Hive

"That shiver you feel up your spine is truth. There are nightmares rising from the shadows, and they hunger for our dying hope."

- Grimoire entry

The Hive is one of the races encountered among the ruins of humanity's Golden Age.

Overview
The Hive are an impossibly ancient race that has kept themselves alive on sarcophagus-like Tombships. The Hive delve deep into a planetoid, unheeding of the damage they do in the process, crafting linked caverns and gothic-resembling columns. Their underground spaces are like a dungeon that has only recently been pulled up from too long underwater. They are able to manipulate the physical world in ways humanity can only begin to imagine, and have witnessed the Darkness consume countless worlds in the past.

The Hive are not an enemy military, so much as rising force. The Hive have great hatred for the Light, and to them, the eternal struggle between light and dark is not only a war, it is a crusade; all Light must be devoured so Darkness can reclaim the universe. They have even attempted to attack the Traveler directly, through a ritual in which they drained its light through a fragment that they captured in the Chamber of Night.

At the time of the game they have burrowed deep into the Moon, staying there for centuries while growing stronger. The Guardian's Ghost states that he believed the Hive to be contained on the Moon for centuries, but the player first encounters them in Old Russia underneath the Skywatch, where the Fallen have attempted to seal them away. The Guardians eventually discover that this is just the beginning; the Hive have been building an army and intend to invade Earth en masse.

Religion
The Hive have a complex religious system based around profane rituals and the worship of a pantheon of dark gods. These gods exist on "a higher plane of misery" and are always hungry for the suffering of others. At least one, Crota, lives in a realm outside of physical reality, not unlike the Vex realms locked out of time. The Hive have sacrificial altars, which Warlocks have attempted to study to no avail. Sacrifice plays an important part in the hive religion, as after the weakening of Crota's army, the Hive attempted direct contact with Oryx by sacrificing the two Forsaken Ogres.

When the Hive first invaded the Moon, they were lead by their god-king Crota, who wielded the Sword of Crota to slay thousands of Guardians and steal their light. He has since disappeared, but the Hive, particularly the Spawn of Crota, await his return. Even more enigmatic is the Hive figure named Oryx, Crota's creator; more than a mere deity, he is considered the central figure in Hive culture, and through his shrine communicate with some dark power across the universe. Crota's return and conquest of Earth is crucial to Oryx's arrival, which is why the Hive are so bent on Earth's destruction. Other dieties perhaps include Eir, Ur, Xol, and Yul. Like Crota, they have disciples named after them.

Biology
Members of the Hive are pale, sinewy and vaguely humanoid, with varying levels of musculature and armor. All castes lack visible eyes, although some have been seen with glowing patterns that resemble eyes. The ancient armor many of them wear has fused with their skin, becoming part of it. When they are killed, they ignite in a shower of dust and embers.

Several varieties of Hive exist: a roughly human-sized variant, known as a Thrall, somewhat larger versions known as Acolytes and Knights, and a larger, airborne Wizard with elaborate armor and ornamentation. The largest Hive beast is the Ogre, which are used by the Hive as powerful engines of destruction and born from strange mating rituals combined with dark magic.

Hive are born from pupae, much like colonial insects, and they feed on worms that they swallow whole.

Sects

 * Hidden Swarm - Main force
 * Blood of Oryx - Servants of Oryx
 * Spawn of Crota - Servants of Crota

Command Structure

 * Thrall
 * Chosen Thrall
 * Cursed Thrall
 * Hallowed Thrall
 * Acolyte
 * Chosen Acolyte
 * Anointed Acolyte
 * Hallowed Acolyte
 * Knight
 * Chosen Knight
 * Hallowed Knight
 * Anointed Knight (Arc Shield)
 * Blade of Crota
 * Swordbearer
 * Gatekeeper
 * Wizard (Solar Shield)
 * Hallowed Wizard
 * Profane Wizard
 * Rite Wizard
 * Siphon Witch
 * Watcher of Crota
 * Ogre
 * Anointed Ogre
 * Hallowed Ogre
 * Voracious Ogre

Named Individuals and Mini-bosses

 * Blade of the Monarch
 * Celebrant of Oryx
 * Crota, Son of Oryx
 * Eyes of Crota
 * Hand of Crota
 * Heart of Crota
 * Gotra, Eir Spawn
 * Ir Yût, the Deathsinger
 * Kranox, The Graven
 * Malgor, the Forsaken
 * Might of Crota
 * Mormu, Xol Spawn
 * Omnigul, Will of Crota
 * Oryx
 * Phogoth, the Untamed
 * Protector of the Will
 * Sardok, Eye of Oryx
 * Sardon, Fist of Crota
 * Swarm Princes
 * Banuk, Ur Prince
 * Dakoor, Yul Prince
 * Garok, Xol Prince
 * Merok, Eir Prince
 * Telthor, Unborn
 * Thogar, the Forsaken
 * Urzok, the Hated
 * Vurok, Eir Spawn
 * Wrath of the Swarm
 * Xyor, the Unwed

Weaponry

 * Shredder
 * Boomer
 * Cleaver
 * Sword of Crota

Vehicles

 * Tombship
 * Seeder Ship

Structure

 * Shrieker
 * Chosen Shrieker

Trivia

 * Prior to their name being officially announced at the 2013 GDC, they were referred to as "evil space zombies".

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * The Dark Below