Najklax (entity)

> "*Let his name be a symbol of my strength and will to fight against all who threaten or ever threatened our domain... our Empire!...*"
> ― Broodmother Najklax's last dying words.
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## Najklax

Corpse of Najklax, the Overmind (credit: Eddy González Dávila - ArtStation)

## General Information

### Planet of Origin

Najklax (previously known by a different name)

## Najklaxian Informaton

### Abilities

Psionics, Divided Attention, Kindred Assimilation, Genetic Splicing, Possession, the Royal Gene

Najklax (alt. *the Overmind*) was a powerful entity that lived on the Najklaxian homeworld of the same name. It inhabited a massive body with a diameter of approx. 500 metres and acted as a single ruler by then existing Najklax Empire.

## Origins

The origins of the Overmind are as murky as the swamps the Najklaxian species inhabit. Despite of that, it is said and remembered on an almost personal level by the Progenitor Broods that one day there emerged a Broodmother of her own stature on the evolutionary scene who would change everything.

### Najklaxian Homeworld in the Times of Old

Latent sentients at the time and not yet known by their current name, the Najklaxians were nothing more than hunter-scavengers, organised merely into Broods and packs with animal-like instincts at their base.

Many Broods competed for dominance on this world in constant battle. Vicious as they are, the early Najklaxians had just started to figure out how to use tools--which they're unwilling to employ today--thanks to their fledgling sentience.

### The Advent of the Broodmother

Somewhere in the west however, in the territory of Zakleth Brood once oppressed by their neighbours, there arose a Broodmother that became an heiress to the previous one--bearing the name that we're all too familiar today--Najklax.

Unlike her predecessors and competitors, she possessed a complex intellect coupled with an advanced decision-making ability she used directly to retake her hives and warrens previously lost to other Broods, earning a reputation of somewhat of a liberator among her progeny.

### The Gift

On her quest however, she did not forsee to stumble upon a signficant find that would become the pivotal point in the Najklaxian history. To the south of Zakleth Brood--their Brood--a peculiar set of out-of-place ruins was found, unlike any of the warrens constructed by the Najklaxians. The architecture: black as the blackest night, laced with LEDs shining in alien blue; the fortifications: unassailable to any sharp claws or projectiles the Najklaxians possessed; the intricacy: unlike any they've ever seen--the pinnacle of technology of a bygone race that had precursed them.

Was it because of her intellect or something hidden within her, she was let inside of the inner sanctum of the enigmatic ruins. There at the centre hovered an object of great power--the Ancient Obelisk--inside of which was barely inserted an item in a form of a blade instantly understood by Najklax to be some sort of keystone. It didn't take long for her curiosity to push her into activating the Obelisk.

Almost immediately, the object had changed the Broodmother entirely: her senses had sharpened, mind had expanded, and even her biology had shifted to accomodate the changes in her consciousness. The Obelisk had granted her a gift of sentience, far greater than any individual in other Broods possessed.

### The Vengeful Conquest

The gift allowed her Brood to quickly become dominant on the planet. In a violent crusade against the Broods that had oppressed them for so long, she went and conquered their territories, employing advanced strategies and tactical adaptability. No amount of primitive tools would stop the Zakleth Brood, especially when your numbers are overwhelming and are used smartly. The other Broods were simply given a choice: to sumbit to her as superior, or perish. Quickly enough, the others joined her Brood and the entire planet was unified with a few exceptions, such as several isolationist hives who build their warrens far too deep into the ground to be reached.

### Conception and Birth

The Obelisk was not just bearing one gift, however. Though its immense power was great, it could not fit in a frail body that of a Broodmother. A few months following the unification she would soon conceive an heir to inherit her domain.

When she chose a perfect spot--a wide flat terrain near a gigantic mountain range, with few vegetation--she was led there almost at an instinctive level, compelled either by a great desire to give birth or an exhaustion from bearing the fetus for so long. As soon as she arrived there, along with her trusted guards, she would soon collapse on the ground and slowly expire from exhaustion. Her last words were remembered well by her guards, carried through the ages to reach the ears of current-day Broodmothers:

> "*My son... My beloved, for so long had our Brood been under threat, our enemies forgot what humility is. The fools they were to dismiss us so quickly. We had to survive at the time, and now that we prosper and they rot in the swamp, we are feared and respected. My dear, I can feel your heart beating next to mine, and now that the end is near, I draw my last breaths for this... To all my Progeny, I command you to hearken, now! Let his name be a symbol of my strength and will to fight against all who threaten or ever threatened our domain... our Empire!... We will expand farther... \*gasp\* ...to the stars... and make them our nests! Our offspring will sing of our glory in generations to come!... My son-- \*gasp\* Najklax-x-x...*"
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The fetus itself was still alive, however. It had grown to slowly devour the Broodmother's dead body, expanding further beyond the carcass. The drones were soon allocated to feed the young larva of the Broodmother's heir, Najklax.

And thus, the Overmind was born into this world to inherit his predecessor's domain, which will be named both in honour of the Broodmother and her son as Najklax Empire.

It was believed that her fossilised bones still lie to this day beneath the Overmind's massive body, which was later proved in the far future in the course of the Second Nest War, during the funeral of Najklax.

## Abilities

As the ruler of Najklax Empire, the Overmind possessed a set of powerful abilities focused almost entirely around his command of armies. These abilites had been directly inherited from Broodmother Najklax, which were enhanced further by the Obelisk as its full power was unlocked. In addition to that, a few other powers manifested themselves as his body grew and became stronger with age

### Psionics

Theorised to have his powers originate from within the Obelisk, Najklax possessed a fully realised psionic potential--as compared to his predecessor's merely fledgling one--which enhanced his other abilities inherited from the Broodmother.

### Divided Attention

Najklax's mind was able to split its attention at a supernatural level, opening vast possibilites in areas of direct command of troops and colonial management.

### Kindred Assimilation

Najklax was able to fully assimilate other units into the hivemind if they were of Najklaxian species, preventing rogue drones to stray from the one true path dictated by the Overmind.

### Genetic Splicing

An ability to create new subspecies or even entire Broods by manipulating genetic sequences using the power of the mind. With the strength Najklax possessed at the time--only his creativity was the ceiling.

### Possession

The Overmind could speak through any half-sapient/sapient drone or a Brood member that was a part of the hivemind.

### The Royal Gene

A sequence of genes carrying the information about the Overmind and his powers, able to be passed down to all descendants. A safeguard made only with one purpose: to ensure that only his heirs will be eligible rulers to the Empire.