As she entered the room, Xicackna could see nothing but the presence of the queen. She was far from the entrance but she generated such a strong impression that the little princess could not concentrate on the surrounding scenery.
It was the first time she had met a queen other than her own… It was true that it was also the first time she had met Zcarbbs belonging to another colony, but their queen left a stronger impression on her.
She emitted powerful pheromones of dominance in the midst of many other exchanges that designated her as the center of the hive. A specific, unique smell surrounded her, probably reassuring for her children, but only impressive for strangers.
Xicackna sensed a significant exchange of information between Kol-Gaar and the queen as they approached the latter. She didn’t understand a thing, even when she tried to read the prince’s thoughts. She preferred to limit this kind of disrespectful intrusion into the thoughts of civilized[1] creatures, but her safety demanded that she try anyway.
The queen lowered her massive hands and the two young Zcarbbs climbed into them. She then raised them to the height of her head in order to better see her interlocutors.
“So, you’re the little princess from the hive of Xa-tar-Lona? How is she? I thought you all died in the Catastrophe.”
The queen’s voice vibrated with power, like hers, but it also had a strange gentleness that reassured. Her eight enormous eyes were fixed on the little Zcarbb curled up in her hand.
“Come on, tell me everything: how did you come here? What message does my sister have for me? I doubt that your situation is advantageous for her to send me a little princess as a messenger.”
Taking her courage in both hands, Xicackna straightened up, her eyes lost in the queen's immense ones.
"I... I am Xicackna, I... I am honored to be in the presence of Xèl-tar-Lomenia. My queen, Xa-tar-Lona is currently a prisoner in a System Dungeon, as are all our people. We have found a way to travel between worlds, even if we still lack the energy for better functionality. I was sent to discover the state of our world and find your hive, Xèl-tar-Lomenia, to discover if our ancient texts really describe ‘Humans’: dangerous monsters that constantly attack us. I was chosen because we lack princes for this kind of mission and because I have demonstrated good survival skills. I even survived alone in the Humans' homeworld!"
If the beginning had been laborious, now her words flowed like a river. Answering the queen's questions, she described the situation of the Dungeon, the perils they had faced, the new technologies they had developed. The queen listened attentively, with kindness and eagerness. She finally arrived at the description of her arrival in this world and the fight against the tigers.
“Saving her will have cost us five perfectly functional soldiers around rank E!” Kol-Gaar interrupted. “Not to mention the twenty-four-hour depletion of the Life, Energy and Vigor bonuses of my equipment and an expenditure of 161 Hit Points, 2 Armor points and 2174 Energy Points! By natural regeneration it would take me about two days to regenerate Vitality, but hey… that doesn’t count because I’m going to see our healers for the Armor. On the other hand, the lost Energy will only be recovered in about 22 days, maybe less if I spend all my time sleeping. A considerable overall loss.”
Xicackna ground her mandibles together, expressing her anger: how dare he count what her rescue had cost? The queen, for her part, cast a seemingly tender look on her offspring and waited for him to finish his indictment to reply:
“Indeed, these are considerable resources. I congratulate you on having spent them wisely.”
But Kol-Gaar still had complaints and added:
“And she called us salt thieves!”
“Huh? First, it's true and then you had called me an idiot before!”
“Do You see? She confesses!”
Against all expectations, the queen burst out laughing. Calming down quickly, she looked at the two young people, taken aback.
“Of course she thinks that: I would find it a shame if she had an opinion that was the opposite of her queen, especially at such a young age. In any case, as long as her queen does not find a way to return, there is no point in fighting over this mine. It is mine for the moment… Even if its exploitation is made rather difficult with the Dungeon that has partially invaded it…”
She brought her enormous head even closer to the little Zcarbb, to the point that one of her long, drooping antennae touched hers.
"We are still at war, of course. However, I believe we can agree that the Good asks us not to fight until we have defeated those who threaten the Zcarbbs. All across the planet, our surviving hives have developed a cooperation not seen since the era of the Great Queen Dem-tar-Mao. Transports have been set up to quickly bring our adventurers to the gates requiring fighters of their levels, and our armies patrol together in the lost territories.”
“Queen Dem-tar-Mao?” Xicackna wondered. “Who is she?”
“You… you’ve never heard of her?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The queen raised her chitinous eyebrows and closed her secondary eyes. Recovering from her surprise, she began to smile again.
“It is true that few hives preserve traces of such a distant period. Some queens have even speculated that its existence is nothing more than a pure legend…”
The queen’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she continued:
“Of course, now we have proof. Besides some relics given by the System and bearing her name, distant hives have told me that they have found the remains of the Great Steel Palace from which she ruled the planet nearly ten thousand years ago… They have sent back representations of the excavation. Oh, I will show you that later. If everything is confirmed, we may be on the verge of greater discoveries… But you came here to learn more about Humans… So, welcome to my Great Library of Xéméne!”
The queen moved her hand away, forcing the princess to look around. It took her breath away! The royal room was immense, a cave higher than any Xicackna had ever known. The walls and heights were lined with rows of shelves filled with amber or stone tablets, scrolls of plant fibers, wax plates, and many other writing materials. Strange machinery and ropes passed from one place to another while on catwalks, countless workers transported the data from one place to another. There were also many soldiers, ready to intervene by sliding down from the ceiling, if ever monsters arrived here.
The queen gave instructions through the hive mind. Immediately, the ground shook and rose. Xicackna cautiously clung to one of the queen’s fingers to observe what was happening below without risking falling. A platform, pulled by the ropes of the mysterious mechanism she had spotted, lifted the mass of the queen herself upwards. There, a line of workers presented her with large amber tablets, each placed in the chronological order of the story being told. Xèl-tar-Lomenia could thus move from one part of her reading to another without having to pick up and put down the archives.
The hand brought Xicackna closer to a particular tablet. She looked at it, wondering what could be on it. It was a relief representation, accompanied by common pheromones, describing the “demon from another world who defeated Dem-tar-Mao and began the Bloody Century.” It looked like a male, but without mandibles and with a rather strange face shape…
The evidence struck her and she turned to the queen:
“It is! Is it a Human?”
"Probably. This representation is quite old: I acquired it for many resources, even though it was not certain that this image of a "demon" truly represented an existing creature. Some princesses, also interested in archeology, supposed that it was an imaginary representation from the descriptions in the legends... Of course, now that we know Humans, we know that these monsters do indeed exist... It is more than likely that this portrait faithfully represents the killer."
Why exchange useful resources for this? Xicackna would certainly not understand this strange queen. Far from answering her questions, these revelations rather brought her new questions:
“You say you know Humans? In what way? For us, it’s because they regularly attack the Dungeon, but you?”
“We attack their Dungeons. Human Dungeons are about as common as Goblin or Elf Dungeons. In the same way that the latter two have multiple variants, it’s also true for Humans. We find very different cultures and weaponry depending on the Dungeon. If, like you, they were torn from their homeworld to be locked in these Dungeons, I suppose that their variants come from different worlds. From the ones you described to me, I can clearly visualize the human race you are facing: the one that uses steel spitters and explosives. They are called the Chameleon Humans, because they often have green or beige clothing, intended to blend into the environment of their Dungeon.”
The queen smiled cruelly, full of hatred as she observed the portrait of the monster.
“This monster is called Zagamotayo, according to legend. It is said that the other demons brought it from another world, where they travel in metal boxes, sometimes flying, and where they have weapons that breathe fire... I think that these are actually the metal spitters and that this race of Humans comes from Zagamotayo's original world... The stories from that time suggest that the System existed, because they tell of strange powers... How long has this System been oppressing us? But, if it is possible for us to go to the original world of this monster who, killing Dem-tar-Mao, almost caused the near extinction of our species… Fortunately, there had been the Great Purification after… A bloody war but which definitively eliminated all the great threats that our world knew…”
She observed Xicackna’s helpless expression and sighed:
"Well... I feel like I'm going to have to give a lot of history lessons to help you to catch up... Tsss, I'm not surprised by Xa-tar-Lona: she was always saying that History is useless..."
And so, Xicackna began to learn the History and legends of her people, under the tutelage of Xèl-tar-Lomenia. She talked a lot, although she summarized her words, testifying to her passion for these subjects.
The legends about Humans were multiple. The truth about their existence was questionable, notably by the absence of discovery of skeletons or other proof of their passage in this world, until the arrival of the Dungeons of course.
Some legends were pure fiction, but Xèl-tar-Lomenia taught her them too because she could well retain a grain of truth.
One of them, for example, claimed that Humans made fire descend from the sky and fell from there themselves in groups of four, spitting metal and exploding hives with a terrifying arsenal, before leaving carried away by a large metal bird. A total fabrication, of course, inspired by the terror generated by Humans at the time of the Bloody Century, when they had almost annihilated the Zcarbbs before seeing the favor returned by the Great Purification.
Exhausted, the little princess began to lose track of Xèl-tar-Lomenia's stories, her eyes closing at regular intervals. All the adventures and injuries of the day were starting to catch up with her now that she was safe. The queen finally realized it and began to put the young Zcarbbs back on the ground.
“It might be a good idea to stop here today. Kol-Gaar? Take her to Xer-Shola: you will have your chitin repaired there. After that, she can rest at the observatory…”
“What?! Kol-Gaar protested with sudden vehemence. No way: it's my room!”
“Yes: because you are the one who will take care of her during her stay here. You brought her, it is only right that you should be the one to watch over her.”
The male remained furious for a moment before calming down, agreeing with his queen's arguments. Xicackna, for her part, was very surprised by this exchange: how dare this prince contradict his queen? Why didn't she reprimand him, but remained so benevolent in the face of his insolence? This hive was truly a world apart from her own. Not as much as the world of Humans, but it was also surprising.
Kol-Gaar began to head towards the exit and Xèl-tar-Lomenia motioned with her paws for her to follow:
“Come on, go before you fall asleep from exhaustion.”
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[1] For the Zcarbbs, Humans don't really count as a civilization because they aren't organized enough.