Chrysalis

It’s a strange feeling, watching that terrifying sphere of complete darkness flying upward. More than anyone else, I have an inkling about what’s to come, but even I’m not sure exactly how it will go down.

I only have seconds before the inevitable impact and expansion of the gravity bomb, and here I am, floating on a ship, unable to anchor myself to anything. Ah, hindsight, my old friend, we meet again, here on the edge of extinction.

Even my attempt to warn the ants within range is totally useless. The pull is already so strong that my pheromones are whisked away along with the air around me. My minds are currently sagging inside my head, finally relieved of the incredible strain I put them under, but I force them to keep working, spinning together a broad mind-bridge that I snap onto everyone I can reach.

[THIS IS AN URGENT, IMMINENT THREAT OF DEATH ALERT, AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ROCK. The spell I threw up there is going to go crazy. Ants, you all know what I’m talking about. Weigh these ships down, anchor them to the bottom of the Lake if possible. Activate the bubble shield things because the water is going to rise up all around us. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!]

People respond, shouting back questions, trying to make sense of what I told them. Thankfully, others are more proactive, already leaping into action. I can feel mana stirring all around me as ants and brathian mages frantically begin to weave magic, trying to keep themselves and the fleet safe.

All the while, that dreadful, horrifying shriek of the wind continues to rattle my carapace and send shivers running through my mandibles.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWLLLL!!!!!

It’s beyond deafening, and this is only the beginning. For the first time, I feel a quiver of genuine fear run through me at the thought of what I have made. This gravity bomb is going to be the biggest, most devastating thing I’ve cast, and it’s not going to be close.

the consequences. Or if I’ll

bomb is going to produce? I’m floating on a boat, for goodness’ sake! There’s no hole I can jump into, no way

try and stave off the monstrous pull that’s going

narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report

to work once again, sucking in mana and pushing it through the construct. If I can create a Well

of them, so I’m going to do this. The only problem is, there’s no way in heck that I’ll have

coordinate, soldiers trying to impose order and tie down

sailing as fast as they can to

can’t leave them out of the loop. With great effort, I

it does, if only

the deck

it’s all I can muster. I cut the contact immediately, hoping whoever I managed to latch onto is smart enough to spread the

the plummeting stone, and I’m pleased enough to see that my aim was on point at least. The

go. Carefully, I fully crouch, letting the bottom of my carapace rest on the deck, and then

later, it

flow of gravity thanks to a mutation, buzz like a phone set to vibrate.