Silver Stars, Ch 12: Divine Forging (Patreon)

The forge fire soared above Silverguard, a pillar reaching a thousand miles high into the Void.

Sam stood in front of the flame as he took off his cloak and bracer and set them on a table to the side. 

On his other side, the dozen fragments floated in the air. 

The Fragments of the Primal Void were different from other materials and fairly easy to infuse into artifacts he’d already made. They didn’t require reforging the item, just integrating the energy. 

It was impossible to control that process without being a Primordial race, but for him, the fragments were like his own breath.

The only question was what type of outcome he wanted. 

Pushing the artifacts up to the Divine tier meant that they would become semi-autonomous and would develop artifact spirits of their own eventually, unless he prevented it. 

They would also begin to exist in all dimensions, which would anchor their presence in reality, make them indifferent to the flow of time, and greatly enhance their durability. 

They were linked to his aura and could regenerate with him, but this would make it harder for them to be damaged.

They would become true divine artifacts that resonated with his law.

Their abilities would also advance, which was where most of the power from the fragment would go once it upgraded their foundation.

Before he started, he examined the description on his bracer for reference. 

It was a silver crystal bracer that reflected the flames with rainbow light. He’d forged it from a stellar core and a Fragment of the Primal Void, as well as the remains of his two older bracers, which had held auras of starlight and moonlight inside.

Silver stars drifted across the bracer, each in their own path. As he looked into it, the Void stretched out in the depths into star fields contained inside. Wisps of starlight and astral energy danced across the surface and runes formed among them, falling down into it before they reformed with new symbols.

Bracer of Primal Stars (Nascent Semi-Divine Artifact)

This bracer was forged from starlight and the essence of the Primal Void. It still holds both inside. As a Nascent Semi-Divine artifact, its primary attribute is its potential to advance and it is nearly unbreakable. It is a personal artifact of the Lord of Silver Stars.

Effects: Primal Starlight, Void of Silver Stars, Astral Wind, Stellar Bombardment, Stellar Bond.

Holds: 3,000,000 essence at the initial level.

As unbreakable as a sun.

Primal Starlight: This bracer is a creation of the Primal Void and starlight. It has nearly unlimited growth potential. It can absorb additional energy of the Primal Void, essence, astral energy, and elemental forces in order to improve itself.

Void of Silver Stars: This ability allows the wielder to divide the Void and create a secondary dimension in which to trap enemies.

Astral Wind: Summon an astral storm to sweep across enemies and lay waste to their defenses. The force of this storm is a concentrated form of the Void’s chaos wind.

Stellar Bombardment: Summon a storm of blazing starlight and icy comets from the Void to bombard your foe.

Stellar Bond: This artifact is linked to your essence constellation. No matter where it is, you will sense it. If it is damaged, it can repair itself by drawing on your essence.

When he made the bracer, he’d infused it with his Law of Primal Runes and his understanding of the Void, including the runes that he could see everywhere.

He looked at his cloak next.

It was an expanse of dark cloth that glowed with silver light. Stars shone from the depths, along with a mist of stardust that drifted across the surface, like stellar gas floating through the Void.

Runes appeared above it, similar to his bracer, glimmering before they fell into the material.

The result was a dark stellar fabric that was just as durable as his bracer but more flexible. It was dense and barely stirred even under the full force of the chaos winds, but it looked like it was ready to drift away at any moment.

Cloak of the Ethereal Void (Nascent Semi-Divine Artifact).

Effects: Primal Starlight, Aura of Frozen Stars, Armor of Ethereal Frost, Dimensional Storage, Stellar Bond, Ethereal.

Charge: 3,000,000 essence.

Both of the artifacts had the effect of Primal Starlight, which was the result of the first fragments when they had mixed with his law. 

The future for them was the same path.

His path.

He set the cloak aside and placed the bracer into the silver flame.

All around Silverguard, his avatars flew into the sky and activated the support enchantments, channeling the energy of the chaos winds toward him. 

Vortexes of starlight spun around the fortress and condensed into sparkling silver rivers of astral quintessence, which thundered toward the forge.

In his vision, the natural laws of the Void flared, burning in living runes. He could feel the strength of his domain resonating around him and the energy bent to his will.

All of that power poured toward the bracer as one of the Fragments of the Primal Void flew into his hand.

The fragment crumbled away, turning into a river of sparkling silver-black dust that felt like it was heavier than a world. Ancient runes that spoke of the Void’s origin took shape inside, shifting moment by moment, their energies on the verge of changing into something else.

The dust flew toward the bracer in the flames and merged with the runes and starlight falling inward.

The sense of primal energy in the bracer turned deeper as the starfields within stretched out, becoming vaster. The stars took on new colors, resonating with the signature of greater suns as ages seemed to pass.

The runes falling into the bracer changed, becoming simpler and older. Each line echoed with a profound truth, as if it had always been and always would be. 

The Void around Silverguard shook in recognition. Rivers of energy that Sam hadn’t called appeared on their own, responding to the call of the runes in the bracer.

The chaos winds howled in a massive vortex, spinning around the fortress as their energy intensified a hundred times.

It felt like the energy was appearing from nowhere, surfacing from the Void itself, but Sam could feel the dimensional energy shifting at the same time, gathering the forces from stars and dust that stretched out across the darkness.

In the face of primal energy, space and time bent, dimensions warped, and chaos reigned. 

Starlight swirled around Silverguard, focusing on the peak where Sam was forging, and mystical visions of distant places took shape in the sky, showing places far beyond this system.

Some were images of bright worlds around distant stars, full of life and water, others were deserts of elemental fire and shifting mountains taller than a sun.

Among them, runes appeared and disappeared as the heavens changed form.

All of that energy was part of the Fragment of the Primal Void, echoes of what it had been in the early days when it burned brightly. It was called back into existence now as it imbued its strength in the bracer.

And then it was done.

The silver crystal bracer floated in the flames.

It looked simpler, a touch less radiant than before, as if the fires inside were older. Runes and starlight had been falling into it before, but now it felt like everything in the area was falling toward it, drawn by the gravity of a sun.

The runes above the surface were simpler and older, the same ones that existed in his domain.  

He analyzed it as he reached into the flames and pulled it out.

Bracer of Primal Stars (Divine Artifact)

This bracer was forged from starlight and the essence of the Primal Void. As a Divine Artifact, it holds its own law within and is nearly unbreakable. It is capable of exerting that law to change reality around it. It is a personal artifact of the Lord of Silver Stars.

Effects: Primal Starlight, Realm of Silver Stars, Chaos Wind, Stellar Bombardment, Primal Bond, Law of Primal Runes.

Holds 5,000,000 essence.

As unbreakable as a sun.

Its tier had changed. Before it had been a “Nascent Semi-Divine Artifact” and now it was truly a “Divine Artifact.”

Some of the effects had changed as well.

The Void of Silver Stars had become the Realm of Silver Stars. 

It had been able to create a dimensional prison before, but now there was a full dimensional realm of its own inside that Sam could control, similar to one of the realms inside the World Seal.

One of the major differences was that living things could grow inside, and the storage capacity was nearly unlimited. If he ran out, he could spend some effort to make it larger again. 

He could still create dimensional bubbles from it to use as a prison, like he’d done with Yeria, but it had more uses.

If he wanted, he could build an entire palace inside as a private retreat.

He finished examining the effect and moved on to the next.

Astral Wind had become Chaos Wind. 

It was a similar ability, but it channeled a greater force from the chaos winds of the Void and it took barely any energy to use it. 

Those winds were the eternal flow of energy across the Void. This was like opening a portal to their enormous force. 

If he unleashed that ability against an army under the Third Evolution, they would simply disintegrate. If he made it more intense, it might be possible to dissolve a world.

A current of those winds blew constantly around the bracer, which meant that anyone trying to approach him would have to face them. It was a decent defense, but to him it also felt like a constant and pleasant breeze. 

He tested out the ability for a moment and then let it subside, which let him see another difference. While the chaos winds blew around him, he was able to recover his essence more quickly. 

With this, even if he was trapped in some other realm, he would never be out of energy. His bracer would channel it to him.

Even if he went through the Nexus, he was confident that the bracer’s version of the chaos winds would still bring energy to him.

The Nexus constantly gave off a massive amount of essence and other energy, which the World Core used. This bracer was a much smaller version of it.

It made him wonder how many Fragments of the Primal Void the Titans had used to create the World Core and the Nexus. 

He looked at the next effects.

Stellar Bombardment still had the same name as before, but the description had changed slightly, adding the word primal. 

Now it said Summon a storm of primal starlight and icy comets from the Void to bombard your foe. 

The addition of that single word suggested a significant improvement in the damage it could deal. Just like how the runes had changed, the force would be greater than before.

Stellar Bond had become Primal Bond, which tied the bracer to him at a deeper level and let it share his law. It still had the same ability to regenerate as he healed himself, like a part of his body.

And most importantly, the bracer now gave off the familiar sense of the Law of Primal Runes. 

It was recorded on the artifact as an effect, so he examined it.

Law of Primal Runes:

As a personal artifact of the Lord of Silver Stars, this bracer holds the same law as its creator. Runes that approach the bracer will fall under its command, whether they are from enchantments or natural forces, and lesser-ranked artifacts will obey its orders.

The effect came from his Sovereign of Primal Runes ability, adding a second layer of support for his domain.

Overall, the bracer was more well-rounded than before, combining offense, defense, a dimensional realm, and regeneration to make for a massive improvement.

He turned the bracer from side to side, but the force of gravity from it didn’t change. With a slight smile, he slid it onto his arm.

It settled into place and seemed to fade from existence, fusing with his aura. It was still there, but it was hard to notice. It would take someone with a level of power similar to Sam to see it clearly.

For those who did, they would sense just how powerful an artifact it was.

With the first one done, he picked up his cloak and set it into the silver flames next.

Once again, the Void transformed as the fragment dissolved into the artifact and rivers of astral quintessence swirled around Silverguard.

When he lifted the cloak out of the flames, the material felt weightless. The material he’d made it from had completely changed. 

It had been created from the hides of Fifth Evolution beasts and the first fragment, as well as remnants of the older version of the cloak, but now it was woven of pure dimensional fabric.

The chaotic nature of the fragment had destroyed what was there and replaced it with something much stronger.

The shimmering black depths of the Void in it looked brighter and the suns hotter, as if the stellar gasses were still new, like a window into the ancient Void.

Looking at the depths between the stars gave rise to a glimmer of dark rainbow opalescence that flickered at the edge of his vision before it disappeared, only to reappear somewhere else.

When he held the cloak up to the Void, it faded into it, the material so ethereal that it was hard for a viewer to tell if it was showing the stars that were behind it or something from the depths inside. 

Only when he moved it away was it obvious that the stars inside were different from those in the distance.

He analyzed the result.

Ethereal Cloak of the Primal Void (Divine Artifact).

This cloak was forged from starlight and the essence of the Primal Void. As a Divine Artifact, it holds its own law within and is nearly unbreakable. It is capable of exerting that law to change reality around it. It is a personal artifact of the Lord of Silver Stars.

Effects: Primal Starlight, Aura of Ancient Stars, Armor of Primal Frost, Dimensional Realm, Primal Bond, Ethereal Void, Law of Primal Runes.

Holds 5,000,000 essence.

The dimensional storage was larger and more stable than before, opening onto another dimensional realm, and Primal Bond was the same as on his bracer, so after scanning them he looked at the rest.

Aura of Ancient Stars: The aura of ancient stars radiates from this cloak, drawing enemies into a realm of chaos where suns burn and freeze at the same time. This aura warps space, making those who attack the wearer travel an endless path where their target constantly recedes into the distance.

Armor of Primal Frost: The aura of primordial ice protects the wearer, covering them in a defense from hostile energies. Breaking that defense requires the ability to shatter ice formed at the dawn of time.

Ethereal Void: This cloak is woven of dimensional threads, a material that is only partly in this realm. Its fabric holds the light of an older Void inside it, an echo of what once was and could be again. At will, the wearer is concealed from most forms of sight and magic, both direct and indirect.

Law of Primal Runes: As a personal artifact of the Lord of Silver Stars, this cloak holds the same law as its creator. Energies that approach it will be shattered by the light of the ancient Void, returning to primal chaos. Energy absorbed in that manner will strengthen the cloak and regenerate its essence.

There were four separate layers of defense on the cloak, even before the material itself was touched: spatial warping that could freeze and burn enemies, the protective aura of ice, concealment, and energy absorption. 

He gathered a handful of stray energy from the chaos winds and tossed it at the cloak, but before it could reach the surface it slowed down, stretched out like threads that seemed to get longer without moving at all.

He watched as the strands of energy were incinerated, frozen, pulled apart, and then absorbed by the cloak. They disappeared into the depths inside, stretching away into the distance between the stars until there was nothing left.

He created a chunk of astral stone next and tossed that at the cloak. The same thing happened. Before it could reach the surface, it froze in the air.

He could feel the aura from the cloak holding the stone as it crumbled to pieces and fell apart, quickly turning to dust that disappeared into the material. 

Within a moment, there was nothing left.

His bracer was using the Sovereign of Primal Runes part of his domain, but this cloak used the Mandate of Chaos, dissolving any hostile energy that tried to approach it.

As long as it had a charge, it would exert the full force to defend against attacks, and then it would absorb them to restore itself.

With 5,000,000 essence to use, it would take a world-ending event to break through it.

With a swirl of light from the stars inside, he settled the cloak onto his shoulders. 

The stars inside flickered for a moment, and then the cloak took on a simpler appearance, one that looked like silver-dusted black cloth.

He stretched for a moment, and then he looked down through the fortress, his eyes piercing through the stone as he examined Silverguard’s core.

Then he looked out to the chunks of stone that would shortly be six new fortresses. 

The remaining fragments swirled around him as he called on his avatars again.

A chaotic storm surrounded Silverguard in the Void, stretching out across the system as a silver flame burned up through the dark.

Two Fragments of the Primal Void turned to silver-black dust in Sam’s hands and flowed down into the core. 

The island around the fortress trembled as the core at the center shook. It was like the heart of a world was becoming hotter and hotter, sending earthquakes and rolling movement across the land.

Shortly after, lines of astral quintessence began to break through the surface of the island, fountaining upward like lava.

As the sparkling droplets flew across the fortress, ancient forces flared within them. When they settled on the land, lines of primal runes flowed outward, connecting to the enchantments.

The Vos’Rekan stone began to change under the force of the laws and the quintessence. The enchantments were changing as well, becoming stronger as the two became a single, unique artifact.

Elemental laws radiated from the fortress, becoming stronger by the moment, and the dark stone began to glow with a silver luminescence, shining like a star in the night.

What had been dark would become bright, and when Silverguard and the six new fortresses returned to Aster Fall, they would be visible as the guardians of the sky.

A crown of stars for the world.