“Mozarath, clean…” Jieldenis fell quiet as she glared at the corpse of the dead cardsmith.
She kept forgetting he was gone when she was experimenting. A wave of hot burning fury washed over her before being locked down by eons of practice. Biting her lips, she grabbed the dead woman’s ankle and dragged her to the back of the room before tossing the mutilated corpse through the vent.
“Will have to clean up myself,” she muttered as she looked at the bloody room.
It wasn't like she had no experience with it, or hadn’t done the same more times than she could count. It was just that she had gotten used to having someone trustworthy to do it.
Trustworthy.
She snorted as the fury bubbled below the surface for a moment before fading, replaced by something else. A mixture of desire, sadness, and disgust.
I wonder how long he had been awake again, she thought, staring at the bloody floor without seeing anything.
It had to have been months… perhaps years? The old Mozarath she knew had been immensely patient. Perhaps it had been decades?
She wished he hadn’t run, even though she knew it was probably best for both of them. The mere thought of him having played her…
A wave of soulforce rippled from her, triggering one of the skills she’d stolen only recently and was still learning to control. A wave of superheated air expanded from her in a gush. The blood it touched instantly turned dark and dry before turning to dust. She let the power build for a few moments before reigning it back in.
She had hoped and anticipated… expected him to wake up eventually. But she had expected to have noticed. Instead, he had managed to somehow build up a ridiculous amount of soulforce without her noticing and run.
“It has to have been a specific soulskill,” she said, letting the words roll across her tongue, knowing they tasted wrong. Not a single soulskill they could steal could increase their power. Not like this. It was why age was so important after all, and why the young ones could barely kill a three soulcarded.
“If not that, then what. How did he do it?”
She snapped her hand closed, compressing the air in her palm as an enormous pressure pushed against her fingers. It lasted for two seconds before one of her fingers slipped, and a loud explosion rocked the room as the superheated air escaped. The black blood-dust was scraped clear of the pale white floor and walls, shoved away against the outer walls, and swirled chaotically for a few seconds before slowly drifting away and down.
“The time dilation will be useless in another few days,” she said, staring at the wall, realizing she was talking to nobody and not caring. “That means staying here will have lost its value and its time to set out and find more cardsmiths to replenish my dwindling supplies.”
She thought about the things her informants had told her over the last few years while she walked towards the small door on the far wall and removed a long-handled broom.
I wonder if he used this last time or if he used another skill I didn’t know he had, she thought, stroking the handle for a moment before shaking her head and walking to the nearest pile of red dust.
A minute later, her mind had calmed as she almost meditated while wiping the blood-dust together. Part of her wondered if she should do some more cleaning in the future. It had been almost two thousand years since she’d last used that path to calm her mind, and it seemed to be working again.
He’s probably heading towards where the Shaidin disappeared, Jieldinis thought.
It took her cleaning the entire room to decide she would not be heading that way. Carrying the last scoop of dust to the vent and tossing it down, she wiped her hands on her already disgusting dress.
As much as she wanted to go after him, to see if he had really returned to his old self, she knew it was way too dangerous. If Mozarath was back, and he had skills she didn’t know, it would be crucial to find out what those were before attempting to capture him.
I guess it’s time to use the tricks I’ve left to make that fool, Sjeeklin, send a larger force to that branch. I’m sure he would love to get his hands on Mozarath, and that would allow me to watch and observe.
Walking away from the room where she had only hours ago inflicted horrific torment on multiple others, Jieldenis felt her mind drift back to Mozarath’s escape, the strange desire returning.
Her mind moved to the Guidar locked in her room, and she changed her course. Sending the message to Sjeeklin could wait for a few hours.
--
Irwin watched Flagrian stare at the ceiling, her fiery eyes, almost blood-red, seeming to see nothing. She’d been like that ever since she’d slotted the card that Irwin had reforged for her.
“Maybe she’s talking with someone,” Scintilla whispered.
Flagrian blinked slowly, but it was unclear if it was a reaction or not, as she’d been doing the same for the last ten minutes.
Irwin nodded, while Tiscian stood beside the bed, arms crossed.
Her body is already turning younger, he thought, noticing the tiny flickers of fire around the roots of her hair. Although they were still completely gray and dull, he knew from what had happened with his mother that it wouldn’t take long for them to start regaining their color.
She had woken hours ago, told them she was feeling great, accepted the card that Irwin had reforged for her, and slotted it without waiting.
Irwin had told her to slow down, but she’d said she was curious and needed to slot it now. She’d ignored him, saying she knew what she was doing.
That was at least three hours earlier.
I expected her to get a little bit of trouble from that, Irwin thought. I didn’t expect her to become unresponsive like this.
A deep sigh made him focus back on Flagrian to find her blinking rapidly and looking around.
“Ah… well, it has been a while since people stood, watching me sleep,” she said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the three of them.
“You usually sleep with your eyes open then?” Tiscian replied calmly.
Flagrian didn’t respond but slung her legs over the edge of the bed, causing sand to spill.
“Did it work?” Irwin asked.
Flagrian hummed before looking at Tiscian, who suddenly stood up straight, mouth opening slightly.
“What do you think, fourth-generation granddaughter?” Flagrian asked, before putting a finger on her chin in thought. “Going to have to get used to that.”
Tiscian exhaled explosively. “That was… interesting,” she said. “You should also try to shout less.”
“Perhaps I should shout more. It might get people’s attention,” Flagrian said with a smile as she rose from the bed and began rolling her shoulders and swinging her arms. “Well. This feels nice! All the little aches and pains have faded already. I knew it was a good idea to slot the card. It saved me from having to feel my body turn younger.”
Like you knew that would happen, Irwin thought, but he kept his thoughts to himself as Flagrian focused on him.
He saw something pass through her eyes that he wasn’t sure was gratitude or just joy.
“The card works, and I’ve just talked with two of my daughters that I didn’t even know still lived,” she said. “Both were rather… surprised. It took me a while to prove I was who I said I was, and it helped that they were together.”
“How does it feel?” Scintilla asked curiously.
Flagrian walked away from the bed, towards the training room, beckoning them to follow her.
“It’s not really how it feels, that’s the surprise, though it does drain my soulforce quickly,” Flagrian said. “It’s what it looks like. I’ve got this tree made of smoke within my soulscape now. The root is me, which does feel odd, and every branch from there is one of my children. It branches from there, which reminds me-”
She turned to Scintilla, then Irwin.
“How did you two manage to get two males? Also, Zannia is very interesting.”
What? She spoke to Zan, Irwin thought, feeling a twitch of worry.
“You spoke with my children?” Scintilla asked at the same time, eyes widening.
“Well, they are also my descendants,” Flagrian said. “But no, I am able to observe them a little, and Zannia actually sensed me somehow. She is a rather curious one, isn’t she? She told me that she doesn’t wield normal blades, but circular ones. Chakrams, she called them? I am very curious to see those and understand why she doesn’t just use a regular blade.”
“How many of your heatdaughters are still alive?” Tiscian asked.
“Far too many,” Flagrian said, moving to a seemingly closed wall, only for a rune to appear as she placed her hand on it. A door appeared, and she pushed it open, beckoning them to follow her into what Irwin could only describe as a small tavern. Three tables with chairs, a bar, and two walls filled with bottles surrounded them.
“Close the door, please,” Flagrian said as she walked to the bar, took a bottle seemingly at random, and poured herself a drink. “Get yourself a drink if you need one. I know I do.”
Irwin smelled a waft of something pungent and spicy as she passed him to sit down at a table.
That’s… very strong, he thought, deciding that he wasn’t going to attempt that.
He sat down opposite her, removing a large canister of water from his own soulscape, which looked almost comically large on the table.
“So, I always knew I had more Embers than average,” Flagrian said as the others joined her. “And although I tried to keep all mine within our families' lavastreams, far more than I had thought actually survived when I thought they were lost. I just saw over a hundred smoky branches leading away from mine that are from Blademaidens I never knew about. Some are even still on Igniz, though the number of further descendants is… somewhat staggering. I had expected a few thousand, but I think it's far more, and that’s just those who still live. It took me an hour just to find you-” she said, pointing at Scintilla. “And the five embers you’ve had, which, by the way, makes you one of the minority. It seems my rather extreme second puberty and continued tendency to have fun spread to many of my descendants.”
Irwin frowned, trying to imagine what it must be like to realize you were the start of a family in the thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands.
“How spread out are they?” he asked, as the reason they had even gone to these lengths came to him.
“Very,” Flagrian said, her eyes growing distant. “There’s an entire section of the Smoky Tree that is almost too far.”
“Too far? What do you mean by that?” Tiscian asked, leaning forward.
“It seems there’s a limit to the range of this skill,” Flagrian said. “There’s a part of the tree that seems not to be here, in the Langost branch, but way beyond it. Don’t ask me how any of them got there, but I guess they were so afraid of me they kept fleeing.”
She laughed softly, while Irwin frowned.
“Anyway, the outermost parts of that smoky tree keep flickering into and out of existence. Almost like the Blademaidens are moving just along the edges of where the skill can reach.
“It’s not distance,” Ambraz grunted, his first contribution to the conversation. “Those outermost parts represent the most distant descendants, and at some point, they will likely no longer really count as your descendants. It’s like that drink you have. If you keep mixing it with something else, at some point, none of the original drink remains in any coherent form.”
“So… those that flicker in and out are what? Unsure if they are my descendants?” Flagrian asked, eyebrows raised.
“Probably has to do with their soulforce signature,” Ambraz said thoughtfully before flying around and muttering to himself.
“What about the rest?” Tiscian asked. “Did you try to contact anyone on another world?”
“The two I spoke with are my oldest living bladedaughters,” Flagrian said, taking another sip, her eyes distant again. “They are on a small world called Knisprin, which is a rank two fire and ash world. It’s a few months away from here with a fast scout, near the edge of the Langost branch’s northwestern barrier. They closed the Exit Portal a year ago after a few chained ships raided their harbor and destroyed most of their small fleet. The only thing they know is that the other worlds nearby were raided before they managed to close the Exit Portal. So far, the portal hasn’t opened from the other side.”
“I… how old are they?” Tiscian asked curiously.
“Almost as old as I am,” Flagrian said. “But, unlike me, they chose to slot Emerald soulcards. Both have capped out at four soulcards and a heartcard, and they are mostly spending their time training their daughters.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Scintilla whispered.
“Did any reach the second rank of a Blademaster?” Tiscian asked, ignoring Scintilla.
“No. One of their… my younger descendants is very close, but with only rank one Blademasters in the world, it is unlikely she will ever get to the next step,” Flagrian said.
Irwin hummed as he leaned forward. “We need to find some that are within the southern part of the Langost branch, preferably on or near the Flasufius, Dharmin, or Zalirki minor branches.”
The three women gave him a stunned look, and Irwin just shrugged.
“These are the three worlds Daubutim says we should choose to create a central base from,” he said. “Basil will check Dharmin and Zalirki, while I’ll check the latter one.”
“I have never heard of any of those,” Flagrian said. “But I will start talking with my daughters and granddaughters starting tonight.”
“Can you sense the direction they are in?” Irwin asked curiously.
“Not all…” Flagrian said, looking around, her eyes scanning the walls as if she were looking at something they couldn’t see. “I also can’t really determine who is who. If I focus, it’s like tiny stars flickering in mid-air. Now, how about we go and meet your Embers! ”
“Before we do, I have another question,” Irwin said, summoning a body double card. “This card will allow you a second body, like Scintilla and Tiscian-”
“That’s why,” Flagrian said, interrupting him as she looked at Tiscian. “I was trying to figure out why I sense two of you!”
“You can sense that?” Scintilla asked, leaning forward.
“Apparently,” Flagrian said, before looking at Irwin. “My apologies, continue. You asked if I wanted a card like that? I do.”
“I wanted to ask if you would accept the card and have one of your two bodies stay in my soulscape,” Irwin said.
“Ah! You want me to train your children?” Flagrian asked, rubbing her hands together.
“That too,” Irwin said. “But also so we can easily communicate.”
“I see,” Flagrian said. “I don’t see a reason not to, especially because I suspect Scintilla will be there?”
Scintilla let out a soft groan, and Flagrian just nodded.
“Right, then I don’t mind. Seeing as you are handing out cards like they are free, I take it you have more? What would happen if I slot another? Do I get four bodies?”
“That would be great, wouldn’t it?” Ambraz exclaimed with a laugh. “These are true clones, you know. You can’t just slot more than one per soulcard. You could slot one in your next one, and that might actually have an increased effect.”
“My next one… are you implying you are willing to spend more of your own soulforce on me?” Flagrian asked curiously.
“I might be able to help you with another soulcard as soon as you have filled your handcards and have stabilized your Heartcard,” Irwin said.
“A heartcard you can make?” Flagrian asked, raising an eyebrow before looking at Scintilla. “No wonder you stayed with him. This is more than a little useful!”
Scintilla rolled her eyes. “I stayed because I love him, not because he can get me heartcards.”
“I didn’t mean you don’t love him,” Flagrian said. “But as time passes, having other reasons to stay together is useful, because at some point the heat of love cools to that of a coal. It might flare up on occasion, but it's not the same. If it's all there was to a heatbond? Well, you will find that when you come across someone else who lights your spark, this mere coal will not be enough to keep you staying put.”
Irwin blinked, cocking his head as he stared at Flagrian. He’d never thought of that, and as he pondered it now, he didn’t feel the need to leave or a lack of love. Glancing at Scintilla, he saw a similar look of confusion.
“Ah, youth. You will learn. Give it a hundred years,” Flagrian said, while Tiscian was hiding a grin behind her hand.
“Now, let's get me that body double so I can do something important,” Flagrian said, cracking her neck. “I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to spar against myself!”
--
Irwin shot across the soundwaves, and each time he reappeared, part of him was still thinking of the intense battle he’d witnessed hours earlier.
If she gets more soulcards and enough strength, she will be a monster, he thought, still not sure how she’d moved as fast as she had.
“I’ve found another two cards that would work for her,” Ambraz exclaimed, sounding highly pleased. “Kid, if she can train a fleet of Swordmasters to be half as good as she is, we might just be able to send them after the Guidar on their own.”
Except the Guidar will have an infinite number of Chained to throw in their way, and probably have powers far beyond what we know, Irwin thought, not bothering to answer.
They would return to Tiscian’s place in a few hours, gather the others, and from there head back to the Exit Portal. He hoped that this time they didn’t have to make a dash, though according to Tiscian, things should be fine.
We will see, he thought.
“Kid, she’s going to ask you for another body double… I think that, seeing as she’s not using it the way we had planned, we might have to see if we can find one of those mass temporary clone ones for her. Even if each of those temporary versions of her has only a fraction of her ability, she can still teach an entire army like that.”
Irwin hummed in appreciation of the idea as he reappeared mid-air.
Half an hour later, as he reappeared again, he froze midfinger-snap, as, within his soulscape, Tiscian suddenly jumped up and ran forward.
“Irwin, we need to get back now!” she called, causing both of Flagrian to stop.
“What is wrong?”
“Zender just returned with one of my Blademaidens. There’s Oculithar at the Exit Portal entrance!”
Irwin clenched his fists as the body on Igniz snapped its fingers and shot forward.
“How is Greldo doing?” his otherself asked, as Scintilla summoned Leafbrand and walked forward, the joy in her eyes gone and replaced by a coldness.
“Zender says he is fine, and he has a Teleporter with them. They would have come to find us, but they didn’t know where we were,” Tiscian said as, like Scintilla, a sword appeared in her hand.
Irwin just nodded and, without any hesitation, switched his smaller and bigger bodies.
As soon as he appeared on Igniz, he slammed his hands together, creating a deafening boom that shattered nearby rocks. He rode the wave of sound, which reached much further than normal.
It's really time for Greldo to get a body double and leave one in my soulscape, he thought.
--
Irwin appeared on the ground in the middle of the estate, switching his giantself with his regular-sized one so he wouldn’t crush anything.
“Irwin!”
Irwin looked up to see Zender sprint his way, his silver whip wrapped around his wrist and long bloody gashes across his face. The blood had dried, as had more that now caked his armor. Tiscian and an unknown Ignitzian were running beside him, while a group of a few dozen Ignitzians followed them.
“Zender!”
“There’s Oculithar around the entrance portal,” Zender said as he stopped beside him. A dozen more Ignizian appeared out of nowhere, and Zender let out a sigh.
“Can you move everyone back in your soulscape?” he asked. “We were just meeting some friends of Ihrana that are at the Portal Gallery when those things just began appearing. Greldo and the others are holding them off, but there are more coming every moment. She’s the teleporter that got us here.”
Irwin pulled Zender and all the surrounding Ignitzians into his soulscape while simultaneously moving one of Flagrian's body doubles out of his soulscape. That left just Tiscian, Flagrian, and the unknown Ignitzian.
“Head out,” Tiscian said. “Take my other body and keep me informed.”
“I will,” Irwin said as he looked at the Ignizian teleporter.
She was staring at him worriedly.
“Your soulforce is very strong,” she said. “Can you-”
Irwin yanked as much of his soulforce inside, calming himself down as much as he could.
“Better,” the teleporter said, grabbing his arm.
The world instantly turned into a blurry mass of fiery tentacles and soot before everything jolted. The next time he knew it, Irwin stood within the Exit Teleporter room. Thousands of Ignitzian warriors were arrayed before it, blades drawn, while he sensed far more in the rooms beyond them, radiating soulforce.
A wounded Blademaiden stood next to a taller-than-average Ignitzian, who looked both angry and distraught. The wounded one quickly walked up to Irwin.
“You are the one with the Chaos Whale?” she asked in a slightly cracked voice.
“Yes,” Irwin said.
“Okay, I am not sure what you can do, but I hope it's something. I have the ability to move myself to one of my bladesisters, even if it's within the portal gallery. I might go unconscious after, thought, so if I do, can you put me somewhere safe?”
Irwin felt a wave of curiosity at hearing about the ability that he’d never heard of before. It had to be something similar to teleport and what he was doing with his body doubles, but exactly how?
“I will. Get us there,” he said.
The Blademaiden nodded, glanced at the others, and smiled.
“I’ll get her back safely,” she whispered to the other Ignizian before, for the second time in a short while, an Ignizian grabbed Irwin’s arm.
The next moment, the world just turned black. A second turned by, then another, and another.
What…
The world reappeared, and Irwin stood on a dock while shouting, and an explosion came from all around him.