[Kanva] Hah. This story is old. Very old. This is not just the story of this lakeside town. It’s much much bigger than that.

Long ago, before our forest was even around, this was a thriving place. Thick mana, a lakeside town, this was a border city between our Kingdom of Leothage, and the neighboring Avrisia Empire. The two nations were on good terms and as such, the border city of Calchet grew into a major trading hub.

The Avrisia Empire was quite proficient in research. One day, a researcher had thought to themselves “What are the limits to human evolution? A dragon? A golem? What if we could find the most useful evolutions and further increase our nation’s standing?” And so he whispered such thoughts that made their way to the emperor. The emperor of course wanted him to pursue this. The emperor thought and of course came to the conclusion : “Why do humans not evolve into dungeons? If we could create dungeons where we want, then our nation would be unstoppable”.

Certainly there was no known reason why it would be impossible for a human to evolve into a dungeon core. In fact, everything we know supports it. Evolution is simply based around desire, belief, and the amount of mana one absorbs.

And so they tried. And tried. And tried.

It is said that dungeons are the domain of the god of creation, as they seemingly create out of naught but mana. However the emperor and his dedicated researchers succeeded. Through many years of raising a child, they had imbued him with knowledge and desire. The child simply did not know any other path but to become a dungeon. It was a matter as obvious to the child as the fact that the sun will rise again is for us. Thus on the twelfth birthday, the child underwent his evolution. He indeed evolved into a dungeon, and those who knew of this secret project hailed the emperor as a living god.

The child however was not so ecstatic. The stories don’t tell of what happened, but soon they were no longer able to talk to the child. His body soon stopped responding. Eventually, his body died. But that is not the end of a dungeon. His body was simply an avatar at that point and the dungeon survived. It was fueled by instincts, but it survived.

Even though they had lost control, the ever growing dungeon brought riches and treasures to the empire. Their trade with our kingdom growing ever more important. Calchet was truly in a golden age and expanded to new heights.

This went on for years. Hundreds perhaps. But one day, the dungeon woke.

We aren’t sure what caused it, but the dungeon went berserk. It was no longer acting as a dungeon should. It caused a vast amount of havoc sending monsters out to slaughter indiscriminately and consuming the land and life force in any area it could reach. With the capital of the empire at its center, whole areas were eaten away; if not by the dungeon core then by the monsters it created. The dungeon sucked away the mana from everything within its grasps, and broke down what was left.

There were attempts to figure out what was wrong, or to restore the core’s sanity. Perhaps humans were never meant to evolve into cores. Others claim the knowledge given to the child clashed with reality. Maybe the child’s mind got locked inside the core and went mad. Or perhaps the core was too inhuman, and evolving into it forced too strong an impulse and nature to arise. Some religious groups even claimed that it failed because it was a dungeon shunned by the god of creation.

Either way, noone could save or fix the dungeon. The capital of the empire was abandoned. If things had stopped there then perhaps it would be alright. A mere city for the mistakes of man. But it continued. The destruction and chaos spread. The dungeon was consuming mana at an unusually high rate. While most dungeons naturally attract mana, and use less then they attract, this one did not. I don’t know if it failed to attract mana or if it found a way to consume more mana than it was drawing, but it created a mana void. A natural disaster that spread out, pulling the mana even from those still alive.

Eventually an elite team was formed and sent to destroy the dungeon. Rumors had it they were guided by a Hound of Utos. They succeeded, but it was a bittersweet victory. They had to endure living inside the mana void for too long. Their bodies and minds were battered. Their very life force pulled from them. They returned not as heroes, but as lifeless men and women on the edge of death. To their dying days they didn’t reveal what they saw or experienced in their. Nobody felt they had the right to force it from them.

In the time it took them to destroy the core, the mana void expanded. A great ever expanding vortex had reached Calchet. People fled in droves. When they returned, they found what was left was dying and breaking apart. The buildings that have lasted generations now returning to the earth. Little lived through the mana void and even less could grow. Fields turned barren and the livestock they brought back grew sickly. The fish had all but gone and the waters no longer quench our thirst.

Still, some stayed. I do not know if it was fear of the damage spreading, but Calchet was the only part of the kingdom that was damaged. The kingdom could afford to fix it. A group gathered to return mana and nature to the region. That was over a millennium ago. The land improved, slowly. The void, with its heart gone, was slowly pushed back. Forests were planted and waters purified. New soils brought from deep beneath the earth. It was like they were creating the world anew.

I was a child then. I only knew the Calchet that was abandoned and returning to the ground. I trained and trained and joined when I reached adulthood. Although my sole job was to take care of the forest, I evolved to do the job properly. The forest grew into mass of living things, slowly pumping mana towards us with every slow beat, like a root pulling water.

Time Passed. Members died or left. Some were replaced. As time wore on, even that was deemed no longer necessary. Now I am the only one who is left. There is little left to do but to wait after all.

Life returned. Mostly those at the bottom of the food chain. Few predators found their way back when there was so little life here. But it was enough for the people; enough to seek out a living. Many of the folks here today have the blood of that group in them. While they found no riches, they too found few dangers. The thin mana makes it difficult for creatures to evolve, and they are weak when they do.

Things have stabilized compared to the early days. The thin mana has more or less recovered. Enough to be called normal at least. Until you appeared at any rate. It seems… that your core is drawing in mana as it should be. It is very difficult to make mana flow, but a dungeon core is one of the few ways to move a lot of mana. And so you are. The mana around the forest and town has been thicker than it has been in ages.

Now then. I have said much, although little of it matters now. Is that enough to sate your curiosity?