The Underlands

Descending a deep ravine we see several levels of soil and ecosystems. The top is filled with writhing insects and dark brown soil, the next layer has rockier soil with less light. Red eyes reflect what light has gone this far before retreating into the dark, large immaculate webs span the width of the entire chasm. One of the largest webs is torn through the center, as if something very heavy had fallen and broke through it.

Deeper and deeper levels give way to large unknown creatures of the dark, slinking and crawling amongst the shadows. At the lowest level, titanic bioluminescent fungus thrives and evolves into more intelligent, or sinister archetypes. This cavernous ravine is one of the largely unknown 'Underlands' here, it is eat or be eaten, and beneath the dim light of the sun, as well as the piercing colorful fungal glow a giant golden eagle lays injured and broken on the soft, mycelium floor.

The eagle's eyes are dull, almost lifeless. The eagle was betrayed, and he will now die without fully living. A small teardrop rolls from the edge of its eye down its face. The bird whimpered, its transformation time had run out. The hollow bird bones compress, making the bones thick and sturdy, the feathers recede into the prince's skin and his tattered clothes have almost completely been rendered useless.

The pain of transformation is intense. If the prince's descent had not been slowed by the cobweb, he would have perished the second he hit the ground. He cursed the spiders. Curling into a ball, wincing while cradling his broken arm and biting his lip due to the sharp, immense pain coming from his legs. He wished for death.

Soft footsteps echo from behind the prince. The prince weeps softly, accepting his death, but without being eager to leave. A figure looms over him. The prince begins thinking of all of his regrets, wishing he could have righted so many wrongs.

"Hello," an androgynous voice calls out to the prince.

The prince was stunned, his eyes widened in surprise as he slowly turned on his back, wincing as he rolled. A pair of warm yellow eyes stared at him. The figure possessed pointed ears, neat white hair, and flawless pale skin. They stood at about two meters in height and had very sharp features, it was a mix that made one unable to decide whether they were an incredibly handsome man, or a beautiful woman. 'An elf!' the prince thought.

"Who are you?" the prince's raspy voice whispers.

"I go by many names friend, but which I choose is inconsequential." says the elf, "you may think of me as a caretaker, I am one with the world, and it is one with me."

"Help me, I'll do anything." said the prince, tears flowing from his eyes as he clung to his last hope of living. He looked at the elf in front of him and begged on the ground. A place unfitting for a prince. The elf's mesmerizing yellow eyes appeared to rotate as the prince gazed deeper into them. The elf's soothing voice called from all around the prince.

"Sleep now my child, for when you awake, you shall wish you were dead."

The prince had long fallen into a peaceful dreamless slumber. The elf effortlessly lifted the prince onto his shoulder before turning around, and carrying the prince back to where he came from. Between giant fungus, a path is made with pearly white stones. The stones lead towards a dimly lit cottage, made by carving the insides of a large mushroom stalk out. Outside the mushroom cottage, and left of the path, is a massive boulder surrounded by small centimeter-tall mushrooms, and next to that is a fast flowing river, filled with rapids and erratic currents. The constant rough flow, brings a serene ambiance to the cottage. To the right of the cottage is a forest of mushrooms, filled with all manner of bug and beast, as well as many unexplored nooks to discover.

The inside of the cottage is warmly lit, with simple furnishings fashioned from local materials, such as stiff mushroom stalks, or white stone. Candelabras dot the walls and are glowing evenly, providing light to the cottage's circular interior. A small kitchen is along the wall opposite the entrance, and in the carved cabinet's above tens of glass jars are filled with various oddities and rare materials that can be used in combination for countless purposes. Between the candelabras on the walls, books are stacked and shelved in orderly fashion across the entire cottage's circumference. On one the side of the cottage left of the entrance is a desk. Towers of paper cover the desk and the ground around it. There are wildly contrasting images on the papers, from gentle plants to mighty and ferocious beasts, each one is accompanied by several paragraphs of text.

In the chair next to the table, the elf sits, leaned over his work. He scribbles down a few more words, before his eyes glow furiously with shifting lights. Blue, green, red, brown, yellow, every color that one could imagine flashed quickly, reflected by his eyes. He raises his hands, and closes his eyes, strain appearing on his face as he draws an incredibly intricate magic circle. Each finger draws a different run simultaneously. After more than a thousand runes have been drawn, the elf begins to sweat, and finishes quickly by touching his open palm to the circle, and slamming into the newly written page. The lettering on the page glows, displaying an intricate description of the beast-like man drawn on it.

'Frost Giant - Borne from the coldest ice within the Outlands, and rarely atop the tallest peaks across the world, these reclusive creatures lead solitary lives. The appear similar to humans, but are more than five times taller. Where their thick bristly hair does not cover, they drape the pelts of beasts they have defeated, covering most of their blue skin. Their faces are similar in appearance to dwarves, but their eyes and eyebrows are made entirely of ice. All frost giants possess a terrible strength and ice magic, but their intelligence is often so miniscule, their minds are akin to the minds of beasts.'

The elf lifts the page happily, and grins widely, before placing that page amongst the 'finished' pile. Before he can continue recording, a grunt can be heard from behind him. On the other side of the cottage, is a comfortable soft bed, with just enough room for one person. In the bed laying on his back, is the prince recently awoken by the lights produced by the elf's recording. His mouth is open as wide as his eyes as he looks around the room, the furnishings made this place surprisingly cozy.

"Awake are we?" said the elf, slowly approaching the side of the bed with a kind smile.

"Where are we?" the prince managed to ask, his voice much clearer and the pain much lesser than before. "How long was I sleeping?"

"A few hours," replied the elf, "and we are in my home, you have recovered rather quickly after I gave you some medicine."

"Thank you very much sir, and I apologize for never giving you my name. I am Princ-" the prince started. Before the elf covered his mouth.

"I have already told you young man, that names mean nothing to me. One day you'll understand if you live as long as I have." He removes his hand from the prince's mouth, and reaches into his the pocket on the inside of his pristine robe. He pulled out a small round pill, that reeked of medicine, and said. "Take this, it will help you recover."

The prince hesitates for a moment, before grabbing it with his good arm. He places the pill into his mouth and it dissolves almost instantly in his mouth. The taste was bitter, but also sweet. When he swallowed the fluid, he felt like he was about to explode.

[The miraculous medicine consumed will improve regeneration, as well as status point acquisition for a short time]

The prince screams in pain as his bones crack and re-align. Before feeling reinvigorated as his stamina returns. He jumps out of bed, only to notice the only thing covering his body were bandages. The elf smiles and points to some clothes that match his on the wall. The prince quickly puts it on, a tinge of red on his face. It fits well, there are loosely fit pants as well as a covering for his upper body which drapes over the rest, covering the waistline of the pants, like a martial arts uniform.

The elf smiles wolfishly, "Since you seem to be so excited, why don't we start training early." he says as he walks towards the door. "Let me show you around first."

"Wait, wait, training?" the prince asked. His face twisted in confusion, before sweating looking at that same smile the elf has had since he met him. He gulped.

"How else are you going to get out of the Underlands young man? I doubt you are strong enough to climb out while dealing with the monsters along the way." the elf said, retaining his almost artificial smile.

The prince scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed yet again. 'What was I thinking' he thought. He trudged forward to follow the elf outside. When he walked outside he saw the elf standing next to a gigantic boulder. 'Oh no' he thought.

"Don't begin doubting yourself before you've even begun young man." said the elf with the same expression as always. The prince walked slowly over to him again reluctance showing clearly on his face. "This is where you will train your strength, by lifting this boulder, or finding smaller ones to lift before you reach this level. It should also give you a nice boost to vitality as well." The elf looks towards the river, and walks right up to the rough bank. "By swimming in this river you will train your agility and dexterity, and vitality will also be strengthened." The prince sweats heavily looking at the rocky waters and intense currents 'He wants me to SWIM in that!?!'. The prince looks around towards where the elf was standing and sees him walking away from the river already.

'What have I gotten myself into' thought the prince, before rushing to catch up with him. In front of the fungal forest, the elf turned around to look directly into the young prince's eyes.

"This is the most dangerous of trials. Here is the Blackcap Forest, it is called so because the tree-like mushrooms here don't give off nearly as much light as the ones along the path there," he points towards the path that he picked up the prince from, "In this forest, there many violent and murderous creatures. Giant insects, carnivorous plants, and most dangerous of all: the Shadow Walkers. In this forest you will rank up to improve yourself exponentially."

"What is a Shadow Walker sir?" the prince asked, terrified that one beast in particular was singled out by someone as mysterious and powerful as this 'Caretaker'.

"Stay away from them with every means possible," he said, "they possess the ability to traverse through shadows. In a shady and dark place like the Blackcap Forest, they would dominate the food chain if not for their identifying sound." The prince turned his head in confusion. "They click," said the elf, "it sounds like the soft snapping of fingers."

The prince began sweating, imagining the sounds around him to be those creatures. "Come back inside," said the elf. The prince followed closely behind. As they entered the cottage, the elf began explaining the final thing. "Here," he said "is where you will strengthen your mind. There are countless techniques for training magic of all types, as well as knowledge on every manner of creature. You can read anything, I only request you do not mess with the works at my desk until they are finished." The prince looked at every book with great anticipation.

And thus the seven year training began.