Starlight Life Of The Sage

Public Release: March 6th, 2019 - 3:30 am EST

Above the Tin City a young man floated, his incredible aura flaring. He watched a green-haired woman carrying a child rush out of an Inn and take off towards the outskirts. He didn't chase, though. He could feel the aura of the woman. She was a Heaven Knight, a true master.

He was a tall man with spiked black hair that curled backwards at the root. He wore a long earth-tone robe and had a longsword strapped to his waist, held in a black scabbard. On the back of his robe was an insignia of seven blue stars in the shape of a ladle, a shape that Cara would probably recognize if she saw it as Ursus Major.

The man landed in the destroyed Inn next to the City Lord. His aura receded back inside himself.

"Was that woman the one you wanted me to capture, Avalon?" asked the man.

"Ah, Fractal you're here!" said the City Lord. "Yes, she was the one."

There was a brief pause.

"I can't capture her alive for you," said Fractal. His expression never changed. It remained deadpan, as if he didn't truly care about anything in all the world.

"You can't?" There was genuine surprise in the City Lord's response. He called in a favor owed to him by one of the strongest people in the world, and that man couldn't do it?

"The woman with green hair is a Heaven Knight."

Everything stopped. All of the bystanders in the Inn froze. The City Lord stopped breathing for a moment.

Everyone knew Zara was strong, but none of them knew to what degree. Some assumed her an Earth Knight. Some assumed her a Sky Knight, or a "Horizon Knight". No one guessed her to be at the level of Heaven, equal to a highest tier Mage.

Fractal continued, "I can probably kill her, though. I only felt Knight Mana from her, so I think she only practices Knight Techniques. She's a Mid-Tier Heaven Knight and I'm only an Early-Tier Heaven Knight, but because I'm also an Early-Tier Support Mage and I have my Spirit Contractor abilities, I can probably take her down."

"Please do, then," said the City Lord. He wanted revenge and he wanted control of his Tin City back.

"I think I sense a High Spirit in the woods to the South, towards where she ran. If I use that Spirit I should be able to beat her soundly," said Fractal as he started walking out of the building. He jumped into the sky where he floated without a noise. "Once I've finished this task we're even, Avalon."

"Definitely. Oh, and please, don't harm the young girl with her," said the City Lord. "I want to marry her to my son. She has a good bloodline and strong talents."

"I can see that myself," said Fractal as he looked down on the Inn and the City Lord from above. He still didn't show any emotion on his face, but his curt words spoke volumes. He started to float menacingly towards the south, albeit not at a very high speed. As he moved his mana roiled and surrounded him. His voice could be heard chanting as different colored spells came to life one by one.

For those watching it was obvious that they were seeing a mage prepare himself for a battle. There were few things in the world scarier than a mage with time to cast spells.

"True Shielding," said Fractal as a thin layer of mana surrounded his body. "Heaven Buff." A blue light surrounded him and sank into his skin. "Defense Up Critical!" A red light. "Knight Fortification." A yellow light.

"Horn of Charge"

"Wolf's Howl"

"Moon's Radiance"

"Hawk Eye"

One by one he cast spells, and his aura continued to grow more and more potent, as if he were no longer a mere early-stage Ascendant, but one at the late-stage instead.

"Greater Earth"

"Stability Menace"

"Disruption Defense"

"Perfect Cast"

"Giant..."

It continued on and on as he moved, seemingly without end.

-

Cara struggled against the grip of her disciple but found herself unable to even flinch, let alone break free. Her cheek still stung from where she was slapped and she wanted to say anything but the rushing winds forced her to swallow her words.

Finally, all the duo's momentum stopped. Cara found herself floundering through the air and she hit the ground rolling. Thankfully it wasn't too hard of an impact. She popped to her feet, covered in grass-stained and dirt, and wanted to yell at her disciple for the rough treatment…

But then Cara sensed it.

The foe's aura wasn't the same anymore. It wasn't an Early Ascendant anymore.

"What in the goddamn…" said Cara as she trembled a bit.

"Golem 774, protocol 31!," barked Zara towards the woods. Immediately an army of white and red golems walked out from the trees. One particularly strong one appeared at Cara's side and grabbed her, restraining her completely.

"Zara you can't!" said Cara as she realized her disciple's intentions. "I can help you in this fight. I still have my…"

The golem covered Cara's mouth and silenced her.

"Teacher, I can beat him. But I can't beat him if I'm worrying about you. Just behave and let my golems take care of you back at the treehouse," said Zara with a smile.

Zara watched her teacher be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the woods by an Emperor Tier Golem. She laughed to herself as she thought about it. In this world that golem would be considered a 'Sky Knight.'

Zara liked the naming sense of this world. It sounded more appropriate. Why was an Emperor weaker than an Ascendant? In her old world the names didn't have a chronology to them because, when they were named, each tier was thought to be the absolute highest.

It started with the tier 'Soul Refining'. Originally, when it was first discovered, the people called it Dao Soul, implying one's soul became one with the Dao. After Dao Soul came the rank 'Immortal,' because when it was first achieved people thought they become immortal, they became an undying warrior.

Zara wanted to laugh. She watched hundreds of 'Immortals' die in her time; she'd also seen Emperors serving under the thumbs of others… And she'd seen two men ascend past the tier of Ascendant.

This world of Mana and magic was more honest in its naming sense. Broken Soul. Half Soul. Perfect Soul. Earth Knight. Sky Knight. Heaven Knight.

Each name corresponded. Each name described the rank. They weren't arbitrary or given pompous origins.

Zara decided to call herself a Heaven Knight from then on.

-

Cara struggled. She tried again and again to break free, to cut herself loose from the Emperor Golem, but her abilities at only the Cracked Core stage limited her. She pulled her halberd from her back but it was immediately confiscated. Without having it in her hand she lost her connection to it, and she truly felt the weakness of Weapon Cultivation at that moment.

She remembered the mocking though she had about Arc so long ago: 'If you took away his sword he was no more than a damned mortal.'

If she had her internal cultivation, Cara could have easily rewired the golem through invasive alchemical means, but she couldn't pilot such intricate spellwork with only her Outer Cultivation. She roared and screamed and kicked and cried. Her disciple was facing a strong enemy. Even if she doubted Zara would lose, she still didn't want to leave things up to chance.

Cara, despite her limited cultivation, was still a master of Arrays and Formations. With the resources Zara brought over, she could set up an Emperor tier Array with ease to support her disciple. She could have easily set up an array to deal with the City Lord, for sure.

Why didn't Zara trust her?

It was at this point Cara felt the land shiver. She sensed the Spirit of the Soldier Garden was in anguish, as if someone was trying to pull it free from the soil and dirt.

Cara's eyes turned sharp. She grit her teeth and sank her energies into her Spirit Contract. She wasn't stupid. She had a damned good idea about what was happening to the poor spirit through both their connection and her own conjectures.

She could feel the aura of that new Ascendant and she recognized the aura of Spirits on him.

He was trying to take away the Spirit of the Soldier Garden, to use it in battle against Zara...

And Cara finally smiled. She *did* have a way to help her disciple in this battle, after all.

"Don't underestimate me," she said in a quiet voice as she stretched her influence into the earth below. "I wasn't called the First Paragon for nothing!"