{{NavChap|[[Chapter V - The Seed of Doubt]]|[[Chronicles of the First Crusade#Table of contents|Table of contents]]|[[Chapter VII - Slaying and Polishing]]}}

{{Quotation|''Bélénor Nébius, narrator''|

Nearly ten meters tall, the kinkoo was moving briskly at the head of the procession, setting the tempo and pushing aside the [[Kitin]]s that stood in his path in the galleries attached to the large tunnel he was following. The very tunnel that led to the center of the kitins' nest. There was no need to use his six powerful slashing legs, the sharp spikes that defended the dorsal part of his abdomen, or his acid-filled skull nozzles to do so. The clicking sounds of his mouth appendages, the pheromones he was infusing into the air, and his shimmering orange-blue carapace were enough to scare off any worker, soldier, or scout of the [[Kitin-nests|kitin-nest]].

But it was not this proximity that was making this day a special one. The queen herself had ordered her kipekoos, royal kipestas that were more massive and colorful than their fellow kipestas, to warn all the authorities of the kitin-nest. The last time this had happened, a turf war had been declared, which had resulted in the destruction of a neighboring kitin-nest and the death of many members of the colony. So the kinkoo expected another major battle, and as he pushed back the workers who were blocking the road, he was already thinking about how to organize his troops. When the procession finally entered the royal nest, where all had been invited, as the first royal fragrances reached him, the kinkoo felt his shell stiffen. If there was anything that could stimulate him more than the smell of his lord, it was the smell of his mother. Surrounded by a security cordon of kidinaks, the Kitin sovereign, whose yellow and scarlet cranial excrescences were reminiscent of a crown, sat proudly on a huge vegetal carpet, which served as both her throne and her bed, and from which she never rose. However, the place was perfectly clean. A horde of workers was constantly working to maintain the queen's mattress, to clean her gigantic opaline abdomen, and to supply the enormous banquet that was constantly facing her. The banquet consisted largely of mushrooms and meat. Indeed, the Kitins took advantage of the dark and humid galleries that made up their vast territory to transform them into veritable mushroom beds, in which they practiced intensive agriculture. As for meat, it came from hunting animals, but also from breeding, which they practiced to a lesser extent.

The queen's nest was crowded with six-footed and flying Kitins, and the most important individuals were already all gathered. The high ceiling of the huge cavern was covered with glowworms, whose light reflected off the creatures' shells and set the whole space ablaze in a mesmerizing kaleidoscopic effect. The kinkoo moved to the front row and placed his lord next to the other kizaraks in the colony. As he was about to take his own place, a foreign smell came exciting his olfactory receptors. A kipekoo from an enemy colony darted into the nest, soon followed by other Kitins of his rank from several other kitin-nests. Instinctively, the kinkoo saw these intrusions as a frontal attack and stood up on his legs. But it only took him a split second to remember that these foreign kipekoos were in fact royal ambassadors. Moreover, the queen responded to the arrival of the messengers with reassuring clicks, to calm her offspring and make them understand that everything was under control. However, a feeling of distrust pervaded the den. Under the orders of their sovereign, the kidinaks broke formation and the kipekoos passed one by one before the mistress of the place. With her massive pincers, she scraped the backs of the ambassadors to recover the olfactory messages that were deposited there.

The kinkoo was trying along to hide his emotions and control the fragrances he was giving off. It was no coincidence that the queen had ordered all of her most important subjects to assemble at the very moment the royal messengers arrived, he was convinced. For between them, the foreign kipekoos represented all the known rulers. While the kitin-nest authorities occasionally did business with other colonies, the kinkoo had never experienced such a gathering. But the myths, as memorized and passed down by the handful of conscious Kitins, referred to two great events that took place long before the queen was born, and which necessitated the formation of a huge Kitin alliance: the Burning Swarm. The first story recounted the war against the Primessences, strange entities that rose from the depths of the Great Egg, and whose intense, unblemished scent was shared, in a much more tenuous way, by all the creatures that lived there, Kitins included. Their power was so overwhelming that the early colonies had to put aside their rivalries for the first time. The Primessences had unique powers that allowed them to control the environment of the Great Egg, to change their appearance at will, to appear and disappear instantly, and to travel wherever they wished within the intricate maze of caverns. However, as soon as the first kitin-nest was invaded and the queen sitting in was eaten, the supernatural creatures headed back to the heart of the Great Egg, ending the conflict. Since this strange episode, the Primessences were showing a profound disinterest in the Kitins. According to the second story, their attention had turned to a greater enemy: the Steriles. These small, bipedal creatures resembled the bouncing primates the Kitins were so fond of, and had strong black shells with a unique, untold smell. Even stranger was the fact that they in no way shared the scent of the Primessences, which permeated every recess of the Great Egg. The explanation probably lay in the fact that the Steriles came from the Matrix, the uncharted territory above the Great Egg. While the Kitins were forbidden to break through the Shell into the Matrix, the Sterile had made many attempts to colonize the Great Egg. To do so, they had tamed gigantic black cylindrical creatures from their world, continuously digging, and burning everything in their path. It was after a major invasion that the Burning Cloud was reformed. Unfortunately, though small and physically very weak, the Steriles had two formidable upper limbs, which could spread death from a distance, and whose power was beyond the Kitins' comprehension. Fortunately, the Primessences did not seem to appreciate the presence of these extraneous invaders and for the opportunity became allies by necessity. But even though the Kitins had long been aware of the carnal bond uniting the Great Egg and the Primessences, they preferred to play it cautious and avoid contact with them. Until then, the kinkoo had never seen Primessences, let alone Steriles. After all, there was no evidence that these strange primates actually existed, and perhaps they were merely ghosts allowing to keep the Kitins away from the Matrix…

Lost in a stream of thoughts he still struggled to control, the kinkoo was brought back to reality by a relentless scent. The queen exhaled a scent of subjugation, and in unison, each of the Kitins present bowed, mandibles touching the ground. The kinkoo's individuality was smashed to pieces under the pressure of the psychic hold, and for the first time in a long time, he let go completely. The "self" faded away in favor of the "we". The queen straightened her massive body, and in a subtle chain of clicks, buzzes and scents, she addressed her court: the Shell had been breached and an unknown species had entered the Great Egg. Although, just like the Steriles, these strange ones resembled primates,they had by contrast much weaker carapaces and of varying colors. In addition, their upper limbs differed from those of the legendary foes and were equipped with sharp, piercing growths. As for their primary odor, it was particularly noticeable, reminiscent at times of that of the Steriles, while being impregnated with that of the Primessences. Moreover, these strange primates called upon a power reminiscent of that of supernatural creatures, even if on a much smaller scale. It was on the basis of this initial information that the name "Ambiguous" was assigned to them.

Kilometers above, Pü woke up just as the amber star disappeared below the horizon. The child had grown to about 1.90 meters tall, the average height of a male Zorai. Seven years had passed since he had returned from his forced ritual exile. Seven years that had allowed his doubts to subside. Gradually, and in spite of the deep disagreement that opposed him to his father and brother, the young homin's convictions had begun to touch some members of the tribe: according to him, it was necessary to stop blindly following the precepts of the Black Cult of Ma-Duk, without disowning the Great Genitor. Moreover, despite his father's insistent requests, Looï and Grandmother Bä-Bä did not take sides and let things happen without intervening. To mark his opposition, the Black Mask had refused to allow his youngest son to receive the tattoos of merit which, in principle, came to complete the one received on return from exile by every Black Warrior. But for Pü, all that mattered little. He was not dreaming of  the advent of the Happy Days, he was already living them, with his mother. For the young idealist, everything was going well, and there was nothing to suggest that under his feet, the most terrible enemy of hominkind was waking up…}}

{{NavChap|[[Chapter V - The Seed of Doubt]]|[[Chronicles of the First Crusade#Table of contents|Table of contents]]|[[Chapter VII - Slaying and Polishing]]}}

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[[Category:Chronicles of the First Crusade‎]]