Chrysalis

It’s not possible to overstate just how large an impact the incident at the Golden City had upon the Colony. For their part, the people of Atreum paid it little mind. From their point of view, the great and glorious defender of the capital had annihilated a pesky upstart, an ant gone rogue and acting alone. With the death of the offender, the empire was placated and reassured of their overwhelming power.

To the Colony, they took a very different approach. It was never confirmed which individual attacked the city, or why. Even though they continued to trade through the brathian merchant conglomerates, and even though they, on the surface, enjoyed friendly relations with the Silver City, never again did any ant set a single leg inside the city.

- Excerpt from ‘Ant Relations’ by Wattford.

Enid watched Anthony fall with horror. The phoenix faded away, the light fading and returning to the golden city from which it had come. Slowly, the eternal cloud returned, a halo that ringed the Atreum capital and home of the Child-Emperor.

From a great height, the enormous ant plummeted down. Even from this distance, Enid could see the smoke trail he left behind, a dark greasy stain that followed after him and stained the sky.

“We have to go and get him!” she pleaded to Eran, who had watched the entire exchange with a grim, stone-faced expression.

“It depends on where he falls,” she replied shortly.

Enid turned to glare at her with stricken eyes.

“What do you mean?!”

“If he falls too close to the walls, he will land in the exclusion zone. We can’t sail within a kilometre of the wall without permission.”

that is my

my fleet. I will not risk my people! After the guardian beast of Atreum has emerged, the entire city will be like a nest kicked by a hornet! We’ll be lucky if they don’t sail out and claim him regardless of where he

and watched as the giant ant traced a downward

she said bitterly, “he may not

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softly. “I have grown fond of him myself, but what he did

wouldn’t have done such

but they were still far away when he finally made contact with the surface of the lake. There was a tremendous splash, a ferocious hiss of steam, and he began to sink below the surface. All the while, the brathian mages were in constant dialogue with the city. Apparently the request was being buried in bureaucracy, as was always the case in a place as large as this. Irisod and Olivis were hunched over together, locked in whispered conversation as they negotiated mentally with the

going to get him?” Enid demanded. “I can’t believe we are just watching him sink

been lurking just below the surface? They’d feast on him in his weakened state! Eran seemed to

to the capital,” she told her, eyes locked on the nearby mages. “Atreum ensures the waters remain safe at all times.” She paused. “Except for during

the deck by Smithant and Cobalt, who stood alongside her, an antenna each resting on her shoulders as the ship drew closer to where

given us permission to collect Anthony’s remains,” Irisod

is still alive,] Cobalt informed Enid quickly. [We are very confident

mental voice

for the brathian divers and mages to bring him up and get him aboard the ship. It wasn’t easy to move something as large and ungainly as a giant ant,