Astral Threads, Ch 3: Harbinger (Patreon)

Sam let out a rare smile as his friends gathered together. From the names of their new classes, it looked like they’d all had significant upgrades. The wave of energy from the Evolution was fading away as the area returned to normal, bringing back the cutting cold of the mountains. Despite its intensity, however, it didn’t bother him. The cold flowed away, turning pleasant, and the force of the wind couldn’t break through his skin.

As he studied them, however, the spatial threads in the area wavered like lute strings that had just been plucked, bringing him the impression of something building on the horizon. He glanced toward the distortion, feeling puzzled, but he wasn’t familiar enough with the spatial threads to tell what was going on.

“Let’s gather up the resources and talk on the way back,” he said as he pushed the feeling away. “Tell me all about your classes! Did you spend your Marks?”

He was hoping that they’d had the same opportunity as him and that they’d taken the chance to upgrade their classes and abilities.

Just as the words left his lips, however, a chill wave of sound trembled through the area as the spatial distortion intensified. Then there was an avalanche of sound like a silver bell chiming above the midwinter dawn, a note that froze everything around it to stillness and silence. The high, bright note rang out across the mountains, traveling from slope to valley in a rolling crescendo that made his blood shake.

It was more than just sound. There was a cold warning in the tone that made his skin stand on edge, sending a warning shiver down his back with a threatening pressure that he’d never before, one that sliced across his spirit. It felt like a frozen blade was pressed against his neck and one wrong move would lead to death, his veins pouring hot blood onto the snow. 

Then it was gone, passing over the mountains as it left only a lingering sense of approaching doom behind. In its wake, silence settled over the area as everyone looked to the east, the direction from where the sound had come.

The direction of Highfold.

“The Harbinger of War.” Krana’s eyes widened with shock as she froze in place. “The oldest bell of the Ice Palace....”

“Harbinger? What do you mean?” Sam’s voice was steady, but it had an edge to it that hadn’t been there before, and the questions about their classes died on his lips.

Whatever had just happened, it was important. It felt like he was facing down an old enemy and any wrong move would end in disaster. He shook his arms as he tried to dismiss the feeling, but the threat that the sound had conveyed didn’t leave so easily.

“What...?” Lenei muttered as she looked toward the origin of the sound and then back to Krana. Her eyes widened in sudden realization. “Are you sure?”

“You know what that was?” Lesat grumbled as he rubbed his arms, trying to dismiss the feeling. “Feels like a warning, and not one we’re supposed to ignore. Seems like it’s...distant somehow though. A warning of something to come?”

“That’s exactly what it is,” Krana muttered as she slapped her shoulders, one after the other, as if she were trying to return some warmth to them. “That was the Harbinger of War. It’s a series of seven bells on the highest tower of the Ice Palace. Each of them is forged from rare ores and blessed by Seers. They only sound when they detect a threat that’s strong enough to endanger the entire city.” Her words echoed out in the silence, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What do you know?” Sam’s voice was sharp as he looked toward the city for a long moment. The bell’s name wasn’t a good sign and he needed to know what it meant. His family was there, and if something was about to threaten Highfold, he needed to get back to Altey. The only thing that held him back was the same thing that Lesat had mentioned. Whatever the bell was warning about, it felt like it wasn’t here yet.

“We should have a little time, but I’ll explain on the way. We need to get back to the village and see what’s going on,” Krana replied as she slapped her shoulders again and shivered. Her expression was more troubled than he’d ever seen before, even when she’d been at the Grand Flaw, and she was beginning to overflow with impatience. “They should know something more there. Can you gate us from here?”

“Let’s go.” Sam rumbled in agreement as he turned toward an open space. Spirals of crystal flame rose from him as the arched gate of Crystal Passage took shape. Thoughts of their Evolutions were on his mind, but now he was wondering if it would be enough to deal with whatever had just happened.

“It will take two gates, but it will still be faster than running,” he said as he finished constructing it. His limit right now was about a hundred miles, but if that rune he’d just learned was helpful, he might be able to improve it eventually.

The area he’d chosen was on the southern side of Winter Peak, a spot that he’d memorized a month before. He’d set up a dozen similar points around the valley to make sure he could move around easily.

As soon as they jumped through, he reached out through the Amulet of Swirling Winds, sensing for Altey. He made contact after a moment, which reassured him that she was alright, but there was no answer. She was either still asleep or busy. If his parents had been available, he would have checked on them too, but they should be safe enough inside the trial.

“It will be about half an hour before I can make another gate,” he announced as he dismissed the gate as he settled down to meditate and regain his essence. He could have done it a bit faster, but he didn’t want to completely drain his reserves, especially if they needed to fight.

“Tell me,” he added as he looked toward Krana, “what do you know about this bell? How accurate is it and what level of threat are we looking for?”

“The Harbinger of War.” Krana let out a slow breath as she focused her thoughts, searching for a way to explain. She was to his right, looking into the distance as if she could see through the mountain. “It hasn’t sounded in over two thousand years, but it’s the strongest warning of the Ice Palace, a combination of magic from the Ice Sylphs and the dwarven artisans who built the city. It was blessed by the founding clan as a treasure to warn of danger.

“Since it was the Harbinger and not a lesser bell, it’s not going to be a small problem, but I don’t have any other details. I’m sure the city is all astir. They’re probably looking for the source of the danger now. It should have been heard for hundreds of miles.”

“Right,” Sam muttered as he split his attention between meditating and considering the future. He’d never heard of this bell when the Grand Flaw had been around and that had been a big threat to the area, especially if it had been allowed to grow even more. That meant that whatever this was, it should be even worse.

“I’ll try to contact the clans and see if they know something,” Krana said with a frown as her eyes were covered by a silver glow. “I’m not sure if it’ll be helpful yet, but it’s worth a shot. They’re probably scrambling to figure out what’s going on too and questions right now will just add more chaos.”

Sam let out a slow breath as he considered the preparations he’d made with the relic. The first layer’s defenses would be ready in twenty days, and hopefully that would be enough for whatever was coming. If he was lucky, the trouble was still a long way out. The area was silent for a little while as he focused on meditating,

“We’ll deal with it as it comes,” he said eventually as he stretched and stood up again. The pause had let him recenter himself and he did his best to focus on the present. “So, how did the Evolutions go? Did you get what you wanted?”

“Enough to be helpful, I hope.” Lesat was the first to answer as he let out a quiet chuckle. “I had to trade in most of my Marks, but you know all those enchantments you keep making for me? Runic Vanguard lets me take advantage of them better, with an ability that’s just called Enhance Enchantment. I can infuse my own mana and stamina to boost the effectiveness of an enchantment and I get some passive advantages for having them on my gear. The higher the grade of enchantment, the more it increases.” He was animated as he spoke, making it clear that he was pleased.

“I also can channel charges from those enchantments into stronger ranged attacks and the class gives me some flexibility to temporarily change the properties of an enchantment, although only in minor ways, like adding an elemental affinity or turning a shielding enchantment into a short-range attack like a shield bash. Overall, it should make me a lot more effective in battle, and it’s a Rare class, so it has good attributes. 3 Strength, 2 Constitution, and 1 Intelligence per level. I also got 20 intelligence and 10 Wisdom just for gaining it.

“As for my subclass, Arcane Leatherworker was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” he added. “I didn’t have a lot of Evolution options for that one, but the focus on enchantments carried over. It lets me add some into the armor or other equipment I make. I’ll just need to learn the right patterns for it. The class only came with one, for basic durability.”

“I might be able to help with that,” Sam said thoughtfully, although he wasn’t entirely sure if his method of enchanting would work. “At least, we might be able to figure out a few more patterns for you.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Lesat said. “It’s hard to get information like that from the guilds, especially since I didn’t join as an apprentice. I’m not sure how they’d react if I showed up now. If not, I can always experiment.”

“It’s always good to have a crafting class for experience,” Krana agreed as she looked over. “I suspect you’ll get some overlap between using enchantments for the leatherwork and for your main class, aye?”

“Aye, 30% class experience now,” Lesat said cheerfully. “Much better than the 10% I had before and more than most crafting subclasses. I can also finally use that Blessing of Ice from the sylphs, adding Ice to my attacks. What about you though? That’s quite the name for your new one. Earthen Prophet of War, was it?”

“That’s all Sam’s fault,” Krana replied before she glanced at Sam and gazed upward at the heavens. “It was unlocked because of that vision I had of him in the Breaking and it was the best one available, at Ultra Rare.” Despite her rumbled complaint, she didn’t look put out about it as she continued to explain. There was a pleased note in her voice.

“It’s a more combat-focused Seer class, with a heavy focus on Foretelling. My offensive and defensive magical abilities have increased and I’m supposed to be able to read the flow of battle better, but I’ll have to try it out. The ability is called Vision of War.

“As for my subclass, Dwarven Smith is the next step on the path for my family’s work. I might be able to infuse Ice elemental properties into the materials I use now though, which will be interesting. That blessing from Elder Siwaha is a rare one. At the Second Evolution, I’ll have to choose a more specialized focus, like Dwarven Weaponsmith or Armorsmith, for the best advantage.” When she finished explaining, the group’s attention moved to Lenei, who let out a short sigh.

“Mine...” Lenei hesitated for a moment as she brushed her dark hair back behind her shoulder. The action and her heart-shaped face made her look younger than usual, more like a village girl than a deadly paladin. “Paladin Avenger is an Ultra Rare Evolution. I didn’t expect to get it, but it was available for five Marks, so I traded for it. It significantly boosts the small group and individual aspects of my abilities, and I have one new ability called Vengeance, which is both a long and short-range attack that should be quite powerful, especially against Outsiders.”

Despite her words, she didn’t seem entirely happy with the class.

“Why’s that bothering you?” Sam asked with a sense of puzzlement. “It sounds like a good change.”

“There are stories about Paladin Avengers,” Lenei said with a frown as she looked down at her hands. Her expression was troubled. “Most of them are the sort of thing you wouldn’t tell children. They tend to be knee-deep in battles and covered in gore, and they usually die with a legend left behind. It wasn’t exactly the path I was thinking about, but it was too powerful to pass up.”

“I tried to balance it, but it didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped. Blade of Life was the best healing subclass available, and it’s strong enough, but it’s a sign that the World Law thinks I’m better at fighting than healing. The new ability for it has the same name as the class. It’s an attack spell more than a healing one. It targets anything unclean and destroys it. At higher tiers, it might be able to sever the spirits of the undead or other cursed things. I’d just hoped for something a little more peaceful.” She let out a short sigh before she shook her head.

Sam nodded as she finished. He hadn’t realized before that being a healer mattered so much to her, but he understood the perspective. She had a kind heart and being a healer had let her step back from fighting for a while. It was how she balanced her life and this evolution had pushed her a bit in the other direction.

“It’s not that bad, I suppose,” Lenei said as she tried to look more optimistic. “At least I still have all of my old subclass abilities for healing. It’s just the name that’s changed, so it won’t be as obvious when people look at me.”

“Do you get Class experience for healing still?” Sam asked after a minute. He knew Paladins did in general, but he wasn’t sure with her new Evolution. “People should know that about Paladins, and you still have the name.”

“100%,” Lenei agreed as she looked a bit happier. “It was only 75% before, since Paladins are mostly combat oriented. I’ll just have to spend more time explaining that I’m a healer.”

“You still have the look of a healer,” he said with a smile, “and it sounds like you're a better one than before. Name or not, I think people will know when they look at you.”

“I hope so. At least it will be helpful with whatever is going on,” Lenei agreed with a brief smile before she turned to Krana. “Did you have any luck reaching the city just now?”

“Not much.” Krana shook her head. “Everyone heard the bell, but no one knows what it’s about. The Seers are gathering to try a greater Foretelling. I’ve been invited. Hopefully, that will let us find out more. Whatever it is, it’s not going to be small, not if the Harbinger is involved.”

“I’ll ask the church when we get back,” Lenei suggested. “Maybe the bishop has heard something. If anything big is happening, he’s likely to know. The World Law sometimes sends warnings to its followers.”

“I’ll see if the relic can sense anything too,” Sam said as his mood turned grim. The sense of celebration from the Evolutions was gone as crystal flame twisted in front of him and he shaped the gate that would take them back to the village. “Perhaps it remembers the last time the Harbinger rang.”

As soon as they stepped through the gate, he checked on Altey’s position and let out a sigh of relief, but the expression was short lived as a message scroll flared into existence in front of him, its runes shining as they spun in the darkness.

“Horned Hunter of the Moons,” Garild’s voice resounded from the center of the pattern. The governor’s tone was more formal than it had been since the day they first met and it made Sam frown. His expression only turned more severe as the message continued. “A dark cloud is gathering around the towers of the Ice Palace, which signals a war that could threaten the foundations of the city. I have critical information to share. I humbly request your presence in Highfold as soon as it is convenient.”