Haeshi-Shaa (Shaa Form)

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary

Serving as part of the priestly caste for the Dominion of the Black, haeshi-shaas are longlived creatures that shift between a liquid and a gaseous form many times over their long lives.

Their liquid form, commonly referred to simply as haeshi, appears as a constantly churning, chunky fluid, while their vaporous form, known as shaa, appears as a hazy brown fog. Both forms hum with atonal harmonies that are unnerving, sometimes nauseating, to others.

While both forms of haeshi-shaas constantly preach a doctrine of annihilation, each form takes a slightly different approach. The attitudes of an individual haeshi-shaa change as the creature shifts forms. Liquid haeshi are more aggressive, while vaporous shaa are more introspective.

The creatures’ dogma of obliteration and their reverence for black holes stem from their belief that all cosmic complexity should be reduced to its most basic particles, because only in that state can a being be truly one with the universe.

Haeshi-shaas serve as oracles, as they claim the ability to see the invisible pathways through the universe connecting particles spiraling toward entropy. Though this claim is dubious, other creatures that serve the Dominion heed the lessons of both haeshi-shaas and chyzaedus, another member of its priestly caste.

Haeshi-shaas and chyzaedus are relatively recent assimilations, given its galactic time scale, and each species has claimed a different role within the nightmarish collective. The Dominion of the Black doesn’t concern itself with faith and religion, but the coalition seems to have a use for these strange creatures that preach its philosophy.

Many believe that the two species came into the role of priests among the Dominion because they are linked in destruction. Forgotten records claim that the tonal resonance that all chyzaedus experienced when their home planet was devoured by a black hole was a result of creatures that would become the haeshi-shaas. These creatures were known in ancient history as beings of pure sound whose strange, far-reaching tones conveyed a slightly different message of consumption and destruction.

Haeshi-shaas can’t predict when they might shift into their variant form. Some seek out events that might serve as a catalyst, while others wait for the change to occur naturally.

These creatures can exist for ages, shifting thousands of times, but over time, the bonds that cause the cyclical shifts of a haeshi-shaa’s form deteriorate. A haeshi-shaa can live for as long as 25,000 years before its final shift comes to pass and it completely dissipates among the winds of the universe.