Echoes of War, Ch 11: Night of Shooting Stars (Patreon)

The streak of a silver star shooting through the sky caught Altey’s eye, making her look up as it blazed across the night. It was only a long flicker among the other stars, but something about it spoke to her, like a secret. She watched it for a long moment until it disappeared. Then she went back to sneaking along a wall of the Second Layer as she headed to where she was fairly certain her parents were holding a meeting.

Snowflakes swirled around her, clinging to her skin as they helped her to blend into the ever-present snow that drifted across the relic. The weather wards were functioning to an extent, but not very well yet, so while the snow didn’t stick to the ground on the first three layers, it still continued to fall.

Two Ice Sylph guards were shadowing her, but she pretended not to see them as she focused on stealth. Practicing stealth was something they approved of, so they had no reason to stop her. The Ice Sylphs didn’t shelter their children as much as her parents did, so they saw her efforts to sneak up on hers as an amusing game.

If she took advantage of that to see what her parents were up to and what concerns were on their minds, then it was just a sign that she was growing up and was interested in more serious issues.

She pushed a strand of golden hair out of her eyes and continued along the wall, holding onto her connection to Ice as she tried to disappear. Tiny crystalline motes rose up from her hair and arms and drifted around her, forming from the reaction of her small amount of personal mana with her Ice affinity, but they almost instantly turned into more snowflakes and blended into the storm. The Ice element was a dead giveaway if an Ice Sylph or her parents saw her, since they shared the same affinity and would notice what was happening, but the magic wasn’t as obvious to anyone else.

To the uninitiated, she just looked like snow floating on the breeze. Or so she told herself.

Sneaking up on her parents was depressingly difficult most of the time. Her mother’s Seer abilities meant that very little escaped her attention and her father’s connection to the elements alerted him when she got too close. It was only at moments like these, when they were absorbed in other issues and there were a lot of people around, that she had a chance.

She did her best to focus on the lessons that Siwaha had taught her, tapping into her innate understanding of Ice that was like a cool spring flowing upward from the center of her soul. She let it run along her limbs and slowly rise upward, releasing just a little bit at a time. She didn’t have much mana, so her endurance for this type of elemental concealment was limited, but that wasn’t going to stop her.

The real reason she was out here was the ominous feeling in the air, one that told her something dangerous was happening. It was pressing on the snowy skies like a dark cloud, one that was dropping closer and closer. She wanted to know what it was, and she figured her parents would know.

It didn’t take her long to duck into the shadows outside of the hall where everyone had gathered. Her parents, her teacher Siwaha, the Ice Sylph hunting team that had grown to fifteen people large, Krana, Lesat, Lenei, Garild, and some of the dwarves were all there, creating a heavy pressure of mana that she could feel even without a class. Compared to that, her presence was nearly invisible around the relic.

Without a class, she didn’t have much mana, but it was slowly increasing as she continued to practice. A couple of years ago, she had perhaps three points of mana, and now she felt like it was eight or nine, which was almost as much as Sam had when he unlocked his class. Hopefully, by the time she did the same, she’d have at least double that.

It was a small competition, but it made her grin and for a moment a sense of delight distracted her from her stealth. She only pulled herself back at the last moment as she refocused, doing her best to control her emotions as she let her senses fill with the calming thought of snow.

Slowly, she crept around the side of the building and took up a position beneath a window, and then pressed her ear to the stone to listen to the discussion inside. It came to her with a rumble, some words unintelligible. Her ears weren’t as sharp as an Ice Sylph’s, which was a shame, but she was able to understand the gist.

Until recently, this type of meeting hadn’t been possible, but recently the king’s army had withdrawn to a more dedicated siege position, apparently content to wait for a while. She wasn’t sure why.

“Several more Third Evolution opponents have arrived,” her father was rumbling, accompanied by the scrape of a chair as he moved, probably indicating a map on the table. “That makes twenty now. It’s too many to face directly.”

“Within the valley we can still hold them back,” Siwaha replied calmly, “but leaving it is dangerous.” The words paused for a moment and Altey felt her teacher’s attention sweep over her with a light chuckle that rang in her mind before the elder spoke again. “The aura of Winter that the fortress holds is enough to extend some distance outside, but no more than a few miles.”

“With your help, we destroyed the first ten thousand of the scum,” a dwarf growled, followed by a slamming sound as his fist rattled the table, “even if their leaders got away, but now twice that is here! We should lure them into the valley and destroy them inside, where our defenses are the strongest.”

“The king is not willing to let the relic go, even after three weeks of this siege and the loss of his men,” her mother’s voice came clearly through the stone. “He is too greedy, and after the death of his men, the enmity is also too great. He will not stop. Unfortunately, his army is ignoring the Flaws outside. That’s the critical issue.”

“And the World Core has tasked us with eliminating them,” her father agreed, his voice deeper than usual. “I don’t know if the king’s army has received the same task, but they’re clearly not paying attention to it. The fools! It puts us in a difficult situation. We have to do something or the surrounding lands will be overrun by monsters and the core might censure us for ignoring it. We can’t allow our enemies to keep increasing.”

“Perhaps this is their plan,” Lenei spoke up. The paladin’s voice was tight and angry at the mention of the Flaws. “You are the local authorities and the first ones the World Core will contact. Your levels are enough to deal with the Flaws, so the World Core assigns them to you. The army might wait until the Flaws turn into a full invasion. If they save the area after that, they’ll look like heroes and perhaps have a greater basis to claim the land.”

“I’ve contacted the Bloodline Clanhold,” Garild spoke up, his voice tight, “but there’s no response yet. Hopefully, they send some support. They’re one of the few forces in the kingdom that can withstand the king’s actions. If they help, this problem might still go away. That would be the best solution.”

“There are at least fifteen Flaws that need to be dealt with in the next few days!” Krana added angrily as soon as he stopped. “We may need to try and sneak past the army to get to them. They’re probably already forming a Grand Flaw network, and then the problem will get worse. We’ll have a hard war if they get a foothold. A lot of the surrounding territory could be destroyed.”

“The Dimensional Convergence isn’t even at its peak yet,” her mother said, sounding just as troubled as the others. “If it continues on top of these Flaws, they’ll be a foundation that creates a true terror. We can’t let that happen.”

“We have to go out,” her father announced grimly. “Even if we’re caught between the Flaws and the king. This is our home. We can’t let it be destroyed.”

Altey felt her heart stop for a moment as she heard that.

“Aye, we can’t allow either of them to stay here!” The words were punctuated by the hearty agreement of the dwarf, whose fist slammed on the table again. “The king is a threat enough, but if those Flaws continue, there’ll be nothing alive in these lands. That’s what the villain wants! Then he can sweep in and claim this relic.”

“He must have a lot of faith in his army,” Lesat said, the frown clear in his words. “But I think he’s underestimating the Flaws. That’s a dangerous game to play.”

“He’s probably relying on the church,” Lenei interrupted darkly, “if an invasion like that comes, the church will have no choice but to direct forces here. He probably wants to use them instead of his own army, and then seize the land afterwards while avoiding the battle. It wouldn’t be the first time there was that sort of political scheme behind his actions.”

“Then we go now,” her father said. His tone was like iron. “We can’t allow this to go on any longer. Tonight, we’ll head out of the valley and strike. Another group will have to attack the army as a distraction and keep their attention fixed here.”

“We will do it,” the dwarf announced as he slammed his fist on the table again, “they are camped outside our walls and think we are helpless. That is intolerable!”

The words faded out of Altey’s hearing as she pulled her ear away from the stone, her heart pounding. At almost thirteen, she was well aware of what the conversation meant. It made her curl her hands into fists as she looked up at the sky, wishing the World Core would give her a class sooner.

She touched the dagger at her belt and the bracelet on her right arm. Both of them shimmered with moonlight. Sam had made them for her before he left, along with a few other things. If she could have gone out alone to close the Flaws, she would have done it in an instant. Sam would have.

She channeled her frustration into movement as she headed away from the meeting hall. As soon as she was far enough away to not draw attention, she started to run, the two Ice Sylphs ghosting along behind her. She could sense them in the air, but there was no sign of their presence besides the Ice mana and comfortable chill they carried. If she didn’t share the same element, she wouldn’t have sensed them at all.

Ever since Siwaha had unleashed their ancient magics, the Ice Sylphs’ power had been growing, and they could switch from their Winter guise to their normal appearance at will. Their personalities had also grown a little sharper, like frost taking on a biting chill. They were still as friendly as before with her, but their emotions seemed more intense and there was something militaristic about them. They felt more fierce and dangerous. A month ago, she might have been able to talk them out of following her, since there was no threat, but now there was no chance of it.

Not that she was going to.

She knew the danger well enough. Her Constitution was supposedly too low to fight even the weakest monster on her own, but she thought she might be able to manage something simple, like a cave bat. Even with her artifacts, it would be dangerous. They could summon a shield and attack for her, but the stored mana would run out eventually. They were meant for an emergency until someone could arrive.

That was a source of endless frustration for her. She wanted to be stronger, even stronger than Sam, and to protect everyone, but she couldn’t until she unlocked a class. She’d been training her mana by refilling the artifacts every night, which left her exhausted. The process stretched her meridians, those strange vein-like structures that carried mana through her body, which would help her to handle higher quantities, but it was a slow process.

No matter what class she got, she was sure she would make the most of it. She’d seen how her brother and parents had risen from classes that were broken and considered weak. Whatever it was, it would work. Like Sam had when he was younger, however, she was hoping for one with magic.

She’d been practicing with mana for almost two years now, ever since he gave her the Ice Bolt wand and those mana toys on the way to Highfold. There had to be a good chance of it.

But if not, maybe she could be a stealthy class, like a Scout or a Ranger. The Ice Sylphs had a lot of classes in that area that combined with their Ice affinity, and they were powerful. Growing up with an Ice affinity and around the Ice Sylphs was also making her as agile and quick as a breeze, which fit.

Behind her, she could hear movement as the meeting broke up, so she stopped running and swiftly climbed onto the roof of a building. She concentrated on pulling the snow around her like a cloak as she turned around to watch. Her parents, Krana, Lenei, and Lesat were in one group, apparently for the attack, while Siwaha and the dwarves were in another. The Ice Sylph hunting team was also divided into two: half joined her parents and the half joined other the defenders.

That meant her parents’ group had twelve people. The Ice Sylphs were all at the Second Evolution, but her parents were just under that, if only by a few levels. It wasn’t a lot of people to send out after fifteen Flaws. Surely they weren’t planning to destroy them all in one night? She bit her lip as she tried to think of a way to help.

She was called back to the present as her parents and the sylphs disappeared, their movements so fast she barely saw them leave. Only the faint trail of mana in their wake revealed the direction. Some of the mana pointed to the entrance of the valley, but the rest was heading for the north, toward Winter’s Peak.

It looked like her parents were planning to cut across the Ice Sylphs home and then out into the mountains where the Flaws were. With her current abilities, there was no way she could catch up to them.

“Please, take me to follow them!” Altey turned to the nearly invisible guards behind her, her words pleading. She could see the outline of their features like a blue shadow in the air as they stepped closer and tilted their heads in response. It was one male and one female guard, and now that she got a closer look at them, she recognized them.

”Yasa, Jeran!” she said hopefully. “We don’t have to go beyond the wards, just to the closest edge of the valley behind them. They’re heading into battle. I need to see them off.”
The two Ice Sylphs looked at each other, hesitating as they considered the request, but she had framed it well. As long as they were inside the wards, there shouldn’t be any real danger to her. And watching her parents go into battle was a reasonable request. Finally, Yasa gave a small nod.

“Your parents believe you are asleep,” the sylph said, her voice like a quiet rustle of leaves in the wind, “but a young hunter must show her own initiative. We will only go to the edge of the valley, and not across the wards.”

A cool breeze encircled Altey as the woman picked her up and tossed her over one shoulder. Then the world was flashing by as an icy wind howled past. The slopes of the mountain disappeared below her, blurring together into a snowy expanse so quickly that she couldn’t track it. All she could feel was the current of mana surrounding Yasa and that they were moving much more quickly than she’d expected. She could sense Jeran’s presence right behind them.

A short while later, Yasa set her down on a pile of snow. It cushioned her fall as the world spun around her and she found herself lying on her back. Snow was creeping into her cuffs and down her collar, but its chill brought clarity and reassurance rather than cold. As Altey pushed herself back to her feet and tried to stay on them, the snow drifted away, its flakes unmelted. It didn’t take her long to see where they were.

The Ice Sylphs had brought her to a distant shoulder of Winter’s Peak, on a ledge that looked out across the mountains to the north. Below, she could see her parents’ group had paused at the edge of the valley. It looked like they were preparing themselves to head out. A swirl of icy mana covered the area in front of them, concealing their presence from the outside. Their voices were clear on this side, reaching her on a drifting breeze that Yasa helpfully summoned.

“The closest Flaw is two miles ahead,” her mother said calmly as she looked ahead, her eyes shining like the moons. “The average level there is around 100.” She slowly scanned the area, studying the area ahead from side to side. “I don’t see anyone blocking the way, but there is a weak pulse of energy in the air, one I’m unfamiliar with, which makes me cautious.”

“This isn’t a good situation,” her father said as he touched the hammers at his belt. His expression was hard, but he kept his voice even. “But it’s a risk we’ll have to take. Level 100s shouldn’t slow us down too much. If the army notices us, we need to be quick to get back here. Two miles is within range of the valley, so we should be able to call on its magic to help. That gives me some confidence.”

“Siwaha promised that if we mastered the Blessing of Ice, the Call of Winter would always be with us,” her mother agreed, “but that is still a long way off, perhaps around the Third Evolution.”

“The attack is about to begin at the entrance to the valley, which should hold the army’s attention,” her father said. “Give them a few minutes to start. Then let’s strike quickly and return. We’ll see if they react before we head to the others.”

Aemilia looked into the distance for several minutes, watching the events at the other end of the valley. Then she nodded. As quick as a flash, the team disappeared out past the wards, leaving only a faint trail behind. Altey watched them go, her hands curling into fists again, as that feeling of a dark cloud pressed lower across the sky.

At that moment, a cold laugh rolled across the mountain slopes. It was filled with enough mana that it echoed like a tidal wave crashing down. Here and there in the distance, dim pylons lit up, each of them glowing a bright orange. She couldn’t make out everything that happened, but she felt the two Ice Sylphs nearby leap forward, taking up a defensive position on either side of her.

Then a dozen figures appeared in the air, flying toward the orange pylons even more swiftly than her parents had moved. Some of them seemed to materialize in an instant, teleporting from some other location.

“These detection pylons work better than I thought! The king was generous.” The same man laughed again, his voice dark. Then he turned to his fellows and began giving orders. “Some rats are sneaking out! The commander wants to have a word with them before he executes them. You three, block their return into the valley! The rest of you, spread out and find them!”

“Third Evolution, nearly all of them!” Yasa cursed as she put a hand on Altey’s shoulder, holding her back. “Jeran, send a call for reinforcements! The elder is the only one who can face that group and save them.”

Immediately, an icy wind blew around Jeran as he began to call for aid, but the worst news was yet to come. Altey’s eyes were wide as she stared forward, looking for her parents. Then she saw them.

Magic surrounded their group in a flood of ice and moonlight as they appeared again. The earth rumbled and arrows sizzled through the sky, crashing into the enemies as they tried to fight their way back to safety. Unfortunately, they were far too heavily outmatched, and before long they found themselves surrounded, their backs together as the figures hovered around them.

Their path to the valley was blocked.

Her mother and father stood side by side. Their features were infused with Ice, showing that they’d called on the power of the valley, but it wasn’t enough to even the odds. Aemilia’s hands flared with bolts of moonlight and ice, and her father held ice-encrusted hammers high, his features furious.

“Cowards!” he roared at them, as he staggered backward from a blow that nearly knocked him to the ground. “You were waiting for us to leave and deal with the Flaws, while ignoring them yourself. You’re an insult to Aster Fall!”

“Little rats don’t get to speak,” the man who was in charge said scornfully as he lashed out, slapping Jeric across the face with a red whip of energy that knocked him backward again. He kept his feet, but he staggered again, his movements slow under the weight of the man’s aura. “Mind your place before your betters. Bandits like you are a dime a dozen. Flaws come and go, and it’s not your concern how we deal with them. That’s the king’s business. The only reason you’re still alive is because the commander wants something from you.”
Altey drew the dagger on her belt with one hand and the Ice Bolt wand with the other, gripping them tightly enough for her knuckles to turn white. She tried to jump forward to go to them, but Yasa’s hand on her shoulder held her firmly in place.

“Wait,” the Ice Sylph said grimly, shaking her head as she refused to let go. Her words were a cold dose of reality, sending shivers down Altey’s spine as she froze in place. “Help should be coming. They just have to last long enough. The good news is that they don’t want to kill them immediately.”

Altey trembled as she thought about the reality in front of her, her hands tightening on her weapons. Their family had been lucky for a long time and was growing quickly in strength, but there was no way they could stop a dozen Third Evolution fighters. Even her teacher might not be enough for that.

“The commander says to kill the Ice Sylphs and the others, but to bring the two humans back!” One of the others announced as she looked up from a message glyph. “There’s four humans though. Which ones do you think he means?”

“We’ll just take all four back,” the man in charge growled in disgust. “They’re disguised anyway. Kill the rest.”

A threatening wave of mana gathered as one of the figures raised his hand, creating shining axes made of air. They shot down toward the group, their sharp edges heading for the Ice Sylphs and Krana. They were powerful enough that the surrounding air trembled like it was struck by thunder.

At that moment, however, a wave of ice rose up from the ground and formed into a shield over the group. The axes slammed down into it with a shattering explosion of frost that sent cracks running across the dome. A moment later, a swirl of snow rose up from the ground in front of the dome, quickly resolving into the familiar form of Siwaha. Her expression was tight and strained, and her face was paler than Altey had ever seen.

Coming here so quickly and blocking that attack had clearly taken a lot out of her. Nonetheless, she raised her staff and currents of sparkling ice motes swept out from the valley, crossing the half-mile distance to the group in an instant as they began to swirl around them defensively.

“You will not harm those I protect,” Siwaha announced clearly. “Leave and deal with the Flaws, or punishment will find you for your transgressions. This is the way of Aster Fall. Through all of her history, empires have risen and fallen, but it is the care of your people that determines your future.”

“What drivel are you spouting, ice witch?” The man in charge snorted at her as he raised his hand. A swirling red cloud gathered around it, full of strange currents that felt dangerous even at a distance. “I’m curious how many attacks you can block outside of your little valley. Without the help of your ancestors, you’re nothing much.”

Instead of answering, Siwaha only shook her head. Her expression was solemn as she raised her staff as the currents of ice began to revolve around the group, growing larger by the moment.

“She’s trying to escape with them!” A woman in a green robe shouted from the side. “Block her spell!”

Attacks formed in the air in an instant, shining axes, arcs of blood red energy, whips made of flame, metallic gray points like the tip of a sword, and more. The pressure they radiated felt like it could crack the earth as they rained down toward Siwaha and the group. When the first spell landed, the icy currents lashed upward to block it. A third of them exploded in response and their size dwindled.

Siwaha’s face turned even paler as she gestured and more currents headed toward her from the valley. The rest of the attacks were almost to her, however, and it wasn’t clear if the power she was summoning would make it in time. Altey let out a strangled protest as she watched.

At that moment, however, streaks of silver light shimmered through the night sky, sending a strange ripple of energy across the heavens. Altey’s attention was yanked upward as the memory of the shooting star she’d seen earlier that night came back to her. It seemed impossible, but she suddenly wished on it, hoping that somehow it would be good luck.

At first, the streaks were distant, like shooting stars high above, but then they seemed to bend, falling toward the earth like sparkling rain. Then earth-shattering explosions of sound tore across the mountains, so loud that it was like a dragon roaring.

It was impossible to miss.

The attacking mages looked up in surprise, their attention yanked away from the group below as they swiftly turned their efforts to shaping defensive spells instead. Before they could get halfway through their spells, however, an enormous streak of silver light slammed into the mountainside beside them.

It was so tall that it looked like a new mountain had just landed. Instead of sinking into the mountain, it stood there, towering over a hundred and fifty feet or more into the air. Waves of silver light and mist rolled around it, so dense that it hid its features from view, but a crushing pressure spread out from it that locked everything in the area into place. It felt like the earth had inverted and the sky was pressing down.

Strangely, although Altey could feel the effect all around and watched as the Third Evolution fighters were forced to the ground, it didn’t weigh heavily on her. Instead, it felt welcoming, like the warmth of the sun.

Behind that figure, dozens of other, smaller streaks arrived, turning the area into a massive cloud of steam as the snow evaporated from around them. The main figure was still concealed, but these quickly resolved into enormous scaled forms over twenty feet high.

“Drag..dragon...!” One of the mages shouted as he pointed a shaky hand at a blurry figure. It was enormous and currents of power rolled off from silver-streaked scales, so his guess might have been forgiven, but as the mist of steam rolled away from it, it was clear that he was very, very wrong.

A towering snake-like humanoid with four arms crossed across his chest stood coiled on a broad tail, his body marked with ferocious patterns like lightning branded across his muscled chest and cheeks. His head was crowned with a silver marking that looked like an incomplete crown. As he looked around the area, his attention fixed on the man who had spoken and he let out a low, threatening hiss that shook the bones of everyone nearby, making their teeth chatter.

Across the area, the cloud of steam set off by their arrival was fading as the other pillars of silver light resolved into similar forms, their features just as savage as the first. Their bodies bulged with muscle and their auras were like blades cutting through the air around them, promising destruction and dismemberment. Their serpentine eyes locked onto the Third Evolution attackers and they let out an even louder hiss, one that sounded like the rasp of a rusted blade being drawn from its sheath.

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that they would die if they moved.

As one, the creatures’ eyes snapped toward the center where the giant form was standing. The mist was finally fading away from it, revealing a towering golden figure. His expression was tight as he hid a grimace, and his eyes were closed, but the familiar features made Altey’s heart stop.

“Sam! Help them!” she shouted instantly. She seized the moment of shock to slip away from Yasa’s grasp as she leapt down the side of the cliff and started running toward him. She didn’t know how he’d suddenly arrived or why he was so tall, but none of that mattered.

Sam’s eyes blinked open, followed by what looked like a pained wince, but he shook his head as he waved aside something in the air and then swept his attention across the field. Instantly, a grin appeared as he saw Altey, but then as he continued looking around and saw the situation, his eyes darkened.

Yasa’s hesitation had only lasted a second and she was racing after Altey to retrieve her, but at that moment, Sam suddenly stepped forward. His hand blurred as he reached down and scooped her up off the ground, pulling her away before the Ice Sylph could reach her. A shield of silver light sprang up around her, bringing with it a comfortable hum of protective energy.

Then Sam turned toward Siwaha and their parents, glancing at the twelve Third Evolution figures who were surrounding them. The remains of their attack spells were still hanging in the air, making it clear enough what was going on. He still looked dazed by whatever had happened to him on his arrival, but his eyes hardened immediately when he saw the attacks surrounding them. He waved his hand, sending out twelve streaks of brilliant silver-white flame.

“No...stop!” The cruel-voiced man in charge sounded desperate as he tried to form a defensive spell, but the silver flame sliced through his body an instant later, leaving nothing behind.

The same fate befell the other eleven, their bodies disintegrating into the breeze as the flame swept past. Altey looked up afterwards to see her brother shaking his head. His horns were fiercer than ever, making it look like he was cutting the sky with every movement. Even besides his height, he looked different than she remembered, older and calmer than before, but that didn't matter to her. He was still the same big brother who had left. The rest was just details.

Below, Siwaha was extremely pale, but her back was straight and her expression was once again as calm as ever. A gesture of her hand released the ice shield behind her, revealing the group she was protecting.

“Sam Hastern,” she said easily, her voice just a touch more formal than usual. “On this night of silver stars, I welcome you home. I am glad to see you’ve walked the path that was before you.”

She might have said more, but at that moment Jeric and Aemilia stared upward, their view of the area clear now that the shield was gone. Their eyes widened as they took in the figure in front of them.

“Sam!” The word was a joint shout from the two of them as they raced forward, heading straight for him.