Lore explanation time, starting with sectors! If you open the image I put up top, you'll see a loose map of how the sectors tie in with each other! The black lines represent the Crossroads (there are more bridges and the sectors are more detailed of course, but I didn't want the map to look too chaotic haha)

Alright, let's get into it :D

The Forest

» Before the disaster with the Ravagers happened, the Forest was considered a part of the Keep. The two sectors mixed in with each other so much that they felt like one combined area.

» The Forest was well-kept by the Keep--the trees and plants were pruned, vibrant flowers were planted in the ground, and the canopy was so thin and light at times that the sunlight shone right through. You could often see people hanging out inside in their free time--it was like the replacement for the castle courtyard before the Forest was considered off-limits.

» There were monsters in the Forest, especially skeleton archers near the snowy mountain. The Keep wasn't too concerned with them, though, as the mobs mostly stayed away from the bulk of the Forest. Whenever one got too close, it was easily taken care of by the guards patrolling the area.

» When the Ravagers got loose and people were too scared to leave the Keep, the Forest was abandoned. With no one to take care of it, the plant life grew until the whole place was overgrown. The canopy became so thick that you couldn't see the sunlight even at high noon.

» And since the Keep didn't want to venture back into the Forest, the monsters hiding out inside began to explore more of the sector before eventually taking over the whole area and killing anyone who dared go inside to see what was happening.

» So, in short, the Keep and Forest basically switched sides. That was an unintentional detail, but I decided to keep it in ^^

The Labyrinth

» The Labyrinth, along with the Fortress, is one of the least-known (and explored) sectors in the Dungeon. People didn't know what was inside--all they knew that the Labyrinth was, well, a maze. They were scared to get lost and get attacked by whatever could be in there.

» When Etho was exploring the Labyrinth after killing the Ravager in there, though, he found that the beast was actually the main danger. The Labyrinth seemed almost abandoned in a sense.

» You might remember some galactic writing Etho found on the Blackstone path! One of those lines translates to "the souls are trapped in the sand", which is implying that the soul sand is sentient, in a way. Etho even felt it shifting around on its own as he was walking through it.

» Etho finds the Black Market near the end of that chapter. Rather than the market giving out useful items for a lower price (like it did in the actual Decked Out), the market here is more run-down and doesn't have any more items that are of use.

The Fortress

» As I said earlier, the Fortress and the Labyrinth are the least-known sectors of the Dungeon. But--unlike the Labyrinth--the Fortress was unexplored because of the obvious danger. They could see the blaze spawners at the top of each tower, and that was just from what was visible from far away. How much more would there be inside the actual structure?

» Just like a regular Nether Fortress, this one contains the monsters you'd expect to be inside--blazes, wither skeletons, etcetera. I took some liberties with worldbuilding and expanded on the structure itself (and its rooms!) as you saw in the chapter :D

» Some of the rooms y'all read in there were that gold/treasure room and a brewing room, which were both smaller-scale rooms in the actual Decked Out. And, of course, the warped and crimson forest rooms, which I combined into one larger forest to resemble a greenhouse or plant area!

The Ruins

» The Ruins is one of my favorite sections because of its lore in this universe. It used to be the old kingdom before the Keep was constructed, hundreds of years ago. Of course, over time, as the Ruins was abandoned, the stone structures were weathered and started to break apart, gradually turning into the Ruins the Wanderers constructed their base camp in.

» Speaking of that base camp, the room they used was actually the old throne room! The throne blocked the door behind it, though. I don't want to expand on that door's lore too much yet until the sequel so I'll leave it vague for now haha

» The other main element of the Ruins is the Evokers hiding around :D They've been around since the start of the Ruins, back when magic was a lot more common (avians, wizards, etc.). They were like the Ruins' last line of defense if anything happened. After the Ruins was abandoned, the Evokers were left behind until Etho triggered the trap that summoned them again.

The Keep

» We're all pretty familiar with the Keep! It's one of the sectors I've explained the most in the story, so I'll skim over the details quickly :]

» The Keep is separated into sectors based on where you are in the social hierarchy--the higher you are on that figurative pyramid, the closer you lived to the castle. Etho lived near the outskirts of the Keep, but he would always visit the castle because he was friends with Tango and Impulse!

» The graveyard, which is the Keep's entrance to the Forest nearby, is around the back of the castle. That's mainly it for the Keep, but if you have any questions feel free to drop a comment! I'd be happy to hear from y'all (and I probably missed a few things in this chapter too) ^^