The Thoughtless Hive
A being of ambiguous origins, the Thoughtless Hive is known for their absence of and hunger for blue mana.
Rituals invoking the Hive often involve the creation or manufacturing of something, perfecting it, and then destroying it. These rites often involve the destruction of spells scrolls, the acquisition and erasure of rare texts and in particularly grim practices, to sacrifice of divinatory mages. Almost all of these traditions involve the item's or individual's destruction taking the form of being consumed by a swarm of creatures, whether that be rats, insects or other strange beasts.
Spread
The deities of the Cult of Yore are only shared with its members once they have proven themselves devout. Few writings are kept, being a mostly oral tradition.
In Literature
"I itch all the time. Deep beneath my skin, where the bone sits, enshrined in flesh, I feel it. Something, not moving but that wants to move. Wants to be free. It itches, and I don’t think I want it. I don’t know what to do."
"I… I haven’t slept in some time. I can’t sleep. My dreams are crawling and many-legged. Not just slithering and burrowing,. though it is the burrowing that draws me. They always sing that song of flesh."
"There is a wasps’ nest in my stomach. A fat, sprawling thing that crouches in the shadowed pit of my gut. It thrums with life and malice. I could sit there for hours, watching the swirls of pulp and paper on its surface. I have done. It is not the patterns that enthral me, no, it’s what sings behind them. Sings that I am beautiful. Sings that I am a home. That I can be fully consumed by what loves me."
"When did I first hear it? It wasn’t the nest, I’m sure of that. I never went in the attic. It was locked and I didn’t have a key. I spent a day sawing through the padlock with an old hacksaw. My hands were blistered by the end. Why would I have done that if I didn’t know what I would find? The face of the one who sang to me dwelling within the hidden darkness above me. I had seen no wasps. I know I hadn’t. There are no wasps in the nest. So how else would I have known that I needed to be there, to be in the dark with it, if it had not already been singing to me?"
"I used to pick at my skin. It was a compulsion. I would spend hours in the bathroom, staring as close as I could get to my face to the mirrors, searching for darkened pores to squeeze and watch the congealed oil worm its way out of my skin. Often I would end with swollen red marks where it had become inflamed with irritation or infection. Did I hear the song then?"
"I do not know why the hive chose me, but it did. And I think that it always had. The song is loud and beautiful and I am so very afraid. There is a wasps’ nest in my stomach. Perhaps it can soothe my itching soul."
In Art
Common imagery associated with the Thoughtless Hive is swarms of creatures of indeterminate origin. Other motifs include a large open mouth containing some element of procreation; such as an egg, clutch of eggs, a hive, uterus, fetus, or other such esoterica. Another strange rendition is a seemingly sapient uterus, with all the standard features of a quadriped.
Artefact: the seed/the egg/the fleshy pit
A magical item, constructed in the semblance of an egg.
It was designed by the cultists who worship the Thoughtless Hive, as part of their blue-mana perverting rituals.
It is worth noting that while it may be used on anyone, the cultists only ever target individuals who employ or embody some element of blue mana.
When consumed, the swallower must succeed on a DC15 Constitution saving throw. (If the swallower does not utilize blue mana, they do so with advantage.)
On a success, the swallower retches and vomits up the egg, taking 1d6 of bludgeoning damage as the egg seems to be larger than when it was eaten.
On a failure the individual undergoes a morbid transformation over 1d8 days.
As they transfigure, their mind succumbs to entropy, and their memories slip away leaving only a reverence for the Hive.
Typically they will take items and artefacts of knowledge and destroy them as they make a sort of nest. This often means taking tomes and scrolls, ideally rare and valuable, and using them to construct a sort of wasp's nest within their home. As their obsession consumes them, and their abode, they start to shed their skin. Something akin to a wasps nest protrudes from their stomach, allowing swarms of creatures to spill from their surrogate womb.
The creature that takes their place is essentially a Vampiric Mind Flayer.
If the creature does not utilise blue mana, it has half the maximum HP and makes skill checks, saving throws and attack rolls at disadvantage.
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