Chrysalis

Suffer not the termite to live.

• Excerpt from 'Wisdom of the Eldest'

[No, we don't need to get settled or any such thing. We came to kill termites, lead us to the front, we are keen to begin the work,] I tell the Grove Keeper, who seems a little disconcerted.

[You should adapt to the mana level before fighting,] he warns me, his slow, deep tones ringing in my head. [You aren't used to what it's like on this level. It can affect this in strange ways.]

He's not wrong about the mana level, it feels as if it's so thick I could swim in it. My legs are on fire, sucking incredibly dense energy out of the ground, which isn't even the Dungeon, I'm just pulling it from the roots of the Mother Tree! What it feels like to actually step on the Dungeon floor where the veins are present… I can't begin to imagine.

[My people hunger to taste termite and even I may not be able to hold them back,] I confess to the large wooden figure, [it is best that you lead us to the enemy, otherwise we will run there on our own.]

He frowns down at me.

realise your kind were so

seen an insect fight another insect? Best not get

And, if I'm honest, within myself also. The termite! They're so close now! The hated enemy, the war that has lasted on Earth for over a hundred million years. Only

from the settlement and the nervously peeking bruan'chii who watched a force of ten thousand mighty insects march passed their community, each one burning with the

size and scale of the mother tree seemed endless, but at last we came to something that spoke to me. Dirt. Precious dirt. As the lead ant, I set foot on the precious ground

the Grove Keeper sounded grim as he pointed to a nearby tunnel, [the beasts have taken a toll on my people and now the Mother will not allow us to fight. She takes on the burden herself, but mighty as she is, she is not built to fight against this

designed to fight her,] I point out, [and for some reason I feel like

Keeper eyes

mighty,] he

much evolutionary energy did

massive figure of the Grove Keeper does not reply, but I don't really notice, the termites

I warn my family, "we are close now. When we meet the enemy, it will be a savage brawl like you've never seen before. Remember, there are only two things that you need to do: stay alive, kill

ten thousand thrums of agreement through the Vestibule. There will be no energy

we travel. Soon I begin to notice segments of root that have been chewed on, clear evidence of the termite presence. The tree is regenerating the damage, but slowly, judging by the various wounds I see. It's possible the termites are using some kind of saliva or mandible mutation to slow her healing process. Just how far