 Change is a facet of existence none of us are immune to the power of Whether by our own will or the capricious swims of fate it comes for us all and works its power upon our lives our minds and of course our bodies the trap that is the human body that Divine dead end is one our species has ever railed against with no small degree of success The Imperium for all its sundry squanderings of its wealth for all its bloated to seemingly inextricable inefficiencies He's rather excellent at one thing above all else Fleshcraft upon the human genome However degraded our knowledge may be following the calamitous age of strife Humanity plays with its genes with no small amount of skill curing diseases extending life crafting monsters All if you have the clout and the coin to afford us We are nothing if not prolific in our exploration of the one eternally renewable resource. We have at our disposal the divinity of human flesh There are Others however things abroad across the great and terrible galactic reaches that seek to challenge our primacy in that regard and some that do so with Utterly barbarian tendencies that can only heap further horror on to the simple blasphemy of their basic existence The subjects of this record are thus cursed with an ability to manipulate the changes of the flesh hitherto unseen in the dark of the void And it is one that should truly frighten any who hear of it You know then That this is a record of the xenos croot and sundry discussions therein upon the blasphemies of their biologies The croot Are a species of avian humanoids native to the deep eastern fringe in the volume of space claimed by the Tao Empire It is largely thanks to the Tao that they have become unfortunately Present in the galaxy as a croot of long-served alongside the Tao as xenos auxiliaries Although they are nominally a client race for the Empire similar to the Nikasar or the Vespid The croot exhibit a high degree of social independence from their masters largely thanks to their unique cultural practices The species has a society predicated around a mercenarial way of life Croot auxiliaries are expected to render themselves to military service under the Tao firecast But this is by no means an exclusive affair Croot kindreds have been encountered across the breadth of the galaxy Serving whoever is willing to pay for their services with a remarkable ideological ambivalence at least compared to the Tao This social structure is however deeply tied to their biology Quite differentiate exactly what is a croot from the other lifeforms on their home world of peck Has been the subject to confuse and frustrate Mechanicus Xenobiologis adepts since their discovery Eventually and after much debate The curious genetic qualities of the species led to the creation of the crootus genus classification That encompasses over 90% of all vertebrate lifeforms indigenous to peck Within this genus the various sub variants can be categorized But more so based on form and role rather than actual genetic distinction This is of course entirely down to the unique means by which the croot have evolved or to be more accurate Have directed to their own evolution An examination of their biology yields much in the way of evidence for this Outwardly the Xenophore most commonly recognizable to those who have either treated with them or have Unfortunately faced to them upon the battlefield Crootus aviana is a tall life and athletic humanoid displaying traits that speak of an avian ancestry The most obvious examples of the latter lie in the cranial region The distinctive quills though unfethered and a serrated toothless beak This does however extend beyond the immediately visual Their ocular organs for example contain relatively few photoreceptors for a humanoid But do contain a plethora of lens arrays that lend themselves to a superlative far-sightedness Similar to that found in predatory raptor avian analogs galaxy-wide Finally their larynxes overdeveloped aspects indicate a wide range of spoken dexterity Allowing them to mimic Xenos languages evolved for completely different vocal cords Unlike other avi fauna however their nasal cavities are quite pronounced and internally complex Granting this genus an incredibly sensitive sense of smell Moving downwards throughout the body The torso presents good examples of the various fauna traits the humanoid croot appear to have developed Reptilian analog scales form an exoskeletal structure of the chest cavity Removing the necessity for internal ribs Their lungs are curiously similar to an orchids But tissue-based as opposed to the fungal nature of the former Their heart analog organ is an eight chambered pulmonary system That appears to direct several different blood types to the biological systems that require them for example The respiratory lung equivalents require a copper carbonate compound While the dermis structures need a ferro protein liquid to stimulate rigidity The digestive system utilizes a chemical of of compound currently unknown to imperial science Which one will elaborate upon later The balkanization of the croots organs is curious and notable It appears at least by the opinion of many a Mechanicus adept post examination That many of the xenos systems evolved entirely separately from each other Only to be integrated through a Sort of cohesive evolutionary development that encompass them The reproductive abilities of the species are human analogous But the gamete pouches are connected directly to the digestive system The renal system appears roughly humanoid Stimulating muscle growth for example as well as bone development The latter being largely porous and hollow a further indication of avian ancestry As well as an indicator of the species's renowned agility over all manner of terrain They do not however possess any defecatory outlets leading to conjecture that the only means of Excretion a crude possesses is through regurgitation of waste through their mouths or Through rendering said waste into a sweat emission a theory Supported amongst testimony of imperial personnel who have ever been unlucky enough to have smelled one The digestion analog is of course the most central aspect of crude biology for various reasons It forms one of only two hubs for bodily functions along with the brain Crude organs listed thus far as as one has said have no interaction with each other only with these two hubs loci apparently for all bodily functions and systems an Unknown organ lies in the center of the digestive tract roughly the size and shape of a human stomach But comprised of both digestive and neural tissue Capillaries branch out into all regions of the body But these have been confirmed to not carry one of the crude's various blood forms Two connectors here are most prominent One links the organ to the brain the other to the reproductive organs Adeptus Mechanicus conclusion is that this organ represents a sort of brain stomach hybrid to focus entirely on digestion and The extraction and processing of what the crude value above almost all else genetic material Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of the crude as a species and often the detail noticed immediately by outsiders Is their habits or indeed compulsion to feast upon the dead flesh of other species? This taken into consideration with the Xenos's outwardly primitivistic appeal and technology Has led many an imperial to discount them as horrific barbarians Cannibals even as crutus aviana display no compunctions with including the fallen of their own species in this practice It is frankly Quite rare across the galaxy for sentient species to consume others in this fashion The tyrannids the enslavers Sundry other monstrosities are of course not to be considered for this But it is unheard of for say Neldare Tao Coral to eat a human Orcs of course do eat all of the above but not as Necessity or practice Is usually only for boredom and fun for the crude The consumption appears for all intents and purposes to outsiders to be their primary diet It is quite true, but not for the purposes of mere nutrition Yes, the crude are apparently exclusively carnivorous, but within this meat lies a prize greater than base proteins DNA The crude as a genus have what has been described by certain fringe biologist adepts as neural digestion Through consumption of the flesh of other species Genetic material is sifted out of the tissue as a prospector sifts for precious metals From there the DNA is subsumed into the crude itself for its body to develop into new forms of physical or mental expression The astartes have a similar ability as part of the homophageal organ Which allows for a marine to extract the memories of an individual from their flesh through consumption But it appears that the system of the crude Is altogether more blasphemously exact And as much as it pains one to say it advanced The first form of this digestion is a sort of localized or broad spectrum cellular alteration The time span of this can be anywhere from days to a lifetime for an individual crude depending on the complexity The range of these changes is as diverse as life itself It can be anything from developing bodily modifications such as denser musculature a tougher dermal layer or more sensitive eyes All the way to enhanced mental capabilities new languages skills with a particular weapon or a form of craft The limits of modification an individual crude is capable of is currently unknown It appears that their culture and society introduce certain limits on precisely what a single crude is permitted to consume and What it is permitted to develop The shapers are key to this direction The form of tribal chieftain and shaman hybrid The shapers appear to guide the course of evolution amongst their individual kindreds The noun roughly translated from crude language for the broader social group or clan structure the xenos form as a unit It is largely the responsibility of the shapers to dictate the exact flesh of those their charges can and cannot consume Monitoring the development of the kindred closely to ensure that the traits that are needed are given priority and That potentially negative repercussions are avoided This is conducted on an apparently instinctual basis Although knowledge of the craft of shaping is also hypothesized to be central to crude society Passed down generationally from shaper to shaper Likely through consumption of the deceased shaman's flesh as the crude do not appear to place any stock in centralized knowledge repositories This does however Incumbes the second application of the digestive system shapers conduct evolution with an eye to the generations to come The absorption of genetic material is not only done with the individuals life or skills or traits in mind But those it will pass to its offspring The connection between the neural stomach and the gamete systems mentioned earlier confirm this There is a direct correlation between the flesh the parent crude consumes and the traits their children will present Imperial adepts have hypothesized a crude is only three generations removed from becoming a different species entirely radical departure from the base genus Interrogations of crude have however highlighted the dangers of this The crude genus is broad and as mentioned has clearly evolved to almost entirely subsume the fauna of Pech itself The reports of the Ordosinos astromilitarum and adeptus astartes have all related in one form or another That crude kindred serving either beside Tao empire forces or as war bands of their own discretion Have often been accompanied by animalistic offshoots of their genus The crude ox crutus trogloditis is a larger and muscle-bound creature resembling a sort of midway point between the crude's own avian appearance and a massive simian They are habitually utilized by the crude as beasts of burden brutal line breaker melee combatants or even as weapons platforms for heavy guns a similar role falls to the giant narlox Crutus Magnus similar to the crude ox in terms of mental capacity, but far far larger resembling giant Saurians as opposed to simians the smaller variety of the subtype are often used as cavalry for the crude While the larger variety have been witnessed with how does and artillery weapons strapped to their massive backs Crute hounds meanwhile are the opposite Light quadrupeds that serve the same role as canids do in primitive human societies Hunters and trackers, but with far more capacity for violence than a Terran dog analog is All of these creatures however useful they may be to crude society serve the crude as an omnipresent warning Though difficult the interrogations and conversations with mercenaries may have been as the cruter often Reticent to reveal secrets of their society to outsiders It has been discovered by the Imperium that each of these offshoots represents an evolutionary dead end a branch of the central crutus aviana that consumed too much of one particular creature one particular species Took on one too many set of characteristics to become a different devolved species entirely None of the beasts highlighted above can be considered sentient Though all possess a higher than average degree of intelligence compared to analog fauna elsewhere in the galaxy They are not self-aware in the way the crude consider themselves to be Therefore looked on with pity by the aviana strain This risk is ever-present in the minds of the shapers and is something they studiously seek to avoid in Navigating their kindred throughout the years It is of course as with all sentient species Not unknown for individuals to buck the social trends of their particular culture Not all shapers have displayed the care and attention to the rigors of their society that are expected of them The kindreds that became the crutox or the crude hounds Were led by shapers in just the same way that all crude are Upon the extreme end There have been shapers who have violated one of the primary accords that keep the crude bound in partnership to the Tao Empire Do not under any circumstances consume the flesh of the Tao Although the Tao ultimately seek to purge the crude of their cannibalistic and carnivorous tendencies The Tao themselves being exclusively herbivorous They tolerate the practice in the meantime Although one is unsure if all within the Empire are aware of precisely the nature of its centrality To not just the culture of the crude but their biology The law banning the consumption of Tao carcasses is inviolate Those that do so are labeled outcasts and exiles Denied their kindreds and expelled from Tao space presuming they are not simply executed The reasons for this ban may in fact be highlighted by one such rogue shaper a Creature by the name of Zotel in the thrall to Ordosinos inquisitor Thailandia folks Renowned for being the interrogator of the green skin Makare Zotel had broken the ultimate crude taboo But in doing so appeared to be galvanized into a pan galactic rampage of flesh consumption Driven by Fox's reckoning on the expansion of its mind One wonders whether or not the Tao's famed evolutionary pace Accomplishing in millennia what other species were only capable of over the span of millions of years Affected the crude's own development to a dangerous degree Zotel for instance is one of the most intelligent crude within imperial records sealed or unsealed The consumption of its master species allowing it to achieve within months shifts in physiology and Mental acuity that other shapers were only managing over successive generations Zotel's physical form meanwhile underwent such radical alterations That by the time it was within inquisitor Fox's possession it had become a sort of debased aquatic amphibian Capable only of survival within a tank of feeded water However for all the regression or changes in form its mind remained incredibly clear Contrasting entirely to the fauna type crude offshoots previously discussed Perhaps we owe a form of thanks to the Tao for the laws they have imposed on their allies of convenience And offer thanks to the God Emperor that the crude have elected to follow it One wonders as to their lunatic capabilities Should they discover what Zotel and the other exiles of their species apparently have What remains then is the hypothesis around how such a species came to exist in its present state Or rather the state that existed upon first contact with the Tao Empire and laterally the Imperium Officially said first contact occurred during the Damocles Gulf Crusade Although given the crude's mercenarial tendencies One cannot believe that the Xenos and humanity had not previously crossed paths in whatever informal capacity The prevailing Mechanicus theorem is centered around the crude's humanoid presentation It is unlikely that given the nature of Pech and its almost entirely arboreal biosphere That there was much in the way of an evolutionary drive to compel the crude's body to push out of its avian form Into the two-legged two armed configuration common amongst most space-faring races How then was it achieved? The answer likely lies with the orcs At some point millennia prior to first contact an orchoid ship crash landed upon Pech Or just decided to set down there The crude having already developed their neural digestive organ and come to dominate the planet's fauna entirely either naturally or unnaturally Consumed these orcs rendering their qualities into their own bodies and expressing in the now common humanoid Physiotype seen today Evidence for this is trifold First the presence of orc aligned organs within crude bodies as previously mentioned Secondly the report from an officio assassinorum clade operative Filed after a visit to Pech in the company of an imperial rogue trader In this report the operative states that the crude were deeply wary of her presence specifically Despite having no obvious reason to be compared to the rest of the trader's revenue The caution that the operative posited was due to the zenos being able to smell or otherwise detect The polymorphine drug within her system that was allowing her to wear the face of another human as a disguise Nevertheless said agent was still granted a tour of a crude holy site The place of reverence wherein lay clearly mechanical artifacts bedecked with emblems of crude horned skulls with massive lower jaws A sigil common to any who have encountered the orcs throughout the galaxy Finally the third piece of evidence is also mechanical The starships of the crude themselves the so-called war spheres These gigantic spacecraft are utterly unlike anything the crude appear to be able to construct Indeed Pech does not even appear to have an industrial base Or if it does the infrastructure is superlatively well hidden from the eyes of outsiders Given the ramshackle appearance Imperial Xenobiologist's adepts have theorized that the spheres are little more than cannibalized orcoid technology Robust and dangerous yes, but as with all orc machinery not overly complex despite what it is capable of What is deeply worrying about the latter theory is its implications and the questions it raises with them If the war spheres are merely reconstructed orc spacecraft How exactly did the crude develop the knowledge to construct them? The answer or at least the nightmare may lie in their consumption of the orcs that brought the ships to Pech in the first place Orcs as any who have parsed my records upon them are aware Utilize a debased form of psychic gestalt field to access a sort of species memory encoded into their genetic structure by their ancient progenitors This repository of programmed knowledge has been hypothesized to exist in some form of discrete layer of the immaterial itself It is not entirely impossible that in their consumption of the orc those ancient crude not only took their humanoid form But also some degree of access to the gestalt field And thus the knowledge encoded in the fungus meat they ate Allowing them to express certain qualities previously restricted to the orcoid engineer subspecies One does not quite have to elaborate on the staggering and terrifying implications of this possibility And one can only wonder or feel relieved that all it has thus far apparently led to Was a construction of crude starships allowing for crude mercenary kin bands to traverse the galaxy It may have been an unconscious or subconscious drive Not quite aligned with the intelligence of the species enough for them to realize the full potential of what they had encountered In some ways we may owe a begrudging thanks to the Tao and the timing of their encounter with the species It is perhaps because of their controlling and repressive hand on the activities of the crude And the tacit conservatism of the shapers when approaching radical alterations to the genome That we have thus far avoided the specter of a crude species fully awakened to its genetic potential Until such a time as I have the strength to continue this unfortunately necessary catalog of Xenos horrors Ave imperator Gloria in excelsis terra This video and this channel were made possible. 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