A Trench, a place widely believed to be one of the most inhospitable on Vol, a large, jagged scar across the bed of the seafloor looking more like the gaping maw of a ravenous animal than anything natural. From these wounds stream forth creatures unlike any other on the planet. Though they come in myriad shapes and sizes, there is one universal similarity: their unending gluttony.
Little is known about what conditions are like within a trench, there has never been a soul who has descended into one and made it back to tell the tale. The surroundings, already too deep for any light to reach, are dead zones of both mana and life, and they would be avoided entirely if it weren’t for the creatures that do escape. Allowing even a single creature into an area with the mana and life they crave constitutes a catastrophe, something the Atlantean guild seeks to prevent at all costs.
A Trench, therefore, is continually surrounded by a Watch, groups of Atlanteans and amphibians who come together in order to keep these spawns from doing exactly that, tasked with exterminating anything that may find its way outside the trench with extreme prejudice, each on long shifts that can span many months at a time. While these watches are composed of small groups, they are each easily capable of banding together and fighting with a coordination not seen in many other places on Vol, a quality that can turn the tides against some of the more strange and dangerous threats that may emerge.
After being released from the continuous fight that they face in these seemingly gods-forsaken grounds, some find themselves at a loss in what their next step will be. There are those that can return to normal lives time and time again after they complete their Guards, but a number find themselves straining to do just that between their return, and their next drafting. These people are often ignored, a mixture of their increasingly brutal natures even outside of the fight, and their status as Atlanteans, most find themselves too afraid to ask why exactly those people have become the way they are.
These people try to find many ways to combat their eroding psyche, be it by secluding themselves, undergoing more hunts outside of the Trenches, or even just sequestering themselves into a permanent station at the Trenches. The uniting theme, however, is that they all slowly crave battles more as time goes on. Little is known about what truly goes on in the heads of these people, nor why only some seem to be affected, and even those who are will not begin showing symptoms until a large amount of time has passed. Many even believe that there is nothing to begin with, and that it is simply people becoming too accustomed to the fight, and finding it hard to live without that sense of danger.
Whatever the leading theory may be, when word started to spread of something peculiar which had seemingly popped up in the Hynix Grand Reef, countless numbers of these Atlanteans and amphibians found the news very exhilarating, to say the least. After all, many of them may have never experienced one, but there is likely nobody on Vol who hasn’t heard the reputation of a dungeon, a place of endless monsters and rewards.
~~~~~
Deep within the halls of one of the largest dungeons on Vol sat an unbelievable amount of Dungeon Fae. Prime Dungeon Pixies, Sprites and Faeries from many of the largest, most “successful” dungeons in the lands had gathered to discuss something they found rather frustrating. After all, they didn’t like having dungeons outside of their influence.
And yet, they were helpless this time. Silence reigned as each member of this council contemplated the news. A young dungeon, being found underwater would already drive them wild on a busy day, it was a treasure trove for them just waiting to be turned into one. One that was apparently not even a year old, and already being rated A by the guild was enough to gather them all. And yet…
“Why!? Why in a Reef?” Screamed one of the more influential members, a Faerie with seemingly glowing violet hair and wings. “How did it even get there?! There shouldn’t be a dungeon we can’t get to!” She ranted. The other members too wore expressions of consternation, after all, they were truly unable to reach it. It didn’t take their brightest to understand that they’d Burn, drown, and be eaten in no particular order even trying to reach the dungeon. Something they certainly did not appreciate.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“We need to find a way out there. Before it gets too old to control. If it is a High Core… it may even be too late for that already.” Spoke a much milder mannered Pixie, the leader of the conference, though his tone betrayed the anger he had been feeling. “And if it does turn out to be that way, I’m sure none of you need any further instructions?”
The members each nodded their heads, a serious look painted onto each of them. A Sprite followed up this statement, asking. “Why don’t we have it be something of a competition, to see which of us can bind it to one of our own first?”
A short round of murmuring sounded throughout the audience, and the old Pixie nodded his head seriously, approving of the idea, and then stood up and walked back into the core room of his dungeon, allowing the rest to disperse.
~~~~~
The researchers, mages, and scholars of the world were in an uproar. While there were times that didn’t take much to bring about, this time it was reasonable. After all, news had reached them that there was a new A ranked dungeon with incredibly unique circumstances. Unfortunately for some of them, those circumstances just so happened to be in the water, forty meters deep at that, and of course, in one of the largest mana reefs in the world.
It also was found that the dungeon was young, and likely still in its initial growth, which was incredible, given its ranking. No small number of these people had immediately stopped everything to go, and many had already had travel plans written out even before the news spread, just in case something exactly like this popped up.
People especially focused on learning more about the creature that is the dungeon were driven near mad by this news, not only was it an entirely new biome, but it was an absolute first in the world. Furthermore, it was highly likely that this specimen had grown “naturally”, without any influence or direction by Fae. It presented a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity to peer into the workings of a dungeon left to its own devices.
Merchants, too, weren’t spared from this fever. For the small people it presented a groundbreaking opportunity to shift the balance of some of the bigger tycoons, and to really make a name for themselves. For the largest, it was the perfect way to cement themselves as such for a long time to come. Caravans began treks to the shores to start shipping, and shipment courses were planned, made, and changed. While not nearly a global hub for trade, the Hynix Archipelago would very likely be seeing its trade increase by magnitudes.
Surface and aquatic races alike spread the news, some found it interesting and then moved on, others found their entire world turned upside down, some people’s lives changed course overnight and others had nothing more to do with it. However, it would be truly hard to find someone who hadn’t heard the news.
~~~~~
At a desk within the Dual Hall of the newly remodeled island of Gil, now the rather poorly named Sleepy Gills, a monster of a man sat, head cradled in his hands whilst a noise similar to a mix between a pained moan and an aggressive hiss escaped what constituted his lips. To his right was an attractive young siren, the top half of her body upright out of the waters within the room, something he’d specifically requested. A slightly amused expression played at her lips as she watched him complain about the stack of parchments she’d dropped onto his desk.
“What’s the matter, Rok? The guilds offered us quite a bit for giving up our positions and helping you out. They thought it’d be nice for you to have some ‘familiar faces’ helping you out. Don’t you appreciate it?” Asked Kelly, one of his new “secretaries” he’d gotten. Why they considered the group familiar after interacting with them for no more than three months, he’d guessed it because anybody more familiar with him would’ve went the other way at the offer. He wasn’t even slightly aware how, after only two days of word being spread literal kilograms of paper and parchment had found their way to his office, consisting of requests, complaints, offers, and more. People underqualified were trying to bargain or even threaten their way in, people unaffiliated were trying to reserve escorts, offers to buy land or space for shops or restaurants were flowing in, and they’d given him the honors of dealing with it all.
Hearing the siren’s teasing, his complaints only grew, a rumbling noise starting to sound out throughout the office. Even though he could ignore a vast majority of these people, the amount of “priority” mail still amounted to something he felt wholly unnecessary. He rubbed his temples a little harder, then took a deep breath, and found that she’d at least gone to the trouble of sorting these papers for him, and so he promptly pushed the much larger stack of “useless” papers off his desk into the waters, causing Kelly to harrumph slightly.
As she clumsily corralled them, creating a soggy ball of annoying queries, he set to reading the important peoples requests. It was much the same as everyone else, except arbitrarily being more highly valued than the rest, a bias that Rok hadn’t been a part of for some time, and never on this end. He knew, however, that there was only more to come as the word spread.