Astral Threads, Ch 37: Storm Plains (Patreon)

Lightning tore through the earth below as Sam looked down at the broken stones that led to the first place marked on his map. It was a massive impact crater on the plains, as if the heavens had reached down and slammed their fist into the earth. The center of it was a glowing roil of dark blue and cobalt lightning that spun in a mangled sphere, almost as if it were alive.

Whips of energy flared from the edges of the sphere, scorching the ground around it. Nothing grew inside the crater except some tendrils of twisted and blackened grass that had somehow survived the lightning’s wrath.

When he first saw it, he thought about tossing in the Star of Life, but it didn’t seem to be the right type of lightning. There was something unnatural to it, especially in how it was lasting so long, and he doubted it would help the Star restore itself. No trace of hunger came from the gem in his pocket either, as if it weren’t interested. Now, he was trying to figure out what felt odd about the location.

Normal lightning would have dissipated, but according to the dwarves’ map, this crater had been here for at least a century. In that time, no one had managed to disrupt the lightning or claim whatever was at the center, and that meant it wasn’t something simple. The dwarves believed a fragment of a meteorite was gathering mana to itself, but seeing it now, he wasn’t so sure.

He had the feeling this place wasn’t natural at all, and if that was true, the aura might not fit the relic. If it were corrupted somehow, it wouldn’t work, but he’d have to get closer to check. Either way, he should still be able to use it for an enchantment.

The crater was about four hundred feet across and he set the golems to guard in a ring around the edge. He didn’t want any surprises while he was working, especially with the uneasy feeling the lightning gave him. He also didn’t want them inside where they might disrupt something.

He landed on the edge of the crater, just outside of the scorched area. After studying it for a while longer, he began inscribing runes in the air. Crystal Focus was active as he scanned the crater, but despite that, the ball of lightning at the center was a mystery, its energy like a shielding enchantment that blocked his sight.

“Right,” he muttered as he finished a rune, “let’s see what you are.” The enchantment he’d made was a sphere with dozens of runes for various elements on it, most of the ones he knew. He tapped on it and sent it flying forward.

Halfway across the crater, an arc of lightning whipped out of the center and lashed at the spell, attacking it like an intruder. The enchantment exploded into bright sapphire sparks, but instead of dissolving immediately, the runes for the elements floated away from it. Some of them were dark, but two were glowing with energy.

One for metal and one for sand.

Strangely, the rune for lightning was completely inert. The rest of the runes dissipated, but those two continued to glow as they floated back across the crater to Sam. The lightning seemed content to leave them be, now that it had destroyed the enchantment. When they arrived, they passed over the edge of the crater and hovered in front of him.

“Interesting,” he said with a frown as he looked at them. It didn’t seem to be lightning in the crater after all, but rather a mix of these two. “But I can’t be the only one to have done an elemental analysis. Time for the next part.”

He sent a pulse of essence into the ground at his feet. A moment later, a rock flew upward as dirt particles fell away. It settled into his hand and he used his talons as he began to carve runes into the side. He looked up from time to time to study the interaction of the lightning before adding a new rune.

He could have walked into the crater to see what would happen, but it wasn’t the best idea to trust that he was immune to whatever this thing was. He didn’t have the highest confidence of walking out unscathed from those two elements.

In the distance, a tower of storm clouds was building into a cyclone, but he only glanced at it over his shoulder before he returned to working on the stone. It looked like it would pass to the north of him, so it shouldn’t interrupt his efforts. Eventually, he finished inscribing the stone and tossed it forward into the crater, where another arc of lightning lashed out and tore it to pieces.

This time, a small swirl of runes floated out of the remains like fireflies. Instead of dissipating, they flowed along the arc of the lightning to its origin, where they adhered themselves to the sphere at the center, giving an outline to something rectangular within. It was about ten feet tall and eight feet wide.

A few moments later, the lightning writhed as if it were agitated and the runes shattered into sapphire motes that flew away on the breeze. Sam frowned as he studied the result and then he called up another rock and began working again. There was definitely something strange in there and he was more convinced than ever that it wasn’t lightning.

It looked more like a gateway.

Some hours passed as he tested one concept and then another against the lightning at the center of the crater. A line between his eyes was becoming deeper with each test. There was a suspicion building at the back of his mind, but he needed to do a few more tests to see if it were true.

He’d asked the dwarves for places of elemental power, and he could feel the aura radiating from this one, but that didn’t mean this was the same as the magma cavern. There were a lot of things that could create a strong elemental aura and a few of them weren’t good for Aster Fall at all.

The final test he did was to cycle a series of auras past the lightning to see what it reacted to, and the result wasn’t anything like what he expected. Instead of trying to merge with the ones that were similar to it, or to clash with the ones that opposed it, the lightning tried to attack them all.

That wasn’t normal for an elemental aura from this world. He hadn’t expected to find this type of thing at the second place he visited, but fate had its way of throwing a wrench into things.

“Alright then,” he muttered eventually as he stared into the depths of the lightning. The storm in the distance was a dark cloak framing his shoulders as he glared at the sphere. “You don’t belong here at all, do you?”

His suspicion was almost confirmed, but there was one last thing to do. He needed to try to break it open. The shape of a gateway gleamed at the center of the lightning, outlined by dozens of new crystal flame runes that were more durable than the first ones he’d sent in.

Just like the Outsider outpost he’d explored with his father so long ago, this had probably once been an artifact or a gateway belonging to an invasion force. Some war or an act of the World Core had shattered it, leaving it half broken. The aura of the gateway shimmered with a subtle difference from the energies of Aster Fall, now that he was more familiar with what to look for.

If he was right, it should have been essence originally, but something had split it in half. Perhaps the Storm Plains or the World Core had done it as the first step in assimilating the foreign energy. Now, the mana was being pulled away to form this lightning-like sphere, but it was strong enough that it hadn’t faded over the last century.

Over time, it was possible that the elemental storms here would grind the artifact down to nothing and absorb its mana, but at the rate it was going, it looked like it would take at least a thousand years. Now that he’d found this thing, he didn’t plan to let it exist that long. Who knew who else might find it and rush in unprepared.

“Sergeant,” he called out mentally to the Sky Guard leader. “Prepare to defend against anything that may happen in the crater, or that may come from it.”

Acknowledged, the golem sent back. His personality wasn’t as pronounced with just the Guardian Star’s support as it was with the relic’s, but he was still capable of carrying on a conversation. Modifying defensive pattern.

As he spoke, the ten golems shifted, their wings flaring as they turned inward. The shields in their hands came up into defensive positions and their spears pointed down at the lightning sphere. Two of them flew closer, bracketing him on either side.

It might be difficult for most people to break apart an aura, especially one as powerful as this, but it was something Sam was designed to do. The World Core was always warning him not to disrupt the auras of Aster Fall, but when it came to Outsider ones, all the rules were off. He just had to be sure about it. He was looking forward to it, actually, since he didn’t get a chance to break things that often.

If he was right, then this was sealed enough that it wasn’t getting the World Core’s attention, but it definitely would when he got it open. There was just one final step that was necessary to make sure he was right.

He glanced down at his bracers and then pulled a scroll from his belt pouch, activating it with a flicker of essence on the right rune. Brilliant sapphire light poured across his hand as the parchment dissolved. A moment later, the arc of a defensive shield glimmered in the air around him, half invisible.

He raised his hand as he called on the first spell he’d ever learned, which happened to fit this situation better than anything else. Aura Bolt. It had been a long time since he used it, but if this was a foreign aura, attacking it with his own aura was the best way to find out. If it wasn’t, the World Core wouldn’t pay attention to two auras clashing as long as he wasn’t trying to shatter it.

“Let’s start big.” He grinned with a dangerous glint of fangs as he channeled fifty points of aura into the bolt. The spell warped the air as it hummed into existence above his hand. His Essence Control had long since reached Epic, which let him put a lot of force into it.

The aura bolt was a burning blue beam four inches wide as it blasted toward the lightning sphere. An arc of lightning slashed out toward it, but it was too late to catch it. The bolt struck the side of the sphere with a sharp explosion that rocked the crater. A wave of force blasted backward, rippling the scorched dirt and grasses.

The sphere warped as the lightning in it exploded out in retaliation, lashing the area with a thousand strands of power. Sizzling violet arcs crawled along the ground, gouging new holes in the dirt and blasting away the few plants that had managed to survive. The Sky Guard on the edge braced their shields as their wings folded in like wedges that cut through the wind as they held themselves steady.

Just for a moment at the center of the sphere, where Sam’s runes had outlined the structure inside, there was a clearly visible stone portal unlike any he’d seen before. Most Outsider portals seemed to be arches or circles, but this one was a rectangle with edges that twisted in on themselves. It looked like it’d been carved as a solid piece, but then the sides, top, and bottom closest to the inside had been carved further to give it the appearance that they were melting away, or perhaps warping.

Either that, or they actually had warped from whatever happened in the center.

The stone was a dark silver-black that was unfamiliar to him. It almost looked like metal or some type of ore. It was rippled like it had been placed in an intense fire that had just barely begun to melt it, which matched the look of the interior. Perhaps it had gone through some great heat on its way here, or it had been scorched when it was first activated.

The stone and the melted appearance weren’t the most defining traits, however. That went to the crawling series of Outsider runes that covered the surface, which were visible for just a moment. They were deeply etched into the strange stone and at least a tier beyond anything he’d seen before. The curse runes that had been on portals and ward stones in the past were stick figures compared to these ornate and interlocking patterns.

Whatever this was, it wasn’t simple.

Initial analysis confirms Outsider origin, the Guardian Star agreed as it finished scanning the result, although it was only stating the obvious at this point. Caution is advisable.

There was a moment of crackling silence as the lightning whips reached the edge of the crater and began to retract, and Sam frowned as he looked at the gateway. He’d been planning to destroy it immediately, but the runes revealed something that was perhaps far more dangerous than he’d expected.

Perhaps this was what that wall would have looked like, back in the first outpost that had transformed him, if it hadn’t been shattered. If that was the case, it might be better to leave this thing alone, or at least to study it more before trying to break it.

Just at that moment, however, the runes on the gateway began to glow with a dark light and a rippling bar of darkness appeared in the center of the opening. A shudder went through the stone frame as a pulse of damaged aura blasted outward, ripping across the crater in a nearly physical wave.

As it reached him, he was finally able to get a good sense of what the aura here was. It brushed against his senses like a corrosive metallic desert. Perhaps it had once been something grand, but now it had fallen to ruin and ash. It was a wasteland where things met their end. He knew there had to be better places where the Outsiders lived, but this was a place of despair.

Perhaps that was why they tried to come to Aster Fall.

Essence fluctuations of the First and Second Evolution are appearing from a localized pocket dimension, the Guardian Star announced immediately as the gateway grew larger. You have either activated a still-functioning ward or broken through a barrier that kept the gateway sealed.

This appears to have been intended as a portable incursion artifact with assault forces inside. It is unclear what state they will be in after a century or more. They may have additional artifacts with them to establish an outpost.

Waves of silvery energy flowed around the Sky Guard as they shifted in place, their wings stretched wide. Their spears pointed toward the center, the tips darker than night. If they’d had expressions, they would have been grim.

At that moment, the lightning suddenly warped, changing color to a dark black like the opening gateway, and it rushed toward it. The new color fit it better, as if it were always meant to be like that. When it arrived, it poured into the center. The dimensional rift expanded, its size tripling in an instant as it filled the entire gateway. It looked like a curtain of dark, liquid ink.

Sam only had time to activate both of his bracers with a pulse of essence before the gateway tore apart and a horde of Outsiders appeared. It was followed immediately by an announcement from the World Core, but he already knew what that was going to say, so he ignored it.

It would be a demand to deal with this, mostly because he was close by and possibly because he’d caused it. He shoved the notification away as he launched himself into the air on a blast of wind.

He wanted to flatten the area with spells before the enemies could fully appear, but the dimensional ripple surrounding the Outsiders was still present and attacking it would be pointless. The spells would be diverted into whatever dimension the Outsiders had just come from.

Instead, he activated his battle aura and grew to his full height as a wave of crystal flame spiraled out around him. A field with dozens of crescent moons formed on his right and a wave of darkness filled with the light of burning stars formed on his left.

The dimensional ripples below faded away, leaving a group of several dozen figures in front of the gateway. The first thing he noticed was that there were two different types. The majority were a race of tall, thin-limbed, and grey-skinned warriors with tiny black scales scattered across their bodies, especially on their hands, neck, and foreheads. They had no hair, only a ridged scalp with flat, bony protrusions. Their eyes were an flat, inhuman rectangle with a dull green glimmer at the center. They had a bony ridge for a nose and short serrated teeth that gleamed from between thin lips.

In the minority were a handful of...sand creatures? They looked humanoid, but they were almost skeletal, as if they were malnourished, and their bodies were clearly made up of a rust red sand. He could make out the individual particles flowing along their limbs, as if they were in a constant state of flux. They had to be some type of elemental.

A wave of information followed as he analyzed the group, his attention focusing on one of each type.

Sersan Legionnaire. Level 150.

Sersan Enslaver. Level 165.

Sersan High Guard. Level 205.

Sersan Priestlord. Level 230.

The reptilian ones were a mixed bunch, their classes a sign of what they were up to. There were about two dozen legionnaires and half a dozen enslavers. There were two of the Priestlords in the front of the group, along with six High Guards that were arranged right next to them.

The two Priestlords were clearly in charge. They held enruned staves in their hands that glowed with a dark green light and had whips at their belts. The enslavers held whips and short swords, while the legionnaires had long spears and swords.

The High Guards were a bit different. They were decked out in dark grey heavy armor with ornate lines of script across the chest and shoulders, as well as a feather-frilled helmet that covered their heads. They held two-handed swords slanted in front of them, as if they'd just been drawn.

Altogether, they were clearly the spearhead of some invasion force. If they’d been trapped for a century, it certainly didn’t show. Time might have flowed differently wherever they were.

Then there were the elementals.

Red Sand Elemental. Level 120.

Red Sand Elemental. Level 115.

There were a dozen of them, but they looked weak and frail next to the Sersans. The information about them was limited, with no evidence of a class or anything beside their race, but something about their posture and perhaps that they were next to those Enslavers spoke volumes.

Seeing them as a mixed group was a surprise. It looked like the Outsiders had captured the elementals somewhere and brought them along. He’d never seen that type of thing before, but the real question was what he was going to do about it. He was ready to unleash all of his spells, but he wasn’t sure if he could avoid harming the elementals along with the rest.

A moment later, the Sersans saw him in the air and they let out a loud, booming hiss. Their voices were far louder than he’d expected, like drums slamming against the air. The Priestlords’ hands shot into the air as they readied spells and the rest raised their weapons to attack.

Sam’s eyes narrowed as he made a decision and sent a pulse of command to the golems. He’d already taken too long and was losing the advantage. He’d just have to be careful with his targets. His hands slammed together as a storm of crescent moons and spears of astral flame descended toward the group.