Shadow Sun Progression: Shadow Sun Book Four

by Dave Willmarth

  Daigath nodded, though his frown didn’t fade quickly. Allistor shot the orcanin a grateful look for his taking the blame. He’d been in favor of having Master Daigath there to train him before today, but now he found he genuinely wanted to impress the old elf and convince him to stay.

  “If this place is to your liking, we can set you up with a home and a workshop here. Whatever you need.” Allistor offered. He notice Harmon staring at him, and when he raised an eyebrow at his friend, Harmon tapped his heart, then nodded toward Daigath.

  It took a moment for Allistor to realize what the orcanin meant, but when it clicked in his head, he jumped to it. “Oh! And… as a gesture of our appreciation for you taking the time to visit with us…” He removed the decorative wooden box from his ring. “I believe this is the rarest crafting component we have obtained so far. None of us is worthy of it, nor will we be for many years, I’m told. I hope a master such as yourself can find a use for it.”

  Daigath accepted the box from Allistor’s outstretched hands, running his fingers across the smooth surface for a moment before turning to Harmon. Without needing instruction, the orcanin extended his massive hands and held the box with the latches toward his old mentor so that Daigath could undo the latches and open it. The master’s eyes lit up as the purple glow of the Ancient Shellback Heart reached them.

  “This is indeed a rare gift, Prince Allistor. Thank you.” He lifted the heart from the box and closed his eyes for a moment. “There are many possibilities that come to mind. I shall have to consider them all for a time, before choosing.” He set the item back in its box, closed the lid, and nodded to Harmon, who stored the box away somewhere.

  Daigath studied the horizon, staring off toward the mountains. After more than a minute, he said, “I think that I shall stay here a while. Though young compared to my home forest, this place calls to my soul. You seem a worthy student, Prince Allistor. From what I have been told, and have observed myself, you are a noble who truly cares for his people. And though I believe your ultimate goal of vengeance against the ancient ones who brought you here is doomed to failure, I would help you to become stronger for the sake of your people.” His gaze dropped to the clearing Harmon had cut into the forest. “I shall establish my home there, and begin healing the damage wrought by axe and saw.” He shot Harmon a look, and the orcanin looked sheepish.

  “Thank you, Master Daigath. I’m thrilled that you’re willing to stay, and to teach me. Do you need anything to help you build your home? Materials of any kind? Hands to help with the construction?”

  Daigath turned away from the view to face Allistor. “No, thank you. I will not be constructing my home so much as shaping it. And I have all that I require. It will take me several months to convince the young trees to form properly, so with your permission I shall reside here in one of the towers in the meantime?”

  “Of course, Master Daigath! Anywhere you like. And we can set aside space for you to work, or for training, whatever you need.”

  “Then let us formalize our agreement.” The elf stepped forward and placed a hand on Allistor’s shoulder. “I, Daigath of the Elves, Grandmaster Battlemage, hereby agree to accept Planetary Prince Allistor as student and ally. I shall serve him and his people to the best of my abilities, keep his secrets, and agree not to intentionally harm him or his interests, until we mutually consent to part ways, or he violates the terms of this agreement. In return, Prince Allistor of Earth shall provide me with shelter, space to work, and more of that delicious food!”

  Allistor couldn’t help but smile as he replied, “I, Prince Allistor of Earth, whole-heartedly accept the terms of this agreement.”

  A silver glow wrapped the two of them as Daigath lowered his arm. Allistor looked at his hands, watching the light being absorbed into them even as he felt the physical thrill that indicated he had leveled up. He blinked a few times as his interface filled with notifications. Ignoring them, he asked, “Silver? I’ve never seen that before.”

  Daigath chuckled. “Yes, well. When you enter into a formal agreement with a being as old as myself, even one as simple as ours, the System takes special notice. I am afraid you’ll find that many nobles will be jealous of you now. While others will seek to gain your favor in hopes of obtaining permission to commission works from me. Permission which you cannot grant, by the way. That is not part of our agreement.”

  Allistor nodded. “Harmon has told me how rarely you create and gift weapons like his blade. I would never presume to make such a commitment on your behalf, even if I were able.”

  “I think we will get along just fine. Now, before I get to work on my new home, there are a few items we should address immediately. First, Harmon go remove all the cut lumber from my clearing.” He glared at the orcanin, who was already moving toward the stairs and talking into his wrist communicator. When he was sure Harmon couldn’t see him, he winked at Allistor. “He’s a good boy, but I have to keep him on his toes.”

  Allistor suppressed a laugh, and Daigath continued. “As for you, there is much for you to learn. You have done well, learning several useful spells that have served to keep you alive through Stabilization and beyond. In no small part because you found clever and imaginative ways to use them. But no Battlemage that I have ever heard of has reached level fifty without learning more than the base skills awarded upon choosing the class.”

  Once again he raised a hand, this time placing it on Allistor’s chest. “The motes have been hard at work within you. Much of your body has been reconstructed and repaired.”

  Amanda snorted. “He’s let a LOT of things bite him over the last year.” A second later, when the ancient elf’s words sunk in, she gasped. “Motes? The little nanobots I see inside him?”

  Daigath removed his hand and looked thoughtfully at her. “Nanobots. Hmmm. If I gather your meaning correctly, that is an apt description.” He looked around the empty platform, then down at the courtyard below. “Come, let us find a place to sit, and I will explain.”

  Allistor led them down the stairs, then down another level in the elevator to the suite he had claimed for Amanda and himself. They took seats in the lounge area, and Daigath began his first lesson.

  “We all exist within the Neutrocosm. It permeates everything in this universe at its most basic level. Matter, antimatter, dark matter, whatever you call the basic elements of existence, all are built upon the framework of neutrocosmic particles. Those particles provide the energy, the will, of our universe. And make no mistake, our universe is a living thing. One so vast and intricately complex as to be incomprehensible to most minds. The few ancient beings who delved so deeply into its secrets that they achieved a significant measure of understanding, were the ones responsible for creating the System. A sort of governing entity that enforces the will of its creators upon the rest of us. A few others, such as the ancient ones you have sworn vengeance against, attained enough understanding to further develop and modify the System’s operational instructions.” He paused as Allistor’s face twisted into a scowl.

  “What we call the motes are the physical embodiment of the system’s will. As I said, they exist within all matter. Neutrocosmic particles that serve as the source of energy for all things. They exist unformed, neither positive nor negative, good nor evil, until given instruction. When you cast a spell, you are in effect requesting an action, which the System directs the motes to carry out. And they act on their own, to an extent, as they follow the base functions given them by the System. For example, within your own body, Allistor. When your physical form is damaged, the System dictates that it heal at a specific rate, based on a complicated formula that factors in uncounted variables, including your personal attributes. The motes take form, gather in and around the damaged tissue, and repair it at the subscribed rate. This rate of repair is increased by a healing spell, for example. Or decreased by factors such as depleted stamina, poison, debuffs of various kinds, and so on.”

  Amanda asked, “And that’s why the areas w
here his bones have been repaired are stronger? Because they have a higher concentration of… motes?”

  “Indeed. Or, more accurately, where healing magic was applied. If a simple broken bone were allowed to heal at a normal pace for humans, the strengthening would be less evident. But since your world was relocated, the entire planet has a higher than normal density of motes.”

  “Why is that?” Allistor was fascinated.

  “There are a few reasons. First, the method of relocation. The ancient ones destroyed your original sun, harnessing energy that should have powered the star for billions of years, and using a considerable part of that energy to transport your world a great distance. Not all of that energy was contained, however. Some of it was absorbed by your planet and everything on it, including the flora and fauna. Which is you.” Daigath pointed to the two of them.

  In addition, once the System declared humanity to be a contaminant, and undertook to eliminate most of you, it transferred millions, if not billions, of new creatures from the menagerie to Earth. Each of those creatures with their own supply of motes. They proceeded to kill humans and other local life forms, absorbing some of their motes, and releasing the rest into the environment. And they were in turn killed by humans or other creatures, with the same absorption and release of energy. The result being a massive amount of energy from billions of deceased life forms floating freely across your world.”

  Daigath took a few breaths, watching the faces of the humans in front of him to make sure they were following him. “Another big contributor has to do with the reason humanity was declared a contaminant. The pollution you soiled the planet with, and most especially the power generation methods you used. The System destroyed your… I believe you call them nuclear power plants?” He waited for them to nod. “And in doing so, unleashed tremendous amounts of primitive and harmful radiation, which it then proceeded to begin converting into safe, usable energy in the form of motes.”

  Allistor ventured. “So, not only did we humans level faster than normal because of the large number of creatures sent here to kill us, but we’ve become more powerful from the higher concentration of motes?”

  “It is not quite that simple, but yes. The higher density of energy here makes your spells more effective at a faster than normal rate. For example, your Barrier spell has leveled up several times in the last year through regular use. Each time you’ve cast it, and it fulfilled its purpose by absorbing energy, your proficiency has increased. On my homeworld, where the energy density is lower, you would have had to cast that spell roughly twice as many times to reach your current proficiency.”

  “Cool!” Amanda held up a fist for Allistor to bump. He did so, but with less enthusiasm. His mind was on the cost of the increased energy more than the benefits. Billions of human lives.

  “Thank you, Master Daigath, for explaining all of this. I have many questions, but one seems more urgent than the others.” He looked up at the sky briefly, and Daigath caught it.

  “The answer is yes. The energy levels on Earth make it more attractive to the many factions out there. To start with, they can send their lower level nobles here to hunt and train, leveling more rapidly than normal, just as you have. Though, few could match your pace.” He grinned at Allistor. “You have reached level fifty more quickly than even most nobles would dream. And the average citizenry of stabilized worlds, those without the money or power of nobles to assist them, are unlikely to ever reach level fifty.”

  Allistor nodded, setting his anger aside as best he could. “Harmon and Gralen explained a bit about that. And about how they were higher levels because they were soldiers in several wars.”

  Daigath didn’t reply, as Allistor hadn’t really asked a question. Instead, he changed the subject. “As a Prince of Earth, you will need to be able to defend your holdings. And the best way to do that is to be as strong, well-informed, and prepared as possible. Toward that end, let us see about your neglected class training. To begin with, I need you to share your attributes and skills with me, so that I can help you choose the best path going forward.” He held out his hand, and Allistor took it. “Just focus on sharing them with me.”

  Allistor did as instructed, first pulling up his character sheet, then concentrating on sharing it with Daigath. The elf tightened his grip slightly to let Allistor know he’d been successful, then spent some time reading what he saw.

  “You have done well, for someone new to the System.” The old elf observed. “You have sufficient Strength to inflict respectable melee damage, but are lacking in Agility. That is understandable since your focus during stabilization was on ranged fighting. Your focus on Intelligence and Will Power reflect that as well, and they are the primary attributes for a Battlemage. Tell me, where would you assign the six free attribute points currently available to you?”

  Allistor had been thinking about this, so it didn’t take him long to answer. “My situation has changed recently. Since I am expected to do more melee fighting now, I would add a single point each to Strength and Constitution, two to Agility. As a noble who’s about to be thrust into politics, I would put a point into Charisma, and a point into Luck?”

  Daigath chuckled at the last one. “Sometimes Luck’s influence can make up for lack of planning, or Intelligence. Were I you, I would forego the point in Strength and move it to Constitution. As you said, you will be expected to fight in close quarters more often, and survival is key. You possess sufficient physical strength to effectively wield sword and spear, and as a Battlemage your focus will be on spell damage more than melee attacks.”

  Allistor was grateful for the feedback, and quickly assigned his points as suggested.

  Daigath nodded his approval, then released Allistor’s hand. “And now, the reason I suggested we find a place to sit. I have a significant quantity of spells and skills for you. Since you have achieved level fifty without training every five levels as one normally would, this could take quite a while. I recommend we go slowly, a few spells at a time, as learning too many in a short period can cause side effects ranging from confusion and dizziness to excruciating pain, even coma.”

  Allistor had experienced some of the pain of learning higher level spells, and wasn’t anxious to repeat the sensations. “I agree, Master Daigath. Slow is better. Especially as I have a battle planned for this afternoon. I don’t want to be incapacitated.”

  “A battle?”

  “A goblin horde attacked a stronghold in Invictus City the other day. We killed all that we could see, but have since found a nest not far away. This afternoon we plan to clear it once and for all.”

  “I see. Well, then you will likely be fighting underground, in tunnels and enclosed spaces. Let us start with a few spells that would be useful in that setting.”

  Daigath put a hand on Allistor’s forehead and closed his eyes. A moment later Allistor felt a rush of warm energy, his brain tingling as information poured in. He was glad he was seated, closing his own eyes against the dizziness he was experiencing.

  When Daigath removed his hands, Allistor had two new spells and a new skill at his disposal.

  Shatter

  This spell will cause its target to explode, any hard components shattering into a spray of shrapnel that extends ten feet in every direction.

  Cast time: Two seconds. Spell cost: 200 mana. Cooldown: One minute.

  Allistor assumed this was a level fifteen or twenty spell, as the mana cost was low. But he nearly drooled as he pictured shattering weapons in an opponent’s hands, doing AoE damage. Daigath was right, this would have come in handy in many of the fights he’d endured over the last year.

  Silence

  Casting this spell will render the target unable to speak or make sounds for ten seconds.

  Cast time: One second. Spell cost: 100 mana. Cooldown: Two minutes.

  Another spell that would have been extremely useful. Allistor made a mental note to get the trainers for the rest of his people going as quickly as possible. How much stron
ger could Invictus as a nation be if they’d had access to training over the past year?

  The last bit of information Daigath had passed on was a skill, rather than a spell.

  Quicken

  Battlemages possess the ability to temporarily speed their perception, movement, and reflexes, while simultaneously boosting Strength and Agility by ten percent. Effect lasts thirty seconds. Cooldown: Six hours. Minimum level: 25

  “These are amazing, Master Daigath. Thank you!” Allistor bowed his head to the elf. “They will indeed come in handy during the upcoming battle, I’m sure.”

  “I wish you the best of luck, Allistor, I’ll leave you to your preparations. If you’ll authorize my use of your teleport network, I will return to my home briefly to retrieve some personal items. Then begin work on shaping my new home near the clearing.”

  Allistor grimaced. “I’m sorry about the clearcutting. I authorized Harmon to clear a space for his ship to land, not giving much thought to the trees. At the time I planned to make use of the lumber for construction.”

  Daigath held up a hand. “No need to apologize, Allistor. None of the trees Harmon’s droids felled had reached sentience. I simply found a handy excuse to poke at him. There is, however, an elder tree close by that has just begun to awaken. Along with a few others not far away. I shall commune with the nearest when I return, and began to shape my home within his boughs. When you have won your battle, come back and visit me. I shall introduce you to him.”

  “Th-thank you, Master. I had no idea there were sentient trees. I mean, some of our legends and folklore speak of Ents and the like. But to actually speak to a tree…”

  Daigath just chuckled as he got to his feet. Allistor and Amanda accompanied him back to Invictus, where they parted ways. Daigath disappeared back to wherever he’d come from, and Allistor took a seat in the lobby to go through his notifications and review his attributes.

  The vast majority of notifications were of fame and infamy points awarded for recruiting Daigath. There was also the standard level up notification for level fifty, and the award of two accompanying attribute points.