False Archons are replica organisms designed to very closely mimic Archons, to the point of spoofing a psionic connection to their Archmother of choice to facilitate a psionic-esque form of coordination. They spawn Facades rather than Puppets, and have little psionic potential to them.

False Archons have a very particular physique to them, as while they sport similar morphology to the Archons they mimic, their bodies are instead wrapped in a chitin shell. They also sport green internals, and a pair of insect wings that allows them to fly (though their stamina is inferior to that of something like a Solar Archon). Their side-heads, replicating the seeming importance of the physical features in typical puppet creation, have horns to aid in magical concentration and conduction, which powers the False Archon's ability to mimic spawning.

Given that they are infiltrators, False Archons have the ability to completely alter their physical form, including colours, textures, and even the arrangement of their limbs to better mimic their hosts. While exaggerated shape shifts rapidly strain the False Archon, subtle changes like the simple addition of fur can be maintained indefinitely so long as the False Archon is not strained by anything else. They can even pass shapeshifting instructions directly onto their spawn as it is being created, allowing them to mimic a proper Archon even when spawning.

False Archons very closely replicate their desired targets (normal Archons), to the point that many of their features can be described as a magic replacement for a certain psionic feature. This lack of psionics is perhaps their most defining trait, as their only psionic inclination seems to be a basic level of translation from their more natural "magical" language and the imposed psionic signals of the host Archmother. This does, however, allow them to make their disguises extraordinarily convincing, as they can allow an Archmother to requisition control of their Facades when needed.

In and of themselves, False Archons are not especially strong in any way. While superficially, their magic is stronger than that of Solar Archons, the division between Facade management and spellcasting means that, one on one, a Solar Archon will beat a False Archon in spellcasting potential. Their spoofed psionic connection also means that controlling puppets is far from a natural reflex for a False Archon, requiring a substantial amount of training to properly master. Like other Archons, however, they have a focus on spawning, with False Archons having an entirely unique caste of "Facades" that supplant their ability to create normal puppets. Lastly, while not nearly as strong as Gangrenous Archons, False Archons do boast significant physical strength and respectable durability.

As infiltrators, False Archons can display a particular trichotomy of behaviours based on their living situation. These are known as the "Obfuscated", "Rejected", and "Adopted" personalities:

• Obfuscated False Archons are those who have not been found out yet. Obfuscated Archons carefully maintain their disguises and that of their kin, and tend to act very sheepish, shying away from danger or other stressful situations that may strain them. Their goals are parasitic in nature: Typically, they attempt to induct themselves into the puppet gestalt without the wider gestalt knowing about them, allowing the False Archons to siphon food, workers, and resources away for their original creator's benefit. They are particularly protective of their spawned Facades, and display a strong fear of Myrmecophs due to the puppets' abilities to reveal the falsehood of their psionic connection.
• The first of the "caught" personalities, Rejected False Archons are those who have been found out by their host Archmother and either extricated by force or self-removed due to a sense of failure at being caught. Rejected False Archons typically avoid their (former) hosts, and tend to be extremely hostile even to the original hive that created them for the purpose of infiltrating a clan. This hyper-aggressive tendency tends to reflect poorly on the False Archon's lifespan, and a recovery to a healthy state of mind becomes harder the longer the Rejected personality has to take hold.
• Contrary to the Rejected personality, Adopted False Archons have been found out by their host Archmother, but have subsequently been adopted regardless. The strong maternal bond an Archmother feels towards their children typically means Adopting is preferred to Rejecting the False Archon by most Archmothers, particularly since False Archons are typically uninterested in destroying the clan. Adopted False Archons seldom disguise themselves or their Facades, unless shapeshifting would have a practical benefit to the clan. The initial period of an Adopted Personality occasionally has the False Archon display a level of standoffishness, but as they are properly settled into the clan these aggressive snaps become less and less common, eventually fading entirely.

False Archons do not spawn true puppets. They simply do not have the anatomy or neurology to do so. Instead, they spawn Facades, which are capable of shapeshifting to mimic certain puppets. The full list is:

• Drones
• Palisades
• Swarmlings

False Archons, not being Archons or even puppets at all, are very insular in terms of epigenetic triggers. How they pattern psionic communications into magic messages seems to largely be a static aspect of their biology, rather than a personal sequence of sorts. As such, relatively little is left up to the False Archon's own epigenetics, aside from the exact shape or configuration of features they take.

Among Facades, however, Archons are quite complex given how much they have to manage, with many traits that seem to relate to strong magical performance and morphological stamina.

I suppose calling the False Archons my children is exactly what they'd wish for, but I can't help myself. Even if I know they came from elsewhere, and they're not the same as the others, I still feel a need to take them and their spawn in. They can be dejected at first, especially if I've found them out not on their terms, but I just give them the time and love they need and they tend to come around. It's certainly better than the alternatives...

False Archons have been an idea I've played around with for a while, as a Changeling-aesthetic puppet was always one of those things I was curious to try but never had a decent fit for. Now with this concept fleshed out as it is, they're kind of their own thing while still belonging to the general Hyacinth mythos. They make for good deuteragonists, if absolutely nothing else, being practically hard-wired to be antagonistic at first but slowly softening up over time.