Book 4, Astral Threads, Ch 1: Trials of the Moon (Patreon)

Silver threads of astral energy spanned the night, stretching from one horizon to the next. High in the Western Reaches, above the valley that held Highfold, the mountain called Sun’s Rest soared into the heavens, its peak touching one of the threads. For two hundred miles across its slopes and more than fifty straight up to its peak, the ruins of the Moonlight Relic were slowly coming to life.

For now, the changes were only visible on the first layer that surrounded the peak, but for those who could sense it, a thrum of silver aura ran through the greenstone farther down the mountain that grew steadier week by week.

Dusk had just fallen and all three moons were rising now. Sam and his family had gathered just below the peak to wait for the right moment. As the triple moons rose into the sky, the time finally arrived.

Activating the Trials of the Moon.

The Moonlight Relic’s voice rang out like a silver bell in the night as an arch of greenstone rose from the ground, flowing upward from the foundation of the first layer. Currents of astral energy flowed through the stones as the three colors of moonlight condensed from the night sky and poured into the center of the arch.

The aura filled the empty space, turning nearly solid as the three colors swirled together to form a portal. Green was the dominant color and slightly brighter than the other two, but that would change soon enough, if everything went according to plan.

“Are you ready?” Sam asked as he looked to his parents beside him. They were standing just below the control plateau, near the inner edge of the first layer as they watched the activation. It was the first time anyone except him had seen the portal active and they watched with a sense of wonder. The relic from a time long past and the ancient enchantments woven into it were very different from those they’d seen before.

A sense of worry touched him as he looked at the portal, but he pushed it aside. This was the beginning of their future, the step they needed to take to turn the relic into a home.

“Once you’re inside, I’m not sure what will happen,” he added with a frown. “It shouldn’t be dangerous, but the relic will examine your spirit for compatibility and your intentions.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to take the trial with them, since he’d already passed it in an alternate route. His qualifications had been in two parts, one with the trap of moonlight blades in the void, which had imprinted the relic’s aura onto him, and then the fight against the Blood Elemental before the alignment, which had granted him Silvas’s approval. There was a chance he could study the trial to improve his concept for the moons, but he could also do that on the control plateau.

“You might end up on the moons,” Sam continued as he laid out the possibilities. “If you do, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to understand those concepts, either for the Moon of the Heavens or the Moon of the Heart. You should take full advantage of it. We’ll take care of things here while you’re gone.”

Caelus, the blue moon that was called the Eye of the Heavens and the Watcher, guarded the elements of the world, and Amaris, the Moon of Passion and Love, guarded the hearts and spirits of those who lived on Aster Fall, ensuring they didn’t fall into any madness caused by Outsiders.

His father was intending to take the trial for Caelus, which should correspond well to his affinities for Earth and Ice, and his mother was taking the trial for Amaris, which should work well with her own strong spirit and desire to protect her family.

“We’ll do our best,” Jeric said with a smile. He looked far less worried about the trial than Sam. The aura of a Level 99 Earthen Marauder radiated from him now, a recent change over the last months. He was only a step away from his First Evolution. “I’m sure the relic will be able to see the truth.”

“We have only good plans for the relic and the world,” Aemilia said reassuringly. “From the legends you have shared, we should have no conflict with it. We all wish for the same thing.”

She had also reached Level 99, which was one of the reasons they had waited to come here until now. It had taken her the longest of all and nearly three months had passed since the alignment. It had given them all a chance to train their abilities and to prepare for Evolution as they strengthened their foundations, but it hadn’t been easy.

Her experience came from writing histories and disseminating them and her last forty levels had all come from working on two books: The Chronicle of Moonlight and Legions of Ice: A History of the Ice Sylphs.

For the first book, Sam had provided some stories of the relic, including about the races that had once lived here, which the Guardian Star had collected from the relic’s memory. At its height, there had been dozens of races, but there were always three primary ones: a race of elemental giants called the Toa’an who had been the main craftsmen; a second race of winged humanoids known as the Aelvara who had specialized in spirit magics, formations, and the living spaces; and third, humans, who had filled the many sects and schools in a variety of ways, although many of them specialized in spatial and combat magics.

Enchantments and runes had been a major focus for all of them, woven into their daily lives and work. The relic had its core enchantments that it could repair itself, but there were thousands of other operations that had relied on the efforts of the inhabitants, including the farms on the lower layers, the buildings and storehouses, the teleportation platforms, and more.

The second book was a collection of legends of the Ice Sylphs, which Siwaha had shared with Aemilia. It detailed their creation by the Goddess of Life, several of the famous heroes of their past, their legions that had once battled across the land, and the founding of the valley. Their history was far more full of conflict than he had imagined and it made their current small village look like a relaxed retirement, where they’d decided to live a quiet life after setting down their bows. At the same time, the stories suggested that many descendants of the legions were still out there in the world, although it didn’t go into detail.

Both of the books were slowly being released into the valley as Aemilia produced more copies of them, at a rate of about two a day, which was the current limit of her Copy Book ability. As each copy was released and read, she gained experience. At the rate it was going, it was likely that she would outlevel all of them in the future unless they worked extremely hard to keep up. It was an ironic turn of events for a class that her parents had thought useless. She’d only needed the right support to become a force on her own.

“The trials will last three days, our time, but they might seem longer,” Sam reminded his parents as he looked at the open portal. The rippling moonlight was nearly liquid and he felt an urge to fall into it and see what was on the other side, but he held himself back. This trial wasn’t for him. “If you succeed, you’ll come out on the control plateau. I’ll be there waiting for you.”

“Once we come out, then we’ll prepare to Evolve.” Jeric gave his son a confident grin. “It’s a shame your grandfather couldn’t be here to see this. He’d have loved exploring this old relic.”

“He must have seen many rare things in his life,” Sam replied. “I still don’t know how he created that Aura Bolt spell. It’s not like any model I’ve seen.”

“We all have our secrets,” Jeric grinned. “He kept that one close to the chest. I’m not sure either.”

“Just be grateful for the help he was able to provide,” Aemilia said with a smile. “This is what he would have wanted for you both. You’ve forged your own lives and broken what some called a curse. Now, I think it’s time.”

“Let’s head in,” Jeric agreed as he shared a look with his wife. He held out his hand, and she placed hers in it.

“Take care of Altey for us,” Aemilia said as she stepped up next to Jeric, and the two of them took their place just in front of the entrance. “She wanted to come as well.”

They looked back over their shoulders at Sam and then to Altey off to the side, who was waiting with Krana, Lenei, and Lesat. She had wanted to be up here, but they weren’t sure how dangerous the portal would be. She was still very frail without a class, although the defensive artifacts Sam had given her were good.

A few of the Ice Sylph hunting team were here as well: Aylin, Raelia, and Danir. They had come to observe and were planning to share the details with the rest of the sylphs later, since there were no real secrets in the village. The Ice Sylphs were Sam’s closest allies and there was no reason to hide anything from them.

Together, Jeric and Aemilia stepped into the portal. Moonlight sheeted out across their shoulders in a river of three colors, swirling around them in brilliant currents that pulled them in as their forms faded away.

Then they were gone.

Sam let out a sigh as he looked at the portal and then up to the peak where the control plateau was invisible. The next three days would be a long wait, even if he was confident that they would be fine.

“Will they be all right?” Altey asked as she ran up beside him. She had clearly been unable to wait on the side any longer. She studied the portal with worry, but she knew better than to touch it.

“The relic won’t harm them,” Sam reassured her. He set his hand on her shoulder, making sure she didn’t step forward. Compared to his size as an Astral Hunter, her bones felt as thin as a rail, but despite that, she was full of energy. She was taller than she’d been a few months before, but she still barely came up to his ribs.

“At worst, they’ll see some things they don’t like and then they’ll be sent out,” he added. “But I’m sure that they will succeed. The Trials should be a good experience for them. Hopefully, they’ll gain some understanding of a concept for the moons. It will increase their strength.”

Altey’s eyes glowed with curiosity as she looked into the portal. Energy from it was pouring outward now as the moonlight began to fade away, leaving only a blank circle behind. When it finally disappeared, the astral energy flowing through the greenstone was drawn away and the arch began to recede back into the ground.

“Have you been practicing your mana manipulation?” Sam asked, changing the subject as he pulled Altey’s attention from the trials.

“Even Siwaha is impressed!” Altey grinned as she looked up at him. “She said I’m almost as good as a five-year-old!”

“Make sure to meditate with the elemental crystals I made for you,” Sam chuckled as he patted her on the shoulder. He turned her with him as he began to walk back to the others. “It should help to bring out your affinities. Now, let’s head back. There are still a lot of things to do.”

“Garild is waiting,” Lesat said with a nod as they approached. “He has some information on those artifacts you’ve been asking about.”

“The bishop has also been insistent recently,” Lenei added. “He’s looking forward to the duel.”

Sam shook his head as he remembered the strange local bishop. The fellow had said it was a tradition to duel with new allies and Sam had agreed to meet him after the alignment, but then the bishop had disappeared for a couple of months on some errand for the church. He’d only returned a couple of weeks ago, and as soon as he had, he’d brought the idea up again.

Perhaps it was some ploy to get intelligence on him, since few people knew much about the Horned Hunter of the Moons who had set up residence on the peak, but the man seemed honest enough.

“You can set up something,” Sam agreed. “Any evening is fine. You know my habits.”

In the three months since the alignment, he’d focused most of his attention on repairing the first layer and studying the core enchantment, as well as on his crafting skills, which had been lagging far behind his combat abilities. He hadn’t been able to make any more true aura artifacts since the alignment, since they required an enormous amount of aura, but he had made quite a few artifacts with monster cores and infused auras that he’d collected.

He’d been slowly but steadily upgrading everyone’s equipment to the First Evolution, including his own. He’d also spent some time working on pure smithing skills and as a scribe, studying the higher tiers of scrolls and pushing his ability. He still wasn’t as advanced in those areas as he’d have liked, but they were getting better.

He’d gained a few levels from that and from the hunting, but experience from monsters here was slow now. There weren’t very many at the First Evolution and ones under that gave him almost no experience. It was mostly only to keep the area clear of dangerous monsters and to help his family level up. Most of his growth had come from crafting. He glanced at his status sheet to confirm the changes.

Sam Hastern

Level 112.

Class: Chaos Smith.

Subclass: Mage of the Crystal Flame.

Total Experience: 1,322,000 / 1,450,000

Essence Constellation (Fourth Layer): 22,177 / 45,000.

Professions:

• Aura Forger. Level 99.
• Elemental Smith. Level 57.
• Essence Scribe, Level 91.

STR: 129 Base (+10 with Amulet of Mountain Strength)

CON: 174 Base (+20 with Belt of Emerald Vitality)

AGI: 62 Base (+20 with Boots of Elemental Gliding)

WIS: 169

INT: 310 Base (+6 with Starflame Bracer)

AUR: 310 Base (+6 with Starflame Bracer)

CHA: 104

He’d managed to craft several new artifacts for himself, although he had found that the bonuses were limited to one item of any particular type. He could only wear one item to boost Strength, for example, and +20 to an attribute was the limit for his skills so far. His Starflame Bracer was the main item that increased his Intelligence and Aura, but he’d put off upgrading it since he wanted to improve his skill first. It would be wasteful to rebuild it too often.

The amount of experience required to level had increased from 100,000 to 150,000 at Level 111, but it was still fairly smooth. The old difficulty of leveling as a crafter had been turned on its head since he could make his own materials. It was slow to use his abilities to create materials of the right tier, but not as slow as finding them would have been.

He’d gained 5 levels as an Aura Forger, 33 as an Elemental Smith, and 39 as an Essence Scribe, mostly through using materials well above his profession’s tier. There had been a number of failures because of that, and it was almost the same as burning money, but it had pushed his skills forward. Drawing out increasingly complex rune patterns had also helped, especially since some of them were copied from the relic and the old buildings here, which was part of his effort to understand the core enchantment more deeply. That effort had resulted in a new line on his status page. He glanced at the line, which was detailed in a familiar, archaic silver script.

Progress on Core Enchantment: 22%.

The study had improved his Rune Formation ability to Advanced, but it would be a while before he could improve it again. His Class Ability for Modify Aura had also jumped to Advanced through a great deal of experimentation while making materials and new artifacts, but it was likewise stalled there for now. It felt like he needed to understand auras at a deeper level before it would go any further.

On the other hand, Crystal Passage, his subclass’s teleportation ability, had already reached Expert, probably because he used it all the time, and he was continuing to make good progress with it. The higher tier sped up how quickly he could use it and reduced the mana cost by 20%.

Overall, the last three months had resulted in a fairly predictable schedule. He’d spent his days hunting with everyone to push them to Level 99 and the evenings crafting, usually up on the control plateau, where he’d set up his materials and workbench during the alignment. The area was shielded behind the relic’s defenses and even the wind there was calm, its movement restrained by the shield around the peak.

It let him work while looking out at the peaks of the Western Reaches, his imagination stretching into the distance as he studied the mana flows. The rivers of mana that gathered there before they rolled down the slopes to the Storm Plains held deep truths and the shapes of natural runes, if he could only understand what they were saying. He paid careful attention to the locations where the World Spirits had stood during the alignment. He was sure there was something there that resonated with the elements, but he hadn’t quite figured it out yet.

“Come on,” he said with a laugh, as he pulled his thoughts back to the present and ruffled Altey’s hair. “Let’s go prepare a celebration for when mom and dad return.”

With that, he gathered together a torrent of astral energy and crystal flame, condensing it into a familiar gate in front of them. It took 160 essence now, and it gathered together faster than ever, shimmering brightly as the two main pillars appeared. A moment later, the sapphire blue portal at the center came to life, flaring with crystal flame until it turned translucent. The field outside the sylph village appeared on the other side.

One by one, everyone who had come to witness the celebration walked through the gate. They were used to it by now and no one was too worried about it working, which was a far cry different from the first few times he’d done this. It didn’t take long until he was the only one left on the first layer. He looked around him at the silent night and the stars shining above. Thoughts of the Trials of the Moon passed through his mind as he studied three moons guarding the night sky, their faces distant and serene.

The primary repairs on the first layer were nearly complete, with only twenty days remaining. Once they were done, the shields on this layer would be at nearly full strength, capable of preventing most damage to the relic. Then, their plan to rebuild the relic could truly begin. Garild, the current governor of Highfold who was motivated by self-interest and power, had already begun to lay the framework, spreading rumors of the relic’s great past to adventurers across the land.

Some people had even started to gather in Highfold, boosting the level of crafters and adventurers in the ruins to a level rarely seen outside of a festival. They’d all been carefully warned away from the top three layers, and Sam had set up strong illusion and redirection wards to keep them away from the area he claimed as his own.

That, combined with the rumors of his presence here, had worked so far. A few of the adventurers who had run into him months ago had spread word of how he’d dealt with their group, which had helped to warn people off, but he knew it was temporary. As soon as someone arrived who believed they had enough power or backing, they would come to test him again.

He looked down at his hands as he curled his talons inward, taking in the play of muscles that stood out from his skin like carved stone cables. He let out a low growl that filled the night with a wash of silver heat, like a star had suddenly been born on the slopes. He had given fair warning to not trespass in his home. If someone was seeking information, they would stop at the third layer and ask for it, and he would welcome them. If they chose to invade his home for greed, he would ensure their path ended here.

He looked up to the night sky where the ever-present silver threads stretched out across the dark. Ever since his fight with Micas, he’d been unable to forget about them, even long after the poison from the mage’s attack had worn off. The spatial artifact the mage had used to attack him had shown him what was there. Now, they flickered as they pulled his attention into the distance, drawing his attention to the stars. Each flicker seemed to echo in time with the beat of his heart.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or if, somehow, his heart and the energy in those threads were connected. They called him to travel and to find out what it meant to be an Astral Hunter. His race was one of the earlier evolutions of the Astral Titans, and they were clearly connected to the stars, but he didn’t know much else about them. The astral threads promised that would change if he followed them.

Soon, he answered, but not yet. There was still too much to do here at home.

He scanned the far slopes as he looked from peak to peak, but the night was still. No First Evolution monsters had been seen in two weeks, leaving the area more peaceful than usual, and he hoped that it meant rebuilding the relic would be calm, even though it wasn't likely. There were too many adventurers and others interested in it since the alignment. His work there had drawn too much attention. He flexed his hands as he let out a breath and forced himself to relax anyway. Then he stepped through the gate down to the village.