Swarmers

Back before the First Reform, the Swarmers were a species of nothing more than oversized insects that only barely bordered on the line of intelligence, only their wise Queens held any semblance of rational thought. The Queens came together in a greatly historic moment named the Evolution Agreement to discuss the future of their race and put a plan in motion that would quickly turn the Swarmers into the most powerful race on Latani. The Queens began to participate in a form strict selective breeding in their hives, where only the largest, strongest and smartest of their brood would be allowed to breed with them. The hundreds of eggs the Queens would lay every day would then be sorted through, with the smaller larva being discarded and the larger larva being allowed to live and grow. Due to this grand plan, the physiology and mental state of the Swarmers began to rapidly change, a growth that was never before seen in any species of Latani. When the plan was first enacted over one hundred years ago, the Swarmers were no more than 2 feet tall, today they reach heights greater than 12 feet tall. Swarmers have six limbs like any other insect, with four stabbing legs underneath their large bodies and two thick arms on their upright torsos, so they can be best described as scorpion centaurs. Swarmers are covered with hard armored carapaces covered with spines; the massive mandibles overtop fanged jaws are strong enough to break bones. Their wide, powerful tails end in large pincers and a stinger that contains a paralyzing neurotoxin that can freeze muscles in under a minute. Despite their size, Swarmers can still fly using their 4 transparent wings like dragonflies, though they are not quite as fast in the air anymore since trading their speed in favor of bulk in the reform of their species. The deep, intense droning sounds of their wings let enemies know to clear off or prepare for battle.   However, such a drastic change in the Swarmer's bodies and minds due to the Evolution Agreement have had clear consequences over the years. Their lifespans have reduced by nearly half of what it once was, from an average lifespan of 30 years to only around 15 years, and though the Swarmers have since gained intelligence, mental disorders are now quite common.   Suddenly going from the weakest race to the strongest in Latani had warped the Swarmers into cruel, egotistical warmongers, forming bonds and allies with no other race. Their numbers surged well above even the largest armies on Latani. When the dragon demigod Ledoux overthrew Torren as Latani's king and established the Second Reform, the Swarmer Queens were the first to swear loyalty to him and become part of his forces, taking huge swaths of land and even enslaving their distant relatives, the Momin. Their downfall only came during the War of Flesh and Scales, where human forces used their magic to destroy their hives and kill their Queens until only one remained, Queen Tar'rebek. Today, the Swarmers are kept under close surveillance by Torren to ensure their numbers and hubris would never reach what it once did.   The Queens are the only female Swarmers, with the drones being all males. The Queen herself is much bigger than the males, with a much larger head. Swarmer Queens are normally 30 feet tall with comparatively bigger brains than other species, the reason for this is not just for intellect, but to form mental connections with her entire hive through their hard, upright antennae. This mental connection allows the Queen to know where her sons are at all times, allows her to speak to them mentally from anywhere, able to see and hear though them, and even allows her to take control over the bodies of single Swarmers. This method of mental connection was also due to selective breeding from the Evolution Agreement as a way to monitor and control their legions. Due to their height and upright postures, Swarmers mainly use long weapons such as spears, polearms and halberds. During battle, Swarmers utilize the full extent of their bodily arsenals along with their weapons, using their mandibles, sharp legs, tails and spiny armor, making them a deadly threat to any who are foolish enough to face one head-on. Due to their past history of violence and slavery, Swarmers are mostly banned and unwelcome from most towns and other establishments in Latani, so they mostly reside themselves in the northwest of Vena Desert were their last hive and Queen remain standing.