Tobzoshkuh swarm - tobzoshkuh horde
The greatest threat to the skat'ra society is the appearance of the tobzoshkuh swarm and its gravest danger, the tobzoshkuh horde.
The skat'ra doesn't have many enemies that can threaten them. Their numbers scare away even the other realms. But now and then, their mortal enemies appear in number and can imperil their livelihood and rarely their existence.
Every 2-3 years, the tobzoshkuh swarm appears from the ground below. These regular-sized tobzoshkuhs are usually just a nuisance to the skat'ra. However, during their swarming, they become savage and number in the thousands, destroying and eating everything they can in their path. Mostly they are still a danger only to ants and termites, but if they are not destroyed in time, they can cause severe damage to the hills because of their number.
The more significant danger is the tobzoshkuh horde. Every 7-9 years, the swarm is not present. That is when the skat'ra knows that the horde comes the following year, and it is time for the outermost hills to start training their Sentinels to become Heavies. Usually, a horde contains thousands of regular tobzoshkuh and hundreds of titans. They are a genuine threat to the skat'ra. Their size, ferociousness, and hunger can terrify even the most hardened skat'ra warriors.
Usually, containing a horde takes weeks, and sometimes complete hills are destroyed. Each and every time, all the titans are slayed, but many of the regular ones can escape back to their lairs and underground passages, establishing the base for the next generations.
Containing the swarms and hordes is the responsibility of the outermost hills. This can be an issue for newly founded hills, but the inner hills' queens are rarely interested in the plights of the outermost hills. Since the Rending, it happened only twice that a swarm started within the midst of the hills.
I've never faced a tobzoshkuh titan before, but I'll gladly lay down my life to protect the hills from them
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