World Seal, Ch 32: Oath to Aster Fall (Patreon)

Sam appeared on the peak of Silverguard in a streak of silver light.

The tallest tower where he’d created the regeneration enchantment for the Astral Guardian was framed against the depths of the Void.

The stars stretched into the distance, shining in a thousand colors. Each of them was the promise of a new world.

Perhaps one day, he would have time to walk the Void and see them all, in age after passing age, but for right now, he had a duty to fulfill.

Wisps of silver flame filled with stars drifted around him as he studied the guardian’s lifegem, as well as the elemental cores he’d placed around it.

The lifegem was a little brighter than it had been the last time he was here, but not as much as it needed to be. Progress was slow.

Even with all the elemental energy he was channeling into the gem, at the current rate, it would take at least thirty years before the guardian could reform his body.

It would be even longer for him to restore his full strength.

Hopefully, he could do something about that.

The problem with improving the guardian’s regeneration was his tier, which was still higher than Sam’s, and the complexity of his aura, but things were much more optimistic than they’d been before.

With his domain, he could overcome the tier difference between the Fourth and Fifth Evolution, and with Aura Regeneration at Heroic, as well as all of his other aura abilities to support it, the complexity was not as much of an issue.

He just needed to figure out how to do it.

The energy of the lifegem flowed across the tower in a web of crystalline flame that shimmered like deep sea sapphires and molten heat.

Complex runes shone along the lines of the web, ever-changing like the flames of a wildfire.

With his domain, he could see them all, and understanding began to take shape as he studied them.

He needed to comprehend their current form that was condensed into the lifegem and then what they would become when the gem awakened, which was a much more profound form.

The lifegem was a core that could eventually give rise to the whole, but it required natural growth, like an acorn becoming a giant oak.

To accelerate that, he needed to know what it would be.

The guardian’s aura had already merged with the support enchantment, so he could start there by slowly augmenting it.

He’d once held crystal flame as his own, a gift from the guardian to merge his class and subclass and help him to grow.

Now, that was the insight on which he built his understanding of the guardian.

The more he looked at it, the more the living concept of the runes began to make sense in his mind, but it was a slow process.

He was working to unravel the fundamental law of regeneration for the Crystal Elemental race.

His domain was essential in helping him to interpret the guardian’s law, which was woven throughout the elemental’s lifegem and affecting everything, but without his current attributes and racial abilities to comprehend the complexity of the Void, it would have been impossible.

The outer layer of the lifegem began to change in his eyes, turning to currents of crystalline runes that glowed a brilliant blue, each of them tipped with edges like curling flame.

As he worked to unravel the laws, he let part of his mind turn to his new racial abilities that he’d just unlocked.

Their assistance was critical here.

Strength of the First Age (50,000 Strength)

Your Strength is infused with the primordial energy of the First Age of the Void, which echoes through time and space. You can shatter space or fuse it together with your steps, and the mark of your hands will endure through time, imprinted with an echo of the force that created it.

Wounds dealt by your hands will not heal until the echo of the First Age leaves them. Your creations share the same durability. Few things can mar your work, much less shatter it.

Steps of the Void (20,000 Agility)

Your movements are swift enough to bend space, compressing distance in a single step. Your Racial Ability: Stellar Wind is now capable of compressing space to assist you in avoiding danger, making it easier to avoid instant attacks.

Mind of Primal Chaos (100,000 Intelligence).

All laws rise from chaos, strands of order imposed on the raw energy of the beginning. You are formed of that same energy, and your mind is as well. You hold an innate understanding of chaos, and so find it easier to understand all that springs from it. Your ability to comprehend laws is dramatically improved, whether it is to reduce them from chaos or to return them to their beginning.

Aura of Stellar Beginning (100,000 Aura).

Your aura is a star shining in the Void, holding fire and force within. You radiate a sense of new potential. Where you walk, the Void begins to bloom. Life flourishes in the aura of a Titan.

Your aura now has the innate ability to heal, dispel dark energies, and protect those within it. It can also incinerate those who dare to challenge you. Beings within your aura will regenerate at dramatically increased speeds, even from old injuries, and their talents will improve as they practice with them.

It was the last two abilities that were directly affecting his work with the guardian’s lifegem.

It was also those two abilities that had dramatically affected the younger races of the galaxy, once they encountered the Titans.

Mind of Primal Chaos was helping him to understand the guardian’s law and Aura of Stellar Beginning was helping the lifegem to recover.

His aura was more powerful than it had been before and a powerful stellar force was radiating from him, covering all of Silverguard in its force. Here at the tower, it was especially pronounced.

All Titans had these abilities once they advanced enough. It was why they crafted so well.

Laws unraveled beneath their gaze and their hands shaped the Void, leaving marks that rarely faded. They  had helped the Titans to create many things, from the Class system to the Path of Stars.

The World Core had been forged from principles founded on these abilities.

So had the Nexus.

The racial abilities at 100,000 were the last ones he was familiar with from his inherited memories. If there was anything beyond that, it would have to be something he discovered for himself.

He returned to his work on the guardian’s lifegem, slowly comprehending the laws that infused it.

Eventually, runes began to form in the Void around him, spiraling across the tower on lines of silver energy.

Now and then, one of those runes changed shape and fused into the lifegem, which grew brighter as time passed.

It would take some time to see results, but he was making progress.

As he continued to work, his attention turned to his avatar that was at the conclave.

***

In the Hall of Transcendence

The crowd was in an uproar as they stared at the silver flames and moonlight that covered the sky.

Sam stood above the peak with his hand reaching out to Silvas like he was holding the moon in his palm. It looked like he had drawn it down to shine on the mountains.

A bright wave of moonlight swept across the sky, covering it from horizon to horizon, and then he released his connection to Silvas as the moon began to descend.

His main body had just left the World Seal.

The storm of aura slowly faded from the sky, leaving behind the shimmering lines of the relic’s enchantment and the Hall of Transcendence like a bright halo at the peak. The silver lines in the white stone burned with power.

He let his size shrink back to thirty feet tall as he stood on the dais and looked out at the crowd.

“An Outsider in the World Seal has been dealt with,” he said with clear force. “Let the conclave continue.”

He nodded to Aldric and Jesai to continue the auction as he sat down on the seat he’d crafted.

Before his great-grandparents could restart the bidding, however, the crowd began to stir.

“High Artificer!” a voice shouted. “What was that? The moon came to Aster Fall!”

“The mountain and the sky burned,” another voice added. “It can’t be that simple. Tell us what happened!”

A riot of voices and questions followed, one flooding after the next as the attendees demanded answers.

They wanted to know more about what he’d just done.

Instead of answering directly, Sam raised his hand and pointed at the sky. A river of silver runes flowed upward, swiftly assembling into images.

“Watch. This is what a threat to Aster Fall looks like, one that could have broken the World Seal.”

He started by showing them the images of the red comet approaching Aster Fall, as well as Khaes and Yeria riding along on it.

“These two Outsiders were at the mid-Fifth and the peak Fourth Evolution,” he explained as he pointed at them. “Their presence alone would be enough to shake the Seal, and if they exerted themselves, it would tear a dimensional rift in the layer of energy between us and the Nexus. This topmost layer of the World Seal, where we live, is also the most fragile.

“That rift would swiftly turn into a massive Flaw, one that could span the entire continent, and all the forces we held back during the First War would return. This is the beginning of a Breaking, a Flaw that you cannot close.

The people of Aster Fall knew about Breakings, especially now that he’d shown them the history of the world, but that didn’t mean they really understood them.

It was time to change that.

They needed to know what was at stake, and that escaping from the world was not the best solution.

“As a Breaking advances,” he explained, “the dimensional energy of the Nexus floods into Aster Fall, causing more rifts to form until the world begins to crumble. Massive spatial rifts tear apart the mountains and the seas, divide the plains, and break the sky.

“Normally, this could be prevented by the World Core, but it is damaged from the First War. When a being of sufficient strength exerts their influence on this side, it cannot stop the flow of energy from the Nexus, which overwhelms the natural laws of the world.

“The Nexus is a portal to another realm, one equal or greater in strength than ours. Those rifts open to the Void on the far side. By themselves, they are enough to kill anyone under the Third Evolution who is not protected by a shielding artifact or who has an advanced constitution.

“They destroy the land and cause widespread devastation to Aster Fall and our people. Many races have gone extinct during a Breaking.

“More than that, Outsiders wait on the other side. Although you have forgotten the original war, they have not. They still want to come through to this side, and a rift is a golden opportunity for them to do so freely.

“Normal Flaws are a smaller type of rift and the World Seal limits the advance of powerful beings, so that only those at the Third Evolution and below come through. Even strong Third Evolution ones are rare.

“Once the rifts form, that protection is gone, and beings at the Fourth and Fifth Evolution are able to come through. Sometimes, even Sixth Evolution beings are able to do so. Those have enough power to shake the world and change our galaxy if they are free, but for those, there is a special protection.”

Sam pointed up at the moons that were just visible in the sky, where they were edging over the horizon.

“Three moons guard our world, each of them a ward against one of the three Sixth Evolution beings who fought us in the First War. Silvas guards against the Demon of Sundered Blood, Caelus against the Demon of Shattered Skies, and Amaris against the Demon of Demented Passion.

“These are titles they have given themselves, announcing their power to their followers and to us. Their abilities are at the peak of their bloodlines. To their followers, they are not demons. They are gods. They are called that by other Outsiders. Each of them commands a region of the Void in their realm.

“Each of the moons is an ancient protection created by my people, the Astral Titans, to destroy those three commanders and their strongest followers. But they can only do so much. They focus on the most powerful ones.

“The three demons of the First War were suppressed before it ended. Shattered Skies was slain. Blood and Passion have been banished, but some remnants of them exist in the World Seal.”

He changed the image to show the interior of the World Seal, as well as his chase of Khaes and Yeria, and then he showed them the Avatar of Blood and the battle he had fought.

A wave of shock spread across the hall as they saw the demonic form of the avatar, as well as his indistinct features.

“This was an avatar left by the Demon of Blood. It still exists within the World Seal, most likely cut off from his true self. It is difficult to destroy.”

At Sam’s command, the illusion filled the space around the hall until it seemed to everyone that they were standing there beside him, joining in the battle that followed.

The scream of fury from the avatar that shook the region was so powerful even the illusion seemed like it might break under the force of it.

“This was my enemy,” he continued, “one of many that I try to destroy when I find them. I did not manage to kill him this time, but I did eliminate his followers.”

He showed the deaths of Khaes and Yeria, which gave rise to a surge of relief from the crowd, but it was an uneasy one.

Their eyes were fixed on the Avatar of Blood, even as the image changed to show scenes from the First War and then the three moons.

He continued to fill in details of the war that they didn’t know, clarifying the points one by one. Eventually, he returned to the three demons.

“Only those three leaders of the Outsider realm came through during the First War. Even I do not know the full strength that exists on the other side. There could be many more of them who are just as strong.

“Each of the demons at the Sixth Evolution is similar in strength to an Astral Titan, or nearly so. They have powerful abilities, ones that ensure they do not die easily. They are clever, ruthless, and command by power.

“They long ago unified their realm, which is why they desire to conquer a new one. Even if the three original demons have died, others of the same bloodline exist and will have taken their place. They have far more forces than we do and they are better organized. When the rifts open, their armies march through.”

He pointed at the sky again, which changed to show the forces of the civilized galaxy arriving.

This time, he added Astral Titans at their head, since he wanted to make sure the crowd understood the relationship.

“The Astral Titans have long been the leaders of our galaxy, by strength and by being the oldest civilized race, but our numbers are very few. Many of us went through the Nexus after the First War to continue the battle on the far side and to look for answers.

“When a Breaking occurs, it requires the joint effort of the World Core and the civilized races to suppress it and to banish the Outsiders who have come through. The moons help to suppress the strongest demons, which keeps the balance of power and ensures a path for survival, but the lower ranks are enough to devastate Aster Fall.

“The world has been broken more than fifty times since the World Seal was established and the First War ended. It was created by Asenya, the World Forger.

“She is the caretaker of the World Core and the World Seal.

“I am searching for her. She is the only one who can repair the damage to the World Core and settle the problem of Breakings. With her help, life on Aster Fall could be much calmer and the World Limit could be lifted permanently.”

A spark of hope flared in the eyes of the crowd here and there as they heard that.

He changed the image to show them the crystal at the center of Blood’s realm, as well as the indistinct form of Asenya inside.

“I believe she is trapped here, inside Blood’s realm. This is my task. If you wish it, it can be yours as well.”

His voice carried on a wave of power across the hall, filled with all the solemn force of what he’d just shown them, as well as the history of the First War and the Breakings.

“While you are under the Fourth Evolution, with my assistance, you can enter the World Seal and fight the forces arrayed there. It is a dangerous place, but if you want to protect Aster Fall, this is one way you can help.”

There was silence across the hall as the attendees stared up at the image of Asenya inside the crystal.

“What about those of us at the World Limit,” a voice asked, “but who don’t focus on battle? How can we help?”

The question came from the far side of the hall, where a conflicted-looking man in a brown robe was standing near a pillar.

It looked like he’d been hiding behind it.

According to Sam’s analysis, his name was Reben, a Level 399 Amberheart Enchanter with a subclass as a Winterstone Mason.

His classes were crafting focused. He seemed to be one of the peak crafters who wasn’t as focused on the auction, but he’d come to see what was going on.

“Aster Fall needs crafters as much as fighters,” Sam replied. “You are welcome to work on the relic or to support the World Seal in your own way. Not everyone has to close Flaws. Each individual’s efforts will be different, depending on your abilities, and all are important.

“If you transcend the World Limit in the future, you are welcome to stay at Silverguard to protect Aster Fall from the Void. There is always a need for crafters.”

Reben looked thoughtful as he stepped back.

He inclined his head to Sam as he backed up against the pillar, and then he looked warily at the sky as if it might fall at any moment.

“She is the guardian of the World Core?” a voice asked slowly. It was from a woman who seemed to be puzzled as she looked up at the image of Asenya.

“Yes,” Sam confirmed. “In the early days of Aster Fall, she was a great ally of the Astral Titans and fought on our side in the First War. If she were free, life would be different here, more like the settled half of the galaxy.”

The woman nodded, but she didn’t say anything. She just looked thoughtful.

“Then we must fight to free her.” The words were firm and fierce, and they came from a different location in the crowd.

It was a familiar voice. Hearing it now brought Sam back to a time before he had left for the Path of Stars.

“It is our duty,” the voice continued. Each word was as sharp as the edge of a blade. “Aster Fall has given us our lives, and so must give her something back, just like we’ve fought every Flaw in front of us up to now.”

Sam looked across the hall to find the speaker.

A man in a black and white robe stood in the middle of the hall. He’d just walked out from the crowd.

His body was as pale as a ghost except for black lines that stretched along his limbs and across his face like the stripes on a ghostly serpent. Two of those lines were vertical bands that covered his eyes, making it difficult to see where he was looking.

He was thin but powerful, like a whipcord.

Seeing him brought back memories of Garild’s mansion at Highfold and the Bloodline clan children, as well as their elders.

Etari Wrale. Race: Pale Spirit (Human Variant). Level 360. Spectral Assassin-Knight of the Pale. Bloodline Clan: The Pale Family.

Uncle Snake.

Sam never paid much attention to his real name, but it was easy to distinguish now. He was still the same as ever, except that his level was higher.

He’d been around the relic for the past month and more, serving as an envoy between the Bloodline Clans and Highfold. His help had been invaluable in getting the clan elders to understand that Sam was an ally.

Now he was stepping up again.

In the crowd around him, there were hundreds of members of the Bloodline Clans from a dozen different families, but he had walked forward on his own to speak.

The entire hall was staring at him.

He looked up at Sam with a slight smile, even as he shook his head.

“It’s been just a little while since you returned, High Artificer,” he said. “I can’t put together your current self with that young Titan I met once, but I won’t stand by with what you’ve shown me. The Bloodline Clans have always sworn to defend the world against invasion from Outsiders, and if this is all true, then we must follow you now.”

“Uncle Snake,” Sam said with a smile, ignoring the surprise the title sent across the crowd. “Thank you for the old lessons you offered, and for all you’ve done at Highfold. You helped to set the foundation for this conclave.”

Uncle Snake had been the first person to tell him about the Boundless Alliance and the Cabal, and to warn him that they were interested only in power.

His advice back then really had set the foundation for this conclave. Without him, Sam wouldn’t have known what to offer them.

In recognizing him now, he wanted to show the rest of the conclave the relationship between the two of them.

It was a small way of repaying him for his help in the past.

“You want to go into the World Seal and fight the Outsiders there?” Sam asked. His words resonated across the hall. “To defend Aster Fall from all enemies, no matter where they hide?”

The expressions in the hall changed to respect as they looked between him and Uncle Snake, but they were still waiting to see what would happen.

They needed someone to be the example.

Uncle Snake only nodded.

Then he drew a black sword from his waist and dropped to one knee, holding the sword upright by the blade in both hands.

He looked across the guard at Sam, the black bands on his face spreading until he seemed like a shadow himself.

An assassin to slay the night.

“May the World Law witness my oath as a bloodline member of the Pale Family,” he said solemnly as he held up the blade.

His words summoned a heavy blanket of power as the World Core turned its attention to him and the surrounding area.

It felt like a storm cloud full of lightning, holding a potential force that crackled through the hall.

“I will not abandon Aster Fall while enemies still remain to threaten her. I will follow the commands of the High Artificer and work to free Asenya. I will follow him in whatever battle may come, until the day Aster Fall is free from the threat of Breakings. Until the mountains crumble and Aster Fall stands on her own.

“Until then, I will guard.”

His words rang out across the hall.

Silence descended, followed by a wave of power from the World Core crackled through the hall, sizzling around Uncle Snake like tendrils of lightning that made the black lines on his body flare.

He looked at Sam unwaveringly as he waited for his response.

The potential from the World Core hung there as well, waiting to see if the oath was acknowledged.

His words were partly from the Ice Sylphs, but it was also his alone. It represented his stance on the world and all the enemies arrayed against it, as well as his faith in Sam.

Sam looked at him, and then he walked forward. He paused in front of him, looking at the rest of the Bloodline Clans behind Uncle Snake.

The decision was theirs, but if they wanted to follow the honor they had always claimed and to defend the kingdom, the time was now.

There was a moment of hesitation. Then behind Uncle Snake, six other members of the Pale Family stepped out and knelt beside him

They were followed by four dozen more from the other Bloodline Clans that had come to the conclave.

They looked hesitantly at Uncle Snake, who wasn’t moving from his position, and then a few of them drew their weapons and knelt beside him. An array of expressions flickered across their features, but determination was the most prominent.

A moment later, more than half of them were kneeling, and then nearly all.

Some of them were from the Ruby Desert Nomads and the Ash Clan, as well as the White Lotus, Wraith, and Silversteel clans that he’d met before. Half of them were the elders he’d met at Highfold when he returned to Aster Fall, but the rest were new.

Only four from the Bloodline Clans were left standing.

Two of them were at the World Limit, while two others looked more hesitant and hung back, but it only lasted for a moment before they also walked forward and knelt behind Uncle Snake.

Sam looked down at them with a smile.

“You represent the best of this world,” he said with approval. Then he looked up at the sky in the direction of the World Core.

“Let the World Core witness that I recognize your oath to fight for Aster Fall, and I offer you my hand in alliance.”

At his words, a massive pressure from the World Core descended, one that was much greater than what Uncle Snake had summoned with his oath.

Bands of blue lightning crackled through the hall, rolling like waves of flame along the pillars, and then it swirled around Uncle Snake and the others, crackling along their limbs and weapons.

The Oath to Aster Fall is witnessed.

The World Core’s voice echoed through the hall like a vast drum as the power reached its peak. The words resonated from the pillars of the hall and shook the mountain peak as they spread outward.

At that moment, the first rays of dawn struck the hall, shining from the blade in Uncle Snake’s hands. The light mingled with the lightning and the silver enchantments across the hall, turning everything ethereal and tinting the blades golden and blue.

As the echoes continued to spread, Sam held out a hand to Uncle Snake.

When the envoy took it, he lifted him to his feet

“Those who aid Aster Fall will also have my aid,” he said. “Today, the Alliance of Aster Fall begins. You will not fight alone.”

He looked out across the hall, his eyes crossing those of every member here.

Then he waited.

Slowly, here and there across the crowd, more began to step forward, joining Uncle Snake and the others as they knelt in front of Sam.

Many of them were in the white robes of the Church of the World Law, but there were also more diverse groups, some in large numbers and some as individuals who had come alone.

Of the tens of thousands at the conclave, including those like Uncle Snake who were not yet at the World Limit, over three quarters of them stepped forward.

One by one, they all knelt and took the same oath to Aster Fall.

Thunder resonated from the peak of the mountain, crashing through the sky in waves of blue lightning and silver flames.