Beneath the ground, in dark holes and deep pits, life festers. As is known, the mystical force of magic that courses through the lands of Aedes is considered by the wise and learned to be the very essence of life itself. Nowhere is it stronger than deep underground.
In this mythic underground, deep in the dark pits, monsters are spawned and the environment takes on a life of its own. Some wizards theorize that the Mother of Monsters, slain or imprisoned as she is by Phaeton (according to the Church) or the Eldar (according to the elven loremasters), still gives birth to new monstrosities and dangers. That the mythic underground is in fact her still-dying body, and the foul creatures it spawns are the antibodies to intruding light, civilization and - dare we say - adventurers. This underground environment is known as the Darkholds.
These adventuring parties that venture into old dungeons and find their way into the Darkholds, regale of strange enemies, powerful and dangerous magic, and ever-shifting corridors and vaults. Some speak of whole cities and societies living underground, kingdoms of debased elves and avaricious dwarves that lost their ways. Some speak of familiar animals being mutated by the magic of the Darkholds. All speak of the slow onset of paranoia and madness claiming those dwelling too long in the deeps.
There are wizards (most of them tainted by Darkening or paranoia) that claim that if one were to venture to the deepest levels of the Darkholds, one would encounter the soul or mind of the Mother of Monsters herself, perhaps an avatar or manifestation. Some say she can be defeated permanently down there, or perhaps recruited to a cause, even brought back to the surface lands of the Sovereignty. But most wise men discount these tales for what they are: baseless ramblings of madmen. Or are they?
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