Siege Colossus
There is the central hive - the one the Hive Kin had originally infiltrated into, fighting and mapping and fortifying all the way. But they have others - smaller, younger ones: hive colonies, they are called.
And then there are 'wild hives' - those without a connection to the central hive, and not founded by the children of the tribe's queen. These do not recognise the pheremone-laced scents of Hive Kin humans, and their inhabitants will eviscerate and devour them as quickly as any other tribers.
Some of these nests - truly ancient things - grow as large as the Hive Kin's own central hive. Mercifully, such monsters are far from Korash proper, existing far to the south west: those dangerous lands where humanity is still unwelcome.
It is when a hive grows to this prodigious size, and extends sufficient depth below ground, that its workers will begin to hollow out a deep, vast cavern. In this chamber, varieties of thick, velvety fungus will begin to propagate, carefully tended by the ant's gardener caste until the entire thing is hazy with a thin mist of spores, and damp with warm humidity. Once the climate is sufficient, rare and select larvae will be chosen and brought here by the nursemaids. And with specialised feeding and grooming, a new, frightening caste will begin to grow.
The colossi are barely known to Korash's people. Mostly, they are understood as myth - exaggerated misunderstandings of the stories outsiders tell of regular Korashi ants. "They where huge!", foreigners will say. "Truly gargantuan creatures!" Of course, by comparison to regular insects, Korashi ants are monstrous. But only those who have seen the colossi can truly believe the size to which these particular monstrosities have grown. And that the very worst of the stories where true.
Once a colossi reaches its adult size, having by this point been fed the other young placed in its chamber (those that did not grow as swiftly, as there can only be a single colossus per hive), the creature will burrow out through the earth, leaving a gaping wound in the hive's side as its emergence tunnel, and advance immediately towards civilisation, with hundreds of its smaller sisters following in tow.
The Hive Kin have produced few of these creatures, but those they have nursed to full size have quickly been turned into 'siege colossi', trained and fitted for war. What other purpose could these terrifying gargantua have?
Lineart by Ellen, colouration by Eskalat, background is creative commons media
Hive Kin
And then there are 'wild hives' - those without a connection to the central hive, and not founded by the children of the tribe's queen. These do not recognise the pheremone-laced scents of Hive Kin humans, and their inhabitants will eviscerate and devour them as quickly as any other tribers.
Some of these nests - truly ancient things - grow as large as the Hive Kin's own central hive. Mercifully, such monsters are far from Korash proper, existing far to the south west: those dangerous lands where humanity is still unwelcome.
It is when a hive grows to this prodigious size, and extends sufficient depth below ground, that its workers will begin to hollow out a deep, vast cavern. In this chamber, varieties of thick, velvety fungus will begin to propagate, carefully tended by the ant's gardener caste until the entire thing is hazy with a thin mist of spores, and damp with warm humidity. Once the climate is sufficient, rare and select larvae will be chosen and brought here by the nursemaids. And with specialised feeding and grooming, a new, frightening caste will begin to grow.
The colossi are barely known to Korash's people. Mostly, they are understood as myth - exaggerated misunderstandings of the stories outsiders tell of regular Korashi ants. "They where huge!", foreigners will say. "Truly gargantuan creatures!" Of course, by comparison to regular insects, Korashi ants are monstrous. But only those who have seen the colossi can truly believe the size to which these particular monstrosities have grown. And that the very worst of the stories where true.
Once a colossi reaches its adult size, having by this point been fed the other young placed in its chamber (those that did not grow as swiftly, as there can only be a single colossus per hive), the creature will burrow out through the earth, leaving a gaping wound in the hive's side as its emergence tunnel, and advance immediately towards civilisation, with hundreds of its smaller sisters following in tow.
The Hive Kin have produced few of these creatures, but those they have nursed to full size have quickly been turned into 'siege colossi', trained and fitted for war. What other purpose could these terrifying gargantua have?
Hive Kin
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