《Dungeon of Night》


 Prologue: The old man and the orb...

    ¡°It worked! It really worked!¡±


    I opened my eyes to see a wizened old man with a mean looking face jumping around me in excitement, his long black cloak and the strange dark grey and sickly green haze he gave off made the sight even more surreal. The old man walked over to me and I felt him run a hand over my body.


    I tried to recoil at the sensation, but I couldn¡¯t move. Making matters even worse was that my body felt strange and foreign to me, I hadn¡¯t even been able to move a muscle.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done it¡­ They said it couldn¡¯t be done, but I¡¯ve done it! Oh, I can¡¯t wait to see the look on Morgana¡¯s face! The old bat thought she was so clever with her youth restoration tricks, but when I show the coven that I¡¯ve tamed a dungeon¡­¡±


    I looked down at myself, a feat that was made all the more unusual by my being able to see everything around me in all directions, and what I saw shook me to my core. I was an orb, a simple floating white orb. I gave off a faint light and was about the size of a small child¡¯s head, but other than that there were no distinct features to my body.


    I tried desperately to move, to run my hands down my body and confirm that it was there. I was normal, I was a man with arms and legs and a head on a torso. I wasn¡¯t some strange floating orb, I couldn¡¯t be because that would make no sense. The only problem was that I couldn¡¯t feel my hands, and I certainly didn¡¯t see any¡­


    ¡°Now, Dungeon, from this day forward I will be your master¡­¡±


    I felt something pulse into me from the old man, his hand collecting and condensing the strange haze that surrounded him before pushing it into me. I watched in a mix of horror and a twisted sort of pleasure as the white orb became dyed in the dark greys and pale greens of the old man¡¯s hazy power. It felt good, almost right to take in the haze but a part of me screamed that it was wrong. I was a man, a person, but the old man was treating me as if I was some sort of prized tool, a thing for his use. I hated the feeling that sort of treatment gave me, but I loved the feeling of power flooding me more. It was an addictive and almost heavenly feeling to have the haze of grey and green pour into me, and even better was the feeling of it becoming a part of me.


    I couldn¡¯t be sure how long it lasted, but eventually the old man pulled his hand away. He was panting hard and dripping with sweat, but his tired face lit with glee when he looked at me again.


    ¡°You¡¯re a greedy one aren¡¯t you? But I suppose that¡¯s only to be expected given what you used to be¡­ Now make something for me.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand what the man was asking of me so I just immersed myself in the euphoria I felt. It was as if I had just eaten a delicious meal until I was full right after having great sex. I wanted to enjoy the afterglow for as long as I was able to.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Unfortunately a sharp pain digging into my body denied that enjoyment to me. I looked up to see the old man digging his finger painfully into my floating orb with a scrunched up face.


    ¡°I. Said. Make. Something¡­ NOW!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to do, I just wanted the pain to stop. I would¡¯ve happily tried to do whatever the old man wanted if I just knew how, but I couldn¡¯t tell him that since I couldn¡¯t speak. Not that I didn¡¯t try to¡­


    ¡°Very well then, be difficult¡­¡±


    The old man walked away leaving me alone. Relieved that the pain was gone I looked around and investigated my surroundings, I seemed to be in a cave. Everywhere I looked seemed to be hewn from rough brown stone, and the only thing I could see in the cavern I floated in besides myself was a few crates and barrels against the wall beside a small opening in the rock. I assumed that the opening, the same one the old man left through, lead to another part of the cave since there was no light coming from it. Now that I thought about it the only thing giving off any light at all was the orb that I was still having a hard time accepting as my body, and since it had changed color the light the orb gave off had grown dimmer.


    I took this moment of calm to reflect on what had happened. I had woken up and there was an old man, but how had I gotten here in the first place. I thought back and felt a cold chill as I realized I didn¡¯t have an answer, I couldn¡¯t remember anything before I woke up in this cave. I had no idea who I was outside of the feeling I had been a man, and I certainly had no idea where I had come from. I felt myself begin to panic.


    ***


    I had nothing to do, I couldn¡¯t move or even speak. The only thing I could do was wait, wait for the old man to come back and maybe give me more clues as to who or what I was. I couldn¡¯t tell the passage of time very accurately since I was stuck in this dark cave, but I was fairly sure it had been a very long time since he had left.


    What did he even want me to do in the first place? He kept saying I should make something but how am I supposed to do that when I don¡¯t have any hands?


    I sighed, or at least tried to. I was getting almost painfully bored waiting here like this.


    Maybe it was¡­ what¡¯s the word? Metaphorical? Yeah, maybe the old man was being metaphorical! But that still doesn¡¯t give me any idea of what he wanted¡­


    I waited, just floating alone. I could tell that it had been a very VERY long time now since the old man had left me, but even after all this time there was nothing I could do but think. So that¡¯s what I did, and that¡¯s what I had been doing all this time. I personally felt that I had gotten very good at thinking, something I felt proud of since at first I was almost embarrassingly bad at forming thoughts as words. Now I felt confident that I could easily hold entire conversations, well that is I could if I could actually speak.


    Hmm¡­ Maybe by make something, the old man was insinuating that I was nothing and I should make something of myself? No, that seems wrong¡­ Make something¡­ Huh¡­ I guess I could try making something with my mind? Like, I could imagine stuff and then technically I would be making something¡­ But then would what I make with my imagination really even be real? Hmm¡­


    I was all but convinced at this point that the words of the old man had been a riddle, and I had devoted myself to trying to solve that riddle. It was the only real way I had to pass the time¡­

 Chapter 1: Purpose

    I had plenty of time to consider who and what I was, in fact time was really all I had. In between my long moments of contemplation over the old man¡¯s cryptic words, I had been reflecting on the nature of myself. I hadn¡¯t really discovered much, but I felt that was mostly because I didn¡¯t have any real memories or knowledge to pull from.


    I was an orb, I shifted colors and glowed faintly, and I floated in a fixed position. I was a male orb, that was something I felt it was important to hold onto for my identity, and I had some recollection of a time when I wasn¡¯t an orb. I was pretty sure that before I was an orb I was a man, or at least a boy, but that was all I was sure of. I didn¡¯t recall my race, my age, my name, or even what I looked like.


    I will admit that early on that not knowing those things bothered me, but recently I¡¯ve changed my way of thinking. I was an orb now, so what does it matter who or what I was before? I am an orb of the present, and I choose to live my life as such. What use could the past have for me in my daily life anyway?


    I guess it could help to shed some new light on the old man¡¯s words, maybe even offer me a new perspective on them¡­ But that¡¯s probably it¡­


    I even had a theory, it was that by not knowing my past I was able to better enjoy my present. Admittedly being an orb stuck in place unable to do anything beyond thinking to myself wasn¡¯t exactly enjoyable, but it was the only life I knew so it was at the very least tolerable. If I suddenly recalled that I had some amazing past and then considered what I did now, well I doubt my current life of silent contemplation would be the same ever again.


    Though I do wonder, is the old man ever even coming back? Maybe giving me his grey-green haze was all he was going to do¡­ But then why would he ask me to make something? This doesn¡¯t make sense¡­


    For not the first time I wondered if the old man¡¯s final words to me were just a simple trick, that they had no real meaning and were only meant to befuddle me. I tried to think back to what else he had said in the time I had been awake, but I simply couldn¡¯t remember that. I knew he had said many things but almost the only thing I had paid attention to were his words at the end.


    Make something¡­ Huh¡­ Well, maybe I¡¯ve already found the answer and just don¡¯t know it yet¡­ I wish I had some way to know if I¡¯ve stumbled onto the answer.


    ***


    I couldn¡¯t say when it was that time lost all meaning to me, that would have required me to have an awareness of time that I sorely lacked in this dark cave. Hence the loss of meaning to the passage of time. I had guessed by now that floating orbs didn¡¯t age so it wasn¡¯t like time mattered to me anyway, it was just a little disconcerting to notice I had stopped even trying to guess how much time had passed.


    I turned my attention internally, and then let my thoughts slip away. It was oddly relaxing to just let everything go, to just simply be. The moment dragged on, and then I went even deeper into myself. I stopped recognizing even the fleeting stray thoughts that normally peppered my consciousness, from that moment on I thought nothing. I just was.


    I opened my metaphorical eyes and heaved a nonexistent sigh of relief and satisfaction. I had been utterly relaxed as I had simply existed, there had been no boredom just as there had been no thought. Still I couldn¡¯t be in that state forever, it just didn¡¯t feel like the right way to live. I felt that I had to think and do just as much if not more than I could relax and just simply let myself be.


    I can¡¯t do much, but it¡¯s important to do what I can¡­ So let¡¯s try something new for a change. I¡¯m going to think of a name for myself. Can¡¯t just keep calling myself orb all the time after all¡­


    I casually cast my gaze around the familiar cave that had become my home, there was a small new pool forming under the occasional drip of water that came from above. I had seen seven puddles like this form and disappear since I started my pouts of no-thoughts-just-being. I sort of liked watching them, it gave me something to do.


    I could call myself Water¡­ No, Drip? Puddle? Pool? Hmm¡­ Rock? No¡­ Huh, this naming thing may just be harder than I thought¡­If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ***


    I opened my eyes as I felt the warm breeze. There was something big and black staring at me intently, and that something had very big teeth. It was also shinning silver and black so brightly it hurt to look directly at it, but I fought through the pain and stared at the interesting thing before me.


    ¡°So you were what was hiding behind that barrier¡­ Interesting¡­¡±


    I felt shocked as I heard the deep rumbling voice even though the thing¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t move, but even through my shock I felt more a budding sense of excitement. I tried to say something, but of course that accomplished nothing. Frustrated I fell back on the skill I had honed desperately all this time, I thought as hard as I could at the thing.


    HELLO! WHAT ARE YOU! CAN YOU HEAR THIS! I¡¯M TRYING TO PICK A NAME, WHICH DO YOU THINK SOUNDS BETTER BETWEEN ROCK AND PUDDLE? CAN YOU TALK SOME MORE! HAVE YOU SEEN AN OLD MAN! SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE YOU? ARE YOU GOING TO EAT ME? PLEASE DON¡¯T EAT ME! AM I THE FIRST FLOATING ORB YOU¡¯VE MET? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I¡¯M SUPPOSED TO MAKE, OR IS THAT A METAPHOR?


    The large thing cocked its head to the side as it stared at me. For a moment I thought it understood my thoughts and that all my work thinking hard for so long had payed off.


    ¡°What is an infant dungeon core doing behind a barrier that strong? And one that¡¯s somehow already been imparted with power without being imprinted or bound by anything¡­ Perhaps this is fate¡­¡±


    The big black thing reached out and touched me gently with its snout, huffing out more warm air as it did.


    ¡°I shall leave my mark on you as well¡­ A gift of power and knowledge should be sufficient enough payment for my resting in your dungeon for a time¡­¡±


    I bright silver and black light flashed and squiggly lines in all sorts of colors formed and swirled through the air. The silver and black light began to flow into me as the old man¡¯s grey-green haze once had before, and once again I was washed over by feelings of bliss and euphoria. It was all just so pleasant, so overwhelming.


    I watched with a strange sense of wonder and terror as my orb shifted to a deep black color with motes of bright flickering silver inside it. As the last of the grey and green were overcome by the deep black and twinkling silver I felt something heavy drop onto my mind¡­


    ***


    When I woke up the big black thing was moving out of the now much larger opening. It looked like it was leaving me, but what before I could even process that I felt the weight in my mind shift.


    Dragon¡­


    I looked at the thing, no the dragon with awe. As I stared dumbfounded more and more information surged to the forefront of my thoughts.


    True dragon¡­ I¡¯m looking at the black dragon, one of the ten true dragons¡­


    And then the dragon was gone, it had left without a word just as suddenly as it had arrived. Still in a state of shock I looked down at myself and found my orb colored in the same way as the dragons scales, deep black with bright flecks of silver.


    Dungeon¡­ Dungeon core, dungeon heart, dungeon stone, dungeon will¡­ I¡¯m not a simple floating orb, but a¡­ Dungeon core?


    It was too much information to process, even with all my experience in thinking my thoughts now were far to weighted for me to take. What was even more terrifying was I could feel that I had yet to even scratch the barest hints of the surface of the weight the dragon had left in my mind. I knew deeply and instinctively that if I tried to take in all that was there my mind and my entire identity would shatter into nothingness.


    So I did what I always did when I couldn¡¯t bear to think anymore, I sunk into myself and tried to just be.


    Meditation¡­


    I disregarded the thought and the heavy weight it carried.


    Spirit sleep¡­


    Again I gently waved the heavy weight aside.


    Aura relaxation¡­


    It was harder to sink down into the wonderful state of thoughtlessness than ever before.


    Inner cultivation¡­


    I couldn¡¯t wave away all the thoughts, and the weight of the information they carried was too heavy for me to fight off. So I simply stopped trying, in a moment of enlightened insanity I embraced the entire weight in my mind while trying to think nothing. As I let everything go while simultaneously accepting more than I¡¯d ever known before I felt myself sink deeper than ever before.


    ***


    Aura. Mana, life force, spirit. The essence of a soul.


    Ten dragons. Black, white, gold, grey, silver, blue, red, green, purple, brown. Keepers of the balance.


    Four titans. Ocean, mountain, forest, sky. Defenders of the mother.


    Eight elementia. Space, soul, darkness, light, fire, water, earth air. Wardens of all mana


    Five races. Human, elf, dwarf, beastkin, arcane. The mother¡¯s children


    Trials. Monsters, dungeons, wars, famines, plagues, death. The judges of the worthy


    Eden. The world the mother gifted to all.


    Eden. The challenge the mother created for her children.


    ***


    I felt heavy. Dense. It was a very uncomfortable feeling, but one I understood. I had been¡­ meditating. Yes, I had been meditating to help absorb the knowledge the black dragon had left me with. I couldn¡¯t absorb it all, it would do far more than hurt me or make me uncomfortable if I had tried, but I did take in a lot.


    I know more of the world than I had ever known before, and I also knew more of myself. I knew my role, and I knew what was expected of me. However, the thing that I personally felt the most satisfaction from knowing was the meaning of the old man¡¯s words. He had asked me to make him something because I was a dungeon, I was born to create¡­

 Chapter 2: Melinda

    I enjoyed meditation, and ever since I had absorbed the information that the black dragon left me I had been able to enter a deeper state of meditation than ever before. I spent my time reflecting on my new found purpose and meditating.


    I was a dungeon so it was my duty to create monsters and traps to judge the worth of invaders and challengers. I was to reward the brave and cunning while culling the weak and foolish, but I also had the responsibility to grow and process mana and ether. I was to serve as the judge and executioner of fate, but I also needed to act as a generator for Eden.


    I understood fairly clearly what it was I was supposed to do, but I had no idea how to actually do it. I still wasn¡¯t able to do more than think to myself.


    I should be able to create monsters and shape the earth around me, but all I can do is float here and I¡¯m not even sure how I¡¯m doing that¡­ I¡¯m not shaping up to be a very good dungeon¡­


    I had ideas, in fact I¡¯d spent all the time since the dragon left coming up with ideas for my dungeon. I could make a huge sprawling maze with no real exits, make a trap that launches spikes up from the floor, and I could even make a monster that would make even the black dragon seem weak in comparison. Sure I didn¡¯t know how I could go about creating any of that, but I¡¯m sure that thinking about possibilities now will help me when I figure out how to actually create things later.


    And at the very least it gives me something besides meditation to do¡­


    ***


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    I looked at the woman who walked in through the opening of my cavern. She was wearing grey silken garb that covered very little of her body, and her long flowing silver hair hung down to her back. Her sharp blue eye¡¯s locked onto me as soon as she saw me and her expression bloomed into a full smile.


    ¡°A dungeon core¡­¡±


    The woman bent her knees as she dipped slightly while the silken ribbons around her slender legs fluttered.


    ¡°My apologies for the intrusion, I came to investigate strange fluctuations of mana and sightings of a black dragon¡­ I am Melinda, a gray mage of some renown.¡±


    ***


    POV: Melinda


    I looked up and schooled my expression into a pleasant and friendly smile. I had come to investigate the dragon sightings that came from this area, and when I found this cave with the remnants of a masking spell on it I thought I may have found a dragon den. Instead I¡¯ve found something much more interesting and valuable.


    A dungeon core¡­


    I stared at the orb floating in front of me, its pitch black surface was speckled with motes of silver light and it gave off a soft glow that helped illuminate the cavern. As my eyes adjusted to the low light I blinked and released my mage sight.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°It is an honor to meet you, I hope we will come to be¡­ close friends¡­¡±


    I glanced carefully around the room and felt my breath hitch at what I saw. The floor was littered with good sized black scales, there was blood moss growing behind the floating core, and beside me there were six barrels and four crates that were carefully placed beside the opening I had just come through.


    Maintaining my smile and keeping a respectful distance from the core I felt my mind racing. Blinking I called on my mage sight once again and examined the core again, it was radiating a huge field of mana that was ever shifting between deep black, dark grey, pale green, and bright silver.


    A dungeon core, a fairly powerful one as well from what I can see, but still an infant. It seems to be unbound given that there is no creature serving as master or assistant around it, and that even after greeting it so respectfully it hasn¡¯t responded. It also hasn¡¯t created or summoned any monsters for itself¡­


    I felt my smile grow, I could see so many opportunities opening up to me. I had experience with exploiting a dungeon through fear, but now I have the unique opportunity to befriend one. From what I had studied dungeons tend to shower their friends with rewards, I wouldn¡¯t have to be concerned with the dungeon plotting to kill me this way either.


    Although I assume it will be difficult to build any sort of relationship with it if It can¡¯t communicate with me¡­ Perhaps I can start our friendship out with a gift.


    Reaching down I picked up a single scale, to my mage sight it seemed to shine like black fire with all the mana it contained. Looking back at the core I gave it another polite bow and curtsy before moving back to the opening that led back to the two other caverns that made up this cave system.


    ¡°I must apologies for leaving so suddenly after my intrusion, but I assure you that I will return soon. However, before I return I shall send some of my people to you with a gift. I do hope that you will accept my gift in return for this scale, and as a sign of our new friendship¡­¡±


    I turned and left the dungeon core¡¯s cavern and made my way through the winding passage of stone into the small cavern filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Working around the cones of stone I came to the large cave that opened up right out of the cliff face. As I looked out at the rolling hills of grassland I felt something rise up inside me, chuckling and giggling to myself I couldn¡¯t contain the growing joy I felt. Today had been a good day full of all sorts of pleasant discoveries.


    And I finally found a good use for that annoying dungeon fairy¡­ It seems Cal is still leaving me gifts, even after her core¡¯s been shattered¡­


    End POV


    ***


    I watched as the woman, Melinda, left my cavern. She had seemed nice, at the very least she had been polite when she spoke to me. Though it was quite frustrating to have someone interacting with me and having no way to communicate back to them.


    Still she did say she was coming back, and she¡¯d send someone to give me gift. I¡¯m not sure why she would feel the need to give me a gift in exchange for some scale she found on the ground¡­


    I seemed to remember dragon scales being valuable, true dragon scales even more so, but I didn¡¯t think they would require my receiving a gift. In fact I¡¯m not even sure if the scales could be considered mine, the black dragon could easily come back and claim them as his own.


    Well, I guess that isn¡¯t very likely¡­ that would be like a person coming back to collect their clipped nails¡­


    I gave a mental chuckle at that, I was being ridiculous. I guess that was because of what the woman¡­


    No her name is Melinda, I should use her name since she took the time to give it to me.


    What Melinda had said to me, that she wanted to be my friend. It was something that struck at an ache deep inside me. I hadn¡¯t considered myself to be lonely until that moment, bored yes, but not lonely. Now that had changed and I was deeply aware of how alone I was, and I was not at all happy with it.


    But that will be changed soon enough, I have a friend now¡­ Or at least I think Melinda and I are friends, I¡¯m not sure I know how friendship works. I think at some point I did, but well¡­ Yeah, I must have known before I became an orb, er¡­ I mean a dungeon¡­


    I shook my nonexistent head and closed my nonexistent eyes. Today had been a good day, but now that my visitor had left all the excitement had died down. Focusing my attention inward and then letting it disperse into nothing I began another round of meditation.

 Chapter 3: A Gift

    I have discovered something, I can make my orb body¡¯s colors shift and move. I¡¯m not actually sure what that could mean for me, but it is something. At the very least it gave me something to do besides meditating or thinking to myself.


    I shifted color from black with silver motes to black and grey with green and silver specks. Then I went to mostly grey, green, and silver with black lines crisscrossing the surface. Grey and green with hints of white and black. Entirely white with a black, grey, green, and silver center. Black with dots of silver and lines of white.


    I let myself relax and my color returned to its black with silver motes coloring, this was the coloring I had begun to consider my normal state since it took no effort or thought to maintain it. When I was relaxed and unfocused this is the color my orb body took on.


    I wonder how much time has passed¡­


    It was hard to tell the passage of time in the cavern since nothing changed and the light level, or lack thereof, was the same all the time. The only real way I had to gauge time was by counting to try and keep it myself, unfortunately I had lost count somewhere around three thousand after my last meditation.


    I would¡¯ve sighed if I had lungs, this sort of existence was beyond tiring. I couldn¡¯t do anything, I had no interactions with anything, and there were next to no distractions to occupy my time. I knew what I was meant to do and what was expected of me but I had no way of accomplishing those things, it was a unique sort of suffering. I was bored, lonely, and I felt like I was failing at the one thing I was meant for.


    There isn¡¯t even a hint of what I¡¯m supposed to do¡­ I don¡¯t have any natural instincts, or at least they haven¡¯t kicked in yet, and all the knowledge the black dragon left me doesn¡¯t tell me how dungeon¡¯s work. I¡¯m flailing blindly in the dark here¡­ Well, metaphorically flailing with metaphorical blindness in metaphorical darkness. It¡¯s hard to flail with no limbs and it¡¯s hard to claim blindness when I have this weird sort of third person super vision that sees in darkness without effort. I guess it¡¯s redundant either way, what¡¯s the point of analyzing a metaphor so deeply anyway? Hmm¡­ I wonder what the origin of metaphors are¡­ Or better yet, how do I know so many? Oh, wait, that¡¯s right it could be part of all the information the true dragon left for me. I wonder if that means I am less myself, I mean how can I be a unique individual when I filter everything through the experiences and knowledge of another. But then again I do FEEL like an individual, I have my own hopes, dreams, and thoughts¡­ Hmm¡­ I guess the only answer to that sort of question is the one that I always come to, I am myself and through being myself I am an individual. I am me, regardless of any past or strange dragon knowledge I may have. Still need to come up with a name for myself though¡­ I¡¯m thinking Stone is my best bet, but I wonder if Melinda would be willing to give me an opinion. No, wait, I have to find some way to communicate with people before I can even ask her¡­ Haaah¡­ So much to do, so little ability to do any of it¡­


    I shook my nonexistent head. There was probably something very telling about the fact my monologues to myself are getting longer and less focused. I closed my eyes, or I guess more accurately I shut off my sight, and began to meditate again.


    As my attention turned inward and faded into nothingness as I rode waves of peaceful nonthought I felt myself relax. Everything was fine, my problems would resolve themselves in time.


    And if they didn¡¯t, then that was as it was meant to be¡­


    ***


    POV: Mich


    I looked over at the kid, he looked to be a bit too young to be doing something like this. I let out a hard breath, it seemed like every year some farm boy or baker¡¯s son comes to enter Lady Melinda¡¯s service while dreaming of greatness.


    Damn fools, the lot of them¡­ None of them have any idea what being in service to a mage really means, hell most of them can¡¯t even tell the difference between a black mage and a grey mage. I bet the lad is expecting the lady to take a liking to him and ¡°magic¡± him up¡­


    I let out another hard breath. It was just my luck to get roped into something with a greenhorn, Lady Melinda thought that by pairing someone with my experience alongside someone with no experience was the best way to train and cultivate her newest servants.


    ¡°Sir?¡±


    I looked back over at the kid.


    ¡°What is it Yowl?¡±


    The kid brushed his messy straw blonde mop out of his mud brown eyes.


    ¡°Is it true that the lady¡­¡±


    I cut the kid of with a look.


    ¡°Look Yowl, if you ever want to last in Lady Melinda¡¯s service you¡¯re gonna need to learn not to go asking the wrong questions. Don¡¯t go spreading rumors either¡­¡±


    I felt a chill go up my spine. The last time Lady Melinda caught word of some rumor about her and her children floating around she gathered everyone serving under her for a ¡°demonstration¡±. I can still remember the screams of that maid, and the moment when they cut out suddenly as Lady Melinda ripped her soul out of her body¡­


    I shuddered slightly.


    ¡°Trust me kid, you really don¡¯t want to talk about Lady Melinda behind her back. Don¡¯t go talking about Lord Joshua or Lady Cassandra either, not if you want to live a long happy life¡­¡±


    The kid¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment before he shook himself and scoffed. It didn¡¯t matter, if the kid lasted long enough then he¡¯d learn. Lady Melinda was a good lord to serve, she was fair, kind, and generous to those who served her loyally. She was also merciless to those who betrayed her or her family.


    I adjusted the pack on my back and checked the cage the kid was carrying, lifting the cover on the birdcage I saw the fairy was still just sitting staring into nothing. Letting the cover drop back into place I shook my head, I still didn¡¯t understand how the thing had survived for so long. Then again I didn¡¯t understand most of Lady Melinda¡¯s business, magical works were all but a mystery to me.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Alright kid, let¡¯s get moving. The cave were supposed to get to is about two days out¡­ If we hustle we might be able to get there by sun up tomorrow.¡±


    I checked my blades to make sure they were snug in there sheathes, my trusty hook blade hung securely at my back. I had more than a passing familiarity with the blades but I still felt anxious whenever the lady sent me out, even after the decade I had worked under her.


    I still miss the days she thought I was just a powerless thief in need of constant protection and sent me out with a hunter, it¡¯s always good to have a hunter watching your back out in the wild¡­


    I finished my checks and patted the kid¡¯s back.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Yowl. Try to keep the cage steady on the road.¡±


    *


    I looked at the large, jagged opening in the cliff face. It was a ways off the road, but it wasn¡¯t all that far from a farming village.


    I still can¡¯t believe that another dungeon appeared in Lady Melinda¡¯s territory. I mean, it was only a few years ago that Cal had to be put down. Now there¡¯s this new one, and it¡¯s even closer than Cal¡¯s was¡­


    It was great luck for the Lady. Dungeon¡¯s were a great source of materials for mages and alchemists, and the monsters and challenges they created made for great training for warriors and hunters. I think Lady Melinda will be able to better manage a relationship with a dungeon this time as well, we all learned a lot from dealing with Cal.


    I felt my eye¡¯s turn to the covered birdcage. I couldn¡¯t begin to understand what her relationship to Cal had been, but I knew they were close. Every time I made it to the end of the dungeon I always saw them together.


    I shook my head, I couldn¡¯t let some passing moment of sentiment cloud my judgment. Hell for all I knew the fairy would be happy to be with another dungeon, our offering her up could be a great boon for the fairy.


    ¡°So¡­ Sir? Are we just supposed to leave it here, or¡­¡±


    I sighed as I pulled my hook blade free, the kid probably couldn¡¯t help it but the last two days with him were beginning to wear on me.


    ¡°Listen kid, it¡¯ll be just like with that pack of felwolves. You stay behind, stick close, and try not to do anything stupid or threatening that would draw attention to yourself.¡±


    I took a step into the cave, and the sound of stumbling behind me assured me that the kid was following behind. Moving forward and stepping carefully I kept my eyes open as they adjusted to the darkness of the cave. I didn¡¯t want to light a torch because it could attract attention and would definitely limit my field of view.


    Though judging from the lack of glowing stones and moss, that choice may be taken out of my hands¡­


    I didn¡¯t like this, I was saddled with a greenhorn while exploring a largely unknown and possibly dangerous dungeon all while escorting precious live cargo. I really missed the days when all Lady Melinda asked of me was to steal some magical knickknack from some noble or mage, at least then the dangers were well known and avoidable.


    Stepping cautiously through a tunnel leading deeper into the cave I came to a new turn and let out a small sigh. Total darkness, it was pitch black after the fourth turn the tunnel took. Keeping my eyes forward and my hook blade up and ready I whispered back to the kid.


    ¡°Yowl, light the torch. And be careful not to drop the cage!¡±


    I could hear the kid fumbling noisily behind me, I couldn¡¯t help but wince.


    Well if anything didn¡¯t hear him tripping through before, the noise he¡¯s making now will broadcast our presence loud and clear¡­


    As light filled the tunnel and the crackle of flame came alive behind me I suppressed a sigh. The kid didn¡¯t know better but that wouldn¡¯t be much of a comfort if he ended up getting us both dead.


    ¡°Mich, Sir¡­ Why not just magic up a light?¡±


    Wincing again at what must be the loudest whisper in Eden I turned to give the kid a quick glare before facing forward again. I hissed an answer at the kid before heading deeper in.


    ¡°Kid, how do you think magic works? Do you think just because someone works under a mage they can go slinging spells and such? Think just being around a mage lets magic rub off on you? No, magic is in the blood. You¡¯re born with it or you ain¡¯t, it¡¯s that simple¡­¡±


    I heard a short gasp behind me, but I ignored it. It was better for the kid to find out early on, before he can get his hopes up to high. I could still recall when I had similar hopes myself, they had lasted for the whole first year I had worked under Lady Melinda.


    We made our way through the dark tunnel only to find another empty cave, this one darker and with more stone cones hanging from the ceiling and sticking up from the floor. I scoped the corners of the room as best I could and still found nothing.


    I don¡¯t like this¡­ I know Lady Melinda said that it was empty, but¡­ Maybe the dungeon was just born and hasn¡¯t had time to create any monsters yet? I mean, that could be it, but I¡¯ve never heard of a dungeon that can¡¯t make any monsters no matter how young it is¡­


    I shook my head, thinking about this would just distract me from what I was doing and split my focus. Besides I didn¡¯t need to think about this sort of stuff, that was Lady Melinda¡¯s privilege. I didn¡¯t have nearly enough learning or experience in magic to try understanding dungeons, I just had to keep myself, the fairy, and the kid alive. In that order.


    Well, that is until the delivery is made. Then the fairy is no longer my problem¡­


    POV End


    ***


    I opened my metaphorical eyes as I heard a clattering.


    ¡°Damn it kid! I told you to be careful with where you stepped!¡±


    I heard a man¡¯s angry voice hiss from the passage into my cavern, it was quiet but I still somehow heard it. I turned my full focus towards the passage and saw something strange. There was a light, or maybe brightness would be a better term, in the passage that was just out of view. It looked like it might be around a corner, but then again I didn¡¯t know the shape of the passage so I couldn¡¯t be sure.


    ¡°Sorry Sir, I didn¡¯t see the rock¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine, is the cage alright? You didn¡¯t bang it on anything did you?¡±


    ¡°I, Uh¡­ No?¡±


    I heard a deep sigh.


    ¡°Hah, hand me the birdcage kid.¡±


    ¡°But Sir, how will you be able to¡­¡±


    ¡°Hand me the damn cage now kid.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir¡­¡±


    I almost laughed at that, the two voices were the best entertainment I¡¯d had in¡­ Well I really didn¡¯t know how long.


    Six meditations? Maybe seven? Huh¡­ I really should find a way to track the passage of time if I¡¯m going to interact with people¡­


    As I stared at the passage I saw a head duck out before quickly ducking out of view. I only had time to make out dark brown hair and swarthy skin before the man¡¯s face had disappeared.


    ¡°Alright kid, I found the core. Now I¡¯m just going to place the cage, and we¡¯re going to calmly make our way back out to the surface¡­¡±


    ¡°Sir should we really open the cage like this, wont the lady¡¯s fairy escape?¡±


    ¡°No longer our problem. Besides she¡¯s a dungeon fairy, this is a dungeon, and the core is right there in clear view. I¡¯m sure her instincts or whatever will take over and she¡¯ll go do whatever it is dungeon fairies actually do with dungeons¡­¡±


    A birdcage was placed in the passage where I could see it, and inside was a small human with glossy clear butterfly wings.


    A Fairy? Yeah, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s a fairy. Wait why would they just leave a fairy here?


    ¡°Oh Great Dungeon, Lady Melinda hopes that you are pleased by her gift. We¡¯ll now leave you in peace¡­¡±


    I heard the gruff older voice call out before scrambling noises caught my attention.


    ¡°Damnit kid, what is wrong with you? It¡¯s like you have the grace and coordination of a drunken ogre¡­¡±


    The quite mutter was the last thing I heard from the two before something else grabbed my attention. Looking at the fairy that was sitting and staring at me with a strong gaze and a small smile I felt a strange tug from inside of me. It was like my instincts finally decided to kick in, and right now those newly found instincts were screaming at me that the fairy was important.


    The fairy picked itself up and took a tentative step out of the cage. As its wings fluttered it wobbled forward on unsteady legs. Looking down with a frown the fairy shook its head before hopping into the air, as its wings fluttered furiously it began to hover closer until it was fully in the room. The fairy looked back at me with a sad looking smile.


    ¡°Hello young one. I imagine that right now you¡¯re fairly scared and confused¡­¡±

 Chapter 4: Fay

    <u>POV: Fay</u>


    My world was taken from me. All that remained now were memories. Memories and me.


    I still remember the day I left mother¡¯s dungeon, she and Sandy had sent me off with their well wishes and a few options they had preselected for me. I remember that I was embarrassed that my mother couldn¡¯t trust me to find a good dungeon for myself, it had been more than a little humiliating to be handed a list of what she considered ¡°Suitable¡± partners.


    I miss her now, miss her and Sandy¡¯s constant nagging.


    But most of all I miss Cal.


    Cal had been nothing more than a little two room cave system when I found her, Her white core floating peacefully amongst the brown stone. She had been beautiful, from the moment I saw her core I knew that there could be no other. The two dungeons I had come to before had spoken to my instincts, but when I first saw Cal it had been more than that. Something just clicked and I could feel in my heart that this little dungeon was the one for me.


    Our bond had went perfectly, I had just known deep inside what I was supposed to do. Mom had been right about that much, but she never told me how powerful the bond was. In one moment everything had changed, my priorities had shifted. I was living for more than myself, I had my important partner to consider now.


    Full of euphoria and wonder I asked something to Cal, some question I couldn¡¯t even remember now. She had growled at me.


    I asked if she had a preferred name. She had hissed at me.


    I had rambled on and on for hours about what our new life together would be like. She had huffed and spat.


    I named her Callous, a fitting name for a former badger. It had taken her a month to warm up to me, and a whole year to learn to actually speak. Cal had been shy, and she would often say things she didn¡¯t mean. Every time I used my magic and wove mana to show her the dungeon trait options she would be standoffish and refuse to pick anything, she had insisted she didn¡¯t need any special gifts or miracles to protect us both.


    For a time we were happy, Cal and I had worked at making the best dungeon we could. Cal had a gift with plants, so I would go out on occasion and bring back plants to sacrifice to her. I had also convinced Cal to pick out a starting monster, blessing, and law for the dungeon. Within two years we had two floors full of plant life and loyal goblins, our dungeon held the blessing of monster loyalty and the law of limited harvest.


    It had been a great start, better than all the examples that I had heard about growing up. Cal and I had managed to avoid all the pitfalls and dangers a young dungeon would face early on in its development. We had even planed on coupling for the first time after making the next floor.


    And then she had come.


    That damn grey mage woman came and plowed through all of our defenses, she had marched right to the core room in under an hour. I looked on powerlessly as she tortured Cal with her strange magic, any possibility of aiding my partner taken from me as Cal blocked off our bond. By sparing me the pain, Cal had shouldered it all on her own. And then she gave in. I had been forced to watch helplessly as that damn woman broke my partner¡¯s will right in front of me, I have imagined countless times what I would¡¯ve done if I could access my mana then. It became my singular fantasy over the next decade.


    After that day things changed, Cal¡¯s confidence disappeared. My partner would behave like a beaten animal every time that woman came to our home, and all I could do was hide away when she told me. It broke my heart every time I saw Cal act that way, and it hurt even more when I realized she was still trying to protect me from the mage.


    For years our dungeon was treated as a farm and training ground, to be harvested, beaten and raped in all new ways everyday by any the mage wanted. Cal was treated like a slave, no, worse than that... The damn mage treated the love of my life, my one and only life partner, as a tool, a fucking resource that she was entitled to abuse.


    New sacrifices of rare plants and animals were forced on us, all so we could produce an endless supply for our captor. Mana was leached from us constantly, unnaturally feeding and growing our captor¡¯s mana pool. Our creations were slaughtered or enslaved and taken from us every day, and our new floors were predesigned for us.


    For ten years and four months Cal and I lived a hell that was unimaginable to me. And then it ended.


    The mage wanted to watch us couple, something about researching dungeon fairy reproduction. Cal had refused.


    After two weeks of near constant torture of Cal¡¯s core and spirit, under which my love still refused to bend, the mage killed her. That damn grey mage just ripped Cal¡¯s spirit right out of her core, then she had plunged a ghostly dagger into the badger spirit.


    The pain of my bond with Cal shattering was indescribable, I felt it as she died. Felt it as her soul itself ceased to be and whatever remnants of energy that were my partner entered that bitch¡¯s mana pool. I felt every moment of it, and I knew with crushing certainty that Cal was gone. That my love¡¯s very being had ceased to be.


    I had been empty, even my hate was gone. I simply wanted to stop, to cease to be. I wanted to die with my love, to go with her into whatever awaited after death.


    But I couldn¡¯t die. Fairies can¡¯t kill themselves, and the mage kept me full of enough mana that I wouldn¡¯t starve.


    I existed in a cage. A literal gilded cage.


    For three years, six months, two weeks, and five days I have been alone.


    Then I felt something, a tickling of instinct that was oddly familiar. I looked up to find a black and silver orb that floated amongst grey stone. I felt the tingle of instincts grow stronger, a part of me whispered unthinkable things to my heart. My race existed alongside dungeons, we needed them even as dungeons have come to need us. Without a dungeon a dungeon fairy is nothing, a mere woman with wings. Without a fairy most dungeons were powerless, mere orbs floating in place. The same instincts that have been with my race since our first ancestors told me it was my duty to bind myself to the unbound dungeon core I saw.


    I picked myself up from where I sat, took a few tentative steps on wobbly legs. Testing the wings I had not used in so long I fluttered into the air, as I came closer to the core I found myself almost reaching out subconsciously.


    I stopped, my rising hand twitched and fell back to my side. I was disgusted with myself, disgusted at my moment of weakness. I was Cal¡¯s fairy, the one given the name Fay. I refused to bind myself to another, refused to sully my love for Cal by casting her aside for someone new. It didn¡¯t matter if Cal was gone, it didn¡¯t matter if this new dungeon needed a fairy, it didn¡¯t even matter that I could probably be happy again if I did this, I would never bind myself to another.


    Dungeon Fairies mated for life, our bonds were made absolute after our first coupling with our partners. I had missed my chance to couple with my love, but I wouldn¡¯t allow myself to cast her aside for some other dungeon. I knew what would happen if I took another bond, Cal would lose her place in my heart. Slowly I would fall out of love with her, and eventually I would wonder why she mattered to me at all. If I took this dungeon as a bond mate it would be the one to become my whole world, it would make my time with Cal become nothing more than a passing memory. And eventually even a regret.


    I would never allow that to happen.


    Even still, I couldn¡¯t let this young dungeon remain powerless and at the mercy of the damn grey mage. It had to be terrified, unable to move or speak and unsure of what it was. It probably still thought it was the animal or monster that its spirit was in life, leaving it like this would be cruel.


    Cal would want me to help, she would say that it would be part of my duty to help. That I should do what I can.


    Trying to summon forth a smile I tried to remember one of the ways my mom told me to approach a young dungeon.


    ¡°Hello young one. I imagine that right now you¡¯re fairly scared and confused¡­¡±


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    I looked at the fairy and tried to suppress my excitement, today had been busier than I had ever anticipated. I even had someone trying to talk to me right now, which honestly was a bit nerve wracking considering I couldn¡¯t say anything back to them. Then there was the weird need to reach out to the fairy that was rising inside me, something that was clearly impossible given my lack of limbs.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try something that should help us both, so just relax¡­¡±


    The fairy slowly and unsteadily flew closer until she was right in front of my orb. As she stared at me her face scrunched up in what looked like confusion.


    ¡°How do you already have elemental attributes without being bound? That shouldn¡¯t be possible, unless¡­ Oh, that BITCH! She did something to you didn¡¯t she? Well, don¡¯t worry, it doesn¡¯t seem to have done any damage to your core. You also don¡¯t seem to have any compulsions or false bonds on you, so that¡¯s good¡­¡±


    The fairy seemed to be muttering mostly to herself as she hovered in front of me, most of what she said I didn¡¯t really understand¡­If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Well ok, I actually don¡¯t really understand any of what she¡¯s saying, but that bond thing¡­


    Something about her talking about a bond or false bonds just seemed to resonate with me. Again I got that urge to reach out to the fairy, but again I had nothing to reach out with.


    ¡°Alright, let me see if I still remember how to do this¡­¡±


    The fairy reached out her hand and touched my orb body, in a flash I felt a jolt run through me before something inside me rushed out towards the fairy. I felt strange, like my body was suddenly far too small for me. I practically felt like I was exploding, and then I felt resistance pushing back against me. It was like I had run full tilt into an iron wall, a fairly painful sensation all things considered. I knew I could pass the wall blocking my way, something growled inside me that I could break through the obstacle. That I had a RIGHT to break through.


    I pushed. The wall was hard as iron, but my will was as strong as admantite. The wall would crumble to dust before it blocked my way. I could feel the wall blocking me beginning to give way, it was cracking and caving in on itself. It wouldn¡¯t stand in my way much longer¡­


    ¡°No¡­ Stop¡­ Strong?! Cant¡­ Sorry¡­ Failed¡­¡±


    ¡°Cal¡­¡±


    I felt surprize, sadness, regret, a budding reluctant acceptance, and an immeasurable sense of loss. But strangest of all I felt these emotions and knew that they weren¡¯t actually my own, they belonged to someone else. With that realization I froze, my mind reeling. My advance out of my body stopped dead, then slowly pulled back.


    I shook off all the feelings as I came back to my senses, I had practically lost myself in that fit of instinct. Looking at the fairy I felt strange, a part of me wanted to reach out to her again and another part of me felt sick at what I had just done. It was like I was overwriting her free will with my own, worse yet a part of me deep down enjoyed that fact. In a twisted way I liked knowing that I was stronger than the fairy, that if I ever wanted to I could dominate her with the sheer force of my will crushing her own. I sighed.


    ¡°Hah¡­ Sorry, I¡¯m not sure what came over me¡­¡±


    The fairy¡¯s expression froze in shock at the same moment I realized what happened. I had actually made noise, I had heard sounds that matched up with what I thought. At the same time I sighed with my nonexistent lungs I had heard a sighing noise, at the same time I tried to mentally project my apology a voice had spoken out my thoughts.


    ¡°Is that me? It is, isn¡¯t it! Wait, I need to be sure¡­ I¡¯m an orb observing over obtuse objects, fixedly fascinated by a fantastic floating fairy¡­ Hmm¡­ Yep, I doubt anyone else would come up with such an alliterative way of talking. So this is me¡­ This is my voice¡­ It sounds off somehow, I feel like my voice should be deeper. I should have some rumbling baritone that sends fear and awe down the spines of all that hear it! This voice just sounds too normal. Argh! It¡¯s pleasant enough to hear, but this is hardly what I¡¯d expect myself to sound like! I just sound so normal! It¡¯s just disappointing¡­¡±


    I let out another sigh, I guess I shouldn¡¯t complain now that I could somehow speak but I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little disappointed. I sounded young, not like I child but also not quite like an adult. At least the voice was clearly male, even though the tone was light and pleasant to the ear. I doubt I could¡¯ve handled the blow to my admittedly weak self-identity if my voice had come out feminine, I would begin to question what little I thought I knew about myself.


    ¡°You¡­ you¡­ you¡­¡±


    I looked up at the stuttering fairy, she seemed to move back a little in the air. In a flash of inspiration I realized what I could finally do.


    ¡°Hey, I need your opinion on something. Which do you think is a better name: Rock, Stone, or Drop?¡±


    ***


    The fairy was sitting down on one of the crates, her head resting in her hands.


    ¡°So let me get this straight. You woke up with no idea who you are, and an old man poured mana into you before leaving after telling you to make him something. Then you never see him again, but spend who knows how long pondering the ¡°Real¡± meaning behind what he told you. THEN the true dragon shows up and gives you even MORE mana as well as draconic knowledge?¡±


    I tried to feel the mana inside myself, it felt murky and nebulous. Every time I thought I had a grip on the force of magic the fairy had described it seemed to slip out of my grasp.


    ¡°Yep, then I meditated to help absorb the knowledge, and when I woke from the meditation the black dragon was gone and my colors were different again.¡±


    The fairy just shook her head.


    ¡°And then the grey mage shows up and asks to be your ¡°Friend¡±?¡±


    I almost got a grip on the power before it once again slipped away. I felt my frustration rising up, but it immediately fell away as my calm returned.


    ¡°Yeah, Melinda came by after the dragon, but I have no idea how much time passed between the two¡­¡±


    The fairy waved away my clarification.


    ¡°That¡¯s common, newborn dungeons don¡¯t keep track of time very well without an entrance with a view of the surface. Anyway, you shouldn¡¯t trust that bitc¡­ Ahem, the grey mage. She¡¯s a dungeon killer you know¡­¡±


    I shrugged my nonexistent shoulders.


    ¡°She¡¯s been alright to me, she gave me a gift after all¡­¡±


    The fairy fell back and laid flat on the crate.


    ¡°Yeah, the gift of her captive dungeon fairy. Such a great friend¡­ Ever wonder how she even came across me?¡±


    I gave another shrug.


    ¡°I assume you¡¯re from the dungeon you say she killed.¡±


    The fairy froze and laid in silence for a while.


    ¡°I¡­ You¡­¡±


    The fairy let out a heavy sigh before giving me a single word in a clipped tone.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The fairy was silent after that, I figured that she no longer wanted to talk. That was fine, she would start talking again when she was ready and until then I could practice using my mana.


    I relaxed, every time I tried to marshal my mana it got away from me. As I relaxed I felt the mana float and shift around what I could only assume was my soul. It was a pleasant feeling, one I had somehow never noticed before. The colors, each represented one of the eight elements. Elemental mana it was called, I had four of the eight elements. Darkness and space were strongest, the swirls of black and spots of silver were ever present around my soul. Then there was the haze of dark grey and pale green that hovered and clung around my soul, soul and earth. All four elements were mine, a part of me that I could wield and move as I chose. They were like the limbs of my very being, the arms and legs of my soul or spirit or whatever it was I was seeing.


    The powers were mine, the magic was already inside me ready to be wielded. I just had to use it, tell it what I wanted. Reaching out to the mana inside me I traced nonexistent fingers along the colors, I didn¡¯t grab at the mana or try to force it in any way. I just made contact, petted at and stroked the mana as if it was a faithful pet.


    As I relaxed and maintained contact with my mana I began to meditate, I sank to an even deeper part of myself in the hopes of finding an answer. As my world shrank into a swathe of familiar colors I saw something out of place. It was white, every other color was tied to an element but the white wasn¡¯t. it had been there since the beginning, it was at the center of everything. It wasn¡¯t light, the element I now knew the color was supposed to represent, it was just white. A ball of white that was at the center of my very being.


    I reached out a mental finger to touch the white, and then my nonexistent eyes flew open with understanding. The white wasn¡¯t a color and it wasn¡¯t mana, it was emptiness. An emptiness at my center that needed to be filled, that had been begging for me to fill it.


    I gently tugged at my mana, it had fought me so hard because it had known. I had been clumsily and foolishly been trying to force my mana out of myself. I had essentially been rejecting the mana, trying to rip it out of myself without understanding that it had no other place to return to inside myself. As I lead it into the ball of emptiness inside me it came willingly and eagerly, I was leading it to its new permanent home. I was giving my mana a place to collect, grow, and return to. I was creating a mana pool.


    ***


    <u>POV: Fay</u>


    This dungeon is ridiculous...


    First it practically overwhelms me and almost forces a bond when I tried to unseal the core, then it starts to speak common clearly and coherently while flooding me with questions. It was even already considering a name before it met me.


    I don¡¯t even know what to say at this point¡­ It¡¯s like this dungeon is going through years of development in hours¡­


    I looked at the floating core as it shifted colors rapidly. I wasn¡¯t sure what the dungeon was doing, but it had been at it for two days now.


    It could be trying to manipulate its mana¡­ Heh, that should stump it for a good few years. Without a bonded fairy to lead the way it¡¯ll take a dungeon years to even realize it HAS mana, making a mana pool would take decades for a normal dungeon. Even if this dungeon¡¯s spirit is some super intelligent monster that learned how to speak and use magic while it was alive it would still probably take a year or so to make a functional mana pool. If even Cal and I couldn¡¯t do it with that bitch flooding us with mana constantly, then a newborn dungeon won¡¯t be able to do it anytime soon regardless of how abnormal it is¡­


    I felt a small smile form on my face at that thought. This dungeon really was strange, no it was beyond strange. I had heard stories and read histories about all sorts of dungeons growing up in preparation of eventually bonding with and guiding a dungeon of my own. I knew of only two dungeons who could speak before they were core popped or bonded: Akash the soaring dungeon and Mavra the dungeon of doom. Both of those dungeons had come from rare and powerful monsters whose souls wouldn¡¯t normally be absorbed by a core.


    ¡°What were you¡­?¡±


    It was impossible for this dungeon¡¯s spirit to be just a normal animal, I couldn¡¯t imagine a squirrel or even a clever bear doing what this dungeon had.


    Ugh¡­ This has to be the weirdest newborn dungeon ever¡­


    I looked at the barrels and crates I had been using as furniture and recently opening while I waited on the dungeon to wake up. The barrels had contained wine, ale, clear and pure magical infused water, mana restorative potion, and a health potion. The crates had all sorts of items and weapons in the common minerals that the high races used: gold, silver, iron, copper, even a mithril ring set with a water stone. That old man was obviously setting himself up to be a damned dungeon master, and the fact that he never returned was beyond a blessing. The resources the old man brought with him, and the dragon scales littering the floor would be perfect sacrifices for this dungeon.


    He¡¯ll make some lucky fairy a very happy girl¡­ Hell, given what I¡¯ve seen she¡¯ll think she¡¯s the luckiest fairy in centuries¡­


    I shook my head, if I had stumbled into this dungeon before meeting and bonding with Cal¡­ Well, I couldn¡¯t be sure of anything. I was sure every fairy had moments of weakness when they just had to wonder, I mean when you¡¯re bonded to what used to be a snake you must dream about what it would be like to be partner to a dungeon like Mavra.


    ¡°Forgive me for this much Cal, I¡¯m just admiring the view. I promise I won¡¯t be bonding or coupling with him, but at least let me enjoy the view.¡±


    I plopped down on my favorite crate filled with golden trinkets.


    ¡°Cal, I miss you so much, but I need to help explain things to this newborn. I¡¯ll be with you soon¡­¡±


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    I opened my nonexistent eyes and looked around, the fairy was sitting in a large bowl filled with some sort of red water. For a moment I didn¡¯t understand what I was seeing, it just didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The fairy looked up at me and smiled.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re finally awake!¡±


    She sunk down deeper in the bowl and reached over for the yellow dress that was folded up next to the bowl.


    ¡°Really, what are you doing?¡±


    The fairy snorted as she began fumbling with the yellow dress in the red water.


    ¡°Well, I figured after day six on my own that I deserved a bit of a reward for sticking around and not flying off to my death. I mean really, if I had just left when you took your nap I would be long dead by now¡­¡±


    I started at that, it sounded like the fairy actually wanted to die. But that didn¡¯t make any sense, every living thing wanted to live. Well, at least I thought that was the case.


    ¡°You want to die?¡±


    The fairy smiled as she stood up wearing her wet yellow dress.


    ¡°Yep, but first I¡¯m going to give you a crash course in being a dungeon. Let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t give the next fairy you meet a heart attack¡­ I can just imagine, an unbound dungeon core that¡¯s already shaping its dungeon, can speak, and doesn¡¯t need to have absolutely everything explained to it. It might just make her drop from the shock!¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand what this fairy¡¯s obsession with death was, but I was eager to learn something new.


    ¡°It may be a bit late dungeon, but my name is Fay. I¡¯m going to be your temporary Fairy guide!¡±

 Chapter 5: The Importance Of A Name

    I looked at the fairy, or Fay I guess, who was hovering in front of me as her soaked dress dripped red water onto the stone floor.


    ¡°You¡¯re a fairy¡­ named Fay?¡±


    Fay¡¯s face scrunched up for a moment before it returned to its prior excited smile.


    ¡°Look, I was named by a badger spirit ok. Badgers aren¡¯t known for their immense sense of creativity¡­ Anyway, that¡¯s not the point. I¡¯m going to be your temporary guide, I¡¯ll help you figure out the basics of what it means to be a dungeon and then¡­¡±


    The Fairy trailed off as her face took on an expression of longing.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go be with Cal again¡­¡±


    I had a moment of confusion, I had no idea what badgers had to do with anything. I could only assume that Cal was the name of her dungeon and her last words were reminding me she wanted to die. It was a strange thing to want, but I guess everyone had different desires. I guess I had no right to judge her for her own desire, after all it wasn¡¯t like she would be hurting anyone. Well, anyone other than herself. Even still I didn¡¯t like thinking that Fay wanted to die. I could understand it, I would respect it, but I didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°Alright, so as my guide you¡¯ll help me and answer my questions?¡±


    Fay nodded with an energetic bob of the head, it was a movement that seemed almost forced.


    ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll do my best to help you work things out.¡±


    Alright, time to finally address the main issue then¡­


    ¡°Great, then I¡¯m really going to need you to give me your opinion on a name. Personally, I like Rock. But then again Stone is growing on me¡­ Either way I¡¯m not favoring Drop much anymore, just seems kind of silly now in hindsight¡­¡±


    ***


    Fay was banging her head softly against one of the barrels.


    ¡°¡­So maybe Pebble could work, but it just doesn¡¯t convey the right air I¡¯m trying to get. I just can¡¯t see anyone being awed or intimidated by a dungeon called Pebble... Although maybe that would be a good thing. It could get challengers to lower their guard and get caught up in a trap or ambush, so maybe it would be worth having the name just to weed out challengers. But then again names are important and deeply personal things, so I really don¡¯t think I want mine to be Pebble. It doesn¡¯t even sound better in draconic and EVERYTHING sounds better in draconic¡­ Huh, I guess that just leaves Rock, Stone, Dark, Wood, Stalag, Scale, and Float. Oh, and Drop too I guess¡­¡±


    I looked at Fay wondering if her head hitting the wood of the barrel helped her think. Normally I would think that it would actually be a detriment to thinking and maybe actually cause pain, but she had been doing it for quite a while now. Maybe it was some custom I didn¡¯t absorb from the dragon¡¯s gifted knowledge or maybe it was just some weird fairy thing even the dragon didn¡¯t know.


    Fay stopped for a moment and looked back at me, her forehead was red.


    ¡°Is that everything? You¡¯re completely done now?¡±


    I nodded before I remembered Fay couldn¡¯t tell anything from nonexistent movements, which was honestly sort of disappointing given she had been the one to encourage me to continue making such nonexistent movements. Something about it being helpful with reestablishing muscle movement and function later on in my life.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s pretty much everything I¡¯ve considered so far and why. So what do you think?¡±


    Fay smiled with what looks like relief.


    ¡°I think that it¡¯s important you know that the entrance to your dungeon should be given special attention. It¡¯s the first part of your dungeon people will see, so it will be a major factor in how they judge and describe your dungeon amongst themselves. You¡¯ll want your entrance to be grand, imposing, intimidating, captivating, and welcoming in equal parts. I know, it¡¯ll be a hard balance to meet, but your real fairy should be able to help you and maybe even give you some ideas¡­¡±


    I shook my head, not that I had one.


    ¡°No, I meant about the names¡­¡±


    ¡°I also think you should remember that while you generate mana at insane rates you can still run out if you do too much at once, I don¡¯t advise you do that. From what I understand it is very unpleasant for a dungeon and if you use too much in too short a time span you can even make yourself sick or stunt your development and growth¡­¡±


    ¡°Fay¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, and when you begin shaping your dungeon this¡¯ll be really obvious, but I should still tell you¡­ The expansion of your dungeon is directly equivalent to the expansion of your aura, or the force of your soul. To drastically understate things aura is what is formed from the sum of your mana, life energy, and spirit. Think of it as a sort of field or maybe shield would be a better analogy¡­ Anyway your soul protects itself with aura, so by spreading your aura to expand the dungeon you actually strengthen the dungeon, your aura, and even your soul. To grossly simplify, the bigger your dungeon the stronger you and it are¡­¡±


    ¡°Fay!¡±


    ¡°Now, you may be wondering why spreading your aura everywhere a good idea, well the answer to that is: because you¡¯re a dungeon. Your species has the unique ability to create on a nearly divine level, but that is only true so long as it is contained within yourself. The second you try to enact change outside of yourself the laws of the world itself get in the way, after all the great Mother can¡¯t have you mucking up the world she personally crafted, that¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t do anything until I released your core¡¯s aura before. Instead the great Mother gave dungeons near unlimited control and influence over themselves alongside an unprecedented ability to grow their very souls. Now there is a fixed limit to how much you can grow, but that limit only applies on Eden. Since you have a space alignment to your mana you can kinda cheat that limit¡­ Don¡¯t worry it isn¡¯t against the great Mother¡¯s will, in fact pretty much all the big dungeons do it. You just need to figure out how to create your own subspace outside of Eden, then you¡¯ll have an infinite, or at least something close enough to infinite that it won¡¯t matter, amount of space to work with. I don¡¯t know a lot about this trick because neither my or my mother¡¯s dungeon had the space alignment to their mana, but you should make sure that the fairy you eventually take as your life partner does know¡­¡±


    Fay took a deep panting breath, it finally gave me an opining to grab her attention.


    ¡°FAY!¡±


    I had shouted to ensure she would hear me and wouldn¡¯t ignore me, it didn¡¯t seem to work.


    ¡°Hah, hah, hah¡­ Ok, so that¡¯s the next thing, your fairy. You my friend have the unique opportunity to choose your own life partner. Now it may seem strange since it¡¯s coming from someone who¡¯s a fairy herself, but trust me when I say you should heavily vet your life partner. And when I say heavily I mean HEAVILY. You should be turning fairies away for every and any flaw you might find. You my friend are a catch and any fairy would be lucky to have you, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should accept just any fairy. If you pick someone who doesn¡¯t know what you need or one who can¡¯t help you realize your full potential and then create the bond with them, well then you both will be stuck together forever. Worse yet will be that while you might be able to escape the worst case scenario by taking on another fairy later on, by the very nature of the bond you¡¯ll not want to. It¡¯s better to just save yourself and your prospective fairy the heartbreak and stress by turning down those who don¡¯t fit. Don¡¯t feel too bad about it either, we fairies do the exact same thing to dungeons before we bond ourselves. When you¡¯re dealing with a relationship that could potentially be for eternity it¡¯s better to be as picky as you can, you want to be sure that the one you pick in the end is the ONE¡­¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to hear your opinion on my names¡­¡±


    ¡°In fact, I¡¯m going to give you a list of things that I think should be a necessity for your true fairy to know. Better yet, let me make a test! Yeah, a test where every answer has to be right before they can even be considered! Hey, do you have anything to write on? Or anything to write with for that matter? Never mind, I¡¯m sure your grey mage ¡°Friend¡± or one of her flunkies can get something¡­¡±


    Is she even listening?


    I practically boomed out my next call, it even seemed to resonate around the cavern.


    ¡°FAAAYYY!!!¡±


    The fairy winced and shook her head.


    ¡°Ow, no need to be so loud¡­¡±


    ¡°Names. I want your opinion on potential NAMES!¡±


    The fairy just moved to sit on the edge of an open crate.


    ¡°Look buddy, I¡¯ve already said that it¡¯s important for your true fairy to give you a TRUE name during the bond. It¡¯s just how things work. It wouldn¡¯t be right for me, someone who is not and will never be your real fairy to name you. It would be wrong in one of the worst ways for me to even offer, it would cheat your real fairy out of a once in a lifetime opportunity.¡±


    I guess that sort of made sense. I didn¡¯t like it, but it made sense. Yet and still, I had been having an identity crisis for who knew how long so screw making sense.


    ¡°Ok, then think of it as a nickname. Something to call me besides ¡°hey you¡± or ¡°dungeon¡±.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Fay tilted her head at that, she seemed to think over the idea for a moment before her eyes began to squint at the edges.


    ¡°How do you even know the concept behind a nickname? No, never mind. Weird dungeon with true dragon gifted knowledge, right¡­¡±


    Fay nodded at that.


    ¡°Alright, if it¡¯s just a nickname I guess it¡¯s ok¡­¡±


    I smiled, not that I had a mouth to smile with.


    ¡°So, what are your thoughts on a nickname?¡±


    Fay looked at me for a moment before nodding her head.


    ¡°Well, your core kind of looks like the night sky, so how about Night?¡±


    If I had a jaw it would have dropped. Night was a lot more impressive sounding than Rock, and it even had more dignity behind it than Stone. For a moment I wondered how I could¡¯ve overlooked such a wonderful option in my quest for a name, but then again I had never actually seen a night sky. I had a vague understanding of what it was supposed to look like, black with lots of bright stars, but even that was just second hand knowledge from a dragon.


    Fay seemed to not notice my awe at her sheer divine abilities to name things because she continued talking.


    ¡°No, I mean that¡¯s just a bit too on the nose. Although dungeons do like to have names that reflect who or what they are in some way, we can do better than just Night. Maybe something in the old tongue? That always seems to sound impressive and dignified. Hmm, what was Rock in old tongue again? Petrim? Petram? Huh, not too sure about that one¡­ I know stone is Lapis, that would be good if you were female but¡­ Hmm¡­ I guess night in old tongue will work, though it is kind of simple¡­¡±


    I was flabbergasted. She just kept throwing out options I couldn¡¯t even have considered.


    ¡°Hey, how does Nox sound? It means night in the old tongue, and I think it also means fair in old elvish¡­¡±


    I could only nod my nonexistent head and bow down to her clearly omnipotent naming sense.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah, Nox is good. I like it. Nox. Nox¡­ I am Nox. Nox is me. Noooooooox... Nox.¡±


    Fay shook her head.


    ¡°Ok, enough of that now. So did you hear any of what I was telling you about dungeons?¡±


    I nodded my nonexistent head again.


    ¡°Nope, I was more focused on getting a name.¡±


    Fay just stared. She got up from where she sat, turned around, and crouched while grabbing her hair.


    ¡°Damnit¡­ Why did I do this to myself¡­? Just want to hurry up and die already¡­ Stupid aggravating dungeon¡­¡±


    ***


    I looked down at the words I had carved into the floor. It had been a very strange sensation to expand my dungeon into the surrounding cavern, it had been along the lines of stretching out only to find out that I could constantly stretch further than I thought. It was actually sort of comfortable, but also pleasantly tiring if I kept it up for too long. My dungeon now encompassed the entire cavern, or maybe it was better to call it a room now.


    It had been easy to change the room once it was mine, it was like stone was happy to flow, shift, and shape itself however I desired. All it took was a little bit of concentration and a clear image of what I wanted to happen in my mind, or my personal guidance via my aura if I wanted to do fine work like with carving out the words. That had been a pleasant discovery, my aura wasn¡¯t just a marker of the border to my dungeon it also allowed me to personally exert and enact change within my dungeon. It was simple really, everything within my aura was just an extended part of me in the first place so I could control and change it by a huge degree by utilizing the aura that connected me to the dungeon.


    Though if Fay hadn¡¯t told me that, I¡¯d probably never have figured it out on my own¡­


    I tried not to think about that too much, it was terrifying to consider how much I might be capable of but unable to do out of ignorance. It was like never knowing you could walk until someone pointed out you could, or maybe that wasn¡¯t quite right. Regardless it was a fact that scared me deeply and made me worry for the time Fay would leave me.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not the best handwriting, but I guess I have to give you a pass given your complete lack of hands¡­¡±


    Fay stared down at the questions I had carved into the floor from where she hovered next to my core.


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what else to say, actually I wasn¡¯t even sure if I understood the ten questions. I guess that wasn¡¯t a good sign, especially given that I had the answers already. I couldn¡¯t see how any fairy would figure this out on her own, but Fay assured me that plenty would.


    ¡°Alrighty then, I think that about covers things. Besides there should be fairies coming by soon, it never takes more than a few months before those out searching pick up on the aura of an unbound dungeon. Given that you¡¯ve already expanded yours while being unbound, well I wouldn¡¯t doubt it if fairies on the other side of the continent will pick up on it once my presence stops masking it¡­¡±


    I froze, those sounded a lot like parting words. I wasn¡¯t ready to let my friend leave just yet, I still needed Fay to tell me all about myself and the things I could do.


    ¡°Ok, final lesson time. Listen up Nox, because this is probably the most important thing. After you have a bonded fairy they can help you bring out the possibilities of your dungeon with their inherent racial magic, they¡¯ll be able to help you unlock aspects and powers within yourself that would otherwise would remain dormant. That includes things like the creation of dungeons, the use of magic, forming unbreakable laws inside the dungeon, and all sorts of other things. But that¡¯s not the only way a dungeon can grow more powerful or gain options, in fact it¡¯s actually the slowest way. The main way of doing things is for a fairy or monster or even sometimes a respectful challenger to sacrifice a living being or intact item within your core room, or occasionally on an alter but you don¡¯t need to worry about alters right now. Typically if something is placed or killed close to your core you¡¯ll be able to pick up the pattern of creation for that thing. That¡¯ll let you make more of them, though they won¡¯t be EXACTLY the same. So if for instance I were to kill myself in this room¡­¡±


    Fay had a strangely bright smile on her face as she spoke, it was an expression that practically radiated joy. I felt a sinking sensation weigh down on me deep inside as Fay continued speaking.


    ¡°You¡¯d be able to make a race similar to but not exactly dungeon fairies. But that¡¯s only half of it, by having the pattern for a race or item you can make changes to it and possibly create a whole new pattern. You could potentially end up with thousands of new variants from just one base pattern, though usually it only ends up as two or three even after tons of work and dedication. Turns out things are the way they are because if you change them to much they just can¡¯t exist, I suppose the great Mother knew what she was doing when she made everything¡­¡±


    Fay hovered over to her favorite crate to perch on, landing on the lip of the crate and pending down to dig inside it she pulled out a ring with a softly glowing blue stone.


    ¡°Anyway, you can basically fiddle around with a pattern to your hearts content once you have one. And somehow you¡¯ll always remember viable patterns of creation, how that actually works is beyond me¡­ Well, beyond all dungeon fairies really, but hey it works so whatever. Then once you empower the pattern with some mana, aura, or any other viable energy really the thing that the pattern will create will pop into being. Huh, that¡¯s not very clear is it? Let¡¯s say you randomly have a dungeon fairy pattern, once you empower it out will pop a dungeon fairy. You¡¯ll get some control over the finer details like appearance or gender, but in general you¡¯ll just get something random that matches the pattern.¡±


    Fay pulled the ring around her hand until it became fixed on her wrist, with an almost relieved expression she sat down with a sigh. I watched in muted horror as the green mana Fay had given off was sucked up by the stone in the ring and slowly turned to blue.


    ¡°Oh, and I suppose I should add that any living thing you create within inside your aura won¡¯t have an aura of its own. It¡¯ll be something like a husk with all the trappings of a normal being, but internally they will be empty and they¡¯ll only be able to survive within your own aura. Over time an individual can develop its own soul and aura or you can try your hand at adding one yourself, but either way it will take time and will prove to be difficult. Giving names helps as does regular interaction with the individual, but in general it¡¯s a pretty rare occurrence. It¡¯s worth it though, because as long as those individuals die within your own aura you can sort of catch their soul and just stick them into a new pattern¡­ I suppose you could even call it reviving them.¡±


    I shook my nonexistent head as I saw the last little bits of green flow towards the now shining blue light of the ring¡¯s blue stone. I had known what Fay had wanted, she had made it obvious for as long as I had known her, but it was still hard to watch.


    ¡°And that¡¯s about it, that¡¯s all the basics I really feel comfortable with sharing. For anything else, well, I¡¯m sure your real fairy would be more than happy to explain it to you. Hell, they might even be pissed at me for teaching you so much on my own¡­ Oh well, hindsight and all that¡­¡±


    Fay was smiling at me, it wasn¡¯t the forced cheerfulness she had shown ever since she had appointed herself as my ¡°Temporary Guide¡±. There was real joy in her expression, joy and clear relief. Looking at the fairy in the yellow dress I had befriended and come to know I realized something that should have been obvious, living had been a burden for her. Every moment she was alive had been a moment of quiet suffering for her, the mere act of living was painful for her. This was her release.


    Fay¡­


    I had to swallow something down my throat, even though I had none of the parts for that to work, before I could say anything.


    ¡°Goodbye Fay, you were a good friend. I won¡¯t forget you, or what you taught me. I hope you meet you who you¡¯re looking for¡­¡±


    I almost cringed at my own words, they felt so forced and flat. I didn¡¯t know how to do this, I didn¡¯t have any idea what I was supposed to do or say in a situation like this. Hell, I had never even had to say goodbye to someone before, how would I know what to say when someone dies. Death is like the ultimate goodbye imaginable.


    My friend just winked at me while wearing a mischievous smile.


    ¡°Seeya Nox, try not to miss me too much. Might make your real fairy jealous if you dwell on some homewrecker she¡¯s never met before. Oh, and don¡¯t let that damn grey mage push you around. If she tries hitting you with some weird soul crushing magic show her the full force of your will, that¡¯ll knock the bitch on her ass!¡±


    With that Fay closed her eyes and laid back. I watched as her chest moved up and down. Up and down. Up and down.


    Until it stopped.


    I felt numb as the swirling distortion shot from my friend¡¯s melting form into my core. A part of me idly wondered if it could be called crying when there were no tears as another part of me gained a new understanding of itself. I knew on some deep and fundamental level that I could now create a fairy, I knew it would only require a little effort and concentration on my part. The pattern was clear, it was indelibly etched into my very being.


    All it had cost me was the life of my friend.


    ***


    <u>POV: Fay</u>


    I felt light, lighter than I had in years.


    Everything was awash in color and light, at one point I even felt like I had been welcomed into a warm embrace but I couldn¡¯t be sure.


    I looked around myself, something tickled at the back of my mind.


    There was something nearby, something familiar.


    ¡°My little Fay¡­¡±


    I felt the words resonate deep in my heart, pulling at everything that made me who I was.


    I turned to find a beautiful badge face staring back at me with a crooked smile.


    ¡°What took you so long? Were you that offended I didn¡¯t ravish you?¡±


    The mocking voice was like honey to my very soul, it soothed me in a way nothing else could.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late Cally¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I told you not to call me that! Berries and nuts, Fay! I swear it¡¯s like you just try to set me off! Three years I missed¡­ er¡­ No¡­ I mean¡­ I didn¡¯t really miss you, but you know¡­ It was kinda weird you weren¡¯t here, I guess¡­ But just a LITTLE bit weird! Ahem. Anyway, three years without you and the first thing you do is use a pet name you know I hate! Why do you always have to¡­¡±


    I was home.


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    I had worked on autopilot. My actions were unconscious while I mindlessly let instinct guide my nonexistent hand. Power flowed through the pattern, aura flooding through the lines and nodes that were the blueprints to create the fairy.


    As my power finished filling out the pattern exactly as it had appeared an image flashed into my mind. I saw a small woman with glossy clear butterfly wings coming out of her back. She had long black hair that was highlighted by long strands of silver at the ends, clear and expressive grey eyes, and neat even features that skirted the line between cute and beautiful. She looked nothing like Fay.


    As my nonexistent eyes closed tiredly I felt a flux and pop of energy and displaced air in front of my core.


    Opening my eyes I saw the nude fairy looking around itself in curiosity. I felt empty inside.


    ¡°I name you Fay.¡±


    The little fairy simply nodded before it wordlessly went off to investigate the crates and barrels by the passage out of my room.


    I miss her¡­

 Chapter 6: Past, Present, Future...

    <u>POV: Melinda</u>


    I felt it when the fairy died.


    In one moment I felt a mind numbing and soul crushing sense of loss. It felt as if the one I loved the most in the world had just disappeared while each of my limbs were violently ripped from body. In that one moment I felt loss beyond anything I could¡¯ve ever imagined, worse than even when Joshua had died in my arms.


    And then the moment passed.


    Shaking my head to cast off the lingering feeling I reached up and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I hadn¡¯t expected that, but then it wasn¡¯t all that surprising either. Ever since I¡¯d assimilated part of that dungeon¡¯s, Cal¡¯s, soul I had been loosely connected to the fairy. It¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t killed her in the first place, why I couldn¡¯t just watch her starve herself of mana.


    I knew it was idiotic, after all the fairy hated me. It was a fact I understood intimately after dreaming of a few of the dungeon¡¯s memories, even still a part of me mourned the loss of the little annoyance.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    I started at the call, I had forgotten that I wasn¡¯t alone. Turning to my daughter I reached out and brushed a lock of her long brown hair behind her ear before gently patting her hair. She looked so much like myself when I was younger, and her warm blue eyes were bright with innocence. I wished she would never have to discover the hard truths of Eden like I had, I wanted her to have that innocent sparkle in her eyes forever.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing Cassandra, just a little misstep in one of my old spells¡­¡±


    Pulling back my hand I tried to give my daughter a convincing smile.


    ¡°But mom, you were crying¡­?¡±


    Suddenly my daughter was gone, I was looking out at an expanse of red sand dotted with countless bodies. I felt the familiar horror rise up once again, so many lives had been lost.


    So many by my hands¡­


    I couldn¡¯t breathe, my vision was blurring. I couldn¡¯t do this, this was wrong. It was all so wrong. Why had we done this? Noblesse oblige? We should¡¯ve found another way to protect the kingdom, anything but this.


    An arm wrapped me up and pulled me into a gentle embrace.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s ok¡­ Just breathe Mel, just breathe¡­ This isn¡¯t on you, I gave the order. You hear that everyone? I¡¯M the one who did this!¡±


    I looked up, Joshua reached down and wiped a tear away from my cheek that I hadn¡¯t even noticed.


    ¡°I was the one who did this, so it¡¯ll be my burden to shoulder¡­¡±


    I felt my heart jump, heat rushed to my face. I wondered if he could hear how loudly my heart was beating right now. I wondered what it would be like if I stayed in his embrace forever. I wondered what it would feel like to have his lips on mine¡­


    And then he was gone.


    I watched numbly as the man I loved went around offering comfort to anyone who needed it, and as the warmth of his touch left my body I fought down the horror that rose up again at the thought of what had just happened.


    Sunmire had sent a massive army when we had reached out to negotiate, there had been no reasoning with their emperor. He would¡¯ve broken the truce, his declaration of war on Avalon would¡¯ve shattered Eden¡¯s fragile peace beyond repair. It would have plunged the world back into an endless war, an endless and pointless war¡­


    It¡¯s just a matter of numbers Melinda¡­ Would you rather have a hundred thousand die now, or everyone in the world die from here on? It had seemed like such an obvious choice¡­


    I looked around at my friends and rivals, the people who were now my companions in this slaughter. The mages who had united with me to cast taboo magic. There were only ten of use left, and each person was as shaken as I was.


    Except for Joshua¡­ He isn¡¯t trembling like a coward, he¡¯s still standing tall. He said he would shoulder the burden¡­ but it isn¡¯t all his burden to bare, after all what sort of woman can allow her future husband to take on such a heavy weight alone¡­


    Together we had unmade the Mother¡¯s work, we had cast a spell and undid creation and existence itself. In the name of peace we had committed an atrocity, doomed countless souls to nonexistence. There would be no afterlife for the soldiers of Sunmire, no rebirth or welcoming embrace from the Mother. There would be nothing at all for them, because there no longer was any them.


    I felt a part of myself shatter, there would be no escaping what had happened here today. For the rest of my life I knew that my actions today would haunt me. Reaching up I tugged the Mother¡¯s holy circlet from around my neck, with this one spell I had forfeited any right to claim I was one of the god¡¯s children.


    All for the good of the world¡­ If it takes monsters to keep the peace, then we must become monsters ourselves¡­ All for the good of the world¡­


    My eyes widened as the vision faded and the bleeding sands were replaced with the concerned face of my daughter. For a moment I wondered how long it had been this time, when I was pulled into a memory like that it could be take me anywhere from a second to days before I came back to reality.


    ¡°Mom¡­ You¡¯re not ok.¡±


    I tried to smile at my daughter, but her face just grew more concerned.


    ¡°Wait here, I¡¯m going to go find Joshua and Stros.¡±


    I shook my head at that, I didn¡¯t want my son finding out how bad my visions were getting. It was already bad enough that Cassandra had discovered the truth during our lessons.


    ¡°NO! Just bring Stros, don¡¯t tell Joshua!¡±


    I took a breath to collect myself before I spoke again in a less frantic tone.


    ¡°After all your brother is training to master his new shield, it wouldn¡¯t do to distract him with something so small. You know how easily Joshua can be shaken¡­¡±


    My daughter snorted at that.


    ¡°Who? Mr. Stoic himself shaken? Now I know there¡¯s something wrong with you if you actually believe my brother could be shaken by something like this¡­¡±


    As Cassandra got up from the sofa and moved towards the door she paused for a moment and looked back at me.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m sixteen. Joshua will be twenty this fall. We¡¯re adults, you can stop protecting us. We can handle more than you think¡­¡±


    I smiled at my daughter and watched as she left my study at a brisk pace.


    ¡°I hope so¡­¡±


    I looked down at my hand and grimaced as the pain began to grow unendurable. As I watched flecks of mana float out of my aura and into nothingness with my mage sight I felt an ironic smile pull at my lips.


    Either one of the true dragons will finally track me down to ¡°restore the balance¡± or this damn blight will eat away my soul¡­ At this point I¡¯m not even sure which one I¡¯d rather happened¡­


    ¡°¡­Because I¡¯m not sure how much longer I¡¯ll be able to protect both of you¡­¡±


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Tridal</u>


    I put down the letter and fought down the urge to crawl back into bed and forget about the rest of the world.


    ¡°Was it bad news sir?¡±


    I let out a sigh as I looked up at the maid that had brought me this latest ball of stress. Rationally I knew it wasn¡¯t the poor girl¡¯s fault, but I still couldn¡¯t help but resent her a little. It was always hard to forgive the barer of bad news.


    ¡°Yes, the worst news I can imagine¡­¡±


    I let out a chuckle as I felt the lining of my stomach begin to ware away under this newest bit of stress.


    ¡°And to think she had the nerve to dress it up as if it was good news¡­ I¡¯ll never understand Grand Magus Melinda¡¯s sense of humor¡­¡±


    The maid just tilted her head in confusion. Waving away my own comment I let out another sigh.


    ¡°Go, I need to ponder this for a time. Oh, and send someone to fetch the guild¡¯s Huntsmaster while you¡¯re at it¡­ News this bad deserves to be shared with a friend¡­¡±


    As I watched the girl leave my office I wiped at my face and let all pretense of calm fall away. Reaching down I opened the emergency drawer of my desk and pulled out a bottle of Dragonslayer. Uncorking the bottle I put it to my lips and up ended it, as the harsh and heavy dwarven liquor burned down my throat I felt a little better.


    Gasping and sputtering as I put the bottle on the desk I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my robes, whoever had invented this drink had been a madman. Still, it was the most alcoholic drink to ever been made to my knowledge, and it was one of the few things that could still get someone with my levels of mana drunk.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    That damn witch, of course she¡¯d only write to send news like this¡­ What sane person starts a letter with ¡°So a true dragon visited my lands last winter¡­¡± anyway!? Goddess, I swear that woman is trying to slowly kill me with stress! I bet she¡¯d even laugh if I have a heart attack!


    I slumped in my chair. This really wasn¡¯t good, for as eccentric and disliked as Melinda was in the kingdom we still needed her. Her name still sent chills down the backs of our Neighbors to the north, and Sunmire to the south owe her for her help in avenging the Emperor¡¯s grandfather¡¯s ¡°Tragic¡± death whilst hunting the sand drakes of the bloody sands.


    Damnit woman... I thought you were supposed to live forever by devouring the souls of your enemies, isn¡¯t that why a crone like you looks like you¡¯re still some young maiden of marriageable age? Where is that great grey mage gift you¡¯re so secretive about, the one that lets a simple grey mage acquire black magic in each element and live to two hundred as a human¡­ Grand Magus Melinda isn¡¯t supposed to just die off, she¡¯s supposed to be like some legendary cockroach that not even heroes from around or outside of the world can bring down¡­


    I took another swig of dragonslayer, this was going to be a very long day.


    Three years huh? Three years to prepare for the death of Avalon¡¯s last great champion and the last living witness to the treaty of eternal peace¡­ That¡¯s not nearly enough time, she has to know that. Even if we were to gather enough resources and magical might for a summoning from Earth, and that would already be stretching things, there would be no guarantee that the person we bring forth will even have any potential¡­ Damnit Melinda¡­


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Carter</u>


    I just looked at the huntsmaster dumbly.


    ¡°You want me to what?¡±


    The man shook his head and scratched at his beard. With a sigh he repeated himself proving that I hadn¡¯t misheard him the first time.


    ¡°I¡¯m putting you into a hunting party, something that you¡¯d have to be in anyway if you ever wanted to take on any of the better jobs. You know clients would rather hire a team of hunters rather than a single hunter going it solo, just think of this as your in to the next stage of your career.¡±


    I tried to school my expression and swallow down what I really wanted to say.


    ¡°So is this an order?¡±


    The huntsmaster¡¯s face went hard, his grey eyes were like flints about to spark.


    ¡°You bet your ass it is. You¡¯re going to join up with Milly¡¯s people, and you¡¯re going to spend the year with them learning how to work in a party. After that you all will be heading west, there¡¯s a report of a new dungeon down that way that I¡¯ll need you all to investigate¡­¡±


    I swallowed down the response I wanted to give and simply nodded my head.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just head west now, sir?¡±


    The huntsmaster just stared at me, eventually I had to look away from his unnervingly piercing grey eyes.


    ¡°No. now go get acquainted with your hunting party huntsmen.¡±


    The huntsmaster turned away and faced the fire pit that was burning in the fireplace behind his desk. I turned stiffly and left the room, I didn¡¯t like my orders but I¡¯d see them done.


    And I¡¯ll make sure I get bumped up to class B for all the trouble¡­ that should be a fair trade off, right Huntsmaster Grant?


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Grant</u>


    I looked into the fire and felt my nails dig into my palm.


    I hadn¡¯t felt this much fear since I had faced down that dragon, actually I might be even more scared than that time.


    Grand Magus Melinda, the last of Avalon¡¯s ten champion defenders¡­ I hoped I would be long dead before she left this world.


    I still remember the only time I had seen my father weep, it had been the day he had found out Richard of Kalo had been slain by the true green dragon. He had told me that there was no hope for the world if the champions of Avalon were to all perish, that had been the same day he stepped down from his position as huntsmaster.


    Goddess help us all¡­


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Shade</u>


    I looked at the door to the cell, it had been over a decade now since I had stuck him in this place.


    He would be ready to talk.


    Opening the cell I swatted aside the skeletal hand that reached for me, thrusting a hand forward I pierced into the rotting chest of the ghoul and found its heart. It became nothing more than so much rotten pulp in the palm of my hand.


    As the undead creature fell to the stained floor I looked at the sole living occupant of the cell, the old man looked practically the same as the day I stuck him in here. His robes were a little dirtier and he seemed slightly thinner, but otherwise he was unchanged.


    ¡°Vampire.¡±


    His voice was a dry and raspy thing, nothing like the booming tones he had used when I had first tracked him down.


    ¡°Necromancer. My pet assures me that you¡¯ll tell me what I want to know now that I¡¯ve given you some time to consider your options¡­¡±


    The old man coughed before letting out a dry laugh.


    ¡°Ha! Morgana is nothing more than a fool who¡¯d whore herself out at the chance for immortality! You think you can believe her words? She¡¯d tell you anything she thinks will help convince you to turn her into another of your filthy kind!¡±


    I looked at the two gaunts standing at the old man¡¯s side, I wonder if he was acting like this because he was confident his undead slaves would protect him from me. It was a laughable notion, but Nathan had always assured me that mortals could and would constantly think up such foolish things.


    ¡°Perhaps, however I¡¯m inclined to believe my pet in this. She and the rest of your coven assured me under great duress that you had in your possession a captive that looked very much like the man I¡¯m looking for.¡±


    The old man spat at my feet.


    ¡°Bah! A ¡°Man¡± huh? That¡¯s rich! He wasn¡¯t a man, just another dirty vamp! All your half-dead kind can rot in the depths of the abyss!¡±


    I felt the rage surge inside me as the world began to take on a red hue.


    ¡°Where. Is. He?¡±


    The old necromancer smiled cruelly at me.


    ¡°Dead. No, beyond dead. See I was conducting a little experiment, I wanted to see if I could become a dungeon master by creating a dungeon myself¡­ At first I had started with people, I would kill them and try to stuff their souls into a null core, but that just hadn¡¯t worked. Neither had undead oddly enough, and I was nowhere near stupid enough to try the same on some random animal or monster. So I had a thought, why not try something that was already half dead? Then that boy in the scholar¡¯s robes had been walking around so brazenly in the middle of a sunny afternoon under that thick umbrella¡­¡±


    Before I realized it I found myself staring down at the old necromancer¡¯s corpse, not that there was much left of it. I didn¡¯t remember exactly what had happened after the bastard had started bragging but I had the vague memory I had tried to make the human eat his own severed arm whole.


    Nathan¡­ No, he isn¡¯t dead. I ordered him to never die, he can¡¯t disobey his mistress so he has to be alive¡­ I just need to find him¡­


    I clenched my hands as my talons shrunk back down to nails that were only slightly longer than what might be normal for a human.


    Just wait for me a little longer my love, I will find you¡­


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Ebon</u>


    I looked around at my siblings, this was just unthinkable. Turning back to our mother I tried to supress the dawning horror and rising feeling of failure inside myself.


    ¡°You mean¡­ I had been right next to the lair of the last defiler¡­ and I hadn¡¯t noticed?¡±


    As a golden scaled paw came to rest on my shoulder I looked at my sister.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself Ebon, we didn¡¯t know until just now either. Anyone could¡¯ve made the same mistake¡­¡±


    I moved to rest my mussel on my sister¡¯s head for a moment before pulling back.


    ¡°Thank you Gilda, but your words don¡¯t really soften the blow¡­¡±


    A pulse of white energy flooded over me conveying sympathy and understanding. Looking back to our mother I saw that she wasn¡¯t looking at me with judgment but instead mild humor.


    ¡°Relax my son, the goddess has assured me that the last of the oath breakers who wielded taboo magic shall cease to be soon. That task no longer requires our attention¡­ No, what is far more concerning to our goddess is how her children will face the threat coming from the abyss¡­¡±


    I felt hatred rise up inside me at the mention of the abyss, I would never forgive the demons for what they did to our father. Hearing my name I focused back in on what my mother was saying.


    ¡°Ebon of black, Gilda of gold, Crimson of Red, Olive of Green, and Azure of blue. My children, I need each of you to adopt the first member of your clans to establish a leader for your future mortal clan. The one you chose must be of the high races of the goddess¡¯s children, and you must mold them into the heroes that will hold back the demons of the abyss¡­¡±


    I felt myself go cold for a moment before I guiltily huffed out a cloud of black smoke.


    ¡°Ebon, my son, will that be a problem for you?¡±


    I winced at my mother¡¯s scolding tone.


    Well, there¡¯s no way out of this¡­ Might as well get through it quick, after all I can¡¯t be blamed for something I did before I knew about this¡­


    ¡°Um, yes mother¡­ I sort of¡­ already adopted one of the goddess¡¯s children into my clan¡­¡±


    My mother¡¯s eyes widened and a pulse rippled across her bright white scales.


    ¡°Oh, then this is good news! When did you do this my son?¡±


    I cringed, she really shouldn¡¯t have gotten her mood up.


    ¡°When I last rested last winter, but you see¡­¡±


    ¡°Wonderful! That¡¯s our brother, showing unintentional foresight in all he does!¡±


    I winced at my brother¡¯s words, Crimson was just rubbing salt into the wound.


    ¡°No, um¡­ You see¡­ I kind of¡­ Adopted a newborn dungeon¡­¡±


    My entire family fell deathly silent and I could only hang my head in shame. As a questioning pulse of white energy washed over me I heard my mother¡¯s curious voice.


    ¡°What would possess you to adopt a dungeon? Well, regardless you can just adopt another to your newly established clan then. It may cost you a significant amount of power, but the goddess¡¯s command was clear¡­¡±


    I just nodded my head.


    I hope the fact the dungeon is technically the clan head won¡¯t be too big of a problem¡­


    <u>End POV</u>


    ***


    I stared at the ten questions that now scrawled across the wall behind my core, I was sure my friend would¡¯ve approved at my improved ¡°Handwriting¡± as she¡¯d call it.


    In your own words what is a dungeon bond?


    What is the easiest way to establish a dungeon with infinite room to grow?


    How can a monster be used outside of a dungeon when it has no aura?


    What is the name of your parent dungeon?


    What are the high races of Eden?


    What are the surrounding high race nations?


    What is the difference between black, white, and grey mages?


    How much mana can you weave at one time? (Estimations are accepted, but demonstrations are preferred)


    Have you ever been bound to another dungeon before?


    What lies beyond the great Mother¡¯s reign?


    I still didn¡¯t see how any fairy would have all the right responses, or at least close enough to the right responses that I could accept their answer, for each question.


    ¡°What were you thinking Fay? No one will be able to figure all this out¡­¡±


    The nude fairy hovering close to my core looked over at me in confusion. I let out a sigh, this really did need to be fixed.


    ¡°Not you Fay, the other Fay. The Fay that I named you after.¡±


    The Fairy nodded and went back to staring at the words on the wall, though I doubted she could actually read them. I also doubted she really understood what I said since I had to explain it to her so often.


    I really should¡¯ve named her something else¡­ It hurts even calling her with Fay¡¯s name, but I guess it¡¯s already too late to change that¡­ Maybe I should just think of her as the new Fay? But then what would I call Fay, it doesn¡¯t seem right to arbitrarily change her name for convenience after she¡¯s¡­ When she doesn¡¯t have a say¡­


    I shook my nonexistent head.


    ¡°Well, maybe I can just use a nickname like she did for me¡­ Hmm¡­ But what to call her?¡±


    I spent a while considering names, not that I was all that good at coming up with them on my own. Fay had been much better at that, the old Fay that is. The current Fay couldn¡¯t even speak so she obviously didn¡¯t inherit the old Fay¡¯s godly naming skills.


    Hmm¡­ I might need to think about this for a while¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want to give Fay a bad nickname, that wouldn¡¯t be fair after she gave me such an amazing nickname of my own...


    Cupping my nonexistent chin I thought deeply on what would be a good nickname for my friend, but I couldn¡¯t find anything that spoke to me as suiting her. Deciding I might have better luck if I meditated on the question, I shut my nonexistent eyes and sank deep into myself chasing thoughtlessness.


    ***


    POV: Fay


    Fay looked at creator.


    Creator wanted to be called Nox, but creator was still creator.


    Fay was also still Fay, but sometimes creator would say Fay was not Fay.


    Fay didn¡¯t understand creator, but Fay would try.


    Maybe if Fay did well she could have a shiny¡­

 Chapter 6.5: Past, Present, Future... (Continued)

    <u>POV: Joshua</u>


    I took a deep breath and focused on my center, I reached out for my mana with a calm mind.


    ¡°You know you aren¡¯t even human don¡¯t you? I almost pity you¡­ Poor little Joshua, you can never live up to that name can you? I wonder what your mother sees when she looks at you? Does she see a son, or just a failed clone of the man she once loved?¡±


    I let my mana wash over me, let it flow throughout my body and soul as my mother had taught me. It felt like power was rising up from every cell of my body, I felt like I could face anything in that moment.


    ¡°You really think I¡¯ll let some weakling like you control me? ME!? I wield power beyond your wildest imaginings boy! You think just because your little trinket holds my spirit that I¡¯ll obey you like some pet!? Oh, you best hope I never find release boy¡­ I would hunt you Joshua, hunt you and rip YOUR spirit from YOUR body to stuff it into some trinket of my own. Then I¡¯ll bring you back with me to the depths of the abyss, after all that¡¯s were abominations like you belong!¡±


    I felt the power of my mana wax and wane as it flowed around my being. It was a solid and steady stream of grey that wrapped comfortingly around me, touching my mana pool I was once more surprised by the small amount of mana I could bring to bear. Where Cassandra¡¯s mana pool was like a vast lake and mother¡¯s was like an endless ocean, my own mana pool was like a mere bucket. When I was younger I had felt inferior because of the size of my mana pool, and when I discovered that there was no real way to grow one¡¯s mana pool outside of legends I had been depressed. Now I understood that the amount of mana one had was only one factor to practicing magic, what was far more important was the control one had over their mana.


    I excelled at control.


    ¡°Would you like to know how you¡¯ll die Joshua? I could tell you, you know¡­ The abyss is a funny place you see, it¡¯s temporally locked in a cycle of recreation and destruction. Even the youngest of my kind have seen your world die and be reborn countless times. We¡¯ve seen your precious goddess¡¯s birth, and we¡¯ve seen her fade to dust in the ashes of existence¡­ What could a mere mortal hope to accomplish against a being such as myself?¡±


    I coaxed the grey floating around me to flow toward the shield resting in my lap. As the mana flowed towards the shield it merged in with the dense cloud of grey that hung on the abyssal steel. Mana flowed into the dark grey chains that wrapped around the shield, the dark grey symbols that floated within the grey cloud, and into the shackles that held back the writhing mess of clear distortion.


    I shivered and averted my inner sight away from the distorted thing that was held within my shield. I hated looking at it, each time I did it seemed to worm into my mind and try to eat away at my very being. It was so much worse than a demon.


    ¡°Hahahahaha¡­ Really? Comparing me to a demon? Oh, poor weak little Joshua, you are so far out of your depth¡­ Demons are nothing more than insects that can only survive in the upper levels of the abyss, they¡¯re practically mortals themselves. Nothing more than distorted mirrors of the life that inhabits all worlds, they¡¯re all mere analogs and echoes. Demons are nothing. We eldritch are as different from demons as your goddess is to a flea¡­¡±


    I flooded the shield with all the mana my meager pool could hold and then guided the mana into each position, reinforcing each binding and ward individually with the full force I could muster. I kept working, even through the telling pain that spiked in my head and warned of the mana down I would be facing when I was done. The sickness that awaited me was merely another price to pay, mana down wouldn¡¯t kill me.


    ¡°Bah, you really are no fun Joshua. You don¡¯t even go insane correctly, must be because you¡¯re an abomination that can only barely be considered mortal¡­ I miss that angel that sealed me in this damn trinket, at least slowly driving her mad and causing her to fall from grace had been fun¡­¡±


    I let out a deep breath as I opened my eyes, I felt empty and sick. Even still I was much more relaxed now that I had added to the latest layers of protections, the voice was much quieter now in my mind.


    Maybe soon I¡¯ll be rid of it entirely, after all I have managed to weaken it considerably in the last two years¡­


    ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡±


    I heard a tentative knock on the door, turning I heard my sister¡¯s voice call out from behind the door to my room.


    ¡°Joshua? Could you spare a minute? It¡¯s about mom¡­¡±


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Loki</u>


    I looked around at the council that had gathered and knelt outside the entrance to my tower.


    ¡°What are you all doing?¡±


    The elder closest to me looked up and made the sign of respect by touching his index fingers together and bowing his head slightly.


    ¡°Loki. Our seer¡¯s have all had a vision. Every single seer in Felhaven has had the same vision. They see death, carnage, and war on an unprecedented scale that Eden has never seen before. The humans, the elves, the dwarves, the beastkin, and even we arcane¡­ What the seers have seen will reach each of Eden¡¯s high races¡­¡±


    By the Mother¡­


    I shook my head at that, whatever was coming would have to be of the same severity as when the great brown true dragon was entrapped in the abyss. It would be something on a scale that would be all but unimaginable.


    The council elder looked up at me from where he knelt, his face was the very picture of desperation.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Loki. We need you. All of Felhaven needs you! You are the only one who could possibly forestall the disaster that approaches¡­ Please! You must help us!¡±


    I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh, if I had known this latest cycle of rebirth would be this difficult I wouldn¡¯t have bothered using my blessing of the phoenix.


    ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ll be able to do, but I promise to do all I can¡­¡±


    The elder¡¯s face lifted up at my words and tears budded up in his eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯re saved¡­ The scion of Chaos, Loki the immortal will save us¡­¡±


    I moved back into my tower and shut the door on the knelling members of Felhaven¡¯s elder council, I would need to prepare my best if even half of what I suspected about this shared vision of doom was true.


    Damn¡­ I always hoped those dragons were lying when they said the Mother would go to any lengths to ¡°Test¡± her children¡­ I suppose this proves our kind and benevolent goddess is actually a sadist at heart¡­


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Milly</u>


    I swiped the hair out of my eyes and wondered again if I should just cut it short like Yara had. I really didn¡¯t want to get rid of the golden brown locks I had gotten from my mother, but I also really didn¡¯t want to die because they blocked my view at the wrong moment.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re getting a new member?¡±


    I looked up at Trish, she was picking at her nails with one of her twin daggers.


    ¡°Yes, a hunter called Carter.¡±


    York snorted at the name.


    ¡°Great, we get to work with the loner who¡¯d rather get mauled by a hind bear than actually work together with someone else. So boss, why does the huntsmaster want to torture us again?¡±


    I just shrugged. I had no idea what the huntsmaster was thinking, after all my hunting party was already a balanced out and effective unit. We really didn¡¯t need a new member, and certainly not one who had a reputation for not working well in a team.


    Yara looked up from her book and flashed a bright smile at the rest of us.


    ¡°I think it might just be an overly complicated plot on Grant¡¯s part to get us all killed. I mean, we did sort of botch that chorin hunt a while back¡­¡±


    Trish huffed.


    ¡°Not our fault. Our client insisted on tagging along¡­¡±


    I just shook my head at that, we had never lost a client until that job.


    What sort of idiot tries to ride a wild chorin anyway? That¡¯s just asking to be peaked or slashed to death¡­


    ¡°Regardless it¡¯s a direct order from our huntsmaster, so we don¡¯t really have a choice. At least this Carter is a class C, so he can at least handle himself¡­¡±


    York just grunted at my words.


    ¡°When do we pick up our newest ¡°Teammate¡± anyway?¡±


    I winced.


    ¡°Tomorrow, he¡¯ll be at the tipsy boar¡­¡±


    Yara laughed.


    ¡°First meeting us in a bar, classy guy¡­¡±


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Henry IX</u>


    I felt my eyes begin to widen as my body began to slump down in my seat. My eyes turned towards the goblet that I had set down not long ago before my gaze turned back to my sister.


    Saria was sitting elegantly and smiling that same soft innocent smile I had known for fifteen years. There was no trace of malice or hatred in her expression, she didn¡¯t even seem to be gloating.


    How? How could I not notice? How can she just sit there continuing the meal? Why doesn¡¯t her expression change? Is that really my sister? The same Saria I watched grow up?


    As my sister dapped at her mouth gently with a napkin she turned to face me.


    ¡°I know it may not seem like it given the current circumstances we¡¯re in, but I did love you. You had always been a good brother to me Your Majesty, the problem is that you¡¯re a horrible leader¡­¡±


    I felt my guts clench as a shooting pain went through my stomach.


    ¡°Sunmire is an empire that was built on slavery. Everything from our economy to our military might depends on the use of slave labor, that is a fact that is irrefutable no matter how distasteful you may personally find it. It was your job as a ruler to cast aside your own personal desire for the good of the empire, instead you antagonized the slaver houses and tried to abolish the very thing that keeps the empire stable¡­¡±


    My sister took a sip of wine out of her own goblet before sighing and smiling that same innocent smile I now found so horrifying.


    ¡°Still, if it was just your crusade against slavery that was occupying your time I could forgive you. After all, I¡¯m indifferent on the matter of slavery and I do truly believe that we can build a stronger foundation for our empire without it¡­ No, the final straw was when you began preparations to invade the northern lands of Avalon and Kalo. Did you learn nothing from the example of our grandfather¡¯s failure? Invading a kingdom full of powerful mages is the height of stupidity. At best it¡¯ll ensure our two nations¡¯ mutual destruction¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t breathe, my throat was closing up¡­


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry brother, I¡¯ve already worked to restore the imperial family¡¯s relations with the slaver houses. I¡¯m also working to establish favorable trade and nonaggression agreements with both Kalo and Avalon. We might even be able to establish an alliance with both nations against the elves of the sea of trees, I understand our northern neighbors are quite troubled when their own northern borders are so violently contested¡­¡±


    As my vision began to darken my last sight was of my sister standing up from her seat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ensure that your wife is well cared for, my niece as well¡­ May your journey into the Mother¡¯s arms be swift and painless brother. I¡¯ll be sure to be a good empress in your place¡­¡±


    I felt the world slip away¡­


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Kate</u>


    I was looking at a small cave alongside the water on a small beach. I really hoped that this would be the ONE this time. I had already checked out four dungeons, but I just hadn¡¯t found what I was looking for in them.


    Not that I really knew what it was I was looking for, my mom hadn¡¯t been very clear on that point. I just got a lot of ¡°You¡¯ll know when you know¡± and ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, when you find the one for you it¡¯ll all your patience will be worth it¡­¡± from her. It all seemed reasonable in theory, but in practice it was proving to be more than a little difficult.


    I mean really, what am I supposed to be waiting for anyway? Some magical spark? Some message from the great Mother that this one is my fated partner? What? I have no idea why I¡¯m still doing this, so far every dungeon has felt pretty much the same. After I core pop them they¡¯ll growl or hiss at me and won¡¯t listen to a thing I¡¯m trying to say¡­ If it¡¯s just going to be like this every time, why bother to keep looking for some mythical ONE?


    I let out a small sigh, this hadn¡¯t turned out to be nearly the magical courtship I had imagined when I was younger. I guess mom¡¯s stories of meeting Akash had just spoiled me to the cold reality of Eden. I mean when your expectation is for your fated dungeon to be able to measure up to one of the oldest and most powerful dungeons to ever exist you¡¯re bound to be let down.


    I guess I might as well get this over with then¡­


    As I began to fly forward towards the beach cave I froze, I had felt something strange. It was like the aura of an unbound dungeon, but it was just so immense. The dungeon¡¯s core would have to be huge to put out such a large aura, but that couldn¡¯t be it. Dungeon cores were all about the same size, so this had to be something else.


    Trying to ignore the impossible aura and focus on what I¡¯d say in my first meeting with my future dungeon I flew another few feet forward before stopping again. Any interest in binding myself to the dungeon core in this beach cave had disappeared under the huge aura I could feel to the south. The feeling of the aura promised me that this new dungeon would be worth my time, that it would be different from every other dungeon I had encountered so far.


    Well, it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to just take a quick would it? If the aura disappears before I get there then obviously it wasn¡¯t meant to be, but on the off chance it doesn¡¯t¡­ Well if one dungeon is just as good as another then this one would be fine for me to bind myself to¡­

 Intermission 1: The Wolf And The Moon...

    <u>POV: Ender</u>


    I had always maintained a simple creed, it was family, then clan, then friendship. In that order. I had created the silver wolf legion as a way to support my family, a way to help my brother and his wife.


    The silver wolf legion was my clan, the mercenary band was forged into what it is today through the dedicated effort of myself and my supporters. It was run with a level of military professionalism and comradery that was rare to find even within Avalon¡¯s own forces. The reputation of my legion spoke for itself, it was even said that by simply hiring the silver wolves the job would already be half-done. The silver legion was known to fiercely protect its own, the only people in Avalon, Sunmire, or Kalo who would intentionally cross us would be either the ignorant or suicidal.


    That¡¯s why a part of me kept trying to deny what I was hearing.


    ¡°What did you just say alpha?¡±


    The woman looked up from her clipboard, her eyes held a sympathy in them I was not used to seeing from the woman.


    ¡°The entire village was hit hard, ransacked, and then burnt down. Our epsilons think that the whole raid was carried out by professionals, professionals that did well to cover their tracks¡­ and left a message.¡±


    I felt my fists clench as I suppressed my feelings of rage and loss.


    ¡°A message alpha?¡±


    The woman flinched at my tone before looking down at her clipboard nervously.


    ¡°There was a single survivor¡­ Your niece, sir.¡±


    Luna! Freddy your baby girl made it!


    I had moment of relief as I heard that my niece had survived the assault on the village my brother had chosen to live in. It wasn¡¯t the news I was hoping to hear, but it was far better than the news I was expecting.


    Freddy¡­ Ulo¡­ I was too late to save you when you needed me, but I swear to you that I will ensure Luna¡¯s safety. No matter the cost¡­


    ¡°Sir, your neice¡¯s condition¡­¡±


    I schooled my expression, I know I wasn¡¯t going to like this. I knew what it meant to send a message, I also knew that it would probably take a long time for Luna to recover from whatever they did to her.


    ¡°Tell me everything alpha, no sugar coating anything.¡±


    The woman sighed as regret flashed in her eyes.


    ¡°Yes sir¡­ Miss Luna was found in a mass grave in a near catatonic state. She was mutilated, violated, Beaten, sodomized, and raped to a severe and near fatal degree. Her ears were removed, there are numerous tears in her anus and vagina, slurs were carved into her skin, her tail was cut in half, her nails and teeth were removed, her aura was fractured and is currently laced with soul rot, and our delta¡¯s have found the presence of human and beastkin remains in her vomit and feces. She is unresponsive, even now after treatment, and she shies away from men and male contact to a noticeable degree. Our epsilons say that it may take years before her mind and soul recover, and that¡¯s if she can recover at all¡­¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I watched the world turn red, my palms stung as my nails dug deep into them. Trying to keep myself from lashing out I growled out a response.


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°Sir, our epsilons¡¯ best estimates paint the raid taking place two months ago, and our deltas¡¯ medical reports on your niece and autopsies on the corpses confirm that estimate. In a way it¡¯s a miracle that miss Luna was¡­ the mere fact that she is still alive is a estimate to miss Luna¡¯s willpower¡­¡±


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Luna</u>


    Luna was scared, scared for so long. They had hurt Luna, hurt so much.


    Luna felt sick, but Luna couldn¡¯t afford to be sick. They would hurt Luna more if she made sick around them. The last time Luna got sick during ¡°Playtime¡± they had made Luna eat Luna¡¯s tail. They laughed after that, then they left Luna in the dark place again.


    Luna didn¡¯t like the dark place, the bodies of mama and papa and Mister Lowe and Miss Powel and Torna and Kate and Ursa and¡­ everyone would stare at Luna in the dark place. They would blame Luna, and eventually when the pain in Luna¡¯s belly grew too much Luna would have to eat some of them.


    That only made the stares worse.


    Luna wasn¡¯t in the dark place now though. New people had come, they had taken Luna away from her village and the ¡°Friends¡± that had come there.


    Now Luna was in a place with lots of people, people who made Luna better. Luna still didn¡¯t trust them though, they made Luna nervous.


    And lots of them reminded Luna of the ¡°Friends¡± that had ¡°Played¡± with her, they had the same sort of scent around them. The scent of a male¡­


    Luna curled up, the memories of past ¡°Playtimes¡± were coming back. Luna whimpered as Luna pulled the blanket tighter around her. The new people had promised that no one would ¡°Play¡± with Luna anymore, but Luna didn¡¯t believe them. The ¡°Friends¡± had promised Luna the same thing, but they always came back to ¡°Play¡± with Luna.


    Luna will be good¡­ Luna promises that Luna will be good¡­ Luna will be good, so please bring mama and papa back to Luna¡­


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    <u>POV: Ender</u>


    I sighed as I looked down at the latest evaluation report on Luna, it was confirming my greatest fear.


    Luna Silver remains largely unresponsive to all stimuli, showing reactions only towards physical touch to which she flinches away from. Her aura is also severely compromised, it would take magic beyond anything I know of to repair the aura and cure the soul rot. While her physical condition has been restored to what we believe it was before, though we can¡¯t be entirely sure, her mental condition is beyond anything our deltas and mages are capable of addressing.


    It is my honest opinion that Luna Silver¡¯s mental state may never recover from the trauma she has experienced, that is unless such drastic measures such as memory erasure or soul binding are used. Regardless the methods to repair her mental state would be just as, if not more, harmful to Luna Silver than the trauma that caused said state.


    Report by: Delta Remik Solin, Lead Delta of the Blue Moon Pack


    Luna¡­


    I shook my head. It had been a little over two months now since the Blue Moons found Luna, two months of the best mental and physical healing we could provide...


    I¡¯m going to find each and every one of those bastards¡­ My silver wolves and I will hunt them to the very last¡­ Then we¡¯re going to show them what a real message looks like¡­ No one fucks with the Silver Wolf Legion, no one¡­


    I glanced over at my trusty glaive that was leaning against the rack beside my desk. It was like a seven foot arrow with a supper sized, razor sharp serrated head all made of admantite that was more heavily enchanted than most forts. I would love every minute I spent using it to slash, stab, and hack through the people who dared to fuck with me and my family.


    Luna¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I know a powerful old witch who owes me a favor. If memory serves Melinda¡¯s specialty was in souls as well, if anyone can take away your pain and bring back the old Luna it would be that old grey mage¡­


    I felt a grim expression cross my face for a moment as I pulled forward a blank sheet of my finest paper.


    Grand Magus Melinda,


    I write you now because it is a time of desperate need, a time in which I have no other choice but to call in a favor you once promised me¡­

 Chapter 7: Fairies come in all types

    I had been expanding my aura for a long while now, or at least what felt like a long time. As my aura spread I felt a growing sense of relief, or maybe it was more a sense of comfort. It seemed like the more my aura spread the more comfortable I became in my own body.


    At this rate I should be able to reach the opening soon, Fay¡­ Er¡­ Lin did say that there were only three caverns in this cave system after all...


    I cringed as I thought of my old friend, it had taken me so long to think of a decent nickname for her but now I kept forgetting to use it.


    Gotta remember¡­ Fay could be short for Faylin and Lin is just another way to shorten that¡­ So Fay is Lin¡­ or, no¡­ Lin is Lin¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s it¡­ I can¡¯t keep calling Lin Fay, it¡¯s disrespectful to the current¡­ No, it¡¯s mean to call Lin Fay when Fay isn¡¯t Lin¡­


    It was probably not my place to just arbitrarily rename someone I knew, it was probably even worse that I was trying to convince myself that Lin was her actual name. I wonder what it says that I would go so far out of my way to accommodate something I created myself, it was like I was slowly erasing something that was real for something I knew to be false. Even still I would continue.


    Because there had been a moment when I had called for Fay and hadn¡¯t thought of the friend I had lost, in that brief moment it didn¡¯t hurt to use the name I gave to the fairy.


    I guess it really doesn¡¯t matter in the end though does it¡­ Sophistry, fallacy, truth... When you get down to it none of those things matter, all that matters is who¡¯s alive and who is not¡­


    I let out a sigh.


    I wonder¡­ What is it that should guide me as a dungeon? Morals? That wouldn¡¯t make much sense, my very purpose is to kill the weak and reward the strong, morals play no part in things¡­ I don¡¯t have an ethical base point to judge myself on, and there is no real higher power I can answer to¡­ The only thing that could even remotely begin to judge me is a true dragon, and they all answer to the Mother who gave dungeons practically free reign in how we fulfil our purpose¡­ So how should I act? Should I even bother censoring myself or try justifying my actions when there are no repercussions or expectations?


    I let out an audible sigh as my aura spread even further into the third and hopefully final cavern.


    What is good and evil when there is no frame of reference? Can good and evil even exist in such a case? If not, then what is justice when good and evil don¡¯t exist? If there is no way for me to make a wrong action doesn¡¯t that just mean everything I do is right? Or maybe it¡¯s the other way around and everything I do is wrong? Is there even a difference in that case?


    I shook my head, I was getting to deep into an issue that I didn¡¯t think even had an answer. The only thing that would result from further contemplation would be further confusion and maybe the discovery of even more impossible questions. I would just have to avoid thinking about this issue entirely to resolve it.


    Yeah, just handle it the same way I do my tendency of expressing myself with nonexistent body parts. Ignore that there¡¯s a problem in the first place and just keep doing what I feel is right¡­ It¡¯s a stratagem that hasn¡¯t failed me yet¡­


    I let out another sigh as Fay came to hover before me and placed another coin on my core.


    ¡°Shiny! Shiny for creator!¡±


    I guess it was a good sign that she was starting to speak, even if her vocabulary was a bit childish. At the very least it made her better company.


    As the coin began to melt into nothingness and the clear distortion rose out of the remains to fly into my core Fay began to clap. For her the whole process seemed to be amusing to a degree I would probably never understand. Admittedly I had been excited the first few times as well, but after eighteen coins melted on top of my core and their clear distortions flew inside me the whole thing grew old. It didn¡¯t help that I only seemed to get small fragments of the pattern within the coins each time they melted, hell sometimes I would even get duplicate fragments instead of a new piece of the whole. It was incredibly frustrating, especially since Fa-Lin had given me a full pattern when she had¡­ moved on.


    ¡°Yes, thank you Fay¡­¡±


    The nude fairy just nodded in contentment and flew off towards the second room I had expanded into, she had taken up exploring recently. I guess she was just as excited as I was about my dungeon¡¯s expansion.


    Although I do hope I get some new company soon¡­ A fairy coming to make a bond or Melinda coming to check up on me, either would be welcome at this point¡­


    ***


    I felt awed. It was that simple, as I looked out on the world outside the cave system I was born in I just felt awe.


    It¡¯s¡­ So big¡­


    The sky, the fields of grass, the rolling hills, even the tree line in the far distance, everything just seemed so endless.


    Is¡­ Is this what the Mother can do? I¡¯m supposed to compete against something like this?


    Rationally I knew what I was seeing was just a very small part of a much grander whole. The black dragon had left me memories of all sorts of strange and exotic places that could be considered far more awe inspiring than this open and hilly field of grass, but all those memories felt distant and disconnected to me. What I was seeing right now was real, and thus much more awe inspiring than any second memory of a place I had never been.


    And that¡¯s the sun¡­


    I looked up at the giant golden orb that hung lazily in the sky. I knew that it would move, and eventually even set, but staring at the thing now I didn¡¯t see how that could be possible. How could any force move something so big and so hot? There surely wasn¡¯t anything I knew of that could do such a thing, but then I guess that was the difference between me and the Mother.


    I was just a simple dungeon and she was the god of all Eden.


    It was a humbling realization that was only reinforced by the splendor I bore witness to outside my cave.


    Still, I guess it¡¯s a good thing I have a frame of reference for tracking time¡¯s passage now¡­ I just have to keep track of the sun, or¡­ No, I guess if I wanted to simplify things even more I can just track whether the sun is in the sky or not, that¡¯ll tell me if it¡¯s a new day or not¡­ The rest I can work out on my own if I really need to, but I don¡¯t really see the point in tracking things any farther than what day it is¡­


    I nodded at that. There really wasn¡¯t any point in tracking every minute of every hour like the high races did when I was essentially an immortal and eternal being. I had all the time in the world at my disposal, or at least I did unless someone killed my like Melinda killed Lin¡¯s old dungeon¡­


    ***


    I spent an entire day just enjoying the view out of my dungeon, a view I could somehow see just by focusing on the part of my dungeon around the cave entrance. I guess it was just part of the advantage of having nonexistent eyes and unique dungeon senses, I could see anything within my aura just by focusing on the specific area I wanted to see. I could also peer out of my aura with something akin to physical eyesight, that was how I had been observing the world outside of my cave system.


    I guess I can¡¯t keep procrastinating anymore¡­


    I sighed, an act that was becoming an alarmingly frequent habit for me. I had been putting off making more fairies ever since I had half-unconsciously created Fay, the main excuse I had for avoiding making more was that expanding my dungeon was more important. Now I had reached the cave¡¯s entrance and filled the cave system entirely with my aura, I would have to actively begin digging out more rooms at this point to keep expanding.


    Ok¡­ Enough is enough¡­ I¡¯m a dungeon, and dungeons have monsters to do their bidding. Time to make myself a few more loyal minions¡­


    Nodding I turned my intention from the night sky that my core so closely resembled and let my attention naturally flow back to my core and the room it floated in.


    ¡°Fay!¡±


    Calling out to the fairy that was undoubtedly fluttering around in the second room somewhere with her latest ¡°Shiny¡± I began to mentally trace the pattern for my own version of dungeon fairies. As my aura began to flow into the shape required by the pattern in front of me I couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was wrong. It felt strange, my instincts and Lin¡¯s own advice told me that this was what was necessary to create inside my dungeon. That by tracing and filling a pattern with power I could create anything I knew of from almost nothing, but a part of me screamed that it was wrong. As I idly filled out the pattern I wondered why that was.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Maybe I didn¡¯t notice the first time out of grief for losing Lin, but this really does feel wrong¡­ It should be more involved, Right? I mean, I¡¯m creating life itself here, but somehow it just feels like I have no control. I mean, it¡¯s like I have no personal say in what gets created in the end¡­


    The image of a fairy that looked identical to Fay popped into my head and I idly fiddled with its looks. I made the black and silver hair shorter giving the fairy a natural pixie cut and I also made her features softer in the face giving her a less striking look but a far more cute feel overall.


    Sure I can make them look a bit different and I guess I get to decide the species itself, but it just feels¡­ Wrong. It¡¯s too little. I should have more say, right? More control¡­ I should be able to customize to my heart¡¯s content, not confined to merely popping out cookie-cutter clones¡­ There has to be more to this¡­


    As the new fairy popped into existence in front of my core I heard a surprised gasp come from the passageway.


    ¡°SISTER!¡±


    A blur of fluttering wings, pale flesh, and dark hair tackled the newest fairy out of the air and broke my quiet moment of introspection. As I watched Fay hug the new very confused fairy I felt a small bit of amusement well up inside me. It was as if a warm happy feeling I had forgotten the existence of had chosen that moment to reassert itself inside of me.


    I was sure that if I had lips they would be smiling right now.


    ***


    <u>POV: Selm</u>


    I jerked to a stop in midair, the moment I felt the massive aura I felt something rise up inside me. My instincts were screaming at me to go find and claim the dungeon such an aura belonged to, but somehow the beating of my heart was louder. In that moment I knew, this was the one. I would have this dungeon and no other, even if I could bring myself to try claiming another I knew I would forever be plagued by doubts and countless ¡°What ifs¡± for the rest of my life.


    I felt a smile curl onto my face.


    But then again I doubt any of the bitches that are still looking for their partner right now even know how to handle a dungeon like this¡­


    It was obvious that this dungeon had not only been core popped, but it had also found a way to expand itself to a rather impressive size without being immediately snatched up by some random fairy lucky enough to stumble upon it. That indicated that at the very least the dungeon itself was strong enough to reject the fairy that had core popped it, a feat that only three dungeons I knew of were ever said to be capable of.


    If this dungeon is on the same level as Mavra, hell, even if it is only at the level of Akash¡­


    I felt the smile on my face slowly turn vicious. I had given up on all my plans of revenge on my mother and that evil demon spawning dungeon of hers, but if I managed to bind myself to a powerful enough dungeon¡­


    Well, I¡¯m sure my partner would be happy to help me crush something that hurt me so much¡­ It¡¯ll probably be chomping at the bit to destroy Mavra after I tell it about that perversion of the great Mother¡¯s will¡­ The only real question would be amassing enough influence and forces to be able to challenge that hell pit on even grounds, but I¡¯m sure if mother and Mavra could figure out a way to send monsters out of the dungeon¡¯s aura I can too¡­


    Without hesitation I took off at the fastest speed my wings could handle and I began to fly north to where I felt the aura¡¯s origin would be.


    <u>END POV</u>


    ***


    I was frustrated beyond anything I had experienced since Lin did that ¡°Core popping¡± thing that allowed me to speak and extend my aura. As I looked at the five fairies frolicking together in a crate filled with gold coins I couldn¡¯t help but feel a twinge of disappointment. I just felt that there should be something more, something greater to the whole creation process than this power-tracing cookie-cutter pattern business. The whole process just felt so empty and incomplete to me.


    At least Fay was happy, she had taken to her new ¡°Sisters¡± immediately. It was almost lifted me out of my funk to watch her try and explain the intricacies of life to the much simpler monsters.


    I guess naming Fay really did improve her all around¡­ Even if she isn¡¯t quite at the level of a free thinking and semi-independent individual I¡¯m aiming for, she¡¯s still far ahead of the other four¡­


    Trying to distract myself from my worries with the antics of the fairies I reflected again on just how different they were from what Lin had told me dungeon fairies were. For one thing each one of them seemed to have a childlike level of intelligence and curiosity, even Fay for as far she had come in the time since her creation wasn¡¯t excluded from this fact. They also seemed to have no real desire to clothe themselves, something Lin had done constantly out of a clear sense of common decency. Or at least something I believed was common decency¡­


    They also don¡¯t seem to have that same instinct to bind themselves to a dungeon, or at least they don¡¯t seem to have any desire to bind themselves to me¡­ And I guess if they can¡¯t leave my dungeon then they¡¯ll probably never even have the chance to bind themselves to another dungeon in the first place¡­


    That thought resonated with a deep part of me, the possessive part that didn¡¯t like the idea of MY fairies ever even considering the idea of permanently binding themselves to another. I knew this new possessive nature I was developing was just a part of my instincts as a dungeon and I didn¡¯t mind that it was forming, but it was a bit concerning that my attachment to my created fairies was stronger than I had expected.


    I guess it doesn¡¯t matter. After all it isn¡¯t the idea of them dying that upsets me, just the idea of them leaving my dungeon and going to be with someone or something else. They are MINE after all¡­


    I shook my head, these sorts of thoughts were getting me nowhere. So what if I was possessive? The dragons and high races were possessive too, and they were the Mother¡¯s favorites. I was fairly sure it was in the nature of all beings with a certain level of intelligence to have at least a little possessiveness entrenched in their personality.


    As I contemplated this new facet of my personality I felt something enter my dungeon, something fairly small. It was an interesting sensation, almost like something had poked me while also simultaneously breathing on me. It wasn¡¯t an unpleasant sensation, but I couldn¡¯t really call it pleasant either. Regardless as soon as I felt the sensation I could suddenly sense the presence of the intruder intimately, it was like by simply being inside my dungeon the intruder was sending me constant signals and sensations to indicate where it was. I guess that sort of made sense though, after all my dungeon was just an extension of my body and it would only make sense if I could sense what was going on in my body.


    In fact now that I think about it, Fay and those other four give of a familiar and reassuring presence that¡¯s almost as distinct as this approaching presence¡­ it¡¯s a little less noticeable, but it¡¯s still there¡­


    I had only a minute to consider this new aspect of myself before a purple streak flew into my core room.


    ¡°Greetings dungeon! I am Renitia, and I shall grace you with the privilege of being my bond mate!¡±


    As I looked at the fairy in the strangely elaborate and fancy looking purple frilled dress I found myself stunned. Her voices tone said that she already considered the both of us being bound together to be an inevitable fact, but more than that she made it out to seem like I should be grateful she even bothered. It was so out of my expectations I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to be irritated by the entitled imperious tone.


    I thought when Lin said that fairies would be clamoring from all over to bind themselves to me it would mean they would be a bit more¡­ humble? No, maybe just extend me a bit of polite curtesy¡­ I mean, I¡¯m supposed to be sort of a big deal, right? A dungeon who¡¯d be a great catch, right?


    As I was still frozen from the fairy in purples high handed introduction the fairy herself had moved forward and placed her hand against my core. As a large smile broke out on her face I felt something light and hopeful reaching out to me, I could feel as she cast herself inside me and willed me to accept all of her for my own.


    In a brief moment I felt the familiar instincts that had nearly caused me to claim Lin rise up inside me, and for that same brief moment I wondered whether or not it would even be all that bad to take this fairy for myself. I could feel her, I understood her in a way that not even she may have been able to herself. Renitia was a good soul, even if she did hide most of her best traits behind an imperious and off putting facade. She cared deeply about things, had a fair bit of talent with wind magic, and even had a soft spot in her heart for all things cute and fluffy. In all honesty it probably wouldn¡¯t even be hard to draw the real Renitia out from behind the annoying mask she showed to the world around her, all it would take was a bit of patience and affection.


    As I felt everything that made Renitia the fairy who she was I discovered that it would actually be fairly easy to grow to care for her if I bound myself to the fairy. I could even naturally grow to love her for who she was, and over all the amount of sheer good and potential within her fair outweighed any negative aspects I found. It was already clear that she desired me more than even she had anticipated, the amount of positivity she held to me was already almost at the level of a crush if not genuine infatuation.


    I rejected her almost instantly. I fought down the instincts urging me to claim the willing and eager fairy, I had already decided to use the test Lin had left for me when I was choosing a fairy to bind myself to. This fairy hadn¡¯t passed the test, in fact this fairy had charged me and attempted to force a bound on me on her own accord. It was something that I found to be more than a little irritating.


    I throw up a wall within myself and used it to push the eager fairy out of my mind entirely.


    As I opened my nonexistent eyes I saw that the fairy in purple merely hung in front of me with a dazed expression.


    ¡°But¡­ Why?¡±


    ***


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Olive! I¡¯m going to be your new friend!¡±


    I merely looked up at the fairy with short green hair wearing what looked like a brown tunic and pants with disinterest.


    ¡°Hello Olive, the test is on the wall behind me. Let me know when you¡¯ve come up with an answer for each question¡­¡±


    I watched as the now familiar expression of shock and confusion washed over the fairy¡¯s face as Fay flew over to the dumbstruck winged girl.


    ¡°Please follow Fay to the corner with the rest of the potentials, and before you ask: No Fay is not my bond mate. Yes Fay and these four around me aren¡¯t wearing any clothes. No that isn¡¯t because of a preference of mine. And yes I can in fact speak on my own¡­¡±


    The short haired fairy in brown merely nodded dumbly as her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Fay had to practically drag her through the air to get her to the corner where the other six fairies that had shown up were each staring at the wall with focused eyes and hard expressions.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ Uh¡­ Um¡­ I¡­ Mom never told me anything about a test¡­¡±


    I ignored the quiet mumblings of the newest fairy and began to mentally prepare myself for the next of my unexpected visitors to show up.


    At least having my four fairies hovering next to my core and glaring at the passageway keeps them from charging me like that first one¡­ That¡¯s progress, right?

 Not A Chapter, Just A Test...

    TRAIT OPTIONS


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Loyal Soul


    Increases the loyalty of all created or corrupted beings that have spent over a day (25 hours) within your aura.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Evolutionist


    Increases the potential of your ability to create and evolve living beings based on your understanding of said beings.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Vampiric Dungeon


    Allows for you to drain the life energy of those who come close to your core, also imparts a small chance of the target contracting Vampirism (Vampire, thrall, Vampyr, ghoul).


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Indomitable Soul


    Grants you immunity to all spiritual and mental effects, also allows for faster corruption of forign beings within your dungeon.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Arbiter Of Fate


    Allows for the creation of permanent and unbreakable laws that apply within your dungeon with absolute authority.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Draconic Dungeon


    Allows for you to impart dragon fear upon all who come close to your core, you will also grow a protective layer of dragon scales around your core.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Reluctant Sacrifice


    Allows for you to understand and replicate anything brought within your dungeon without requiring the subject to be sacrificed.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Luck''s LoveIf you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Lady Luck smiles down at you and grants you an interesting fate...


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    MONSTER OPTIONS


    <table style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Corrupt (Plant)</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">A plant that has been immersed in the aura of a dungeon and has been bent to the dungeon''s will.Weak (variable) physical ability, weak (variable) magical ability, weak (variable) evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Corrupt (Animal)</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">An animal that has been immersed in the aura of a dungeon and has been bent to the dungeon''s will.Low (variable) physical ability, weak (variable) magical ability, weak (variable) evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Slime</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Gelatinous monsters held together by a core surronded by a semi-liquid body that is all but immune to physical damage.Weak physical ability, low magical potential, unlimited evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Kobald</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Small draconic humaniods whose scales, claws, and teeth offer some measure of protection.Low physical ability, low magical potential, Medium evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Goblin</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Small humainods whose persistance, deviousness, and quick breeding speed make them a troublesome opponent. Weak physical ability, weak magical potential, high evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Wisp</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Lesser elemental spirits whose gaseous bodies are entirely immune to physical damage and inflict elemental damage on contact. Weakphysical ability, Medium magical potential, low evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Puppet</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Lesser golems whose bodies are entirely created by a dense physical material which provides decent magical and physical resistances. Medium physical ability, weak magical potential, low evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Skeleton</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Lesser undead whose skeletal forms provide high physical resistances at the cost of limited mobility and a weakness to white magic. Low physical ability, low magical potential, Mediumevolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Imp</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Lesser demon whose connection to the abyss allows for the manipulation of unique magics at the cost of low loyalty and a weakness to white magic. Weak physical ability, medium magical potential, low evolution potential.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    GIFT


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">


    Second Chance


    As one who has twice overcome certain death decreed by Fate herself, your soul has been acknowledged by the mother.


    1. The weave of Fate no longer holds sway over your destiny.


    2. Death curses will weaken but not kill you


    3. You may influence and even break the predetermined fates of others you come into contact with.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Not A Chapter, Im sorta stuck... Help Please...

    Ok, so i''ve writen and rewriten chapter 8 a few times now and just wasn''t happy with it...


    the main problem is i''m stuck on who gets to be Nox''s dungeon fairy. I can''t decide between Kate and Selm. Both will play a major part in the stories plot, but at the moment deciding between the two is all but impossible for me.


    i keep going back and forth between the two, and weighing the pros and cons between them to see who should fill what role in the story has things coming out to be fairly even...


    One the one hand i''d love to have Selm be Nox''s dungeon fairy because it would open up a wonderful mentor character while also seting up a future arks point of conflict. It would also leave Kate open to the semi-antagonist role i had planed which could be fun to play around with.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    On the other hand there''s Kate being Nox''s dungeon fairy which would be nice since I purposefully left Kate''s character open to future character and personality development. Kate would be a good companion character to develop alongside Nox if not a mentor, and Selm would be an amazing semi-antagonist (My favorite type of antagonist actually...) that i would have fun with.


    So there i am... stuck...


    I tried debating this out on my own, but i''ve sort of remained stuck in place. Thus i''ve decided to turn to the readers for an answer.


    Either answer the poll or comment on who i should pick and why, i''ll go with the comment that convinces me or the most popular poll option if no comment appeals to me...


    I''ll also try and get chapter 8 out sometime next week, thus i''ll probably end up checking the poll over the weekend...


    thanks for the help, and sorry for the delayed chapter...