As his creatures prepared to head out Valterra decided to explore one of the rooms he had so far left alone. Moving quickly his awareness flowed into the boiler room where a roaring flame could still be seen burning calmly. Now that he was here, Valterra could see the plumes of heat rippling from the furnace before him.
He began by scanning the whole room for any anomalies but found none. This was all to the good as far as he was concerned. The fact that the heat was still working was interesting and he moved in on the furnace as it took up the vast majority of the space. On closer inspection, the furnace bore several runes that Valterra had never noticed before with many of them being so carefully wrought that he confused it as just another part of his Dungeon body.
More and more Valterra was impressed by the Archmagus Calamvor. The man had known his rune craft and his memories often confused the Core. The man did not come off as power hungry or ruthless, quite to the contrary Valterra’s borrowed memories more often than not painted the man as a kind and generous individual.
Laying aside his speculations on the character of his creator, Valterra dived into his Dungeon sense to figure out what the runes on the Furnace did. There were Runes of Holding that seemed to contain Aether for the Furnace to use. Other runes seemed to accumulate Fire-Attuned Aether which made up the actual flames. Still others went…other places.
His Dungeon sense expanded, following the connection between runes and found many of them scattered around the home. As he zoomed in he realized that each one was giving out the same amount of heat, causing each of the rooms to maintain a stable temperature. Valterra felt the air outside and confirmed that the inside was warmer than the outside by a few degrees. He wondered why that was.
His creator’s memories were quick to supply an answer. Calamvor had come from the south and the weather was much warmer down there than in the north country. The Core quickly realized that he was in the warmest time of the year for his current location and that colder weather would soon be coming. Perhaps even snow which his borrowed memories described as a thick carpet of white crystals formed from water vapor.
Now that was interesting. Perhaps that was why everything he had seen recently was conditioned for the cold in some ways. Many of his options for new Schemas when having finished evolving seemed based on this reality as well. Well, if Valterra had hands he would rub them. There was a decent theme here that he could expound upon and make into something great.
The first thing he did was scour his whole territory for anything he had missed. He was looking for a specific something and he managed to find it at the very edge of his territory right where the trees met the magical barrier his creator had established. A single fallen seed.
New Schema Acquired!
Northern Pinewillow (Common)
A resident of the great northern expanse, Northern Pinewillows are an evergreen coniferous resinous tree that can survive even in harsh cold environments. With growth measuring between 10 and 260 feet long depending on age, these giants are well known for their drooping branches. Sturdier than expected, these trees use a minor Nature Attunement to keep themselves alive during the cold season.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Title “Transcendent Tiny Dungeon” has gone into effect. When summoned by Valterra Unok’Davaas, the Schema “Northern Pinewillow” will be affected in the following ways.
Effect: Each Northern Pinewillow costs 90% less Aether to summon but is reduced in maximum size by a factor of 1/24th. The maximum size therefore is now reduced to 10 feet 10 inches from 260 feet.
Perfect. He took the Schema straight to the Helpdesk to modify it. He had no idea how long it would take a tree to evolve but just looking at the inner workings of the Schema made him believe it would take a long, long, time. That was something he would have to change. The first thing he did was isolate the seed of the tree and was astounded by the amount of detail it contained. It was here that he began his work.
Normally, the tree would be made as is and it would be a normal Common Schema for him to use as he saw fit. Valterra had other plans though. He had seen how the environment could change things and his Title, Transcendent Tiny Dungeon, allowed him to speed up the growth of plants with Aether as long as they started as seeds. Well, what if he made the growth aspect of the seed synonymous with evolution?
In theory, it would mean that he could speed through evolutions by funneling Aether to make them grow. He didn’t know if it would work, of course, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. He took the seed and withdrew all of the potential of the plant down to just the seed. He severed the Northern Pinewillow Schema from its Common evolutionary path and made the seed the totality of the Schema itself.
Then, deep within the potential of the seed he placed two runes. The first was the Rune of Holding which he hoped would allow it to absorb Aether more readily and the second was the new Rune of Fire Generation. He watched as the potential meshed with the two runes before flashing. When the flash ended, the two runes were gone, and yet the seed felt different so he figured he had succeeded in some way. The notification that followed confirmed it.
Evolutionary Variant of the Schema “Northern Pinewillow” Created! You have created a never-before-seen plant using your ingenuity. In acknowledgement of your imagination the High Council has paid the potential costs for this Schema.
New Schema Acquired!
Pinewillow Emberseed (Unique - Uncommon)
A Pinewillow seed that has undergone tremendous changes to shift its natural Aether Attunement from Nature to Fire. Transformed by the changes this seed requires an immense amount of time and Aether to reach its potential and sprout. Created by the Dungeon Core Valterra Unok’Davaas, this form of plant life exists nowhere else.
“Your ingenuity never ceases to amaze me, nephew. Continue the good work! I can’t wait to see what this seed will turn into.” - Qual’Dorn, High Spirit of Nature
Valterra let out a happy sigh. It had worked. Now came the hard part. He formed one seed in the center of the Furnace room after creating a bed of rock and dirt for it to sit in. Then, he breathed deeply before funneling Aether to help the seed grow. He felt his Title flex as he used it to speed up the seed’s gestation period. He was certain he wasn’t using it in the way the god’s intended but he figured it would be fine.
It wasn’t long before he felt his Title strain at the improper use but the Divine aspect of his Title kept it going. It took a ton of Aether, however, and more time than Valterra would have liked. It took a full day with regular intervals of rest before the seed began to shine with the light of evolution. Releasing his hold on his Aether, Valterra let out a sigh of relief. His Core felt strained and somehow his Title did too. He was most likely not going to do that again.
Even as he released his hold on the seed and received the notification that he could choose/create its next evolution he felt his rats clamoring for attention. They were ready for their expedition and seemed to need help leaving his Dungeon. Valterra gave the Core impression of a nod. He should have anticipated them needing assistance. It seemed the Risen had left already which was all to the good. Feeling his excitement rising, Valterra hurried to answer their calls. He could practically taste the new Schemas.