The Swarm

The Swarm inhabits a massive inter-continental subterranean empire known in their tongue simply as the "Under-Empire." At the very heart of the Swarm lies the horrific city of Their Hive, the alien's capital city and the probable location of origin.

From deep below Vellum where they have made their burrows, these scavengers have built a vast empire, whose military power and incomprehensible numbers have the potential to smother the other kingdoms of the Old World in a seething tide of violence and anarchy.

Government Type: Theocracy

Capital: The\_Hive

### ***General Description***

The Swarm, sometimes known as the "Deepkin", the "Children of the Overmind" or the "Underfolk" are a malevolent, diabolical, terrifying and ruthless amalgamation of biologically advanced, arthropodal aliens. Dedicated to the pursuit of genetic perfection, the Swarm relentlessly hunt down and assimilate advanced species across both galaxies and dimensions, incorporating useful genetic code into their own.

The true age and origin of The Swarm is unknown. Having assimilated multiple species and evolved during their journey, the Swarm arrived in Vellum. Upon landing Swarm forces immediately began assimilating all the local life-forms and fauna, their growth in correlation with the biomass consumed.

Most Swarm lifeforms start developing from small scaled eggs which can be found inside of the heated hatchery chambers in the bowels of the earth, deep within their burrows.

The Swarm is driven into a fanatic urge to always eat, as they do not require extended hours of sleep and have no set periods of inactivity. Left unchecked, Hatchlings multiply at an alarming rate. Swarm strains and eggs gain nutrients from creep, but can consume other animals for nourishment and accelerated evolution if the situation demands it.

All Swarm strains are capable of operating in a variety of environments, and some have been observed operating in extreme environments. However, most Swarmlings are not adapted for cold environments, as the freezing temperatures slows down their metabolism rate.

### ***PHYSIOLOGY:***

The skin of a Swarmling is thick, naturally thicker than a normal human, and its surface is often littered with a variety of scars, the most common are marks made by other Swarmling. Swarmling also have naturally strong constitutions against sickness and plagues, a trait that was forcibly developed in order to survive the often unsanitary environments that the majority of Swarmling live in. The skeletal structure of a Swarmling is generally lightweight, giving them a greater degree of speed, movement, and natural reflexes than a typical human. This is further aided by possessing extremely strong back legs that help to propel a Swarmling at twice the speed of a normal man. The skeleton itself is also highly flexible, enabling them to slide through even the most cramped environment with relative ease.

The Swarmling advantage of movement and speed comes at the cost of a higher heart rate and a high metabolism rate. In order to supply the body with sufficient energy, a typical Swarmling has to eat food far more frequently than what is considered normal by human standards. This metabolism makes Swarmling naturally scrawny or even malnourished, forcing many Swarmling to eat just about anything, which also leads to frequent acts of cannibalism amongst their own kind. Like similar animals, nearly all Swarmling have acute hearing that allows them to hear sounds at a greater distance and range of frequencies than humans. Swarmling also have excellent noses, which can detect smells from a greater range than those of humans. Due to their subterranean lifestyle, a Swarmling has naturally poor eyesight during the day-time, but when in the darkness, most Swarmling can see in almost complete darkness.

### ***PSYCHOLOGY:***

It has been difficult for observers to determine the full extent of the Swarm intelligence, but it is clear that they are a very cunning species, and they are capable of higher reasoning. Although they do not fully utilize technology, they demonstrate a clear understanding of it, and have been known to even forge weapons and armor from the hardened carapaces of dead Swarm. As a group they also react intelligently to attacks and are adept at tactical combat. They seem to be connected with each and move and react as if one giant organism. On an individual basis, though, the Swarmlings and most variants seem to be hardly more than savage animals with little or no concern for self-preservation, exhibiting no initiative. Evolution is directed by "Alphalings" strains, such as Overseers, Overlords, or The Overmind itself.

In the end for the Swarm, success on the battlefield comes down to overwhelming numbers and great mobility. For them, war is simply survival of the fittest.

### ***RELIGION:***

The quest for perfection is rooted deep within the Swarm psyche, and is a pseudo-religious concept for them. The core idea of this 'religion' is that there is a state that the Swarm can reach where they would no longer need to evolve, that their evolutionary form would never have to change again because they could already adapt to any situation. It's only a matter of collecting enough biomass to do so.

To the Swarm, there is no such thing as pity, remorse, compassion, or cooperation. There is simply survival, survival in a turbulent society that only spares those that possess the brute strength, extreme cunning, and the vicious instinct to outmaneuver and kill the opposition, no matter the cost or the body count of either friend or foe. No matter how dispersed and diverse their race may be, however, they are nonetheless unified in a single cause, and that cause is to conquer the surface world and bring about the "The Great Ascendancy of the Consumer of Worlds" where it is said that they will swarm across the face of the mortal world and claim all of it for the Overmind.

It is believed by all of Swarm-kind that the world is destined to be theirs, for they consider themselves spreaders of life, turning what they see as chaotic and weak beings into unified Swarm. This unwavering belief stems from the whispering promises heard by their horrifically malevolent deity, known by many legendary names, but whose most well-known title is that of the Overmind, the will of The Swarm. The Overmind is the collective consciousness of all Swarm channeled into one being. What is viewed as fanatical worship of The Overmind in the Under-Empire, is both supreme and absolute.