[quote]1: can Fikrul infuse more than just Eliksni corpses with Dark Ether? If it's a substance similar to blood that he can control, could it also reanimate other species?[/quote] The pure Dark Ether running through Fikrul’s veins (or Eliksni equivalent) isn’t actually what reanimates them. If normal Eliksni, living or dead ingest Dark Ether, they die outright and don’t become Scorn. The stuff we see in regular Scorn has been diluted with regular Ether to actually allow it to bond with the host body. So if this dilution is required, the likelihood of raising effective Scorn from other races is highly unlikely. The only species besides Eliksni/Scorn we’ve seen have Ether were the hybrid Hive offspring of the Mindbender on the Tangled Shore, a combination so disastrous it turned the Worms into volatile explosives. If there were to be another species that could sustain itself off of Ether, or at least successfully ingest it without adverse side-effects, it could be possible. [quote]2: there are a few instances of Scorn who are, or at least seem to be, fully autonomous; Are all Scorn capable of independent thought, or is this trait only possible when Fikrul grants it to them?[/quote] It seems to depend entirely on the environment. The Scorn have the ability to learn, after all during Lost when under the command of Xivu Arath they started to develop fighting pits and seemingly adapting a Hive like philosophy. Fikrul, at least prior to this Episode, appeared to be encouraging some sort of individuality within his Scorn, such as the Knights he sent to Earth to investigate the Scorn that Hefnd had raised. [url=https://youtu.be/BefmGFlUArc?si=UpoCb6VQP74ATEsP]Warlord’s Ruin | Dispel 3 - Bone 2[/url] [quote]The Crow: Fikrul’s followers have always been different… capable of learning. Maybe he saw that potential here.[/quote] However, as we see in this dungeon, this individuality they might develop is fragile. The five Knights Fikrul sent to Earth were broken and then controlled by Hefnd. They can develop that independency, but it can be quickly stripped away on a whim once someone capable of taking their leash decides to. This “free will” is also made with the caveat that they’re blank slates once turned into Scorn, essentially indoctrinated to follow Fikrul as their father. The Echo doesn’t allow Fikrul to control them, it’s simply facilitating the transformation.