Path of the Hive Queen

After that conversation in Galatea’s lab, something seemed to have shifted between them. Regina couldn’t put her finger on it, she just felt it somehow. Maybe it was her imagination now that she was paying more attention, but she caught Galatea giving her considering looks occasionally. Her friend also stayed at court for longer, though Regina supposed she’d probably been planning on that anyway.

Things with June had also changed a bit, and it was easier to pinpoint how or why. Unlike Galatea, June wasn’t a mysterious centuries-old existence, just a girl, who, despite being rather mature and doing important work, was still a bit childish in some ways. Now, she seemed torn between awe and the sinking realization that her master and her allies were playing with forces far beyond normal reckoning.

Not that Regina believed in things ‘beyond mortal ken’. Certainly not when it came to the gods from Haven (she wouldn’t call them the gods of this world).

But she couldn’t spend too much time thinking about it, or even talking with June about it, because there were other matters demanding her attention. Regina was kept busy with Empire business, from overseeing the support efforts for the war to the reforms and formation of the institutions she wanted. June went off again soon enough, traveling to new schools and workshops and other project locations — pretty much all the places Regina would go to if traveling was less of a headache for her.

In the meantime, she resumed her focus on the war in the south. They still hadn’t found John Cern, which just showed there was foul play involved, that guy couldn’t hide that well on his own; and there was nothing much she could do about the southern expedition until Tim and the others sent word. Therefore, the gnomes received the brunt of her attention.

Janis’ forces were advancing slowly but steadily. The same went for several other corps currently moving deeper into gnomish territory along other routes. The city of Ins-On-A-Rock was largely quiet, as far as she could tell. Regina had kept up her practice and focused a lot on that particular target, so she was confident in her readings of its ‘psychic signature’, if cities could be said to have those. There was no fomenting unrest and while she didn’t want to deplete the garrison too much, they weren’t going to need reinforcements any time soon.

It was a different matter for the settlements their forces took as they pushed further into the Gnomish Confederation. With every village and every town they captured, it stretched their army further and whittled away at their numbers to provide garrisons. Regina knew there was no way around it — leaving them alone could spark a rebellion and that would easily spark a bloodbath, something she desperately wanted to avoid. They were going to get reinforcements from Cernlia and Nerlia, though, so it should be bearable.

She couldn’t tell if her efforts had born fruit otherwise. It would take a few days to be sure, until she could actually talk, or rather, have someone else talk to people.

Regina spent the time dealing with Empire business and arranging things so she was free to watch. Once it was finally time for her to get a bit more involved, she checked in with all of her commanders and then tried to scout out the area around the front line and the outer part of the gnomes’ territory as cautiously as she could.

There were several issues with trying to form any kind of alliance or agreement with gnomish leaders. The most obvious one was that the gnomes had been spreading propaganda against her Hive, building on propaganda propagated for centuries, and openly admitting to any sort of contact or help would be a big risk. It was hard to estimate how the normal gnomish civilians would react, but she could guess many of them wouldn’t be happy. As a corollary to that, anyone caught trying to contact her people would be labeled a traitor and probably made an example of.

There were some ways she could try and get around or at least mitigate those problems. Offering sanctuary to any gnomish dissidents fleeing the regime, and trying to protect her contacts as best she could. But it also called for a more subtle strategy.

After all, they were two nations at war, but they were still two nations. Diplomatic contact of some kind had to be possible. And once the gnomish leaders gave in to the inevitability of that, something could be done.

Accordingly, Regina had prepared several things. She was mostly focused on the meeting Janis would be having, though. It was a bit of a risk to send her heir to the front and to something like this, of course, but it also worked as a gesture of sincerity. She was sure Janis knew that, and she was fine with it.

Regina didn’t want to publicize the meeting too much, since she wasn’t sure of the loyalty of everyone in her court or even the army, and the gnomes had even more reason to be discreet. As such, Janis departed quietly on what seemed to be a routine patrol and tour visiting some of their forces, something she’d been doing a few times before. A few sapient drones came with her. A few minutes out, Gwen Cern joined them. The woman was one of the Delvers Regina trusted the most, and one of the most diplomatic ones they had.

It took a while until the meeting she was waiting for could actually start. Both sides had to be careful, after all. Focusing on the area, Regina could sense the scattered minds of singular gnomes scouting out the surroundings and her approaching party, but they kept their distance. Likewise, a few Winged Drones circling high overhead gave them some information, and she also let Janis know what she was sensing.

The town they’d chosen as a reference point was actually far enough from the frontline to be mostly unaffected. Or at least, it seemed like it. The front had been moving recently, so they might just not have caught up yet. But it was nestled in some hills and had a few relatively simple tunnels close to the surface, not a very complicated tunnel system but enough for hiding. Janis and her companions took a tunnel through a rocky hill whose entrance they’d previously scouted with Winged Drones. It hadn’t been closed, unlike many others.

Regina relaxed a bit as she recognized the minds of one of the gnomes waiting for them. The woman she had talked to previously, Akilekil. There was one other mind that felt faintly familiar, although she couldn’t recall where she might have met them. Well, it wasn’t important. What was important was that they had brought a small group of only half a dozen people, just as requested. Regina intensified her search for a minute, but didn’t find anyone else lurking or any suspicious movements further away.

Once Janis and the others emerged from the tunnel, it was only a short hop and a skip to a small, secluded grove nestled between two hills. An old altar stood to one side, but its inscription was so weathered it was hard to make out what deity it had been meant for. It was outside the town walls and out of sight from them, though only a few minutes of walking away, but anything they did here should be hidden from the inhabitants and any garrison. Not that Regina expected that to be a problem, the people she was meeting had probably made sure to bring the local garrison to their side, at least enough to turn a blind eye.

“They actually came,” one of them muttered as Janis and company emerged into the clearing. It was probably meant to be quiet, but the drones’ hearing picked it up.

“We came,” Via said, smiling as they approached the gnomes. “It is good to find you here, as well.”

“Of course,” Akilekil replied, politely bowing her head, which the others copied. Janis only dipped hers briefly while the drones and Gwen did the same. “Welcome. We hope for illuminating talks.”

Well, that’s at least a good start, Regina considered.

“Maybe introductions are in order?” Dan spoke up at her prompt. “This is Janis Starlit von Woltan, crown princess of the Empire, as I’m sure you know. This is Via of the Starlit Hive, one of the Hive Queen’s personal aides and a renowned healer. And I’m Dan of the Starlit Hive, one of our warriors. And this is Gwen Cern, a respected Delver and trusted advisor.”

The gnomes exchanged a quick look before Akilekil spoke again. Clearly, she’d been appointed as their spokesperson for now. “A pleasure to meet all of you. I am representing the Moderates and the Radicals factions of the Gnomish Confederation. My colleague Daliakon is a fellow leader of the Moderates. Editekil is vice head of the Preservationists.”

She didn’t introduce the rest of the gnomes, which was probably deliberate. Her own side knew far less about the gnomes than the gnomes did about them. Still, Regina didn’t mind. At least we have leaders from three factions present. That’s something. And from what she’d heard, they probably weren’t small, two-bit local parties, even if the other two weren’t as big as the Moderates. Those still seemed to be the biggest opposition to the Historicals, anyway.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and the tension eased slightly as it became apparent that neither party seemed to be here to spring a trap, although some tension remained.

“I hope you appreciate that we are taking a great risk by being here, talking to you,” Editekil said.

Janis smiled slightly and nodded. “We do understand that, and appreciate it. Although, it also appears that being a leader in a political faction of the Gnomish Confederation is quite risky lately.”

There was a bit of grumbling from the other gnomes, but no one spoke up to deny her statement. It was obviously true, and something of an understatement. Regina wondered how these people had escaped the purges she knew the ruling faction had conducted against political opponents. Perhaps a mix of having connections to Historicals, going into hiding, or the leadership of factions being kept secret? And maybe the Historicals also left some alone as a deliberate gesture to show they weren’t just killing their opposition (even though they were).

“I suppose that is why we are here, in a sense,” Akilekil said lightly. Regina felt Janis’ mild surprise at her easy admission.

“But we do have to question your own motives,” Daliakon continued. “What do you gain by dealing with us? You’ll have to forgive us if we are suspicious of whether your goals will hurt us in the end. Our nations are at war, after all.”

“Such suspicions are perfectly understandable, and we are not offended,” Janis said. “I do appreciate the frankness. Of course, we intend to win the war, make no mistake. But Hivekind are not the genocidal maniacs they have been made out to be by your political enemies. We entered into this war to protect ourselves, and we want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed — on both sides. We desire a civilized resolution, and some assurance that a new war will not break out spurned by the hate the Historicals spew. Unfortunately, such a civilized end will not be possible with them in charge of the Gnomish Confederation, as it stands.”

“Hardly,” Editekel said with a faint nod.

“If we get past this hostility, I believe both sides have a lot to offer each other,” Janis said. “But our first priority has to be to protect the citizens of the Central European Empire, and make sure the Gnomish Confederation is not a threat to their lives and wellbeing.”

There was a moment of silence as they considered what she’d said.

“Thank you for laying out your position,” Akilekil said.

It went unsaid that they couldn’t simply take them by their word, Regina supposed. And even then, Janis hadn’t said anything about concrete goals or how exactly she envisioned the political landscape after the war. Of course, it would be a lot easier if we did have detailed plans for that, Regina reflected. But they probably wouldn’t be workable, anyway.

“I take it from your presence here that you are open to cooperating?” Janis asked.

There was another short pause, before Akilekil nodded slightly. “We are open to the possibility,” she said. “However, it depends on the details. In our considered opinion, it is best to start small, so to speak, to build trust. We have many reasons to distrust each other, and we will need to ascertain whether a cooperation for common goals is feasible.”

“That’s fine,” Janis said. “We do not want to pressure you.”

Ask them if they want something, Regina suggested.

Janis didn’t give an outward reaction, but continued, “Do you have any requests for us?”

“We do,” Editekel said quickly, “We want your protection, if we should come to be hunted by the Historicals.”

Regina felt Via’s surprise, echoed by the others a moment later. This wasn’t a small request, she supposed. But it did align with what they’d been saying.

“That is not a small matter,” Via said.

“But I am sure we could work something out,” Dan said.

“If you have to flee the Confederation, we will of course offer you sanctuary,” Janis confirmed. “I give you my word.” Gwen leaned over to mutter a suggestion to her, and she quickly added, “As long as you do not betray us or commit acts we find unconscionable, of course.”

“And what of our safety within the Confederation? Will you be able to help?” Akilekil pushed.

“If we should become aware of threats by other means, we will warn you. That is all we can promise.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Akilekil inclined her head. “Now we are only left with the question of what you want from us.”

"For now, nothing except a little information,” Janis said, again following an impression Regina sent through the psychic link.

“Information?”

“Nothing in terms of military intelligence,” she reassured them. Not yet, anyway. It could easily come to that eventually, and they probably knew that too. “But we would like to understand the situation in the Gnomish Confederation better. Especially the political pressure and persecution you are facing, and how the common citizens are faring.”

“Of course,” Daliakon responded quickly, earning a slight frown from the other gnomish man. “We would be pleased to discuss the situation with you.”

Regina settled in to watch as the conversation continued, going into details. She tried to commit everything to memory, and to make sure that a good representation was in the psychic link as well. A quick call to Ida made sure a Keeper was helping with that, as well.

Overall, she was satisfied with how this progressed. They hadn’t actually gained much, the agreement they’d reached so far wasn’t very comprehensive, but it was a start. More would come with time. Crucially, she’d confirmed that the gnomish opposition was ready to work with them in defiance of their current regime. The pressure would increase as the war went on, anyway.