The Hive are an impossibly ancient race that has kept themselves alive on sarcophagus-like Tombships. The Hive delve deep into a planetoid, unheeding of the damage they do in the process, crafting linked caverns and gothic-resembling columns. Their underground spaces are like a dungeon that has only recently been pulled up from too long underwater They are able to manipulate the physical world in ways humanity can only begin to imagine, and have witnessed the Darkness consume countless worlds in the past. The Hive are not an enemy military, so much as rising force.The Hive have great hatred for the Light, and to them, the eternal struggle between light and dark is not only a war, it is a crusade; all Light must be devoured so Darkness can reclaim the universe.They have even attempted to attack the Traveler directly, through a ritual in which they drained its light through a fragment that they captured in the Chamber of Night. At the time of the game they have burrowed deep into the Moon, staying there for centuries while growing stronger.The Guardian's Ghost states that he believed the Hive to be contained on the Moon for centuries, but the player first encounters them in Old Russia underneath the Skywatch, where the Fallen have attempted to seal them away.The Guardians eventually discover that this is just the beginning; the Hive have been building an army and intend to invade Earth. The Hive have sacrificial altars, which Warlocks have attempted to study to no avail. In past conflicts, the Hive were lead by their king Crota, who wielded the Sword of Crota to slay Guardians and steal their light. He has since disappeared, but the Hive, particularly the Spawn of Crota, await his return. Even more enigmatic is the Hive figure named Oryx; it is unclear if he is another ruler or some deity, as his name constantly appears in Hive rituals and cyphers,and through his shrine communicate with some dark power across the universe