The Bee Dungeon

The Firstborn flew above the Memorial, her wings beating strong and steady. This battle had been one of their most costly yet in absolute losses, yet the Firstborn’s mind stayed calm. Nay, she held herself high, having to keep her wings in check lest they carry her higher and away from the proceedings.

Because today, they had won a victory of victories.

Today, they had faced King-like beings that the Conduit named humans, as if the King’s glorious form could be expressed with a single word. But apparently, he was not the only being to share that form, and the others were nothing like him. According to the Conduit, these humans were enemies. They had destroyed an entire hive of humans the King dwelt in, burned the King’s home, and scattered his hives. They mortally wounded the King himself in the process. He had only survived because the Conduit rushed to his side as the God of All Bees pulled her away to create this realm.

In that, they were as bad as the Hunger. Worse, even, for they had apparently caused more devastation and come closer to killing the King than even the disaster that befell the First Dynasty of the First Spawner. The power required to do such a thing to the King…was unfathomable. And yet, it had happened. The Firstborn saw herself as the King trembled, brought to great trepidation upon learning these humans approached his lands. He feared them more than the monstrous shades that hounded him so.

And then the army had laid them low. More and larger enemies than they had ever faced, working together in a manner the Firstborn thought limited to her army. They held claws of cold metal and commanded the very elements through magic on par with the karnuq. They rode on beasts that dwarfed even the largest flying shades and launched fire and lightning and wind as if they had all the powers of all the shades put together.

And yet, it was the King’s army that emerged victorious in the end. They had triumphed over a foe that eclipsed the disaster of the First Dynasty, that had done worse to the King than any intruder he had faced since. They brought an end to an evil that plagued the King’s very heart and that drove the Conduit to uncontainable wrath.

Today was a day the queens of the Flower Meadow could truly be proud of. No…a day that the hive of hives could truly be proud of, for they hadn’t done it alone. The bumblebee soldiers had taken the blows her soldiers could not. The supplies from the Apiary had made the army what it was today. Beero and the wounded soldiers’ ceaseless efforts gave the hive of hives magical attacks of their own and defeated a foe faster than any bee.

And then there were the karnuq. If the Firstborn had any remaining misgivings about those outsiders, they were truly resolved. The karnuq had stood by their side, fought their foes, and struck down the King’s enemies. The blazing karnuq had spared entire formations of soldiers, the mighty karnuq had fought the enemy no soldier bee could, and the rest of their hunters drew the enemies’ attention so that the bees could aim their dives in peace. The Firstborn could now include the karnuq in the hive of hives without hesitation.

The Firstborn finished her thoughts as the memorial dance came to a close. She gave one final thanks and farewell to her soldiers that made today possible. Just then, she heard a loud clap as the King requested their attention. She gave him her full attention.

For speaking of outsiders, the bee clinging to the Conduit’s back had not gone unnoticed. Nor had the Firstborn failed to notice that one of the evil humans was brought down not by her armies, but by worker bees from a hive she did not recognize. So, she watched with interest as the King called them forward…

The queen’s mind was still processing all that occurred when the dance came to a close. She suddenly jumped as she heard a loud clap. The Hive-Builder clapped his hands and all eyes turned to him.

“Hi everyone, could I have your attention? There’s someone I need to introduce.”

The Hive-Builder held out one of his hands. Her worker flew over and landed on the hand, carrying her along.

“This is one of my queens from before! She’s Niobee’s mom, too, and she made it all the way here!”

A murmur of buzzing wings sounded throughout the field. The queen…was confused one more. The Hive-Builder…was presenting her to his new queens? Wouldn’t they just attack her as an intruding rival?

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A massive queen came flying up to her, one many times her size and as large as her worker. The queen shrunk back, trying to hide within her worker’s fuzz. Fortunately, the giant queen stopped before her worker. She then began to dance.

“Hello! I am the First Queen of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line. Honored to meet Conduit’s queen mother!”

The queen froze. This giant of a queen who could squash her with a single leg…was…greeting her? An intruding rival queen? Why would she do that?

And who or what was a Conduit?

But before she could voice any of her questions, a second giant flew in, no smaller than the first.

“Hello, I am the First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fifth Spawner, the first of her line. It is an honor to meet the Conduit’s queen mother. I welcome you on behalf of the hive of hives and the King.”

And then another.

“Hello! Am the Fourth Queen of the First Dynasty of the Seventh Spawner! Is nice to meet you!”

One by one, more giants came to dance before her, giving her greetings she didn’t understand instead of impaling her with their massive stingers. Eventually she couldn’t help but tap a dance out with a single leg, hoping no one but her worker would notice.

“Worker, what’s going on? What are rival queens saying? Why aren’t stinging?”

Her worker somehow responded while staying still, her mana shifting about and touching the queen’s own in ways reminiscent of a dance. She, again, had no idea what was happening, but could somehow understand her worker’s intent.

“Is hive of hives! Instead of fighting, all of King’s queens work together! Build one big hive made of many! Queen mother is Niobee’s queen mother and King introduced, so all queens will welcome!”

“I-I see, um, who is Niobee?”

“Niobee is Niobee’s name! King gave!”

“N-Name? What that?”

“What King calls!”

Somehow, each answer the queen received only raised more and more questions.

The First of the Fifth’s mind went blank as she comprehended the King’s words.

The Conduit’s…queen mother?

She was vaguely aware the Conduit had existed before the King’s realm did, in a time before she was the Conduit and before the King was the King. A time where the King was but one of many in a hive of humans, and the least of them. A fantastical tale she had trouble believing. How could the King be anything but king? With all his wisdom and grace and power and love? How could anyone treat him as anything but king? The Conduit as well! The Conduit was an existence beyond mere bees. She was connected to the Tower and the King and the Queen of All Bees in ways the First of the Fifth couldn’t fathom. The rival she couldn’t overcome back when she was jealous and scheming, a power she still couldn’t comprehend even after acknowledging her position. Sure, the Conduit could claim she was a normal bee before, a mere worker even, but the First of the Fifth just couldn’t see how that was possible.

And yet, here, today, was conclusive proof of these things. An army of humans had assaulted their home as the Conduit said they had before, requiring sacrifice from the bee army and the intervention of the karnuq to stop. And now a bee stood before them that they were told was the Conduit’s queen mother. A small, tiny runt of a queen with scarcely a hint of mana that was currently trying to hide from their gaze. The First of the Fifth might even believe it if someone told her this wasn’t a monster bee, much less an existence that gave birth to the Conduit!

And yet, the King had stated just that, so it must be true. The Conduit truly was born from…a mundane honeybee of all things. And though the queen before them barely had any mana at all, if the First of the Fifth focused really, really hard, she found bits and traces. Bits and traces that matched the Conduit’s signature. Not exactly, for the Conduit’s mana was fundamentally tied to that of the King’s realm itself, but close enough to clearly establish a familial connection.

The First of the Fifth was paralyzed as she considered the implications of all these things…until a shadow passed in front of her eyes. The Firstborn moved to greet the new queen that the King himself had introduced to them. With that, the First of the Fifth shook herself out of her haze and flew forward as well, dancing her greeting.

She would decide how she felt about the Conduit’s queen mother showing up as a mere honeybee later. For now…the King was introducing a queen he claimed into the hive of hives. It was clear that the King and the Conduit both cared for this queen…and so the First of the Fifth would care for her as well. Such was the way of the King’s hive of hives.

She resolved herself as the rest of the queens greeted the Conduit’s queen mother one by one. She would take care of this queen and show her the respect and love she deserved.

She just…had to figure out how to do so. How exactly should she approach this queen? As the Conduit’s queen mother, an existence that would naturally deserve immense respect and deference? As a small queen barely beyond a normal honeybee, who was clearly intimidated by the monster bees all around her? Should she offer her assistance beyond that of any other queen or would that be an insult to one who had raised a bee like the Conduit?

But as the First of the Fifth pondered, another queen shot ahead of her with no hesitation at all.

“Wow, you’re from the Beyond?! Conduit’s queen mother?! Amazing, incredible! Can tell me about the Beyond?! What was Conduit and King like then?! How got here, where came from?! Where Conduit and King came from?!”

Ah, maybe she should start by addressing the Fourth of the Seventh.

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