Knot Theory – Dungeons and dungeoneers all have Apothos cores that give them power. Cultivators can knot their cores, which alters the way they consume Apothos. By using a certain configuration, a cultivator could become exponentially stronger or faster. They could unlock unheard-of abilities or reduce the amount of time it takes to process Apothos with elemental affinities.
Notable Worlds in the Tree of Souls Multiverse
Bharoosh – The homeworld of everyone’s favorite practice dungeoneer, Sir Rosencranz Brandybutter
Earth – Otherwise known as Uroth, this is an Apothos-poor world, in the butt-end of the multiverse, and a place of zero importance
Eritreus – All versions of this world are at the center of the multiverse because this realm has the richest Apothos around and all the cool dungeons and diabolical dungeoneers live there.
Kitterxob – This is where the Ferox hail from, cat people who can destroy a scratching post with either spells or claws
Plimpkinny – If you’re standing in Castle Candylick, you’re on this world of gnomes, and you might just see Treacle Glimmerhappy. He was a gnome lord here before he got recruited by Shadowcroft.
Sangretta – A world of beach parties and royalty and the home of Marko Laskarelis
Toriopa – A world of mountains, libraries, and the Okitori, owl-like people who adore books, sharp beaks, and soft feathers. This is the homeworld of Inga Thosa Therian.
The Geography of Arborea
Akros Coliseum is an Apothos-rich arena in the northeastern part of Shadowcroft Castle
Arborea is a flat pocket-dimension connected to a very powerful limb of the Tree of Souls
The Bogbottom Swamp drips off the southeast corner of Arborea near the Vralkag grasslands. Most people refer to it as the Boogerbottom, and it houses two dungeons and numerous poisonous snakes.
Bogbottom Falls is a beautiful waterfall that pours off the western part of Arborea
BYE Portal (Branches that Yield Everywhere) is a narrow spit of land separating the waters of Loch Endless from the abyss on the other side. This is the way off Arborea. From there, you can go anywhere.
Castle Island is where you can find Shadowcroft Castle, where the academy is! There are two bridges that cross to the land, the North Bridge and the South Bridge.
The Codex Athenaeum is Shadowcroft’s grand library filled with endless manuals and cultivation texts, traps, and other dangers. You better want that book bad to brave the dangers to get it.
DIE Pavilion (Dungeon Interchange of Entrances) is a pavilion in the northwest courtyard of Shadowcroft Castle and is a portal that transports people to the dungeon entrances across Arborea
Golden Serpent Hall is the central feasting hall and auditorium in Shadowcroft Castle
The Grimjour Peaks are a spine of mountains separating Loch Endless and the World Forge Wastes and are pretty on winter mornings when snow glistens atop dungeons full of evil
The Heckish Hills are the volcano-wrecked mountains of the World Forge Wastes
Loch Endless is a seemingly bottomless lake in the western part of Arborea, and is the home of Castle Island
Sweetwine River drains from Loch Endless off the southern edge of Arborea
The Tartarucha Cells are a simulation dungeon filled with a wacky host of virtual dungeoneers taken from actual dungeoneers, and so, yeah, they’re ghosts
Undercroft Lobby lies underneath Golden Serpent Hall by way of the Stairwell of True Seeing and leads to a tasteful turtle fountain, the library, and the practice dungeon
Vralkag is the only non-academy settlement on Arborea and houses many of the staff at Shadowcroft Castle. The town offers a vibrant nightlife and endless amounts of shopping in a quaint medieval village.
Vralkag Grasslands fills the southern part of Arborea
The World Forge Wastes are the northern deserts of Arborea
The Xiru Forest dominates the western part of Arborea, and it’s mostly Tallwood trees, which are similar to American redwood trees. If you’re going to the Xiru, check out the Wayfarer Inn.
The Thirteen Dungeons of Arborea
Blasted Barrows – A crypt-like dungeon in the low hills to the west of Vralkag
Bloodrock – A mountain dungeon in the Heckish Hills of the World Forge Wastes
Bone Vaults – An undead paradise north of Vralkag
Chaos Oasis – Near the only water in the World Forge Wastes, and there are palm trees but it’s not pretty
Cruelwood – A nasty dungeon in the forests near Vralkag
Mines of Madness — A dungeon on the western slope of the Grimjour Peaks
Root Kill – The northernmost forest dungeon in the Xiru Forest
SandScream – A sandy hell in the eastern part of the World Forge Wastes
Skullsplatter Morass – The eastern dungeon in the Bogbottom Swamp
Submerged Hell – The underwater dungeon in the middle of Loch Endless
Twisted Vine – The western dungeon in the Bogbottom Swamp
Under Stump – The southernmost forest dungeon in the Xiru Forest
Winterdark Halls – A dungeon in the central peaks of Grimjour Peaks
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Looking for more dungeon core, and need it right this minute? Check out: Rogue Dungeon (The Rogue Dungeon Book 1). Or keep reading to take a sneak peek.
ROARK VON GRAF—HEDGE mage and lesser noble of Traisbin—is one of only a handful of Freedom fighters left, and he knows the Resistance’s days are numbered. Unless they do something drastic ...
But when a daring plan to unseat the Tyrant King goes awry, Roark finds himself on the run through an interdimensional portal, which strands him in a very unexpected location: an ultra-immersive fantasy video game called Hearthworld. He can’t log out, his magic is on the fritz, and worst of all, he’s not even human. He’s a low-class, run-of-the-mill Dungeon monster. Some disgusting, blue-skinned creature called a Troll. At least there’s one small silver lining—Roark managed to grab a powerful magic artifact on his way through the portal, and with it he might just be able to save his world after all.
Unless, of course, the Tyrant King gets to him first ...
Chapter One: Heroes and Cowards
THE LAST FIERY RED light of sunset glared over the peaked rooves of the village of Korvo, just violent and desperate enough to tear through the dark storm clouds that had been looming all day. In the snow-blown streets, women in brightly colored dresses decorated with shiny tin coins and men in dark jerkins over vibrant shirts rushed home from the afternoon’s errands, heads down, eyes on the cobblestones. The beggars and street urchins common to every settlement since the Tyrant King came into power had quietly disappeared into the dark, dank hideaways where they took shelter in times of inclement weather.