The Archdruid left Jeb alone in the field of ashes. As gentle rain started to fall, Jeb pondered the man’s words. He hadn’t even noticed his trend of falling into himself. Even now, a part of him refused to accept that he lost himself to his Class.

When he tried to think about what happened on his journey from the Capital to the Enclave, though, Jeb was forced to admit that he could not bring much of the trip to mind. He remembered stopping in the first village, but that was where his memory stopped. The next memory he had was standing within the Druidic Enclave.

Trying to remember how he had unlocked Druidic Magic, Jeb found himself equally lost. He remembered being thrown into the pit, and he remembered getting out of the pit with access to Druidic Magic. Looking down at his hand, Jeb was confused at the phantom throbbing sensation there.

What happened? he asked himself. Unlike the journey which took an indeterminate amount of time, he knew that he was in the pit for only a few hours. Second by second, Jeb worked his memories free from the haze of being the man cloaked in midnight.

When he forced free his memory of opening his finger to the bone, Jeb’s Magic broke free, making a crater in the still dead space. It was as though he was experiencing the pain first hand, and he watched as the skin on his finger sloughed off, leaving the bare bone again. Looking down in horror, Jeb felt his sense of self warring with his Status and his Class. Gritting his teeth, Jeb rewove the Magic that he had unconsciously made to heal his finger. Unlike under the grip of his Class, however, he had to actively force the Magic to obey his bidding.

As painful as it was, Jeb had the brief memory of the joy he felt when wrangling Magic as a First Tier Least Mud Mage. He never would have guessed that he would go to the Druidic Enclave, let alone weaving a free form Magic to heal his own finger. Unlike then, however, the resistance he felt was not something arbitrary, or a lack of skill on his own part. No, it was completely clear to Jeb that the resistance he faced now was his Class rebelling against the fact that he was trying to separate himself from it, however slightly.

With a final burst of effort, Jeb forced the skin and sinew to knit back together. Panting heavily, he collapsed from exhaustion. When he awoke, Jeb saw that his Mana Attuning bees had clustered around him. The Magic in the air was thicker than he had ever seen before, and Jeb felt himself revitalize with each breath. The reminder that there was Magic outside of his Class seemed to help him reassert control over Wizard.

“Thanks,” he said, petting the bees as they crowded around him.

“We wondered where you had gone!” a voice called, and Jeb turned to see the Druids who had helped him with breeding his bees.

“Hi?” Jeb said, taking an offered hand to stand. The group began walking, though no one spoke to Jeb. When they made it back to the Circle of the Swarm, however, the Druids turned to him with clear disapproval on their faces.

“You have done a good job with enhancing the bees in your care,” Joshua said, carefully measuring his words, “but I feel as though you may have missed an important point in our lessons.”

Jeb’s eyes widened, and he tried to recall what he had forgotten.

“In your defense,” Brianna cut in, “we were not explicit in the messaging. In part, that is because we are unused to dealing with students who do not have a background in Druidic Magic. Despite having the Skill, and despite being Bound to a hive, it is clear that you do not see the world as a Druid does.”

There was no judgement in the tone, but Jeb still felt as though he should apologize. Before he could, though, she gestured, and a veritable wave of bees flew towards them.

“You are more powerful than any bee in your Swarm,” she said simply, plucking a single bee from the air.

“Right?” Jeb said, uncomfortable with the way that she gripped it.

“You are, arguably, more powerful than the entirety of your Swarm,” she continued, encasing her bees in a ball of tightly bound air.

Jeb frowned. “I’m not sure about that,” he replied honestly. “There are a lot of bees.”

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She shrugged. “That is a fair enough point. Your Swarm is definitely far more proliferous than most Swarms for someone your age. However, given the state of the clearing when we came into it, I still believe that you could win if you needed to.”

The ball of air dispersed, and Brianna’s bees swarmed around her like a cloak.

“Of course, that will hopefully never be a relevant discussion. You are, after all, Bound to the Swarm. Still, it segues into the general issue you have been neglecting. The power you have over your Swarm forces on you just as much of a duty. Your Hives are clearly thriving, but why? What do you gain from it?”

Jeb shrugged. “I don’t need to gain anything in particular from the Swarm,” he replied. “That way of thinking feels far too transactional to me.”

Joshua scoffed. “You are disrespecting your Swarm in doing so!” he said, venom in his tone.

Jeb turned, confused. Without needing to be prompted, Joshua continued his rant.

“Your bees are not humans. They are not even people, in any meaningful sense. Each worker in your Swarm knows that it exists for a single purpose. Treating them as though they are people denies them the way that they would choose to be. You are powerful enough that you can continue to exert that pressure over them, but doing so makes you a monster.”

“Joshua!” Brianna scolded. “That is a little strong.” Turning to Jeb, “I cannot say that he is entirely wrong, though. Enforcing your own views of autonomy onto a fundamentally communal species is at best grossly naive.”

Jeb nodded, suitably chastened. “I truly don’t know what purpose I have for my bees,” he admitted.

“Is there nothing that your Swarm can do for you?” the third Druid asked, voice far calmer.

“I do appreciate the fact that I can use them as a teleportation network,” he said.

“That’s a good enough place to start. Why don’t you summon your Empress so that the two of you can discuss how your partnership,” Brianna and Joshua glared, “if that is how you choose to think of it, could be most beneficial to both parties. I can guarantee that she will be happier if given a purpose that benefits you.”

Jeb nodded, and the Druids left. He took a deep breath and called to the Swarm. They rushed around him, dancing that the Empress would be there shortly.

A gash opened in the air in front of Jeb, and the Hive’s first Queen flew out. Jeb was a little surprised that she had remained alive for so many years, but supposed that it made sense. In the presence of their Empress, the bees around Jeb suddenly grew more real. It was like the Archdruid’s effect on the Enclave, though far more muted.

“Hi,” Jeb said, waving at the bee.

The Empress settled on the hive that the Enclave had given him. Bees appeared, dancing the Empress’s message.

“Bound One, how have We displeased you?”

“What do you mean?” Jeb asked.

The bees buzzed around in clear confusion. After a few seconds, though, the Empress took back control. “Year after year we have worked to provide whatever we could to aid you, and yet you have not once used our succor since leaving the Hive.”

Seeing Jeb’s confusion, she continued, “the stores of honey we have produced have lain unused. The protection we have offered has gone unused. I have legions of scouts who could help you in your journeys, and yet you have used not a one. Are we nothing more than a diversion to you?”

Jeb could sense the deep well of pain in the Empress’s last question. More than anything that the Druids had said, that vulnerability pierced Jeb like a dagger. He had not wanted to take advantage of the bees’ kindness. In doing so, however, he realized that he had not once asked them what they wanted since leaving the farm. The one thing that they had requested, something to Attune Mana, he did not even provide, instead forcing them to breed a class of bees to do so on their own.

“I am truly sorry,” Jeb said, wiping a tear from his eyes. “I had not considered the way that you would interpret my actions.”

The bees buzzed their forgiveness, along with the hope of a task from their Lord. Jeb, despite being uncomfortable with that title, nonetheless pushed forward. “In the future, I would like to be able to teleport more effectively. I would be grateful if you would establish a number of Hives in some sort of regular pattern throughout the Republic.”

He bobbed his head back and forth, debating the next part of the command. “If possible, please make them as unobtrusive as possible. I know that in the past people have been concerned by the presence of the larger members of the Swarm. In places with significant human populations, please try to use the smallest and least Magically Attuned bees.”

The bees buzzed assent, and two dozen bees flew out towards Jeb. Even as he looked at them, though, his eyes tried to glide off. It was an effort to even remember that they were there.

“What?” he asked, stupefied.

The bees explained that they had noticed that trend, and had taken steps themselves to begin hiding more. Going on, they asked if they were also to expand their territory into the realm the Lord was currently residing in.

“Great question,” Jeb replied, “let me see if the Archdruid is comfortable with that.”

As though the words had summoned him, the Archdruid stepped out of the woods and walked over to Jeb.

“I am glad to see that you are yourself again,” he said, “and I am equally glad to see that you are finally taking responsibility for your actions, even if only here.” He continued walking, but Jeb rushed up to get in front of him.

“Would it be acceptable for my bees to establish hives throughout the Enclave?”

Lightning flashed in the Archdruid’s eyes, and the sky suddenly grew dark.