Gray the Great (Elite Officer) (Vampire Spider)

He was gone, just like that. The Hive was hurting a little, at least the officers that were able to feel and understand the pain of rejection. We had his memories; which Scix dove into, letting it help understand why he had to go. I understood that my soul was slowly growing now, that I was becoming more like a person to some extent. That I felt more deeply than the others, because my soul had the capacity for it, while the Hive mind gave me the ability to truly understand what happened.

When I heard the others talking, I realized it. Our Queen was helping us through the pain, letting us go about it in our own way. She was taking those painful feelings, steering us from viewing him as selfish, and generally allowing us to move on. This was the first time we lost a personality, and if we wanted to leave we could. Then a dark thought came across me, what if one of us truly died? If we were sent away to help a Hive grow, disconnected from our Queen. If the hive we were with perished, we would be lost. She was preparing us for such a realization, despite the others not being ready.

As if to confirm my theory, the Queen gave me a private message, asking if I'd like to forget such an idea. I responded in the negative, thanking her for the choice. She was watching our thoughts, and helping us become our own. I felt closer to her than I did before, despite realizing that I couldn't fully understanding her. That was the first step to becoming what she needed, a voice that could provide something unique versus her simply talking to herself. Our Queen was beyond glory, she was marvelous, and deserved every bit of praise. I realized that I couldn't feel anger that she hid things from us. We just weren't ready, nor could we comprehend what she kept us from.

I resolved to help the others as best I could, as it was likely Argus might grow to this point if placed in a homunculus body. Our Queen had realized long ago she couldn't do this alone. She needed those that could help her, and while she created the others, she took me in. Just as she had taken in Isaac, and we all had that same choice if we wanted. To our Queen there was no difference between a spider that had been too prideful, and the personalities she created. Once you were truly a part of the Hive, it was your new chance at life.

The body beside our Queen, and beside Richard both smiled a little. I was thankful for the masks I wore, and when I reached the same level as Isaac I would take them off. I couldn't replicate everything he did during his final night, but that was because I was lacking in the strength of my soul, and the degree of my focus. My Queen gave me what she had observed, how my soul grew stronger through taking over the kin she had given me. That my very nature allowed my soul to grow in its unique way, and that as my own hive grew, so would my strength. Many, many small souls becoming one, and gaining in strength and understanding.

I finally understood why those from my Hive never saw the crossroad giving them a choice. They truly became a part of me, a choice they stumbled into without understanding. Argus was growing for the same reason thanks to her giants and the talent that allowed her soul to stretch. Something amazing that only our Queen could allow to happen. How easily she moved the other bodies, collecting those foolish enough to try and steal from our Hive. I was nowhere near ready to understand the scale of our Queen's soul.

I returned my focus to watching as different individuals filtered in from the Tribes. All manner of shaman and mystical beastmen attempting to find the nature of the curse placed upon Richard. I asked if she had plans to fix him, and the answer was simple and elegant. She would place his soul inside a temporary vessel, like a homunculus body and allow the curse to travel to it. At least a hundred giants would be sacrificed, but the curse was bound to the host. The homunculus body would be burned, as the body itself was the vessel for this curse. To break it, is to break the curse. Richard will see the crossroads and have a choice with other giants ready to halt his soul and offer such. Even as we spoke, the workers were preparing the room where this would occur.

Our Queen would move tomorrow, to personally buy the warehouse the Minotaur captured. The Hags would move, to have the gnomes construct the body, while slowly destroying the curses and totems with what was left of their forces. The new batch of homunculus would carry small boxes of larvae to build up a foothold in our new territory. After all, our Queen was the strongest, and so the church had to go to her. Earning the trust needed, would take time, but between Argus and myself we could manage.

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Scix The Elite Ghost (Assassin)

After defeating the hags, the night passed quietly. Our Queen managed to get Richard to a safe place, a sort of shed added onto the first warehouse. It was only natural that the Tribes wouldn't be able to help, since the Fiend's Eye made it their mission to destroy most information about ritual magic and curses. What mattered was that they were able to try, showing who wanted our protection. The Tribes understood what we were capable of, in terms of securing food. They wanted to be a little closer to the gang that provided such, despite forming a proper council under Cheshire.

There was a lot of politics involved, old feuds that needed to be settled between them. I moved between bodies in different locations, listening to conversations personally if key words were reported. The hags made it appear that while the curses they placed were being broken, they had taken those energies to use it to slay whoever opposed them. The first couple small gangs that tried to move, had their leaders found dead before they could even take to the streets.

There were monsters in the new territory, but a majority of them kept to themselves. Thankfully my poison worked on the ones it needed to. A strange sort of dichotomy in this area, was that every small gang had a monster leading them. A sort of representation at the church, where they would pray once a month, acknowledging Gertrude as the leader. A sort of meetup where business was discussed over proper worship, protection bought in the form of 'donations.' The coin was less, but word was given that scraps of food could be used as a way to substitute the difference.

The small workforce was moved into the territory after the lizardmen dropped the boxes off. The homunculus picked them up from the dead drops, and even a few known humans helped. This suggested that it would take a while before they get back to the size they need, though as we understood it the soul gems were running low. Our Queen decided against interfering with the tradition of the people that served the hags, allowing them to groom their own children. Though plans were made to coax them out of such, and away from that in the years to come. It was somewhat comforting to know that most of the homunculus were there because they chose that path out of devotion.

I spent a good deal of my time exploring the ruined homes for anything useful. I hit a thread of silk with my wings, and freed myself easily. I did not expect four more threads to launch out of a large gap, denying me of my ability to fly. I was pulled in quickly, a spider slightly larger than a Harper pinning me while watching my stingers. It seemed intelligent enough to use traps, and skilled enough to launch its silk. I focused on its mind, finding it oddly capable. |"Release me, or we will kill you."|

The funnel spider was stunned for a moment, then used its silk to bind me. Like a cat toying with its prey. |"If I kill you, then they probably won't find me. Though this is the first time my food talked back to me."| It seemed to enjoy the banter, even if she didn't know I sent out a signal for other ghosts to come. |"Are you going to tell me, that you have monster blood, and that I shouldn't eat you?"|

I could only see the underside of the creature, noting that she was completely black, with sleek features. A monsterized funnel web spider from the looks of it. |"No, but I can kill you. It's extremely rare for anyone or anything to surprise me like this."| She pulled me back into the crevice going into a widened tunnel, while I guided the ghosts to the location.

We descended deeper into a webbed space, a few harper spiders moving around, all of them gray with more pronounced fangs. They stayed to their tunnels, as we discovered a network we hadn't noticed before. |"Do not mind the others, this is my territory, and the harpers cannot eat your blood as I can. Tell me, do you truly think your friends will find us down here?"|

My small group made it, ten of them flying through the tunnels quietly. |"I left a scent trail, or I guided them. How they are here, doesn't matter. Even if you did manage to kill all of us, we know where you live. You will die, unless you release me."| I had to give her a pass, since she was able to bring me to this point. She was clever, and I was curious if she might be able to teach us something. Then I realized something, she wasn't like those blubbering people outside. She was an insect like us, a monster that hunted monsters in a bug sense. The others passed around the idea of getting another personality into our Hive, and this spider would be perfect for the bugs under the officers.

I sent a request to the Queen, informing her of the situation. |"I can still kill you, and probably defeat your friends. Though I would prefer not to be hunted down."| The ten ghosts arrived, settling on the threads, that did not stick to them. The spider slowly undid my bindings, as the Queen said this was acceptable. |"You may leave, as you have bored me."|

I noticed that her den was mainly empty, devoid of small sacs where she might keep extra food. I righted myself, finding her movements sluggish, but still practiced from a life of hunting. Her size was massive compared to us, and her legs had claws that seemed more than suitable for digging. |"Counter offer, you join us willingly and we give you protection and food."|

|"If I refuse?"| All her eyes were focused on me.

|"We'll kill you and eat you anyway. Do you have a name?"|

|"Clarice, and I will accept on one condition."|

|"What would that be? Do keep in mind that your condition might get you killed."|

Clarice lowered her head a little, |"I refuse to hunt small mammals, or kill children. I became like this because of the harpers, and while I do not worship their god, I would prefer to follow their moral creed."|

|"Then I welcome you to the Hive, Clarice."| We pulled her mind into our network, taking her memories, and giving her everything she could need. We allowed her to keep her personality, and everything that made her, her. It helped the others cope with Isaac leaving, and it was better than letting another two leg hurt our Hive because they decided they wanted to die.

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Officer Beru

Master Raul was ready to get his answers, and was keeping tabs on the family that hurt his. He informed us that he was waiting for the Queen, and would move with her. It was clear he was doing this to fulfill a promise and help her complete her training. In the mean time, while he wasn't keeping tabs he was opening up more to lady Cynthia and spending time with the two little ones. Everything was going well for them, and it made me both happy and proud.

I contributed to this as best I could, even taking memories from Argus as something called a tutor was teaching her basic things that a child needed. The Cheshire was a good and diligent man, and those lessons were remembered so that I could inform our lady what Sarah might benefit from the most. Even master Raul was pleasantly surprised when young miss Sarah was able to read her favorite book to him before falling asleep.

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I even saw the first kiss between the two, the awkward silence that followed, and the hesitation. They felt it was wrong on some level, and as lady Cynthia explained it, a love that shouldn't be. I pressed her for more information, to understand it. Something that had lady Cynthia explaining why it was wrong for her to love another. That her son's true father was out there, and eventually he would come looking. The Queen told me that this was like the opera or plays that were put on to entertain people.

Our Queen explained that Raul was struggling because he could never get over the death of his beloved wife. That Cynthia was taken by a powerful dragon, and abandoning him for master Raul would potentially put their children in danger. That if the dragon father wasn't dead, and heard about what happened to lady Cynthia, how she bore a hybrid child, then the dragon's pride might cause him to come looking. It was further explained that this dragon could change his form and shape to that of a human.

From what I understood, a battle would potentially result in people getting hurt and dying. That even our Queen wasn't strong enough, but she had leverage as she was the one that saved the lady and her son. As a knight, I understood it was my duty to protect this happiness and allow it to flourish. I swore to lady Cynthia that I would protect her children, even if a dragon was to come. That I might not be strong enough yet, but the Hive would not fail. I requested more information on these 'opera' which were stories passed down by the bards and performed on stages. The Queen allowed me access to those memories, with what we observed about the Bo'sun.

I had something to aspire to, and I would protect this happiness for the Hive. Glory to the HIve, Glory to the Queen!

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Argus The Giant (Officer)

Everyone calmed down after Clarice joined, though Beru was a bit more distant and reserved. He sent reports directly to the Queen, without informing the rest of us. He would respond to Gray, who explained it as Beru being on a mission all his own. The things I needed to do grew more, as I was required to pay attention to the beast woman that was 'tutoring' me. There were little trays of paint that I could stick my legs in to write answers to questions. Thankfully the Queen would fill in for me if I needed to focus on something else. Though the memories were going to the first born after she hatched.

Every personality in the Hive watched in wonder when our Queen laid her first egg. A pale green oval with lips and ridges all along it in perfect circles. The egg was kept in the same shed where Richard was taken care of. The most important place in the entire Hive to guard. I had multiple patrols swarming around the area, not even letting a single bug creep in.

Then there were the homunculus bodies to test on. From what our Queen learned, it should be possible to create bodies that do not require a soul gem to function. That we might be able to create a new type for the Hive to use in the future. Even Gray had to admit that he was sort of stuck using his vampire bodies, and that it was harder to make more of them without making people nervous or drawing attention. From what I understood, the homunculus bodies could be customized and changed as needed. We should be able to return back to bugs more readily if needed.

The only issue was the supplies needed to help the homunculus bodies grow and develop. Some of the materials were easy enough to find, and buy. Others were not quite as easy, since there was a certain type of mushroom that grew on the shell of a turtle croc in the Underneath. The Fiend's Eye had enough make maybe twenty different bodies, which was four batches, but after that we needed more of those mushrooms. Which meant that Brick had to die, and take more workers and larvae to start establishing a foothold in the Underneath closest to the new territory.

It was going to be a little difficult given that they couldn't eat or kill any of the new monsters or beasts that will be discovered. I gave Brick and Clarice the best encouragement I could, despite not giving them any of my giants. After all, Richard and the egg needed to be protected first and foremost. That was my job as the shield.

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Brick, The Elite Worker (Builder)

There were two things Clarice was good at; digging, and making traps. The new spider was amazing at digging tunnels, even through the hard rock. From what I heard, Gray had made a request that if she was to be put in a new body, she'd join him as a vampire. Though from what I could tell, the boy was just smitten. Probably something about them both being spiders before joining the Hive. Clarice was prickly, personality wise. She did good work, but she'd look down on the smaller workers that weren't able to keep up with her.

If I had to describe her personality, it was probably like that of a Fukuma. Self indulgent, but sharp. A kind of calculating mind, with a penchant for naps. Quick to dismiss something that didn't involve her, or revolved around her. Also quick to go into action when the opposite was true, and it was about her. She ate as much as she wanted, her movements becoming more refined as her strength came back. Which was good and all, but she didn't make it easy to work with her.

It was too often that she'd make a tunnel that deviated from the initial plans, merely stating that it was less likely to be noticed in the new spot she arbitrarily assigned it to. There wasn't much of an explanation beyond that, a general sense of making the nodes a little safer was all. Which she wasn't entirely wrong since the spots she put her tunnels were good places to ambush other creatures and make pit traps. I respected that she planned for the future, but she should at least consult me.

Still I said nothing, even when she barely escaped a burrow hunter that stuck it's long mouth into one of our tunnel holes. We just had too many tunnels to secure, and despite the harvest above, we still had a small shortage in the Underground as it trickled and made its way down. The Hive had plenty of food, but it was more difficult to get it to the new territory, which mean we couldn't grow as fast as we'd like.

It wasn't until Clarice flooded one of our tunnels by accident that I realized something. When the water lingered, a sort of dark algae grew on the surface. I tasted it myself, to find it was edible if a little bad to taste. Clarice watched me eat the slimy water mold, wondering if I was insane. After a bit of back and forth, I discovered that it was a kind of plant that couldn't survive in light. To make up for this, it used magic, and the nutrients from the refuse of the city to grow.

Clarice had refused to clean the water off her when she got touched by it, wanting workers to do such for her. Still the algae was edible, and could be grown easily enough. I sent in the request to the Queen, who gave the go ahead. We would construct our first ever farm for the Hive, that didn't rely on the people above ground to plant their crops. Sadly we weren't allowed to eat the algae eaters until after the little one hatched. Though it was comforting to know that our Queen was connected to her and communicating with them, even while in their egg. The others were disappointed they couldn't talk to her yet, but I figured there had to be an important reason.

Besides, with all the tunnels and building a Hive around the lake. I had a lot to focus on and fulfill. This was my first ever real architectural problem, and I wanted to succeed. I had to spend a few days planning everything out, while the other workers reinforced the spots we'd use out nodes to watch the movements of our neighbors. I needed to think of a way to let just enough water into the tunnels so there was a constant stream, and a way to keep the water from moving so the algae could grow. I clicked my mandibles together with a bit of joy as I worked on the puzzle before me. Delving into what I knew about the people made structures above.

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Rose, The Elite Scout (Officer)

The seeds that were planted, were sprouting, with the trees blooming. It was wonderful, and I enjoyed hopping from flower to flower. The lumbering creatures took the time to set up small jars under our hives. Like the Queen ordered, the workers broke a few combs to let untainted honey flow and seep into such. I took to calling these white bulky creatures, keepers. It was their job to make sure that the bee population was fine, and collect honey as needed. They were supposed to protect us from bigger more dangerous things, as far as the Queen told me.

We really didn't need their help, since we just sent ghosts after anything dumb enough to try eating our kin. Not only that, but the bees were lazy as always, never bothering to eat the stem suckers, and leaf eaters. Sure, some of them were poisonous, but that was just extra food for the hives. Besides most of these bugs were stuff our Queen liked to eat out in the wild if the memories were right.

The keepers and bees were both dumb, and bumbled around a lot. It took them days after finding us to decide that our honey was good. Then they tried to use smoke on us, which did put some of us to sleep. Though all our hives worked together, and they stopped trying by the second one when everyone drummed their wings to make the marching sound. We connected to one of them, when he tried to explain what they were doing. It was a misunderstanding, so we let it go, agreeing to let them place jars below our hives and we'd fill it with honey ourselves.

There were a few Berries helping me with the work of keeping everyone organized, so every week the keepers would drop off sugary cubes for us. This kept the Berries happy, and the keepers left us alone so long as we didn't hurt the bee hives. I still don't get why they felt they had to assert that they were the ones in charge, that they were in control. Even after giving us everything we wanted, and we traded with them. It was silly, but I ignored it for the most part. Still, as a scout I decided to watch them and eavesdrop every other night. In memory of Isaac, since his memories said this was the best thing to do.

The keepers mainly complained about their suits being too hot, and the older ones kept talking about waiting for Summer. A decent number of the keepers were young with a small amount of them being old. I noticed there weren't any dwarves, but it made sense since the suits were made for taller people. There were a couple of elves that joined in the banter on both sides, but mainly kept to themselves. They complained about everything, but the new hives. Which I guess meant we were in their good graces. More flowers for me, I guess.

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Berry the Elite Worker (Jack of All Trades and Resident Test Subject)

It just feels so weird doing stuff again. I got memories from the other Berries, and I learned exactly what they knew, because they learned exactly the same as me. The Queen made a network where all of us were are more connected in a way. There were princes who had the sole duty of regulating when to eat and drink. All the bodily functions, that these princes were able to perform for at least twenty of us. Then the dukes that did the same to the other castes under them. The Earls that processed important information.

The truly scary thing was that we could always taste sugar now, one of the Earls in charge of shifting and rotating certain bodies to enjoy the sweet nectar and honey. Everyone was working as well as they could, at all times now. Everything was efficient as Gray put it. Now I was in charge of telling those under me what I needed them to do. I was helping our Queen in her experiments, deciding which Berry copy to use as we worked on making new castes out of the larvae. If a copy broke from the tests, they were replaced with a fresh one.

We made new castes, like the screamers who were incredibly loud. Their job was simply to distract or throw somebody off. They could replicate the noise Jacky made our Queen endure, while in a group of ten. We had fat bugs, that were able to store food and water as needed. Their job was to eat and wait for the order to redistribute what they held. The fat bugs could cocoon and hold more, or turn into gland bugs. The gland bugs were our solution to producing Fukuma fluid, or even enough material for Richard's bombs in the future. They focused on producing one thing, or one part of something. Typically they needed very specific food in that case, but it was worth it so Gray wouldn't hunt the local Fukuma population to extinction.

It only took us roughly three days to figure out how to make these bugs, but we had so many larvae to work with and test. We could turn what we were testing into another copy, and we knew what to look for now. Our Queen guided us on the most likely path, but the copies had to endure it all. I briefly wondered why it had to be me doing all these experiments, or my copies. I considered such from time to time, and came to the conclusion that I was probably just better suited for it.

I was easy to please, only wanting sugary goodness to keep me motivated. I was accommodating, and happy to perform. Our Queen thanked me personally a few times, especially whenever we managed to make a caste work. The praise just felt amazing, and it made the hive stronger for it. Now, I really had to think. What should the next caste be? What else could we use? Maybe a corrosive bug? One that we could make to break people out of cages? A new kind of trapper, that makes clothing or armor? Even bouncing these ideas off our Queen, resulted in a neutral response that it's better to try it.

I still had to be mindful of the food we were bringing in, and how many larvae we could actually work with. The Queen gave me absolute limits that I couldn't go over, and I was thankful she still did the really important thinking. I was looking forward to the network she sent, with a copy of herself, coming back with good news. After all, this was the first ever time we got to see what would happen if our new system attempted to merge with an old one. The original Hive where this all started, how many more experiments we could run. I felt our Queen's curiosity rubbing off on me.