Astral Threads, Ch 18: Boundless Alliance (Patreon)

“Everyone at Level 399 is part of this Boundless Alliance?” Sam frowned as he studied Snake.

“Not everyone in the Alliance is part of the Cabal, which is the term for the darker side of things, not even a quarter, but definitely enough for you to stay out of it.” Snake shook his head. “You don’t reach Level 399 and then just decide to give up and retire. They’re motivated, even if they aren’t unified in their methods. They all do their own thing. The only good part about it is that their search for a way out tends to keep them out of everyone’s hair and some of them still help with Flaws and the bigger wars.

“You know a lot about them,” Sam said as he tapped his talons on the table. “Are the Bloodline Clans part of this group too?”

“Not as much as others.” Snake shook his head. “But everyone who reaches Level 300 eventually meets them, one way or another, and the clans are big enough that we’re well aware of their movements. Some of them want to study our bloodlines, but we have our own experts who keep them from causing too much trouble.”

What went unspoken was Snake’s position as a Level 305 Assassin and the reason he knew so much about the Cabal. If he wanted to get rid of a Level 399 who was causing trouble, he could probably arrange it, and if not him, then another assassin who was even stronger. The Bloodline Clans hadn’t got their reputation for nothing and their unique aura energy should give them an advantage over others at a similar level.

“So stay out of their line of sight, got it?” Snake’s finger left another series of dents in the table as he finished his lecture. “At least if you want to live long enough to make something of yourself. Whatever this relic is, and whatever you want to do to help the Seal, just stay away from them.”

Sam looked at the bookcase across the room as he rubbed his chin. Something was clearly broken at Level 399. Anyone who reached that level was a huge investment on the World Core’s part, with level after level and tiers of abilities that it had assisted with or granted directly. People might think they earned those abilities, but to some extent, they were still being given to them by the World Core for reaching a certain mark.

He’d seen the other side of that system already, with Outsiders and in trying to use essence. Without the World Core’s help, creating spells and abilities was far harder, and without its guidance in evolutions, many would die and others would end up with weaker classes. While it might be limiting people at 399, it was also the reason they had got there.

The World Limit seemed like something Asenya should have fixed, but she’d been missing for 120,000 years, ever since she created the seal. Before that, there had clearly been free travel to and from Aster Fall, and even if there had been a World Limit, it wouldn’t have mattered. Ever since the seal was established, the path to the Fourth Evolution was severed.

“But why does the World Core impose a level limit?” Sam’s forehead was furrowed below his horns as he turned back to Snake. That was something he still didn’t understand, even after looking for it in the relic’s library. “And why doesn’t the World Core stop people from making those artifacts when they are causing damage?”

“You think I have all the answers here?” Snake’s response was an annoyed grumble as he tossed his hands in the air. “The limit is there because it’s there. Go ask a researcher. All I can tell you is that the most common idea, and the one that’s probably correct, has to do with the nature of the Fourth Evolution.”

“What happens at the Fourth Evolution?” Sam asked, looking at Snake with interest.

“Like it matters to you when you aren’t even at the second.” Snake scoffed as he looked at the wardstone and fell silent for a moment. He tapped his hand on his thigh, however, apparently arranging his thoughts to explain. “Alright...so at the First Evolution, you get increased mana density and an overall physical improvement, right? That helps with your defense and makes it pretty difficult for anything under Level 100 to hurt you.” He waited for Sam’s nod to continue.

“At the Second Evolution, you get another boost like that, as well as a mana field. I haven’t seen you use one, which is how I can guess you’re not there yet, unless you’re a much better actor than it seems. That mana field is like a short-distance domain that augments your abilities. It shields you from some damage, enhances your movements and attacks, and so on. These changes are why it’s difficult to fight across evolutions ” Snake frowned at Sam as he looked down at the dents in the table and then back up. “Following so far?”

“Of course,” Sam agreed instantly. “What happens at the Third Evolution?”

“At least you’re smarter than Garild,” Snake muttered before he continued. “At the Third Evolution, you get a transformation in your attributes and how you can produce force with them. Sometimes it’s called the Unity Realm. Individual attributes matter less and the total unified concept of your energy matters more. It’s a little different for each class and race, though, so I can’t explain it that well for everyone.

“For me, it means my Agility is worth more than my other attributes. Every point I add to it basically adds a bit to other areas, even to my Intelligence and Wisdom. Things aren’t as separated any longer. That also means that the distinction between a Warrior and a Mage is a little narrower at the Third Evolution. A sword attack isn’t so different from a mana attack anymore. The force of strength behind the sword and the force of mana behind a spell are closer together.”

“I understand. But what do you mean about the Fourth Evolution?” Sam asked as he filed the information away for later. Snake’s explanations were similar to what he’d read about. A mana field and unified attributes were interesting changes, and he was sure they were powerful, but whatever was happening at the Fourth Evolution had to be something else.

“I told you I’m not a researcher, right?” Snake grumbled at him to make sure he was still paying attention. “It’s half a rumor at this point, since it’s been so long since the World Core allowed it, but the most popular theory is that the way you regenerate mana and stamina changes at the Fourth Evolution.

“You’ll start to pull in energy from the world around you more directly, and maybe even convert things like the air or dust into mana if you need it. Or, in the most obvious problem for Aster Fall, you pull it from the dimensional space here. The World Core doesn’t like people messing with that, so it keeps it from happening. That’s what most people think.”

A treatise titled Principles of the Fourth Evolution generally supports that theory, the Guardian Star affirmed. However, there are differences. I’m cross-referencing other texts in the stored library for a resolution.

There was a sense of riffling pages on the edge of Sam’s awareness, but it was something the star was adding for effect as it searched. It was continuing to build up its personality and had started doing little things like that over the last weeks. It gave their conversations more texture.

Located. Mana at the Fourth Evolution is generated from the entity’s connection to dimensional space. There is no further need for a world or mana veins to provide mana.

The shift allows for travel in the Void. Those under the Fourth Evolution are generally considered planet-bound, while those beyond it are free to travel between worlds. For that reason, it is sometimes called the Boundless Realm.

I doubt that’s a coincidence with the name of the Boundless Alliance. Sam looked thoughtfully at the wall as he listened to the star’s report. Someone must have old books or memories. And something about that process harms the World Seal?

Affirmative. By generating mana like that, they create dimensional ripples. If they pulled hard enough, or if enough of them gathered together, they might break it, like stones slowly weighing down on a blanket stretched over a chasm. For a being like the Astral Guardian, he could shatter the Seal just by breathing.

Asenya must have been in a hurry when she made the World Seal, Sam muttered mentally. So that’s why nothing above the Third Evolution is allowed on Aster Fall? All to protect the World Seal and keep the Nexus secure?

It was likely intended to be a temporary fix to halt the First War. At the time, she probably had a way to push anyone above the Third Evolution off of Aster Fall and did both together, creating the defense that protects Aster Fall. That put an end to the most destructive part of the war and brought about the current stalemate, all under her prerogative to protect the World Core.

The seal blocks the Outsiders while allowing access to Astrals, but even they can’t come here easily. It is unclear why, since some of them should be under the Fourth Evolution. Perhaps they are forbidden from doing so.

Then she went missing before she could improve it, Sam added. Otherwise, the World Seal wouldn’t erode and things like the World Limit wouldn’t be a problem. Now, the Outsiders can’t get in without a Flaw, the Astrals can’t get in here to fight them, and no one who reaches Level 399 can leave. He shook his head as he looked back at Uncle Snake. His conversation with the star was quick, but he didn’t want to seem distracted.

“The World Limit is an issue,” Sam agreed at last, “but if the seal collapses, Aster Fall will be open to invasion from all sides, including from forces that already have Fourth Evolution or higher beings. The Cabal could leave, but most people here would be helpless. The First War would begin again.”

Asenya’s solution had worked, even if it wasn’t perfect. People had been able to live their lives and raise their families here for a very long time. He had to give her credit for that. She probably hadn’t intended to let the problems accumulate like this.

“I haven’t heard that term in a while,” Snake said with some surprise as the black bands of his eyes flared wider. “Most people call it the First Breaking, if they’ve heard about it at all. You must really be from somewhere strange. At any rate, you need to leave the Boundless Alliance alone until you’re the same level as they are. Whatever they’re doing isn’t something for you to get involved in, not if you want to stay alive.”

Sam frowned as he considered Snake’s advice. He wasn’t sure how many of those artifacts there were, but they were a slow poison eating away at the World Seal. And if the alliance had those, then what else did they have that might do even worse things?

Unfortunately, Snake was right that he didn’t have the strength to oppose them right now. He’d seen the lesson implicit in their duel. The assassin was only Level 305, barely into the Third Evolution.

How much stronger would someone be at Level 399?

Sam’s expression was grim as he looked into the distance, staring through the wall to the north. That was the direction of Veritan, the capital of the kingdom. When he had the strength, he promised himself that he would investigate.

Right now, however, it was time to go.

With the golems, he had a force for self-defense that should keep him alive even if bounty hunters at the Second Evolution came after him. That gave him a perfect platform to train up until he was stronger than they were.

He would head to Runekeld with Krana, speak with the seers there about the Harbinger and any other threats to Highfold, train his new skills, and destroy every monster, bounty, and Flaw he found on the way. From there, they would visit a Clanhold and the Crimson Forest, collect powerful auras, and deal with whatever came up.

It might take a while, but with the relic in its current state, his family would be safe enough. Hopefully by the time he returned home, he’d be Level 200 or more and have a huge pile of auras to give the relic, which would do more for it than a year or two of repairs.

Perhaps in time, he could force the Cabal to change their tactics or find a way to help them escape, but right now he wasn’t in a position to make the kingdom bend to his will. Negotiating with the top powers would be difficult, even if he reached their level.

But he did have one thing that might work.

The World Core had granted him a favor when he repaired the relic, which might be enough to let a top expert leave. He doubted it would work for more than one person, however, and there were many other possible uses for it, so it would be better to save it until he had a real solution or needed it as a bargaining chip.

His eyes gleamed as he looked through the wall into the distance, through the records and the memories he had seen, back into the days of the First War and the creation of the seal, watching time flow past like a river. One question stood out to him in the mists of the river, echoing like a solemn drum.

Where was Asenya?

Fixing things had been her job before it was his. If he could find her, she could stabilize the World Core and the Seal. Otherwise, he didn’t know how long it would take for him to do it himself. More than that, she deserved to be found. Her contribution to the world was inestimable.

His attention was pulled back to Uncle Snake when the envoy deactivated the wardstone that shielded their conversation. As soon as it faded, a message scroll flashed into existence. It glimmered with the sapphire blue light of a scroll Sam had made, which was rare, since his family usually had the amulets to reach him. He reached out to activate it and his father’s voice filled the air.

“Krana and her relatives have arranged a meeting for us with the dwarven council in charge of the city, the Council of Highmount. They would like to officially welcome you as a protector of the valley and we are planning to ask for some help in manning the relic. We could use some more smiths and masons. Hopefully this finds you in time. The meeting is set for noon.”

“It sounds like you have things to deal with, Hunter,” Uncle Snake chuckled as he leaned back, his attitude far more relaxed now as he put his boots onto the table where the wardstone had been. “Scare Garild on the way out for me and don’t mess up my snake. Make sure to visit the clans soon. The young ones will have fun challenging you. You’ll be quite the opponent.”

Sam felt for the position of the moons in the sky before he nodded. The message must have been sent just a few minutes before. There were still two hours until he needed to meet his parents. It looked like he was finally going to get to see the dwarves here.

“Thank you for the warning,” he said as he stood up and nodded politely to Uncle Snake. “I’ll make sure to visit.”

“Get a few levels before then,” Snake said as he yawned and closed his eyes, until it looked like he was asleep on the chair. The black and white designs on his skin blurred as he faded away. “Being under the Second Evolution is embarrassing when you’re twelve feet tall.”

---

Sam teleported into the backroom of their shop and pulled out some blank monster hide to make scrolls as he set to work. He had a couple of hours until the meeting. If he was going to be gone for a while, he needed to leave the shop with more things to sell, especially high quality items that would bring in a good amount, even if they only sold one a month.

As he purified the material with his aura and began to inscribe the pattern for an Epic-tier Ice Shield scroll, he considered what he’d just learned from Snake. Making scrolls was second nature to him now, even the more advanced ones, but the Toa’an art of Runic Enchantment floated through the back of his mind, nudging his hand from time to time as he formed a pattern or created a looping spiral.

He’d have to do more with that.

The difference between the tiers of a scroll was as clear as day now. A Basic scroll was little more than some charged runic lines in the shape of a spell. It was a frame without a heart. Advanced and Expert-tier scrolls increased the complexity and the power contained in the spell, but they didn’t change the basic nature. That started at the Elite tier, where concepts and affinities became more important.

You could use a base material to get the right affinity, but the best way was to combine the material with your affinity, which was why an Ice Mage would typically make and use Ice scrolls. It was also why he was using a piece of Hoarfrost Serpent hide and his own blessing of Ice to make this Ice Shield spell. As an Apprentice of Ice, it felt more natural than ever.

At the Epic tier, affinity became even more important, but you were also looking for a resonance with the natural world, something that would support the activation of the spell and give it a force that you couldn’t summon alone, where the mana in the scroll was a trigger for a cataclysmic event.

He chuckled as he added another line to the scroll, one that resembled the shape of Winter’s Peak. You needed some personal experience for this part, but what was really happening was on the level of aura. You had to connect the aura imprint in the scroll to the aura of the natural world, so that they could move each other.

For most scribes, making an Epic-tier scroll was up to chance, something they would meditate on as they worked to connect themselves to the world. The profession didn’t usually have a strong control of their aura, so they assigned their success or failure to the strength of their mind and the depth of their trance as they worked. For him, however, moving the aura in his scrolls was only a matter of concentration. It had been a while since he failed to make an Epic scroll. He just needed to think about which aura he wanted to copy and then impress it into the lines.

Copying Winter’s Peak would make for a strong Ice Shield scroll. When he was done, the name of the scroll might even change to “Scroll of Winter’s Peak.” It had happened once before, when he’d infused an aura strongly enough.

The initial pattern was coming along, but as an Epic tier scroll, it would take him a day or two to finish it. He should have just enough time before he left. As he worked, he directed his attention to the Guardian Star and his plan for the future. Thoughts of the Cabal were on his mind, especially the question of why the World Core allowed them to make the artifacts.

“Why do you think the World Core doesn’t stop people from causing damage with those artifacts?” he asked the star without interrupting his work. The question had been bothering him for a while.

The World Core was designed to do two primary things, the star replied as it showed him memories from the relic. Each of them was a place and event, a fragment of understanding. One, to regulate the flow of energy at the Nexus. Two, to assist with evolutions, which seems to have been intended to improve the strength of the population here over time. It was not designed to judge every event that happens.

Asenya was assigned to improve the core, and she perhaps added some functions before she disappeared, but then the First War broke out and the World Seal was placed around it, which froze it at that moment in time.

The artifacts are Outsider in origin, so the blame for the damage probably goes to the Outsiders and not to the citizens of Aster Fall who are activating them. It is similar to how you were not punished for activating that Outsider ruin. You were also allowed to live here with an Outsider race since you were already an inhabitant, at least until you threatened it more directly.

“That means the World Core is not a judge of good or evil, as much as the church might like to think it is,” Sam said slowly as he added another rune. “It allows people to live their lives as long as they don't interfere with its purpose.”

Affirmative. The star’s words were as cold as a blade. If you wish to deal with the Cabal, you will need to do so on your own.

Thoughts of the future ran through Sam’s mind as he moved on to another part of the scroll. Outside the room, he could feel the six Sky Guards standing watch. Farther out, he knew the rest of their company was circling above the relic as they brought order to the mountain. His thoughts also turned to the new class ability that he had somehow created while fighting Snake and he glanced at it as he read its description.

Spell Forging (Basic): You have demonstrated a new Class ability to forge lasting spell patterns from runes, essence, and aura. The ability has been assigned to you. Prerequisites: Aura Forging, Elemental Smithing, Componentless Scribe, Runic Formation.

Somehow, his abilities had combined to become something unique. He wasn't sure how he was going to use it yet, but he would find a way to make the most of it.

"Organize the relic's library for me. Mark anything that seems likely to increase my strength. I'll train on the road."