Chrysalis

Chapter 789

It does seem as though the mage ants have evolved slightly in terms of their practice regimen. In some larger areas we find something I hadn't seen them do before: squad based competition. Ten mages per side, twenty in total battling against each other in a dazzling display of coordinated spellcraft. Defence and offense on both sides operates at a furious pace as both sets of ants do their best to break down the other. The contest of Will is so fierce I can practically feel their minds arm wrestling in the air between them as they tussle for control of the mana.

"What brought this on?" I ask Propellant.

"Ah, this. This was inspired by a couple of things. One of the things we learned from Torrina and Corun when they arrived was the way that golgari shapers train, as well as golgari in general."

"You mean, in groups of three?"

"Right," she nods. "The number three is sacred to the golgari for a few reasons, but the group training is also important. Mages being able to mesh their minds together in order to better coordinate is one of the fundamental Skills that the shapers, and other mages around the world employ."

"Huh… I wonder if the kaarmodo we ran into did a similar thing with the slaves that they kept."

"Most likely they did. Once our mages have reached tier four, as well as trained their basic magic Skills to the rank that we need, this becomes their primary mode of training. Group combat. Their job is to mesh their thoughts with the rest of their squad and overcome the enemy. It's highly competitive and the squads work extremely hard at it."

"Do they always train with the same members?"

She shakes her head.

This is somewhere that we differ from the golgari. They like to keep their groups the same in order to deepen their level of cooperation and fellowship, but we decided that the mages should be ready to team up with any other group of mages in the Colony. We don't even always keep

a Skill associated with this 'thought mesh' that you keep

a couple actually. Sense Thought

quick scan of my available Skills list reveals

engage in some group spell casting or some such in order

wouldn't be surprised if you didn't

I suppose. At least in terms of my offense. As we chat the two teams in front of us continue their contest, wrestling at the mana around them as they fling ice, fire and whatever else they can manage as other members of the group focus on breaking down the incoming spells or utilising their mana manipulation to break down their forms before

Especially for the hatchling.

cool!" she cries as she hops back and forth watching the dazzling

"they're practicing to work better in groups and coordinate their

sounds fun!" she cheers. "I bet I can do

"Alright, come on

she complains, but I drag her away from the ongoing training exercise as Propellant waves

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