Chapter Thirteen: Starter Race

Musings over, he turned to the panels floating in front of him.

You do not have a dungeon pixie!

Would you like to summon or create one?

Note that answering yes will replace the guide you currently have with a dungeon pixie.

It contrasted greatly with another panel.

You have bound a sprite as you dungeon guide!

Would you like to maintain this choice?

With his new [Greater World Link] skill, Brandr inquired as to what this meant. This caused a new panel to open up.

Pixies:

Pixies are a species of lesser fae that live all over Tignar and possess an astonishingly diverse array of personalities and physiologies. All fae are extremely mutable and pixies are prime examples of this. They are magical creatures that live off mana and have adapted to it in strange ways. Not only do they fare better in mana-rich environments, their mana and bodies reflect the mana of their homes. Pixies have the additional ability to be able to order the mana around them, becoming the mana regulators of their biomes.

Several subspecies exist including; fire pixies who live where there is fiery mana and snow pixies who live off icy mana. There are even dungeon pixies who live in symbiosis with dungeons and live of the mana given off by their cores. It has been observed that should a pixie move from one environment to another, they would slowly but surely change to match the ambient mana there.

Having a dungeon pixie bound as your guide/assistant provides a small boost to mana control.

Brandr read this with great interest. He checked and apparently, he could set up a beacon that would have any dungeon pixie that caught the signal know there was an unbound dungeon in the area. He could also have the world create one for him immediately in exchange for some of his mana. The benefits of doing so were clearly illustrated. The boost to mana control seemed useful but Brandr had yet to have problems controlling this world's essence despite its difference to what he was used to. However, he stood the chance of summoning a pixie that possessed useful knowledge. Knowledge that would guide him with regards to the building and running of his dungeon.

'Ah…that's what a guide means', he realised, his mind immediately going to the tag Thorn had.

Quickly, he looked up sprites.

Sprites:

Sprites are a species of lesser fae that live all over Tignar and possess an astonishingly diverse array of forms. They are magical creatures that bond with their environment and live off its mana. This has caused a number of interesting adaptations in their species. All fae are extremely mutable and sprites are an excellent example of this. While not as reliant as other lesser fae on ambient mana they do require it to breed and use their abilities. Thus, they are often found nestled in mana-rich biomes.

Being bound to the land and not its mana has made sprites strange even among the myriad fae. Their bodies reflect the changes in their land and not the mana they ingest leading to the creation of fae that not only change according to their home; field, forest, cavern or desert, but also reflect its seasonal state.

Sprites busy themselves with the affairs of their home. Spending their time planting seeds, colouring flowers, hanging dew on plants, seeing to animal births, curing disease and fighting rot and blights. They maintain forest paths, teach spiders to weave, help bees brew honey and all kinds of tiny actions that accumulate and result in some of the most blessed places on Tignar provided they are undisturbed.

Having a sprite as your guide/assistant provides a small boost to terrain management.

Brandr looked up from his reading, staring at Thorn so intensely the sprite lord grew uncomfortable. It was as if he was seeing the creature for the first time and in a way, he was. The description said sprites were caretakers and for Brandr that translated to field hands. They tended to fields, crops and beasts. What else could they be?

Scanning his abode, Brandr felt a surge of happiness for the first time since he landed in this world. Excluding Thorn, he, a mystic realm, a being that was essentially a world of caverns, monsters and plants, had no less than forty-seven field hands!

If that wasn't good fortune, what was? Without hesitation, he chose to maintain his guide and then went back to his reading. He'd field test his caretakers after he finished reading his new manual. Right now, the blue panels demanded all his attention.

Please choose a starting race and begin populating your dungeon.

Note: Dungeon creatures protect your core from attacks and invaders. They also foster your growth by contributing to your ambient mana and lifeforce as well as by hunting down invaders and providing you with theirs.

Available Races:

Beasts Slimes Goblins Skeletons Plants Fungi Kobolds Imps

The information provided by his [Greater World Link] informed him that whichever he chose would become the primary inhabitants of his dungeon. They would grow and develop depending on how he ordered and provided for them and in so doing, fulfil the fundamental tasks of defending his core and hunting for him. The individual descriptions of his options were informative.

Beasts:

Does it have fur, scales, feathers or chitin or skin? If so, it is probably a beast of some kind. This choice covers everything from urban pests to wildland predators. Choosing this will lure creatures from your surroundings to come live in your dungeon as well as help them adapt better to its conditions. (Sapient creatures are exempt from this effect) All beast patterns available through your [Greater World Link] become cheaper as well.

Plants:

From the massive trees to the lowly weeds and the tiny moss, plants cover and live in nearly every inch of Tignar. Choosing this will turn your dungeon into fertile land allowing all sorts of plants to grow within it. You will be primed for cultivation and turn into a paradise for all plant life. All patterns relating to plant life available through your [Greater World Link] will also become cheaper.

Slimes:

Referred to by some as Tignar's disposals, slimes are an uncommon option for dungeons. They are amorphous, gelatinous beings that can live in nearly any environment and are to fungi what beasts are to plants. Slimes eat anything they can get their hands on and have growth based on their diet. Choosing this will turn your dungeon into a place were slimes spawn as well as reduce the cost of all purchases of ooze and gelatin patterns available through your [Greater World Link].

Fungi:

Molds, mushrooms, lichen and truffles; all are examples of one thing: Fungi. While a rare choice, fungi offer an incredibly diverse catalogue which is just as useful and expansive as the beast and plant options as well as guaranteed to confound and stun any would-be invader. Choosing this option will fill your dungeon with transformative spores and turn you into fertile ground for fungi. It will also reduce the cost of all patterns of fungi available through your [Greater World Link].

Goblins:

This diminutive race of simple-minded brutes is an invasive breeder. Unless stopped, they multiply and occupy land voraciously. Distantly related to fae, goblins also happen to be extremely adaptive learners and evolvers and thus, make a popular choice for beginning dungeons. Choosing this will grant you a small number of goblins at no cost. You can then breed, train and develop them as needed. Additionally, all goblinoid patterns available through your [Greater World Link] will be discounted.

Kobolds:

Search deeply through any family tree and you will find; a midget, a retard, a sickler, a loser with few redeeming qualities, a braggart and someone who is a combination of all of these. For dragons, that last relative will be the Kobold. A rare option, Kobolds possess none of the features that make their kin so fearsome, besides their heritage. However, they are stronger and smarter than goblins though they do not breed or adapt as quickly. When they do evolve though they have a higher chance of awakening their draconic heritage. Selecting this will grant you a small number of kobolds at no cost that you can subsequently breed, train and develop into a private force.

Skeletons:

Weak and fragile, skeletons are, nonetheless, the initiates to the world of the undead. Unable to return to life and cut off from the great beyond, skeletons and other undead prey on those still living. Choosing this option will grant you the ability to resurrect any creature that dies in your dungeon as a skeletal undead. Additionally, your resurrective options will grow as you and your minions grow.

Imps:

As denizens, imps are pitiful and weak but on the prime plane, they can be a scourge. Naturally inclined to evil, these diminutive, demonic creatures come in an impressive variety to choose from. A rare option, selecting this choice declares your dungeon to be on the side of the infernal realm but also provides you with a spawning pit of imps which will obey your every whim. You may then breed, train and develop them as you will. To add to this, you will be able to purchase demonic patterns through your [Greater World Link].

Brandr stared at the various screens for a few several seconds before making his decision.

"Thorn, I need some help!"