This is a two part-er, mainly because there is a LOT to cover. The first part will be about their history, AKA the stuff a lot of know already, and then we will move on to biology and technology and rituals. It's not entirely known what the original Hive called themselves, consensus-wise at least, but most people will stick to either Proto-Hive or Krill. The Krill were once part of a celestial body that crashed into the Gas Giant of Fundament. The world they lived on broke apart, and the separate land masses formed their own societies and fought each other. One such was the Osmium Kingdom (btw Osmium looks dope). They were led by a being simply known as the Osmium King. He had at least 3 daughters, Sathona, Aurash, and Xi Ro. The three daughters had their own strength, but none had the ability to rule the throne, at least according to their teacher, Taox. The Krill only lived for 10 years if they weren't mothers. The Osmium King was growing old, Taox could see it. What she did not see, was the Worm he spoke to. The Osmium King rambled about the "God Wave" and how it would annihilate Fundament. He would study this, and Taox would dismiss it as senility. So much so that she went to the Helium Drinkers, a rival kingdom, and gave them the information needed to dismantle the Osmium Kingdom. The King died in the attack. The daughters hid away, swearing vengeance on Taox. Through their travels, Sathona found the Worm. It spoke to her. Eventually, they found what they called the "needle ship". Using it, they dove into the oceans of Fundament for answers. A great Leviathan (not related to the Cabal) told them to turn back, towards the Sky, and not the Deep. The sisters denied, as their lives have been hell under the "Sky". They dove deeper... and they found Yul, the Honest Worm. Yul told them of the Deep and how it could help. It told them of the deal. The Worm Gods and the Deep could make them immortal, powerful beyond measure. They just had to ingest their children, and feed them through endless murder. The daughters accepted. Aurash became Auryx, Xi Ro became Xivu Arath, and Sathona became Savathun. They left the ocean. Thus, they came onto their civilization, telling of the deal. Those who accepted became immortal, those who refused were executed. After some killing, Taox left Fundament. That's when the daughters took their crusade to space. 52 moons... or 53? The 53 was no moon, it was the Great Machine. It empowered a civilization called the Ammonite. And thus the Hive's first great challenge began. Auryx refused to fight, but Savathun literally killed her to but some sense into her. The first Ascendant Realm was used, and Auryx regrew her strength. She came back willing to fight. The Hive destroyed the Ammonites and the Leviathan they met. The Traveler fled and the Darkness was freed. They weaponized the 52 moons of Fundament into War Moons, ripe with Hive breeding grounds and weaponry. They continued their interstellar crusade. Their next hurdle came with the Ecumene, a collection of races technologically superior than most. Taox arrived, coming out of stasis to help the Ecumene. The Ecumene were overpowering the Hive. The Worms were consuming the Hive. In desperation, the daughters agreed Auryx should kill the others in order to visit the Worm Gods. She did, and slayed Akka, the Worm of Secrets. The Darkness itself came to have a chat with Auryx. When Auryx came back out, it was no longer known by that name, but by Oryx, the Taken King. Using his new found abilities, Oryx took his opponents, turning them against each other. The Ecumene described it as being "physically illegal". He utterly destroyed one section of the Ecumene, resurrecting Xivu Arath. He tricked another, reviving Savathun. The Ecumene died and Taox fled once again. After defeating the Ecumene, the Hive finally figured out its social structure, and decreed it so. Now, a lot of things happened in the Books of Sorrow, but I will only cover one major event for this post, the Hive/Vex War and its aftermath. One day, Oryx went to his two daughters, who were killing each other in order to gain more secrets and powers. He told his son, Crota, to watch, in the hope he might learn something. Crota, being a -blam!-ing idiot, tried to replicate this, instead opening a portal through space, allowing the Vex to come in. The Vex invaded Oryx's throne world. They turned things into clocks and machinery. The Hive fought back. Crota tried to strike them all down, but the actually literally called "Ritual of Better Thoughts" produced Quria, Blade Transform. It deduced the Sword Logic (see part 2 later) and thus murdered thousands of Hive to gain strength. It worked and the Hive and Vex were locked in stalemate. Eir, a Worm God, told Oryx to set his house in order. Oryx arrived and took the Vex invading his world. He then picked up Crota and threw him into the portal, telling him to survive. Crota did, and became a demon of history. Oryx closed the gate and continued fighting, hunting the Traveler and searching for Taox. He made his Ascendant Realm into a mighty Dreadnaught, made from the corpse of Akka. Designed with a weapon that would engulf enemies into his Ascendant Realm, killing them. Oryx and co made it to Harmony, a group of Traveler-filled worlds orbiting a black hole. The Harmonious Fleet Invincible guarded a "Nicha Thought-Ship". He fired his weapon, destroying the Fleet. He went to the Thought-Ship, but it was a trap laid by Quria. Quria attempted to simulate Oryx, but he was to complex. The last thing Quria saw was black flame, and thus was Taken. Quria was gifted to Savathun, with a little bit of will left to surprise her. After smashing Harmony and the Gift Mast the Traveler left behind, Xivu Arath and Savathun separated from Oryx because he took too much of Wormfood the Hive needed to survive. At some point, the Hive sub-fleet, led by Crota, made it to Sol after the Collapse. They stayed there until a legion of Guardians came to eradicate them. The Guardians failed. A small strike team then went in, killing Crota's physical form, but then falling to his minions. Fast forward, and the Hive started to come back. Crota was awakening, but a certain Guardian killed him. A team of 6 went down to kill him permanently. This is when Crota sent a message to his father, and so Oryx made his way to the system. Oryx's fleet stopped at Saturn for fuel, but the Reef attacked with their Harbingers, decimating his fleet. Oryx then used his weapon, destroying them. He went on a mad rampage. He took as many beings as he could. He was angry. A King shouldn't be angry. That was his downfall. Oryx was defeated because he had never fought a Guardian like this. He was defeated in his Ascendant Realm because his anger overtook him. Even his Taken acknowledged this. He fell because of his emotion. A Hive Prince named Malok tried to claim the Taken Throne, but failed... but he might have indirectly given someone else the power to Take. Oryx's Hive were gone, retreating into the deepest pits after the SIVA crisis whittled their ranks even more. A new Hive sect arrived on Titan, before the Red War. They stick to the shadows. Nobody really knows why they're here... but thanks to a Taken resurgence and the Ascendant Realm whispers... we can make a guess. Why don't you take a guess, for all will bow to the Witch Queen soon enough. Comment if I got anything wrong! Master Post: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/234171689[/url]