Chrysalis

The Queen almost felt young again as her mandibles crunched through a writhing shadow centipede. The experience notification rang in her mind but she hardly listened, too eager to chomp down the waiting Biomass before moving onto the next target. She felt a savage joy at being back on the hunt, taking the risks her children were so willing to face and putting them on her own carapace.

Meal complete, she raised back up and searched for another tunnel she could attack. That's when the Brood Tender at her side spoke up.

"Mother, it's time to head back to the nest. You should have hit your quota by now," Theresant reminded her.

The Queen started.

"Already? How long have I been out?"

"It's been three hours, Mother. If anything, we are past the time you were supposed to return."

Checking her available Biomass, the Queen was surprised to find that her daughter was correct. She was beyond the required number to produce her next clutch of eggs.

"I apologise, child," she told Theresant, "let's return."

The Queen turned her bulk around and began the trek back to her nest within the second strata. The Colony had laboured long, battling against the shadow beasts to carve out a secure space they were comfortable placing their precious Queens in. Only to find that their Mother insisted on leaving the security of the newly constructed fortress to secure her own Biomass.

The Queen couldn't help but sigh as her escort settled in around her sides. It's not that she minded the company when hunting, but she felt it was a waste of resources. She was perfectly capable of holding her own out in the tunnels without aid, which meant the soldiers and scouts would be free to secure territory, or gather food for the other Queens, but she'd been forced to compromise. When she'd told Victor that she would go out battling on her own, the poor girl nearly went into torpor from shock. Nothing was stopping the Queen from simply walking out anyway, her children wouldn't stop her, but she didn't like to worry them. So a mixed escort of fifty members was agreed on to accompany her whenever she was outside of the Colony.

"Did you enjoy your hunt, Mother?" Theresant asked.

if I'm contributing to the Colony

could only shake her antennae. Giving birth to almost every living member of the Colony didn't count as a contribution? If that's the case, every ant was being far too slack! Thankfully for the brood tenders, none of the other Queens showed the slightest inclination to leave the nests, happy to perform their task in the safety and security that the Colony was only too happy to provide. Mother, on the other hand, had been spawned fighting and alone. The only time she'd felt as if she were fulfilling her potential was probably in those early days when the Colony consisted of only a single member and she'd had to gather Biomass and construct the first nest by herself.

the Colony demanded more powerful members now that they sought to control another strata. It was pleasing to see the number of tier four children she had now. No longer was the troublesome one the lone standout, though she felt certain that particular child was pushing

return them safely were proceeding well. She had every faith in

had begun taking their caste name quite seriously once the secrets of earth magic

Then the tunnel began to slope upwards and they began to encounter the outer defences of the nest. Layers of raised walls and ambush positions were frequent

the humans above had given to the carvers and they had been fascinated by the idea. A tunnel, with a door? It sounded ludicrous at first, but as the humans had explained it, Tungstant had become enamoured of the concept. Not

of enchanted metal with the proud image of an ant head carved right in the

eggs, child," the Queen called up. "Could you open

Followed quickly by "It's Mother!

the gate swung outward to reveal the cluster of ants who worked the mechanism to open them. The Queen had no idea how it worked, but Tungstant had

the inner sanctum, the nest. The Queen welcomed the sight with a warm heart as her children bustled energetically around her. Of course, not all of these ants were her children, not anymore, but she still thought of them that way, and they all still called her 'mother', which is all that mattered really. There were many smaller tunnels within the nest, but the

scent she knew well from a side

child?" The Queen welcomed her

slack moment, eh Mother?" the carver twitched her antennae in amusement.

The Queen was confused.

so much," she gestured to the carvings that covered every surface within the

Mother! There's still so much to be done! We're

do

harder for them to tunnel past our gates and avoid our defences. It's tough work though. I wish we'd thought of it before

sure it'll be fine," the Queen encouraged her, "you've