Chapter 20: Chapter 20
Back in one of the hives in the Flower Meadow, a monster bee queen watched as her workers processed the new honey. She was the Firstborn of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner, the first of her line. The first guardian of the gate to the Beyond. Her children finished their work, leaving a cell full of glistening honey. Honey that occasionally shimmered with a subtle glow, a golden light lost in the yellow colors of the wax and the bees all around it.
The queen felt the warmth of mana stir within the cell, resonating with the mana inside of her. She felt a heat grow within her torso.
She and her siblings from her spawner were the only ones to bear the title of the Second Dynasty. But every bee of the dungeon knew the reason why. Back when she was born, she thought she was the first of the King’s defenders...but she was quickly dissuaded of that notion. She felt the bond with her King moments after her birth. Her King was a being beyond mere bees, with depths of emotion and existence she couldn’t yet fully comprehend. She was nearly overwhelmed by the sensations of that moment. But there were two things she could understand.
Loss. And a desire to protect.
The Conduit had later explained to them what had happened. An entire dynasty of queens had lived before them. They spread across the King’s fields and formed their civilization upon his generosity. They grew their colonies in grand constructions formed by the King’s own hands. They were the first to offer their tribute to the King.
And then, the invader came.
And the armies of the First Dynasty rose to meet it, led by the Conduit herself.
The King himself had stood before the invader, placing his own life before its jaws. He had not permitted them to fight. Nay, he had forbade them from doing so. The Firstborn did not lead her army into battle, only permitted to contribute a token diversion from her scouts.
As the invader burned within the flames, the Firstborn realized the truth. The Second Dynasty was no better than the First. They, too, had failed.
The King did not trust them to fight the invader. He could not. The Conduit spoke of the sheer casualties the First Dynasty had experienced, all in vain. The Firstborn herself had felt the deep pain of the King at those losses. He resolved to avoid the needless death and destruction of the First Invasion. He turned his hand to war; his wisdom, his plans, and his grand constructions were devoted to the delivery of death.
All because they were too weak to defend their King and his realm. No, they could not even defend themselves. Their King risked himself to protect them. He who should have been the last to face danger.
The Firstborn would not let it stand. Her entire hive redoubled its efforts. All of her children devoted themselves to their work even more than before. Her scouts flew into the Beyond, past the sight and protection of their King in search of new lands and resources.
She thought they had found a shining treasure, a worthy tribute to offer to the King. But once again, he had demonstrated his power and his charity. He did not take the sweetest of flowers for his own but spread them across his lands. And he offered them to her, freely.
His generosity knew no bounds, but she could not help but feel disappointed. Once again, she had failed to be of use to her King, who continued to sacrifice for the sake of those who should protect him. Ṛᴀ𐌽ô₿ÈṤ
But now...that was about to change.
She dunked her head into the cell before her and drank deeply. The warmth of mana filled her body and set it ablaze. For the first time since her birth, she had more mana than could be spent on the laying of her brood. Monster bees required mana to birth and even more mana to grow; the small amounts of mana they received from mundane honey and their own bodies were barely enough to sustain the colony’s growth. But now, thanks to the King’s generosity, they had more than enough. That mana began to fill her body, and push against her chitin. She buzzed as she began to glow with light.
A few minutes later the light died down and a new queen stepped forward, several times the size she was before. She drank more of the mana honey to fill her reserves, and then strode over to a new section of the hive. One with cells far larger than before.
The King had not rejected them entirely. The Firstborn had felt as his power stirred within them, changing them. She saw visions of mighty warriors, giants bred for battle who stood tall and strong among all of bee-kind. Soldiers with lances long and sharp, clad in armor so thick even the deadly hornet could not pierce it.