MANTIS: On Hiatus

Two young adults who were childhood friends are killed amidst a pandemic worse than our own. After many years apart, Rihelah was on her way to see Michael, hoping to rekindle their friendship on the day they would both lose their lives.

The pair are unwittingly selected to represent Earth in a test set forth by godlike beings who are intrigued that our world gave rise to complex life without having been intentionally seeded by their kind. Michael and Rihelah are reincarnated as predatory insects upon a distant planet called Edon. Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and their kin, Goblins, Ogres, Humans, Lizardfolk, Orcs, and sapient arthropods known as Enkelyn all inhabit this beautiful world touched by magic.

The tiny mantids must survive terrified and very much alone upon arrival, while neither is aware that the other has also been reincarnated upon the same island.

Naked in their new chitinous exoskeletons, they must now brave the terrors of an alien world's food chain. Each will benefit from their years of experience on Earth, but they must somehow find a balance between old lives and new. Moderate mindsets and peaceful values from a mostly safe and privileged life on Earth must now contend and somehow coexist with the strange physiology of a new and unfamiliar body as well as the violent aggressiveness of a predator's mind.

To top things off, the pair are about to find themselves struggling with their inner turmoil while swept up by terrible conflicts they know nothing about.

Both endure the hardships of their new lives while attempting to understand and make proper use of a mysterious and terse video-game-like System that pops status notifications into their vision from time to time, but initially has no useful interface. Some of the options they are presented with sound enticing, but as with everything else in life, each choice has benefits and drawbacks...

Author's Note: This story makes many changes to the original version, and readers of Mantid will find that many things in Mantis are new and different; especially after the first few chapters. I've learned a ton from writing like a madman, and also from the RR community. I appreciate you guys! :)