Chrysalis

The sack of the Silver City marked a point of no return in the great war. Though the ants turned back, and did not commit the final blow against the Child-Emperor, none within the Atreum Empire could ever tolerate peace from that moment onward.

I believe the Colony knew that. I believe they never intended for there to be peace in the first place. It was simply their way of letting the rest of us know the stakes they were playing for.

- Excerpt from ‘Reflection on the Great War’ by Gonvas

Smithant was in heaven, or hell, depending on the moment. Everywhere she looked, she was surrounded by fabulous metalwork that she didn’t understand, which was good! On the other mandible, everywhere she looked, she was surrounded by fabulous metalwork that she didn’t understand, which was bad….

“Reveal your secrets to me!” she demanded, staring at a rubbish receptacle.

“It’s lucky the humans can’t pick up what you’re saying,” Cobalt observed. “None of them would trade with us because of your babbling.”

Smithant clacked her mandibles in irritation.

“Metal talks,” she replied flatly. “By observing the patterns, the lines in the metal, the sound it makes when struck, there are a thousand ways to learn about it through observation.”

“That doesn’t mean you should go around threatening people’s front steps.”

“Metal talks, and I like to talk back,” Smithant said, unbothered.

Cobalt laid a sympathetic front leg on the back of her friend’s carapace.

“You’ve been too lonely, haven’t you?”

“Get off of me.” The smithing expert shrugged off the leg, waving her antennae in irritation. “Stop being ridiculous and focus on what the Eldest asked us to do. We have a guide, let's make use of the time and get what we came for.”

stop yelling at

“Fine.”

the brathian mage,

of course. Is it this way to

just up ahead you can

gazed up at it in awe. There were at least thirty different kinds of metal woven into the pattern, each expertly used to complement those around them. The level of artistry

tale on Amazon, it's taken

who was responsible for this work. I refuse to believe everyone in this city is capable

thing would be a blow to Smithant’s pride. She knew she was younger than most of the smiths in the world, but she believed her love for metal and her dedication

ask? Irisod can translate to the guide for

they just tell

only one way to

would like to ask if it’s known who was responsible for creating the arch above

[I’ll ask.]

were under escort when moving around the city, as all ants were required to be. Not that the two ants felt threatened, their

a moment before the reply came

to some extent the work of the smith Gyllan. He was the lead

after a moment’s

I wasn’t certain. Gyllan is a legend, even to this day. The method he used to shape the

Smithant slumped for a moment, all her enthusiasm gone. She was dying to know how it

to get moving. There was

the district proper. Immediately, she felt at home. The roar of the forge, the ring of the hammer, the sound

the shops had displays out the