator's Herald.

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* MindControl: Her specialty as a Telepath psion.
* MoreThanMindControl: Subjected to this due to a combination of the Imperator's loyalty aura and learning the true insignificance of Earth to the Ethereals.
* PowerLevels: The Trask Scale, named after her, rates her at an 84 out of 100. This makes her the second most powerful human psion to date.
* PsychicAssistedSuicide: Her specialty for wide-ranging attacks is to compel suicidal impulses, which against non-psionic aliens is irresistible.
* WrongSideAllAlong: Comes to believe this of XCOM after learning about the Sovereign Ones and the state of the universe, as well as the Imperator's plan to overthrow them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Aegis]]
!!Aegis
The last surviving member of the Aegis of the Ethereal Empire, Aegis gradually came to oppose the Imperator for drifting from their goal of defeating the Synthesized and an unnecessary invasion of Earth. After providing clandestine assistance to XCOM for some time, he eventually defected wholesale to protect humanity from the Ethereal Collective.
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* ApeShallNotKillApe: As an Aegis, he swore never to take the life of another Ethereal. The ''other'' species of the Collective, however...
* BattleAura: Like all other Ethereals. His creates feelings of confidence and security in those effected.
* DefectorFromDecadence: One of the few Ethereals with ethical objections to the Imperator's actions, and the only one to have acted on them.
* DeflectorShields: His specialty as an Aegis, which can be individual or as large as the horizon.
* FriendlyEnemy: Took this role with the Commander before defecting, having provided him both the Ethereal language and advance warning of Collective attacks.
* PowerLevels: Rates 134 of 100 on the Trask Scale, which he breaks due to being an Ethereal.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Zar'nartha'intha]]
!!Zar'nartha'intha
A member of the Vitakara Zararch who infiltrated XCOM, Nartha eventually turns himself in and and provides XCOM with infomation, including the location of a alien base. He is spared and later let go to be used as a spy for XCOM.
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* DeepCoverAgent: Even describes himself as one during his interrogation.
* DefectorFromDecadence: One of the main reasons he turns himself in is because he feels the Ethereals are treating humanity like unreasonable warmongers like the Mutons
[[/folder]]
!!The Council of Nations
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
!The Council of Nations
A secret organization of the most powerful nations within the UN, the Council of Nations is responsible for the activation of the XCOM project and the appointment of the Commander. This latter point is not without controversy, with the Council almost perfectly divided as if to help the Commander or to execute him for his crimes. They fund XCOM until the end of ''The Atlas Protocol'', at which point the Commander kills them all alongside the rest of the UN and blames their deaths on an alien attack. ADVENT soon replaces them as the rulers of humanity.

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* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: Their main flaw is their inability to act regarding XCOM over the Commander and the bitter division he causes in them.
* UnitedNationsIsASuperpower: Though the public UN is much like the real one, the Council exercises some real degree of power over the world.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Male Speaker]]
!!The Male Speaker
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Female Speaker]]
!!The Female Speaker
[[/folder]]
!!EXALT
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
!!ADVENT
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
!!Sovereign African States
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
!!Agents of T'Leth
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:T'Leth]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chronicler]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lincoln Harper]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Crevan Machas]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fiona Dorren]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lavallic ir Nara]]
[[/folder]]
!Alien Characters
!!Ethereal Collective
[[folder:Organization and Species Tropes]]
!Ethereal Collective
As the Ethereal Empire waged their war against the hordes of the Synthesized, it eventually became clear to one of the Imperators that the chance for victory had been lost. Though the end would not yet come for some time, this Imperator established a hidden cryogenic facility in which they could wait out the war and rise again once the Synthesized had left. This Imperator and his chosen Ethereals entered sleep, and many years later they awoke to a changed galaxy. Having learned the failings of the Empire, they sought out to gain the allegiance of other species to fight the Synthesized, and in time were lead to a primitive world known as Earth.

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* BackFromTheBrink: From an empire of billions to a couple dozen survivors at most.
* BattleAura: Possessed by all Ethereals, causing different effects on unshielded minds depending on the individual.
* GeneralFailure: As a rule, Ethereals are excellent at their individual pursuits but are ruinously awful leaders who almost always fall into personal obsessions and ignore the wider world.
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: Though they've rejected the AbsoluteXenophobe tendencies of the Empire, the Collective Ethereals still almost universally treat aliens as tools and test subjects for their idiosyncratic ambitions.
* VestigialEmpire: Though they reject the title of the Ethereal Empire, they are a group numbering in the dozens at most and are almost wholly reliant on their alien servants.
* WeAreStrugglingTogether: The Ethereals are so focused on their individual ways of doing things that the "collective" is largely a fiction, particularly for controversial members like Isomnum and the Creator or radicals like Sana'Ligna.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Imperator]]
!!The Imperator, Viatorian, Destroyer of the Prime
As the war against the Synthesized turned against the Ethereal Empire, they took the radical step of enacting a program to produce a superior breed of ethereal. From this, the Imperators were formed. One among these Imperators decided the war was lost and sought survival instead of victory, emerging as the leader of the Ethereal Collective in the modern day. This Imperator, Viatorian, was the only one of their number to ever destroy a Prime Flagship of the Synthesized, an action which prompted them to cease testing the Empire and destroy them completely.

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* TheAce: Taken UpToEleven: as one of the Ten, he was this even amongst the Imperators themselves.
* BattleAura: His causes a gradually increasing loyalty to his person and his worldview.
* BerserkButton: Openly insulting Sicarius seems to be one, if Caelior's punishment for doing so is any indication.
* TheCorrupter: If there's anyone to blame for Patricia turning her back on XCOM and ADVENT in favor of the Collective, it's him.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: As an Imperator, he was a hero in the old Empire's eyes. His destruction of the Prime Flagship also led to the Synthesized redoubling their efforts against the Ethereals.
* RedBaron: "Destroyer of the Prime". Considering he is the only Imperator (let alone Ethereal) to have destroyed a Prime Flagship, it is very much deserved.
* StoryBreakerPower: Demonstrates the ability to simultaneously mind control every human on Earth, psionic or not. The war continues purely because he wishes it, and Aegis claims even a direct nuclear strike would not harm him. Only the reality warping powers of the Synthesized ever posed a threat to the Imperators.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Battlemaster]]
!!The Battlemaster
The military leader of the Collective, the last of the Battlemasters takes command of the invasion of Earth following the death of the Ravaged One. Nearly invincible in battle and committed to a code of honor, his methods both challenge ADVENT and provide humanity with opportunities for continued resistance.

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* BadassCape: Wears a red one when he goes to battle.
* BerserkButton: Do not ever target enemy military families, or children. The Creator ends up pushing both of them simultaneously, and the Battlemaster is only stopped from killing her and destroying Paradise because of the Imperator's intervention.
* {{BFS}}: His main weapon, which he masterfully uses either regularly or with the aid of telekinesis.
* CoolSword: His primary weapon, made of Dead World metal and able to cut through even alien alloys.
* HonorBeforeReason: Will not engage in one-sided violence or directly target civilians. He rejects a plan by the Zar'Chon to use clandestine methods to subvert human political bodies and conquer humanity without open conflict and famously armed the muton species before conquering them by himself.
* ImmuneToMindControl: Due to the psychic scars created by the Trial of the Battlemaster, he can neither use mental psionics nor be affected by them. This also prevents him from having a BattleAura like other ethereals.
* LightningBruiser: He moves extremely fast for a regular human, let alone someone his size. Add in his physical strength, his telekinesis and his greatsword, and fighting him soon becomes a nearly impossible prospect.
* MindOverMatter: His main (and only) psionic ability, which he uses to great effect in battle by launching his greatsword or his enemies at great speeds, for example.
* OneManArmy: Far more than most ethereals, the Battlemaster is dangerous even without his psionics and is almost invincible against conventional arms due to his armor, which is made of Dead World metal.
* VillainRespect: Increasingly exhibits this towards humanity for the fervor of their resistance, as well as tricking and nearly killing him numerous times.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Many ethereals hold to this principle due to their low birth rate, but the Battlemaster in particular enforces it zealously. He finds the human treatment of orphans repulsively cruel, bars Collective forces from targeting children, and decides to execute the Creator largely on her use of children in experimentation.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Ravaged One]]
!!The Ravaged One
Formerly of the Overminds, the Ravaged One was the second Ethereal to manage the invasion of Earth, taking over after Sicarius' departure. Warped and wounded, the Ravaged One was obsessed with pain and suffering, and greatly intensified attacks against humanity. He would ultimately be killed during an assault on the Citadel, the first Ethereal to be defeated by human forces.

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* BattleAura: Causes the affected to re-experience all pain they have ever suffered simultaneously.
* ImHavingSoulPains: Experiences this constantly since the Synthesized War, which he has come to consider a form of enlightenment.
* HeroKiller: Wipes out almost a third of XCOM, including Bradford and Van Doorn, during the assault on the Citadel.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: XCOM killing him changes the context of the war from experimental to an invasion. As Aegis makes clear, the Ethereals would never have sacrificed one of their very few surviving members to test aliens, even one as broken as the Ravaged One.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Actually one of the weakest Ethereals due to his tormented nature, which becomes a sobering moment for XCOM with how much damaged he managed against them.
* TragicMonster: Was once a compassionate member of the Overminds, who took on the pain of his captured comrades to spare them torture by the Synthesized, and was turned into the Ravaged One.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Overmind]]
!!Overmind
The last surviving Ethereal to bear the title of the Overminds, and one of the oldest living Ethereals prior to the Synthesized conflict, this singularly enigmatic figure is the right hand of the Imperator.

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* TimeAbyss: This guy is old even compared to other Ethereals; he was alive ''before'' they discovered the key to immortality.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Quisilia]]
!!Quisilia

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* BewareTheSillyOnes: Yes, he is an Ethereal with a tendency to post memes on Twitter and other social media, but he is still one of the Imperator's trusted spies, and he oversees the Collective's intelligence efforts via the Zararch. Underestimate him at your peril.
* TheNicknamer: Is responsible for a respectable number of titles and nicknames, such as "Dread Lord" for Isomnum and "Little Storm" for Caelior.
* PerceptionFilter: Quisilia is capable of erasing the perception of himself from the people he encounters, effectively making himself invisible. This ability doesn't work on recording devices such as cameras; however, he is most likely aware of it and taking precautions to avoid being spotted anyway.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Caelior]]
!!Caelior
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sicarius]]
!!Sicarius
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Revelean]]
!!Revelean
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fectorian]]
!!Fectorian
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cogitian]]
!!Cogitian
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Nebulan]]
!!Nebulan
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Macula]]
!!Macula
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sana'Ligna]]
!!Sana'Ligna, the Healer
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mortis'Ligna]]
!!Mortis'Ligna, the Dead Ethereal
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Isomnum]]
!!Isomnum, the Dread Lord
Once a member of the Empire's Overminds, Isomnum acquired a reputation for his obsession with toying with his victims' fears and breaking their minds. His acts during the Synthesized war resulted in him being hand-picked by the Imperator in the event of a future conflict against the mechanical abominations.

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* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: According to Aegis, this is very much the case. Looking into his life before the Synthesized war perfectly shows why: anyone who talked with him was left on the brink of mental trauma, and even in his youth he'd experiment on animals, inducing heart attacks and insanity.
* BattleAura: His induces fear and terror on his victims.
* TheDreaded: Oh, definitely. When you're one of the only Ethereals capable of making the armies of the '''Synthesized themselves''' run away, you more than qualify.
* RedBaron: "The Dread Lord", based on an homonymous boogeyman told of in old Ethereal stories. This title was bestowed upon him by Quisilia.
* {{Sadist}}: Oh, very much so. He will gladly admit that he enjoys toying with his victims and exposing them to their worst fears until they break.
* {{Telepathy}}: As a skilled telepath, Isomnum was once one of the Ethereal Overminds before the Synthesized war. Among his abilities is a more active version of his BattleAura, capable of making his victims live their worst fears.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Creator]]
!!Amareoux, the Creator

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* BrainwashedAndCrazy: As a result of residing so close to the [[EldritchLocation Dead World]] (and, by extension, the [[EldritchAbomination Bringer]], she went from a relatively pleasant (if arrogant) Ethereal scientist to a madwoman who has performed horrifying experiments of all kinds in service to a psionic abomination with a god-complex.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Deusian]]
!!Deusian, Exarch of the Collective
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Voice of the Sovereign]]
!!Regisora, the Voice of the Sovereign
Formerly an Ethereal archeologist who focused on ancient precursor civilizations, the Ethereal Regisora eventually found her way into a sanctum held by the Sovereign Mosrimor, where she would become the main emissary between it and the Imperator.
[[/folder]]
!!The Chosen
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
!The Chosen
Among the results of the Creator's experiments, the three agents known as the Chosen are regularly used by the Collective in their invasion of Earth.

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* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: In canon, [[WasOnceAMan they were implied to have been humans captured and altered by the Ethereals.]] Here, each of them is a fusion of Ethereal DNA with the following alien genomes: Mutons (Warlock), Andromedons (Assassin), and Vitakarians (Hunter).
* AdaptationNameChange: While the only constant of their names in canon were their titles, this story gives them proper names more in line with Ethereal naming conventions in this universe. The titles themselves are also expanded.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Senorium]]
!!Senorium, Fist of the Creator and Warlock of the Elders
The first one of the Chosen to appear, the Warlock is an immensely skilled psion and unfailingly loyal to the Ethereals, particularly to the Creator.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Venadiar]]
!!Venadiar, Hunter of the Creator and Watcher of the Elders
The second of the Chosen to be introduced, the Hunter is a psychopathic, foul-mouthed sniper who bears a strong hatred for anything related to the Creator and Paradise, including his own Chosen siblings.

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* AxCrazy: How better to define someone who casually shoots both allied ''and'' enemy soldiers in the middle of a battle, just because he's bored?
* BreakThemByTalking: An inevitable effect of talking too long to the Hunter without psionic protection. Notably enough, he has no control over this particular ability.
* FriendlySniper: "Friendly" is one hell of a stretch to make, but he's not averse to bantering with the very people he's killing on the battlefield.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Occidera]]
!!Occidera, Nightmaiden of the Creator and Assassin of the Elders
[[/folder]]
!!Andromedon Federation
[[folder:Organization and Species Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
!!Greater Hive Commanders
[[folder:Organization and Species Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Hive Commander 001]]
!!Hive Commander 001
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Hive Commander 029]]
!!Hive Commander 029
[[/folder]]
!!Aui'Vitakar
[[folder:Organization and Species Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
!!The Zudjari Mosaic
[[folder:Organization and Species Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Origin]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Axis]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mu'ut Jeen]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:I'llan Ceen]]
[[/folder]]
!!Paradise
[[folder:Organization Tropes]]
!Paradise
The Blacksite of the Creator, isolated from the rest of the galaxy, is home to a horrifying cult of unnatural and twisted life, formed by the Creator herself through sickening experiments that border on the unbelievable. They live in worship of the Bringer, an entity trapped within the Psionosphere who promises a "Paradise" beyond death.

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* BodyHorror: Most of the experiments taking place within Paradise qualify as this. The Caretaker in particular look like rotting corpses.
* IronicName: Safe to say that "Paradise" is absolutely ''nothing'' like the name implies.
* ThatsNoMoon: The Paradise Blacksite is spherical in shape, and the size of a small moon. Yang even confuses it for an actual moon when she first sees it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Bringer]]
!!The Bringer
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Umbra]]
!!Umbra
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Preximius]]
!!Preximius
[[/folder]]
!!The Sovereign Ones
[[folder:Species Tropes]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mosrimor]]
[[/folder]]
!!Other Species
[[folder:The Synthesized]]
[[/folder]]

As the Ethereal Empire waged their war against the hordes of the Synthesized, it eventually became clear to one of the Imperators that the chance for victory had been lost. Though the end would not yet come for some time, this Imperator established a hidden cryogenic facility in which they could wait out the war and rise again once the Synthesized had left. This Imperator and his chosen ethereals entered sleep, and many years later they awoke to a changed galaxy. Having learned the failings of the Empire, they sought out to gain the allegiance of other species to fight the Synthesized, and in time were lead to a primitive world known as Earth.

* BattleAura: Possessed by all ethereals, causing different effects on unshielded minds depending on the individual.
* GeneralFailure: As a rule, ethereals are excellent at their individual pursuits but are ruinously awful leaders who almost always fall into personal obsessions and ignore the wider world.
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: Though they've rejected the AbsoluteXenophobe tendencies of the Empire, the Collective ethereals still almost universally treat aliens as tools and test subjects for their idiosyncratic ambitions.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: The ethereals are so focused on their individual ways of doing things that the "collective" is largely a fiction, particularly for controversial members like Isomnum and the Creator or radicals like Sana'Ligna.

Formerly of the Overminds, the Ravaged One was the second ethereal to manage the invasion of Earth, taking over after Sicarius' departure. Warped and wounded, the Ravaged One was obsessed with pain and suffering, and greatly intensified attacks against humanity. He would ultimately be killed during an assault on the Citadel, the first ethereal to be defeated by human forces.

* PlotTriggeringDeath: XCOM killing him changes the context of the war from experimental to an invasion. As Aegis makes clear, the ethereals would never have sacrificed one of their very few surviving members to test aliens, even one as broken as the Ravaged One.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Actually one of the weakest ethereals due to his tormented nature, which becomes a sobering moment for XCOM with how much damaged he managed against them.

!!Sana'Ligna

!!Deusian