Hive Queen Lore

During the Founding War, the Low King used numerous methods to leverage their greater mastery of the arcane to overcome the world that stood against them. One such method was the creation of the Hive Queens.

Creatures capable of producing troops that could be replaced and adapted to anything needed, Hive Queens formed a layer of more skilled soldiers between the hordes of Orks and distant commanders of Deep Ones. Since they could individually serve as a specialized unit tailored to their missions, they were perfect tools for the war.

Society: Hive Queens are the dominant species on Shaitan, Denizens relegated to a minority without meaningful nations. Hive Queens themselves do not form nations in the manner many other species will. Instead, they form into loose social groups sharing a territory or claim a lone territory if they have sufficient power.

Hive territories are areas of land that are exclusively inhabited by a Hive Queen’s secondary bodies. In most cases, their central body will be sequestered in a hidden nest somewhere in their territory. This location is often underground or otherwise inaccessible. It is rare for their central body to be far from their territory, unless they have a way to easily transport replacement secondary bodies to their territory.

Only very powerful Hive Queens maintain large territories on their own. It is more common for several Hive Queens to work together to defend and manage a shared territory, preventing any one from having their secondary bodies depleted. These shared territories are more akin to familial groups, rarely having more than ten to twenty individuals.

The only thing that seems to be able to motivate Hive Queen to gather into groups comparable to settlements of other species is theological affiliation. Numerous settlements of several hundred to thousand Hive Queens exist in Shaitan, formed of worshippers of the Low King.

While these different sects all follow the Low King, they each interpret their deity’s teachings differently. In many cases, their practices and ideology may differ or even contradict. The Low King provides little in the way of direct guidance to their worshippers.

The Low King is a deity of freedom, self direction and personal improvement. They give only the most general guidance to their followers, leading to sects that interpret freedom as anything between freedom from mortal desires to ruthless abuse of others to pursue one’s own growth. Since the Low King refuses to denounce all but the most perverse interpretations, there is little unity in their worshippers.

Ecology: The majority of Hive Queens live in humid rainforests, residing in structures either hidden within the dense flora or below the ground. They rarely travel with their primary body, unless they are relocating to a new territory.

Instead, they interact with the outside world and others of their kind through secondary bodies, usually using a specific appearance to represent themselves to others. It is via these representative bodies that they most often procreate.

Appearance: With twelve six segmented limbs vaguely reminiscent of a spider’s eight, Hive Queens possess a single abdominal structure that makes up the majority of their body. Rather than a distinct head, the front of their bodies contains a vertical slash from the top to bottom, serving as a mouth capable of ingesting most creatures whole. Two rows of insectoid eyes run down each side of their mouth.

Most Hive Queens have dark carapaces, being subdued greens or browns, but their light orange flesh can be seen between the plates when gestating a new drone.