In ancient times, the last five of the Great Wizards gathered in council. Their secrets had been stolen, their servants in open rebellion, and their power waning. They had already agreed that it was time to leave this world behind and ascend, but the question remained: what should be done with their vast material wealth?

The White Wizard said: "We should leave it for the mortals of this world."

The Black Wizard said: "Only the worthy may claim it."

The Red Wizard said: "They must be strong."

The Blue Wizard said: "They must be wise."

The Green Wizard said: "They must be daring."

And so the wizards wove a spell that cast their millennia-old collections of gold, jewels, artifacts and other treasures into the aether, whence it may find its way into the dangerous and forgotten corners of the world.

Thus were sown the seeds of dungeons.

A dungeon is a place between this world and the realms from which magic stems. Within them lies great wealth, but only for those brave and skilled enough to conquer its hazards.

Clever riddles, tricky puzzles, sneaky traps and dangerous obstacles are built into most dungeons, but by far the most common threat is that of monsters.

Monsters are attracted to dungeons because of the higher amounts of magic; growing, breeding, and spawning within its depths. They are instinctively drawn to guard a dungeon's treasures and drive out intruders.

The Heroes of old divided monsters into two categories: bosses and mobs.

Bosses are unique monsters that fill special roles in a dungeon's ecology, such as a leader or apex predator. Bosses are usually deadly threats that take large or highly-skilled teams to take down, and attempts without casualties are rare. Often a boss will have a soul stone or summoning rune that will allow it to eventually respawn if not taken from the dungeon or destroyed. However, these are usually difficult to find, and often impossible without special anti-dungeon magic.

Mobs fill out the bulk of a dungeon's monsters. Unlike bosses, they are not unique, which makes them easy for the dungeon to replace. They usually travel in groups, hence the term 'mob'. Although, some stronger mobs may travel alone. If a lone mob is much stronger than all of the other mobs in the same area, then it is sometimes called a 'miniboss'.

Although monsters are generally seen as guards for a dungeon's treasure, they are sometimes valuable in and of themselves. A monster may have tough hide, hard claws, medicinal properties, or maybe just tasty meat! In the golden days of the Hegemony, some monsters were even tamed as pets or warbeasts.

But of course, the most sought-after treasures are gold and jewels. Even in dungeons, these are rare. More common in dungeons are baser metals, or semiprecious stones.

These materials usually "grow" on or in the walls of a dungeon in deposits, nodes, or crystals. However, sometimes they are found in refined forms, be it coins, bars or blocks, in chests, caches, or hoards, alongside other finished goods.

The most ubiquitous metal is iron, but iron requires significant refining and is difficult to work with, so much is left behind. Second is copper, which is easy to work with and thus always in demand. However, copper requires the first rare metal, tin, to make stronger alloys.

Next comes precious silver. Alchemists have identified four varieties, naming them after the phases of the moon. Most silver is of the 'waxing' variety, or the 'new' variety (more commonly called lead). Silver has many mystical properties associated with it, and is the main standards of trade for human society.

Only after all of these comes the king of all metal, gold. Gold is the easiest of all metals to work with, and widely considered the most beautiful. Like silver, it has magical properties, although common superstition states dungeon gold carries curses with it.

In terms of stone, the majority is built into the walls of the dungeon itself. However, often large formations of special stones similar form. Many of these varieties are soft and can be carved; others are hard and can be cut like gems.

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The one thing all these stones have in common is a magical nature. Unless stored in a special way, they slowly become harder, more brittle, and more unworkable. Most varieties will eventually become normal stone, some even crumble to dust.

These magic stones are highly valued by alchemists and craftsmen for their incredible array of useful properties. It is said the right magic stone can do anything, from curing leather quicker to reversing the effects of old age.

Raw materials are not the only treasures, though. Dungeon goods are extremely varied, but almost always valuable or useful. They are typically found in chests behind bosses or obstacles. Powerful magical artifacts are sometimes found as well.

Unlike the items produced by Dwarves, magic from a dungeon cannot easily be bought ot sold. If possession of an item is transferred to someone who did not truly earn it, then its power will be diminished. It is for this reason that those who find equipment in a dungeon will usually keep it for themselves or trade it to a compatriot, rather than selling it off to a rich noble.

In a dungeon, magic saturates the very fabric of reality, making powerful spells easier. Many normally impossible feats become are no longer so in a dungeon, the most famous of which is the resurrection of the fallen. Sometimes a would-be wizard will take up residence in a dungeon in hopes of exploiting its power. Most die to their own foolishness, but a rare few manage to achieve a measure of control. They become the Dungeon Masters; the most powerful and dangerous entities since the age of Wizards. Many a tale of heroism is told of the valliant warriors who defeated the Master who threatened a kingdom.

It is said that those who conquer a dungeon's challenge are permanently endowed with a portion of its power. By the Hegemony's end, tales of single men who could match the strength of twenty, run faster than a horse, or take a leisurely stroll through an inferno were common. Never since the time of the Wizard-kings had one mortal been invested with such power.

However, the days of heroes conquering dungeons is now in the past.

At the Hegemony's zenith, thousands of people made their living dungeon-delving at dozens of sites across the land. Vast riches poured out of the dungeons, and magic was applied to make everyday life a utopia for the masses. Heroes were trained in academies at every kingdom's capitol, men and women who specialized in fighting monsters, exploring dungeons and keeping the peace. But it would not last.

Eventually, the dungeons became exhausted, one by one. The sources of metal and magic components the Hegemony had relied upon were disappearing, and resources became scarce. A discontent populace led to strife in the government, and 'heroes' left with no purpose began to advance more worldly ambitions.

It was the end of the Hegemony, and the era of Dungeons. No new dungeon site has been confirmed for over a century now.

But, who knows? The loss of a million souls in the bloody civil wars and the following large-scale migrations have led to a lot of previously civilized land being abandoned. One day, a new dungeon may form in the depths of the wilderness, to slowly grow until some brave explorer discovers it.

Perhaps, that person will be you?

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{Kat feels like... Read this before, contents already known.} "Hmm..." Only getting these tiny slivers of clues to Kat's origin was very frustrating, so Arc immediately changed the subject.

"Well... Have you sensed any of this 'treasure in the aether' they spoke of?" {No, none. Infinite potential in vast nothingness, but concrete material impossible.} Meaning, either it's all gone, or it never existed in the first place.

Seeing as the book was also mistaken about lead being a form of silver, the truth was probably the latter.