Path of the Hive Queen

The Western Confederation had brought considerably more soldiers to this battle than the Elvish Free State and their allies put together. Anuis had known this, but seeing it still drove it home in a different way. Their soldiers swarmed through the forest like a big hive of locusts, chopping down trees, setting up defensive positions, fires or tents, digging trenches, and everything else one would do before — or during — a battle.

It was busy to her other senses, as well. As expected, there were quite a few magical shields in place. Rather than a single big one, they popped up like soap bubbles, and a few seemed to overlap. That wasn’t the only thing, however … Divine mana was also present in this place, in a way Anuis had not truly sensed before. Partly, this was because her ability to sense it was new, and had grown since she acquired it — she’d leaned into this aspect of her Class’s power more than she had thought originally, choosing a Class Skill based on divine mana, and trying to develop her abilities. But it was also evident that there were Champions here, and many priests or acolytes.

“What are you staring at?” the soldier escorting her snapped.

Anuis ducked her head, looking at the ground, then glanced up again carefully. At least she was walking on her own two feet once more. They had treated her injury with some kind of delayed-effect, long-term Ability, and it had progressively healed since then. Now it was faint enough not to bother her anymore. She had also finally gotten a cup of water an hour or so ago, which had at least helped her ability to focus a little. She was still tired.

Anuis knew she should have taken Empress Regina’s help, or tried to escape on her own while they were still in the tunnels. At best, when they had taken the exit in the forest. But something was telling her that this was the right choice. It would be dangerous, of course. But she had a feeling it was where she was meant to be. Where she could do the most good. Already, as Western soldiers escorted her though ranks of their fellows — they were moving in a large half-circle to detour around where the actual fighting was occurring — she had seen much that would be of use to her city.

She closed her eyes for a moment to dwell on the feeling of the ambient divine mana, trusting her feet to find their own way — something that was not made easier by the iron chains still wrapped around her ankles, forcing her to take small steps, along with having her hands shackled behind her back (though at least they’d taken off the accursed blindfold). Anuis said a few words of prayer to Alianais. It at least helped to calm her.

Then another of the soldiers pushed her and she stumbled forward, exaggerating the movement a little. She had taken notice of all of their weapons and where they carried her own possessions, but she’d have to bide her time if she intended to make use of this. For now, she tried to hide her staring as they quickly marched forward.

It was easily apparent that they were bringing her to an important leader. Whoever it was remained out of the actual fighting, but was close enough to oversee it. There was a pavilion set up on a minor hill offering a good vantage of the area. The closer they approached, the higher the levels of soldiers standing guard, and there were more fancily dressed men as well; along with simply-dressed men and women with lower Levels and variable Classes, who she only belatedly realized must be servants. Just like human leaders to bring so many servants to a war, she thought contemptuously on reflex, before correcting herself, Well, the Empire wouldn’t do that.

There was actually a small group of people at the top of the hill, watching the battle and occasionally barking orders to the runners and mages with them. They were all dressed in either fine robes or armor with fancy designs and decorations; there were more precious gems than she’d seen in even Nerlian high nobles’ equipment. Several of these almost radiated with divine power, though to various degrees. Anuis wondered how many of them were Champions. Probably only the few whose power was most visible, while the others might be church or order leaders (fanatics, with her luck).

“General, Grandmaster,” one of the soldiers escorting her said, bowing deeply. “We bring the prisoner, as expected.”

One of the other soldiers kicked her legs, and she let them drag her to her knees reluctantly. She still kept her head up, not bothering to hide her defiance; they wouldn’t expect anything else, anyway.

“Soldier, no need for that,” one of the men spoke up. He wore gilded armor and a fancy sword, with several large metal medallions on his belt and a silken sash. About middle-aged and classically handsome for a human. “Ladies deserve to be treated with respect, even if we are at war.”

Anuis stood up, glancing at the assembled men. They stared at her. “I am an officer of the Elvish Free State, not a lady. My lord, I presume?”

“Grandmaster,” he corrected. “I am Grandmaster Seaborn of the Order of the Light’s Temple, at your service.”

That was a subsidiary, chapter, or general outgrowth of the Order of the Sun Temple, if she recalled. Anuis nodded slightly.

“Doesn’t your chivalry ever get tiresome, Lars?” the other man at the front of the gawkers scoffed. He stepped closer, eying Anuis up and down. “Are we certain this is the daughter of their old minister?”

Anuis didn’t answer him, not that he was looking for an answer from her. She assumed this was the general.

“Their lack of last names in the System is truly annoying,” another man piped up. Judging by his position, he was not one of the actual leaders. “But she does resemble the portrait I saw.”

Maybe the man had been sent as a diplomat, then. She didn’t recognize him or his fellows, although she took note of their System information, too.

“Good, then perhaps this underground scheme was useful after all,” the general said. “In my experience, few women hold steady to their convictions when their only child’s life is threatened. Few people who see mortality approaching do, either.”

Anuis scowled. “You want me as a hostage? Then I’ll have to disappoint you. The Free State is not going to give you any concessions in return for me. And my mother is only a minister without portfolio, anyhow.”

The general smiled at her. A smile that had no right to look so bright. “If nothing else, we can always hang the enemy who killed the glorious Champion Paladin, and raise the men’s morale that way.”

“The gods frown on executing prisoners without cause, Robert,” the Grandmaster scolded him. “It was in honorable combat, apparently. But no matter — Men, take the Three-Century Commander to the prepared wagon and make sure she is secure. We will speak later, Lady Eltarianal.”

So he does know my rank, Anuis mused as the soldiers pulled her along again. She went without a fight. The conversation had still left her feeling cold. It wasn’t entirely unexpected, of course, but the reveal that she was to be a hostage to force concessions sat ill with her. Privately, she doubted her own words just a little. Her mother had much influence, so their plan was, realistically, not entirely unlikely to gain some leverage; the question was how much. Not enough to surrender, certainly.

Besides, this would be decided on the battlefield. The battle was still raging around them. The thunder of Imperial artillery shook the earth regularly. One shell exploded close enough to her to make one soldier of her escort flinch.

They moved away from the battle proper, though, and stopped at a strange wooden cart with metal bars reinforcing the frame and with several heavy chains attached. The soldiers pushed her inside before they locked the door. Anuis took her last opportunity to look around and take in as many details as possible. She wondered whether they’d had this ready for prisoners or prepared it for her. There was obviously magic in the frame of the vehicle to prevent her escape. At least they didn’t start moving it.

She sighed, then sat down on the bench inside the wagon. There were a few cracks between wooden boards, so at least it wasn’t too dark to see. Standing up and craning her neck let her catch a glimpse of what was going on outside.

Anuis considered the distance to the top, the lack of room inside the vehicle, then considered the guards outside. Trying to make a hole large enough to escape would be risky. For now, she focused on her shackles, twisting her hands and testing their give. The cuffs weren’t enchanted. She started carefully scraping the solid metal of the shackles against the wooden boards making up the wagon. It didn’t work, so she switched tactics, sat down and twisted her legs to use her metal boot buckles instead; they were sharp by design. And she only needed a few splinters.

It was when she poked the first one into the keyhole of her shackles and carefully braced it that she heard a commotion start outside. Anuis froze for a moment, then kept working, making sure to be as quiet as possible. The guards around the wagon called something to each other. There were hurried footsteps.

Something touched her mind; a brief contact from a familiar presence. Anuis inhaled deeply, and finally managed to open the shackles, quickly shaking them off and doing the same with the chains around her feet. Then she jumped up, wedging herself into the corner of the wagon, and peered outside. There were several pillars of smoke, not too far away from her. Someone had set a fire. A distraction? From the northeast, the sounds of battle had gotten louder.

A moment later, there was a soft popping sound in her wagon and the light thrown onto the walls changed. She pressed herself against the wall, turned around and jumped down, landing softly.

Iseis Alturiel smiled at her. “Ready to get out of here?”

Anuis had to resist the temptation to make some noise. “Yes, please,” she responded just as quietly. “Can you teleport us? Or do you need to make a portal?”

There was some kind of screeching sound, and the noise outside redoubled. Iseis frowned. “It would need to be a portal, but …” She gestured with her hands. Anuis could vaguely sense her mana, trying something, but nothing happened.

Then she felt something else and shoved the older woman to the side, covering her with her body. The door of the wagon exploded inward, raining splinters of wood. Anuis ducked her head, but nothing hit her. Iseis had put up a shield, she realized belatedly.

The wagon tilted and Iseis grabbed her arm. Anuis pulled her closer, catching her around the waist, and then jumped forward, twisting, pushing off the crumbling wall as the wagon was only barely turned over before it fell apart. She managed to stay on her feet as they landed outside, setting the old priestess down a bit less gently than she’d intended, but Iseis seemed to be fine.

A rain of arrows fell on them, and Anuis looked around for a weapon as they turned to face the enemy. The grandmaster was coming their way with an escort of soldiers — oh, and several other high-level men. There were several Champions, at least.

“Well, I was planning to suggest that we were surprisingly close to their most important leadership …” Anuis muttered.

“Yes, I gathered,” Iseis replied.

“Well, will you look at that? Two captures for the price of one!” One of the Westerners shouted, pointing his sword at them to the jeers of a few others.

The two of them backed away a few steps, and Anuis ducked briefly to pick up a sharp piece of wood, for lack of anything better. She glanced around quickly. “They’re blocking teleportation?”

“Yes, and scrying,” Iseis answered. “We’ll need to kill their Champions.” She grimaced. “At least Regina is helping?”

As if on cue (it might well have been), the soldiers behind them started fighting each other. They had been drawing closer, evidently to encircle them, but now several of their number had turned traitor, attacking the others wildly. Two of the Grandmaster’s own escort did the same.

To the left, Regina told them tersely. The contact was short, with a light touch, as if she could spare no more focus on them than this.

Still, they both went left without hesitation, ducking low. A moment later, a large ball of fire exploded where they’d just been, and a great lance of light followed up by sweeping to the right. Several arrows and other magic spells followed — She must have made a psychic illusion, Anuis realized.

This only bought them a few moments, though. The Grandmaster was casting another barrage of light lances, sweeping outward in all directions, and some of them caught on Iseis’ shield, being diverted into other directions. The priestess was too busy to hide them, preparing a Spell of her own.

A moment later, she cast it, and the earth trembled. It took Anuis a moment to realize this was a secondary effect. Instead, some of the enemy fighters were pulled together, in the center of the group, and the rest had to visibly strain to resist a sudden pull. Even the Grandmaster lost his footing, sliding backward before he managed to push himself forward again. Then a second fold of space appeared, this one visible in the way it bent the light, and any enemy not fortunate enough to be outside the area of effect was suddenly deformed in hideous and unexpected ways.

One of the Champions was dead, she estimated. At least four were left, and she could hear Iseis panting harshly.

Anuis threw her improvised spear, but it bounced off the Grandmaster’s breastplate, even if it stopped him in his tracks for a moment. Then he kept advancing, flanked by three other Champions; a fourth stayed behind, shooting a string of arrows from a great bow. Anuis dived to the side, feeling icicles splash on her jacket. Iseis cursed and stumbled, and she could see the blood blooming on her left shoulder.

Anuis swallowed heavily, cursing her lack of weapons. We can’t win like this. There’s too many of them and we’re trapped.

Two Champions charged Iseis, clearly considering her the bigger threat. She had to keep retreating, trying to dodge, but they were cutting her off from Anuis; even a brief look showed Iseis was struggling to do more than keep her space-warping shield active.

Anuis grit her teeth and reached for her last Skill, which was available to her again. It wouldn’t be enough. But she grasped for the divine mana she could sense, trying to bend it to her will.

Her pulse roared in her ears, and something thumped through her body that must have been simply her heartbeat but felt like the beat of the world around her. Time twisted and stumbled.

And a new voice spoke into her head, in the rhythm of her heart and the steps around her and the light suddenly erupting from under her skin, where the divine mana in and around her writhed and seemed to multiply. Anuis Eltarianal, you have proved yourself beyond all doubt and you are a great hero already, but I need you to be a greater one for me. Will you accept?

Lady Alianais, Anuis gasped, in her mind. The words had appeared in her head like they were whispered into her ear and shown in a System notification at the same time. She felt the touch of the goddess, beyond all doubt. You want to make me your Champion?

I can think of no one better.

Why only me? Why now? she asked before she could stop herself. Why not before?

This moment is a fulcrum that will turn the tide of this battle, and possibly the war, Alianais answered. As for your other question — perhaps I have waited too long. But I will not divide my power among many Champions like my opponents do. I cannot match their quantity, so I must have stronger individuals.

And by keeping it in reserve, you kept a trump card that could turn into a strategic victory, Anuis realized.

Indeed. I knew you would be a good choice.

I will not give up my own convictions, Anuis said after a moment of consideration. I am truly honored, but I am not certain that I can best represent your ideals, my lady. Surely there is more to this than the war. I do not know if my idea of progress is the right one.

Yes, Alianais agreed. Anuis could faintly sense satisfaction from her. I think I need someone who will question me, who will push back. I have tried to be better, but old habits are hard to break, even for gods. You have already seen progress, in many ways. Across centuries. Unlike a human, an elf is more likely to understand the long view, I think. By all means, help Regina’s enlightenment. Drag your city into your desired future kicking and screaming. Find your people’s own way through what is coming. I have been told I do not believe in people even if they believe in me, but, I think, I can believe in you, to start.

Anuis swallowed, feeling like her core was turning into molten heat. Then I accept, and thank you.

It felt like her skin was stretched to make room inside it, as mana poured into her, the light she gave off increased, and two lances of light formed in her hands. At the same time, a System notification was transmitted directly to her brain.

Anuis almost felt outside of her body as the notification faded, its words seared into her mind. Her right arm moved, and the lance it carried flew true, striking Grandmaster Seaborn directly in the throat. It cut through his gorget as if it was mere paper, and he fell.

Anuis ran forward, pulling the divine mana still flowing freely through her to force it into the shape of several javelins even as she thrust her second lance at another enemy. He dodged, but then a barrage of Magic Missiles from Iseis distracted him and she pushed him into the next attack from his fellow, so a Fireball engulfed his head.

Anuis turned. She had more Champions to kill, and freshly empowered, feeling her new abilities wrap around her, it was a fight she knew she would win.

And then they had a battle to win, as well, but they would.