[I was indeed. Such a fury of a monster. I don’t know how it found me, but it came after me so quickly I didn’t have the time to retreat before it was upon me.]
The scene was far more terrifying than he communicated, and he could feel the confusion in his setsulah, but he made no effort to dispel it. Better that he remain in ignorance than try to grasp the desperate madness that monster possessed.
Rassan’tep had taken his turn to lead a brigade of termites toward the tree, controlling the horde through the methods the ka’armodo had built into their servants. Of course, he couldn’t possibly refuse this opportunity to study the budding Ancient in action and had purposefully attempted to engage it in combat.
After several days of careful manoeuvring, he had finally encountered the target near the centre of the lines. It had been trivial to arrange an engagement where he would be in position to both watch the conflict unfold and make a quick escape, yet things hadn’t exactly turned out that way.
The specimen was everything he hoped to see. Domineering, decisive, radiating strength and power. The colossal ant had fallen upon his termite horde like a natural disaster, the pets kept by its side unable to keep up with the sheer fury on display. Magic of many elements, including that strange, unknown power, was on display, along with potent physical abilities that shredded through the termite force far quicker than anticipated.
That was when things took a turn.
So engaged with watching the monster annihilate his troops, Rassan’tep missed the window to retreat. When he tried to correct this mistake and withdraw, he’d already been noticed by the ant he’d been trying to study. Even so, he should have made it out; the distance between them was large enough, though necessity was the mother of invention, after all. The ant had leapt at him, its body flying through the air as it burned its Skills to accelerate as fast as possible. That still wouldn’t have been enough, but a powerful explosion had erupted beneath the creature, flinging its body toward him even as it suffered severe damage.
It had commanded its pet to create the explosion in order to further propel itself.
The memory of that gnashing, chomping nightmare of chitin and flesh setting upon him was enough to accelerate the heart of Rassan’tep once more. Truly, a powerful monster. Any thought he’d had of preserving the potential Ancient had flown out of his mind after a minute of combat. It had taken every ounce of mana he could produce to keep the creature off him, and only after inflicting wounds that should have killed it five times over was he able to disengage and escape.
If his servants had been there, connected through the bond, their collective strength would have allowed him to withdraw far more easily, but even so, he couldn’t help but suspect the creature would have found a way to make him pay by destroying one of his servants. Truly, a fearsome and indomitable monster.
It was becoming increasingly obvious that he would need to make contact with whoever had created or was guiding this candidate so they might collaborate in their efforts. His plan to accelerate the growth of the creature through difficult combat appeared to be working, but it was always good to confer with one’s peers on the correct course of action.
Also, he strongly began to suspect that the termites and his fellow ka’armodo were significantly underestimating what would come their way when the ants began to turn on the offensive. Even after the display of strength at the termite nest, they still didn’t believe the ants were worthy foes.
And now that they had redoubled their efforts in producing a termite war machine, they failed to realise they were not grinding down the ant resistance, but feeding it, strengthening it. Despite inflicting casualties, the ants who remained were growing in strength, and none faster than the specimen. There was trouble on the horizon.
115. A Cultish Personality
[I thank you for your cooperation.]
[To you as well. I hope that your research is of some use to the Colony.]
[As do I. If you wish to view our published work, you can find it in the pheromone library. There are copies in every major nest.]
[Wonderful. I will read with interest.]
Torrina placed her pen away and shut the book in front of her as the interviewee, a tier six mage, amongst the first, walked out of the room. With more ants reaching the sixth tier, it became more important than ever before to correlate their evolutionary options and choices. Granin in particular had been obsessed with it, almost as obsessed as the Colony itself, which was why the triad had been busy interviewing and documenting every tier six ant they could get to talk to them.
Which was all of them that they could reach. Once they realised the fruits of their research would be delivered to the Colony, they were only too happy to help.
If only her own colleagues had been as forthcoming with information, they would have been able to achieve so much more. The petty rivalries of the Shaper circle seemed even more absurd to her now than they had when she was a student. Perhaps the day would come when social discord and competition would arise amongst the ants, forcing the siblings to struggle against each other, but as of yet, that day had not dawned.
A level of cooperation that bordered on the fanatical, that was the defining trait of the Colony in her eyes. In many ways, Anthony himself exemplified the trait. There was nothing he would not give of himself for his new family, even if he would never say as much.
She stood from behind the desk she had been provided, ensuring she didn’t scrape the immaculately woven rug under the carved chair. Once again, only the best had been provided for her use, and she was careful not to damage any of it. Furniture such as this would have cost her a small fortune amongst the golgari.
As she stepped out of the office, she found Corun emerging from his own room next door. The young Shaper gave her a broad smile, the stones of his true skin grinding together as he did so.
“Another day done. Got everything you need?”
Torrina nodded.
“I don’t have any more mages or core shapers to interview, if that’s what you mean. I’m not sure if that will satisfy Granin, though.”
Corun pulled a face and laughed.
“I doubt it. I’m done with the soldiers, scouts, and generals that are within reach as well. For the time being, we won’t have any choice but to move on to something else. Hopefully, moving down to the fourth to see what Anthony is up to.”
The two fell in alongside each other, the easy manner gained through years of association and friendship between them evident in their relaxed demeanour.
“I don’t think he’s going to need us for a while yet,” she said. “He won’t be close to evolving this early, he’s only been tier six for what? A couple of months at the most? You can’t expect the same sort of speed out of him that he had before.”
“He’s hunting big game down there,” Corun replied. “From what I’ve heard, he’s been munching on literally thousands of tier four and fives. Even if they’re weak, that’s still going to be a lot of experience. He might want to get some advice sooner than you think. The next evolution is going to be a big one.”
“Damn right it is.”
The two jumped and turned to find Granin, the granite-covered senior Shaper looming behind them like a boulder. How he managed to move so quietly covered in such a crude stone, Torrina would never know.
“Hey there, boss,” Corun greeted their elder and leader of the triad. “I’m guessing this means that you’re done for the day as well.”
Granin grunted.