Trailblazer

The trailblazer has split from its ancestor the undergroundi to form a more motile hive lifestyle.

Hives begin their existence similarly to their predecessor, as virgin Queens, similar in appearance to Nurse workers, accompanied by true workers, hiding in abandoned holes or nests. A wandering virgin King is captured from outside and brought to breed with the Queen, and the Queen shifts into reproduction mode. The workers care for this first batch of brood, and from it their numbers quickly increase, as Foragers and Nurses. As the Queen enlarges and the number of its members increases the hive will out grow its adopted den.



By now different castes have begun appearing, one of which being the Rickshaw. This caste is specialized for the sole purpose of granting mobility to the hive. The hind body of this individual can be described as a muscular pillar, while the front a pair of tough posts. The hind limbs are very squat, and typically formed reminiscent of sirenomelia. The front limbs have formed large weight bearing structures extended from the second joint, or analogous elbow. With mobility occurring at the shoulder, the gait of this organism could be compared to a person walking with a pair of crutches, but with more bend along their torso. Moving objects with their strongest body parts, their front legs, while remaining quadrupedal meant using a spot higher than their toes or wrists to support themselves. Given the ancestral soldiers were akin to belly crawling anyway this freeing of the front claws for manipulation would be pretty easy. expansion of supporting structures from the upper limb would happen to make this lifestyle easier. These structures would elongate, and allow the creature to become more upright while freeing the front claws, resulting in elbow walking.

The ends of the front limbs have developed into single, long, shoehorn shaped wooden toenails used for shimming up and stabilizing the queen on top of themselves. Along the underside of its beak and throat a cushioned tissue is formed, on this the majority of the queens weight rests. A good number of this caste is used to support and move the Queen at her full size, 20 to 30 or so, but in the beginning six to ten are typically enough. Cross supporting each other’s heads with their nails increases stability while moving. Upon this crosshatched throne the Queen will lay herself belly up, lifted by her back.



Moving around out in the open can be dangerous for a bulbous morsel; any larger predator could waltz up and devour it on its pedestal. A caste had to be developed to specialize in fending off such threats. The Quill is that individual. Its front limbs are elongated into sharp barbed spears with muscular arms for rapidly striking at danger. They’ve regained their ancestral trunk, albeit short, and fashioned it with a third spear. With their large eyes and ears they keep their weapons tuned toward movement of potential menaces. The hindquarters are underdeveloped, no need for regular movement in their position. The legs becoming little more than a collection of padded gripping toes, no nails. If engaging an enemy then Quills will lash out and harpoon their target, often breaking their long thin weapons in the hide and teaching the attacker a painful lesson. Over time the spears will grow replacements. When the predator is more persistent, however, Quills must act in a more desperate manner. Harpooning themselves to the assailant they chew and tear a wound open, into which they invert their entire digestive system and force their large store of stomach acids and enzymes into the exposed tissue. This immediately kills the Quill; and with their bodies deeply imbedded and digesting whatever provoked them, should end the danger to the Queen. Often the predator runs off only to succumb later to their worsening wounds, whether due to infection or just the permanent damage.



Over time as the hive travels it establishes territory routes, often interconnecting hollows and ditches where it rests. These routes become sunken and defined trails as Foragers clear their way through the world. Resources such as long-term water, safe rest areas, and good foraging can be associated with well built routes. To a hive a good route is a resource in and of itself, especially when faced with potential scarcity. This means scouting someone else's route and taking it can be a shortcut to a stable livelihood. Of course, it also means defending your route from robbers as well. A caste for fending off invading forces, the Warrior, arose from this need. These large, armored, members are used during both assault on enemy hives and defending against such actions. Their front is formed into a three-pronged crushing pincer, which is used to destroy and smash enemy hive members. As they age their armor increases, young warriors focus attack on worker castes, while older Warriors attack other soldier castes and clear the way to kill the defending Queen. Warriors are also useful in defending the hive from predators, as coming upon a mass of armored claws can be an unappealing obstacle.



Foragers are the most common caste, with the highest day-to-day mortality. Their job is seeking and extracting resources. Their light built body dawns a cluster of sharp defensive needles on their rear, and long legs for covering ground fast. They have a simple hook toe on the end of each leg for gripping terrain, higher up on their front legs are mobile digits for aiding in carrying larger objects and various activities. Their skin is patterned to blend them into the ground and flora while running around and decrease predation. Their digestive system accommodates large amounts of storage, the contents of which are typically passed to the Nurse caste for distribution. Finding things such as surface water, food sources, and abandoned holes or nooks to hide in is a continual task.



The Nurse caste plays a very large role in the hive. They clean and care for the Queen, brood, and Rickshaw and distribute food and water to nearly all members of the hive. Nurses also play a significant role in determining what the brood develops into. Immature offspring are housed in the maw of the Queen upon birth, and trickle down the sides of her face to hang on the safe underside where the nursing caste may care for them, eventually dragging them away to be flung into their life roles. Selecting an immature soldier and moving them to be positioned on the belly of the Queen exposes them to hormones secreted from her skin. This triggers their metamorphosis into Quills. If they select a soldier larva and feed it secretions of their own it will form a Rickshaw member, while feeding a worker larva their secretions will form a Forager, which is sent off upon maturity. Soldier larva not treated in either manner are lead off the Queen to develop into Warriors, and worker larva untreated become more Nurses.



Gestation is shorter in the Trailblazer than its ancestor, larvae are expelled to make room for more, and because of this upon birth they are less developed. As their ancestors did, the Queens contribute either worker or soldier offspring to the hive. With a simpler body, lacking hind legs and blind, they seep out from the Queens mouth and cluster underneath to hang on tightly with their front limbs. At this point larval workers play a role as food and water storage, utilizing their large gut to hold excess for later use. Soldiers on the other hand focus all their energy on development, whatever pathway is selected for them. The reproductive caste is unique in their development from this, as Kings and Queens gestate far longer and are birthed well formed. From that point they quickly mature to be able to venture off on their missions to start new hives. The stout virgin Queens accompanied by a mixture of Nurses and Foragers to find a hidey-hole, the virgin Kings wandering on solitary expeditions, typically hiding under protective flora.

Hives are omnivorous, taking advantage of carrion, decaying flora, or other edible things that Foragers can manage to pull pieces off of or gather up. Foragers can be found at any time day or night. While the Hive itself is typically most active at dusk and night, hiding from the heat of the day. Every few days the hive travels from where it is hunkered down to a new location, and with it its range for resources shifts as well.