As promised, the music competition was held the next day. The drones made a bit of an event out of it, and Regina found herself quickly getting into the spirit of the thing. They’d rarely celebrated holidays, partly because they’d just been too busy with other things, but now she considered that maybe she should look into that. Make sure they were regularly celebrating so of them.
So rough guesstimating confird that Easter was already past, though, and she couldn’t think of many other holidays coming up soon, so they’d just have to put a pin in that. She’d rather not make a big deal out of religious holidays, anyway. But possibly the founding of the hive. Which would an celebrating her birthday — hatching day?
I could actually celebrate two birthdays, she thought with so forced humor. The day I hatched and my original one. That’s double what anyone else gets, lucky .
Either way, many drones had taken so ti off to listen to the recital and were milling around talking to favorite siblings and eating portable food. It was held outside under the open air, for acoustic reasons, or so Max had explained. So humans had also been drawn to watch the event. The perforrs didn’t seem to mind the crowd, though Regina could sense the nerves so of them were concealing.
To her surprise, she only really knew a few of them and there was no one she was truly close to among the group. Maybe that made sense, by sheer dint of numbers, statistically there would be many more younger mbers of the hive. Plus Max and his team probably wouldn’t have gotten much practice, Mia was always traveling around, Tia often was, too, and Tim was still gone.
She pushed that thought away and concentrated on enjoying the music. It was a wide variety of instrunts and corresponding styles. So simple, traditional instrunts from the current era, so that seed to be slightly evolved (or devolved, but she dind’t say that) versions of ones Regina rembered, and other drones had so replicas. There was no piano, unfortunately, that was probably too complicated. Thinking about it, Regina realized she probably knew enough about music, sheet music and how to play, that she must have played at least one instrunt.
She wasn’t sure what to think about that. She kept occasionally discovering new skills her human self must have learned and she rarely knew how to feel about it.
Instead, she focused on the music, which was pretty nice. There seed to be little order, so people played alone while others had ford small bands. The styles were all over the place, too. But sohow, the event still managed to feel consistent, like it had a common the. Regina listened to the music, clapped enthusiastically for everyone — even if anyone had been bad, she wouldn’t have stopped applauding, she wouldn’t do that to them — and basked in the feeling of her children enjoying themselves. They had fun, which was the most important thing. Plus the music would probably spread through the Empire eventually. She was looking forward to it.
At the end of the contest, Tia hopped onto the improvised stage, gesturing at the surrounding drones. “Thank you for your participation, and thank you to the audience!” she called. “We have another planned item on the the program, and this ti everyone can join in! Let’s sing sothing together!”
Of course, Regina figured, it wouldn’t be the hive if they weren’t being communal about it.
At least the drones were generally not too bad at singing and it was also fun listening to them. That is, until Tia got them to start singing ‘God save the Queen’.
Regina was sure her face would have been red if that was physically possible, she had no idea what to do with her hands or where to look, and if they hadn’t all been looking at her she would’ve buried her face in her hands. But the drones were all singing the song enthusiastically, while smiling and looking at her and generally making it very obvious it wasn’t a random choice. Regina forced a playful smile at the end and waved at the crowd a bit, figuring it was better to take it in good humor.
From the amusent she could feel from Tia, she knew she hadn’t shielded her emotions completely from the psychic link. And the girl clearly caught her looking at her and didn’t bother to hide it, only smirking and sending a vague acknowledgnt through the psychic link. She’d demote whoever had told Tia that her mother had apparently been British. Unless it was Regina herself, she rather liked being Empress and it would be a ss to lose that title.
She snorted to herself, then turned and started a conversation with Max about the weather and the conditions for the local farmland. The whole ti, she knew behind his deadpan gaze he knew exactly what she was doing, but he humored her. Regina managed to seem like she was invested enough in the conversation — and, in the end, it was actually pretty interesting to hear about what he’d picked up from locals — that no one bothered her.
The crowd dispersed after a while, the musicians going to hang out with their friends and probably celebrate with cake and ice cream or sothing, and Tia was eventually called away for an issue regarding the new side wing to their central workshop to the north of the base. Regina walked through the thinning crowd for a few minutes to exchange a few words with several drones, then went back inside to get ready to leave.
She didn’t have much ti, unfortunately. While it was nice to spend a bit of ti here, she did have a lot of work waiting for her back in the current capital. However, since she was in the area already, she’d decided on a detour before she returned. It ant going a bit further west, but she’d warned her hive that her psychic range would shift and they were prepared. It wasn’t like she urgently needed to send spies east or sothing, currently.
Max brought a group of bodyguards and she was joined by a few other senior drones who were currently not too busy, like Kit. Thor had stayed in the area after he’d returned from the front and offered to carry her. She agreed for the return journey but wanted to fly this stretch on her own. The others mounted various flying drones if they didn’t have wings themselves, and off they went.
It had been a while since Regina could stretch her wings for more than a short and aimless cruise above the city, so she enjoyed the trip. Seeing the Great Forest from above was a nice view, and a bit nostalgic for her. The effect of her newest Ability was noticeable, she felt like she could fly more easily and for longer. The wind rushing by her also seed to bother her less and it didn’t seem quite as cold, which she took as an unexpected bonus.
They touched down on the grounds of the old hive base where they’d first started to truly settle a while later. The lake sparkled with reflected sunshine. Regina rembered when the elves had first shown her the area; it was almost unrecognizable now. Trees had been cleared away from the edges, creating a much larger open space, and houses dotted the area between the boundary and the lake. There was a proper wall now, not just a wooden palisade, but one using concrete and steel supports. They were still experinting with better thods of construction, and one section of it would probably be torn down and replaced a few more tis in the course of this experinting. But there were two towers before it and tal grids could be placed over them, along with the ditches in front of and behind this section, to ensure it wasn’t much of a break in their defenses. At least this wall actually got so use in holding off monsters, even if it didn’t look like it right now. The buildings in the settlent — and instead of a base, it did look more like a proper settlent now — had also changed accordingly.
“Ho sweet ho,” Max murmured as their group touched down or dismounted and took their first few steps.
Regina nodded, but didn’t say anything. It didn’t really feel more like ho than the base they’d just co from or even Cera, but she understood why he felt attached to the place.
She started walking, greeting the drones who ca out to see her. The others who’d co with her spread out a bit, taking in the place. It still didn’t have an official na that would appear on maps, at least as far as she knew, but there were several nicknas that had spread through the hive. She honestly found it too amusing to stop it by insisting on a formal na.
At least people were no longer trying to na things after her, or not as much as they did at one point. She actually kind of liked it, in a ‘guilty pleasure’ sort of way, but she wanted to be at least involved in the process, if that was going to happen. Or actually honored if it was like, a dedication of so artistic work, then it would make sense. She hadn’t spoken the last thought aloud, though, since she just knew that if she indicated she was open to that all sorts of people would try to capitalize on it and try to gain her favor with elaborate and unnecessary projects.
Besides, ‘Reginapolis’ had a certain ring to it, but it was just a little too cheesy. (Maybe Woltania? But that sounded like a country.)
Maybe she should just call the next city she was building Alexandria, pretend it was a homage to the famous library, and leave it at that.
At least she did already have a na selected for the new capital they were building.
The town out here was a lot more finished than said city, even if it was still being upgraded. But then, it was constantly being upgraded. They’d made sure to leave ample room inside the walls for expansion. There was always space below the ground, of course, but this settlent was actually built remarkably close to the surface for one that was mostly dedicated to the hive, not any other species. But this was still the Great Forest, even if they were in the outskirts of it, and monsters liked to tunnel, as well. Or, other monsters, she supposed. There was still a clan of Tunnelers sowhere around here, not all that far from the base, that had learned not to ss with the hive, but she wasn’t sure it would remain that way.
So, there were lots of escape tunnels and hidden storage rooms and caches and the like, but it was just too easy to collapse or flood underground structures like this without heavy reinforcent, for sowhere that was still effectively a military outpost expected to be regularly attacked — by monster waves if nothing else. And she wasn’t sure about the heavy reinforcent. With magic, a lot of things were possible. Not that fighting under the open air would necessarily be much safer, but they were banking on having a variety of options.
Max went over all of that as they walked down the length of the settlent, gesturing emphatically at the walls, an entrance to the underground part of the base, and the cleared line of the forest, where so War Drones were grazing. Regina humd in acknowledgnt, but he wasn’t telling her much she didn’t already know. She still let him talk, content to see him this animated and invested. Maybe it had been good for more than just her to get out of the city.
“That’s nice,” she finally said. “It should be just as relevant for the next base, too. I do want to see where we hatched.”
Max hesitated for a mont. “My Queen, are you sure that’s wise? The security implications —“
“It’s fine,” she waved him off. “The risk is more than manageable.”
“There are monsters, and we don’t know about any adventurers who may be around, and while I have so good guards with , I’m not sure about letting you get out there without more preparation —“
“Max,” Regina interrupted, her tone growing colder, “shut up.”
He shut up.
She turned to head back to the front of the base, where they would be taking to the air again, glancing around once more. Max’s protectiveness could be charming, and she usually let him be the voice of reason when it ca to her personal safety — she had no intention of getting herself killed, or getting killed at all — but she would not let him dictate the details of her life to her. However well-aning.
She was able to sense every monster in their general vicinity, and would be aware of their positions, as well as any random adventurers who might show up. It was actually interesting. There were so many animals and monsters around, more than she’d really been aware of before. Her psychic skills had grown a lot, even compared to the last ti she’d been here. She felt connected to the forest in a way she never had before. Like it was one living, breathing thing. Or the networks of trees with their roots linking them and exchanging nutrients and information, which she’d been vaguely aware of before, but with her new magical and psychic senses, seed much more present. At least so of the trees here were pretty remarkable in that way. Especially as they headed deeper into the forest.
She wondered if there were sapient trees sowhere. Probably. It seed like ents would be a thing, or dryads or whatever. Now where they’d be murderous monsters ready to claw her eyes out at first sight was another question.
Regina didn’t let it bother her as she flew over the forest, soaking in all the life below her and breathing in the mindscape of the forest. It was enlightening, and instructive. She’d grown used to cities, but this was slightly different. On a level a city, especially one mostly populated by humans, wouldn’t, it drove ho just how different the world had beco to the one in her mories. But she didn’t dwell on that thought today.
The hive’s base deeper in the forest was much smaller, and the buildings huddled more closely together. Regina drew a few circles above it, watching it with interest, but then set down outside. She glanced around a bit, then made her way to her actual goal. Max fell into step beside her, and the rest of the drones spread out a bit.
“Let’s keep going, night’s going to fall soon,” she muttered, and he nodded.
Through her magical and psychic senses, she could also feel the network of tunnels underneath this part of the forest pretty clearly. The hanging moss and the occasional mostly small animals or monsters marked it out if she focused on it. Even with the forest outside having changed a little, it made it very easy for Regina to orient herself in regard to where everything was. She walked quickly, taking deep breaths to savor the sll of the forest.
The vault where she’d hatched remained just as it was when she’d last seen it. I should probably get the entrance door replaced at so point, Regina mused, but it was a distant thought. She was too focused on the corridors and rooms beyond it. Quickly passing through the door, she marched down the rough stone until she reached the actual chamber where her egg had lain. Carefully, she walked a circle around the room, taking it in. It was exceedingly bare.
Regina sighed and continued on through the door to the rest of the complex, which was still open. The drones had picked up all the splinters of her egg’s shell, so there was literally nothing here. She walked down the path, detouring into the other rooms of the complex. Other drones had scouted it before even after their initial exploration, but she still liked seeing it in person.
Then, after at least half an hour of walking around and looking at mostly bare stone, the others trailing quietly in her wake — only a few of them, there wasn’t really space for a large group here, or at least it didn’t feel appropriate — she reached the room at the back part of the complex where her egg had laid in stasis for over a thousand years.
Regina actually took a few steps back and paced through the area in the front and the connecting part of the room, tugging sharply on her mandible before she made herself stop.
“Leian?” she asked quietly.
There was no response.
Regina sighed, glancing around. The goddess had shown up here before, and said sothing about the place, presumably due to whatever magic the Hivekind had worked here, making it easier to hide it from the other gods tracking her. Regina waited, then called out again, this ti trying to project the call for attention. She wasn’t sure what to do. It would be best if she could just use the System, but it didn’t seem to work that way.
Maybe they’d figured out this exploit, or whatever it was, and had made an effort to close it, after Leian had used it once.
Carefully, Regina tried to project the call through her magic, and then psychically. The drones behind her winced. It seed uncomfortably exposed, but … Still, there was no response. Not even the other guy, Berren, showed up.
Regina grumbled a curse, then moved through the room, towards the only thing remaining, the towering object at the end. The stasis pod.
She’d gone to the little shrine people had set up in Forest’s Haunt this morning. She’d lit a few candles and hoped for a response, but there was nothing. Regina wouldn’t be surprised if Leian was officially forbidden from talking to her — that seed like sothing the other gods would do. Maybe they’d even forced so kind of tracking system on her. There will be ways around that, Regina told herself, but for now, the pod.
Previously, she’d thought it was best, safest, to just leave the thing here, avoid drawing attention to it and keep an eye on the area. But now she was not directly threatened by anyone or involved in any actual conflict, and she had the resources of an entire empire. She could take the pod out and study it properly.
First, though, Regina was going to carefully examine it and every centiter of this room. Her magical skills had developed a lot. There didn’t seem to be any connections, no power lines or the magical equivalent, but she’d still make sure before she tried to move it.
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