Most of the drones near Regina as part of the gathering army were War Drones, since Regina and Ben, who was focused on implementing the general strategic idea, kept Winged Drones further back. They were mobile and didn’t really need to gather in one spot, as long as they could quickly reach where they were needed. Still, there were a few of them around, and also a few sapient drones. Regina considered calling them out to attack the visitors, but quickly abandoned the idea.

Judging from how Galatea reacted, they were clearly powerful, especially the psychic. She also wasn’t sure how much of a danger one presented, or if they might be able to somehow use her psychic connection to her drones against her. And she had clearly revealed herself now on purpose.

“Perhaps we should simply talk to them,” Galatea suggested, clearly thinking along the same lines. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to escape, and to be honest, I’m not sure you’d win a battle of wills.”

Regina grimaced. Thanks for the vote of confidence. But she didn’t speak that thought aloud, since she really didn’t have any experience fighting another psychic. And Galatea wasn’t wrong about the situation.

The drones around them had already formed up into a defensive formation, and Regina quickly ordered them to stand down and only attack if they were directly threatened or she gave the command. She did not want this to escalate if it didn’t have to. Thor flapped his wings, rising and falling in the sky a little as she tried to keep his position.

Just then, she felt another mind reaching out to hers. Regina stiffened and instinctively tried to withdraw, but it wasn’t possible — she could still feel the thought sent at her.

Come down, please. We have matters to discuss.

Regina tugged on her mandible, a shiver racing down her spine. This was eerie.

After a second, she realized it could be a lot worse, though. She could sense the other woman’s mind, and while it had reached out to her, it was only a gentle nudge. One that could presumably turn into a much stronger attack. But still, she was pretty sure the other psychic hadn’t picked up anything except possibly some surface impressions of her mind.

Get down, she told Thor, barely managing to keep her emotions out of the mental communication. There’s nothing for it. And I want to see her, at least.

It was a shame she didn’t have a Keeper with her, but Regina pushed that thought out of her mind. Instead, she ordered everyone else to stay away. She didn’t need more drones getting hurt if it came to a fight. At least sapient drones, she’d throw Swarm Drones at the problem if she had to.

Thor slowly, reluctantly, started the descent, with the others around him following suit. Regina ignored their anxiety and instead focused on the people she was going to be dealing with. They stood in an open meadow that made for a good landing spot for the Winged Drones, and Thor chose to set down far enough away that there was still a bit of distance between them, but she still got a good look. Surprisingly, while the hood of her cloak hid most of the leading woman’s figure, Regina could tell she seemed to have dark skin. But it was a deep shade of black she’d never seen before, with a slight grayish tint to it.

“Here I am,” Regina stated casually, stepping forward with a deliberately relaxed posture. She wondered briefly if the other woman could see the bravado, then dismissed that thought. “If you wanted to talk to me, there were more polite ways of getting my attention.”

“And there were less polite ones, too,” the woman replied. She spoke in a dialect with a slight accent Regina couldn’t quite place.

“Madris.” Galatea nodded as she stepped up beside Regina. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I bet.” The stranger, presumably a Delver, smiled slightly. Then she took half a step forward and inclined her head. “I apologize if I caused any disruption, and I am pleased to see you again.”

That was a little nicer than Regina had feared. I shouldn’t lower my guard, though. “I wish I could say the same,” she told her, a bit sardonically. “Would you show us your face, to that end?”

The psychic, Madris, nodded and, after a brief moment of hesitation, reached up to drop her hood.

Regina raised an eyebrow slightly. The skin tone had already clued her in that something was going on, so she managed not to show any other signs of surprise. Even if she hadn’t expected someone who was apparently a Delver, or at least working with them, to be a dark elf. That was a guess on her part, but it was an obvious one — in addition to the black skin, the psychic had white hair, orange eyes with the same reflective quality she’d seen in elves, and pointed ears. She appeared to be in her thirties or so, but Regina wasn’t sure what that meant for her race, although it seemed young for her obviously high level.

The other people with her, who now stepped a bit closer, all looked more like typical Delvers, like Regina would have expected. They were all human, anyway, and clearly relatively high-leveled. Although she could see most of their levels, which were below fifty. They seemed to have a reasonable mix of Classes, and they were clearly content to let Ulaven speak for them.

“Thank you,” Regina said, dipping her own head briefly. “I take it you wanted to talk to me, Ms. Ulaven.”

The dark elf tilted her head slightly. “My first name is fine. Out of curiosity, though, why did you assume I was unmarried, and why pronounce ‘Miss’ like that?”

Regina hid a sigh. I walked right into that one, I guess. “I didn’t,” she said, dismissively waving it off. “It’s a minor cultural difference.”

“If you say so,” she murmured. “As you can no doubt tell, Regina — may I call you Regina? Wonderful. As you can tell, we’re both psychics. And while you’re, no offense, obviously woefully unprepared, you just as clearly have considerable power, or at least the potential for it. I’ve also heard some rather doubtful claims about you.”

Regina frowned slightly. She didn’t appreciate being condescended to like this. “I have no reason to try and prove any claims that may have been made to you.”

Madris smiled slightly, a glint in her eyes, and Regina suddenly felt the presence of the other mind intensify, like she’d reached out to grip her own mind. “Oh, don’t you?”

“Madris,” Galatea spoke up, in an admonishing tone. “There’s no need for this, is there?”

Interestingly, a few of the other Delvers shifted uncomfortably at her words, sending glances at each other and her that clearly urged Madris to heed her words, or maybe just not to piss her off.

“Of course not,” Madris replied. She didn’t seem bothered. “But you are one making such claims, Galatea.”

“Oh? I hope you didn’t come all the way here just because of that,” Galatea answered. “While I may have mentioned a few things, I will assume no responsibility for what your comrades made out of them, or whatever you all think it means. Either way, you’re being pretty rude to Regina here, who’s technically your host.”

“Oh, is she?” The dark elf looked back at Regina, frowning. “I wasn’t aware your territory extended this far. From what I heard, it is a few northwestern Cernlian villages and a stretch of land to the south of them.”

“Yes, it does,” Regina replied evenly. “I can’t blame the Cernlian king for not having an updated map, I suppose.”

They were in a small stretch of what could be called no-man’s-land on the Cernlian-Nerlian border, or what had been that border, and just outside Whitor’s county as well. Even if it was pretty empty, it was territory she’d claimed, though, even before her most recent deal with Lyns.

Madris chuckled. “I see. Then I thank you for hosting us, I suppose.” She glanced around, then back at Regina. “It does look rather livelier than what I assume is normal.”

"Perhaps, perhaps not.” She’d eat her shoes if Madris hadn’t already realized this was a military staging area. That was a concern, but on the other hand, at least they weren’t talking about Regina’s identity or psychic power.

Or perhaps she shouldn’t have thought that, because judging by the way she was looking at Galatea and the other drones, Regina realized Madris had not let that question go at all.

The dark elf smiled slightly. “Preparing to wage war? I wonder what claim you are pursuing here.”

“I’m sure you’ve learned this already, but I am allied to Marquis Lyns and the Cernlians overthrowing their king’s tyranny,” Regina retorted. She glanced around, as well. “Beyond that, if you must know, the Nerlians have attacked our hive in the past. Without provocation or war declarations. I am coming to settle accounts.”

That was entirely true, and the justification she was going to use if one was needed. Unlike the Cernlians, she had never had any kind of settlement with Nerlia, yet. At the time, it had been kind of assumed to be implicitly settled with the peace between the elves and the human kingdoms. But Regina had never officially signed anything with them, much less waived reparations. That meant she still had a case of the Nerlians’ unprovoked attack against her, for which she could seek redress.

“As it happens, the Delvers were also involved in that attack,” Galatea commented. “Luckily, you have come to terms with them.”

Regina gave her a sideways glance, wondering what she was driving at here. Probably reminding her she would screw things up for the locals if she picks a fight.

“Marvelous,” Madris said lightly. “I am not here to deal with your political conflicts or war games. Our visit is because of more personal interest.”

“Personal, it is?” Regina asked.

“In a manner of speaking. I have to admit, though, you are more diplomatic than I was expecting. Less murderous.”

Regina narrowed her eyes. “And I was not expecting to see a dark elf being a Delver, either.”

“Not all parts of our organization are as xenophobic as your region’s Delvers,” Madris answered dismissively, with a glance at Galatea. Regina could still see the subtle tension in her posture, though. Obviously, this was a bit more of a sore point than she wanted to admit.

“That said, “Madris continued, looking Regina in the eyes. “I do insist on getting an answer. Where did you study, Hive Queen Regina? Who trained you?”

Regina gritted her teeth. “And what right do you have to demand answers from me?”

Again, her sense of the other’s mind increased. It was a sharp feeling, like several razor-thin blades poised to cut. She gulped despite herself as she felt it like a sense of doom settling over her.

“Are you certain you want to answer in this vein?” Madris asked softly. “I have a responsibility to make sure our power is not abused, and I intend to see it through. If you refuse to cooperate …”

Regina blinked, taking a deep breath. She felt like it was harder to breathe, even though she was pretty sure that was not actually the case. Some kind of intimidation aura spell? She glanced around, trying to take in the situation. The other Delvers all had their weapons ready, and her own drones had also tensed up, ready for a fight. Only the hive’s iron discipline ingrained in them kept them from attacking, and she knew that as soon as she said the word, or if she was attacked directly, they would spring into action. Unfortunately, she didn’t know if it would be enough.

“I wasn’t trained by anyone,” she finally answered. “It’s all inborn, with a bit of help from the System.”

Madris stared at her for a long few seconds. It was unnerving, meeting her cold gaze. Regina didn’t let it show, though.

“Fine,” the dark elf said. “I suppose I will accept that, for now.”

“Ulaven …” one of the other Delvers, an armor-clad knight, spoke up, warningly.

“I know, Mars.” She glanced quickly at Galatea, then back at Regina. “That brings us to perhaps the most important point, of course. You are Hivekind, that much is clear. But is that all you are?”

Regina exhaled a deep breath. “Who are you to come here demanding answers?” she asked quietly.

To her surprise, Madris smiled slightly. “If what Galatea has implied is true, I would say we all have some right to answers.”

Regina hesitated. This is it, then? Do I admit my past, or not?

“We don’t owe you shit,” Max spoke through gritted teeth, glaring at her.

Regina sighed and sent him a mental nudge to stop him. “It doesn’t matter. Yes, we are Hivekind, but I am a little … more. My soul was originally that of a human, and I lived a human life long ago … very long ago.”

There was a moment of silence, and she could see some of the Delvers exchanging glances.

“And I suppose you can prove that?” Madris asked skeptically.

“Not conclusively,” Regina admitted. I have that paper, but it doesn’t refer to me explicitly, or to what they did, and it could be a fake.

“My word isn’t enough?” Galatea asked.

“Of course you can’t,” Madris said, and the look she gave Galatea spoke volumes. Something like ‘now you suddenly meant it?’.

Regina had to resist the urge to clench her fists. “I do have a lot of knowledge you would never find anywhere else.”

Madris shook her head. “That doesn’t mean anything. Even if you have Progenitor knowledge — and we can probably verify that, but I admit it isn’t certain — you might have acquired it some other way. No, if you really want to prove it, let me assess your veracity directly.”

Regina frowned, at first a bit confused, before she realized what the woman had to mean. “I am not letting you into my mind,” she refused curtly. No way. Who knows what she’ll do if I open my mind to her?

Their stare-down intensified.

“If you will not back up your words with proof, then I can only assume you are delusional or lying,” Madris said softly.

Her companions edged closer to her, most of them now openly hefting their weapons. In response, Regina’s own drones did the same.

“Madris, consider what you’re doing,” Galatea asked. “There’s no need for this to turn into a confrontation.”

“I think it is a little late for that, Galatea,” she retorted, “it already has.”

Regina took half a step back, while Magic Armor flashed into existence around her body. Ira started casting the same Spell on the others as well. At the same time, she had some groups of Swarm Drones she’d covertly gathered pop out of tunnels a short distance away, ready to enter a battle.

“Do you really want to do this, Delvers?” Regina asked.

“You think you can profane the Progenitors, attempt to exploit our culture, and act as if you did nothing wrong?” the Steadfast Knight who’d spoken up before asked.

Madris raised a hand to halt him. Her head turned as she looked around, clearly gauging the situation. “They are right, there is no reason this need turn to violence,” she said calmly. “Come on, party. We will be seeing each other again, Regina. Galatea,” she dipped her head briefly at the AI.

Then the group turned around together. Regina noticed a shimmer of magic, before they seemingly vanished, her magical senses only catching a spike of mana.

“Well, that went well,” Regina groaned, rubbing her forehead.

“It could have been worse,” Tia said, clearly trying to sound comforting but not succeeding very well.

Regina sighed as looked at the spot the Delvers had left before turning around to face her party. This complicated things.

Well, first things first, now that Madris knew about her plan, she probably needed to push it forward, throwing out her original timetable. It wouldn’t work as a surprise attack if her targets were warned, or at least had a lot of time to prepare. She’d talk to Ben and get things sorted out.

Other implications could wait until she’d dealt with the more pressing ones.