Long live the Queen!

THE GODDESS OF BEES, ONE WHO BRINGS SWEET HONEY AND DEADLY VENOM, ALWAYS WATCHES, EXCEPT WHEN SHE DOES NOT. BUT TODAY, SHE WAS WATCHING.

She was watching how a virgin Queen Bee (who called herself Rulia, but what decent being *needed* names, anyway?) with her pitiful swarm of just 33 bees flew toward a hive.

It was built in a hollow inside of a massive pillar mountain, larger and older than most pillar mountains nearby. The protrusions on the upper part of it were reaching so far and wide that all the mountain's surroundings were in constant shadow for a kilometer in all directions.

A forest was growing on top of this mountain, so far from the ground it was partially hidden by a blue haze of distance. Massive beasts prowled it day and night, but none of them touched the beehive inside the mountain, despite the sweet honey inside.

They knew better.

Bees didn't *need* intelligence to be superior to these creatures.