Cthaasa

Cthaasa is a character in The Fearsome Encounter.

Biography:
The ithaqu race could be divided into two primary age brackets, with both acting in a form of symbiosis: one is the leech-like juvenile state, while the other is the considerably more developed adult state. Should a juvenile ithaqu manage to attach itself to a host organism’s spinal column, it is capable of assuming control of that host. However, the juveniles’ under-developed nervous system is incapable of fully controlling the host, something the adult does through evolved psychic connections.

Prior to humanity’s arrival, the ithaqu lived on a largely tribal level on their native world-- a festering mire of swamp and jungle, laced with thin clouds of ammonia. With few hosts of significant intelligence, the species used native predators as a form of protection, having a cadre of thralls to protect the physically weak adults from other threats. At some point, a human spaceship-- a slower-than-light sleeper vessel-- landed on the ithaqu home-world. By some freak chance, a juvenile was fortunate enough to implant itself on a human scout. After the adult that was managing the juvenile recovered from the flood of new memories and sudden jolt of knowledge, the tribe he was part of elected to subsume the nascent human population before it expanded. They overwhelmingly succeeded, capturing the awakened humans and thawing the remainder in cryogenic storage at their leisure.

Cthaasa was born decades after the human population was brought under control. A regimented hierarchy had already been established for the purposes of managing human thralls, and while there were some humans who remained uncontrolled, they were in an extreme minority-- for all intent and purposes, the ithaqu victory was complete and there was little to no chance of rebellion destroying their dominion. Cthaasa, shortly after reaching an adult state, rose to become a prominent scientist, most notably in the fields of genetics and neurobiology. Given a large supply of subjects that were unable to voice complaints or reject the experiments performed, he made extraordinary leaps in the understanding of the nervous system, both for his species and that of his human thralls. The exact nature of his experiments was largely unknown, given the insular nature of both him and his species, but the phenomenal results practically exempted him from oversight.

That was until his experiments were investigated-- inadvertently, with suspicion originating from reports of a few missing adult ithaqu. When his lab was opened to the outside world, it was apparent that a variety of grotesque tests had been conducted, ranging from failed genomic modifications to vivisections performed on other adult ithaqu, kept alive with minimum life support or anaesthetics. The true cost of his results was soon apparent, and his work was judged unethical, a rarity for a species founded on subjecting a sentient race to constant, inescapable slavery. Following a quick trial, he was sentenced to serve as a military commander with no reprieve-- a grave punishment considering the cowardice inherent to the species. He would be in near-constant threat of mortal injuries, and would not be likely to survive for long. After a few short weeks to provide necessary training, he was loaded onto a combat vessel and sent off to a distant front, systems away from his home-world, effectively exiled.

Unlike many ithaqu pressed into military service, he saw no chance that his peers would offer clemency and he wholly devoted himself to warfare, applying the same level of clinical detachment that he did to his science to the art of warfare. A year after beginning military service, he disappeared. He was isolated within an armored module for transportation purposes, but upon arrival the pod was empty. To the ithaqu, it was an inexplicable disappearance, but for Cthaasa it was the beginning of a fight to the death.

Description:
An adult ithaqu appears as a curled, over-sized leech, with one end serving as a head and the other end connecting to a mess of gangly, tentacle-like appendages, each ending in a three-fingered hand. These appendages are barely capable of supporting the weight of the body, but are dexterous and can be used both for locomotion and as hands. The head, in addition to a lamprey-like mouth, has an assortment of yellow eyes. The entire creature is coated in a thin layer of slime and has extremely dark skin. Even as adults, the ithaqu are physically weak and typically only a meter in height.

While Cthaasa used to fit this physical description, numerous experiments have altered his appearance significantly. While he is still recognizable, his appearance is unsettling, even compared to other ithaqu. As a result his failed genomic modifications being rejected by his immune system, he appears sickly and decrepit, with his muscles wasted and his eyes sunken into their sockets. His skin, rather than having a slippery sheen, is dessicated, cracked and patched with cysts.

Cthaasa is petty and narcissistic, focused solely on himself. His belief is that all things are meant to benefit him in some form, either in terms of direct service or in terms of knowledge to be gleamed from them. He has some compunctions about killing, but only if the killing serves no purpose. He is fine with vivisecting a victim solely to understand their reaction to unbearable pain. For those considered his allies, he places no value on their lives-- he has ordered countless human thralls on suicidal charges solely to wear down the ammunition stocks of enemies.

Cthaasa, while sadistic, is primarily motivated by personal gain. The experiments he performed strengthened him and earned him the accolades of others, and he believed that his military service would eventually earn him respect as a ruthless conqueror, expanding ithaqu territory and dominion.

Items/Abilities:
While Cthaasa bears the marks of his failed experiments, he has also improved himself immensely. His studies into the innate psychic capabilities of his species have allowed him a measure of psychic control over un-implanted individuals, and while not as absolute as the control over a thrall, it is still potent. Control over higher brain functions is difficult, but control over more basic regions is easier. Cthaasa has some crude telekinesis, and while incapable of fine control can still hurl objects with great force.

Development
Cthaasa was so dumb, like ugh seriously.

Death
He got talked to death.