The Bee Dungeon

The First of the Fourth zipped about in happy dances, giving in to her ecstasy. Her soldiers and even her workers paused their training and labor to join her as they all danced around a capped cell.

Named. Frelis, one of her workers, was named by the King! The King considered one of her workers’ achievements on par with the likes of Beero, queen of the fallen, or Velebee, who danced with the Queen of All Bees. Maybe even in the same dance as Niobee, the Conduit herself!

Not even the mightiest of the spawner queens or their kin had managed to achieve such an honor. Neither the Firstborn who built the army, the Fourth of the Seventh who paved the way for the hive of hives, nor the First of the Fifth who fed half the hives and the King.

And yet, it was one of her workers who had managed to do it, and to receive the blessing of the Queen of All Flowers to boot.

The First of the Fourth finally finished her celebration dance and zipped out of the hive. This was a grand moment but she could not rest on her laurels. She had to put in as much effort as her Frelis had. She had heard the Firstborn was figuring out a way to do just that, and she wouldn’t miss it.

The Firstborn’s training had not gone as well as she had hoped. Oh, she had learned how to dive and evade well enough, but ultimately she was held back by her body. She wasn’t, and would likely never be, as fast or agile as her soldiers. Her dives were slower and weaker, while her evasion was sluggish in comparison. She had done enough that she might be able to participate in a fight, but not enough to contribute anything meaningful to it. There was no point in risking herself just to add a single substandard soldier to the army.

So, she had considered what she could do that her soldiers couldn’t. The one advantage she held over them that might be relevant for combat was her superior mana. Her mana reserves were larger and denser than theirs, and she had superior control over it as well. She needed as much to fulfill her job as both mother and leader of a hive of monster bees. She pondered now if these advantages could be useful on the battlefield.

One obvious answer was Beero and her magic dances. But, in addition to the Firstborn not having joined the hive of the fallen, that was the battlecaster’s area of expertise. Beero had specifically evolved for those dances and so the Firstborn wasn’t sure she’d be any better at it. Additionally, those dances took time and focus. The Firstborn wanted to remain cognizant of the fight so she could continue commanding the army at the same time, so could not dedicate as much time or focus as the hive of the fallen could.

Fortunately, the Firstborn had seen another application of mana on the battlefield, one that seemed to require far less time and focus. So, once again, she approached the karnuq. Particularly where the fighting one and one of the others were practicing, making stingers of fire and mana that flew off their weapons and collided into each other.