Cthak Pilot

There are several classes of Cthak that can be born from the hive's eggs. The larvae change depending on what is fed them. Even the Queen is an ordinary egg upon first creation. If a person were to get an egg and feed it royal jelly, they would create a queen Cthak egg.

In this case however, a Cthak pilot is the result. These are leaders, visionaries and shaman among the Cthak. They are the brains behind the hive's survival and organization. Even a newborn pilot has the authority to command the most experienced of warriors like a new Lieutenant would when leading battle hardened Sergeants.

They are also the emissaries and explorers sent by the queen to discover new places of interest for the Hive. It is not unusual for many Pilots to rarely if ever return to the hive, either killed, or ordered to remain in place at certain locations as a permanent envoy of the Queen’s interests.

The queen almost always has a dozen or so in the hive depending on the size, age and needs of the colony. Up to a hundred may be out across the lands, searching and exploring the distant reaches for resources or suitable nesting locations. There are stories of Pilot Cthak learning vocal languages through trading and making contact with other races near the hive or during travels. Though the Cthak Language is completely different then other tongues and requires spines, mandibles or claws to speak, Pilots also have a soft variable throat they can learn to warble. It produces a usually rough or gravelly sounding human voice with much practice.

A rumor about the Cthak Pilots is their unique ability to bond with some mounts of a large enough size to carry them, sometimes becoming partners for life with these animals in a permanent state of symbiosis that can actually fuse the animals together as one over time.