Okeanoeidís - or Ocean like - is the most common Dungeon structure found all over the Vualtar continent. It is beleived that it is equallz common in other continents, but for tmost of these it is less well described. Generally, Okeanoeidís Dungeons follow a pattern of the Neustonic layer, the Pelagial zones, and the benthic "ground".
These layers are theorized to be formed by gradients of mana availability (from contact to the surface) in addition to Miasma distribution and density throughout the whole dungeon. The latter has to be further differentiated by organism bound miasma, mostly occuring in species themselves, and free Miasma that can be dangerous to mana based entities in low quantities but also to Miasma based organisms ike the Daimons in the larger quantities of the lowest layers in a dungeon.
Neustonic
The Neustonic layer is the first encountered by many since it thrives from the mana and miasma density experienced at entrances to any dungeon. An incredible amount of microscopic organisms evolved here, both from mana-based and miasma-based Ancestors, that utilize both to create diverse life cycles. Speciation rate in these layers is high with speculation going from 100,000 unique species to over 10 million species! Consequently, research into these unique beings is active. However, it is often underfunded due to the perception of these microscip organism having no real use except being a curiosity. Naturally there are exception. Some species have proven to be useful ingredients for magical production. These are gathered and farmed by millions of litres.
In fact for some of these species the amount gathered by some adventuring guilds seem to be more than what a dungeon should be able to produce from the known etrances and the primarzy source of income of these clans. Consequently, members of these clans are often mocked as farmers by other adventurers. These insults are gladly accepted since they overshadow rumors of the clan knowing other dungeon entrances to be able to create and farm such amounts of the Neustonic species.
Bentonic
Certain areas resemble the Benton area of sea and ocean regions, in so far that they are less miasma (and mana) dense then sorrounding areas, but the concetration can still be high in the sorrounding earth, rock and ground matter. These are thus like safe pockets for explorers that give temporary reliefe to the extreme pressure created by accumulating miasma. At the same time they show a number of unique species not found in other regions of a dungeon.
Bentonic areas often have sand like grounds made up of the remains of mostly dead daimons, However, by now rather common is it to also find skelletons of adventurers, sometimes even animals that found their way into a dungeon. Between these skelleton one can also often find items. In some areas these items have accumulated so much that they replace general adventuring and discovering of lsot artifacts as the most lucrative ways to obtain money form dungeon. Incidentally these are also the most dangerous regions or dungeons.
Pelagial
The pelagial are all free areas with a gradient of miasma density the lower one goes in the dungeon. These areas take up most of the space of the dungeon and also include the most bizzare daimon species.
These areas have archetypical areas differentiated by miasma density. While these do not fit perfectly into the areas as they are found in the ocean, the terms still stuck and scholars are glad to have a topic to discuss. These areas are the epipelagial, the mesopelagial, the bathypelagial, the abyssopelagial and the hadalpelagial. With each are shift there is a 10 to 100 times increase in average miasma density.
Epipelagial
This is the first area, explorers usually encounter once they treat through the Neustonic. It houses the most iconic Daimon species, as well as, still some Mana-based species that entered and adapted to a Dungeon. The Mana concentration is rather high due to the proximity to the Dungeon openings. Thus, Miasma production is also high but in most cases bound by the biomass of the lviing organisms. Most Epipelagial species can leave the dungeon without problems. This is a not a given for species living in deeper part due to interference with Mana.
Close to the Benthos, there are several plant like Daimon species, which can sometimes fill the pelagial space. These are especially common in the Epipelagial and form archetypical ecosystems. For example, kelp forests have been described for a number of dungeons. Notably, some of these kelps have the same or related species occuring.
One of the most recognizable species occuring in the Epipelagial are the Flayer Sharks.
Mesopelagial
The depth after the Epipelagial marked by a sudden 100 times increase of Miasma concentration. The Mesopelagial takes much more ressources and/or adaptions from explorers to safely navigate but still takes up a lot of space of the overall dungeon structure. It has been known that vast territories of the Mesopelagial are yet unexplored and unmapped, but generally in most well researched dungeons these are still stripped of most freely available treasures.
Bathypelagial
Only few explorers will ever see the blackened atmosphere of the Bathypelagial. Those that do often tell from fantastic and terrifying species living there. Other - maybe more telling - refuse to talk about their experiences. Despite that there is large interest into conquering the Bathypelagial since this is one of the parts of a dungeon that is known to be underexplored and still rich in treasures despite centuries of pillaging.
Abyssopelagial
The lowest explorerd pelagial level. Miasma levels rise to such heights here that any amount of magic leads to unforseen and wildly dangerous reactions. It has even been speculated that miasma essence taken from the abyssopelagial can lead to rediscovery of wild magic due to these effects. But it has been impossible to retrieve any Diamon species or even just pure Miasma from these depths. As a result description of these has been lacking.
Hadalpelagial
The Hadalpelagial is more a theoretical construct than a real level in any dungeon. It should exist from what is known but was unaccessable for decades due to the many limitations already arising in the Abyssopelagial.
Daimon Species relating to the different areas
Pescaimon - these are Daimon species that are common in the pelagial area. They resemble fish, altough many other forms can also be visible.
Floaters - Daimon species that only float through space. They often have only sub-material bodies and are more linked to inmaterium than other living beings. As a result they are in folklore often related to spirits of the dead even though the latter was never formally confirmed. They occur all over the pelagial but bigger species are more common in lower levels.
Arthronid - Daimon whose body is made up of interconnected individual parts, they often look rather insect-like, they occur in the deepest holes, sometimes even outisde dungeons.
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