Recap
From a Preliminary Chronicle of the Eldest and the Colony in the notes of Historiant
To the various races of Pangera, the rise of the Colony has been somewhat meteoric, a terrifying ascent in the eyes of many. We went from nothing to a millions-strong society capable of standing amongst nations that have stood for centuries, all in less time than one of their “newborns” needs to take their first literal step. Given that perspective, what the Colony achieved must undoubtedly seem impossible.
Naturally, the one most responsible for our success is the Eldest. Without that one ant, not only would we have never gained sapience, we most likely would have never survived the first Dungeon wave.
Details of those early days are sparse; only the Eldest themself was truly aware then, and their time is far too important to spend on something as inessential as an interview. Even so, the basic history has been pieced together from survivors of those times, faint though the interviewees’ memories are.
The Eldest first appeared some time after the nest was raided, the egg, larva, or pupa containing them having been taken far from the Colony. By the time they made it back to the family, they’d already fought their way, alone, to tier two. The implausibility of such a feat can hardly be overstated, and yet the Eldest did it, for that is what they were when they first appeared and joined a three-way battle between two relatively powerful monsters and the Colony, then composed largely of simple hatchlings. Upon arriving, the Eldest fought furiously to not only bring the dangerous foes down, but also to ensure as many of their sisters survived as possible.
However, they were a mere tier-two ant, and only intervention by The Queen prevented the worst from happening. Even so, their contribution was significant, reportedly finishing off one of those monsters themself. The Queen, having a relatively high Cunning for a pre-sapience ant, saw fit to save that monster’s core for the Eldest. And from that core came the first pet in the Colony’s history: the guardian, Tiny.
As with so many of the Eldest’s decisions, reconstituting the lightning-empowered ape proved doubly inspired. Not only did it secure a powerful combatant to aid themself and the Colony, but it was also the inaugural step down the path of core shaping, both for the Eldest and the Colony as a whole.
In fact, the Eldest took the inaugural steps for many of the Colony’s castes. The Eldest already understood that each role needed to be filled if the family was to survive and thrive. And, as the only ant with the necessary faculties, they had to do all of it personally. Barring the two that The Queen already had well in mandible, of course: healing and egg-laying.
Every family member knows the Eldest is the Colony’s foremost scout, greatest soldier, and most preeminent mage. It is all but impossible to believe otherwise when they constantly range the farthest and bring back the most crucial information, fight at the very front of our lines to protect the family from the danger which they take upon themself, and cast the most astoundingly potent spells, by far. These things have always been true, and they always will be true.
What is far less known is the roles they filled when no other ants were capable of the tasks.
Soon after evolving to tier three, when they and The Queen were the only ones with pheromone language, the Eldest took on the role of general, planning and leading the Colony’s exodus to the surface in order to keep us safe from our first Dungeon wave. That we emerged directly into a church at the outskirts of the capital of a small frontier human kingdom called Liria ultimately proved to be rather fortuitous, as those present eventually became vital allies.
The human priest, Beyn, completely misread the situation and attacked the Eldest. Naturally, he immediately lost the offending arm. It’s a tale Beyn tells repeatedly, proudly reiterating his refusal of Healing Magic to regrow the appendage as a reminder of his mistake, despite how it impairs him. This he often does in the ‘church,’ preaching about the sacredness of the Eldest and the Colony in general, while wearing robes with imitation-antennae sewn onto the hood.
Humans can be very strange.
Determined to leave all the humans alive, the Eldest led us a short distance away from the city and to a spot where the Dungeon just barely touched the surface. While the Colony set about creating a temporary nest, the Eldest excavated the nascent Dungeon vein and directed a slow stream into the new chamber, thus creating the very first monster farm and providing much-needed Biomass after the long journey to the surface.
It was the Eldest’s second large contribution in their role as the Colony’s first carver, the first being the simple pitfall traps they’d built for us before the exodus.
While the Eldest did the work that only they could yet do, the Lirian ruler appeared and tried to fight her way through the Colony as she fled the city. Despite the deaths they caused us, she and the Eldest came to an agreement. They, together with Beyn, now understanding his error, and many other members of his congregation, fought to take control of Liria back from some usurpers.
However, she and her forces were unable to hold what the Eldest had won them.
While the Colony subsequently travelled to what would become Anthome, the kingdom of Liria fell to the giant, lava-spewing crocodile monster called Garralosh and the army of lesser monsters she’d dominated into serving her, including her own spawn. Refugees soon fled toward the Colony seeking protection, and they were directed to set the foundations for the new city of Renewal a short distance from the anthill.
Meanwhile, the Eldest was hard at work building farms for the budding nest and doing the brunt of the fighting against the wave with the help of Tiny and the second guardian, Crinis, who excels at combating large numbers of weaker enemies thanks to her many shadow tentacles.
Crinis was the Eldest’s first foray into actual core shaping, though we have no idea what modifications were made. Whatever the refinements were, the process surely proved edifying, as immediately after reaching tier four, the Eldest used the experience to help make the single greatest conceivable contribution to the Colony: modifying The Queen’s core and thereby changing our species to formica sapiens.
In addition to building the nine castes into the family’s evolutionary paths, the Eldest also gave hatchlings a longer incubation period and lower physical stats in exchange for the Cunning and Pheromone Language glands necessary to allow them to properly think and learn. However, when the first clutch of formica sapiens emerged, numbering only twenty, there were of course not yet any Brood Tenders to teach them. Thus, during this brief window, the Eldest pioneered that role as well.
Naturally, the Eldest lacks the auras of proper Brood Tenders, but they still take pains to personally mentor young Champions when they arise, as they did with speed-obsessed Vibrant even before the species change. They are the only one truly capable of guiding such individuals, after all, and will likely remain so unless a Brood Tender Champion ever emerges.
Once the Council graduated from the Eldest’s lessons and started to hone and pass them on, the Colony could begin to grow in earnest. The work they had once done alone to care for the Colony was soon done by hundreds. By the time the Eldest completed their final great contribution as a core shaper by creating the Aphid Queen, and thus providing a steady source of Biomass, which no other ant would have ever thought to exploit, the Colony had already multiplied its farming and martial capacity and started working toward a full map of the System’s Skills, Skill fusions, and mutations.
But even as quickly as we grew across every dimension, it was very nearly not quick enough, for Garralosh soon brought her horde to attack the human refugees and everything in their vicinity. Naturally, preparations began as soon as the Eldest returned from their scouting mission with the news. Most notably, the carvers built walls and traps around the anthill while the martial castes accompanied the Eldest to chip away at the enemies’ numbers. From those early battles, the generals gained valuable insights, every combatant gained much-needed experience and Biomass, and, most importantly, the Eldest gained the Levels needed to evolve to tier five ahead of Garralosh’s arrival, though the ka’armodo and setsulah cultists aiding the giant crocodile took pains to stymie their efforts.