The World of Myth Magazine

Young Lord Anntun splashed through the sewer tunnel, deep beneath the human establishment known as The Capitol. He still struggled to understand the collective thought that was shared by The Hive that this place was important. The elven kingdoms, lush forests filled with intelligent, beautiful specimens, the mountain fortresses of the dwarf-kin, and even the realms of the other races seemed far more important to Anntun. To him, humans were like the vermin of the underworld; the rats, the muck, not worthy of consideration.

“Why thizzzzzz plazzzzzzee? Why iiizzzzzzz we heeeerrrreeee?” he muttered.

The two insectoids that flew beside him gave a look that they could not comprehend his words, but they could sense his feelings. Those feelings seemed to be not one with the hive.

“I am onnzzzzzz with zeeeeee plan, cccceeerrrrrttainlyzzzzzz…” the half-elf half-bug said quickly. “I oooonnnlllyyyzzz woooonnndeerrr if thiizzzzz heeerrreeee iizzzzz a ppllllaaaccceee ffiiittt for zzzeeeee Queeeennnzzzzz…”

“BBBBzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzz…” replied one of the insectoids.

“Yyyeeeezzzzzz, I guezzzzz…” said Anntun with a still elven sigh. “Temperature iiizzzzz everythingzzzz, and zzzeeeeeee temperature here iiizzzzzzz pppeerrrrfffeecctttzzzz for zzzzzeeeeee Queeeeeennnnzz and zzzeeeeee little ooonnnneeezzzz…”

Lord Anntun had been stripped of his wings recently, he was still unsure of what it was he had been blamed for. The mind of the hive was at times such a challenge to comprehend.

“But zzzzeeeeeee waterzzzzz… Zzzeeeeeee zzzzmmeellllll…” suggested Anntun.

“Zzzzzztttooopppzzzz… zzzeeeeee… waterzzzzzzzz… hu-maaannnzzzzzz,” buzzed one of the insectoids with great difficulty.

Lord Anntun had stopped feeling like an elf long ago, and he had never for a moment ever been a disgusting and vulgar human. To call his own race as humanoid had always troubled him so. Humanoid as a term had only come about thanks to that rat-like plague and their commoner tongue. They had started out as a small pocket that grew and grew and forgot to slow down. That was one of the main reasons why, when given the chance, he had chosen to join the hive. He had been promised time with the Queen herself, but that had been still yet to happen. The closer the plan, whatever that was, came toward fruition the more in the dark he seemed to be.

“And zzzeeeeee zzzzmmeeelllllzzzzz, zzzzeeeee zzzzztteeeennnch?” asked Anntun, not giving up on his point. “Whatzzzzz to beeezzzzz dooonnne aboutzzzzz zzzzzaaattt?”

There was another exchange of incomprehensible chatter between the two bugs, ending in something that young Lord Anntun thought might have been laughter.

“Zzzzzeeeee… zzzzzzmmmeeelllll… iiizzzzzz zzzzeeeee… foodzzzzz, yyeeezzzzzz?” said the bug, slow, but with a clear tone of patriotism, as if it were explaining something simple to a child, an infantile lava.

“Wweeeeezzzz dozzzzzz not zzzzzmmmeeellllzzzzz it, wwweeeeeezzzzz eatzzzzzzzz itzzzzzzz…” came the explanation, slow, as if simplicity was painful.

“You would eat zzzzeeeeee waste of zzzzeeeee humanzzzz?” asked the half-elf, half-bug, unable to hide the disgust from his tone.

“ZZzzzzzeeeee food izzzzz… Forzzzz zzzzzzeeeeee Queeeeeennnzzzz… ZZZzzzZZzzzzz…” said the bug, suddenly agitated. “Whhhooooozzzzz iiizzzzzz uuzzzzzzz to zzzzzZZZZzZzZzzz… Quezzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzeeeeeeeee Queeeeeeennnnzzzzz..?”

Young Lord Anntun got the sense that he was going to lose his antenna if he continued to push his point, so he dropped it, throwing up his hands as if he surrendered. The trio continued down the sewer tunnel in silence then, a silence that was constantly filled with the whir of flapping wings and the splashing of leather boots in sewer water. When Anntun felt as though he could walk no longer, felt that his boots were so waterlogged that they were as heavy as rocks, it was then that the pair of insectoids he was with suddenly shot upwards.

“Hurryyyyzzzzz humanzzzzzz… ZzzZzzZZzzzz… ZZzZZzzzZZzzzz… Zzzzzzzzz…” urged one. The other just ignored the half-elf half-bug.

Highly annoyed, Anntun had no choice but to try and climb the sewer tunnel wall to follow after. In his muck-covered boots, he slipped and fell and slipped and fell, over and over. His fine clothes had suffered greatly, but not as much as his pride did at that very moment.

“Wait, brotherzzzzzz!” he cried, but the pair did not answer. Instead, they just flew away, leaving him in their wake.

Suddenly alone, Young Lord Anntun considered his options. He decided he was too far committed to the cause to back away, although such an option was indeed tempting. Promises from the Hive Queen had sounded great at first, but the longer he spent with members of the insectoid race the more he believed that he would never be accepted. Young Lord Anntun decided that he would need to do something both big and bold to prove to the hive that he was one of them, of the same mind, of the hive’s mind. He ran on through the sewer, searching for the hole above that would help him escape the stink and the darkness.

The world above sounded like it was in chaos as Young Lord Anntun finally found a sturdy path out from the bowels of the Capitol. He climbed up the ladder one rung at a time, not sure if he wanted to witness whatever it was that lay ahead, above him. The clash of weapons and cries of pain, mixed in with the chatter and buzz of the insectoids. There were animalistic roars also, but unlike anything that Anntun’s elven part of his mind could recall.

Below him came a faint murmuring, this caused the half-elf, half-bug to bravely take a glance downward. He was almost to the top of the ladder he was climbing, and in the dim light the sewer waters looked to be a fair drop below. What Anntun witnessed though almost made him lose his grip and tumble. A figure that could only be described as a dwarf-sized, wingless bumble bee sat astride a gigantic centipede. In four of its six legs it brandished battle axes, waiving them in a menacing way. Behind that, hidden somewhat in the gloom was the largest spider Young Lord Anntun had ever seen, its bulk filling the tunnel.

“Will ya be getting out a me way?!” hollered the dwarf-bee. “This thing ain’t as easy to control as I makes it look, aye?”

“I’ll comezzz down,” suggested Anntun. “Find anotherzzzz way…”

“If ya like,” suggested the dwarf-bee. “I’m sure as sure to be that the spider here would love to have yer company.”

“Zzzeeeee zzzzpider iiizzzzz not comingzzzz up wizzzzzz you?” asked Anntun, suddenly not so sure.

“Too big for that hole…” said the dwarf-bee, just as the centipede tried to buck him from its back.

“I iiizzzzzz to tryzzzz my luck thizzzzzz way zzzeeennnnnn…” said Young Lord Anntun, taking the final rungs and peeking up, surveying the surface.

A great giant, naked from heads to feet tore off the second storey of an inn and hurled the bricks and mortar at a swarm of insectoids that buzzed about its mid-drift, crushing five of the twelve. Anntun noticed amongst those struck by the makeshift weapon were the pair that he was with in the sewer. He gave a smile at what he had witnessed, but then felt a nudge at his rear.

“Make way, clear the path,” said the dwarf-bee.

Anntun did as he was asked without hesitation.

“Beeeeee waryzzzzzz…” he cautioned. “Zzzzzeeeerrreeee iiiizzzzzz giantzzzzzz…”

“Yeah, I know,” grinned the dwarf-bee. “I got the message personally from Her Majesty last night.”

“You hazzzzz zzzeeeeeennn zzzeeeeee Queeeeennnzzzz?” said Anntun, disbelief obvious.

“I happenzzzzz to be one of Her favouritezzzzz ain’t I,” said the dwarf-bee.

He gave the centipede a kick.

“Favouritezzzzzz to zzzzeeeeeee Queeeennnzzzzz?” Anntun added, still not fully comprehending the words he was hearing.

“Watch and learn, yeah…” laughed the figure wrangling the centipede. “Here is how you impress zzzzzeeeeeee Queeeeennnnnzzzzz…”

Anntun could do nothing but watch with mouth agape as the dwarf-bee flung one of the axes so hard and so high that it flew up into the face of one of the giant’s heads. It hit a bulging cist that exploded, causing that part of the giant to cave in, blood pouring forth like a waterfall. As the axe flew up the dwarf-bee drove the centipede after it, scrambling across broken cobbles, up the feet of the juggernaut, reining the multi-legged creature just above the giant’s left kneecap where the dwarf-bee began to manically strike with the three remaining axes he wielded. Quite quickly the knee turned to bloody pulp and the giant dropped to the ground with a booming crash. Not wasting any time, the dwarf-bee joined the other insectoids in stinging, biting, and hacking at the two heads.

“Zzzzzzeeeeee cloudzzzzzzz!!” cried Young Lord Anntun, but his call came too late.

One cloud formation, unusually dark for that time of year, suddenly dropped from the sky and broke apart into at least a hundred birdlike creatures. Anntun could see that they were not birds though, they were far too big, and instead of feathers, they were covered in leathery skin. The lead creature’s mouth opened to reveal so many razor sharp teeth. Then the mouth opened wider. Finally, it opened impossibly wide before taking a bite from the battle, giant and insectoid both disappearing. Before Anntun could say anything more the flock had cleared the battlefield. The final creature was caught by the giant spider, newly arrived upon the chaotic scene. The remainder of the flock shot skywards again and became something that resembled a cloud, if a cloud were to be drawn by an infant human child.

For the second time that day, Young Lord Anntun contemplated turning around and walking away. Behind him though there was a large number of insectoids exiting from the sewer.

“Brozzzzzzzer hu-manzzzzzzz…” buzzed one. “Whhhyyyy iiiizzzzzz you juuzzzzzttt zzzztttaannnddiiinnnngggggzzzzz zzzzzooooooo zzzzztttiillllzzzz?”

“ZZZzZzZzzZzzzzzzz…” suggested another of the insectoids.

“IIiiiiizzzzzz fffeeeaaarrrrzzzzz zzzzeeeee eeennneemmyyyzzzz?” asked the first that had spoken.

“FFeeeeeeaaaarrrrzzzzzz nnnooooothiiinnnggggzzzzzz…” announced Anntun. “Fooooorrrr iiiizzzzzz zzzzzeeeeee Queeeeennnnnzzzzzz..!!”

The battle seemed to go on forever. Zealots dressed in green, blue, red, even a few in yellow robes, they filled the streets, weapons drawn, making the cobbles fill with blood. Above the giants, some with three heads, swatted the leather birds out of the sky, caught the buzzing insectoids in meaty hands, and crushed to death anything that they could reach. Anntun witnessed strange black veins wrapped around great oak trees causing the flora to move like stringed puppets. Stone from the streets was torn up and launched like missiles, buildings were flattened, people running, crying, seeking safety. But nowhere was safe. The King’s Guard arrived, hurling fiery balls of pitch, driving the monstrosities out of the main areas of the city. The only area that seemed to be somewhat protected was the dirty slums. The tower of the sorcerer and all of the streets near that structure seemed to escape damage. The giants seemed to stay away from there and the insectoid and leathery bird attacks all seemed to focus upon the humungous brutes. Anntun did what he could do to fight back against the city’s defenses, but only when and where the insectoids and the red robed figures were threatened, otherwise he strongly believed that the enemy of an enemy was at least an ally if not an actual friend. Young Lord Anntun was never going to stoop so lowly as to actually befriend a human, but that day at least he had to admit that they had their uses.

Somewhere in the chaos of combat there had been a decision made by the hive-mind to withdraw. Young Lord Anntun saw, more than felt, his insectoid eyes noticing red robes vanishing into what remained of alleyways and broken buildings. The insectoids took flight, back down into the sewers again, Anntun taking this as a sign he too should leave. There was a hum in the tunnels there after that made the waters churn and the stone walls shudder.

“ZzzzzzzZZZzZzzZZzzzz?” Anntun asked.

The other insectoids would not reply, not until he had asked his question for the hundredth time.

“ZZZzZZZZZZZzzzZZzzz… ZZZZzzZZzzzzZZzZZZZzzzzz… ZZzzzzz…” said a very agitated warrior of the hive.

Anntun found with great shock and relief that he could understand what he had been told.

The Queen had finally arrived at The Capitol, the last minute tasks needed to be completed, and all were required to assist. The battle would need to wait. Anntun hurried along with the rest of the hive. He finally felt connected, he finally felt one with the hive-mind, and he finally felt the shared panic of those with a mistress that was constantly in need of something. Anntun felt a sudden sickness deep down in his gizzards. The feeling rose up swiftly to his throat and then spilled out to spray across the back of the insectoid who hovered in front of him. Simultaneously the half-elf, half-bug felt a stickiness spray his own back. Reaching around to touch it he discovered a black tar, a substance that was spreading all over his skin and then hardening like an armor or shell. One by one the insectoids of the hive vomited up this substance, some stopping to smear it over each other, some just letting it spread by itself. Disgusted at first, Anntun eventually realized something had changed. At that very moment he had ceased to be half-elf. From that time on he had become completely all bug.

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