Merchant built many financial institutions, but perhaps the most enduring is the Colony Bank. Despite the obvious drawback of being run by monsters, the bank thrived in unexpected ways.
In an odd way, people were more willing to entrust their savings to ants, rather than less. They knew the ants had no real interest in money, and they also knew that anything stored deep within the heart of a nest was about as safe as anything could possibly be.
With low fees, incredibly robust accounting, and the famous logistical capacity of the Colony, the bank spread throughout many cities and domains across the Dungeon. Through the savings accounts, Merchant amassed enormous capital that she used to fund her other projects, bringing a wealth of cores to the family and empowering millions of her siblings.
-Excerpt from the personal notes of Historiant.
Sloan wasn't happy.
"What about this tunnel?"
"The scouts followed it for six kilometres. They recorded it branching eight times in these locations."
Eight?!
"What about this tunnel?"
"It branched five times in four kilometres…."
Why were there so many damned branching tunnels?! As always, the carvers were working on a detailed three-dimensional model of the terrain, but the thing was becoming more tangled than a pile of centipedes in a feeding frenzy!
It was all valuable Dungeon territory that the Colony would dearly like to claim. After all, there were huge deposits of mana-rich metals to be found beneath the mountains in the fourth stratum, and the carvers were going crazy over the mines that had already been established. That didn't help them if they couldn't defend it!
Sloan stared at the model, thought hard, then stared some more. Was there really no better way than to pull back to the small number of tunnels they could defend?
If so, they would be ceding control over huge swathes of land. Without scouts looking into the distant tunnels, they'd have no idea if there was an army massing on their borders either.
A threat that became more and more serious as the days ticked by.
At the outer edges of the model, there were markers, little red ribbons tied around the living stone, indicating the locations where delving teams had been sighted. Two dozen contacts in the last week. Even if they knew the Church of the Path was behind it, Sloan was shocked at the level of resources they'd invested in this 'project'. Not only had Green Mountain refused their offers to buy a truce, but the number of delvers venturing into the Colony's land numbered in the thousands.
Practically a small army! It was as if they were daring the Colony to engage in a confrontation!
"I think I'm getting a headache," Sloan grumbled to herself.
The scout standing nearby tactically decided not to notice that scent.
"There are four more tunnels that I need to report on, general," she said hesitantly.
"How many branches?"
"..."
"Just tell me."
"Fourteen."
"DAMMIT!"
When Victor caught up with her sibling, Sloan was still staring at the model, grinding her mandibles and furiously cleaning her antennae, dragging them through her elbow joints with far more force than was necessary.
"You're going to strip the hairs away if you keep doing that," she warned her sister.
"Victor… there's too many tunnels."
"We knew that already," the general said, skittering up beside her sibling to look at the model. When she saw the snarl of tunnels for herself, she blanched and nearly tripped over her fourth leg. "Holy moly!" she exclaimed.
"The more we explore, the more tunnels we find," Sloan said morosely.
They'd been at this for months, and still hadn't finished mapping out the network. There had to be thousands of different routes between the lands claimed by the Colony and those of Green Mountain. Watching them all was impossible!
Well, truth be told it was perfectly possible if they had all of the antpower that was being directed down into the fifth. The campaign against the Krath was an endless vacuum, sucking up everything the Colony produced, including the newly graduated generations. There were over ten million ants down there now, and all Solant wanted was more, more, more.
With what was left over, Sloan and Victor were supposed to protect their territory in the fourth, but it was proving to be even more difficult than they had initially thought.
"I'm worried, Victor," Sloan muttered. "We've been lucky so far, but there's been too many close calls. Eventually one of our sisters is going to get caught. Then what?"
The other general nodded soberly. It would be so much easier if the delvers were incompetent, stumbling fools, but they were anything but. Extremely stealthy, exceptionally fast and hyper alert, any ant within a few kilometres of them was at risk. A single mistake could put the hunters on the trail, and it had happened several times already.
In those instances, there had been enough time to rally support and chase the delvers away, but if a small team of scouts were found, or worse, if the delvers managed to get between them and the nest, capture would be inevitable. With so many unmapped tunnels that looped and curled around each other, it was more than possible for a delving team to get deep into Colony land unspotted.
Victor sighed, clacking her mandibles in defeat.
"We have to pull back. Abandon everything beyond these points so we can concentrate our defence on the main arterial tunnels and monitor the rest. If they capture one of our sisters, it could lead to a full-scale war."
"Just abandon all of this territory? And will that be enough? Are we sure they'll give up because of this?"
"I doubt they will," Victor said resentfully. "If anything, it will embolden them. When the Eldest wakes up, we might be able to do something about it. Until then… we have to wait."
-x-X-x-
I don't really dream while in torpor. Technically, torpor and sleep are different states, I get that, but still, not-dreaming is one of the few things that I haven't really gotten used to in my new life.
This, though? This… listless… bodiless experience I'm having right now… it's as close to dreaming as I've come since I was reborn on Pangera. If anything, it reminds me of how I felt just before I hatched.
The major difference between now and then is that I have the collective Will of millions of individuals flowing through me at any given moment. Moment to moment, my sense of self is frayed as I drift away in the stream of my family's consciousness.
I spend a day as a miner, chomping at the stone, sensing the rock with my antennae, smelling the minerals and gems I'm hunting for. A deep sense of satisfaction fills me as I push my cart, filled to the brim with the fruit of my labours, along the tracks and back to the outpost. From there, it will be added to the next shipment, along with all of my sisters' work, headed to the sorting facility.
Tomorrow, the mana filling the Dungeon will have refilled and regrown precious metals in another location, so the miner's work is never done. Such a deep sense of fulfillment I feel with that knowledge.
Another day, I am a healer. Irritation fills me from the moment I emerge from torpor. Worried about my siblings, I rush out, barely giving myself enough time to eat and groom in my haste to reach the hospitals. There has been an influx of cases from below, hundreds of soldiers suffering from severe mana poisoning. Though they are already through the worst of their ailment, they still need around-the-clock care to ensure the toxins don't spread throughout their systems again.
No sooner have I entered the chamber than I can smell the soldiers trying to persuade anyone who will listen that they are well enough to be released. When I step in, a soldier resting in a recuperation chamber calls out immediately, demanding to be sent back to the front line.
Irritation explodes into anger and I thwack the soldier thoroughly with my antennae, assuring them that their stay in the hospital has just been extended by another week. If they want to complain about it, I'll make it two weeks!
For the rest of the day, I march around the hospital, endlessly worried for my family members who seem so infuriatingly incapable of worrying about themselves. Finally, exhausted and drained, I return to the torpor chamber and collapse into sleep.
Another day, I am a Brood Tender, and I spend all of my time feeding, grooming and tickling grubs. The fat little things wiggle happily as I tend to them, a pure and innocent existence, untainted by the world. Soothed and nourished by my aura and care, they grow rapidly, ready to become the newest generation of the Colony.
I even spend a day as a Queen, which is… interesting. Being fed an endless supply of Biomass and being nearly constantly groomed is nice, and the tea parties are exquisite, but laying eggs is a rather uncomfortable experience.
It feels like I am everyone and everywhere. Hundreds of different experiences, if not thousands.
I fight as a general in the tunnels, coordinating my siblings as they battle alongside me.
I work making carpets, weaving fine threads into intricate patterns that please the eye and will bring satisfaction and pleasure to the guests of the family.
Smelting in the great foundries. I watch liquid steel flow like a river, so hot only my mutations allow me to work in such a place without my insides boiling within my carapace.
Learning in the antcademies as a hatchling, I study the wisdom of my elders and listen intently to the teachings of my Brood Tender instructor. Soon, I will know everything I need to know in order to work and help my family, and I burn with eagerness for that work to begin.
Skulking in the shadows, I spend a day as one of the nameless, stalking a scout who has dared to pull a double shift. Multiple times, my target has the option of choosing rightly, going to torpor, but every chance for redemption is spurned. When I strike, I strike without mercy.
Before retiring for torpor, I see the scout receive the full treatment, her carapace polished to a mirror shine, and feel satisfied that the wisdom of the Eldest has been fulfilled this day.
Wait, my wisdom? Since when was I wise?
A few fragments of myself, shocked out of the flowing stream, pull together just long enough for me to remember who I am, but they aren't able to hold together long enough. Soon, I am fraying apart again, lost in the endless flow of Will.
More days, hundreds of them. I experience life all around the Colony, in every aspect. I fight, I dig, I build, I craft, I search, I nourish and I grow.
Every time I experience another point of view, I feel myself vanish just that little bit more into the river, pulled a tiny bit deeper below the surface.
That's fine. It's so warm here. Even six legs aren't enough to wrap around the love and care of my family. It's all-encompassing and overflowing, running through the river like streaks of gold.
I am a scout. I run through the tunnels, hoping the hunters haven't seen me, but fearing that they have. Those fears are confirmed soon after as my antennae pick up the vibrations of feet on stone. It's fine, I have evolved and mutated for speed, I can outpace them.
Except, I can't? Warned at the last second, I dodge to the left and the net sweeps through where I'd been moments ago.
Another hundred metres, and I'm in the clear, I can see other ants in the distance, and the hunters can too. I sense the vibrations fading as they slow before turning around and heading back, waiting for another opportunity. Thankfully the patrols in those outer tunnels will cease after today. No ants have been captured, thank the Eldest.
…
…
EXCUSE ME??!?!?!
My disparate strands of consciousness slam back together in an instant.
Anthony is back.
-x-X-x-
Coming out of an evolution is always a bit of a weird feeling. I mean, if a human went to sleep and woke up in an entirely new body, they'd feel pretty weird.
For me, it's even stranger than that. Not only do I change size and shape, but my insides get reorganised as well! New things get stuffed in there, existing things get moved. I would've thought I couldn't tell what was going on in there, but when it's changed, I notice!
Sheesh. My legs feel like they've been welded in place. What the heck is going on here? Sloooowly stretching, I'm able to eventually get some movement in my stiff joints. Get that ichor flowing, dammit! I've got places to be.
I think. I don't really remember all that well. There's definitely a sense that someone needs a good thwacking, but who?
My eyes, nothing but a blur at first, start to focus, and the compound view of the world around me becomes clear. My antennae twitch, and I wonder just what the heck has been going on around here?
The reinforced ceiling and walls, with thick bars of enchanted steel? Sure, that's fine. The protection circle drawn underneath me, engraved in the floor with some sort of liquid silver? Alright? I guess? Maybe going a bit overboard now.
But the statues and engravings are way out of line!
Who in their right mind let that stone-hacking chisel monger, Michaelangelant, in here? I know it's her, it has to be her. No one else in the entire Colony would create these ridiculous poses and absurd, flowery murals! Every spare inch of this place is covered in artwork—just how much spare time does that slacker have?!
"Eldest, you're awake!"
Wha? It's taking me a while to catch my bearings this time. How long was I out? This feels a lot different than the last time I evolved.
"Who's that? Coolant? What are you doing here?"
Isn't it a waste to have a powerful member of the Council babysitting me? Surely they have better things to be doing?
"We've been watching to see when you would awaken. It's my turn this week."
That initial burst of excitement is gone and now the cool-as-ice Coolant has returned. I finally focus on her and see that she's as blue and chilled as ever. The air around her is so cold she's got bits of frost on her carapace. Always taking it to the extreme.
"Wait a second. This week? How long have I been evolving?"
"Six months."
"WHAT?!"
Six months?! That's absurd! Wha… What happened? There must have been a wave. More than one! Is everyone alright? Did the family do well while I was asleep?
Oh no!
What if the family did super well while I was asleep? Have they realised they don't need me around? Am I unneeded? Have I been abandoned here, left to rot alone and sad in this vault?
Is it happening again? How could it happen again?
"Uh, Eldest? Are you alright?" Coolant asks me, sounding concerned.
"Of course! Of course, why wouldn't I be?" I try to stand up, but my legs don't want to work properly. "I'll be, uh, right to help in a moment, not to worry."
Coolant extends a leg and places it on my carapace.
"Eldest, take your time. You've been asleep for months, and your body has gone through a lot of changes. There's no rush. The Council will come to see you as soon as they realise you've woken up, but it will take them some time to arrive. You can take a few days to get used to your new self."
"A few days? I'm sure they're too busy to come and see me. There must be a ton of things going on."
"Of course they're busy, but everyone has been waiting for you to wake up. They'll be so excited to learn that you're awake."
"They will? Well… of course they will. Why wouldn't they be? Has everything been alright while I was out?"
Coolant waves a dismissive antenna.
"Nothing but trouble. The fifth is an ongoing struggle. Every day is another disaster. There's trouble on the border, delving teams sneaking into our territory. The Church of the Path is making noise, trying to drum up anti-Colony sentiment… the list goes on."
"Really!? Ahem… I mean… uh… oh no. That's terrible. Well, I can't wait to get out there and help out. I'll be right as rain in an hour or so."
It's good to feel needed. For a moment there, I'd been worried about… well, never mind.
"Granin wanted us to remind you that you should mutate your tendons to Toughened Fibrous Tendons +15 as soon as you wake up. Moving around without doing so could lead to internal damage in your body if you push yourself too far. I'll arrange to have some Biomass brought in for you."
"Oh. Thanks, Coolant. I appreciate it."
"It's the least we can do."
The icy mage skitters off, leaving me alone in the fortified bunker that is my evolution chamber. I can only vaguely remember the whole mess that happened leading up to my evolution. Things were sketchy there for a while, and I ended up having to take a goopy, stinky species in order to not die, which was a pain.
Irritated, I open up my menu and get ready to mutate. I don't particularly want to injure myself just walking around, so I'll take Granin's advice.
I find the necessary mutations and select them, then reluctantly take a look at the rest of my status. I don't really want to see what the corruption has done to me, but I may as well get it over with.
Except… I can't find it. There's new organs all over the place, but there aren't any that scream 'icky toxic mess' to me. Where the heck are they?
-x-X-x-
First of all, what the heck is a Pure Core? Why do I have one, and what does it even do?!
Gandalf?
[Pure Core. Absorbs and cleanses mana.]
Wait… that's it? Come on, Gandalf, you have to give me more than that!
…
…
No? Damn your silver locks and fulsome beard, damn them to Hades! Cleanses mana? How? What sort of mana?! I mean, if I go back out in the fifth, then… will this automatically cleanse the corruption out of me? That would be… extremely useful.
Also, since it's a second core, does that mean I absorb more mana than I did before? If so… fine, I suppose. I can't see any drawbacks to that.
I notice a few other things. My eyes are now made out of Unsullied Crystal, whatever the heck that is. So long as it's hard enough to stop an attack going straight through and into my brain, I can't complain too much. Also, if it doesn't melt when I walk into the fifth, I'd appreciate it. Melting eyeballs are… unpleasant.
[Unsullied Crystal is a rare spiritual material. Only the truth may penetrate it.]
Did my body just become even more valuable? I'm really starting to worry about the price tag attached to me. Best keep quiet about this one. Not sure what it means by 'only the truth may penetrate it'. Maybe I'll need to experiment with that a little.
Also, my eyesight has once again returned to complete rubbish, all of my mutations lost. Grumbling, I punch in mutations up to +15, improving the quality of my lenses.
Wait, what the heck happened to my healing gland? It's gone?! I need that!
Although… what in the name of goodness is a Virtuous Echo Network?
[Virtuous Echo Network. This organ breaks the cycle and turns harm into healing. Fuelled by purified mana, it will provide more healing the more the host is attacked.]
Okaaaay. I don't know anything about cycle breaking, but this is basically constant healing as opposed to healing I can trigger? And it's fed off the mana that the pure core spits out?
That seems… good. I'm interested to see just how much healing I can get out of this thing when it revs up. I assume there's some sort of limit.
Right?
What else is going on in here? Things seem to have taken a strange turn while I was evolving, that's for sure. My business district appears to have had a severe makeover. Now it's apparently a complex. All of my various bits and pieces back there fused into one, all-powerful dispenser of business and justice.
I like it!
Seriously though, what the heck is this thing?
[Everflowing Well of Living Waters: This organ is a wellspring of liquid mana. When supplied with arcane energy, it will release a constant supply greater than what is fed into it.]
WHAT?!
So, if I push mana into this organ, I just… get more back? Is this some sort of hack?! I didn't think it was possible to make more mana out of nothing, not even the Altar can do that!
And… wait a second. Will the liquid mana I get out of it change depending on the type I put in? Could I feed Gravity Mana into this organ and get pure, concentrated liquid gravity out the other side? Maybe I have to mutate it first, but even so…
That would be… insane. Like… really insane. How in the heck would it even work?
The more I look at it, the more impossible this organ seems. I can't imagine how much of the evolutionary budget got spent on this thing, but it had to have been a lot. I'll have to ask Granin and the crew when I see them next.
My status still has a ton of other changes. Vestigial Legs, some of my brains got reset, a whole lot of stuff. The base stat changes are also crazy. I'm huge now, probably thirty percent larger than before? Which is… geez, it's hard to say. Coolant has left the room, so I can't compare myself to her anymore.
Oh, that shadow over there is a nameless one. Nice. If she's a tier five scout… then I'm… way too big. I must be somewhere around twelve metres tall and three times as long. At what point do I get so large that I need to start looking out for atomic lizards?
I shouldn't joke about it, I'm getting nervous, that's a real thing now.
[MASTER!]
[Oh, hey, Crinis! I'm awake. How've you… been.]
I only just woke up, I don't want to have to deal with this.
[Can you get out of my carapace please, Crinis?]
[I'm… I'm not sure what you mean…]
[I know you're in there! You made it look like you dove into my shadow, but you snuck inside my thorax at the last second! Get out!]
[Fine,] she grumbles. Moments later, pure darkness begins to drip out of my carapace and fall into my shadow. I wait and make sure nothing is 'accidentally' left behind before I turn to Tiny, who has Invidia riding on his shoulder.
[Hey, guys!] I greet them warmly. [Sorry I slept for so long. Hope you've been well!]
Invidia smiles at me, which is a little disturbing, but I get the sense he's trying to be supporting. Tiny just flexes, then nods. Then flexes some more.
But… I notice something weird is happening.
Turning my focus inside my body, I realise the cool rush of healing fluid is starting to spread throughout my frame. Rather than coming from one place, it seems to be distributed by a… networked system… I suppose.
Like ice, it slides along my veins and saturates my muscles, invigorating my organs and refreshing my minds. It's nice, it's pleasant even, but why the heck is it happening?
What's more, it's getting… more. I look around the room, but there's nothing happening. It's me, Tiny, Crinis and Invidia, in an empty chamber, with a nameless one, yet the flow of healing fluid just keeps getting larger and larger.
[Is… is anything weird happening to you guys?] I ask the others.
[Is there a problem, Master?] Crinis asks, assuming the worst.
Regeneration fluid is thundering through me now. There's a ton of the stuff and it just keeps coming. I mean… I don't think it can hurt me, it literally heals damage, but why is this happening?
Hastily, I whip up the status screen and read through the description of the regeneration organ again. More healing the more I'm attacked. The more I'm attacked. So I don't have to get hit, just attacked.
So… I must be being attacked right now. That's the only explanation.
I look at Tiny. He's still standing there, flexing, rolling his shoulders, but there's something in his eyes… a little flicker that gets me thinking. Wait, since my eyes have been reset, that means I lost all my mutations, which means I can't see his damn ghost fists anymore!
[TINY! Are you shooting intent at me?!] I demand.
His bat eyes go wide and he freezes like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Slowly, he puts his hands behind his back and shakes his head.
[No,] he says.
[Then why…] I ask him slowly, politely, [is my healing gland still going crazy?! Stop it right now!]
-x-X-x-
Getting used to moving about in a new body always takes a bit of time, but the change is so dramatic after this evolution. Everything feels different. Not necessarily worse, just… different. Even moving my legs around feels a little off, as if the muscles are pulling from different angles than they did before.
Tiny, Crinis and Invidia keep me company as I confirm my initial wave of mutations, roll around kicking, then collect myself before going back to moving about slowly. As always, I'm forced to admit that Granin certainly knows what he's talking about. Mutating the tendons immediately makes me feel more comfortable as I start to take a few steps here and there. My limbs feel like they aren't pulling and twanging so much. Just how much punishment was I doing to myself without really noticing?!
Luckily, I don't trip over much as I start walking laps around the chamber. It'll be days before I'm in full control of myself, I'm sure of it. I do take the opportunity to lord over Tiny just how much larger than him I am.
[Looking a little small and underdeveloped there, Tiny, my old mate. Have you been skipping upper body day? Just no mass on you, no mass at all! Can we get this gorilla some protein?]
For his part, my first pet sulks while shooting me looks as if to say that he'll be so much larger than me when he next evolves. I'm sure he will be; well, he'll definitely be taller, and likely pile on as much muscle as he possibly can. You dense bat-faced ape! You're already large enough to bench press a house, how much bigger do you need to get?!
There's no doubt that Tiny will continue to make himself physically stronger until he can punch a hole in the universe.
After wandering around, I try to pick up the speed a bit and execute some small dashes, which results in me slamming directly into the wall. Normally, that wouldn't be such a big deal, and I didn't expect it to be now, but the wall cracks and I feel the room around me tremble as if it were struck with a mighty hammer. There are cracks in the ceiling?! What the heck?!
Warily, I back up and check the spot I hit, only to find the highly reinforced and condensed stone has been pulverized. If I'd hit it any harder I would have smashed through the wall entirely and fallen through on the other side.
Uh… just how big am I?
Not even size, how much do I weigh? More than that, how strong am I? Tier eight is shaping up to be no joke! A part of me is quite excited to head into the Dungeon and see just how well I shape up against the monsters out there. Being sensible, though, I know it'll be at least a few days before I'm ready to fight.
I carefully back away from the wall, sweep a few fallen rocks into the shadows, then resume my slow circles of the chamber. If anyone asks, I'll push the blame onto Tiny.
After a half hour, Granin and his triad burst into the room at a dead run, an intense look on his face. I'm sure he has something important to say, but before he can get anything out, I spin the mind bridge together and start laughing at him.
[You look so small, Granin! Gwahahahaha! Look at the tiny little rock people.] I reach out with one delicate antenna and start prodding him. [You're like little toys for children. Dance, little golgari, dance!]
As much as he'd like to shove my antennae away, it's more like a battering ram than the tiny little twig it was when I was a tier one. Granin endures my prodding for a moment before he swings a compact punch and smacks the offending appendage away.
[Stop that!] he snaps, glaring up at me.
Ouch! My antennae are still sensitive, it seems. That stung!
[Ah, sorry about that,] I apologise awkwardly. [I… don't know what came over me.]
In reality, I'm well aware of what came over me. Even now they look like adorable little toy people rather than real ones. I shall have to resist the urge to treat them like toys. But still… but still! They're like little grubs, teeny little baby people!
Being this large is already going to my head., This is clearly going to be a problem.
A moment later, I'm struck by a horrible thought. There's no way I can fit inside the brood chambers right now! And I'm too big, too strong, the Tenders won't let me play with the grubs, absolutely no way!
This is a disaster! There has to be a solution. Maybe I can de-evolve? Maybe I can shrink myself with magic somehow? There has to be a way… there has to be!
[Anthony?] Granin asks. [Are you alright?]
He's looking at me with concern, but I don't have time for that, there are serious matters that I need to address! This whole evolution has taken a disastrous turn! Without grubs, without tickles… what's the point?! Can I negotiate with the Tenders? Demonstrate I can be gentle enough to play with the grubs?
No… no, they won't take any risks, I'm sure of it. They're going to ban me from the brood chambers, no doubt about it! Argh! I'm filled with despair!
Wounded deep in my heart, I teeter to the side and collapse to the ground with an earth-shaking crash. Nearly knocked off his feet, Granin rushed to my side, pressing his hands against my carapace.
[Anthony? Talk to me! Are you alright? What's wrong with you?!]
Ah, if only I could weep, he would then know of the suffering I feel.
[Granin…] I say. [Is there… is there any chance… I can roll you around on the ground like you were a grub?]
Granin frowns.
[I think the toxin must have driven him mad.]
-x-X-x-
[I'm sure you'll be able to work something out,] Granin grumbles, clearly irritated. [Can you worry about this later? There are more important–]
[More important? More important?! What are you even saying? There is NOTHING more important than tickle time!]
The golgari shaper rolls his eyes then sighs heavily.
[Anthony, you've been asleep for six months. Can you shut up about grubs for five minutes so we can talk about what happened when you evolved?]
[I can't help but feel like you're dismissing my suffering, Granin.]
[You poked me like I was an infant a moment ago. You owe me.]
[... Fine. You have five minutes. After that, I want to launch into an in-depth analysis of all the ways I can be made smaller/gentler using multi-dimensional mana techniques. I'm telling you, this is going to be a major feature of the next evolution. Make sure you don't forget! Grub tickling is what I live for, dammit.]
[Yes, yes, fine. Now shut up. We monitored you as best we could throughout the process, and as far as we can tell, every trace of the toxin was absorbed by your new organs. How are you feeling? Can you sense any traces of contamination?]
Corun and Torrina have joined the conversation, and they look equally concerned, staring up at me with worried faces. Tiny, tiny little faces.
Focus, Anthony. This is serious-ish business.
I perform a thorough internal check, but just as I suspected, there's nothing there.
[Not a speck of corruption to be found,] I inform the three shapers. [In fact, my organs aren't anything like what I expected. They're all 'purity' this, and 'cleansed' that. What the heck happened?]
[I can still hardly believe what happened myself. Just after the evolution started, the snails appeared and cleansed the corruption right out of you.]
[Uh… what?]
[The chal. They sang at you for a day until the taint of Theorazzn was completely removed.]
I stare at Granin. He stares back at me.
We hold that stance for a moment as I try to determine whether this rock head is pulling on my legs.
[You're telling me… that baby snails sang the poison of an Ancient out of my body?]
[Actually no,] Granin says, and I relax. He had me going there. [They didn't take it out of you, they cleansed it. Which is much more difficult.]
[That's insane! Have you lost your mind? Torrina, there's no way this is true, right?]
She raises her hands in a helpless gesture.
[I'm sorry, Anthony, I saw it happen with my own eyes,] she says. [I can only say it was a miracle.]
Baby snails singing at me might have saved my life? I… really don't know how to react to this.
[These snails…] I muse, rubbing my antennae together as I think. [Do they look… ticklish?]
Granin scowls.
[Can you focus? This is important. We have to go over all of your new organs and discuss the changes we made. If you know what we did, then you'll have a much better time adapting to your new body.]
He pointedly stares at the massive crack in the wall.
[Ahem. Well, yes. There might be some… teething issues. Can you perhaps explain why it feels so weird when I walk around? It's like my muscles are in different places, pulling in new directions.]
[Because they are,] Granin replies bluntly.
[Oh.]
[We didn't have as much time as we would have liked, but we've made an extensive study of ant physiology. I know you don't want me to get into all the details…]
[I really don't.]
[... so I'll just say that the default configuration you were born with isn't optimal. The System's designs change over time, and those changes aren't always for the best. We worked hard to find a more efficient arrangement for an ant's musculature and implemented it as best we could in the time we had. It will feel a little strange at first, but it will be better.]
[Better how?]
[More strength and speed from the same amount of muscle. Not an absurd amount. We estimate around seven percent.]
That's… way more than I thought.
[We did a lot of work on your brains as well. It would have been ideal if we could reset them all as a package, but it would have cost a fortune. As it is, you should notice improved performance from the mutations and adjustments we made.]
I haven't had much chance to play with mana yet, I haven't even spun up my mind constructs, but I'm looking forward to it now. If Granin says they'll be much improved, then I'm sure they will be.
Doors fling open and a steady procession of ants begins to march in carrying heaps of Biomass that they proceed to dump on the floor in front of me. All of a sudden I'm ravenous.
[Do you mind?] I ask the triad.
[Not at all,] Granin replies. [Just answer my questions while you eat.]
[Fine.]
They ask me about my new organs and I tell them what I can, going through system prompts as I stuff myself full on the seemingly endless flow of food. Even more shocked than I am, the golgari discuss amongst themselves just what this is all going to mean as I munch away.
[What about the Call?] Granin asks me suddenly. [How does that feel?]
I freeze for a moment. Man, it would have been nice if he hadn't reminded me. It's there. It's always there.
[Hurts like heck,] I tell him.
[Even here on the fifth?] he asks, surprised.
[Yep. Which worries me, because I have some business on the fourth…]
-x-X-x-
The more Granin investigated, the less he could believe how it had all shaken out. When the once-krath had sung to Anthony and cleansed him, he had no idea what effect it would have on his organs, but he had feared the worst.
Perhaps they would be twisted and ruined by the mangling of the mana going into them, different alignments clashing and turning expensive evolutionary purchases into useless lumps of meat without purpose. Or perhaps they would be able to serve their intended function, but weaker than before, a loss of evolutionary potential that would cost Anthony dearly now and in the future.
Studying Anthony throughout his long slumber had assured Granin that at least all of the new components were well-formed within Anthony's body, with no obvious flaws. Yet, they were such complex, high-tier organs and materials, he had no idea if they would still function as intended.
[So you've tested your healing organ?] Granin demanded. [How?]
The now truly giant ant turned to glare at Tiny, who was busy shadow boxing in the side of the chamber.
[It's his fault,] Anthony declared.
Granin was confused.
[Tiny attacked you?] he asked.
[What? No. Well… sort of? Let's go with yes.]
Granin pinched his brow. Why couldn't it just be simple? It was never simple with this ant.
[Can you explain it to me? Because this makes no sense at all.]
[Look, Tiny is… enthusiastic about punching stuff. Very enthusiastic. He shoots out fists of intent at everything he sees. Rocks, trees, ants, himself a few times when he caught his reflection, food, water, cups of tea… everything. I'm no exception.]
As a Shaper, Granin was no expert on intent, he was a mage and that sort of thing was the realm of the warriors, but he understood the gist of it.
[So… Tiny threw out his intention to hit you… and your organ triggered as a result?]
[Did it ever,] Anthony snorted. [I had so much regeneration fluid running through me I thought I'd pop! That… that isn't possible, is it?]
[It shouldn't be,] Corun frowned. [Excess regeneration fluid is usually reabsorbed by the muscles and then collected back in the organ it came from.]
[It seems as though the propagating effect of the original organ design hasn't been affected at all,] Torrina remarked. [That's surprising.]
It certainly was. The main feature of the Ancient's toxin, and what made it so deadly, was its ability to consume other forms of energy and make more of itself. Anthony's new regeneration network functioned along the same lines, producing an exponentially increasing amount of healing fluid, gathering speed and power like a boulder rolling down a mountain.
They had all expected this property to be lost in the cleansing, but apparently not.
[And how was your fatigue afterwards?] Granin asked.
[Uh… what fatigue?] Anthony replied.
Granin frowned. He was always frowning around this damned insect.
[Producing that sort of quantity of healing fluid in such a short span should have been exhausting. How tired did you get?]
Monster organs were quite literally magical things, but they still were made of cells that needed energy.
[Granin? Hello? I'm pretty sure I've explained this to you before, I don't get tired.]
Granin turned to look at Torrina and Corun, who both looked back with raised brows.
[You… weren't tired in the least?]
[Granin, I'm surrounded by like… two million ants. Tiny could have thrown ghost fists at me all day long, I'm not going to get tired.]
The Shaper nodded slowly, containing himself.
[Well… I think that new regeneration organ is going to work out… just fine.]
That was one way of phrasing it. Among the cultists, they would probably call it completely broken. Corun and Torrina certainly realised it as well. They glanced at each other a few times, eyes slightly wide, not blinking. Neither said anything, thank goodness.
If Anthony realised what this meant, he might get carried away. Better for him to learn the limits of it for himself.
[What about the Well of Corruption? How did that turn out?] Granin asked, moving the conversation along.
[Oh, that. Apparently it spits out liquid mana now? Pretty handy.]
[It… it does what?]
[I guess it… does that propagating thing you talked about? It takes in mana, then… makes more of the stuff. If I push in mana, it spits out liquid mana. I haven't tried it yet, thought I should figure out how to walk properly before… you know… creating liquified arcane power.]
Granin gave a jerking nod.
[Seems smart,] he said, his thoughts slightly strangled.
Liquid mana? Just how strong was this propagation effect? And with that sort of mana available within himself… the organ hadn't even been mutated yet. Could he make his own special brand of mana with it?
If so… the results could be very, very dangerous indeed.
Granin had a ball of excitement in his stomach, bouncing and rolling about while Anthony continued to complain about this and that. Despite everything that had happened, he'd come out of this evolution just fine. In fact, he was better than fine. Rather than bring him down and ruin his future, Theorazzn might have given Anthony an unexpected boost.
[And this weird core…] Anthony went on.
[Who cares about the core?] Granin laughed, still thinking about everything else.
Anthony looked at him, a little hurt.
[Well… I thought it was neat.]
[Ah… sorry about that,] the Shaper coughed. [I was… distracted. Please, continue.]
[I was just thinking that it might enable me to wander around the fifth a lot longer than I could before.]
[I suppose that's… a good thing?]
[Not for the Krath, it isn't,] the ant said darkly, clacking his enormous mandibles together.
-x-X-x-
It was difficult for Granin to curtail his growing excitement. His belief that Anthony could be the one, the twentieth Ancient, had grown stronger than ever. As if it were destined to be, the poison of Theorazzn, which looked like it would cripple his potential, had been miraculously turned to his advantage.
With the power of an Ancient already coursing through him, but none of the toxic downsides, Anthony would be a powerhouse in the eighth tier, a monster that few could contend with. Even the sixth stratum might not be enough to hold him at this point.
[What about your acid complex? Have you tested it?] he asked, trying to mask his enthusiasm.
Something about the way the giant ant looked at him said that Anthony may well have picked up on how Granin was actually feeling. Turning his head, he realised Corun was grinning broadly from ear to ear.
That idiot! Why was he tapping his toes in that jaunty rhythm?!
Granin glared at his student until he finally noticed, growing still and sliding his feet back together, looking conspicuously guilty. Torrina shook her head and rolled her eyes. She, at least, was a mask of cool professionalism. Or was she? Eyes narrowing, the shaper examined his student closely. Was there… perhaps… there was! Torrina wasn't quite able to contain a tiny happy wiggle, the slightest movement of her shoulders and hips that gave away her inner state.
[Granin,] Anthony said.
[Ahem. What?] he replied, spinning back to face the monster.
[Stop glaring at your students. It's not their fault, look at yourself. If you had a tail, it'd be wagging.]
Coughing loudly to cover his embarrassment, Granin tried to discipline himself.
[Can we… please… talk about your acid complex?]
[Fine,] Anthony snorted. [Although, it would have been much better if it could have been called a district. Was there a fusion option like that?]
[I think there was, actually,] Granin mused.
[Dammit! Ah well. I suppose my business district has been upgraded to my industrial complex. I haven't tried it yet, I don't particularly want to fill the chamber with acid and acrid smoke. Why do you ask, is there something special about it?]
[The acid fusion drew in a great deal of Theorazzn's energy, so I believe it will have a powerful effect. Not to mention, the fusion of so many organs should result in something powerful.]
[Even more reason not to go blasting it around inside the nest. I'm sure I'll get out in the tunnels at some point soon. I'll report back if you're worried about it.]
[I'm not worried about it,] Granin grunted, [I'm just…]
[Excited as a little puppy to see how it all works out. I know, I know.]
[Dammit, Anthony.]
[Awww look, he's getting embarrassed!]
[If you try and poke me with your antenna again, I'll electrocute it.]
[Ah… I would… I would never! How dare you insinuate such a thing!]
Despite his protestations, Granin could quite clearly see the giant pole of an antenna that had been sneaking in his direction. This ant had grown to a truly monstrous size, beyond anything Granin had worked with before.
There would be many tunnels Anthony simply wouldn't fit in anymore, and most of the Colony's nests would be off-limits to him now. Granin was a regular size for a golgari, a little shy of eight feet tall, yet Anthony towered over him, four times his size. Considering an ant was much longer than they were tall, the sheer size of him was intimidating. How much he might weigh now, Granin had no clear idea. A hundred tons? More? Considering the sheer mass of his compressed diamond coating, it could be a lot more.
[How are your legs feeling?] Granin asked. [They were reforged with Graviton Splinters. We didn't fully understand them, but the description said they were… resistant to the forces of gravity… or something to that effect.]
[Really?]
The massive insect monster lifted his legs one at a time, tapping and prodding them against the ground.
[They do feel oddly bouncy. I feel light, well, lighter than I should. I've got a lot of junk in the trunk at this tier.]
[A lot of… what?]
[Weight. I'm heavy.]
[Ah… yes. I was estimating it to be at least a hundred tons.]
[A hundred feels low. I'm so darn dense. How much muscle compression did you do?]
[A lot. We also reforged your muscles with Neutron Fibre. The description indicated it was a gravity-aligned material, so we thought it would fit you well.]
[Be honest, you checked world infused flesh, didn't you?]
[We did,] Granin admitted.
[Well, I'm glad you didn't go with it,] Anthony said, [I'm already worried about how much money I'm worth, no need to make it worse.]
Granin decided not to tell Anthony that it would hardly have made a difference. The deleterium shard in his acid complex was a prize in and of itself.
[I recommend you don't push yourself until you've gotten those tendons to +30. Take the same mutation every time.]
[Really?]
[Absolutely. Your tendons are still just regular fleshy fibres, while the rest of you is made of stronger stuff. If you tried to do an all-out Dash the way you are, you'd snap every tendon in your body. Reinforcing their durability all the way to +30 should be enough to prevent any major damage. I'd make it a priority to get them to +40, though. The forces your body is capable of exerting are dangerous, to say the least.]
[Will do. Thanks for checking in, Granin,] the giant ant said with a wave of his antennae. [I appreciate everything you did for me. I think you might have saved my life.]
[That's what friends are for,] Granin replied with a smile.
[And I'll come back and talk to you after I get a chance to fight a bit. Give you the full rundown.]
Trying not to look too eager, Granin nodded.
[I'd appreciate it.]
[Your tail is wagging.]
[Shut it.]
-x-X-x-
After the triad leaves, I keep eating and practicing walking around. A few test chomps with the mandibles, building up a bit of confidence, just basic stuff. It's nice talking to Crinis, Tiny and Invidia, and they fill me in on what they've been up to while I was asleep.
Tiny, it seems, has fully devoted himself to the art of punching. It's not easy to get any details out of him, being of a more taciturn nature, but from what I can piece together, he found a supposedly unbreakable material somewhere in the fourth, the heart of a mountain, and practised punching it.
[That's it?] I ask him.
He nods slowly.
[You just punched it?]
Again, he nods.
[Did it… help?]
A final nod. He holds up his fist for me to see with a proud smile, but I really can't tell anything special about it. Prodding it with an antenna doesn't help either.
[Well… good. I'm glad. Well done, buddy.]
It seems odd to think of the easily bored Tiny punching a rock all day every day for six months, but… sure? Maybe he was able to level up his boxing skills? He seems happy, which is the most important thing.
Crinis, although she tries to conceal it, spent most of her time with the nameless ones, ensuring their reign of sleepy terror continues to grip the Colony everywhere it goes. On the one hand, it's great that my siblings are getting regular rest and not pushing themselves too hard. On the other hand, it's hard not to feel like they've gone a little overboard. Well, it's way too late to do anything about it now.
[As long as you've been getting enough rest, Crinis. You aren't overworking yourself, are you?]
[W-who, me? Of course not, Master. I-I would never!]
That's… a bit suspicious.
Invidia has been the busiest of the three by far from the sounds of things. He's happy to talk, in his usual sibilant and raspy way, about his many, many good deeds. The little guy has been on a mission to be as helpful to as many different people as possible, it seems! Helping the mages train their magic. Helping the carvers with their building. Helping the battalions fight in the tunnels. Helping the core shapers work on cores. He even took over some of the logistical work for Solant with that massive brain of his! I'm shocked she trusted him, but it seems the former envy demon is everyone's best and most reliable friend.
[Well done, Invidia. I knew I could rely on you.]
[Yesssssss,] he purrs happily, his eye gleaming with satisfaction. [You canssssss.]
He's way too happy about it. Can't hold it against him I suppose, demons are a bit weird like that.
Just when I'm starting to get the hang of things and working on some more complex movements, side-to-side hops in this instance, members of the Council begin to arrive.
Coolant and Propellant are first, one blue and carved from ice, the other with a literal volcano bubbling on her back. Of course, they're bickering as they come in, it seems to be their natural state of being at this point. The generals wander in a little later, followed by the scouts. It's been a long time since I've seen Burke and Wills, but I can tell they've been busy.
Designed for long distance running and stealth, the two of them have really pushed their evolutions to meet the demands of their role. I'm sure both are still working on the front, scouting out dangerous territory rather than sending their siblings in to do it for them.
Bella and Ellie are next, and I'm hopeful they haven't brought any of the creepy things they developed for use in the fifth. Frances and Mendant arrive, looking overworked and haggard, followed by Cobalt and Tungstant. Leeroy clanks in, still in full armour, though I swear she has mushrooms growing on her back, along with Advant and Brendant. Vibrant is the last of the soldiers to arrive, rushing into the room like a burst of wind and immediately filling it with noise and chatter.
"Hi-hi, Eldest! Wow you've gotten so big! You can't be fast like that, not properly anyway. I feel bad for you, being such a slow thing. Ah well, I'm sure it'll work out alright. Have you been busy? I've been really busy, running and fighting and fighting while running and scouting out new tunnels. There's a lot of them out there, did you know that? It's exciting isn't it? New places to run are always exciting!"
"Yes, hello, Vibrant," I say, a little overwhelmed. I just woke up, I'm not ready for this sort of energy. Although, come to think of it, I'm never ready for this much energy. Still, it's nice to see her. She's come a long way from the little ant who used to hitch a ride on me. "You might want to queue up a few powernaps, this meeting is probably going to go for a while."
"Oh, no worries. I haven't had a good sleep in a week! Plenty of rest to catch up on. Night-night!"
Aaaand she's out.
I can see the nameless gathering in the shadows overhead and I shake my head at them, causing them to freeze, then slowly retreat. I know they hate letting her get away, but I haven't caught up with her in ages.
Last to arrive are Florence, Theresant, Victoriant and Antionette. I'm shocked to see the Queens here, their guards are reluctant to let them go anywhere. Clearly the two insisted on being able to attend, which warms my heart. They're still larger than the soldiers like Leeroy and Brendant, but I absolutely tower over them.
"Hey there, everyone!" I say, greeting them all as they come in.
Giving them the traditional ant 'thwippity thwap' of the antenna isn't as easy as it used to be, given my size, but we manage well enough. Finding space in the chamber, everyone gathers around and starts chatting. A warm feeling rises in my carapace, and if I could smile, I'm sure I'd have one on my face right now.
This is nice.
-x-X-x-
As the Colony expanded, it wasn't possible for the Council to be involved across every issue, and reliance on them for decision-making would have made the Colony slow, and unresponsive.
Other networks arose organically to make up for the shortfall, and these worked mandible in mandible with organisations like the Antministration to ensure that the decision-making process was transparent and documented, while also based on solid and factual information.
In this way, the role of the Councillors changed. No longer were they expected to 'be in charge' of their entire caste, as such a thing was impossible. Instead, they took on projects, led by example, and sought out problem areas that needed to be addressed, ensuring the Colony ran as smoothly as possible.
Respected and given their due deference everywhere they went, the first students of the Eldest have always been a powerful force within the family, acting according to the wisdom that was imparted to them.
-Excerpt from the private notes of Historiant.
Laughing back and forth, enjoying some Biomass and a few cups of tea, the Council and I have a great time chatting. They all congratulate me on making it through my evolution, which is rather nice of them, and I thank them all for their hard work for the family.
Only after reminiscing, and threatening to thwack them, do they finally concede and start telling me what's been going on around the Colony.
"Solant has been pushing hard out in the tunnels," Sloan says. "There's been two waves since you went to sleep, Eldest, and she used them the same way as before, stockpiling huge reserves of liquid mana to cleanse hearts. The second time around, the Krath still didn't realise what was happening, and three hearts were taken. Last time around, they realised the danger and fought like heck to prevent it."
Hmmm. Sounds about right. There weren't any surviving Krath after the initial invasion, so they wouldn't have realised Solant's strategy at first. Clearly they figured it out, though.
"How many hearts did she get after the last wave?" I ask.
I'm worried it was none.
"Eleven," Sloan tells me. "She was probably disappointed, but I have to admit she was brilliant in her tactical and strategic execution. Outwitting the Krath is anything but easy."
Eleven? Holy moly. If we keep extending down, I wonder how many we need to get through to establish a route to the sixth…. If we pull that off, the entire world will sit up and take notice. I mean, our achievements so far are already enough, but actually creating and holding a safe path will change Pangera forever.
"That's impressive stuff," I say. "So it's going well?"
The rest of the Council flinches.
"I'm not sure I'd say that…" Tungstant equivocates.
"The invasion of the fifth is sucking up everything the Colony can produce," Burke tells me bluntly. "The vast majority of new graduates go there, our metals, the Biomass needed to support that many ants, it's putting other areas of the family at risk."
"Oh. That's not good."
They relax when they hear me say this, and I can only imagine it must have been tough for them. Telling Solant she couldn't have what she wanted would have put the invasion at risk, but letting her have it has caused problems everywhere else. I can see how they would be reluctant to make the call.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I can fix this problem," I tell them.
"How?" Victor asks. "Are you going to limit the supplies to the fifth?"
"What? No. I'm going to go down there and win the war. Once we conquer the place, we won't need to worry, right?"
At least conquer a chunk of it. With the Krath weakened, I'm sure there are other empires in the fourth who would love to take a slice out of the slugs.
"Besides," I say, turning to Theresant and Florence, "don't we have these super-powerful cleansing snails on our side? Are they helping the invasion?"
"Absolutely not!" Theresant declares hotly while Florence tries to shush her. "They're just children, Eldest! Hatchlings!"
She seems… very passionate about this. I look to Florence for an explanation.
"Solant has been asking for them to help the wuffers for… some time," she says apologetically. "Theresant… and me!" she declares quickly when her sister glares at her. "The two of us have been reluctant to let the chal out. They aren't monsters, so their growth cycle is much longer than ours. Despite showing unusual wisdom and intelligence for such young beings, they aren't ready for the horrors of the fifth."
"I'm not sure about that," I say. "If they can sing the poison of Theorazzn out of me, they can sure as heck sing it out of a tunnel. I might drop in and have a look at them myself."
Putting children in harm's way isn't something I'm keen to do, but if they can help fight the fifth in relative safety, I'm up for exploring the options at least. Theresant is extremely displeased and proceeds to give me the stink-eye, but I can live with that.
"More importantly, there's something else I want to ask about."
My dreams are very hazy, I can't remember much of what I saw when I was evolving, but one of them has come back to me quite strongly.
"Coolant said something about trouble on the border in the fourth?" I ask, clacking my mandibles together. "Something about our neighbours and the Church of the Path? I really want to hear more."
Everything else can wait. This is my first order of business.
-x-X-x-
Delvers sniffing around the Colony's territory, trying to capture members of my family?
Ohhhhhh no. No way, no how. This is not going to fly. I will be putting the foot down on this one, six times.
"Eldest," Coolant says, trying to be reasonable. "We need to be careful. These delvers are very capable and are working completely legally. If you do too much, it could spark a diplomatic incident."
"She isn't wrong," Sloan tells me heavily. "We've tried to negotiate with Green Mountain but they are very anti-monster. They barely tolerate the Folk, have no love for the Mother Tree and absolutely reject us. Operating out of there, the Church and the Union aren't breaking any laws."
Trying to be tricky about it, are they? Tricks are nice and all, but they tend to fall short against a direct punch to the face. Still, I understand what they're driving at. The Colony is pouring all of its efforts and resources into battling the fifth. If we get pulled into another war, it'll be a disaster.
Even as strong as I am, I can't be in two places at once. Fighting against Green Mountain will also give an excuse to anyone else who wants a slice of the Colony to jump in the fray. The Church of the Path has been busy whispering and poking, promising elixir and wealth to anyone who will listen, I'm sure of it. From the sounds of things, our trade deals and the wealth being generated are enough to satisfy the greedy for the time being, but who knows how many would join in a crusade to wipe out the Colony?
"Don't worry, I won't cross the line. All we need to do is convince the delvers it isn't worth their time, right? I can do that."
Gweheheheheh.
Despite keeping my evil laughter strictly internal, the other members of the Council shoot me disbelieving and resigned looks.
Hey! I'm more reliable than you think! Probably! I'm sure I can find a way to vent my anger, keep my family safe and not start any wars. How hard could it be?
The members of the Council are busy ants, and as much as I would like to chat to them all day, they have places to be. In fact, they have a lot of places to be. Most of them moved closer to my evolution chamber so they could be around if any problems came up, which means the top three strata have been without their presence for months on end.
We talk for a few more hours, and it's lovely to hear news on how they've all been going while I slept. Remembering when these whipper-snappers were just little hatchlings and I had to try and teach them not to throw their lives away gives me the warm and fuzzies. Those were simpler times. They've certainly come a long way since then. The whole family has come a long way since then.
Eventually they all say their farewells and head out of the chamber, leaving me, Tiny, Crinis and Invidia behind.
The Biomass has been eaten and I'm feeling fairly full, but I can't be slobbing about and napping when there's so much to do. I need to get the hang of my new body as soon as I can and get out there so I can fix a few things.
To do that, I'm going to need a little help.
[Alright, gang, time for the crash course. I need you guys to speed me up a bit.]
[How are we doing that, Master?] Crinis asks, while Tiny turns towards me, raising his fist.
[Yes, Tiny has the right idea. For once. The best way to get used to fighting in my new body is to start fighting in my new body. Rather than do it out in the tunnels, you guys can throw a few punches and keep things nice and safe while I get warmed up.]
I turn to Invidia.
[You can help me by fighting for control over ambient mana with me, give my brains a workout. Start slow, then ramp it up over time. Eventually I'll get a handle on what my minds can handle now.]
[I'm… not so sure about this, Master.]
[Well, that's too bad, Crinis. I order you to attack me! Gently.]
I've seen what Crinis can do when she gets serious. I do not want to see how well my carapace holds up against the buzz-saw tentacles. Not needing to be told twice, Tiny is up and bouncing on his heels, throwing a few shadow punches to warm up his arms, and there is a definite fire in his eyes.
[Go easy to start with, Tiny,] I warn him. [I'm not used to my body y–]
WHAM!
[OUCH! What the heck?!]
I don't even see the punch coming before it slams into my carapace. Those fists are hard. Grinning ear to ear, Tiny is dancing about on his feet, ready for the next one.
Paying attention now, I notice when my antennae start tingling, my future sight giving me a warning of the coming strike. Rather than fully dodge, I angle my body just so.
Expecting to connect head on, Tiny's fist glances off this time, causing him to frown and grunt with disappointment.
[Ha! Didn't see that coming, did you?]
My brains are spinning up, mind constructs taking shape and starting to take hold of the mana around me. As soon as he senses it, Invidia starts to fight me for control, exerting pressure and bringing his enormously powerful mind to bear.
Meanwhile, Crinis is tickling me on the leg.
[Crinis…]
[Y-yes?]
I sigh.
[We need to work on this.]
-x-X-x-
I end up spending a few days playing around with my closest comrades and getting used to my new body. Getting Crinis to actually hit me was pretty hard, but we got there in the end. Tiny was too happy to hit me, if anything, his fists doing an admirable job smashing up my carapace. It was precisely that sort of concussive attack that the Inner Carapace Plating was designed to help absorb, and it does an admirable job soaking up the punishing hits the ape dishes out.
Even if I was a little surprised by how effective his punches were against my carapace, it turned out not to matter much, since the overwhelming tidal wave of healing fluid running through my body dealt with the damage in a matter of seconds.
Seriously, it might take a little while, but once the regeneration network picks up speed, the amount of healing fluid it produces turns me into some sort of unstoppable juggernaut. Tiny's most devastating combo, unleashed at speeds I can't track with my eyes, isn't able to damage me faster than my system gets flooded with healing fluid.
I haven't even mutated the thing yet! I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to end up immortal!
The golgari triad really did an incredible job with the evolution. My body feels more comfortable and responsive now that I've gotten used to it, and the mutations and evolutionary choices they made worked out fantastically in the end.
To be honest, it's a little bit of a relief to be off the species track I was on before. I've already got humans starting to deify me; leaning any further into the Vestibule, Nave, Altar trio is only going to make it worse.
And so, fully adjusted and ready to roll, I stride out of the chamber ready to take on the world! Tier eight Anthony is here and he means business!
BAM!
Ouch!
[Are you alright, Master?]
[Uh… of course. I was just… just testing the tensile strength of this arch… with my face. It's well built! As expected from the Colony.]
Alright, maybe I'm not fully used to my size yet. I'm big, dammit! Really big!
To move through the tunnels, I need to crouch down a bit, lowering my abdomen closer to the ground, which is… fine, I suppose. Puts a bit of strain on my legs and 'knees', but it's not a big deal.
Speaking of my legs, they've undergone a bit of transformation in this evolution. A normal ant has very thin little stick legs, because they don't weigh anything, and members of the Colony have thicker legs, because they're bigger, obviously.
My legs… are now rather chonky. I'd say they're twice as thick as they were before, capable of carrying my enormous mass about the place. The amount of muscle fibre packed into those things is crazy. To be honest, other than my face, the most dense muscles in my entire body are in the legs.
Still, it's nice to be out and about! Tiny and the others follow in my wake as I venture forth and see how things are going. The fortress nest of the Colony doesn't seem to have changed much while I was asleep. It's packed full of ants and wuffers, with channels humming with mana running all over the place. I'm a little surprised they still ran any mana all the way up here. Considering how much larger the invasion has gotten, I assume they've built more forward bases than this, but then again, the fortress was made to process mana, so may as well let it do its job.
Moving to one of the arterial highways as soon as I can, I find even that previously spacious tunnel feels a bit cramped. Certainly the other ants find it a touch squeezy once I get in there. At least, that's what they tell me.
"Taking up enough space, are you, Eldest?"
"Not sleeping on the job any longer?"
"Had enough torpor, Eldest? We thought you were going to sleep forever."
"Surely taking this many lanes up by yourself is selfish. Hurry up!"
The last one is a healer, naturally, and I shift a little to let them get through. Grumbling, the little ant speeds past me, but gives a dip of the antennae to show their, very minor, appreciation. I'm feeling more generous to the healers, though—not sure why.
Eventually, I reach the main shaft, take a deep breath, then start climbing up.
The pain is sharp and immediate. Stupid Call.
It's been a lot worse than this in the past, so I endure and keep on climbing. When I get to the fourth, it's really going to hurt like heck, but I won't need to be up there for long, hopefully. Sort out the Green Mountain in a few days, then back down to the fifth to remind the Krath of who they're messing with.
Gweheheheh. Ouch.
This place is seriously busy, though. The higher I go, the busier the shaft gets. Also, I may be wrong, but I think it's a lot wider than it used to be. Platforms loaded with crates and ants descend constantly, suspended from ropes as thick as a human. Special loading devices hook onto them and pull them into side tunnels fitted with rails, and off they go, rapidly picking up speed and rolling out of sight.
We have a rail network in here now? What the heck?
The closer I get to the top, the more platforms I see. There are dozens and dozens of them being lowered down every minute! It gets to the point where the shaft is so packed I don't have space to keep climbing up the wall! Holy moly, this is a lot of stuff.
A little irritated, I cling to the wall while I wait for an opening, but one doesn't seem to be coming any time soon. I'd say it's like a traffic jam, but it's flowing just fine, only in one direction!
"Eldest, if you want to get higher, you should come through this tunnel," a cool scent reaches me from nearby.
Looking around, I see Solant, along with her closest advisors, looking at me from a nearby side tunnel.
"Will I even fit in there?" I ask.
"It'll be tight, but you will. There's another arterial passage that will get you closer to the entrance to the fourth. This shaft is exclusively used to bring material down now."
"Oh…"
It's a little awkward, but I manage to clamber around and squeeze into the tunnel by pulling my legs in as close as they will go, Tiny and the rest squeezing in after me.
"Right, which way?" I ask.
The little general, who is hilariously little now, I have to say, looks up at me, clacking her mandibles.
"Senior," she says, "where are you going?"
-x-X-x-
"Isn't it obvious?" I say waving an antenna. "I'm heading to the fourth and dealing with those chumps who're sniffing around our territory. Our siblings are in danger of being captured! Haven't you heard?"
"Yes, of course I've heard about it," Solant says calmly, "but why are you going to deal with it? So far, the delvers have failed to capture a single one of us. They are hardly a threat. Meanwhile, we are battling the Krath on multiple fronts right here in the fifth. We need your help."
An ant has no facial muscles, and is therefore incapable of frowing… or having any expression at all, but you'd be amazed what you can communicate with antennae. I wave them in a pattern that suggests 'what the heck are you on about, you nutter?', while prodding Solant and her crew to start moving up the tunnel.
"I haven't got all day, let's skitter and chat. Come on, get moving."
It takes a bit of prodding, but I get them moving and start crawling along behind them. This tunnel really is a tight squeeze.
"Are you struggling against the Krath? How bad is it?" I ask.
"So far, we are holding on," the general replies. "We've made progress and our territory has expanded greatly, but the further we go, the more Krath come to fight us, the more area we have to defend. The fighting is intense. It didn't help that your guardians refused to be too far from your side during your evolution, so we've been without their strength as well."
"So… what? You want me to ignore the situation in the fourth stratum and get straight into the fight down here? Is that what I'm hearing?"
Solant remains calm in the face of my rising irritation. Cool and collected, she is, as ever, a logical, unruffled calculator and decision-maker.
"I am in no position to tell you what to do, Senior," she tells me. "I only ask that you prioritise our area of greatest need. So far, we have lost nothing and no one to the delvers in the fourth. Every minute there are casualties in the fifth. Allowing the capture of our siblings in the fourth would be tragic, allowing the capture of our siblings in the fifth would be catastrophic for all of Pangera. It is clear where you can serve the most good."
She isn't wrong, not in the slightest. The logic is fairly unassailable, I can't deny that, and I certainly have a bone to pick with the Krath. Staying here and heading straight to the frontlines to smash slug faces in is undoubtedly the correct thing to do. But I'm not going to do it.
"Solant, one of our sisters was taken by the Church of the Path, you know that, right?"
"I do."
"And you know what happened to them?"
"I do."
Of all the ants in the Colony, I feel like I'm the one who knows the little general best. It's almost impossible to know what she's thinking and feeling at any given moment. Difficult to read, even for an ant, Solant keeps her cards very close to her thorax. Yet, despite her reserved nature, I know she feels a deep sadness and anger when she thinks of the sibling we lost in the Twin Cities.
"I swore that would never happen again. Not even a single time. It shouldn't have happened once, I'll be dead and eaten by centipedes before I let it happen twice."
I clack my mandibles fiercely, the sharp crack echoing through the tunnels and setting the loose stones around us trembling.
"Never again, Solant. I don't care what else is happening around the Colony, I refuse to allow anyone to use my family that way. The simple fact that they are trying is enough to make my blood boil and my carapace burn. If they actually succeeded, I would crush their mountain flatter than a pancake. I intend to put so much fear into them they won't make another attempt for a thousand years."
My inner fury is starting to show in my pheromones, and no one else says anything as I speak my mind.
Solant is right, but I don't care about being right. The mere thought of a sister of mine suffering through that pain, being consumed in such a foul and evil way. I can't stand it.
Green Mountain should be praising the skies and kissing the ground for their incredibly good fortune. If they had taken a single member of my family, there would be no going back for them. The Silver City might be out of my reach, but the Green Mountain is not. I'd pull every ant out of the fifth for the assault if I had to. Some things simply cannot be borne.
"I'll be back to help in the fifth as soon as this is dealt with," I assure the little general. "Think about where you want to use me. I think I'm going to be a lot more effective against the slugs than I was before. But you're going to have to wait."
There are a thousand thoughts and schemes behind the many lenses of Solant's compound eyes. She wants to say something, she wants to persuade me, but I can see her realise that there's no point and her energy would be better spent elsewhere.
"If you must do it, make sure you do it right, Eldest," she tells me. "You may never rise this high in the Dungeon again. Make sure they get the message, so even if you aren't here, they're too scared to come back."
She points an antenna as we come to the end of the narrowish tunnel.
"Go that way and you will find the path up to the fourth. Good luck."
So saying, she's off. I'm not surprised, she's got places to be and things to do. Come to think of it, so do I, especially with this hook in my guts. It gets worse every step.
Turning, I head up the tunnel and move toward the fourth.
-x-X-x-
I remember the entrance from the fourth to the fifth. I've seen it lots of times, after all. In fact, I was the first ant to head through it.
I do not remember it looking like this!
For starters, it's like, ten times the size it was, and rather than a nightmare tunnel into the depths of heck, it's an industrial port which wouldn't look out of place next to Heathrow! What the heck is going on here?
Lowered down from above is such a volume of… stuff, that I can barely keep track of it all. It never ends! No sooner has an empty platform been winched up out of sight than three more come down to take its place. The area beneath the entrance is an absolute hive of activity. A logistical marvel in action, ants crawl all over the place, stacking, sorting, shifting, moving, loading and carting. No sooner has something touched the ground than a crew of ants are all over it, unhooking ropes and moving the cargo into a complex network of rails. Within minutes, they've got it onto the correct line and rattling off to another distribution site, like the shaft I was trying to climb up before.
Yeesh. When the Council said everything the Colony produced was being poured into the fifth, I thought they might have been exaggerating. They probably were, but not by much!
If it wasn't clear before, it was obvious now, war in the fifth has been pushing the Colony right to its limits. More successful than anyone in history, my family has achieved incredible things, but that doesn't mean fighting down there was suddenly easy. We're keeping up for now, but that doesn't mean we can continue to do this forever.
I'll have to think about a few things. But first, I have business up above.
There's a tiny area dedicated to stuff going up the tunnel, and my pets manage to get in there and start climbing. Well, Tiny and I start climbing, Crinis catches a ride with me and Invidia sits on Tiny's shoulder, as usual.
Holy moly, climbing up vertical surfaces when I weigh this much is hard. In fact, my Grip Skill levels when I'm about halfway up, which is nice. I think I'm going to need all the levels I can get in that department.
The pain from the Call steadily increases with every step I take, but it's when I reach the top and step into the fourth proper that it really ratchets up a notch. It's nothing I haven't felt before, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it.
Rather the opposite, in fact.
I know for a fact if I stay here too long, it's going to eventually force me back down into the fifth. Lousy Ancients. A part of me is looking forward to giving them a piece of my mind. And my mandibles, if I'm honest.
"Eldest, welcome back."
Oh, a welcome committee! How nice. Sloan and Victor, along with Brendant and Burke, are here to greet me as I climb out of the tunnel. Tiny jumps up behind a few moments later, landing in a classic hero pose with a serious look on his face. He holds it for a bit too long.
[You did a great job, Tiny. Well done,] I tell him.
The big ape nods, then shoots me a quick thumbs up, pleased to have his hard work acknowledged. Is he feeling needy since I've been asleep for so long? He wouldn't usually demand this much attention.
"Anyway… nice to see you again so soon. I assume you're in charge of the mess up here?"
"Yep," Burke says. "Not that there's much to do right now. We've retreated and fortified our position, giving up huge swathes of territory in the process. The delvers keep probing, though, so it hasn't deterred them any."
"We were worried it wouldn't," Sloan mutters. "I think they've started setting up forward supply points and warded campsites closer to the nest. They're staying in the field longer and staying closer to our defensive line than before. If they eventually give up on this angle, I think they'll just try somewhere else."
If the Colony is forced to pull back into the nests whenever the Church and their delvers show up, our development will slow to a complete crawl. Not to mention we give them the chance to trap our territory and catch us that way. No way. A message needs to be sent.
"I'm here now," I tell the gathered Council members. "Tell me where they are, and I'll take care of the rest."
Sloan and Victor both hesitate at that, and I can tell they're still worried.
"Are you… sure you know how you're going to approach this situation, Eldest? It's… delicate."
"I can be delicate," I assure them. "I absolutely know how to be delicate. Trust me, my touch can be so light, you won't even know it's happened. I'm like a feather's dream of a feather."
"You have no intention of being delicate, do you?"
"No, no I do not."
-x-X-x-
[Where is it?] Chyron demanded.
Solant looked up at her, clacking her mandibles softly.
[It? You could be referring to any of a million different objects, Commander. How can I possibly know which one you mean?]
The Legionary Officer was certain the ant knew perfectly well what she meant.
[The monster,] she snapped. [I know it's left the evolution chamber and you haven't alerted us. This isn't what we agreed.]
The little ant drew her antenna through her elbow joints.
[Don't tell me I could be referring to any of millions of monsters,] Chyron said, [you know to what I refer.]
[I know to whom you refer,] Solant returned. [The Eldest is not an object, they are a being, a person. You should refer to them as such.]
[The Legion does not and will not recognise monsters as people,] Chyron replied.
It wasn't the first, nor the fifth time they'd had this argument. Chyron refused to budge, and Solant wouldn't stop bringing it up, so they were doomed to repeat it over and over again.
[The Eldest awoke several days ago and has been recovering in the company of their family.]
[We were to be informed when they left the chamber, do you not recall your own agreement?] Chyron demanded.
[I was just on my way to inform you, as a matter of fact. Why do you think I'm here, so close to your barracks?]
Games. Always more games. Chyron glared at the ant in front of her, but Solant merely stared back, cool and placid as always. The general was perfectly aware that sending a runner would have been quicker. For some reason, Solant was delaying them. Just where was that damned ant going?
[You are skirting dangerously close to violating the terms of the agreement.]
[But not actually violating them,] Solant pointed out. [The Eldest recently left their chamber, and I am here informing you of that fact. Have you chosen your designated liaison? I will make sure they are taken to the Eldest as soon as possible.]
Hands on her hips, Chyron considered what to do next. Not for the first time, she wished she had something nearby she could hit. For six months, her Legion had been ordered to sit on their hands and wait, a monumental waste of resources while the world started to crack under the strain of repeated waves. To a soldier, inactivity was simply part of the job. Ninety five percent boredom, five percent adrenaline-pumping abject terror. She was used to that. But the boredom became far less tolerable when there was no action to break it up!
Tracking a monster as powerful as the ant was necessary, putting them down was even better, she knew that, she just never imagined she'd be forced into such an extended period of inactivity.
When the damned thing had finally woken up, she'd been happy. At least something was finally going to happen! Only, the devious general had immediately let the creature slip the net and run off somewhere, without Legion supervision.
[Where is it?] Chyron demanded, still considering her next course of action.
[The Eldest? In the fourth stratum,] Solant replied calmly.
[The fourth!?]
[Yes.]
A tier eight mythic up in the fourth? That would be uncomfortable for it. Not to mention the Call dragging on its soul. Why in the world would the thing go into the fourth stratum?
Evolving in the fifth had been a secret coup for the damned ant. Other than the Krath and the legionaries in the nest, nobody had been able to sense the evolution taking place, and neither of those two was in any position to do anything about it.
Chyron had informed her superiors, of course, but even if the Legion had spread the knowledge around, monster hunters weren't going to delve into the fifth stratum to try and claim the prize.
Hidden from the sight of the world's Dungeon Seers, the ant had managed to rise to tier eight in almost total secrecy. Now they were running around on the fourth again.
Why?
There'd been something in her reports recently… what was it again?
[Commander? Your liaison?] Solant asked.
[Be silent a moment. I'm thinking.]
[You are quite rude.]
Keeping tabs on the goings-on within the Colony was almost impossible. They were spread over such a wide area, and there were so many of them now, that there were dozens of developments every single day. As an industrious monster, there seemed to be no slowing of momentum either. Yet, the fortress here in the fifth remained the focus of almost all their efforts, and news travelled through the non-ants who worked alongside the insects.
News that was quietly collected by Legionaries and brought back to her.
Reports from the fourth stratum were bizarre most of the time. Something about ball games? Strange business practices and fees… no, nothing like that. Tensions… delvers.
It came back to her in a snap of the fingers.
Green Mountain!
[I've picked my liaison,] Chyron snapped.
[Who is it?]
[Me. Where is the monster?]
[To which…]
[I'll find it myself!] the Commander roared, turning and sprinting away.
She needed her armour and she needed it immediately.
Solant watched the Commander run, impressed by the speed at which the human woman could move. Her agreement with the Legion meant that they were able to keep a liaison with the Eldest at all times, though the post had been redundant while they were sleeping. She hadn't expected the Commander to choose herself, and she would probably insist on taking some of her officers with her, which would skirt the edges of the agreement they had made without breaking it.
Yet, would a handful of Legionaries be able to handle the Eldest anymore? Solant doubted it.
She doubted it very much.
Well, back to managing the largest war in the history of the fifth stratum. Did these people really think she didn't have anything better to do?