Volume 3 Chapter 44.2: Interlude: The Empress

At the beginning of the Time of the White Death:

Vajra sat upon the wall of the barrier, her wings buzzing occasionally and her abdomen working as the pleasing vibrations of the Emperor's hum resonated through the Green Pavilion. Beside him, Beautiful Bi De and Stalwart Chun Ke worked, their magnificent forms acting in tandem to work pots of soil and raise the Green Pavilion, Palace of Eternal Warmth to new heights.

Vajra was rather glad she had observed the ancient rites of the White Death—preserving her best soldiers and the rest perishing at the end of their short lives.

There simply were not enough plants and nectar within the Pavilion for a full muster and growth of the hive—enough was here for a bumper of brood at the start of the Season of Plenty, but it would be impossible to support her hive at full mobilization.

Still, it was through no fault of the Emperor's. The realm was new and had to be made from scratch, and thus Vajra would be patient.

In time, the Coldguard would have much to do... But for now, there really was nothing. They did not need to vibrate their bodies to keep the hive at an acceptable temperature as living heaters, so instead Vajra commanded them to frolic and dance, and hopefully draw the Emperor's eye.

For she had been right in her earlier devotion; this man was truly the Son of the Heavens and the Earth.

"Let me tell you the story of how I died." The Emperor said as he gazed at the Empress. His words were as heavy as the mountains.

The Emperor had conquered death; and not just conquered death, had the knowledge of vast hidden realms to prove it.

Truly, she had the luck of the Heavens to land in the service of such a powerful Emperor! Oh, when the time of the White Death ended, Vajra would send out a thousand heralds to proclaim his dominion over this land and conquer every hive, and slay every Flying Demon that dared show its face!

Vajra could not wait.

Unfortunately, she did not draw the Emperor's eye this day for after he completed his row, the Master of this Land stood. "Right. I'll go check on the table. Miantiao said it was pretty much done.," he called out. Beautiful Bi De and Stalwart Chun Ke stood with him as he exited the Pavillion.

Vajra Stopped dancing and buzzed as he exited the hidden realm.

But with them leaving, that did not mean this palace was empty. She gazed around at the others within the Green Pavilion. Her eyes landed first on the White Blazing Star, the white rabbit that dozed in the barrier room, heating it. Vajra had thought little of the servant at first, but now? After truly experiencing the heat? Oh, if only Vajra had command of such a fearsome beast during the war—her tactic of cooking the Flying Demons within their carapaces would have been trivial; with her immaculate command and the brute strength of the White Star, victory would never have been in doubt.

Vajra felt the sorrow and longing well up within her for the Empire that had been lost to the Flying Demons, and her wings buzzed without conscious command. Then, she forced the feeling away. There was no medicine for regret. And really, would she have known such wonders if she had won? No. The defeat had merely paved the way for her to ascend to new heights.

The other... The Empress, was a more formidable presence.

She sat upon a chair, reading a scroll, with a contented smile on her face. Vajra studied the woman closely, looking for any weakness in her most formidable rival. Indeed, she was most powerful, and if Vajra wished to be the Emperor's Empress, then there would be political maneuvering involved. She was, after all, some sort of... healer. She knew that was important, but such things were supposed to be content working from the shadows. And she had heard the woman complain about politics. Well, Vajra, a good vassal, would merely take such annoyances off her hands—

Thistleflower eyes rose up and landed on Vajra's form. It took all of Vajra's concentration not to freeze and let the woman know she had been observing her. The Empress' eyes were as her soldier's stingers, sharp and piercing. They tore into her armor and laid her bear as her nose wiggled like a Blaze Bear's smelling honey.

Vajra acted like one of her Coldguard and began cleaning her antennae.

The woman's nose worked again before she shrugged and turned back to her scroll. "Not enough Qi, I don't think..." she muttered.

Vajra felt her body shudder. That gaze had certainly been.... something.

Perhaps... Empress was slightly too ambitious, even with the Emperor's favour for her hive's honey. Vajra the Booze Master was a powerful title... but evidently not powerful enough. Nay, hubris would be her downfall.

Instead, she would curry favour.

She took off from her position and landed before the Empress, on one of the pots of dirt nearby. She launches into her most elaborate and intricate dance, in hopes of appealing to the woman.

The Empress glanced at her and took in another breath.

"Strange little thing." She muttered, but allowed Vajra to dance for her.

"She's cute! Look at her work that hairy butt!" The Emperor's voice boomed. Vajra flinched at the statement. So intent on her dance that she hadn't taken notice of him reentering. But his smile was large as his wonderful, wonderful finger reached down to stroke her hair.

Vajra nearly fainted from pleasure.

She was still recovering when the Emperor placed down a glittering pane of barrier, supported by tree-branch struts.

"A table made of glass now too?" The Empress sighed, her eyes roving over the glittering, shimmering piece.

"It fits the room. Got that feng shui." The Emperor said with a nod.

"It does look nice—" The Empress paused, before turning her piercing gaze on the Emperor. "Since when do you care about feng shui? I've done my best, but our house is a mess, going by traditional—"

Vajra, however, merely listened with half an ear to the argument. The Emperor was clearly merely teasing the Empress, baiting her to get more and more annoyed at him, until she realised what he was doing and started striking him on the shoulder while he laughed.

Vajra's eyes were fixed upon the glittering pane.

Upon the glittering stage.

A command was sent out. Her troops answered.

And a great dance upon the glimmering barrier began.

"See? Vajra likes it. If bees like something, it's totally good feng shui." The Emperor reasoned.

The Empress opened her mouth, and then closed it and sighed.

She instead sat back and watched the performance.

And thus, the season of the White Death continued.

Vajra played host to the Emperor himself more than she had in the entire Time of Plenty. The buzzing of her soldiers, he had said, soothed him. She had danced for him over a hundred times, to his pleasure and enjoyment—even sharing the stage twice with Beautiful Bi De as the Emperor played the sounds of the Heavens from his Ban Jo.

She also shared the stage with one of her rivals, though the Blade of Grass, as she was called, was too fat to stand upon the glittering dias. Naturally, Vajra outperformed her... though her bigger body commanded vast attention.

The Emperor continued to treat herself and all her drones kindly, running his enormous fingers over their fuzzy abdomens without harming them at all and eliciting vapours on all her Coldguard. He chuckled with his wonderful rumble as they swooned in his firm grasp.

Really, the worst part of this place was losing access to his grand steam room...

But this view was good too.

Vajra and her hive was glued to the barrier wall, their eyes peering out into the gloom.

Her Emperor was most merciful, allowing her to witness him as he braved the White Death without a care and plunged into water that Vajra knew would slay a drone instantly with its icy coldness. With him went his beautiful, mighty cock, his plumage stunning even through the frosted barrier.

The others weren't bad either. The wet, glistening muscle—!

Several of her Coldguard fell off the barrier, buzzing with happiness.

Vajra's abdomen wiggled in contentment.

It was time.

Even through the shimmering barrier, Vajra could feel the change that was taking place outside the Heavenly Green Pavilion. It was the sun. The way its position changed, becoming more and more intense, and requiring less of the White Blazing Star's warmth.

Her hive was full of activity. The first spring brood sat in their legion as the Coldguard tended to them, feeding only the choicest pieces of jelly and pollen from the most Qi rich plants. Already, the larvae were nearly twice the size of what they should be, her enlarged cells using the bounty of what the Emperor had given her.

"Yeah, I think they're all in here. Leave the door open just in case though." The Emperor's voice came through. "Gotta find a better way to do this next year. Don't want to stress them out too much."

Their fortress was lifted in mighty hands; they could hear the thud of feet and feel the bite of the outside wind as the Emperor returned them to their previous location, placing the fortress upon the elevated stilts.

Vajra could taste the first flowers on the breeze.

It was time.

Vajra gazed imperiously at her ranks of Coldguard. Normally, they would be ragged and nearly dead at this point. But instead, they stood, still tall and proud.

'It is time.Awaken the dreamers.'

The cells of her finest warriors were gathered from where they had been placed to rest. They were heaved out with all their gilding and glory.

Ritualized dances directed Qi and energy. Reed banners were waved, heralding the return of the deathless.

'Bane of the Black Lances, She Who Purged the Reeds.'

'Arise.'

A pulse of an Empress' will. The cells, made of the finest wax... flexed. Thin trickles of preserving honey trickled out, but far, far less than there should have been.

One leg burst out of the side of the cell. Then another, like it was merely another molt.

With one strike of her wings, the rest of the wax shredded.

And a behemoth rose. Her carapace was iridescent blue. Her stripes the deepest black.

The connection rammed into Vajra like the booming laugh of the Emperor. And suddenly, she was more.

They both were.

The Bane of the Black Lances rose, born again, just like the Emperor.

Oh, how thankful she was to the demons that cast her so low.

Vajra's wings started to buzz with laughter as more and more of the cells of the deathless burst, revealing soldiers who were the equal of any demon.

Only to rise again.

Vajra the Boozemaster, servant of the Emperor, would amass for her liege a mighty tribute.

Wings opened and began to buzz.

All lands were his; All Glory to Fa Ram!

"Man, the bees sure are getting busy already. I love how industrious they always are..."