Aside from Chesher & the juju, the fuzzy Irkens in the above pic are the denizens of Kirala’s original hive; Hive Tunmar. Hive Tunmar was a small isolated community in the tundra that relied on hunting/gathering techniques for survival. Since food was especially scarce in their part of the world, they evolved to be omnivorous in order to be able to consume more types of food. Their clothing consisted of ornate cloaks with a simple dress underneath. Tallest Blizzr was their final tallest when Hive Litore raided & destroyed Hive Tunmar.
Trigger Warning: Miscarriage, Cannibalism, Death.
Tallest Kuren was one of Kirala’s smeets born to Hive Litore. He was a benevolent ruler who made sure his subjects were comfortable around him after witnessing the abuse at the hands of a previous tallest. He went so far as to write a code of etiquette for future Tallests. He was one of the few Tallests who managed to sire two swarms with his partner, Mirth; the first swarm with 75 smeets & the second swarm with 83 smeets. Shortly after the birth of his second swarm, Kuren later passed from his wounds following a battle. With these swarms, he created a lineage of Tallests who ruled until Hive Litore’s end in the late 3rd era.
Tallest Chiri was announced the Tallest upon the death of Kuren. Though he accepted his position with grace, he was notoriously anxious upon his sudden coronation. He worried about not living up to his sire’s standards & carried around a copy of Kuren’s manuscript to ensure he conducted himself in a proper manner.
Tallest Lemm & Tallest Amaranth were two tall smeets born in the same swarm. The physical trauma of birthing both of them killed their mother, Etna, shortly afterwards. The pair were as close as siblings could be after a battle that left them both seriously injured & relied on each other for survival. When Lemm became Tallest, Amaranth was his personal guard. Their relationship fell apart when an argument ensued on how best to run the hive. Lemm wanted to continue technological advancements while Amaranth though it best to preserve Irk’s environment as advised by the late Oracle Dodna’s written predictions. The two couldn’t find a compromise so Amaranth left Hive Litore to found Hive Hortica.
Hive Hortica was focused on the preservation of what was left of Irk’s plant & animal life. They primarily grew edible plants & created underground greenhouses. Being a new hive, the demand for soldiers was high which prompted Amaranth to attempt replenishing her army like Kuren had. She became pregnant but had bottomed out & passed away from blood loss. Her coordinator, Bubla, sent word of her death to Tallest Lemm. Lemm was devastated to hear of his sister’s passing since they never made up & blamed himself. He invited the rest of Hive Hortica to join Hive Litore which they accepted.
Tallest Lemm did attempt to sire a swarm but was unsuccessful. This compounded with Amaranths death from her attempt left him depressed. He never made a second attempt.
Tallest Enesida was born to a swarm of 40 smeets. Upon her birth she was discovered to still be chewing on one of her unfortunate swarm mates who hadn’t had a chance at life. She was about to attack one of her living siblings when Tallest Lemm gave her a piece of cookie to prevent her from doing so. She’s well known for not only birthing a swarm as a Tallest but for her voracious appetite for meat. When animals were unavailable, she turned to any prisoners who would join the hive or servants that displeased her. Since blood was considered a nutritional food, she consumed copious amounts in the hope that it’ll help her conceive.
She did eventually become pregnant & had a swarm of 27 smeets. She is the only other Tallest aside from Kuren to be successful in having a swarm. Shortly after giving birth, she received news of an enemy hive on their way to attack. Enraged, she quickly jumped out of her birthing bed, grabbed her weapons, & summoned her army. She fought wearing her maternity gown instead of armor & some accounts say she even still held her smeets in her lower arms. She won the battle & had the enemy’s tall subjects rounded up & slaughtered. Enesida claimed the opposing hive for herself & asked the shorter inhabitants if they were against her ruling. One unfortunate drone vocalized his displeasure only to have his face bitten off by Enesida, thrown on the ground, & his head crushed in front of a horrified audience. No one else spoke out after that.
Oh boy, was that long! So there’s some history for you on Kirala’s & Kuren’s respective hives. Enesida isn’t their last Tallest, but the last one I have lore for before their actual last, Tallest Ophelia. I was planning on having her on this post as well but I accidentally deleted the picture in the draft & decided against putting it back since this is long enough. I will post Ophelia along with some info on Oracle Dodna at some point.
