Peek: The First Dungeon

At first, all was still.  The earth, the air, the waters, the mana: all still.  But then, there was a ripple in the mana, and the disturbance caused it to crystalize.  It grew, slowly but surely, until it became aware.  This was the First Dungeon.

It felt around it, observed, tried to comprehend existence.  Around itself, mana slowly flowed, moved.  Further away, the mana was still.  Everything was still.  The First Dungeon decided it liked the movement, and so tried to make more movement.

It didn't try to move more mana.  The First Dungeon was already moving the mana.  No, it wanted to try to move something else.  So it started with trying to move the air.  It was much more malleable than the earth, and had even less resistance than the water.  It was difficult and slow, but eventually the First Dungeon was able to get the mana to move the air, and to keep moving the air.

And so the first air elemental was created.  It was small and delicate, but it moved the air, and liked to move the air.  With that achievement, the First Dungeon decided to try to move the water.  It was even more difficult than the air, but moving air gave it the knowledge to build upon, and soon the water would move on its own.

And so the first water elemental was created.  Like it's sibling in the air, the water elemental moved the water, and liked moving it.  With two made, the First Dungeon looked on the next challenge: moving the earth.  It was even more difficult than moving the water, but the two elementals encouraged their creator, knowing it would find success.

And so the first earth elemental was created.  It liked to move the earth, just as its siblings like to move their own elements, but the earth elemental is more patient, letting things move so slowly that others don't notice.  But it is still deliberate movement, not the stillness.

The First Dungeon looked over its creations and the movement, and felt there was more to move... but what?  It watched the elementals play as it thought.  A cold breeze from air started to freeze some of the shallow water.  Two different rocks hit and created a spark.  To the elementals, it was just the fun of movement, but the actions stuck in the mind of the First Dungeon, and it was inspired.

Temperature!  Heat and cold!  It would make elementals of those and get them moving as well.  The First Dungeon had many failures to get them moving, until he tried something very difficult.  Instead of making a fire elemental and then an ice elemental, he tried to make both at once.

And so the first fire elemental and the first ice elemental were created.  The two opposites seemed to dance together, creating a more beautiful motion than the First Dungeon had ever seen, and the other elementals were inspired to work their own movements together.

The First Dungeon liked the new movements, and how they inspired move movements.  The mana flowed, the air blew, the water waved, the earth rumbled, and fire and ice danced across it all.  The stillness is forced back more and more.

And in the water, something strange is found.  Something green, like thick water, and it moves on its own.  The water elemental brings it to the First Dungeon, and it is intrigued.  It's a different movement.  It moves towards light, and makes more of itself.

More?  The First Dungeon decides to try to make more, and so makes more elementals.  More air, more water, more earth, fire, and ice.  It makes light and darkness elementals.  The elementals all dance and move and play, and start to look outward at the stillness.  The movement the First Dungeon made is good, and they cause movement.  Should they go out and move?  The First Dungeon can't go out, so it would fall to them to do so.

The First Dungeon asks for some to stay behind, to help him keep movement around himself, and some elementals stay, but others go out.  With the world moving more, the First Dungeon can take a closer look at the strange green water.  It's gotten even stranger.  It's started living on the earth.  It's started riding on the air.  It's started hardening itself against the dance of fire and ice.

It even starts to stand, to reach thin arms upward, wanting more air, more light, more life.  And more movement.  And then an earth elemental brought a new weird life thing to the First Dungeon.  It was long and thin and soft, yet lived in the earth.  It ate the green, but the green would grow back even stronger, and the First Dungeon saw another dance for elementals to do.

And so the first life elemental and the first death elemental were created.  From their dance, movement almost seemed to explode, and life and death spread and fought the stillness.  The First Dungeon continued to help the life to live, and discovered it could flow mana into the life and make it stronger!  It would live more, it would kill more; such is the dance.

It guided and conducted the dance, letting life spread outside itself.  It took great satisfaction in its creations exploring outside.  Most would leave, but some would stay and help the First Dungeon keep its movement.  Until one day, the newest life didn't want to leave the First Dungeon.  It wanted to stay.

The life that wanted to keep to the First Dungeon and to help it?  That was the kobolds.

-Aranya, High Priestess of Thedeim, relating the legend of how kobolds came to be.

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Deathwatcher wanted some of the old lore, and the idea of the kobold creation legend stuck in my brain.  Thank you for the suggestion, and I expect we'll probably be seeing a lot of the kobold myths in the future.