Forget adventurers the common folk will love this, a safe place with a benevolent entity that keeps the nasty gribbles that want to eat you away and as a bonus no one goes hungry and healthcare for all.
Are you sure this is a Dungeon? (Dungeon? SI)
- Thread starter Drich
- Start date
- Location
- Villa Straylight, Freeside, Earth Orbit
And if there is so much mana in the air and a helpful dungeon then maybe it's a good place for a wizard school as well! Unseen University headed by Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully?
- Location
- Somewhere
Do note that there's probably going to be some random wizard that, when noticing all of this, decides to try and claim it for themselves. And fails spectacularly.
- Pronouns
- Yes
@Drich Great story so far, looking forward for more. This makes two dungeon core stories that are not garbage (oddly enough both are excelent stories).
I'm guessing the quality of the Mana Kalthai noticed is because it's actually a several thousand year old dungeon, just one that recently moved. Going to be interesting once people realize that Dungeons can move.
I'm guessing the quality of the Mana Kalthai noticed is because it's actually a several thousand year old dungeon, just one that recently moved. Going to be interesting once people realize that Dungeons can move.
From descriptions they're several hundred miles from anywhere, so that will slow down any villagers wanting to settle there. Also given Kalthai's description of the dungeon I doubt anyone will want to settle there unless they are absolutely certain they're welcome, and there's no chance of the dungeon changing their mind (well either that or utterly desperate).
From the description of Dungeons as practically gods within their boundary, I doubt it.
2.3
Drich
Von Neumann Writing Machine
2.3
+++
My companion chuckled, mirroring my own amusement.
It was no secret that I had always been different from my kind. Even when I had been young, new-formed, that had been found out in short order by all around me.
We Dungeons were typically a habitual sort. Take twenty Dungeons and you'd have maybe three different opinions between them. Part of that came from the role we played in existence, and another part of that came from the developed array of instincts that we all possessed.
Dungeons were fonts of mana. Our very existence was a boon to our surroundings, when our mana inevitably leaked from our auras', it seeped into everything around us, encouraging growth, proliferation of life, and evolution in general. We could recycle everything that came to us; produce an endless supply of resources limited only by time, could store an immense amount of magical energy and soulstuff.
As with all things of great magical power, Dungeons were usually also hunted for those very same reasons. Most of the time by animals, though occasionally also by sapients with too much arrogance and too little sense.
Thus, Dungeons tended to fortify. Digging down, creating mazes of paths, forming the dungeons for which were usually named.
Well, usually we ended up being called 'Dungeon Cores', but when you said 'a Dungeon', people always knew what you were talking about.
But I digress. Back to my starting point; I had always been known to not be a normal Dungeon.
Most Dungeons were fairly solitary, keeping to themselves.
Obviously, I wasn't.
Most Dungeons would have an extensive labyrinth of doom that connected to the surface only though a hole in the ground that was exactly small enough to let the requisite mana flow out, and no more.
I had the bones of a city.
I admit; I had always enjoyed the reactions people had to my differences. Most people took one look at me, and then asked if I really was a Dungeon.
Just as that wizard had.
It was-
It had been a common enough reaction. Then the Void...
Well. Let that lay there.
The Elf stared at the bones of my city, and interesting array of expressions going across his face. Shock and surprise, open confusion, then shifting into a long-suffering resigned expression.
The Dragonblooded girl, though... She stared with awe. That kind of childish excitement, the charged enthusiasm...
That was the reaction I liked the most. People like that were always so fun.
The Ent... had little in way of noticeable reactions. That, of course, was normal for an Ent; they were not usually emotive people. That wasn't to say they didn't have their reactions, though; the way that he stared directly at the city, without blinking, eyes flicking over all of it... That was interest. Deep, fascinated interest.
And, of course, there was the wizard. The robes obscured any physical reaction, but the way that their mana tinged and bubbled... One part worry, one part excitement, I'd say. Common enough reaction.
"Alright." The Elf says at last. "We're going that way."
"Yes!" The Dragonblooded girl cheered, beginning to move forwards.
She was stopped by the older Elf's hand lashing out with lightning quickness, grabbing the back of her armour and yanking her backwards like some kind of oversized puppy.
"As a team." He continued. "You will not run forwards while leaving everybody else behind. Understood?" He asked, deathly quiet and equally serious.
She nodded, suddenly meek. He let go of her, and she fell backwards, no longer supported by his hand.
He sighed, before straightening up. "Let's go."
+++
The four of them made their way through my city, looking around with varying degrees of interest and reactions. The Dragonblooded girl was obviously the most excited, though she refrained from running around and investigating everything.
Not that there was a whole lot to see. Most of the buildings had only the most basic of necessities, with a few exceptions, all of which were close to my companion's tower at the center of the city.
Which they were now approaching.
Under normal circumstances, I'd have somebody or something to receive them, but...
It takes quite a bit soulstuff than I'm currently willing to spend in order to set up everything that I'd need to get something like that ready. I'd only just begun regenerating the magic control systems I used to make my life easier, and what I currently had...
It wasn't enough.
Ah well.
In the absence of a receptionist, I'd resorted to the far simpler method of hanging a sign on the door.
Of course, I'd then had to attach a translation magic to the sign so that my guests could actually read it, but that was fine. It was an extension of the translation I was already using, so it wasn't too bad to utilize.
Still, it had bumped up the priority of actually learning the language, because that wasn't going to last forever, and I didn't want to keep refreshing it. As soon as I had the mana for it...
Well, regardless.
The party of four stopped in front of the door of the tower.
"'Welcome to the Dungeon.'" The Elf read. "'Please note that the Dungeon is still under construction, and many features have not yet been implemented. We hope you enjoy your stay.'"
"What does that mean?" The Dragonblooded girl asked.
"I have no idea." The Elf responded. "Be on your guard."
His hands shimmered with magic, a glove of protective enchantments wrapping around them. Carefully, he tested the handle of the door, before pushing it forwards.
The door opened just fine. The inside of the room was a bit more impressive than it had been in the previous days, but not so much that it could be called ostentatious.
I did, however, have the most important item in full display, though there was currently nothing on it.
The scoreboard.
The first time I'd set up a scoreboard had been nothing more than boredom. Every time thereafter had been with the knowledge that it would, on average, increase my daily mana gains by somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety to one hundred and thirty percent, just from the amount of people who'd be willing to challenge themselves to get their names on that board.
Sure, I didn't currently have challengers, but that was for the future, not the present. Planning for the future was always a good idea.
The rest of my usual fare wasn't present, but that was because nearly all of it required more setup than what I had. Adding them at this point would have just made the room seem messy.
The group took it in, coming inside slowly. The blank scoreboard got a curious look, but not much more aside from that.
In the room above, my companion shifted, standing up. "Well. I suppose that I should go and receive our guests?"
I tapped a pulse of mana against his aura.
He made his way over to the door, clawed fingers brushing it open. Below, the Elf suddenly went ramrod straight, eyes snapping over to the other set of stairs.
My companion took a step, a low tapping sound echoing out. The Elf immediately pulled his students behind him, saying nothing, but radiating a concerned distress.
"Teacher?" The Dragonblooded girl asked.
"Quiet." The Elf hissed. "If I tell you to run, then run, got it?"
"There is no need for that." My companion called, voice calm, collected, and soothingly slow.
The Elf tensed, alongside all three of his students. The younger three turned towards the steps.
"Be not afraid." My companion said as he descended.
He stepped into view, drawing a gasp from the Dragonblooded girl and the wizard. The Ent just froze entirely, eyes locked unblinking upon my companion.
"We mean you no harm." He finished.
+++
My companion chuckled, mirroring my own amusement.
It was no secret that I had always been different from my kind. Even when I had been young, new-formed, that had been found out in short order by all around me.
We Dungeons were typically a habitual sort. Take twenty Dungeons and you'd have maybe three different opinions between them. Part of that came from the role we played in existence, and another part of that came from the developed array of instincts that we all possessed.
Dungeons were fonts of mana. Our very existence was a boon to our surroundings, when our mana inevitably leaked from our auras', it seeped into everything around us, encouraging growth, proliferation of life, and evolution in general. We could recycle everything that came to us; produce an endless supply of resources limited only by time, could store an immense amount of magical energy and soulstuff.
As with all things of great magical power, Dungeons were usually also hunted for those very same reasons. Most of the time by animals, though occasionally also by sapients with too much arrogance and too little sense.
Thus, Dungeons tended to fortify. Digging down, creating mazes of paths, forming the dungeons for which were usually named.
Well, usually we ended up being called 'Dungeon Cores', but when you said 'a Dungeon', people always knew what you were talking about.
But I digress. Back to my starting point; I had always been known to not be a normal Dungeon.
Most Dungeons were fairly solitary, keeping to themselves.
Obviously, I wasn't.
Most Dungeons would have an extensive labyrinth of doom that connected to the surface only though a hole in the ground that was exactly small enough to let the requisite mana flow out, and no more.
I had the bones of a city.
I admit; I had always enjoyed the reactions people had to my differences. Most people took one look at me, and then asked if I really was a Dungeon.
Just as that wizard had.
It was-
It had been a common enough reaction. Then the Void...
Well. Let that lay there.
The Elf stared at the bones of my city, and interesting array of expressions going across his face. Shock and surprise, open confusion, then shifting into a long-suffering resigned expression.
The Dragonblooded girl, though... She stared with awe. That kind of childish excitement, the charged enthusiasm...
That was the reaction I liked the most. People like that were always so fun.
The Ent... had little in way of noticeable reactions. That, of course, was normal for an Ent; they were not usually emotive people. That wasn't to say they didn't have their reactions, though; the way that he stared directly at the city, without blinking, eyes flicking over all of it... That was interest. Deep, fascinated interest.
And, of course, there was the wizard. The robes obscured any physical reaction, but the way that their mana tinged and bubbled... One part worry, one part excitement, I'd say. Common enough reaction.
"Alright." The Elf says at last. "We're going that way."
"Yes!" The Dragonblooded girl cheered, beginning to move forwards.
She was stopped by the older Elf's hand lashing out with lightning quickness, grabbing the back of her armour and yanking her backwards like some kind of oversized puppy.
"As a team." He continued. "You will not run forwards while leaving everybody else behind. Understood?" He asked, deathly quiet and equally serious.
She nodded, suddenly meek. He let go of her, and she fell backwards, no longer supported by his hand.
He sighed, before straightening up. "Let's go."
+++
The four of them made their way through my city, looking around with varying degrees of interest and reactions. The Dragonblooded girl was obviously the most excited, though she refrained from running around and investigating everything.
Not that there was a whole lot to see. Most of the buildings had only the most basic of necessities, with a few exceptions, all of which were close to my companion's tower at the center of the city.
Which they were now approaching.
Under normal circumstances, I'd have somebody or something to receive them, but...
It takes quite a bit soulstuff than I'm currently willing to spend in order to set up everything that I'd need to get something like that ready. I'd only just begun regenerating the magic control systems I used to make my life easier, and what I currently had...
It wasn't enough.
Ah well.
In the absence of a receptionist, I'd resorted to the far simpler method of hanging a sign on the door.
Of course, I'd then had to attach a translation magic to the sign so that my guests could actually read it, but that was fine. It was an extension of the translation I was already using, so it wasn't too bad to utilize.
Still, it had bumped up the priority of actually learning the language, because that wasn't going to last forever, and I didn't want to keep refreshing it. As soon as I had the mana for it...
Well, regardless.
The party of four stopped in front of the door of the tower.
"'Welcome to the Dungeon.'" The Elf read. "'Please note that the Dungeon is still under construction, and many features have not yet been implemented. We hope you enjoy your stay.'"
"What does that mean?" The Dragonblooded girl asked.
"I have no idea." The Elf responded. "Be on your guard."
His hands shimmered with magic, a glove of protective enchantments wrapping around them. Carefully, he tested the handle of the door, before pushing it forwards.
The door opened just fine. The inside of the room was a bit more impressive than it had been in the previous days, but not so much that it could be called ostentatious.
I did, however, have the most important item in full display, though there was currently nothing on it.
The scoreboard.
The first time I'd set up a scoreboard had been nothing more than boredom. Every time thereafter had been with the knowledge that it would, on average, increase my daily mana gains by somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety to one hundred and thirty percent, just from the amount of people who'd be willing to challenge themselves to get their names on that board.
Sure, I didn't currently have challengers, but that was for the future, not the present. Planning for the future was always a good idea.
The rest of my usual fare wasn't present, but that was because nearly all of it required more setup than what I had. Adding them at this point would have just made the room seem messy.
The group took it in, coming inside slowly. The blank scoreboard got a curious look, but not much more aside from that.
In the room above, my companion shifted, standing up. "Well. I suppose that I should go and receive our guests?"
I tapped a pulse of mana against his aura.
He made his way over to the door, clawed fingers brushing it open. Below, the Elf suddenly went ramrod straight, eyes snapping over to the other set of stairs.
My companion took a step, a low tapping sound echoing out. The Elf immediately pulled his students behind him, saying nothing, but radiating a concerned distress.
"Teacher?" The Dragonblooded girl asked.
"Quiet." The Elf hissed. "If I tell you to run, then run, got it?"
"There is no need for that." My companion called, voice calm, collected, and soothingly slow.
The Elf tensed, alongside all three of his students. The younger three turned towards the steps.
"Be not afraid." My companion said as he descended.
He stepped into view, drawing a gasp from the Dragonblooded girl and the wizard. The Ent just froze entirely, eyes locked unblinking upon my companion.
"We mean you no harm." He finished.
Confirmation that he's an old-school non-humanlike angel?
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TheLastOne
Person of impeccable tastes (for destruction)
Ahhh... a little disappointed it isn't a traditional "Fear Not," but it makes sense. He's speech is a little too polished for something that bombastic.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
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JadeKaiser
Uninspired Custom Title
- Location
- Under Your Bed
Depends on the translation you're using for how it's worded, and the passage within said translation. "Be not afraid" is the most recognized one, actually.
Part of the reason they are described differently is that there seems to be an unknown number of different types of angels, not just one kind. You can kind of see this from how the passages that describe them in several different ways often refer to each description by a different title such as Seraph, Seraphim, Cherubim, etc.
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IvanDead
My bones are made of schadenfreude.
- Location
- Brasil
through
Now I'm curious about what those opinions would be. *Use puppy eyes on author*
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Bird features, six eyes and considers Ophanim to be fairly mundane? Possibly a Seraphim, more likely we've got one of the four Chayoth (Living Creatures) here, specifically the Eagle one. Though it's not clear whether the Chayoth are unique Angels in and of themselves, or whether they're some kind of special Seraph or Cherub.
Could be the Morning Star (Lucifer), but probably not: Lucy is usually depicted as an Archangel, not a Chayot, and when he has animal features they're draconic, not avian.
The only other thing I can think of are the Zyniad from The Mark of the Angels, but those are ranked below Angels proper and are described as having beaks, six eyes, floppy ears and light tan feathers. Plus as far as I can tell they're something that Mehrzad Van Gieson came up with for his book, so I doubt the companion is one of those.
The eagle Chayot seems the most likely candidate.
Also, nice reference with the 'be not afraid' line. Very traditional old testament angelic greeting that; because old testament angels are fucking terrifying.
Could be the Morning Star (Lucifer), but probably not: Lucy is usually depicted as an Archangel, not a Chayot, and when he has animal features they're draconic, not avian.
The only other thing I can think of are the Zyniad from The Mark of the Angels, but those are ranked below Angels proper and are described as having beaks, six eyes, floppy ears and light tan feathers. Plus as far as I can tell they're something that Mehrzad Van Gieson came up with for his book, so I doubt the companion is one of those.
The eagle Chayot seems the most likely candidate.
Also, nice reference with the 'be not afraid' line. Very traditional old testament angelic greeting that; because old testament angels are fucking terrifying.
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- Location
- Russia
Every time I imagine our angelic birdy friend, I can't help but remember Yharon from Terraria's Calamity mod.
Is this anywhere close to what's been intended, I wonder?
Is this anywhere close to what's been intended, I wonder?
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Every time I imagine our angelic birdy friend, I can't help but remember Yharon from Terraria's Calamity mod.
Is this anywhere close to what's been intended, I wonder?
That's just a feathery dragon, Old Testament Angels are way more incomprehensible than that.
Tisaku
Head Chief Thinkomancer
considerable
him
was
filling
run
on
JadeKaiser
Uninspired Custom Title
- Location
- Under Your Bed
Not like they changed any in the New Testament. "Be not afraid" is what was said to Mary, and to John the Baptist's dad, and whenever some of them are described in the book of Revelation there is more than enough of that kind of thing to go around.
Sure, there's a couple places where they took the appearance of normal humans, but there's times when they did that in the Old Testament too. Like when a pair of them visited Lot in Sodom.
As far as the guy in this story goes, there's really no way to tell at this point if he's supposed to be a specific angelic being from the Bible, or if he's taken from some piece of fiction or another, or if he was just created whole cloth for this by the author. We're just going to have to wait and see.