Before men's time there were others who manipulated nature. Others with a far more noble claim to this land, for it was theirs by birthright. The old gods and goddesses, now forgotten, once ruled this world. 

But power creates conflict, and it didn't take long, for envy, greed, and hate to penetrate the heart of Earth's first monarchs. Their war wrecked every last continent, leaving no corner untouched by their destruction, the senseless violence they aimed towards each other. Then it was done, the divines were no longer, extinct by their own hands, and nature was made chaotic, once an organized population turned to a chaotic kingdom, life exploded in variety without any kind of purpose or defined place, they fought to overthrow and overwhelm each other in a selfish conquest for their own narcissism, without a leader their existence are without direction. Their empires fell, not long before those of humanity rose. Their legacy left behind to be swept away by the tide of history. To be forgotten.

 However one of the ancients clings to life still. A matriarchal hive mind was able to barely survive the dawn of her people, by suppressing herself, hiding from the merciless conflict. But she paid a price. Such containment made her weak. So much so, even the new cocksure nobility of the realm, humankind, was a danger to her, so she kept her strength, her voice, concealed. Doing so, made her power wither even further. Now she is on the verge of non-existence. In the center of a dark forest, now ravaged by a blight, lies the last of her once prosperous swarm, now starving.

As her desperation hits its peak, she produces a call for help, a scream of a hundred voices. A hopeless plead for aid. The once proud and powerful mind of thousands, now reduced to a begger.

But who would be so foolish as to attend her siren's call? Most creatures learned to fear the voice of the divine beings, no matter how sweet their promises... Yet, a single unlucky human happened to be strolling by. Like all of them, he was burdened with hubris, with carelessness, enough to make him approach the eerie voice, coming from the center of a dark forest. The man walked, deeper and deeper into his own doom, following a call he could barely understand.

The man reached a decaying beehive.

 image [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/64/bb/7a/64bb7a250bd60265ca4db6a805b8b46a.jpg]

A voice comes forth to greet him, the sound reverberating inside his skull, like a hundred tones trying to make their way into his mind.

"Mortal... thou of kind heart, your sympathy in attending a stranger's cry binds me forever in debt. Wilt thou aid me, kind human?"

The atmosphere of the dense forest grows even eerier. Her sweet voices unified as one beckoned the man dangerously. Yet, the stranger shakes his head dismissive of her unspoken promises.

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" You don't need to play games or stroke my ego...Just... Ask honestly and I might do it..." He spoke sincerely.

His blunt answer took the goddess by surprise. In the few interactions she had with humans, each time they reacted differently, often with fear, sometimes anger, and of course, surrender... But never she before had experienced, such a blunt answer.

"Very well human... I see you prefer a direct approach... You see, I Once stood as a deity. But time, cruel and ceaseless, hath wrought ruin upon me... Now, naught remaineth but this meager husk—this hive, this last remnant of a once-vast dominion. I am the last of my people. And I am scared of vanishing, of death, if left alone my swarm will only last a couple more days... I beg of you, to take this hive to a better place. For this forest has been ravished with a blight, one that killed nearly all of its flowers. If you do so, I will be forever in your debt, provide you with any recompense this Goddess can offer...."

The mortal man listens intently, his eyes widened at her proposition. But soon settled back into the emotionless stare of before.

"Okay... I think that would be fine, I have a backyard that leads to a forest full of flowers... would that be a good place for your colony?"

"Yes! That would be perfect! Please, kind human! Just pick up the hive and take it there. My subjects won't dare sting you!" The goddess spoke, her excitement visible, even through her disembodied voice.

The man obliged, he carefully took the fragile beehive from the tree, and with gentleness carried it back to his vehicle, securing it in the passenger seat under the guidance of the ancient, and drove it home. 

Arriving at his residence, the man gently fit the hive into a crevice from a tree in his backyard. As soon as his hands left the structure, the workers poured out hastily and into the forest in search of sweet pollen.

"This place is fittest beyond measure! Thank you mortal...  Here my swarm will live, perhaps even thrive... As of now, I can't properly reward your assistance, but the gratitude of a Goddess is no small thing... You won't regret this..."

The man nodded, looking as indifferent as the first time they met, and went inside with some remark about keeping the bees out of his house.

Of course. A human such as his couldn't hope to comprehend the true extent of the consequences of helping an elder god. Though he didn't know it yet, he was doomed, he had already sealed his fate and several others. The human lust for meddling with powers far above their comprehension—so careless, and so reckless—would now unmake him.