While Belissar, his bees, his people, and his friends were all hard at work building a new room, the God of Bees was equally hard at work, dancing out a new description for said new room to add to the dungeon options. Here she had thought that her Hive of All Bees had already encompassed all things bee that existed, had existed, or would ever exist…but apparently, she had been mistaken. Her dungeon master was creating new possibilities that very moment.
No, he was doing far more than that. He was not only her most powerful and devoted follower in ages, possibly ever, he was also considered the authority on bees by nearly all intelligent beings that knew her in World One. The monster bees, those that represented her most directly, all considered him their King. Two of the three other dungeon masters who had received her blessing came to him for bees. Every single mortal champion blessed in her name and her oracle as well were his sworn defenders. Belissar now defined how she was perceived and worshipped, it was not an exaggeration to say that his actions could change her and her realm. A god was their own person, but it could not be helped that the mortals would develop their own expectations of their gods which each god had to choose whether to embrace or defy. Most gods thus had living relationships with their followers and could grow from that relationship like their followers grew from them.
The God of Bees’ relationship with her followers was nearly entirely encompassed by her relationship with Belissar at present and she fully embraced it. After all, in the few months he had become her dungeon master, Belissar had revolutionized bee society, creating an entirely new form of hive that had not existed among bees prior. No other bees had decided to join hives together in voluntary cooperation, rather than subjugation. No other bees had decided to value the lives of drones, refusing to treat them as expendable and working to evolve them. And thus, no other bees had achieved what Belissar’s hive of hives had and no other beekeeper had created as many new possibilities for bees as he had. Even the Order of Hive and Stinger of the past had merely embraced and cherished bees as they were. Belissar not only did that but also helped them to become something more.
And that was why Belissar was the best dungeon master. Even the God of Bees hadn’t considered some of the possibilities he had made reality. Even the Hive of All Bees was being transformed by the new relationships between bees, and between bees, gods, and mortals being formed in Belissar’s dungeon.
And that was why the God of Bees managed to realize that one of the bees flying towards her wasn’t hers.
The bee froze, then somehow let out a sigh and then began speaking in a male human voice.
“What gave it away? I was sure I had it right this time! The mana, the pheromones, the mannerisms! I thought it was perfect!”
The God of Bees’ antennae twitched as she observed the bee in detail.
“Is, but not part of Hive of All Hives, so knew not bee.”
The bee struck its face with one of its front legs.
“Ah! The new little hive mind thing Beely’s got going? I didn’t know you added that to your own realm!”
The God of Bees danced about.
“Makes bees happy, lets work together and do more. Queens of First Dynasty of First Spawner of First Bee Dungeon wanted try!”
The bee chuckled and then spun about. The bee disappeared in a flash of light and then was replaced by a well-dressed man with a constant grin on his face.
“Well, speaking of working together, I have a proposition for you, Bee. Now, I know I’m mischievous and all that, being the God of Mischief and all, but trust me, this one will be…”
The God of Mischief paused as the God of Bees danced.
“…huh, just like that? No…suspicion? No hesitation to hear me out? No need to convince you to let me convince you?”
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The God of Bees buzzed her wings.
“No. Need to work. What deal?”
The God of Mischief paused for a moment longer before starting to laugh.
“Well, I suppose that’s very much like you, Bee. Well then, here’s my offer. I want you to bless my little girl Finny. I’ll pay you a bunch of authority to make the blessing and to give Beely a mission to help. Sound good?”
The God of Bees’ antennae twitched.
“Give God of Mischief’s First Daughter mission?” ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by Nove1Fire.net
The God of Mischief, however, shook his head.
“Oh, no, no, no. I don’t want you to bless her dungeon, Bee. I want you to bless her. Take her as your champion, let her accomplish deeds in your name! The whole thing!”
The God of Bees buzzed her wings.
“Deal too good. God of Mischief giving authority and letting other god bless daughter and dungeon master? Don’t want shrine in Belissar’s dungeon? What want, then?”
The God of Mischief grinned.
“What, can’t a father dote on his little girl every now and again? Besides, she’s already got my dungeon, so I’m sure she doesn’t want me staring over her back at her friend’s place. And can you imagine the look on Vanie’s face when she finds out our little demigod has become a good little bee working for you instead?! It will ‘bee’ hilarious!”
The God of Bees just stared at him. The God of Mischief stared back for a bit before glancing away.
“Weeeellll…I could also use a tiny little favor in the future, if you don’t mind.”
The God of Bees danced.
The God of Mischief blinked for a moment.
“Wow, this isn’t how I expected the negotiations to go. Huh. Well, anyways, what I want is…”
The God of Mischief explained. The God of Bees stood still for a moment before carefully beginning the steps of her reply dance.
“Is ok but…need ask God of Light?”
The God of Mischief grinned.
“Oh, leave her to me. I have a feeling she’ll be amenable to negotiations very soon. I sense there’s some mischief afoot, you know?”
The God of Bees was not convinced and continued her careful dance.
“What if God of Light says no?”
The God of Mischief sighed.
“All business with you, huh, Bee? Tell you what, if I can’t convince the God of Light, then that’s my problem. Let’s…ah, how about you have Beely give me some mead?! In fact, while we're at it, let me order some mead right now, and then let me order some more if I can’t convince Light! Deal? It’s a good deal, right?”
The God of Bees found it suspicious, but that went for everything the God of Mischief ever said. But…it was indeed a very good deal for her. Blessing a demigod as a champion, that was something every god wished for. Demigods not only tended to achieve great renown for themselves, their parents, and any patrons they had, they also were a living source of divine authority, a natural bridge between the mortal and the divine. They were like natural conduits through which a god’s power could flow into the world they lived in.
And what’s more, the God of Mischief’s daughter was also a dungeon master. For a dungeon master to become the champion of another god meant that every deed they accomplished would now grant that god some authority…and every achievement of their dungeon and its denizens would count. The God of Bees would not only be getting a living conduit, she would be getting a cut of all the authority the God of Mischief earned from his daughter’s dungeon.
And he was going to pay her for this? Didn’t want any authority, didn’t want a spot in Belissar’s dungeon, just wanted a favor and some mead? It was beyond suspicious.
But, well, the deal would certainly help her, her dungeon, her dungeon master, and his bees. As long as it did that, she didn’t really care what else the God of Mischief got up to, and he had to convince the God of Light first in any case or else he was just buying mead for an exceptionally expensive price.
Well, there were potential downsides to taking a demigod as a champion. Just as they formed a natural conduit for the god to affect the world, they also did the reverse and could have a powerful effect on the god in question, not to mention that all other mortals would naturally look to any demigod champions as representatives of their patron's will. But the God of Bees wasn't concerned in this case, Princess Finnakynne had been wonderfully devoted to bees as of late, working for the hive, protecting them in battle, advising their king, and now helping them build a new hive. The God of Bees would have wanted to bless her already if she hadn’t been another god’s child and dungeon master; she had even planned to approach the God of Mischief herself to see if they could work something out. She had no reason to refuse.
The God of Mischief blinked again and then grinned.
“Excellent, I do love working with you, Bee. Trust me, you won’t regret this!”
And with that, he was gone. His parting words made her trust him less rather than more, but the God of Bees had work to do so she put it out of her mind and got back to work…
Just then, a gust of wind picked up in her realm and began swirling over her head. It turned into a little cyclone in the air and a woman’s body made of wind and clouds rose up out of its top.
“Bee! Give me mead, give me mead! I can’t take any more of Fire’s bragging! Let me try some too!”
The God of Bees was a bit annoyed that her work was interrupted again…but soon shook it off. She, a god that most had ignored just a few months prior, was getting increasingly more visitors, negotiating with some of the most widely-revered gods as an equal. She could only dance happily at that…it seemed more gods than herself had noticed her dungeon master’s fine work.
And if she had her way, more gods than herself would reward him for his efforts and devotion.