Nova Terra: Catalyst Read online

  Nova Terra: Catalyst

  SETH RING

  Nova Terra: Catalyst

  Copyright 2022 by Seth Ring.

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  2nd Edition

  Dedicated to Hiram

  Who believed I could do this before I did

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Chapter One

  The sound of Thorn’s hammer rang through the early morning air, a mix of bass drum and hi-hat that joined the noisy beats from the other blacksmiths. Judging the temperature of the metal he was hammering from the feedback of the hammer and the fading color, Thorn turned and thrust the metal bar into the nearby furnace, nodding to the Dwarves who were pumping the bellows. Next to him, the Dwarven Master Smith who was overseeing his latest creation watched the furnace carefully.

  “That should be good. Don’t want it to get too hot.”

  Pulling the metal rod out of the burning coals, Thorn tried to fix the white hot color in his memory. Placing the rod down on the anvil, he began to hammer it flat, making sure to keep his blows as even as possible. Helped by his abilities, Thorn had taken naturally to blacksmithing. [Echoing Will] granted an uncanny level of control over his body and when he used his awareness he was able to instinctively understand how to apply his strength.

  *ting*

  Hearing the sound of his hammer strike change pitch slightly, Thorn thrust the flattened rod back into the furnace, earning him a nod from the watching Master Smith.

  “Have you decided what sort of sword you are going to make?”

  “I was thinking of making a standard longsword.”

  Seeing the Dwarven Master Smith looking skeptically at the length of the flattened rod, Thorn laughed.

  “Haha, for a regular human.”

  “Ah, right. That makes more sense.”

  Once the metal reached the right temperature, Thorn pulled it out and continued hammering it, slowly shaping it into the outline of a blade. After it had taken shape he heated it up one last time and then buried it in a sand trough that was sitting by the side. The blade would take at least a day to cool in the special sand, allowing it to anneal properly, giving the blade the toughness it needed in order to be used in combat.

  “Well done today,” the Master Smith said, helping Thorn put away his tools. “The cooling sand is specially formulated to keep the weapon’s heat as long as possible, so it will not be ready to continue until around noon tomorrow. Once the anneal finishes, we’ll grind the edge. Are you going to work on anything else in the meantime?”

  Shaking his head, Thorn slipped his leather apron off and hung it up on the wall next to his hammers.

  “No, I’ll wait till it is cool. I have some other stuff to do today.”

  “Alright. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.”

  Heading out of the forge, Thorn waved goodbye to the blacksmiths who were still working and headed toward the massive fortress in the distance. It was early in the morning but time meant little to most players so the streets of the citadel were bustling with both players and the natives who rose early to make money off of them. Six large Wolfkin guards who had been waiting at the entrance to the forge area accompanied Thorn, their imposing forms keeping the crowd of players at a distance. Moon Wolf Citadel had grown even bigger while he was away in Rasyn and the capital and it took almost twenty minutes for them to get from the forge area of the Production Quarter to the main structure that rose in the center of the citadel.

  When they finally arrived, Thorn found Commander Del’har was waiting for him at the fortress door. The six Wolfkin guards fell back at the sight of the commander, giving Thorn and Del’har space to talk. Leading the way up the stairs, Commander Del’har filled Thorn in on the agenda for the morning.

  “Currently there are three things on the schedule. You have a meeting with the department heads right after breakfast followed by a meeting with Silver Moon.”

  “Oh? I thought Jora was in the capital.”

  “She arrived last night. The last meeting this morning is with Elder Havva, to get an update on the valley. As requested, your afternoon has been left free.”

  “Great, thanks for your hard work,” Thorn said, opening the door to the dining room.

  After a hearty breakfast of two dozen pancakes, a slab of ham, a dozen eggs, and six large muffins, Thorn headed to the throne room for his first meeting. It had been three weeks since they had completed the [Resealing The Elemental Forge] and [The Rule of The Stone King] quests and Thorn found himself settling into his new role. It had been an adjustment to try and take a more active role in the administration of both the valley and Rakkam, but thanks to his aunt’s advice and the support of the administration team, Thorn felt like he had found a good rhythm.

  From the very beginning of the guild’s formation it had been organized to give Thorn as much freedom as possible, resulting in a robust administrative structure that was able to operate completely independently. Their focus had been on expansion and stability and it was abundantly clear that they had succeeded. Nova Luna had grown by leaps and bounds ever since Moon Wolf Citadel was created. Now, listening to the reports about the citadel, production groups, new members, and the valley, Thorn realized that many of his fears were completely unfounded. He had previously pushed his responsibilities aside, fearing that it would be a burdensome responsibility, only to now realize no one actually wanted his opinion about what they were doing.

  The shock had left him wondering what he was supposed to do, prompting his aunt to sit him down and explain that his job was to set the vision and tone of the organization, not do the day to day work. The last two weeks had been spent doing exactly that. It had taken quite a few meetings, but at last Nova Luna had a clear and unified goal.

  “In accordance with our new mantra, we have opened up space for unaffiliated players in the production district and have begun advertising the area as a free market. So far, reception has been a bit slower than we anticipated since most players can’t believe that we are actually allowing non-guild players to set up stalls, but the first week went well and more players are looking for spots every day. As you suggested, we are giving out the stall locations on a rotating schedule to keep anyone from holding them for more than two days in a row.”

  “Is that causing any problems?” Thorn asked.

  “No, it's actually getting quite a positive reception. It solves a problem that many of the unaffiliated production players have. Most of them have to alternate between selling and producing since they need to sell products to fund their production. It's normally too expensive to have a permanent stall since you typically have to pay daily fees, so our market is starting to grow since we are allowing people to reserve in two day rotations.”

  “That’s good to hear. What about our efforts in the valley?”

  Stepping forward in response to Thorn’s question,
a tall Wolfkin player bowed and began his report.

  “Truthfully, we are losing our shirts. We were previously monopolizing all of the materials that are gathered in the valley, but with our recent change, we’ve had a flood of unaffiliated players who are going mad collecting resources. The real issue is that we’ve identified a number of guilds who have sent their members into the valley and are pressuring unaffiliated resource collectors to sell to them. Normally we would have stepped in, but they are actually offering a higher price than we are, which is forcing a price war. We are winning of course, but that means we are spending way more than market value for the materials.”

  “Hmm. So what’s the plan?”

  “I want to stop competing for materials. We’ll set our prices to fair market value and keep them there. Instead, we’ll add a tax on materials being transported out of the valley. The guilds are really just trying to cause us trouble and waste our resources. They have no real desire to buy up all of those materials. The best thing to do would be initiate a guild war and crush them, but since we are taking a passive stance, we can just add a tax to anyone carrying material mined in the valley.”

  “Will we be able to detect people taking material out in their inventory?” Thorn asked, his finger tapping the armrest of the Wolf Throne.

  “Yes, there are enchantments that we can put on the gates that will detect large numbers of resources. All merchants have to declare the resources that they are bringing into the valley, so it will be really easy to determine what is leaving illegally. Obviously, it's more complicated than that, but that’s the basic summary.”

  “Feel free to speak to Commander Del’har if you need help enforcing the new policies,” Thorn said, smiling. “Alright. That brings us to the end of our meeting. Thank you all for your hard work. You have done a tremendous job with Nova Luna, and it is evident that will continue into the future. Remember, our goal is to create an environment where all players can thrive, whether they are in our guild, another guild, or are unaffiliated. What Atlas is in the real world, Nova Luna will be in the game.”

  Watching the chatting players leave the throne room, Thorn saw that Velin was staying behind. She had been standing at the back of the group, listening to the different department heads make their reports but Thorn waved her forward.

  “Are you going to stay for my meeting with Jora? Honestly, I have no idea what direction to take Silver Moon, so I was just planning on telling Jora to keep doing what she is doing.”

  “I can stay if you would like. We need to decide what we are going to do about cross channel trade since the Orcs are still forming raiding parties. We’ve been using smugglers up to this point, but Jora will probably propose forming a fleet of our own.”

  “Hmm. That seems fine. If we have the resources for it, let's do it. But like everything, if we are going to do it, I want to do it all the way.”

  “Of course,” Velin said, a small smile on her lips.

  While they waited for Jora to arrive, Thorn idly pulled up his status window.

  Name: [Thorn]

  Race: [Titan - Earthbound]

  Health: [100%]

  Mana: [100%]

  Titles: [Battle Mad], [Wolfsbane], [Lord Greymane, the Moon Wolf (First Rank)], [Friend of the Earth], [Inheritor], [Commissioned Knight (Order of the Flame)], [Kingbreaker], [Great Hero], [Gladiator], [The Stone King, Lord of Earth], [Tusk Breaker], [Baptized by Mana], [Ironhold Duke (Heir)], [Dragon Hunter], [Iron Wolf of the North], [Guardian of the People], [High Mage Keadore’s Apprentice]

  Class: [Earthshaper Magi]

  Mastery: [Persuasive Aura], [Earth Magic Mastery], [Rune Mastery]

  Abilities: [Wolf Lord’s Howl], [Avatar of the Wolf], [Call the Pack], [Blessing of the Moon], [Presence of the Wolf Lord], [Martial Form: Dawn], [Basic Weapons Mastery], [Master Orator], [Improved Rallying Cry], [Improved Pack Travel], [Pack Leader], [Persuasive Aura], [The Devil is in the Details], [Shadow Dash], [Language Proficiency: Abyssal], [Intercepting Strike (lvl 1)], [Armor of the Earth], [Heart of the Earth], [Call the Stone Legion], [Echoing Will], [Arcane Grimoire], [Earth Totem Forging]

  It was largely the same on the surface, but the words he read hid the tremendous change that he had gone through over the last few months. The greatest change was with his new class, [Earthshaper Magi]. Gained from his apprenticeship to High Mage Keadore, it had completely changed his focus in the game and given him a new vision for how to play.

  Class: [Earthshaper Magi]

  In eras past the Titans walked the land of Angoril, guiding and shaping the very land itself. As young Titans learned their responsibilities, they took on the role of Magi, shepherding the secrets of the world. With each bloodline advancement, their powers grow closer to the root of the deep magic, manifesting their chosen element as they learn to master it fully.

  You have chosen to focus on the element of earth in your journey to shape the world. Combining your magic and martial power makes you a fearsome combatant but mastery lies in understanding that force is often the worst choice. Learning to control, shape, and create the earth is but a step in your path to master yourself.

  Earthshaper Magi Abilities:

  [Echoing Will (10%)]

  [Arcane Grimoire]

  [Earth Totem Forging]

  [Martial Weapon Mastery]

  Mastery Ability:

  [Ancient Rune Mastery]

  [Earth Magic Mastery]

  One of the abilities of the class, [Elemental Control (Earth)], had even been absorbed into his [Echoing Will] ability, causing it to grow substantially. [Echoing Will] had further grown after he had unlocked one hundred percent of the [Stone Heart], reaching a whopping ten percent. The change did not look like much on the surface, but it equated to a solid five percent increase in almost all of Thorn’s abilities which was instantly evident once he took action.

  Heart of the Earth - [100%]

  The heart beating in your chest has merged with the Stone Heart and has become the living spirit of the earth. As you familiarize yourself with that spirit, your control over the powers of the Stone Heart will naturally increase.

  By gaining mastery over your will and completing your Spiritual Sense, you have unlocked 20% of the Stone Heart.

  By consuming the legendary magical staff [Death Rain], you have unlocked 15% of the Stone Heart.

  By consuming the legendary magical hammer [Broken Fault], you have unlocked 15% of the Stone Heart.

  By taking your rightful place as the Stone King in the labyrinth city of Rakkam, you have unlocked 20% of the Stone Heart.

  By cleansing the Stone Heart in the Elemental Forge, you have unlocked 15% of the Stone Heart.

  By defeating Courdum, the Mad King, and erasing his mark, you have unlocked 15% of the Stone Heart.

  To finish unlocking the Stone Heart you must learn about and adopt the role of the Titan of Earth.

  Thorn’s frown only deepened as he read [Heart of Earth] for the umpteenth time. No matter how many times he read it, he had no idea what he had to do to unlock the rest of the [Stone Heart]. His only clue was the quest that had accompanied him for much of the game.

  Quest: Missing Titans

  Before the Era of the Gods, Titans walked Angoril. Unmatched in both battle and arts, the Titans were masters of whatever they put their hands to, yet almost overnight they vanished, leaving nothing but giant ruins and dim records of their existence. According to the ancient myths of the Wolfkin, the Titans ruled over all creatures and were the gods’ contemporaries.

  Discover what happened to the Titans and why they disappeared.

  You have discovered the name and home of Zemtal’Feg, Titan of Life.

  As a Titan, the [Bearer of the Stone Heart], and a [Friend of the Earth], you are on your way to unlocking the power of the ancient Titan race.

  The Great Forge, the home of the Titan of Earth, has been taken over by Elemental Giants. Seek out the Great Forge and drive out the invaders to prove your right to the Heart of Stone.