—Corvus Corax—

The raven approached the worm, hopping cautiously towards it.

As it entered the barren circle of earth it flared its wings, preparing to flee. There had been a disturbing shift in the air, one that screamed danger to its primitive mind.

However, the sight of the mud covered worm emboldened it.

The raven glanced warily around itself. No predators were in sight, only a small heap of dead grass.

It stared at the pile, sensing something amiss in its unnatural stillness.

But it was hungry, despite the vast bounty of grass in the surrounding hills, the area was remarkably devoid of life. After all, ravens couldn’t eat grass.

So hungry…

It threw caution to the wind.

With a couple of rapid hops, the raven closed the distance, neck flexing downwards, pecking at the wriggling form to expose...

...grass?

—Luneil—

Kill!

The Harvester lunged, mandibles snapping shut around the raven's torso.

Luneil whooped at the success, practically salivating in anticipation of the upcoming glut of Lifeforce and mana. Not to mention that the raven's pattern would allow it to gather plants more easily and at a greater distance. No more disappearing Harvesters.

The raven labored into the air with strained wingbeats, despite its unwelcome payload.

Luneil watched as it reached the edges of his domain, the Harvester still latched onto the raven.

A worrying thought struck him.

Bring the bird back to me, alive if possible.

He sighed in relief, if the Harvester had left his influence without any commands, it might not have returned.

With a final frantic flap, the raven crossed the threshold of Luneil's domain out into the world beyond.

Then, slowly, Luneil watched it descend below the other side of the hill. Unable to sustain its flight for long due to the Harvester clinging to it.

Luneil was aware that once the raven finally landed, its exhaustion combined with the Harvester’s attacks would be a death sentence. He just hoped the death sentence would be executed in his territory. He needed all the power he could get, no matter how small or inconsequential.

While he fixated on the top of the hill, Luneil thought about Zeph. It had been necessary, but he still felt some pangs of guilt. He would reconstitute her as soon as possible. Some part of him knew that loneliness would kill him before hunger ever would.

He waited anxiously for the Harvester to bring the bird back to him. He cursed his crystalbound form for its immobility. If he had legs, like most other creatures, this would be far easier.

He couldn't even create a creature to help lift him, given the dire state of his Lifeforce reserves, he would be hard-pressed to create a living blade of grass.

Then again, he still had mana. Which meant he could create inanimate objects. And the fact that he was a perfect sphere gave him an advantage. He could roll.

The only issue, was that he wanted to go uphill.

Luneil thought he had a solution. It might be difficult, but he could probably manage it. After all, he was just wasting time waiting for the Harvester.

He filled in part of the moat-like crater around his raised pillar of earth.

Creating three small walls around him, leaving his path uphill open, he then created a wedge-like chunk of stone above and slightly behind him.

It fell, brushing against his edges and helping push him up the hill as he repeated the same construction around him. Inching his way up towards the top of the slope, he ignored the grass that had come within reach. He had other priorities, namely the dying raven waiting for him on the other side of the hill.

He rolled regretfully onwards, lamenting the loss of the Lifeforce beneath and all around him, feeling the thunk, thunk, clink of small wedges of rock ricocheting off his body as they pushed him forwards and upwards. He was no longer bothering to make walls around him to help push him in the right direction. He had gotten the hang of the method behind his movement and was making good headway towards the top of the hill, in spite of its imposing size.

Luneil crested the hill after several minutes and almost ran into his Harvester and the still struggling raven. He stopped his momentum by creating a small hole in front of him. Then, he took in the life and death battle taking place.

The Harvester was winning, sort of.

Its carapace was gouged and scored in numerous places by the raven's sharp beak, but the sturdy armor along its back had not been penetrated.

The grass behind it was flattened from where it had dragged the raven uphill.

However, it could go no further. Even though it held the bird in a death grip, the canny raven had managed to peck off two of the Harvester's legs on the same side of its body.

Unable to move much further with two legs missing, the Harvester had hunkered down, folding its remaining legs beneath its body as it clung to the raven and waited for the bird to die.

Both beetle and bird were locked in a desperate struggle, one to break free, the other to fulfill its creator's orders.

The beetle was a simple creature, unable to form conscious thought without the intervention of its master's commands. However, Luneil was here now and while the creature would have, no doubt, subdued the bird, the Dungeon Core's input would be invaluable in accelerating the process.

Bear down on the raven, force it to the ground.

The Harvester complied and the raven was shoved into the ground with a squawk of pain and indignation.

When I command you to do so, release the bird's body and crush its neck instead.

Slowly the Harvester's back legs unfolded, leveraging its abdomen upwards and forcing the bird in the mandibles' grip further into the ground. The raven squawked again.

Now!

The Harvester's jaws unlatched, leaving the raven stunned on the ground for a crucial second. Surprised by the sudden release, it made no attempt to escape.

That second was all it had. The raven twitched as the mandibles slammed shut around its neck, cutting off vital circulation and knocking it unconscious within seconds.

Luneil was stunned by the speed of the raven's incapacitation. When blood-flow to its brain was blocked, it had fallen unconscious extremely quickly.

By comparison, the Harvester had far more endurance and was able to survive oxygen starvation for longer periods of time.

The beetle's mandibles, however, were less than perfect. They were blunt tools, fit for the purpose of crushing and holding, however, unlike the raven's beak they could not stab or slash.

Also, the beetle had no wings, which was a disadvantage since Luneil's domain extended in all directions, including upwards. Just like him, his Harvesters were earthbound, unable to take to the air and move through the open sky.

The raven was almost dead, but Luneil wanted to examine it in order to see the damage his Harvester had done more closely. Soon, the raven breathed its last.

As the bird's Lifeforce and mana began to flow into him, Luneil exerted his will. Demanding that the once-living body within his influence not disintegrate into energy just yet.

The power he received was incredible. Not overwhelming, but certainly delectable in the extreme. Luneil couldn't wait to absorb its body and memorize the raven's pattern.

Luneil reassimilated the wounded Harvester, regaining a portion of the Lifeforce and mana he had used to create it.

Then, using the recovered power with a fragment of the raven's divested Lifeforce, Luneil recreated the Harvester in perfect condition.

Drag the raven closer.

Turn it left...

No. The other left.

The Dungeon Core carefully examined the raven's side, reconsidering his evaluation of the beetle's mandibles. The skin and feathers where the Harvester clamped down had been shorn away, leaving a patch of flesh that had been rubbed raw, oozing small drops of blood and a clear shiny liquid. Beneath the raven's fleshy covering, its ribcage was bent and splintered, unable to fully withstand the force of the Harvester's jaws.

Luneil glanced at the Harvester with renewed appreciation, pondering whether he should make it bigger. It was probably better to wait until he had the raven's pattern.

First, however, there was a debt he had to repay.

He brought up a familiar pattern, channeling Lifeforce and mana into it.

Her body formed, as if out of solid air, misting into being. Her figure shifted faster and faster until she blurred into being.

As Luneil added more Lifeforce to her than he had ever done before, Zeph's whirring form began to fluctuate even more rapidly, if such a thing were possible.

Intrigued at the result Luneil infused her with the remaining Lifeforce he had obtained from the raven's death. For a second, he considered converting the raven's corpse into energy in order to fuel further development, but he decided to wait.

He had filled her with more Lifeforce than he had ever done before, and now, interesting changes were occurring.

Zeph's continual metamorphoses were slowing down. Soon, she was only shifting once per second, each chosen form far more considered and refined than those of her previous incarnation.

"Hello, Luneil." Zeph's voice was neutral and measured. She sounded cautious; jaded, even. "I see you've gotten on well without me." He felt a pang of guilt. Zeph had grown up.

She moved around slowly, with the stately bearing of a breeze, testing her upgraded form.

Luneil simply watched her, a bittersweet feeling soothingly aching away at his center.

"This body is... suitable, I guess. However long it may last." Her words were half acknowledgement of her new form, half remonstration. "It's good to see you again," Zeph added, hesitant.

Zeph waited for a response. After a while it became clear that she wasn't going to take silence for an answer.

Do you forgive me?

"No," the Sylph stated, matter-of-factly, "I'm going to be holding what you did over your head for a long time."

Luneil was silent for a second.

I think I preferred you when you were stupid.

"Me too, Luneil. Me too. But life got in the way... death, I suppose." She shook her head, her shape-shifting approximating a feeling of wistful longing. "Do you plan on killing me again?"

Luneil almost answered immediately, intending to say that he would never repeat his actions, but he sensed the question was more important than it initially appeared. He opted for the truth.

I don't intend to, but I will if necessary.

Zeph gave him a long look, "I can live with that. But remember, Dungeons far more ancient than you have annihilated themselves out of loneliness. Don’t think you’re any different."

I can survive a little solitude.

"Is that what you think, Luneil? I’ve watched you, and people just like you, for centuries. My kind have long memories, even in this reduced state I still remember my creator. What do you remember Luneil?

"I know everything about you. I remember how you used to stare out of the window, wondering how long it would take you to hit the ground. Four seconds and a fourth.” She stated, “Then, once your bones had healed, you would do it again. But you don't even remember how loneliness can break a person, do you? All you know is that you are strong enough to kill a raven... badly." Zeph gave the cooling corpse a dismissive snort.

"If you want power, I can help you find it, that is my purpose. I can help you act like a proper Dungeon. And if you don't, there's always someone happy to take your power from you. There's nothing wrong with letting go of power, right?"

And if I don't want your help?

"Then, once again, you will die as you lived: hated and alone."

I definitely preferred you when you were dumb.

"Tough." Zeph said, "Now, do you plan on rejecting my help?"

Only if you lecture me again.

"Lovely. Now absorb the bird." She commanded.

Luneil did as ordered. The power rushed into him in an unending flood, submerging him in its energetic euphoria. He could feel the pattern of the raven as it entered his consciousness. And then, all too soon, the unending rush of energy... ended.

What now, O great and mighty Zeph?

"Now?" Zeph mulled over the question, "Now, you stop being a smartass. Then, once you've spent a few years meditating over your inadequacies, we can finally get to the part where you're a tolerable person to be around... Or, we can skip the meditation and you just do what I say."

Yes, ma'am.

Zeph eyed him carefully, trying to detect the sarcasm in Luneil's tone. Her form shifted into a shrug, "Recreate the raven." It wasn’t a request.

An avian body, covered in midnight-blue feathers, began to take shape as Luneil siphoned mana and Lifeforce into it. It’s aura began to surge into its full glory.

"Good, it should be able to sustain itself." Zeph paused, as if trying to bring a distant memory to the forefront of her consciousness, "I remember the Lifeforce arrangement for a Dire Raven. That is, if you want to create one?"

What's that?

Zeph spoke insultingly slowly, "A big raven."

Heh. Sure, sounds good. Luneil projected.

Zeph didn't answer, her body already starting to change into a new arrangement.

She began to resemble a raven, composed of wispy lines that seemed to dissipate and reform in the same fraction of a second. Each strand had a unique thickness and position. The wings, beak and talons seemed to be almost opaque blocks of smoke, while other parts such as the heart and bones had less defined, but still significant, patterns running through them.

A voice emanated from inside of the smoky replica of the raven. "Use Lifeforce to replicate this pattern inside of it."

Luneil gaped at the detail on Zeph's representation, hurriedly weaving veins of Lifeforce through the raven according to Zeph’s specified pattern.

The bird swelled, the edges of it's feathers became tinged with white and its claws extending into wicked points. Seeing the successful result, Zeph gave an airy sigh of relief as she returned to her usual fluctuating form.

After being quickly absorbed for its pattern, and subsequently recreated, the newly evolved Dire Raven flapped its reinforced wings experimentally, before launching into the air with a jubilant squawk, traversing the inside edge of his domain in lazy circles.

Noticing the Harvester still standing about, Luneil directed it to uproot the grass within his influence. Might as well try and eke out as much power as he could acquire. He never knew when he could make use of it.

Next, with his remaining Lifeforce, Luneil created three more Dire Ravens.

What was the plural noun for them, again? Multiple crows were a murder... and wasn’t a group of ravens an unkindness?

Which was unfortunate. Whereas a murder of crows sounded threatening and intimidating, an unkindness of ravens was just... pathetic. Somewhere on the same scale as being mauled by a butterfly.

He settled for calling them a flight, instead.

Luneil addressed his newly dubbed flight of Dire Ravens, giving them their orders and watching as they took to the sky.

Zeph piped up, "This is completely irregular. I wasn't going to say anything, but you keep on breaking with tradition. You should be creating a Dungeon complex, not sitting on the top of a hill, and you definitely should not be sending your protectors away from yourself. You're just begging to be..." Zeph broke off, eyeing the trail of flattened grass which showed Luneil's path. "How did you even get up here anyway?"

I rolled.

"Uphill?!"

What's so odd about that? Luneil couldn't resist goading her.

Zeph didn't answer, shaking her head as she examined the crushed and broken grass.

Would you like me to show you?

"There must be something wrong with you."

Now that was just rude... Luneil shrugged, ego definitely not bruised in the slightest. Ignoring the Sylph, he instead watching with anticipation as several black specks streaked towards him, moving at breakneck pace.

They hurtled closer, their indistinct shapes resolving into a furiously flapping flight of Dire Ravens, each carrying a struggling object in the talons. Each Dire Raven held a bleeding captive in their claws. The first had a large mouse trapped within a cage of long sharp nails, the remaining three had small songbirds.

"Oh, good. Your ravens are back. Wait... Why aren't they slowing down? What are you up to Luneil?" Zeph sounded on the verge of tears. Accustomed to the rigid and systematic traditions of countless of millenniums of Dungeons, the shock of the unfamiliar was unnerving to her. Especially when the first creature landed.

Thud.

The mouse impacted the ground at full speed. Thud, thud, thud. The remaining flight followed suite, dropping their songbird payloads within his territory. The stunned birds splattered against the ground in a spray of gore and bloodied feathers, before they could even spread their wings to halt their descent.

"Stop! Stop this right now! Why can't you just be normal for once." Zeph was hysterical. This was all too much for her.

All four creatures dissolved into energy and knowledge, immersing him in oceans of ecstasy and enlightenment. He was submerged under a tranquil swell of utmost bliss and—

"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Zeph shrieked, face pressed against his side.

What the... Can't you just let me enjoy the good feelings?

"Power junkie," Zeph muttered, under her breath.

I heard that.

"Good."

Luneil ignored the retort, he began creating a weave of grass below him.

"What are you doing?"

He continued to wordlessly create a small net of grass beneath him. He checked the Harvester, seeing that it had finished uprooting all the grass within his influence.

"What is that for?"

Luneil remained silent, this wouldn't take long and Zeph's surprise would be priceless.

The mana and Lifeforce from the grass flowed into him, but Luneil was so accustomed to the vast influxes from larger and more mobile creatures that he barely even noticed it, except in passing. Instead, he created three flights of four Dire Ravens.

He reabsorbed his Harvester and ordered one flight of Dire Ravens to arrange themselves evenly around him.

Zeph was glaring at him, annoyed by his secrecy.

Luneil gave another command and the birds hooked their talons around loops in the grass net.

Turn towards those mountains in the distance and fly together on my mark.

Luneil prepared himself to go where no Dungeon Core had ever gone before.

Now. The rest of you, follow.

Zeph's jaw dropped, literally dropped, fading into wisps of smoke that were assimilated back into her body. "No, no, no! You're meant to go underground, not over it. Come back right this instant! Don't make me chase you."

Luneil made her chase him. The Dire Raven's wingbeats were slightly unsyncronized, leading to a jolting and unpleasant flight. Surprisingly, however, that was rectified by a single command. Within only a short period of time, the Dire Ravens were flying in perfect unison, with only the occasional thermal or strong gust disrupting his smooth ride.

From time to time, a flight of Dire Ravens would swoop down to retrieve a struggling creature that would be torn apart mid air when they returned to his side.

The extra energy was good, but it was even better to be leaving this grass filled desert

Luneil had recognized that the grassy hills he resided on were devoid of most life, with the exception of the grass itself. There were few animals here, except for the occasional bird passing by.

It could have been a variety of things, he wasn't certain. From the way the grass seemed to leech toxins from the soil and incorporate it into its blades and roots. Or perhaps it had something to do with how the few animals living there were extremely sensitive to changes in mana, as his first raven had been when it entered his domain.

The poisoned grass would limit his growth by killing off any large animals in the area, and most small ones as well. The raven’s sensitivity to mana hinted at some unseen threat with the ability to manipulate mana lurking in the area.

He decided to ask Zeph who had finally caught up with him. She seemed to be in a more mellow mood, the wind rushing around her was soothing after spending so long being pent up in fusty underground cave systems. Luneil had a feeling she wouldn’t complain too much about any future flights

"It could be anything. Another Dungeon Core nearby, or simply Minor Ifrits absorbing too much mana and causing wildfires. There are hundreds of creatures that can produce flame, thousands if you include all those that have been modified by Dungeon Cores."

Could you show me how to make them?

"I only know the pattern of a few, Dungeons tend to only use a small range of creatures, and all of them require knowledge of how to create and incorporate Arcane Foci into your creatures. You'll never be able to get one of those until you settle down and form your own Dungeon complex, you're not an adventurer after all."

What are Arcane Foci?

"An Arcane Focus is a magical catalyst, allowing bound mana to be converted into one of its subtypes, such as air mana, life mana or time mana. You need a specific Arcane Focus for each subtype of mana, and some are rarer than others. Some schools of thought even class Dungeon Cores as a type of Arcane Focus."

Interesting. And what's bound mana?

"There are many types of mana, the most basic of which is bound mana. This is produced in living creatures by Lifeforce, which is the 'soul', for want of a better word. When their bodies become oversaturated with bound mana, it is released into the outside world where it forms the aura and proceeds to dissipate throughout all of Era. Mana that is not bound to a creature or Dungeon is called 'free mana'."

Free mana must have been the motes of mana that he had been consuming in his early days. It didn’t give much of a yield. So little in fact, that, upon reflection, Luneil realized that he had simply stopped harvesting it from the air.

He decided to rectify that immediately, absorbing free mana from the air as he flew, his continual motion always bringing him into contact with areas of untapped free mana. It wasn’t much, but it all added up. He had great plans, after all.

Luneil looked at the ground below, they were nearing the foot of the mountain; a continuous, slowly rising slope reaching up towards an unbroken spine of mountains stretching as far as he could see. As he looked up he began to appreciate their truly gargantuan scale, each mountain terminating in jagged snow covered peaks that glinted in the sunlight, joined by high passes.

Far to his left he saw a deep gouge in the side of a mountain that felt almost familiar, hundreds of armored figures picking through the disturbed dirt and rubble. He thought he could discern one of the armored men look up and point towards him, but he couldn't be certain.

It wasn't an issue, the distance between them was large and littered with obstacles that had to be traversed. Such things were of little concern to Luneil, by dint of his current aerial transportation. For a person in full armor? The situation was completely different.

Regardless, the armor plated figure continued to watch him until Luneil passed behind the shoulder of a mountain and faded from sight. Luneil relaxed, unaware until that moment of his anxiety. Something about those men made his facets crawl.

But enough of that. He was here to explore.

Luneil examined the area closely, it seemed far more suitable than the grassy hills. Even through the thick brush and occasional misshapen tree, he could see the plentiful forms of animals prowling through the vegetation.

It was a good place to make his new temporary home. However, the figure in armor had worried him. He didn't want to be found, especially not by someone who might be able to bring a small army with him. It was best to keep on going.

So, instead, Luneil flew through a small mountain pass that opened into the side of a surprisingly wide and level valley that stretched all beyond and below. Sitting in the center of the spacious valley was a picturesque river gushing gently down between small boulders and fertile meadows. Trees dotted the sides, clinging to the gently rising slope. Small herds of deer moved through the fields wildflowers and gently swaying mountain grasses.

Luneil ordered the Dire Ravens to slow down. He wanted to appreciate the sight for a moment longer.

He watched as small fish leapt from the river, before splashing back into the fast moving waters.

He could even hear the shrill whistling squeaks of marmots as they scurried between their holes.

It was a beautiful and unique place. A location of unrivalled splendour and subtle majesty that teemed with countless species all working in synchrony to comprise and maintain this incredible habitat.

Now... How could he kill all of the poor innocent creatures with the most efficiency?

Their patterns and power were his for the taking.