The Bee Dungeon

Bright lights blinded the world. Light focused into beams that set the ground ablaze. Flashes of light burst all over, so bright they’d be visible even through closed eyes. The sun above began to flare, bathing the world in deadly cosmic light.
The God of Light could no longer be seen directly, the lights comprising her body so bright as to immediately blind anyone who looked in her direction. And she turned to focus her wrath on the one tiny speck of her domain that was not fully illuminated.
“Did. You. Know?”
The light focused on the speck, forcing the God of Mischief into his young man form. He smiled.
“Well, you’d have to be more specific…ow ow ow! No, seriously, Light! That burns! I’ll explain, I’ll explain! Could I smell that there was mischief afoot in the Conclave? Obviously, who do you think you’re talking to? Did I know that Dragon’s masters were a part of it? I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out your own Oracle wasn’t plotting against the government she’s in charge of and Fire was never one for subtlety. Did I know that they were planning an entire coup and all, or any details of their plan whatsoever? Tell me this: do you think Dragon would let
, of all people, peek inside his dungeons?”
The God of Light glared at the God of Mischief once more, scorching him with the beams moving with her gaze.
“Then why are you here?”
The God of Mischief grinned.
“Why, to help you, of course…ow ow ow! Hey, stop that! I was going to explain!”
The God of Mischief cleared his throat as he patted down the fire that had started on his shoulder.
“Ahem. So, let me guess: you’re planning to storm into Dragon’s domain, banish him from World One altogether, then rip the dungeons from his masters’ hands and leave them utterly powerless while you maintain the masterless dungeons with sheer force of will?”
The God of Light’s gaze started another fire on the God of Mischief’s other shoulder.
“And? Do not get in my way today, God of Mischief. The God of Dragons has earned my ire. You are about to do the same.”
The God of Mischief quickly waved his hands in front of him.
“Hey now, don’t look at me! I’d love to see you go all out, it would be quite the spectacle! Besides, one of Dragon’s masters is threatening my little girl’s playground, you know? So, while normally I’m all for a bit of mischief, I’m here to help. The others aren’t going to like it if you do it this way, you know?”
The God of Light narrowed her eyes as her light intensified even more.
“I am well past the point of caring about what the others think. I was mistaken to give them any consideration in the first place!”
The God of Mischief laughed.
“That’s the spirit, Light! But…there is such a thing as too far, you know? You’ve got to feel out everyone’s limit and make sure you poke it but don’t break it. And well, it’s one thing for the others to know in their heads that you’ve got the most authority in World One by far, well enough to make yourself head of the pantheon there. But…it would be another for them to watch you overpower the mean old Dragon entirely with brute force, to rip away all of his dungeons, and to cast him aside. They would feel scared…and powerless. In their fear, they would start looking for ways to protect themselves, lest your ire turn to them. Plus, you know, the whole part where Dragon will declare war on you in pretty much every other world. Might kick off a divine multiversal war or something!”
The God of Light burst into a wave of light, setting fires all across the God of Mischief’s body.
“They stood by all these years and
they would band together, only to prevent me from enacting justice on those who have exploited my open hand to plot against my people?! Then let them come! Let’s see who among them can survive without the light!”
The God of Mischief gave up trying to put out his burning clothes and just nodded with a grin.
“Well said, well said! But…what if it was unnecessary? What if you had an alternative? What if you could leave Dragon just as powerless as if you had banished him with everyone not only not opposing you, but agreeing with you?”
The God of Light scoffed.
“Attractive words as always, God of Mischief, but I have spent over a thousand years trying to get the gods to work together on
. There is no chance that they will agree on this. I’m sure that damned dragon is already preparing some trash about how he didn’t order this so it’s not his fault, while he watched his followers prepare for years to tear the Conclave apart and hid it from us! And the others are going to along with it because the fate of World One is less important to them than the privacy of their dungeons, privacy I only offered as a sign of good faith!”
The God of Mischief gave her a wink.
“And that’s where I come in! Light, you’re honest to a fault. You want everything to be done out in the light for all to see. But, let’s be honest, you aren’t so good at moving in the dark. You can’t be, it’s antithetical to who you are. That’s why you couldn’t see this coming. That’s why your honest admonitions seem to fall on deaf ears. I, on the other hand, know perfectly well how to appeal to the others’ baser instincts!”
The God of Light glared at the God of Mischief again, so he quickly rushed to elaborate.
“Ok, ok! Getting to the point! Here’s the plan: Don’t wield your power against Dragon directly. Fight fire with fire and hit his followers. Dragon let his followers start a war? Well, let them have their war…then stack the deck in your side’s favor! Dragon’s using the I-technically-didn’t-order-it excuse? Great! Gather everyone together and
Dragon’s own claim! Freeze his support to his dungeon masters while you drown yours with more blessings and rewards than they can handle! Your followers then win the war, Dragon loses every master he has in the Conclave and is reduced to minor god status, which he’ll honestly hate even more than you banishing him outright, and then everyone applauds because they get to pretend their authority mattered! If you then go ahead and let some of the gods that supported you take over some of Dragon’s old dungeons, everyone will understand the truth: working with you brings great benefits, scheming against you ends in disaster, without you ever having to strike directly against anyone at all!”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The God of Light shook her head.
“God of Mischief, your plan is flawed. My followers are in no position for this war. Besides, I highly doubt the others will agree to restrict the God of Dragons, particularly if I am overtly supporting my own followers.”
The God of Mischief chuckled.
“You think too little of your people, Light. Didn’t you hear Mr. fire general down there? Your side already has the advantage, Dragon’s people are all-in right now! Your people just have to survive the next week and the war is theirs to lose, before we even mix in your support! And as for the others…leave that to me! You know I’m very persuasive and I’ve got plenty of favors I can call in! I even have a trump card, just for this!”
The God of Light raised an eyebrow.
“And I suppose you want some of the dungeons as a god who supported me?”
The God of Mischief jumped and immediately began shaking his head.
“Heavens no! Do I look like I want more responsibility? I had something else in mind…”
He walked over to the God of Light and began patting her back.
“Just give me a chance, Light. You let me make a couple of visits, have a few heartfelt chats with a couple of my friends, then you call everyone together and see how they respond this time. And hey, what do you have to lose? If they don’t agree to the plan, you can just banish Dragon afterwards like you originally wanted! All I’m asking is a bit of time to try something else first…and a slight, itty-bitty adjustment to a rule or two regarding World One…”
The God of Light glared at the God of Mischief…but her raw anger was beginning to cool down. He
right that her present course of action would almost certainly kick off a war between her and Dragon across every world, one that might end up drawing in the rest of the gods for a divine war across all of reality. Part of her no longer cared…but she could not help but think of all the innocents that would suffer as a result. If she could avoid all that, if she could enact some form of justice upon Dragon without all the death and destruction that may result…perhaps it was worth a try.
There was just one thing she needed to check first.
“What rule?”
The God of Mischief grinned…
The God of Mischief appeared in a world full of laughter and cheers. He arrived in the middle of a big party, with singing and dancing and drinking all around. Huge tables held every manner of delicacy, drink flowed out of mountain-sized kegs with the drinkers dancing in the waterfalls that resulted. Musicians composed brand new songs on the spot as they played however they wanted, warriors sparred in friendly competition as the audience made bets and cheers. In the midst of it all, the host of the party lounged on a giant sofa. He grinned and rose to his feet, a handsome man in loose fitting robes with an infectious smile as he lifted a jar…a jar full of mead.
“Mischief! Glad you could make it! I almost finished this without you”
The God of Mischief grinned.
“You didn’t think I’d let you, did you, Revels?”
The God of Revels laughed.
“Always the man with the plan, huh, Mischief? Come come, I’ll pour you a drink. Well, what’s left of one, anyways!”
The God of Mischief worked his way through the crowd and sat on a sofa across from the God of Revels. The God of Revels then handed him a mug and filled it with mead. He then lifted the jar.
“Cheers!”
The God of Mischief and The God of Revels both drank, the God of Mischief from the mug, the God of Revels straight from the jar, finishing off its contents.
“Ah, that’s good stuff! Maddening mead, how fun, perfect for a party you don’t want to remember! Where did you get this stuff, Mischief?! I’ve checked every apiary I know of, mortal or divine, and couldn’t find it!”
The God of Mischief grinned.
“You’re never going to believe this but…I got it from World One!”
The God of Revels’ eyes went wide.
“World One? It's still hanging on? I can’t believe it’s still around…much less that they have enough cheer to make something like this! What in the heavens has happened there since I left?”
The God of Mischief let out a sigh.
“Unfortunately, more of the same. Bee finally went and got herself a follower who’s a mead-maker to boot…but one of Dragon’s people is even trying to burn him as we speak.”
The God of Revels frowned.
“Ah man, Dragon again? He’s fun at parties but he really should stop burning the countryside! That’s where the wine grows!”
The God of Mischief shook his head.
“Too true, too true. In fact…I was hoping you could help me stop him from burning this one.”
The God of Revels raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
“I mean, anything for a good meadery, Mischief, but you know I’m not much of a fighter. Much less in World One, not much cause for revels there. What could I even do?”
The God of Mischief grinned.
“Oh, not to worry, Light’s got the fighting part covered. Bleeding heart and all, she’s put Dragon in his place before. But it might go a bit better if you ask our friends to go along with her. Maybe even ban them from the next god party if they don’t, they don’t deserve to share the next batch of mead if they let it be the last, don’t you think?”
The God of Revels grinned and lighted the now empty jar.
“Hear hear! That we will have to drink the last of the mead ourselves will be our burden to bear! Just put in a good word for me at Bee’s meadery, ok? If it survives, I’ll throw her a party to celebrate her first master!”
The God of Mischief toasted to that.
The God of Light stood before the gods gathered in her realm once more, having called them after the God of Mischief told her he was ready. Perhaps this would be the last time she would gather them in peace, if things did not go to the God of Mischief’s plan…assuming he was truly on her side to begin with. The gods stood in a circle, with the God of Dragons in the very center. The God of Light narrowed her eyes.
“God of Dragons, you say this was not your doing?”
The God of Dragons held his head high.
“Konilias does as he pleases, as the strong should. I gave him no command.”
The God of Light scoffed.
“That is not sufficient this time, God of Dragons. Whether the plot was your command or not, the privacy afforded to each dungeon was agreed upon the condition that we would all inform each other of anything that could threaten the Conclave of Tower Lords or World One. Is there anyone here who would claim that this coup across the entire Conclave, which you completely failed to warn us of, does not qualify?”
The God of Light glanced around. Not a single god raised an objection. Dragon blinked and began glancing every which way. He seemed as surprised as she. The God of Light continued once it was clear no one was going to speak up.
“So you have it. In response, I propose that the gods, including the God of Dragons, agree to cease all support to the dungeon masters responsible for this treachery or any who join them. All their missions shall be frozen and no one shall issue them no more, nor shall anyone award or strengthen any blessings to any defender or challenger of those dungeons. All rewards for their dungeons, whether from missions or purifications, shall be withheld. All blessings that can be withdrawn without threatening the purification function of their dungeons shall be. All of the masters responsible, when they fall, shall proceed directly to the Hall of Judgement and then to their assigned afterlife with no offer of revival. And once the dungeons in question receive new masters, the God of Dragons shall be prohibited from offering his patronage, but shall provide the new primary patron with sufficient authority to retain the dungeon’s function as it is rebuilt. Meanwhile, to balance the scales, all gods with dungeon masters or followers targeted by the God of Dragon’s shall be permitted to offer their full support to their people for the duration of this conflict.”
The God of Light took a deep breath and then glanced around at the gods.
“All in favor?”
Now was the moment. Now she would see if the gods could…
“Aye!”
“In favor!”
“You’ve gone too far this time, God of Dragons!”
“I’ve been waiting for this! I’ll tear your masters apart, Dragon!”
The God of Light blinked as most of the gods immediately began to agree and jeer at the God of Dragons. The God of Dragons snarled back but he was drowned out in a flood of condemnation, it was clear a majority of gods were in favor of the proposal before she even counted them. The God of Light glanced over at the God of Mischief. He just grinned back at her.
The God of Light…really wasn’t sure how to feel about this. But regardless of her feelings on the other gods…she could now support Heigiosa and her allies without restraint.
And the God of Dragons would learn just how much she had held back…