The violent gnashing of teeth and squalid rancor of thousands of wretched creatures was all that could be heard within the derelict ship. Ear-splitting screams rang out periodically as the massive creature produced another swarm of whelps from her swollen womb, her 'children' immediately crawling away to whatever duty the Grail called them to, covered in slick amniotic oils. The sergeant muttered thanks to the Enigma for the airtight seals on his suit, lest the vile scent scald his senses. His men were in position, weaponry aimed over the rails along the upper level, looking down over the amalgamation of dead bodies dubbed a Grailmother by the scribes. Each body finely woven into a quilt of corpses, faces permanently distorted into charicatures of unimaginable agony or horrific ecstasy, taking the shape of a large figure that was almost humanoid in form and structure, beyond the massive node that comprised everything beneath the waist. The sergeant was certain that his soldiers should first target the Cupbearers, large figures casting esoteric life-rituals over the wailing Mother with their many hands. A lone cupbearer could melt the flesh of a Cytherean with a brief movement, and in a situation against an enemy with such incredible magical prowess, high-caliber weaponry has proven itself a consistent solution. He spoke in the harsh Cytherean tongue over the radio for his troops to prepare incendiary grenades. This would have to be done in one swift action.
-Segeant Terr aboard the derelict ship "Theophan" preparing to assault a Grail-Hive.
by Tamara
Cloning
Over time, the already-alien design of the pregnancy nodes had evolved and adapted to become more and more distant from mechanical interference. The current method of reproduction for the Grailborn involves the conglomeration of several hundred dead bodies. 'Wet nurses', or Cupbearers, slowly assist in the amalgamation of the flesh into a design suitable for reproduction. Foreign bodies are slowly removed, and artificial components- such as clothes, are excised. This development is assisted by the minutely-thaumaturgic abilities of the Grail consciousness. Concentrated Life magic is placed upon the developing Mother, and once completed, resembles a vaguely humanoid frame, with a large spherical mass akin to the previously-mentioned pregnancy node attached below the approximate 'waist' of the Mother.
The need for an operator was phased out- instead, the womb develops dozens of instances (or even hundreds, depending on the size/age) each kept within thin 'bubbles' of skin, with veins leading into the developing embryos.
The imprints are stored within the Grail's databank, so a Mother can utilize any of the tens of thousands of stored imprints from anywhere, although whether or not the Mother is alive/aware is up for debate.
Once prepared, the womb opens and the developed Grailborn simply spills out, fully developed over the course of several weeks, if not months.
The imprints chosen can vary wildly, such as an Imperial Venusian from 1565 AV who fought in the First Necromantic War, or a Vodranti gunner whose ship was investigating an abandoned derelict in the orbit of Mars, only to find a fully developed Grail womb/nest within.
It is assumed the clones retain the memories from the imprints, but this 'awareness' is only developed over the course of several years- once sufficiently sapient, they are deemed Grailknights, at least by scribes who study the Grailborn.
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