When the bellow of pure rage shook the stone around the Legion camp, Aurillia was one of the few who didn't start wildly staring around themselves, trying to understand what had happened. She'd soldiered with the commander for a long time, and it wasn't the first time she heard him get angry. She was surprised, to be sure, that roar had shaken everyone, such was the sheer volume and depth of anger contained within it. She just wasn't confused, she knew wha...
2020-09-18 12:07:18 +0000 UTC
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Author note: Something a little different from the usual, thought I'd give this a go. Hope you enjoy!
Titus hated dressing up. But the Golgari High Blades were notorious sticklers for protocol and tradition, so his hands were tied. He'd be damned if he'd put on his full dress uniform though, absolutely no chance. The jumped up pile of rocks would have to be satisfied with him giving his armour a solid polish. So it was tha...
2020-09-17 10:55:06 +0000 UTC
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It was almost funny, Mendant thought to herself, that such a highly anticipated and foreshadowed invasion would result in such frantic activity on the part of the Colony. None of them were surprised, and yet all them managed to be in the wrong place and behind the pace when the enemy finally arrived. She herself was rushing through the main nest, organising teams of healers about to depart for the front lines.
Or what were soon to be the front lines....
2020-09-16 11:26:47 +0000 UTC
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What is mana? It was an embarrassingly long time before the tower had anything even remotely approaching a satisfying answer to this question. Even now, we have no real way of knowing if we are correct, since we don’t know where it comes from, how it's made or where it goes. We know that it existed on Pangera before the Dungeon broke the surface. It's possible that mana has always existed on Pangera since the pre-history times, but that's another thi...
2020-09-13 11:24:40 +0000 UTC
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They're digging in for the long haul, and I hate it. I hate it! I don't want them to be this sensible! Constructing a fortified position? Securing their supply lines? Pushing forward with caution? No! This isn't what I want to see! I want them to charge ahead, frothing at the mouth and underestimating us to the point of stupidity!
I can wish, can't I?
After digging our way out of the tunnel and healing up our injuries, my pets and I retraced our steps until we m...
2020-09-12 11:43:07 +0000 UTC
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The ants were not aware of the age old adage from Earth "battles are won on the training ground", but they certainly knew how to throw their efforts into wholehearted preparations regardless. Not that much changed once the invasion forces had been spotted, the Colony had been working full throttle on building capacity and shoring up their defences already. It was however, undeniable that the imminent threat added a certain fission to the air.
<...
2020-09-10 11:11:21 +0000 UTC
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Deep in the second strata, a furious scout was running as if all the demons of the third were after its delicious abdomen. She had left her relay station thirty minutes ago and was almost out of gas, her mutations specialised in speed, not so much endurance. It was a close run thing, she staggered the last few steps, her stamina finally spent, but that was as intended. The Colony knew exactly how far she could run, just as far as every other scout in the c...
2020-09-09 11:25:57 +0000 UTC
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When he'd rounded the corner and seen the swarm of insects bear his daughter to the ground, Titus had felt the mana in his blood ignite with rage. When they'd fled, and the ape monster had brought down the tunnel, burying his legionaries, burying Morrelia in tons of stone, it wasn't fire, but ice that filled his veins.
The roar of fury that escaped tore from the commander was only defeated by the roar of the planet itself as the tunnel colla...
2020-09-08 08:18:28 +0000 UTC
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The approaching red-armoured figure clearly hadn't expected to be descended upon by the hereto hidden ant squad. Even I was a little shocked to see them, to be honest, and I'd known that they were there the entire time. I've looked a little deeper into the methods that Protectant and her squad uses to keep themselves from being noticed, much to their discomfort. I've come to believe that the council hasn't asked them to ignore my instructions explicitly, b...
2020-09-06 00:29:57 +0000 UTC
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(fun fact, the welcome stranger was the name given to one of the largest gold nuggets ever found, somewhere in Australia.)
Those chasing in my wake don't seem to appreciate my gifts. Angry shouts and a barrage of blade light explode from behind me, shattering the stone and sending shards bouncing from my carapace. I don't think they like my souped up merchandise. They'll like it even less soon enough… Gweheheh.
Wha?!
BOOM!
2020-09-04 11:25:53 +0000 UTC
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The classic deer in the headlights trap! I should have seen it coming a mile away!? Since when is a monster that helpless ever left alive in the Dungeon for more than a minute? This is the Dungeon for goodness sake! An ecosystem with more competition in it that this one surely doesn't exist! It's so dark here I can't see the individuals that have leapt forth from the shadows, and I don't mean to stick around until I can.
[Move it, Tiny! We are NOT sticking aroun...
2020-09-02 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Dungeon warfare is probably the most studied and practiced craft on Pangera. The Rending was a rude introduction to the intricacies of the three dimensional conflict beneath the surface, but the sapient races of the surface proved to be quick studies, and the basic strategies were established, most likely independently, all across the world.
Fighting Monsters is always a losing prospect. They can't be exterminated, they simply respawn an...
2020-09-01 12:10:42 +0000 UTC
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When the itching finally fades away, Crinis peels herself off the walls and regroups back onto my carapace to reveal something I didn't expect to see. Protectant, her cover dropped without me having to drag her out of the shadows for once, stands right in front of me, in the centre of the room. Exposed to my senses, she wears a nervous air, as if the simple fact of been able to be seen makes her uncomfortable.
"Didn't expect to see you, Protectant. W...
2020-08-30 11:31:47 +0000 UTC
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After fiddling around a bit, I end up settling on the following mutations:
My Mana Feasting Bind Acid +20 will add the self-propagating trait and become the Propagating Mana-Feasting Bind Acid Gland +25.
That is… quite the mouthful. Hopefully it becomes a little more readable when I compress these traits down. I'm assuming I get to do that again at +30. in addition to that, which will take a good 115 chunk of Biomass out of my reserve, I've m...
2020-08-29 10:58:55 +0000 UTC
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Time to bring on the exquisite pain of self-improvement. I have a ton of Biomass to spend and the time to roll around on the floor looking like a fool. Let's get to it!
But what to improve next? I've still got a ton of things that need to be upgraded to +25. Improving my eyes is an option that leaps out at me. My initial struggle on Pangera was my pathetic ant eyesight and getting it to +20 along with a few choice mutations, has certainly helped alle...
2020-08-27 11:33:09 +0000 UTC
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Author note: Hey there you incredible people. Just wanted to take an opportunity to say thanks to everyone who joined up this month and to all those who've stuck around for another month. You're the best, each and every one of you.
It's been a lot harder to write in this second lockdown, which is something I didn't expect, but I'm pushing through somehow. I hope each of you is doing well and getting through 2020 as best you can. Now forget all that and enj...
2020-08-25 10:42:21 +0000 UTC
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It is no mystery to the theorists of the Colony why most of the races we encountered were initially hostile. Our kind is dangerous, it's for precisely this reason that we were able to deal with others as equals, because we were strong, a threat. Mutual destruction isn't the best stance to begin inter-species diplomacy, but it was all that was afforded us, most of the time.
The existence of other intelligent societies of monsters di...
2020-08-24 12:38:47 +0000 UTC
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[So your people are called… the Folks?]
[Folk.]
[The Folk?]
[Yes.]
[So… The Folk?]
[That is correct.]
[Is that like… a nickname, or a translation thing? Or is it just… The Folk?]
So far, the wolf-like guy has been placid, a cold yet calm air of dignity surrounding him. For some reason, after my repeated questions, a crack begins to show in his façade.
[Our people are collectively known as the Folk. I...
2020-08-22 11:20:17 +0000 UTC
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Many a recruit has been lost to the Demons of the third strata, despite the Legion's best efforts to prepare them. It provides some comfort that Delvers who belong to the Mercenary Union fall at a higher rate, which means our training does have some effect. Independents have it the worst. Without prior knowledge, or the proper mental preparations, their chances of success in that burning hell are almost nil.
Records indicate that the ear...
2020-08-21 11:44:52 +0000 UTC
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I find Jim and Sarah in a place I didn't quite expect, visiting the golgari prisoners, which is an unexpected convenience for me. As I bustle onto the scene, my pets in tow, my two fellow ex-prisoners appear to be getting ready to leave.
[Hey there you two! How've you been?]
I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing humanish reactions from giant monsters. Jim is a gigantic worm, he basically doesn't have a face, you can't even see his mouth mo...
2020-08-19 10:35:50 +0000 UTC
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Edit - cut my hand today so I wasn't able to type much :(
A few people commented on some things that Anthony should have brought up explicitly with the council, so I've edited the chapter to include more dialogue on those subjects.
In this world.
All things.
Flow.
To the Colony.
- Spoken by Cobalt at the seizure of the lig...
2020-08-17 11:22:56 +0000 UTC
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As the Colony expands and grows, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get the Council together. The members are needed all over the place. Victoriant and Antionette have their regular egg-laying duties, which takes the bulk of their time. When they aren't laying, they usually have a ridiculous amount of Biomass they need to consume, as well as accruing experience from the monsters the Colony brings to them for last hitting. Evolving the Queen's is still...
2020-08-15 22:47:07 +0000 UTC
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The centuries following the event that came to be known as the Descent, when the System applied to itself to the peoples of Pangera remain shrouded in darkness. The Cataclysm that came afterward destroyed almost all records, but those scraps we have access to speak of great upheaval, followed by an age of enlightenment before the Dungeon opened on the surface.
Like most things that fall into a civilised society's hands, the System ...
2020-08-14 11:12:29 +0000 UTC
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After chatting with Enid a little more, she finishes her tea and heads off to rest. The next day of talks will prove to be an eventful one, I'm sure, given what we've discussed, but for now I have two expectant looking Golgari to deal with.
[Been a while, Anthony,] Corun greets me coolly, [how were things down in the Dungeon? Anything interesting happen?]
Torrina is looking at me with her usual deadpan expression, but I can tell that she's a li...
2020-08-11 10:55:19 +0000 UTC
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Thankfully, this awkward moment is resolved in the best way possible when both of the humanoids collapse to the ground, passed out. My siblings around me react with general confusion before they shrug their collective antennae and grab the two prisoners to take back to the Colony for questioning. I do step in to ensure that we take their supplies back with us, which a few soldiers and scouts step forward to do. I imagine these two are going to want some cl...
2020-08-10 11:05:31 +0000 UTC
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Another expanse conquered, the great web has been brought low. Vibrant and I lead our group back out into a new section of tunnel as we prepare to launch the next leg of our advance party scouting. The first item on our list of jobs, is to retrace our steps, filling in our Tunnel maps and checking that nothing has passed us by during our battle. After climbing through the Dungeon, we reconnect to the point we entered the expanse and find a group of three s...
2020-08-08 11:04:47 +0000 UTC
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[Damn spider! Get down here and face me!]
The house-sized arachnid, safe in her hole in the wall ringed with poisonous strands of webbing as thick as a car waggled her fangs at me in derision and pointed one leg at the hundreds of ants standing next to me.
[Oh? You'll come out if they go away? Somehow I doubt that you eight-legged coward!]
The spider clacked her fangs and by waving her front four legs managed to convey the message that I ...
2020-08-07 06:13:28 +0000 UTC
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Though the Queen probably wouldn't describe herself this way, to Enid, she was quintessentially a grandmother who was tired of her children and grandchildren fussing around her. To the elderly mayor of Renewal, this was something she could immediately empathise with.
[It's irritating when they don't take your word at face value, is it not?] Enid asked.
The Queen nodded, a dip of the antennae, in ant body language.
[I am frustrated when th...
2020-08-05 11:52:49 +0000 UTC
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The talks themselves were the most straightforward negotiation of Enid's life. Coolant was calm, intelligent and without guile as she spoke clearly and directly with the human council.
The Colony wanted them to assist with negotiations going forward into the future, was this possible?
Yes, it was something they could do, indeed, there would be many who would be happy to volunteer to assist the ants, beyond the passed out fanatics on...
2020-08-03 11:02:07 +0000 UTC
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It took ten minutes for the ants to herd the humans into a side tunnel and from there into a small but comfortable room, complete with chairs and at which they could sit. Enid herself had no eyes for the furnishings, instead her focus was laser sharp on the ants around them who definitely appeared more tense and alert than they did a moment ago.
Antennae twitching, mandibles flexing, sudden, jumpy movements were all indications of nervousness that sh...
2020-08-01 06:22:59 +0000 UTC
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