Kryll

Kryll
Biographical information
Homeland	The Hollow
Date of death	14 A.E.
Physical description and appearance
Eye color	Yellow
Chronological and personal information
Era(s)	Locust War
Notable Facts	Capable of Flight Extremely Dangerous Extremely Photosensitive Swarms in Large Numbers
Weapons	Teeth
Affiliation	Locust Horde

"Hey, it's dark now, so you better watch it. The Kryll are probably out by now."

—Franklin Tsoko warning Dominic Santiago about the Kryll

The Kryll were highly aggressive carnivores native to the Outer Hollow of Sera. Fliers by nature, these individually meek creatures often swarmed together, becoming a near-unstoppable force that could shred people down to the bone in the blink of an eye.

History

Locust War

Destruction of Halvo Bay

The Kryll were mentioned by COG Soldiers during the Destruction of Halvo Bay, because of this it can be assumed that the Kryll appeared at some point during E-Day or even before the Locust appeared, though this cannot be verified yet. It is also possible that the Kryll soon began to hunt people at dark, though oddly enough they didn't appear during the battle at the Plaza for the Tyran Dead. This may be because of the fires surrounding the city and the Lightmass Missile might have also scared them off.

Evacuation of Ilima

"Damn, the sky... there must be millions of 'em. Doesn't look good..."

—Pvt. Michael Barrick reflecting on the proximity of the Kryllstorm, late in the evacuation

Approximately ten years after Emergence Day, a Kryllstorm was en route to Ilima City. In response, the Coalition ordered a city-wide evacuation, and began sending Gears to help the assist with the operation. However, four hours before the Kryllstorm was estimated to hit, the Locust emerged from under the city, and began attacking the humans still present at the scene. The assault was spearheaded by General RAAM, who was charged to cleanse Ilima in order to use it as a stepping stone to Ephyra. The General himself used the Kyll as means of protection and offensive against the COG. Four hours after the beginning of the attack, Kryllstorm arrived in full-swing, partly because of RAAM's Tremor summoning Seeders throughout the city so that they could use their Nemacyst to ink the skies, accelerating the time of arrival of the Kryllstorm, with the Kryll numbering in the millions. Zeta-Six, a Gear squad led by Lt. Minh Young Kim, managed to evade the Kryll and rescue a group of civilians held up in the Children's School of Hope, while fighting General RAAM's lieutenant and RAAM himself, using an upgraded Reaver that could shield itself with Kryll, just like RAAM himself did, and could launch Kryll Grenades that would release a swarm of Kryll upon the victim, Kim and his squad managed to defeat RAAM and successfully protected the orphanage and its residents, taking them away on a King Raven and escaping the storm.

An Increase of Kryll

By Frost, 12 A.E., Kryll were becoming more and more common around Jacinto Plateau, which forced the Locust to cut back on their night-raids. This caused heavy speculation in the Coalition about the origins of the Kryll, with Col. Victor Hoffman guessing that they were an engineered experiment gone wrong, or something else that the COG did not know about.

Lightmass Offensive

"We gotta get out of here. It's gonna be dark soon."

—Cpl. Damon Baird referring to the Kryll after Marcus Fenix killed the Berserker stalking them in the Tomb of the Unknowns

After Marcus Fenix killed the Locust Berserker that was set loose in the Tomb of the Unknowns, Cpl. Damon Baird commented on the need to leave, as the sky was getting darker. Cpl. Dominic Santiago claimed to have an idea, and led them to a Stranded camp that was under the leadership of Franklin Tsoko. Inquiring if they could take Franklin's Junker, Laverne, the Stranded leader directed them to Aspho Gas Station, who reminded them they had to pass several checkpoints that were guarded by his men.

A torrent of Kryll attacking Delta-One's UV Turret-mounted Junker.

Marcus and Dom eventually made their way to a channel and as they were making their way across, the last sliver of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, prompting the Kryll to emerge from their hiding places and swarm the city. They consumed anything that left the safety of the light, including the first Stranded checkpoint Marcus and Dom had to cross. The two Gears managed to evade the Kryll, building to building, street-to-street, and arrived at the gas station, where they found the Junker.

When Marcus and Dom departed for the camp in the truck, they had to cross the no-man's land that was the city highway, which was infested with Kryll. Fortunately, the junker was outfitted with a Ultra-Violet Turret, allowing them to burn any Kryll that dared attack them. They eventually reached the camp and helped fend off the Locust who were currently attacking it, coming out victorious.

On the way to the Lethia Imulsion Facility, despite it still being dark out, the Kryll didn't bother the team. As the team went through the Hollows, they had to hurry to finish before sunrise and the return of the Kryll. They succeeded in planting the Resonator and leaving just before sunrise when the Kryll returned to the Hollows.

On the Tyro Pillar, Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago faced off with General RAAM who once again used the Kryll as a shield to protect him from weapons fire. Explosives used by the two and a searchlight from a nearby King Raven caused the Kryll to flee RAAM for several moments, leaving him vulnerable to gunfire though the Kryll used these opportunities to attack directly. Eventually RAAM was killed and the Kryll fled without his control over them to keep them there.

Extinction

"Gone, yes. Completely gone, as far as we can tell. Unfortunately, it's also clear now that many Locust survived the attack —how many, we do not know— but at least humanity can feel a little bit safer at night."

—Chairman Richard Prescott's announcement regarding the Kryll's apparent extinction after the Lightmass Offensive

With the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb and the destruction of the Outer Hollow, the Kryll's breeding grounds were destroyed and their species became virtually extinct, allowing the Coalition to retake Ephyra. As a result of both, Ephyran Stranded could once again roam free in their city without the fear of being eaten alive.

Anatomy and Behavior

Anatomy

Kryll were small, winged creatures, measuring around two to three inches in length. Their two eyes also glowed a pale yellow light. Due to their subterranean nature, Kryll were extremely photosensitive, with bright sources of light blinding them to the point of physical pain. In-fact, Kryll were so sensitive to light, they even burst into flames whenever they were exposed to ultra-violet light.

Behavior

General RAAM, one of the few beings who can control the Kryll.

Kryll were nocturnal, and as such, were most active at night. They slept in the safety of the Hollow when the sun was out, but once twilight descended, they would begin to emerge from their subterranean warrens in search of food —which was generally anything that left the light. Kryll swarmed their prey, devouring it piece-by-piece, little-by-little multiplied a hundred fold, utterly consuming the target until there was nothing left, not even bone. Not even the Locust Horde was completely safe from the Kryll's voracious appetites, though they were often ignored when there was abundance of humans to feed upon.

However, the Locust have also been known to directly use the Kryll, the most prominent example being General RAAM, who somehow exerted a sort of control over the Kryll. The black-armored Theron Elite could also manipulate the beasts, to a somewhat lesser extent.

Kryll congregated in large numbers, sometimes numbering in the millions. Such gatherings were referred to as Kryllstorms and they were considered incredibly dangerous by the Coalition of Ordered Governments, enough to evacuate entire cities if one was seen over the horizon.

Kryll avoided bright sources of light at all costs, given how painful they are to them.

Behind the Scenes

Kryll concept art.

• The Kryll were inspired by the Bioraptor creatures of the 2000 film Pitch Black. In Act 2, Dom makes a reference to the movie when he says "It's pitch black. No way we can get through."
• The Kryll were actually planned to be in Gears of War 2. They were supposed to be in a chapter taking place in a cave filled with glowing maggots that they feed upon. But for unknown reasons, the chapter and any actual Kryll appearances were left out. Instead, Epic placed a collectible explaining the effects the Lightmass Bomb had on the Kryll breeding grounds.
• In RAAM's Shadow, RAAM is capable of using the kryll regardless of how bright it is. Considering that light is physically painful to the Kryll, they should not be able to survive at all in sunlight. This may just be an oversight by the developers.
• It has been hinted by Joshua Ortega that their may be different species of Kryll.
• It is possible that the Kyrll that General RAAM commanded when he invaded Ilima may have been covered in ink to protect them from the daylight.