Hivers

"What is a drop of water to the gushing storm? It is both nothing and everything. Without those drops, the storm would not exist, but if one drop were missing, no one would notice. The beautiful understanding of that fact, of your place in the world, is why it is so hard for us to lose it so suddenly. Many die, but those of us who search for purpose come out stronger for it."
- Account from Tarkic the Hiveless, one of the greatest swordsmen of his time, (Lived Circa 5700-5721 2E).

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The word "Rhunan" simply means "Folk" in the Old Tongue. They are an insect-like humanoid species originating from Neldorand, a continent far to the west of Isan. The Rhunan likely outnumber the most numerous races like Humans or the Shantil by several orders of magnitude, although the true extent of their numbers are incalculable. The Rhunan possess a hive-mind intelligence, being led by a queen that also birthed them. The exact nature of this hive mind is not fully understood, although scholars hypothesize it could be a psychic bond between the queen and every individual. Those who lose this contact with their queen for an extended period of time become "Hiveless." Hiveless Rhunan lose all connection to the rest of their hive and almost always die within a few hours due to the shock of it. Those who survive typically do because they focused their attention on a goal other than their hive. Those who lose their connection to the hive also are a completely blank slate on issues of morality or other beliefs. Recently Hiveless Rhunan are also typically naive, not understanding concepts such as lying or currency, which leads to them often being exploited.

A Mysterious Species

The culture and history of Rhunan society is poorly understood at best. The Rhunan have no written language whatsoever and pass what little history they know by psychic link. This amount is not much because the Rhunan see no need to record their history. What is known is that the Rhunan were created by a divine entity during the middle of the second millennium. Who or why they were created is up for debate. The Rhunan societies tend to live with little greater ambition than to survive and grow their colonies.

The Rhunan were first contacted in the middle of the sixth millennium by the Brevenni, who had accidentally mined into one of their colonies. Initial relations between the two species were peaceful, although more aggressive Rhunan colonies have emerged near Brevenni Holds, and occasionally attempt to take them. To this day, the Brevenni have been locked in a constant struggle with members of the Rhunan.

Stratified Societies

The Rhunan societies, while all different in their intention, all have a very similar model of societal organization. They are listed below from highest to lowest:

1. Queens: Queens are the highest-ranking members of colonies. There is typically only one queen, although there supposedly are colonies with multiple queens. Queens give birth to all individuals within a colony and have a strong psychic control over her children. Queens also will occasionally create other queens, who are intended to be their successor or to start an offshoot colony. Offshoot colonies, if successful enough, often split from their original hives.
2. Princes: Princes are the highest-ranking members of the non-reproductive castes. Princes act as beacons of psychic control for their queens, allowing her to control individuals more effectively in hard-to-reach or far-off areas. Princes are a requirement in Rhunan caravans or during battles to keep control of workers and soldiers. Princes often vie for the queen's approval, either by working those under them harder or by fighting rival princes. Princes are often exiled for not meeting expectations, which is typically a death sentence since this often causes them to become Hiveless. The body shape of a Prince is reminiscent of a regular Human, although they have a chitinous skin and possess antennae.
3. Soldiers: Soldiers are typically more physically resilient than their counterparts, making them perfect for fighting in the name of their hive. They are trained from birth to fight with and without weapons. Soldiers also fight mounted on the Ankhegs as a shock cavalry force. Soldiers are larger and stockier than Princes or Workers, and tend to have a far thicker chitin than either group. Soldiers are fed well for their entire lives to keep them in fighting shape. Soldiers often become Hiveless after being abandoned on a battlefield due to their intended expendability.
4. Workers: Workers make up the vast majority of the hive. They are expected to do everything from tending Ankhegs and their Aphid-Cattle to construction of new hive tunnels to forging weapons of war for their soldiers. All of these jobs are extremely dangerous and drastically decrease the average life expectancy of a Worker Rhunan to about half a decade. This is no problem for the rest of the hive though, since workers are even more expendable than soldiers. Physically, they are far shorter and skinnier than Princes and Soldiers due to malnutrition. Workers typically become Hiveless as a result of a work accident.

Subterranean Empires

The Rhunan live almost exclusively underground, except in some of areas of Neldorand where they make massive mounds of stone and earth to live in. Because of this underground tendency, the Rhunan are able to spread all across the world of Halaran unimpeded. Explorers believe that the Rhunan spent millennia consolidating the continent of Neldorand before moving out radially to every corner of the world. The nature of this consolidation is not fully understood, although many settlers of Neldorand fear that this consolidation means the unification under one over-queen, or "The Empress" as she commonly referred to. The existence of such a Queen could cause many issues for the Humans attempting to colonize Neldorand, and might even be behind the reason of the disappearance of the Humans who settled Neldorand during the early Age of the Shadow.

The Rhunan have begun to colonize the underground of the Shattered Deep and part of western Isan. The vast underground highways below the oceans that the Brevenni constructed during the Archaic Age likely helped expedite this process, giving the new colonies already-excavated areas to live in. Rhunan cycles of colonization follow a predictable pattern, although the presence of other species has adjusted it. Established colonies will send out new queens, who tend to be far more bellicose against other species. These colonies will grow until they can match the original colony and either form a rival colony or confederate with their original colony and/or surrounding colonies.

Terrifyingly Alien

"... I looked into the creature's cold, black eyes. Behind it laid the unbreakable will of its leader and creator, I could feel it coldly assessing me. I saw its immortal, bestial hunger. A hunger that would drive it to devour itself if need be, and a hunger that we cannot hope to kill."

from "Accounts of the Defense of Sargash," written 6107 2E.

The Rhunan have been the terror of the underworld for centuries now. This, combined with their insectoid appearance, makes them repulsive to many other species. Rhunan society and its focus on the collective instead of the individual makes the Rhunan way of thinking far different than any other race. Rhunan are the most likely to be attacked by Brevenni in vengeance for their attacks on their hold or by Humans, Sikalians, and Shantil out of disgust for their insectoid appearance.

Creating a Rhunan Character

• Your Caste: What caste were you from before becoming Hiveless? What skills have you learned from this?
• Why You Survived: Why did you survive where so many others have failed? What goal or desire did you cling on to when your whole world seemed lost?
• Time Crunch: The Rhunan Hiveless have such a short time to accomplish their goals due to the short lifespan of their species. How does your character react to this?

Rhunan Names

The Rhunan have no names within their society. Upon becoming Hiveless, a Rhunan will tend to adopt a name of a word they like or of a prominent place near where they became Hiveless. An example of this is "Stone" being the name of a Rhunan who became Hiveless near the Stone of Ultemac.