Chrysalis

“We aim to advance in ten minutes. Make sure your squads are ready.”

They had spent a week preparing for this expedition, training, theorising, testing. Bella and Ellie had worked overtime, stretching their knowledge of monster anatomy to the very limits, studying the cores of fifth stratum monsters with intense focus.

Solant’s broodmates acknowledged her instructions and rushed off to carry out her word, only Leonidant remaining behind.

“How confident are you?” the scout asked.

“That’s an unusually direct question.”

“These are unusual times.”

“Very true words.”

Solant reflected for a moment.

“We really have come a long way, haven’t we?” she said, cleaning her antennae carefully. “It wasn’t that long ago the only thing we had to worry about was Tunnel Ball and completing our training exercises.”

“The Eldest certainly changed that in a hurry.”

The giant ant had thrown Solant and her broodmates into the thick of the conflict at the earliest possible opportunity. It had been a brutal learning curve, for all of them, but they had grown so fast as a result of the change, it was difficult to view it as a bad thing.

“I believe the Eldest was wise to place us here,” Solant decided. “It’s been an excellent opportunity to develop ourselves and be of use to the family.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. How confident are you?”

Solant considered the question for a moment.

“About half,” she said finally. “It’s lower than I would like, but we need to start testing our ideas sooner rather than later. More certainty will be hard to come by without taking a few risks now.”

reassured her general. “I’m

course,” Solant nodded,

picture, not spend her time fussing over the minor details before they set out. No matter how much she wanted to. The more she tried to look over their thorax and check their work, the more her broodmates pushed back and told her

their capabilities,

really are heading

turned to see Ellie and Bella, the two core shaper Council members, approaching from the nest. Each looked visibly worried, antennae twitching and legs flexing

later if we are on the right track,” Solant said. “I believe in the work that you and your caste members have completed

on solutions for the toxic mana and

somehow looking far beyond. “For

signalled from her place in the column and

it’s time to depart. I’ll give you

hard!” Bella said. “I hope the pets will do us

“I’m sure they will.”

two behind and took her place amongst the column as it slowly began to move, picking up the pace as the thousands

was grim, as

fifth, but as reports rolled in, it

percent of the way into their journey, the

formation five, but tell the earth mages not to stretch themselves. If things go according to plan, we won’t be here long,” Solant instructed, and the

line of ants, running a keen eye along the troops as she passed. Was it a

even worse than we predicted,” Sumant said, indicating forward with

The Colony regularly burned outward from the defensive line, but the distance had grown shorter and shorter as the wave went on. Now, barely a single kilometre from where they’d started, Solant was confronted with the full

forming a spider web of goop. It dripped from the ceiling, slid down the walls. Even the air

of itself, spreading, pooling, growing thicker and more noxious by the hour. If nothing was done, it would creep all the way to the nest and then up through the fortress until it spilled out into the waters that surrounded the mountain. At that point, it would become someone else’s problem, the brathian most likely, who

come to

“Any monster sightings?”

“None, thankfully.”

“Then we can deploy.”