Maddutdin: The Ant Legion (MOD-ooh-tzin)

In 1466, Druids of Nilofaur were hired to protect Fatimah, the crippled daughter of Miltdeg, king of the northern deserts. They devised a plan to summon and control an army of vicious ants which could permeate their enemies' armor and devastate their camps. The experiment was wildly successful and in 1468, Maddutdin, the Ant Legion, was born.

The Ant Order

At the ultimate command of the force is Fatimah and her father who then command the ranks of druids beneath them. The druids, wielding Earthen magic, control the swarms of ants that serve various roles.
Most ants act as scouts and file ahead a thousand feet or more of the main group. Since they do not sense much, many of them are used to give a complete picture of the environment, a trait which can give the entire fleet away. Indeed, in larger towns in northern Nilofaur there are sayings along the lines of, "if ants are aplenty, the crippled one is abound."
Most other ants stay close to Fatimah and play the defensive unless told otherwise by their druid masters. These "elite ants" are bred to a larger size and carry paralyzing venom; as many as three bites can leave a human man unable to move for hours.
A single, experienced druid can control around ten-thousand ants and the entire retinue may have upwards of thirty druids. Special druids, called ant druids, are trained precisely for this role and are taught from as early as seven years of age.

History

Though the Maddutdin originally served to protect Fatimah, the idea of raising ants for military purposes made its way into war strategies. The Maddutdin legions proved a deciding factor in many battles for the Audreget Empire. From 1475 to 1530, the empire expanded its reach with its legions of ants, reaching as far as the northern mountains of Marzeine.
But over the years, various ants from escaped formations formed colonies in the wild. In the 1540s, this became a problem for Nilofaurians who feared destruction of their crops from rogue ants more than crows. The Ant Famine of 1553 decimated the Empire and resulted in a coup against Fatimah who symbolized the strife of the people with her protectorate of druids and ants. After 1557, no Maddutdin was ever seen again.

Type

Escort