Valterra was thinking deeply, with his presence situated above his pedestal. It had been a couple of hours since he had released the rats from their cages so that they could begin roaming. For once, he found himself without any ideas about where to go next. He had four floors now spread out around him. His fourth floor was massive in comparison to his other three but that didn’t surprise him much.
The first three were created when he was all instinct and had no forethought. His instincts didn’t know what planning was as was evident by the fact that those floors had little in the way of an ecosystem or various interacting parts. They were just a singular room with a guardian-type monster. His monsters didn’t even stay in their rooms most of the time, content to test their might against the creatures attempting to claim territory in the turf war.
He knew he was 45% of the way to his next Ascension. He wondered what it would bring and what new Frameworks he would have to choose from. But those thoughts could wait. What he wanted to do right now was explore. He had claimed a lot of territory under and outside the structure he was in but hadn’t explored the structure itself.
He had taken over the basement sure, but he hadn’t spent time exploring the world above. It was time to do so. Bringing his associated Frameworks to the forefront of his mind, he summoned three Hunting Pack-Mantises just outside his first floor. Each one stood roughly 7 to 8 inches tall with wickedly barbed forelimbs flexing and antennae twitching.
Satisfied, he tied their Aether Cores to himself via a line of Aether which his instincts told him was necessary if they were to remain under his control once they left his territory. Unlike his Mouse Scouts, who were still slumbering, the Mantises stage of Ascension didn’t offer an enlarged Aether Core perfect for venturing beyond his boundaries.
The link of Aether would also allow him to hijack their vision so that he could explore in real time rather than just feel their emotions. With a mental command, one flew out of the Dungeons entrance while the other two flew within the walls of the structure, one following the inside wall South and the other flying West.
Valterra waited for a moment for them to leave the dungeon territory that made up his body and then began to peer through their vision. It was difficult at first, like trying to read three different system notifications at the same time but gradually he got the hang of it.
The first thing he learned, as his bug outside flew out from under the wooden structure above and then higher into the sky, was that this shelter or building was in the middle of a forest. Tall trees stretched their canopies out over a large clearing in which the building sat and the bug could sense danger emanating from the shadows of the trees.
Turning the bug back toward the building, Valterra finally got a good look at where he had been created. Rather than being tall and imposing like he thought it would be, the building was quite squat and spread out, sprawling all over the clearing. His memories gave him a hazy word, ‘A cabin?’ he thought. The structure seemed too big for the word but he shook off those thoughts and began to examine the “cabin” with interest.
The main building was rectangular with a wing jutting off to the left that connected to another rectangular section. The roofs of each building were conical shaped, overlapping where the wing met the main building. Another structure of flat wooden planks ran the length of the building, elevated above the ground forming what he knew to be the shadowed under-place that made up the turf war.
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This structure ran around the length of the buildings and looking at it from above, it seemed as though the owner had never wanted to touch the ground after leaving the house proper. Again his creator’s hazy memories provided a word for the structure.
A deck huh? What weird names for things. Tall folk are weird.
Lost in his ruminations the Core failed to see the shadow that fell over the bug until his connection to it ceased utterly. His final view was of a sharp beak and a piercing cry. This wasn’t the first time he had lost a creature to an outsider but he still found the sensation unpleasant in the extreme. He shook it off after a moment of mourning lost potential and turned to his remaining two bugs.
Focusing on what they were seeing he saw that one had found a way to get into the building proper through a hole in the wall. It had to widen the hole significantly first but its powerful limbs seemed capable of the task. Once it was through it took to the air, flying straight up towards the ceiling to get a good view of the inside.
Valterra was thrilled at the thought of exploring this immense place but its size also filled him with a cautious terror. Something that needed space this big to live in would be huge in comparison to his tiny Core or even his new hunting bugs. He had brushed up against this realization when he claimed the basement and his forcefully imparted hazy memories had given him further perspective. However, it was one thing to see a space in memory and another to see it in person with his own perspective.
This world above was cluttered with things, huge monstrous things. Some were carved from wood and some had huge stone slabs laid atop them. As he directed his insect closer he found that all manner of large implements were clustered on top from huge fangs of metal to wooden bowls and tools. He didn’t even know what half of them were for! He made his insect move on and then mentally sat back to process the alien sights he had seen.
He had known of course that he had been created by whoever lived here, a mage by the name of Calamvor. Even now vocabulary drifted through his mind for all of the things he had seen, hazy constructs that flitted around his Core but the memories made them seem small. To Valterra though, these things were huge! What kind of creature was his creator that he could use and manipulate such things?
How could such a creature be killed? Even all of his current creatures wouldn’t be able to do such a thing, even if they combined their strength. Even his Great Tidal Whale, the highest-ranked creature he possessed, would perhaps only injure it before being slain. For the first time in his short existence, Valterra doubted if he was capable of protecting his territory if such creatures would eventually become invaders. The High Spirits had said that the Divine Dungeons were lauded as important and divine instruments by the tall folk.
But he was tiny. He had thought that the ants had been decent opponents after all! What would he be but an interesting diversion, especially if he could be taken so easily? I have to hide. He thought. I need to claim more territory, so much territory that finding me would be impossible. I’m so tiny, surely they would miss me if they had to search the entire forest. Yes, that is what I need to do, I…
The declaration died unthought as his instincts screamed at him. Keeping his links with his remaining bugs open so they could keep exploring he let his awareness spread out to the entirety of his Dungeon, feeling for where the danger was coming from. He found it in a wave of ants encroaching upon his territory, making a beeline for his Dungeon entrance. With a mental grimace, he gave up on his plans of exploration for the moment. He had a war to finish.