On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Ninety-One

As we approached the swirling vortex of elemental energies the temperature rose, the air dry and hot. The Boundary seemed to reflect environmental conditions in a different, more muted way to the Material, the deserts of Nevada being somewhat cooler than expected, so it was strange for the temperature to rise to what one would expect. There was a strange smell on the hot breeze too, a faint hint of smoke and spices.

Picking our way over rocks and around pillars I noticed that there were quite a few Etherites scattered around. I quickly gathered a half dozen red ones, as well as a couple of oranges. It’s a free-for-all loot party. Damn, I wish I could set up an Ether Spire here, I bet it’d pull in a ton of ether and elemental essence. Putting aside what we could not have, we carefully made our way closer. There was a ring-like wall of bare stone around the epicentre, jagged stone teeth rising into the sky, reminding me again of the sandworm. Ominous … Let’s hope we don’t get swallowed up…

There was little life around, a few palm-sized scorpions scuttling away, no threat to us. A few dead fern-like trees and dried-out cacti were clinging to the bare rocks, but other than that the place was desolate, flecks of green and yellow energy drifting down on the hot breeze like confetti.

“We should remain cautious.” Shaeula intoned, her amber eyes scanning the area. “I am struggling to perceive any dangers we might face-face, the glare from the elemental energies is quite blinding.”

“Yeah, we are pretty low on our own elemental essences too.” Flying had left us short, though I still had a trump card or two left in reserve. A series of cold shivers ran through my lower body, at odds with the heat of the elemental winds, and Shaeula eyed me quizzically.

“It’s nothing. Come on. You might want to ready your weapons in case.” I brandished my spear, and at my words Shaeula brought out her bells and dagger we had obtained from the dark realm within Takakura Antiques. As we reached the jagged spires I retrieved another orange Etherite, breaking it down for more aether, filling my body with power. Well, we are as prepared as we can be…

Looking at the walls in front of us I sighed. “I guess being small is an advantage after all.” I joked. “It’s going to be a real tight squeeze for me.”

“Hmph, I am not small, merely delicate and refined, as a princess should be-be.” Shaeula smirked. “I shall go on ahead and you can follow.” With that Shaeula squirmed herself into a crack between two of the stone fangs. As she clambered through, muttering to herself, her yukata rode up, but like the gentleman I was I looked away. White today I see…

Once she was through Shaeula called to me. “Come quickly master, for I require your assistance now-now.”

Squeezing my own way through the gap I winced as I scraped against the rocks. Soon my head was through, and I could see Shaeula engaging in battle with… with some very strange creatures. There were large human-like figures made of heaps of stone, clumping slowly across the ground towards her. As I watched Shaeula unleashed a blade of air, but it merely bounced from the stone with a dull whine, barely scouring a faint line in the rocks. As she clicked her tongue in disappointment and backed away, other figures came forwards, beings of swirling winds and air. Several strands of Shaeula’s hair were floating in the breeze as a slashing arm of air narrowly missed her, striking shards from the rock walls behind her.

“I did say quickly, did I not-not?” Shaeula danced away, leading the elemental creatures after her, though she was trapped in the makeshift arena by the walls.

Damn, this is pretty dangerous. I lashed out with my own attacks, blades of vibrating air clashing against the rock elementals, but it barely staggered them, just like Shaeula’s attacks. As for the wind beings, the blades passed through them, leaving them seemingly unharmed. Shit, this is the difference between xp-fodder like the hyenas and things that are actually dangerous…

Channelling some aether I used it to reduce the friction around my body and the rocks, and coupled with a burst of wind energy I shot out of the crack, my armour protesting from the strain and scraping painfully against my skin. Hitting the stony ground I rolled onto my back, staring up at the green and yellow vortex that was gushing from the ground, cascading into the sky. Yeah, beautiful and eerie. But this isn’t the time…

Shaeula was being hemmed in, so I had little time to waste. As several of the creatures of wind advanced in on her, moving alarmingly rapidly, I drew deep on the aether I had stocked, imagining flames. Bright white fire shot across the wind elementals, and with a scream like the howling of a gale they vanished into burning flakes and sparks, raining down. Some ether was scattered by their deaths, but compared to what I had just expended… Yeah, since I can’t withdraw from my Silo due to the Territory upgrade, I’ll run dry long before they are all dead…

Okay, time to start busting out some trump cards… The equipment I had made from the remaining bluesteel the kobolds had mined were attached to the back of my armour, and I quickly drew upon them, the stored wind energy within responding to my call, forming a string of air so fine and sharp that it was practically invisible. It slashed into the rock elementals, whining as it started to bite into their durable bodies, stone dust filling the air. Even so, it was barely damaging them. Shaeula used the distraction to dart clear, rejoining me, breathing heavily in the heat of the makeshift arena. Shit, these stone bastards make trolls look like kobolds in terms of toughness…

Verdant wind elemental energies had also been released by the burned air elementals, and Shaeula and I greedily absorbed it to replenish our stocks. I quickly funnelled it into my deadly strand, pushing back against the foes, but my supply quickly bottomed out and the strand snapped with a spray of escaping emerald light. The enemies were damaged, but still functioning.

“Watch out, from above-above!” Shaeula cried, and I looked up to see another air elemental darting down at me, shapeless hands outstretched, wreathed in sharp winds. I tried to parry with the shaft of my spear, but it passed right through, slamming into me, pitching me against the rock walls. I coughed silvery blood, but forced myself to move as it came against me again, Shaeula’s wind blades again passing harmlessly through it. It was like trying to punch the wind, futile.

Still, we aren’t getting back out the hole.. We could try to fly over the rock pillars, but with the air elementals in the sky… think man, think… elementals… they must have a weakness. I cast more aetheric flame outwards, feeling my body become sluggish from aether depletion. An air elemental burned apart, bouncing into another which caught fire and exploded too, but one more flew to the side before diving at me, formless arms outstretched…

Thrusting with my spear reflexively the bluesteel head passed through the wind creature, meeting no resistance. Beside me Shaeula had unleashed a slash of light from her dagger, gouging a chunk of stone from one of the oncoming rock beings, finally severing an arm. Even so, others were closing in… expecting to feel the impact from the enemy I was surprised as the wind elemental flinched back, howling. Swinging my spear at it again, the shaft passed through it harmlessly, but where the metal spearhead hit, the elemental trembled. As it shook I could see wisps of green leaking from the foe, sucked into the spearhead.

Of course! Bluesteel can absorb and use elemental energies, it’s why I made batteries and Shaeula’s secret weapons out of it. And these creatures seem to be some sort of elemental. Listening to the ringing of tinkling bells and Shaeula’s curses as she tried to fend off the foes with her knife, I tried to put my plan into action. One-handed I struck out with my spear, while with the other I unstrapped a battery. Holding it up I slammed it into the retreating elemental, ignoring the pain in my hand as the buffeting winds that made up its body ate into my flesh. The creature moaned, whistling eerily as I began to direct the flow of its energies into the metal. Seconds later it died with a last mournful wail, the remaining energies drawn in, a burst of ether heralding its defeat.

“I’ve found their weaknesses!” I cried, racing to the aid of Shaeula, who was using her superior speed to stay just ahead of the stone men. “Use your new toys to drain their elemental essence!”

I discharged the wind the battery had absorbed, using it to slide along the ground behind one of the rock elementals. Slamming the battery against its hard back I began to drain it, though since I had no real affinity for earth it was a slower process. Even so, the stone turned brittle, flakes falling away as red energies leaked out.

“I can not-not!” Shaeula protested. She slashed her knife with another flickering burst of light, biting into stone, then rang her bells, the wind she summoned flooding into the crack before exploding outwards, finally shattering into a shower of stone, elemental energy and ether. As the earth energies leaked outwards Shaeula darted away, avoiding them with a sour expression on her face.

“I am a Fae of wind, earth energies are inimical to me-me!” her gaze turned to the vortex of wind energy. “If only the wind here was not tainted with fire, I would easily be able to deal with these slabs of rock-rock.”

“Fine, well I guess you are doing okay. Don’t lose focus and get caught, keep kiting them…”

“Lose focus? How insulting, it is you who lets their attention slip at crucial moments. Have no fear, I am now a master of kiting-kiting and all other forms of tactical combat!” Shaeula seemed proud she got the reference, as she led the half-dozen stone elementals away. I finally finished draining the one I was fighting, and it collapsed, energies captured by my battery. I wish I understood earth better, it isn’t as easy to grasp as air or fire… oh well, that’s for later. Since I’m not trying to draw it inside me, only direct it, I can manage somehow…

Under the strange light of the vortex we fought a series of running battles, avoiding the slower moving stone creatures, gradually grinding them down until all that remained was a pair of full batteries shining with a red glow. Shaeula was slumped down, exhausted, and I was covered in bruises where shattered stone had bounced off my armour. Leaning on the haft of my spear I surveyed the vortex now that we had time to take a breath. The green and yellow energies were pouring out of a dark rift in the ground, the edges covered in a variety of gem-like crystals, some of which looked like Etherites.

“I think it is what you would call a dungeon, like my Territory was-was.” Shaeula muttered. “Energy must be leaking from higher up in the Astral, distorting space itself. No doubt-doubt those strange creatures are simple manifestations of the overflowing elemental essence. I have heard tales of true elementals, and these were but pale imitations. Had we met once such, our fates would have been quite different indeed-indeed.”

Yeah, they were strong to be sure, as they didn’t have bodies that felt injury like other creatures, but their attacks were simple, almost instinctual. If they had worked together we would have been finished… Still, it’s another valuable lesson. Getting a couple of levels earlier made me complacent again. How many times am I going to have to go through this?

I gathered a number of red and orange Etherites that were sprouting from the crystal formations around the rift. Breaking them down I refilled my aether, the rest going to my Territory. Some of the other crystals looked useful, but it wasn’t like I had some sort of Item Box skill or a Spatial Ring, so I limited myself to snapping off a few samples for the kobolds. All right then. My supply of wind was low, so I decided to draw from the gushing geyser of essence in front of us. As I did so, green flooding into me, I suddenly felt a burning pain within my network, flecks of yellow energy reacting violently.

“Fool-fool. Release your control now.” Shaeula bolted upright, slapping me on the head. “Did you not listen when I said the energies were tainted? They are impure, mixed. And fire feeds off wind. Trying to use it is folly-folly.”

Oh yeah, you did say that. I was pretty busy at the time though… As I struggled to convert the rampaging energies into aether without sustaining damage to my network, I was forced to listen to Shaeula’s lectures for nearly ten full minutes…