Skat'ra telepathy

Visitors are always surprised when they enter a skat'ra hive. It is the lack of chatter that throws them off every time. Skat'ra telepathy and hive mind don't require the skat'ra to talk among themselves. They are always following the orders of the queens.

Although skat'ra are sensitive to telepathy, they have to learn its intricacies. While they grow in their eggs, the queens bombard them with their telepathic powers. During this bombardment, they learn the details of the language and receive conditioning to always serve the queen. During their growing period, they slowly bond to the hive mind too.

There are a few levels of skat'ra telepathy. Workers and warriors receive orders from the queens. The queens themselves can communicate with each other as members of the other species can communicate with each other. The strangest thing is that nobody can talk with the Matriarch. This is probably her choice because every communication goes through her, and without her, the skat'ra won't have telepathy.

Skat'ra telepathy can be used for very detailed and intricate discussions. It just depends on who is talking to whom. The queens among themselves can talk like members of other nations. They are also capable of communicating through their conduits. The conduit receives the telepathic message and translates it into the required language. In reverse, the conduit continuously translates spoken words into telepathic messages. Every other skat'ra gets a short command containing the place and activity they must complete. If it is a one-time task, like bringing food to the queen, the skat'ra stops moving after they finish it. If it is a repetitive task, like moving crates, they continue until it is possible. These commands are completely mechanical for the queens. Of course, nobody verified it yet, but it is theorized that a part of the queens' brains is handling this unconscious communication.

Envoys and warriors, among them mostly the sentinels, have their limited telepathy. They are still part of the hive mind and execute the commands of the queens, but unlike other skat'ra, they can initiate communication too. The envoys can ask for a briefing to report their latest activities, while the warriors can issue orders to each other during combat. Even this little free will is loathed by the queens, but with other nations on Tacillia, they don't have a choice.

It is entirely impossible to infiltrate a skat'ra hive mind

— a member of the Veiled Faculty