Path of Stars, Ch 41: Dream of the Void (Patreon)

A wave of rainbow-hued spatial energy flooded across the Wild Grove as Sam stepped out of the tree and onto the grass of the meadow. The silver flames of his class and the Titans’ memories were wrapped around him as he stood tall beside the tree. His height had increased again with the infusion of new essence and he stood at over 120 feet, counting his horns.

His eyes were crystal blue with brilliant silver stars floating through them, and his muscles were sharply defined against clothing that was still tattered from battle. There were no longer any scars on his body, only flawless golden skin. Combined with the scorched marks on his cloak and breeches, it looked like he’d just walked through an inferno and it had fled in terror.

The flames around him were more complex than they’d been before his Evolution. They were still bright silver, but they rippled through a dozen different hues as he moved, changing from a deep burnished shade to an intense silver-white. Stars were visible as they gleamed in the depths, making it seem like the flames were an opening to another realm where starlight encompassed everything.

In his hand, there was a small sapling about ten feet tall, which had appeared there as he passed back through the tree. Its leaves were green and silver, and its young bark had just a hint of the same golden patterns as the Wild Tree behind him. He gave it a nod before he wrapped it in astral energy and tucked it away in his cloak.

It would be safe there until he planted it on Aster Fall.

His massive height and the silver flames gave him an otherworldly aura that sent everyone in the grove into a hushed silence, bringing a halt to the raised voices that had been there a moment before as they turned to look at him. He took in the situation at a glance, scanning over the area to make sure his people were fine.

The nagas were on one side of the grove with Sleset and the three captains at the front. They were standing behind Alora and Elasia, lending them silent support. Across from them, just in front of the ancient gate that now stood wide open, were two groups of people who seemed to be challenging one another.

There were Wild Spirits on both sides, each led by a figure at the Fourth Evolution, as well as a handful of others. Their clothing was rich, but slightly disarrayed, as if they’d been fleeing. Alora must have just returned with them from inside the gate.

Elasia’s body was still translucent and faint, which told him not much time had passed, and her expression was irritated as she raised her hand to rebuke one of the Wild Spirits in front of her. A quick analysis told him that one of them was Alora’s father and the other was her uncle Nares. Each of them had their own group of supporters. It looked like he’d interrupted an argument.

The group behind Nares had the fewest Wild Spirits, but he was accompanied by two dozen people from another race, whose levels were slightly higher on average than the ones on the other side. Their expressions weren’t friendly, although it looked like half of their anger was directed at Nares, and the air was filled with tension.

He analyzed the crowd to get a better idea of what was going on. The Heroic tier of his ability went a long way to explaining everyone’s mood and background. After a moment, he picked out the most powerful individuals in the meadow and gave them a closer assessment.

Nares Asenya. Wild Spirit. Eloquent Diplomat-Merchant of the Grove. Level 432.

Kaisa Lorel. Blood Hunter. Crimson Hunter-Walker of the Wild Ways. Level 462.

Hane Bosel. Blood Hunter. Seeker of the Hunt-Diamond Spear. Level 439.

Gores Tarn. Blood Hunter. Archer of the Chase-Treasure Binder. Level 421.

The Blood Hunters were an interesting race. They were human in most respects except that they had a more muscular build and stood a foot or two taller. They had a set of wide, powerful antlers that curled up from their forehead, which flared out as wide as their shoulders. The antlers were similar to those of a stag, with a dozen or more proud and sharp points. Based on their stance, the Blood Hunters had just as proud and sharp a personality.

The top three were all in the Fourth Evolution too, which made Sam frown. With those levels, they should have been able to put up a better fight against the Outsiders. He also noted that he was seeing Asenya’s name next to her descendants now, which was proof of their connection. That had been concealed before. The Path was probably helping as an old favor, hiding it even from him until he got her blessing.

Nares had dual non-combat classes, which was very rare in the Chaos Wild. It meant he’d have to rely on an escort wherever he went, since danger always pressed close out here. The three Blood Hunters behind him were almost the opposite. They all specialized in at least one combat class with a weapon that was hunting related.

The strongest of the Blood Hunters, Kaisa, was the only woman in their group and she had a double hunting class. Combined with the richer clothes and ornaments that she was wearing, it looked like it was a sign of status among their people. After he finished studying them, he turned his attention to Alora’s father.

Damen Asenya. Wild Spirit. Shield of the Forest-Verdant Chieftain. Level 455.

He had some people on his side, but Sam skimmed over them, since the strongest was Level 390. Given the difference between the two sides, was clear what had happened. Nares had brought support from the Blood Hunters for his idea to open the grove, along with whatever that entailed, and Damen had opposed it, but he hadn’t had the strength to reject them completely.

Alora’s father had a defensive primary class, but his Chieftain subclass was administrative. It probably helped with organizing their people, but it didn’t make him that much stronger in battle. It looked like he focused most of his attention on managing the grove. With the combat classes arrayed against him, there was a clear threat.

The tension between the two sides was so thick that it felt like the grove had frozen over. They were still glaring at each other even as they turned to look at Sam. He shook his head as he walked forward,

Now that he’d met Asenya again and knew of her memory in the Wild Tree, there was no way he would allow anyone to threaten this place. Elasia would probably settle the disagreement eventually, but he didn’t have time to waste while they fought about it. The stars in the Void were calling him, their presence infused into the flames around him so intensely that there was no chance of calming them down. They would burn until he stepped into the Dream of the Void.

At 120 feet tall, he towered over the Wild Spirits. Only the Wild Tree was a suitable match for him. As he approached, he let himself drop down to a more normal height as he walked toward Alora and Elasia. He stopped just to the side of their group, making it clear which side he was on.

“My lord!” Sleset shouted out with delight as he arrived. “Your Silver Army stands ready at your command! Give us your orders and we will obey!” Behind him, the other 28 nagas let out thunderous hisses of agreement. Their expressions were keen as they reached for the blades on their harnesses, their eyes fixed on him.

They were arrayed in a pyramidal formation with Sleset at the head, the three captains behind him, and then the others grouped in three roughly even ranks. They were standing just behind Elasia and Alora, and at 20 feet tall, the nagas’ presence went a long way to magnifying their authority.

“Well fought, Silver Nagas. I am glad to have you by my side,” Sam said as he gave them a smile. The flames around him soared higher in response to his mood. “You honor your oaths and me.”

The nagas hissed again, their voices louder as they cheered for themselves and for him. The colors of the elemental magic they’d inherited radiated from their scales in shades of blue, yellow, green, red, and more, outlining them with an aura of jagged sigils and curving fangs. The silver half-crown on their head and the silver lightning bolts on their cheeks combined with the magic to make them look ferocious, like a pack of deadly hunters from the dawn of time. He was glad to have them. He nodded to them and then turned to Elasia and Alora.

“I will not be able to stay for long,” he said, his words resonant with starlight. “I must ask you for two things before I go, and give you one gift.”

“Whatever you need, just tell me,” Alora spoke up quickly, her attention on him. “You have saved my home, so there is nothing that is too much to ask.” Beside her, Elasia nodded in agreement.

“I will not ask you for too much,” he said as he shook his head. “Just this. Watch over my Silver Nagas until I return and keep the peace of your Wild Grove. If anyone challenges your place here, I will not take it lightly.” Then he turned to the nagas, nodding to them as he saw their frowns at his words.

“My Silver Nagas,” he said gently, “bide here and wait for me to return. I must travel the Path of Stars. Whether it be decades or centuries, I will return for you. Until then, guard this land of our allies, keep it safe from those who would tarnish it, and follow the words of Alora and Elasia.”

Forlorn hisses greeted his words as the nagas looked at him and then at one another, but one by one, they bowed their heads. He saw how much they wanted to follow him, but for this step of the Path, no one else was able to accompany him.

“My lord, we hear and obey,” Sleset said simply as he gave Sam a deep bow, bending nearly in half. The silver patterns on his scales flickered in the reflected light of Sam’s flames. “We will abide and wait for your return. This place will be as safe as our own nests. We swear it.”

“WE OBEY!” The words thundered out of the nagas as they all stood up and looked fiercely at Sam, their eyes studying him as if it were the last time they would see him. Their tone was saddened, but resolute, even as he saw the question in it.

“I will try to return within two hundred years,” he said. “Hopefully less. When I do, we will head to my homeland of Aster Fall. There, many enemies await. We will hunt them together.”

He saw the nagas’ eyes light up at that as their fierceness returned, and he hid a smile. He knew that would appeal to them. He wasn’t sure if he could get them onto Aster Fall or not, given the limits the World Core placed on visitors, but they were all under Level 399 and with the authority from Asenya and his own ability as an Astral Titan, there was a good chance of it.

“You will hunt?” The question came with a sniff of confusion from Kaisa, the head of the Blood Hunters across the meadow, as Sam’s words caught her attention and she decided to interrupt. He’d been ignoring her and she was clearly displeased with that. “Who...what are you even?”

Sam ignored her as he gave his nagas a calm nod, waiting until they were all standing tall again.

“I’m proud of you,” he said. “Defend this place for me and keep it safe.”

“We will, my lord,” Sleset said simply as he bowed again. The nagas behind him were silent now, their ranks drawn up with a greater reserve than they’d shown before. None of them spared a glance for the Blood Hunter who’d been speaking. “Whosoever challenges your will, their crimes will be deeper than the earth. We will find them a suitable grave.”

“I hope their support will aid you,” Sam said as he turned toward Alora and Elasia. “Keep them well for me, and remember they are warriors first. Be cautious when you ask them to do something.”

His eyes crinkled slightly at the thought of what the nagas could get up to while he was gone. They were fully capable of unleashing an absurd amount of destruction if no one stopped them. He wasn’t sure if leaving them with the Wild Spirits would be a good thing or not, but it would be interesting to see what happened.

“I will treat them like my own people,” Elasia said, followed by Alora’s instant agreement. Both of them looked pleased by the idea, and Elasia had a small smile as she looked at the nagas, Sam, and then at the Blood Hunters across the meadow. “We have never had too many warriors. Their presence will be a great reassurance here as we restabilize our homeland.”

She paused as she studied him, and the different flames around him, before she asked. “Did you find what you were looking for in the tree?”

“I did, and thank you,” Sam said as he returned the smile, but he didn’t go into any details. Whatever she knew, this wasn’t the place to discuss it. “Now, it looks like you’re weaker than you should be, since you poured out so much energy to protect the grove. Let me help you in return.”

He stepped forward to Elasia and held out his hand for her to take. His palm was shining with a soft silver green aura that was very similar to hers. Elasia studied his hand for a moment and then she laid her own small palm on top of his.

A flood of energy roared out of Sam like the sap of a spring tree as he poured his essence and astral energy into Aura Regeneration. As soon as the energy hit her, Elasia’s translucent form wavered like a leaf in the breeze, but she quickly began to appear more solid.

Her skin filled in with the green-touched ivory of her people as some of the years fell away from her, her hair darkened to a shimmering silver-blue and became more real, her eyes brightened and began to sparkle with new life, and a blush of health appeared on her cheeks. Lines of fatigue faded away like old bark giving way to new, until a few moments later, she no longer looked the same as before.

Where there had been an elderly dryad who looked like she would fade away at any moment, there was now a beautiful, elegant woman whose eyes flashed with emerald fire. She looked barely older than Alora and her lips held a youthful curve like bright cherries as she let out a gasp of surprise.

“What have you done...?” The words tumbled out of her like a pleasant chime, only for Sam to smile at her as he took his hand back.

“Just returning some of the energy you spent over the years, as you watched over this place,” he said easily as he let the flow of aura subside. He spoke more quietly then, his words just for her ears and Alora’s. “I’ve done what I can to help. Your connection to the tree should be stronger, and it will be easier for you to stay awake. You probably still won’t be able to go too far from it though.”

Regenerating her aura had given him a good feeling for the connection she had with the tree. Her underlying aura was almost the same as it, except that it was overlaid with her spirit and unique personality. Whatever she’d done to bind herself to the tree, it was a complete change of her nature. She’d truly become one with it. It was no surprise that her race had changed to Eternal Dryad.

Hopefully, now she would be able to look after things a little better, without needing as much time to rest. Alora would need her help, and from the look of things here, the grove definitely needed her.

With that settled, he finally turned toward the Blood Hunters across the way, his expression calm. He wasn’t out to make more enemies with them, but at the same time, they needed to understand that it was not their place to make demands here.

“If you wish to access the Wild Tree,” he told them, going straight to the heart of the matter, “you must seek permission from Elasia, the Eternal Dryad of the Tree. Whatever agreements you had in the past are null and void. No power you hold will change this requirement.”

“Who are you?” Kaisa demanded again, her temper warring just under the surface even as she tried to restrain herself. Her antlers were decorated with gold rings that gleamed as she shook her head. “How can you make such decrees?”

“I am the Lord of Silver Stars, High Artificer and Guardian of Aster Fall, Astral Titan and Inheritor of the Path,” Sam replied, his voice echoing like sun-warmed thunder across the grove as the flames around him flared higher. His voice was even, but there was a hint of his own temper in it, which gave it a deadly edge. “This place is under my protection. Cross me at your peril.”

He was aware that the Blood Hunters and Wild Spirits couldn’t see his level, but they could definitely feel his aura. With the enormous amount of power cascading off him, it was intimately clear what would happen if they disobeyed.

With a silent wave of his hand, he indicated the remains of the Outsider commander and the battle scars across the meadow, all of which suddenly sprang into sharp relief before the eyes of the visitors. Until now, they’d been ignoring everything that had happened here before they came out of the gate and had continued with their old arguments. Apparently, not even being chased in there by demons had stopped them from focusing on their plans.

The expression on the Blood Hunters’ faces froze as their cheeks paled and their eyes went wide. Anything they had been about to say was cut off instantly as they took in the sheer amount of force radiating across the meadow and what had happened to the last person to cross him. They’d been trying to use force to persuade the Wild Spirits to give them what they wanted, but now an even greater force was turned against them, suppressing them more completely than they had ever hoped to do here.

It was at that moment that Sam understood exactly how the Titans had commanded the galaxy. They were crafters with hearts as strong and curious as the suns, quick to warm and quick to laugh, but they had walked the stars with the full force of Primordial strength behind them.

He also understood why they had seldom been seen.

Commanding like this left a bitter taste in his mouth, even if he also knew the Blood Hunters wouldn’t respond to anything less. He watched their expressions change and gave them a nod as they fell silent and stepped back, conceding the field to him.

Behind him, he heard the pleased and threatening hisses of the nagas as they watched their lord subdue his enemies. Their gazes were locked on the Blood Hunters like serpents watching their prey, uncaring of the level difference between them. If he ordered it, they would strike in an instant. Alora would have to be careful when she gave them orders. He wanted to see them all here when he came back.

He looked across the rest of the field, but with the exception of Alora and Elasia, everyone’s head was bowed. Even her father inclined his head gratefully as he gave him a smile of thanks. He seemed to understand what was going on, so perhaps Alora had already managed to fill him in. Fortunately, he seemed to approve.

Sam nodded back to him, but at the same moment he felt the Void tremble. Stars began to appear in the sky, thousands of them swelling with power as they released brilliant streaks of light that shot across the horizon. The stars that he’d been holding back sped downward, their speed increasing. In the spaces between, the darkness of the Void appeared, stretching out endlessly into the deep of the Chaos Wild like ribbons of night welcoming him home.

Unleashing his aura had crossed the last barrier between him and the Dream of the Void. He watched the light descend as he let out a slow breath, his eyes calm and vibrant. He’d thought once that the Path had been created by the Titans and that it was just a series of tasks, but as he looked upward at the stars reaching down for him, he understood the truth.

The Titans were the children of the Void and it was gathering him home.

The stars descended around his body, raining down in a million piercing beams that carried the shimmering light of the heavens. It was so blinding that no one could look at where he was standing as the area was washed in translucent beauty.

By the time their eyes cleared and the stars returned to rest, he was gone.