Pentagraani

The Pentagraani (also known as the Pentagraani Bloodshards or simply Bloodshards) are a race of sentient crystalline xenos hailing from the Dead World of Pentagraani. Enigmatic and destructive, the Pentagraani are both a species and a plague, the mutated remnants of an alien nanovirus that feeds off of the biochemistry of other species in order to propagate.

Physiology
Pentagraani are somewhat unique in the fact that they are almost entirely silicon-based organisms, resembling large crystalline formations with colorations ranging from light puce to deep scarlet, earning them the nickname "Bloodshards". Their internal structures are veined with a network of highly-conductive ferrous material that allows them to channel energy throughout their bodies, making parts of their structure pulse with inner light. Their physical bodies are in fact a contruct colonies of microscopic nanomachines that are capable of manipulating matter on the atomic level, and thus allowing the Pentagraani to manipulate their own substance at will, typically taking on various geometric shapes when active.

Propagation
The Pentagraani reproduce via viral infection, introducing shards of their own nanoplague-infested substance into the flesh of organic creatures. Once they have disseminated throughout the bloodstream, the nanomachines produce an artificial silicate which bonds to the elements of hydrogen and carbon present in the host's atomic makeup, forming crystalline deposits throughout the body. Within hours victims of this "shardplague" will begin to feel extreme dehydration coupled with intense pain as the deposits multiply, and within days their skin will have taken on grayish cast, their eyes turning glassy as spikes of blood-red crystal begin to emerge from their flesh.

At this stage, the infected individual looses any sense of self-autonomy and degenerates into what is known as a Thrall. These tormented creatures are subservient to the Pentagraani, who manipulate them through electrical impulses channeled through their crystalline protuberances. Typically they are used as the primary vector of infection, throwing themselves upon others as a means of furthering the spread of the shardplague.

Thankfully, the Pentragraani nano-infection is hardly an efficient reproductive system, as infected Thralls rarely survive long enough for the nascent shards growing within them to emerge as fully-fledged Monoliths. More often than not the imbeded shards will pierce vital organs or cause internal bleeding that eventually kills the Thrall, their shards growing dull and lifeless as their host dies. Usually, only one out of every thousand Thralls created will give birth to a host of newborn Pentagraani.

Formations
Throughout their lives, Pentagraani go through several different stages known as "formations", as listed below in order of youngest to eldest.

Dermaliths
A Dermalith is the weakest formation of Pentagraani, taking form within the anatomy of infected Thralls where they slowly leech their victims of hydrocarbon compounds. In this stage they are akin to organic fetuses, only barely sentient and in a stage of rapid development. Dermaliths do however serve an important function in controlling their Thrall hosts, channeling electro-signals from elder Pentagraani as a means of directing their Thrall's actions.

Monoliths
The most commonly encountered form of Pentagraani, Monoliths typically resemble large geometric crystals, varying anywhere from three to six feet in diameter. Floating in mid-air through means of electromagnetic repulsion, Monoliths are fully sentient and tend to be the most belligerent and aggressive of Pentagraani formations, owing to their relative youth by Pentagraani standards. In battle they actively engage enemy combatants, bombarding them with pulses of electricity or extruding razor-sharp spines of crystal to stab and slash opponents to ribbons.