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Hive-Kingdom Melissedi
 
The Melissedians are not common – at least, that is the perception of those who lives in towns and cities away from the forested borderlands north of the Under-realms. Directly south lies the plains of Hive-Kingdom Venusia and the lake Cortina, yet the civilized ones dare not venture too far out the mist and into the forest. It was all for good reason: one of few direct opening to the world above lies at the northern end of the forest, and it had been the passage that the escapees from Tartarus use to frequent the world below – something the Venusian first noticed when horrid beats of horns and talons carrying the scent of brimstone would occasionally wander into their villages, exhausted and badly wounded, and would not put much of a fight before they expire. Ferocious as they appears, it seems that they were viciously hounded and attacked on their way there, and the wounds do not match any wild creatures that are known to their knowledge.
 
To the denizens of Venusia, it was a blessing. If not for the mysterious assailants, who would know what carnage these hellish creatures would wreak; as for the occasional missing cattle and strange report of assault, most just turn a blind eye and chalk them up to accidents. Then the Unification came and gone, Venusia villages and towns at the northern borders were stationed with well-armed, well-displined guards from Metamorphium. It was around this time things started to happen in concentration – or rather, started to be noted by non-Venusians. Reports of harassment, livestock started dying or disappeared, and wounds on the carcass were virtually identical with that upon the stray hell-beasts. An expedition was called, and small teams of soldiers were dispatched to the north and into the forest despite the warning of the locals. Inside the fungal forest where tall, wide caps blotted out the starry light from the ceiling above, there was a hive of previously unknown changelings who called these forest lands their ancestral home. Their reaction to outsiders were nothing short of unanimous hostility. They had hampered the soldiers from Metamorphium, but with primitive weapons and simple tactics, there were no substantial damage. Eventually a tall female with many amber colored eyes stepped in to stop the conflict. She called herself Ambrosia, and she welcomed the newly antiquated guests into her forest-lair. In there, a grand feast in the name of the honored guests commenced in ernest, and immediately afterward the guests were swarmed by their strange kin. None survived. Needless to say that Queen Chrysalis was quite displeased, and she marched a full-fledged army into the fungal forest. There was no surprise in the outcome, even the familiarity of the environment could only provide so much advantages. In defeat, Queen Ambrosia acted like a disheartened child, yet Chrysalis was surprisingly non-punitive in her judgment – Ambrosia and her hive were permitted to remain in their home, and no way of life needed to be changed. The only condition she asked her was to stay out of trouble. She complied with little objection. At that time, her hive does not have a name of its own – they, like their Venusian neighbor, was not aware the existence of other hives. It was later in a gathering of the queens that Queen Ambrosia chose the name “Melissedi” for her hive.
 
In terms of anatomy, the Melissedians possesses more insectoid traits than their brethren from other hive-kingdoms. Their body size is the smallest compare to changelings from other hive-kingdoms. They have six to eight spider-like eyes placed symmetrically on their face; their skin hardens gradually throughout their youth and hardens completely into chitin carapace when they reach adulthood; and the side of their jaw had specialized into mandibles that on the inside were lined with teeth. To naked flesh, their bite is viscous and very lethal. Instead of chewing their food, the teeth-lined mandible would work forward and backward and shred the food to pieces.
 
More interesting is their behavior. Compare to members of other hive-kingdoms, they are much more impulsive, and in some sense more creature-like than others. Because of the carapace replaced skin, they are almost void of facial expressions, except some tiny movement of the eyelids. To outsiders, there is no telling if it was out of joy or anger that they pounced at them, and they would often find out in lament that these two emotions are often blurred for the Melissedians. Coupled with their impulsive behavior, many from other hive-kingdoms, especially the more “civilized” ones, often considered Melissedians little better than animals. The recluse nature of the Melissedians, too, reinforced this perception as almost none would venture too far from the northern fungal forest.
 
Queens are often the embodiment of their hives. The hives’ character as a whole is often reflected upon them. Such description could not fit more accurately than to Queen Ambrosia. She herself possesses all defining characteristic of the Melissedians – rash and impulsive, she constantly makes decisions on a whim, and find any opportunities that she could find to seek thrills. Due to the small size of the hive-kingdom, she would lead them in a fashion that somewhat resembles a true hive, surrounding herself with underlings but without assigning overtly specialized roles. She would often organize hunting groups with them and would go on to many wild hunts inside the fungal forest and beyond, hounding stray or packs of hell-beast of varying shape and size that had became a constant infestation in parts of the forested region. Sometimes even the guards from neighboring Hive-Kingdom Venusia who were lost and stranded in the fogs upon the vast plains outside would also become her target. In these cases, she would be careful not to kill them, although for her unfortunate preys, their experience could range from having the scare of a lifetime but not a single scratch, to almost fatally maimed. This and this alone caused much bad blood between the Melissedians and Venusians, and to an extent between Queen Miasma and Queen Ambrosia. Still, she welcomes any and all who would wish to join her hunt, and was very welcomed when the time comes for the queens to gather. “The Wilding”, they called her, in tones ranging from contempt to amusement to adoration, and she had always been regarded by others to be fun to have around.
 
As for involvement in the network, Queen Ambrosia, like her usual self, did not put emphasis nor channel resources in any single facet of its operation. Instead, she has agents active in all parts of the network, participating in all types of activities. Although somewhat unsurprisingly, Melissendians in Equestria would often found themselves in crowded circus, carnival, or even markets and bazaars, disguised as entertainers, feeding on the joy and fear of the audiences. There were voices among the denizens of the hive-kingdoms speaking of some kind of conspiracy planned by Queen Ambrosia to one day overtake the entire network for her own, despite it being a stark contrast with her personality. Such rumors are popular in Hive-Kingdom Venusia, but being a place already rich of hearsay and scandals, it was still only reserved for small talks during tea times.
 
Contrary to the stereotypes, most Melissendians are mostly peaceful most of the time. Still, their social structure is indeed much more simpler than that of Venusians or Metamorphians. Many are hunter-gatherers, and those who resides at the edge of the forest and have enough resources occasionally turn to cattle husbandry and would come to Venusian border towns for trading.
 
Common stereotypes: being childish and carefree – at best, they are noble savages, and at worst, they are simply savages. Also being elusive, although once awhile one turned up as an entertainer in a travelling circus or carnival is not unheard of.
 
tl;dr ver: psycho-tick Pinkie Pie. Chirpy as hell.
 
Next: Queen Patina and the cyborg changelings of the Ferrugo Enclave