#crystalisks

It’s been awhile since I did a major headcanon post. Started thinking about doing an area head canon project and thought that this would be an interesting one. Caustic Caverns is both my favorite and least favorite area on Pandora, because of how much lore surrounds it and how much of a pain in the ass it is to survive there. I spent the last few weeks thinking about caustic caverns wondering how survivable it would be, and read up on acidic and alkaline lakes. Obviously it isn’t the most hospitable of places.

Disclaimer: I suck at chemistry. So if there’s something wrong, I apologize, please let me know.

The underground lake in Caustic Caverns is alkaline, with Sulfur and copper in it (maybe. I don’t actually know how all the chemistry works, but usually the presence of copper makes things appear to be teal green or turquoise. Not exactly the color we’re looking for, but it’s close.) 

Most of the crystals and crystaliks have sulfur in them. (in crystaline form Sulfur is yellow, and when ground into a dust can be a fire/explosion hazard. Also can become a toxic gas when airborne too.)

Blue (the giant blue crystalisk) had copper sulfide in their crystals. (same goes for the ones you find in the captain scarlet dlc).

The lake is also very high temperature, almost boiling. 

The air is likely toxic to some degree since the area is underground, and the gasses released from the bubbles will remain trapped, so humans must have breathing equipment when in the area. 

The creatures that live there have adapted to the environment.

Varkids and Spiderants are fairly resistant to caustic elements, thanks to their thick carapaces and ability have their blood clot quickly when injured.

Threashers are already well adapted to toxic air thanks to their adaptations from living in a volcanic area on Elpis.

Crystalisks get weirdly stronger when in contact with the lake. It has something about the composition of the base and their bodies that encourage the crystals on their legs to grow.

Crystalisks were highly sought after for two reasons: Weapons, and Medicine. (explosive purposes, and Sulfur is used in a lot of antibiotics. Medicine in a time where there’s exploration in foreign places or during a war is extremely precious. Also there’s no way of knowing which planets are plentiful in what element or mineral.)

The crystals on their bodies are close to a lot of sensitive nerves so whenever they're broken it almost sends it into shock.

I think i remember reading that they could be bio-mechanical weapons, so if they are, when they go into shock, they self destruct to keep others from re-creating them.

Either that or they self destruct in a last-ditch effort to kill their attacker.