Chapter 1017: Change of Pace

My time amongst the Colony taught me one lesson more than any other, and it was an important one to learn. I always considered the pompous att.i.tude of the Cults to be undeserved. After failing to produce an Ancient for thousands of years, what right did we have to be arrogant? None at all. Yet so many of my fellows believed the acc.u.mulated knowledge of the cults to be complete.

Complete? We had barely scratched the surface of what was possible! Hubris blinded too many of my colleagues, and only a few possessed the frenzied drive required to push our understanding further.

The ants showed me that the amount we still had to learn was far more vast than even I had believed. What they, a "weak" and overlooked species, became capable of, the evolutionary paths and abilities they unlocked, were far beyond what anyone had imagined.

Beyond that, the Colony possessed a relentless, almost fanatical drive to complete their understanding of the System and its intricacies. If the Cults had possessed a fraction of that energy, they would have completed their task a millennium ago.

- From the personal notes of Granin Lazus.

I end up having to wait a little while for Tiny and the others to finish their own powerup sessions, but when they"re done, we group up and I march off to find Granin, Torrina and Corun.

Apparently, the three of them have been holed up in their offices through the start of the wave, and I don"t fit in there anymore, so I have to send a scout to run a message for me.

When the triad eventually emerge, I can see the surprise on Granin"s face. That"s saying something. The man has a layer of solid granite over his features, so it isn"t always easy to register his expression.

He"s literally stone faced.

[What"s happening, Granin? Taking some time to relax?]

The big golgari blinks at me. As large as I am now, it"s easy to forget that he"s about eight feet tall.

[I wouldn"t say we"ve been relaxing,] he rumbles in my mind, [I don"t think anyone is relaxing in the third, given the,] he waves vaguely out the window toward the chaos, [goings on.]

[Fair enough….]

I trail off, not really sure how to continue. I"ve been hiding stuff from these three for so long it feels kind of awkward to open up.

[Spit it out, Anthony,] Granin frowns. [Seeing you hesitating over what to say is creeping me out. It"s like watching water run uphill.]

[You make it sound like I have no tact!]

[Yes] he says bluntly. [Now talk.]

[Fine,] I grumble. [Although I didn"t expect to get all this att.i.tude. I figured it was about time I came clean about what I can do and get some advice regarding Skills you might know of that I haven"t seen.]

Now he"s definitely surprised, as are Torrina and Corun.

[Are you sure, Anthony?] Torrina asks. [We didn"t think you were ever going to tell us the specific details of your species. And that"s fine,] she hurries to add. [You don"t have to share those details if you don"t want to.]

[I think you three have earned some trust. You"ve been cut off from your people for a long time, and been nothing but helpful to me and the Colony. I"m often b.u.mbling my way forward and that seems a little silly, considering I have literal experts waiting in the wings.]

Although he tries to hide it, I can definitely see a twinkling in Granin"s eye. I"m not sure if it"s tears, or just eagerness. Yes, Granin, you finally get the full details on your Ancient candidate.

[Let"s find some place a little more comfortable so we can work,] he says and we shift to a spot where the three of them can sit down.

I just lower my carapace to the ground and flop my legs out. I"m not sure the Colony has built an ant-chair my size yet. I"ll have to ask.

[Alright then, why don"t you start from the top. Unless you"re willing to let us see your core?]

I hesitate.

[I think I"ll just tell you, if you don"t mind.]

[Perfectly fine. Let"s hear it.]

Granin may be doing a good job at hiding his eagerness, but Torrina and Corun aren"t. The latter is bouncing in his chair like a puppy. At least Torrina manages to maintain her dignified look.

[With my last evolution, I finished a three-stage series that started with Juvenile Colony Paragon,] I start. [The feature of this evolution was that it provided me with an organ that allowed members of my family to provide me with energy in the form of Will. It"s called the Collective Will Vestibule. It was handy, more than handy, since the energy would keep me fresh, wipe away fatigue and replenish resources like acid or my regeneration gland. The more Colony members in range, the more energy I received.]

I look at the three, who seem enthralled.

[Clear so far?]

[K-keep going,] Granin coughs.

[Right. That was followed by the evolution at tier six to Mature Colony Paragon, which gave me a new organ called the Nave, which connects to the Vestibule. At first, I thought it just purified and concentrated the Will I received, but after a while, I discovered that it creates a connection with those who provide a lot of Will over time.]

No way in heck I"m telling them I only just figured this out.

[With me so far?]

Corun nods rapidly.

[Then lastly, I completed the path with my current species, Perfect Paragon. This gave me an Altar.]

Granin squeaks.

I stare at him.

[You okay?]

He doesn"t say anything, but tries to give me a rea.s.suring nod. It"s not easy to tell with the golgari, but the man looks like he"s about to have an aneurysm.

[So, I had a few choices on what I could dedicate the Altar to, basically determining what the energy would ultimately do. I picked the Altar of Self…]

Granin seizes up and falls out of his chair.

[Holy moly! Are you alright, man?!]