The Bee Dungeon

POG 258.5 - Bee-vine Intervention

The world was filled with light. Bright suns above illuminated the entire area, auroras of every colors dancing between them. Wisps of light danced amidst torches, bonfires, and chandeliers, glowing even brighter than the ambient light from above. Glowing plants and shining rocks covered the ground below, basking in the light from all around.

A table made of glowing rock stood in the center of this world, surrounded by numerous gods. The God of Bees hovered next to the God of Flowers. Across from them sat the God of Fire and the God of Water, among others. With them stood a woman made of pure light, her features defined only by variations in brightness, the God of Light herself, along with a gigantic red dragon, the God of Dragons. The God of Light looked down upon the two on the other side of the table.

“Now then, God of Bees, can you explain why you sent a group of Conclave soldiers directly to your dungeon, whereupon they were slain?”

The God of Bees danced a salute.

“Needed to carry Oracle to dungeon.”

The God of Light raised an eyebrow.

“Why did you choose an oracle there, and not closer to your dungeon?”

“Couldn’t. No other hooks.”

The God of Light nodded.

“Flying there already. Augur asked, so responded.”

The God of Light gave her a stern look.

“And why did you not inform them of your intentions? Why did you allow it to end in violence?”

The God of Bees didn’t react, save to continue explaining.

“Couldn’t. Not enough authority.”

The God of Light softened her expression and nodded.

“I see. That is all reasonable then, if unfortunate. I do not find it reasonable to accuse you of intentionally attacking your own dungeon, after all, and you were working under constraints the rest of us here do not.”

She then turned her attention to the god next to the God of Bees.

“What of you, God of Flowers? You were not under the same constraints in authority as the God of Bees, and you had more awareness of the overall situation. Can you explain why you tasked your dungeon master in the Circle to meet the God of Bee’s dungeon master?” s̈

The God of Flowers glanced away as red roses bloomed on her cheeks.

“I…”

She glanced again and saw the stern look on the God of Light’s face. She hung her head.

“I…was jealous of the God of Fire and the God of Bees granting a joint blessing to a champion. I…wanted my dungeon master to be the first that her dungeon master met.”

The God of Light raised an eyebrow.

“Truly? You set your dungeon master on a path that would change the fate of the Calwaskon Compact and the entire land of the fair for that reason alone? Not because of the potential threat to a dungeon you had blessed from the Conclave?”

The God of Flowers couldn’t meet her gaze.

“…yes. I…was so worried the God of Bees would abandon me for the God of Fire that I acted…impulsively.”

The God of Fire cleared his throat. The other gods turned their attention to him.

“I can vouch for that. I believe I informed you of my…incident with the God of Flowers earlier. We managed to resolve the issue but I would say it demonstrates the God of Flowers’ mental state at the time.”

The God of Dragons scoffed.

“You are hardly a trustworthy witness here, Fire. Did you not grant this same dungeon your blessing? Have you not had dealings with Bee there? If anything, I’d suspect you to be the mastermind behind this, rather than those minors.”

The God of Fire burst into a column of flames.

“And you know that if I were to get involved thus, Dragon, that you would know it. I’ve no need to dance about you.”

A bright light silenced them both.

“Enough. I find no wrongdoing in the God of Bees, for she has acted within her rights to protect her Oracle. I find the God of Flowers’ judgement to be questionable, but not intentionally malicious, and we do not yet know if the results of her actions will be beneficial or catastrophic. I warn you both to consider the wider implications of any future actions, but I do not find you at fault for the current state of affairs.”

The God of Light frowned and turned her attention to the God of Dragons.

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“I believe that takes care of the question of responsibility you posed, so once again we must now decide how to respond. God of Dragons, do you still refuse to ask your dungeon master to pull back?”

The God of Dragons shook his head.

“Starami simply does as he wishes, as the mighty should. The choice and the consequences are his own. I have not set him to anything, why should I restrict him now? Or do you wish to claim authority over my dungeon master now, God of Light?”

The God of Light narrowed her eyes.

“This is beyond our individual followers, God of Dragons. Two of the civilizations that have had the most success in preserving World One are heading towards a confrontation. If a full-scale war breaks out between them, the world’s recovery could be set back by centuries, if not more. We could see the destruction of either the Compact, who preserve more memories from before the corruption than anyone else, or the Conclave, who collectively have purified the most territory. And do not forget that the corruption will not stop while the dungeon masters fight one another.”

The God of Dragons snorted, then breathed out smoke through his nostrils.

“Then intervene, God of Light. But do not expect a dragon to bow and scrape at your feet. And if conflict comes, then I say let it. The strong will rise, as they always do.”

The God of Light frowned.

“So be it.”

She rose to her feet and waved a hand. A door of light appeared behind the God of Dragons.

“If you will not cooperate with us, God of Dragons, then there is no further reason for you to participate in this discussion. We will handle the issue ourselves, as you suggest. And since neither we nor you will interfere with your dungeon master's choice, I trust you will have no complaints with whatever we decide to do?”

The God of Dragons growled but the God of Light grew brighter, so he left with one final huff. The God of Light dimmed, while the God of Fire crossed his arms.

“Well, that could have gone better. What will you do, then, Light?”

The God of Light sighed.

“It is true that the God of Dragons was not responsible for the current situation and I cannot compel him to act. For the sake of preserving the god’s truce, we also cannot interfere with the God of Dragon’s dungeon master directly. It has been difficult enough preventing the gods from warring with each other’s followers. We must try to retain the truce, even as we seek to avert a major war.”

The God of Fire nodded.

“Beast would probably declare an all-out war against Dragon if you let him.”

The God of Light hunched over and dimmed further, holding her forehead.

“Another situation we must address…but let us handle one crisis at a time.”

She then dropped her hand from her face and rose back to her full height, shining bright once more.

“God of Fire, God of Water, God of Flowers. I ask you all to speak to your oracles and dungeon masters among the Conclave and the Compact and ask them to mediate should a confrontation take place. Full-scale war is not to break out between the Conclave of Tower Lords and the Calwaskon Compact if at all possible. Additionally, God of Fire, will you send a mission to your dungeon master among the Conclave’s High Council to preserve Bee’s dungeon and her dungeon master? That much should be acceptable given that it is Bee’s first dungeon and is crucial to the future of the Compact.”

The God of Bees danced about happily.

“Thanks.”

The God of Light had not finished, however.

“Those of you who have blessed Bee’s dungeon are also free to do as you please to strengthen it before the God of Dragon’s master arrives…and I would ask you to do what you can. Bee's dungeon master has made remarkable progress purifying some of the most heavily corrupted areas. He has changed the trajectory of the Compact and his dungeon is now necessary for their well-being. He has brought together humans, beastkin, and fair folk as well, the first hope of peace between the peoples of World One since the corruption separated them. Bee’s dungeon must survive.”

The God of Flowers nodded at that. The God of Bees began a “Belissar best dungeon master!” dance off to the side. The God of Fire frowned, however.

“I fully support protecting Bee’s dungeon but…what about Beast? He won’t be happy if we protect Bee’s dungeon when no one intervened for any of his so far.”

The God of Light made a grim expression.

“He is right that is it an issue we must address now. The boundaries of the Conclave and the beastkin are close to overlapping, that is another war brewing now that the Conclave will encounter more than the occasional spiderkin. The gods must act.”

The God of Fire tilted his head.

“The gods, as a whole? That’s a tough ask. Dragon alone has a lot of masters in the Conclave. I am not optimistic he will cooperate any more than he did today.”

The God of Water crossed his arms.

“Is there any other choice, though? Light can get away with trying to avert a Conclave-Compact war on her own, but as for the Conclave itself we agreed to deal with them jointly with everyone that patrons a Tower Lord, didn't we?”

The God of Fire let out a literally explosive sigh.

"And that's why we've ended up letting the Conclave do whatever they feel like. We've never agreed on a joint message to the bunch."

The God of Light shook her head.

“Be that as it may, we must try. We will come together to discuss the Conclave as we always have, and this time, I will submit the motion personally. I will endeavor to convince the others of the necessity.”

The God of Fire exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“And…if we still cannot agree? Sorry to say it but many of us are only really concerned about our own followers...if that. Some wouldn’t mind writing off World One entirely and just grabbing their people from the Hall of Judgement afterwards. Even the world descending into chaos may not convince them to cooperate.”

The God of Light looked up and away from them. Her eyes narrowed slightly even as her body dimmed.

“…the world is changing. For over a thousand years the Conclave has led the charge against the corruption…but they have slowed and grown complacent. The Compact have long refused to fight, hiding in the land of the fair…but no longer. A dungeon has appeared near the very source of the corruption and survived…but is now in the focus of several powers about to collide. I feel events are now stirring that could change the course of the world, for good or for ill.”

She took a deep breath, and then her body grew bright once more.

“…it may be time that we change course too. If we cannot come to an agreement at this crucial moment…then I shall consider breaking my silence with the Conclave. It has been far too long since I’ve spoken with my Heigiosa directly.”

The gods assembled fell silent. The God of Water frowned.

“That…could mean the end of the god’s truce on World One, couldn’t it? If you speak with your oracle, the only oracle on the Conclave’s High Council, the de-facto head of that council, and their very first dungeon master, without a joint agreement…the others won’t stay silent. You’ll be accused of taking control of the Conclave and all of our dungeon masters within it. I can think of several gods who might abandon our agreements in that case…”

The God of Light nodded solemnly.

“Let us hope it does not come to that…but if, as the God of Fire says, we truly cannot consider the fate of the world together, then perhaps my silence no longer serves its purpose. We had thought World One had passed the worst…but it may be facing its greatest challenges yet. I only hope that we do not add to them...”