Post by Valcor on Aug 25, 2014 15:33:31 GMT -5
[Quick stuff for all those that might find this a bit lengthy]
[Infectious nearly mindless colony at birth, gains attributes from those it consumes. Infects victims via orifices or open wounds. Infection can only be cured by a skilled force user within a few days of infection. Self control over body is lost within an hour of infection, but a cure is still possible. Force users can control the parasite or expel it from their bodies, but only if they are skilled in their own body's force abilities. The parasite contains Medichlorians and can amplify a force users abilities, but truly it will be a case by case thing and must have mod or admin approval. After consumption of a host fully, the parasite can assume their form, but they will look completely pitch black. Force users who control the parasite will only have their veins and arteries turn black. The parasite will make any infected hallucinate to try and break them down mentally, if controlled the parasite may still attempt it, but can be stopped with enough focus, it will always be able to communicate with the host. If cast out before full assimilation, the parasite will be malformed and only contain partial genetic information. Body suits and masks/respirators can keep the parasite out completely, though it will still stick to the suit and attempt to find an entrance. Bare, uninjured skin is also immune to the parasite.]
Species Name: Kinta Th'Zveris (Black Beasts in ancient Sith) (Kinta Zveris singular)
Species Type: Cellular colony/parasite
Planet of Origin: Korriban
Average Maximum age: biologically immortal, average age about 50 years
Age of Maturation: Around a millenium without intelligent hosts. (As quickly as they can consume an intelligent host with one.)
Average Height: Varies, dependent on host
Average Weight: Dependent on host and hosts consumed
Notable biological features: Extreme photo-sensitivity causing cellular mutation and death, pitch black inky coloration and ichor-like behavior. Formless until a host is absorbed or full maturation is complete.
Number of limbs and Type: Host Dependent, none naturally
Biology:
(sedentary Kinta Th'Zveris)
The Kinta Th'Zveris begin their lives are more or less formless blobs of cells loosely defined as a colony. Their anatomy is constantly changing with their hosts, as they find new organs to assimilate and replicate, however a few features carry across all colonies. They all originated from a small cluster of cells left behind by a previous colony due to varying circumstances and have a loose nervous system which consist of their earliest cells relaying chemical signals throughout the organism. The only purpose for this, is the response to vibrations in the ground around the creature signaling prey is near. Since a colony which has yet to absorb a creature with eyes is sightless, the colony must rely on the vibrations it's outer most cells pick up. Using a form of sonar, in which the organism picks up on the time it takes a vibration to travel its whole length, the colony can then loosely determine where the vibration originated from. Once a victim is within a meter or so of the Kinta Th'Zveris, the colony will agitate its cells by releasing large amounts of positively charged chemicals into certain sections of its body. In doing so, the cells in that area will contract, launching the rest of the organism in that direction. Once contact is made with the prey, the Kinta Th'Zveris will pull itself around it's victim, slowly spreading and molding to the creature as it hijacks it's cells for it's own use. Due to the highly individualistic nature of this species, no two Kinta Th'Zveris are alike, meaning defining the entire species is extremely difficult. In addition, the species is extremely rare, with only a handful having ever been recorded in ancient texts and almost no one currently being aware of their existence.
The outermost layer of a Kinta Zveris is sticky and liquid like, as the individual cells secrete an adhesive compound to help them stick to dark corners and possible prey. The production of this adhesive is only commenced when a colony is in it's sedentary state, and halted once prey has been successfully infected. The infected prey, depending on the creature, will likely show signs of infection instantly, as their skin takes on a grey-black hue and their blood vessels turn and inky black. Over time the tint of the creatures skin will darken more and more as the cells within the host mutate to match the parasites own. Soon the host will cease to exist, and all that is left is the memory of it's DNA within the central cells of the colony for possible replication and form copying later. Few creatures are immune to the infectious Kinta Th'Zveris, but among those are most forms of plant life. One of the major defenses against the Kinta Th'Zveris is a thick cell wall, which is often resistant to the form of genetic manipulation that the Kinta Th'Zveris attempt. This forces the Kinta Zveris to rely solely on animal life for it's sustenance.
(Kinta Zveris first consuming intelligent prey)
The Kinta Zveris replicate their cells regularly to maintain a homogenous cell populace, but can slow this process should resources be scarce, allowing the species to survive extended periods of time in nearly resourceless environments. More advanced colonies, must reproduce at a higher rate, however, as they must sustain their more advanced central nervous systems that are responsible for their reasoning and thought. This forces, more intellectually advanced colonies to be much more aggressive, often times resulting in the death of the colony as they either starve, or perish in the sunlight. Those who survive, can grow to immense levels of intelligence, rivaling the brightest of species as they continue to grow and feed.
The Kinta Th'Zveris thrive best in warm, dark, moist environments, but can survive nearly anywhere should they assimilate the appropriate host. Due to the creature's amazing ability to consume and adapt, the Kinta Th'Zveris thrive in most dark environments, however, there must be a steady supply of nutrients, be that bacteria or multi-cellular organisms, or else the parasite will starve. The more advanced intellectually the creature is, the quicker it can starve. Due to this, most mature Kinta Th'Zveris will remain in the form of a mobile host, rather than revert to their normal sedentary state to be more agile to hunt down prey.
The Kinta Th'Zveris are highly aggressive when around prey, launching themselves in a nearly liquid state onto whatever creature is unfortunate enough to venture too close to their dark cave habitats. If prey is scarce, the colony will enter a sedentary state, similar to hibernation and feed on bacteria and other microscopic organisms in the air or water where they have nestled themselves, using their adhesive secretions to break down and consume the organisms rather than assimilate them. They do this to store energy as they wait for a new host. Once a host is caught, the colony will wrap itself around the victims body, allowing its individual cells to infiltrate the victim via open wounds, or orifices. The highly aggressive infectious colony will then attempt to infect any and all cells with its own DNA, similar to a virus, but instead of replicating itself and destroying the cell, as viruses do, it forces the cell to reproduce as it would normally, now with a mutated form of it's original DNA that is similar to the colony's and allows the colony control. These new cells serve a task similar to what they previously might have, but now respond to stimuli that only the Kinta Th'Zveris can release. This keeps the victim alive and functioning, while the Kinta Zveris replicates itself and uses the organism for energy. Due to this form of parasitism, the Kinta Zveris can absorb the traits of it's host, be that intelligence, strength, what have you.
Once the host is completely assimilated and no longer produces any of it's own cells, the colony can, but is not required to assume its previous, gelatinous state. The colony can assume the form of any host is has previously absorbed, should the size of the creature match that of the current colony as the cells slowly assume the roll in the organism they once were a part of. This requires extended periods of time and extreme amounts of energy, however, as the cells must replicate and mutate their DNA to match that of their previous role. There is one constant among the cells of the Kinta Zveris, in addition to their pseudo-nervous system, they all produce midi-chlorians. Due heavily to being born on the ancient sith planet of Korriban, the black ichor-like colonies are now extremely filled with the dark side of the force. While the species has yet to learn how to use this, and probably will never learn how to, the production of midi-chlorians has made it so that powerful force users can control the parasite. This however has proved detrimental to most infected force users, as they are almost all eventually overtaken by the parasite.
Should a strong enough force user fall victim to this parasite, they will surely feel the strength of the force within it. This allows force users to manipulate the organism to their will and use the parasite's abilities against it. The midi-chlorians within the colony are created by cells that are biologically designed to be malleable to influences, and can therefore be manipulated rather easily. Should a force user meditate long enough and focus their powers on the parasite, their own force abilities will be amplified significantly as the colony submits to the force users will. The manipulation is much easier for dark side users as the Kinta Zveris respond more easily to things similar to themselves, but it is not impossible for a light side user to conquer the parasite. The parasite is never truly subjugated, no matter how bent to their host's will they are. The colony will always vie for control over it's host, and should it ever over power it, it will not relent until it has consumed every inch of bio-material the organism possesses.
The Kinta Zveris are highly allergic to sunlight, due to the solar radiation easily mutating their cells, and must avoid it at all costs to stay alive. They can use hosts cells to shield their own from the sunlight, but they cannot do this for extended periods of time as the sunlight will soon penetrate the small layer of cells they can support. This forces any hostless colony to recede into the shadows to survive. Smart, nearly sentient colonies will often construct or steal clothing to protect themselves, but due to their pitch black inky outer layer, this makes for a poor disguise. Organisms that conquer the Kinta Zveris do not bear the usual marks of infection others who have been infected do, as the parasite must be forced to dwell within the muscles, fat and nervous system of the dominant host. This gives the host the appearance of normalcy, but cannot last forever, for once they begin to draw upon the force powers of the parasite, they must release it into their blood stream. This causes an infected force user's blood vessels all over the body, including eyes, to turn an inky black when they utilize the parasite's latent force powers.
Culture: Only the most ancient of this species are capable of sentience and thought beyond instinct. Only a handful of colonies have reached a point of being capable of “culture” and that depends on the colony, once they reach this point however they can be considered a single creature rather than a colony as their central nervous system takes over organism functions. Any of the colonies old enough to have reached a point of sentience were born around the time of the ancient sith when their specie's were heavily connected. Meaning the only culture most of the mature colonies are aware of and replicate is that of the ancient sith. Being a parasitic species, the Kinta Th'Zveris hold combat and acts of war as a part of life, much the same as the ancient sith. The Kinta Th'Zveris, do not however, associate with one another. Each colony is extremely self centered and care little for others of it's species, leading to intense conflicts between colonies over hosts and prey. Most often, the larger and more advanced colony wins out over the smaller less advanced, but this is not always the case. Since all colonies rely on a host to remain mobile, it is possible for a less intelligent colony's host to be more powerful than an advanced one, such as a large beast fighting a normal human. Due to recent circumstances, interaction between separate colonies is rare, and often both will avoid each other in favor of self preservation, only rarely attacking each other if food is rare and starvation is closing.
History: The Kinta Th'Zveris began their existence on the sith home world of Korriban. It was long believed by the ancient sith, that the Kinta Th'Zveris were born from the shadow's themselves, but in fact they had a much simpler origin. The parasitic species began it's existence as a simple single celled, mutated bacterium that performed functions similar to a virus. After thousands of generations and mutations, the Kinta Th'Zveris emerged as the species they are today. For millennium upon millennium the parasites remained beneath the harsh sun covered surface of the planet under only a small continent, surviving off rodents, insects, and bacterial life primarily, only occasionally being treated to a larger creature like a Shyrack. Due to an extremely slow reproduction process, the Kinta Th'Zveris had barely spread since the beginning of their species, only having spread about the size of a large city on the planets total underground surface area. The species was not densely populated either, with most colonies consuming others for nourishment in their vicinity. At the time of their discovery, the Kinta Zveris numbered in the hundreds, with only one or two having intelligence above that of an insect. The species was largely dormant within the planet and only rarely ventured out into other areas of the planets crust as most did not possess the energy needed to move such a distance. The species only reproduced in the most unlikely scenarios when an event separated two portions of a colony, spurring them both to become their own separate entities.
Around 100,000 BBY the sith became aware of the parasite, as a few strange dead Shyrack began to be found covered in black sticky goo closer and closer to the surface. The Sith did not have direct contact for quite some time, until one of their own was assimilated. The unfortunate Sith was exploring a dark cavern while attempting to flee a pack or Shyrack, when he lost his footing and plummeted down a fault farther than any large species had explored. The Sith's landing caused quite a vibration, which alerted a nearby Kinta Zveris of his presence. When the unfortunate Sith began to try and find his way in the pitch black darkness, he ventured too close to the creature and was attacked. The creature poured over him and was quickly infecting his body. This was the first colony to ever reach full sentience, as none had lived long enough to develop it themselves.
The Kinta Zveris, now capable of thought and reasoning, but still plagued by it's primal need to feed, began to interrogate it's newest victim, using his own brain to communicate with it's uninfected portions. The Kinta Zveris prodded and inquired, begging for any and all information the being had, and soon discovered that there were more like him above the surface of the planet. What the parasite did not expect, was that this species were far more organized than it anticipated. The Kinta Zveris was not aware that cooperation between members of a same species existed, it had only ever gotten knowledge of it's own species, and small bits of this new one, and assumed they must be similar. With this misinformation provided to it by it's host, the Kinta Zveris slowly made it's way to the surface of the planet, seeking more hosts. This action would prove to be fatal to the parasite, and would change it's species forever.
Once on the planets surface, now relying on the skin of it's host to protect it, the first intelligent Kinta Zveris began to head towards, well he did not know where. The host had been so kind as to provide it with the location of others of his species, but made no mention of them being clan-like and organized, leading the parasite to walk in blind. The parasite was not aware it's infectiousness was highly visible on his host, or that the local population would react negatively, and walked straight into the local village. Upon arrival, the parasite was greeted with strange looks, and terror, as the local citizens fled to the head sorcerer for protection from the strange creature. The power of the force radiated from the being, yet all could feel, and see, that their comrade was not who he once was. Slowly the parasite approached the sorcerer, only to find himself facing more than a dozen sith. The Kinta Zveris was barely able to form sloppy words before the sith were upon him. They quickly restrained their once comrade within the home of the local sorcerer, allowing the most powerful in the force to have access to the parasite. The parasite thrashed and wailed, none of it's species had ever been restrained, but there was a first time for everything. The parasite pieced together threats with it's sloppy understanding of sith as it tried to free itself from it's bindings. The parasite had not yet completed its consumption and assimilation of it's host, that process would take weeks if not longer due to the complexity of this organism, and the small size of the parasite at the time of infection. The attending sorcerer was not fazed however as he took the time to study this new creature.
The sorcerer had been familiar with the infected sith before his encounter with the parasite, and could tell that this man no longer was who he had once been, but something else struck the sith as he observed. He could feel the hatred, anger and malice radiate from the parasite before him, much stronger than it ever had before in the sith. This intrigued the sorcerer, who had long sought for a way to increase his own powers for quite some time, and now assumed he found it. The sorcerer soon began to use his own powers of the force, to try and draw out the force powers of the parasite. The parasite clung to it's host desperately as it was drawn out of the body, pulling loose blood vessels and bodily fluids as it did, killing the host. Once pulled free, the sorcerer imprisoned the parasite using the force, keeping it in the air so it could not leap onto him. Using the partial genetic knowledge the parasite obtained from it's most recent host, it began to form a head identical to the recently deceased sith. The parasite began to threaten the sorcerer once more, angrily and in an almost child like fashion. The sorcerer remained quiet and observed the parasite as it continued to try and form a body. The grotesque figure it was able to create dripped with cells that could not find a purpose and hunched as muscles and skin failed to form. After forming as fully as it could manage, the parasite looked at the sorcerer with pure hate.
This hatred was unlike any the sorcerer had felt before. It was a pure form of hatred, as if all the organism could think about with it's recently formed brain, was killing the sorcerer and eating him. The sorcerer was both astonished and excited as he realized how much control he had over the organism and the power it wielded. Tentatively the sorcerer began to manipulate the force within the creature, using the full extent of his knowledge of the force to do so. The parasite obediently did as it was instructed, never once taking it's eyes off of the sorcerer. The sorcerer, after much experimenting, finally decided he could control the parasite and forced it into himself. The parasite fought every step of the way, forcing it's will upon the sorcerer's nervous system. The power of the force proved too much for it however, and the parasite's will was soon broken. The parasite cursed the very existence of the sorcerer, plaguing him with madness for bending the parasite's will in such a way. While the sorcerer controlled and wielded his new found power to his whim, the parasite never left his mind, due to how violently the sorcerer had dominated the parasite. Since the parasite did not willingly attack it's host, the relationship was violent, with the parasite and sorcerer constantly fighting for control over his body.
Soon the sorcerer was forced to drive the parasite from his body, or risk being devoured alive, but the parasite had copied his genes and quickly retreated back into the dark caves that had housed him for so long. The sorcerer, wary of the species now since even he, a powerful sorcerer, could not fully conquer it, transcribed the species into a tome. He wrote of a black beast that carried immense power ripe for the taking, but at a cost. His writing was cryptic however, and made it difficult to tell for future readers if he was referring to a creature or a form of sorcery. Often times, ancient sith tomes refer to incantations and magics as forms of the force or as creatures, leading many to take the Kinta Th'Zveris as such an incantation. The tome gives only slight hints as to where the species resides, stating that “it rests within the darkest corners of the Sith home.” Due to the warning the tome obviously presents, few have chosen to search out the species, and those who do rarely know where to look, but for the half dozen or so over the centuries who have found the species, the consequences have been grave.
The first Kinta Zveris to ever consume an intelligent creature, the one who attacked the sorcerer, proved to be the largest detriment to the species progress then one might think. For instead of helping his species prosper and flourish, he feasted on them. To fearful of the other Sith and further imprisonment by them, the intelligent Kinta Zveris retreated back underground where he knew they would not find him. The Kinta Zveris did not live happily ever after however, as his new found intellect required constant sustenance, forcing the Kinta to feed on any source of nourishment he could find. As deep down as he was in the caves of the planet, few things survived, forcing the Kinta Zveris to cannibalize his own. The population of Kinta Th'Zveris at the time was sparse at best, but now with a predator hunting them down, there numbers dwindled even further almost to the point of extinction. Few Kinta Th'Zveris were able to escape the death of their species, but it was not long before they no longer had to fear their own, as the first of them to grow intellect finally died of starvation.
For almost a millennium after, the Kinta Th'Zveris remained largely dormant, ever so rarely consuming an animal, only to starve shortly after, but now, the influx of powerful force users to Korriban has brought the Kinta Th'Zveris powerful and dangerous prey foolish enough to seek them out. As the Sith plan their destruction of the republic above, something far more terrifying for the galaxy slumbers within the bowels of the Sith home world, awaiting their chance to plague those ignorant enough to seek them out.
[Infectious nearly mindless colony at birth, gains attributes from those it consumes. Infects victims via orifices or open wounds. Infection can only be cured by a skilled force user within a few days of infection. Self control over body is lost within an hour of infection, but a cure is still possible. Force users can control the parasite or expel it from their bodies, but only if they are skilled in their own body's force abilities. The parasite contains Medichlorians and can amplify a force users abilities, but truly it will be a case by case thing and must have mod or admin approval. After consumption of a host fully, the parasite can assume their form, but they will look completely pitch black. Force users who control the parasite will only have their veins and arteries turn black. The parasite will make any infected hallucinate to try and break them down mentally, if controlled the parasite may still attempt it, but can be stopped with enough focus, it will always be able to communicate with the host. If cast out before full assimilation, the parasite will be malformed and only contain partial genetic information. Body suits and masks/respirators can keep the parasite out completely, though it will still stick to the suit and attempt to find an entrance. Bare, uninjured skin is also immune to the parasite.]
Species Name: Kinta Th'Zveris (Black Beasts in ancient Sith) (Kinta Zveris singular)
Species Type: Cellular colony/parasite
Planet of Origin: Korriban
Average Maximum age: biologically immortal, average age about 50 years
Age of Maturation: Around a millenium without intelligent hosts. (As quickly as they can consume an intelligent host with one.)
Average Height: Varies, dependent on host
Average Weight: Dependent on host and hosts consumed
Notable biological features: Extreme photo-sensitivity causing cellular mutation and death, pitch black inky coloration and ichor-like behavior. Formless until a host is absorbed or full maturation is complete.
Number of limbs and Type: Host Dependent, none naturally
Biology:
(sedentary Kinta Th'Zveris)
The Kinta Th'Zveris begin their lives are more or less formless blobs of cells loosely defined as a colony. Their anatomy is constantly changing with their hosts, as they find new organs to assimilate and replicate, however a few features carry across all colonies. They all originated from a small cluster of cells left behind by a previous colony due to varying circumstances and have a loose nervous system which consist of their earliest cells relaying chemical signals throughout the organism. The only purpose for this, is the response to vibrations in the ground around the creature signaling prey is near. Since a colony which has yet to absorb a creature with eyes is sightless, the colony must rely on the vibrations it's outer most cells pick up. Using a form of sonar, in which the organism picks up on the time it takes a vibration to travel its whole length, the colony can then loosely determine where the vibration originated from. Once a victim is within a meter or so of the Kinta Th'Zveris, the colony will agitate its cells by releasing large amounts of positively charged chemicals into certain sections of its body. In doing so, the cells in that area will contract, launching the rest of the organism in that direction. Once contact is made with the prey, the Kinta Th'Zveris will pull itself around it's victim, slowly spreading and molding to the creature as it hijacks it's cells for it's own use. Due to the highly individualistic nature of this species, no two Kinta Th'Zveris are alike, meaning defining the entire species is extremely difficult. In addition, the species is extremely rare, with only a handful having ever been recorded in ancient texts and almost no one currently being aware of their existence.
The outermost layer of a Kinta Zveris is sticky and liquid like, as the individual cells secrete an adhesive compound to help them stick to dark corners and possible prey. The production of this adhesive is only commenced when a colony is in it's sedentary state, and halted once prey has been successfully infected. The infected prey, depending on the creature, will likely show signs of infection instantly, as their skin takes on a grey-black hue and their blood vessels turn and inky black. Over time the tint of the creatures skin will darken more and more as the cells within the host mutate to match the parasites own. Soon the host will cease to exist, and all that is left is the memory of it's DNA within the central cells of the colony for possible replication and form copying later. Few creatures are immune to the infectious Kinta Th'Zveris, but among those are most forms of plant life. One of the major defenses against the Kinta Th'Zveris is a thick cell wall, which is often resistant to the form of genetic manipulation that the Kinta Th'Zveris attempt. This forces the Kinta Zveris to rely solely on animal life for it's sustenance.
(Kinta Zveris first consuming intelligent prey)
The Kinta Zveris replicate their cells regularly to maintain a homogenous cell populace, but can slow this process should resources be scarce, allowing the species to survive extended periods of time in nearly resourceless environments. More advanced colonies, must reproduce at a higher rate, however, as they must sustain their more advanced central nervous systems that are responsible for their reasoning and thought. This forces, more intellectually advanced colonies to be much more aggressive, often times resulting in the death of the colony as they either starve, or perish in the sunlight. Those who survive, can grow to immense levels of intelligence, rivaling the brightest of species as they continue to grow and feed.
The Kinta Th'Zveris thrive best in warm, dark, moist environments, but can survive nearly anywhere should they assimilate the appropriate host. Due to the creature's amazing ability to consume and adapt, the Kinta Th'Zveris thrive in most dark environments, however, there must be a steady supply of nutrients, be that bacteria or multi-cellular organisms, or else the parasite will starve. The more advanced intellectually the creature is, the quicker it can starve. Due to this, most mature Kinta Th'Zveris will remain in the form of a mobile host, rather than revert to their normal sedentary state to be more agile to hunt down prey.
The Kinta Th'Zveris are highly aggressive when around prey, launching themselves in a nearly liquid state onto whatever creature is unfortunate enough to venture too close to their dark cave habitats. If prey is scarce, the colony will enter a sedentary state, similar to hibernation and feed on bacteria and other microscopic organisms in the air or water where they have nestled themselves, using their adhesive secretions to break down and consume the organisms rather than assimilate them. They do this to store energy as they wait for a new host. Once a host is caught, the colony will wrap itself around the victims body, allowing its individual cells to infiltrate the victim via open wounds, or orifices. The highly aggressive infectious colony will then attempt to infect any and all cells with its own DNA, similar to a virus, but instead of replicating itself and destroying the cell, as viruses do, it forces the cell to reproduce as it would normally, now with a mutated form of it's original DNA that is similar to the colony's and allows the colony control. These new cells serve a task similar to what they previously might have, but now respond to stimuli that only the Kinta Th'Zveris can release. This keeps the victim alive and functioning, while the Kinta Zveris replicates itself and uses the organism for energy. Due to this form of parasitism, the Kinta Zveris can absorb the traits of it's host, be that intelligence, strength, what have you.
Once the host is completely assimilated and no longer produces any of it's own cells, the colony can, but is not required to assume its previous, gelatinous state. The colony can assume the form of any host is has previously absorbed, should the size of the creature match that of the current colony as the cells slowly assume the roll in the organism they once were a part of. This requires extended periods of time and extreme amounts of energy, however, as the cells must replicate and mutate their DNA to match that of their previous role. There is one constant among the cells of the Kinta Zveris, in addition to their pseudo-nervous system, they all produce midi-chlorians. Due heavily to being born on the ancient sith planet of Korriban, the black ichor-like colonies are now extremely filled with the dark side of the force. While the species has yet to learn how to use this, and probably will never learn how to, the production of midi-chlorians has made it so that powerful force users can control the parasite. This however has proved detrimental to most infected force users, as they are almost all eventually overtaken by the parasite.
Should a strong enough force user fall victim to this parasite, they will surely feel the strength of the force within it. This allows force users to manipulate the organism to their will and use the parasite's abilities against it. The midi-chlorians within the colony are created by cells that are biologically designed to be malleable to influences, and can therefore be manipulated rather easily. Should a force user meditate long enough and focus their powers on the parasite, their own force abilities will be amplified significantly as the colony submits to the force users will. The manipulation is much easier for dark side users as the Kinta Zveris respond more easily to things similar to themselves, but it is not impossible for a light side user to conquer the parasite. The parasite is never truly subjugated, no matter how bent to their host's will they are. The colony will always vie for control over it's host, and should it ever over power it, it will not relent until it has consumed every inch of bio-material the organism possesses.
The Kinta Zveris are highly allergic to sunlight, due to the solar radiation easily mutating their cells, and must avoid it at all costs to stay alive. They can use hosts cells to shield their own from the sunlight, but they cannot do this for extended periods of time as the sunlight will soon penetrate the small layer of cells they can support. This forces any hostless colony to recede into the shadows to survive. Smart, nearly sentient colonies will often construct or steal clothing to protect themselves, but due to their pitch black inky outer layer, this makes for a poor disguise. Organisms that conquer the Kinta Zveris do not bear the usual marks of infection others who have been infected do, as the parasite must be forced to dwell within the muscles, fat and nervous system of the dominant host. This gives the host the appearance of normalcy, but cannot last forever, for once they begin to draw upon the force powers of the parasite, they must release it into their blood stream. This causes an infected force user's blood vessels all over the body, including eyes, to turn an inky black when they utilize the parasite's latent force powers.
Culture: Only the most ancient of this species are capable of sentience and thought beyond instinct. Only a handful of colonies have reached a point of being capable of “culture” and that depends on the colony, once they reach this point however they can be considered a single creature rather than a colony as their central nervous system takes over organism functions. Any of the colonies old enough to have reached a point of sentience were born around the time of the ancient sith when their specie's were heavily connected. Meaning the only culture most of the mature colonies are aware of and replicate is that of the ancient sith. Being a parasitic species, the Kinta Th'Zveris hold combat and acts of war as a part of life, much the same as the ancient sith. The Kinta Th'Zveris, do not however, associate with one another. Each colony is extremely self centered and care little for others of it's species, leading to intense conflicts between colonies over hosts and prey. Most often, the larger and more advanced colony wins out over the smaller less advanced, but this is not always the case. Since all colonies rely on a host to remain mobile, it is possible for a less intelligent colony's host to be more powerful than an advanced one, such as a large beast fighting a normal human. Due to recent circumstances, interaction between separate colonies is rare, and often both will avoid each other in favor of self preservation, only rarely attacking each other if food is rare and starvation is closing.
History: The Kinta Th'Zveris began their existence on the sith home world of Korriban. It was long believed by the ancient sith, that the Kinta Th'Zveris were born from the shadow's themselves, but in fact they had a much simpler origin. The parasitic species began it's existence as a simple single celled, mutated bacterium that performed functions similar to a virus. After thousands of generations and mutations, the Kinta Th'Zveris emerged as the species they are today. For millennium upon millennium the parasites remained beneath the harsh sun covered surface of the planet under only a small continent, surviving off rodents, insects, and bacterial life primarily, only occasionally being treated to a larger creature like a Shyrack. Due to an extremely slow reproduction process, the Kinta Th'Zveris had barely spread since the beginning of their species, only having spread about the size of a large city on the planets total underground surface area. The species was not densely populated either, with most colonies consuming others for nourishment in their vicinity. At the time of their discovery, the Kinta Zveris numbered in the hundreds, with only one or two having intelligence above that of an insect. The species was largely dormant within the planet and only rarely ventured out into other areas of the planets crust as most did not possess the energy needed to move such a distance. The species only reproduced in the most unlikely scenarios when an event separated two portions of a colony, spurring them both to become their own separate entities.
Around 100,000 BBY the sith became aware of the parasite, as a few strange dead Shyrack began to be found covered in black sticky goo closer and closer to the surface. The Sith did not have direct contact for quite some time, until one of their own was assimilated. The unfortunate Sith was exploring a dark cavern while attempting to flee a pack or Shyrack, when he lost his footing and plummeted down a fault farther than any large species had explored. The Sith's landing caused quite a vibration, which alerted a nearby Kinta Zveris of his presence. When the unfortunate Sith began to try and find his way in the pitch black darkness, he ventured too close to the creature and was attacked. The creature poured over him and was quickly infecting his body. This was the first colony to ever reach full sentience, as none had lived long enough to develop it themselves.
The Kinta Zveris, now capable of thought and reasoning, but still plagued by it's primal need to feed, began to interrogate it's newest victim, using his own brain to communicate with it's uninfected portions. The Kinta Zveris prodded and inquired, begging for any and all information the being had, and soon discovered that there were more like him above the surface of the planet. What the parasite did not expect, was that this species were far more organized than it anticipated. The Kinta Zveris was not aware that cooperation between members of a same species existed, it had only ever gotten knowledge of it's own species, and small bits of this new one, and assumed they must be similar. With this misinformation provided to it by it's host, the Kinta Zveris slowly made it's way to the surface of the planet, seeking more hosts. This action would prove to be fatal to the parasite, and would change it's species forever.
Once on the planets surface, now relying on the skin of it's host to protect it, the first intelligent Kinta Zveris began to head towards, well he did not know where. The host had been so kind as to provide it with the location of others of his species, but made no mention of them being clan-like and organized, leading the parasite to walk in blind. The parasite was not aware it's infectiousness was highly visible on his host, or that the local population would react negatively, and walked straight into the local village. Upon arrival, the parasite was greeted with strange looks, and terror, as the local citizens fled to the head sorcerer for protection from the strange creature. The power of the force radiated from the being, yet all could feel, and see, that their comrade was not who he once was. Slowly the parasite approached the sorcerer, only to find himself facing more than a dozen sith. The Kinta Zveris was barely able to form sloppy words before the sith were upon him. They quickly restrained their once comrade within the home of the local sorcerer, allowing the most powerful in the force to have access to the parasite. The parasite thrashed and wailed, none of it's species had ever been restrained, but there was a first time for everything. The parasite pieced together threats with it's sloppy understanding of sith as it tried to free itself from it's bindings. The parasite had not yet completed its consumption and assimilation of it's host, that process would take weeks if not longer due to the complexity of this organism, and the small size of the parasite at the time of infection. The attending sorcerer was not fazed however as he took the time to study this new creature.
The sorcerer had been familiar with the infected sith before his encounter with the parasite, and could tell that this man no longer was who he had once been, but something else struck the sith as he observed. He could feel the hatred, anger and malice radiate from the parasite before him, much stronger than it ever had before in the sith. This intrigued the sorcerer, who had long sought for a way to increase his own powers for quite some time, and now assumed he found it. The sorcerer soon began to use his own powers of the force, to try and draw out the force powers of the parasite. The parasite clung to it's host desperately as it was drawn out of the body, pulling loose blood vessels and bodily fluids as it did, killing the host. Once pulled free, the sorcerer imprisoned the parasite using the force, keeping it in the air so it could not leap onto him. Using the partial genetic knowledge the parasite obtained from it's most recent host, it began to form a head identical to the recently deceased sith. The parasite began to threaten the sorcerer once more, angrily and in an almost child like fashion. The sorcerer remained quiet and observed the parasite as it continued to try and form a body. The grotesque figure it was able to create dripped with cells that could not find a purpose and hunched as muscles and skin failed to form. After forming as fully as it could manage, the parasite looked at the sorcerer with pure hate.
This hatred was unlike any the sorcerer had felt before. It was a pure form of hatred, as if all the organism could think about with it's recently formed brain, was killing the sorcerer and eating him. The sorcerer was both astonished and excited as he realized how much control he had over the organism and the power it wielded. Tentatively the sorcerer began to manipulate the force within the creature, using the full extent of his knowledge of the force to do so. The parasite obediently did as it was instructed, never once taking it's eyes off of the sorcerer. The sorcerer, after much experimenting, finally decided he could control the parasite and forced it into himself. The parasite fought every step of the way, forcing it's will upon the sorcerer's nervous system. The power of the force proved too much for it however, and the parasite's will was soon broken. The parasite cursed the very existence of the sorcerer, plaguing him with madness for bending the parasite's will in such a way. While the sorcerer controlled and wielded his new found power to his whim, the parasite never left his mind, due to how violently the sorcerer had dominated the parasite. Since the parasite did not willingly attack it's host, the relationship was violent, with the parasite and sorcerer constantly fighting for control over his body.
Soon the sorcerer was forced to drive the parasite from his body, or risk being devoured alive, but the parasite had copied his genes and quickly retreated back into the dark caves that had housed him for so long. The sorcerer, wary of the species now since even he, a powerful sorcerer, could not fully conquer it, transcribed the species into a tome. He wrote of a black beast that carried immense power ripe for the taking, but at a cost. His writing was cryptic however, and made it difficult to tell for future readers if he was referring to a creature or a form of sorcery. Often times, ancient sith tomes refer to incantations and magics as forms of the force or as creatures, leading many to take the Kinta Th'Zveris as such an incantation. The tome gives only slight hints as to where the species resides, stating that “it rests within the darkest corners of the Sith home.” Due to the warning the tome obviously presents, few have chosen to search out the species, and those who do rarely know where to look, but for the half dozen or so over the centuries who have found the species, the consequences have been grave.
The first Kinta Zveris to ever consume an intelligent creature, the one who attacked the sorcerer, proved to be the largest detriment to the species progress then one might think. For instead of helping his species prosper and flourish, he feasted on them. To fearful of the other Sith and further imprisonment by them, the intelligent Kinta Zveris retreated back underground where he knew they would not find him. The Kinta Zveris did not live happily ever after however, as his new found intellect required constant sustenance, forcing the Kinta to feed on any source of nourishment he could find. As deep down as he was in the caves of the planet, few things survived, forcing the Kinta Zveris to cannibalize his own. The population of Kinta Th'Zveris at the time was sparse at best, but now with a predator hunting them down, there numbers dwindled even further almost to the point of extinction. Few Kinta Th'Zveris were able to escape the death of their species, but it was not long before they no longer had to fear their own, as the first of them to grow intellect finally died of starvation.
For almost a millennium after, the Kinta Th'Zveris remained largely dormant, ever so rarely consuming an animal, only to starve shortly after, but now, the influx of powerful force users to Korriban has brought the Kinta Th'Zveris powerful and dangerous prey foolish enough to seek them out. As the Sith plan their destruction of the republic above, something far more terrifying for the galaxy slumbers within the bowels of the Sith home world, awaiting their chance to plague those ignorant enough to seek them out.
