Editing Magical Realm Cyoa/Diaspora/Secrets/Unnatural (section)

== '''The Dungeonmind''' ==

Perhaps the most unnatural and terrifying aspect of Diaspora is the fact that the dungeons are sentient.  Not individually, and not in any really recognizable way, but still the dungeons as they exist through the many scattered pockets of Diaspora have formed a type of group-mind which acts like a kind of sub-conscious genius loci for the entire realm.

What effect does that have, you might ask?  Well, that's complicated.  Because the Dungeonmind is not so much a person as a gestalt desire to find and train worthy adversaries.  You see, while the Dungeonmind is aware of itself and mostly aware of the individual dungeons that compose it, those far-flung outposts of danger and adventure aren't physically connected.  They do share a single mystical bond, but that bond stretches through the Elemental Plane of Fire (see Portals section of the Secrets page for how that works) and is quite tenuous.  This means that conscious though is subsumed almost entirely by burning desire, rage, hatred, and general malice for everyone and everything.  And at the same time, a passionate desire to fight and be fought on equal terms.  The Dungeonmind does not want destruction, merely conflict and growth.  By preference, wildfire-like growth.

There are several things that the Dungeonmind is very, very good at.  It is the force which generates 'random encounters' - match ups between individuals or groups with monsters and other denizens who would be hostile, but for inexplicable reasons are about equal in strength to the forces they are attacking, every single time.  Basically, no matter how powerful the individuals marching through the Dungeonmind's territory (which is effectively everything not claimed by civilization), they will find themselves constantly encountering beasts, traps and obstacles that are challenging to them.

Another thing that the Dungeonmind is quite good at is the acquisition and distribution of the realm's magical abilities.  The Dungeonmind acts like a cross between a hivemind and a magical archive in this manner - it is the Dungeonmind's duty to take the souls of those who died, strip them of their memories of life, build new bodies for them and place them in new realms with the subconsciously implanted skills needed for survival and rapid growth.  The Dungeonmind does all this with great relish and artistry (in its own opinion), because this is the activity it lives for.  Taking in the shared experiences of all the realm's inhabitants as they die - experiences it often helped in creating in the first place and now seeing the fruits of its eternal labors?  That is why the Dungeonmind exists.

This is also why people will be given new skills when striving and adventuring.  The Dungeonmind is rewarding those who live full and rich lives, because those people are the most enjoyable to harvest at death.  And the Dungeonmind is also the reason why past lives are difficult to recover from the reborn - the memories of those individuals does still exist, but they are not kept within the mind of reborn.  Those memories are stored and cherished by the Dungeonmind itself.  The Dungeonmind is willing to trade with those who can sense its presence, usually for strong experiences or fresh kills, and that is how one can manage to get back the lost minds of the dead - but the Dungeonmind also has trouble finding individual minds within its vast memories.

Of course, the Dungeonmind is not entirely benevolent.  Indeed, it is actively malevolent much of the time as it desires to harvest the lives of people to feed its own desires.  However, it has enough foresight that it does not want to slaughter those who still have life and adventure in them - though it has no problem taking advantage of opportunities as they come up.  However, the Dungeonmind is also enlightened enough to know when something is a threat to its 'food' supply.

Those creatures and minds whose purpose is wanton destruction, who would disrupt the realm itself or seek to change it in a fundamental way, earn the instant hatred of the Dungeonmind.  This does not apply to simple conquerors - those who would subjugate or even merely slaughter the inhabitants of the realms - such things are merely passing issues to the Dungeonmind, who sees mass slaughter as a hearty breakfast.  No, its eternal enmity goes to any who would attempt to deny it food, whether by rendering the world of Diaspora into dust, or forcing it to be less dangerous.