Moonlight Relic, Ch 40: Plans for the Future (Patreon)

“Now, what is this thing?” Sam muttered as he set Micas’s artifact on top of his work table. He had set up a workspace on the plateau where no one would bother him and the night was still only beginning. The moons were hanging close above and he had several hours before he needed to sleep.

He picked up an engraved silver needle, a tool that he didn’t often use for examining runes, and began prodding at the design as he studied the effect on the needle’s enchantment. He could have poured his aura into it, but he wasn’t sure it worked like a normal enchantment and he was hesitant to have a connection with it.

After throwing Micas through the portal, his father had headed back to the village with the news. Apparently, Siwaha had been the one who had told him Micas was heading in this direction and that he should follow him if he wanted to bring an end to things. Now, he was feeling satisfied with himself and planned to share the details, but Micas’s threat to torture them all was lingering. It made Sam growl from irritation.

Those words were enough for him to forget about treating Micas as a relative. If the destruction of that rift hadn’t risked harming his father, he wouldn’t have let him go, despite that it might have brought more trouble from the Hasterns. Now, the only way to deal with him was to make sure that everyone was strong enough that he was no challenge for them.

It was what needed to happen anyway, but it wouldn’t be easy. There was one more day until the full alignment and then three days before its energy waned, which was the same time that the control plateau would fully repair itself. While he had access to all of that available energy, he needed to craft more artifacts for everyone, both offensive and defensive, to make sure they were at their best. He’d have to make something special for Altey, like a teleportation artifact that could whisk her away from trouble, if he could figure out how.

During the day, they would work on getting everyone to the First Evolution, and at night he would craft. A few hours of sleep in between would be enough. It was time to put Chaos Smith to work.

He turned the artifact around, touching the needle to another rune on it. This time, the analytical runes flared a dark black before he pulled it away. A growl rumbled out from his chest as he marked that point in his mind and turned to another part.

His right arm was slow to move with the wound that cut across his shoulder, but it was slowly healing. He’d tried a scroll on it, but it had only sped the process up slightly. It seemed that his race or perhaps the energy required to heal his First Evolution body was more than the scroll could handle. Micas had used a healing pill that had done a much better job on his arm, so it was probably a matter of the scroll’s tier. He would have to make some better ones, which could double as a way to improve his Essence Scribe profession.

If needed, he might be able to buy some scrolls or pills from the church, which specialized in healing, but he didn’t want to go down that route unless he had to, since it would be better to do it himself. His Constitution was enough to deal with the wound for now.

He added scrolls to his list of things to make while the energy from the moons was available, but it was near the bottom. It would be better to use the aura from moons to imbue some very special items, things that couldn’t be made as easily once the alignment ended, like his Lunar Bracer.

It was already clear that was how Chaos Smith worked the best. He needed areas of high aura concentration, especially places with their own unique signature, if he wanted to make the most of Aura Forging. He could create things without it, but it would take longer to gather the right amount of aura. If nothing was available, then using reclaimed auras and Modify Aura was a good secondary option.

He turned the artifact again, poking at another section, and the needle in his hand began to smoke. He muttered as he pulled it away and examined it. After a minute, he tossed both it and the artifact into his spatial bag. The grade of the needle was too low for this. He’d have to repair the detection enchantment later and see about strengthening it. It was about time to wrap up his investigation anyway, since the moonlight was too valuable to waste.

So far, he’d been able to figure out a few things about the artifact, but they only raised more questions. It was definitely some blend of a standard enchantment and a base material that had come from Outsiders. He wasn’t sure how they had been combined yet, but it looked like someone had taken an Outsider artifact, broken it, and rebuilt it with a new frame around it, which was then enchanted normally. Somehow, they’d managed to preserve the essence of the original and push it to obey the new enchantment’s intent.

Breaking locks was only one thing it could do. It was designed to use the power of a core to infiltrate and subvert other enchantments. Perhaps the builders thought they were using a real Outsider enchantment to do that, but they weren’t. The function of the original was nearly gone as a result of it being broken.

What the artifact actually did was erode the aura of an enchantment it targeted as the result of a wretched combination of errors. The Outsider enchantment needed essence to function, but mages like Micas only put mana into it. In order to get the rest of what it needed, it targeted the enchantment and consumed whatever it could reach, like a corrupted version of Shatter Aura.

It then used that energy to grow and to reach for more aura, and nothing more.

If the artifact wasn’t halted, it would continue to consume auras around it until a void formed and it stopped. While a few of those were tolerable, since the world’s auras would flow back into the area eventually, the long-term effect would weaken the Seal. A void like that also made it easier for a flaw to form.

From what Micas had said, many of the more powerful families or groups were using these. He’d have to find whoever was making them and put a stop to it. Perhaps Garild had some information...he’d apparently heard rumors of them.

At the moment, however, he had to push the plan aside. He needed to get to his real work while the moons were up. He looked at the materials spread out around his bench as he tapped his talons on the surface. Designs drifted through his mind for everyone, from armor for his father, to better defensive pendants for his mother and sister. He might even be able to use the moonlight aura to enhance his mother’s scrying ability at night.

Those thoughts spun through his mind as he considered what they needed the most right now and finally crystallized into an idea. Ores and gemstones floated through his hands as he held them up to the moons, examining one after the other to find the right fit. Time began to flow away as he got to work.

When he found what he was after, he cleared the table of everything else, leaving only four sets of things, one metal and gem that would work for each moon, and some material to make a chain. He studied them for a while as he considered the nature of the materials and how to infuse them with aura, as well as what runes he could fit on them. He drew out rough sketches of his ideas in chalk on the table and then erased them one after the other, combining and redesigning as he went, as he began to pull the moonlight aura toward him.

Before long, there was a pool of three-colored moonlight flowing in a sphere around him, like the sky had condensed and come to life. The edges rippled with silver energy as they responded to the relic all around, but he kept it separate with pure force of will. The relic was drawing as much of the moonlight as it could handle already. It didn’t need this bit.

When he was ready, he picked up the first metal and gem and light exploded from between his hands as he began to forge them into the shape he needed. Hours slipped away as he refined the materials, drew in aura from the moonlight all around, and inlaid runes into the surface.

He was no longer working in just one dimension or with simple runes. Everything he was creating was aligned with the moonlight, with defense, and with enhanced vision. Many of the parts could only be sensed in Crystal Focus, as they were far too small for the naked eye. A field of lunar runes shimmered around him in the night, floating like wisps as they drifted through the condensed moonlight, appearing and disappearing as his intent changed.

His work was divided into three major parts, one for each moon, and slowly, three small full moons took shape beneath his hands. One was crafted from emerald and argentine, a silvery metal that had a higher enchantment potential than silver, the second was a mix of sapphire and mithril, and the third was wild moonstone and purple diamond. They were the closest he had to the concept of each moon, and while he refined them, he forged in the corresponding aura.

Eventually, all three moons were finished and he stacked them on top of one another, layering them so that the representation of Amaris was in the center and Caelus and Silvas were on the sides. It felt like that design that would fit his mother the best. When it was ready, he fused them together, combining the materials until he’d created a single piece.

The moons reached their zeniths and began to fall, their light pouring into the artifact as he moved from one piece to the next. He spent a little time creating the mithril chain to go along with the main piece and then he continued infusing aura into the whole as he started on the runes that it needed.

Some hours later, he held a small pendant in his hands that dangled on a silvery mithril chain. The way the moons had been layered made it look like two of them were always in a crescent, but which two that was changed when you looked from a different angle. The World Core’s recognition of the creation came with a surge of experience. A moment later, he gave it a name.

Seer’s Pendant of the Three Moons. Aura Artifact.

[This pendant holds the aura of the three moons inside it, which are constantly shifting to create a triple-layered defense. It has been crafted from argentine infused with emerald, mithril infused with sapphire, and wild moonstone infused with purple diamond. The wearer can channel mana into it to support the enchantments and to restore the charges.

Enchantment: Shield of the Three Moons. The shield created by this pendant has three layers, all of which have to be destroyed before its defense will fall. The layers will rotate to resist damage.

Enchantment: Vision of the Three Moons. Lunar Focus. When this pendant is worn at night and the moons are out, the bearer’s vision will be enhanced, both physical and magical, gaining increased distance and clarity. The effect grows stronger as the moons wax. When all three moons are full, it is possible to see things that are otherwise hidden.

Enchantment: Self-Repairing. It will slowly recharge and repair itself in the moonlight.

Artifact Type: Lunar Pendant.

Artifact Tier: Variable.

Durability: 500 / 500.

Charge: 1,000 / 1,000.

Adds Constitution +10, Wisdom +10.]

The experience from creating it was worth ten thousand, which brought him almost to the next level, but more importantly it was the best he could create in a single night without more materials like the gems he’d used in his bracer. It was also strong enough that it would take even Micas a little while to break, especially if his mother added her mana. The stronger she was, the stronger the shield would become.

Like his bracer, it was an aura artifact. It used mana for the charge, but it relied on the aura in it to build the shield and to repair itself. Unlike a mana artifact, it added a moon concept to its effect, making it stronger than it would be otherwise, and acted as a lunar focus for her spells. Even if his mother didn’t have her own concept of the moons, the artifact could take her most of the way there.

The aura would need to be restored by bathing it in moonlight, but it wasn’t a difficult requirement. Since it would be constantly replenished, no core was needed to make the enchantment permanent, and it was more durable than most mana artifacts. Its tier started at the early First Evolution and it might gain power over time, if it absorbed enough aura.

There were only a few minutes left until the moons fell, so he pushed himself up from the table and created a gateway down to the village. Once the passage was formed, he replenished his essence and watched for a while as the dawn rose, letting the slow movement of the heavens calm his mind. The pendant rested in his hand, gathering the last rays of moonlight.

When he appeared in the village, the sylphs were just starting to prepare for the day. Raelia and Danir waved at him from the entrance to their cottage, where they were already awake and roasting some small beast on a spit. The smell of woodsmoke and roasted meat mixed with mint and summer grasses from the nearby fields.

He waved back at them and then ducked into the workshop he was still borrowing. Crystal Focus told him his parents weren’t awake yet, so delivering the pendant would have to wait a little. Once he was inside, he rolled himself up in a blanket on the two beds that he’d pushed together and almost instantly fell asleep.

---

When Sam woke again, it was nearly noon and his father was knocking on the entrance to his workshop. He came awake with a slow yawn as he rolled out of the blanket. He had to tug at one corner to get it come undone and he was greeted by a loud tearing sound, which made him grumble in complaint. He would have to find some stronger monster hides to make things out of if he wanted them to last.

Despite that, it was the longest he’d slept in a few days. Even with only half a day having passed, he could feel the difference in the energy of the moons now, even though they wouldn’t rise for hours. Their aura was gathering close to the world as the alignment approached. Whatever was about to happen tonight, the sheer amount of energy would dwarf everything that had come before. Hopefully, it would be enough for the relic to recharge.

It didn’t take long to give the pendant to his mother, who accepted it with a slightly sad smile as she hung it around her neck. She laid her hand on his arm.

“We will be safe enough here, even if Micas returns for revenge,” she reassured him. “Killing him would have only made it worse. Don’t fret too much. We will all grow strong enough to deal with him and others like him. The true worry would be if the Second or Third Evolution members of the family visit.”

“Fortunately, the ones who’ve lived long enough to reach that level tend to keep their heads better than him,” Jeric rumbled in agreement as he stood next to his wife. “But at the same time, if they move, they rarely give warning. If that happens, we’ll have to trust in Siwaha and the valley for protection, but I don’t think that’s too likely with the way we sent him home. We’ve made it clear that it was personal, but we also respected the family’s boundaries.”

“He can still tell them about your class.” Sam frowned as he shook his head. He didn’t think it was as reassuring as his parents hoped. “What if they flood the area because of that or if Micas comes back to look for Altey again?”

His parents shared a look and then Aemilia spoke.

“We’ll stay here in the village for a while, until things have a chance to cool down, just to make sure.” Her voice was calm, but she couldn’t hide an underlying worry from him, even as she tried her best. “There’s no reason to leave right now, not until Altey can control her mana. It’s not a bad place for her to grow up, although we may need to bring in a few friends from the city at some point.”

“The relic will be repaired enough for us to live on the first layer in four months or so,” Sam said as he considered the future. Then he spent a few minutes explaining how the relic was able to speak and the information it probably had access to. “I’d feel a lot better about it with the relic keeping an eye on everything. Altey would be constantly guarded by wards that make even the valley look weak.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Jeric said as he set his hand on Aemilia’s shoulder. He looked toward the relic as he let out a sigh. “The only problem is the isolation up there. Altey’s going to need some friends and it’s not much of a life to live alone, for any of us.”

“I have plans for that,” Sam replied with a grin as he thought about the future of the relic, and the book he’d suggested to Garild. He turned to his mother as his mood brightened. “How do you feel about writing a book about the relic’s history? I’ll give you the stories about the people who used to live here, the schools and the major powers, the races of a hundred thousand years ago before the First War. Recording that, along with Siwaha’s legends of the valley, should be enough for you to Evolve. And then, I want to start recruiting.”

Slowly, he detailed all of the plans he’d come with for how to rebuild the relic, including how many people he wanted to recruit. As he spoke, he could feel his parents’ interest growing. He wasn’t talking about just living in an abandoned ruin, he was describing the beginning of a thriving new city, and he could tell that it appealed to them.

They’d moved to Cliff’s End years ago because they’d hoped the wilderness on the edge of the kingdom would offer some new hope, and in some ways, it had, but this time, that hope might fully come to life.

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Jeric said slowly as he looked up to the mountain peak. Even during the day, it was hard to erase the memory of the crown and the silver web that surrounded it. “But that would be an interesting place for a little girl to grow up.”

“It would take a lot of management,” Aemilia said as she looked at Sam and then her husband. The idea was spinning in her mind as she considered problems with it, but there was also a large amount of doubt. “Neither of you is much for that type of thing.”

“I was hoping you would help,” Sam said with a smile as the plan he’d been considering came into the light for the first time and he laid it all out for them. “You could be the historian and archivist of the Moonlight Relic and make sure that everyone takes up the roles that are needed. You would have to teach them how to be a part of it. Dad could be the other side of things, the trader who brings in people and goods, forms contracts, and ensures that everything necessary is supplied. It would level both of your classes, while providing the strongest defenses in the kingdom.”

He could see the idea spring to life in his parents’ mind, but they were still doubtful.

“But where would I find all of that information?” Aemilia asked. “I might be able to get some of it from your stories, but that level of detail is much deeper. Do those records even exist?”

“If I’m going to manage the trade of the entire relic, that might be easy at first,” Jeric added, “but once it gets bigger, if it does get bigger, that’s going to be a massive undertaking. For something like that...I don’t know if my subclass is going to be enough. Keeping track of everything would be hard.”

“You’ll have the voice of the Moonlight Relic itself to guide you,” Sam grinned. “It just woke up. It can help with all of those things, and even better...your First Evolution is coming up. Right now, you only get 20% experience from trading, but what if there’s a class that could combine your combat skills with trading or logistics?”

“Do you know of something like that?” Jeric frowned as he thought about it. “I’ve never seen the upgrade path for an Earthen Marauder.”

“Not yet, but I do know that you have ten Marks.” Sam grinned. “And I know what those can do. I’m pretty sure something can be arranged.”

“Even if that works,” Aemilia said slowly, “that doesn’t change that we would need your help to do everything with the relic. You’re the only one who can access it.”

Sam’s smile only widened as he looked at the two of them. His parents needed a place of their own, somewhere that was truly theirs, and all the defenses that the relic could offer, and he had a good idea of how to get it for them. He’d made sure to ask the Guardian Star and the relic about it before he’d come down the village.

“There used to be a high council of three people who controlled the relic, one for each moon. I’m one of them, but that means there are two more positions open,” he replied with a grin, “one for Caelus and one for Amaris, and the relic really wants them filled.” He looked at his father intently.

“It doesn’t make sense to hold all three of them myself. There’s no advantage to it. Dad, you could be the controller for Caelus, and mom, you could be the controller for Amaris. Together, the three of us could push to rebuild the relic and make it a true home.”

The Astral Guardian had told him to look for a way to earn the approval of Caelus and Amaris, so that he could fully control the relic, but he hadn’t told him that he had to have all three positions himself. Even if he had, the idea was good enough that Sam might have ignored him.

His father was blessed by Earth and Ice, and Caelus was the Watcher over the Elements. It fit too well. He had no doubt that his father would pass whatever trial the relic could come up with. It might take a little while to activate, but the Trials of the Moon had once been a permanent feature linked to the control plateau.

As for his mother, she’d always been the heart of their family, the guard over all of their emotions, and Amaris was the guard over the world’s emotions, keeping the Demon of Demented Passion from twisting them out of line. The moon would love her.

If they accepted the positions, then once the relic was repaired enough, they could undergo the trials and get the moons' blessing. He was also sure that it would add an improved Evolution option for them, maybe even a Legendary one, just like it had for him.

He could have tried to switch to Caelus himself, with his Path of the Elements, but Silvas was the Moon of Life, which defended against the Demon of Sundered Blood, and it was also a good fit for him. After fighting the Blood Elemental, he was more than happy to take up that cause. He'd also grown up in the wilds of the kingdom, on the far edge of the Storm Plains and all the chaos that came with them, and he found peace in the natural life of the world.

He'd do everything he could to protect it.

On top of that, it didn't matter which moon he represented. His connection to all three was far more direct now with his race. There were only benefits if his parents took up the other two positions, since they could guide the relic if he was away. With the three of them together building a new home, he wouldn’t worry at all about Micas coming back for revenge. Altey would have a wonderful place to grow up, and he would be able to travel a bit, searching for all the auras needed to repair the relic.

His parents shared another long look before his mother turned back to him.

“I think we’d like that,” she said with a smile. “It’s been a long time since we really had a place to call our own. Even here, no matter how welcome we are, we’re still guests.”

“I always wanted to build us a home,” Jeric added with a chuckle, “although I wasn’t thinking of such a large project. It seems like I might have to look at that Mason profession after all.”

As he saw their agreement, Sam grinned back at them, his thoughts turning to plans for the future. The alignment was supposed to mark new beginnings, and for their family, he hoped that this one truly would.

There was so much they needed to do.