Astral Threads, Ch 10: Sky Guards (Patreon)

Sam stared at the army of golems with disbelief. There were ten formations of the black crystal golems, which had to be the Sky Guards, and then ten more formations of the other types that each had a dozen golems. The presence of the golems wasn’t what shocked him, since he knew the relic had been powerful at its height and it had surely needed workers.

His surprise came from the fact that every single golem was Level 200.

Altogether, there were 240 of them. Half were the black crystal Sky Guards and the other half were the Elemental Orders. Instead of the basic elements, those appeared to be based around different functions of the relic, from farming to masonry, as well as other things that he wasn’t sure about. One type was slightly bigger than the others and had empty hands, which might be for material transportation, and the ones with scrolls in their hands could be for recordkeeping or helping to direct visitors, but some of the others were a mystery.

For example, there was one group of golems made entirely of silvery crystal with light green flecks in it, almost like an inverse of greenstone when it was powered by astral energy. They were thinner than the other golems and the wings on their backs were a translucent green with golden streaks, while their fingers were sharp, pointed chisels. If his guess were right, they were designed to carve runes. Hopefully, they could help restore some of the local enchantments.

Before he could look at the rest of them more closely, one golem at the front of each formation stood up and took a single step forward, setting themselves at the head of that group.

From that group, a single black crystal Sky Guard took one more step forward and then kneeled again. The wings along his back swept outward to their full length, stretching a dozen feet to each side as the translucent black crystal shimmered in the light of the formations. The silver edges on the feathers blended into the transfer lines of the formation below as sparks of astral energy flowed into them, making them shine with power.

The golem set the lower edge of its shield into the stone in front of its raised knee and then laid its spear flat on the ground as it bowed its head. It said nothing else. From its posture, it seemed to be content to wait for orders.

“Who...what are you?” Aemilia’s question echoed out across the area as she looked at the black Sky Guard. It was the same question that was on all of their minds.

We are the Sky Guard and the Elemental Orders. The Sky Guard kept its head bowed as it spoke. This time, the voice echoed out from it alone, but it was still the same form of mental communication used by the relic and the World Core. I was created first among this regiment of Sky Guards, but there is little to distinguish us from one another. If you wish, you may give us individual names.

The golem was far more well-spoken than Sam had been expecting, which was an enormous surprise. The relic must have invested a lot of resources in them.

“I’ll call you Eldest,” Aemilia spoke up before anyone else could, but the questions that she asked were the same as what was on everyone’s mind. “If my sight is correct, you have been waiting here for nearly a hundred thousand years. What happened to you? Why are you here?”

This is the Chamber of Elements. There were many of us once, each created here to watch over the Moonlight Relic and to tend to its various functions. The golem, Eldest, paused as silver energy flickered over its wings and then it continued. According to the relic’s memory, we were the last regiment created, but we were not yet finished when the relic was shattered. Before we could aid in the defense, the energy lines leading to this chamber were broken and we went into hibernation. We were later finished in one of the periods when the relic was awake and able to divert ambient energy here, but with the energy lines broken, we were unable to leave or be fully activated.

“There were more of you once?” Jeric asked, his expression halfway between puzzlement and wonder as he looked over the ranks. “How many existed at the relic’s height?”

There were 280 squads of Sky Guards before the war, making for a total of 3,360 that served as part of the defenses. There were also 120 servitors for each Elemental Order. In total, there were 4,560 golems born from this chamber.

“More than three thousand of you were destroyed in the war that broke the relic?” Lenei’s muttered oath filled the space as she shook her head. “How is that possible? An army like that could lay waste to half of this kingdom in days.”

The destruction of the relic happened in a matter of hours. Eldest’s voice held no inflection as it delivered the information. Our defense was insufficient to protect it, as were the far more powerful enchantments that protected it. Each servitor is Level 200, but we presented no obstacle to the forces that were arrayed here. The shockwaves of the collisions were enough to wipe out battalions of us.

“You mean, you were enough for the day to day security, but not for whatever enemy came at the end.” Lesat grimaced as he nodded at the golem in sympathy. “The fate of common guards everywhere.”

Your assessment is accurate. The Sky Guards were meant for security and for the general protection of the inhabitants. We were not the most powerful of the defenses. If our regiment had been finished a day earlier, it is nearly certain that we would have been destroyed as well.

“So you were locked away here all this time,” Sam muttered as he looked over the ranks and nodded. The name of the Sky Guards matched one of the mountains outside around the valley, and he had to wonder if their name had somehow been preserved as a memory.

His eyes moved to the glowing elemental pools on the side of the room as he moved on to the question that was eating at him. “But how were you created? Is it possible to make more of you, or to increase your strength?”

Their Level 200 was incredible, but if his guess was right, the golems were a bit more limited than a living warrior. They were undoubtedly extremely durable, but they probably only had a couple of abilities or enchantments that were set into their structure. Even so, ideas for what he could do with this many Level 200 golems filled his mind.

We are created from the elemental pools that correspond to our type. Eldest raised its hand as it indicated the pools on the side of the chamber. Half of them were a silvery black, while the others matched the colors of the Elemental Orders. Our strength is set at the time of creation and is dependent on the material used. At the moment, the pools are empty of material and are not prepared to generate new servitors, but they can still be used for repairing damage to our structure. Like the greenstone of the relic, our crystal structure is capable of being regrown with sufficient energy input.

“Can you leave the relic?” he asked, the question following immediately on the tail of the others. “And what type of energy do you need?”

If he could take some of them with him when he left, that would be fantastic. The rest of them could stay here and guard his family and the relic. It would go a long way to keeping order as new people arrived, and it would also help them to look far stronger than before. He could already imagine what it would look like if a squad of winged black crystal golems slammed into the ground around them at the first sign of trouble.

The golem hesitated for a moment before answering this time, and when it spoke, its voice resonated only in Sam’s mind. Architect, the energy types of the Moonlight Relic are secured information. Do you wish this to be shared with the other beings by your side, who are not part of the High Council?

To answer your question, however, we can operate on many different types of energy, from pure mana to various aura signatures, but the closer it is to the Moonlight Relic’s energy, the more effective it will be. Other types of energy will have a conversion loss, if they work at all. And yes, we can leave the domain of the relic, however if we are more than a thousand miles away, we will not be able to communicate with it and some of our higher thought processes will be hindered. We rely on the relic to provide much of our awareness and our ability to respond to questions.

“Consider everyone here an ally with a high level of access to information,” Sam said as a smile spread across his face and he flexed his hands. If he could find a way to charge the golems himself then, it was only a matter of how much energy they used. He would have to see what it took to charge one up and how long it lasted, and then he might be able to have an escort of his own for when they traveled. As for the higher thought processes, that was something to consider later. Perhaps the Guardian Star could take the place of the relic for that. He turned to indicate Krana, Lesat, and Lenei.

“Also, follow the instructions of these three people, who are my trusted friends, and protect them like you would the High Council.”

Orders confirmed, Eldest replied. Information access and authority granted at one level below that of the High Council. Three additional entities identified for protection. How else may we serve?

“There is one more individual who needs special protection and access to information.” Sam sent an image of Altey to Eldest along the mental connection that the golem had used, trusting that it would reach it. He also added the information that she was his sister and the child of the other two High Council members, in case it understood the relevance.

Orders confirmed, Eldest replied again. It had received the communication with no apparent trouble. Child of the High Council identified for supervision and special protection.

Sam looked at his parents as he rubbed his chin and found them watching him expectantly. Ideas flickered through his mind, but the question was what else to do with these golems right now. At the very least, they should set them to work, since there was a lot to do around the relic. That job, however, belonged more to his parents than to him, given their new classes.

He spent a few more minutes asking Eldest questions about its capabilities, as well as the heads of the Elemental Orders, until he had a good grasp of what was possible with the golems, and then he confirmed with the Guardian Star that it had a connection with the golems through the relic, so he could contact them if needed. When that was done, he turned to his parents.

“I think you’re in charge of this now,” he said with a grin as he looked at them. “What do you think they should do?”

“Hmm.” Jeric shared a look with Aemilia and then nodded before he turned to the golems. “Eldest, are you aware of the current state of the relic and its territory?”

Affirmative. The damage is extensive. Do you wish us to aid with the repairs and local security? We were designed for these tasks. The Sky Guard can begin clearing out monsters and other problematic entities within the domain of the relic, while the Elemental Orders can assist with repairs and reconstruction. If you wish to provide specific parameters to our function, please confirm your orders.

“Focus on the repairs and habitability of the first three levels, starting with the first and working your way down,” Jeric said after a moment. “We currently have a very small population, so focus on basic repairs and the core operations of the relic before working on the personal structures like homes. I’ll show you the few houses that need attention right now. If you encounter humans or other civilized races that are not authorized to be here, politely detain them without harming them and alert me. I’ll make a decision about what to do with them.” He rubbed at his beard as he thought, and then he continued. “The Ice Sylphs are an exception to that. They are our allies and are allowed to go where they wish. Treat them with the utmost courtesy and do not challenge or offend them. This land has been theirs since the last great war.

“I’d like a twice daily report on your activities, once in the morning and once in the evening. Check with me if there’s anything strange before you attack it. A lot might have changed since you were created. We are expecting many new recruits to come to the relic, so be polite to guests here. They may join us in time.”

Orders confirmed. By your command, we will conduct an initial survey. For the first time, Eldest’s voice held a sense of purpose, which almost made him sound pleased. He bowed his head and then picked up his spear and shield as he rose to his full height.

At eight feet, he was even taller than Sam and the top arc of his wings rose another two feet behind his head. He was about five feet broad at the shoulders with arms that were larger than most humans legs and a narrow waist, resulting in a powerful, but agile build.

Without any obvious signal from Eldest, the ranks of the Sky Guards and Elemental Orders rose to their feet and then marched toward the doors. Squad by squad passed them by, and a few moments later, Sam watched through his connection to the relic as they launched into the air, their wings unfolding as they tapped into the currents of ambient mana and took flight, soaring upward. Their black crystal armor and silver-edged wings gleamed in the night like stars taking flight.

When all of the golems were gone, Eldest followed them out, trailed by Sam and the others. The golem paused at the entrance as he looked around, as if taking in the condition of the land where he was free once more, and then he also launched into the air, ascending in a blur like a black spear that had been hurled into the heavens. In an instant, he was gone.

A ripple of air blasted away from where he had been on the ground, but it was far softer than it could have been, which suggested some enchantment was moderating it.

“I’m not sure what just happened,” Lesat said slowly as he watched him go, “but I have the feeling that we just took a major step forward with the relic.”

“I think we just became a real power in the region,” Jeric chuckled as he looked into the night sky, where faint streaks of color marked the presence of the golems that were heading toward the first layer. “Level 200 golems...and intelligent ones. That’s hard to believe, but it’s going to make this a completely different place. I have to say, the Trials of the Moon don’t disappoint.”

“I never expected this was what would be here,” Aemilia smiled as she looked after the golems. “I’m more interested than ever in finding out the full history of the relic. I wonder what other surprises it has for us.”

Sam’s rumbling laugh joined his parents as he grinned. It was a much more carefree sound than he’d had just a day before, now that a regiment of golems was here to protect his family. He wasn’t sure how much they could help with the repairs, but just seeing them was a window into a distant, legendary time.

No golem he’d ever seen before had been as intelligent and graceful as Eldest. It was like looking at a real person carved from stone. Even if they needed to be near the relic to maintain their personalities, it was a look at what was possible. They used astral energy as a main source of power, rather than the refined moonlight aura of the relic, so he had to wonder if the Astral Titans had built them. Or maybe that had been a deliberate choice to help them repair the relic when it was damaged, since it was a bit easier to gather.

“There are still two storerooms left to check,” he said with a grin. “Silvas has greenstone, but you haven’t seen it yet, so let’s head there first. After that, we’ll see what Amaris has for us.”

With everyone else in tow, he headed for the other storeroom that was on the second layer. He’d explored it once before, and he was looking forward to his parents’ reaction. It was on the far side of the mountain, but it didn’t take them too long to arrive.

Where Caelus’ door had been hidden in a wall between buildings, Silvas’ was different and much larger. It was set directly into the side of the mountain peak. As they approached it, there was no sign to indicate its presence except that the greenstone covering the cliffside was brightly lit with energy channels.

Faint chimes of silvery notes radiated through the area as the wind revealed the greenstone’s surface and then new snow fell to cover it, which was again swept away by the breeze. It reminded him that the weather enchantments here needed to be repaired. The interaction between the ambient Ice mana on the peak and the energy in the relic was balancing itself by producing snow, but it wasn’t the intended effect. That energy needed to be channeled to make the area pleasant to live in again.

When they reached the cliffside, he reached out to the local transfer lines and shifted energy into the door with a thought. Bright silvery lines flared out across the cliff surface, covering the stone for sixty feet in height and half that wide as they formed an enormous arch. A bright rune for Silvas shone at the top, where the keystone would have been, and trailing arcs of energy sparked as they flared outward.

“The sparks shouldn’t be there,” Sam said as he nodded at the door. “Once the repairs are complete, it will settle down and be easier to open, but for right now, the transfer lines to this layer aren’t completely stable.”

In front of them, the greenstone that was filling the arch melted away like a receding tide, flowing to the sides and into the ground. What was left behind was a massive tunnel into the mountain. Bright silver and moonlight bands flared to life on the walls, lighting the way in.

Sam led the group forward through the arch as he felt the tingle of the wards on his skin, but there was no trouble. There was only a silent pulse of confirmation that swept over him and then disappeared. The tunnel led about two hundred feet into the side of the mountain and then it opened up into a large cavern that was big enough to fill almost a quarter of the peak. The roof was a hundred feet high and it stretched for nearly a thousand feet back and to the sides. When he’d first heard about greenstone coming from here, he’d imagined something like a quarry where it was carved out of the mountain, but that was nothing at all like what was in front of him.

Instead, the majority of the cavern was taken up by a crystalline green lake that shimmered with silver energy, which floated through the substance in thin strands and shining points like stars in a nebula. It was similar in some ways to the elemental pools that had given birth to the golems, but on a much larger scale.

Unfortunately, the area was not undamaged. There were two massive cracks in the walls and the level of the liquid in the pool was shallow, only about six feet deep. They were lucky that even that much had been preserved after all this time.

Some sections of the cavern closer to the door were separated off into distinct smaller pools where the liquid from the lake could be channeled, and there were platforms over them where golems or other workers could either collect the primal greenstone or turn it into other shapes. Those smaller pools were all empty at the moment.

“What in the world,” Krana muttered as she looked out at it from next to Sam. “It looks nothing like I expected.” Her words were accompanied by the surprised murmurs of the others as they all looked around, taking in the design of the room as they tried to imagine how it functioned.

“From what I can gather, the greenstone is formed from elemental auras and the relic’s energy, somewhat similar to the golems,” Sam offered as he put together the pieces he’d learned so far. There wasn’t a lot about this chamber in the relic’s memories that he’d seen, but he’d been able to gather a few bits of information. “Just like they can be repaired with energy, the greenstone works the same way. More of it can be produced here and then it is taken to areas that need it, where it can continue to grow.

“All of it shares the same exact energy signature, which keeps it connected to an origin core that is held far deeper within the relic’s structure. It’s the relic’s surface material, like a suit of armor that protects it. You’ve already seen how resistant it is to damage and that only increases if it’s charged with energy.

“If we want to repair areas that are missing greenstone, we can draw some of the liquid from the lake here and then transport it to where it’s needed, although it might be easier to wait until the transportation enchantments are active, and then it can simply be sent wherever we need. It can expand there over time as the relic channels energy into it, but it takes a while for it to grow.”

“Impressive,” Jeric murmured as he looked around the room and then at his wife. “Perhaps the golems can help with transporting it.”

“One of the groups might have been designed for that purpose,” Aemilia agreed as she studied the area. “I’ll have to speak with Eldest and then find out what they all can do, and maybe there are some memories of this chamber that I can study. Once we know their capabilities, we can plan better and get an estimate for how long all of this will take.”

“You’re the Guide, love,” Jeric chuckled as he squeezed her hand. “Just let me know what’s possible and I’ll get to work on it.”

“The lake will slowly refill itself, but it’s dependent on the energy that can be diverted here,” Sam agreed. “Right now, that’s not much, but hopefully by the time the next alignment comes around, the relic will be ready to really gather it. It should be able to completely refill the lake then. Until then, we can use the broken bits of greenstone that are scattered around the relic. If we bring them here, they will melt back into the lake and we can reuse them.”

His parents nodded as they listened to the explanation and then they turned back toward Sam.

“Well, let’s go check out the last one and see what Amaris has in store,” Jeric chuckled. “It’ll be hard to top the golems, but whatever’s there, I’m sure it’ll be interesting.”