Trimerotropis pallidipennis

Susanna was the master of the dark now. The silence, the secrets, the creaks and crackles that remain anonymous throughout the night but cause despair until they disappear in the light of morning. All of that was under her. While there was much to learn of her new charge, Susanna did understand the responsibility of her new role. Todd, the former master of the dark, had instilled that in her at the very beginning of their training together. “Be mindful of relationships, Susanna. Be mindful of your place within them, but also of those forgotten pieces that afford crucial connections. We must place special attention on those neglected relationships, those only remembered when systems break down. Unraveling is inevitable, and not necessarily to be avoided. Care must be taken to avoid unwanted formations to be forged in the ruin.”

While she took that advice seriously and locked it in her heart, Susanna did wonder, however, just what constituted the “unwanted”? Were these unwanted assemblies universally disdained? Surely not, she thought, but why must the master of the dark be tasked with privileging one connection over the next?

Those thoughts were never to be whispered out loud, for even the hum of a question of the dark could arouse those who work towards the undoing of the precious equilibrium, that delicate balance of light and dark that amounts to the greyness of the world. For the greyness is a treasure that must be protected as it is within the grey that the real magic happens. Safeguarding the totality is the true job of the masters, both of dark and light.
Susanna stopped. There was an awful buzzing sound emanating from the ashes. What was that dreadful sound?! Just then, two insectoids erupted forth each popping their wings, changing shape and vibrating…