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

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

ant traced a downward

she said bitterly, “he may not even

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Eran said softly. “I have grown fond of him myself, but what he did here could be interpreted as an act of war against the largest empire in

heard enough. She knew Anthony well enough to know he wouldn’t have done such a thing without good reason. She turned back to

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

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

below the surface? They’d feast on him in his weakened state! Eran

locked on the nearby mages. “Atreum ensures the waters remain safe at all times.” She paused. “Except

an anxious wait, and Enid was joined on the deck by Smithant and Cobalt, who stood alongside

Anthony’s remains,” Irisod the court mage informed Eran

informed Enid quickly. [We

Enid said, her mental voice catching. [That’s

It wasn’t easy to move something as large and ungainly as a giant ant, but the brathians’ water-manipulating skills