Zan sat behind the door, listening to the deep voices, the Soulstrum Guitars, and the rhythmic drops of the hammer.
“Did you hear that? They just added another type of heat or fire,” Silv’am whispered to her through their shared connection.
It was one of the things she’d chosen when she had ranked up to two. The other most useful thing so far had been the increase in her soulforce sensitivity.
“It’s really incredible,” Zan replied.
She knew neither of them had to whisper, and from the slight joy she felt from Silv’am, she knew the other knew this just as well.
Eyes closed, she kept listening to the song when she felt a familiar soulforce pattern approach through the hallway. She quickly opened her eyes to see Ti, or Ittirila as she called herself now, approach.
I still don’t understand why she wants to use her full name these days, Zan thought, but she knew better than to ask. She had twice, and each time the answer had been something complex.
Well, she still called her Ti, and she wasn’t going to stop.
“Coming,” she mouthed as Ti beckoned her.
She snuck through the hallways, another thing she knew wasn’t needed. Their father would have sensed their soulforce signatures as soon as they headed towards the smithy.
A minute later, the two of them stood outside in the courtyard. Zan sensed her other siblings in the practice field, probably working through the steps Flagrian had taught them.
I don’t understand how they can keep doing that, she thought, shivering as she realized her next practice session would be tomorrow.
Ti reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, and for a moment, Zan forgot about things as she enjoyed her sister's embrace.
When Ti finally pushed her back, she felt ten times better, just as she always did.
“Do you think he will finish today?” Ti asked.
Zan thought back to the song she’d been listening to, trying to fit it into the complex pattern she had started to notice in the songs half a year ago. It was a pattern that had begun almost a year ago, after her father had begun focusing fully on forging cards. She knew it had something to do with a worldcard, but not exactly what. What she did know was that, over the last few days, the song seemed to be slowly moving to a crescendo finish.
“He might,” she said as she listened to the song in her head. “If not today, then tomorrow.”
“Great,” Ti said, excitement glowing in her eyes as she let go of the usual calmness that she showed everyone else. “I really hope so, because Flagrian says that we are ready for more cards.”
Zan felt a shiver of excitement. More cards meant she might finally reach her first heartcard, and reaching that meant a soulcard, and that….? That meant she would finally get her own Chaos Whale card!
“Oh, calm down. If you squeeze any tighter, you might break my arm,” Ti whispered, grinning as she wrapped an arm around her and pulled her along towards the training fields.
Zan let herself be pulled away by the lighter, shorter girl. As she did, she realized she’d grown again and was now able to look over Ti’s head without standing on her toes.
“Yes, yes. I am short,” Ti whispered.
“No, I didn’t—” Zan began, feeling a sudden worry about her sister, only for Ti to hug her tighter and smile.
“Zan, stop worrying so much. I don’t need a tall, strong body, and if I do, I can always find cards for it. Besides, as soon as I get a body double card, I’ll turn one into a Crathan.”
Zan frowned, knowing that wasn’t the only reason Ti wanted two bodies.
“You are really going to ask to be allowed to join the rangers as they explore the rest of the world?” she asked, glancing at her sister.
“Only after we get our first heartcard,” Ti said, looking up as they rounded the corner of the smithy and saw the open field.
Mia and Glow were dodging around Soot, trying to get a clean hit in with their wooden swords.
They are never going to hit him like that, she thought before she noticed Flux slowly sneaking forward.
“Hey…” she whispered, but Ti had already let go, and she was dashing forward.
Zan hesitated only a second, then ran after her sister, who snatched up another wooden blade from a rack before intercepting Flux.
“Flux, you wouldn’t be trying to triple team against Soot, right?” Ti said, grinning as she raised her sword.
Flux rolled his eyes as he twirled his own sword around.
“You know what Flagrian said. We have to keep him on his toes, or he will get a big head.”
“You are the one with a big head,” Soot shouted as he dodged Mia’s sword and then hopped over the spear. “Besides, this isn’t fun! I can’t even counterattack.”
“That’s the point,” Mia shouted.
Zan saw that her oldest sister was grinning widely now.
“Flagrian said you need to learn to defend against multiple opponents more easily!”
As she shouted, she dashed to the side, and Zan saw how she and Glow almost moved as one as they tried to pincer Soot.
They really don’t understand how his card works, she thought, shaking her head.
“Well, now that you two are here,” Flux said, walking forward. “How about we see how far you two got with your training!”
Zan’s eyes widened, and she barely had time to jump back.
“Zan, quick, get some practice weapons,” Ti said, sounding excited. “I’ll hold him off, then we push him towards Soot! Flagrian also told us to practice more group fights!”
But I really don’t want to, Zan thought.
“You can do it! Besides, it's better to practice now, while it's safe,” Silv’am piped into her mind, sounding far more combative than Zan felt.
Still, she was right.
She looked around, but as always, only found swords of different sizes nearby. Seeing two shortswords, she ran towards them before turning back to find Flux was already heavily pressuring Ti, pushing her back.
I hope I don’t get bruises again, Zan thought as she ran forward.
--
Irwin stopped humming and, with a muted excitement, leaned forward to examine the card that lay on Ambraz.
Please tell me I did it right this time.
The card’s border was slowly turning into the deep crystalline white of a Diamond card, but that wasn’t what he cared about. His soulforce senses were focused entirely on the card as he checked for any tiny deficiencies. There couldn’t be any, because even the smallest mistake would cause compound issues later on.
Not that the card would be useless if there was a mistake. For anyone else, the card would still be fantastic. A powerful card that combined sound and heat in a way that allowed the user to hear the humming of heat. Great for another cardsmith, or warriors that used heat to move. It was also an ability he didn’t really need, especially since it could interfere with his soulforce hearing. Luckily, it wouldn’t be something he’d have to worry about if he did slot it, as it would be forged into a heartcard a few days later.
Sensing that the card’s main resonance was perfect, he began examining the edges, where the card's resonance would have to blend with a card beside it. The longer he looked, the more excited he became.
“Am… am I seeing this right?” he whispered.
“I think so,” the Ganvil replied.
Neither bothered with putting the card's explanation on paper, as for what he was planning, it wasn’t needed. All he needed was for his next soulcards to perfectly blend with his existing soulcards in a way that laid the basis for his worldcard.
“Finally,” Ambaz said, sounding incredibly excited. “A year of reforging only our own cards, and we finally got the last piece!”
Irwin felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment as he moved the card into his soulscape and onto a table with eleven others, spread out in two lines. The final card to be added, one of his auraclones, stood before the table while Ambraz appeared beside him. Both were quiet as they listened to the six resonances. It was impossible to know if they had actually succeeded, as he still had to forge them together, but the base was there. A table to the side held dozens of stacks of cards, all failures, some as many as ten of an entire set.
Irwin glanced at them, then shook his head and pushed the weariness away as he looked at the twelve who were successful.
“So… are you going to slot one right away or-”
“Not yet,” Irwin said. “I am going to sleep, inspect them again tomorrow, and then think about it one final day. As much as I want to, if I slot the first six and make my heatcard, that’s that.”
“Good. I’ll investigate a bit more,” Ambraz said, landing on the table.
Irwin watched the cards, still surprised at what they had ended up with. He had tried so many things, planned for so much, and eventually, the complete concert of all his soulcards that he had come up with had been something different. Six cards to bridge the gaps between his heat, fire, regeneration, and sound in a way he’d not expected initially. It had formed the biggest hurdle as he had not expected those to be the ones that should be blended together.
His gaze drifted to the second card in the row, and he couldn’t help but smile.
A card to allow him to summon Pyroflux steam, and the one that would allow him to lose the implicit water typing he had gained long ago on Scour. It had helped him immensely over the years, but it was the one part that he had to lose to create a coherent worldcard song. He’d known that from the start, as he just had too many typings.
He almost grabbed the first three cards to slot, then held back, and quickly returned to his body within the smithy.
“Right, let's see how the kids are doing,” he muttered, recalling that Zan had been listening at the door again before Ti came to get her.
He walked out of the smithy and into the expanded courtyard that sat nestled between his and Bronwyn’s houses. He sensed the children in the adjacent practice field, while his mother, Scintilla, and Carla were further out in the city, near the marketplace. There was no sign of Bronwyn, which meant he was likely doing something with the rangers. Focusing on his children, he sensed their soulforce fluctuating, indicating they were sparring again.
They are trying to defeat Soot again, he thought as he walked towards the training field.
As he rounded the corner, he was met with a sight that almost made him laugh. Soot and Ti stood back to back, grinning madly while Mia, Flux, and Glow were circling them, looking annoyed.
“Ti, come on! Flagrian told us to help him practice!”
“So? I am sure she will be fine with this,” Ti said.
Irwin shook his head as he saw Zan standing a few feet away, two shortswords in her hands. He knew she wasn’t as good with them as with her Chacrams, but Flagrian had taught them that someone needed to be able to use all weapons in case of emergency. It did take him a moment to figure out why she was standing there, however. Only when Flux moved to the side she was on, trying to circle to Soot and Ti’s blind spot, did he understand, because at that moment Zan walked forward, eyes locked on Flux.
Flux seemed to realize instantly, and he dodged away just as Soot and Ti turned and ran towards him. Suddenly besieged from three sides, Flux had just enough to block two blows when Soot’s sword nicked him in the chest.
“You are out!” Soot shouted, spinning around, and jumping over Glow’s spear that had been aimed at his shins. He succeeded only to be struck in his arm by Mia, who had jumped forward.
“Hah! Got you,” she shouted, only for Ti’s sword to tap her on the shoulder.
“And I got you,” Ti said as she kept Mia between herself and Glow.
A moment later, Ti and Zan turned to Glow, while the others grumbled as they moved to the edge.
None of them had seen him yet, though Irwin knew Zan would have felt his presence. She, however, didn’t have the time to react, because even two to one, Irwin already knew the outcome. Without Soot on their side, the two were now up against Glow’s spear, while Zan wasn’t using her best weaponry.
He was proven right as Glow dashed forward, the tip of his wooden practice spear like a blur. Ti blocked rapidly, her sword barely keeping up, while Zan was stepping sideways to reach his blind spot.
Irwin smiled, already stepping forward as he knew the outcome.
Glow’s attack suddenly switched, and his tip blurred at Zan, whose eyes widened as she tried to block his spear. She managed three hits, then the fourth struck her in her shoulder, shoving her backward, while Glow instantly pivoted back to Ti.
“Fine, you win,” Ti said, smiling as she stabbed the sword into the ground.
“Ah, come on, Ti,” Soot shouted from the side. “Don’t just give up! You could have had him. He was tired!”
Ti didn’t react, while Glow raised an eyebrow as he walked back to his siblings.
Soot, then Mia, Glow, and Flux, depending on the situation, followed by Ti and then Zan, Irwin thought, quickly recalling what Flagrian had told him about his children’s progress.
Deciding not to let the children dissolve into what he assumed was a second mock-conflict, he walked forward, clapping softly.
The children all spun towards where he had been hiding at the corner, all but Zan, who smiled widely at him.
“You all did great,” Irwin said as his children let out whoops and ran towards him.
“Dad, are you done?” Soot shouted as he sprinted after the others.
Irwin saw that Soot's gaze was locked on his hand.
“Yes, and no,” he said, causing Ti to laugh while the others groaned. “I finally made twelve cards that should be able to fix my existing soulcards in a way that allows me to get a Worldcard.”
Mia and Flux reached Irwin, jumping forward and scrambling up his arms to sit on his shoulders, while Glow was a moment behind and nestled in one arm.
“Finally,” Soot grunted as he reached Irwin, stopped, and waited for Ti and Zan. Ti moved beside him, while Zan smiled as she jumped into Irwin’s other free arm.
“So, does that mean we can finally get more cards?” Mia asked, while everyone looked at him excitedly.
Irwin looked at them for a moment, then began walking to the small Volcano Tree cluster that sat in the center of the courtyard.
“Probably,” he said as he reached the largest tree and sat down, legs crossed, which allowed Soot and Ti to sit on them.
“Sit here for a moment and listen. I need to explain something,” he said, picking his children off one at a time and depositing them before him on the sand.
He smiled as he saw all but Ti glower at him in annoyance.
“Before we discuss getting you more cards, we need to talk a bit,” he said. “So far, the three of you have nearly the same cards. One body improvement-type to increase your agility and survivability, and another to have a weapon at hand. However, I have found out a few things. I already taught you all that the first cards are important, remember?”
A round of nods, while Ti’s eyes were glittering with curiosity.
“Well, it seems I still underestimate it. When Greldo’s cards changed, this also changed something significant about his soulscape and soulforce. Besides a slightly exponential increase because his first new card is now an Ammolite, the way his other cards behaved also changed. Initially, we expected that Coal and his first abilities would weaken because they weren’t his first cards anymore, but that wasn’t correct. Although they lost some things from not being the first card, they now build upon a much stronger foundation and are actually more powerful, even if we don’t add that Greldo got a fifth heartcard.”
As he spoke, he saw that Ti and Zan were especially interested, while Soot seemed ready to interrupt, his shoulders stiff with tension.
“This is important,” Irwin said, looking at his son with a raised eyebrow. “I won't explain everything in detail—”
“Aww,” Ti muttered.
“-until we have our smithing lessons next week.”
Ti’s eyebrows shot up, and she seemed to be almost bouncing.
“However, it is important because that means that whatever cards you choose now will not just limit what you can choose later, because of typing. You know this part…”
A round of nods.
“But it also influences how effective the first cards you choose are. Remember how you learned about addition and multiplication in school?”
Another round of nods, though only Ti looked excited now.
“Well, that’s how the effects of cards work. With quartz or amethyst rank cards, this isn’t as clear, but with a ruby, diamond, and especially ammolite rank, it is. I think I explained this before, but it's not bad to do so again. Let's say quartz soulcards are a two. If you have one of those slotted and add another, it's not just your soulforce capacity that multiplies to four. The maximum effectiveness of your first card also increases.”
“Wait, so the sooner you slot a card, the stronger it becomes?” Soot asked, eyes widening.
“Somewhat, yes,” Irwin said with a nod. “Though it's not really stronger. It's more than the effects of the card get amplified by the cards that follow it.”
A frown appeared on all the small faces around him, and Irwin let his children ponder it for a moment. He was actually somewhat surprised that it wasn’t Ti who spoke up first.
“That’s why you were having such a hard time with your last soulcard!” Zan exclaimed, looking excited. “It also amplifies the mistakes or type-tension you told me about last month.”
“Exactly,” Irwin said, smiling at his daughter. “If you don’t build a solid base, the errors in cards, or the complexity of types, increase as much as the strength with every following card.”
“Levers,” Ti said, nodding slowly.
“Like levers,” Irwin agreed, noticing that Glow was also nodding along, his eyes narrowed. Mia and Flux were frowning, while Soot was just rubbing his eyes, clearly not interested in understanding and simply wanting an answer.
“So, the reason we are sitting here is that the choice you make now, for your next card, means it limits you in more than just one way, in what you can do later on,” Irwin said, reaching out and tapping his most rebellious son on the forehead.
“I still want a baby Chaos Whale,” Zan said, arms crossed deviantly. “I am sure I can make it work.”
“I am sure you can,” Irwin said with a smile. “However, you will have to wait till your first soulcard is finished. What we need to discuss is what you all want in the future, which is actually a really unfair and hard question to ask.”
“I want to be like you,” Glow said, causing the others to look at him with raised eyebrows. “I want to become a Crathan, and I want to be strong with a large soulscape so I can help people.”
Irwin looked at his adopted son, seeing nothing but a calm conviction.
I have no idea how to react to that, he realized, deciding to simply nod.
“I want to travel the Portal Gallery and see all of it,” Soot said. “I want a ship and the ability to move it around, perhaps through the shadowrealm like Greldo!”
Irwin nodded again, less surprised by that.
“I want to be able to think faster and have many bodies, and learn runeshaping,” Ti said calmly. “I also want to see The Library and continue forging.”
“I also want to continue forging,” Glow said quickly.
Mia and Flux were looking at the ground, both far away, while Zan was smiling widely.
“I want to be the best smith I can be,” she said. “And have Chaos Whales!”
Irwin barked a laugh, deciding to leave Mia and Flux for last.
“That makes you the easiest,” he said, staring at Zan. “It means you will need to get a card to improve your soulforce and soulscape, though you will all need one. In your case, having two is not a bad idea. We can add two body improvement cards, because they mesh well with nearly anything. This is a good combination for your first soulcard as it will be a stable, simple, but powerful one that will greatly benefit from the cards later.”
“Okay,” Zan said, eyes gleaming with a wide smile. “When do I get them?”
Irwin barked a laugh, shaking his head. “Go inside and think about exactly what you want. Within what we just said, there are near-endless variations. Do you want to be physically strong, or rather agile? Fast or sturdy. Do you want a card that will change what you look like or remain what you are now?”
Zan frowned, her lip puckering out.
“Go inside and think about it,” Irwin said again, and this time she blinked in realization.
“But-”
“The others will tell you what happened after, and Ti will be joining you very soon.”
Zan got up, looked at Ti, then turned with a resolute look on her face.
Irwin turned to Ti, who was already getting up.
“I need two soulforce and soulscape increasing cards, and body improvement cards focused on thinking,” she said. “I think… I also want a lightning card like Daubutim if there is one. One to increase the speed of my thoughts.”
Irwin smiled, not at all surprised that she had already figured things out.
“Limit yourself to four types for your first soulforce card,” he said. “One is your body improvement, the second is your weapon summon, so you have two left. I agree that soulforce should be one.”
Ti nodded, then smiled and sprinted after Zan, reaching her before she got to the door.
“Why didn’t you let Zan wait?” Ambraz asked, showing he had been paying attention.
“Because she needs to slowly learn to be more independent,” Irwin said. “And these are safe moments for that.”
He looked at Soot and Glow, who had both gotten up, with Soot pacing around.
“I think I want a shadowcard,” Soot said, before nodding slowly. “A teleporting one.”
Irwin nodded slowly, wondering if Soot was going to become like Greldo.
“That means you will need to get one of the weapon cards as he has, or Greldo’s presence will cause you a lot of trouble,” he said.
“That’s fine. I can use more weapons,” Soot said as he began walking away. “I’ll go and see if Greldo and Dahlia are home.”
Irwin smirked as he imagined Soot running into his friend’s house, demanding information.
“Can you keep an eye on him?”
“Sure,” Ambraz said, shooting out of Irwin’s soulscape and flying after Soot.
“Wait up, kid! I need to talk with Yuul’rish, so I’ll tag along!”
Irwin watched the two vanish towards the gate before turning to Glow.
"I know what I want," Glow said softly, walking away while staring at the ground.
I hope you choose for yourself, Irwin thought, but he held back his comment, turning to the two children that still remained. Mia was staring at the ground with a frown, while Flux was looking at the sky.
“You do not have to choose now,” Irwin said softly, causing both to turn their focus back on him. “It is fine to just take the soulforce and soulscape increasing card and wait for the other three.”
Mia and Flux shared a look, and both deflated slightly.
“But that means we won't get the cards when the others do,” Mia said softly.
Irwin sighed. “You two will eventually get the same cards, and you will live for a very, very long time. There is no rush.”
“But we want to help you,” Flux said, causing Mia to nod along. “You are doing so much, and protecting everyone…”
“Making forging and reforging cards and helping with heartcards, and filling soulscapes,” Mia added.
“I am not doing all of that by myself,” Irwin said. “There are many people doing just as much as I am.”
“We know,” Mia said, though Irwin wondered if she really believed that.
“So, what do you two like doing, besides running around, playing, sparring, and exploring the city and the forest when your mother thinks you are at home?” Irwin asked, raising an eyebrow.
Both of his kids froze, staring at him with wide-eyed wonder.
“You didn’t really think we forgot what you did back on Mudball, right?” Irwin asked.
Flux laughed while Mia hid her own smile behind a hand.
“So, what do you like doing besides that?” Irwin asked.
“We still play Survive the Burrows, though I guess that's playing,” Flux said.
“Practice with Flagrian is nice…”
Irwin nodded, watching them drift off again as they seemed to be thinking about the things they usually did. He let them for a few minutes before reaching out and rubbing them across their flaming hair.
“Kids are supposed to want to play and have fun,” he said. “The fact that the others know what they want is far stranger than the fact that neither of you two does.”
“What did you want to be when you were young?” Mia asked curiously.
“Taller,” Irwin said, causing both of his kids to burst out in laughter.
He let them for a moment before continuing. “I wanted to be strong and healthy and a ranger like my brother, so I could help him protect everyone.”
“I want to protect people,” Mia said, while Flux nodded.
“But you don’t know exactly how,” Irwin added.
“No…”
“Do you want to be big and strong, or fast and agile? Do you want to use things like fire, lightning, or water?” Irwin asked, with both kids grimacing at the latter.
Flux blinked, then cocked his head, and Irwin could see an idea forming. Mia seemed to notice, too, as she bent forward.
“You have an idea now?” she asked, almost sounding worried.
Flux nodded slowly before getting up, causing Mia to look even more terrified. That was, until he reached for her.
“Come, let's go to our tree. I have an idea.”
“For both of us?” Mia asked, scrambling to get up.
“Maybe,” Flux said, scratching his head before turning to Irwin. “We can get any three cards we want, as long as we don’t choose more than two additional types. Right?”
“Yes,” Irwin said, slightly surprised by the sudden shift. “But you don’t have to suddenly make a choice.”
“I know,” Flux said, sounding more sure of himself by the moment. “Let's go!”
He sprinted away, Mia quickly catching up.
“Bye, Dad!”
“Bye,” Irwin shouted while leaning against the tree.
I wonder what he thought of, he pondered.