Echoes of War, Ch 4: Ancient Enemies (Patreon)

High in the Western Reaches

Aemilia stood near the peak of Sun’s Rest on the control plateau of the Moonlight Relic. The sunset was fading behind her as she looked at the darkening skies. In a few minutes, night would fall and her ability to scry across the mountains would come into its own. This was the highest point in the Western Reaches and the closest to the moons, which made it the best place for her abilities. She could scry during the day, but night was her element, especially when the moons were high. Her knuckles were white as she curled her hands into fists and forced herself to relax.

It had been nine months since Sam left for the Void. His messages came every week for a while, which helped to tell her that he was alright, but there had been no word for the last several months and her worries were growing. Unfortunately, there was no way to reach him. All she could do was hope that he would return soon. She let out a quiet breath as she tried to focus on the things she could control.

Altey had continued to study mana control and Ice arts with Siwaha and her progress was amazing for a twelve year old. She’d already learned to restrain her mana so that it was safe for those around her and her ability with mana manipulation grew by the day. With all of the events around her, she was also maturing quickly. She rarely acted like a child any longer. As her mother, Aemilia wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or regretful. She’d have rather given her a peaceful environment to grow up in.

Below her on the first level, she could see the half-repaired Hall of the Dawn rising among the other buildings. One thing they had been good at recently was restoring some of the relic’s ancient foundations, including that hall that was so important to their future. It wasn’t complete, but some of the enchantments on it were functioning, allowing her to expand her vision during the day.

Soon, its heritage for training Battle Seers would be available, and some of their people might take up the mantle. With all of the Flaws that were appearing across the area, they would need them. She looked across the slopes to where a squad of Sky Guards was flying, their black crystal forms gleaming in the last rays of sunlight, and gave them a grateful nod. Without the golems, they wouldn’t have been able to hold on.

The first six months after Sam disappeared had been challenging, especially with the increasing number of Flaws, but they’d passed quickly as they continued to repair the relic and new citizens flocked to the legends of the Moonlight Relic. She and Jeric had found ways to handle the influx of new people and focused their worry about Sam into rebuilding.

The past few months were a different matter entirely. Flaws were appearing nearly every day, straining their defenses to the breaking point. Their levels continued to rise as they all worked to close them, but it didn’t seem to matter. The Flaws were increasing in strength as well. It was a clear sign that the Dimensional Convergence was nearly on them.

Krana had returned with the warning from the Dwarven Seers, so they knew the problem wasn’t going away. Its peak probably wouldn’t come for another year, but any day now they might not be able to keep up. Even the tireless golems and the Ice Sylphs’ defenses were getting battered. There were 120 Sky Guards, but half a dozen of them had been damaged badly enough that they could no longer function.

It was something else that had brought her to the peak tonight, however. Over the past few weeks, she’d had the inescapable feeling that something more threatening was coming, something even worse than the Flaws so far. She stood here every night at dusk, searching for it. It was hidden, but it felt like she was getting closer. Tonight, all three moons were full and it was her best chance.

A brilliant aura of three-colored moonlight radiated from her as night settled over the mountains, making her shine like a flame. She was approaching the Second Evolution now at Level 185 and power gathered around her in a torrent, intensifying as she drew upon her class’s connection to the moons. She was the Seer of the Three Moons and with all of them in the sky, her reach was incredible.

Her eyes blazed as the land swept past around her, ribbons of light and auras rising up all around. Points that represented Flaws, monster tracks, the natural mana of the mountains, remnant bones of ancient beasts, graves from long ago, the glowing foundations of the relic, and the veins of mana that ran through the mountain’s heart sprang out in her vision.

Most of them, she was familiar with from previous nights. She marked them and moved on, only paying attention to her goal and the movement of Flaws. Those she would share with others and they would make plans to deal with them.

Before long, her expression grew troubled as she saw how many new Flaws there were. Six of them had sprung up in the last day, all within a day’s travel of the relic. That was two more than she’d ever seen before. Over the last six months, the problem had been increasing. It started out with a Flaw every few days and then more began to appear until it was one every two days, then one a day, until finally it reached four a day a few weeks ago. She’d hoped it would stop there, but clearly it wasn’t going to.

Even with a hundred and more Sky Guards, eliminating the Flaws was difficult. The only reason they’d managed so far was that their group and the Ice Sylphs could handle a couple a day now. Most of the outbreaks were small, the enemies Level 150 or lower, but they were growing. They were training up more people and their forces were increasing too, but six would be dangerous. It meant they’d have to split their groups to get to them all. More of the younger forces would be drawn in to face them.

The only advantage of hunting the Flaws was that she and Jeric, Lesat, Lenei, Krana, the Ice Sylvan hunting team, and even Ayala who had come from Runekeld with her dwarven friend, were highly favored by the World Law now. They’d earned the rewards that came with that. Their abilities were all at Epic and there was even a Heroic-tier reward that they’d earned when they conquered a hundred Flaws. Their future Evolutions should be powerful and there was no doubt they would need them.

Still, locating Flaws wasn’t her main goal tonight, so she marked their locations and moved on, searching for the real source of her worries. Mountainsides and valleys flew past as she traveled through the hundred miles of the relic’s footprint and then continued on, her vision flying across the Western Reaches.

Eventually, she encountered a thread of energy she’d never seen before, a thin red trail like the embers of a fire that had nearly died out. She frowned as she gathered her mana to follow it, sensing the path where it was the strongest. It was far away from the relic, nearly six hundred miles to the north.

The trail led down through a winding valley and out across the plains, leaving the slopes of the mountains behind. Hundreds of miles farther in that direction was Veritan, the capital of the Kingdom of Aethra, and for a moment she wondered if the trail would lead her all the way there. Partway across the plains, however, it suddenly dived into the ground. She paused as she studied the area, her spirit a swirl of moonlight in the air.

It was harder for her to see things below ground, since the moonlight didn’t reach there, but not impossible. It depended on how far down the source was. Behind her, the trail of energy was a clear wave for two hundred miles that emanated from here. It was incredible how far it had spread while maintaining enough of a distinct signature for her to notice it. Back on the peak of Sun’s Rest, her frown deepened.

There was no type of mana she knew about that would radiate such a thin signature over that distance. Whatever this was, it had to be an enchantment or something strange that she’d never seen before. She studied it for a few minutes before shaking her head. She plotted the location on a map and marked it, adding a few swift notes about her suspicions before she rolled it up and held onto it. The energy gave her an eerie feeling, but since she’d found it, she wasn’t going to stop here.

She focused her Vision of the Three Moons ability that relied on moonlight to see across the distance and then enhanced it with the more common Farsight ability, which could pierce the stone. On top of that, she also had the Heroic ability she’d chosen, called Heaven’s Sight, which augmented all of her vision abilities. Mana roared around the peak like an ocean as she drew on the relic’s enchantments through the Hall of the Dawn to intensify it further, and then she dived down.

Stone roared past her in waves as she tore through a stony barrier and followed the trace of mana. The elements streamed around her as she broke through an old cave-in and layers of iron-heavy stone that pressed down on the earth. The track led her down into a large cavern hundreds of feet below the surface, one that was lined with sharp stalactites and pillars from the earth.

Normally, she would have been impressed by the complex arrangement of the elements, but when she saw what was here, she shuddered. Half of the cavern was filled with tumbled stone from an old earthquake or some collapse, but the other half looked like the elements had twisted in on themselves. The stalactites descended from the ceiling like fangs, piercing toward the cavern floor. Both those and giant pillars that rose upward from the ground were carved with strange, jagged runes that made her mind ache until she tore her vision away.

At the center of the cavern, half covered by stones, there was a brilliant haze of red and orange mana. It was so intense that it was difficult to make out anything else at first. Her mind felt battered as waves of energy washed against her, so strong that they nearly shattered her vision. She struggled to stabilize her sight, fighting for clarity as her mana began to run out. She had to see what was there.

There was a sudden pulse of orange mana that crashed against her mind, sending the vision wavering like a ghost, and she felt the image slipping away, but in that instant she caught the outline of an ancient gate at the center of the cavern. It was just barely open, with a bright slash of orange and red light pouring from the gap. It was that energy that was twisting through the area.

At that moment, another wave of mana crashed against her, shattering her vision into fragments as a stab of pain flared through her temples. She felt her mind tumbling, spinning upward and away across the plains. Fragment images and shards of other places flooded her vision in a chaotic burst. She let out a gasp as she grabbed at her temples, trying to force stability to return. Slowly, the world began to settle back to normal.

She let out slow breaths as the world returned to normal. Her mind floated above the plains, looking down at the area she’d just seen. Without Heaven’s Sight to help her recover, her mind probably would have been thrown into some distant region of the kingdom. She also probably wouldn’t have been able to see anything about what was down there.

The image of that giant gate was burned into her mind, outlined in orange and red like the mana that was pouring out of it. The runes on the stalactites and earthen pillars felt like they were still crawling in her mind, like spiders biting at her memories. A shuddering wince went through her as she nearly doubled over. She began frantically rubbing at her arms and legs as they itched, feeling those things crawling all over her.

Slowly, the feeling began to subside as she forced herself to not think about the runes, but the minutes felt like hours. Eventually, she straightened up and turned her attention back to her vision, looking down at where the gate was hidden. It was massive, at least a hundred feet tall, and it was carved in a style that felt as old as the stone beneath her feet. She didn’t know what it was, but one thing was eminently clear.

It was incredibly dangerous.

A foreboding premonition told her if that ancient gate opened just a little more, the things inside would pour out like a flood. It felt stronger than any Flaw she’d ever seen, but it had something of the same power around it, that strangely twisting mana that warped dimensions. If they were like sparks of trouble that could set fields ablaze, then that gate was an inferno that would burn the entire kingdom. Maybe the world. She had to find a way to stop it.

And the only one she could think of who might have the potential to do that…no, she wouldn’t let Sam face this. She had to find a way on her own. This was the type of threat the relic was designed to fight, but it wasn’t ready yet. It wasn’t anywhere close. They’d made some repairs to the structures on the first two layers and they were starting with basic functions on the third, but there was a long way to go. The relic was still too low on power to do much of it without support.

Her eyes turned toward Veritan, weighing the risks of contacting the capital. There was a stack of letters from various noble families in her house. They’d been sending them for months now, ever since the rumors about the relic had reached the city. She’d always believed nobles were best far away from her, but for something like this…maybe they would be able to gather enough forces. This was a problem for a much higher Evolution.

It felt like something left over from the First War that Sam had mentioned, something so old that it predated most human existence on Aster Fall. The force from that gate and the runes on it told her in no uncertain terms that it was old and dangerous. What if it was something even worse than a Flaw, like a gateway to the other side, one that couldn’t be closed just by killing some monsters?

Even more worrying was that if one gate was opening here...what was happening in the rest of the world? She didn’t believe that this would be the only one. In the big picture, their kingdom was just one tiny part of the battlefield that had once existed. If those forces returned to cause another Breaking, all their efforts might only be a piece of driftwood in a storm.

Nonetheless, she had to try. Her fingers tightened, crushing the map in her hand as she teleported down from the peak, heading to the council hall. Her other hand was on her abdomen, shielding the child she’d been carrying for only two months.

*****

Near the Northern Border of the Kingdom of Aethra.

Twelve individuals stood in a loose circle, all of them enveloped in heavy cloaks and hoods that concealed their features. From their different builds and heights, it was clear they were from different races, but what those races were was another question. Here and there, the scratch of scales against stone, the swish of tails and strange limbs cutting through the air, and voices in a dozen different pitches and rasps sounded out as the figures held a low conversation.

“When will the forces be ready?” The voice was thin, its tone as dry as sand, and it spoke in barely more than a whisper, but there was no denying the power it held. Mana echoed in each word like rolling thunder.

“A month or so.” This voice was clear and administrative. It sounded like it was rustling papers as it spoke, although its cloak never moved. Instead, the fall of the fabric was as sheer as a mirror, concealing what looked like a tall and bony body. “It takes time to marshal the banished races. They still fear the World Core.”

“You mean they’re afraid of being punished again.” This voice was rough, almost angry, and it spoke bluntly with a harsh laugh. “They haven’t adjusted to reality even after all these centuries.”

“They will come,” another voice added, its cloak rustling in an unseen breeze. It spoke with confidence. “Groups are already building on the border along the northern plains. At least three races are gathering in large numbers.”

“Do you think we’ll succeed this time?” The voice was higher, breathy and with a slight whine at the end like someone who’d just lost their favorite toy. “We didn’t last time.”

“You want to give up?” A gravelly voice ripped through the surroundings, making the rest shudder as they heard it. Its power was on a higher level than most of them. “The World Core plays favorites. Everyone knows this, and those who reject it are punished. Where is the freedom in that? This is the only way forward.”

“We are not giving up.” Another voice joined in, its tones smooth and cultured like a diplomat. “Our friend there just wants us to win this time. With all of our exiled races, we will have thousands of troops. It should be enough to reach the gate. We just need to close a few of the humans’ Flaws and fool the Core into thinking that we’re helping until we get there. Let it think we plan to redeem ourselves. We only need to open the way.”

“The Flaws only appear in civilized lands, never in ours.” It was the whiny voice again. “It would be so much easier if they did.”

“You think the Core would trust us to destroy them? Hah!” the gravelly voice spoke, punctuating its words with a slam of a fist or some other body part on the stone floor. The cavern rang like a bell. “The Core channels Flaws to where they can be closed. It is broken, but it has that much control over space. So stop dreaming! Lead your army and crush a few Flaws to fool the World Core! When we’re close enough, we’ll seize the gate!”

“The old masters will remember us,” a quiet voice spoke from the side, its tones as calm as a scholar. “For most of us, our ancestors were monsters who came through a Flaw. After generations of living here, we’ve become half a part of this world, but we’re neither a beast nor a civilized race. Our heritage endures. For others like the bellisagi, they were rejected long ago and have no path to return. The World Core will never trust them again. This is the only way.”

“You’re sure this war will be different?” A heated voice spoke, sounding like it was biting its words off one at a time. “We’ve failed too many times. Each time, we suffer more and are driven to less hospitable lands.”

“This is a war for survival, the advent of a new dawn,” the scholar said. Its cloak rustled as if it were nodding. “The sky will shatter, the world will break, and the pathways will open. It all hinges upon the gate. If it opens, we win and the world will lie open before us.”

“We’ll make it to the gate,” the gravelly voice said. “So pretend to help the humans until we reach it. They’ll be so desperate they will have to believe us.”

“And then we kill them all.” The words were accompanied by a sharp and bitter laugh from a figure that hadn’t spoken before.

“And then we kill them all!” The gravelly voice let out a laugh like crashing stone that echoed from the cavern walls. It was echoed by the others around him, their voices rising like the wail of a graveyard wind.

On the edge of the circle, the lone bellisagi figure was still silent, but a dark smile appeared across his skull-like features. A subtle current of wind and water spiraled around him.