F-S Tiering

Part of what makes the Firmae stand out from the other threats of the world is that the race has a unique susceptibility to salt, allowing unformed larvae to be transmutated into different beings. However, the level of susceptibility varies wildly between individual larvae. Countless firmae provinces have studied this phenomenon and developed the F-S Theory, which makes sense of this otherwise unpredictable behavior. F-S Theory relies on the division of a larvae population by how far each larva can be 'pushed' through transmutation before it refuses any more. It does this by setting a certain benchmark for each tier, and then classifying each larva by what benchmarks it has passed. The F-S Theory can accurately predict the statistical breakdown of tiered ants before they're born, rendering it insurmountably useful for queens planning their colony's growth.

The tier held by an unhatched eggs is detectable by someone who knows what they're looking for, but attempts to mutate the egg before it hatches will always result in the arrest of its development.

Once a larva hatches from its egg, it is immediately able to be transmutated by either the queen, a midwife or someone with sufficient skill in transmutation. Each larvae has its 'limit' on how much it can be transmutated before it will refuse any more change. As a larva matures over time, its ability to be mutated diminishes steadily until it reaches adolescence and it settles into its form. The actual transmutation process requires mutators to start pursuing a 'direction' to take the larva in, and to make what relative changes they want along the way. Because of this, a mutated firmaen cannot be both super strong and have enhanced senses without being a higher tier to allow pursuit of both developmental branches at once.

The production of higher-tiered offspring requires a steady and generous supply of food. A queen starting a new colony, without a large stockpile of food, give birth to almost exclusively F-Tier children with occasional D's. New queens usually take a party of firmae with them when settling a new colony.

The general statistic for very well nourished queens is as follows:
 * D-Tier is the most common, comprising ~62% of births
 * F-Tier is the second most common, comprising ~33% of births.
 * C-Tier is third, comprising ~4% of births.
 * B-Tier is the third least common, comprising of 1% of births
 * A-Tier is the second rarest tier, comprising of 0.0002% of births

The salteration of fimae renders them unable to attract salt on their own, although they are still capable of holding it

F-Tier
F-Tier firmae are, for whatever reason, totally unalterable through the use of magic or not quite alterable enough. Compared to a healthy D-firmae, these guys are practically retarded. Unmutated firmae have severely lacking vision and brain capacity, and are unable to make decisions at any level above instinctual. They can't even walk upright, and instead slowly traverse on all six legs. They cannot think, cannot wield, and compared to their mutated brethren, cannot function. The only benefit that they serve is they are functioning saltwells. F-Tiered eggs are useless dependents that are either used as early saltwells or repurposed as food.

D-Tier
D-Tier firmae are classified as being at least susceptible enough to adequately serve the colony and her queen. This means their sensory organs are improved, their posture fixed and their minds strengthened. Although she may not be improved any further, she can fill the general worker role to benefit her queen and her entirety.

C-Tier
C-Tier firmae are classified as being capable of having their senses or body greatly enhanced to the point of being able to fit a different role, for example becoming much stronger to heft heavier resources such as lumber or big carcasses. They are also used a lot in a colony's Arms as tougher warriors. C-firmae with enhanced senses are often utilized in the Ward to more easily detect unwelcome invaders, or in the Arms to aid in the ambushing of enemies.

C-firmae are almost equally used in both militaristic and domestic roles.

B-Tier
B-Tier firmaens are classified as being able to have their form mutated beyond the point of immediate recognition as a member of the Firmae species. B-Tiered firmaens can become beastly, taking the form of cattle who process grass and lay large, nourishing eggs or can become savage six-legged ant hounds to accompany esteemed wardens. They can also be made to mimic a horse or other mount for elite recon scouts.

B-firmae can also be enhanced to even greater degrees than the tiers before it, one-upping big brutes with hulking tanks and creating firma that can spray an area with magic gas that debilitates or frenzies those in its proximity. Because of the possible utilization of B-firmae, they are almost exclusively drafted into the Arms or in defense of the queen or their young.

A-Tier
A-Tier firmaens are classified as being changed enough to not even look like living creatures anymore. They can be turned into monstrous, living siege engines. For example, an A-firma can be turned into a living battering ram who charges at high speed and throws herself, ramming-head first, into gates and walls. They can be turned into lumbering machines that are fed to churn out massive engineered eggs full of poisonous gas that explode upon contact, or even be turned into a living door that guards the queen's chamber, ready to attack unsuspecting trespassers.

But what limits an A-Tiered firmaen (and by extension every lower tier as well) is that the basic internal physiology of the mutated cannot be removed or replaced. While they can be moved around and repurposed, they will always have a head, mouth, abdomen, butthole and all their glands. They will also always require food, oxygen and water. It's exactly this that makes S-Tier so special.

S-Tier
S-Tiered eggs are as valuable as they are rare. The susceptibility to salt in them is virtually endless, and the basic physiologic traits that all other tiers must abide by (mouth, butthole and the like) can be bypassed. The being can be freely molded into whatever its biomancer wants, provided it isn't much bigger than around two D-firmaens. S-Firmae are usually turned into strong, very niche specialists or are turned into living weaponry to be wielded by another skilled individual.

S-Tiered eggs are as incredibly valuable as they are rare. Their susceptibility to being transmutated is virtually endless, to point that its mutilator doesn't have to worry about measly limitation when forming this new being. Typical body shapes and useless glands and sensory organs can be tossed by the wayside in lieu of blades, handles. legs or even claws. While removing its digestive system may still be impossible, it can still be bypassed as long as the being can still store energy to fuel itself. This means that a digestive system can be altered to run off wood or coal, and its digestive tract can create diamond instead of feces. Or its digestive system can get scrapped and replaced with an organ that stores kinetic energy instead. Aside from a couple of arbitrary limitations, the S-firma is an empty canvas for which its mutator can paint whatever they so inclined.

The only limitations on an S-firma's development is its size and the time before it matures into an adolescent. The larger an elaborate S-firma gets, the chance that it will die before fully growing exponentially increases. Considering how complex some S-firma designs can be, the time that one has to create their being is a difficulty that one has to take into consideration.