Chrysalis

The nameless one idled against the side of a tunnel for a brief moment, checking her surrounds. Activity had been furious within the nest ever since the siege had lifted and opportunities to enter the Dark Passage had been harder to come across. Thankfully, the Eldest blessed her and the tunnel was, for this brief window of time, empty. She leaned against the deep shadows, ingeniously created by a collection of wrinkles that were so unobtrusive it was hard to even notice them. Even if one were to see, would they ever realise that each centimetre, every angle, was a deliberate choice designed specifically to create this convergence of shadows.

As the pressure increased, there was a small 'click', and she felt a brief sensation of falling before she landed on her feet in a tunnel shrouded in complete shadow. The Dark Passage. A feeling of comfort overtook the nameless one as she was embraced by the darkness, this was the place where she felt most at home. There were no scent trails in the Passage, a strange oddity for any place within the nest, but she wasn't surprised. She reached out with an antennae, seeking along the wall until she found what she was after, a groove, dug in a particular way, that told her just what she needed to know. Now confident, she turned and began to move, her antennae always seeking along the tunnel wall as she ran.

Before long, she began to run into others, but they did not greet each other, no scent was exchanged, for such was forbidden. Instead, they ran alongside each other, working together whenever they came across a vile Dungeon spawn infecting the tunnels. The wave had complicated things, but she had learned of the great working undertaken by the mages to peel back the Dungeon veins. It would only be a matter of time before the same method had been applied here, their work was too important to allow for distractions. As they ran, enshrouded in perfect dark, they came across more tunnels, each bringing more of her siblings into this main branch. Every tunnel was lined with the same enchantment, powered by pure back cores filled with Shadow Mana, the light eaters.

They ran together until finally, the tunnel, which had been growing wider as more branches folded into it, came to a dead end. A wall loomed before them, studded with light eaters to the point where it appeared more as a wall of pure shadow rather than stone. Without pause, the nameless one approached and extended her antennae, feeling this, then that, until she found an almost imperceptible indent. The first located, it wasn't long until she identified the second and pushed against both at the same time. She had to concentrate, if the timing was even slightly off…

'Click'.

So soft she nearly couldn't hear it, the mechanical device slotted into place and in a second, the wall that blocked the way was suddenly gone, dropped into the floor below. What lay beyond, was the sacred ground of the order, the Sanctum. Each of her siblings ducked their heads to pay their respects as they crossed the threshold, as she herself did when it came her turn to enter. If anything, the darkness was even more complete in here, not a single speck of light allowed to exist within. There was no scent either, which meant each of the order was required to rely on their other sense, that which marked them apart from the rest of the Colony.

Once inside, she found herself within the antechamber, staffed at all times with several acolytes who stood as still as statues, mimicking the state of torpor as best they could. The nameless one had intelligence to share, so she approached the acolyte of knowledge.

Greetings, Sister. You have wisdom for the Sanctum? The acolyte signed, her antennae performing an intricate dance in the air.

A test? Too obvious, the nameless one had been part of the order since its very foundation.

Eldest rests,

acolyte wryly signed back,

a sacred number, the ideal amount of sleep, as proscribed by the Eldest. It

I bring news from

acolyte's antennae twitched in

time being. They weren't planned to be reopened for

the Acolyte of knowledge to have such intricate knowledge, it was

They have arranged to reopen early, though it

dismay, without rest, the workers will be sloppy, the soldiers, unable to properly perform their duties. All shall suffer from their greed to work! How dare they shun the wisdom

order endured the harsh training necessary to achieve full membership of the order. At the moment, it appeared as if a fresh induction group was being trained. An acolyte of instruction hung from the ceiling by a single leg, waving her antennae in slow, exaggerated motions, instructing the initiates in the hidden language of the order. Twenty young ants hung from the roof in front of her, each gripping the ceiling with

place and the initiate lay on the floor, leg twitching in pain for only a moment. Several other acolytes of training appeared from the walls to minister to their sister. In short order,

fall, their increased strength not enough to offset

pillars and anything else they could hang onto was a necessary part for any member of the order. The

she reached the main part of the sanctum, the most sacred of all of its many chambers. Inside she found

of the Colony to ensure that they rested, and from that moment on, the order had begun to take shape. Members of every caste had been welcomed, for theirs was difficult work and every advantage and strength was needed to ensure it was done perfectly. Too many within the Colony spurned the Eldest's wisdom and worked beyond their measure, but

Each segment of the chamber was filled with ants at rest, but soon it would be time for one segment to wake up and return to their work, then it would

you, one of her siblings signed to

she replied, this nameless one is pleased to see you once