Advice? From me? What the heck do I know? Well, I can’t exactly say that, can I? The youth of the Colony, two young Champions, no less, have come to me seeking guidance. I can’t possibly let them down.

“Well, naturally! I’m a font of wisdom and… other wise things. Just… knowledge… and stuff. A knowledge hose.”

I think that metaphor works.

“Are you alright, Jern?”

There’s a lot of coughing coming from back there. He’s grounded his axe and is leaning over the handle. He holds up a hand and signals he’s fine, still coughing loudly. Is there a dust issue in here suddenly?

I refocus on the matter before me. Life advice for two new Champions. If I say something dumb, this could have serious negative consequences for the entire family. Good thing my advice is always excellent.

However… I don’t really know all that much about these two, and they’re so young. They're barely old enough to know the joys of a good cup of tea with biscuits. Deciding I’d better ask them for a little more information before handing out any pearls, I turn to Ascendant first.

“Well, what are you thinking of doing with yourself? You’ve gotten bigger and better, got some practice flying and fighting. What do you want to do next?”

Ascendant buzzes her wings for a moment. I can see how that might get annoying for some people, considering the wind she generates, but this room is nice and tidy and it isn’t possible for me to get dust in my eye. Well, I can, but my eye is made of an incredibly hard crystal material, so it doesn’t bother me.

“I want to stay in the fifth and do more fighting,” she tells me after a moment. “I don’t want to be too far away from my sister, but I know I need to keep flying and fighting in order to get stronger. So that’s what I want to do!”

With a few hops for emphasis, she tells me straightforwardly what she wants, which is refreshing. It’s nice to deal with an earnest Champion every now and again. Solant and Brilliant are just so… so schemy.

“Alright, I’ll have a think about that,” I say, turning to Hippocrant. “And what about you?”

She shrugs.

“I’ve mostly been healing my siblings down here in the fifth, so I’ll probably keep doing that. I also want to study Bio-mana, which I may finally have the time to do now that the wave is over. So I’ll probably stick around in the fifth and do some research.”

Well… isn’t this really easy then? I don’t see what’s wrong with either of those plans. Hang around in the fifth stratum for a while doing what they do and figuring out how to be the best Champions that they can be? Sure! Why not?

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Before I can pat them on the back and give my blessings, there’s another disturbance at the entrance and another group of ants skitters in.

“Wha—Solant? What are you doing here? Aren’t you busy at the moment?”

“Senior,” the little general greets me as she walks closer, giving a brief nod to the two Champions and a more respectful one to Demetant. “As it turns out, I do have a little window of time before I become truly busy again. With the wave winding down, we can finally rest for a few days, so I thought I’d pay a visit to see how you’re doing.”

“And what I’m doing?” I guess and Solant nods.

“Yes, that too,” she admits.

“At the moment, nothing, which is what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks,” I grump. “Well, your two fellow Champions here came down to get some advice about what they should do next. Apparently they want to stay in the fifth.”

Neither Ascendant nor Hippocrant seem all that happy for me to be spilling the beans in front of Solant, looking from me to her and back again. For her part, Solant just cleans her antennae as she contemplates.

“Yes, I can see how that might work,” she says smoothly. “I’m sure we can find a place for them in the fifth.”

One of these days, Solant is going to work out to just what degree I can read her intentions via the Vestibule. It isn’t always easy to single out her thoughts amidst the flood of energy pouring into me, but when she’s right in front of me like this, it’s fairly straightforward.

I tend not to enjoy reading Solant’s thoughts, she’s a wily one, and she doesn’t think quickly so much as she thinks deeply. Brilliant’s mind hops all over the place at the speed of thought, like a hummingbird, always in motion. Solant is more like a large river fish, slow and steady, drifting in the depths. However, at times like this, it proves to be a fruitful exercise.

“Oi, don’t make me thwack you,” I warn her with a chuckle, flexing one antenna. “If Brilliant can survive it, you probably can too.”

Solant eases away from me warily.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Senior,” she says.

“Yes you are, don’t play games.” I bring forward an antenna and prod her with it. As thick as a telephone pole, it can’t be pleasant being poked with the thing. “Listen to yourself. ‘We can find a place for them’. Who is ‘we’? You don’t own this stratum any more than I do.”

“You put me in charge of the invasion yourself, Senior,” Solant points out.

“We aren’t talking about the invasion right now. We’re talking about two Champions who want to learn and grow in the fifth. That doesn’t make them part of the invasion and it sure as heck doesn’t put you in charge of them.”

I clack my mandibles in irritation.

“Who ever heard of one Champion being in charge of another? The whole idea is absurd! Champions are supposed to independently grow and develop their ideas in order to uniquely contribute to the family. How the heck can they do that with you telling them where to go and what to do?”

“I don’t understand,” Solant says, sounding genuinely confused. “Haven’t I been in charge of Vibrant this entire time?”

I burst out laughing. I laugh so long and so hard my legs go weak and I’m left rolling around on the ground flailing my legs in the air.

“Ohhhh, oh,” I say as I recover, “I haven’t laughed like that in ages. Thanks, Solant.”

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