Silver Stars, Ch 7: Advent (Patreon)

Near the Peak of Sun’s Rest, On the First Layer

The hall of the Hastern home glowed with light. There was a mix of warm moonlight and silver flames around a small cradle.

“Hello, little one,” Sam said with a grin as he held out his finger and let his little brother wrap his hand around it. “You are cute.”

“He is,” Aemilia agreed with a smile. She was sitting beside the cradle with her hand brushing across the baby’s head. “We’ve decided to name him Roric. It was my grandfather’s name. He was always kind when I was a child.”

Jeric had an arm wrapped around her shoulders while he leaned over to grin at his new son. He rumbled with laughter as he saw Roric holding Sam’s finger.

“Happy birthday, Roric.” Sam grinned as he held out his free hand. A shimmer of silver stars spun above it. “I brought you something.”

A rainbow-hued crystal sphere appeared above his hand. It was about six inches across and it had a perfectly smooth surface that swirled with bright hues. 

Roric’s eyes were mostly closed, but he turned his head toward it and stuck his tongue out, as if he could sense it. 

“Good mana senses,” Sam said with a grin as he set the sphere to hover beside the cradle. “This will help to keep an eye on him and grow with him. It’s a protective artifact that will take care of him. It’s also a toy. You can pick a name for it. Just tell it what you want it to answer to.”

With a tap of essence, he linked the sphere to Roric’s aura, marking him as its owner. The sphere hummed softly and began to play a soothing melody that sounded like wind and rain. 

A quiet breeze blew across the cradle, making the air feel alive, and Roric’s eyes drifted closed.

In fact, the rainbow sphere was connected to both the World Core and the Path of Stars, as well as the Moonlight Relic’s library. It was also a golem, one that was over Level 400 despite its small size.

It had strong capabilities to defend its owner, from defensive shields to offensive enchantments that would eliminate threats. It also had a large amount of spatial storage to carry things, whether it was clothing, food and water, books, or other things.

At the moment, it was stocked full of elemental elixirs for his parents to give Roric. Sam had added a wide assortment of them, since he wasn’t sure which elements his brother would like.

“It’s designed differently than Cora,” he added, thinking of the golem he’d made for Altey. “This one is more of a blank assistant and it doesn’t have as much personality. When he’s older, I’ll create one that matches him better, once he’s had a chance to grow into it.”

He wobbled his finger around, tugging on Roric’s grip as he grinned. Then he continued to explain.

“The elixirs inside will help to enhance his elemental foundations and to ensure his mana and aura are strong. They’re all safe for him to drink. The sphere can change to any color and shape that’s up to a dozen times larger, including as a floating cradle, and it’s soft enough that he can squish it if he likes. If you want it to carry him around or to bathe him, you can ask it to do that too.”

He’d built it to help take care of his brother, as well as to act as his personal attendant. Even if Roric chewed on it, it wouldn’t hurt it at all.

He wouldn’t lack for people to take care of him, but it would be good for him to have something that was always by his side.

He twitched his finger again to play with Roric, and then he sent a wave of astral energy flowing across his brother, adding a protective sheen of magic. It shimmered across his skin and disappeared, leaving his cheeks rosy.

It was a temporary enchantment that would act as a defensive ward, making it difficult for him to be injured by anything on Aster Fall. With the amount of energy in it, it should last for several years before it needed to be renewed again.

Being born to two Third Evolution parents was enough of a blessing that Roric would probably never be sick. The strength of his parents would be reflected in him. 

He also had a different gift from them. 

A ripple of moonlight was flowing through his hair and a sense of stable earth radiated from his aura. Sam studied it with interest.

Bloodline of the Lunar Mountain. 

Quality: Perfect.

It was a fusion of his parents’ bloodlines: the mountain from Jeric and the moons from Aemilia.

It wasn’t entirely clear what it would develop into, but it was a perfectly formed bloodline. It wouldn’t have strange emotional effects on Roric as he grew. It would grow with him instead, slowly augmenting his strength as it developed into unique abilities.

As Sam looked up, he turned to Altey, who was sitting on a chair near the cradle. She was leaning forward with her hands folded under her chin as she grinned at her new brother.

Everyone already knew about Roric’s bloodline, but she didn’t seem to be bothered that her brother had one and she didn’t. She had been playing with him when Sam arrived and couldn’t stop looking at him.

At her age, the fact that her class was still years away was her main irritation, and even if she was proud of her brother, Sam knew she would still think about it, so he decided to make her feel better. 

“He has the advantage of being born after our parents developed their bloodlines,” he explained with a smile, “but your Blessing of Ice from Siwaha has fused into your aura and your hard work will pay off. It is the harder way, but you’re creating a bloodline of your own.”

She turned to look at him, her eyes bright with blue Ice mana. His words had grabbed her attention.

“Bloodlines come from two sources,” he explained, clarifying some things that were not well known. “They’re either innate, like a family line, which is where Roric’s comes from, or they can arise from a fusion of your aura with a source of powerful external energy. That is how our parents did it, and it is the way that the Bloodline Clans came into existence. That is also how you are doing it.

“The flexibility to adapt to different environments is one of humanity’s gifts, one not shared by many other races. When you meet a source of energy that matches you, you can sometimes fuse it into your aura. That results in unique abilities, almost like a second mana pool.” 

A swirl of snowflakes was flying around Altey as a result of her mood shifting. He pointed to them as he continued.

“Your training with Siwaha has enhanced the flow of Ice through your aura and helped to acclimate you to the element, making that fusion speed up. You also have a deep connection with the Moonlight Relic and the aura of the moons here, since you’re growing up with it. You met the basic requirements for a bloodline a while ago. It hasn’t fully appeared yet, since you need to grow stronger to bring it out, but it will appear by the time you reach your First Evolution, if not before.”

His eyes moved between his two siblings. He grinned as he twitched the finger Roric was holding onto again, making his brother grip tighter. 

“Roric has his from birth, but he will need to learn how to use his abilities as he grows, the same as you did. You’ve already done that work and now you’re accessing your abilities at a conscious level, just like you can shape the snow around you.”

He paused for effect as her eyes grew brighter.

“Do you want to know what your bloodline will be called?”

The World Core would normally have announced it on her 18th birthday when she unlocked her class, like it did for the Bloodline Clans, but it was easy for him to see it. The core recorded everything she had done, and it had a lot of notes on her.

“Tell me already!” Altey demanded as she reached out and punched him on the shoulder. She was frowning, since he was teasing her by making her wait.

Sam grinned at her.

“It’s called the Bloodline of Moonlit Ice,” he said as he held up a finger in front of his lips like it was a secret. “It’s an aura of Ice and the moons. Roric’s is closer to our father’s Bloodline of Frozen Earth and the mountains here. Yours is moon-touched Ice.”

Altey’s hand was frozen in place, ready to punch him on the shoulder again, but now her eyes were looking into the distance. After a moment, her attention snapped back to him and her hand fell back to her side.

“Thank you.”

Then she hugged him before she turned and leapt out of the room. A moment later, she was out of the house and heading in the direction of the Ice Sylph village, probably to find Siwaha.

“That was nice of you,” Jeric said with a grin. “She’ll be focused on that for a while. I bet she’s going to ask Siwaha how to train a bloodline now.”

“Almost certainly,” Aemilia agreed with a laugh. “She wants to help. For now, that means getting stronger, and you’ve made her see that it will happen, so she will try to find the best way to do it.”

“At least she won’t feel left out.” Sam chuckled as he turned back to Roric and continued teasing him by bouncing his finger around. 

A little while later, as Roric drifted off to sleep, he looked at his parents and the rainbow sphere. 

The power in the golem was well contained and visible only as a warm light, but it was strong enough to tear apart nearly anything on Aster Fall. Even if Roric ended up floating in the Void or a dimensional rift, the golem would protect him for a long time.

But he wasn’t planning to let that happen. 

“May your generation be the beginning of a new era for Aster Fall,” he said quietly. “And if not, I’ll be around to make sure it is.”

Then he faded away in a field of silver stars, leaving them sparkling in the room above his brother’s cradle.

Roric reached up with a clumsy hand and grabbed at one of them. His face wrinkled into a grin that he couldn’t quite manage yet, but he was trying. 

He stuck out his tongue as his eyes drifted closed.

***

In the Void

Streaks of starlight flared in the dark as Sam stepped off the astral path, bringing Silverguard with him.

He could sense the Vos’Rekan just ahead.  

Its signature had grown stronger as he followed the trail. It was a hole in the Void, breathing in energy that never returned. 

The beasts were naturally hidden from even a Titan’s senses.

The basic method to hunt a Vos’Rekan was to look for an absence of energy, which was a space where they might be hiding, or to look for a star that had just gone dark, but neither method was good. It was difficult to distinguish them against the Void. 

Without the essence link, it would have been very hard to find it. 

When he’d built Silverguard from Vos’Rekan stone, he’d taken advantage of the same concealing property, which helped to keep wandering Vos’Rekan from finding the fortress and coming to attack it.

It was an old habit of the Titans to use that material when they built outposts in the Deep Wild. It saved a lot of trouble.

Normally, the appearance of a massive silver fortress would send ripples of displaced energy throughout the system and alert everyone nearby, but the island absorbed the ambient energy around it as it appeared, making it difficult to notice its appearance except for someone looking straight at it.

Despite that, it wasn’t so easy to sneak up on a Vos’Rekan. He had hoped the beast would be asleep so they could ambush it, but he could feel its essence stirring as he came closer. 

It could sense him approaching.

The system was dark, without the sun that should have shone here, making a clear sign of the beast’s presence. Shards of cold stone floated through the center where the sun had been, spinning in the wild paths of a debris field.

Farther out, a world had been reduced to rubble and a massive dark sphere floated in the scattered dust left behind. 

It was here.

It was still a long distance away, but it wouldn’t take long to reach it. He looked across the distance with a calm gaze. A fierce stellar wind blew around him, tugging at his cloak and whistling across the towers of Silverguard.

This battle would go differently than the last.

All of the preparations had been made and his avatar in the Void was continuing to process the information in front of him, so there was no hesitation as he directed the fortress to fly toward the Vos’Rekan.

He turned and gave his orders. 

“It is time.” His words echoed across Silverguard, filling the fortress with power. “We have found the Vos’Rekan, the ancient enemy. Take your positions and prepare. Hold firm to the defenses and prepare for battle.”

Then he directed a thought to his old ally. 

“Keros, let us begin.” 

A moment later, the Cer’Aleth was standing by his side. 

He was overseeing the emissaries, acting as their commander and an intermediary. It was more comfortable for them to follow their elder and it saved Sam a great deal of trouble. 

Keros’s commands to them were quick, but Sam could hear the echo of his thoughts. Following his orders, the emissaries flew into the sky and took up positions on other towers. 

Each of them stared into the distance as they tried to see the Vos’Rekan that was still barely visible. Their abilities burned bright around them.

“We are ready, Sam Hastern,” Keros said silently to him. “We will follow your commands and the plan you have laid out. It will be the glory of our peoples to fight a Vos’Rekan together with you. The young ones have been reminded of what is truly important. These ancient calamities must not threaten our homelands. But despite that, they are still nervous. They have never faced such a thing before.”

“I will protect them as my own people,” Sam replied. “But I will also reassure them.”

He turned his attention to the entire fortress as he spoke again, this time to the artifact spirit at the core.

“Silverguard, rise!”

At his feet, Silverguard began to brighten as astral energy flooded through the enchantments. The offensive and defensive arrays spun upwards, sending arcs of silver energy blazing across the Void like a banner of war.

The island was three miles wide and the enchantments stretched out for hundreds of miles around it in each direction, a massive ward that was even greater than the size of the Vos’Rekan itself.

The size of the beast was one of the main problems the last time he faced it, making it difficult to damage it. This time, he’d taken it into account.

He raised his hands and added his own power to the enchantments, creating a fusion that he’d spent years perfecting with his distant avatar.

Twenty avatars appeared around Silverguard, taking up key nodes in the widespread enchantment. From their hands, arcs of astral energy flared outward and fused into the fortress’s arrays.

All of those lines linked back to him at the center, and the core ability he’d developed to wage war with the Vos’Rekan.

Lines of Stellar Conversion flared brightly as energy from the chaos winds began to pour into the wards. 

Droplets of astral quintessence formed and then took the shape of astral runes that shimmered with power, giving a primordial weight to the spells.

A dimensional wave surrounded the fortress and stretched out along the enchantments, forming a great ward against the Vos’Rekan’s dimensional abilities.

Before, he’d had to create a small formation with his avatars to slice through the beast’s dimensional bubble, but this time, the fortress would tear through it like a mountain colliding with a wave.

Then from the fortress itself, the aquiline forms of assault golems launched into the dark like shooting stars, taking up their positions inside the enchantments. Their cores resonated with the flow of astral energy as each of them reinforced the wards even more.

There were five hundred of them on each side of Silverguard, creating two great wings.

Finally, the Silver Army took to the air, forming up in shining ranks behind Sam’s position on the peak.

With all of the forces gathered, the fortress was a blazing sun, radiating energy into the Void that not even its base material could hide.

In the distance, a massive yellow eye opened.

The beast was curled up in a ball, but as soon as that eye appeared, it began to change shape. A head rose up from the surface, bringing the eye with it. 

It had lost its other eye in the last battle and now there was a grey scar where it should have been. It hadn’t had time to fully regenerate it yet.

Despite that, as the beast uncurled, most of its body was intact. It was riddled with scars in various stages of repair, but the bulk of the damage had disappeared.

The star and the world it ate had filled in the gaps. Whatever life had been on them was now part of this ancient thing.

It might have slept for longer, but with the link between them, it had probably been restless, unable to fully settle into sleep.

A wave of crackling voidfire rippled out from it, tearing dimensional rifts in the Void as its defensive aura spread into a barrier.

“Its head belongs to the Silver Lord,” Sleset hissed from behind Sam. Anger seethed in his tone, but it was channeled into force. “I will take its other eye as payment for its blood debt.”

His hands gripped curved daggers, although they were more runic tools that enhanced his spells than melee weapons.

Sam looked back at him and nodded. At the same, he Analyzed him.

Sleset Hencke. Level 420. First Fang of the Silver Lord (Legendary)-Scaled General of the Silver Army.

He was still underleveled for this fight, but he wasn’t the same naga who had fought this beast the last time. With the Blessing of Silver Stars, he was twice as strong as he would have been otherwise.

His words were followed by a crash of agreement from the nagas behind him. All of them were between Level 408 and 420 now.

A hundred nagas had died the last time they fought this thing.

Sam didn’t plan to add any more to that debt.

A golden astral spear formed in Sam’s hand, covered in runes that were linked to Silverguard’s enchantments. 

The wings of the enchantment radiated outward to the sides and the towers shot rays of light into the Void above, making the fortress glow like a brilliant star.

He pointed his spear at the Vos’Rekan and a burning silver ray launched forward through the dark.