The Hive

The Queen

She found me before the guards did, I could tell the moment the smell of my own blood was overpowered by that sickly sweet smell of hers. She was here,  her form obscured by the morning fog and a layer of illusion magic. Each part of her faded from my memory the moment I stopped focusing on it, slipping from my mind like a dream after waking. So I focused on her, her and that damn smug smile, it was the smile of a sadistic hunter watching prey bleed out in a trap, it was a smile that knew I had run out of options, it was a smile that used to offer infinite possibilities but now only offered a peaceful passing. I remember kinder times, times before I was on the run, before I had to worry if I'd survive to the next day. The sweet smell of my mother's apple pie after a day of playing without a care in the world. She was there, my dear mother standing in the kitchen, scolding me for tracking a trail of mud throughout the house. It was her smile as she taunted me, threatening to withhold the pie from my plate, that made me feel at peace at last, gods I remember it like it was yesterday, and I'll remember it for the rest of my days, as I slip from this life like a dream after waking.      "When the Stubborn Yield" - Honey Batch #64,209

Maiden of Memories, The Sweet Whisper, The Queen is known by many names and many forms, but her contract is always the same. Can't remember a loved one? Wish to forget something horrible? Want to escape the burdens of your life and truly escape through someone else's shoes? All manners of manipulating the mind are possible with The Queen; through her you are free to live or experience the life most can only dream of. The price? when you inevitably expire, your body will be brought back in her image under her command, and all your memories will become her property. But what were you going to use those for after death anyway?

The Hive

When one makes a deal with the Archfey of Memories, The Bee Queen, the price is always the same, once you die your body takes the form of a humanoid bee-shaped puppet, and all your memories and experiences are turned into honey. The honey will be sold to other fey for profit, and the insectoid puppet is made to work within the Hive under the Bee Queen's rule. To the fey, money is of little value when compared to the value of emotions and sentiment, for example, a child's favorite toy is worth more than a hundred gold pieces sitting in a king's treasury, and what could be richer in emotions and sentiment than the very memories that make up a person? Memory Honey is a highly valuable substance, granting the memory it's made of to the consumer of the honey, with just a taste, you could remember someone's wedding day, or perhaps a funeral, maybe an unforgettable life lesson, or possibly a horribly traumatic moment. The Bee Workers are something else entirely, stripped of feelings and the very memories that make them who they are, the Workers hold nothing in their minds but the orders issued to them by the Queen. But it's not so bad, if you're lucky you could end up as a Honey quality tester! All you have to do is stand still all day and ensure the quality of each batch of Memory Honey by giving it a little taste, and boy do those memories pack a punch,