Chrysalis

The mages have achieved a strange dichotomy that can largely be attributed to the identities of the Council members who came to lead them. The two not only differ in the magics that they choose to employ, but also the tactics. Where Propellant favours direct, forceful action, and the application of excessive force to achieve a goal, Coolant is more subtle and desires efficiency of resources, though it may take her longer to complete her objective.

At first, this didn’t matter so much as the two cooperated well, and indeed, they still do. But as the caste grew larger, the two of them were no longer able to oversee all the mage ant activities, having to pass certain responsibilities on to their subordinates.

At first, this also didn’t matter; all of the members of the Colony are family, after all, and despite their differences, they will work together without complaint.

However, due to this expansion of the caste, and the implementation of a larger authoritative structure, the two schools of thought held by the council members became entrenched in a way that neither of them intended.

The school of fire, and the school of water.

Each individual ant, upon evolving into the caste, had to take it upon themselves to choose their place. Once they did, they would begin their training, engrossing themselves in the mindset, mana types and favoured tactics of their founding mentor.

Although some have sought to exploit this divide within the Mage caste, they have been unsuccessful. Differences of opinion within the Colony are common, betrayal is unheard of.

There is also a third school of mages, though much smaller than the others. Those who follow the path of the Eldest. Of that chaotic group, I will not speak.

- From the notes of Historiant

“What the hell are they doing down there?” Propellant yelled.

“I don’t know,” Coolant replied, a faint trace of irritation marking her scent. “Perhaps you should focus on the battle that we are currently engaged in.”

course. Right.

the fire mana to give it shape and purpose, she couldn’t help but flick her senses down beneath her six legs. It was like a hook caught in her brain, and no matter how hard she tried to look away, it always managed to

quite literally boiling with incredibly dense fire mana. This was orders of magnitude more potent than any spell she’d ever seen before, and she was the premier fire mage in the entire Colony. Nobody had fire mana

on, Propellant. Light some

in front of her. Even the delightful explosions that sent their hated foes flying through the air weren’t enough to distract her fully.

It.

Just.

Kept.

Growing.

is this possible?”

Coolant replied. “We are here to support

Of course

wove and threw out

level mages in the Colony? Aren’t we supposed to have pushed the knowledge of basic spellforms further than anyone else? The Eldest is levelling up all sorts of crazy stuff, we just focus on magic. How do we not know what is

know,” Coolant said coolly, “but being surprised by the Eldest is a pointless endeavour. When they do the unexpected

Propellant spluttered before pointing with one leg. “Coolant, the mountain

most beautiful thing she had

with the scene in front of her and rolled her antennae. With her forceful mind, she began to weave her spells even more dexterously, picking up the slack of

billowing smoke rising from the various openings on the mountain had now become titanic gouts of fire rising dozens of metres into the air. Out of the holes poured termites, fleeing the burning hell their nest

eyes as the flames roared

was such that she could hear it clearly from where she stood,