Private Tales An Ancient Awakens

[Vul'kuroth]

"There shall always be a fear of the dark... Be what they fear..."
​

Vul'koroth opened his single eye, his head turning as he looked around and worked to get his senses back to him. Over the ages he has been resting and feral, he had lost his way. Once the hive mind of the Swarm had kicked in, it had caused a dizzying effect on him for several moments, but he quickly regained his composure. It was clear that much had happened while he rested deep within his burrow, and it appeared this hive was in need of a proper warlord.

Around him, his ancient warriors roused, feeling the mental prodding of their leader call them back into proper action. The smallish creatures where powerful in a swarm, but alone they could not do much. Massive, overwhelming odds would be what they needed in order to complete an objective, but they would almost always do everything they could in order to complete that task. If the monster could have smiled, he would have, but that was an expression for humanoids.

Reaching the wall that had been grown in order to contain him, as well as greatly dampen his connection to the hive mind, Vul'koroth would run his scythe like claw along it, probing for weaknesses. It only took a moment to find it, and when he did, he would press the claw into the nerve bundle that kept the room sealed. It would be an instant later that his mind would be felt within the hive mind once more. The overwhelming mind of an ancient warlord.

"Hear me, and listen... Vul'koroth, Herald of the Hivemind, has awoken and assumes his position of warlord... Any warlords who dare challenge me for this right shall step forwards and battle me..." He called out across the hive mind. The mindless, the animalistic, they would not understand, but anyone able to form their own thoughts, their own desires within the hive mind, they would know what this was about.

 

[Tera Lynx]

Havilah worked... As always... Tirelessly... It was her responsibility to shape The Swarm... Improve it... Make it better...
The Swarm Hounds were efficient hunters but lacked direction.
The genetic material brought to her was that of common animals and the usual denizens of The Forbidden City and its tunnels and wilderness. As far as The Forbidden City went, The swarm was now the top predator. Chimera's, Thoqqua's, giant worms and insects. The swarm hunted them, learned their weaknesses, and consumed their flesh for the swarm. Havilah took that flesh and used it to adapt the swarm further... But all the same, The Swarm must leave soon.

As she worked she suddenly felt a new mind in the swarm... A powerful, ancient, and terrifying mind... She heard his challenge and proclamation. A warlord has awoken... But not any warlord, one who has served the hive before and became an apex predator. She could feel the strength in his claws and the sinews of his mighty legs. This was a creature made for destruction and she was in awe... But she was also the queen of this swarm... And she was given such power as well... Such a challenge could be answered by non but her. She will show him her own power, and he will acknowledge her, or one of them will die.

"Havilah leads this swarm... I spin the threads that bring perfection to the hive... Will your pack become one with our hive... We wonder..."

For so long she had no mind that could speak with her. She felt alone. But now there was an intellect, one that could lead the swarm to the world.

 

[Vul'kuroth]

Within this hive, there was only one mind who could compete with him, and in some ways... He found that sad. The hive had fallen far while he slept, due to his inaction or the lack of direction from the leaders, but there was this one, and he understood what had been happening. He needed to speak to this new queen, to see her power in front of him, and help her along in making the hive greater than it currently was.

Her mental presence was like a beacon to him. Like a lighthouse in a storm. Moving through the tunnels quickly, his warriors would keep pace with him, and when he finally did arrive, his warriors would be like his heralds. Each of his warriors was small compared to him, like greyhounds next to an elephant, and had two proper legs, with front limbs that ended in sharp claws, but still used for mobility. Two large claws where also upon it's back, used to rend flesh or to hold onto it's targets. A set of wings would rest upon their back, though they clearly wouldn't be strong enough to lift them off the ground for true flight.

A moment later, Vul'koroth would step around the final corner to see her. He was a towering monster even by the nature of the Swarm, and he would stand before her, looking upon the small queen. She looked Swarm, at least she looked the part. He waited for a long moment before he finally spoke.

"Vul'koroth will rejoin this hive... It has fallen since the golden age, and together we shall improve it. My warriors are of the old way, use their strands to improve your own warriors. They are nearly as ancient as I am, so use them well." He said, one of the warriors walking towards her and lowering it's head.

 

[Tera Lynx]

The tunnels rumbled as the new pack made its way to her chambers. She saw with her own eyes the might of this ancient creature. She stood by the ichor pit with her wings wrapped cloak like around her body when he entered and she turned her many eyes on him. He offered his pack to her hive to share the strands of his pack with hers. Even the minds of his hounds were ancient, and she could feel the complex coding of their strands collected from many creatures.

From inside her wings she reached out a clawed hand to the submissive creature. Her claws and the creature glowed green as she began unraveling the strands directly from the monster. She could see its strands and read the volumes of information encoded there, this creature was another step closer to perfection. This monster was built for killing, it will be shared with the swarm, and the swarm will evolve.

She unraveled the beast and took the threads into the ichor pit. She brought forth her remaining arms and began to spin and weave the strands until they created a large green fluid orb floating in the air, responding and undulating to her touch as she creates the next evolution for the swarm.
At her call millions of tiny insects swarmed all over the orb, siphoning the fluid into their abdomens and then scattering to deliver it to the entire hive.

She turned back to Vul'kuroth, "This offering is acceptable, Vul'kuroth… Your contribution will make the swarm strong..."

 

[Vul'kuroth]

The ancient being watched as she undid the strands of his warrior. This one was old, and it was indeed time for him to pass his strength back to the hive. Vul'koroth's eye would cant upwards, seeking out a new object for a long moment while she worked on building what would be the next stage of the Swarm itself. While she had much distance to cover, it was not a bad start to things. He would exhale slowly, the ache of ages of sleep making his body desire movement.

"This is not all of my warriors, only the best rested beside me. Many of them are scattered to the winds... But even a single bone or tooth will tell us much in remaking them. I can also sense much in the way of biomass within this hive. There is much that can be done here, by your command... But for now, I simply seek battle... A raid upon the meat of the surface world perhaps?" He mused out loud, walking slowly around the crafting pit. "And you are, and will always be, in need in much meat."

 

[Tera Lynx]

This was good. The hive will finally have a tactical leader. She nodded to him.
"There are human settlements around The Forbidden City which have proven resilient against the Swarm. My creatures were inefficient, but now you can lead the new swarm to feed on the surface."

From throughout the tunnels they could hear the roars and calls of the other creatures undergoing their new evolution, becoming better and far more deadly. They would follow the call of their new warlord.
There were already creatures of the swarm on the surface, hunting and gathering from the city and forests beyond. and one pack was already nearby one of the human villages. They could see through the eyes of those creatures as they stalked through the forest, soon the green glowing insects found this pack as well and stun them with their venom, causing them to begin to change and evolve.

Also on the surface were large insect like creatures that moved stone and built great constructs of the hive, some of them actual living constructs that would birth and produce more creatures of the swarm. The resources of the hive were virtually limitless as they constantly grew and expanded.

 

[Vul'kuroth]

"Humans... Such a strange creature... Basic, but full of potential they have yet to obtain. I shall take a small group of warriors and preform a strike, test their defenses, and if I find a weak point, we shall punch through and obtain the creatures within." He said, starting to walk through the hive towards the surface. Much filled his mind as he walked, questions about how things had changed in his centuries of sleep.

There was much he could do however. While the brood of this hive was being upgraded and evolving, he could feel how many warriors were within this location, how they were spread out, the patrols, what they had been told to do, and everything. His mind would reach out to them, reworking patrol routes to be more efficient and with proper overlap in areas of value. He would continue his walk, his personal warriors branching off to support and reinforce a number of key locations, until he was left with only two of his ancient warriors.

Once he reached the tunnel that would take him and the gathered warriors to the surface, he would address the queen directly. "There is good chance many of these warriors will not return. I suggest having a pool ready for organic processing. I will led a force of only a dozen into town, and have six following behind to pick up the matter that we slay or the ones who are slain. I shall return."

(Sorry about the delay.)

 

[Tera Lynx]

Havilah accepted his request.
"I will send up a pool to the surface for you to deliver the materials you find. Its roots will deliver the materials here to me where I can process them personally."

She kept track of his progress, their connected minds open to each other. This creature Vul'kuroth is what the hive needed to finally make some progress. Havilah looked to the minds of the rest of the hive. Many of the creatures stung and injected with the new adaptations were wrapping themselves in Chrysalis for their bodies to change. They would be vulnerable, but there were few creatures now that would dare to challenge the swarm in this area... All save the humans who have proven stalwart defenders of their own territories and defeated previous attempts to overrun their villages.

The will of the hivemind was clear... The swarm must grow, the hive must expand.