VORLONS

Vorlon Empire

Appearance:
because they were methane breathers and because they wanted to keep their appearance a secret, the Vorlons rarely left their encountersuits and when they did, they took the guise of angelic beings In reality they were seemingly bodiless creatures capable of flying.
Like all First Ones, the Vorlons can live very long.

Telepathy:
Vorlons are capable of transferring thoughts and images to other people's minds and to read minds even by force. Vorlons are also responsible for the telepathic abilities of many younger races.

History:
When most of the First Ones left beyond the rim a million years ago, Vorlons and Shadows were left behind to act as guardians to the younger races. For a long time there was an understanding between the two races despite their diagonally opposite philosophies: Vorlons believed in order and discipline unlike the Shadows to whom chaos meant evolution. Vorlons shepherded the younger races, taking advantage of various beings of light in different religions (appearing as 'angels' and making themselves look like benefactors). In time both the Shadows and the Vorlons forgot the true meaning of their mission and an understanding turned into a fight over power and dominance.

Every thousand years the philosophical difference turned into a war that engulfed the whole galaxy. On 14th century the Vorlons sided with some of the remaining First Ones and the Minbari in the penultimate Shadow War. The Shadows were forced to retreat and the Vorlons were left to look after the younger races. In time they too retreated to the background until they were mere legends. Still, the next thousand years weren't spent in idleness. They continued to manipulate the younger races not only as religious figures but also more directly. Because telepathic interference was the achilles heel of shadow ships, the Vorlons manipulated the genome of many races in order to create telepaths to be used as weapons. Vorlons also visited some planets to abduct people; for instance Sebastian, who interrogated Delenn in 2259, was in fact Jack the Ripper, abducted and 'preserved' by the Vorlons.

When the Shadows returned in late 2250's the Vorlons formed Army of Light to fight against them. Still, they didn't want to strike Shadows directly (or even let them know of their participation) and left fighting to their allies. Kosh Naranek, the Vorlon ambassador to Babylon 5 was their first official contact to humans and many other races. During the next few years the Shadows started wars inside the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, but still the Vorlons remained silent. It wasn't until John Sheridan destroyed a Shadow base on Z'ha'dum that the million-year-old rules of conduit were broken and the Vorlons began persecuting everyone who had had any contact with the Shadows destroying whole worlds in the process. The war ended when Sheridan and Delenn managed to bring all the younger races together and prove that there was no need for guardians any more. Led by, Lorien, the oldest of the First Ones, the Vorlons like the rest of the First Ones left beyond the Rim.