Brackish Ant
Records called the lands barren before the floods, yet disaster may breed diversity yet.
A Distasteful Defense
Origin
The Brackish Ant is a relatively new genus in Laminarum, representing as many as 13 potential species (3 undiscovered). Their origin lies in the fall of Verivem's Comet at the beginning of Ettermiddag. While the biodiversity of the northern Eldurgrund planes is scarcely recorded, preserved letters describe the great flooding of the planes to have created all sorts of monstrosities. While this mostly referred to mythological creatures such as the satyrs, minotaurs, or centaurs (which are still of dubious origin), more benign observationns were described by fishermen and raiding parties. Perhaps due to the immediate influx of brackish waters, a multitude of local species were wiped out while the ancestors of the brackish ants persisted, eventually creating the genera we know today. Little is known about their history aside from speculation, though no references to the species are made before the year 945 EG, during the Eldur Knight reclamation of Árkastali's territories from raiders.
Distribution
Today, Brackish Ants are a dominant insect across the southern coast of the Eldurgrund Sea, often living in natural tunnels of coastal karsts. Mound-forming species live at sandy coasts near Ock Ivaran, where they are cultivated by Orc locals and sold to Euvurcrest as a delicacy. Population density decreases the further west you get, which coincides with the increase of moisture near the marshes.
In individual ecosystems, the Brackish Ants seem to thrive in areas of high species richness and low evenness, likely due to more niche opportunities and habitat heterogeneity (especially given the minuscule threat presented by predators). Finally, three species are known to live on small islands just off-coast, where they all evolved independently, taking advantage of mangrove prop roots for protection.
Societal Applications
Brackish Ants have several applications in society. Primarily, they are both a delicacy to the upper-class of Euvurcrest and a valuable export to the orcs of Ock Ivaran. While the larvae are preferred for eating, the mounds themselves are easily accessible salt that requires neither mining nor grinding, though locals often wait until mounds are abandoned before harvesting.
The ants also have grey hemolymph which makes a powerfully staining dye. While cultivation is often tedious, some locals have learned how to raise queens in enclosures, making the process faster.
Some individuals use saltwater pond species as an indicator of ecological conditions, particularly to monitor soil quality. If salinity exceeds a certain limit, ants will often move closer to inland farms and villages. While they also pose a threat to crops, the movement indicates that harmful soil conditions are soon to come as well.
Lastly, the ants are used when cleaning infected wounds. It is believed that the ants clear the rotting flesh while also leaving a cleansing salt solution on the wound to prevent further infection. Results vary but produce better outcomes than leeches.
Brackish Ant Ecology
Eusocial Organization
Every species of Brackish Ant is both eusocial and sedentary, meaning they create permanent mounds and have high levels of social organization. With a mating queen, short-lived males, foragers, nurses, and soldiers. Some colonies have been observed with even more roles, such as defensive units that develop rougher pores with larger salt crystal formations. Separate nests often interact and compete for resources, but rarely come into combat with one another. Foragers and nurses both work to keep the nests clean while the latter also tend to larvae (which involves rigorous management of harmful salt crystal formations). Soldiers and defenders are the largest units, with the former having notably long mandibles and defenders being large enough to block small tunnels.anatomy and life cycle.
The Brackish Ant is perhaps best known for the rough interior of their pours, which allows for the buildup of sodium crystals. While most of their features don't stray far from typical ant species, they do have the pedipalps seen in many arachnids. Protruding from beneath the mandibles, these armlike appendages assist with sensory intake, but their unique function compared to the antennae is unknown; some theorize that the pedipalps are sensitive to sodium, assisting in the management of vulnerable larvae. Queens can be as large as four millimeters, while your average workers reach a size of 2.5mm. Drones, soldiers, and defenders can reach sizes as large as five millimeters when considering their crystalline deposits. The lifespan of each unit is unknown, though queens have been observed as surviving up to six years.Environmental Interactions
Unlike other ant species in the region, the Brackish Ants mostly subsist on plant life, only venturing to meat in unique circumstances (such as a carcass washed to shore). They are nonaggressive and have no known symbiotic relationships with fungi, burrowing species, or other insects. Brackish Ant species aren't major environmental shaping factors like the local fire or carpenter ants, but their mounds can occasionally kill plant life if they dig far enough from the coastline, as the sodium-lined tunnels poison the roots of plants above.Salt for the Saltkrigere
"I remain of the opinion that when one dines in Euvurcrest, they presume to follow the local culture. Now, I've dined with all from the Osmans to the Harridans and have yet to stop in disguist, yet many patrons I've dined alongside with seem rather effete compared to my tastes. I refer, specifically, to one Paladin of the Consilium, a man from northern Shellbay who's identity I elect to protect. I had the hall prepare a meal of nine courses for the occasion of his visit, with the first being a local cuisine of larvae (though I admit I knew few deatils at the time). While I felt the meal was a substantial metaphor for the paladin and his ilk, the same was hardly felt from the other side of the table.The paladin felt the 'joke' to be in poor taste, along with the food itself. He was disgusted by the presentation and left without any consideration for the eight plates to come. He had strong words for both myself and the staff, believing himself to be deliberatly insulted. To this day I hold the same truth: it was neither an insult nor of foul presentation. I believed the culture of the Saltkrigere paladins to be refined and the manners of those in the Consilium to be unmatched*. Well, I'm no glutton, but I finished the meals myself and sent a strongly worded letter to his superior. I never receieved a courier back."
*Cardinal Merchant Ammon's letter has been preserved and reviewed by the Bard's College of Euvurcrest, particularly for foreign relations. Few are certain as to the meaning behind his comment on the Saltkrigere culture. Perhaps he was referring to the larvae, viewing the Saltkrigere as 'grubs.' Others interpret the industrial nature of ants to be perfectly intertwined with their coastal nature, making an uncanny metaphor for the Saltkrigere navy. Today, no one can know for sure the meaning of the comment, making it all the better for theories and historical investigation.
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