For the next twenty four hours all mandibles were placed into work teams and we worked like only insects can to prepare ourselves for the inevitable retribution that would come. As of this moment, the termites, and by extension the kaarmodo, don't know that we've arrived, not a single termite came into contact with an ant and lived to tell the tale, but they had to know something was up. Several thousand termites had been killed all up, not a single one who'd been sent out to raid the tree ye...
2021-12-29 10:31:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
3400 words. Sorry it's late!
"Wake up you lazy sacks of bones. Time to get moving."
Rogil emphasised his words with a few targeted shoves with the side of his boot. Not enough to cause any harm, but enough to get his team moving. When he reached the rat's sleeping roll, he was pleased to see the young man already awake and lacing up his coat. That's how the young one's should be, especially if they wanted to make the jump from a untrained nobody to a qu...
2021-12-28 07:10:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
I've commissioned quite a few images from talented artist Socs who you can find on the discord. This uncoloured sketch of Invidia was so good I had to share it!
Look how happy he is to see you!
(Also added my incredible reference image which I drew myself. I'll let you decide who's drawing is superior.)
2021-12-27 10:15:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
[These filthy termites have been busy…] I complain.
[I'll say,] Sarah agrees, [they've dug all through this area. I'm not sure ten thousand of us is going to be enough.]
[It'll have to be. The Colony has sent the best and brightest down here, which is going to make us more vulnerable to retaliation from the kaarmodo in the third stratum and slow our expansion there. Sending any more is out of the question.]
[I suppose you're right. Hopefully we can hold with what we have.]...
2021-12-27 05:17:38 +0000 UTC
View Post
Meant to post this yesterday but got sidetracked. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! Catch you all next week!
The battle frenzy of the Colony was an ephemeral thing. Once the termites were gone, their Biomass consumed and scent wiped away, my siblings and I were able to return to a more normal state of mind and begin to tackle the numerous problems at hand.
"The mana down here is absurdly thick. I feel like core is on fire. We should adjust our sp...
2021-12-24 05:10:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
Merry Christmas and all that folks! Hope everyone is getting a break and some rest!
No quarter. No mercy. No hesitation. No remorse.
There can be only one.
Seized with a primal rage that bubbles from a genetic level, my siblings rush forward, all thought of strategy abandoned as their mandibles gnash eagerly. Even I feel it, the emotions of the Colony ...
2021-12-22 06:30:31 +0000 UTC
View Post
Suffer not the termite to live.
- Excerpt from 'Wisdom of the Eldest'
[No, we don't need to get settled or any such thing. We came to kill termites, lead us to the front, we are keen to begin the work,] I tell the Grove Keeper, who seems a little disconcerted.
[You should adapt to the mana level before fighting,] he warns me, his slow, deep tones ringing in my head. [You aren't used to what it's like on this level. It...
2021-12-20 04:27:47 +0000 UTC
View Post
Tyron started awake and found the indistinct outline of Aryll standing over him.
"Come on rodent, you're on watch."
He blinked a few times as his thought slowly caught up with the situation. Right, he was on watch tonight so the others could rest. He nodded in the dark and the scout patted him the shoulder before she moved away to find her own bedroll. He shook his head a little as sat up, trying to clear the fog in his head before he pulled himself out of his blankets and threw h...
2021-12-20 02:51:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
The first stratum is filled with beasts of all kinds. Vicious growls and the sounds of battle ring constantly here, in this, the weakest area of the Dungeon.
The second is filled with shadow and cold and death. A place of darkness where creatures of spun shadow swim and crawl through an endless maze where light is quiet.
The third is a realm of fire, smoke and ash. Demons abound and theirs is an alien and savage existence.
But in the fourth, th...
2021-12-18 03:53:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
There are no precise records of how old the Mother Tree may actually be. Without being present to see her spawn within the Dungeon it wouldn't be possible to know this information. Along with the more secretive, long-lived nature of plant monsters it isn't difficult to understand why documented sightings of her are so rare. Only when she evolved and became a much larger presence within the Dungeon did sightings become more common and her movements and growth more documented.
2021-12-15 04:44:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
Once the council meeting ends it's almost as if I feel a gear shift within the Colony. By the time I make it back to Orpule the change has already occurred and ants who I thought couldn't possibly work any faster are zipping about like possessed creatures. A steady flow of burning determination creeps into me through the Vestibule as the tens of thousands of my siblings within range are all furiously devoted to completing even more tasks than they were before. More than once I find myself off...
2021-12-14 05:09:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
Editing done for Volume 1 yooooooooo. Still a long way from release since they need to do their own edit and get a bunch of things ready on their end, but it's such a relief to have it out of my hands for the time being. This week I'm going to do my best to pump out extra chaps to catch you guys up!
"Termites."
The council recoils in shock, snapping at the air, their antennae twirling violently through the air.
"That is quite uncomfortable," Coola...
2021-12-13 10:15:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
Maybe post the right chapter this time...
Rogil bellowed, his war cry little more than a guttural roar that rattled the leaves overhead as he brought his greatsword down in a mighty slash. The monster squealed before him, its rage and desperation palpable in the air but he didn't hesitate. He'd seen too many hesitate, they didn't usually get a second chance.
CRUNCH.
The sword, over a hundred kilograms of enchanted steel, shattered the monster's defences and ...
2021-12-13 03:26:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
The word 'termites' rattles around in my head like an out of control, rage inducing pinball. If I had a lip it would be curled! If I could hiss, I would hiss! Which is weird, since I don't really have anything against termites per se, yet I feel an overwhelming need to rend flooding me. Look! My mandibles are actively gnashing the air without me having any input! It's as if my entire ant body is filled with the urge to destroy having merely hear the word of the ancient enemy!
In the int...
2021-12-10 07:35:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sorry for the lack of Chrysalis updates so far this week. The publisher has asked that I hand over the manuscript as soon as I can and I've put everything else on hold until I manage to pump the thing out. Once it's out of my hair though, things will settle back down and I'll be able to get back to regular publishing schedule.
I hate editing, so this has been a painful process, but it's also been a lot of fun to go back and read the early Chrysalis, remember what it was like ...
2021-12-08 09:34:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
Bit more world building. Necromancy soon(ish), I promise!
"Tell me you aren't serious, Dove."
"You think I'd joke about this? By the sweet melons of Selene I wish it wasn't true, but unfortunately the local marshals have 'requested' my assistance for another week. A week! These fucking pricks!"
"So what are we going to do? Sit on our arse around the keep for even longer? That's bullshit, Rogil!"
The team leader sat in a chair that groaned under his bro...
2021-12-06 10:11:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
I watch the kaarmodo force turn and walk away with decidedly mixed feelings. Obviously, them leaving is a good thing and should be celebrated. We didn't have to kill any of them, they didn't manage to kill any of us, therefore this can be pencilled in as a win. We have managed to preserve the garden of the damn tree and not escalate our conflict with the reptiles beyond the point of no return!
Whoo!
On the other hand, we did have a rather deadly magical confrontation with them. I ...
2021-12-03 10:51:38 +0000 UTC
View Post
Two chaps to catch us up for the week! I enjoyed writing this and fleshing out the kaarmodo a little bit. Fun fact, I actually lived in Indonesia for a while as a kid and I've always loved the komodo dragons. Hope you enjoyed!
Life without the Eldest to guide has been difficult for the Colony. They sleep, a deserved rest to be sure, and in the meantime we have had to adjust, to overcome the challenges that Pangera presents to us without our wisest councillor and mos...
2021-12-01 03:22:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
Rassan'tep looked out over the assembled masses of insect monsters and tasted the air with his tongue. Across the bond he could feel the minds of his attendants stir with trepidation. They had not expected to see so many. In the lead of the insect formation an enormous specimen, larger than the kaarmodo even, stood to attention, it's gleaming carapace reflecting the light of the embers that fluttered through the air in this stratum. Altogether the sight was an impressive
[Lend me your e...
2021-12-01 01:47:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
Day late, sorry about that. Enjoy! ^^
Cilla turned out to be a talking and likeable companion as the time whiled away. The two continued to chat as those around them cast them odd glances and continued to stand at attention as much as possible.
"So, I thought this was called Northgate street," Tyron asked, "but you called it Victory road?"
She smiled, her dark brown eyes twinkling in amusement.
"That's something I got from the Slayers. That's what they...
2021-11-30 04:15:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Rassan'tep opened his eyes slowly. The warmth on his scales spread in waves through and penetrated deep into his muscles which nearly drove him back into rest, but the patient, still mind of his attendant helped focus his thoughts.
[What is it, Ammon'sil?]
[You have been asked to accompany an expedition, Old One.]
The great lizard blinked once, which was enough to cause his servant to prostrate himself immediately.
[I protested strongly against disturbing your rest, Ol...
2021-11-28 12:31:25 +0000 UTC
View Post
"Are you sure that you aren't responsible, Eldest?"
"What are you talking about, Sloan? I've been the soul of caution out here. All of this can be blamed on the plant. How are we supposed to know that the kaarmodo and the bruan'chii are have some sort of dust up?"
The general flicks her antennae in irritation.
"We'd heard that there might be something of the sort going on, but we never expected that it would matter to us. Even though the sand kingdom is close to the...
2021-11-27 11:17:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
It's a whole Tolly chapter. I didn't intend it to be when I started, but it just kept on going.
I have been in many a dangerous or difficult scenario my dear readers, as well you know! It has been my joy over my forty year career to bring you my tales of adventure and insights into the many wonders our world of Pangera has to offer, and we have shared some incredible times. The blood falls of the hidden city of Paranah. The lost rhino tribes of the Folk! ...
2021-11-24 23:45:24 +0000 UTC
View Post
"There's something really strange about those things," Brilliant said.
"No kidding?" I reply sarcastically, "I would never have thought that on my own, watching this damn garden of terror explode over the plains."
"That's not what I mean," the much smaller ant waves my complaint aside, "I'm talking dimensionally. Also, the Dungeon sense I have is going wild. It's as if a giant monster was just appearing out of nowhere in front of me. It's crazy."
"How big of a monster?" I as...
2021-11-24 10:55:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
"Did you hear about the Necromancer on the run?"
Tyron's ear jerked and he nearly dropped his cutlery when he heard that. He tried to act calm and pass it off with a cough, but he doubted he'd be winning any awards for his acting skills. He continued to eat as he turned his head to better eavesdrop on the couple seated behind him in the common room.
"I hadn't. A Necromancer you say? Isn't that a rare class?"
"Very. What's more, you know the Steelarms?"
"Of course."
...
2021-11-21 22:50:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
Did anyone ever fight an ancient and live to tell the tale? As with all things that occurred during the Rending, it can be very difficult to find reputable sources. Though the Legion had not yet grown to be the global initiative that is has become today, our predecessors did come into contact with the monsters and attempted to battle them. Amidst our oldest tomes, written in the hand of the founders themselves, there are precious few details of what transpired. We can only assume that mor...
2021-11-21 12:09:17 +0000 UTC
View Post
No matter how much he did, there was always more to do, Beyn lamented as faced down a desk full of paper work. Whoever had managed to start creating paper in Renewal was both a blessing and a curse in the priest's opinion. It was so much easier to organise things now, but the sheer number of documents that he had to deal with was almost dizzying. Or perhaps that was just the mana deprivation…
The priest raised a hand to his temple and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the moment to ...
2021-11-18 07:19:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
Going to start tagging Chrysalis from now on.
She never knew when they might come for her. She would fall asleep in her bed, in the orphanage, alongside the other children who had lost their families, and wake up somewhere else entirely. At first it was confusing, opening her eyes and finding herself still enveloped in perfect darkness, but she grew used it. The nameless one would meet them when they awoke each time, welcome them back to the sanctum and initiate t...
2021-11-17 22:20:43 +0000 UTC
View Post
Our mission is more than holy. We are not a religious order, dedicated to the pursuit of an unknown god. Our rituals are not held in service of empty sophistry, symbolism or in deference to imagined forces. Everything is in service to the mission. We remind ourselves of the purpose. We hone ourselves like blades, scrape away until we are reduced to the finest edge, all in service of a noble goal. Everything is for the Colony. To that end we throw everything away. Our name is simply the fi...
2021-11-16 11:46:10 +0000 UTC
View Post
Catching up with some characters we may or may not have missed. A few more things revealed...
Silence reigned around the table in the Renner household and Elsbeth felt like she could scream. She wanted to leap out of her chair and run out the door, or shake her father, or break down and cry, or plead for forgiveness, but she did none of those things. Frustrated and hurt, she kept her head down and finished her food, not looking anyone in the eye for the durat...
2021-11-14 22:36:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
