Astraus’s domain was one of the most unusual of the God's domains. Her Mantels were Challenges, Struggle and Dungeons. The Goddess was known for not responding to prayers as she believed people should rise and fall on their own agency, but that did not mean she ignored them. She supplied the opportunity and it was up to you to figure out what to do with it.

The domain surprised those who visited it, expecting a place of anarchy or strife. What they found was a highly ordered and structured bureaucracy running the Dungeons around the world. Dungeon fairies fly around the sizeable mansion-style building that houses the Divine Dungeon Registry. The fairies handled all aspects of prayers and things relating to Dungeons, such as fairy assignments and Dungeon health. Everything was running smoothly and in its proper place, just as the Goddess liked it.

Shezar was the fairy covering the east side of the continent of Kyber. She only had one Dungeon within her area of concern. All the desks in the room face a giant map of the world. On this map, all the Dungeons were marked by glowing runes. Destroyed were indicated with black runes. There was a healthy number around the world apart from Kyber.

This is a typical day until a prayer pops onto Shezar’s desk.

“Another plea about the Rock Maze Dungeon, no doubt.”

She reaches over and reads the vellum note that had appeared. She pays little mind to it as she reads it with little attention, thinking about other things. She puts the note down and reaches for the following prayer that has appeared.

Then she stopped.

She blinked rapidly and then grabbed the prayer she just read.

She re-read the prayer again. Then again.

She got up from her desk. Walking down the gaps between the tables with the vellum prayer note the focus of her attention. She ignored everything going on around her. Her odd actions were quickly drawing more attention from the fairies on other desks and flying around.

She reached the map and flew up to the section she oversaw. She looked at the map for the mountain range. Finding it, she checked for a glowing rune. Knowing there would not be one, she was not surprised that one was absent.

She re-read the note for the tenth time.

“This cannot be right.”

She had not realised that her actions drew more attention from the floor. Most had stopped and were watching her. An old male fairy had left a higher level and was approaching her. She was still oblivious as she was muttering to herself.

“No, not possible. Not possible at all if….”

“Shezar, what are you doing?”

The voice startled her, and she turned to face her floor manager. Denall was nearly a thousand years old and once had been a fairy assigned to one of the most powerful Dungeons ever to exist. But that Dungeon was destroyed in Adrill’s rampage and he was reassigned here afterward. He still had not fully recovered, many believed.

“Manager Denall! I was just trying to confirm a prayer that was just received.”

He raised an eyebrow and reached out his hand. With hesitance, she placed the vellum note into it. He looked slightly exasperated and read it.

There were a few seconds of silence.

After that, the shouting started and chaos ensued.

To say things escalated quickly was one of the greatest understatements that Shezar could have ever said. Astraus loved order in her Domain when it came to Dungeons. Shezar was in the training academy when Adrill’s rampage of Dungeon destruction rocked the Divine realms.

She never thought anything could match those horrible days for sheer chaos, but this came close. The Divine Dungeon Registry was in an uproar for apparently one simple prayer and what it revealed.

There was a Dungeon that was not known to the Goddess of Dungeons.

This found both Denall and Shezar before said Goddess as she reclined on a couch reading the prayer that had caused the day to spiral so far from ordinary. The room was opulent but not to an extreme. She had just read it and her eyes flashed for a second.

“The intention behind the prayer is honest.”

Astraus was calm as she spoke. She read it again.

“Oh, Astraus, Goddess of Dungeons, Challenges and Struggle. Hear my prayer as we have discovered this new Dungeon. Allow me the wisdom and insight to understand its secrets and its mysteries. Please allow me the privilege to commune with your holy emissary within and reveal the Core to me so I can finish the mandated inspection according to Divine Law.”

Both fairies shifted uneasily as she read it aloud.

“The Shadow Fall Mountains. Kyber continent. A new community is being established called Shadow Vale.”

She used her Divine power to gleam this information with another flash of power from her eyes. They had tried scrying the location but found that it was being blocked. No, not blocked. The spells were just sliding off the area, not connecting to anything.

“So, the questions before us are twofold. Why am I completely unaware of its formation and second why can I not see it even now?”

Her tone was calm. The air around them charged like a thunderstorm was about to break. This was not good at all. Wrathful was not even close to describing her mood if someone upset her ordered realm and this was something more significant.

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A challenge to one of her Mantels of Divinity.

“You, Shezar.”

Shezar almost fainted under the divine gaze.

“Y-Yes, mistress!”

“Travel to this “Dungeon” in secret. Assess it and the Core. I want to know how far along the Path it is and what affinity element it has developed. Report to Denall but remain near to it until I make my decision. Now go.”

“Yes, mistress!”

They both said in unison, bowing as they fled the room.

“Leave at once and report as fast as possible. Hopefully, this is some form of mistake that we can correct.”

Denall was sweating and fearful as he gave final instructions to Shezar.

“Your position will be covered until your return. Take this communication stone. I will be awaiting your report.”

He thrust a small stone into her hand.

“I…. I understand.”

She had failed the Academy tests and was assigned to the Registry. Now they were sending her into an unknown Dungeon to find its secrets. She felt a wave of fear and excitement, for this was the purpose of her kind to help and support a Dungeon. They had unique abilities that allowed them to understand and guide Dungeons.

There were many ways of getting around in a world with magic. Divine teleportation was one of the fastest. Within minutes, Shezar was approaching the building that was over the Dungeon.

She could see campfires burning and a few people moving around a short distance away.

“That must be the beginning of Shadow Vale.”

Communities quickly developed where Dungeons were to be found even in the most rugged terrain. She turned and looked at the building. A Cythian Empire watch tower in good condition. The door she found herself before was closed and so were all the shutters. Flying up to the top of the tower, she found the stairs down unblocked.

As soon as she entered the open area under the roof, she sensed she had entered the aura of a Dungeon. There was no mistaking it.

“In Astraus’s name!”

Aura manipulation showed that the Dungeon was unusually intelligent and that meant old. Young Dungeons were always driven by instinct and hunger. Companion fairies found this time the hardest as they had to reign in the Dungeons instincts to stop it being declared “Rogue” and destroyed. She now had a feel for the Dungeons aura. She felt it was not very strong, three to four Steps along the path and not very old—a few years at most.

Control like this was unheard of for a young Dungeon and was how the Dungeons essence released when it reached the surface had not been detected.

“What are you?”

Shezar hesitated. So, much was unexpected here. She should be safe from harm as a divine servant, but things were not as anyone envisioned. She took a breath and spoke to the Dungeon.

“Shezar named am I—Hearld of Astraus, Goddess of Dungeons. I seek thy Core in peace and threaten you not. Allow me access to speak to you.”

Silence.

She waited. Nothing. Nothing at all in any form. That was not expected. Even newborn Cores would respond to her words. This Dungeon was so confusing.

“I have been tasked. I will continue.”

She steeled herself and flew down the stairs. Reaching the ground, she looked around. They had thought that the building was covering the entrance to the Dungeon, but it was now clear that the building was the entrance. The building was locked up with no light sources. Her racial ability to see in Dungeon Auras made everything look like it was mid-day on a sunny day. Four doors were present as well, the stairs continuing to descend. She looked into each room. Empty, empty, empty and not empty.

In the rafters was a sharoon. A Dungeon creation, she was sure, as it had a similar aura signature to the Dungeon. She could see the shadow magic in its aura. The minion was aware of her but not making any threatening moves.

“A shadow affinity Dungeon, then. Makes sense with this region.”

She turned and flew back to the stairs.

“Down I go.”

Heartbeats was all it took to reach the next level. Here was the next surprise.

“Direct access to the next floor! This goes against all Dungeon floor planning guides. No fairy would allow this.”

Shezar was conflicted at first, but she realised that she needed to find the Core. That was her primary mission. She continued to the next and found access to the next.

“Not right. Not right at all!”

She had failed in the Academy and had been assigned to the Registry, but this was against everything she knew. Floors were meant to test the Adventurer to see if they were strong enough to continue. This would allow those not ready to advance before they are ready.

Shezar suddenly stopped as a thought occurred to her.

“Unless that is the point. It is a trap for the arrogant.”

It suddenly made sense to her.

“Oh! That’s nasty. The arrogant and prideful will be quickly culled here.”

As a race, Dungeon Fairies had a nasty streak in their nature that enabled them to do the job they were created for. This revelation appealed to that part of her and she looked around approvingly.

“Yes, you are a nasty one.”

She was laughing as she reached the third floor. The stairs ended here and she felt the aura strengthen here. Looking around, she had no reason for that unless the Core was here. She flew down the corridor to the two doorways. One was blocked with a closed door the other was an open portal. The aura was weakening.

“Strange.”

Looking through, she took in a grass-covered room and a large black boar.

A black boar.

“That is not a shadow-infused minion. It’s a regular earth minion.”

Again, she was confused. The minion in the surface building was shadow magic-based. This boar was not infused but earth-based. She paused to assess. The aura weakened slightly, tipping her off to something she remembered from the prayer.

“The Core is hidden! That’s why she prayed to commune with the Dungeon fairy to gain access.”

Shezar returned to the stairwell and felt the aura strengthen again. Altering her sight, she looked at the essence floating through the Dungeon. Following the currents would tell her exactly where the Core was.

This was proven to be impossible, it seemed. She watched as the air currents in the Dungeon caused a small vortex that was centred around the stairwell. This would throw most off, but she knew the Core was nearby and focused on the vortex.

“There you are!”

It was not easy, but she saw a pattern near the base.

The room had the appearance of an ongoing construction area. Such themes were not uncommon in older Dungeons. Several slabs were stacked under the stairs at the bottom of the stairs as if they were to be added to the next floor. The Core was behind them.

She flew around to face them. She tried to communicate again.

“Core of this Dungeon, I mean no harm and only wish to talk to you.”

Silence.

Was the Core ignoring her?

No. This was different. At this range to the Core, she should be getting an impression of something of its emotional state at least. Yet it was like she was facing a stone wall. Was she wrong? Was the Core here?

“No. You're there. Why can’t I sense you?”

Her frustration was growing. Nothing here was as it should be! Time to get serious.

“Core of this Dungeon, I mean no harm and only wish to talk to you. As the representative, I invoke her name of Astraus, Goddess of Dungeons, to have you speak.”

She altered the way she spoke to invoke the Goddess's true name. There would be no possible way the Dungeon could refuse. She was ready for the connection to be made for communication. She would be able to complete her mission.

Silence.

Confusion and embarrassment warred within her. That was impossible! No Core could refuse invoking the divine name of the Goddess of Dungeons.

Yet this one had.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sharron from upstairs appearing on the stairs. It looked at her and barred its teeth.

She was in danger!

Taking to the air once more, she had to leave and report her findings. She flew as fast as she could back up the stairs into the tower and from the Dungeon.

She stopped a safe distance from the tower and turned back. She had made herself invisible as soon as she crossed the Dungeons aura.

“What are you?”

This question, when answered, was going to cause even more chaos, she felt.