Tiny Dungeon

Valterra gingerly reached out to dissolve the corpse half expecting to be stopped again. He was not. Instead, the corpse exploded into motes of light that seared their way through his dungeon. When they reached his core the system the High Council had put in place went nuts.

*Error* Core cannot acquire Schema “Human” due to Divine Edict.

*Error* Divine Energy Detected…Analyzing…Confirmed.

(And there we go. Try not to die now.) - Deleted

The Core, Valterra Unok’Davaas, will be granted Divine Potential equivalent to the Schema rank of the Corpse’s unique Spark Signature.

Checking Database…Loading…Loading…Found.

Calculating the Divine Potential of the Individual: Calamvor Talios, Archmage of the Third Authority

Schema Rank (Divine - Legendary)

Calculating… Divine Potential has been calculated.

The Core, Valterra Unok’Davaas, is granted 5,693 points of Divine Potential.

*Error* The Core is too small to hold the granted Divine Potential.

Destruction Imminent!

(Ah, what did you go and do this for, little one? Hold on, let me try something.) - Krat’Imos

*Error* Divine Energy Detected…Analyzing…Confirmed.

Formation of a Divine Spark Authorized. Ignition will require Divine Potential. Divine Potential Found.

Ignition will begin in 3…2…1…Igniting.

Valterra felt his world shake as his Core exploded with light. Transcendent beams lasered their way out of his crystalline depths, carving paths into the walls of his first floor. His pedestal lit up like a beacon as his entire being was set aflame. He tried staying conscious but it was a losing battle. Eventually, the dark closed in on him despite the light radiating from his depths.

Valterra drifted in a haze of half-formed thoughts and dreams. He saw great monoliths and chaotic battles, times of peaceful meditation, and stress-inducing tests. As more and more images flashed by he gradually understood what he was seeing. He was seeing a play-by-play of his creator’s life. Calamvor in all of his glory and disgrace flashed by in breathless moments. All of his potential wrapped up in a haze of recollection and Valterra viewed them as though he were nothing more than a spectator.

It was strange, seeing his creator’s life splayed out before him. It was even stranger witnessing his creation. He saw the room where he had first found his creator’s body. He saw the ritual conducted on the tiny gemstone that Calamvor had chosen. It was impossible to miss the greed on his creator’s face nor was it hard to see his despair the next day when he awoke to find it missing.

These last moments were the clearest of the images and Valterra suddenly felt victorious. He was alive and his creator was not. Not only was he not enslaved to Calamvors’ will, but he had also completely claimed his potential and had presumably grown stronger because of it. ‘Take that, you old relic.’ Valterra thought quietly as the replay came to an end. He sat, alone with his thoughts and the frozen rictus of his creator’s final moments with his chest clasped in one hand.

Gradually the whole thing grew hazy and Valterra’s vision wavered. As he recovered he realized that once again he was surrounded by the High Council, most of whom were staring down at him with something like sympathetic exasperation. Tal’Irieth didn’t even give him time to speak as he bellowed down at him. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done!?”

As Valterra shrunk back at the sudden noise, one of the other Spirits spoke up. “Now that is hardly fair Tal, the little one didn’t know what he was doing. How could he know that the system would malfunction as it did and allow him to partially absorb a Schema not meant for him?”

Tal’Irieth rounded on the speaker, “A system you built, Kratty! I thought you patched all the bugs centuries ago!”

The spirit who must’ve been Krat’Imos, shrugged his huge shoulders. “I don’t know Tal. He’s such a wee thing. Maybe some of it fell through the cracks. It doesn’t matter now though, does it? He’s got the Spark now and there ain’t no way he can give it back without us ending his life.” At this, his voice took on a dangerous hint to it. “And High Seat or no Tal, I won’t be going along with murder. Especially not now that he’s one of ours in the true sense.”

Tal’Irieth sighed and turned back to Valterra who was trembling mentally from all of the Divine Auras flaring around him. Gradually his Aura relaxed and Valterra felt like he could breathe again. “I’m sorry for yelling little one. It is not your fault that things happened the way they did.”

Valterra noticed Trik’Weri staring at him intently, a warning look in his eyes. Valterra got the message. What happened would remain a secret. That didn’t stop the boiling anger that built up within the core. Tirk’Weri had almost gotten him killed. He had known it would be dangerous when he offered his bargain. Valterra fumed but slowly grew more and more determined.

If Trik'Weri wanted to play that way then fine. Valterra would wait and bide his time. Eventually, he would be able to vent his anger on the Spirit. The Core grudgingly admitted to himself that whatever Trik'Weri had planned had worked out but he hated feeling like he was something disposable.

“Now though,” Valterra looked back to Tal’Irieth as the tall Spirit once more began speaking. “We need to explain just what has happened to you. The short answer is that you have achieved something that takes most Divine Dungeons decades to do. You have ignited a Divine Spark.” Seeing Valterra’s blank stare, Tal’Irieth sighed and continued.

“When a dungeon evolves it gains access to more and more of the system which in turn gives it new avenues through which it can achieve growth. One such path is the slow accumulation of Divine Potential. Much of the reason why the mortal races attribute divinity to Divine Dungeons is because of this.”

“Every creature of a certain evolutionary threshold produces Divine Potential but oftentimes it is miniscule and barely noticeable. For most creatures, it pools within their Spark Matrix until there’s a catalyst whereupon it manifests as special abilities, magical powers, or domains. Whole dynasties have been developed around particular paths of evolution with cultivated catalysts designed to produce similar abilities generation after generation.

Divine Dungeons on the other hand, when they have reached their fifth evolution, produce small amounts of Divine Potential along with vast amounts of Aether which acts as its own catalyst for growth. This is why the mortal races try their hand at Dungeon Delving. Many do it simply for the Aether because it enhances their bodies and minds and makes it possible to achieve their next evolutions quicker."

"But some mortals know that the deeper they can delve the better chance they have at obtaining more Potential and adding it to their own pool. This Potential allows them to alter their evolutions to a certain degree and it is that slim grasp of divinity which can transform them from simple mortals to a god amongst men. The deeper they go and the more Divine Potential they can steal from a Dungeon the higher they can climb up the ladder of power.”

“The other reason the mortals attribute divinity to the Dungeons is because of what the Dungeons can do with all of that potential. They don’t just give it away to Dungeon Delvers. They use it to create wonders, creatures that defy explanation, and artifacts that countries go to war for.”

At Valterra’s stunned silence, Tal’Irieth began to chuckle. Exasperation filled his voice again as he spoke. “And you, my dear boy, have skipped hundreds of steps. The final culminating desire of every Divine Dungeon is to survive enough raids and accumulate enough Divine Potential that they can eventually Ignite a Divine Spark and you have done it within a couple of weeks of existing!”

“What he is trying to say dear is, well, good job.”

Valterra turned towards the voice to see Maph’Ira give him a half-hearted thumbs up. He figured that was a good thing.

“Part of the reason it worked at all is because you’re so small,” Krat’Imos interjected. “Normally by the time Divine Dungeons have access to Divine Potential, they are huge crystalline structures a couple of feet long. To Ignite a Spark Matrix that big they would need hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of units of Divine Potential which would take a century or more to collect if they don’t get claimed by some mortal monarch first.”

‘So… I’m lucky?’ Valterra asked tentatively. At his mental question, the tension broke and the whole Council began to roar with laughter.

“Lucky, he says!” Qual’Dorn chortled. “My dear little core, you have no idea.”

Tal’Irieth wiped a tear from his eye before sobering a little. “Qual’Dorn is right I’m afraid. You truly have no idea how close you were to death. Trying to claim that much potential without being ready for it should have shattered your core into tiny pieces. The fact that you did not is indeed lucky.” Looking at Valterra and seemingly knowing that his words had gotten through, Tal’Irieth smiled down at him.

“You truly are a remarkable little core and Trik’Weri was right when he said that you have provided more entertaining moments than much of the mortal world in the last century or so. There is so much to tell you about your new divinity but we have run out of time. We cannot afford to draw attention to you now more than we already have. Do your best to grow and figure things out as best you can. Keep in mind that being Divine is just as much responsibility as it is wielding power.”

With those final words, the Council began to fade away into hazy indistinct shapes as Valterra’s consciousness faded to black.