Side Story 18.1 - The Firstborn
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.
It was time.
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.
But...they failed.