Peek: War (Patreon)

The Maw is a threat to their dungeon, it's as plain as the mana in the air. Some of the denizens even worry their kind dungeon won't be able to bring himself to end the enemy dungeon, but those are the ones spawned after Neverrest. Those from before know when their dungeon goes to war.

Though even the veteran spawns couldn't have predicted they would have to fight delvers as well as denizens. Not killing them has been one of the very few hard rules placed upon them. But now, as the magic of Murphy's Law descends over the Maw and its territory, the denizens on expedition will very likely be violating that rule.

The ones assaulting the Maw's territory consider themselves lucky, since they won't need to worry much about delvers for their assault. There may be a few here and there, but the vast majority will probably not even see a hostile delver, let alone have to put one down.

But not all denizens are so lucky. Some are expected to help clear the town and the temple complex, their dungeon not wishing to place that responsibility fully on the shoulders of the friendly delvers. As they follow them to the town, some denizens still worry about what is to come.

Will their delvers look at them differently after this? They may not have the capacity of the scions, but even the simplest ant has at least a couple delvers they like. The more martial denizens have ones they like to fight, to challenge, and some even hope to become a familiar or companion to a delver. Will having delver blood on their appendages ruin that relationship?

Or worse: will they come to crave spilling the blood and freeing the mana of delvers? They know they can make a lot of mana for their dungeon by killing delvers, inside or out of their territory, it doesn't matter. Will they disrupt their dungeon's balance if they kill these enemy delvers? Will the Maw destroy their home if they don't?

At least their friendly delvers are treating the situation with the proper solemnity, which makes some of the brighter denizens realize something: what if their delvers die? Their dungeon assigned the magmyrm to bring back the wounded to heal, so that must mean their own delvers are in danger, too!

The realization seems to ripple through the ranks of denizens moving to help secure the town, leaving determination in its wake. Killing an evil delver that might harm their dungeon at some point doesn't sit well with most, but killing one that is trying to harm one of their friendly delvers is much easier to consider.

That resolve settles none too soon, as fighting breaks out in the winding, twisting tunnels and along the straight central passage. It's difficult to determine which of the delvers are dangerous and which are not, but their friendly delvers seem to be able to easily spot the difference. The denizens follow directions as well as they can, and soon the first hostile delver is eliminated.

The tundra wolf releases the throat of a tall, robed delver as he feels the mana rush into him. It's exhilarating and disturbing all at once. The raw amount is intoxicating, but the knowledge of what it took to get it gives the wolf pause. Would his dungeon even want this mana? That question and more are pushed to the back of his mind as he dodges the attacks of an armored hostile delver, and he is not the only denizen who has questions that are too complicated to answer.

Some wonder if there was anything they could have done to save a friendly delver. Some discover that, although a delver can be avenged, no amount of mana will let them respawn. Some die taking a blow for a delver, learning from the regrets of their fellows. A denizen can respawn, even if they will not be able to bring back their mana if they do.

By the end of the fighting, the denizens have a greater appreciation for why their dungeon behaves as he does, why he doesn't simply kill the delvers for their mana. It was somethign they all knew, but now they feel they understand. Each delver gone is a loss they can't fully comprehend, even the hostile ones. With the Maw gone, most of the hostiles surrender, and the denizens wonder if they could have done anything differently.

With fate affinity, it's possible, but it also brings an understanding to every denizen: there is no point dwelling on it. If it was a mistake, learn from it. Some wars can be avoided, like with Hullbreak. Their dungeon could have subsumed it, destroyed it to the last denizen and spawner, but he was able to find a different path.

And, much as some would like it to be otherwise, it was plain there was no peace to be had with the Maw. The only option was to deal with it quickly, and help build something better from the broken pieces.

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Inspired by Alex Turff, who pointed out that some of Thedeim's denizens and scions killed for the first time in the war with the Maw, and wondered what effect it had on them.