Cephalyx e sua Sociedade

Modo de Vida e Hierarquia

Although cephalyx are spread across dozens of hives deep below the surface of Immoren, each shares an identical hierarchy, and its members are divided into similar roles. Hives are self-contained and autonomous, akin to independent city-states, quite willing to compete with one another for resources and even sometimes warring with one another.

There is limited direct communication or contact between hives, and what exists is usually a prelude to violence. That said, the breakthroughs of one hive usually filter to the rest over time. Each hive is keenly interested in cephalomek developments and will go to great lengths to acquire them. Through spies and the mental domination of captives, discoveries eventually pass to the wider cephalyx. There have also been rare occasions when the exulons of rival hives have temporarily put aside disagreements to act in concert, such as to confront a large intruding Convergence force.

Though frequently at odds with one another, the cephalyx do possess a shared identity. In circumstances where they unite against a mutual threat, there is inevitably competition for supremacy among leading exulons. A stronger hive might seek to absorb a weaker one during such a conflict, as a desire to dominate and control is endemic to cephalyx culture.

The interactions and politics of the cephalyx are difficult to understand for outsiders, who often cannot comprehend their motivations. Yet each ruling cephalyx is a highly intelligent being who has lived for hundreds of years and absorbed countless lesser minds while augmenting his own. Their actions are ultimately rational, if frequently enigmatic.

Life in the Hive

There is no question that cephalyx are a distinct species. Outsiders view them as alien beings, and this attitude is not without basis. Even such exotic races as the skorne have more in common with western Immoren’s human kingdoms than do the cephalyx. Referring to their city-states as “hives” is particularly apt, as the cephalyx are as efficient, organized, and methodical as the most complex social insects.

Regardless of their roles, individual cephalyx spend the vast majority of their conscious hours laboring at the tasks set before them with apparently tireless diligence and focused attention. The way they approach their work would be considered obsessive by human standards. This is an essential aspect of cephalyx nature, instilled in them culturally and also arising from traits deliberately selected for through countless generations.

Cephalyx require brief regular periods of inactivity akin to sleep, although this is not based on a diurnal cycle. They are able to return to full consciousness very swiftly. Most cephalyx retreat to a secure place for this cycle. A resting cephalyx is surrounded by guardians such as drudges, and their mental barriers remain active even in this state.

There is no appreciable concept of “leisure time” or entertainment among the cephalyx, and what pleasure they derive from life appears to come entirely from accomplishing the tasks they have chosen or have been ordered to undertake. There is no apparent art, music, poetry, or sculpture in this society, nor any other activities that might suggest an imagination applied to anything other than specialized branches of science. Their attitude can be seen in even simple matters such as basic sustenance.

Cephalyx have developed an assortment of subterranean flora and fauna that provide the nutrition necessary to sustain life. The cephalyx do not “eat” in a traditional manner but instead create a nutrient-rich sludge they periodically introduce directly into their digestive systems. The same methodology is applied to sustain drudges and monstrosities.

CEPHALYX GENDER, REPRODUCTION, AND MATURITY
Cephalyx are born with vestigial aspects of the biological sexes, although this distinction is largely meaningless. Gender as a concept does not exist among the cephalyx, and they do not identify themselves as male or female. For purposes of language clarity, individual cephalyx might be identified as a specific gender. Exulon Thexus is referred to as male, for example. But this concept plays no role in cephalyx culture.
Reproduction is handled entirely in laboratories set aside by a hive specifically for that purpose, tended by specialized low-caste technicians. All members of a hive contribute genetic material sufficient for ongoing production of new cephalyx. Artificial reproduction requires delicate procedures with a higher success than failure rate. Cephalyx cannot reproduce at anywhere near the speed they can create drudges, or even monstrosities, from captive subjects.
Cephalyx have the means to accelerate growth and development rapidly in newborn and young cephalyx, during which time the young are kept in an isolated nursery. Telepathic methods of education allow them to be ready for their initial assigned roles. An immature cephalyx can be transformed into one sufficiently mature to enter cephalyx society in a few short years.
It takes far longer for a cephalyx to develop the mental and psychic sophistication to advance beyond initial, usually rudimentary, tasks. A cephalyx might remain in the same role for decades before transitioning to a higher function. If a hive is experiencing a specific lack, focused efforts can be made to transition the most capable members of a lower caste. This is typically done only after a hive endures severe casualties.

As a society the tasks undertaken by cephalyx occupy an atypically narrow range, with far less diversity than most surface races. Aside from individuals assigned to regulate the basic tasks required to maintain the infrastructure of a hive, all cephalyx spend some portion of their active labor practicing cephalomek. An individual’s skill and knowledge dictates the difficulty and complexity of the procedures he undertakes. The diligence and all-consuming nature of this activity is comparable to the zeal with which religious communities practice their faiths. While cephalyx worship no deity and appear to have no religion, they approach the studies of anatomy, surgery, and engineering, which together comprise cephalomek, with unwavering devotion.

There are virtually no formalized rituals practiced by cephalyx, an extension of their rigid pragmatism. Similarly, they have shown a narrow range of emotional expression, demonstrating nothing akin to joy, sorrow, rage, or love. The emotions they do experience are not always analogous to those of the surface races and are internalized rather than openly expressed. Even when engaging in violence, the cephalyx exhibit a methodical calm that is often even more chilling to the outsider enemies they confront.

Cephalyx are supremely cerebral beings. It is frequently the case that they spend considerable time in focused thought, applied either to the task at hand or to theoretical exercises. Most cephalyx have the capacity to focus mental energy on multiple tasks simultaneously. This trait becomes stronger as a cephalyx ages and particularly as he undergoes cerebral augmentation. A cephalyx who appears to be performing a relatively rote task — such as amputating the hands of captives to replace them with automated weaponry — may also be engaged in complex mental exercises such as planning hypothetical experiments.

Hierarchy and Advancement

Cephalyx society remains hierarchical, with population controls in place to ensure the number of cephalyx is adequate for the hive to be self-sufficient and accomplish the goals of the exulons. Populations can be reduced in times of scarcity, either by limiting reproduction or, in extreme cases, by eliminating extraneous members of the lower castes. During prosperous times, populations are allowed to slowly increase. Drudges and monstrosities, as military assets, are created or eliminated as needed, though each hive seeks to maintain sufficient strength that it can both defend itself and conduct required offensive operations.

Every cephalyx is expected to fulfill his assigned role with efficiency and intelligence. The lowest castes of cephalyx are watched over with close scrutiny by those above them, and they must prove superlative at their tasks in order to have any hope of moving up. Though all cephalyx have some degree of ambition, not all are equally capable of achieving their desired upward mobility.

Cephalyx society is rigid, and required functions must be filled, but individuals are not locked into a single role indefinitely. It is intrinsic to cephalyx society that those with sufficient mental acumen and power can rise. Younger cephalyx are slated to the lowest castes and must spend years performing basic supervisory tasks or rote functions their superiors would consider demeaning. In the course of such work, cephalyx refine their initially rudimentary mental powers and learn cephalomek, starting with the most basic and crude of surgical techniques. Eventually those who prove their skill might be entrusted with more challenging tasks and perhaps elevated to a different role, while newer cephalyx occupy their former position.

Advancement typically requires lengthy labor and focused self-improvement. There are significant barriers to further advancement at each level of the hierarchy. These may require a cephalyx to undergo surgical augmentation to expand his brain and unlock new powers. Such opportunities must be earned, and not every cephalyx responds to cephalomek augmentation identically. Some of these procedures carry a risk of death or madness, and a cephalyx who is unable to perform a useful role for the hive after surgery is eliminated. Over centuries, a cephalyx who successfully advances multiple times can become a very different entity, transformed both physically and mentally.

Some brains are more responsive to expansion, although most can be improved by several orders of magnitude over a cephalyx’s lengthy lifespan. Generally the hive’s leaders must authorize augmentative procedures, though some cephalyx seek them without approval. There are always more cephalyx eager for augmentation and advancement than there is actual need for them, and in any hive there is a limited number of experts capable of performing the most advanced of brain surgeries. The vast majority of cephalyx are incapable of successful self-augmentation and therefore must rely on their seniors in order to advance. Casualties in times of strife can be useful to disrupt stagnation in a hive’s hierarchy and open chances for advancement.

Cephalyx are still individuals, each more suited to certain tasks than others. Mid-tier cephalyx who are particularly adept at a given field may find themselves mired at that level until they can impress superiors or demonstrate unusual initiative. Similarly, many cephalyx are unsuitable for leadership roles, even after an extended lifetime. They may find satisfaction in experimental research and seek advancement purely for cerebral reasons without a compulsion to dominate their peers. Such evolved specialists can advance far in a hive and assume essential positions. Each hive includes a small number of senior cephalyx who are afforded special considerations by the exulons and who answer only to them. Such cephalyx have considerable status but might not possess any authority outside their field of specialization.

Hive Caste Tiers

A hive comprises myriad roles, but many include cephalyx who are essentially equivalent in status. These tiers are not formally named structures within the hierarchy, but the strata of a hive are well understood by members. Though placement in a role or caste is initially assigned, the most important aspect of a cephalyx’s changing status is his mental advancement and power. Only leaders with sufficient mental strength to dominate subordinates remain in those positions. Individuals who have exceeded the ability of a superior to control them will invariably rise in station unless that rise is opposed by hive leaders.

In cases where a rising member of a hive cannot be placed in a useful role and where his mental power and ambition disrupts the goals of the leadership caste, a struggle of wills inevitably ensues. Those who remain defiant when they are confronted by higher-caste cephalyx invariably provoke a deadly contest of psychic power. This is the cephalyx equivalent to law enforcement; open defiance is dealt with swiftly and irrevocably. Dissent and disagreement within a hive are not allowed at any level below exulon. Even among exulons, extended periods in which consensus cannot be achieved will result in violent conflict until the minority is defeated.

Hive Infrastructure Tier

The lowest castes of a hive are those involved in overseeing fundamental infrastructure and maintenance. The tasks they supervise include growing food crops, managing waste elimination (including handling the dead), expanding and repairing a hive’s tunnel network, constructing new laboratories or living areas, and overseeing reproduction centers. Many of these duties are given to the youngest cephalyx or those at the lowest end of mental advancement, including older cephalyx who have failed to augment their minds or who damaged their brains via accidents or mistakes during augmentation procedures.

These basic tasks are vital to a hive, and it is expected that they be attended to with exacting diligence. The lowest-status members of the leadership caste are assigned to supervise cephalyx in these roles. Their only hope of advancement is demonstrating superlative performance — both theirs and their subordinates’.

No true cephalyx, even among the lowest and most junior members, ever engages in physical or menial labor. Physical tasks are instead performed by enslaved drudges or monstrosities, which are supervised and controlled by cephalyx of the lowest caste. One essential function of low-caste cephalyx is to acquire, modify, and direct drudges that can perform this work. Mastering the surgical creation of such drudges is therefore one of the first things a young cephalyx must learn to do, a first step in the long process of mastering
cephalomek. With aptitude and decades of practice, these cephalyx might move from hacking into prisoners in dark, squalid rooms to performing advanced cephalomek on cephalyx brains in pristine laboratories and surgical suites, but only if they can advance beyond the lowest caste.

Drudges are employed for all manner of menial tasks, including excavating tunnels, carrying equipment, harvesting food, and serving as disposable weapons for hive defense. Monstrosities are more valued resources than drudges, requiring more effort to create and maintain, and thus they are present in much smaller numbers in a hive. However, they can also be employed for menial labor, typically for tasks requiring their prodigious strength.

Several highly specialized roles exist within this lowest caste. Reproduction centers, for example, represent a relatively advanced function that is low in status. Those assigned to oversee reproduction are invariably older cephalyx who have not risen in stature within the hive. Most techniques practiced here are simple and represent basic cephalomek, although those who practice these sciences know there are unique challenges and difficulties to hive reproduction. Exulons often place cephalyx noted for high reliability but low ambition in this role.

Perhaps the most mysterious and loathed caste of cephalyx are the preservers, a minority of highly specialized and advanced cephalyx whose sole task is the acquisition and storage of knowledge. All preservers have undergone substantial cranial adjustments and improvements, although along lines entirely different from those of other castes. Preservers are among the lowest caste of cephalyx because they regularly violate taboos against direct contact with flesh. They interact directly with brain matter and possess specialized appendages and related tools that allow them to interface with living brains as well as to section and shave brains of the deceased for detailed absorption. Many cephalyx can telepathically probe the consciousness of lesser beings and strip memories, but for the majority this is an inexact and unreliable process. The most powerful cephalyx are likely to damage lesser minds before recovering useful information. Preservers are far more adroit at extracting such information.

Though captive subjects with unusual minds or information might be delivered to the preservers so their brains can be sectioned for absorption, preservers focus mainly on accumulating and maintaining lore generated by the cephalyx themselves. Research leaders in particular are required to regularly transmit their findings to the preservers. Additionally, members of this caste are sometimes contacted by leaders who wish to telepathically access their memory archives, usually to acquire detailed lore on rare or specialized cephalomek procedures.

Priority Operations Tier

The majority of hive members exist at this tier, which includes most castes of mature cephalyx involved in ongoing projects of interest to the exulons, including research. Most cephalyx spend the majority of their active time practicing cephalomek. This can include engaging in surgical procedures to innovate new drudges, refining techniques for creating better monstrosities, assisting in procedures related to mental augmentation, or conducting cephalomek experiments. All of these activities rely on a steady influx of captured experimental subjects, some of whom might survive to be subjected to a multitude of successive procedures.

This is a very broad tier but includes the work deemed the most important ongoing efforts of a hive. This tier has many strata of status, and most cephalyx spend their lives moving slowly from one to another of these layers. A cephalyx can shift from one project to the next before petitioning for the right to conduct research of their own choosing. Cephalyx such as mind benders, agitators, dominators, and particularly experienced mind slavers are examples of cephalyx at this tier, which also includes fleshforgers, reprocessors, and oppressors.

The lowest strata within this tier involve work on relatively basic or low cephalomek. The simplest tasks such as rote drudge creation or drudge modification are lower-caste activities; although common and necessary, these types of surgery are seen as akin to butchery and carry little esteem. Other projects involve theoretical and experimental tasks such as innovating new ways to condition or fabricate drudges, experimenting with different alchemical or surgical methods of domination and restraint, and so on.
Monstrosity fabrication is a more advanced task and carries proportionately greater status, although practitioners are still working with well-established cephalomek techniques. The most esteemed cephalyx in this field are those seeking to develop new and more advanced types of monstrosities or to push the bounds of what is attainable within the limits of the creatures’ physical frames.

The highest-status tasks in this tier involve work on the brain, in particular the enhancement of cephalyx intelligence and psychic powers. Such work is jealously guarded and usually conducted by only the greatest masters of cephalomek. Though it is sometimes done, cephalyx of this tier find it difficult to attempt to augment their own brains without the approval of their superiors. Although the desire for self-improvement often fuels a cephalyx’s ambition to join the leadership caste, it is not uncommon for highly skilled cephalyx to devote a lifetime of work to augmenting exulons, never once themselves benefiting from the results of their research.

A hive allows for only a small number of extremely advanced cephalyx to rise beyond the oversight of overlords, most notably cognifexes and mechanifexes. Cognifexes are among the most intelligent and mentally powerful of cephalomek practitioners who have not assumed the responsibility of governing an aspect of the hive. They are autonomous in running advanced research projects, sometimes collating the findings of multiple facilities. Mechanifexes occupy a similar niche, with a focus on mechanical applications. While cephalyx are primarily obsessed with surgical tasks, their laboratories require an array of mechanical, chemical, biological, and psychic power sources to run complex machinery, all of which must be fabricated to exacting standards and maintained. Mechanifexes are capable of advanced cephalomek and wield an array of psychic powers but also possess specialized lore in machine systems.

Cephalyx at the highest level of this tier have limited direct authority, yet they exercise considerable influence through the overlords regulating their projects. Knowing these individuals answer to a higher authority, overlords make every effort to facilitate their work and eliminate anything that would interfere.

Leadership Tier

The highest tier is occupied by the leadership castes, who jealously guard their positions and reserve the right to regulate the actions of subordinate cephalyx. There are several levels of leadership within a hive, and the gulf between them is substantial. Upper-tier leaders have every motivation to discourage elevating potential rivals. There are a wide variety of circumstances whereby higher-ranking members of this tier might eliminate those lower than themselves without consequences. Entering the leadership tier means walking a tightrope. These cephalyx must prove to be capable, powerful, and useful to their hive but also not a threat to the goals of their superiors. It can take centuries for cephalyx to rise to the top of the leadership caste. More are destroyed than succeed.

Overlord — The lowest caste of cephalyx leadership is occupied by overlords. They are given oversight of any tasks requiring the coordination of multiple cephalyx. All overlords oversee subordinates working on a single task or project, but there is considerable variance in their status. An overlord assigned to manage waste elimination would be far lower in status than one assigned to a high-priority research project.

Any sufficiently experienced cephalyx who has refined his psychic powers can petition hive leaders to join the ranks of the overlords, though few are accepted at any given time. Being an overlord is a transitional state for cephalyx, as these subordinate leaders are always being evaluated. It is a probationary role in which they are learning the demands of hive leadership and are held responsible for all failures of the cephalyx under their charge.
Overlords are in continual competition with one another and are frequently reassigned as performance is evaluated. They are usually organized into trios, each member seeking dominance over his peers. This is thought to refine ambition and ensure that the strongest minds excel. It also prepares overlords for the mental clashes they will face at the higher levels. Dominance within an overlord trio may periodically change, but experienced overlords settle into more stable groupings, with one clearly dominant. It is crucial that any internal competition among overlords not interfere with vital projects. Overlords who forget this face harsh reprisals by hive leaders, potentially including immediate execution.

Akulon — Occupying an intermediary leadership caste are akulons, who serve the exulons by regulating multiple teams of overlords. They are expected to pay detailed attention to the day-to-day tasks under their purview so as to free the exulons for higher thought. An exulon might be served by one to four akulons, so there are very few in most hives. Every akulon serves a specific exulon to whom he is tightly bound by psychic compulsions.

Overlords who distinguish themselves over the decades might be elevated to akulon. This requires the direct intervention of an exulon, who authorizes an extensive augmentation cycle. Members of this caste must stand ready to dominate entire groups of cephalyx, enforcing obedience and quashing discordant ambitions.

Silexus — Large hives sometimes elevate an akulon to the higher rank of silexus. A silexus in this special coordinating role is empowered to resolve disputes over allocation of resources between the various akulons. Each serves as a gatekeeper for the exulons and ensures that they are disturbed for only the most critical problems. Selected for their decisiveness and crushing mental presence, silexus are formidable battlefield combatants. When a hive is engaged in a protracted battle, a silexus might be elevated to serve as supreme battlefield commander in the absence of exulons. Nominating a silexus requires an exulon consensus, and a silexus serves the consensus and the hive rather than any specific exulon. Not all hives utilize this rank.

Exulon — The supreme rulers of a hive and of the cephalyx in general, exulons are the topmost caste and the elite of their species. This supremacy is most notably reflected in the powerful psychic powers exclusive to them, which require extensive augmentations and regular alchemical treatments. Exulons benefit from special rejuvenating processes that give them unsurpassed longevity and immunity to diseases.

The mind and will of an exulon are powerful enough to subjugate members of all lesser castes, and the greatest exulons can endure mental assault from multiple junior rivals. Exulons have an enhanced ability to control monstrosities and drudges in battle and can augment multiple allies at once through their telepathic powers. The cost for these abilities is a persistent hunger for the energies of intelligent minds. This craving exists among other upper-caste cephalyx but is strongest among the most powerful exulons, who must regularly feast on mental energies to maintain their power.

Members of this tier do not work well together: most hives can maintain equilibrium only under the direction of a small group of exulons, and some hives are governed by a single exulon for this reason. Exulons are loathe to allow others to join their ranks, and the rise of a new exulon is most often a matter of individual initiative by a veteran akulon or silexus, usually requiring secret efforts at self-augmentation and breaking loyalty conditioning. A mind at this level has reached an evolved state that can no longer endure external domination. Therefore, exulons are not promoted but rather begrudgingly acknowledged. This transition is dangerous, as standing exulons may prefer to destroy someone aspiring to join their ranks unless persuaded of a benefit to themselves and the hive.

Among hives with more than one exulon, the idea of consensus is an essential part of internal politics. Each exulon is allowed and expected to run private projects, but major actions involving the coordinated effort of large segments of the hive require exulons to work in concert. Without consensus, higher-caste subordinates may interpret efforts to enforce coordination as hostile overtures.

Meetings between exulons to achieve consensus are tense and potentially deadly. Matters are debated in a way that employs raw telepathic will, and arguments between exulons are invisible battles, conducted by way of telepathic probes, mental assaults, and psychic deflections. Consensus may arise naturally but more often requires mental battery and pressure, with the winning side forcing the losing side to acquiesce. Victory in psychic debates usually goes to the most numerous side, but not always. The strongest minds with the greatest conviction win consensus if they can succeed in eroding oppositional resistance. An exulon’s status among his peers can quickly rise or fall amid these meetings.

Military of the Cephalyx

The cephalyx have not created specific castes or roles to handle hive defense; the concept of a military is foreign to them. Instead, nearly every member of a hive is expected to contribute to hive defense and to obey orders regarding aggressive actions conducted beyond the hive. No caste is exempt from this obligation, though in practice some, such as the preservers, rarely participate.

The same leadership roles by which a hive is governed come into play in defensive or aggressive actions. Most often the overlords are tasked to lead, to regulate lesser cephalyx and ensure victory. In these engagements the overlords fear disappointing the exulons more than they fear the efforts of the enemy. Cephalyx are prone to underestimating their enemies, all of whom they view as inferior beings, but experienced cephalyx understand that even lesser beings can be dangerous.

Regardless of caste or role, cephalyx are loathe to place themselves directly in harm’s way unless forced to do so by the mental compulsion of a superior. The preferred cephalyx approach is to make heavy use of drudges and monstrosities as an expendable resource to spend against their adversaries. Yet inevitably in battle some cephalyx may fall. Cephalyx are self-centered in this regard, little fazed by the deaths of their peers. Higher castes are quite callous toward the necessity of expending members of lower castes. Even as a mind slaver views a drudge as a useful but disposable military asset, an overlord views the mind slaver in the same way.

That said, the leadership castes keep an accurate accounting of a hive’s population and know the difficulties and costs of replacing key personnel. Cephalyx pragmatism ensures they will risk vital hive resources only if the goal is of sufficient importance. Ranking cephalyx will not hesitate to retreat and surrender ground if necessary and are untroubled by human concepts like honor, pride, and duty. Any cephalyx seen fighting to the death in battle is invariably one who has been mentally compelled to do so by his superiors.

CEPHALYX WARCASTERS
Some cephalyx have the ability to directly control multiple monstrosities and wield formidable powers that can transform a battlefield. Their telekinetic abilities can deflect incoming weaponry as efficiently as any power field. Such individuals can fight on par with Iron Kingdoms warcasters, though the cephalyx themselves do not consider them warcasters. Such powers are unlocked by the augmentation of the cephalyx brain; they are not rooted in an unpredictable and rare inborn talent, nor do these cephalyx leaders have an affinity for cortexes or mechanika. The ability to telepathically control and direct monstrosities is an extension of the mental abilities of these upper-caste cephalyx, not dissimilar from controlling drudges.
Cephalyx do not technically cast spells or wield magic, though the psychic powers they manifest function similarly and can be similarly affected or disrupted. What appear to be spells employed by individuals such as Exulon Thexus are rather a manifestation of formidable and versatile psychic abilities. For this reason, when cephalyx unleash these powers there is no manifestation of spell runes, only a sickly purple radiance.

Most cephalyx are battle-ready without additional training or preparation, able and willing to make use of their mental powers and their surgical expertise and tools if need be. With knowledge of anatomy, cephalyx can quickly and efficiently kill other living things, requiring nothing more than a small slice to a major artery. Some castes, however, are more specifically oriented toward hive defense. All mind slavers are expected to maintain a roster of battle-ready drudges to serve as the most numerous of a hive’s soldiery. Drudges usually employed for other tasks can be very quickly outfitted for battle.

Agitators serve a hive by seeing to the disposition of monstrosities, ensuring they are delivered as required and augmenting them in battle. Dominators serve a special role predicated on enslaving highly skilled outsiders. Besides providing reconnaissance, access to these non-cephalyx gives a hive an arsenal of unusual tactics. A dominator can use the slaves in myriad ways, including sending dominated troops to blend in with the enemy to discern their plans.

Cephalyx prefer to engage with small to medium-sized forces. Most cephalyx raids are comprised of a relatively small number of cephalyx supported by a larger number of drudges and a few monstrosities striking against poorly defended periphery human and Rhulic communities. Stronger hives can muster entire armies, however, though they rarely do so. One of the greatest strengths of the cephalyx in these engagements is internal cohesion and instantaneous communication, facilitated by telepathic orders. The fact that drudges are directly controlled means they are capable of perfect, silent coordination.

The cephalyx are not a militarily regimented society, and disparate elements sometimes engage enemies in a less ordered manner. This can put them at a disadvantage against disciplined foes like the Convergence or the elite troops of kingdom armies. The cephalyx are most effective when able to ambush or strike from a position of surprise, applying their mental powers and using raw psychological shock to demoralize the enemy. They prefer to strike quickly and overwhelmingly and withdraw back to a hive; they are not as well suited for protracted engagements.

However, a hive fighting to defend its core assets can be truly formidable and intractable. Supported by powerful ruling cephalyx and able to rely on their surgical theaters, the cephalyx can prove extremely resilient. When fighting close to the hive, cephalyx send their injured back to be treated and then returned to battle, essentially eliminating non-fatal casualties and giving the impression of far greater numbers than they actually possess.

Fonte: Forces of Warmachine Cephalyx