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Chapter 1501 - The Templar of The Eldest
🕑 Added 2024-12-03 01:00:04 +0000 UTCThe Colony has always been fascinated by the way the Class system interacts with their existence. The first new Class to come about as a direct result of the Colony was the Antmancer Class tree first unlocked by Beyn Naligic. Since that first breakthrough, there were numerous others, including the Antsistant Worker Tree, the Colony Militia Tree, and Ant Cavalry Tree.
However, by far the most mysterious was the Templar, somehow linked to the Eldest via a mechanism not fully understood. Only a select few were ever offered this Class, and it’s believed that it only came about as a result of the Eldest’s particular Evolutionary path, as opposed to the normal mechanisms of the System.
The Templars were in direct service to the Eldest, able to sense them wherever they were in the Dungeon. Although no ant was ever able to become a Templar, since it was a Class, which monsters cannot access, the Colony trusted them implicitly.
That was possibly an error.
- Excerpt from ‘Evolutions Vs Classes. A study of the Colony’ by Xinci
There are six Templars right now, one more statue having popped up in my Nave, and all of them are in attendance. They look like the training they received from the Torpor Police hasn’t done them any harm. They’re all looking cool, confident and in control.
I wonder what that’s like?
I gesture to the three younger kids, and they step toward me, looking cool as iced cucumbers.
Welcome. Are you ready to contribute? I gesture to them.
Of course, they gesture back.
The three of them look so serious I almost want to clack my mandibles in laughter, but that would be rude. As if I’m going to throw these kids into the fight! That would be absurd. I don’t care how much training they’ve done with the Nameless Ones, they can’t be strong enough to battle down here in the fifth.
No, they’re here to throw metaphorical rocks from a safe distance and get some levels so they can unlock new abilities. They have to be around me for that to happen, and hopefully the training they received is enough to keep them safe while they do it. If I think it’s getting too dangerous, I’ll be turfing them straight back to the fourth.
I tell them as much, and the three seem downright offended!
We are here to fight alongside you, Eldest, and make our brethren in the Sanctum of Sleep proud, one of the girls gestures to me.
“I probably should have learned that arm wiggly talk,” Jern muses.
Well, sadly he can’t learn it via osmosis, like I did. Sometimes it’s useful having the collective Will of the Colony flowing into me. I know what they know.
And so you will, I promise them, but safely. Even the Nameless are worried for you.
I use an antenna to point toward a rather innocuous shadow not far away. It wibbles a little bit, guiltily.
The three children stare at it without changing their expression, but I can tell they’re a little upset.
The Nameless believe in you, I assure them, as do I. But we also refuse to waste you. Such promising Nameless must not be lost uselessly. Forgive them.
My explanation seems to placate them a little. I have to say, though, it’ll be nice when they learn pheromonal language. The sign language of the Sanctum is neat and all, but at my size, it’s a lot of work to move all six legs, my antennae and mandibles at the same time. Some of the poses are just straight up difficult! It’s not my fault I’m huge!
“Ah, while you’re here, I should introduce you to some ants. Some useless, annoying ants. Get out here, Protectant.”
…
Nothing.
“Get out here, dammit! You’ve been useless the whole time I’ve been down here, don’t you dare refuse to come out when I ask you to!”
Begrudgingly, an ant appears on top of my head, looking annoyed.
“Eldest. I would rather not expose myself where the Krath could see. We are supposed to protect you in secret.”
“How are you supposed to defend me at all down here?” I scoff. “You can’t tolerate the toxic mana, so what are you going to do? Wave me goodbye if I get captured?”
“We have the same temporary mana bubbles that Sarah and the Immortals are equipped with,” she snaps.
Oh… oh!
“So you actually could have come out to help me if I was in trouble. I didn’t think of that.”
“You aren’t supposed to know about it. You aren’t supposed to think about us at all,” she points out snippily. “And who’s to say we haven’t been out there?”
Well… I suppose it’s possible they were and I just wasn’t paying attention….
[Anyway,] I announce to the gathered Templar using the Nave to speak to all of them at once. [I have twenty bodyguards that the Colony forced on me. They’re hidden pretty much all the time, but it’s important you know they’re around, since I’m going to ask them to help look after you too.]
“Eldest…” Protectant protests, “we are supposed to be protecting you. We can’t do that and look after six humans at the same time!”
“These are my templars, and they’re supposed to help defend me from… something. So I need them. You don’t have to protect them all the time. Just help them out if they’re in trouble. What’s wrong with that?”
She thinks it over for a little while.
“Fine,” she says, then vanishes on the spot.
I wish she’d get off my head, though. I could check to see if she’s still there, but… I can’t be bothered.
[Alright. Now I just need to be introduced to the newcomer.]
Comments
Marijn Borrenbergs
😐 okay I don't see it mentioned yet, but when anthony literally says that he knows what the colony knows through the will..... Rinoz, please make our boy pull advanced knowledge seemingly 'out of his thorax' and people thinking he's like actually ancient down the line.
Elmithian
Check the name of the person who wrote that part. That don't sound like an ant name. Have I forgotten them or is it someone yet to appear?
KopiCAT
I certainly hope it's only that. But I don't quite see why that would lead to the trust given them possibly being an error. They wouldn't be much different from the regular Torpor Police in that case, they are already enforcing it with religious zealotry. The only way for that to have anything to do with it, is if the ants started to confide in the Templars about how little they sleep, and get caught red handed. Though considering that it was only "possibly" an error, I don't think it can be all that bad either. Because if the trust got abused in a bad way, it could not have been anything "possibly" about it.
Jônatas Henrique
Not to mention there was another text recently stating that all Templars are loyal in their own way.
Jônatas Henrique
This is an excellent point. It was said at some point during the war against the termites that Anthony influenced a particularly troublesome group. Perhaps it was related to the Templars. It was also said recently that these Templars would not let any offense go unanswered or unpunished. What probably happened is that during one of the evolutions (probably to level 09), the Templars may have decided to respond to some attack that Anthony suffered, which ended up pulling the entire colony into a war that would not have otherwise happened.
TheLostGolem
OMG. The Ants feel betrayed because all the templars join the sleep police. That would be hilarious.
alt31415
A fine addition to my collection.
alt31415
No no, she doesn't gain immortality. She dies, goes into the nave, and is reborn as an ant! Clearly not going to fuel Beyn's preaching rants about being reborn as an ant as a reward for their services!
gabriel vieira
So rino… When does enid gain undying Ant immortality?
Ozzy
They were all trained by the torpor police so when Anthony is in evolution hibernation they fill in for him by enforcing the dreaded mandatory rest rules with religious zealotry.
alt31415
POSSIBLY AN ERROR? WTF YOU MEAN
Nathan Emerson
When Anthony goes to stage 8, he will be asleep even longer than before, maybe the Templar get a little to bossy without him around.
Loulatsch
Imagine Enid as Antmother to be fussed and cared for
Loulatsch
That foreshadowing in the exerpt in the begining. I dont like it, i reaaaally dobt like it
C Gillan
Got to be because of them being connected to the sleep police. Or just maybe their as troublesome as Anthony and causes issues while following his orders.
Dan K
Well many of them were trained by the nameless so I’d bet you it has something to do with them knocking out over working ants.
Roombot
Bet you anything it’s some innocuous reason
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter! As ominous as the flavor text is, it is almost certainly not treason as they wouldn't have said "possibly" if it was.
Sam Beasley
I feel like the word 'possibly' is good evidence against a Templar betraying the Colony. Still concerning though.
Merf
I’d definitely like to see some members of the Antsistant Workers and the Colony Militia. Though I still think Enid deserves an Ant specific class of her own
Navarog
Templars can have some huge play with next evolution. With Eldest sleeping, someone could try some spirit/mind unga bunga to him.
Brian Schwab
Let me guess, the templars end up taking after Anthony and his troublemaking and trouble magnet nature.
The-DM-Dino
yeah that beggining bit was ominous and raises many questions
Ignacio Fuentes Álvarez
I'd like to think that the ominous message is because a templar went a little too fanatical and not because of treason, like, I don't know, this templar is the instigator of the burning and sacking of some silver city and thus soiling the relationship between ants and the rest of the races.
Ether's Blessed One
Ohh the loud priest Beyn's full name is Beyn Naligic. I never knew. And well, that was ominous. Or maybe one of the templars screwed up big time?
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
ChillyPepper
Adding another to the "I enjoyed this chapter but ominous intro is making me nervous and it's hard to focus on the rest" comments pile :P
Merf
Well, that except wasn’t ominous at all…
Runaway_Cactuar
Well, that was an ominous flavor text. Did one of the Templars turn into a worm?
