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The Changeling Horde
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Topic Started: Feb 3 2013, 07:32 AM (192 Views)
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Nightfury
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Feb 3 2013, 07:32 AM
Post #1
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- Posts:
- 97
- Group:
- Members
- Member
- #125
- Joined:
- September 5, 2012
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The Changeling Species
”These creatures are a plague. Unthinking and unknowing. They must be destroyed; you know that as well as I do, before they disappear again.”
Changelings have been common outside Equestria even if they do not possess lands of their own. They originated in legends from the far southwest, first sighted around Vaporia and the nearby landmasses. At this point, they were still a strange occurrence rather than a known species, as the reports only spoke of strange changes in personality and villages missing every resident However, as the Changelings grew in number, the truth came to light, the Changelings revealing themselves and losing all semblance of stealth in favour of full invasion. For the early race, not yet exposed to war, this was a grievous tactical error, as the other inhabitants of the world soon realised their threat and responded in full force.
A treaty was struck with the elder dragons of the Scorched Lands, and the flying citizens of Vaporia. This scourge had to be dealt with, and so for the first and only time in known history they worked together against a common threat. The Changelings became embroiled in the first true war of their race and were soundly defeated and driven back.
By the time the two factions had turned against the Changelings, however, they had dug in and blighted the land. The hives had sucked all nutrients free of the earth and replaced it with toxins, toxins that ignited when the dragons made the decision to use their fire to purge the infested lands. The result was a wasteland that covered the whole western half of the continent south of Vaporia, which has remained as such ever since. The changeling race, however, was not annihilated in its’ entirety. Their adaptive genetics soon formed a new solution to the loss of their upper echelons and in their memory they formed new tactics. South of their previous assaults, closer to the Scorched Lands, an island was discovered and soon inhabited while their previous enemies believed them destroyed; and deep caves were carved deeper and deeper as they reinforced their new stronghold.
Unfortunately they did not remain unnoticed for long. The dragons, angered at the relocation closer to their home, once again purged the surface of the island. But the new design of the hive- the deep tunnels and caves were too far from the surface to be damaged and the hive remained intact and hidden. This was the second time the Changelings race had fought in their short lifetime; and already they had learned to survive in the face of a much stronger enemy.
Soon, however, the race as a whole encountered an issue. They were many, in critical mass, and their source of energy was slowly draining. They could not feed upon each other- not without entropy- and the nearby races were too far or too strong to infiltrate using their powers. Slowly their numbers dwindled over a number of years until finally a decision was made by the current ruling queen: The hives would split up and find nearby populations in order to survive on raids and mental slavery. Teams of changelings, several hundred in number, were committed to an exodus from their island hive and northeast towards rumours of weaker races.
Unfortunately the changeling biology worked against them in this matter. Changelings are hive creatures and as such, they are rarely seen without the presence of a queen for a simple reason. At a distance from the queen the link between the unintelligent drones and their leader is weakened and eventually snaps, sending the biology of significantly powerful drones into overdrive. They will hibernate and form a cocoon to evolve, their body rapidly changing until a new queen is born for her subjects. The closest and most familiar queen controls her drones; and when a new queen is born the whole hive changes to accommodate her control as opposed to any other.
From that point onwards the history of Changelings has been all the same: Roaming warbands and hidden armies that have provided an issue to most if not all of the civilised races in some extent. There are still rumours of changelings hidden on the island hive, if they still exist- though these are rumours that none have bothered to investigate or prove.
Changeling Castes
In every changeling hive there is differing castes of changeling resulting from thousands of years of rapid evolution. These castes are usually limited to a single physical form, and any physical differences between the members of a certain caste are rare if not entirely unseen.
Drones
“Sir, I think there are...many more than we originally anticipated.”
Changeling drones are the meat of a hive and consist of almost all the drones in a standard changeling populace. They are a simple creature; most of their energy delivered in proxy via the queen, and are servants with only the barest sentience and intelligence save for the knowledge of their target, in which they excel. Changeling drones are the size of an average pony, with the hallmarks of a changeling: A black pelt, hollow legs, and a strangely angled horn. Their magic use is rather restricted by the inability to learn spells; and is limited mostly to a magical projectile, a shielding for their meteoric dives, and the hereditary changeling shapeshifting that makes them so dangerous. Their magical field when casting is usually identical to that of their queen. The drones are gender-neutral.
The Queen
”This one was different. It looked like a Princess. Could it be? Are Celestia and Luna not so unique as they claim?”
Without a queen, there cannot be a hive. The queen forms when a number of changelings in a certain area of space are completely devoid of a Queen’s psychic influence, any significantly fed changeling can evolve. This alters them drastically, as, over the course of a few weeks in a cocoon, they more than double in size, their brain growing tenfold in size and complexity and their genes revert to a more pure form, the state that is usually repressed by being under a Queen’s previous control. The evolution of a queen alters them entirely, turning them from a simple drone with a lifespan of up to a hundred years, to a technically* immortal queen with a lifespan of thousands. A queen is always female. *No queen has been discovered dead of natural causes, nor has the natural lifespan of a changeling queen ever been successfully measured or examined. The Queen possesses an inherent psychic ability related to her drones. She can sense, to an extent, the thoughts of the hive as a whole, and direct it with her will. She cannot, however, focus on every individual at once. Their memories and thoughts are their own but she can sense their emotion and life force. It is for this reason that a Queen is difficult to kill, as a strong one can tell where the intruders are by the death of each drone. A Queen herself is slightly hardwired by her form, rarely forming powerful emotional attachments to her drones, and thereby being able to make critical decisions at the cost of replaceable subjects.
Consorts
“Look. Look at it’s eyes. That damn thing knows what we’re talking about, I swear“
The Consort, or Consorts, are either enhanced drones or converts from other races that retain enhanced brain function and independence while still bearing the instinctual attachment that makes them loyal to the Queen. A Consort to the queen is naturally oppositional, as their role is to provide a second opinion and voice errors that the Queen may miss. Multiple consorts can serve one Queen at once however this is rare; as they are highly protective of their loved one. A Consort is far more sentient than a drone, and they still possess powerful feelings of love and attachment to their queen, making them fierce at signs of their being replaced.
Consorts are unusual because while they cannot observe and control the hive the same as the Queen, they have a far deeper grasp of the Hive’s emotions and thoughts. It is often seen that, while the Queen is primary, the Consort is the voice of the hive, and often micromanages things that the Queen would overlook while absorbed in the survival of her own followers.
Converts
“Is that a gryphon? What on earth is a gryphon doing in a Changeling hive?”
By far one of the most interesting abilities of the Changelings is their ability to convert or assimilate beings of other species. Because of the way their shapeshifting spell occurs, their genetic structure is very basic, and varies little to none from one to the next. For this reason it is possibly to strip down almost any being to a basic, changeling-esque genetic code that adds them to the hive. These are known as ‘Converts’ and are most commonly equines, however there have been some claims of gryphon-esque Changelings that take the field to destroy powerful enemies or Diamond Dogs with black skin and insectoid eyes found digging new tunnels when hives are rooted out. These remain claims and rumor, as no bodies have ever been recovered.
The process of conversion requires use of a Changeling hive, which is created from a seed that only the Queen can give. Once the hive is begun, no matter how small, a chrysalis can be created within which rapid evolution can take place. It requires intense amounts of magic and focus; which is why it was never a feasible technique- the requirements to create one convert could easily feed the birth of two changelings. However converts require a lot less energy to feed them because of their origins and (in some cases) memories, hence why they are often used in desperate cases.
The Hive
“Black as the night and yet it bleeds when you cut it...Tell the captain. We have another infestation on our hands.”
While it shares a biological similarity to the changeling race itself the Hive is a plantlike life form, found at the location of any changeling growth. It is an important part of their lifecycle, and is the first sign of a changeling incursion, easily identifiable by the black chitinous surface and green veins of energy.
The Hive is born first of all by a green, gelatinous seed that is generated by a Changeling Queen as a conscious decision. It sprouts from near their heart, escaping through the chest of the queen to plant itself upon a solid surface. A changeling hive seed is, without fail, planted out of direct sunlight, due to the high photosensitivity of the chitin.
Usually, the blackened material hardens and grows into flesh and veins that channel the changelings’ energy into waiting hatchlings. However, when exposed to sunlight the toxic matter starts to char and burn, creating toxic smog that affects most races other than the Changelings themselves. The thick smoke also has a secondary purpose, as after only a short time it can block out the sun, making the surface beneath it habitable for the Hive material.
When samples of the chitinous Hive have been recovered for study they continue to boggle minds. It has the attributes of a plant, growing and feeding like one, however it is a main part of the Drone lifecycle. The eggs that Changelings are formed in all grow within the Hive, with no apparent fertilisation or input from the Queen or otherwise. Without the Hive, the changelings could not exist in the form they do today.
Changeling Magic
While clearly restricted by intelligence, Changelings are hardly without their own magic. Most of the spells they cast, however, are unique to the Changeling race, and locked in their genetic memory. Each and every changeling possesses four spells right from their hatching. These spells, and indeed any spells used by a changeling of any form, are augmented by Love, making them increasingly powerful depending on the size of the hive.
Dive Shield
“Look out! Incoming!”
In combat, Changelings rely upon the element of surprise. The first attack - unnamed by them but commonly called a ‘Dive Shield’ by ponies, is an attack used at the start of a changeling horde’s appearance upon a battlefield. Changelings will almost always attack from the air if possible, due to the attack.
The result of the ability is that during a dive, the diving changeling forms a shield that, as well as protecting them from the impact, increases friction upon the shield a hundredfold. Within moments of the dive the shield is creating enough friction to generate a ball of fire around the changeling; which disperses as a devastating attack when they hit the ground. The fire itself is partially magical, infused with energy and turning the resulting flames green.
Changeling Bolts
”No battle has ever been fought against a changeling group without serious burns being incurred.”
While a default magic missile used by most magicians is a use of pure, arcane magic, the changeling variants are a little different. The bolt is powered by the fire aspect, Ardor, focused into a single strike that mimics a regular magical missile. The result is less damaging but far more painful, inflicting burns that are more likely to maim and incapacitate than to kill. This fits the changeling motive for attacking the other races, wanting to retain as many suitable subjects as possible.
Mental Breaking
”Not only can they pretend to be you, they can get inside your head. Make you little more than a factory for their own power.”
While not a suitable combat tactic, every changeling possesses the means to harvest love by themselves. This comes in the form of mental domination, sending the victim into a hallucinatory state. Externally they become brain dead but internally they are exposed to their own thoughts and memories of loved ones, turning them into a harvestable source of energy for the hive. The only issue is that changelings very rarely have the mental strength to overwhelm a victim with focus, instead being forced to put them down by other means before they can be used.
Transformation
“Starlight, what are you doing back? I thought you weren’t in town for another week.”
The most useful spell in a changeling’s arsenal as well as the best known is the ability to shapeshift at will. Unlike any other illusion or slight modification, the changeling’s ability is unique in that it completely alters the form of the changeling to match that of the subject. The way it does this is by use of fire, which burns unnaturally and painlessly, before replacing each destroyed cell with one that is a duplicate of their target.
Within moments the changeling can become identical to their subject; retaining their own mind but little else. This is assumed to be the reason why Changelings are so basic in their physiology, making it easier to change back and forth as well as between forms, and making the entire process very rapid.
The only exception is of the Queen. Bearing a much more complex form, the energy required to change is not hard to gather but must be used carefully. For this reason a changeling queen most often uses simply cosmetic changes, being colour and shape, without the deeper magic that results in things such as magical ‘auras’ or body heat distribution. When a queen does put herself into a full change it can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to fully alter her body, and the return transformation is explosive, throwing off large amounts of energy previously used to mask her true form.
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