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The Ant-Kingdom became a storm of preparation. Every street rang with hammer blows. Forges breathed white fire day and night, spitting sparks that drifted like golden snow. Bakeries tripled output, stacking root-cakes into waxed crates.
Carpenters shaped sledges for sand, weaving reed runners with tar so they would slide across dunes. Even small larvae carried bundles of hollow gourds to be filled with water.
From dawn to dusk Kai hauled grain sacks, sharpened spears, and drilled alongside other two stars and three stars on the Sun-Yard. Sweat leaked through the seams of his shell. Yet the ache in his limbs felt righteous. A proof he belonged among soldiers and not hidden in some workshop.
A herald banged a brass gong outside the barracks, "ELITE SQUADS APPEAR ON THE GRAND BOARD!"
