Astral Threads, Ch 13: Relic Training (Patreon)

Dinner with his family led to a pleasant evening where Sam caught up on all of the changes in the relic over the past eleven days and then to the first real night of sleep he’d had in a while. He’d dozed off in the library a few times, for an hour here and there, but it hadn’t been a real rest. When he woke up, there was a silver notification from the World Core tugging at his awareness, which took him by surprise.

Quest Complete: Obtain Command Authority.

Return to the control plateau.

It was the quest the World Core had assigned him months ago, which told him to gain the approval of Caelus and Amaris in order to gain full authority over the relic. He thought it would disappear when he gave the other two positions to his parents, but it looked like he’d managed to complete it after all. Perhaps forming the High Council and entering all the storehouses was enough.

He yawned as he sorted himself out with a wave of crystal flame that burned away traces of sweat and dust. A brush of his essence activated the self-cleaning runes on his clothes, restoring them to new. Then he stretched, cracking his knuckles as he looked around his home and checked on the closest wards that he’d engraved through the walls. He still wasn’t used to waking up here and it was difficult to change his habits.

A moment later, he disappeared in a wash of moonlight as he had the relic transfer him up to the control plateau. Its range extended for almost the entire first layer now. In four days, the defenses here would be complete.

The sun was cresting the eastern sky in a wash of pink and gold as he appeared on the plateau and headed toward the control pillar. As soon as he placed his hands on it, a ripple of energy from the relic thrummed through his spirit and its voice rang in his mind at the same time as a pressure from the World Core descended, swirling around him in a dense cloud.

Trait: Command Authority Granted.

[Due to finding appropriate candidates for the remaining High Council positions and using their storehouses for the intended purpose, you have gained the favor of Caelus and Amaris. Command Authority grants access to the relic equivalent to that of the original builders and is required to make structural changes to the relic’s design, which will be necessary for you as the Architect. Proceed with caution. You gain +10 to Aura and Charisma.]

Energy from the control pillar poured into his body as the moonlight aura woven through his spirit became more complex and merged with the astral energy in his blood until it looked like there were four strands to it instead of three. His hands shook with the effort it took to hold on until, after a few moments, the energy subsided. He let out a slow breath as he studied the changes and the control pillar fell silent.

The attribute increase raised his Charisma to 114 and his Aura to 324, which was now five points ahead of his Intelligence. More importantly, however, astral energy had formed a fourth strand of silver in the aura imprint. It was further proof of his belief that the Astral Titans had built the relic.

Certainty approaches 99%, the Guardian Star agreed when he consulted it. I am unable to determine another source for the astral energy here.

The edge of Amaris was still peeking over the western horizon and he gave the moon a nod as he disappeared again, teleporting down through the layers of the mountain to where the new chamber waited.

---

The training rooms were a wonder. The modified greenstone they were constructed from was able to change its elemental alignment and nature to fit almost any purpose, and the control node at the center could draw on the relic’s memory and energy reserves to construct combatants, environmental challenges, illusions, and more, including artifacts and tools that were effectively no different from reality.

It was clear after examining the rooms that they were directly affecting the mind and spirit. Part of the energy was used to create the scenario, but the majority of it was infused into the trainee to create a foundation for the skills and increase them. The current tingled across Sam’s meridians as he touched the pillar at the center of the room. It made them extremely effective, but there was only so much energy the relic had to spare.

For all that these rooms could help accelerate learning a skill, the impact on the relic was just as extreme. Powering a single room for half a day to learn a common skill like Analyze would drain a quarter of a percent from its reserve energy. That didn’t sound like a lot at first, but the relic’s reserves were only at 37%.

If thirty people learned four skills each, the relic would be down to 7% and lower than the 12% it had been at before the alignment. With the initial repairs complete, the relic was able to slowly restore its energy, but the background level of the moons’ aura wasn’t very strong. It meant the rooms were a resource that had to be carefully hoarded, since he wasn’t the only one who needed to use them.

He’d reviewed dozens of possible skills from the library to train here, but he hadn’t decided which few to focus on yet. At the very least, he planned to advance his crystal flame, spatial runes, Meditation, and Analyze, but there were a lot of abilities he’d never considered before.

The list was exciting, but long: Runic Engraving, Mana Sense, Spellweaving, Elemental Evocation, Elemental Conjuration, Elemental Abjuration, Spell Shielding, Basics of Artifact Forging, Toa’an Smithing Art, Scroll Creation, Runic Enchantments....

And then it continued with the more physical options, some of which were training in how to combine magic with physical combat, which had apparently been popular for students of the relic: Hand-to-Hand Melee Combat, Combat Agility, Battle Teleportation, Toa’an Elemental Battle Principles, Battle Evocation and Elemental Shielding, Combat Rune Manipulation, Principles of Enchantment at the First Evolution, Temporal-Spatial Arrays, Defensive Enchantments, Adventuring Self-Defense Basics.... The list continued with dozens more possibilities.

He rubbed his chin as he considered whether training in a basic art might be better for improving his foundation, which he had always lacked, or if he should pursue something more interesting, but his decision was interrupted by the arrival of the six Sky Guards who were assigned to him, who appeared at the door and took up a position on either side. They had no trouble locating him within the relic. The golem in the lead stepped forward and bowed.

“Architect, do you wish for assistance in your training?” Its voice was a fluid rumble like water rippling over stones as it spoke. “The Sky Guard can serve as your opponents, which will reduce the energy expenditure from the relic. We are difficult to damage.”

“That would be much appreciated,” Sam glanced over at the golem and nodded. “You’re the oldest golem of this squad, right? You said you have some suggestions for training, based on the relic’s memory?”

“Affirmative, councilor.” The golem loomed in the doorway as the black crystal he was made from flared with a tracery of silver lines that was almost like veins. He was a head taller than Sam and half again as wide. “Your earlier battles within the relic were recorded. Upon prompting, the relic has organized a list of possible training for you from its memories.”

“You deserve a name if you’re going to guard me,” Sam decided as he gave the golem a grin. “I’ll call you Sergeant, since you have a squad with you. What training do you suggest?”

This golem hadn’t seen much of the world yet, since it had been locked in the Chamber of the Elements since its creation, but with access to the relic’s memories, its recommendations should be useful.

“Confirmed,” Sergeant acknowledged, apparently satisfied with his new name. “Initial recommended training for the Architect includes Foundations of Melee Combat, Kinetic Mastery, the Aelvara Talon Art, Fundamentals of the Toa’an Elemental Domain, and Battle Aura Manipulation, as well as crafting skills, beginning with the Toa’an Smithing Art and Runic Enchantments. Once these are complete, advanced arts should be studied.”

“Why those ones, in particular?” Sam hummed thoughtfully as he studied the golem and then asked the question that was on his mind. He was curious why the golem and the relic wanted to prioritize those skills.

“The Architect’s combat records demonstrate the need for foundational melee abilities and methods to manipulate elemental effects efficiently. Hand to hand training and the other arts will address those areas.” Sergeant’s words were simple. “However, training seven skills will require nearly two percent of stored energy and it will also stress your mental attributes. Advancing too quickly is not wise. The Basic or Advanced tier in these abilities is enough for now.”

“Very well,” Sam nodded at the golem as he mentally rearranged his list. “There are a few other things I need to study as well.”

As long as he left enough energy for his parents, it would be fine. They had time to spend here and the relic would recharge over time, so they could continue to come back and practice.

“Let’s start with Analyze and Meditate,” he decided as he turned toward the control pillar. Those two were foundational skills that would improve his ability to understand what he saw and to recover his essence. Once those were done, he’d take the golem’s advice on the rest.

---

For the next few days, he immersed himself completely in self-improvement. The golems made good sparring partners, which kept the relic’s energy expenditure at a fraction of what it would have been if it had needed to create opponents for him.

Even at full strength and regardless of how he attacked them, it was difficult for him to leave a scratch on the black crystal they were made from. Any scuffs that he did manage to make slowly disappeared as he channeled essence into them, which seemed to work well enough, since his astral energy and moonlight aura were a match for the relic.

Once some initial testing was out of the way, he focused on his skill development, taking full advantage of the time to access the manuals he’d stored. Sergeant had recommended only pushing his skills up by one or two tiers, but for Analyze and Meditate, he was familiar enough with them that he pushed them all the way.

To train Analyze, thousands after thousands of civilized races, monsters, artifacts, scrolls, and spell forms appeared in front of him, all pulled from the relic’s memory. Each of them was a copy frozen in time, the impression for the skill carried as much from the relic’s record as from the construct it created for him to examine. As he trained the skill and Analyzed each one, the image dissolved, pouring its energy into him to advance his skill. After a day of endlessly evaluating them, he managed to upgrade Analyze to Epic.

It was a basic skill, but there was no denying the effectiveness of the training. It also gave him the opportunity to see things he’d only read about and dramatically expanded his view of the world, particularly as he found connections between what he was seeing and the information from the library. The education he’d once lacked was slowly being filled in. The only downside was that he felt the relic’s stored energy decreasing hour by hour. Still, that didn’t stop him from continuing.

He trained his Meditation in a room that constantly drained his essence and poured it back in at a slow trickle that made him try harder and harder to gain it. At the same time, the relic’s aura bored its way through his meridians. It burned like venomous ants were slowly crawling through his body, but the pathways expanded and grew tougher as it continued, improving his foundation. Sweat poured down his body and evaporated from the flames raging across his skin. By the time Meditation reached Epic, he was able to restore his essence in 30 minutes, instead of the two hours it had taken at Advanced, and his meridians felt like the roots of an ancient mountain.

After that, he took Sergeant’s advice and turned to the new skills. The training paths for them floated in his mind’s eye like seven crystal columns. Even if the golem hadn’t warned him, basic familiarity was all he had time for right now. He would focus on the higher levels while he was traveling.

Foundations of Melee Combat was a skill that focused on basic stances, movements, and integration of attributes into combat. For him, it was a revelation in how to use his body more effectively. Until now, he’d been brawling on instinct and using his talons to rip things to pieces, but this skill showed him that it was possible to do more. The flow of muscles, joints, positioning, footwork, strikes, parrying blows, dodging, and more were facets of a singular art.

Kinetic Mastery was a supplemental skill to Melee Combat that was designed to help him manage his size better, exerting greater strength against smaller opponents and better leverage against larger ones, something that was especially useful to him now that he was taller than most people. His standard height was about seven feet and his horns added another foot, but when he activated his battle aura, he grew to twelve feet tall and his horns added another two.

It was rare that he would be exactly the same size as his enemy, especially if he kept growing. Ever since he’d received his battle aura from his racial essence path, it had continued to increase his height each time its tier improved and whenever his essence constellation gained another layer.

The Aelvara Talon Art was also intended for melee combat. The Aelvara were the race of winged humanoids who had been part of the relic’s early history. When properly trained, their talons had been sharper than enchanted steel and they had used them in place of other weapons. They had elevated their racial advantage to an art form. For him, the skill blended with the Foundations of Melee Combat, showing him how best to take advantage of his own talons.

The Fundamentals of the Toa’an Elemental Domain was next. The elemental giants had trained their affinities far beyond what most humans were capable of and their path was laid out for him to follow if he wished. That skill was a surprise, since while it had combat applications, it was more about forming a philosophy of his own, his unique brand of the elements, that he could build on. If done correctly, it was a path that would infuse not only his fighting, but his crafting and his way of life.

The Basic level required him to meditate on what he wanted from his element and to reduce it to a single concept. As he began the process, the first thing he felt was confused. He had a natural Fire affinity that had transformed into crystal flame, but he also had the Path of the Elements and the Elemental Manipulation that came with it, a blessing of Ice from the sylphs, his moonlight aura from the relic, and now astral energy from his race.

Merging all of those together into a single idea wasn’t simple and he spent hours considering the idea, turning one way and then another. The manual for the skill warned him not to limit himself, but also to work from simple to complex.

He didn’t want to limit his future progress, so he eventually settled on the simplest and broadest aspect that felt like it fit, as well as a phrase to match. The idea came from his dreams of the Nexus and the stars he’d seen in the void and it resonated with his race.

The stars encompass all.

He had felt them in the darkness and the silver threads of space resonated all around him. He could feel that they were connected to all of the elements. They were also rich with essence. Even crystal flame felt like something that could come from the void, a combination of the fire and ice of the stars.

It was the best fit he could think of.

That was all that was required to form the Basic mastery of the Toa’an Elemental Domain. In choosing it, he felt like he was following an Astral Titan’s path more than one from the Toa’an, but that was fine. The next step of the skill was to begin to integrate that idea into his combat and crafting, so that his skills resonated with the truth of it. Doing so would increase his effectiveness in all the areas it touched.

Eventually, at the Epic tier, the skill was supposed to allow him to extend his will into the world around him, making that phrase a reality where his version of the elements would rule. If someone threw an ice bolt at him, the stars would melt it. If someone teleported next to him, the heat of the stars would consume them. If he wanted to seal something away, the coldness of the void between the stars would freeze it for an eternity.

He could already feel the resonance forming with crystal flame as he thought about it as a merger of fire and ice.

The last combat skill was even more of a surprise than the others, although mostly because he should have thought of it before. Battle Aura Manipulation was a simple meditation technique to help him come to a better understanding of his personal aura and to apply it in battle. In his case, that meant taking conscious control of the changes it brought and learning to directly manipulate his height, the length of his talons, the radius to which his energy could extend, the density of the essence shield that wrapped around his body, and more.

His studies up to that point took several days and he was beginning to run short on time, but after confirming that his family was fine, he pushed away the outside world for a bit as he focused on the last couple of recommended skills.

The Toa’an Smithing Art was an intricate layer of techniques for smithing, many of which he would need to study over time. He memorized them and practiced with the energy constructs the relic created for him, but the true test would be when he used them for his own work.

The art focused primarily on incorporating an elemental affinity into crafting, using it to refine materials and to create powerful enchantments. For him, there were a number of options and it blended extremely well with his Elemental Smithing and Aura Forging abilities.

He was sure the dwarves would find the techniques interesting if he shared them.

Runic Enchantments, for the first time, was a proper compendium of runes and patterns to provide enchantments on scrolls, artifacts, clothing, and other things. It was exceptionally useful, particularly in helping him to sort out the patterns he already knew by difficulty tier, but he had already set his own path with runes and enchantments. It added additional options and many of the runes were new, but it didn’t change his core approach.

The best thing about it was that it was a primer for the personal enchantments used in the relic, as well as ones that the Toa’an had incorporated throughout the area, since as it turned out, they had been the ones to carve most of the smaller enchantments here.

The rune patterns were very different from the modern enchantments he’d seen and it gave him a school of his own, one that probably no other living being on Aster Fall was familiar with. In the future, if anyone asked him where he had learned his enchantments, he could always point to the Moonlight Relic and the Toa’an as a quick escape. The history of the connection would speak for itself.

With all of those skills at Basic and an incredible amount of new information at hand, his mind felt like a scorched field, so he took an afternoon to meditate and restore himself.

His training so far had drained 2.25% of the relic’s energy, putting it solidly at 34.75%. It was an incredible amount of energy to have expended in just a handful of days and he felt burdened by the knowledge of what that meant. In its current state, it might take the relic years of gathering background aura to restore what he had just used. That would speed up as the repairs continued down into the lower layers that were far larger, until perhaps one day it would be able to gather enough to support training here at a steady pace, but for now it was limited.

It felt like it was taking far more energy than it should have taken to learn the skills, but perhaps he misunderstood what skills really were. The amount of energy the World Core had at its command and what the relic had were two different things, and teaching skills was not the relic’s main purpose. It was effective, but that didn’t mean it was easy for it.

Despite that, the relic was a marvel, one that would be a source of jealousy for anyone who saw it. They would have to guard it well, to make sure that it could fulfill its purpose as a dimensional fortress to defend Aster Fall. That meant keeping some of its most critical functions, like these training rooms, carefully out of sight. They had been part of the High Council’s secrets for a reason. He had no wish to test the defenses against an army of greedy attackers.

After adjusting his mind, he turned to the last two unique skills that he needed to improve. He wasn’t sure what name to use for them, so he began to speak aloud inside the training room, explaining what he meant.

“I see silver threads of spatial energy everywhere in the world now, which seems to be related to my race. It feels like threads of space connecting energy and substance together.” His words echoed around him in the silent training room as he pushed himself to his feet and reached out to the relic. He’d already tried asking the relic directly about Astral Titans, but it had denied having any information about them, even though he knew it was an evasion. Perhaps a different tactic would work.

“I am an Astral Hunter. I feel like I’m being called to travel into the stars when I see them, but I don’t understand what to do with that feeling. When I teleport, I can feel the void stretching out all around me like a dark ocean.” He paused as he felt the relic’s attention lock onto him, the weight of its presence brushing against his mind. “You are designed to anchor dimensions, and you have to understand what these concepts are. Can you help me train them?”

There was a pause as the relic seemed to be considering his words and then the room around him began to change, the green walls morphing into a dark crystal expanse with threads of astral energy rippling through it. Stars gleamed in the distance in a thousand shades of light. It looked like the void outside Aster Fall. At the same time, he felt the relic’s energy plummet by a full percent as a massive torrent of energy flooded the walls. It beat against his senses like a vast drum that called him away.

Initializing Training Room for Spatial Awareness: Astral Void.

Stored Energy: 33.75%

But that wasn’t the only thing the relic said. Its voice was flat, but the gravity in its words was clear as it continued to speak.

High Councilor, be warned that each hour spent in this chamber will drain reserve energy by a full percent. If stored energy drops below 30%, many functions will be disabled until sufficient background energy can be gathered to restore it.

Sam froze as he considered what it had just said. The relic had mentioned its reserve energy level before at 30%, but he hadn’t understood the impact. If he spent just four hours in this chamber, the relic would fall below its minimum. Not only could that affect the speed of repairs, but his parents wouldn’t be able to train their abilities here and the defenses on the first layer would be weakened.

“Limit the training time in this room to one percent of additional energy,” he said immediately, after thinking it through as quickly as possible. If he’d known it would take so much energy, he might have held off, but the relic had already changed the walls and he was wasting time with every moment. That would give him a total of two hours. Afterwards, there might still be enough energy for him to train a little with Crystal Flame.

“Assign 2.5% reserve energy for the rest of the High Council to use for skill training,” he added. “Close down the training rooms at 30.25% and only open them back up with a direct command from the High Council. Warn the High Council whenever energy usage threatens to dip into the reserves. Prioritize defenses and repairs.”

Acknowledged.

The relic’s voice rang out in his mind and then faded away, leaving only the void behind as it swirled across the walls. It looked remarkably similar to the Sky Guard’s armor, but he knew it was some variant of greenstone. The relic had altered the basic nature of the material to make it like this.

All around him, he felt space flowing outward to an endless distance, pulling him away to the unknown. It felt like he was standing in the true void. The threads of astral energy tugged on him, each of them leading somewhere else. With each passing moment, he felt his body filling with energy, as if he were a whirlpool that constantly drank it in. It sank into his skin, his muscles, and his organs as his essence constellation began to spin.