Regina spent a few more hours with the Delvers. Longer than she had originally planned, but she wasn't too surprised it turned out that way. Especially after her private conversation with Alix. She had to force herself to focus on the immediate issues in front of her.

At least these issues were rather important. Alix managed to do better at scrying than anyone else she could have asked, which wasn't too surprising, either. Although Galatea was still in the east; if she'd been available and willing to go take a look, it probably would have been a different matter.

The army approaching from the south-west was larger than Regina had initially estimated. It seemed like the average level of the soldiers wasn't quite as high as that on the other fronts of this war, but that might not mean too much. There were still over a hundred thousand men.

That was a sizable force, even if she had the Hive and the Imperial military.

Regina took notes and put as much information into the psychic link as possible. She would need to send more people to gain additional information, perhaps start infiltrating the army, or even the 'hinterlands' beyond. Clearly, it had not been wise to write those off so much. She'd never had totally reliable population estimates, but their populations were probably higher than she'd thought, and more important. They'd have to be handled even after their army was defeated.

After that army, the Seer also looked at the other fronts where their own or enemy armies were currently moving, and gave her a bit more information on them. Regina noted all of it down to bring to Ben and the others. It was a constructive meeting, and she felt accomplished enough to breeze through the next few meetings.

It was only later that evening, standing on a balcony looking out over a garden and, further back, the skyline of the city, that Regina really considered everything she'd learned today.

The problem, she supposed, was that she wasn't really sure how to evaluate his visions. Take that stuff about Madris, which seemed the most concerning. But, if you looked at it another way … then, well, Madris taking power, even if she seemed like some kind of bloody-handed psychic totalitarian dictator — Regina really hoped that wasn't the case — wasn't actually a bad thing for her. On the contrary. Regina had no reason to think Madris' political sympathies or personal friendships would change. They definitely wouldn't do a hundred-eighty degree turn. So, if Madris managed to consolidate enough power to enter the war at all, she would presumably do it on the Empire's side.

(On the other hand, of course, Madris was Regina's friend, and when you heard of a vision featuring your friend and a pile of skulls, you got concerned. Even if it might just mean she'd win a war — which was already going on, or would be soon, presumably; it wasn't like Madris would start the war. It still didn't sound very good for her on a personal level. Even if it might be a self-fulfilling prophecy — there was nothing to indicate that, either, and didn't she deserve to know? Didn't Armin, at least?)

There were practical issues as well, obviously. Regina could try to send word, but she'd have to be very careful; there was a risk any message could fall into the wrong hands. And it would take time to arrive, either way.

In the end, Regina supposed she cared more about not betraying Madris' trust. Which was nice and all, and she might have felt good about not being a sociopath, if she didn't have a lingering feeling of unease that she might be makíng the wrong choice, or at least a political mistake.

She spent that night reading from the stack of philosophy books she never got around to until the text started blurring before her eyes, before staggering off to bed. Predictably, Regina regretted it in the morning. Ira, who was here for once, made concerned noises and applied extra makeup — Regina knew she didn't get dark bags under her eyes, she'd checked, but she wasn't going to argue with her — and had a servant bring her extra-strong tea for her morning paperwork session.

After that session was another meeting of the military council, which was thankfully brief. Probably because they met almost every day, so there was not that much news.

Unfortunately, most of the news they did have was not encouraging.

The Army of the Elbe was starting to encounter serious resistance. The Confederation had clearly gathered forces and was drawing more and more troops to the area. They had not assembled to 'give battle', but instead, like the Empire, tended to disperse more, securing towns and fortifications, making the Imperial forces fight for every meter. There would probably be a battle at the next major city, but the Westerners had showed surprising unconcern about letting the Empire take a city or two in their advance so far, so even that wasn't guaranteed. And in the meantime, they clearly used more cannon. And also Champions.

"June sent some suggestions regarding … removing the problem of the Champions outside the battlefield," Daine said hesitantly.

Despite herself, Regina raised her eyebrows as she caught his meaning. She considered it for a moment. "Do you think that would be feasible?" she finally asked.

He grimaced lightly. "It would be difficult, but not unfeasible, in my opinion. Perhaps quick surprise attacks like theirs would work, but they will likely be aware of the possibility, and Champions are hard to take down. Or so I'm told. Subtler ways would be better, but these would rely on us managing to get agents close enough. With their psychics clearly keeping an eye on the Confederation forces, I do not know how likely it is. We might have better luck on the Esemen front. There will likely be more openings given the situation."

Regina nodded. "Do your best," she said. "Coordinate with June and whoever else. Make sure any agents you send specifically don't know enough to hurt us. Best if they operate in cell structures. Well, I don't need to tell you your job. Just don't write off the Western Confederation as a target."

"So, we should make it a priority?" Via asked.

"That seems prudent," Regina said. She sighed slightly. "These people count as military combatants as far as I'm concerned, or even as enemy commanders. Killing Champions should absolutely be a priority."

"How much is it going to matter?" Max asked, frowning. "Can the gods just appoint new Champions to replace them, or is all the mana invested in them lost?"

Regina shook her head. "A bit of both, from what Iseis said. We mostly only have speculation to go on. But according to her, it's likely they will indeed lose something, just not everything that that Champion could channel, even if the gods can make new Champions. But suitable candidates for it are hardly growing on trees, either. Selecting them will likely be the biggest bottleneck."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"So, unless we kill them en masse and keep killing them, any Champions we kill will just be replaced sooner or later," Ben said flatly.

"Let's not forget that they're people too, not tools of the gods," Tia disagreed. She didn't always come to these meetings, but since she was in the city right now and they were going to discuss enemy artillery, she did. "They may or may not get great power, but they will need training and practice to use their new abilities to their full potential. And that potential is evidently limited by their level. And besides, they need to learn regular skills, too, and they need to process information before they can make good decisions, which is kind of a skill too."

"Tia has a point," Regina said. "For now, we might be putting the cart before the horse; we've killed Champions in battle before, but probably not in large enough numbers that they would run out of candidates. Moving on, we were going to talk about their cannon?"

Tia perked up and gave her report. They'd finally managed to capture some artillery pieces from the enemy and take them in for study, which had taken a frustratingly long time to manage. At least now Tia had her new toys. She evaluated them in detail, although Regina had to admit she got a little lost towards the end with the technical vocabulary.

"So, to conclude," Tia paused, giving them a look. "Their sophistication is obviously behind, but they are equally clearly inspired by our designs. There is also enough variation in the pieces to suspect they have not worked out a fully consistent process or full automation. I saw signs of magic use to various degrees in all of our examples. In each case, it went beyond just using magic to heat steel in order to shape it."

"How much do they rely on magic, then?" Regina asked.

"Sorry, but I'll need at least ten more pieces to give an estimate with proper confidence intervals. Though even then, it's questionable how representative they would be. With just the examples we have, I really can't say. We haven't found anything that I wouldn't have expected before I started studying them, though, for whatever that's worth."

"We've had briefings prepared on the various models and their observed and theorized capabilities," Ben added, tapping his finger on one of the folders on the table, containing sheets of paper with these assessments.

"Keep in mind they will likely roll out new models soon, and even more as time goes on," Regina reminded them.

They all transmitted a feeling of, 'Yes, Mother' in the psychic link that seemed to be universal and almost made her smile.

The meeting quickly concluded after that, although Tia lingered to speak to her afterwards. "I think we've made some progress on Project Zeta," she said quietly. Regina could tell no one was around to hear, unless they were a good enough psychic they might as well just learn such information directly, but she supposed it was good to be in the habit of guarding secrets. "Would you like to come take a look?"

"Later," Regina replied. "I have an important commitment this afternoon."

"Oh, right." Tia smiled. "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing them!"

Regina smiled back and felt a little better as she left. She ate a quick lunch, noting that the move hadn't affected the quality of the food served to her at all — though someone had mistakenly brought her something with meat today and she had to have the dish switched out — before she hurried into yet another inner courtyard. This particular palace had been built with lots of space for inner gardens, at least.

Two of her students were waiting for her. They'd been sitting on a bench, dark heads bent together, but rose as she entered, smiling widely. She could sense their nerves, but only faintly; they controlled their minds and what they let others see well.

"It's good to see you both," she greeted them with a smile.

"It's good to be back, Master," Lily replied, bowing her head briefly.

She'd been up north with Janis and traveled here for this. Which only made sense, it wasn't like Regina could travel freely. She supposed at least her student got the chance to see the new capital this way.

"And thank you for believing we are ready," Fred said, although there was a bit of an unstated 'finally' in his words.

Regina shrugged lightly. "You've both proved yourselves. Are you certain you want to go through with this? Today is your last chance to turn back."

She'd already told them what they were agreeing to, of course; they'd talked quite a bit psychically, especially in the last few days. It still needed to be said and she needed their answers.

Regina didn't really have any concerns about it. They were both young, in their twenties, but still adults who'd seen some stuff. They were both peasant-born, and unlike Helen, she knew they were genuinely loyal. Not just to her personally, but to their ideals.

"We're prepared," Fred assured her. "Although we did have a question." He hesitated. "It's about our relationship, Lily and me …"

"Go on. I'm aware you're in a relationship."

They exchanged a look. It wasn't like they could have hidden that kind of thing from her. Regina thought they would be good for each other. At least, she hoped so.

"There won't be any issues with the psychic link or the Hive?" Lily asked.

"I don't see why. Although you should be prepared to lose some privacy. Especially when it comes to, uh, emotionally charged moments. You should learn how to properly shield what you're experiencing even in the heights of passion. I'm sure Janis could give you some advice."

"Yes, we've talked to her about it before," Lily nodded hesitantly. "All due respect, Master, but Princess Janis isn't a psychic, we are. Even if she's been in the Hive for a long time. I don't think it will take us excessively long …"

"And even if not, we can just not fuck for a while, it's fine, we're prepared to pay that price," Fred added.

"Fred!" Lily gave him a chiding look.

"What? Better to tell it like I see it, right?"

"Just don't traumatize my drones and we'll be fine," Regina said drily.

To stop that awkward conversation, she mentally reached out and the other inhabitant of this garden lumbered forward. Lily jumped slightly, she'd probably forgotten or overlooked its presence.

"Have you met Arcanis before?" Regina asked. The Mana Beast chuffed near her ear, and she leaned up to give her scritches. She plomped herself down near Regina.

She felt them reaching out in the link, and Fred stepped closer to pat the beast gingerly. Arcanis had grown in the last year or so and was over two tons of mana-wielding monster, so she couldn't begrudge them a bit of instinctive caution. Lily stepped forward after Fred did and looked at her curiously.

"Not in person. Cute beast," Fred said, watching her ear flicker. "Is there a reason the Mana Beast is here?"

"You don't think I just missed having a pet?" Regina grinned. "I was hoping to experiment a little with ways to ease the Infection into the Hive, and Arcanis is the second being ever who joined. Dark's not present, unfortunately."

The reminder of their purpose here seemed to make both of them focus, and she felt their attention sharply. Regina nodded. "Let's start, then."

Both of them grasped onto Arcanis' fur, who bore it with an irritated little flicker of her ears. Regina patted her as well, absently, before she reached out and took each of her students' hands.

She'd never tried to do this with two people at the same time, but there was no reason it shouldn't work. She hoped. Regina activated Infect and watched.

She'd also never done it with two psychics before, and the difference was clear. Both of them held still and tried to relax, although she could sense it was uncomfortable and faintly painful for them. She could sense her mana working its way into them. At the same time, they mentally accepted her touch and the hooks and lines the psychic link was growing towards and into them.

Regina just tried to stay calm and project reassurance at them.

Then, finally, it was mostly over and she had two new psychics in the Hive. Their minds in the psychic link were still faint, and she knew their presence would strengthen as the connection grew. In a short while, they'd be just as immersed as any other member.

"This is great," Lily breathed, staring at her with wide eyes. She looked slightly manic. "There's so many people, and we can reach all of them easily!"

"And so much information," Fred agreed, grinning widely.

Regina smiled back. "Welcome to the Starlit Hive. We have cake and offer no refunds."

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