While most young creatures' formative years are marked by learning how to crawl, walk, speak and count, it isn’t the case on Intrepidus. Ceremonial death matches between siblings are a long-standing tradition there and one of Kiiwog’s earliest memory is of killing his brother. (How proud his progenitors were!) These killings were a rite of passage for warriors of Intrepidus. A way to prove that they were ready to do what those of his species have always done: conquer other worlds.
Kiiwog, however, had another goal: Evolutionary Perfection. Natives of Intrepidus have evolved to evolve. Their bodies can recalibrate, endlessly and rapidly, to ensure they’re the apex predator no matter where they go. However, these changes are only triggered through combat where life and death hang in the balance.
Kiiwog’s compatriots, obsessed with seizing and ruling other planets, viewed their specialized adaptations as merely a means to an end. For Kiiwog, the adaptations were the obsession. He was enthralled by his capacity to constantly improve, by his own apparent limitlessness. Unfortunately, the improvements he managed to accumulate in the years since departing from Intrepidus failed to satisfy him.
Though he made it a point to pursue dominion over the most formidable realms he heard of, such places were outnumbered by territories populated by simple peasants shearing fleece from smelly, eight-legged beasts. What he needed were worthy rivals, real warriors like himself to face off with, if he wanted to spur his biology into hyperdrive.
Kiiwog believed there would finally be a seismic shift for him when he targeted the Kingdom of Celedius, which possessed a respectable royal army and no fewer than twenty-five moons. He’d be proven right, but not in the way he imagined. Three Celedian moons had already been subjugated, and the blood of thousands of the royal army was already spilled upon Kiiwog’s face when he learned of the Athelan Battlegrounds.
In a moment of clarity amidst his bloodlust, he realized what this could mean for him. He made his way to Celedius, killing anything in his path and dragged its harried sovereign from his fortifications. Pressing one very large foot against his throat, he put a stop to the man’s outraged screeching.
“You shut up and you listen,” said Kiiwog. “I have been made aware of the Athelan Battlegrounds and I want in. I nominate myself as Celedius’ champion, and under the guise of defending your independence, I shall have the opportunity to clash exclusively with the greatest combatants in the known universe! I will taste perfection and in exchange you and your people will get to continue to live. And you, tiny king, will see to it that it is done!”
Kiiwog relieved the pressure applied to the king’s throat just a bit. From down on the ground, eclipsed by the Intrepidian’s hulking shadow, the once-noble man choked out: “Y-yes!”