DragonGrimoire's Hoard Of Snippets

[DragonGrimoire]

The city stood near the ocean, seeming some days to be as ancient as the beach it bordered. On the oceanic side, black sands made up a beachfront - interspersed with dunes and various types of plants that enjoyed the salt air. Mixed all around, tide pools filled with all sorts of interesting creatures could be seen, shimmering in the sun. The remaining sides were adjacent to somewhat picturesque rolling plains, dotted with groves of elderly trees and hills.

The plains were not simply idyllic, though. Ruins left by those who had passed on, the dens of ferocious beasts, dungeons, and all sorts of other hazards were spread out among the pastoral scenery. Battles were waged at various sites, for greed, glory, self-defense, and a myriad of other purposes. These were largely battles with obvious results, one side losing and the other growing stronger. However, one particular battle, while having those aspects... was more.

A golden claw smashed down, attached to a wing. The claw sparked and crackled, the electric discharge it gave off almost unheard over the howling winds the fight had raised. Arrayed against the beast, 5 Humanoid beings stood, illuminated by glowing ringlike images of multicolored power a solid foot thick flaring behind them. The coloration of the rings was divided into distinct sections, each inscribed with a beast or being that differed based on the wielder and section. The beast itself bore a similar sigil, flaring behind its comparatively massive lizardlike form, though its own ring lacked the images, simply displaying its raw elemental power. The crackling thunderous flashy gold of the Fulmic element, the lighter, airy green of the Vental element, and the Wylde element. For this beast, it was a deep forest green, though for others it could be a bright purple.

1 Ring BOSS: Thunderclap Wyvern Adolescent
This title, provided by the world and parsed by the senses of those blessed with the ability to manipulate the Elemental Energy of the world through the strength of their own bodies and souls, indicated the relative strength of the beast. It was a measurement of its totality, provided by the world itself. It did not reveal all, but it revealed enough.

"Well, the information wasn't bad, per se, but did they really send us after a Greater Species without telling us?" A tall, muscular man grumbled, white horns curling back from his brow, the helmet of the silver-and-purple armour seemingly shaped to protect them. The silver parts seemed to be metal, and the purple a scaly leather, each scale roughly the size of a coin. This armor was worn over what seemed to be a black silk bodysuit, though it'd be difficult to determine if you didn't know what to look for. He moved out of the way of the blow, the massive sword in his hands drinking up the remnant charge of the beast's attack as the arcane script on his blade lit up in vibrant, crackling purple.

"Aww, Ferdinand, don't be sour." A willowy woman cackled, the flaming feathers in her dark hair standing out against her olive-toned skin and poking through the red and gold bodysuit she wore as a pair of similarly feathered wings flapped behind her, crackling with heat as she swooped away from the blow and then charged back in. "Nobody expected we'd be fighting one of your cousins!" She snarked, her foot lashing out at the beast's torso, Pyric energy flooding out of her body and coalescing into the shape of a burning talon around it as it made impact with the beast.

"Virtia, stop teasing my boyfriend." A short, androgynous-looking person fired back, their soft voice almost seeming to caress the words they spoke, a pair of fluffy ears sticking out of long golden hair twitching with what seemed to be affectionate annoyance if one judged by the expression on their face. Over their own deep blue bodysuit, they wore a set of white robes, left open at the neck. A rainbow barrier quickly sprung up around them as they quickly backed away, easily dealing with the remnant sparks.

"I'm all for poking fun at each other, guys, but c'mon! We're kinda fighting here!" A fairly average figure with well-kept dark hair and dark skin made his annoyance known. Something akin to the traditional idea of a magic circle mixing the ocean blue of the Aqual element and the brilliant white that Novos could take on flared between his hands, gathering energy for some purpose.

"Wait, since when are Kai and Ferdie dating?" A voice whispers from a nearby tree. Its owner, a stocky woman dressed in leather armor and a cloak of some sort of cloth, embossed with runic symbols and leaf designs that seemed to move in the wind like the real thing. On her shoulder was what appeared to be a gigantic rifle of some sort, eddies of wind swirling around the heavily inscribed barrel. "Also, c'mon, Vi, he's Drakeblooded, not an actual dragon."

As she spoke, a silvery-grey projectile fired off, spinning at speeds nearly invisible to the human eye as it sliced through the air.

The wyvern didn't see the spike coming until it was too late, the metal ripping into its thick scales and puncturing them with ease. It wasn't exactly a shot to the heart or head, but the beast roared in pain and hot blood splashed to the ground, slowly dissipating into raw energy.

The furious car-sized reptile charged towards the sniper, and both the swordsman and the wizard moved. A wall of blue-white light that rippled and flowed like a wave crashed forwards, holding the beast in place as it struggled to advance. The swordsman rushed forward, the massive blade stabbing into the wound on the beast's chest as it tried to slowly heal, before ripping down even as it slammed its spiked tail through the wave and into his chest. The watery light weakened the blow, despite it shattering the man's armour and several of his ribs as he flew backwards, blood spitting out of his mouth. The wave collapsed in on the wyvern, burying it in searing light even as it launched a final, desperate burst of lightning outwards.

The fox-eared person's eyes widened in horror as their partner flew back, and they slammed their hands into the ground, a wall of rainbow light springing up against the draconic creature's dying blow. It broke, against such force, but that was enough. Arcs of lightning shocked the sniper, knocking the stocky woman from her perch and leaving her stunned. The wizard's robes charred and sections fell away, his skin crackling as he screamed out in agony, his limbs jerking and flailing as he collapsed. The bird-woman had it worst- she was seared from head to toe with still-crackling burns, before flames flickered across her body. Where they had been, only healthy skin and the remnants of her bodysuit remained- and even that was beginning to regenerate, the cloth knitting itself together under the flame. The swordsman weathered it well, his blade and even his own body seeming to drink the charge greedily, but he'd certainly been pushed further back than the others. The fox-like person, furthest back, was themselves untouched, but seemed about to collapse from exhaustion.

Tapping on a simple, unornamented ring on their left hand, the fox shakily pulled black metal bottles that seemed to glow internally from some hidden space inside. As the corpse collapsed into raw energy and power, they either handed the bottles to the others or applied the contents directly to themselves. The liquid contained within gleamed a bright golden color and seemed to glow, despite flowing like water. Where it soaked into the body, or it was drunk, bone snapped back into place, muscle and skin mended, and burns faded with an unnatural quickness.

Everyone struggled into sitting positions and closed their eyes, following an instinct common to all of them as their bodies and souls drank in the power the beast's death had released. This was growth - this was their reward, hard earned in battle. They hardly noticed as something emerged from the rapidly disintegrating corpse, the spike of the wyvern's tail falling to earth as it sparked and crackled with power. What they didn't notice at all, however, was that what they couldn't absorb began to gather and coalesce.

Energy and ideas- the power of belief and deed, the cornerstone of this world and the supernatural abilities its people carried, formed into something new. From what the battle embodied, definition and purpose were born, and something of interest appeared as the group meditated. This same process had happened many times, usually pushed by battles such as this or events of incredible personal or societal events happening that involved the powerful.

When, some minutes later, they opened their eyes, they saw it. A door seemingly to nowhere, simple wooden frame belied by the glow coming from its peak. Two rings of light, one burning the blue of Aqual and the other with the white Novos could sometimes take on.

A dungeon.
~~~~
As the space was defined, the first thing to form was a glimmering, multicolored crystal. The rest slowly began to take shape. Near the entrance, bluestone and granite, rough and unpolished. The area was dimly illuminated, scattered torches stuck in battered, scorched sconces and white stones embedded in the walls, reflecting the torchlight. There were claw marks scattered about, largely on the floors but in other places as well. A person entering would see gouges in the walls where stones had clearly been removed, scorch marks around some of the sconces, and other little signs that something large and predatory frequently came and went. Despite the scorch marks, the cave was somewhat damp, and the air was humid, as if the cave system opened up to the coast or the shores of a great river or lake. Stone rose around the door to nowhere, sloping down gently into the ground as the dungeon's pocket dimension grew and connected to the world around it.

The cave would continue like this for a bit, twisting and turning. Tunnels splitting off into the distance, shaping the earth around them. Some of these branches led to pools of water, or simply to dead-end caves, and many of them showed signs of various sorts of cave life. There was even an underground river flowing through it! Your more typical things like bats, insects and various burrowers were closer to the entrance on the plains, while, on the nearby coast, another entrance formed.

A convenient sea cave that was 'near enough' for the formation of this tunnel network to subsume it. This would cause quite a stir- while some dungeons existed entirely in their pocket dimensions, cut off from reality and the constraints of space except by their entrances, there were types that were more solidly anchored to reality like this. Even this sort wasn't strictly limited to the physical space they occupied, with the space often being bigger or smaller inside than one would expect based on the dungeon's needs. This was considered something of a trade-off, as while it allowed for easier exploration it also made them both more and less dangerous than the more standard variety.

On the more oceanic side of things, sea life began to spring up and the waters flowing there took on the tang of salt. Silver fish that resembled tuna, white-and-gold scaled sea carp and barracuda bigger than adult men were just a few of the things one would see. Crabs with firm shells and sharp claws, thick-set turtles with hinged shells, otters and seals, sea urchins whose spines dripped strange watery substances, Clams that danced through the water, octopi whose arms buzzed and crackled with carefully controlled power- all sorts of interesting sea life took shape. A village took shape, carved in stone and decorated with shell and coral. Windows of sea glass and doors of scavenged driftwood, surrounding a central square through which the subterranean river that ran through the center of the dungeon made its way out to sea.

Something began to form- humanoid figures who seemed to be both piscine and mammalian. Most had the expected features- two eyes, two arms, two legs, two ears and all that, but their features radically differed from there. While many had scales in various patterns, some had spiny skin or smooth flesh that covered blubber. While many had fins on their backs and nearly all had webbed fingers and toes, some individuals had smaller, larger or no fin, and some lacked the webbing. Some had extra limbs, some were slimy, some had poison glands or the ability to make parts of their body glow or build up a charge and zap, some possessed armored, almost clawlike hands that could strike out with an absurd speed. All of them, however, resembled both sea life and the great apes- especially in the face and general body plan. While their skin and scales could often be quite strange colors, to observers they certainly looked more human than not. One scarcely sees a fish with hair or eyebrows, after all, and even rarer one that can smile or frown.

They wore simple, light clothes mostly made of things like fish skin and kelp fabric that would be comfortable for land while not weighing them down in the water. The jewelry many of them wore consisted largely of coral, sea glass, and things like shark teeth and fish bone, though there were some things made of metal and sparkling with gems- perhaps taken from the more inland caves? Some held weapons- javelins, spears, short swords, knives, tridents, things that would be of use in the various environments they were suited to. These people were yet nameless, but they would have one soon, as their history wrote itself into the dungeon.

Between the land and sea, in the branching paths of the new cave network, stone warped and shaped into chambers great and small. Some chambers contained preserved prey, or interesting oddities. Weapons and armor(mostly rusted), lanterns and backpacks, sleeping rolls and even a tea set! Children's dolls of wood and coral, or cloth and plastic. One cave even contained a selection of rather well-organized bones of various creatures. Some even served as living spaces for both a creature of considerable size and lesser beings. But many, even most of these central chambers? Dominated by books and scrolls, screens and tapestries, cases containing discs and chips of various sorts. Other things of interest were interspersed through these chambers, some of the oddities from other caves clearly placed in places of honor or areas, judging by the claw marks and scale abrasions, that were frequented.

And then? These caves populated themselves, a great beast popping into being. A reptile of intimidating size, something between lizard and serpent, almost like an iguana writ large. A lizardlike head and scaled body, dominated by white with a blue underbelly and a line of blue scales along the spine. Its head was crowned with bluish-black horns that jutted forward, to pierce into the water without slowing the beast down. Wings that were almost more fin that wing, but could theoretically serve such a purpose if needed. It possessed spines along the center of the back, strong front and back legs with webbed claws and a strong, flexible tail tipped with a fin. This creature was unmistakably draconic, though not quite a true dragon itself. Its body was streamlined, efficient, intended to slice through water as quickly as its cousins did air. There was one strange aspect to this, however. The great beast seemed to be wearing an enormous pair of reading glasses, the frames seeming to be made of wood and metal, decorated with gems and coral.

Around the beast and through its home, draconic humanoids whose scale pattern resembled the sea-drake scuttled and rushed. They somewhat resembled their neighbours, bearing some fishy features alongside their reptilian ones. They had faces dominated by their snouts and their eyes were slitted. Some attended to their tasks in little more than loincloths, but that wasn't universal. Some were armoured in leather and scale, some dressed more like sailors or servants, some even wearing the clothes one would expect of a librarian or scholar.

From these things, a story began to write itself. The story of the Seaborn, these fishy people gaining an identity. How the invasion of the great beast had cut them off from the world. Their sea routes to trade with the nearby civilization cut off, and the sea-dragon guarding the way to the surface jealously. They had felt abandoned, and in desperation turned to raiding the dragon's hoard and subsisting off what they could hunt and otherwise find themselves. And recently-salvation. What had been lost had been found again, and now the Seaborn could ply the oceans as they had generations before. Certainly, hunting the wildlife that lived in the caves had been of help, but they were dangerous, too.

The serpentine beast had tolerated this state of affairs, as the amusing creatures made trinkets and shared their own stories to appease its wrath. They would even bring some of the precious bounty of the sea to the oceanic lizard. Nevertheless, a dragon was a dragon, and many died beneath its claws and the burning beams of light that would escape its jaws when angered. The opening of the dungeon would change things, however- it too stood to benefit from visitors.

This was all a false history, conjured by the world itself to give the thinking beings within the dungeon a narrative and story of their own, but that did not make it less true to them, or change the way it affected their individual tales. Such was the way of dungeons that contained sapient beings, especially dungeons of this specific sort.

Archive Dungeon Deepwater was born, and soon it would attract its first delvers. Seeking treasure and knowledge, or perhaps attempting to investigate the new place. In the great network of dungeons that spanned the world, it wasn't exactly unique. There were any number of dungeons that had some degree of its unique aspects. Many of these were greater than itself, and some lesser. Some even fell under the same category that allowed it to more firmly anchor itself in the world around it and host these clashing groups. But none of them were Deepwater, and that would make a great deal of difference.

 

[Sesparra]

Interesting!
Shall keep watch<3

 

[BurnBright]

Ooh, I like how the opening fight scene makes some of the nature of the world clear!

 

[mirmidion43]

And here we are. I'll be keeping a close eye on this one~