The Queen felt herself grow larger as she borrowed the strength of her children. The ants could feel themselves be diminished, but they allowed it willingly. They would sacrifice far more for their Queen, this was nothing to them. Garralosh watched from the place she had struck the Queen, that powerful tail once more swung lazily through the air as …

The Queen of the colony charged toward her much larger foe, her momentum built with each step. To the ants on the wall, she looked majestic, a shining beacon of strength that attacked with grace and courage. But the closer she drew to Garralosh, the more hopeless it looked. Garralosh was a mountain of a monster, easily twice the Queen’s …

“Vibrant! We need to get to the Queen!” Grant punched out her pheromone message with all of her strength. “Wha? To Mother? Why?” The fast moving ant slowed down for just a moment to respond. “Garralosh is coming to the wall! We need to bring her back a bit closer to the nest. Heal her if we can!” “Okay! :D” …

“Hi-Hi! How’s it going Mother? You can glow now? That’s cool! Can I glow someday, or is it a Queen thing?” The Queen didn’t have time to spare to turn to the babbling child who had appeared beside her. She was deep in battle with a colossal Garralosh Spawn, far taller than she was and the  wounds on both sides …

Vibrant was elated. After hunting and working right up until the battle had begun, she’d been told that she and her squad should rest so they’d be able to fight at their best when it mattered the most. Naturally she’d refused. Rest?! REST?! Laughable! With so much action going on, how could anyone possibly think to rest!? I mean, she’d …

The Queen landed with a calamitous thud, several unfortunate monsters were crushed beneath her bulk or stabbed through by her legs as she fell. Her legs strained to the breaking point, but she absorbed the shock and ran forward, bulldozing her way toward the place her wayward child fell. She reached deep into her healing mana gland and dragged the …

“At last our time has come!” Bella exulted. “Our moment to shine!” Agreed Ellie. “I’ll be glad to get out this damp hole finally,” Bella huffed. The two core shapers glanced around at their cramped compatriots and their loyal shadow beasts, crammed into this small underground chamber. “We can go, time to move out!” A scout near the entrance confirmed. …

“Haul your abdomen, Sloan!” Victor yelled at her slower contemporary. “I’m coming!” Sloan grumbled back. The two generals were exhausted. They hadn’t fought on the front line during the course of the battle but they’d been debating, planning and coordinating the efforts of the colony without pause for over a day without rest. “Finally getting to the good part and …

“Hold the line!” sprayed Grant to the ants around her, “don’t let these motherless scum over the wall!” She faked left before biting down hard with her mandibles on a clawed hand that threatened her. The dirt wall defences of the ants had held firm so far, only by voluntary retreat had they been taken by the enemy. As each …

“Am I gonna make it, Ms Enid?” the boy begged tearfully. Enid glanced down at the horrific gut wound the soldier had suffered, her face set in a calming smile. “You’re going to be fine, soldier,” she soothed him, wiping the sweat from his face with a grimy cloth. “The healers will get to you as soon as they can.” …