Myriad
Myriad is a blanket term for various races of sapient vermin who collect in massive subterranean hives. There are many races and species of myriad.
CREATURES
Arachnoids (Spiderfolk)
Descended from the spider queen Arachne (aka Hopi Kokyangwuti, Navajo Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá) and the spider god Anansi, the Spiderfolk came about from their union. Taking many forms such as ettercaps, jorōgumo, spidertaurs. Spiderfolk are usually solitary, but younglings do often create temporary hives and nests of webs they use to survive in numbers against larger prey. Once they've reached a certain size, nests will eat each other until only a few remain or they will spread out to claim more territory.
Melisae and Myrmidon Castes
Myriad have two genders split into four castes among their species. There are drones, scouts, queens, and warriors. Drones and Queens have tauric body shapes while scouts and warriors have humanoid body shapes. Drones and Scouts are typically Medium-sized while warriors are Large and queens are Huge. Drones deal mostly in manual labor, although some specialized drones may also work as technicians and lorekeepers. Scouts serve as guides, assassins, rangers, and, of course, scouts. They also fill technician rolls for anything that requires agility and finesse. Warriors are trained primarily for combat and security. Queens have upper bodies like medium-sized humanoids but their lower half abdomens are huge and capable of creating and laying several eggs a day. Because her body works so fast, a queen must also consume enormous amounts of food, despite being so large that its hard for her to move. She depends on scouts to find food sources, drones to collect and prepare food for her, and warriors to watch over her while she's vulnerable. Queens can mate with any other caste (as all others are male) to produce spawn, typically selecting different mates depending on the hive's needs. However, queens also have a bad habit of eating mates after she's done with them. Cannibalistic cravings are often the result of acquiring a new mate, so queens that keep the same mate or small group of mates for long periods typically never develop such cravings. Drone myriad who are without a queen for too long will begin transforming into females and develop a compulsion to mate with a male. If they do so, they become impregnated with eggs and perish, their bodies being the first thing the young larva consume. The larva are all young queens that immediately begin fighting for supremacy until only one remains alive. Warriors instinctually protect the young queens from everything except each other, sometimes even forcing them to remain together in close quarters to encourage battles to the death until only the best survives. On rare occasion, a larva may escape their hive, but few ever survive long enough to start their own new hive unless they have help from deserters of the old hive. Scouts are the most likely to desert a hive while drones and warriors typically have loyalty to their queen that is no less than zealous.
Girtablullu (Scorpionfolk)
The Girtablullu are one of the most dangerous of the myriads, possessing powerful claws and deadly venomous stingers. Girtablullu are immune to their own venom, but not from being stabbed to death by the stingers of angry fellow girtablullu. Scorpionfolk are usually solitary, but younglings do often create temporary nests and burrows they use to survive in numbers against larger prey. Once they've reached a certain size, nests will eat each other until only a few remain or they will spread out to claim more territory.
Jorogumo
Myriad that have gained human form and magical powers.
Melisae (Beefolk)
Descendents of the Mother Queen, Potnia.
Myrmidon (Antfolk)
The most famous of the myriad are the myrmidons, a powerful well-trained force of ant-like humanoids who perform so well and so perfectly in sync, that it's almost a true hivemind.
Wurms
The legendary wurms are gigantic worms. They don't have castes and they lack the intelligence of other myriad but possess enough intuition to work with other myriad often serving as beasts of burden for them as well as war mounts. Wild wurms are dangerous, as they often feed on surface dwelling creatures and plant life. Known for their ability to burrow nearly anywhere, they're a danger no matter which environment you find yourself in. Dune Wurms burrow in arid desert areas and are adapted to store and recycle moisture, patiently waiting for up to years waiting for prey to wander into their territory. Swamp Wurms do the same in their wet environment. Soil Wurms are particularly dangerous because of their habit of destroying entire crop fields in minutes. Rock wurms typically move through existing cavern networks rather than digging their own holes but have exoskeletal plating that puts other wurms to shame and large sharp crests a the front of their mouths that allow them to break up rocks that they can then ingest to strengthen their chitin. Wurms are long-lived and may live centuries if not killed by other creatures or forces. They mate rarely, but when they do, each wurm is hermaphroditic, sharing genetic material with a mate and both becoming impregnated by the other. Wurms give birth to enormous clutches of eggs that hatch into wurm larvae. The process is so grueling, wurms have only a 50% chance of surviving giving birth. If a wurm dies, their carcass protects the eggs and provides the larva with food. If a wurm lays their eggs and survives, it typically abandons the eggs immediately and few of the eggs survive to adulthood as smaller predators are quick to make a meal of them.
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