> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://honeyland-player-guides.gitbook.io/honeyland-player-guides-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://honeyland-player-guides.gitbook.io/honeyland-player-guides-docs/lore/the-shadow-hive/chapter-1.md).
# Chapter 1
Beelinda sat up a bit straighter and tried to cover a yawn. History was boring, even if they were learning about the new world of Cocarro. She looked around at her fellow Manuka University students and noticed that most of them were also struggling to stay awake. Admittedly, most of those also fighting off drowsiness had been at the Hive rager the previous night. Except… Tarnathien also looked tired, and Beelinda knew he hadn’t been at the party. She wondered where he’d been instead.
“Beelinda?” Professor Hamber’s voice seized her attention. “Please could you elaborate on the Hydrangea Pollen Treaty?” Beeswax! She scrambled for her notes and began to answer. Tarnathien looked around at her in amusement as she garbled some approximation of an answer. The professor seemed satisfied at least, and nodded once at her as he resumed giving the lecture.
After class, Tarnathien approached her, “Hey, good job on answering that question. You definitely weren’t thinking about Hive History when he asked. What were you thinking about?”
Beelinda blushed and buzzed her wings, “Oh. Umm, well, to be honest. I was wondering where you were instead of being at the party last night. Because you seem just as tired as the rest of us.”
Tarnathien leaned back and assessed Beelinda, “Observant, aren’t you. Can’t talk about it here. If you’re really interested, meet me in the Raid equipment rooms in 45 minutes. Knock on the door twice, pause, then twice again so I know it’s you. See you there if you dare.” With that, Tarnathien winked and left.
Beelinda was tired, but she couldn’t help but think about what Tarnathien had said. What could possibly be so secretive that he couldn’t tell her about it there in class? She packed her bags quickly and made small talk with a few of her friends to try to appear normal. Inside though, she was burning with curiosity. Finally, she could slip away after making a few excuses.
As Beelinda raced through the living quarters, her thoughts were racing. Could Tarnathien have found something to refer to the rare gear in Cocarro? Or maybe he was on a secret mission from the Queen, but he was only a student, so perhaps not. But what could it be? She dumped her books out of her bag and looked around her room. What does one take to a secret meeting? Maybe she was overthinking it. Still, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
She grabbed some mint spray, a spare sonar buzz, and her lantern of hope. Another quick glance around her room didn’t provide any other inspiration so she turned to go before stopping in surprise. Standing in the doorway was the last Bee that Beelinda wanted to see. Lilac was an insufferable Bee who always looked prim and proper. The teachers loved her and she was widely tipped for a leading advisory role to the Hive’s Queen in the future. Bee *hated* her. Why was she here now?
“Heeey Bee!” Lilac smiled and showed her teeth. “I saw you talking to Tarnathien earlier. What did he say to you? You’d better tell me, and then you’d better stay away from him. He’s mine.”
Beelinda thought quickly. “Oh, umm, he just wanted to ask a question about the Hydrangea Pollen Treaty. You know, after I answered the professor?”
Lilac’s eyes hardened and her smile grew tight. “Schoolwork!? Ugh, what a waste of my time. I should have known he wouldn’t have been interested in anything else from you. Just remember,” she turned to go, “stay away from him. Or else.” And before Beelinda could say anything, she flounced away.
Beelinda breathed a sigh of relief and checked her bag again. Thankfully, Lilac was far too self-involved to have noticed what Bee had been doing. With everything packed, she went to leave, checking the hallway first to make sure that Lilac had definitely gone. With the coast clear, she headed to the equipment rooms, trying to look casual and only partly succeeding.
With the majority of Hive Raids carried out for the day, the equipment rooms were almost eerily quiet. Beelinda admired the patterns that the sunlight made in the dust as it spilled through the upper windows. She couldn’t see Tarnathien, and began to wonder if the whole thing had been some strange prank. Just as she was about to write the whole idea off as nonsense, she heard a faint sound. It was the deep rasping of heavy stone on heavy stone, as if someone was sliding the flagstones around.
“Beelinda!” Tarnathien’s call cut through the near silence. Beelinda looked around the room in surprise, not seeing Tarnathien anywhere until he spoke again, “Over here.” Finally, she spotted him, his head poking out from behind a pillar as he beckoned her over. As she got closer to him, she realised he was holding open a panel on the pillar, which allowed access to a staircase leading underground. “Come on, let’s get out of the main room before anyone else comes.” He grabbed her hand before she could say anything and dragged her down the stairs, the panel slowly sliding back into place with the same faint rasping sound she’d heard earlier.
As they descended the stairs, Beelinda found her voice, “What, I mean, where does this go?”
“Oh, it’s just another equipment room, from the old hive, so it’s not used as much, if ever. We just use it as a meeting point, sometimes the best hiding places are in plain sight, you know?” Tarnathien was focused on his steps as he led her down the stairs.
“Sorry, ‘we’? Who is or are ‘we’? Also, why do you need to hide anything?” Beelinda’s tone wasn’t quite accusatory, but it wasn’t exactly friendly either.
“Right, right,. Let me start from the beginning. We’re here now anyway, come in.” As he said that, he pushed up on the wall and another panel slid out of the way to reveal another, emptier equipment room. This one clearly didn’t see much use, with fewer training dummies and visible dust on the weapons racks. “Welcome to the training base of Queen Apisara’s Wingbeats!” Tarnathien said with a flourish.
Beelinda was shocked, “You mean, the Wingbeats are a real thing?”
Tarnathien smiled wryly, “Instead of just children’s superheroes? Yes, that was a particularly effective bit of marketing and misdirection by the Cadence.” Beelinda’s blank expression prompted a chuckle. “Ah, the leadership of the Wingbeats, they started circulating stories of past and fictional missions in order to raise awareness of us, but also to misdirect that attention. It worked really well on the misdirection front, that’s for sure.”
“I’ll say.” Beelinda was dredging up every detail of the Wingbeats that she could remember. “So how much of it is actually true?”
“Well, quite a lot, actually. Although the Cadence try to mix up details from different missions and reports so that no Wingbeat story is telling a cohesive truth. But the real details that you need to know is that we exist, we operate under the overarching direction of Queen Apisara only, and the Cadence manage the missions that she gives out, as well as working to maintain our secret existence.”
“That’s a fair amount to take in all at once. And I have one more question, no big deal really. But, why me?” She couldn’t help but wonder if Tarnathien had made a mistake in telling her all of this and bringing her here. Joining something like the Wingbeats was a dream come true! What young larvae hadn’t dreamt of one day being part of the famous agents of Queen Apisara, she was terrified that it would be taken away.
Tarnathien looked at her strangely, “Isn’t it obvious yet? We’re recruiting you.”
---
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