Aster Fall, Ch 22: A Lost Paladin (Patreon)

When evening fell, Sam headed outside the inn to a semi-secluded area behind the stables. Few people came out here, especially at night, which meant that it was an excellent area to train.

It didn’t take him long to set up a privacy ward to conceal sound and light from the surroundings. The Amulet of Swirling Winds was useful for it, acting as a focus.

Normally, the amulet could only create a small barrier about ten feet across, but he needed something larger for what he had in mind.

He walked around the empty field as he marked out a runic circle, burning sigils into the ground at specific points. When he was done, a line of crystal flame connected the runic sigils on the ground to the amulet on his neck.

The runes began to gleam as the amulet linked into the temporary enchantment and its energy poured out, empowering the new circle.

A few minutes later, a swirling barrier of wind surrounded Sam in a circle that was nearly a hundred feet across.

With the increased size of the barrier, the amulet’s charge would only last for an hour or two, but that should be enough for his practice.

He looked down at the new bracer on his arm, studying the item he'd made. It was a bright, silvery mithril that hugged his skin.

It was too thin to look like proper armor and light enough that he barely felt its presence. It was a comfortable fit, resting just on top of his skin.

A few runes spiraled across the surface, marking out an elegant curve of crystalline blue energy as they gleamed softly in the night.

No one would mistake the bracer for anything other than what it was—a powerful enchanted item.

Unlike his earlier work, the runic pattern on this one was almost invisible. Most of the bracer looked blank, concealing the hundreds of runes hidden inside.

Perhaps that was a sign of Expert work, where the runes were incorporated more deeply into the material itself.

It was also why the illusion amulet was so hard to copy. If the outer runes were all he’d seen of this bracer, he would barely have any idea how it functioned.

As it was, he'd come here so that he could test it.

He’d built it to be a focus, but he wasn’t sure exactly how it would work.

The warded area around him was silent as he looked around, his aura pouring through the wards as he checked the barrier one last time.

When he was sure that it was silent, crystal flame poured out around him, flowing through the artifact.

As soon as he started, he felt a resonance from the bracer, a sensation of fluidity that enhanced his speed at summoning and condensing his crystal flame.

That had to be an effect of Focus of Crystal Flame, the first enchantment he'd laid into it.

Flame spiraled around him as he shaped his essence into a crystal flame arrow, starting with the simplest spell he used.

The single arrow turned into a dozen as he poured more essence into it, and then they all merged together into a larger one as he manipulated the flames.

He kept the majority of his attention on the bracer as he studied how it reacted.

With the six points of Aura and Intelligence that the artifact added, his essence pool was at exactly 100 right now, which meant he had plenty of essence to test things with.

He broke the spell back into a dozen smaller arrows and hurled them into the field in front of him, targetting the dirt.

Crackling explosions of crystal flame rose up from the dirt as the grass above it burned away.

The spell felt more stable and sharper than ever, although it was hard to tell if it had done more damage to the dirt.

He could feel a hum from the bracer on his arm as he used his crystal flame, like an echo that was supporting it.

May as well clear that grass out, he decided, as he condensed more flame into a sphere, his attention still on the bracer.

An Essence Shield formed in front of him, marking out a target circle, and he hurled the sphere at the center of it.

A moment later, there was a barren, scorched circle of earth in front of him. The Essence Shield had contained the spell within the limits of the target area.

Someone might come down in the morning and wonder why there was a ten-foot scorched circle on the ground, but it shouldn’t cause any real trouble.

It would just be seen as a fight between spell casters or a spell getting out of control.

The spell forms so far were too easy for a real test, but it felt like it was supporting his efforts.

Perhaps a 10 or 20% boost in summoning speed and focus? It certainly felt like it was faster than ever to condense the flames into a spell form.

It might boost his damage as well, since the spells would be sharper, but even if it didn't, the effect was extremely useful.

The bracer's primary purpose, however, was to assist with runic construction, so that was what he moved on to next.

A sphere of Starfire began to form above his hand as he concentrated, starting from the rune at the center as layers of crystal flame began to condense on the outside.

The star rune was always clear in his mind, but it sprang into existence more easily than ever before, outlined in brilliant white lines as it took shape from his aura.

This was the point where he'd failed before, in creating a perfect form of it.

This time, the bracer resonated with a bright, silvery hum as he felt the model of the rune brightening in his mind.

The rune at the heart of the spell followed suit, resonating with the energy from the bracer as the lines became outlined in stark relief, more detailed than he’d ever managed before.

The last few times he’d summoned this spell, it had been a struggle to get the rune to form inside his aura, since he wasn’t controlling it with a stylus or carefully drawing each line.

Now, it almost sprang into existence by itself, the lines forming easily as they copied the rune that was etched into the bracer.

At the same time, he could feel a resonance from the rune feeding back into his mind, pulling at his essence as it helped him to shape it.

It only took him a couple of seconds before the Starfire spell was complete.

The brilliant rune hung at the center of it like a white heart, surrounded by the four layers of crystal flame that were compressed so much they looked like liquid.

Perhaps one day, he would be able to create an even more advanced form of this spell that was condensed until it looked like hardened crystal.

He studied the sphere, especially the rune at the center, as he felt how it was constructed and how his aura wrapped through it and around it, holding it together.

The bracer gave him a pattern to follow, helping him to hold his aura in place, but the concept still came from him.

The rune hung there like a silent threat, the energy in it ready to be released as it ignited the outer layers.

With the fully-formed rune, the spell felt much stronger than before. It was also faster to summon.

He wasn’t sure what that would do when it hit, but he was looking forward to finding out.

The bracer wasn’t limited to just boosting Starfire either. If he practiced with it, he might be able to embed star runes into his arrows or even Essence Blade.

With a gesture, he raised an Essence Shield around the target circle. Then he hurled the Starfire spell at the center.

The spell felt different now that the rune was complete and it flew toward the target like a streaking, crystal blue meteor.

The bright star rune at the center left an after image in his eyes like a celestial tail.

KraaTTOOOmmMMM!

The target circle shuddered as an explosion like a volcano rocked it.

The Essence Shield contained the explosion as the top layer of soil melted away, fragments of earth turning to glass and molten stone as a cloud of particles boiled upward.

At least 40% stronger.

The complete rune was doing more than just adding power to the spell. He could feel a difference in the energy that was released across the area.

The quality of his crystal flame had changed a bit, incorporating something of the rune’s concept.

There was more heat and intensity to the spell, as well as a particular, brilliant energy like a star shining in the night.

It was similar to when he identified an aura or a natural rune, an impression of something transcending the ordinary.

A concept.

He wasn’t sure what would happen when the spell hit an enemy, but it was unlikely to end well for them.

Stars held the domineering, explosive force of heat and life, at the same time as they were distant and cold. It was a good concept to use with his crystal flame, which held similar qualities.

As he summoned another Starfire, slowly this time so he could examine how the bracer was augmenting his efforts, he couldn’t help but wonder what the future held.

Was it possible to string together many runes like this, forming all of them from their unique concepts, and to create a spell that worked like an enchantment?

If so, the future of his spellwork and his enchanting would walk hand in hand.

The vision of a spell made up of hundreds of runes and stretching out over an entire battlefield sprang into his mind...but after a moment, he shook his head and pulled his attention back to the present.

Right now, he needed to work on the star rune and to improve his innate understanding of it.

He had to walk before he could run.

He would also need to comprehend the innate concept of all the runes he wanted to use that way, and that was going to be a long road.

He released the energy from the spell, trying to reclaim as much of it as he could, as he tested his control over it, and then he created another one, pushing it as fast as possible.

He released that as well and then built up another one slowly.

Bit by bit, he tested how quickly he could summon them and whether he could add more layers.

Right now, each Starfire took 18 essence, and he knew that if he understood the star concept better, the bracer would augment his ability even further.

Until then, he would just have to practice.

Another explosion rang out inside his shield, reheating the shards of glass and stone that were just starting to cool off.

Heat like a blast furnace roared away from the circle, washing comfortably against his skin.

The night stretched out around him, his privacy barrier creating an island of peace and quiet.

---

Lenei was feeling very annoyed as she rode into the small village near the center of the valley around Highfold, heading for the single inn that she’d seen from the road.

Caelus was rising toward the center of the sky, marking out that it was almost midnight, and Hero stamped his hooves in displeasure at the hour.

They’d been riding since before dawn and he was ready for a stable and a bucket of oats. Lenei patted him on the neck in silent agreement.

Well, oats for him and a soft bed for her.

It looked like it was too late to expect a meal. She’d have to make due with her travel rations until the morning.

She’d been a fully-fledged Paladin of Law for a few months now, but it wasn’t going the way she’d thought.

There should have been some Outsider to kill or an invasion to put down, which was what Paladins were supposed to do with their time...but so far her Calling had told her to wander across nearly the entire Storm Plains.

First, it had sent her to the west until she was almost in the Broken Lands, near some random village called Cliff's End that was infested with bandits, and then northward into the Abyssinian Plains, and then back toward Osera....

Most recently, it had demanded that she wander along the entire Law-be-damned high road between Ebonfar and Highfold.

It was infuriating.

How was that what she was supposed to be doing?!

It was the first time she’d felt the Paladin’s Call, since she’d only received the ability at Level 60, but from everything she’d heard, it felt like it was supposed to.

It was a strong pull toward a distant place, like a string tugging at her.

The problem was...what other Paladin had their Calling move along the road from spot to spot, changing every day?

A Call was an alert from the World Law to come to a specific location.

They weren’t supposed to move!

She didn’t know what it was trying to make her find, but it was extremely aggravating.

She was supposed to be hunting down Outsiders and solving problems for the World Law, not wandering all over the place.

The Guardian Star amulet on her chest flickered, a symbol of the Call, as she felt it tug her onward. She could feel a sense of connection to something, the target she was supposed to find.

It was difficult to tell distance with a Call. All it did was pull you onward until you found it.

According to the senior Paladins, it was a continual lesson in patience and humility.

Our duty is endless, and the journey is the reward.

She was supposed to be grateful for the constant task in front of her, never worrying about time or tiredness.

Just move forward...always forward. That was part of the Paladins’ creed.

Never doubt, never stop...be relentless and enduring.

She was tempted to give in to doubt as she wondered if the false legend about the World Law failing was true.

The Call was supposed to lead her to something the World Law needed her to fix, but hers had just dragged her around the entire Western Province.

It was sacrilegious to doubt the all-encompassing power of the Law, but she had no idea what was going on.

Her armor shifted fluidly around her as she swung out of the saddle and pulled Hero along by his reins, heading across the inn’s yard.

He was a good horse, a strong fellow who’d carried her across a lot of miles. Hopefully those stables were better than they looked, since he deserved it.

As she crossed the yard, she suddenly felt the position of the Call shift, swinging back in the other direction.

She froze in an instant, glancing down at the amulet. She stepped back, retracing her steps as her heart quickened.

Her hand rose, settling on the spear that was in the stirrup by her saddle.

The Call was coming from right behind the stables.

She hooked Hero’s reins to a free post. Then, she slung her shield up around her arm and tightened her grip on her spear.

A glowing white light sprang out of her body as she called upon one of her main abilities, Holy Armor, the only Paladin ability that she had at Elite.

A moment later, her spear and shield also started to gleam as she activated Spiritual Infusion, pouring her mana into them to enhance their damage.

Then she stalked around the edge of the stables, tracking the movement of the Call as she headed straight for it.

She pressed herself up against the wall and then ducked her head out for an instant to look before pulling it back.

There was nothing back there except a blank field and the soft whistle of the wind, but she could feel the Call drawing her to it.

All of her senses were fixed on the open area as her heart raced.

It looked empty, but Outsiders were often dangerous mages...there could be a hidden Flaw there!

This had to be why she had been Called to this place.

She hadn’t expected that she would find it so suddenly, but a Paladin had to move with the will of the World Law.

She ducked around the corner again, and this time she could feel that there was something strange about the yard there...it was too quiet and peaceful, and where was that breeze coming from that was flowing away from it?

It had to be a barrier of some type, but how were the people in the inn ignorant of it?

The Outsider must have just arrived here, somehow....

She pushed her doubts out of her mind as she readied her spear, infusing even more mana into it as she raised it into the air.

“For Aster Fall!”

She charged around the corner with a hair-raising shout, activating an infused Shield Charge as she hurtled toward the open air in front of her.

She felt a layer of resistance made of whipping winds that shoved her backward, and then the sense of a spell cracking as she crashed into it with her shield.

The scene in front of her changed, revealing a hooded caster in a grey cloak who was raising his hands as a glowing sphere of some evil blue spell flared like a star in the sky.

Lenei’s Spiritual Awareness swept out around her, analyzing everything in the air as the figure started to turn toward her.

As he did, his hood slipped back from his head, falling away to reveal two stark black horns curling back from his forehead and slit-pupiled, crystal blue eyes that flared with the same light as the spell.

“Demon!” she shouted, her eyes widening as she poured more energy into her Holy Armor.

It wasn’t just a simple Outsider, a wolf or something that had escaped from a Flaw!

It was a demon...one of the Lords of Destruction, an Unholy Ruler of the Abyss, the Walkers in the Dark, the Plaguebringers, the World Breakers!

The list of names went on, but Lenei forcibly stopped her mind as she whispered a blessing in her heart and consigned herself to death.

She didn’t know what she’d stumbled upon, but she knew she wasn’t a match for a demon.

All she could do was die and hope that the World Law sent an army to kill the demon and let her rest in peace.

As she raised her spear and rushed forward toward the demon, she could feel the twisted aura of a “Defiant” radiating outward from him, making her lips curl in displeasure.

She didn’t have time to be confused or to wonder why that trait was on a demon.

Her spear was closing in on him as she surged across the ground, its point shining like a diamond as her mana infused it.

The last thing she saw was the caster swearing, something that sounded a lot like a very annoyed young human saying, “Damn it.”

KRaaaTTOOOOOMmmm!

A sphere of burning white and crystal blue light exploded all around her as it hurled her backward.