Chrysalis

How does one tier of monster stack up against another? It's a difficult question to answer, contrary to the expectations of many. "Bigger numbers are better, surely" is a sentiment I have heard repeated far too often and from those who should know better. It's amazing how easily you can find idiots, no matter the field. Walk into the highest centres of learning in all of Pangera and I assure you that there will be a blithering idiot occupying one of their most prestigious seats.

This is why I seldom trusted any members of the Shapers circle who weren't prepared to go out into the field and put their knowledge to the test. Just because you trust in the theory doesn't mean you shouldn't go and put that faith to the test. That was my approach and though my fellow mages were proven correct ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I learned so much from that one nugget that my entire perspective was able to hinge around it.

So, a tier five monster fights against a tier six. Who wins? Well, that depends on so many factors that the question almost has no meaning. Perhaps the most important factor, the one with the greatest influence over the result, is the respective strength of the cores. A monster from the second stratum can still defeat one from the fourth, even overcoming the tier gap, if it has a large advantage in core strength. The strength of the core reflects not only how much mana the monster has access to for spell crafting, or how much evolutionary energy was available to that monster, although both of those are massively important, it also speaks to how adapted to mana the monster's body is.

The core is not just a storage container after all, it's so much more than that. And the effect that it has within the body of a Dungeon creature is immense. Monsters are made from mana, it flows through them, strengthens them, moulds them. A monster who has more mana flowing through them has numerous advantages compared to one who is more deprived.

And that is just one consideration. The rest could fill a book in the telling.

· Excerpt from 'Raising Monsters' by Granin Lazus

For the next hour the advance of the Colony throughout the demon city continues to be unstoppable. More troops charge up the ramp and pour into Orpule, securing locations, moving down onto the second plate, subduing the local population. It was a huge concern of ours that there might be a non-demonic presence to be found here, one that might object to our management, or indeed our existence, but thankfully that hasn't turned out to be the case. At least not according to the reports I get whilst sitting and waiting. My legs have well and truly healed enough for me to be up and moving around but I've decided that just waiting here will be the best course of action for the moment, with my pets by my side.

Already the carvers have begun to move in and redecorate the place. Repairing the damage and securing ground around the pillar for the construction of a command nest in which the Colony safely occupy. When we take over a place, we really don't muck around. The previous rulers aren't even dead and already we're paving over their castle and building our own over the rubble. If we weren't insects, it might be considered rude.

The ramp itself will have to be taken apart rather soon. Not something anyone is looking forward to I wager. Just looking at the thing is absolutely gob smacking. Such a construction on Earth would have taken months, even when taking into account modern equipment. The sheer ludicrous mass of the thing, all that stone… my mind boggles. And now it all needs to get knocked down. It isn't as if we can just leave a walkway up to a city that we control, that throws away the best defensive advantage that the demon plates have!

I watch all of this activity happen around me, frankly a little bored as I wait for Brixin and her allies to appear. Perhaps I should have a little more tension about it, but I just can't summon the adrenaline right now. After flying through the air twice during the battle I feel as if I've bungie jumped from a helicopter that is itself attached to a bungie cord hooked to a rocket. I've been thrilled out, no excitement left.

Which is why I'm able to act so casual when the trio do finally make their appearance.

They come much as I expected, on a disc that they likely used to escape from the city whilst we were still busy hurling literally tens of thousands of MP worth of magic at the sky. They approach slowly, cautious, but not fearful, as indeed by the customs of their people they have no need to be.

We learned a great deal from Al when it came to demon wars and how oddly ritualistic and formal they are. It seems odd to me that the one type of monster I would expect to be ripping each other apart the most are the ones with the most rules when it comes to conflict. Supposedly it has to be this way since, once upon a time, shredding each other for any reason at all was exactly what they did. Just imagining the more advanced demons engaged in the same behaviour as their larval kin all over the stratum is enough to give me the willies.

As the three powerful demons approach on their disc I begin to feel a little trepidation. The three of them combined could quite easily blast me out of existence if they worked together.

[You sure they aren't going to attack me?] I ask Al as the fiery eye floats nearby.

[They will not. Confident. A formal war is not a fight to the death. There are separate rules for those.]

Of course there are.

I draw some comfort from the knowledge I gain through the Vestibule. As the demons draw closer the Colony has of course taken note and mustered a sizeable force to respond to the first sign of aggression. Thousands of ants are converging on my position whilst trying not to be too obvious about it.

While they are still some distance away, I feel a powerful mind reach out and connect to mine.

[I have received word that my assault on Roklu has failed. Since Orpule has also fallen into your hands then I can only declare that I have lost the war and my territory is forfeit.]

And it burns her too. Brixin is not the sort of demon who is happy to lose. In fact, her obsession is entirely based around conquest and expansion.

[The Colony is powerful,] I shrug my antennae, [far more so than you demons seem prepared to give us credit for. This will not be our last victory in the third stratum, far from it.]

The former lord of Orpule's eyes blaze with rage and hunger at my words, which is precisely what I wanted to see.

[That being the case, we find ourselves in need of a demon to partner with. One who would be willing to embark on assault after assault, leading demons to fight by our side and helping to administer to the cities that we conquer. As I understand it, most demon cities will not rest quietly without a demon ruler at the helm. Could you think of a potential city lord who would be willing to enter into a partnership of this type?]

Brixin positively burns with the strength of her obsession.

Hook, line and sinker.