High Artificer, Ch 30: Lady Winter

Winter’s Perspective

Winter was startled by the sudden change of location, but she took the goblet with a nod of thanks, holding onto it as she looked at him. 

“Lady Winter,” the Titan said easily. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. Your people and I have met before.”

He didn’t rush her. Instead, he sat down in a stone chair nearby and waved her to another across from him, which she took slowly. 

The power radiating from him was more subtle now, but she could still see silver stars floating around him. They were fused into the structure of the Void. 

Even when he was calm, his domain was subtly changing reality around him.

It had been a long time since the Titans were around and she’d almost forgotten just how overwhelming they were in person. That he was able to forcibly teleport Sixth Evolution beings around was a hint to how powerful he was.

Now that the Titan had restrained his domain, she could sense the familiar presence of Ice and Spring in him. She reached out to touch it politely, just brushing the edge of his aura. 

She smiled at what she saw. He wasn’t hiding his status from her any longer. 

Sam Hastern. Astral Titan. The Lord of Silver Stars. Guardian of Aster Fall. 

Level 598. 

He had obscured it from everyone else, but she could see it. He was offering it to her as a greeting.

His name was a little strange for a Titan, but they had the habit of changing them to all sorts of things, so she didn’t pay much attention to that. 

If he wanted to have a human name, it might just be his mood this week.

His classes were more interesting, since they were titles instead of the normal class and subclass distribution, and she spent a moment to consider what they meant.

Many of the Titans had used titles to represent their classes, or perhaps as the highest form of a class, just like she was the Lady of Winter and Spring. 

That he had done the same was no surprise.

The Titans had the ability to manipulate classes to a far greater extent than the other races, since they were the ones to develop the system, so he was probably capable of naming his classes whatever he liked, but it was interesting that he was so tightly connected to Aster Fall that he named himself its Guardian. 

That had to be why he had asked her about it just now.

He was also Level 598, just under the Sixth Evolution, but that didn’t surprise her. 

Even at their height of their presence in the galaxy, plenty of the Titans had still been at the Fifth Evolution. They were capable of spending millions of years studying a problem and researching. Not all of them had been interested in advancing their class level.

She had the feeling that for this one, it was because he was young. He would undoubtedly cross over the line very soon. 

Levels weren’t the main indicator of a Titan’s power. Even if he’d been a hundred levels weaker, it was unlikely anyone on the council would be his match.

The thoughts sped through her mind as she took a drink from the goblet he’d given her. The taste of a powerful, ice-infused mead filled her senses, drawing her attention as she let out a small gasp of surprise.

It tasted like the seasons had been frozen in time and distilled into a mead. Every drop of it was bursting with a powerful sense of vitality and cold, one that swirled with power. The mana from it radiated through her avatar like she’d just drunk a potent healing potion.

“This is...” She looked down at the goblet with shock. “How did you make this?” 

 It was the closest thing to her own elemental essence that she’d ever tasted in a drink.

“I thought you might like that one,” Sam said with a smile. “It’s brewed from celestial ice and a particular star flower that drifts on the chaos winds.”

His words were easy and unrushed, giving her time to get comfortable, so she took another sip of the delightful drink and then went back to studying him.

Finally, she saw the touch of Ice that had drawn her attention. It was interwoven with his spirit and as soon as she found it, her eyes went wide as she recognized what it was. 

Information on it poured into her mind as the ice spoke to her.

Spirit of Ice (Heroic Tier, Elemental Blessing). 50% increase to the effectiveness of all Ice abilities.

An Ally of Winter and Spring.

Bestowed by Siwaha, the Daughter of Snow.

Seeing that left her in shock.

The Blessing of Ice was a connection to her, an imprint of her unique energy that she granted to her descendants. 

A Titan shouldn’t have needed that blessing, but it was well developed and had clearly grown with him through multiple Evolutions. She could tell that he had just recently risen to the Spirit tier of it, sometime in the last decade or even less. 

That tier was the usual limit for non-elementals and where most of her descendants stopped as well, but the Titan had an overwhelming elemental signature that was greater than the Blessing of Ice, so she wasn’t sure what the end result would be.

Titans were elementals of a sort on their own, so perhaps he could go even further.

There was also a strong presence of Spring in his aura, tied into the same innate ability, but it hadn’t expressed itself in the same way. It had blended into his elemental affinity in a different way and it wasn’t something she could unravel quickly.

“No wonder you wanted to speak about Aster Fall,” she said with wide eyes. “How did a Titan receive a Blessing from my bloodline? You met Siwaha?”

Siwaha was one of her main descendants on Aster Fall, a daughter she had created many years before to help look after the world and the Ice Sylphs.

It seemed like this Titan knew her.

That made her feel delighted even as she chided Siwaha in her mind. She was happy that her daughter had met him, but why hadn’t she sent a message?

Siwaha was one of her favored children, although the girl had strange ideas about using the gifts that were hers by right, including rising in power. 

She’d stayed at a low level for ages and sometimes gave up the Evolutions she’d earned in order to accompany the younger sylphs on the world. That was something Winter didn’t quite understand, but Siwaha seemed to think it helped her to stay connected to them.

Even so, no power was truly lost.

Even if ice melted in the spring, it returned in the winter. 

Every time Siwaha reset her levels, it granted her benefits in other ways, including in wisdom and increased attributes. 

It was something that Winter hadn’t intended, but ice was sometimes formed layer by layer, melting and refreezing, so she had no real objection.

“Siwaha is an old friend of my family,” Sam said with a smile. His tone was calm and he was giving her plenty of time to study him and adjust to what she was seeing.

Still, the words left her feeling confused.

“Your family?” Winter frowned. “I don’t see how... There are other Titans here?”

A spark of hope bloomed at that idea, only to disappear a moment later as Sam shook his head.

“From you, I see no reason to hide the truth,” he said. “It is more complicated than you think.”

With that, he began to speak, telling her a story that she could barely believe. 

Hours passed as he explained how a young human had become the Titan in front of her. Winter’s sense of disbelief warred with the truth of the story.

She could feel the Titan’s power, which was as true as any Titan’s had ever been. He had the same basic aura signature as the Titans she’d known in the past. She had lived beside it for millions of  years. 

It wasn’t something that she could mistake.

Finally, the story wrapped up and she was left staring at him, in awe at how much he had done in such a short time. He’d almost single-handedly rewritten Aster Fall’s history and changed the fate of the galaxy.

All in just a few hundred years.

“Aster Fall?” she asked thoughtfully. “And you rescued Asenya? I haven’t seen her in so many years. Her work on the World Seal was amazing, but none of us could help with it, and once it was damaged it was too fragile to even try. It was unique to her magic and the power of the world. 

“That was why we appointed the Astral Guardian…close enough to observe but only able to act with the most delicate touch. I always regretted that I couldn’t repair it. It was too sad to think that she had died. She had a bright spirit and was a blossom amongst the old oaks of the Titans. I’m so glad to hear that you brought her back.” 

“She’s recovering in the Wild Tree on her people’s home world,” Sam said as he poured a new goblet of mead for them both.

“There’s a sapling of that tree on Aster Fall now, called the World Tree, which allows her to travel between them. She won’t be so isolated in the future. The same goes for Aster Fall.”

“Then there is hope for a new beginning,” Winter said thoughtfully. “Especially with how you've changed the World Seal into this new Fallen Abyss. I would like to visit again and see her. It’s been a very long time.”

“I’m sure she would like that,” Sam agreed. “It would be good for her to see someone she used to know. There are not many left from that era. It might be only the two of you in this galaxy now.”

Winter smiled at the idea, but she shook her head.

“I am not the only one,” she said. “You are a Titan, and I am sure that your presence delights her, just as it does me. It's for the best that you were the one to find her.”

She couldn’t think of a better person to rescue Asenya. Seeing him must have been the most reassuring thing possible for her.

Even if he was a young Titan, he was still a Titan. The aura of their race could not be mistaken.

It was hard for her to wrap her mind around the idea that he had become one after merging with astral chaos. It sounded like an infusion of astral energy from the Moonlight Relic had also played a role, but the complexity of it was beyond her.

“Your presence is the same as theirs,” she added, “not to mention your connection to the High Seat and the Silver Hall, as well as all the abilities you’ve shown.”

The Astral Rift he’d used to eliminate Nurim and the Force of the Stars that had shattered the planets in the recordings were familiar to her. 

Both of those abilities were unique to the Titans.

“Are you certain you were not always a Titan?” she asked doubtfully. “Perhaps it just hadn’t appeared yet?”

“No,” Sam laughed. “I was mostly human before.”

Winter shook her head at the answer. She couldn’t quite believe it, even with the story of astral chaos, but she decided to let it go. The Void was vast and many things were possible, whether or not she understood them.

“So it’s true that they’re still gone,” she said as she accepted that he was here alone. “I was hoping that they would come back and that you were a sign of their return.”

Her mood was sad. She had hoped that she could see some of her old friends again.

“One day they might still return through the Nexus,” Sam said, “and if not, perhaps I’ll go in search of them, but there’s a lot to do to improve the galaxy before then. I meant it when I said the council failed in its task.”

“Yes,” Winter agreed. She wasn’t able to deny it. “The High Council was formed in the shadow of the Titans and we still act as if nothing we do really matters. That is why there was so little action after you appeared. Your presence looms large over us. We have been a loose alliance since the Titans left. No one knew how to respond to your arrival, and certainly not with just a week to consider it.”

She looked up at the Void above the hall, her thoughts running swiftly, and then back at him.

“It’s for the best that you’re here now,” she decided. “The council will improve under the threat of a Titan’s presence. You have already set things on a better course. You have demonstrated your strength, and so they will fear you and do as they should. All you need to do is appear now and then to make sure that it continues.”

Fear would drive them to do what they were supposed to. When it came to the council’s politics, it was definitely better to be feared than to be loved. 

“So even if the others haven’t come back,” she said with a smile, “I am glad that at least one Titan has returned to the galaxy. It hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Thank you,” he said with a laugh. “But tell me...how did Ice Sylphs end up on Aster Fall and why are they different from the Winter Sylphs here? That is something I’ve always wondered.”

“That’s easy enough to explain,” she said as she leaned back, making herself more comfortable. 

It seemed they were going to chat for a while, which was fine with her. It would give her a chance to learn more about him. 

“All of the sylphs are my people and born from my original elemental source,” she explained, “but I gave them different gifts...a different focus, if you will. The Winter Sylphs were born to be creative and expressive, out of my desire to no longer be the only one of my kind. That is why I named them after myself.”

She paused as she let the old memories come back to her. 

It had been a different time when she’d created the Ice Sylphs, an era when Aster Fall had nearly been destroyed.

“The Ice Sylphs share much the same traits, but they have a fierce nature. They were born to be warriors, savage and primal, and to endure when all else fails.” 

She let out a sigh as she thought about that era. She didn’t regret creating the Ice Sylphs, since it wasn’t in the nature of winter to shun the killing frost, but she had created them from the desire to protect and destroy all enemies.

“They are formed of the coldest touch of ice,” she continued, “the heart of frozen winter that never melts and shows no mercy. That is where their nature lies. They are born to cut down what opposes them, to be the killing touch of Ice. That desire is ageless and eternal in them. That is why I named them the Ice Sylphs. 

“I created them from my desire to protect Aster Fall and to destroy everything that threatened it, so that the World Core and Nexus would endure and the Titans would be able to return one day, but sometimes, I think I should have added some softer touches.” 

She shook her head.

“They are perfectly capable of doing everything that the Winter Sylphs can do, but they need a battle to fight. It is where they find themselves most at home. Without that, they will start to feel lost.”

She looked away for a moment, uncertain if the Titan would judge her for how sharp a people she’d created, but when she looked back she found him smiling at her.

“That is why I trust them,” he said approvingly. “They are true warriors and a blessing to Aster Fall. No wonder they never wanted to leave. I asked Siwaha and she only said that her place was there.”

“You don’t think it was too much?” she asked, feeling curious. “There are softer touches of Ice, gentler winters, ones that might be better if they join the wider galaxy. Not all of Ice is meant to freeze and cut.”

She wasn’t apologizing, but she was interested to hear his opinion. She’d often sought the advice of the Titans in the past. They always had a unique perspective.

“I have no worries about them,” Sam said with a laugh, shaking his head. “They are wiser than most races I know. Perhaps it is that simplicity that lets them keep their edge. They know who they are and they are content with it. 

His words left her thoughtful and she looked into the distance, studying the strange mountains and forests of this realm they were in.

Then a thought touched her mind and she looked over at Sam, seeing the fierce angle of his horns and the sharpness of the claws that he hadn’t yet hidden. The Titans were a generous race, but when they looked like this, it was clear they’d been born for battle. 

She should have known that a Titan would understand.

With that, she took another sip of the icy mead and let herself relax.

This Titan was new to her, but they had a connection through her descendants and it already felt like she’d known him for a long time.

From there, the evening stretched out into a comfortable and wide-ranging conversation as they discussed many different topics.

Eventually, Winter stood up and offered Sam a slight bow, before she gave him a smile.

“The Titans’ hospitality has always been legendary,” she said, “but if you’re like all the other Titans I know, you’re probably itching to build or research something by now, so I won’t take up any more of your time. I just hope we can have more of these conversations in the future.

“I should also make sure my descendants aren’t causing too much trouble. After all, now that you’re here, I can’t let them set a bad example for the rest of the council.”

“You are welcome to visit anytime,” Sam said with a laugh as he stood up to see her off. “Before you leave, take this with you.”

He held out a hand and a swirl of Ice appeared on it, swiftly turning into an icy blue gemstone threaded with silver lines. 

Her eyes widened as she looked at it. She could sense the enormous amount of Ice essence it contained, as well as the runes woven into its structure, but even with her experience, the complexity of it was beyond her. 

“Use this to contact me if needed,” he explained. “It will turn into an aura imprint if you let it, like a permanent communication spell. It should work in most of the galaxy, and if it can’t find me, it will contact the Path of Stars. The Will of the Path should be able to give you the latest update on the Titans and if they’ve returned. It is the least I can do for the mother of the Ice Sylphs.”

“Thank you,” Winter gave him a bright smile as she accepted the gem. There wasn’t a need to say any more, since it was clear that he already understood her heart.

With one last look around the hall, she disappeared, her body fading away into a flurry of snowflakes that dissipated into the Void. 

It had been too long since she last visited a Titan’s hall. 

She had missed it.