Chrysalis

She knew she would have to break it. It was obvious. How on Pangera was she supposed to learn the secrets of this incredible armour without hitting it, breaking it open, melting it? She couldn't! She knew she couldn't. And yet… she struggled to bring herself to do it. She'd examined the armour in intricate detail. Every sense she could bring to bear had been utilised with laser-like focus on every curve and fold of the suits she could access. Her antennae were intimately familiar with every square inch. Her eyes had examined each marking and rune, the entire network of which (that was visible) she had copied onto sheets of metal that adorned the walls of her forge.

Several of the watchful scouts had been yelled at for allowing their legs to pollute those surfaces as they shifted around the room, disturbing her thoughts for seemingly no good reason. What were they supposed to protect her from?! The scouts fobbed her off, with generic statements about 'dangerous enemy technology', as they'd been ordered to. The fact that Tungstant had placed them there to protect Smithant in the event something went very wrong, they wouldn't say. The Colony was not about to lose their foremost armour expert so soon after she had demonstrated her worth! Not even for Legion armour would that be worthwhile.

So they carefully watched as the carver interacted with the armour, their cores in their jaws each time she dropped something or started gnawing on the armour with her mandibles, worried that something would explode before they had the chance to throw themselves on top of it.

Eventually, she was forced to weigh her affection for the incredible craftsmanship of the Legion pieces that had fallen into her claws against her own Skills and knowledge (and by extension, the Colony's). Of course, her own Skills won out. How much more precious would equally stunning works be, if they had come from her own forge? The very thought sent her into a catatonic state of joy for several long minutes.

she wasted no time in getting to work. The ants had developed many ant-specific tools for manipulating armour in order for them to manage the process of detailing and enchanting. With the straps undone and the joints

to mana better and held enchantments more than three times as efficiently! The strange stone was a wonder in and of itself. It could detect mana sources around it and actively tried to consume that mana. She nearly had a few cores drained dry when they were placed

years. Reluctant as she was to part with it, she had little choice but to pass responsibility for that investigation over to the mages. She had armour

tell) inert. A relief. If the Legion had managed to find some sort of living metal and

able to do more until they

the higher level of tensile strength and lighter weight. Which took what was a relatively small advantage in raw components and widened it significantly. This led the carver to further believe that there

the process that had been used. If she were successful in her work, she might be rewarded with a significant amount of experience towards her