Despite Dark’s relatively high Int value, which was probably connected to the fact that he had mana, the bird wasn’t sapient. Regina knew that. Which meant the System might really have different ways of tracking and accounting for intelligence depending on what type of being something was. And to be fair, Dark is pretty smart. At least as much as a dog, I think. Arguably more so than my Swarm Drones, even if he can’t understand language that well.

Then Regina shook her head and made herself focus on the situation at hand. She recognized the trees and terrain the elves moved through. They were pretty close to her hive. Watching through Dark’s eyes for a minute, she was pretty sure they were indeed coming towards them.

“Max?” Regina turned, finding the boy not far away from her, giving orders to a War Drone.

He straightened up as soon as he heard her and turned towards her with an attentive expression. “My Queen?”

“We have visitors. A group of elves. Please let the others know and organize them.”

She turned her focus inward and sent messages to those drones that were further away, while Max talked to those who were here and organized the group.

Once the elves approached their settlement, walking slowly and obviously making more noise than they would have needed to, the hive was ready to greet them. Regina’s attention was captured right away by the old woman in the middle of the group. She was the only one who didn’t seem to be armed, unlike her five companions, and she was wearing a rather elegant-seeming, if still practical, dark orange dress instead of pants.

Regina blinked. She recognized the name right away, of course, from Tim and Bea’s account of their trip to Ariedel. So, this was the member of the government they had met there.

She shook the surprise off and greeted them with a smile. “Hello and welcome. I’m Regina. I’m afraid our hospitality might leave something to be desired, but we are happy to see you.”

The old elven woman returned the smile and bowed her head. “Thank you, Hive Queen Regina. I am Special Minister Enais, and it is a true pleasure to meet you. Please do not worry yourselves. My old bones can still take a rough journey, and none of us expect you to have any luxuries to offer.”

Regina glanced at the other elves. It took her a moment to recognize Anuis, who had cut her hair short and was wearing a different outfit in darker tones, with a new longbow on her back. She followed right after Enais.

Exchanging a few more pleasantries, Regina guided the visitors inside the settlement and led the way to a crude table the drones had erected out in the open. It was hastily put together, little more than a few wooden planks on a piece of a tree stump, with tree trunks split in half horizontally serving as seating, but at least they had somewhere to sit. Enuis looked around with every evidence of genuine interest, hiding any disdain she might have felt.

“It is truly remarkable what you have managed to do in such a short time,” she remarked to Regina. “To think that less than two months ago this place was simply a meadow by the lake.”

“Thank you,” Regina replied. “Would you like something to drink? Some food?”

She tried to be a pleasant host and delayed any serious conversation. Besides probably having a very high level, Enuis was clearly of high status and would be used to something like this. Regina recognized the importance of making a positive impression and fostering good relations.

They ate some monster meat the drones had grilled over the fire, seasoned with a few herbs from the forest, and none of the elves seemed to mind that there was only water to drink.

“It is nice to see you again.” Regina turned to Anuis at one point, while Enais was chatting with Max.

The elf smiled. “Likewise. I did not think I would come here again, certainly not so soon, with my new duties. I’m glad to have been wrong.”

“Oh, you’ve been promoted?” Regina guessed.

Anuis inclined her head, still smiling. She looked satisfied. “Yes. My recent efforts for the war have been judged positively. Our interactions might have been part of it, as well. I’ve been raised to the rank of Three Century Commander.”

“That’s not an age thing, I take it?”

The elf laughed softly and shook her head. “No, no. It’s a numbers thing, so to speak, a step up from Century Captain. Not that these numbers always apply, or even in most cases. I tend to command specialists rather than common recruits.” She leaned forward slightly, gaining a conspiratorial gleam in her eyes. “It helps that I am close to Progressing my Class.”

Regina nodded. She appreciated the information. So Anuis was in the upper thirties in terms of levels, then? Close to forty? Unless she was already past that and was approaching level sixty. But the Class name didn’t seem to indicate that. According to the System, she was still a Forest Ranger, a Class Regina had seen a few other times among the elves, and which was probably past the first Evolution step.

“And I am sure you will benefit from exchanges with the drones, as will the rest of us,” Enais cut in. She’d turned towards them again. “I would like to leave you to it, if you have a moment to speak privately, Hive Queen?”

Regina nodded. “Of course, Special Minister, I’d be glad to.”

She stood up, and when Max tried to do the same, she shot him a sharp glance and shook her head slightly. He sank back down onto the log serving as a bench. Regina wanted to speak privately to Enais, as well, and she knew that if the elf wanted to kill her, no amount of guards would be able to make a difference. Better for Max to keep talking to Anuis and the others.

Regina led Enais through the camp and then around the palisade. They didn’t start talking until they were a few meters away from everyone.

“I hope I was not being pushy,” Enais said. “I also apologize for not sending word of our arrival ahead of time. We have limited ways of doing so, and if we had sent a messenger, they would have arrived only very shortly before us, anyway.”

“That’s perfectly alright,” Regina assured her. “I am somewhat surprised someone of your status made the trip, though, to be honest. Not that I don’t appreciate the visit.”

“Of course.” The old elf smiled and shook her head slightly. “My daughter has told me about you and this place, but seeing you with my own eyes is different.”

“Your daughter?” Regina glanced back to where the others were talking. “Anuis?”

“Indeed. She happened to be the perfect choice for an escort, considering she has interacted with you before.”

Regina nodded. She couldn’t help but wonder if Anuis’ apparent success and recent promotion was due to nepotism, then immediately felt bad for the thought. The elven woman had always struck her as competent. And to be fair, the fact that she was the one who encountered Regina and her companions first, if you didn’t count that unfortunate scout, had to be pure luck.

“But as I said,” the old elf continued, “I have been looking forward to talking to you.”

“Likewise,” Regina said slowly. “What my drones have told me of your conversation was very interesting. Thank you for passing along that knowledge, and allowing them to gather more of it, by the way.”

Enais waved that aside. “It’s nothing. It is not every day one gets to talk to a Hive drone.”

Regina frowned slightly and kept looking at Enais. “Something that struck us in discussing said conversation was that you seemed to know more about us than one might expect.”

They stopped walking, now standing outside the palisade and some distance away from the others. Enais turned to face her more fully. There was a slight smile on her face, but Regina found her expression hard to read. “I suppose I do,” she admitted. “I confess I had my doubts when I first heard of you. But the more I learned, the more I realized that I was indeed hearing about what I thought I was, and meeting your drones confirmed it. There are insectoid people, and even sapient monsters, but none quite like you, and none with an actual Hive that grows this quickly. But in this day and age, few people remember anything of the Hivekind.”

Regina felt like the world spun around her for a moment and had to take a deep breath. Hivekind? Is that what we are? She said, ‘in this day and age’. So, people don’t know about us anymore, but they used to? What?

“Hivekind?” she finally asked, her voice tight.

“That is what the name translates as, as far as I know.” Enais shook her head. She looked distantly sad. “Of course, I have never met one before. I don’t think even our very eldest have.”

Regina stared at her. “I thought elves were long-lived. Just how old is this information about my apparent race?”

“Elves are long-lived, but not immortal,” Enais stated. “We might live a few centuries. Personally, I am about eight hundred years old, and still at least two centuries too young for this conversation.”

Regina exhaled. “What can you tell me about them?”

“I don’t know much, I’m afraid. I have taken the liberty of writing down all information I remember having heard and found in our records about your race, in case it contains something you are not aware of.” She pulled a folded sheet of paper from a pocket of her dress. “However, there is not much. Your race kept its inner workings to itself, for the most part, and not many written records of the age survived, anyhow.”

Regina took the paper, still making an effort to keep her breaths steady and even. “Why did they … leave? Die out?”

Enais gave her a gentle smile. “Your race is supposed to be dead, I’m sorry to say. I do not know how it could be that you are here. I know they died in the wars of the Arrival Times, but I have no detailed knowledge.” She hesitated for a moment. “I suspect the only ones who do may be the gods themselves. I do not know who else could know how you came to be, in any case.”

Regina frowned. This whole thing sounded … Well, she definitely needed to know more. If that means speaking to the gods, then so be it. I guess. “I don’t suppose you have any suggestions for how to ask them?” she asked, a little drily.

Enais chuckled. “Besides going to a temple and praying, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you. You are, of course, welcome in Ariedel.”

Regina nodded. “Why are you telling me all this?”

For the first time, she thought she saw genuine insecurity in the old woman, a moment of hesitation. “Because you should know, and because I would rather be the one who provides this information,” she finally said. “I am not going to pretend I like this deal you made with the Cernlian marquis, but I understand why you did.”

“I see.”

“You are an intelligent young woman, Regina. I would have expected nothing else from a Hive Queen. I am sure you understand your capabilities and what threat you might pose. There is more to it, of course, but …” Enais shrugged slightly, an elegant motion. She gestured as if to throw away something.

“I see,” Regina repeated.

In unspoken understanding, they kept walking. Silence lingered for a few minutes, while Regina tried to wrap her head around what she had learned.

“Let us talk of lighter things,” Enais finally said. “Your people have accomplished something quite impressive here.”

“Thank you.” Regina glanced around, then back at Enais. Maybe I should strike while the iron is hot. “We’ll just have to defend it. I don’t suppose you would sell us weapons? The Cernlian left me with some assets as ransom.”

Enais smiled. “I don’t see why not. We have captured some weapons.”

Their conversation turned to the details of such a deal. The negotiation went well, but Regina’s full attention wasn’t on it.

She knew Enais was an ally she should cultivate, at least. Perhaps she knew more about these previous Hives than she had said, but if so, Regina resolved to get to the bottom of it, eventually.