Subterranean

Kahrein-Du'em began as a humble prospecting area for supplying Aelf'ahlnohma with metal and gemstones. However, as the scope of its operations increased, veins of Elven Silver were eventually uncovered in its deepest shafts, and workers were pushed to delve ever deeper in search of the white gold. The mine's entrance was widened to accommodate the influx of workers needed to sustain the city's demand, and the woodworking industry flourished as lumber was transported by the ton to provide support for Kahrein-Du'em's ever-expanding network of tunnels.

The infrastructure of the inner mine had become dilapidated and unreliable--not to mention pitch-black and obscured by thick layers of smoke. Entire shafts had collapsed in on themselves, and those which had endured the passing of a millennia could barely be supported by their rotting scaffolds of wood. With her sceptre held aloft, Larion made sure to watch her footing as she focused magical particles from the staff's adamantite crystal, creating a hexagonal sphere which surrounded her and Lotte, preventing the smoke from reaching them. At the same time, Lotte's own staff sparkled with a pale light, illuminating the area inside of the sphere.

"I can barely see a thing. How do we know we're headed the right way?" He asked.

"The main shaft which continues to the mine's lowest depth should be rather straightforward." Larion answered, "Most of these side passages were for prospecting. Remnants of a simpler time. At the peak of its activity, Kahrein-Du'em had well over 200 workers. The main silver shaft was built to last."

"I see." Lotte kept an eye on his footing, "How is that barrier holding up?"

"Surprisingly well. If we truly are at risk of exposing ourselves to Mu'un in this place, I believe it will be dense enough to deflect it. Bar some catastrophic impact, I very much doubt anything could penetrate it."

Their descent was purposeful, but not overly excited. One foot in the wrong place could have easily had them tumbling over themselves into the darkness, and from the redacted journal of Avl II, there was no telling exactly what to expect from it.

"Whatever His Majesty discovered at the bottom of this mine seemed to have disturbed him greatly." Lotte remarked, "What interested me the most were the group of Elves responsible for unearthing… whatever it is that resides here."

"Yes. Avl described them as if they were possessed." Larion replied, "In any case, his journals contribute greatly to the theory that Aeme'klen is somehow connected to the cycle of Demon Ages. Not only did it reference a 'moon', but the term 'Luna' was used explicitly. Even if its meaning eludes scholars, the previous Hero's reaction to it being spoken aloud must mean there is some kind of connection."

"But how could a moon be connected to all of this?" He wondered, "Not to mention, how is it that a Hero from over a millennium ago shared the same name as your father?"

"I hope this excursion will shed some light on such questions."

As the minutes passed them by, it couldn't be said for certain just how deep they had managed to delve. With only the slowly-increasing temperature indicating that they were making any progress at all, the smoke-filled passageway eventually broadened into a shaft over twice in diameter. Like the arm of an oak, many secondary tunnels branched off to its sides, creating a twisting labyrinth of stone. Ahead of them, the sloping passageway continued inexorably into the earth--a gaping maw, like that of a beast, which threatened to consume all who approached it.

"Just how much silver was lifted from this mine?" Lotte asked.

"More than could ever be weighed, I'm sure. It's said that most of it was used to construct the silver spire." Larion answered, "Besides that, the armour and weapons of the royal guardsmen are fashioned from it."

"The smoke is getting thicker…" He noticed, "We must be drawing close to the bottom."

"Be prepared for anything, Sir Lotte." She warned, "If Avl's decision to shut down the mine permanently was well-founded, then it's imperative that we survive to ensure that whatever lurks in here cannot find its way out."

As they proceeded down that sloped passageway, the heat only grew more unbearable. It was an impossibly long shaft--such that several minutes were allowed to pass in complete silence with no sign of an exit in sight. Like a hole leading straight to the underworld, a fundamental wrongness could be felt in the heart if one stared too deeply into the abyss.

At its end, the mineshaft became amateurish and unfinished. Cobbled piles of rock had spilled forth from unsupported walls and ceilings, narrowing the tunnel to an uncomfortable width. Marching one at a time, Larion could spot the beginnings of something strange as she peered through the endless smoke--a kind of glow, cerulean in colour, not unlike the kind seen where magical particles gather.

"I can see something…" She muttered.

"Let's proceed cautiously. There's no telling what we're about to find."

The deepest fathoms of the mine terminated at an entrance into a natural cavern of sorts. From the angle at which they stood, neither of the pair could spot much besides the strange glow, but as they drew closer to the hole, its tapered ceiling lifted to reveal a chamber--larger than either of them could possibly hope to know.

"This…" Lotte dared not to take another step, "What is this!?"

It was impossible to tell just how high the cavern ceiling stretched. Indeed, under any normal circumstances, it would have been called a marvel of the natural world. However, a more pressing sight had caught the duo's attention. One that defied all rationality.

The sunken floor of the chamber, which stretched further than could be seen by the naked eye, was filled with luminescent water, casting an eerie, aquamarine glow onto the raised lip upon which they stood. A strange sound, which could be best compared to the smashing of a blacksmith's hammer against an anvil, resonated loudly enough that Larion was forced to cover her ears.

It was not an explainable spectacle--whatever it was that rose up from that cerulean sea. It was more like something out of a nightmare, an abstraction of despair and fear that would normally seem so unbelievable as to fall into the realm of completely absurd. It was no wonder why Avl II had decided to score any description of the sight from his journal, for any knowledge of it was likely to drive a weak mind to utter madness.

There, poking up from the subterranean ocean like stalagmites, were writing masses of conjoined flesh, joined in a godless union of twitching muscles and appendages contracting like living branches. There were thousands of them, each of different sizes, but similarly crimson and very much alive--if 'alive' was truly the correct term to use. Some of them grew to such lengths that even the glowing, primordial soup couldn't illuminate their tips as they ascended to the shadowed ceiling. All manner of interconnected tissues undulated close to their slick surfaces--tented skin, shifting eyes and gaping mouths of razor-sharp teeth. As single organisms each, their many hearts thumped in unison, and blood ran freely from fresh wounds as flesh was torn to make way for new growths. The stench of iron permeated throughout the entire chamber, but neither Larion nor Lotte could bring themselves to feel disgusted. Rather, their expressions were equal parts unbelieving and fearful.

"By the Goddess…" Larion whispered, "What manner of hellish thing have we unearthed?"

"Are those things… alive?" Lotte asked worryingly, "What are they?"

Despite their presence, the sinewy stalks of newborn skin didn't seem to, or perhaps were incapable of, noticing them. Indeed, besides the sheer impossibility of their existence, they seemed very much mindless, unable to diverge from their upward tendencies, only exacerbating the bizarreness of their purpose. Tentatively, Larion allowed herself to step forward, approaching the hillish slope of stone which descended into the glowing lake. Pitch-black bursts of smoke rose steadily from bubbling areas of the surface, giving the impression of a burning ocean.

"P-Please be careful, Your Majesty!" Lotte held an arm forward, but dared not to take another step, instead lingering near the edge of Larion's barrier, "There's no telling what that glow is all about!"

"Is this the source of Mu'un?" She wondered, "It has the same colour… like magic particles."

As her eyes wandered reluctantly up to the writhing spikes of flesh emerging from the sea, she wondered how high they reached.

"...Demons?"

"E-Excuse me?" Lotte stammered.

"These are Demons, aren't they?" She elaborated, "Is this… where they originate from?"

It was a fittingly hellish place for the birthing grounds of Demonkind. The vicious features adorning those stalagmites couldn't be mistaken for belonging to any other kind of creature. It was as if they were being forged there--deep beneath the surface.

"We must return to Gria at once." Larion declared, "This is a monumental discovery."