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.

your

fight another insect?

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 one social insect shall be allowed to prosper, the resources of the Dungeon belong to the unending swarm of the Colony!

disturbed, the Keeper leads us away from the settlement and the nervously peeking bruan'chii who watched a force of ten thousand mighty insects march passed their community, each

maze that plunged into the heart of the world. The sheer 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

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

to fight her,] I point out, [and for some reason I feel like your mother isn't as good at

Keeper eyes

is mighty,] he

doubt that, but for whatever tier she is, she should be mightier. Exactly how much evolutionary energy did it take for her to be able to

does not reply, but I don't really notice, the termites are

like you've never seen before. Remember,

the Vestibule. There will

splitting and winding into smaller widths the further 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