Transcendental being
Transcendental beings were creatures that had existed since before the universe of N-Space had formed, made from the very fabric of time itself. These beings included the Guardians of Time, the Eternals and their cousins the Chronovores (described as the Guardians' children), the Time Wraiths, the Swimmers, and the Great Old Ones. The Sixth Doctor described them as beyond humanity's comprehension, and even his own. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
Interaction with the normal universe
In the aftermath of the Big Bang, the Transcendental beings found themselves in their new home when six dimensions curdled into themselves and formed a six-dimensional universe, a separate realm where they could thrive and prosper without interference from the lesser beings. Known to human science as Calabi-Yau Space, the Six-Fold-Realm was protected by the Great and Ancient Covenant, which bound them, (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) serving as codes of conduct. (PROSE: No Future) For example, the Guardians were essentailly the universe, so they would not dare interfere in order to preserve the structure of reality, (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) using agents as they mustn't be seen to act. (TV: Mawdryn Undead) Because of this power, the Time Lords may have made a deal with the Guardians, (PROSE: No Future) as Rassilon wouldn't dare to break the Covenant, the Time Lords never managing the total destruction of a race of Transcendental beings. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
They preferred the Realm or the upper levels of the Time Vortex, ignoring the deepest levels known as the darker strata. Although they could share the vortex with the lesser beings, the Covenants divided them. However, some Transcendental beings, including the Great Intelligence, the Nestene Consciousness, the Animus, and Nyarlathotep, saw the universe and its people as a challenge to be conquered and raped, and stole away into the hidden places, regions of the multiverse even more remote than the darker strata of the vortex. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) The Celestial Toymaker, Fenric, and Hecuba enjoyed playing games with lesser beings, (TV: The Celestial Toymaker, The Curse of Fenric, AUDIO: The Queen of Time) while the Gods of Ragnarok used them for entertainment. (PROSE: No Future, TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy) The Carnival Queen mentioned creatures who had escaped the old time, describing them as a handful of baby godlings and 'great intelligences,' but considered them to be weak, unimaginative creatures, who gave into the Order imposed on the universe by the Watchmakers. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet)
The Eternals viewed mortals, whom they called "Ephemerals," as toys for diversion from the boredom of Eternity. (TV: Enlightenment)
Transcendental beings had some difficulty interacting with normal life, Chronovores and Guardians feeling cramped in the dimensions of the normal universe, (PROSE: Blood Heat, AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights)
The Eternal Elektra and the Chronovore Prometheus conceived a child they planned would lead all Transendental Beings to common ground and live together with the races spawned by the universe, including humans, Gallifreyans and Daleks. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
Types of transcendental beings
Whereas normal life was made from baryonic matter, the Transcendental beings were made from the very fabric of time itself; the Chronovores were described as living nonbaryonic matter, who in their natural form existed as six-dimensional polymorphic lattices of photinos and chronons, bound by superstrings. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) The Guardians' and Old Ones' natural form was stated to be a collective consciousness, possessing neither form nor substance and existing between dimensions. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)
Transcendental beings were often immortal, with the Guardians always existing until they were no longer needed and the Eternals merely being "transferred" rather than killed. (TV: Enlightenment) The Old Ones were incapable of being killed in the normal universe, (PROSE: White Darkness) and the Toymaker remarked that were he to be killed, he would simply reappear. (AUDIO: Solitaire) Effectively, the only way for a Transcendental being to truly die would be if they willed it. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
Various Transcendental beings displayed similar powers, such as being able to change their appearance (TV: The Armageddon Factor, PROSE: No Future) manipulating time and creating timelines, (COMIC: Time & Time Again, AUDIO: Protect and Survive, PROSE: No Future) and following and moving individuals through time and space. (TV: The Web of Fear, Enlightenment, The Curse of Fenric, PROSE: The Well-Mannered War) Both the Eternals and Chronovores were time sensitives. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus)
The Guardians of Time
The Guardians were one of the powers of the Omniverse that could do anything, (PROSE: No Future) existing as the pinancle of reality, able to collectively act and reshape the universe . (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) They each personified a different concept, and were only as strong as their elements were in the universe. (PROSE: The Well-Mannered War) They were known to only a few advanced species, including Time Lords and the Eternals, who called them "Enlighteners" and deferred to them. (TV: Enlightenment)
Known as the Six-Fold God, the six Guardians were the Black Guardian of Entropy, the White Guardian of Structure, the Red Guardian of Justice, the Azure Guardian of Equilibrium, the Crystal Guardian of Dream, and the Gold Guardian of Life. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
The Old Ones
See Great Old One
The Old Ones were cruel and dangerous beings from the previous universe who tried to conquer the normal universe, and played a more active role than other Transcendental beings. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) They were more a pantheon of various beings than an actual race. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)
Old Ones included the Nestene Consciousness, which could be considered its own race, and Nyarlathotep (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) , as well as the Gods of Ragnarok, Fenric, the Great Intelligence, and the Animus, (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire) all of whom were also called "Elder Gods." (AUDIO: Black and White, Gods and Monsters)
Eternals
See Eternal
Eternals were creatures who used Emphemerals, parasites feeding on their minds, using them as blueprints for their own amusement as a diversion from the endless wastes of Eternity. (TV: Enlightenment) They were disembodied energy matrices, (PROSE: Goth Opera) some of whom posed as gods on Gallifrey, such as Death, Pain, and Time. (PROSE: Happy Endings)
Chronovores
See Chronovore
Chronovores, the most fearsome being Kronos, were winged beings who fed on time. (TV: The Time Monster) According to one account, they were originally native to the real universe, feeding on the raw energy of stars before evolving to a higher plane. (PROSE: The Dark Path) They could be bound by the blood of an Eternal, change their appearance, and manipulate timelines. (PROSE: No Future)
Other similar beings
Although not explicitly stated to be Transcendental beings, creatures that displayed similar characterstics included the Timewyrm, (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation) the Mandragora Helix, (COMIC: The Mark of Mandragora) the Krakens, (PROSE: The Shadows of Avalon, Unnatural History) the Ancient Lights, (TV: Secrets of the Stars, WC: The Alien Files) the Pantheon of Discord, (TV: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, WC: The Alien Files) and The Trickster (TV: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, WC: Monster File: The Trickster's Brigade)
As the Temperon was distantly related to the Chronovores, they were presumably Transcendental beings as well. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)
Terminology
Many of the same Transcendental beings are identified by different names, making true specific distinctions unclear. Various accounts have refered to the Celestial Toymaker as being from a race of Toymakers, (PROSE: The Celestial Toymaker) a Guardian, a Great Old One, (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) and an Elder God, (AUDIO: Black and White) although "Elder God" may have just been a synonym for "Great Old One."
Additionally, the Guardians were also Great Old Ones, considered a pantheon within a pantheon, with the other Great Old Ones considered to be "sub-Guardians." (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)
The Fifth Doctor knew of many time sensitive races: Time Lords, Legions, Tharils, Chronovores, Eternals, and Transient Beings. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus) The Sixth Doctor later referred to the Great Old Ones as "transient beings". (PROSE: Millennial Rites)
The Carnival Queen referred to a handful of baby godlings and 'great intelligences,' (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet) implying there were others besides Yog-Sothoth. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire, Millennial Rites)
The Eternals were considered part of the "Old Ones" that existed during the Dark Times. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead)
