Dakota Krout: Dungeon Born (The Divine Dungeon Book 1)

A word popped into my head from somewhere deep in my mind, as well as hundreds of subtle variations. <...Blue? Mind speech?>

A tension I did not realize it had before seemed to vanish from Kantor’s voice.

He paused, thinking. I feared he had disappeared, when his voice sounded again. He… joked? I think?

Kantor’s voice was fading, becoming more strained as he worked to speak with me.

I cried out, desperate to continue hearing another voice in the darkness.

I could feel the satisfaction flowing from him.

I wonder what kind of help he was sending me. This thought occupied my mind for a spare moment until my hungry gaze returned to the feast of moss waiting just out of reach.

I thought to myself, chuckling with a slightly maniacal undertone.

“Wait, you're not evil are you?” a voice questioned me.

I glanced around, two voices in the same day?

“We’ll talk about evil later. Much later. I’m above you, making sure you don’t try to eat me.” The voice called, echoing slightly, making it hard to pinpoint the exact position it came from.

I could go for a snack, I supposed.

“No! Nope, not even slightly tasty. I’m a wisp. As in ‘will-of-the’.” The echoing voice assured me.

I was a bit disappointed. The voice sounded tasty.

“Oh boy.” Now that just sounded condescending. “You really are a newborn aren’t you?”

I was cut off as I began speaking. “Yeah got it, you don’t know too many words.”

<...> Really, I had no idea what to say to that.

“Here is the deal. We are going to make a pact, a bond. This is more than an agreement; it is a sharing of power. You need help, and knowledge, and a friend to keep you from going insane. That can be me, if you will allow it.”

<...> Now coy, the voice seemed to be trying to seduce me with gifts. I do like gifts I guess. Really, who doesn’t? I was about to answer when it spoke again.

“You have to agree to give me protection, and Essence. In return, I will do everything I can to make you strong and prosperous. If you die, so do I, because nothing else can give me the Essence I need to survive.” Seemingly frustrated, the voice was talking faster and faster.

I thought it was a fair question, I was doing fine on my own.

“I promise you that it will be worth it. Besides that, Kantor is too far away for me to return to, and no one else is coming to help, or would even want to.” She guaranteed.

I trailed off. I really did not want to let down Kantor. I could already feel my intellect growing, just being in her presence. I was proud of that new word. Amenable meant that I was agreeable to the situation. I think. Yes. Whatever, the voice was talking again.

“Deal. Here I come.” A bright ball of softly glowing pink energy resolved itself from behind a stone outcropping that had been blocking my view. “Hello tiny dungeon, I am Dani. Do you have a name yet?”

I knew that everything around me had a name, but I thought a name was just part of what a thing was. Wait! Was my name ‘gem’ then?! I was about to ask, but...

“Well then,” she blatantly ignored my question, “since you are surrounded by calcium, I hereby name you ‘Cal’.”

I shone brighter for a moment to show my happiness. I had a name! A real name, not a description! I suddenly knew the difference! I felt like I was shaking in excitement. Actually, I was shaking? Vibrating really, the water around me moving enough to splash.

I was so startled that I even stopped eating the brown energy for a moment.

“Looks like I got here just in time. Quick Cal, repeat after me! ‘By the agreement we have made, I become your bonded partner’!!” With that pronouncement, and a resounding splash, Dani came down and entered my puddle. I followed her instructions, repeating her word for word. As I did, a beam of blue light shot out of me and a beam of pink from her.

As they touched, they fused into a beautiful light, which traveled along a shimmering path in the air that connected both of us. The fused pink-blue light entered her, filling her with light and energy. A blue blot formed in her body, surrounded by her natural pink coloration. Now the glow coming off of her was a light purple, and far more intense, lighting up the air around her. The beam entered me as well, and I became a darker blue, nearly violet. I lost a lot of energy, the vibration subsiding as the link was formed.

I asked offhandedly, far less tense now. I was pretty hungry again. She had entered my pool, and just like when my water washed over the rocks, now I knew everything about pink will-of-the-wisps. I still didn’t know the knowledge she contained, the experiences she had lived through. I hoped she would tell me stories. Hmm. Is it important that I only know about pink wisps? Are there more colors? Do they do different things? Oops, I hear Dani talking again, I guess I’ll have to save my questions for another time.

“That was us joining, forming a bond. I can’t believe you came so close to self-destructing! Have you never used your Essence before?” Dani’s color darkened with her being cross.

Seriously, she is just a deep well of knowledge isn’t she? So full of words and meanings!

“Really? Well maybe that explains why I am purple now.” She blew out a long sigh. “Essence is… complicated. The real name of it is ‘Quintessence’, but that is a mouthful so it is usually shortened. It is the fundamental energy of the universe, the pure power of heavens and earth that is used by the basic elements to become… everything. Rocks turn it into earth Essence, water into water Essence, though both are impure forms.

Cultivating is the process of absorbing Essence from the Heaven and the Earth around you. It is a part of all things, and all things are a part of it. The purer you can refine it, the closer it becomes to the true form of Essence.” She quieted for a moment, overcome by some far away memory. “Also, if the accumulated Essence you have is the purest possible, it is better for the both of us. It will make us stronger, healthier, and smarter. The Essence you are holding is really pure, so you must have cultivated all you could from that water before refining it; until it became too dense for your Core. Good job so far!” She ended the topic on a cheerful note.

What the heck? There is Essence in my puddle?

“Yes, you are a blue Core, so you cultivate Essence from water.” She explained almost condescendingly.

I was inspecting the water for food, but only saw my light.

“...” She appeared to be trying to speak.

Was she in pain? Did I do something to her?

“Then where did you pull Essence from?” She was really demanding. Was this bond really worth this scrutiny?

I reassured her. She seemed to be getting worked up.

“That shouldn’t be possible… At this level, you can only cultivate from the element you are attuned to. Show me?” She forced herself to ask politely.

I was hungry. The joining had drained a lot of my energy, at least as much as the moss had given me. The moss! I was mentally drooling as I thought of the exquisite food, no, um, Essence that it contained.

I seemed pathetic I guess, because she laughed and scooped up some of the water I was in. She didn’t have limbs, so this impressed me an inordinate amount.

“The moss, huh? Sure.” She flew over to the moss, and instead of pouring the water onto it, she blew it over ALL of the moss as a mist!!