POBee 147.1 - Meeting the Hive of Hives
The Firstborn flew above the Memorial, her wings beating strong and steady. This battle had been one of their most costly yet in absolute losses, yet the Firstborn’s mind stayed calm. Nay, she held herself high, having to keep her wings in check lest they carry her higher and away from the proceedings.
Because today, they had won a victory of victories.
Today, they had faced King-like beings that the Conduit named humans, as if the King’s glorious form could be expressed with a single word. But apparently, he was not the only being to share that form, and the others were nothing like him. According to the Conduit, these humans were enemies. They had destroyed an entire hive of humans the King dwelt in, burned the King’s home, and scattered his hives. They mortally wounded the King himself in the process. He had only survived because the Conduit rushed to his side as the God of All Bees pulled her away to create this realm.
In that, they were as bad as the Hunger. Worse, even, for they had apparently caused more devastation and come closer to killing the King than even the disaster that befell the First Dynasty of the First Spawner. The power required to do such a thing to the King…was unfathomable. And yet, it had happened. The Firstborn saw herself as the King trembled, brought to great trepidation upon learning these humans approached his lands. He feared them more than the monstrous shades that hounded him so.
And then the army had laid them low. More and larger enemies than they had ever faced, working together in a manner the Firstborn thought limited to her army. They held claws of cold metal and commanded the very elements through magic on par with the karnuq. They rode on beasts that dwarfed even the largest flying shades and launched fire and lightning and wind as if they had all the powers of all the shades put together.
And yet, it was the King’s army that emerged victorious in the end. They had triumphed over a foe that eclipsed the disaster of the First Dynasty, that had done worse to the King than any intruder he had faced since. They brought an end to an evil that plagued the King’s very heart and that drove the Conduit to uncontainable wrath.
Today was a day the queens of the Flower Meadow could truly be proud of. No…a day that the hive of hives could truly be proud of, for they hadn’t done it alone. The bumblebee soldiers had taken the blows her soldiers could not. The supplies from the Apiary had made the army what it was today. Beero and the wounded soldiers’ ceaseless efforts gave the hive of hives magical attacks of their own and defeated a foe faster than any bee.
And then there were the karnuq. If the Firstborn had any remaining misgivings about those outsiders, they were truly resolved. The karnuq had stood by their side, fought their foes, and struck down the King’s enemies. The blazing karnuq had spared entire formations of soldiers, the mighty karnuq had fought the enemy no soldier bee could, and the rest of their hunters drew the enemies’ attention so that the bees could aim their dives in peace. The Firstborn could now include the karnuq in the hive of hives without hesitation.
The Firstborn finished her thoughts as the memorial dance came to a close. She gave one final thanks and farewell to her soldiers that made today possible. Just then, she heard a loud clap as the King requested their attention. She gave him her full attention.