Dark Valley - Through the Cavern of Night to the Labyrinth of Light

THROUGH THE CAVERN OF NIGHT TO THE LABYRINTH OF LIGHT is an EP and print-and-play game by my dungeon synth-adjacent project DARK VALLEY. It is co-released with Mountain Forest Cabin Dweller, and the game has artwork by Chaoclypse!

This 23-minute EP invites seekers of otherworldly knowledge to journey through the lightless abyss that yawns beneath the Dark Valley. Following the instructions of the ancient sage, Honorius, you will seek out the entrance to the Cavern of Night and descend the dark stairway across the abyss… to labyrinth realm of celestial light.

Recorded March 2025, Through the Cavern of Night to the Labyrinth of Light was partly inspired by the music of my favourite band, Coil: leading to extensive use of classic Fairlight CMI samples in this production - although shrouded beneath reverb and the flutter of tape.

You can also enter the Cavern of Night yourself when you download this EP, which includes a print-and-play, solo side-scrawling dungeon crawler, with illustrations by Chaoclypse.

Honorius’ Experiment to Enter the Labyrinth of Light

[I. Seeking the Cavern of Night]
The aspirant must seek the Cavern of Night
To find it, listen for chiming within the earth;
Seek strange hills and portals.
The way is strewn with the remnants of those who went before:
Bones, tattered banners, gold dropped in mortal terror,
Seekers reduced to sleeping dust, or mummified in airless alcoves.
Press on. Seek the chamber of Inmost Night,
Seek the portal only the pure would pass.

[II. Through the Dark Abyss, to the Labyrinth of Light]
Three knocks must be struck at the door of darkness
Then descend, into the ruins of the forgotten creed,
Where cracked bells chime, and dark forms wander.
Within the necropolis there lies a sepulchre,
Its holiness shrouded in filth and fear,
Its ethereal guardians sing through the gloom.
Open the tomb and enter like the holy dead.
Descend the stairway that crosses the abyss,
Seek the light that glows in the depths of darkness.
Pass through it: be consumed by the Labyrinth of Light.
Behold the celestial creatures in their true forms.

[III. Lament for the Fading Vision]
And when you awake in some verdant glade,
Mourn not for the passing of the vision,
Know that you have glimpsed beyond the veil and the void.
Carry the spectral light within:
Let its flame seal the bleeding wounds of this world.