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Chapter 584 - The great working pt 3
🕑 Added 2020-07-28 11:11:52 +0000 UTCEdited. Expanded on a few key points.
As much as the crafter wanted to leap into further work, to practice each and every new pattern she'd learned to tease out all of the little morsels of information that could only be learned through application, she knew she couldn't. She was the first Blacksmith to reach the rank four Skill and therefore the first to unlock the new Skill specialisations, which meant she had certain obligations to the Colony.
She packed away her tools and shut down her workstation before stepping into the tunnel and hunting down the organiser. The ant turned to her with a quizzical tilt to her antennae.
"I didn't expect to see you out of your room. I suppose you must have ranked up Blackmithing?"
The crafter nodded.
"I did," she confirmed, "and I have a few new Skill options to report."
"Excellent news. I'll fetch the brood tenders."
She scurried off, leaving the crafter to wait. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she returned with a pair of eager brood tenders who took over the moment they entered the chamber.
"Is this the crafter? How wonderful! Well done, sibling, we're very proud of you! The very first in the Colony to unlock these new Skills, a truly meaningful contribution."
"And new Skill unlocks as well! We'll have to go through your status in detail to ensure we can pinpoint the conditions. We have a lot of work to do!"
The crafter sighed as the two brood tenders fussed over her as if she were a new hatchling. It was only natural that the tenders took responsibility within the Colony for studying and documenting the System, since they were the ones most involved in teaching it, but they're mothering nature slowed the process down significantly. It was several hours later before the crafter, near her limits, was finally able to return to her workshop, exhausted, but brimming with excitement. She threw herself into her work, determined to unravel the secrets of her new Skills and push them into the next tier.
For three whole days she forged without rest, her fire burned unending and the ring of clanging metal sounded again and again as she worked in a fever. Her mad spree was only brought to an end when a team of five workers forced their way into her workshop (she'd barred the door) and dragged her away as she cackled with mad delirium.
After a full day of observed rest, during which she was restrained by an earth mage, the crafter was allowed to return to her workshop to inspect her work. The last day and a bit was little more than a blur in her memory, so she was quite surprised to see the sheer volume of different patterns and pieces she'd produced. Her two new Skills had even made it to the second rank! Something was beginning to synthesise in her mind and she couldn't wait to get started!
Except there was something standing in her way.
"You're running out of time," the supervisor told her.
"What?" the crafter was shocked, "I'm closer than I've ever been before!"
"And the amount of resources you're consuming has increased, with nothing to show for it."
With a flick of her mandibles, the supervisor indicated the sheer amount of armour bits and pieces that littered the small workshop.
"It's becoming harder and harder for me to source materials for you. If you want to continue this project, then you need something to show for it, and soon."
With that stark warning, she left the crafter alone to consider her path. In the mind of the crafter, there was pressure, concern, but not an iota of doubt. She knew, KNEW, that what she sought to build was so close to being within her grasp. The ant armour would realised! She would forge it right here, with her own mandibles!
Burning with conviction, the crafter cleaned her workspace, and in her mind, began to plan. As she lifted different pieces of armour, each forged with their own unique methods, an image began to take shape in her mind's eye. A powerful soldier ant, covered in gleaming metal that thrummed with enchantments. An iron juggernaut of unstoppable might. The Steel insect!
Yes! She could use moulded plates over a layer of mail for the head. And scale would be used in the joints and to cover the petiole. The abdomen would need to flexible, of course, but also thick. The thickest plates would need to be around the thorax. She had to consider how it would attach to the carapace itself. Where to strap it? And how would the armour interact with the carapace? There had to be a way to maximise the benefit of both carapace and steel…
In her head, the full suit slowly began to take shape as she considered processes, pieces and techniques, discarding this one, modifying that one. And between the carapace and armour, an entire new layer began to take shape. One that would allow the armour to flex, yet be braced against the unyielding exo-skeleton beneath. As she filled in the details, the more her understanding of enchantment played into the design. If she modified these materials, the enchantment effect would be stronger. If she connected this section to that, the magical effect wouldn't be diluted by the incompatibility of the metals.
Eyes ablaze and antennae twitching with insane energy, she fired up the forge and shoved in a mandible load of ingots. Today, she would complete a prototype that would prove the entire Colony wrong!
Comments
Anthony Romanov
Mages need cannons mounted on their backsides to concentrate their magic into shells and fire at crowds.
Lee Ortiz
from what I've gathered the caste are all just bigger or smaller, with variants in small things like mandibles, antennas and hands. humans are still the same we get fatter or bigger in some areas or just slightly different in actual structure so to say one armor will fit many it pretty accurate unless they have some diamonds on or genocidal black death covering you then your good.
Runaway_Cactuar
It's not like every ant in the Colony needed to be armored. Frontline soldiers and the Queen Mother would be the ones that really need it.
Tola Ogunnubi
Personally I'm thinking that it may be the start of the ant version of legion. Then the ants will start specialising into being able to wear the amour, who knows maybe with the right enchantment the armours will grow with the ants, would be cool to have caste specific armour, definatly for the soldiers, generals and scouts. Mages would probs need specific weapons to enhance whichever element they specialise.
Anthony Romanov
They have thousands of ants born that accept anything that colony requires of them. They can guide ants to fit the old armors when previous ones evolve. In Colony nothing goes to waste
N Holifield
I think the amours could be enchanted to adapt to any mutations and evolutions will take longer as the tier increase thus amour will be best suited for high tier ants
hhhhhuie
Nice thanks :) Only thing I'm wondering, for humanoid beings armors appear useful because their physique does not change over time (and is similar). However for ants, with every tier they would likely change their size, and also with every (outer) mutation anything fitted wouldn't fit anymore. Don't get me wrong, I do love the concept of ant armor, but I'm not quite clear how applicable it can be. I guess you could take a "hand-me-down" approach, if ant mutations and evolutions are standardized within every step for the colony, an ant with the same setup will probably have exactly (?) the same physique as others and could take over other ants armor? But fitting 10 armors for a single ant in a year (estimation) wouldn't be EFFICIENT imo.
Derar
I think just hephaestus would be nice. I am tired of names that have to have "ant" in them.🙄
ShadyDemoness
I have to say Ants are better at being a dwarf than dwarfs themself.
Anthony Romanov
I enjoyed this chapter while chuckling with a mad delirium
Nikita
Finally! Thanks!
Hephaestant
Oranckers
Unnamed craftsant is taken by a fey mood!
Tomer Yud
released just in time to read with lunch once again :) thanks!
