Drochaki (World Guide, Sapient Species) (Patreon)

Drochaki

The drochaki are a race of tall, chittenous humanoid insects, dull black all over, with blue and black striped abdomens. They hail from the world of Anochak III, in the Marian Drift Prefecture of the Feyli Empire, though they can be found all over the region in small, self sustaining hive communities. Overall population: Approx. 7.6 billion.

The drochaki are renowned for their particular brand of highly belligerent pacifism. Their complete unwillingness to allow others to interfere with their peaceful lifestyle has served them well, even to the point of successfully resisting the advances of the ancient Key'vin'ta Empire in its waning days. This latter interaction brought the drochaki into contact with numerous other races, and after the fall of the ancient empire, was one of the few worlds where key'vin'ta interstellar portals remained in working order. This fostered a brisk trade in drochaki honey that continues to this day.

Drochaki honey is famous the Feyli Empire over for its sweetness, and the vast plethora of its subtle variations. These variations are produced thanks to the many would-be thieves who've attempted to make off with a taste of honey unpaid-for. While the drochaki are capable of delivering a disabling, hallucinogenic sting, they prefer a rather different approach to the honey thieves, one that's almost as renowned as the honey itself.

Drochaki honey is unique in its ability to indefinitely sustain an encased captive in a dreamy state of suspended animation. Each captive adds a unique flavor to the honey in which they are encased. This can be harvested in small batches provided that it is replaced by new honey, lest the captive be released before their designated time.

Honey thieves are encased in special prison hives, where their honey is harvested regularly. Each drochaki community has its own prison hive, where captives are first mounted in a bees-wax restraint within the honeycomb, and then encased in honey. The only technology used in these hives are the drains that siphon honey from the cells in small batches for bottling and sale.

The thieves that make a poorly flavored honey are generally released after a few months. Those that make decently flavored honey may be kept captive for several years. Those that make finely flavored honey might be imprisoned for decades. Those that make magnificently flavored honey may never be released.

Certain races are known for the finer flavors of honey they create. Among these are feyli, mitanni, aiandi (aka elf-ears), and cibarri. Honey thieves of these sorts are among the longest held captives. In the oldest prison hives on Anochak are feyli who were caught stealing honey some six thousand years ago, and who will certainly be adding their unique flavor to honey for many millennia to come.