Daeva Stalagmite Circles

Walking through natural, unhewn caverns anydwarf wouldn’t be wrong to be perturbed by the sight of a perfect ring of stalagmites. They stand out from the misplaced scattering that you would expect from natural formations. Frequently they are found with a stalactite ring directly above, sometimes a series of holes or cracks is the only thing present. They are almost always located in chambers that are difficult to reach and in the presence of water. For the less informed, the inability to find suitable explanations for the phenomena results in the seeding of tales and folklore.    

The Forging of Myth

  Rumours of the dark depths can spread like tunnel smoke amongst the dwarven populace. The military’s scouts, mining guild’s prospectors and tunnel hewers alike are respected a respected lot and their words are to be believed. When they come back with stories of unexplainable spiked circular cages in the lesser known routes and caverns, it does not take long for the stories to be passed on and embellished.   The long-told tales always have slight differences in tone and context. Most begin with the presence of stalagmites and stalactites building in number as progress is steadily made through the tunnels. A few stories speak of beings that like to linger on the outskirts of peripheral vision. Almost always they are coupled with the unsettling feeling of being watched or followed.   One tale remarks that upon reaching a large open chamber that was previously unexplored, a series of rings were discovered. So ancient that the stalagmites and stalactites had grown so long that they had fused at the center to form a primeval cage. The interior of which was stained with a deep mucky brown and was littered by calcified animal bones. It looked almost as though maybe a beast was trapped here. Or maybe captured and placed here by shadowy beings for all manner of despicable rituals. Possibly the very same magick folk that live within your peripheries. The same folk that are said to cause fatal misfootings or even silently steal away young explorers that have strayed too far off the mapped track.   These beings have been given many colloquial names; Fairies, pockies, pixies or, as they are more commonly known, daevas. In more recent times, these myths are used as deterrents to veer naive dwarflings away from dark and unexplored tunnels of the deeps. In time, they will become accustomed to the potential threats that exist outside the safety of the city walls.   However, when you find yourself in the darkness with only a dimly lit torch to keep you company, it doesn’t take long for the daevas to come out and play.   In dwarven culture, it is wise to steer clear of such places. There is much to explore and it is senseless to spend that time in such accursed chambers.    

The Academic Reasoning

  More scholarly sorts have attempted to look into the formation of the daeva circles. It is known that water has the ability to dissolve rock over vast timespans and can carry minerals with it on its journey. When a small dripping of water finds its way to an open space, it deposits these minerals onto the ceiling and onto the floor surface below. The ring shape, however, is far more difficult to explain but it is believed that great trees on the surface sometimes breach downwards in some manner. Possibly due to weather or unstable ground. The dwarves dwelling in the eastern territories have the largest number of records that mention these circles. Through the overlaying of shoddy man-made maps being re-scaled and overlaid precise dwarven maps, the eastern territories appear to be located under flood plains, swamps and marshes. However, without the need to expand to the surface outside the chokepoint of Bakan’Grod, the complete reason will likely be undiscernible for now.

This is a submission for my second Summer Camp - I hope you enjoy the world I am building!