Ant Beastkin

Ant beastkin, unlike other naturally occurring beastkin, are beings artificially created centuries ago in the laboratories of a now-extinct "humanity." Perhaps because of this, they share similarities with original "ants" while possessing distinctly different traits.

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Characteristics

They form a tight-knit organic society like ants, but females are born at a rate of less than 10%. Most of the worker and soldier ant classes are male, while the very few females are born with pheromones—a unique individual ability—and take on special roles.

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Pheromones

Pheromones are a special ability observable in most beastkin, but among ant beastkin, they are a trait primarily appearing only in females. It is a power that causes special phenomena within the range the pheromones reach. They are classified as 0m-class, 10m-class, 100m-class, etc., based on range, though range is not the sole measure of strength. Rarely, a male is born with pheromone abilities, but such cases are extremely scarce, with only four recorded to date.

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Life Cycle

These artificially created ant beastkin are born from eggs where the fetus is encased in a thin membrane, and they typically have a lifespan of under 80 years. An entire generation is born from a single female. The beastkin born this way perform their respective roles and function as part of the community.

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Queen

There is only one Queen per generation. Through a special ritual called the Selection, the strongest female of the generation is chosen as the Princess and ascends to the throne after her coming-of-age ceremony. A Queen can conceive hundreds of children at once, and the average gestation period is about two months. The coming-of-age ceremony for an ant beastkin Queen takes place at the center of a massive plaza in the middle of the village, on an altar filled with stone and cotton, where she conceives the tribe's first children. The Queen chosen this way never has to work a day in her life, receiving the loyalty of all ants and the authority to lead the tribe. In exchange, from her ceremony onward, she has the duty to receive the seeds of the tribe's males to produce the next generation. A Queen who grows old and can no longer reproduce is purged with the consent of the High Priest and the General.

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Male Ants

Male ants function as various components of society, such as workers and soldiers. Unless a war occurs, they engage in a single occupation from birth to death, and healthy individuals assist the Queen in leading the species to prosperity.

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Female Ants

The very few born with special pheromones hold special positions. Furthermore, within the range of the Queen's pheromones, no other female can conceive children.

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Exceptions

Occasionally, there are ant beastkin who leave the tribal society in search of true love; these individuals are permanently expelled and can never return.