Vittea tried to pay attention to all the information the clerk, Merritith if she remembered right, was spewing, but the wonders around her made it very hard to focus. On her way in she had noticed the magic in every fiber of the palace, but now that she was a little less panicked she could sense more detail in the mess.
The magic ran like a river through the threads of silk, minor changes in the weaving and consistency guiding it in different concentrations to different locations. The vein leading back to her room was lighter, likely just enough to power the basic appliances. No wonder she didn’t need to use magic herself to power her shower, it was hooked into the grand circuit that was the palace.
Similarly thin streams broke off from the central conduit that was the hallway, to what she presumed were either more rooms or offices, places that don’t need as much constant magic. A few of the doorways she walked past had different symbols, as well as much larger magic veins. Vittea really, really wanted to snoop around, but decided that might be seen as rude. Maybe she could ask permission to snoop from the Queen?
She still didn’t really know if she was in trouble or not, so there was no telling what she would be allowed to do. The good news is she had been in a guest room, not a jail cell, and was not currently in shackles, though with so many guards and magic around her she didn’t know if they even needed them.
“-but you will not be expected to memorize them. You are not under trial or suspicion, this is merely a briefing to fill all involved parties in on the situation, and determine actions regarding your presence. Do you have any questions?,” the Merritith’s voice cut into Vittea’s pondering, the moth shorter than her looking back over their shoulder at her.
She didn’t know if she could sweat, but suddenly snapping back to reality while definitely not hearing most of what they said was a shock. She shook her head as confidently as she could, only to see Merritith sigh tiredly at her response.
“I see,” they said. “Luckily, your own knowledge of the etiquette of the Hive is not what we are determining today. Speak when spoken to, and do your best not to make a fool of yourself. Now prepare yourself, we are heading in.”
The clerk knocked on the heavy double doors they had stopped in front of. Vittea chastised herself briefly for not paying attention, but the sparkling spectacle of magic had tickled her interest, and it had been so hard to look away. She straightened her back and brushed her fluffy hair back, which promptly sprang back in place, and took a deep breath. She wasn’t in trouble, she reminded herself. Try not to look suspicious; just a friendly, if confused, moth girl.
The grand doors swung open, and a grand boardroom was revealed. A long table of wood and silk stretched in front of her, with dozens of chairs arranged along the sides, each chair different from the next, their occupants just as varied. The gentle rumble of conversation and gossip filled the space, those present apparently making use of this gathering for chatter.
They were all mothkin, but that was where the similarities ended. Some were smaller than her head, some she had to strain her neck to even see their faces. Many were humanoid, but others had more feral, quadrupedal forms. There were even a few grubs, their worm-like bodies curled up in custom circular chairs. And each and every one of them had their heads turned towards Vittea.
She froze in place at the sudden collective attention. I’m not in trouble, I’m not in trouble! She repeated to herself, but her limbs wouldn’t move. Then, a gentle cough echoed from the end of the table.
A large throne, decorated with delicate patterns woven into the silken fabric, held an equally large moth woman. Her face was humanoid, though with odd lines in her chitin that hinted at her inhuman nature, in a way that vaguely reminded Vittea of Leppida, though this moth-woman was clearly paying much more attention, if her focused expression was any hint.
Her wings were tucked into her throne, in little crevices much like the toilet that Vittea had appreciated. It was nice that most of the furniture here was designed with wings in mind. Her antennae stretched out, giving her face a fluffy frame as they drooped down past her shoulders. On her head rested a tall, spiky crown, draped with lace and intricately carved wooden charms.
Her simple cough carried a weight that drew every eye away from Vittea and towards herself. “Calm, everyone. Do not frighten our honored guest.” Her voice was simultaneously grand and gentle, and Vittea felt her nerves calm simply hearing her speak.
The large moth woman, who Vittea presumed was the queen, gave her a kind smile before gesturing to the chair opposite her, on the side of the table closest to Vittea. Vittea nodded, some nerves still clinging desperately to her mind, and with only some fumbling took the offered seat.
“Thank you for joining us, Vittea. As Merritith hopefully informed you, this is not a trial, nor a disciplinary hearing, as you are not, yet at least, part of our Hive. This is in part both a welcome and a debriefing.” The queen lifted one graceful hand, motioning to her left. A guard nodded deferentially to the queen, and Vittea recognized Yasua, looking as stern as usual.
“As reported by Guard Captain Yasua,” the queen continued on, “Vittea here is, according to her words, sent by our Goddess Leppida.” A surprising number of frustrated groans resounded through the chamber. Vittea chuckled quietly. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who found the lazy goddess a hassle to deal with. “Thus, I arranged this committee to determine our path forward. Firstly,” the queen held her long, segmented arm out towards Vittea with a motherly smile, “Vittea, if you would kindly share the information our goddess shared with you, you have the floor.”
Vittea gulped hard, and stood nervously from her chair. The numberless faceted eyes in the room locked on her. She could hear soft whispers echo between the seated moths who thought they were being subtle.
She coughed to clear her throat, anxiously meeting the queen’s eyes. She gave an encouraging smile back. Vittea let out a long, slow breath, feeling the buzzing flow from her limbs. She was okay, time to speak.
“Thank you, y-your highness," she started with a much more graceful bow than she felt at that moment. “Unfortunately, the goddess Leppida gave me little in the way of instruction before…” She tried to think of a polite way to say it.
“...before she sent me to this realm. I’m afraid I hardly know where, or even what I am. The little she did say was that I am to be her sponsored delver, in order to ease the pressure she is under from the other gods. I wish I had more to share, but our meeting was…brief and one sided, to put it gently,” she ended with a gentle chuckle.
She sat down, and the hubbub grew. While she didn’t have much of the context, she could understand the orders of a goddess being fairly significant. Especially with a goddess who didn’t seem like the type to keep up to date with her followers.
A sharp knock cut through the noise of gossiping mothfolk, and silence followed. The queen lowered her gavel and gave another nod to Vittea before speaking. “Thank you for your words. It is a shame that Leppida’s were so brief, but it is in her nature. Now,” she turned her gaze to the others seated at the table, “for what we do know, and what we can plan around. To my mind, Vittea was tasked to roam and discover, spreading word that Leppida is no longer asleep to it.”
Vittea opened her mouth to interject. From what she had seen, it looked like Leppida was very much planning to get plenty of precious nap time in, but when she met the queen’s gaze she stopped, and closed her mouth. The queen’s expression was firm, but not harsh, and Vittea thought she saw a twinkle of diplomatic mischief in her eyes. Ah, Vittea thought, she has a plan, and honestly I don’t think I want to get in the way of it.
The queen continued. “And while I do not plan to take our efforts off of the matters of hand,” she said, looking at a particularly bulky mothkin for a moment with a stern expression for only a moment, smoothly carrying on. “I would like to offer aid to Vittea in her assignment. Housing, training, and education would be the least we could do for one of our kin stranded in a strange world with strange people, if she wishes?”
The question ended in a raised eyebrow directed at Vittea. She gulped again, and thought for a moment. There were clearly a few factions here with different aims, and if she accepted aid and stayed here for some time, she would no doubt be pulled into someone’s scheme. However, the queen seemed clever, and was offering help, which Vittea desperately needed. As much as she wanted to be cautious, she couldn’t afford to refuse.
Vittea steeled herself, met the queen’s eyes, and gave a firm nod. The queen smiled back, and resumed addressing the crowd. “In that case, Vittea is to be treated as one of our own, a fledgling to be trained and taught in our ways and prepared for the Realms beyond our little dungeon. Are there any objections?”
There was some grumbling amongst the assembled members, especially the bulky mothkin that the queen had addressed earlier, but no hands were raised. “Very good,” the queen said. “For her education, I will be assigning Scribe Merritith and Guard Captain Yasua to see to her martial and academic education.” Vittea’s head snapped to the two moths standing next to each other behind the queen.
From the little Vittea could gather of moth expressions, Yasua was both surprised and annoyed by the way their antennae twitched in irritation. Vittea was a little disappointed that her savior was not too excited to help train her. Yasua did seem like the type to simply be left to her duties, but despite her best efforts had been roped into Vittea’s arrival, just as she had feared as soon as Vittea had first spoken to her.
Merritith looked just as surprised, but the excited twinkle in their eyes had Vittea slightly worried. She suspected her trainers would not be going easy on her, and though she honestly appreciated the idea, it did leave her dreading the sore mornings and throbbing headaches that were sure to come.
Despite their reactions, both moths bowed respectfully to their queen, who smiled in return. She seemed quite aware of how the two would take the news, and unless Vittea was mistaken she could see a little glee at Yasua’s mild discomfort. There was clearly something deeper between the three of them, but the meeting was moving on.
The queen cracked her gavel one last time, and the meeting devolved from grand statements to dreary minutiae. Vittea was quickly pulled aside by Merritith, while Yasua stomped out of the room as soon as she was released.
Some were smaller than her head
Cute.
Training arc initiated.
Do you have any question?,”
questions?"
Thank you!