Chapter 6: Island of the DronesEach young queen emerged in a foreign land, thin of air and sparse of soil, isolated from the rest, with only a sapling of the Great Tree and the echoes of the songs of her ancestors to guide her. The entire weight of the colony rested upon her shoulders. For some, this only served to strengthen their resolve and they pushed back with all their might to build a thriving home for their children and their children’s children. But for others, the responsibility was too much to bear and they were crushed under its weight.
—Selected passages from The Book of the Origin by Bella Aurelius Nobilis, Modern Language Translation
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Lina flared her nostrils as Arabel let loose a cloud of scent that glowed like gold all around her. Arabel slowed the pace of her bu
