The Bee Dungeon

The First of the Fifth sent word to the Conduit, and asked if she would arrange a meeting with the Firstborn. The Conduit agreed and off she flew.

While the First of the Fifth was confident she was favored above all, given that the Conduit was not a queen, there was no doubt among any bee of the hive that the Conduit had a special place among them all. Even the First of the Fifth could not and would not contest that. She was connected to the core the same as the King, she shared in his power and in that of the realm. If the King were the ruler of all the land, then the Conduit was the land itself.

It was even whispered that the Conduit existed before the King’s realm was even forged, as unthinkable as that thought was. That she knew the King in some sort of past life, from before the birth of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner. The First of the Fifth didn’t know how much stock she placed in such things, for a world where her King was not king was not one she cared to imagine. And yet, she could not help but notice the Conduit’s familiarity with the King, as if they had known each other for far longer than the First of the Fifth had seen.

But now was not the time to think of such things, for the First of the Fifth already had an unpleasant task before her. The point was that the Conduit danced with special authority, nearly equal to that of the King himself. No bee, whether worker or soldier or queen, would deny her save by the King’s own order.

And that made her the perfect mediator for this discussion. The only mediator the First of the Fifth would accept, in fact. She and the Firstborn had each been established as the most powerful queens of the Flower Meadow and the Apiary respectively, and none of the others could be trusted to remain impartial. And it would not do to trouble the King with such matters, seeing as this was all for his sake to begin with.

So, the First of the Fifth took her guards and flew through the Apiary, passing into the Flower Meadow. She then waited at the Shrine of the Goddess at the end of the Flower Meadow, the Queen of all bees. She disliked coming all the way to the Firstborn’s lands, but the Goddess belonged to all, so her shrine was the most appropriate as neutral ground. And, well, the shrine in the Apiary stood next to the core itself, and the First of the Fifth would not have this discussion in that sacred place. So, she would concede the journey to the Firstborn.

Soon, the Conduit came flying over, and the Firstborn with her, coming without guard or escort. The First of the Fifth wasn’t sure how to take that. Was the Firstborn’s hive stretched so thin that none could be spared? Or was it a sign that the Firstborn was not taking her seriously?

“Hi! Firstborn of Second Dynasty of First Spawner here, like Firstborn of First Dynasty of Fifth Spawner asked! Queens talk!”

The Conduit danced about rapidly, in the manner an excited worker would. The Firstborn began a dance of greeting.