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++FOR RELEASE BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE ORDO XENOS++
Species: Ternati
Location: Azoc Sector, Cassus
Classification: Xenos Horrificus
• Animalia
• Arthropoda/Annedila
o __/Hexapoda
• Polychaeta/Insecta
• Eunicida/Cleoptera
Background
The Ternati were once a sentient and highly psychic race. The ruins of their civilization were discovered in the Azoc Sector on the uninhabited Western continent of Shrine World Cassus in 6 150 857M37. Whether they are native to Cassus and the Azoc Sector is unknown; no Ternati spacecraft has ever been found (though the rare minerals that their technology implements of are not yet known to be found in any other systems). The original forms of this species were bipedal, insect-like humanioids with large compound eyes, mandibles, and a hard carapace and exoskeleton. Though not comparable to that of the Imperium, they could be considered technologically advanced and possessed the means to harness their great psychic might. Due to a mysterious cataclysm, the entire species regressed into a parasitic insectoid hivemind, drastically decreasing in size and losing all humanoid features. Two main forms of the new species exist, one retaining its previous beetle-like appearance while the other retains similarities to extinct species carnivorous and parasitic worms of ancient Terra, albeit in enormous proportions. Perhaps as a holdover from their previous psychic prowess, the Ternati demonstrate the ability to organize around a “Queen,” which can give complex instructions to multiple organisms.
Biology & Behavior
Ternati are opportunistic parasites. Each individual creature carries spores that, when introduced to the bloodstream of a living creature, will migrate to its brain and begin cultivating a Queen. Upon encountering an organism larger than itself, a single Ternati unit can signal the rest of its brood, which will swarm towards the object and proceed to bite it. These creatures will hold the creature immobile and begin to strip the flesh from it, leaving only the brain until a Queen arrives to claim the carcass. Once implanted, the Queen integrates with the nervous system of the creature and then signals the appropriate forms from the surrounding environment to build a facsimile of the original around the skeleton, expanding the neural network through their bodies as necessary. The more worm-like forms will incorporate the musculature, while the smaller carapace creatures form tough external scale armor. Finally, the Queen synthesizes specialized insect forms that replace the sense organs, which may vary wildly depending on the host.
If a potential host is unlucky enough to survive the first encounter and escape the swarm, they still carry the Queen’s spores within and must report to a Medicae facility within 6 hours to avoid irreversible infestation. The process of delayed infestation is as follows:
Hours 1-2: Subject appears normal. Bites may itch and bleed. Circulatory system carries spores to the brain, where they activate, implant themselves, and multiply.
Hours 2-3: Subject experiences acute swelling of the brain as the Queen takes shape and irritates the tissue of the nervous system.
Hours 4-5: Somewhere within this period, the subject becomes catatonic. They will fall over as if unconscious, but their eyes will remain open and be completely aware of their surroundings, though unable to respond to any stimuli. The only survivor (a Psyker, who was able to assist Medicae Tech Priests in halting the transformation) described a horrible pain as freshly spawned worms crawled down his spinal column and moved towards the organs. These are injected with various enzymes as needed to keep them functioning as the rest of the body is reconstructed around it. Muscles and connective tissues are consumed and then replaced by the appropriate creatures, and, with the only individual characteristics unique to these creatures, some extra sensory organs or extraneous physical alterations may appear as well (ex: antennae, mandibles, claws, eye stalks, etc). Any digestive or circulatory tracts are converted by specialized forms from their beginning and terminus. Magos Biologis tech priests hypothesize that this allows them to more effectively nourish their new “host,” as the swarm can no longer dissipate to feed individually.
Hour 6: Complete assimilation. Only the subject’s brain remains. It is unknown if the host retains consciousness after the replacement period has been completed; the Queen takes over all skeletal muscle control and some systems of the autonomic nervous system, but all other brain function is left unaltered. As the Ternati form an extreme attachment to their new body, they will defend against any attack upon it and usually cannot be removed in a manner that does not also result in the host’s death. It is entirely possible that the original consciousness of the host body remains a prisoner within the shell of its former self, unable to move its new limbs, forced to experience the rest of its existence as a puppet until it is finally destroyed with enough force to disrupt the Queen.
Technology and Architecture
Ternati structures exhibit a consistent and pervasive three-sided geometric theme. The ruined Ziggurat that they were discovered in was inlaid with two types of crystalline minerals native to Cassus, one white and one red. Studies conducted on the minerals by the Astra Telepathica reveal that the white crystal impedes the flow of psychic energy and resists the touch of the Warp, being described as “slippery” by psykers who attempt to interact with it. The red crystal does the opposite, carrying psychic energy across vast distances like wire carries electricity. The complex geometric structures found in the ruins are hypothesized to be focusing arrays, long distance communications devices, or perhaps databanks, though the testing of this hypothesis by any human psyker has been expressly forbidden.
The Cataclysm
The nature of the modern Ternati is not nearly as horrifying as its origin. According to the report of the Heretic Psyker Kullem Killain (Traitoris Excommunicae), who claims to have contacted the “memories” of the species through a psychic cogitator, the species began experimenting with the separation, containment, and eventually the embodiment of aspects of their consciousness just before the downfall of their civilization. Ordo Malleus Adepts have described this as “a species creating Daemons from their own flesh and mind.” According to the report, one of these creations burst free from its containment and killed its progenitor, starting the widespread extinction of their race.
Species: Ternati
Location: Azoc Sector, Cassus
Classification: Xenos Horrificus
• Animalia
• Arthropoda/Annedila
o __/Hexapoda
• Polychaeta/Insecta
• Eunicida/Cleoptera
Background
The Ternati were once a sentient and highly psychic race. The ruins of their civilization were discovered in the Azoc Sector on the uninhabited Western continent of Shrine World Cassus in 6 150 857M37. Whether they are native to Cassus and the Azoc Sector is unknown; no Ternati spacecraft has ever been found (though the rare minerals that their technology implements of are not yet known to be found in any other systems). The original forms of this species were bipedal, insect-like humanioids with large compound eyes, mandibles, and a hard carapace and exoskeleton. Though not comparable to that of the Imperium, they could be considered technologically advanced and possessed the means to harness their great psychic might. Due to a mysterious cataclysm, the entire species regressed into a parasitic insectoid hivemind, drastically decreasing in size and losing all humanoid features. Two main forms of the new species exist, one retaining its previous beetle-like appearance while the other retains similarities to extinct species carnivorous and parasitic worms of ancient Terra, albeit in enormous proportions. Perhaps as a holdover from their previous psychic prowess, the Ternati demonstrate the ability to organize around a “Queen,” which can give complex instructions to multiple organisms.
Biology & Behavior
Ternati are opportunistic parasites. Each individual creature carries spores that, when introduced to the bloodstream of a living creature, will migrate to its brain and begin cultivating a Queen. Upon encountering an organism larger than itself, a single Ternati unit can signal the rest of its brood, which will swarm towards the object and proceed to bite it. These creatures will hold the creature immobile and begin to strip the flesh from it, leaving only the brain until a Queen arrives to claim the carcass. Once implanted, the Queen integrates with the nervous system of the creature and then signals the appropriate forms from the surrounding environment to build a facsimile of the original around the skeleton, expanding the neural network through their bodies as necessary. The more worm-like forms will incorporate the musculature, while the smaller carapace creatures form tough external scale armor. Finally, the Queen synthesizes specialized insect forms that replace the sense organs, which may vary wildly depending on the host.
If a potential host is unlucky enough to survive the first encounter and escape the swarm, they still carry the Queen’s spores within and must report to a Medicae facility within 6 hours to avoid irreversible infestation. The process of delayed infestation is as follows:
Hours 1-2: Subject appears normal. Bites may itch and bleed. Circulatory system carries spores to the brain, where they activate, implant themselves, and multiply.
Hours 2-3: Subject experiences acute swelling of the brain as the Queen takes shape and irritates the tissue of the nervous system.
Hours 4-5: Somewhere within this period, the subject becomes catatonic. They will fall over as if unconscious, but their eyes will remain open and be completely aware of their surroundings, though unable to respond to any stimuli. The only survivor (a Psyker, who was able to assist Medicae Tech Priests in halting the transformation) described a horrible pain as freshly spawned worms crawled down his spinal column and moved towards the organs. These are injected with various enzymes as needed to keep them functioning as the rest of the body is reconstructed around it. Muscles and connective tissues are consumed and then replaced by the appropriate creatures, and, with the only individual characteristics unique to these creatures, some extra sensory organs or extraneous physical alterations may appear as well (ex: antennae, mandibles, claws, eye stalks, etc). Any digestive or circulatory tracts are converted by specialized forms from their beginning and terminus. Magos Biologis tech priests hypothesize that this allows them to more effectively nourish their new “host,” as the swarm can no longer dissipate to feed individually.
Hour 6: Complete assimilation. Only the subject’s brain remains. It is unknown if the host retains consciousness after the replacement period has been completed; the Queen takes over all skeletal muscle control and some systems of the autonomic nervous system, but all other brain function is left unaltered. As the Ternati form an extreme attachment to their new body, they will defend against any attack upon it and usually cannot be removed in a manner that does not also result in the host’s death. It is entirely possible that the original consciousness of the host body remains a prisoner within the shell of its former self, unable to move its new limbs, forced to experience the rest of its existence as a puppet until it is finally destroyed with enough force to disrupt the Queen.
Technology and Architecture
Ternati structures exhibit a consistent and pervasive three-sided geometric theme. The ruined Ziggurat that they were discovered in was inlaid with two types of crystalline minerals native to Cassus, one white and one red. Studies conducted on the minerals by the Astra Telepathica reveal that the white crystal impedes the flow of psychic energy and resists the touch of the Warp, being described as “slippery” by psykers who attempt to interact with it. The red crystal does the opposite, carrying psychic energy across vast distances like wire carries electricity. The complex geometric structures found in the ruins are hypothesized to be focusing arrays, long distance communications devices, or perhaps databanks, though the testing of this hypothesis by any human psyker has been expressly forbidden.
The Cataclysm
The nature of the modern Ternati is not nearly as horrifying as its origin. According to the report of the Heretic Psyker Kullem Killain (Traitoris Excommunicae), who claims to have contacted the “memories” of the species through a psychic cogitator, the species began experimenting with the separation, containment, and eventually the embodiment of aspects of their consciousness just before the downfall of their civilization. Ordo Malleus Adepts have described this as “a species creating Daemons from their own flesh and mind.” According to the report, one of these creations burst free from its containment and killed its progenitor, starting the widespread extinction of their race.
