Xellok

The Xellok are a race of parasitic worms that have the ability to take over its hosts mind and control it like a puppet. They are a hive mind race that learns with each person it infects to which it then uses in combat, they are a major threat to any organic beings and are currently being looked at as a potential bio-weapon by Imperial scientists.
==History==
==Culture==
Though not directly having a culture like most species the Xellok are a race based around a Hive-Mind centered around the Queens. The Queens are highly powerful Psykers that after years and years of collecting, and storing, knowledge from their hosts have gained something similar to a "personality" giving them the ability to be different and unique amongst a race of "clones". After the Queens the Xellok are commanded by Aniras, or known as Princes among other races, which are larger and do not require hosts to survive. 
===Relations with Other Races===
Being a parasitic life-form the Xellok view all races as either food to be consumed instantly or herded over the years. Though they do have special "thoughts" on other races and vice versa.
====Eldar====
Most Eldar, if they know of the Xellok, do not care for them at all and view them as a minor problem compared to other races such as the Tyranids or the dreaded Necrons. Most Xellok believe the Eldar to be an Ancient Race to be respected but believe their time is over and the rise of the Xellok is coming.
====Imperium of Mankind====
The Imperium of Mankind knows very little of the Xellok and therefore does not think of them as a threat to be dealt with. But to the Xellok, The Imperium of Mankind is their worst and most hated foe, because of their destruction of the Xellok Creators. 
====The Tau Empire====
The Tau Empire are considered guardians by the Xellok because they unknowingly guard the Xellok Homeworld Tresk. None of the Tau Empire knows the Xellok come from Tresk, and such they continue to guard the Xellok homeworld.
====The Forces of Chaos====
The Forces of Chaos, the ones who care or even know of the Xellok such as the Brethren of Spite , view them as bugs just like the Tyranids who can't be brought to the side of Chaos. The Xellok view the Chaos Worshipers, and their Gods, as filthy Parasites, ironically, and do not believe they will have a full place in the home of the Xellok "Network"
====The Necrons====
Xellok Forces keep away from the Necrons mostly because of their inability to infect the Necrons. The Necrons view the Xellok like all other races and see them as nothing more then worms. The Xellok view the Necrons similar to how they view the Eldar, as Ancients who should be feared and respected but like the Eldar their time is over. 
====The Tyranids====
The Tyranids have a "unique" relationship with the Xellok in that they have never actually met on the battlefield. The Xellok have a unique way of "pushing" away the Tyranids from their locations with their unique telepathic signals.
====Orks====
The Xellok view Orks as the perfect food-source. Stupid, naturally psykers, and many in numbers. The Xellok believe the Orks are the key to attaining perfection in genetics. Orks view Xellok as food and playthings to smash other races with.Da Rattz are one example of Orks directly having a connection with the Xellok.
==Biology==
The Xellok species itself is small worm about 15cm across with multiple sets of small legs it uses for scuttling around. The worm has an exoskeleton like sheath on its head for faster movement which it then sheaths off once inside its host, this reveals a head with 10 eyes and a small mouth which it uses to feed. The back of the worm is where its Psykonic Transistor is which is where the worm receives and transmits information from the queen, it picks up these signals from the two antennae like appendages at the back of it and then carries out its orders. The worm latches onto the upper spinal column of its host where it controls the brain and nervous system from, the whole worm is hidden underneath the skin except the two antennae at the back which stick slightly out the back of the neck allowing it to pick up and send out information to the queen. Once the worm has infected its host it gives birth to tiny cell sized spores which spread through the hosts body and inhabit its blood and saliva, the host can then infect others by getting the said fluids into another host, usually by biting, kissing or other bodily contact. Once the infected spores are in another host they form together in the digestive system of the body where they duplicate themselves until there is enough of them to create an embryo. This embryo takes protein an nutrients from the ingesting food in the host to form a baby Xellok inside the egg, once enough protein from the host has been gathered the embryo hatches to reveal a full sized Xellok worm.
The worm then makes its way from the digestive system to the upper spinal cord where it latches on and takes command of its host. This whole process can take anywhere between a few hours to a full day depending on the type of host and the amount of protein it received, it is sometimes possible to kill the parasite before it hatches by starving one’s self so the embryo receives no nutrients and dies off. Once the worm has control of its host from the spinal column it is able to link up with the hive mind and receive orders from the queen, often the worm is told to lie dormant and let its host carry on before taking over or ordered to infect others in more subtle ways such as kissing or drinking from the same cup as an infected. To do this the worm does not need to take full control of the brain and just needs to send impulses to the brain to command it, this gives the host a great desire to do what the worm told it to which can then in turn give it a complete repellent to any other action other than the one the Xellok wishes its host to do. In order to take full control of its host the Xellok must send a great impulse of pain through to the brain to the point on which the host falls unconscious. It is after this happens the Xellok worm is able to tap into the mind and restart it with full control of the body, it requires more nutrients and protein to keep this up though so it must feed more and not just rely on natural food the host eats.
It is usually at this point that the attack has begun so the infected will then hunt down any non-infected hosts and either infect, or eat them. The worm could consume the corpse for more food or it could just bite it and allow the still living host to become infected and join the ranks of the Xellok. Dead bodies can also be raised by the infection as long as the brain is still intact and all the vital organs for running the body such as the heart and lungs. This way of infection takes a lot longer as the worm has to literally turn the brain back on after being dead, these infected are usually slower or at a disadvantage due to their wounds and often even missing limbs. The Infected do not tire nor feel pain or fear making them formidable warriors in battle, they can suffer grievous wounds and even loss of arms and legs and continue fighting, it is only though destruction of the brain or the vital organs that the infected are killed. Once connected the hive mind they have access to all the information gathered through infecting hosts and then sending the knowledge in the hosts mind back to the queen.
The information is only sent to each Xellok as he requires it making them an enemy that learns from each victory and how to do better with each defeat, the information can take a while to process depending on how much was sent. A Xellok who curiously picks up a gun will learn pretty quickly how to use it but can often take many hours to learn how to drive a tank and sometimes whole days of processing to try and pilot a spaceship, the hive mind only knows that of what it has taken over making enemy commanders a prime target for infection as they know the battle plans and such allowing the Xellok to counter them. It is also believed that the infected do retain their consciousness only have no senses or control of their body, many Psykers who touched the minds of a blood thirsty infected have claimed that under all the intent to kill and eat their does exist a small notion of what the person used to be, they say the infected still can only witness the destruction and death their bodies are doing and that killing them is an act of mercy.
===Mutation===
A strange trait of the Xellok is their dangerous ability to mutate the host they control into a bigger, better and more deadly killing machine than before. The Xellok is only able to mutate if their host is dormant and thus must be unconscious to do so, the Xellok will reside to an out of the way place where it enters a deep slumber and begins the mutational process. It does this by splicing together Xellok and its hosts DNA into a strand of mutated, evolved DNA, it then clones this particular strand and starts replacing the original DNA with the new mutant strand. The replaced DNA lays dormant and doesn't mutate the host until later on, once all the DNA has been replaced by the new strand the host awakens again along with the new mutant DNA. Once awoken the hosts body starts to rapidly change as the new DNA strand is revealed, this first tier of mutants will be an equal mix of the original host and the Xellok.
The result is usually the body of the original body mixed in with some of features of the Xellok, things like the skin texture change to the feel of the worm and often things like tentacles and blades grow from limbs overall giving the body a more insectile look. This first level of mutation usually takes a few days to complete depending on the host type, the second tier of mutation then can be achieved through the same process. Tier 2 mutation takes about a week to complete but results in an even more dangerous creature, by now the body is 75% Xellok and only 25% of its original host.
The body is a lot more mutated and show little resemblance to their original being, by now the basic shape of the host will have changed greatly and usually grown is size, they could have large claws or blades on their arms and their bodies would be a lot stronger. Some even develop hard exoskeletons that act as a layer or armour against small arms fire, these mutants are a lot harder to kill then the basic infected but are rarer and usually specialized to a certain role of combat whether that be stealth, assault, speed etc.
An even higher level of mutation, Tier 3 mutation is achievable after about a month of lying dormant, these mutants are extremely powerful and very hard to kill. They have almost no resemblance to their original form and only retain 12.5% of their original DNA, these mutants are considered major threats in the battlefield being able to heavily armoured vehicles like tanks with ease.
===Xellok Strains===
While it is common for Xellok to mutate their hosts, it is also possible for the Xellok worm itself to mutate and make it more effective in a specialized role. The Xellok achieves this in a similar manner to how it receives orders and commands from its queen, the queen is able to send a Psychic "template" for the worm to mutate to. Once it has received the template the Xellok worm will find a host if it hasn't already and start to infect it as it would normally, what it does differently is that it doesn't take over the hosts mind from the spinal chord and will instead live inside the digestive system of the host. It does this so it can receive large amounts of nutrients quickly and easily to which it needs in large amounts to mutate, once enough food has been consumed the worm then changes in accordance to its new DNA coding. This can take anywhere from a few hours to a week depending on the host type, and the complexity of the mutation, once the mutation is achieved the worm becomes a new strain of Xellok and continues to fulfill its orders as it would normally.
Also, while all strains give the worm an often much needed specialization, they will almost always have a downside, the Breeder Strain for example provides the Xellok to grow new Xellok from within their own host allowing for quicker infection but will also reduce the lifespan of the host. The other feature about strains that mutations don't include, is that any spores birthed from a Strain of Xellok will retain that Strains abilities when hatched. This makes them easier to create that mutations who have to be done individually.
====Queen====
The top of the command ladder in the Xellok race, Queens are the commanders who control all of the individual Xellok and their hosts that were birthed from them. Each Queen controls all the Xellok under its domain to which she commands, Queens are one of the few fully sentient Xellok units and are capable of reasoning and strategy. Their are only a few Xellok queens in the whole galaxy at anyone time who are always fighting each other as much as they fight any other race, it is believed that the Xellok Queens mainly wish to infect other races so they can wield a larger army of hosts and have more knowledge on war so that they destroy and assimilate the other Queens and their Xellok. Queens are also powerful Psykers who use their talent to command and receive information from the Xellok under their command, each Queen has a particular Psychic frequency to which all the Xellok under its domain are linked onto.
This system is very similar to a comm-net or such and as with any large scale communication net, it is possible albeit very difficult to tap into the frequency and see what the Xellok are up to. This is only achievable by powerful Psykers with even more powerful ones being able to hack into the system and temporarily take place of the Queen, all though this will only last a few seconds before the Queen takes back command, it is enough time to order all the Xellok into a trap or simply order them to destroy themselves. Physically Queens are less than potent relying on their Psychic powers to fight their enemies in person, Queens are usually guarded by multiple Royal Guard Strains who fight and die for their Queen. The Queen also lay eggs which hatch open to fully grown Xellok worms who can then go find a host and reproduce themselves.
====Aniras====
Also known as Princes, Aniras are the second in commands for the Xellok race. Aniras are created in a manner very similar to the creation of different Xellok strains, from all the Xellok eggs birthed from the Queen, 1/10,000 of the Xellok born from these eggs will be a Royal Xellok. These Royal Xelloks look almost exactly the same as normal Xellok apart from having a larger Psychic Transistor. The usually small bulbous part on the back of the Xellok worm is made alot larger and glows brighter on the Royal variant, this is to give that Xellok an extra capability, while most Xellok can only send and receive information from the Queen, Royal Xellok can send information to other Xellok allowing them to relay orders from the Queen in greater detail than they would usually receive. It has been noted that a group of infected who receive an order directly from the Queen will greatly lack in any tactical thinking on how to carry out their task than if they were to have a Royal Xellok within their ranks. This makes Aniras even in their larvae form potent field commanders capable of turning the tide of a battle, of course the Aniras are still under the command from the Queen and are still forced to follow orders from her, the difference begin that they can comprehend their orders better and are able to think for themselves when it comes to battlefield tactics.
The only down side of their expanded body is they lose the capability to take over hosts and thus must be evolved by the Queen much like a Xellok strain, once born the Royal Xellok larvae will be noticed by the Queen as a small ripple in the Psychic net to which she controls, she will then send that larvae the DNA template for evolving into a higher form to allow it to fight on the field. The worm receives this template and begins mutating, but as the Royal Xellok cant take over hosts they cannot gather the nutrients and proteins needed for the transformation. They instead gather it by finding and consuming other Xellok larvae, the Royal worm will send out an impulse to which other Xellok worms hear and then offer themselves to be eaten by the baby Anira. Usually after eating about 50 or so of its fellow Xellok, the larva can begin the mutational process and become a fully grown Anira. After a period of about a week the process will be complete and the Anira, or prince is fully grown and ready for commanding. The Anira is a potent physical warrior capable of tearing a man in two with its arms or impaling them with its tail, aswell as this the Anira can also now use its Psychic powers offensively rivaling the power of a Space Marine Librarian in Psychic strength. Aniras are also what are to become the next Queen if an event would kill off the current, the Queen will pick the most powerful of all her Aniras and give it the DNA template for mutating into a new Queen. A psychic lock then prevents the template from being used until the current Queen is killed or dethroned in some other way, once this happens the Anira with this template will begin consumption of other Xellok in order to become a Queen. It is for this that the Queen only chooses the most powerful of her Anira to be her heir as the soon to be Queen has to consume another Anira in order to gain the nutrients to begin mutating.
Usually this would be easy as the Anira would have to abide the queen and let itself be consumed but as the Queen is dead and the  future one has yet to evolve the Aniras are broken from their allegiances and start to think for themselves. Each Anira sends out Psychic impulses to try and swerve as many Xellok over to its command in order to destroy its rival Aniras, the death of a Queen thus causes a massive civil war within that particular faction of Xellok. If the intended heir is successful and is able to consume another Anira, the mutational process can begin. After a few weeks the mutation should be completed and a new Xellok Queen is born. All the Aniras and their Xellok that were fighting eachover are once again binded to the new Queen and take orders from her as they would from the last, if the heir was unsuccessful however and was instead consumed by another Anira. That Anira would gain the DNA template in order to become the new Queen and would instead become the new Queen, if all the Aniras are killed then the Xellok in that faction would go rabid like animals and eventually die off without the guidance of the Queen or the Aniras.
====Overlords ====
Overlords are an extremely rare form of Xellok hatched from only one per million eggs laid by the Queen. What makes these overlord eggs special is that they are actually act as gates into the controlled Psychic network to which all Xellok are connected to, the reason for this lays back many thousands of years ago in the time that the Xellok were created. Before the demise of the creator race, a few were saved by implanting their own souls into this network with the hope of being resurrected later. What they didn't expect was the Xellok to later find these anomalies in their network and to try and root them out, after thousands years of genetic perfecting by the Xellok, the first overlord egg was hatched. These eggs act as a lure for these souls to escape their prison and be conceived in a new form, when hatched these eggs give birth to extremely powerful psyker Xellok called Overlords. When the Xellok found that these Overlords were actually their creators in a higher form, they immediately swore their loyalty to them as gods, the Queens see them as their divine creators to which they wish to serve, out of fear or out of loyalty it is unknown. Overlord Xellok are special in that require no hosts to survive living purely off the energies of the warp, their perfect connection with the Immaterium is as strange as it is as deadly with Overlords being extremely potent Psykers. They also have full access to the hive networks, not being limited to just one Queen's, this allows them to communicate with any Xellok Queen or otherwise whenever they wish with full clarity. Their supreme power allows them to order any Xellok in the galaxy who will then follow these orders like they were from the Queen, the Queens then is turn wish to please their superiors who believe that they too will be gifted with the superiority of the "higher form". There are but a few overlords in existence and most of them are in deep underground vaults hidden away on Tresk or have teleported themselves to another planet, through their power they are capable of folding space allowing them to jump from one point to another anywhere in the galaxy. Due to this, Overlords have caught the attention of atleast one Chaos Warband who now wish to destroy the Xellok for the threat they produce, atleast one Eldar Craftworld also see them this way who have sent kill teams across the galaxy hunting down these Overlords before they gain anymore power. Overlords are quite large growing up to 50 metes in length, most of their body is made up of the Psychic conduits which give it its great power. Considered a great threat by most of the spacefaring races, Overlords are constantly on the run or under great protection from hordes of the best Xellok mutants and hosts.
====Anriks====
Anrik are a sub-breed of Aniras who are entrusted with guarding the Queen and even more important Overlords. While heirs are chosen from those Aniras who show the most strenght in command, Anriks are chosen of those who have distinguished themselves in battle. Once chosen by the Queen, these Anriks receive a Psychic DNA code much like they would if they were to become a Queen or mutant. This mutations requires alot of food to accomplish and is why the Queen will always choose two Aniras at once, these Aniras make their way to the Queens throne room where they begin a battle to the death. The Anira who wins then consumes the loser which provides him with the nutrients to begin the mutation into an Anrik, after a week of mutating the now Anrik is assigned to guard the Queen where they will do so until they die. Anriks are mutated for battle, theyr'e body is toughened to withstand extreme punishment and they're minds a tempered for offensive Psychic capabilities. From they're body protrudes two large cannons that shoot a highly corrosive acid capable of melting through even Power armour, they use these cannons for susspression and taking down enemies from afar. A Queen will usually have no more that five Anriks protecting her due to the shortage or Aniras avalible to here, some Anriks are assigned to protect the Overlords. These Anriks are able to travel with the Overlord when he teleports.
====Breeder Strain====
A common form of Xellok strain, often used in large numbers. The Breeder Strain mutates the Xellok worm and changes the way it reproduces once inside a host, usually when when a host is infected the Xellok infects the blood and saliva of its host with tiny Xellok spores. When these spores get inside an uninfected host, they form together into an embryo, then hatch a new Xellok. The Breeder strain changes this, instead of the spores forming an egg in a new host, they are now able to hatch within their original host and hatch there, allowing for multiple Xellok within the same host. The Xellok grows within the host as it would normally and takes the same time to complete, once hatched the worm can either stay inside the host or exit out through the mouth or other orifice. This allows the host to infect others alot quicker as the Xellok within them can just crawl out and assume direct control of the new host, the new host then can grow another Xellok within them and repeat the process. Up to 10 Xellok can be grown within the one host allowing for quick infection of multiple targets but also dramatically decreases the hosts lifespan as the Xellok within in must be provided with nutrients. If the host runs out of targets to eat the worms will be forced to eat their own host which would usually provide a single worm with several weeks food, but when multiplied by 10 the hosts will barely last a couple of days. Breeder Strains are useful for fast attack and ambushes were speedily infecting hosts is required, they are not suitable for longer conflicts due to their short lifespan.
====Burster Strain====
Another common Strain, Bursters have the ability to explode killing or injuring all those in a small radius. The Bursters Strain changes only one thing to its host, instead of its spores being used to infect and create the more Xellok they change into a volatile explosive that blows up when near enemies. The spores produced from the Xellok instead become thousands of tiny explosives within the hosts body, on top of this the Xellok itself becomes a bomb itself with the power of a fragmentation grenade. When the Bursters attacks a group of uninfected, it sends a low level Psychic impulse throughout its body that detonates itself and all the spores within it, this makes them great for ambushes on enemy squads or armoured infantry such as Space Marines. While it is also able to blow it self up, Bursters are still able to attack normally via biting and scratching, when bitten by a Burster the explosive spores get inside the victim like they would normally. The spores than duplicate and form together in the host as they would normally and form a Burster Embryo, the embryo hatches to another Burster Worm who then takes over the host and repeats the process. Adversary the spores can just explode once inside the host giving the Burster an "explosive" bite, the Burster can chooses whether to explode or grow the spores within his victim by the same method he uses to detonate himself, with a low level Psychic impulse. Bursters are extremely volatile however and can be exploded from a safe distance with normal gunfire, this makes them good for close range urban conflicts such as hive cities but are near useless in open terrain.
====Feeder Strain====
The Feeder strain, is essentially, a Xellok used to feed other Xellok. The Feeder strain works like any other strain in that it modifies the effects of its spores when inside a host. When a host is infected with a Feeder Xellok, the spores produced are instilled with the rich proteins and fibers of the hosts body, these spores are stored in the hosts body like normal. Any starving Xellok in the area would then be ordered to go to the nearest Feeder Xellok, when they arrive the Feeder then expels some of these spores in a gaseous form. The starved Xellok inhale the spores which will provide for them over the next few days, enough time to catch and eat another victim, the Feeders are useful assets in longer conflicts where available food is running out. If a host finds himself unlucky enough to be bitten by a Feeder, a Feeder Xellok will grow inside to repeat the process. The only down side of Feeders is that their combat efficiency is diminished as the gases within them bloat theyre body and slow them down considerably. Their bodies are weaker and often will explode upon dying due to the escaping gases.
===Infected===
====Humans====
The most common type of infected due to the many human worlds the Xellok have attacked, infected humans may be physically weak but are quick and work in numbers. The many millions of humans that have been infected has given the Xellok a massive amount of knowledge on them, infected humans commonly use las-guns and stub weapons and are sometimes seen driving vehicles. They will often use their sheer weight of numbers to overrun the enemy and then infect them gaining numbers, PDF soldiers on infected worlds are usually the first to be attacked and infected before they can react to the outbreak. Human infected are also prime for mutations and strains as the large amount of them infected and their basic bodies makes it easier for these mutations. 
====Orks====
Commonly seen on worlds that were once under Ork attack, infected Orks are resistant to damage and strong in melee fighting. Infected Orks also work in numbers and are used as assault troops for the Xellok hordes.While still near useless at ranged attacks, infected orks are ferocious melee units who are also seen using Ork vehicles for the Xellok. The other useful aspect of infected orks to the Xellok, is that there previous WAAAGH powers can be used to further the reach of the Queen or the Aniras, they do this as using the Orks minor psychic minds to act as conduits for their command. This allows the Queen to send out more complex commands to her armies on the field, the more amount of Orks in the area allows for even more cohesive orders giving them a tactical flexibility not usually seen by the mindless Xellok hordes. Orks are also easy to mutate and be used as hosts for strains due to the amounts of them that have been infected, when they do mutate they will increase their melee toughness and damage resistance making them great for assaults on the most heavily fortified positions.
====Adaptus Astartes====
Adaptus Astartes are one of the more rare type of infected that the Xellok have ever infected. Like others, Astrates are controlled via an Xellok tapping directly into their nervous system and taking control. However unlike others, Xellok Warms mutate an Astrate based on what type of armor they were wearing upon infection, as the Worm takes the sign of armor as a difference within hosts.
====Kroot====
Like many races Kroot can also be infected by the Xellok Parasite. Also like all other infected Kroot can be spliced, or mutated, by the Xellok. Infected Kroot retain the ability to "Shape" like all other non-infected Kroot, giving them a massive advantage within the Xellok because their DNA is so easily changed and manipulated. Kroot Infected vary so much that they can't all be classified the same way.
====Tau====
The Tau are very similar to the human infected in that they, are some of the most common infected and retain most of their traits they had before infection. Instead of most infected Tau stay the same and use their acid-projectiles instead of claws or tentacles in combat. Their stomachs have been mutated to instead of fully digest things that enter it but to instead turn it into a glob of acid and whatever it is that that Tau ate before infection and to "weaponize" it.
====Daemons====
Daemons that possess a organism Infected by the Xellok also receive changes to both their minds and in most cases their bodies. Though never physically infected Daemons can be mentally infected should they possess a infected organism. Once a Daemon infects a Xellok Host they are trapped until banished, or the host dies. During that amount of time the Daemon is constantly "bombed" with the entire collective thought of that Xellok hive eventually causing it to believe that it is one with the "Xellok" making it want to serve the Hive. The Daemons "infected" by the Xellok can be summoned into the physical universe by Queens, Overlords, or Princes.
====Calipsian Legionaries====
The Calpsian Horde Legionaries are also very common among the Xellok Hives. They are almost as common as the average human, giving The Xellok the ability to manipulate their genetics to fit "the bull". Although common like Humans, they are far faster, stronger, and all-around deadlier then the Infected Human. They vary upon the type of Feral Legion they come from but are always faster and stronger then the Infected Human. It's common for the Legionaries to shout out the catchphrases of their former Feral Legions, as a mockery.
==Notable Xellok==
===The Ancient Overlord===
Though it's known the Ancient Overlord exists only few people have met the Ancient even fewer have survived. The Ancient Overlord is a Unique Overlord in that it was the first Creator to go into the Network and the first one to become a Overlord. Being around thousands and thousands of years old the Ancient has had years of experience and such is considered a "genius". Many Psykers, of most factions, assume the Ancient is on the planet of Tresk because of the massive amounts of Psyker energy rolling off of the Ancient. One being has confronted the Ancient Overlord and survived, this individual was later executed on grounds of heresy, this person was called Subject Zero.
Category:Xellok
Category:Xenos Species
Category:OrkMarine