Akrexian War Possession

Can you trust your compatriots to always fight on your side?

Do any of the religions in your world believe in traveling between realms (meditation, astral projection, etc.)? How does it work?

"Barnes was standing between Merc and I, the whole company lined up and pointing our guns at those damn lizards. Something bad was in the air, and I glanced over at Barnes, and he was just staring straight ahead with this look in his eyes. He twitched and the end of his rifle quivered just a bit, then as sudden as lightning he turns and shoves it up the back of Merc's helmet and blows his brains out. The lizards charged then, and we barely held them off, but... I just keep thinking, it could have been me just as easily as Merc."

— Private Ethan Hilo, IRUS Legion 894

Most Akrexians are melee or ranged warriors, using their physical might on the battlefield, but every so often an Akrexian in flowing, tattered robes guarded by an outfit of heavily armed warriors will make an appearance in the catalogues of IRUS battle reports. These are warlocks who specialize in turning enemy combatants against each other, causing internal strife and fighting to weaken the enemy before the warriors come in to crush them. They have many sorcerous tactics, but the most infamous and feared is Akrexian War Possession.

Akrexian Warlocks

When IRUS soldiers are assigned to a front fighting Akrexians, it's never long before rumors swirl among new recruits of the fearsome Warlocks. It is said that they are always surrounded by a full squad of heavily armored warriors who would die without a second thought to protect their warlock, and that if a warlock gets into your mind and takes control of your actions, there is no amount of willpower that can break its hold.
Warlocks are often spotted being carried onto battlefields on palanquins carried by Akrexian warriors or occasionally prisoners of war of other species, always wearing tattered robes and carrying softly glowing lanterns. These lanterns are watched closely by enemy combatants -- whenever they go out, its a sure sign that an allied solider has gone under the warlock's thrall and is about to attack.

Practice

Warlocks are part of a small caste of Akrexian society that are raised from birth to flawlessly practice and execute sorcerous battle techniques. Due to their very small numbers, they are protected viciously on the battlefield, but it only takes one warlock to turn the tide of battle.
In order to perform a War Possession, a warlock believes that they must traverse the Burning Darkness to reach the mind of an enemy and control them. This is where the warlocks' lanterns come in -- somehow, the Akrexian completely depletes the light and heat energy of the lantern and uses it to "ascend" through the spiritual plane to connect to other souls. The sensation of being possessed by an Akrexian warlock has been described by unlucky IRUS soldiers as a nauseating pressure in the head that comes on fairly quickly and leaves very little time for warning your fellow soldiers before the loss of autonomy sets in. These victims then can only watch in horror as their body moves of its own accord to the whims of the warlock, most often swiftly and lethally attacking their fellows.
The possession lasts as long as the warlock wishes it to, but they will often relinquish control of the victim after the initial strike as their goal has been accomplished and they can divert their attention to other things.
Long-term effects of War Possession most commonly include nausea and vomiting for up to a week after the incident, depending on how long the victim was possessed for and how strenuous the activity they did while possessed was. PTSD is also common due to the nature of the incidents. Interestingly, psionic victims report stronger negative effects that last longer, but the reason for this is unknown.

The Burning Darkness

Not many modern Akrexians believe in spirituality, but an old myth tells that they used to revere the Burning Darkness -- a mental or spiritual plane that an Akrexian can reach through focus and meditation. However, this plane is not a place of peace or enlightenment; it is filled with pain and hatred that an astral traveler can harness to punish their enemies. Akrexian warlocks still believe in the Burning Darkness and cite it as the source of their mysterious powers.

Are Warlocks Psionic?

In hundreds of species catalogued across Sytalion, humans have not yet found another species able to harness psionic abilities -- other than themselves. When the first reports of Akrexian War Possession were recorded and analyzed, human scientists rushed to determine if Akrexians had the potential to be a psionic race -- but through years of testing, experimenting, and research, it was eventually determined that War Possession was not based in psionic practices whatsoever. Furthermore, the Akrexian species as a whole did not seem to be capable of psionic manifestation at all. So how did War Possession work?
This question has not yet been answered by the scientists of Passe-Rath, and eludes nearly every attempt at an explanation. Is it possible that Akrexians have unique access to a completely new form of mental manipulation? Until more is discovered, War Possession is no more explicable than pure magic.

Primary Related Location

Akrex VII

"Psionics? I do not know this word. But my kind does not need your tactics nor capabilties to fight you. We possess power you could hardly concieve of, wielded in amounts you cannot fathom. We will ensure that the Burning Darkness consumes you, and there is nothing you can do to stop your species from spending an eternity in an afterlife of agony and flame."

— A captured Akrexian Warlock, interrogated by IRUS intelligence