The Bee Dungeon

The world was on fire. Every corner of it was filled with fires of every size and color, catching, blazing, sputtering out, and then catching again. The entire sky was a burning sun, the air was filled with smoke, the ground formed of smoldering charcoal, the seas made of burning oil. Hammers wrapped in fire struck melting anvils as forges behind them blazed. Hearths flickered with calmer reds as the scent of warm meals mixed in with the smoke.

And in the midst of it all, a man made of fire poked at a truly massive bonfire, stirring up the burning wood to improve the flow of air and help the fire grow. All the while, his eyes blazed, watching over every fire that had drawn his gaze.

The God of Fire smiled as he watched his favorite champion holding trays of honey packed with fire mana. It had been a joy to see her in good form once again, showing all these humans and bees what a real fire looked like. And fire honey! From bees that eagerly embraced the flames and happily settled by a volcano! Now, that was a good idea he hadn’t considered before. He was very much looking forward to tasting mead made from that honey. Bee’s little dungeon was just full of surprises.

And well worth the investment, it seemed. His favorite champion was now going to raise him some more. She had started some grand fires in her time, but it was true she getting older as the mortals did. And indeed, all fires must come to an end, the hotter they burned the faster they ate through their fuel. But then their embers could be used to fan a new flame and the cycle would continue. The God of Fire was curious to see what new flames his champion would start…

He frowned as she announced the two hunters she had chosen. He remembered them, vaguely, if he dug deep down. Not that gods could forget, per se, but the pair hadn’t really drawn his attention much at the time. They had visited one of his dungeons as children just becoming adults. The girl he hadn’t considered, she had been too young and unaccomplished for a full blessing by the time of her last visit. The boy…well, he had some skill, but that was it. He lacked the passion, the blazing heat of a roaring flame, or even the dim but steady glow of a smoldering ember. He was calm, cool, and calculating. All the things that fire was not. And he himself had but a passing devotion to the God of Fire, driven more by his proximity to the God of Fire’s dungeon than any particular loyalty.

So, the God of Fire had passed him some of the generic blessings all gods had access to and had gone along with his day. Something involving spears, he didn’t care to recall. He accepted the boys’ offerings and rewarded him as his deeds deserved, but he did not spare him any special interest.

And now the boy, grown into a man, was attempting to embrace the flames. The God of Fire crossed his arms and let out a breath of smoke. He wasn’t so sure about this plan, it seemed his champion was letting her concerns as a leader outweigh her personal encounters with his blessing. Embracing the flames in the manner that his champion had in her youth took a special mindset. Not everyone loved fire as she did. And the thing about fire was that, well, it wanted to burn. It was not so picky about what. Someone setting themselves ablaze was a nice bit of commitment to fire, but for those who did not love the flames it was as likely to kill them as bless them.

Honestly, his champion should focus more on the little bee that inspired this whole trial attempt. Now that was a girl with blazing passion!

The hunter, on the other hand? The God of Fire gave him about fifty-fifty odds. Maybe less, seeing as he was set in his ways and had walked another path for a while. In this case, his strength and experience would make the trial more difficult rather than less, and the fact that they were earned in a dungeon of Fire had no bearing here. For someone like that, it was generally better to try and act in the service of fire…by burning something other than themselves.

But that was the hunter’s choice to make and the God of Fire was not one for carefully calculated probabilities. The God of Fire would acknowledge his resolve, and so would not hold back. The man would be subjected to the flames. If he managed to embrace them, he would be tempered and molded by them. If not, he would simply burn in his own folly.

And so, it began. As the God of Fire expected, the man began to burn. He simply did not have the love of fire necessary to embrace the burn, or the raw power necessary to simply force his way through. The God of Fire shrugged. He felt for his champion, seeing as this was one of her people, but that was the risk they both decided to take. He’d at least put in a good word for the guy at the Hall of Judgement. The manner of the man’s death would give the God of Fire a solid claim if he wanted, though he didn’t think the man who failed to embrace the flames would want to join him in the afterlife…

Then, the God of Fire paused, his flames flickering as he blinked his eyes. The man was receiving help.

At first, the God of Fire shook his head. One could not pass a self-imposed trial seeking the blessing of a god with external help. It might allow the guy to survive, but it would not gain him any profit for the ordeal…

At least, until the God of Fire felt the power of another stirring. He raised an eyebrow.

“Bee?”

On closer look, it was the conduit bee that was assisting the man, attempting to support his mana as monster bees naturally did within their hive. The God of Bees was then supporting that effort, inserting her power where the God of Fire withdrew his and tying them together. He may not have approved of mid-trial assistance…but apparently she did.

The God of Fire raised an eyebrow…but he decided to allow it. The God of Bees was within her rights to intervene, seeing as he had been raising a champion of his own within her dungeon. It was generally polite to ask first…but it was also polite to ask the primary patron before the trial began in the first place, and he didn’t much care about either.

And so, the man passed the trial with the assistance of a hive. He could not receive a full blessing from the God of Fire for he had not fully embraced the flames, but by collaborating with the bees he earned the blessing of another. A champion that belonged to both of them. A hunter who would burn like fire and sting like a bee. The God of Fire could get behind that idea.

Though, there was the matter of Bee jumping into a trial of Fire and making a joint-blessing without deciding it ahead of time. Again, it was her right in this case, but some gods got a bit uppity about that sort of thing. The God of Fire didn’t much care, if something burned in the end, that was all that mattered. Still, he figured he should probably talk to Bee on the matter of champions and whatnot. She hadn’t had much authority before this so there might be a lot she wasn’t aware of, and while the God of Fire wasn’t one for rules he also wouldn’t just let her do whatever she wanted with his power. Or rather, he would, but he also wouldn’t stop it from exploding in her face if she wasn’t careful. And he wasn’t the only god that might want to interact with Bee and her dungeon going forward, many of whom were less permissive than he was.

He decided that he should show her some consideration, seeing as this was her first dungeon and all. He let out a sigh of smoke and shook his head. It wasn’t often that he was the one telling other gods the norms and etiquette and all that other stuff he was more likely to burn through than remember. But it was not as if he had never nurtured another up-and-coming god before. Besides, he’d admit he was growing curious about Bee’s little dungeon and so did not want to see it fail, particularly by Bee accidentally crossing a god more uptight than himself. Young flames like these needed to be tended and shielded from the wind so that they could catch fully. The God of Fire would not see these ones snuffed out before they had a chance to burn bright.

Not until he got his mead, at the very least.

So, the God of Fire prepared to move to Bee’s domain. Fire burned bright around him and swirled before him, opening up a path amidst the blaze. He could see through to the golden world of wax and honey before him. He was about to step inside…

And then he saw the God of Bees, wrapped up in flowers. Unable to move as she lapped up nectar from the closest one.

“Now. Bee. Please tell me why you made your first joint champion with that God of Fire instead of me. You didn’t even call me when you blessed the potion girl! I know she was your first one but she would’ve been perfect for us!”

The God of Fire slowly withdrew his view. It appeared…he was too late.

And there were some fires even he wouldn’t stoke.

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