Written by Muscula filia Marisca, a Melian of House Ægidius

While many instructional books exist for the burgeoning apprentice, The Epic of the Ant remains one of the most charming. Its presence in the classroom, while not as universal as Lux Umbrarum (for which Muscula served as compiler), is to be expected. Unlike its simpler forebear, it is intended for students old enough to read a basic Cholaeic text with comparative fluency.

Most remarkable is its popularity both among instructors and among students, and copies rarely remain in even the most carefully guarded of libraries for more than a few seasons.

The typical edition is bound in a heavy, only moderately adorned leather. The classic mark depicting the titular insect hero will have been branded into the center. The interior, comprising some 100 pages of text (generally written in a large, legible hand) will be adorned with the occasional folksy woodcut. More elaborate "collector's editions" will sometimes include lush engravings executed by the skilled hand of [t59a], whose works can be easily recognized as those adorning the elegant pages of Roots of Clover.

The conceit is simple and therefore flawless; didactic content is swaddled in narrative charm, thus easing its passage down the thin gullet of the young apprentice. Young Ant, who is indeed a young ant, finds himself uncomfortable within the environs of his common anthill. One day the Great Black Ant crosses paths with the Young Ant and mentions to him the existence of the White Mountain. The White Mountain is in fact the greatest anthill in existence, and within it the most ingenious of ants of all colors join together in harmony in the pursuit of learning. All of this is, of course, an enchanting allegory for the experience of the young student herself.

Young Ant must overcome many difficulties in order to reach and become a member of this magical community. These difficulties include the fording of a river, an argument with a belligerent caterpillar, the removal of an obstructing boulder, the distress of a peasant girl over strewn rice grains, and the (infamously difficult) navigation of a patch of tangled ragweed. In order to proceed from each chapter, the young reader must master a basic spell relating to the Young Ant’s latest challenge (i.e., the river is forded with a basic version of muto aquam); upon successful demonstration, the instructor provides a simple unlocking charm and the student proceeds forward.

Eventually, Young Ant achieves his destiny and the apprentice can move on to less endearing magical texts, such as the foreboding Halls of Learning. Woe betide those with the ill luck to arrive at maturity.

compiled by Nil Admirari of House Cristofer, on commission of Annalum