Hydro Heads

There are many that fear the Hydro Heads. They call them demons and abomination. Even those from Haven, the Hydro Heads original home world, don't consider the Hydro Heads as natural.
In actuality, the Hydro Heads are an old species, one that has adapted to the various environments they have found themselves in over time. The Origin species had six walking limbs, developed two primitive hands for grasping, and a long tail with a strong neurotoxin stored in a hardened stinger. Now, the genetic changes they have made to keep the Nest safe has resulted in over 30 subspecies.
Despite the variety of species, the Hydro Head all have the same systems of communication. A relatively normal one is the animalistic gestures and vocalizations each species can do, though these are somewhat limited by whatever subspecies is trying to speak.  However, all Hydro Heads can communicate with each other silently over the shared Consciousness. When speaking over the Consciousness, their third method of communication often pulses with their silent speech. The third method is through their skull gem, which not only pulses with silent speech, it also changes color depending on the mood or feelings of the individual Hydro Head.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

The species is a hivemind, connected by a gem like structure that humans called "Skull Gem".

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

There are multiple subspecies within the Hydro Heads. Each new subspecies that forms follows a pattern until the 10th member of the species is born.

1. Aleph
2. Beth
3. Gimel
4. Daleth
5. Heth
6. Vau
7. Zayin
8. Cheth
9. Teth
10. Yod

The first unique name of a species begins with the 11th.

Average Technological Level

Hydro Heads are a bio-tech species.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

• Balance – all things in moderation. Good comes with Bad, just as Bad comes with Good. • Conservationism – preservation of the environment in which one’s food grows. • Loyalty – betray not one’s kin, for one’s kin is all you have in the end.

History

To the Ancients of the Cosmos, the Hydro Heads are known as Darkness Eaters and Light Bringers, due to how they consume Darkness which, the Ancients thought, allowed the Hydro Head’s original species’ skull gems to glow brightly. They noted how the Hydro Heads caused a massive culling of other creatures born of shadows and from that, they chose to begin interactions.
         The Origin became the apex predators of Haven, gaining true sentience/sapience through their exposure to the Ancients. They grew to understand Balance and adopted various ideals they thought would benefit the Nest, the word for their people.
        The Ancients presence was not unnoticed by another race, one younger than both; Dragoona. The Dragoona did not take kindly to the Ancients sharing knowledge with the Origin, thinking they had lost the Ancient’s favor. They took up arms against the creatures, their actions losing them favor as they were cast away to their technology and magic. 
         The Origin were then given a gift the Ancients had intended for the Dragoona; The ability to create organic technology. The Origin hesitantly took the gift, asking question after question as the Ancients changed the elementals’ fate. The Ancients answered happily, rewarding their natural curiosity with the last gift that would lead to their terrifying destiny; A hivemind complex with the inability to have their minds altered by those outside their Nest. With that, they were able to turn to consume various neurological parasites wherever they were found.
          Later in their history, interplanetary humans arrived. At first, the two avoided one another. Humans at that time were a warring species and the Hydro Heads desired their peace. Unfortunately, humanity had a habit of sticking their nose where it didn’t belong. They saw the Origin and thought they belonged to some ancient civilization, claiming them as an unnatural element to the environment. Before the humans made the decision to engage the Origin, war broke out amongst the species. 
          The Origin watched from afar as the humans beat themselves into primitive status then rebuild itself, only to forget the past’s lessons and continue to war with itself. Eventually, the Origin could no longer remove itself from their influence; The humans began to kill the Origin’s food source, Myth Slugs, as the little creatures ate human crops along with other flora. Myth Slugs removed the metal compounds of Myth Ores while saturating their own flesh with the Element with which it was imbued. For this transgression, the Origin began its adaptation and declared war on the humans. The first conflict with the humans created the first subspecies, the Ghost Viper, after a group of Origin were caught in a hellish blaze. Crying out from the pain, the Origin Leader began to alter the next generation of eggs in hopes that they would better resist the flames.
           That day, the Origin would cease, and the Hydro Heads would take their place; The same genetics rearranged.
            Metal eaters, body snatchers, mind controllers, and invisible scouts entered the field of war in efforts to take down humanity. When humanity was down to the last settlement, the Dragoona and their Dark Creator by-product stepped in. From then, the Warring Trio came to be. Their war raged for millennia consuming those around them. The Dragoona realized that while their attention had been fully drawn to the Nest, their other territories were under threat by Dark Creators. They shifted away for a few hundred years, allowing the Dragoona temples and outposts to come to ruin.

Historical Figures

Origin Gist Usek Harley

Common Myths and Legends

“Origin” the myth of how they came to be.

         With their new found sapience, The Origin species felt incomplete. They looked to the Elements for what they felt was missing and began to consume them. 
          Earth weighted them down. Electricity left them too quickly, leaving them lightly drifting in the breeze. Fire burnt them, creating the first Ghost Vipers. This left Light, Water, and Darkness as their remaining options, for they dared not consume Time or Space, fearing that they may become frozen between dimensions or lost to time. 
           Light singed their flesh violently, leaving some blind and guideless. While Water did satisfy them, drowning their thirst and giving them volume, it did not complete them. Then they consumed Darkness, trying the various purified and tainted forms. Tainted Darkness left them feeling hollow yet full as if they'd consumed food. However, purified Darkness left them feeling whole, much less of its form filling their bellies. Happy, they readily consumed the final substance, unknowingly turning it into their own Light, and became creatures of darkness in the process. 
           Since then, they fed on other creatures of Darkness, pure and tainted alike. When it became scarce they finally returned to consuming parasites and solid meats. They were amazed to find that they could finally eat without endless hunger. They became immune to the parasites, The Deluge and its relatives. They found that some of them could consume metal alloys and ores and remain unaffected by them. Ultimately, they found themselves satisfied.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Hydro Heads can get along very well with other species, even with their worst enemies if a compromise is reached. This mixing has resulted in a variety of hybrids between these species due to the Hydro Heads strange genetics. These hybrids, while considered Hydro Heads, lack the hivemind that connects them to the rest of the Nest.

Scientific Name

Chordata

Origin/Ancestry

The Blank Elementals

Lifespan

100 years

Conservation Status

Endangered However, humans seek to drive them to extinction.

Geographic Distribution

• Last King of Inheritance