Spirit Warrior

A spirit warrior is an undead elven construct created by the Imperial Elven Navy (IEN).

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Spirit warriors are huge undead insects that have been converted into manned battlesuits and served as long-range infantry units during the First and Second Unhuman Wars by the IEN.
There are three primary types of spirit warriors.
Carnivore warriors resemble praying mantises and attack through their slashing forelimbs and mandibles.
Herbivore warriors resemble crickets, boasting powerful limbs that can allow for vertical jumps of nearly 400 ft. and horizontal jumps reaching 600 ft. Herbivores are also capable of chameleon-esque camoflague. Less armored than carvnivores, herbivores act as fast moving scouts.
Nektar warriors resemble both butterflies and wasps, with brightly colored thoraxes and patterened wings. Each are equipped with a hollow stinger outfitted with a fire projecter.

Genetics and Reproduction

Spirit warriors start life as insects raised from their first hatching by the elf that would one day bond them. From six months to a year, the elf caretaker is encouraged to feed, pet, cuddle, and speak with the larva as it grows, much in the same way one bonds to a pet. When the larva reaches maturity after a year, the magical process of transforming the creature into an oversized undead begins, though sometimes this process is halted until the insect dies naturally. Either way, the undead creature and the elven pilot are psychically linked, binding the two together.

Bonding a Spirit Warrior

Unclaimed spirit warriors are rare, but have been found on battlefields of the First and Second Unhuman Wars, and some scavengers and adventurers have attempted to bond a spirit warrior of their own. However, lacking a preexisting bond for the insect in life, the odds of successfully bonding an unclaimed spirit warrior, or wresting control away from its current hold, stands at about 1 in 20. The lucky failures, about 1 in 4, are knocked unconscious by the effort for multiple days while the rest suffer extreme mental and physical trauma, ranging from brain hemmorhages to stokes to psychic trauma.

Civilization and Culture

History

Fearing the threat posed by the orcish witchlight marauders during the First Unhuman War, elven mages and researchers worked tirelessly to create a fearsome creature that could match such a monster should they ever be unleashed on a planet. Initial attempts to create giant insect monsters resulted in failure after failure, as the enhanced specimens would often run amok, damaging research installations in the process.
Over time, it was discovered by the elf Rowan Starblade that the ceremonies to create the spirit warriors failed due to the lack of an emotional bond between elf and beast. Further research showed that placing a minor spelljamming helm inside of the insects allowed the elven pilot to have complete control over the spirit warrior.
Following the end of the First Unhuman War, nearly all spirit warriors were put into magical stasis, to be brought out again in times of crisis.
During the Second Unhuman War, spirit warriors were brought out of stasis to be reused for the new conflict, but the intervening four centuries made the reuse of the old spirit warriors difficult. Many of the original elves bonded to the spirit warriors had passed away in the intervening years, and attempts to bond the spirit warriors to new riders was frought. Only 1 in 20 attempts were successful, and nearly three-fourths of elves that attempted the process suffered severe mental and physical trauama, including cerebral hemorrhages, speech impairement, and even strokes. Still, the power provided by the spirit warriors was too much for the IEN to pass up.
Following the inconclusive end of the Second Unhuman War, a few spirit warriors have been left out of stasis in the event fighting starts up again. Due to lessons learned from the disasterous rebonding efforts in the war, many pilots of spirit warriors were put into stasis alongside their bonded undead, ensuring that when the time came, both would be immediately able to fight.

Average Height

20 ft.