Chrysalis

Not only do I believe the ancients to be real, but I believe they have gotten stronger, not weaker, over time as some have suggested. I understand the thinking behind the so-called 'cascading mana deprivation' theory, but I consider it optimistic at best, and hopelessly naive at worst. I can almost believe that the great thinkers of the last age were simply never taught the concept of entropy. I suppose it isn't a comforting thought, that one's society and indeed world, are in a state of decay rather than growth, but the stubborn refusal to even consider this meta state of our existence is more than a little baffling to me.

If one accepts that monsters so powerful as to be near to gods exist, then a set of assumptions logically follows. More powerful monsters require more mana to sustain themselves. This much is self-evident and there are none who refute this fact of the Dungeon. The ancients therefore live in the area of the planet with the highest concentration of mana. This also follows logically. It is possible, though dreadful to contemplate, that more powerful monsters exist, sleeping on some deeper level beyond our experience, but we have no evidence that such may be the case. In the absence of such evidence, we must move forward with what we have.

It is here that the denialists stake their reputations. They believe that since the ancients have not been able to rise from that place a second time, locked inside their own realm since the Rending, that mana levels globally have fallen to a point that does not allow them to do so. They argue that the peak concentration of mana on Pangera occurred during that dreadful event and has since fallen to the 'normal' or 'ideal' levels. In essence, they argue that the ancients peaked too early in life, and now they lie in a weakened state in the heart of the Dungeon without the strength to move.

It is true that, according to the records we have, that mana levels appear to have fallen before stabilising in the time since the cataclysm, but I believe that there is a different cause. I believe that the ancients, the most powerful creatures on Pangera, evolved. During the cataclysm they rose to the surface and destroyed, between them, millions of beings, pushing them past the threshold to evolve to a new stage of existence. This necessitated their retreat to the centre of the Dungeon and explains the lower level of mana that we have experienced since.

There is not less mana being produced in the centre of Pangera. Those nineteen individuals are soaking up so much that it has affected the concentration of energy on a global scale.

• Excerpt from 'The world is stupid' by Elric the Wild Mage.

I decide to take the lead in our descent to the crack before us and creep forward with reasonable caution. This is an unknown environment and I don't want to go too crazy before we get a clear picture of what we might run into down here. Sure, I could ask Al all about it, but that would do two things. One, suck all the fun out of Dungeon exploration, and two, require that I answer a bunch of his questions and frankly I'm getting tired of explaining basic concepts of my pre-ant existence. The last time I needed to tell him something I ended up going through half the plot of the Lord of the Rings before he would tell me what I needed to know!

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

veins here look like molten lava, but not the cooling stuff. None of that pansy dark red lava, oh no, the veins are white hot, almost literally. The mana inside is so thick that it almost seems to flow like lava as well, oozing through the veins before seeping into the air. The rock itself is different, mainly in that its pitch black and steaming hot. I can see the heat waves in the air

Crinis is the one who is having the hardest time. She's in her usual spot, stuck to my abdomen, but every now and again bits of her slip around the edges, as if her shadow

alright, Crinis?]

she gasps, [but I'll be thankful when we make it to the fourth stratum. This place doesn't

fourth?] I say wryly, [we have to make it through this

will conquer these filthy demons, Master!

can only shrug at that. I wish

sense food!

detect our prey! It's a little frustrating, but my heat sensing antennae are almost useless down here.

we got

something strange. Tier

experience… let's

take the lead. Tiny,

overpowering urge to run off and 'investigate'

"Throw myself in there?!"

"You heard me!"

the nuisance dealt with, we creep forward, following the curve of the tunnel as