Silver Stars, Ch 16: Enter The Oathlord

A streak of silver light blasted across the horizon of Emerald, shaking the sky. The clouds shuddered as footsteps rocked the world. 

Cities shook and mountains trembled. 

Stones fell from the slopes, rolling down to the plains, and snow roared as it slid away in avalanches. The misty clouds above the jungles disintegrated, bringing sunlight to mark Sam’s arrival.

Two Fourth Evolution guards were stationed above the planet as sentries, but they were too slow to react as he appeared in the atmosphere. 

All they saw was a streak of light and a golden hand closing on them. Sam grabbed them on the way past, one in each massive hand, and then he hurled them away. 

It was like being thrown from a mountain.

When his feet touched down on the world, he was over a hundred miles tall. 

The wisps of the remaining clouds gathered around his shoulders as he walked, like a cloak to mark his passage.

With Flame of the First Age, he had gained the ability to transform into a true sun and to change his size at will, so this height was nothing. He could have stood a thousand miles high or more.

Flames scorched the air as his aura spread out across the entire world, combining with the sunlight to create a heavy pressure. 

On the land, the nagas were tossed out of their homes, thrown off of buildings, and knocked off their feet as their world shook. 

When they gazed up to see what was happening, all they could see was a massive silver-gold flame filling the sky, accompanied by an earthquake greater than they’d ever known. 

The distant sun was a small disk at midmorning and still visible, but the sky had turned to fire, like an inferno was consuming the world. Waves of silver flame roared outward, spreading across the heavens. 

The skies blazed with heat.

It was a celestial heat full of vitality and force, and looking too closely at it made their minds shudder as they were forced to look away.

Shouts of anger and fear rose up, sending the nagas into a turmoil as they seized weapons or hid, but it made no difference to what was happening.

Space compressed beneath his Steps of the Void, and with each step, he released it again, creating the echo of his passage. 

Runes formed in his aura and spread out, covering the world like a net as they sank toward the earth, sensing the ley lines and currents of energy across Emerald.

As he moved on, he took control of them, pouring his aura in along with a slow but grand enchantment. Runes and the force of his law infused the world. 

Emerald was Sleset’s home world, so he wouldn’t let it be destroyed by his passage or by the battle in the future. It was also a smaller world than Aster Fall, and so much simpler to deal with.

The runes he wove channeled the natural energy of the world, stabilized the ley lines, and created defensive shields, healing enchantments, and other protections for its people, as well as an enchantment to strengthen the elements and hold the lands together. 

The main shield would act similar to Silverguard’s, supported by the energy of the world. If something attacked from the Void, it would block it for as long as it could while bolstering the defenders.

Continents hardened and oceans became deeper as the elemental energy of the world turned from raw force to its full potential. 

Runic lines of defensive enchantments and stabilizing threads wove through the mountains, and here and there he enhanced the materials he encountered, channeling the ley lines to create richer deposits of ores.

The Titans had often reshaped their worlds, but this was the first time he’d done it himself. It took a high-level domain and a powerful law to make the changes permanent.

For him, it was partially based on his domain, but more of a grand enchantment. 

His work on Silverguard had given him most of the experience he needed and the enchantments of the Wild Tree had shown him some methods as well. 

He took the opportunity to test out some theories for how to better defend Aster Fall, once he was confident in what he was doing. The energies of his home were more complex and powerful than Emerald, but it was useful practice.

In the future, the nagas’ home would be well protected.

To those watching, however, the changes looked like a cataclysm. His passage was a sea of silver fire as everything changed. 

It shattered everything they knew about reality.

He slowed his pace, letting the echoes spread across the entire world. The Silver Army followed him, their ranks shining in the sun. The Vos’Rekan head was carried above them, its fangs open like it was trying to chase after Sam.

The Emerald Nagas stared at the sky, trying to figure out what was happening.

He had their attention, which meant it was time to drive the point home.

He raised his hand, which rose through the sky like a mountain, drawing attention from every onlooker. 

The sky turned dark. 

Points of starlight filled the horizon as the Void appeared, its depths stretching out to eternity.  There were over a thousand of them. They hung there, sparkling as Sam gathered the Force of the Stars. 

His words filled the world.

“The great serpents are long dead, and I have need of warriors to fight my enemies, ones from the First War who are at the Sixth Evolution and their followers. 

“Behold my army of Silver Nagas who follow me, Oathbound warriors who share my blood. I offer you the same chance to follow me and to be greater. We will walk the stars and fight enemies stronger than you have ever seen. 

“You will be part of the greatest war ever fought.

“I will wipe away the debris of your past and remake your world as a true warrior’s home, with my power to shield your children. While you follow me, you will not have to fear for what you leave behind. 

“This is my first offering to you. My second is my blood, if you are worthy of it, and a great war to fill your dreams. But with that offer comes destruction to wipe away the past.

“I am the Lord of Silver Stars. Observe and know my power can break your world and all that you have known.”

All across the world, the nagas stared at him in disbelief as they struggled to comprehend his words, but the time for speaking was past.

As the Void stretched out above, he pointed down. 

The stars fell, transforming into silver meteors. 

Each of them targeted a capital building in one of the cities, a shrine to the Oathlords, or a monument to their government. 

When the meteors struck, the center of the cities exploded into flames. 

Coast lines shook as the bones of Great Coiling Serpents lying along them were incinerated. Entire mountain ranges disintegrated in an instant. 

The sky was filled with thunder and ruin as the world changed shape. Lava exploded, raging in massive rents in the earth.

Ashes fountained upward, but most were incinerated, leaving only a fine white rain to fall across the land like snow. All across the cities, it fell onto the nagas, covering the streets and homes. 

No edge of the world was left untouched, but Sam stopped the damage from breaking the world apart. His domain and enchantments spread out as he continued to walk across the world, reshaping it. 

Runes for ice and earth covered the open magma, sealing it away as he created new mountains, true ones that were not made of bones. His feet sank into the earth, leaving impressions that turned into lakes and plains.

The Aura of Stellar Beginning combined with his rarely-used Hand of Blessing to bring new vitality and life to the plains, sending shoots of grains and trees springing up as he walked, replacing the plants with ones more infused with mana and elemental energy.

Flowers bloomed, their petals releasing the scent of rose and spice, and fruits began to ripen.

His steps covered fifty miles at a time, so he circled the world in one direction and then another. His passage was marked in hours. 

If he hadn’t moderated the force of his walk, each step would have shattered the continents below his feet, but the impact was felt in a different way. 

By the time he had walked around the world three times, it was completely changed. 

Every building that paid homage to the Great Coiled Serpents was in ruins or covered by cooling lava. 

What had been capital cities were half jungle, the homes and nests mixed in with strange combinations.

Every mountain range was flattened and rebuilt, except for one.

Sacred Blood Mountain.

He headed toward it.

Nagas had long taken to the skies to watch him, flying on ships and on their own with the help of their Third and Fourth Evolution elders. He was moving quickly, but the stronger ones could keep up.

They gathered in millions strong, staring at the calamity crossing their world. 

Now and then, they attacked, either singly or in waves, as their desire to challenge him overwhelmed them, but he slapped them away with a casual hand, sending them crashing into the newly formed mountains with most of their bones broken.

He was careful to buffer the impact so they didn’t die, but they wouldn’t be moving for a while. They would need help to extract themselves from the impact crater.

They had no hope of stopping him, but it didn’t deter them. They followed as they continued to attack, trying new methods.

Even with his words to warn them, they wouldn’t believe that easily.

It was who they were.

As he closed in on Sacred Blood Mountain, he had an enormous crowd behind him. 

The Silver Nagas at his back were self-evident and shouts of fury and questions rained down on them from the locals. It was a mix of rage, curiosity, and a desire to fight. 

From the hisses tossed back and forth, the locals recognized the Silver Army as nagas, but the most common belief was that they were from a different world and had come to invade.

That didn’t bother them as much as it would have another race. It only drove them to chase them harder, hissing for the Silver Army to stop or die.

With Sleset at their head, the army ignored every question. Their eyes were clear and arrogance radiated from them.

Unbonded nagas did not deserve their attention.

“How dare you destroy the bones of the ancestors!” The shout came from the front of the crowd as one reckless Fourth Evolution naga rushed forward. 

He was Level 413 and a spear with a serrated point was in his hands. 

“What is this golden figure you’re chasing?! A giant beast to kill? Stop chasing it and fight me if you dare, silver worms!” 

Those words crossed a line. 

Sleset turned around. 

A line of silver-emerald force swept out from him and severed the Fourth Evolution naga’s head, which tumbled toward the ground far below. The First Fang’s expression was cold as he turned back, ignoring the rest of the crowd.

More shouts followed, but with that example and the self-evident power changing the world, no one else dared to insult Sam or the nagas behind him. 

Instead, they shouted questions, raged about the insults to the Great Coiling Serpents, challenged the Silver Army to duels, and demanded they stop to fight instead of running, but none crossed the line again.

There were whispers of Sam’s words as they argued whether he was truly an Oathlord and if he was a Great Coiling Serpent risen again who had taken a strange form to bring them to new heights of glory, but it was too sudden for them to believe it, much less the real truth.

The changes to their world happened so quickly that they had little time to process it. They saw the attacks on their cities, but few of them were aware of the extent to which Sam was altering the world as he walked. 

All they saw was a rolling thunder of destruction and new trees growing. 

His words promised the end of their world as they knew it, but they didn’t know what came next, so they could only follow along to see.

When Sam reached Sacred Blood Mountain, it was obvious how tall he really was. It only came up to his ankle.

He reached down with both hands, and the nagas let out wild hisses of rage as he ripped the entire mountain out of the earth. 

He raised the mountain into the air and inverted it. It sped back toward the earth as he slammed it down. The impact rolled across the plains. 

The land shook as a depression ten miles deep appeared in the earth. Compressed stone flowed out in waves, accompanied by a rain of stone and dirt. 

Ash fountained upward.

When the sky cleared, Sam was standing above the remains of the mountain. It was buried in the earth and little more than a hill now. His foot was on top of it as he looked down at the millions of nagas. 

They shuddered at his gaze, but there was a hot fury in them at the same time as they raised their weapons.

It was Sleset who spoke, interrupting them.

“You are scattered remnants, honorless and with weak scales, barely able to govern yourselves. You have no great war, no hope, no future.” 

The naga’s hiss was amplified across the entire crowd. 

“The era of the Great Coiling Serpents has ended. These bones you dream of are nothing but false guides. Now they have found their proper place buried in the grave of the earth.”

He waved his hand at where Sacred Blood Mountain had been. 

“My Oathlord has offered you the chance to become something greater, to seize your honor again and follow the Blood of Eternity. Do you plan to die here on this planet, weak and crawling like earthworms? Or do you want to rise into the stars and fight a war that will mark your scales with honor, that will force you to break through your understanding of life and death, and rain glory on your descendants for ages to come?

“The Lord of Silver Stars offers you an answer to your greatest dreams, something you thought would never come again, and he grants you his blessing, a great protection for our home world. He is an Astral Titan, a Lord of Battle, a true Lord of the Void. He is greater than a Coiling Serpent ever was, his blood more potent, and his battles more dangerous.”

His hiss rose to a great thunder, accompanied by the pounding beat of the Silver Army behind them as they slammed their hands against their scales and hissed in approval.

“He offers you a chance to take an Oath so that you may serve as you have always dreamed to serve. You will not follow just a Great Serpent, but a true Lord of Power, one who walks the Void and breaks his enemies in his claws. Following him, we fought a Vos’Rekan, a great terror of the ancient dark, and won! Its head adorns our halls!”

Sleset raised his hand and pointed at the Vos’Rekan skull above him. His words were bold and vibrant. Then he pointed at Sam.

“His is the Blood Divine, the Blood of Eternity, the Flame of the Stars. I begged him to let me follow him, and now he has offered it to all of you, offering our people a new life, one that will make us a great race among the worlds, no longer confined to this small rock. Do not dishonor yourselves by refusing.

“You are not worthy of serving my lord, but his mercy is great. He has need of warriors. And so he will take a chance on you, and give you a chance to change your scales from humble green to holy silver, to gain an Honor Mark like this crown upon my head.”

He pointed at the circle of silver scales on his skull, displaying it to all of them. None of the nagas wore helmets, since it would hide that mark.

“He has walked across this world and broken it. His power is incomparable. But he wants no one who does not desire a life of battle and honor. Any scum who would rather hide in burrows can die there, alone and forgotten by the stars.”

Then he let out a low and threatening hiss, one that carried an unmistakable killing intent.

“Anyone who wishes to challenge me may come and discover the difference between an Oathsworn and a worm. I will destroy you, one by one or all at once.” 

He hissed in condescension, disregarding the world’s entire population. 

“My three hundred against your forty million...you will still lose.”

The same scornful hiss came from the nagas behind him, mocking the planet’s strength and daring them to attack. 

He looked across the gathered horde and hissed in derision.

“He gives you one chance. You will never have it again. Serve my Oathlord and the savior of our world, the Lord of Silver Stars, or die a coward who cannot move on from the past.”

As soon as he stopped speaking, nagas rushed forward, but it wasn’t submission that filled their eyes.

It was a desire for battle.

Tens of thousands of nagas led the charge, their weapons raised high as they hurled themselves toward Sleset and the Silver Army. 

Even with an offer of what they’d always dreamed of, it wasn’t their nature to not fight. 

They were nagas. 

Only in defeat would they truly believe.

As they closed in, the forward edge was a mix of Third and Fourth Evolution warriors, and they tried to each find a personal enemy among the Silver Army, targeting one for themselves.

Their desire for individual duels made them fight with one another for the advantage, each of them trying to reach their opponent first. 

Injuries exploded across their ranks, but they also tried to avoid each other and mostly used blunt edges to smash their rivals out of the way. Broken bones and concussions sent many flying away. 

The strongest pulled ahead as they formed a battle line barely wider than the Silver Army and closed in. 

They were fierce with their emerald scales and their bloodlust was strong, along with their desire for victory and to punish the ones destroying their world, but they were attacking an army that had just faced down a Vos’Rekan.

They slammed into a shield of stellar light that glowed around the Silver Army. 

The Armament of the Stars glittered from Sleset’s scales as he stepped forward, his blade swinging out in a cutting arc. 

The naga leading the charge was cut in half and hurled away like a broken rag.

“For the Oathlord!” the First Fang hissed in fury as he stepped forward. “Advance and teach them their place!”

Behind him, the rest of the Silver Army moved. 

The horde was dry hay in front of a scythe. 

Their blades sent silver rays ripping through the Emerald Nagas’ horde, and spells hurled them across the sky. Half a dozen types of elemental energy exploded among their ranks, tossing them in every direction.

The leading edge of the Emerald Nagas crumbled away, and the Silver Army advanced. They cut through the forward ranks and then straight into the middle of the horde.

Their equipment was made by Sam and outclassed anything on this world and his aura was an even greater boost, rendering every one of them equivalent more to a Fifth Evolution warrior than a Fourth.

Attacks slammed against their scales with no effect, rebounding against the bright starlight, and every few moments, a new Armament of the Stars launched from their weapons.

Step by step, they tore the horde to pieces, moving deeper.

As densely packed as the nagas were, even millions of warriors gathered in one place could only cover a few miles, and that distance was nothing compared to a battle in the Void.

The attacks from the Silver Army slashed through it with devastating force.

Above them, Sam watched as runes spiraled around his body. 

His Aura of Stellar Beginnings burned across the battlefield, blazing around the warriors as they fell from the sky. When they hit the earth, his aura weighed down like a mountain, crushing them into the earth.

Runes swept over them, sealing their wounds closed and infusing them with vitality, but also locking them down so they could no longer fight. To them, it felt like a burning star was suppressing them, one they couldn’t hope to fight against.

It was a lesson in defeat.

Before unlocking his racial traits, covering an area like this and just healing the nagas would have required something like ten thousand healing scrolls every minute. 

Now, it came naturally.

A Titan sun burned over Emerald, suppressing everything beneath it. 

The defeated nagas could only stare at the sky as they were healed.

But there were still a few strong nagas on Emerald.

When the Silver Army was halfway through the horde, four Fifth Evolution presences rose up from distant parts of the world and shot toward them. They closed the distance swiftly, their auras heavy. 

Each of them was an elder who had been in meditation.

These were the true warriors of the world, the leaders of the Emerald Nagas.

“The Four Judges come,” Sleset hissed as he watched them. “Today they learn they are not the true law of the galaxy. No more will they decide the path for the world’s future. Our lord will show them. The first is mine. I remember him from the verdict that exiled my nest.”

Then he turned to the two senior captains of the Silver Army, as well as his wife, who was fighting nearby. 

“Ajoa, Juai, Tesera, take one each.”

Each of them would have to fight an Evolution up, but they responded with pure battle intent as they joined Sleset and raced forward.

Sleset slammed into the first Judge, driving him from the sky like a silver lightning bolt and into the earth below.

The others did the same, each of them locking down one of the Judges.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Silver Army continued to advance, slicing their way through the nagas that continued to press forward.

In this battle, none of them would give up until they could no longer move.