The Bee Dungeon

"AHAHAHA, this stuff is great! Let me tell you, Air, I honestly didn't think much of bees before, not ones for fire, I thought. But Bee's new master, now that boy's got a spark in him. Mead made from burning honey, gathered from flowers growing in a lava river by bees evolved to withstand the heat! Multiple layers of devotion and gratitude and dedication to fire, all condensed and distilled down along with the natural sugars of the honey! You've got to try it…if you can get some yourself!"

"Then share some, Fire!"

The God of Light looked straight forward, but with her powers she could see everything in her vicinity. All around her, gods of every shape and size stood in a circle, arranged so that no god stood above or below any other. The circle was colossal as a result, but since all the attendees were gods that presented no obstacle to holding a conversation.

The God of Light held in a sigh as she watched the gods leisurely chat amongst themselves. Even the God of Fire wasn't particularly focused, judging by how he taunted the God of Air while she tried to swipe a bottle of mead from his hand. It would seem that none of them, not even her own allies, were particularly affected by the gravity of the situation on World One. As the God of Fire had warned her, it seemed most of her fellow gods were indeed not concerned about the ultimate fate of the world. She had made several personal appeals to them at this point…and yet, they still could not agree on a joint intervention. They still would not work together to save the world.

The God of Light inhaled lightly and started to speak.

"My fellow gods, I implore you once more. World One needs the gods to act! The Conclave of Tower Lord stalls and wars against their fellow dungeons even as the corruption builds along their borders! The Calwaskon Compact has only just discovered the true capabilities of the dungeons and will soon test themselves against the Hunger directly! But now, at the moment the world needs unity most desperately, it is on the brink of open war, its defenders are slaughtering each other as we speak! We must act, we must mediate! We must prevent this war and put a stop to the slaughter!"

The God of Dragons snorted.

"Must we? This again, Light? We've already discussed this, haven't we? We have done plenty for the mortals, have we not? We gave them the dungeons, we let them use our own powers however they see fit, without restriction! We have given them all the tools they need to save themselves and then some, we have gone above and beyond any obligation! If they choose to war amongst themselves, then what business is that of ours? YOU were the one who cautioned us against direct intervention. YOU were the one who designed the dungeons, who set forth the terms by which we interact with the mortals of World One. I say, if the mortals have doomed themselves…for a second time, at that…after all we have done to reverse the situation then that is simply their fate. Let them be judged by the consequences of their own actions, why must we scramble about at their behest? Why must we constantly scramble in order to fix their mess?"

The God of Light did not reply, she already knew how the God of Dragons would respond. She had made this plea before, after all; a discussion was not her aim today. She instead looked around at her fellow gods. Looked to see how they responded to her words and his.

Most…did not respond at all, but continued chatting amongst themselves or else let their minds wander elsewhere judging by the weakness of their presence in this place. A few, like the God of Water, gave her a sympathetic look. Others said nothing but nodded along as the God of Dragons spoke.

It…was as she had feared. She let their apathy sink in; she started to accept the outcome that she had already known deep down. She could not convince the gods to act together. They would prioritize their own affairs and squabbles over the fate of World One. Her last attempt to move them had failed.

Her body dimmed as she let her own mind wander while the God of Dragons droned on. In a way, this outcome was natural. The gods were above any single world, their efforts and competitions spanned several. Their followers would come to their halls after death and their aspects could be rebuilt elsewhere, to most of them a world was just a stage on which their followers danced. The loss of a single world was thus no great consequence in their minds. This was true even for her own allies, much less those who resented the authority she held over World One.

In fact, the gods had already decided to abandon World One back when it had first become clear no power within it could withstand the corruption. Only two gods had refused, it was only because of their efforts that there was anything left to discuss.

The God of Light glanced over to the empty spot by the gods of fire, air, and water. The God of Dirt and Ground never attended gatherings in the divine realm, for she was more closely tied to the land of each world than any other; her incarnations in any given world were almost separate gods entirely. In addition, she was firm, unyielding, and…above all…stubborn. She had thus refused to leave World One, burying her incarnation in the center of the world instead. Her power spread out from below, hardening each layer of dirt and rock against any intrusion, whether physical, magical, or otherwise. It was thanks to her endurance that the corruption had not yet managed to claim the subterranean tunnels many mortal survivors now called home.

The other god that had refused…was the God of Light herself. Part of her reasoning had been that she was not as optimistic on the limits of the corruption as the others. The Hunger had remained within the bounds of World One for now and had not yet overcome the God of Dirt and Ground's power either…but the God of Light could not help but dread what might happen if it were allowed to consume the entire world. She, at least, was not convinced the corruption would simply remain there, content in its meal and no longer a concern for the gods.

And that scenario, of course, assumed that the God of Dirt and Ground would be willing…or able…to pull her incarnation before the corruption reached her in the deepest parts of the world. The other gods were confident on that count, some of them had incarnations escape the corruption after all, but the God of Light thought the God of Dirt and Ground's situation much different than theirs, given her incarnation's connection to the land itself…

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But, ultimately, neither the threat of the corruption nor the possible fate of the God of Dirt and Ground was the true reason the God of Light had intervened. The true reason was…she loved World One, simple as that. She remembered when her light first illuminated the cosmos of its universe. She remembered the first pixie, the first elf, and the first human each as they became aware and truly beheld the light for the first time. She remembered their dancing and laughter under the sun, their moments of contemplation in the calm of the moon. She remembered their struggles and their conflicts as the light reflected off their blades and armor.

She remembered the desperate pleas of millions of souls as the corruption consumed them. In their darkest hour, as all hope faded and they turned to their basest instincts. So nearly each and every one of them, no matter who they had been before, had reached out for the light, for a spark of hope to illuminate their way. Those pleas came to her mind even now...

The last spiderkin of a sorcerer king's guard, praying that her creator and liege could find a way through the flood of corruption all around them.

The elven disciple of the God of Trees and Forest, hoping that the light would shine again on the forests in a future she'd never see.

The citizens of a doomed city, watching the horizon in vain for a sorcerer king's army to come and relieve the siege of shades all around them.

The pixie knight on the back of her loyal bee, both charging into the darkness for the sake of their hive, wishing that the swarms would find their way to safety.

A proud dragon reaching the end of his strength, longing to fly in the light of the sun one last time before he crashed into the corrupted ground.

Her Heigiosa, the Oracle of Light, gathering survivors onto the highest peak of the tallest mountain and begging for an intervention as the last warriors of humanity fought along the slope.

"If we must be judged, then so be it, but please…save the world! Do not let the world die for our crimes!"

The God of Light began to shine once more as she brought her attention back to the gathering of the gods. She turned to look at the God of Fire. He ceased his merry boasting and locked eyes with her. His face turned grim.

The God of Light took a deep breath. It was true that this gathering of the gods was greater than even the fate of a single world. The truce that the gods had established on World One had gone on to affect every other world they shared. They now had a commitment to restrict their conflicts and discuss things with one another here, which had set a precedent and created a forum they could use to address their issues in other worlds as well. The battles of the gods had grown quieter across every world as a result; the God of Light even hoped they could establish a permanent peace amongst themselves, which could then inspire their followers to do the same. The tragedy of World One could become a beacon of hope to all others.

But…it was clear now that many of the gods…most of the gods, if she were honest with herself…did not share her dream. That they saw this truce not as a means to build something together, but as another tool to use against each other. That, ultimately, they didn't care, they just wanted their cut of the world that she had saved.

The God of Light made her choice.

Her body flared, becoming so bright even the gods winced for a moment. The God of Dragons fell silent and all eyes turned to her.

"So be it. The gods shall not act together, then. Each of us shall attend to our own followers, as we always have, and no instruction shall be given to the Conclave of Tower Lords, nor to the mortals as a whole. I will trouble you all on this matter no longer."

The God of Dragons blinked and then began to grin. The God of Beasts snarled and trembled. The Gods of Fire and Water both turned to stare at the God of Light, grim expressions on their faces.

"And I, too, shall attend to my own followers, such as my oracle. As I have been remiss in for far too long."

The God of Dragons froze…then his smile began to drop.

"You…you can't be serious. You would break the truce of the gods, the bargain you made with us? You told us you wouldn't take control of the Conclave! You promised!"

The God of Dragons winced again as the God of Light brightened further.

"I agreed, but I made no promise, for if I had there would have been promises in kind that I would now demand be fulfilled. My silence was intended to facilitate cooperation and respect among us…cooperation and respect that I see has not been returned. My silence no longer serves any purpose, so I see no reason to maintain it. As for the truce, take heart, for I will not break the truce today. I shall not make war upon any of you nor will I command your followers, so long as you hold to the same. I shall simply speak with my Heigiosa, as I should never have ceased to do."

The God of Light paused to glance around the room.

"And if the mortals perhaps go further than I say, interpreting conversation as command and acting as they see fit, whether their actions match the spirit of our truce or not? Well…what business is it is of ours what they choose to do with what we have given them? We have just decided that the consequences of their decisions are their own, have we not? Or…perhaps the gods do believe that we should approach the mortals as one? Perhaps you are ready to make a decision, here and now, to truly work together for the sake of World One?"

The God of Dragons growled but remained silent. The God of Water spoke, quietly indicating he was willing, as did the God of Flowers. The God of Fire remained silent but nodded his head in assent. Then the God of Mercy, then the God of Healing, one by one more of the gods began to join them. But…they stopped far short of a majority, much less a unanimous decision. It was clear as well, however, that her opposition could not object to her breaking her silence either, most of the gods were glancing around at each other and declining to respond. As always, the gods were deadlocked, most preferring to tend to their own affairs than to act together, in one way or another.

"Then, it seems we have nothing more to discuss. Let us conclude the gathering here, I'm sure we each have many affairs we wish to attend to."

The God of Light let out a deep sigh, her shoulders drooping as the gods departed from her realm. And so, the dream of united divines died as she, its chief architect and proponent, chose to stop working for it. The truce of the gods would be one of convenience and circumstance, nothing more.

But what could be done? She was not willing to sacrifice World One, not even for that dream. She could not achieve it anyways while most of the other gods didn't care. So…neither would she. The wars of the gods would likely resume one day, mortals would again perish in their names. But she could not make the others desire peace.

What she could do, though, was save the world she loved. And speak to those that she loved.

A small smile broke out on her face. There was at least one thing she was happy about in all this.

"Heigiosa, my Heigiosa, can you hear me? It fills my heart with joy to finally speak to you again…"