Skarner, His Race, and What Riot could Do to Introduce More of Them

I think it would be cool if Skarners character was more fleshed out. Keep his original motivation of preserving his race and being a Vangard to make sure it is safe for his peoples return. One thing you could do is make it an event. For example maybe another Vanguard or several other Vangards awaken heralding the beginning of "The Return."

One thought that came to my mind was who are the Brackern and how do they reproduce? I had an interesting idea concerning the Arachia in Skarners ret-conned lore: the mysteriously powerful crystal that granted Skarner his power and wisdom. It is also what the Brackern need to find and bond with or they will die. I think these Arachia shouldn't just be crystals. They are actually the other half of the Brackern race. From this idea I steadily began to create a cycle of birth death and reproduction for this enigmatic race. Here's how it works.

Geodes: These hollow stony spheres are eggs that contain Brackern embryos. The Geodes them selves will eventually become mature Arachia once a lifeform to model an exoskeleton for a future Brackern is placed in side after they hatch. (think mosquito trapped in amber)

Crystal Spires: these large crystalline Obelisk habitats act as nurseries for Geodes (eggs) . These areas are created, seeded, and protected by the diverse and mobile Brackern. The are often characterized by generating a "creep" of Crystal matrices and colonies that spread around the circumference of the ground they protrude from; supplying nourishment to Geode, Brecci, and Brackern alike.

Brecci: This is the larvae state of immature Brackern. This is when they are at their weakest physically and intellectually and many of them look the same. Their basic function is to relocate and monitor hatched (geodes) to places where lifeforms will wander inside, so the blueprints of the lifeforms DNA will be used to model the next generation of Brackern. (Scorpions will make scorpion looking Brackern, Centipedes will make Centipede like Brackern, beetles, ants, etc) Once a creature wanders inside they are put into stasis and locked inside the Geode. An elder Brackern nearing the end of his "Cycle" will make pilgrimage with this Geode into the depths of the earth. The Elder Brackern will continue to dig as deep and as far as it can before it dies. It is believed that the closer the Geode is to the center of the Earth the more time it can be given to mature and produce very strong, intelligent, and healthy Brackern. The Arachia that were formed over the longest periods of time in the deepest parts of the Earth produce the strongest Brackern aka Vanguards.

Arachia: Considered the Female side of the race. Mature Arachia are powerful crystalline living organisms that draw magical power, energy, mana and knowledge from the Earth. They form and acquire this knowledge over the thousand year geological cycles and tectonic forces that shape the Earth.
They are immobile (like coral reefs for example) but they seem to possess a level of sentience not well understood by other races. They are sources of life and collective wisdom to the Brackern and must be protected at all costs.

Brackern: the final stage of a Brecci. Once a Brecci reaches its adolescent stage its reserves begin to deplete and if it doesn't seek out and bond with an Arachia soon it WILL die. The journey is hazardous however, because there's only one place mature Arachia can be found; deep DEEP within the Earths mantle. Many Breccis reserves will deplete long before they can find their chosen Arachia and others might perish from the crushing pressures of the deep and intense heat. 1/10 Brecci perish in this attempt, and even fewer (1/100) are fortunate enough to bond with the Arachia that have been formed over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years (the kind that will birth a Vanguard. If they do however the Brecci will bond with the Arachia, creating an impressive crystal spire that rises from the ground and breaches the surface. Their form now resembles the life form that was trapped within the Geode and the knowledge that was obtained from the Arachia is shared with the rest of his kind. The newly minted Brackern is stronger, posessess sentient levels of intelligence and now assumes the role of protector and guardian of his crystal colony. Thus the cycle continues.

Vanguards: The elite class of Brackern. They are the wisest strongest and most enduring specimens. To fight a Brackern is fool hardy. To anger a Vanguard is to risk utter annihilation. In addition to their sheer strength and nigh indestructible exoskeletons they are masters of terrestrial arcana. They can awaken dormant volcanoes, trigger earthquakes, produce intense sound vibration and frequencies, utilize piezoelectricity as a weapon, and even create enormous sinkholes that can swallow entire cities.