Echoes of War, Ch 17: House Guests (Patreon)

The pool of silvery greenstone swirled at the bottom of its basin as Sam reappeared in the Chamber of Silvas. From the energy on the horizon as he’d passed back through the world, he could tell it was near dawn. As soon as he arrived, he pulled out a chunk of the lunar stone he’d acquired and began to examine it.

He hadn’t had a long time to investigate the interior of the moon, but the stone should work. It was a condensed crystal of Silvas’s aura, something that must have taken hundreds or thousands of years to form inside that chasm.

With his gesture, runes flared to life around the side of the pool and he tossed the stone directly into the center. A wave of emerald moonlight flooded upward like a tide and the greenstone bubbled in response, stirred to agitation as the stone sank toward the bottom. The intensity of the light washed across the runes on the edge of the pool and they grew brighter as they began to activate on their own. Strands of elements flowed along the runes, heading to the point in midair where the parts combined.

He could have crushed the stone and transferred the aura into the storage enchantment, but he had enough of them that this test was worthwhile. So far, it was working fine. The Chamber of Silvas was containing the aura from the stone and draining away the excess into the enchantments around the pool at a rapid pace, just like it would if something went wrong during the process and it had to reclaim the material.

He watched it for about thirty minutes, long enough for the stone to dissolve into shards of emerald dust that mixed with the liquid greenstone. The shine of Silvas’s aura from the pool was more intense than before, suggesting that the quality of the greenstone had increased. The chamber must have been operating on a minimal level of aura until now, but throwing the stone in directly had maximized it.

The level of the pool had also risen by about a foot, perhaps a hundredth of the total, which showed just how much aura there was in a single stone. It also showed how quickly the pool could refill when it had the right materials.

He pulled out the rest of the stones and tossed them all into the pool, saving only a couple to study for later. The sides of the pool glowed with luminous green light as if Silvas were rising over the horizon as streamers of mist-like emerald aura wavered over the top of the pool and along the walls, flooding the chamber with brilliance. Then the hum of the enchantments rose and layered over one another, making everything vibrate with a deep earthen rumble.

He nodded as he disappeared in a flash of silver and left the chamber to its work. There were dozens of stones in there, so it should be enough for a while. If it ran out, he’d have to make another trip to the moon.

When he reappeared, it was on the top of Sun’s Rest inside his forge. He glanced around to ensure everything was still in place and then he reached out to the Earth mana all around him. A new storm of elemental energy began to spin as streamers of yellow light rose up from the mountainside and the air. This time, he reached out farther, stretching his senses toward the other mountain peaks and the bones of the land far below, pulling it all toward him.

Rivers of glowing Earth mana poured through the mountain valleys and across the air, surging upward toward the peak in a torrent.

Slowly, the pillars of his hall began to rise higher as he worked, and then the arched roof of the portico formed over them, weaving together from the flow of astral energy and the elements as silver-white stone appeared in its place.

As the sun was passing noon, the final pillar for his hall was complete. It faced the western sky in a half circle with the other pillars, creating an open concept where the light of sun and moon could fill the hall, giving the pillars and the arched roof a celestial light. Even now during the day, the pillars shone with a sparkling silver starlight as the veins of aura through their interior glowed. Sam nodded in satisfaction when he saw the result.

Then he moved to the center of the hall, where a small circle of interior pillars marked out the location of the inner forge, and pulled out the astral forge plate that he’d made while on the Path. He tossed it into the center, where it rotated through the air before slowing to a halt. It sank into the surface of the stone at the center of the ring and locked into place with an audible click.

Runes came to life on the pillars as the glow of the aura veins in them intensified. The entire hall began to hum as ambient mana was pulled toward it. Here on the mountain peak, the mana was so dense that it was nearly liquid, and it flowed into the forge without stopping. Below that, he could sense the energy of the relic like a deep counterpoint, including its massive draw on the mountain’s mana.

Fortunately, the mountains had mana to spare. Even if they drew ten times this amount, it would only slightly diminish the storm clouds that gathered around the peak. He could see the shifting flow of those energies, highlighted in every degree by his racial abilities, from the smallest flow of Earth mana to the way Lightning and Ice formed a storm system that was about to break and flow down the slope to the west, where it would crash into the valley below.

“This will work,” he said as he considered the possibilities of what he could forge here and a smile creased his lips. “It just needs an enchantment to concentrate it and increase the intensity.”

The Void winds were heavy with loose mana and aura, but one advantage of forging here was the purity of the mana available. It was already mostly refined and gathered for him, with the world itself acting as a supporting enchantment. He didn’t need to concentrate the Void winds or to forge near a star to gather the ambient energy.

A silver astral flame appeared in the air above the forge plate and, a moment later, the entire inner circle was filled with a roaring pillar of fire. He ran his hand through the silver flames, sensing their energy, as his smile turned into a grin.

With the enchantments here, his own and the relic’s around the control plateau, he wouldn’t have to worry about any harm on the valley, so forging here was almost the same as standing among the stars and letting his hammer crash down without concern. It would work.

It would definitely work.

If he still needed an area where he could tear something apart and let chaos reign, he would head into the Void instead.

He pulled a Third Evolution beast core and a chunk of dark Void-forged steel out of his bracelet and tossed them into the flames. They floated at the center, drifting from side to side as his aura and the forge began to quickly purify them. Then he grabbed one of the lunar rocks from Silvas and shaved off a small fragment with a flick of his finger. It joined the core floating in the center of the forge.

Bright sunlight poured in through the pillars and shone from the stone, filling the hall with golden flames that wrapped around the forge and gave everything inside a gleaming heat as he studied the energies present.

Silvas’s aura was a miniature emerald moon shining next to the Level 320 beast core from a Blackscar Destroyer. Streams of aura began to flow between the two at his direction as the moonlight permeated the core. He watched the auras clash and pull apart again, like two banks of clouds meeting, each of them at the front of their own storm. They tried to mingle where they touched, but their opposing natures drove them apart.

Carefully, he reached out to those points of conflict and began to alter the aura, merging it, twisting it, stripping it away, and also adding to it, altering the fundamental concepts that made it up. Most of his effort went toward changing the beast core, since its aura was destructive and hungry. He wanted that power, but it needed to be more focused.

When he’d first started enchanting, he’d used auras as a power source, infusing them into runes to add a long-lasting enchantment and a little bit of the aura’s energy, like an Earth focus or a Shadow concept. Over all the years of travel and after assimilating the memories of the Path, however, he’d reached an entirely new realm of enchantment.

Aura Forging wasn’t as simple as just smashing an aura into a rune for power. It was an art. He had to find the right concepts of the Void and the elemental resonance to balance it, to change the aura into something more powerful and useful than it was before. Runes were critical, but the aura came first.

His enchantments were no longer just runes carved onto a surface either. They were holistic, their power woven into the whole, as he’d done with the veins of astral energy running through the forge. It was about creating the enchantment on a level that made it part of reality, rather than trying to force the energy to flow through a surface-level structure.

It made the result look simple at first glance if you didn’t know what it was or how to activate it, like the relic itself. Even this forge would just look like a building until you examined it more closely. But a shard of rock from this method was worth more than a hundred weaker enchantments.

Done correctly, an aura-forged enchantment would endure the test of time and destruction, and even a fragment would hold the truth of what it had once been.

Sam’s attention wove through the forge as he reached into the flames and pulled the core apart into two halves like a discarded shell. He flung one half to either side where they disintegrated into motes of dust that fed the flames. Where they had been, the core’s energies floated at the center of the forge, roiling in a bubble of dark light.

“Silvas guards against the Demon of Blood,” he muttered to himself as he let the moonlight inside the flames twist around his hands. “So let’s make something that fits.”

He slowly fed the moonlight into the energies of the core, which were much more amenable to it than they’d been in the past. Then he grabbed the chunk of dark steel that was floating in the flames. Runes for shadows and blood, shields and destruction flowed out of his hands and fused into the aura and the steel.

At the same time, he reached out with the strength of his essence and warped the dimensional space inside the steel, creating a small spatial pocket. It was similar to how he made a dimensional bag, but this time it would be for a different purpose. Inside that space, he began to arrange the runes into a self-sustaining enchantment, infusing them into the structure of the space itself like he’d seen on the moon. Before long, the dark steel glowed with moonlight, like Silvas’s light shining in the night.

“Now what to do with it...” he chuckled as ideas floated through his mind. It was a test case, but he wasn’t going to abandon it here. After a moment, an idea occurred to him and he grinned. His mother could use more equipment.

Quickly, he began remolding the structure of the steel, drawing it out until it formed an elegant bracelet. Then he turned back to the enchantment as he continued to weave runes into the structure of the dimensional space inside, linking it to the exterior. Ripples of emerald moonlight washed across the surface of the dark bracelet, making it look like an ethereal ocean was contained inside.

“For protection against darkness and to guard against the corruption of blood,” Sam muttered to himself as he wrapped up the project, infusing the last bits of the beast core’s aura with the moonlight and using it to sustain the structure. Quickly, he set the final runes into place and began to test the structure by sending pulses of aura through it. Then he nodded.

“Now for the last tempering.”

The bracelet floated at the center of the flames, its position locked into place by the enchantments on the forge as his hand rose. Astral energy gathered around his fist like a burning silver sun as he brought it down in a crushing blow on top of the bracelet, flooding it with an overwhelming force of starlight.

Flecks of dark and impure energy exploded outward from the bracelet, melting away like wisps of shadow as they turned to dust in the light of the forge. They were the last remnants of the discordant energy from the core, the tiny bits of aura that didn’t fit into the whole. By flooding the bracelet with astral energy in a single strike, it forced out those bits, even as it helped the rest of the material to change its nature, pushing it over the line to become something else.

He didn’t actually have to hit it like that to do the job, but it was definitely more fun. He grinned at that, since he’d had to find various ways to keep himself entertained on the way home. He reached into the forge and pulled the bracelet free from the flames.

The dark steel was streaked with waves of emerald moonlight and gave off a faint silver light at the edges. It was elegant, its edges slightly curved to make it smooth to the touch and so it wouldn’t catch on any clothing. Slowly, the colors on the surface changed as he watched, like emerald waves flowing from one side to the other, but the more subtle silver light was unfailing.

Bracelet of the Moonlit Night. Aura Artifact. Unique. Epic.

[Forged by Sam Hastern to bring light on the darkest night. It protects the bearer’s spirit from encroaching forces, including enemy scrying, and guards against the corruption of aura by malign energies, especially Blood, dissolving it with the force of the guardian moon’s light. The bracelet will recharge in moonlight.

Charge: 50,000 / 50,000.]

He gathered astral energy around him as he moved on to the last step, pouring it into the bracelet like a wave of silver stars. At the same time, he ran his hand over the inner surface, inscribing a line of runes on the inside that resonated with the enchantment. In an old and angular script of the Titans, it read “Beneath the Light of Silvas, Blood Shall be Purged.”

Astral Blessing Infused: Moonlit Night

[Temporarily allows the bearer to summon an image of Silvas into the heavens, radiating its light across the field of battle. Malign effects will be purged from allies, while enemies will suffer Silvas’s wrath. Be warned that when activating this ability on Aster Fall, Silvas will be aware of the event and may intervene.]

Artifact tier has risen to Legendary.

The letters shone with emerald moonlight that rose up from within the bracelet, but they were only visible to the wearer when it was taken off. The inscription was a type of aura enchantment as well, a second layer to help protect the spirit of those who read it.

It was also the effect of his Blessing of Silver Stars, his Third Evolution class ability that allowed him to bolster allies and items he crafted. Allies received attribute boosts and group attack and defense abilities, but items received a special astral blessing that varied from artifact to artifact. It was a partly unconscious blessing, although he could choose not to add it. Its effect increased the tier of the item and its attributes, if it had any, and added a unique ability.

In this case, all the power of the blessing went into that single effect, something to use if trouble came knocking. He was worried about his parents being caught up in the Dimensional Convergence.

“That will work,” he said quietly as he gave the bracelet a nod. Then he looked up at the sun shining down into his forge, where he was struck for a moment by how much things had changed. The lines of his first class echoed in his mind.

As an Evolution of Battlefield Reclaimer, the class uses aura and essences from the elements, including rare ones like the sunset, aurora, or ocean light, to imbue items with rare and inexplicable properties.

For a long time, he hadn’t understood what those words meant, only that they promised power. Now, looking down at the bracelet in his hands, he knew the concepts they held. Whether it was summoning moonlight or the sun, the aurora or the ocean, it was about tapping into the concepts that infused the world and bringing them to life. He just needed the right materials and auras.

He chuckled as he tossed the bracelet lightly into the air and caught it, and then he waved a hand at his forge, letting the fires sink back into the pillars. The sun still glowed in the sky, its warmth bathing the stones. With a flash of starlight, he disappeared, heading down to where he knew his mother was working.

*****

“You’re grown up since you left, but some things don’t change,” Aemilia said with a quiet laugh as she looked at Sam and then down at the bracelet he was holding out. Her laugh was bright and drove worries away as she accepted the bracelet. “What did you make now?”

“Something to protect you from demons,” Sam chuckled as he reached out and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. It was thin and feminine, and one of the innate enchantments he’d added to everything resized it to fit. It looked very stylish in his opinion.

“Thank you. It’s truly beautiful.” His mother ran her fingers over the bracelet and then looked at him fondly, but then her gaze became more serious. “I know it must be difficult to be both things at once, our son and the man you’ve become. When I look at you with my class, all I see is endless starlight. Most people I can read, but not you. It’s like looking at the night sky.”  She shook her head with a smile.

“But I can still tell what you’re thinking just by the expression on your face. Has coming home been all that you hoped?”

He could have made up some simple reassurance, but he knew his mother. She’d always thought more deeply than most and wasn’t content with simple answers, so he told her what he was really thinking.

“It’s different,” he agreed honestly, “but I’m glad to be home. That’s what matters. There’s a lot that needs to be done to fix the Seal, but the main thing is staying with everyone. As tempting as it is to head into the Void and see the mysteries of the stars, this is more important.”

He knew for a fact that if he allowed himself to travel the Void and satisfy his true curiosity about it all, the years would blend into centuries, and centuries into aeons, and there would be no way back to the present moment of hours and days.

Time was inescapable.

He wasn’t willing to let them go so soon.

“No desire to find other things?” His mother raised one eyebrow as her smile grew. There was a teasing light in it. “Perhaps a wife one of these days, so I can have grandchildren?” Despite being teasing, her tone was insistent. It was something that she’d apparently been waiting to say for a while.

“One day, when things settle down,” he said with a laugh as the idea made his mind turn to the Path of Stars and the one person who’d drawn his attention there. “There was one interesting woman in the Void. Her name was Alora. But she’s far away, and so not today or tomorrow.”

He’d promised her that he would come back one day. He just wasn’t sure when.

“You should have brought her back with you,” Aemilia said cheerfully, her mood becoming happier at the idea. “Every girl likes to travel. Or at least I can’t imagine one that you would be interested in who didn’t. Keeping you still was always difficult. It’s impossible now. She would have to be able to keep up with you. What’s she like?”

“She’s impressive, and she has a world to run,” Sam chuckled, “but she might have come if I asked. It would have made for an entirely different trip home, it’s true.” His mind wandered as he considered the possibilities.

“Make sure to bring her next time,” Aemilia said as she placed her hand on Sam’s shoulder. She studied him, her gaze concerned. “Not everything is about fighting and crafting, you know? You need to have other things that fill your life. Important things. That’s what gives it all meaning.”

Sam paused, but then he nodded to his mother. She continued to give him the same tolerant but expectant look, as she added a few more teasing questions about Alora. Before long, Sam waved and disappeared in a streak of silver light.

This time, he didn’t go far.

He stood in the Void between dimensions as he watched his mother, his eyes concerned. He knew she wanted him to have a more carefree life, but what if he had missed coming home by a day and his parents died because he delayed in the Void?

He wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

“One thing at a time,” he said to himself. “Once you’re safe, then I’ll see about the rest.” It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, not when his lifespan was so long. He’d go back one day and see if Alora was still waiting for him, and if she were, he would happily find out where that went.

Preventing a Breaking wasn’t the only reason he planned to stay on Aster Fall. He didn’t want to go on a short trip, from his Titan perspective, and return home to find that two thousand years had passed and his family had turned to dust. Staying here where he could track the rise and fall of the sun was a good way to prevent that.

Watching his mother there, her hand on her stomach to cover his unborn brother or sister, he made a promise: “Before I go, I’ll make sure your level is high enough that you can watch centuries pass like days.” That was the only way she would live long enough to still be there by the time he came home.

The peak of the Third Evolution should be enough.

*****

A while later, he reappeared on the control plateau at the top of Sun’s Rest. Before he could return to his forge, however, a message spell appeared in the air nearby, glimmering with a soft yellow light. It wasn’t one of the scrolls he’d made, nor any of those he recognized for his family’s use, which made it more surprising. He frowned as he tapped on the center rune to activate it.

“Lord Hunter.” Garild’s voice filled the air. He was normally self-assured, but this time he lacked confidence, as if something had shaken him. “The Bloodline Clans have finally come to Highfold. They...ahem...sincerely request your presence to meet them and discuss the defense of the kingdom.” A cough interrupted the man’s words, making it very obvious that he’d changed the message to be more polite. The original had probably demanded Sam meet them.

Sam let out a huff of surprise as he understood what was going on. It seemed like the word of his arrival had finally spread. He hadn’t paid much attention to the governor of Highfold since he returned, but now a spark of anger filled his eyes. He still hadn’t forgiven the Bloodline Clans for not coming to aid the valley. They’d made overtures to him in the past and were supposed to be Garild’s allies, but if they wanted to show their true intentions, they’d already done it.

Who were they to demand his presence now?

“I wonder what gives them such confidence,” he murmured as he dismissed the message. Then he turned toward the lower slope as he sent a message of his own. “Sleset, prepare the Silver Army. We have house guests who overestimate themselves.”

It was time to show the Bloodline Clans that their concept of the Horned Hunter was mistaken. The valley needed to spread the word that it couldn’t be pushed around and he was more than willing to help. As for the defense of the kingdom, he didn’t know if the Bloodline Clans had the same idea of it as he did, but he was going to find out.

His smile turned grim as he walked to the edge of the plateau and looked down at Highfold far below.

How that discussion would go depended on them.