Ever Fallen

prologue

A boy stood in the large pit that had been discovered after the sand filling it suddenly vanished, around three hundred years ago. Ruins of what was once a city or even a kingdom sat, partially covered by sand, whoever had lived in them was long gone, however they were far from vacant, as many poor folk and those seeking a new beginning had come here, either looking for fortune, or even a place to settle down. Others simply come for adventure, like the boy who currently sat, awestruck.
The boy was a tanned skined blond, with vibrant blue eyes, he wore the official garb of the gaurd, for he was the prince of the Uoul kingdom, prince Ruul.
Ruul was here simply because he was curious, even though his mother had often warned him not to venture here, for it was dangerous. Only twenty layers had been discovered in this cavernous decent, the opening carved from the rock and decending downwards, before opening up into what seemed like a whole other world, with glowing plants and gems lighting the dark paths, making it impossibly bright in each layer, the light slightly lessened as the layers went down.
Only the twentyth Lauer had been officially marked, as people often felt too nauseous to continue, and those that had gone deeper never returned. The cavern also posed other threats, as it was filled with strange and new creatures, some dangerous, others simply cute and bizarre. Even the plants could be dangerous, as some would set traps to catch bigger, more nutritious prey, it wasn't hard to believe that these creatures are what kept those from returning from beyond the twentyth layer.
But none of that mattered for Ruul, he simply wanted to explore the first few layers, which were much safer, as it seemed that the sunlight that seeped in, kept the creatures at bay, it seemed they were more sensitive to the bright light. This meant Ruul would be fine so long as he didn't reveal his princely status, and didn't go too far in, he only wanted a look afterall.
After gazing at the arched hole that had been cut into the Cliffside of this craterous pit for what felt like ages, he finally took a deep breath and walked forward, downward into the cavern. He was amazed at the amount of light that reached down below, but looking upwards he saw cracks in the earth that looked like they were seeping sunlight, though he never bothered to wonder if that even made sense, as they were hundreds of meters below the clifside. Ruul was simply awestruck, as he wandered deeper into the cavern, slightly nervous that it might collapse and trap him inside. Yet that fear subsided once he walked into the first opening, that had turned into a small village, with many stalls sitting right at the entrance, a variety of people selling interesting things and foods.
He was told that the poor came here and lived in misery with much sickness, but everyone here looked perfectly healthy and even happy.
"Of course she lied, she lies about everything." Ruul sighed, under his breath, looking around in awe of the place. "But it's really pretty here." The walls were lined with moss and vines that glowed vibrantly.
He made his way to a stall where an older lady sat, she was selling strange foods, probably of the various plants that grew here, and the meat was likely of the creatures that lived here, he was curious to try it. The lady had a little girl with her who was happily eating a veggie and meat skewer.
The old lady smiled and pointed at the different things "today's special is the vola kabob, don't worry it's all safe to eat, it's your first time here yes?"
He nodded "that obvious is it?" He smiled, a tad embarrassed.
"Yes, every new travel always has the same bewildered look when they enter this place, afterall it is a mysterious place filled with many wonders, though you seem awful young to be here, you look like a mere child." She chuckled.
"Oh, I get that alot... but I'm actually an adult." It wasn't a lie, but he still was pretty young, only eighteen. "But I don't plan on going too deep, I hear its much more dangerous there."
"Oh yes, very much so, the real dangers tend to show at the fifth layer, and only get worse the farther you go. Those aren't rumors, and don't get too comfortable, as even here on the first layer, there are dangers." This old lady seemed plenty willing to help, unlike the way Ruul's mom painted the people of the cavern to be.
Ruul had been told that the people of the cavern were savages, who would strike him down and strip him of everything. "So how much are these?" He pointed to the special.
"Oh the vola, only three quin, but for a first timer, you can try it for free!" She smiled.
"Are you sure? I can pay." He said looking a bit taken aback.
"Oh I bet you can, your uniform suggest you're part of the ungi, guarding gates if the kingdom must be a difficult job for someone so young." She shook her head "but regardless of how rich or poor you are, here that rarely matters, we have enough to sustain ourselves, and money is just a luxury we sometimes take to the surface, but here, in the cavern, we have no use for it, we really have everything we need." She explained
"Oh, so then it's more like a trade system." He asked.
She gave a nod "yes, especially in the lower cities, the last city doesn't even accept quin, only trades of items of equal value."
"I guess that makes sense, it's probably a long trip." The word last city made Ruul uneasy, it sounded foreboding, but he shook it off. "Thank you." He picked up the Vola skewer.
"Try it, trust me you'll want nothing else." She said with a smile.
He gave a nervous smile before taking a bit of the meat, it was sweet, but savory. She was right, he would be content to eat this and only this. "It's so good! What is a vola?"
"They are white little critters, you'll see then skittering around and know right away that they are Vola."
He looked confused. "Sure I will..." he sounded skeptical, to which she simply laughed.
He finished eating the skewer, he was tempted to get another, but he had so many other things to see, and didn't want to linger on one place too long, he only had limited time afterall.
He took the next few minutes just looking through the stalls before exploring the city, most of the people were friendly, while others kept to themselves, it was exactly like it was uptop, except no one was poor and starving. "It's so much better here..." this was like the kingdom he sought to create, except his kingdom was much bigger, and would take alot more work. But he definitely felt it was possible, and he would see to it, even if it meant venturing into the caverns and finding its secrets.
As he walked towards the second layer, he felt the pocket clock in his pouch buzz, time was already up, he'd have to head back home now, or his mother might suspect something. But he swore he'd come back, he needed to, it was as if the caverns were calling to him, pulling him in, closer.