The Storm rages in the sky

The Madness lurks in the dark

The Eye watches all

Whilst

Their Master sleeps

Until The Day

When All Become One in Him.

- Prayer of the Faithful

With reluctance I let the construct dissolve away and give my brains a chance to rest as the battle draws nearer. I'm still not proficient enough with it to employ the thing in battle, better to give my all to pump out a gravity bomb and then do what I can to support the ants around me. No matter how sneaky I get, the bombs haven't managed to inflict any casualties after the first, but if I stop throwing them then perhaps the Legion would start to spread their numbers thinner and push us harder on a wider front, something I don't want. So every fight starts with a bang, so to speak, as long as I'm around, just to keep them on their toes.

"Are you ready, Eldest?" Wills asks as my pets and I push our way to the front.

"Rested as I've ever been," I lie, "how about you? Manage to get a bit of torpor in between battles?"

My antennae poke forward in an accusatory manner as I ask my pointed question. The scout backs up defensively.

"There wasn't time, Eldest! I swear!" she continues to retreat as I move forward. "I'll get some rest after this one, I promise! Two hours!"

I raise an antenna.

"Fine! Four hours! That's all I can spare!"

I lower the appendage.

"I'm not trying to bully you," I tell the scout, "but you have to remember that rest is a weapon. We need our decision makers to be sharp and thinking clearly, not fatigued and run off their feet. If we make mistakes, our family pays the price, don't forget it."

I'll conveniently skip the fact that I just spent my allocated rest time practicing a fiendishly difficult mental construct and burned through my mental reserves just before showing up to a fight. Thankfully, I have the Vestibule in my back pocket, which means I'll be able to recover to nearly peak condition soon enough, even if the emotional fatigue is starting to weigh on me.

"I know, Eldest, it's just hard to find the time, there's a ton of stuff to do…"

"As if every member of the Colony isn't saying the same thing since the day they were born?" I ask sceptically. "Find some scouts you can trust to help cover you for a few hours, it's not that hard. Get some damn rest!"

Perhaps sensing the incoming 'THWACK!' the scout dashes away to help organise the artillery as the front line of ants begins to take shape around the defences. The closer we get to the nest, the more thorough and elaborate the preparations the carvers have been able to make. Where once were simple tunnels, walls and ambush points are now pit fall traps, rock falls, hardened rock stakes, reinforced compacted stone barricades and more. I can only imagine how irritating it is for the enemy to clear one set of walls after a tough fight, only to find an even more elaborate set of walls waiting a kilometre further up the tunnel.

Still, it hasn't been enough to stop them. Even as the ants form themselves into silent ranks, layer on layer of ferocious insect ready to fight, the Legion has begun to form up opposite us. Similar to us, they are strangely quiet as they arrange themselves in rows of heavily armed soldiers, their faces hidden behind the steel plating of their helmets.

Won't be long now.

I start pouring my gravity mana out to form the gravity bomb, not even bothering to try and hide what I'm doing. I've positioned myself at the front of the line and they clearly see me, so I don't see what would be the point. After almost ten of these conflicts over the last few days, the process has become somewhat routine. Indeed, things begin to follow the expected pattern. Recognising my presence, the Legion soldiers begin their measured approach in the face of a hail of spells and acid, their barriers holding tight against the offensive.

When the gravity bomb is ready, I unleash it upon them, the horrifying darkness and screaming of the air driving away all thought of anything else the moment it appears. The enemy responds smoothly to the appearance of the magic, doing everything they can to weaken it from the second I unleash it. Even with Invidia helping to distract them by unleashing all the magic he can, the soldiers stand firm and manage to disperse the spell by combining their efforts. Still, I can see the toll it takes on them. Several mages are forced to retire to the rear of the Legion forces, totally spent by the mental effort of resisting the bomb.

With the main threat dealt with, the advance begins anew, steady and slow as the Colony continues to fling everything they have at them. After a few moments to rest, I whip together an ice construct and start hurling spears at the approaching wall as fast as I can. This much is totally standard by this time, things are proceeding as expected. If it continues along the usual lines, I expect that we'll see a charge from them soon, followed by the full on melee until we eventually retreat.

Except there's something that isn't going as expected. Rather than his usual restless moping during this part of the battle, Tiny is agitated, thumping his chest and bellowing his rage at the encroaching Legion soldiers. The great ape’s eyes have turned a deep red and lightning has already begun to crackle and jump in the air around him.

[Hey Tiny, you alright buddy?] I ask him, concerned.

He doesn't respond, instead raising himself higher to shake his fists at the enemy and blast them with arcing bolts of electricity. When his blows fail to leave much of an impact, his anger grows even stronger, his snarls and bellows reaching a deafening crescendo.

[Whoa there big guy, don't do anythi- ]

Too late.

Gripped by his fury and desire for battle, the massive ape unfurls his dark wings and leaps forward from the wall, hurtling himself toward the Legion in a spectacularly Leeroy-like course of action.

[What are you doing you idiot!?] I mentally roar at him but he isn't listening.

[Invidia! Get after him!]

[Yesssss.]

[What will we do, Master?]

[We'll have to go after him!] I reply to Crinis grimly as I stand and climb over the wall.

I don't know what in the name of heck has possessed the moron but he's gone right over the deep end. Perhaps the simple fact he hasn't had a satisfying fight in over a week of battles has been enough to drive him over the edge? Having to retreat and fall back constantly isn't exactly the sort of thing Tiny is built to do, after all. Regardless the reason, I need to try and save that idiot before he gets himself killed!

It happens so quickly that I don't have time to speak to the confused ants around me before I'm over the wall and dashing forward, desperate to catch up to the bounding bat-gorilla. With those dark wings of his, he can really cover the ground quickly with a combination of leaps and flaps.

Come on. DASH!

My legs strain as I rush forward, still flinging ice spells at the enemy with desperate energy as I try to close the distance. Behind me I can see the Colony scurrying to change their plans as wave after wave of soldiers, generals, scouts and the shadow pets of the shapers pour over the top of the wall and charge across the open ground.

I swear to god Tiny, if this goes bad I'll THWACK you until you're nothing but a gorilla shaped outline on the wall!

Completely ignorant of the rising tide of my indignation, Tiny continues to bellow with a mix of pure rage and joy as he bounds faster and faster toward the Legion. When he's still thirty metres away, he hurls himself into the air, wings spread to their limit as he explodes with electricity, channelling the energy into his giant fists. Those great hands shine so bright with the concentrated lightning mana that they're blinding and I almost stumble in my charge across the uneven ground.

Even the Legion is forced to block their eyes as they raise their shields, maintaining their strong barriers as they do so. Without me ordering him to, I see Invidia weaving the mana around Tiny with incredible skill, creating shield after shield to protect the stupid monkey from his own offense. In a moment of inspiration, I hastily weave together a few gravity bolts and fire them at Tiny when he reaches the peak of his jump, increasing his weight.

He falls like a collapsing star, smashing into the gathered shields of the Legion and shattering them with a deafening thunder clap.