Aster Fall, Ch 12: Icy Peaks Like Dragon Fangs (Patreon)

Tower Reach

On the western edge of Tower Reach, the city retreated in the face of rich mansions and manicured lawns. Magical fountains bubbled through elegant wooded glades and fields of flowers, scattered amongst edifices of marble and gold.

No peasant stepped foot in this area to disturb the serenity of wealth. They were kept away by guards who were quick to kick at a passing beggar.

In the center of that wild opulence, a broad marble tower rose into the air. It was more a palace than a tower, but given the family that lived there, no one would dare to tell them such a thing.

They were well known throughout the city and beyond, one of the foundations of its magical research and famous in their own right for past achievements.

A strong magical bloodline ran through the family that made them highly attuned to mana, and their classes usually reflected it. Most of them were powerful wizards or mages.

“One of our couriers has received a letter.” The voice was smooth and held more than a touch of arrogance. The speaker was a tall, elegant man who looked young, but the lines at the edges of his eyes revealed the passing of many years.

It wasn’t clear how old he was, since a high Constitution from his youth had locked in a youthful appearance. He could have been 40 or 400, with little to show the difference.

The room around him was near the top of the tower, and he was standing near the window that looked out onto the gardens below. The sunlight framed his golden-brown hair, making him look like a spirit from the sky.

“What is it about?”

The reply came from an equally elegant woman who was draped over a couch halfway across the room, her head reclined as she looked up toward a pattern of constellations on the ceiling. A crystal wine glass was dangling from her hand.

Like the man, she had nothing to worry about when it came to appearance or Constitution. She was intensely beautiful and her clothing was fashionable, but her gaze was distant.

“It can’t be about the dimensional studies,” she added, her tone distracted as she continued to study the ceiling. “Those have barely progressed over the last five years. The Flaws are still increasing. Is it about that?”

“No, it is not about your pet project.” The man dismissed the idea with a snort. “The dimensions around Aster Fall are unstable, as they have always been, and research into them is doomed to failure. There are too many variables to control. You have always been interested in foolish things.”

His words were harsh, as was her indifferent reaction to them. After a very long marriage, it wasn’t clear if the two loved or hated one another more.

“The Flaws are linked to them,” the woman replied without bothering to turn her head. The wine glass in her hand bubbled as the level of liquid in it rose, and she took another sip from it.

“The kingdom has also asked us to study them. There is a 7% increase in their frequency and intensity this year compared to last year. Last year, it was a 5% increase. They are becoming worse.”

“Slowly, over decades,” the man replied dismissively as he flicked his hand toward the ceiling where the star patterns were engraved. They gleamed with a soft blue and silver.

“It’s happened before, which means it’s a natural cycle, like the waxing and waning of the moons. It will stabilize. It is not worthy of our attention.”

“And if you’re wrong and it’s the prelude to a Breaking?” the woman asked as her eyes traced another curve of the stars. Her attention was far away, but her voice was sharper than before.

“The increase in the strength of the Flaws has never shown a definable pattern. It cannot be called a cycle. More than that, this time is different. The increase is far greater than anything that we’ve recorded. Something is happening in the Seal.”

“It’s irrelevant,” the man replied, shaking his head as he ignored her words. “It’s more important to focus on what’s in front of us. Don’t you want to know what the message was about?”

“No,” the woman replied, before she took another drink from her glass.

“You should be. You remember that useless grandson of ours, Alister...the one with the unique class he could never unlock?” The man answered anyway, a slight smirk on his face.

“It seems he had a son and a grandchild, and the grandchild is still alive. A girl. What do you think of that?”

“What about her?” The woman’s attention finally turned toward the man as a flicker of warning appeared in her eyes.

“Apparently,” the man paused dramatically as a small, victorious grin appeared on his face, “she and her mother have been kidnapped by some mercenaries running around the Storm Plains.”

“And?” The woman sighed, turning her attention back to the ceiling. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I knew you would be interested, despite your effort to look otherwise,” the man continued to grin, “you always cared about our descendants more than you should have. Based on our old agreement, the girls are yours. So, what do you think we should do about this?”

“Let her live her life,” the woman replied, her voice fading back to indifference. “It’s not our business anyway.”

“You are a liar.” The man smirked, continuing his latest game to see how much he could anger his wife. They hadn’t had a good fight in a while and he had the feeling she was hiding her strength.

“It seems they’re heading to Highfold. What if I send someone to get her and bring her back here for you?”

“Do as you like.” The woman’s voice was faint now, almost tired, even as a spark of something that was hidden very deeply flickered in her eyes, out of her husband’s sight. “The Flaws are more important.”

She returned to looking at the ceiling, but the wine in her glass bubbled as it began to refill itself again, the level rising. On the surface of the liquid where the man couldn’t see, an image appeared.

As she took a sip, she breathed out a simple message that was transmitted to the person on the other side of her portal.

“Find her.” A sense of what she wanted was compressed into those two simple words.

“I think I’ll retrieve her,” the man continued as he looked out the window again. “It will be interesting to see how far Alister fell and what influence he left on his descendants.”

---

The Western Reaches

It took Sam the better part of a day to make the six amulet blanks, but eventually six shimmering disks of silver rested on the table in front of him.

Their surfaces gleamed with an emerald-green tint that was similar to the light of Silvas in the sky, making it look like the Forest Moon had blessed them.

Sam looked up at the moon and gave her a respectful nod. They were in one of her forests. If she was a divine force of Aster Fall as the legends said, then there was no reason to be impolite.

He didn’t have any real belief in gods, but he had met the Astral Guardian and a powerful Outsider ruin, and their abilities were incomprehensible.

There were forces out there far greater than him. Who was to say the moon wasn’t one of them?

The four rare materials that Krana had helped him select had been alloyed into the amulets, giving only a slightly denser feel to them when he picked them up.

The process had been complex, since each material had a different melting point and needed to be strictly controlled so it didn’t disturb the final result, but it had worked.

The next step in making the message amulets was to enchant them. Then, he would imbue them with the Aura of Swirling Winds and his own personal essence before activating them.

He picked up the first of the blanks as he began to pour his aura into it, letting it fill the material as he searched for any impurities or flaws.

When he was satisfied, he set the disk back down again and moved on to the next, double checking each of them before he moved on.

His stylus appeared in his hand, the silver tool surrounded by a nearly invisible halo of crystal flame, as he picked up the first amulet and looked toward the pattern he’d created for it.

The chalk design on the work table was a complex pattern of three interlinked circles that spiraled in and out of each other, with the outer edge of each circle forming the point of a triangle.

The core that was at the heart of the formation was embedded precisely where all three circles met, at the very center of the amulet. It would regulate the flow of energy, charge the circles, and store both mana and aura.

This pattern was different from anything he’d tried before. It wasn’t going to be engraved just on the surface of the amulet, but on the interior as well. He would have to engrave that part with a projection of his essence through his stylus, carefully marking it into the center.

When it was complete, it would be more stable than anything he’d created so far as well.

Runes for wind, message, mana, charge, voice, barrier, shield, distance, receive, send, and more were placed throughout the three circles, creating an internal formation for each one that crossed over with the others.

There was also a special durability and energy-charging pattern that surrounded the core and linked it to each of the circles.

The binding pattern to join the enchantment to the base material looped around the amulet in a spiral of stately runes, connecting everything together. It was the same Expert-level one that he’d used for his avoidance amulet.

Now, he just needed to inscribe each amulet and pour as much of his own essence as possible into it as he worked, letting the core and the gem silver absorb the initial charge.

The stylus in his hand flickered with crystal flame as he brought it forward for the first swirling line.

Silvas rose through the heavens and set again, followed by Caelus, who watched it all. Eventually, the sun rose again as well, the light of dawn falling down through the grove to illuminate the table where Sam was working.

Beneath that light, his hands were surrounded by crystal flame, moving like the wind and flowing water as the amulets took shape.

---

Two days later, Sam was pulled out of his work by the absence of anything left to do. Time around him felt like a compressed ocean, flowing softly away on the waves, and he blinked as he brought his attention back to the present.

On the work table in front of him, there were six completed amulets. He’d been woken up while trying to reach for a seventh.

A series of chiming, bright notifications was waiting for him, along with a river of experience that was rushing through his veins, roaring like a waterfall.

Each of the amulets lying in front of him was identical, giving him the same result as he examined the waiting notifications one by one.

Amulet of Swirling Winds (Advanced, Special).

[Enchantments: Swirling Winds, Wall of Swirling Wind, Voice of the Wind, Winds of One Storm, Blood Bond. This amulet holds multiple enchantments that mutually reinforce one another.

Swirling Winds: Creates a barrier of wind that surrounds the bearer and creates a private area, preventing others from eavesdropping on them. Attempts to pierce this barrier will alert the bearer and result in a backlash of wild mana.

Wall of Swirling Wind: Creates a defensive barrier of hardened Wind to protect the bearer from attacks. The barrier will absorb and deflect blows.

Voice of the Wind: Allows the bearer to communicate with others by sending their voice along the wind. The messages are shrouded in wild moonlight and shadow, keeping them from being observed.

Winds of One Storm: Allows the bearer to locate others who are wearing amulets of the same type and to sense their general health. Distance: 100 miles.

Blood Bond: Attunes the amulet to the first bearer, so that it cannot be used by another.

Charges: 150/150.

Duration: Permanent.]

The number of enchantments was more than he’d seen on anything except the original illusion amulet, which had dozens at least. It was more than he’d ever added to a single artifact before.

He’d poured over 200 points of essence into each amulet as he was working, but the charge at 150 was better than he’d expected, about five times what the core was originally able to hold.

The Earth mana and the other materials had increased the amulet’s strength.

The notification from the amulets faded away, replaced by the ones from the World Law that had accumulated while he was working.

Congratulations, Enchanter. You have created an Advanced Item with multiple enchantments, marking it as a Special Artifact.

You gain 5,000 Class experience per item, as well as bonus experience for making a Special item.

You gain 45,000 Class experience.

You are now a Level 21 Smith.

You are now a Level 29 Enchanter.

You are now General Level 48.

General Experience: 3,945,470 / 4,154,500

You are now a Level 48 Battlefield Reclaimer.

Class Experience: 3,921,940 / 4,154,500

You gain +1 Aura, +1 Intelligence, and have three free status points to distribute.

The roiling, silvery torrent of the experience continued for a little while, flowing throughout his body until it finally settled down.

When his mind was clear again, he added one free point to Constitution, bringing it to 45, and then one each to Aura and Intelligence, taking them to 93.

With the Belt of Gentle Climes, his Constitution was up to 47 overall, which would have to be enough for now. He planned to keep increasing it slowly, since he wanted to keep it close to his overall level in order to give himself a solid defense.

It wouldn’t be enough on its own to completely resist like-level attacks, but it would be enough to deal with glancing blows and to reduce what might kill him to something that just injured him.

The resistance to temperatures, healing ability, and lifespan that came with Constitution also made it an incredibly important attribute.

He looked down at the six amulets in front of him and slowly reached out to pick up the first one, holding it up in the light of the three moons that were all in the sky above.

By the time he’d finished, it was the third night since he’d started. Now, it was near midnight and the triple light of the moons shone on the amulet, setting off subtle rainbows from the ores and crystals that were alloyed in it.

It was an emerald silver overall, but as the moonlight struck it, the edge of that shade was tinted with a vibrant light green from the wild moonstone.

Beneath that, a rainbow of other colors surfaced, including a layer of scintillating silver from the argentscale quartz, a subtle sanguine gleam from the blood-ore diamond, a brilliant white sparkle from the embradium, and a shadowy ripple from the ebonstone that caused the rainbow to fade away when it appeared.

He looked over toward the others, but everyone except his father was asleep now. Jeric was keeping watch and keeping an eye on Sam at the same time, making sure that he was fine.

Sam gave him a smile as he stood up and stretched, looking out over the campsite and his other sleeping family members.

His gaze settled on Krana and Lesat, turning over what they meant to him as debated whether to include them in that small group as well.

They were already friends, but they hadn’t been with him for that long yet, and he hesitated to take the last step. A family is many things, but time is one thing that makes it the most meaningful.

He glanced down at the amulet in his hand, and then back toward the people for whom it was intended, as he asked himself what the difference was between a friend and family.

With essence in the snow, the area around Highfold was going to be more dangerous than he’d expected, and that meant making sure that everyone was safe. The amulets were one part of that, making sure they could all keep an eye on each other.

He’d spent a long time hiding secrets from them, like the Earth mana, that he’d only recently started to reveal. Now, he was questioning the reason for it.

He sighed as he closed his fingers around the amulet in his hand, feeling it press into his palm. Krana had long ago proved herself a good friend, and Lesat had done the same in his own silent way.

At some point, you have to trust people.

---

The lofty peaks stretched higher in front of them as they climbed higher into the Western Reaches, until they were so tall that they obscured the sky ahead, towering into the distance.

The snow around them began to slowly accumulate as they moved closer to Highfold, the flakes that hit the ground refusing to melt as they built into thin layers, until one morning when he woke, the world around him was covered in crystalline white.

Ice stretched out across the world as it hung from branches and glazed the rocks and earth around him, a shining, crystal cold that was laden with just a hint of impending trouble.

As they rode, the mountains around them continued to rise, each peak a separate tooth, as if they were riding into a dragon’s maw filled with danger on every side.

At the same time, the snow also increased, the level slowly rising until with each step of the horses’ hooves, a flurry of white blew away, and their hoofprints sank four inches deep into the surface of the road.

Either through an enchantment or some skill of its construction, the road was more clear than the surroundings, where the snow was already knee-high. To Altey, it was a wonderland of things to build and jump through, but to Sam it was a mark of increasing danger.

He hadn’t shared the unsettled feeling with the others immediately, since he wasn’t able to pinpoint where it was coming from, but as they continued toward Highfold, the amount of essence in the snow continued to intensify.

The only reason he hadn’t mentioned it yet was that there was a good chance that the origin of the essence wasn’t located in Highfold itself, which meant the city would still be safe for his family.

He didn’t want to ruin their hopes.

It was possible that the Outsider lived on one of the peaks around here or in a cave in the mountains, somewhere that the snow passed as it formed. He wasn’t sure why its essence was slowly leaking out into the elements, but he’d hoped it would fade as they headed toward the city.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

Now that they were getting closer to Highfold, it meant he had to bring it up. Even if the city wards kept it from entering the city, there was an Outsider somewhere around, and it was not a weak one.

Sam reached down and touched the amulet on his chest, feeling the thread of energy that told him the others around him were fine and close by.

He’d moved his illusion amulet to his belt, hanging it there instead. It would have the same effect no matter where he wore it, and it kept the two amulets from becoming twisted together.

Everyone was wearing the new amulets now, and he’d shown them how to use them. They’d all dripped a bit of blood on the amulets to bind them to themselves, so that no one else would be able to use them.

He would give it the rest of the day, to see if he could pinpoint where it was. If the level of essence was still increasing by then, he would bring it up with them tonight.

Over the last week, after finishing the amulets, he’d spent the evenings working on smaller enchantments, more weather-resistant belts, simpler amulets that just had privacy barriers, some mana manipulation tools like Altey’s necklace, and more.

His dimensional bags were full of simple enchantments to sell, as well as a few more complicated things.

He also had a collection of monster cores and other rare materials to sell if needed, to finance the shop and house that they wanted to buy. The small attacks were still frequent on the road, which meant that his supply of such things continued to increase.

In that regard, at least, this was an ideal location to live.

He touched the amulet on his chest again as he looked at the sky above him and the encircling mountain peaks that were capped with silver and blue ice.

Hopefully, the Outsider minded its own business.

Sam’s eyes flashed with a flare of crystal blue light as his hand clenched around the amulet, feeling its edge cut into his palm again.

A surge of anger flared through his blood, demanding that he find it and eliminate it before it could become a threat.

Otherwise, it’s going to have a problem.