No Need for a Core?

Moriko felt nervous as she stood next to her husband and wife outside, well off to the side of the trading post area and near one of the pillars of the Earth Zone. She could feel that their domain had fully encompassed the dungeon's territory and that meant it was time to step on through to the Other Side to deal with everything that came with it. The reason Mordecai could cross was the same reason Moriko could feel their domain so clearly: He and Kazue had been working to intermingle the two aspects and weaken the barrier between the realms. So now their faerie domain leaked into the mortal realm just as the dungeon's territory leaked into the other side.

Behind them stood their two princesses, Fuyuko and Carmilla, and their knight, Bellona. All six of them were dressed up, with Kazue and Moriko wearing the battle-ready dresses that had been gifted to them and Mordecai in a fancier version of the militaresque uniform Kazue had designed for him in the spring.

Carmilla's normal attire only needed a little sprucing up, but Fuyuko had a dress fancier than she was used to wearing over her armor. It was a slightly simplified version of the dress the princesses had first gifted Moriko but in shades of dark blue. It was also crafted of dungeon mana and could only exist inside of their territory, so it was effectively disposable and there was no need to worry about damage.

In contrast, Bellona's armor was far from hidden, it had instead been polished until it gleamed and she wore a tabard over it that displayed the Azeria Dungeon crest.

Accenting their striking appearances were the three dragon familiars; Carnelian Flame, Thunder and Lightning, and Udup. All told, their party looked rather dramatic despite being limited to those with direct connections to the cores.

Xarlug was not yet bound by any titles so he was staying behind with Kansif to help keep things in order on this side.

Speaking of those not crossing with them, "Galan!" Moriko shouted at the boy trying to skulk nearby, "You are not coming with us, I told you that already." He'd come in a few days after Kazue's parents, on the last expected caravan from Riverbridge. The shorter days and the extra time dealing with the effects of cold weather had already increased travel time to three days for most.

"It's not fair," he replied with a pout, "I'm the same age as her and she gets to go." He didn't even have to gesture for Moriko to know he meant Fuyuko.

Moriko scowled at her little brother "She has an obligation because she has a title. If we had a real choice, she'd be staying behind too. You are not duty-bound, so you are not going."

Galan glared at her, but there was little he could do except watch as a rabkin and buzzkin rushed toward him and were both now hovering in front of him to keep him from trying to dash across. Reality rippled the group and they all faded from view.

On the Other Side of reality, Moriko stared up at an awe-inspiring sight. Where solid pillars of earth stood in the mortal realm was now an entwined lattice of hard crystal and soft white mycelium. The lattice work covered the area that would be the Earth Zone, including the crystal tree that now looked precariously supported.

As Moriko stared, her awareness was drawn to that sparkling, gleaming network and she felt knowledge bloom in her mind, telling her how the living crystal and this mycelium extension of Sarcomaag interacted and supported each other. It held her for only a moment before she was able to refocus on her body.

"That is so inconvenient," she muttered as she felt her attention being tugged by everything she noticed around them. This was her domain; the living pulse of it was stronger than ever, and with that connection came a constant flow of information. "Is this really what you guys deal with all the time?"

Kazue shook her head, "No, not exactly. It's distracting for me too, just not as bad because I'm used to something similar. But our cores are made for it. Having it happen directly through my avatar is different, and kinda... strange."

"Fortunately, we have to choose to focus on such things, and never get as much information as a King or Queen might get at a glance," Carmilla said. "Fuyuko, if you like, I can train you how when we have more time."

"Um, yes, that would be nice," Fuyuko replied, though she looked a little uncertain. As only a knight, Bellona was not granted such insights, but she did not seem bothered by this lack.

Moriko leaned upon her training to force discipline upon her mind so that she could ignore all the distractions pulling at her focus. Once she was able to, she scraped together enough attention to observe and become drawn into the strangeness of the world around her. The snow had that perfect texture that sparkled in a way snow rarely did in the mortal world; the cold, crisp air was just chill enough to invigorate without threatening to drain too much heat away; and every color was vibrant. Even the pine needles were all the same perfect shade of green, with no hint of other shades.

Everything was so perfect that they were clearly not quite real. Yet they were not illusions either. In this place, this was reality, and it was shaped in part by who its rulers were and how they lived. Kazue's love of life thrummed throughout the domain and as Moriko focused her new ability to gather information, she could feel how this would affect decay.

Leaves would only turn color and fall when it was the perfect season for it, and they would be beautiful colors that carpeted the ground, and only fade when the snows came to cover them. There would be no mat of gray and brown under the snow come spring, only fresh green grass, just as no one would find dead insect bodies that had been ejected from nests littered about.

It was beautiful and harmonious in a way that made it all deeply disturbing. This wasn't the way the world was supposed to work. Snow naturally melted into mush before turning into water and leaving mud behind. Here, it would simply fade as spring came around to reveal the fresh grass sprouting beneath, and with that spring... Moriko blushed when she realized where her influence would show the most.

In all realms, spring brought about mating seasons, which in turn prompted mating rituals and displays. In this realm, the mating drive would be amplified and the fighting displays of some species were going to be spectacular and energetic. One could expect spring to be a very noisy time in the Azeria Court.

Which brought her attention to Mordecai's influence. Their domain was sparsely populated right now, it was mostly the lesser fairies that were already their inhabitants, but the fey creatures here were going to tend to be either draconic creatures to begin with or bear signs of draconic influence, especially those who would be born after the next mating season.

But there was only so much time to spend on understanding their new domain. With their borders stabilized it would be hard to keep them closed. She could feel that too, the mixture of will and magic creating a barrier to tell others to keep out. It was fading now, and they needed to be ready to deal with that.

So the group made their way to where the normal entrance to the lower layers of the dungeon would be, while the three young dragons flitted off to explore this new playground. Udop was technically more of an adult, having been evolved from a mature lizard, but he was young and impressionable enough to be influenced by his younger 'siblings'. The entrance was still there, but instead of just doors, there was now what appeared to be the front of a castle carved into the hillside, replete with art in the same style Kazue had created on the doors. A brief focus of her attention that way told her that while all the layers still existed with roughly similar theming, the layout of each layer was different, sometimes radically so.

However, there was no sign of the trading post's buildings. They were not part of the dungeon's territory in the same way, they were ephemeral things of mortal make and were not reflected across to this side of reality.

"So," Mordecai asked, "do we want to work on a grand entrance hall inside, or set up an outdoor structure?"

Kazue replied, "Outdoors, I think. A magnificent pavilion where we can all be seen, close enough to the entrance to have a nice backdrop while being far enough away to not encourage people to seek invitations inside."

"I agree," Moriko said, "especially in case of a fight. I would prefer to have a more open space."

"Excellent," Kazue said with a smile, "then why don't we begin by having you create our floor?"

Moriko stared at her for a moment before asking, "What?"

"This is your domain, my Queen," Mordecai said, "You should be able to shape it. However, I would remind you that, unlike a dungeon, even Faerie Royalty can not directly create. They can call, shape, and change, but they can not create."

They were serious. Which meant that she should be able to do it, she just didn't know how. Yet. But Mordecai had given her a clue. Called felt right. Moriko had already learned how to simply know what she wanted to about their domain, so first she needed to find solid stone. There. Now she wanted to call a disk of it to the surface to act as their platform. That took a few tries, it didn't respond the way wind and lightning did and she had to be far more patient with it. But eventually, she managed it, even if the result left a mess of dirt around them.

"Well done love," Kazue said happily, "and I think you could do the rest, but we are running low on time. Allow us."

What followed was dungeon magic and while Moriko couldn't touch that mana she could feel it rippling through their domain as the loose earth was cleared away and the rest of the pavilion erected around the solid disk of stone that was sitting on top of the ground. In front of the disk were two pillars of spiraling, gold-lace white marble which acted as the anchor point of a long drape of shimmering silk woven into a complicated pattern of gold, purple, and red. The other end of the covering led up and back to the castle-like facade of the hill behind.

Two tiers were added to the disk as well, with the center tier holding three thrones. Kazue sat in the middle, with Mordecai and Moriko on either side. A pair of smaller chairs were provided for Fuyuko and Carmilla and were placed on either side of the thrones on the next tier down and slightly behind them. Fuyuko was to sit near Moriko and Carmilla would be on Mordecai's side, while the dragons were going to mostly drape themselves across the back of the thrones. Mostly; it would be impossible to keep them still for too long.

Bellona was not going to get a seat, her position as knight placed her standing in front of the pavilion as the person that others must approach before being allowed to approach royalty.

None of them wanted such formality, but it seemed wisest to start their first public appearance this way.

Once the dais and pavilion were ready, feasting tables were next. They were set in a series of small glades on either side of a wide path of solid white stone that glittered and sparkled with tiny gems. This end of the path was a straight line to the pavilion, but as it grew away from them it split into smaller paths that wound through the forest nearby, branching and curving in a fractal-like pattern until their entire border was connected to the paths. The message was clear, visitors were to follow the path.

With that done, they allowed their borders to open before the forbiddance collapsed on its own. That energy they diverted to creating a portal inside of the entrance behind them. It was attached to the entrance hall on the other side, and now their various rabbit folk chefs and staff could start bringing food through to place on the tables. Mortal food, especially dungeon-grown mortal food, would be far more of a novel treat for their visitors and guests than mana-created food.

It created an impressive procession of bunkin, rabkin, and buzzkin carrying trays and pushing carts to place on the tables, clearly visible behind the dais and traveling along a separate set of paths to take them to the 'back' of the glades.

Now they were ready to hold court. Fuyuko fidgeted in her seat near Moriko and cast hungry glances at the food being presented. Moriko stifled a grin at the sight; they had made sure to feed the ravenous teen before they left, but Fuyuko's appetite was rarely satiated for long. For now, she and the three young dragons would have to suffer with the rest of them. They needed to be focused on their visitors and guests.