Chrysalis

When the mana starts to drop, it drops fast. One second I’m up to my eyeballs in the stuff, absolutely drowning in energy, the next it’s receding so quickly I feel like I’m going to get swept down a stratum if I don’t hold onto the ground.

So. That’s it? Just like that?

Hanging from the top of my tunnel, I feel relieved and a bit… disappointed? Look, I’m not asking for the Legion to come knocking on the Colony’s door every wave, but I kind of expected something. This wave has ended with a murmur rather than a roar.

Ah well, it is what it is.

I drop off the roof, stretch out a bit, clean my antennae, then walk back into the nest. Time to go find something else to do, I suppose. Back in the central command chamber, the generals are running around like mad, as always. I find Sloan right in the middle of it all.

“Hey there, Sloan. What’s happening?”

“The wave is ending,” she says, obviously distracted.

I poke her on the head with an antenna.

“Yeah… so why is everyone so busy? Shouldn’t you be winding down? Slowing your roll a little bit? The wave is over.”

She sighs and turns to face me properly.

“The wave being over means the siege has ended. It’s once again safe to venture out of the fortress and into the tunnels.”

“Right. So?”

we have to get back to exploring the lower tunnels and completing the lower sections of the nest as quickly as possible! If we can leave our

Ah.

really expect we’ll come under attack?

to be prepared. If you’ll excuse me, we are in the process of organising over a dozen

I tell her and the general pauses for a

the field is exactly what the little general needs after this protracted defensive battle. Leaving the generals to it, I go find a nice nook to tuck myself into, out of the way, and let the Will of the Colony wash over

to indulge in it, just to feel the unity of the Colony. I may be the only creature who gets to feel it like this in the entire lifetime of my family, which is a real shame. Others can see how well my

needs, all working to better the life of the ant next to them. It’s beautiful. Truly, the

are there humans here? And I think I

my siblings, I find a few threads that are ever so slightly different. Sure enough, when I take a closer look, I find out just who has come to visit. It doesn’t take long for them to find me, either. A procession of robed priests, each with antennae rising from their hoods, make their way into the chamber before they congregate nearby. Not close enough to bother me, but not so

Royal Road. If

of us ants

part. It appears that now the wave is over, the humans have decided it’s safe for them to come and live at this level. That’s handy. Incorporating the ant priests and human soldiers alongside our own forces will help return them to full strength, taking advantage

then I’m willing to put up with a bit of chanting

to assemble. Come

my friends to gather. Crinis, Tiny and Invidia all look weary after the long weeks of fighting. The big ape is singed in places, still-healing wounds marking his enormous arms and shoulders. Crinis glomps onto me the moment she’s in range, moulding herself onto my carapace and retracting all of her flesh until she’s about the size of a beach ball. It’s not always easy to tell how Invidia is feeling, but I can detect signs of weariness from his eye and the way he lethargically flaps over to join the

sense of satisfaction radiating from each

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