C'thur, Queen of Masques

High Queen of the C’thur, she is one of the oldest beings known to exist amongst the Vaurcae and indeed the rest of the Orion Spur. C’thur has borne the C’thur Hive since its inception, taking careful first steps with her brood in the then war-torn Sedantis during the closing of the Agricultural Revolution. The C’thur Hive began as a birth vassal of the Zo’ra Hive, being produced from the absorption of T'yat, another hive of conquest within the Zo’ra.

Background
History would think that the C’thur would be another nameless lesser hive, forgotten by all with the slow passage of time. This would have likely been the case if not for clever maneuvering by the High Queen that saw the founding of the Court of Queens. However, the biggest contributor to their prominence would be the Great Hive War. Through their efforts in that conflict, the C’thur brought to arms hundreds of lesser hives that would otherwise be consumed by the Lii’dra assault. Their contribution as a unifying force to the Zo’ra was apparent, who rewarded the Hive with independence contingent upon their continued diplomatic forays. C’thur succeeded in this and more, creating the modern power structure of Hives that is known today through various mergers and vassaldoms.

Her political strategies garnered the name ‘Queen of Masques’ amongst other Hives for C’thur. Even before the Hive War, the C’thur Hive was known for their ways of weaseling into the diplomatic web between hives. Almost comparable to crime syndicates, they would offer their unique service to one, or both, of two conflicting Hives —that service being their highly capable medical facilities. The C’thur would offer to tend to the Hive’s wounded, or maintain their Bound, provided the Hive can pay for such a service afterwards. Unbeknownst to them, the C’thur would be demanding a lot of materials, goods and services from them.

It was not uncommon to suspect C’thur of foul play, provoking Hives to engage against one another where a more peaceful resolution could have handled the conflict. Often they would target vassal Hives whose purpose was mostly fulfilled by countless others of their kind, the type of hive no one would be in a dire rush to aid. Backed into a corner, they would accept the aid of the benevolent C’thur, not knowing the same aid was likely being provided to the other side. Effectively, the C’thur would weave their own wars, deciding the outcomes based on what got them the most, indebting the Hives through their aid. Whenever the C’thur themselves needed help, they would have a horde of minor Hives ready to back them up, just so they could work off their payment. Those who resisted often met the same horde. C’thur herself was saved by Skrellian science, being the victim of a repelled Lii’dra attack in transit to the Orion Spur. She lives on life support provided by Federation scientists but it is considered common knowledge amongst the Hive that she does not have much longer to live. The irony is not lost on many of C’thur’s brood. Many lament on how their old methods are being savagely used against them, almost forced to serve the Federation lest they risk C’thur’s plug being pulled.

Her Realm
Regardless, from Virtual Reality she reigns still, with her virtual construct depicting Na’tyut, the greatest city of her Hive upon old Sedantis. Cited as an exact duplication, its multi-hued buildings stretch from floor to cavernous ceiling, bismuth masonry and architecture creating wondrous, alien formations in the caverns. Entire sections are devoted to temples of thought, smooth and pure rock decorated with an ever shifting mural of history and philosophy, even ranging to abstract concepts and ideas. Indeed, each one is unique, some containing crystal sculptures, raw formations of rock and stone, some with art produced by the highest creative minds.

Her Brood
The C’thur have slowly been reducing their Bound populations, in no small part to the influence of the Nralakk Federation, but even with this attempt they still comprise over half of the Hive’s population. Workers and Warriors of C’thur’s direct lineage are rare, as she has relegated most breeding duties to other Breeders. Of the few that are spawned, they are often pressured into supervisory roles, with the other broods considering them naturally born to lead.

Physical residences upon Diulszi are often built with Federation-supplied materials; in exchange, more and more of the Hive’s Workers have been drafted for employment throughout Skrell space, though many prefer to remain close to Glorashi in case they are required to return to the Queen’s Chambers.

Many of the new spawn Warriors are tasked as the caretakers of C’thur, while also monitoring the Skrellian presence in the premises. They are raised to be the most skeptical, with any stranger (or even known allies) to be a potential threat to the life of the High Queen.

It is said by the C’thur Hive that Bulwarks were originally designed to aid in Xevrax, as well as to be caretakers of the High Queen herself. However, this claim has been disputed by many of the Hive too, who believe it to be a romanticized telling of what the original intent of Bulwarks was. This is supported by the fact that many of them are employed in civilian jobs, far from Glorashi.

Xakat’kl’atan
As old as she is, the masters of C’thur’s brood are plentiful, with some of them being known by all the Vaurca kind. Their reputation, however, is tarnished in other Hives.

Ka’Akaix’Kix C’thur
Perhaps the best smooth talking Worker of all times, Kix is infamous for plotting the vassaldom system many smaller Hives were subjugated to. Zo’ra and K’lax critics see Kix as an example of pure greed, going as far as having Breeders receive orders from it. C’thur supporters instead claim that this instead shows that a great mind can come from any caste, and that the mastery was awarded to Kix because of this.

Besides the arguments regarding Kix as unnatural, and even defective, the biggest controversy surrounding this figure are its loan shark tendencies, with Vaurcae from all Hives considering money when they first made contact with alien civilizations as ‘Kix’s spawn’, and ‘kix’ becoming slang for ‘credits’ in some circles.

Za’Akaix’Oid C’thur
Regarded as the father of modern medicine by some and as the outright devil by others, Oid is perhaps better described as a hospital director rather than a conventional doctor. It was the creator of the huge infirmaries during the Hive conflicts, which housed many injured and even took care of unused Bound.

K’lax especially regard Oid not as a medical professional, but as an opportunist, seeking how to increase debts of C’thur vassals by the very structure of those infirmaries. Despite this, Oid’s innovation helped decrease the mortality of the Great Hive War, even if by marginal numbers.

Weavemakers and Notable Subrealms
High Queen C'thur traditionally appointed only the best and most capable Weavemakers, as a means to ensure the subrealms of the High Queen remained of the utmost quality. However, in her weakened state, she has instead delegated the selection to her Surrogates. These figures typically will appoint those that ask, assuming that have no glaring problems to keep the craft alive amongst the dwindling brood.

Royal Chronicle
The Royal Chronicle, or Ta'kakpa, is the most comprehensive archive of C'thur history, holding even more detail than K'lax Queen Leto's realm, despite accusations of doctoring to make the Hive look better. The Chronicle takes the form of a grand structure, constructed of a refined stone unique to Sedantis, not dissimilar in colour to marble. This building, in real life, was one of the largest in Na’tyut and was constructed to hold Queen C'thur’s Cephalons, following the introduction of Virtual Reality to the Hives.

If a Vaurca enters the Chronicle and is allowed access into the inner sanctum, they find an intricate maze of pure data. Navigation aids built into the realm assist with finding common data, but anything more exotic will require either skill or, more realistically, the assistance of an archivist. Notably, the Chronicle has sections that are barred as off-limits to the average Vaurca. These restricted areas contain information that the C'thur Hive has elected to keep on a need-to-know basis for one reason or another but has not disposed of completely. Access to restricted information for a Vaurca that requires it takes a marathon of red-tape and checking of exactly what they plan to use it for, but most workers are simply happy to allow the information to remain buried, trusting that the Queens restricted it for a reason. The current Head Archivist is Ta'Akaix'Pertahnal C'thur, who once served as a Surrogate to the High Queen, before being placed into the position over a hundred thousand years ago.

Experience
Experience, or Reopq as it is commonly known, is a subrealm designed by Ka'Akaix'Tyut C'thur, in which participants can explore real and fictitious locations mapped in intricate detail from the comfort of Virtual Reality. While the concept of using Virtual Reality to explore locations inaccessible to Vaurcae is as old as the technology, Experience is notable for being one of the first and remaining one of the most popular.

Over the nearly thirty thousand years that Tyut—and later its disciples—have designed locations, they have amassed an extreme wellspring of potential destinations and skill in bringing new ones to life. Everything in Experience, from recreations of early caverns on Sedantis to depictions of cities that have never existed and the farthest reaches of lush forest locals complete with simulated wildlife, has been painstakingly modelled, remodelled, and scrutinised by Tyut, who many would say borders on obsessive and overbearing about its work. Recently, one of Tyut's disciples suggested that if they continue to let other Hives use Experience, something which they have done as far back as its first creation, they should charge a credit fee. Whilst rejected outright by Tyut, who was outraged at the suggestion, this suggestion sparked a debate amongst the brood, even between Ta. The High Queen herself is yet to provide input on her wishes for the subrealm.

Recent Events
Although C’thur herself is immobile as of now, her spirit remains strong. Not unfamiliar to strategic partnerships, she has managed to make herself, and her Hive as a whole, an important economic force in the Orion Spur, with stakes in both Einstein Engines and Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals. Due to the nature of both megacorporations being at odds economically, With Einstein Engines and the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate being rival entities, both businesses have begun to put enormous pressure on C’thur to cut ties with the other company, leading to many debates about which would be the better option for the Hive.

Her current residency is the city of Xevrax, which is of limited access for anyone not authorized. Her treatment is unknown to most but a select few, and speculation about the nature of her injuries is something both Federation and C’thur penalize.