Daedalus's Labrynth
The labrynth is a magical place outside the bounds of space and time. Its entrances appear throughout the world and perhaps farther. Inside, the tunnels interconnect, move, and change at their own whims. Anyone could move from Moscow to Fin Del Mundo, South America in a dozen steps. There is seemingly no logic to the layout of the tunnels, they are a living nightmare.
Intermixed in the tunnels are rooms and equipment, often parts of buildings long since destroyed or even ships lost at sea. These spaces can contain allies, enemies, lost travelers, useful equipment, supplies, and deadly traps. The tunnels themselves can be full of traps awaiting unsuspecting travelers and explorers. One wrong step could see the hall fill with lava. A monster could be lurking in the shadows of every turn. There truly is no way to know. Except, to have the Labrynth on your side.
The Labrynth itself is alive. Maybe it was never meant to be alive, but centuries of magic, lost souls wandering the corridors, and more, have created a form of sentience. There is a primal consciousness to these tunnels. They may move in ever so slightly friendlier ways for people it likes, and ways more deadly for people it doesn't. It is a subtle sense, a creature that lives for its own whims, and which will defend itself when an invader grows too bold.
To date, only the The Keepers have learned to coexist with the Labrynth. The Hulks in particular have become the creature's caretakers. They wander its halls, repairing tunnels and demonstrating the greatest influence over it. The Labrynth will actively move in vast ways to defend its Hulks. They are able to open new tunnels and entries to the Labrynth. The Dark Elves by contrast are only able to navigate and rarely, can ask it to open a new pathway. The Ravens have no ability to create tunnels or entrances, but they are the swiftest navigators. They are inately able to navigate the labrynth and pierce its illusions and deceptions. They are the only species with this ability. The Hulks and Elves must learn the ways of the labrynth, but they are not guaranteed to know their way all the time.
Intermixed in the tunnels are rooms and equipment, often parts of buildings long since destroyed or even ships lost at sea. These spaces can contain allies, enemies, lost travelers, useful equipment, supplies, and deadly traps. The tunnels themselves can be full of traps awaiting unsuspecting travelers and explorers. One wrong step could see the hall fill with lava. A monster could be lurking in the shadows of every turn. There truly is no way to know. Except, to have the Labrynth on your side.
The Labrynth itself is alive. Maybe it was never meant to be alive, but centuries of magic, lost souls wandering the corridors, and more, have created a form of sentience. There is a primal consciousness to these tunnels. They may move in ever so slightly friendlier ways for people it likes, and ways more deadly for people it doesn't. It is a subtle sense, a creature that lives for its own whims, and which will defend itself when an invader grows too bold.
To date, only the The Keepers have learned to coexist with the Labrynth. The Hulks in particular have become the creature's caretakers. They wander its halls, repairing tunnels and demonstrating the greatest influence over it. The Labrynth will actively move in vast ways to defend its Hulks. They are able to open new tunnels and entries to the Labrynth. The Dark Elves by contrast are only able to navigate and rarely, can ask it to open a new pathway. The Ravens have no ability to create tunnels or entrances, but they are the swiftest navigators. They are inately able to navigate the labrynth and pierce its illusions and deceptions. They are the only species with this ability. The Hulks and Elves must learn the ways of the labrynth, but they are not guaranteed to know their way all the time.
Purpose / Function
The Labrynth today serves as the home of the Keepers. It is their last safe haven in an exceptionally dangerous world. It houses their vast tomes and archives. It holds their schools, families, and everything else they hold dear. This one place is their final retreat, a place seemingly untouchable to the rest of the world. It is considered one of the greatest secrets in the world. Many organizations know the Labrynth exists, but few know of the treasure it holds.
Entries
Entrances to the Labrynth typically take on one of two forms. They are most often, a mysterious door on the wall or a manhole cover in the floor. They seem to stand out a little from the design of the room, but are otherwise properly fit and seamlessly a part of the wall. The other entrance is much less subtle, a hole in the wall or floor, a tunnel, or a sinkhole into another space. It generally seems as if the floor has collapsed or as if there was a tunnel bored straight up to the wall.
On the other side, the labrynth interior will drastically contrast the outside world, often a tunnel or hall that would be incredibly out of place for the location the door appeared. It is obviously not a part of the same building.
History
The Keepers are quiet on the subject of the labrynth's origins, even among themselves. It is believed that to know the origin, is to find a way to defeat it. Whether this is truth or deception, it is agreed that this knowledge must be contained for their own safety. No one with good intents would ask, and those who would ask, could have no good use for the knowledge.
What rumors spread around in the most knowledgeable in human society suggest a basic timeline:
Around or perhaps even before 4,000 BC, a Keeper Inventor created the labrynth. This figure would eventually be foundational to the myth of Daedalus. References to Labrynths appear throughout ancient mythologies spanning the world. They all, likely as not, stem from the original labrynth. This mega-structure permitted the keepers to be among the first creatuers to fully span the world. Even in early times, they largely preferred to be archivists than conquerors.
As history ticked forward, rumors spread that a great prize lay at the heart of the Labrynth. Vast knowledge capable of defeating any enemy. The existence of the keepers was beginning to become a threat. Humanity had a penchant for destruction, wherever they went. Slowly, the keepers introduced a falsehood into the mythological beliefs of the world. Daedalus's Labrynth housed not a great treaure, but a deadly beast, a Minotaur. Even still, this would be a slain beast, there was no cause to risk the dangers of the Labrynth. It was a place of madness, where only death awaited.
A short time after these beliefs were implanted in the public conciousness of humanity, the Keepers began to fully withdrawl from the visible world. For many, the burner of the Library of Alexandria, and the slow downfall of that library's remnants thereafter was evidence of humanity's short sightedness and destructive impulses. The Keepers could not be a part of society, not human and not magical, any longer. They withdrew fully into the labrynth.
Tourism
It is possible for outsiders to wander into the Labrynth. They have a 50/50 chance of escaping. They'll either be killed by a trap or beast in the tunnels, stumble out on their own, or be removed by the first keeper to find them. Often these wanderers will find themselves in foreign countries a world away from where they began.
Environmental Effects
Teleportation abilities are scrambled inside. A teleporter can teleport to what is within eyesight, beyond visible doors, and SOMETIMES into nearby rooms (if those rooms have not moved since they were last in them). They will be unable to sense the spaces around them.
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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