Who can say, truly, how many termites were defeated, down in the dark? Amongst the roots of the world tree we hunted and were hunted in turn. The fighting was vicious, brutal in the extreme.
In some ways it was a good thing that our non-monster allies were unable to join us, despite the enormous help their auras would have been. Without them we were able to engage with the enemy on the same ground. Fight fire with fire.
We fought on the walls and ceilings. We fought in complete darkness within cramped tunnels. We fought within the verdant growth of the tree. We fought on our own terms. Enormous numbers on both sides, an endless conflict that would never end until one side could no longer sustain the fight.
It was war exactly the way we wanted it.
I loved it.
- From the journals of Advant.
A war of attrition against the Colony was not the wisest of strategies, Mendant reflected. The field hospital around her teemed with activity as the wounded were rushed in on her left. The fighting must be fierce today considering the numbers that they were seeing.
Considering this was only one of the medical posts the healers had established, there must have been over a thousand ants in need of healing coming into the facilities run by her sisters.
Considering how durable and easy to heal the monsters were, only particularly serious injuries made their way to places like this, ones that couldn’t be instantly cured with an application of healing magic, or fixed over a period of hours after consuming Biomass.
One thing they weren’t short on right now was Biomass.
Like a conductor directing an orchestra, Mendant was the centre of operations as her healers flowed around her. She directed resources to where they were needed and when, ensuring that every ant received the care they needed in a timely fashion.
Most would be fine after a few days, whereas others might need a week to return to full health. The ants, especially the soldiers, were incredibly durable, able to recover even after losing half of their body, if they were tended to on time.
As she continued to direct traffic, she was distracted by a strange sensation that overcame her. She turned to see the other healers standing unusually still. A moment before she could reprimand them, she realised the patients were acting in a similar fashion.
What was happening?
A second before it happened she shifted to watch the entrance. There was a beat, then the bizarre sight of the Eldest being carried… or floating… into the hospital met her eyes.
Mendant stared in shock as the enormous form of the Eldest appeared to drift in. Were they being carried? She thought she saw ants underneath, bearing the weight of that frame, but she couldn’t seem to focus on what her eyes were telling her, as if her brain refused to acknowledge it.
She puzzled over it for a moment longer before she shook off the confusion and rushed to meet the Eldest.
“What happened?” she demanded, her pheromones calm.
The healers were always calm, but her eyes nearly boggled when they saw the extent of the injuries that had been inflicted on the strongest ant in the Colony.
“Oh, hey Mendant! Good to see you. No problem, just a little explosion issue.”
A what?
“How does one have a ‘little’ explosion issue?”
The Eldest, still somehow hovering in mid-air waved their antennae expansively.
“I managed to track down a ka’armodo, and they weren’t too happy to see me, so to speak. I mean, did I try to bite them? Maybe. But I don’t think that means they needed to detonate me, especially that many times.”
The burns were one thing, huge chunks of missing carapace and the blackened flesh on the inside, but the cuts, as if sections of the Eldest’s body had been removed with incredible precision, were something else entirely.
“What caused this?” she wondered as she prodded the wounds with her antennae.
“Some sort of laser thing. Absolute rubbish. Anyway, spot of healing, I’ll be fine. Hit me up Mendant and I’ll be on my way.”
She levelled the Eldest with an even stare.
“You’ll be here for at least a day. I’m assuming your healing gland is empty?”
“I think it needs to regrow…”
“Right. Well. I’ll see what I can do. Is there any chance you can levitate over to a table?”
“Levitate? Oh. Sure thing, they’ll figure it out.”
And indeed ‘they’ did.
Once that giant form was placed down, she prepared to get to work. As she began to spin up her healing magic, she prodded a nearby healer with an antenna.
“Get back to work, all of you.”
Her words shook the room out of its stupor and the healers got back to their tasks as the patients seemed to wake up and remember that they were significantly injured.
Mendant could only sigh and turn her attentions back to the Eldest, who continued to insist that they didn’t need to be here, certainly not for a day, but she would brook no argument.
“Sit still and let me heal you,” she demanded as she continued to work.
Eventually a series of dark tentacles sprouted and pinned the Eldest down, allowing Mendant to work. They even helped rotate the Eldest when she needed to shift her attention to a different wound. Literally wrapped up, the most esteemed member of the Colony could do little but suffer in silence, attempting to preserve what dignity they could.
