“That’s what we mean,” Bella backs up her sibling. “The conflict has hardly started. We never expected that we’d be able to defend the colony without significant sacrifice, not this time. The enemy is just too strong.”
“Why can’t we just go all in when they reach the gates?” I stubbornly refuse to give up. “We have every advantage there and they’ll be stretched further than before, more fatigued. I don’t see why we need to start attacking them now.”
“Weeeeell,” Vibrant butts in. “I agree with Sloan-Sloan. My generals are getting all worked up, wanting to fight! Have to keep telling them no, but they don’t like it! When they found out the other front is all fighty-smashy, they got super sad and asked if we could go there. We could make it pretty fast I think, we’re all super fast! But I thought we should stay here with the eldest. I think I was right. Was I right?”
“You were right,” Sloan assures her. “We need our best and most powerful soldiers here to ensure that as many ants survive as possible.”
She turns to me.
“That’s what we want you to do, eldest. We want you to do your best to make sure as many of us survive as possible. But we can’t hold back and not fight any longer. Our original strategy just isn’t giving the results we hoped for.”
The rest of the council members present all agree and my mood sinks. What’s worse is that I know they’re right. The Vestibule doesn’t give me anywhere to hide when it comes to the desires of the ants. Their will is constantly whispered into my being, urging me to act as their instrument. The colony members don’t want to employ this slow retreat, tiring and wearing down their enemies. They want to swarm and bite and tear until nothing moves anymore!
“Fine… you win. If this is what you want, I won’t say no. Just… let’s try and be careful, alright? I really don’t want to see hordes of us fall at the hands of these damn invaders. I want us to preserve our strength if we can.”
The conversation continues after that, but the main topic is dealt with. When Sloan returns to the nest, we’ll employ a more aggressive stance against the Legion.
This is going to be chaotic.
103. A New Way, Part 1
Beyn was troubled in spirit, something he had rarely been during his life. He remembered his time in the seminary, training to serve the Path. Even at that young age, his spirit burned with certainty and divine purpose. He’d risen long before the sun and slept long after it set, devoting his every waking moment to the scripture, his meditations, and the development of his oratory Skills. Such a simple time of purity and growth, one that he was fond of.
But the measure of his devotion in those years paled in comparison to the blaze that would awaken in his later life. With the loss of his arm, an even greater purpose would be revealed to him, a deeper truth. And yet, he was unable to serve as he so desired!
“Priest Beyn. How are you feeling?”
He was dragged from his thoughts by a voice, and he turned to see one of the true believers, Margaret, approaching him with concern.
“I am fine, sister,” he assured her. “My symptoms have abated at last, and I make haste to the temple to join our brethren.”
A look of relief flashed over the middle-aged woman’s face.
“Thank the Great One. We feared the worst when you were returned to us.”
Beyn tried to hide a grimace at the unwanted memory. He’d been unwilling to leave the nest to the point he suffered severe Mana Sickness. A gross oversight on his part. When the illness started, he’d assumed it was due to an oversaturation of joy, but alas…
Without the intervention of Coolant, he might have died down there, but he was saved when he was dragged to the surface by a soldier that gripped him around the waist with its mandibles. Almost all of the brethren who’d joined him in the nest had to be removed in this way, though his symptoms were by far the worst.
The fact he’d been forced to be removed from the nest at such a crucial time was the source of his disquiet. As much as Coolant wanted to keep it quiet, he knew of the great challenge that faced the colony at this time, how could he not sense the tension in the air? More than anything, he yearned to lend his support, to aid and abet the great colony and the Great One as they fended away the evil that threatened to snuff out the miracle of their existence.
He was filled with impotent rage! Bursting with fervour and zeal with nowhere to direct it. If he didn’t find a way to channel these emotions, he might very well explode on the spot.
Margaret joined him on his walk through the streets of Renewal as he headed for the church. Many called out to him, and he waved back with his remaining arm, stopping to exchange a few words here and there with the faithful.
“The people have responded well to the word, haven’t they?” Margaret noted with obvious pride. “I was worried the newcomers wouldn’t be willing to receive our teachings.”
Beyn only smiled.
“How could they deny the truth when it is right before their eyes?” He gestured to one side where an ant was currently helping carry stone blocks for a new construction. The law court would be impressive when it was done. In Beyn’s eyes, this would be largely due to the way the building incorporated the colony, with viewing hatches built into the walls, wide doors to allow them to enter, and the ant-designed seating Beyn witnessed in the nest. In his mind, every building in the town should be able to accommodate the people of the Great One. It was they who illuminated the path for the community, after all.
No matter how pleased he was to be amongst his flock once more, Beyn did not allow his feet to tarry, and Margaret had to hurry to keep up with him. The feelings of helplessness he experienced during his convalescence had built within him, and he needed to be amongst the devoted to seek relief. Perhaps together, they would find a way they could assist their saviours. There had to be something!
The closer he came to the looming stone building, the faster he moved until he’d almost broken into a run, his eyes filled with the grand edifice that fronted the church. They had been truly blessed when they awoke one day to find an ant crafter had risen from the nest and taken an interest in their work. The congregation had watched with bated breath as the colony member inspected their own humble carvings, including the statue of the Great One that featured prominently inside. They were never able to communicate with this mysterious individual, but they must have passed muster, as the blessed creature spent a week working on the church, carving with mandibles and magic with equal skill to transform the once austere and square building into a magnificent work of art.
Even laying his eyes on the structure was enough to soothe the pain in his heart. Beyn struggled to restrain the tears that threatened to fall as he took in the sheer beauty. There were always people who gathered outside to admire it, but Beyn had no time for them today. Normally, he would stay to speak, perhaps even preach, but not today. He moved through the people, barely acknowledging their presence as he rushed to the door and pushed it open.
Inside, a circle of the devoted were already gathered, wearing their robes and attached antennae of glory. As one they turned, and when they saw who arrived, their faces lit up with joy. Heart soaring, the priest was carried on his momentum to greet his people. There was no need for words between them. These were the people who experienced the deeper truth of the colony and its majesty. Within the nest, they’d experienced much together, and had their eyes opened even further—something he had not thought possible. These were the people whose feet were most firm upon the path.