A dimly lit room, decorated with ornate furniture. Three chairs sat, two were side-by-side, facing the other. Between them stood an ornately crafted hardwood table, upon which sat three glasses, of which two were untouched. In each seat sat what would appear at first glance as a human, or perhaps an elf. This image wouldn’t last long, however; the pastel dragonfly wings sprouting from their shoulders, the brightly colored hair and irises, and the fact that none of them exceeded ninety centimeters in height would clue observers into the fact that these were no humans, nor elves; they were the Pixies.

An obsidian black pillar sprouted from the center of the room, upon which floated a ball nearly three meters in diameter, composed entirely of scarlet-beryl. Upon its smooth surface were six images, each of a different creature each brightly glowing gold, silver, or crimson. The sphere thrummed with power, so much that the air around it crackled and glowed in its domain, its iron grip on the reality of the floors around it was indisputable.

The three Fae appeared diminutive in such close quarters to the Dungeon core, yet talked amongst one another as though the gem of awe-inspiring power was not even there.

“Then you both say you have not yet managed to succeed in accomplishing anything in that ‘Reef Dungeon’,” spoke the apparent oldest, a male Pixie with colors to match his core.

“No, Sire,” spoke the two opposite him, a young man and woman. Both were some shade of blue in color, and neither were taller than fifty centimeters.

“And yet you still dally? Did you not assure me that you had hired ‘the right people’, that you would manage map until the core, or at least ‘weaken’ it?” His tone was even, his expression placid.

In contrast, the two opposite him were practically shivering. The woman opened her mouth to speak.

“Sire, we did. Those six are-were-likely some of the best we know of in their ability to infiltrate and cripple untamed dungeons. How were we to know that this was an aberrant?” She desperately hoped her statement would quell the displeasure of the pixie before her. A hope gone unfulfilled.

“Allow me to ask you, would a normal dungeon be capable of half of what we know this one is? Or is it perhaps common for dungeons to be found underwater, in areas We are unable to reach? Surely you can’t reasonably think this to be anything but an aberrant, and yet how invaluable an asset it will prove to be when we acquire it.”

“Yes, Sire,” They spoke in disharmony, both too busy fearing for what they knew to be next.

“Then why must I prompt you? Leave, and on your way to the Room, send in your replacements, would you?” At that, he turned his attention away from the two, as though they no longer existed. It was an opinion that wasn’t entirely untrue, and as a new pair of matte blue pixies entered and sat before the man, the former two turned a corner, disappearing into the darkness.

The massive sphere pulsed a gleeful scarlet as they did.

~~~~~

In another place, a similar pillar burst forth from the floor, a glittering silver. It too housed a sphere of incredible dimensions, pure sky-emerald of a width two and a half meters, six indistinct images decorated its surface as it created a vortex of energy by its mere existence.

“What were you thinking?!” An irate scream echoed through the large and gaudy room. Brilliant golds and vibrant greens colored everything within, barring the violet hair and wings of the Faerie yelling.

“You sent two clowns to die, wasted a ‘slaying’ relic, which it can no doubt recreate; and if the core is smart enough, alerted it to Us; all because you were too impatient to get it done right!”

The sky blue Faerie before her also appeared livid, though it was due to being so severely scolded by the woman before him; his own mother. Half her size, and born with a strong affinity to water, and refused to go out and find a lesser dungeon to claim. As such, when he’d heard the stories of the Reef Dungeon, he already knew it to be his future core, and he was eager to reach it and cement that status. As more time passed, and more rumors reached him, he only grew more excited for the day he arrived in person, to teach the unruly core manners.

A predatory grin crept up his face as he looked toward his mother, letting her know “I underestimated it, it won’t happen again. As for alerting it to Us, does that really matter? Won’t we just need to teach it its place before I arrive?”

The eighty five centimeter Faerie before him took a deep breath, before shaking her head. “Just go, I will take care of this, as I always do.” She growled. The boy was furious at her dismissal, but there was little he could do in her dungeon. He would prove her wrong one day, he reaffirmed.

~~~~~

Another place, in a dull grey hallways sat a Sprite, roughly sixty centimeters tall, and colored a seafoam-green. She sat on the floor, back facing away from the entrance as she toiled away on something. A dim yellow light wafted in from the core room beyond them, though as she worked a figure moved in front of this light, casting a shadow onto her. The meter tall Sprite, colored a blinding gold, beckoned the girl into his room.

She complied, leaving her project behind and entering the rather sparse area. The core’s pillar loomed above them, a ball of heliodor three and a half meters around taking the forefront of the room. The six images of the ball were muddled, hard to recognize, a fact not helped by the thin silk cloth draped over the core, dimming it. The sprite sat on his throne, a flashy thing, made entirely of mithril, studded with elemental crystals and shards of gemstones, each competing to outshine one another, and overwhelming the little light of the core in front of it. He spoke first. “You are the one selected to vie for the ‘Reef Dungeon’, then?” he said, to which she nodded.

“You are aware the others have already begun moving?” He asked with a cocked eyebrow, being met with another nod.

“And you are planning on letting them continue their farce, hopefully to commandeer their progress for yourself?” He asked with a playful smile.

“Yes sir. They can cripple it all they like, we’ll still get there first,” She spoke simply.

The seated sprite nodded in approval, then waved her away. She did as asked of her, entering the hall and leaning over to grab what she was working on. A brilliant crysal, incased in a water soluble layer of sap.