The Grassatik Order

An eerie silence ricocheted across the floor boards as Antu took centre stage.

“We the termites of Logamound lay claim upon this flat log. We are the ones that discovered it soon after the small giants left,” said Antu with a shiver in his horsy voice.

A fiendish rumble erupted in the audience soon after Antu’s remarks. This was the first meeting of The Grassatik Order since the felling of the trees a hundred sunsets ago. For most of the creatures in attendance, this was their first and probably their last meeting.

“Silence!” shouted Mantina, the praying mantis who was the adjudicator and speaker of The Order.

“My Lady, the claims of the Logamound termites are entirely false. For intelligent creatures, they surely don’t know how to lie convincingly.” These were the words of Rivatrix, the leader of the spiders. During his cavalier tenure, he had made the Grassatik virtually impassable, even for the Giants. Every blade of grass had a web hanging from it as such, he had earned the shivers he sent down every thorax.

“How sure are you that the Small Giants won’t be back to this place anytime soon?” asked Mantina in an effort to quell the hostilities between the termites and spiders.

A buzz rang out behind the termites, it was the Mosquitoes of the Still Waters. With them, a document written in Anopheles dialect. The importance of this document transcended the fetid odour it left in its wake. Yes, it was written in blood! Flya, one of the mosquitoes from their reconnaissance unit flew the document to Antu and explained it to him.

The disdainful expression on Rivatrix’s face soon became that of impatience. “See My Lady, these grasslings do not have a case,” he shouted to the praise of his fellow spiders.

“My Lady, The Mosquitoes just presented me with a declassified document of their research, it looks like the Giants will not becoming here very soon, the blood tests they carried out seem to suggest that there is a virus amongst them. That means that they will not be travelling a lot. That means that this tree structure is under our jurisdiction for the remainder of their absence. That means that this hearing has to yield results.” Antu stood in confidence after reading this pivotal document but Mantina stared down at him without much enthusiasm in her face.

“This order will take a short break whilst I deliberate,” she declared as she walked to a more secluded part of this enormous tree house. Right behind her, against all rules, was Rivatrix.

“My Lady,” he whispered, “we both know that the termites found this place first and we also both know that ruling against me will bring about unspeakable tyranny in Grassatik.”

“I am not afraid of you Rivatrix,” she shouted but the tremble in her voice swallowed her bravery whole.

“This hearing is over! I Rivatrix of Webville declare this tree house mine,” he proclaimed to the surprise of the other insects.

Before Antu and his termites could protest, a line of black ants marched into the tree house, each carrying a termite.

“This is not allowed in the Order, in here we are equals,” shouted Antu as he saw his fellow mound termites in the jaws of the black ants.

“Logamound is surrounded by black ants as I speak. Those mounds will be run over at my command.” Rivatrix had overthrown the authority of Mantina, he was a few moments away from pinning the termites into submission.

“As for you Mantina,” he continued, “The Valley of Prayer, as of this moment, is now mine. Your kin will surely rot in my spider web.”

Mantina looked over to Thorat, the general of the black ants and she pleaded, “Thorat don’t do this.”

Thorat was unphased by Mantina’s emotions instead he tightened his jaws on the worker termite.

“Thorat, unlike most of you insects, knows how to choose a side. I promised him and his kin the floor of this tree house whilst I get the roof.” Rivatrix had everything figured out before attending this useless Order.

Antu gave Mantina the go ahead to rule in Rivatrix’s favour. The tree house just was not worth the cost of losing a whole colony.

“By the power vested in me by our forefathers, I declare that this tree house, property of the giants, be entrusted under the care and the jurisdiction of Rivatrix, the Spider King of Webville.”

The mosquitoes flew out in disappointment as they had rooted for their long time allies, the termites. Mantina rolled all her documents with tears running down her green face. Never before in history had the Order failed in the hands of greed. The termites who had been suffering inside the jaws of the black ants were released to Antu and the whole party made their way out of the tree house. Rivatrix was already decorating, leaving octagonal webs all around the edges of the tree house.

Outside the tree house on a very high branch, Antu, Mantina and Flya observed the tree house, almost feeling sorry for it. Mantina wiped her tears off and put on a smile, she had pulled off the greatest theatrical act ever.

Antu turned to Flya and asked, “So what was really in the document that you gave me?”

“The virus part was real but the part that the giants wont be travelling this afternoon wasn’t,” replied Flya before he continued, “We got news that the giant family would be relocating from the city back to into their log cabin to distance themselves from the virus and the first thing they would likely do is to spray the tree house with insecticide to make it safe for their young ones.”

Rivatrix’s greed had haunted Grassatik for ages, so the Order had convened for a meeting in the tree house hours before the actual meeting. The plan was to play into Rivatrix’s urge for power and control through letting him take the tree house by force with the help of his minions, the black ants and so.

Thuds of running children pounded the muddy ground below.

“Daddy can we go into the tree house,” they begged.

“Not before I spray it,” answered their father as he let out a huge cloud of insecticide into the tree house. It was too late for Rivatrix and Thorat. They embraced each other in those final moments.

“Grassatik has betrayed us boss.” Thorat whispered to Rivatrix right before he vaporised into oblivion. Most of the black ant army along with the spiders perished in that one spray.

The termites and the other insects flourished in Grassatik and they lived happily ever after.