Expections

•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

[2 Years Later] [284 A.C]

Having spent nearly all his hoarded wealth from his time spent as a Sellsword, Tolfdir lazed under a ginormous tree, not far from the entrance to the Dimlight Subterrane. A large trapdoor sealed the entrance, covered with loosely packed dirt and rocks, currently Tolfdir was waiting on Jon to return from Wickenden with the remaining supplies needed to block off one of the flooded passageway that came directly out for the caves wall, their plan was to slow the flow of water and dig channels that stretched through the Hunter's Rest, the name the duo had decided for the first major section they had found. The peak of the hill had been flattened previously, but now one of their projects was to hollow it out as they had found that its thick outer layer was formed from mostly stone with its interior filled with fertile soil.

Most of the outermost regions within the Hunter's Rest had been transformed into crude farmland, which was hastily put together last year as a test to see if the growth of crops was viable. Their current project, which was named Hunter's Reach, was the furthering of the farmland and the extension of the water channels.

They have already temporarily sealed and hidden the two other pathways that led to Hunter's Rest which branched off the entrance. Their hopes were that they would remain hidden, in case of an invasion leaving the invaders only a 'narrow' passage, while allowing the defenders an exit and a flank.

While Jon simply wanted to create something which would mark his name in the annals of history, among the likes of Bran The Builder. Tolfdir wanted to create a household that would persist for centuries, always having been jealous of the rich history the great houses have, such as the near 8000(?) year history of the Starks…

Two bastards that wished for an everlasting tale, secretly founded the Dimlight Subterrane, and the Hunter's Rest within. While not exceedingly large, the Hunter's Rest could comfortably house almost a hundred people, and the Hunter's Reach could easily feed them if the farmlands were properly finished. Yet, that was only before the Hill had been hollowed. Jon's idea had been to form the hill and Hunter's Rest into a 'Fortress Town' acting in a similar manner to the Moon Gates (Gates of the Moon?) and using the minor sections that came before it as the Bloody Gates…

Tolfdir had taken a liking to this idea, and while it would never be finished with only the two of them. The duo had fervently solidified their future plans, always leaving enough room to allow for possible changes in the future.

Jon had spent what time he had away from the Dimlight Subterrane studying under the craftsmen in his father's employment, slowly learning their craft and secretly adopting it into their projects. They haven't built any buildings, as their current focus was solely on forming the basis of the future infrastructure. Whether it be flattening land, forming farmable land, or hollowing the hill the duo were always busy.

Tolfdir spent the majority of his free time, exploring deeper and deeper into the Dimlight Subterrane, and reporting his findings to Jon before slowly forming plans for their potential uses, "I'll continue past Darkhollow tomorrow, from what I had found last night the next section holds a large lake with a small island in the center, I could see the moon over head so it shouldn't have the same issues as the Darkhollow. Which we sadly had to ignore in our plans…"

Jon nodded, "If only there had been an opening overhead, Darkhollow is by far the largest section we found, yet with it perpetually plunged in darkness, it's hard to figure out what to do with it. Aside from the ice that forms within, it's useless as it is now."

Tolfdir let out a hum, "You think we can stretch a water channel into the Darkhollow and use it as an Ice Farm…?"

Jon's eyes went wide, as animatedly exclaimed "Fucking Genius!" His quill furiously scratching away on a sheet of parchment he had stolen from his father's solar.

Darkhollow was by far the deepest among the sections they had found, it had two passages that stretched downward from the Garden of Light(?), which was by far the most ethereal looking section of the cave. A far cry from the desolate darkness of the Darkhollow. One passage was considerably smaller than the other and would be perfect if purposed as a water channel.

Among those which Tolfdir had found, the Garden of Light had been his favorite. The whole place looked like it had been hollowed out of a mountain, a ginormous hole opened up to the sky directly overhead. As if the top of the mountain had been chopped off, revealing the sky overhead to the hollowed interior of the mountain. The land within was flat up until halfway through the section where it dropped off into large naturally formed terraces slowly narrowing until it reached the passageway into the Darkhollow.

The duo continued their fervent talks, Jon went on to explain that if they cleared the Main Passages that they have been using, as aside from the entrance they were all large enough to allow two carriages side by side passage, they could form roads allowing the allocation of resources to deeper sections to quicken when the time comes.

Which was something Jon and Tolfdir had already begun, but for different reasons, which were mainly them tripping over random stalagmites or hitting their heads on stalactites…

It was evidently clear that if they wanted to finish most of their plans in their lifetime, they would need a lot of working hands. Yet, Tolfdir had continually told Jon that if anyone found out about the Dimlight Subterrane it would be taken from them without a chance to even fight for it.

Tolfdir needed a plan to rightfully claim the land, or have it bestowed upon him. It didn't matter whether it was just a plot of land large enough for a hut, as long as it included the entrance, it would all be rightfully his. As while claims extend into the very depths of someone's land, few would care about a land filled with treacherous barren mountain ranges much like those the Dimlight Subterrane rests under.

Coin, Land Claims, and Workers… the three things both Jon and Tolfdir needed to fulfil their dreams. Everything else could be either gathered or grown from within the Dimlight Subterrane.

The longer they were in the Dimlight Subterrane, the more they noticed the lack of wildlife, apart from the occasional birds that found their way inside, Tolfidr nor Jon had found any traces of wildlife living within the caves.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hahahaha! Fish! There is actually fish!" Tolfdir was ecstatic, sitting on the edge of the lake within the Hero's Retreat his eyes darted across the absolute abundance of fish swimming around, some he recognized from the surface as freshwater fish, yet some he couldn't. However knowing the water was salt less and habitable alone was enough for him, as it was yet another source of clean water to drink from. Although he'd boil it to be safe, one could never have too much drinkable water after all.

(A/N: [Move To Bottom When Finished] [Moved]

Dimlight Subterrane:

Trapdoor -> Dimlight Entrance -> Minor -> Minor -> Minor -> Hunter's (Rest) Reach -> Minor -> Minor-> Endless Falls -> Minor -> Minor -> Minor -> ??? -> Minor -> Minor -> Minor -> Darkstone -> Garden Of Light -> Darkhollow -> (Upwards) Minor -> Hero's Retreat

Minor Passageways and Sections will remain unnamed

Major Passageway: The Stone Way

Hunter's (Rest) Reach: A large circular cave, with three entrances, and two exits. A castle sized lush green hill in the center with large crack-like openings overhead bathing the whole area in light. Hill surrounded by crude farms and half dug channels.

Endless Falls: Mixture of lush plant life and protruding rocks, large waterfall on the eastern side which pours down into a seemingly endless hole.

???: Name and describe me. Author seemed to have drawn a blank.

Darkstone: A cubicle cave, largest among the first three sections (large enough to fit Winterfell and Wintertown) drasticly different from those that surround it, it's walls made from a silky black stone, void of copious amounts of plantlife, yet drowned in the sun's light during the day, due to this it tends to get quite hot. A well-like hole in the center, loud sound of rushing water coming from hole. Presumably from the waterfall in the Endless Falls.

Garden Of Light: An oval shaped cave that looked like it had been hollowed out of a mountain, a ginormous hole opened up to the sky directly overhead. As if the top of the mountain had been chopped off, revealing the sky overhead to the hollowed interior of the mountain. The land within was flat up until halfway through the section where it was widest and dropped off into large naturally formed terraces slowly narrowing until it reached the passageway into the Darkhollow.

Hero's Retreat: at the peak of a large uphill from Darkhollow a large underground lake with unnatural clarity, depth can't be seen despite its clarity. House sized island in the middle filled with overgrown lush plant life, a singular tree in the center of the island. A rim of stone surrounds the lake.)