Chrysalis

[We hate you!]

[Don’t come back!]

[You’re hurting my feelings! Why don’t you fly over here next to me and say that!]

[Get stuffed!]

[In your dreams, mate!]

[Turn off your lousy magic and THEN talk smack, ey? EYYYY?!]

[Why don’t you come over here and make me? Huh? Need me to go easy on you? Too weak for the real stuff?]

[Get off our island!]

[Yeah! You bleedin’ cheat!]

[Bah! All of you can bite my carapace! Your mums are all classy ladies, but you’re rubbish!]

To a chorus of mentally projected howls and insults, I float down and away from the Wandering Isle. Some of the Magpei follow, unwilling to let us go without getting the last word in. I take note of how they keep their distance from me, though, unwilling to be caught up in the gravity well.

Gweheheheh.

It’s taken a lot of mana to maintain it for this long, but it's been worth it. Looking at the suffering expressions of their faces every time they try to fly up and punch me has been a joy, bringing light to my dark, dark heart.

[Are you still going with them?] the mage, Olivis asks me.

[Of course! As long as they’re willing to serve it up, they’re going to get it back.]

[There will never come a time they are unwilling to serve it up. They’re the Magpei. They’ve been doing this for thousands and thousands of years.]

If there’s a Skill for irritating strangers, they must have it all

to be discourteous, rude and confrontational? Fine! I will do the

find

[No?]

She looks at me.

her. And in many

are you,

why do you

[No reason.]

an ant… I guess my age would be… what? Sixteen-ish? Less? Honestly, it’s hard to remember how old I was when I died, and it’s difficult to keep track of time as an ant. It’s not like we

of content: if you find this story on Amazon,

some ants have taken an interest in the clockmaking arts. So… it probably won’t be

lowering myself gracefully with my gravity well, I get a good look at the Legion fleet. Interestingly, they didn’t seem to bother us all that much while we dealt with the Wandering Isle. From what I know, only a few of them came up, not Morrelia, sadly, and

us, like they did when I was falling, but no. The massed fleet of hulking, armoured warships just

were admiring my glorious carapace, that would be one thing, but this is just them staring at me like a starving person staring at a ham! It’s

I lower myself into position, flopping on the deck once more. Mapgei are STILL floating overhead, flinging insults at me, but I think I’ve had my fun. With a flicker of concentration, I allow my focus to lapse and the well to dissipate, the

of the forbidden one begin to recede, like oil on an ocean falling

exact moment that Odin

that there are

the ground by three of my babysitters, Odin only groans, thrashing weakly

sense their presence

evolved and mutated to make sure

[Gah! Let me up!]

about how not to be weird. When we get back to see Sarah again, I want

struggling demon, I turn to Eran Thouris. I suppose I should give a little thought to the actual

[So, how was trade?]

its nature, it does an outsized amount of trade. They were quite interested in your foodstuffs, and we’ve arranged some contracts with several distributors. Tea was popular, as was the furniture, oddly enough. They don’t have ready access to wood, so they have to trade for

that’s good news, I

didn’t have to put up with the Magpei’s

me an