The Bee Dungeon

The sun shown down on a green and golden world. Fields of flowers blended right into hexagonal walls made of wax. Bees of all shapes and sizes filled the ground and skies, crawling out of neatly ordered hives, haphazardly placed wax pots, or out of burrows dug right into the ground. Honeybees and stingless bees swarmed around bumblebees, carpenter bees crawled out of nest bored into trees while digger bees pushed dirt out of their tunnels. The bees swarmed around newly blooming mana flowers and confronted one another for the best of the nectar, while cuckoo bees tried to steal honey and lay their eggs in the other bees’ cells. Some bees even broke out into war, swarms colliding in the air as they fought to claim or defend their hives in turn.

Additionally, new wooden beehouses rose from the ground while a large bee apartment expanded across several trees’ canopies. New kinds of honey filled row after row of neat trays. Squads of soldier bees flew through the skies, training their formations, while communer bees spread out and gathered information. The edges of the world continued to grow as well, sprouting new flowers and new hives with each passing day.

And bees of other sorts, as well. Bees with blades for stingers, bees that could channel the elements, bees made of wood and metal. Bees without wings, bees without stingers, bees with claws, bees covered in spikes. Gargantuan bees that covered the sky and drank from flowers the size of the tallest trees. And bees that combined the forms of other creatures. Bees with more fur than normal, bees with scales and claws, bees with feathers and beaks. Any bee that did or could exist.

And in the center of it all was the largest bee to have ever existed, laying eggs of all shapes and sizes, watching as the brood tenders helped never before seen bees emerge from their cells before proceeding to lay yet another.

This was the Queen of All Bees, the God of Bees herself, as hard at work as any worker might be. Unfortunately, her work was about to be interrupted.

A fire burst into existence just before the God of Bees. The bees all around her began to swarm angrily but she calmed them down with a short and graceful dance. Four of the swarms took a bit of convincing, for their queens burned with the desire to protect their second home after their failure to save their first. But the God of Bees convinced them that the fire was not a threat. Indeed, if it was as she expected, there was an opportunity to assist their first home even from here. The queens of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner of the First Bee Dungeon stopped and pulled back their armies at that.

A moment later, the flames expanded and formed into the shape of a man, with flames for his flesh and hot embers forming his clothes. Flames filled out the simple shorts and breastplate of embers. A bright blue fire formed the core of the man, his torso, limbs, and head, while yellow and red flames formed his hair, a great coat like the main of a lion surrounding his head and covering his arms and legs. His eyes were pure white stars piercing through the blues and reds and yellows all around, causing even those flames to appear dim in comparison. He stood straight and tall with his arms crossed as his mere presence set the air around him ablaze.

And then the God of Fire…fell to his knees and clasped his hands together.

“Bee, you gotta let me into your Tower!”

“Come on, Bee! I know it’s your only dungeon but you have one of my favorite champions sworn to it now! Do you know how much stuff she’s set on fire over the years, oh the great infernos she’s unleashed upon the land?! She’s called the Blazing Berserker for fire’s sake! You got to let me bless my girl! She just saved your dungeon, you know?!”

The God of Bees buzzed her wings and then returned to laying her eggs. There was work to be done. The fires around the God of Fire flared up.

“Hey, come on! I know you’re a busy bee but listen to me! It’s ok, right?! You even got a dungeon in an optimal position! Those are getting rarer thanks to that little human empire, you know?! You should be able to share a bit?”

The God of Bees paused her work, buzzing her wings again, and gave a short dance.

“Need to work.”

The God of Fire grit his teeth and his eyes burned bright.

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“Work, what work?! You have all of one dungeon, Bee, and hardly any followers! You can’t possibly have more work than the rest of us!”

The God of Bees laid another egg before dancing her reply.

“Not me, you.”

The God of Fire crackled as he gnashed his teeth. But then his flames died down and he exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Ok, fine, let’s work then. Look, your little dungeon master is about to evolve some sort of Fire Bee, right, and he already uses a ton of fire. My blessing will really help him, you know?”

The God of Bees laid another egg.

“Of course, it’ll be a mission from me, so I’ll give him something too. How about a feature, since he’s so fond of fire traps that should help, right?”

The God of Bees checked on one of the larva and conferred with the brood tenders before laying another egg.

“…and once that fire bee evolves, our power should intersect enough for a cross-perk once he has my blessing too.”

The God of Bees tasted the newest batch of honey, letting the hive in question know they dried it just a bit too long. Though, the sudden rise in temperature may have had something to do with it, so she recommended they tried the same method again once the environment was more stable. The God of Fire’s colored turned towards a dimmer red and he hung his shoulders.

“…ok. How about I give some of my dungeon masters a mission to earn your blessing on their dungeons in exchange? Let’s say two…”

The God of Bees laid another egg.

“…three?”

The God of Bees ordered a hive to clean up the remains of the latest hive war. The God of Fire burst into bright blues once again.

“Ok, come on, Bee. I know you’re protective of your first and only dungeon and that my presence will distract from you but that’s why I’m giving you a good deal here, and an inroad to some broader recognition. I’ll issue missions to five of my dungeon masters, including my biggest. That is my final offer!”

The God of Bees turned to the God of Fire as she danced.

“Ok!”

The God of Fire exhaled another cloud of smoke and then shook his head.

“Just where does a god on her first dungeon get that sort of confidence? But very well. By my name and authority as the God of Fire, let it be so.”

The God of Fire snapped his fingers and a wave of power shot through the God of Bees’ realm, raising the temperature throughout and causing all the bees to buzz. A reminder of his power, perhaps. But the God of Bees danced once more.

“Thanks, helps a lot.”

And then she went back to work. The bees slowly calmed down and followed her example. The God of Fire chuckled.

“Well, I suppose we’re both fond of our champions there. Let’s stoke their fires together, shall we?”

And with that, the flames died down as the God of Fire departed. And the God of Bees couldn’t help but break out into a happy dance once he did.

It was all coming together. She used to be one of the lowliest of gods, her only authority over the world that given to her by the various plant gods in exchange for her services, but otherwise with no presence on the world itself. None of the mortals knew of her existence, and individual bees rarely survived long enough to develop enough sapience to acknowledge her. Yes, a bee exposed to enough mana might evolve into a monster bee, but the bees who ventured outside of their hives to forage where normally the oldest and closest to death. Besides, mana-rich creatures attracted attention, so most of those on the brink ended up as prey.

Until one young boy decided to save a bee from a spider web. A bee that was on the verge of evolving into a monster bee with a far longer lifespan…and sapience. Just enough to give the God of Bees a direct hook onto the world.

It took her some years but she eventually gathered enough authority to designate that bee as a conduit for a dungeon. It would be regrettable to lose her one direct hook, but every dungeon established would offer a trickle of authority to the god that established it even if the master dedicated it to another god. The God of Bees hoped to therefore establish a more enduring and permanent trickle of authority.

What she did not expect, however, was for the bee to take the boy, now grown into a man, along with her. Or for him to select bees as his first defender.

She rarely even got to offer her options, much less as the starting choices. While she knew the conduit would automatically give her a slot this time, she did not imagine anyone would actually pick it. Bee monsters could be powerful but their strength was in their numbers and they needed time and resources to build up those numbers. It was a risky choice for a starting defender.

But then the man, who happened to have been one of the most dedicated beekeepers she had ever seen, chose bees, and managed to pull off an initial purification. Then he chose her as his patron.

The trickle of authority she expected suddenly became a stream. And, most of all, she now had a dungeon of her own. A direct presence on the world, and a place where she could gain recognition…and followers. And that was only the beginning of her dungeon master’s devotion…

And now? Now the God of Fire, one of the most prevalent of the gods with an established presence on nearly every world, was now negotiating with her as an equal, and letting her wring concessions out of him.

Yes, it was all coming together. The Queen of All Bees’ queendom, the hive of hives, would grow beyond all recognition. The favor of the mortals and the respect of her peers would soon be hers.

But most of all? Most of all she now had the devotion of the most loyal follower. One who spared no effort in working for the bees. A follower who would be rewarded for his work.

And that’s why the God of Bees danced one final dance before returning to her own.

“Belissar best dungeon master!”

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