Chrysalis

[I thank you for your cooperation.]

[To you as well. I hope that your research is of some use to the Colony.]

[I wish the same. If you wish to view our published work, you can find it in the pheromone library. There are copies in every major nest.]

[Wonderful. I will read with interest.]

Torrina placed her pen away and shut the book in front of her as the interviewee, a tier six mage, amongst the first, turned and walked out of the room. With more ants reaching the sixth tier, it became more important than ever before to correlate their evolutionary options and choices. Granin in particular had been obsessed with it, almost as obsessed as the Colony itself, which was why the triad had been busy interviewing and documenting every tier six ant they could get to talk to them.

Which was all of them that they could reach. Once they realised the fruits of their research would be delivered to the Colony, they were only too happy to help.

If only her own colleagues had been as forthcoming with information, they would have been able to achieve so much more. The petty rivalries of the shaper circle seemed even more absurd to her now than they had when she was a student. Perhaps the day would come when social discord and competition would arise amongst the ants, forcing the siblings to struggle against each other, but as of yet, that day had not dawned.

A level of cooperation that bordered on the fanatical, that was the defining trait of the Colony in her eyes. In many ways, Anthony himself exemplified the trait. There was nothing he would not give of himself for his new family, even if he would never say as much.

She stood from behind the desk she had been provided, ensuring she didn't scrape the immaculately woven rug under the carved chair. Once again, only the best had been provided for her use, and she was careful not to damage any of it. Furniture such as this would have cost her a small fortune amongst the golgari.

As she stepped out of the “office”, she found Corun emerging from his own room next door. The young shaper gave her a broad smile, the stones of his true skin grinding together as he did so.

"Another day done. Got everything you need?"

Torrina nodded.

"I don't have any more mages or core shapers to interview, if that's what you mean. I'm not sure if that will satisfy Granin though."

Corun pulled a face and laughed.

"I doubt it. I'm done with the soldiers, scouts and generals that are within reach as well. For the time being, we won't have any choice but to move on to something else. Hopefully, moving down to the fourth to see what Anthony is up to."

manner gained through years of association and friendship

early, he's only been tier six for what? A couple of months at

"From what I've heard, he's been munching on literally thousands of tier four and fives. Even if they're weak, that's still going to be a lot of experience. He might want to get

"Damn right it is."

two jumped and turned to find Granin, the granite-covered senior shaper looming behind them like a boulder. How he managed to move so quietly covered

greeted their elder and leader of the triad, "I'm guessing this means that you're done for

Granin grunted.

sixes have been sent down to the fourth, apparently. The rest are on the front lines of the expansion war. We just can't find enough

all the time she'd known him, she didn't think she'd seen the old man so enthused with his work, as she imagined he must have been in

determined anything yet?"

a

he said. "Let's get back

and Torrina shared a look at his caution, but they were conditioned to follow the triad leader and so they

small cores that burned with beautiful, dim light, illuminating the intricate carvings, woven

see the vast open space of ash and smoke that was the skyline of the third stratum. The ominous red light bleeding from the outside into the corridor, infusing it with a macabre glow. Despite the opulence, it

internals were still being worked on, the vast majority of the nest's volume not being utilised, but for now a segment close to the top had been allocated for the allies of the Colony to use. Barracks, training rooms and medical facilities for the troops, along with a separate area for

out of curiosity. They'd timidly told her of their thoughts on a new technique, muttered something about crumple zones and then assured her they'd done everything they could to ensure they were as safe as possible. She'd shrugged and told them she thought they would want the view for themselves but the ants had looked

at all. They

stairs they arrived at their private rooms, greeting the few humans and golgari they saw along the way before filing

she

to his plush couch

might welcome. Her people didn't like soft or fluffy things, and needed materials that were durable enough not to scrape or dent when exposed to the hard minerals that coated

to be damaged by them, strong enough to hold their weight, and with enough give to provide comfort.

Granin

matters of concern. The first of

considered his words for a moment before he

same thing that I'm seeing with the tier six ants, but tell me what you think is unusual about them. I want

at each other before

more than acceptable bonuses almost across the line. I've only encountered