The military power of Ant-kinden city-states has dominated the Lowlands since the revolution. Using their Art to link minds, to fight and work together with flawless discipline, they would have conquered the world by now, save that they reserve their most abiding loathing for Ant-kinden of any other city but their own. Renegade Ants, those who wish to do anything other than follow orders, live bitter, lonely lives cut off from the minds of their fellows.
Vekken Ants have onyx-black skin and dark hair again, whilst the Maynesh Ants (Maynes has been conquered by the Empire — it's near Myna) are ruddy skinned. The Tseni are a bluish-white. Ants of all of these cities generally have dark hair. There are other Ant cities (and indeed other Ant sub-kinden) beyond these.
Was Ant-kindens inspired by Romans?
To Mr. Adrian Tchaikovsky,
My name is Gabriel Brouillard, I’m a twenty year old college student from the United States and a big time fan of your Shadows of the Apt series. Some of my friends from High School and College are currently endeavoring to work on small computer game project to act as a portfolio piece for future work within the industry. We are working under a non-profit status (as limited by the terms of our technology) and have been discussing exactly what kind of game it is that we are aiming to produce. So far we remain undecided, but I hope we that we will soon be able to focus on a project of some kind. I am currently the proud owner of books 1 — 4 of your series and am eagerly awaiting the US release of 5 book. My knowledge of the series is only pre-stalemate, so what I’m about to propose might seem a little off. Me and my team would like to ask your permission to use your series as the basis for one of our potential projects. Our story would take place post-stalemate and revolve around an Ant-kinden named Gerd, who, in our current storyline, represents a veteran from the Landsarmy and serves as a liaison between Princep Salmae and the rest of the Lowlands. We would like to ask you for your permission to pursue this project, if and when we decide to do implement our idea of it. I’m including my email address so that you can contact me further. I would also be honored if you would assist us in staying true to the history and structure of your fantastic world. I am only person thus far in our team to have caught onto the “Shadows of the Apt” bandwagon, but I really do hope that if our project is completed and if your world serves as the basis, that you will be proud of our addition to the Shadows of the Apt mythos.
Hope to chat,
Gabriel Armand Brouillard
Can be reached at: Bloodmagegabe@gmail.com
Okay one really random thought popped up in my head, as Apt kinden do produce the occasional inapt black sheep… how does an inapt ant fit in? The mindlink would be torturous, to be part of a a mind yet not being able to accomplish anything…
Reply @ Moon — very interesting question — I imagine the individual in question would either (1) go crazy (2) get out and go renegade or (3) suffer a further aptitude shift purely through the pressure of Apt minds enforcing conformity.
Poor poor inapt ants, not much of a future in store for them is there, inapt ants not useful as a mercenary or forcefully turned Apt (man that's one hell of a peer pressure to change someone's Aptitude). Also are we gonna see some Apt people from kinden who are normally inapt? We've heard of a mad apt moth but so far we've only seen apt turn into inapt
Reply @ Moon — What about a future with Arcanum, who would or could for that matter suspect an ant of working with them. Besides it wouldn't be the first time the moths have taken in "aptitude deficient" members of those kinden which are apt (most of the time).
Interesting, took me a while to wrap my head around what appeared to be Greek-ant city-states armed in the Roman fashion, fighting against what seemed to be a combination of Persian and Roman empires.
i would like to have a map of the entire world not just the lowlands published in the next book.
Ed — unlikely to come in a book, where the maps are more useful if they focus on the relevant areas, but I should be posting up a complete map prepared by a fan from the various existing maps, so you will hopefully have one soon.
do ant-kinden have art-claws of any kind?
Yes. I'm sure it turns up somewhere although for the life of me I can't now pin down where. Most kinden can gain some sort of Art-assisted spines or blades or similar, with the conspicuous exception of Flies. Mantids and Scorpions have the most evident and useful sort, though.
What is the fire ant-kinden culture like? If their city is on an island does that mean they have ships? Steam-powered engines? Gas-a-fire engines? Or are they "for hire" for spider lands? Mercenary peace keepers? Reason I ask is: 1. I like ants. 2. Their island is close in the middle of your maps. They would have to fight off pirates, slavers, those giant fish creatures and every one else (and their tech). Do they steal, salvage, or trade for tech? Or just get the knowledge and built the tech on their island? Or are they pirates for the spider-kinden?
I haven't done much on them, but they are part of the naval attack in Dragonfly, hence presumably at home with boats. I had an idea that they were quite technically sophisticated, and their boats were probably quite flash. There would certainly be mercenaries, but also Satrapy warriors raised from their territories by their Spider overlords. I saw them as a bit more individualistic, more Apt, and less reliant on Mindlink than the Lowlander Ants.
Seeing if I can understand this. Fire ant-kindred. Not huge armies all in one spot. But working in small groups up to a 100 or so? Mostly boat crews and long term warriors/peace-keepers employed by the spider overlords? AND living in said spider overlord's realm? Except on their own island?
Also, would poison coated blades, arrows and crossbow bolts be used in warfare? Harvested or "milked" from insects and spiders? Not just by fire-ants kindred, but spider-kindred using spider venom, bee-kindred using bee venom, wasp-kindred using wasp venom, etc? If the bugs are large enough to be mounts they could produce a lot of venom?
Read some other articles, like the idea of ant-kindred breading different mushrooms types as food sources. And training their ant beast of burden to tend their "fields".
The thing is, there isn't really a "all X kinden are Y". Even Ant-kinden on the mainland, who are fairly martial and soldierly, do all sorts — some are renegades and mercenaries, others are engineers, scholars, inventors. So, yes, they have boat crews, warriors etc, but they have all sorts of other folks too. As for poison, presumably it would be available, but it isn't seen as a tool of mass warfare in the books, only as an assassin's resort. In the Spiderlands there might well be different practices, and I thinkthat ancient China used poisoned crossbow bolts as a regular weapon so it's obviously practical en mass.
Note, by the way, that "their own island" is a bit misleading. Porphyris is a Satrapy of the Spiderlands, which means in realpolitik terms it's run by Spider-kinden, whether overtly or behind the scenes.
Thanks
So I guess this is a stupid question but if two ants from different city states for example sarn and vek, however unlikely that may be, decide to spend a night together. Would the offspring of such a night be considered a halfbreed? And to which city would the child be mentally linked? Is the art paternally or maternally passed? Both? And is this true for every kinden's art?
That's a good question 🙂 The child might get a link with one or the other or both cities. Bear in mind that Art doesn't appear at birth, and Ant children still learn to talk, and communicate with their parents verbally, until it develops. Art can be inherited, like most characteristics, from maternal or paternal lines — if both parents have an Art (such as a Moth and Dragonfly who can both fly) you can pretty much guarantee its passing on, otherwise it's pot luck.
Yeah I figured as much thanks. Hahaha and considering the close knitted militant view of most ant city states I assume such a child could possibly be ostracised or even banished. Perhaps even killed? By both cities since the potential for the kind of cloak and dagger work most of the characters practice… I mean I'd try to recruit him or her if I was a spymaster
© 2008-2024 Pan Macmillan
OK, there are 4 Ant-kinden cities in the Lowlands: Sarn, Kes, Vek and Tark.
Sarnesh Ant-kinden have light brown skin and straight black hair. Kessen have warm-bronze skin (and apparently black hair). Tark are very pale (and have blond hair?).
So, what do the Vek and the outliers of the Tsen look like?