Dungeon Life

Book Two, Chapter One.

Up in the clouds and a little sideways is where the Angel of Prodigals likes to think of as her office. The nature of infinite reality makes that a little moot, as she can get from anywhere to anywhere, but shes always enjoyed the idea of Heaven being literally in the clouds. It also makes her job easier to give the newly passed humans a bit of what they expect.

For those ready to continue on, they get a different sort of orientation. Those who have lived and are ready are those she doesnt really deal with. She deals with the ones who have been cut short. Humans say He works in mysterious ways, and the angel thinks trucks are a very good example of that.

Theyre not the only way for someone to get to try again, but being hit by one is a lot more common than she would have suspected. Perhaps her kin should be wary of treading in the street as much as they avoid the threshing floor. However they come to her, she is to help the prodigal sons and daughters prepare for their next journey, and be prepared to welcome them home when they return.

One such son decided to take the path untread, an option she was starting to think was only put there to guide the humans to go over the entire list. Its a strange option, to be sure, to become a genius loci, a dungeon.

In all her time with this Purpose, nobody had even given that option a second glance, yet that one seemed drawn to it. She had almost thought the option was not actually an option, as she wasnt allowed to give much extra information about the small piece of creation the prodigal would be locked to.

When she watched the son start to transition, she feared he might rage at what his decision wrought, feared he might fall astray. But after a few moments of confusion came determination and curiosity. She watched him grow and adapt to his new existence.

She watched as he did what humans always do: their best, with no idea what the consequences could be. He found his core, the crystallization of his life, and he protected it. He hid it, and he welcomed the outsiders. He could have killed them, and even been rewarded for it, but he forged his own path, and has been reaping the benefits greatly.

New friends, new allies, battles fought and hard-won, challenges met and overcome in unexpected ways; fulfilling the requirements of his new life without even realizing it. She can see the ripples through the local kingdoms, even from several realities away. She cant fully see what the changes will bring, but she has faith that the prodigal son will be a great benefit to that world.

Its impressive how much impact someone can have, even when technically immobile. The prodigal is his domain, his awareness spread over all of his territory. He has his defenses in the form of his spawners and his scions, to protect his core and challenge the delvers who would come to explore his territory. He has his resource nodes, tempting flames for the moths around him, though he takes care to ensure they dont immolate themselves.

He has forged friendships with the outsiders, from children to jaded adults. He has claimed two as his residents: one as a natural extension of friendship, the other as a desperate act of protection. An evil dungeon has been defeated, reclaimed and its resources repurposed. A fledgling dungeon has been taken under wing, guided and helped.

Eyes are starting to be drawn to the prodigal son, and she can tell he will be drawing those same eyes to a threat very few are aware of. She will need to keep a special eye on the prodigal son who has chosen to call himself Thedeim.

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