Kherubim

The Kherubim or Kherans are an alien race in Wildstorm comic books. They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.Ts #1 (1992).

Biology
Kherubim resemble humans in appearance, but are physically far stronger and more durable and extremely long-lived, possibly even immortal. The downside to their immortality is that Kherans are almost infertile, only very rarely will a Kheran produce offspring. This infertility doesn't seem to apply when the Kheran is mating with another species though as Earth has various Kheran/human hybrids. Their vocal cords are highly developed allowing a far wider range of tones than is possible for a human being. More powerful Kherans, known as Lords, have the ability to manipulate energy and psionic abilities.

Shapers are a subspecies of Kherans. They are shapeshifters who are able to change their bodies into a mercury-like substance.

Though genetically a different species, the Titanthropes (or simply Titans) have been part of Kherubim society for so long that they are also often called Kherubim. They are large, purple-skinned humanoids who are able to increase or decrease their mass. They have large yellow horns growing from their backs. When increasing his size, a Titan will lose intelligence, but gain strength.

History
Thousands of years ago, the Kherubim destroyed their own planet, according to Titan myth. They then came to Khera and settled it, subjugating the Titans. The Titans would slowly become more or less accepted within the Kherubim society, but remained second-class citizens.

Millennia ago the Kherans came into contact with the Daemonites and a war erupted between both species. This war would last several centuries. A small group of Kherans and Daemonites would crashland on Earth and would inspire humanity with tales of gods, angels, demons and monsters. Their conflict would continue till the end of the 20th century, while in space the Kherans would go on to defeat the Daemonites. Kherans imposed heavy indemnities on the Daemonites and their society went bankrupt trying to pay them off. Khera allowed Daemonites to migrate to the more prosperous planet, but all Daemonites on Khera had to live in ghettos.

When a small group of Kheran and half-Kheran heroes from Earth, known as the WildC.A.Ts, arrived on Khera, they were welcomed as heroes, but they quickly found out that Kheran society had changed over the years. They left the planet, but now the Kherans knew of Earth.

Recently, the Kherubim lord Majestros found hidden Kheran devices, known as Planet Shaper Engines, beneath the surface of the Earth. It turned out that humanity and Kherans are closely related and that the universe has been seeded with their type of species. Similar Planet Shaper Engines landed on Khera, converting the original Titantrophes species into a subservient species and raising a Kheran species. It was also revealed that a similar device landed on Daemon and tried to turn the population into slaves. The device gave birth to the Daemonites as a servitor race and the local 'Kherans' tried to exterminate them when they turned out to be rebellious, but the Daemonites killed their would-be masters.

The Shaper Guild from Khera arrived on Earth and announced that factions within Kherubim society had noticed that Khera was falling apart and that Earth would be an ideal place to relocate to. They planned on using the Planet Shaper Engines to terraform the Earth into another Khera. Kherans are divided over the matter and a civil war is the result.

Culture
Kherans are a warrior race with strong emphasis in hand-to-hand combat and an honor system. Bladed weapons seemed to be preferred despite the vast technological abilities the Kherubim have.

Due to their low fertility, a ritual has been introduced where every Kheran man and woman coming off age has to mate with an appointed partner. When the woman gives birth, she has to become a priestess. If not, she may go on to live her life as she wishes. Lady Zannah has managed to avoid becoming a priestess, despite giving birth, because her mother told others that the baby had died, allowing Zannah to become a warrior. Her mother then passed Zannah's baby, Kenesha, off as Zealot's sister. Unplanned was that as the mother of two, Zannah's mother, Harmony, has become a living legend. No Kheran can remember the last time a Kheran woman gave birth to more than one child in her life. Zannah became the founder of the Coda Sisterhood.

Older and more powerful Kherans are named Lords. It remains unclear what makes a Kheran a Lord, but a Lord is capable of undergoing the ritual of Ascension when he is ready. The Ascension ritual is an important part of Kheran culture, where a Lord asks a partner or good friend to destroy his body so that his spirit can be free. A Lord usually has so much energy stored in his body that this process tends to consume both Kherans.

The Coda worship a goddess, Hecate, but little is known about this religion. Other Kherans appearently don't worship any gods, but believe in individual enlightenment through Ascension.

Though originally portrayed as noble and protective of other species, recently the Kherans have shown themselves to be very speciesist. They look down upon other species while thinking that they are in fact very tolerant and benevolent (see White Man's Burden).

Politics
The Kherans have a political system where various parties vie for power. The major factions: The minor factions:
 * The Pantheon, the party of the Lords. They are currently in power and stand for stability and economic progress.
 * The Coda, a Sisterhood of warriors. They want war and combat to prove their worth.
 * The Shapers Guild represents all Shapers within Kheran society. They follow the orders from the Pantheon, but have their own secret agenda. They claim to shape the destiny of Khera and are aware of its true origin.
 * The Titantropes, while individually repressed by the Kherubim, hold great power as a faction. While being only a small political faction, it is in fact their vote that either keeps the Pantheon in power or puts the Coda in power. So far the Pantheon has been the lesser evil according to the Titans.

So far all Pantheon members seen are male and all Coda-members seen are female, but the open hostility between both factions makes it unlikely that the whole Kheran race is divided into those two factions.

In Wildcats: Nemesis two other factions were revealed:
 * The Brotherhood of the Sword: a male version of the Coda, its members are created through genetic engineering and cloning. They devote their whole life to the mastery of bladed weapons and suppressing their own emotions. Some Bladesmen sacrifice themselves to become Scimitars, using stolen DNA from the Shapers Guild to become living war machines. The Brotherhood on Earth betrayed Khera and allied themselves with Daemonites.
 * The Adrastea: a race of Kherubim empaths, originally bred to be slaves, but they soon became the largest crime syndicate in Kheran society.

Technology
While preferring bladed weapons in combat, Kherans are technologically highly advanced. They own spaceships capable of interstellar flights. They are capable of inscribing knowledge in the form of organic molecules, which when injected into the bloodstream downloads that knowledge straight into the brain. They are capable of manipulating the laws of chance, simply for the purpose of entertainment as their 'Coincidental Mansion' shows. Armies of very advanced androids known as the Spartan Guards serve as soldiers. Spartan Guards have shown high intelligence and superhuman physical capabilities. Their most impressive creation is probably the Kheran Dream Engine, which is capable of turning dreams and thoughts into reality. It is unclear whether this is a rare artifact or a mass-produced item of entertainment.

Notable Kherans

 * Lord Majestros, the greatest living hero for all Kherubim.
 * Lord Emp, ascended from the physical plane. Former member of the Pantheon.
 * Lady Zannah, former member of the Coda.
 * Kenesha
 * Yohn Kohl
 * Lord S'lyton, father of Mark Slayton
 * Lord Entropy, brother to Lord Emp.
 * Ferrian, member of Wildcore. May have died in Gen-Active #4
 * Lord Mythos
 * Lord Khull Imperator
 * Javen of the Shapers Guild
 * Charis, also known as Nemesis. An Adrastea with empathic abilities, trained by the Coda.
 * Raven, a Bladesman. Former lover of Charis.
 * Stratos. Former lover of Zealot.