“…ther.”

“Mother.”

“MOTHER.”

…

“Nyeh.”

I groaned as I turned and covered my eyes, which didn’t prevent the overbearing voice from coming closer and speaking again.

“Oh good, you’re awake. I suggest you figure out how to overcome the Mind Collapse I assume you’re experiencing, because some lingering effects are beginning to affect the hive. Also, we very much need to continue the expansion projects; the Linkers you have made are interesting and will likely be useful when hatched, but we are in desperate need of more bees.

“In particular, we need Workers. Egg caretakers, scientists, medics, Link specialists, explorers, and food specialists, just to name a few. Interspersed among those Workers we need a large quantity of regular Linkers to reliably send to Yiwi so as to prevent any repeats of the former incident. Some more Warriors to bolster our forces now that we’re interacting with the fernen would also be prudent. I’m hoping that by making a large amount of bees, you will finally unlock the Queen subtype and make our lives significantly easier. Oh, and the humans have arrived in the fernen encampment.”

I shot up and thanked Beatrice, squeezing out of the central hive to stretch. Not a moment to waste, of course! Beatrice’s tired sigh went ignored while I took stock of my situation. My head pounded like an excited auctioneer was inside and my stomach grumbled. Damn, I was hungry? Wonder when the last time was that I really felt hungry.

“Okay. I think I’ve got a wrap on everything I need to do. Can you help me figure out this Mind Collapse thing before we get started, Queen?”

“…”

Uh. Queen?

“Hush, I’m trying to watch.”

The hell do you mean?! What could be so important- Oh.

“Oh indeed. Not only am I keeping an eye on my future body, I’m on the ball, as it were. Making sure everything with the fernen doesn’t go sideways. You may go ahead and fix the Mind Collapse issue. It will probably be difficult to do so while consciously keeping track of multiple things and Minds.”

I see…. Hey! I see what you’re doing here. Is this some sort of revenge? Or prank?

My brain kept pounding, interrupting my thoughts, so I tried putting them on hold for now. Queen’s underhanded play aside, I really did need to fix the Mind Collapse. As much as she wanted to play it off, I knew she was hurting too, considering we’re one and the same. Plus, if what Beatrice said is true, then suffering Mind Collapse can cause issues in the hive, specifically with the Link. Who knew what sorts of ramifications that could have with the Linkers?

I set my mind to it. How could I cure Mind Collapse? The previous examples of times I underwent the condition were fixed with some simple rest and relaxation, but I didn’t have time for that now. Instead, I thought of tasking the CBU with finding a solution, but stopped myself at the last second.

Despite the pain, I dove into the visualization of my Mind. Inside, the CBU was pulsating weakly and the B-boxes were sluggish. Disconcerting. If those were also affected by the Mind Collapse…

This healing Ability would be an incredible boon in the right situation, but right now it was a massive pain in my butt.

Okay. I just had to manually search through some memories and stuff to find a proper solution. The CBU isn’t completely out of commission, but using it in this situation definitely did not feel like a smart idea. Individual B-boxes might be alright though…

“Man. This sucks.”

__________

Keeping my thoughts away from Enno’s planning took some concentration, which was quite the task, considering our current condition. While Yelah stared at a group of young fernen playing with a stone, I pondered.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

My recent thoughts have been… disconcerting. A sense of immense loneliness was in constant companionship with overwhelming discomfort. It made no sense. To be uncomfortable with others? With our hive? Enno being a former human was seriously messing with our capability to connect with our children as a collective.

Such a thing could not be. It was fine to take advantage of the differences between humans and bees, but for there to be unintended consequences was simply not favorable.

Oh well. Enno was the one in control. He would be the one to figure it out.

Yelah jerked along, her movements stiff, even robotic. All of the practice Enno went through to move her body naturally was gone in our state, and I couldn’t do anything to help. Grehn and Vlugh gave us a sideways look, one I interpreted as a profound sadness.

That was one of the reasons I hesitated to make progress in separating my consciousness into Yelah’s body. Could I do that to her friends? Every time I glimpsed their thoughts, I suffered, feeling the visceral pain of loss. And Yelah herself… I still hadn’t tried to interact with her or even see her. It was simply too depressing. She hasn’t stopped screaming, but I believe her cries have calmed somewhat. Whenever she finally calms down, I would be the first to speak with her. To understand her.

Of course, any such thoughts were kept private. Enno couldn’t know about these things. Ironic, considering secrets were a nonsensical practice invented by the humans. And keeping a secret from yourself? How preposterous.

Turning back to the fernen society, it was truly something to behold. Not in a good way, either. Mossy creatures frolicking on the rough stone and dirt occasionally groaned and grabbed their backs or rubbed their arms. The children played while their stomachs rumbled. Other than the four we were following, most of the creatures appeared entirely downtrodden.

I wanted to ask what exactly happened to the fernen. I wanted to inquire as to their current lifestyle. I wanted to tell them to move back into the forest.

But I was still cut off from the world.

“Excuse our gloomy situation. I’m sure you three understand, considering it was your kind that caused it,” Follo said, turning his head to glance at the humans. Yes! You tell them, brother!

“Hey pal, we weren’t exactly thrilled about the Burning either,” Vlugh retorted. Grehn, meanwhile, stayed silent, simply staring at the fernen children as we passed.

“Whatever, human. Who did it isn’t my problem. My problem is the suffering we’ve gone through and the destroyed forest,” Follo spat.

Vlugh stopped, as did the lean fernen. Lowchief Feltan sighed, tugging on Follo’s arm to get him to keep moving. How frustrating! I knew where Vlugh’s anger was coming from; not only did the people of Yiwi suffer because of the Burning itself, they suffered from its aftereffects as well. And Vlugh himself suffered more. As one of the few Drevani in Yiwi, with the Ability to breathe fire, no less, he had encountered no shortage of ire from the people around him.

But what about Follo? Was he the Lowchief’s… Assistant? Friend? Lover?! Why was he so passionate about the Burning? Had he lost someone dear to him? Or was he simply that righteous? Gah! It was so frustrating to not know the entirety of someone’s being.

Feltan pulled Follo’s arm harder. “We should continue. The Highchief needs to be informed about our arrangement.”

The Drevan and fernen stared at each other for another moment before Follo turned away to follow his… friend. How dull. I wanted more actual information! Observing the surroundings simply wasn’t enough.

Regardless, that was all I could do. Observe. As much as I wanted to practice with Yelah, she simply didn’t have the range of vision for a clear picture, so I switched to Ben’s viewpoint.

From his eyes, I could see nearly every inch of the fernen encampment. The raised section of earth was almost like a ramp, starting at the forest and going up into the mountains some distance away. A pair of small rivers ran down the ramp towards a small lake, merging with a third river to form the large Yam river. It was mostly along the shore of this pool that makeshift tents and leans protected lying fernen from the sun. As the humans walked through, more and more fernen emerged from their tents and the shadows to observe, displaying no emotion in a way I could interpret. One fernen sat near the forest’s edge at the shore of the larger river, occasionally tossing some sort of powder into the water.

Actually, there were many such examples of fernen doing strange things. There was the individual presumably poisoning the river, a trio walking towards the encampment from the north, and one tiny fernen shrouded in a cloud of heavy smoke.

It was towards this final fernen that Feltan suddenly dashed, waving his arms and staff around in an exceedingly humorous, noodle-like manner, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“FATHER! AGAIN WITH THE LUTICE WEED?”

Ah, the fernen Highchief. Shorter than expected. Indeed, he was smaller than any fernen we had seen, barring children. Though despite the size of his body, his arms were exceedingly long in comparison and his hair much darker. The circlet he wore was massive, wild, and untamed, and he held a sizable wooden pipe from which the smoke rose. I suppose that whatever he is doing with this ‘lutice weed’ isn’t something Feltan approves of. Although, the sheer amount of smoke brings to mind the Ability Feltan showcased against Beatrice. Perhaps there is some connection there?

“Ah, Feltan. Would you please explain what those things are doing here?” The Highchief coughed. “They seem to be mercenaries. They will not be missed if they happen to disappear while on a mission. I don’t approve of their presence. If I don’t find your answer satisfactory, I’ll have them killed.”

Feltan stepped forward and stood straight before his father. “Ahem. Highchief, these humans are not, at present, abiding by the will of their own species. They are being controlled by a creature of the forest; bees. Ben, if you would come down here?”

My vision blurred as Ben zoomed downwards, stopping just out of range of the smoke. Then Ben did a little dance. While he danced at the grand leader of the entire fernen species, Feltan continued.

“I have been defeated by their second-in-command in a Battle of Minds, and in doing so, have agreed for fernenkind’s subservience to the hive for three months' time. As you know, we must abide by the results of the Battle. I deeply apologize for going over the head of Highchief Ferntan, but I truly believe it was the correct decision.”

The Highchief, Ferntan, slowly nodded before sighing and taking another drag of his wooden pipe. It was a lot to take in, I’m sure. If Beatrice had suddenly come up and declared that the hive would be subservient to another species, I might ‘flip out.’ Not that I was capable of such a thing, but Enno would likely be plenty happy to do so in my place.

“Highchief, what your son says is true.” Grehn turned and presented his nape, showing the fernen his Linker. “A powerful queen bee in the forest managed to bring us under her control over two weeks ago. In fact, much of Yiwi has been conquered.”

I felt a spark of hope within Grehn. Was he… was he trying to use this opportunity as an underhanded attack? Classic human. I didn’t get the feeling that he was acutely aware of the current issues with the Link and Mind Collapse, so this must have been a calculated risk on his part.

Not a good one, in my mind.

The Highchief and Lowchief had frozen, and Feltan’s eyes were so wide that they were actually visible beneath his thick hair. He stood there for a moment before stammering. “Eh-Excuse me? The human city of Yiwi has fallen?”

“Not completely. But the city is essentially under the control of the bees.”

Ferntan’s pipe clattered against the stones on the ground as he rose, looking between Ben and Grehn. “Unbelievable. What have you fools done? This is what I feared; the creature or creatures powerful and ignorant enough to destroy the Shroud would make an attempt on the humans, and the worst has come to pass. Our forest, destroyed. Our poison did not work. Our kind is under your control.”

He clasped one hand to his face before taking a single long stride and shaking Feltan’s shoulder. “Son. Our kind may not survive this trial.”