Bugearth - The lore of LB #3 - Medieval Age #2 - The Unifications and Siege of the Underrealm

The Unifications

In the southwest of Athropoda, the kingdoms of social Bugs (Ants, Termites and Bees) began a movement that became known as The Unifications of the Kingdoms. Realizing that they were cornered in the north, with the golden kingdoms of Apoidea and in the south with the Termite Mounds, some Ant queens from smaller kingdoms began to unite, giving truce to several civil conflicts and protecting themselves more effectively against their common enemies, thus, with almost all the kingdoms united under the Alliance of Crowns, which gave rise to The United Formicae Anthills.

Noticing the growing power of the newly created regional power, the Hives and Termite Mounds tried to mimic the Alliance of Crowns, thus creating The Kingdoms of Apoidea and The United Termite Mills. However, they were not as effective as the union of the Ant monarchies, maintaining some intrigues and civil conflicts, which consequently, kept Formicae sovereign over the region for generations.

The Woodlouses and the Siege of the Underrealm

While Formicae were digging for minerals, they accidentally discovered a civilization in the middle of the hostile and dark Underrealm: the cities of the Woodlouses, built under the light of gigantic and glowing mushrooms.

The two civilizations of burrowing Bugs quickly created a friendship that would last for centuries. The Woodlouse isopods, accustomed to the practice of mining, began a symbiotic alliance with the Ants, exchanging minerals for Mega-tree roots, a food much more nutritious than the fungi of the Underrealm, the fungi which even became a snack for the Formicae royalty.

For decades, the underground alliance remained hidden and effective from the other kingdoms. However, as expected, the Termites ended up discovering the Ants' scheme while digging deep tunnels, hoping to sneakily attack the Formicae's larval halls and fungus storage. The Termite Barons launched a sudden attack on the iron and quartz mines. But what initially seemed like an easy victory over “inferior” cave Bugs that would give them access to the heart of Formicae, turned into a siege that lasted months. The Woodlouses had extensive knowledge of the caves and especially of the hostile fauna, which gave them a huge advantage over the invaders.

With reinforcements from Formicae, the Woodlouses finally repelled the termite invasion. Legend has it that the Termite tunnels were destroyed by a giant, angry beast from the forgotten depths, awakened by the Woodlouses. Meanwhile, records from the Formicae libraries say that the tunnels were destroyed by the first explosives created with the coal ores newly discovered in the mines.