Ascension Cave

The Ascension Cave is one of the 16 areas of Aeterna Noctis. Located between the Light Towe and the Cradle of Light, it is one of the early zones the **King of Darkness** visits during his journey. It is also a transition area connected with the Mausoleum of the Undefeated and the Forge. The Ascensión Cave is an underground area with a unique level design and atmosphere that contains abandoned mines, goblin settlements and worm nests among waterfalls, gaps and narrow tunnels.

## Setting

This area has many different environments. Being an underground area means that a lot of mining structures and items are expected to be found. There are abandoned rails and some wagons still in operation that in the past were useful for the miners to transport minerals extracted and fast travel to any deposit. Nowadays, adventurers and goblins have continued using the rail system to traves through the large tunnels and skip worm nesst, golem burrows and other threats.

The Ascension Cave is immediately recognisable by its crystalline aesthetics. There are multiple types of crystal formations, from thin and pointed stalactites to other more unusual. These crystals can be found all around the area, even inside goblin settlements and ancient handmade structures. The only place without them is the tunnels dug by **Wormolok, the Giant Worm**, due to its powerful maw that can destroy every material. There is a specific zone called "The Crystal Forest" where green bright crystals grow in tree-like formations. This little area was one of the least exploited by mining companies before the worms arrived and the mines were abandoned, which explains why the environment looks virgin and barely exploited.

The deeper you dig into the Ascension Cave, the more worm presence you see. Wormolok domain the deepest caves and has millions of eggs waiting to hatch. Explorers describe yellow mountains of eggs and huge tunnels created by the giant worm. The path to the old goblin village is blocked by Wormolok.

## Fauna and inhabitants

Goblins are the only intelligent life forms that inhabit the Ascension Cave. They are a violent society organised in little settlements connected by rails or tunnels. They used to live in a village near the core of the Ascension Cave but the arrival of a huge creature forced them to seek new places to live. Their ruler is the **Goblin King**, a cruel monarch who lives in the capital goblin settlement and command his troops with an iron fist. The troops of the goblin army are the basic soldiers known as **shotgun goblins**, the elite **flamethrower goblins** and the braindead **dynamite goblins**.

The wild nature of the Ascension Cave is composed of crystalline being with an organism adapted to its ecosystem. **Golems** are the most dangerous creatures of the area. They are lonely hunters that can tear you apart in seconds. Other wild beasts are the **geodes**, flying crystalline balls not as threatening as golems that attack using deadly pointed projectiles. There are also non-aggressive creatures like the **slyme crystals**, that won't attack unless they are provoked.

Besides crystalline lifeforms, who are the most common creatures of the Ascension Cave, the area is also inhabited by the progeny of Wormorok, numerous **drone worms** that hatched from the eggs planted by the giant monster.

## Missions

Clear the path is one of the main task available in the Ascension Cave. Once the **King of Darkness** arrives at the goblin throne, the **Goblin King** asks him to reach the path to the old goblin village, kill the creature that blocks the way an bring something to prove that the task is completed.

## Gallery

Tree-like formations of "The Crystal Forest"Waterfalls of the Ascension Cave.Abandoned rails and other mining structuresThe mountains of eggs are proof of the worm presence in the areaPlatforms used by the goblins to build their settlementsCrystalline formations tend to disappear in the areas where the worm presence is strong