Chrysalis

The Storm rages in the sky

The Madness lurks in the dark

The Eye watches all

Whilst

Their Master sleeps

Until The Day

When All Become One in Him.

- Prayer of the Faithful

With reluctance I let the construct dissolve away and give my brains a chance to rest as the battle draws nearer. I'm still not proficient enough with it to employ the thing in battle, better to give my all to pump out a gravity bomb and then do what I can to support the ants around me. No matter how sneaky I get, the bombs haven't managed to inflict any casualties after the first, but if I stop throwing them then perhaps the Legion would start to spread their numbers thinner and push us harder on a wider front, something I don't want. So every fight starts with a bang, so to speak, as long as I'm around, just to keep them on their toes.

"Are you ready, Eldest?" Wills asks as my pets and I push our way to the front.

"Rested as I've ever been," I lie, "how about you? Manage to get a bit of torpor in between battles?"

My antennae poke forward in an accusatory manner as I ask my pointed question. The scout backs up defensively.

Eldest! I swear!" she continues to retreat as I move

I raise an antenna.

hours! That's

I lower the appendage.

tell the scout, "but you have to remember that rest is a weapon. We need our decision makers to be sharp and thinking

a fiendishly difficult mental construct and burned through my mental reserves just before showing up to a fight. Thankfully, I have the Vestibule in my back pocket, which means I'll

know, Eldest, it's just hard to find the time, there's a

saying the same thing since the day they were born?" I ask sceptically. "Find some scouts you can trust

closer we get to the nest, the more thorough and elaborate the preparations the carvers have been able to make. Where once were simple tunnels, walls and ambush points are now pit fall traps, rock falls, hardened rock stakes, reinforced compacted stone barricades and more. I can only imagine how irritating it is for the enemy to clear one set of walls after a tough fight, only to

been enough to stop them. Even as the ants form themselves into silent ranks, layer on layer of ferocious insect ready to fight, the Legion has begun to form up opposite

Won't be long now.

point. After almost ten of these conflicts over the last few days, the process has become somewhat routine. Indeed, things begin to follow the expected pattern. Recognising my presence, the Legion soldiers begin their measured approach in the face of a hail of spells and acid,

of the magic, doing everything they can to weaken it from the second I unleash it. Even with Invidia helping to distract them by unleashing all the magic he can, the soldiers stand firm and manage to disperse the spell by combining their efforts. Still, I can see the toll it takes on them. Several mages are forced to retire to the rear of the Legion forces,

whip together an ice construct and start hurling spears at the approaching wall as fast as I can. This much is totally standard by this time, things are proceeding as expected. If it continues along the usual lines, I expect that we'll see a charge from them soon,

agitated, thumping his chest and bellowing his rage at the encroaching Legion soldiers. The great ape’s eyes have turned a deep red and lightning has already begun to crackle and jump in the

you alright buddy?] I ask

doesn't respond, instead raising himself higher to shake his fists at the enemy and blast them with arcing bolts of electricity. When

big guy, don't do

Too late.

unfurls his dark wings and leaps forward from the wall, hurtling himself toward

you idiot!?] I mentally roar at him but he isn't