"A week?" Ambraz grunted as he yawned again. "I mean, I know I was tired, but you said that Luath woke almost immediately… why did I have to sleep for a week?"
Irwin didn't know how he should answer that, so he didn't and just continued looking at the empty, shallow hole that now existed in his family's large courtyard. A three-foot-wide tunnel seemed to go straight down in the middle.
Smaller… less powerful, he told himself as he focused on his new heartcard.
A minute later, he was sure he had it, and he summoned a tiny Pyroflux Geyser in the middle of the shallow hole.
Superheated gas exploded away from a man-sized pillar of roaring pyroflux, and Irwin quickly took control of the gas. Holding it for a moment, he began funneling it into his soulscape so it wouldn't spread out into the city and cause harm.
"Yikes, that's a bit too big, isn't it?" Ambraz grunted, flying around the contained plume of golden steam.
"Can't make them any smaller, and it also depends," Irwin said as he held his breath, watching the geyser only to see it was very slowly sinking.
"Depends on what? It won't become smaller, right? I saw the one you made in your soulscape, and there might not be enough ambient soulforce here to have them grow just as big, but this small one will probably exist longer than the house."
"Which is why I am happy it's slowly sliding down," Irwin said, watching as the geyser continued to drop as the source he had generated at the base continued to slide down.
I wonder if I could put one of these on a ship and have it sail around with it, he thought.
He knew the big ones wouldn't work, as even moving them a slight bit in his soulscape had made them become unstable and shatter. The small one, however, seemed to have no issue so far.
"Wait, you can move them?"
"Only the small ones," Irwin said as the chunk of solid soulforce at the bottom of the geyser sank further down. It took ten minutes for it to reach the bottom of the hole he'd had the stoneshapers make, and by then, he knew he'd made a mistake. Even this deep down, the pressure of the steam exploded upward with the same force.
"Well… I tried," he muttered, unsummoning the geyser, causing an end to the roaring.
"What were you even trying?" Ambraz asked as he landed on his shoulder.
Irwin summoned pyroflux into the hole until it filled it and began overflowing into the basin. It took only seconds to finish, and he shrugged.
"Scintilla and the kids asked if I could make a very small geyser in the courtyard," he said as he glanced around to make sure he'd not missed anything. "The thing is, I can't make them any smaller than that, and as you saw, they are way too powerful."
Taking a final look at the quiet pond of superhot liquid, Irwin knew it would cool down over the next few days and weeks. Still, it would allow his kids to swim around.
"So… what else did I miss? Or was that all you did? Create geysers?"
"Actually, yes," Irwin said, grinning widely. "Did you see the other geysers in my soulscape?"
"No. I saw the one near the smithy, then came out here," Ambraz said. "I did sense that your soulscape grew again?"
"Yes, almost a quarter bigger, and it's still expanding. We will have to wait till the card becomes ammolite-ranked, and my soulscape expansion is done before having it grow into a soulcard."
"Heh, I wonder what others would say if they heard you just casually mention that," Ambraz grunted. "So, what are you going to do for the next few weeks?"
"Check if the cards we made for the kids are still as good as I want them, then help them combine their first hand," Irwin said, feeling a slight worry at the last part.
Done with the pool, he turned his full attention to Ambraz.
"So, why did you sleep so long?"
"Kid… I have no idea," Ambraz grunted. "I do feel stronger, though, so something happened. The thing is, I didn't rank up. Not that it matters. I need to find Juul'rish and see if she wants to create more rank zeros, or I have to do it myself. My purified soulforce is overflowing, and I am not ready to become rank six."
He flew away from Irwin's shoulder.
"I'll be back later!"
Irwin watched him zip away before shaking his head.
"You do remember I can move rank six and seven ganvils with my soulscape, right?" he muttered, before snorting and turning around.
Guess I'll go and give the kids the bad news.
--
"So, what cards will it be?" Irwin asked, watching the last two of his children excitedly sit before him.
A day had passed since Ambraz had woken up, and he had finally given in to his children's incessant requests for their third card.
Mia and Flux had come in together, just like Ti and Zan, and they were the only ones he didn't know what to expect from.
"We want to create a full armor set, like Basil," Flux said.
Mia nodded and added, "One that allows us to strengthen it with soulforce."
Irwin stared at them in surprise, causing them to grin widely.
"It was Flux's idea," Mia said excitedly. "We want to help people, so we need to get stronger. Although Crathan skin is really durable, Basil's armor is almost impervious as long as he has soulforce. Also, you said we need to use as few types as possible, and this way we will be able to combine our weapons and our armor into one of those armory heartcards Daubutim told us about."
"Yes! Also, when we get our Chaos Whale summon, we want to be able to summon armor for him!" Flux exclaimed, eyes glittering.
Mia nodded along. "We want to focus on summons. You had a card that allowed you to summon a castle! We want one of those in the future, so we can summon it somewhere and protect people."
"And so we have a place we can take along," Glow said, the two of them becoming ever more excited.
"Well, I am very glad you two decided on your path," Irwin said, rubbing his chin. "You are also right. Creating an armory set will make the first heartcard very solid and singular, so much so that I want to know what else you want with it. Strength, endurance, and agility? Armor summons have a large chunk of one of those. What should your body improvements be?"
"Strength, agility, and speed," Flux said.
"For me, agility, strength, and speed," Mia said, nodding along.
Irwin hummed as he began pacing around the room, already pondering the types of cards he had and what he could make for them. He could use his firesteel ore cardseed as a basis, or perhaps search within all the cards he had acquired.
"Good," he said, turning around. "So, that gives you summon and metal. Body improvement will blend well with those. So, that leaves you with one more main type. I think you need to choose something that gives you a movement skill or-"
"Can we get a short-range teleport?" Mia asked excitedly. "We wanted to ask for it for the second card, but if we have room?"
Irwin crossed his arms, pondering the question. "Maybe. I'll have to see what I can do. So, what type of armor? Also, do you want a shield?"
"No shield," Mia said. "I want something like Basil, that completely covers me."
Irwin looked at Flux, who was nodding along.
"I am going to need some time to think on this, but in your case, it might be best to add one of the armor parts as your third card," Irwin said. "Also, I will need to see if I can add soulforce or soulscape typings to them."
He began pacing again, barely noticing how his children left, looking incredibly excited.
Hours later, he was lying in bed with Scintilla, dozens of cards moving through his head.
"So… they all decided on their first heartcard?" Scintilla asked, poking him in the forehead. "What cards…?!"
Irwin blinked, realizing she'd asked the same thing before, and he'd failed to answer.
"Yes," he said, nodding. "Glow has a card that looks somewhat like mine, but with more combat focus. Tan is going to focus almost completely on music, while Ti is moving in a direction like Daubutim. Soot is going for fire and shadow, which should be interesting, and he will need another weapon to prevent Greldo and Dahlia's presence from causing him issues. Then there's Glow and Mia-"
He explained what they wanted before answering many questions. When Scintilla finally stopped asking questions, Irwin almost immediately drifted back into thinking about what cards to make the next day.
A jab in his forehead made him blink and look up to see Scintilla smirk at him.
"So, what are you going to do with them having to combine their three cards? Usually, blademaidens have gone through hardship by now, but our kids have very little experience with pain…"
Irwin sighed, his attention moving fully to the question. He had asked himself the same question, and the answer hadn't been the same for all. Some of his children, especially Mia and Glow, had more experience from when they were Embers, but even they had forgotten parts of it. That left only the period on Mudball and the sparring with each other and Flagrian.
"I am afraid they will have to learn from this," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "Life is going to be hard for them, eventually, and we can't always protect them."
"You can make it easier, right?" Scintilla asked, putting her head on his chest and seemingly content that he was actively there and no longer constantly pondering cards.
"Yes, but not pain-free," Irwin said.
"Then they will be fine," Scintilla said. "They are our Embers after all."
Irwin didn't answer, and the two of them stared at the ceiling until Scintilla finally fell asleep.
-- Six days later --
"Alright, I want you all to listen first," Irwin said as he held up a stack of cards.
Scintilla sat beside him, and he heard her snort as his children followed the gesture of his hand as one.
Except for Ti, they all seemed ready to rush him to give them right there and then.
"Based on the cards, I have a third card for all of you here. I know some of you might have wanted your next one to be another, but based on the entire heartcard, I had to pick what would bind best. So… no complaining."
"We won't," Soot said, eyes wide as he gazed at the cards. "Just tell me my first one is that shadow sword or dagger I need!"
Irwin almost wanted to say that it wasn't, to see how Soot would respond, but held back.
"It is," he said, holding up a card that showed a long, shadowy sword. "I had a long talk with Flagrian, and based on that, you are getting a longer sword. It's also straight, unlike the others, and when we get to creating the heartcard, it will be the heart of your card."
"Awesome!" Soot exclaimed, jumping around. "Will it allow me to move through the shadows?"
"Yes, but only short distances, and not very deep yet," Irwin said.
"Aww," Soot muttered, only to get a shove from Mia.
"Miamore," Scintilla snapped.
"Sorry…" Mia muttered. "But he should be happy and not complain."
"That he should," Scintilla agreed, raising an eyebrow at Soot, who just raised his hands.
"I am happy!" he shouted.
Irwin smiled as he raised his own hand.
"Good, then let me tell you all what the rest of you will get," he said, before explaining that Flux and Mia were getting chestplates that would greatly increase their physical abilities, Zan would get her flute after all, and Ti would get a card that would allow her to summon a very special book that had her eyes gleam in excitement. When he reached Glow, he hesitated before explaining his card, which caused the other children's eyes to widen.
"He is getting an Origin Flame?" Ti asked calmly.
"Yes, but not the same one I have," Irwin said. "Based on what he wants, it made the most sense."
"Which one?" Ti asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"One that works well with metal," Irwin said, grinning as he glanced at Glow.
His son had asked to keep the specifics a secret, even from his siblings. Knowing what he would be able to do with it, he knew Glow was likely preparing some sort of future prank, which surprised him, as that was more what he'd have expected of Soot.
Ti seemed to understand immediately, her glance turning to Glow, eyebrows lowering.
"Dad, do you have more of those?" Soot asked, seemingly uninterested in whatever Glow had gotten.
"I do, and in a few years, after your first soulcard is complete, we can see if you want one then," Irwin said with a smile.
"A few years?" Flux and Mia exclaimed, while even Ti's eyes widened with shock.
"Yes," Scintilla said before Irwin could answer. "We have discussed it, but you need time to learn how to use your first heartcard, and it will change you a lot. There is no rush, and if that does happen, we might change our minds. For now, though, you will get one heartcard for the foreseeable future."
The children were quiet for a bit before Ti walked towards Irwin.
"I think that's a good idea," she said, looking at the cards. "Can I have the third card?"
"You can," Irwin said, holding back a smile as he gave her the card.
The others instantly ran forward, only for Scintilla to clear her throat.
"A line?" Irwin said, raising an eyebrow at the children milling before him.
It took them exactly three seconds to arrange based on age, though Mia frowned at Ti, who was already lowering the card to her hand.
A few minutes later, all of them were sitting around, eyes closed, focusing on their cards.
"I wonder if any of them will beat your record," Ambraz said, sitting on his shoulder.
"I don't even recall how long it took me," Irwin said, trying to think back to when he'd gotten his second and third cards.
"Just over an hour before you were able to use it a bit," Ambraz said, before adding somewhat smugly. "Don't expect the kids to do it that fast. You had incredible pressure, and they don't."
Irwin hummed, wondering if that would actually matter, but over two hours later, he realized Ambraz was right.
"Ah!" Soot suddenly shouted as a long, dark sword appeared in his hand. As soon as it did, he whooped and ran to the nearby shadow and vanished, to reappear, stumbling and stuttering, a few steps away.
"It works! It works!" he shouted, before running around the room, vanishing and reappearing.
The others followed suit within the next few minutes, with Ti being the final one, having a small book in her hands that she grinned at as if it were the best prize in the world.
Flux and Mia both wore a thick plate chestpiece of shimmering, multilayered Firesteel, while a beautiful, high-pitched song came from a glitter-eyed Zan.
Glow stood a few steps away, his hands raised, a small flame nestled between them.
It's very different from mine, Irwin thought, as he sensed the oddity in the Origin Flame. It was one of the few he had found amongst his collection, and where his own was called a Devouring Flame, this one was called a Metallic Flame. It would initially allow Glow some minor manipulations of certain types of metal, while also allowing him to use it against any elementals that had a metal typing. It wouldn't be as harsh on them as his own flame was against any fire elementals that were related to it, but it would definitely give them a nasty surprise when they would suddenly be either unable to move or very slow.
A few minutes of enthusiastic attempts later, Irwin told them to go outside to play with their new cards so they, though mostly Soot and Glow, wouldn't accidentally destroy something.
"Well, let's see how long it takes the first ones to decide they want to combine their canes," Scintilla muttered as the two of them watched through the door.
I hope it will be a few months, Irwin thought wearily.
--
Two days later, Irwin was sitting in the kitchen with Flux and Mia, who were looking incredibly nervous.
"You two are sure you want to be first?" Irwin asked, looking at them, feeling somewhat worried, and trying to hide it.
"We are the oldest," Flux said, sounding only slightly uncertain.
"Exactly," Mia agreed, before shivering.
"It will be fine," Scintilla said, sitting beside them, and smiling. "We all went through this, and although it's very bad, I am sure you will do great."
"We will be," Mia said, while Flux crossed his arms and nodded in agreement.
Irwin let them think about it for a few more moments before he got up.
"Let's get started then," he said, moving them all into his soulscape and into the smithy. "Who wants to go first?"
"Me."
"Me."
Irwin saw Flux and Mia frown at each other.
"You come with me," Scintilla said, walking to Mia and pulling her up, before looking at Irwin. "You help Flux."
She walked towards one of the side doors that would lead to a small staircase and down into another shelf.
Irwin watched them go, feeling slightly worried. When the two of them vanished, he erected a barrier around both shelves to keep the sound out. As much as he didn't want to hear his children screaming in pain, they definitely shouldn't hear each other.
Finished, he turned to Flux, who was still frowning at where Mia had left.
"Will she be all right?"
Irwin held back from reminding him that his heatmother was there, and just nodded.
"She will be, as will you. Now, sit in the center of the room and tell me if you remember what to do?"
As he spoke, he had one of his other Aura Clones hover in the room with Scintilla and Mia, ready to help when needed.
"I need to allow the soulforce resonance of my three cards to combine," Flux said, sitting down. "I have to hold my right hand over my left and focus on all three cards at the same time. Then I need to keep this focus up while the cards start to combine, and there will be pain…"
"Exactly," Irwin said, sitting in front of his son with one of his Aura Clones. "As you merge them, you need to focus on one of the main parts of each card, as that is what will influence the connection to the others. Don't worry if you fail, it will just mean the merger will be random, and when we make your heartcard, it will cost me a bit more effort."
"I remember," Flux said, taking a deep breath as he stood up and began pacing.
He grew again, Irwin thought, realizing he looked like he was about twelve or thirteen.
"The thing you said is that I can't stop focusing when I start, right?"
"Yes," Irwin said as he let his clone walk around. "But with me here, you don't have to worry about your cards getting damaged. I will take care of that."
Flux nodded, then he stopped, stared at the door through which Mia had left. He took another deep breath, returned to the center of the room, and sat down.
Irwin watched quietly as his son raised his hand. Less than a minute later, three cards hung above them, and without any more hesitation, Flux put his hands above the cards. For a moment, nothing happened, then his shoulders tensed and his lips compressed into a tight line. Soon, his jaw muscles began bulging, and as the seconds ticked by, Irwin was reminded of something he'd noticed before. It was way easier to suffer pain himself than watch those he loved suffer.
"Good," he whispered, stretching his own senses outward to let the surrounding soulforce of his soulscape harmonize with that of his son. "Now, gently pull them together. You have to try to find the common resonance if you can. It will make it easier."
As he spoke, his other Aura Clone showed him that Mia was also starting, and he extended the harmonizing to her room.
A moan came from Flux, and Irwin saw that all three images above his hand were slowly moving closer.
"Like that," he said. "The pain will increase as they get closer, but it also means you will be done sooner."
Flux didn't respond, but Irwin saw the images jolt closer before slowing again. Flux let out a pained croak, and Irwin clenched his hands together.
"Don't rush it. Slow but steady," he said, trying to keep his own worry from his voice.
Seconds ticked by as the card images slowly moved closer. Every so often, Flux let out a sound of pain, but it wasn't until they touched that he actually shouted.
"You are almost there," Irwin said, forcing himself to remain seated. "You are at the hardest part, but if you finish, you can slot another card."
Flux's eyes were wide open, staring at the wall and clearly not seeing it. His body shook and shivered, and Irwin heard a soft sound of metal squeaking against metal. It took him a moment to realize that it was his nails on his palm, and he tried to relax his hand.
Another minute passed, and another, and by now Flux's breathing was ragged. Irwin sensed a near-identical situation in the other room, and he made a deal with himself. He was not going to let two of his children merge a hand at the same time again.
When the three images were nearly overlapping, Flux let out a scream, his lips curled back in a snarl, and Irwin almost expected him to stop. He didn't, and another what felt like hours but was merely a minute later, the three cards flashed brightly as they overlapped.
Flux slumped down, and Irwin used his soulscape control to keep his head from hitting the ground.
He quickly got up and moved to his son, seeing that the tattoo-like lines were moving from the three cards on the back of Flux's hand, connecting together. They let out a bright flash before dimming, and Flux moaned, likely in his sleep.
"You did great," Irwin whispered, picking his son up as he felt Mia slump in the other room.
He created a soulforce construct bed for Flux and put him on it, about to do the same for Mia in the other room, when he felt Scintilla carry her back up the stairs. He had just created a second one when Scintilla entered, tears running down her face and across her grinning lips.
"She did fantastic, and in a single try!"
"Flux as well," Irwin said, watching Scintilla putting Mia on the bed before brushing some hair from her face and giving her a kiss on her forehead. "My brave little Ember."
A moment later, she moved to Flux, staring down at him with pride.
"How much did you help them?" she asked.
"As much as I could," Irwin said, honestly. "They probably only experienced half of what it could have been."
"Half of the horror I recall is bad enough," Scintilla said, crossing her arms and nodding. "On the one hand, I wish you could find a way to fix this. On the other hand, I know it's best they go through this and learn from it. It's just… horrible to watch. Now I know why my mother had us do this during our time with the Blademaidens."
Irwin nodded as he sat down, moved a bottle of some of the hottest Ignitzian spirits he had and two glasses to the room, pouring Scintilla and himself one.
"So, who do you think will be next?" Scintill asked, before taking a long drink and shuddering.
Irwin opened his mouth, then hesitated before sighing. "Glow. After that, I think either Ti or Soot."
"Zan is going to be a problem," Scintilla said, not saying if she agreed with his idea. "She is already afraid of it."
"I know," Irwin said, as he moved a card from another part of the shelf to his hand. "Which is why I made this for her."
Scintilla looked at the card, and her eyes widened at the image of tiny fish on the card's red-bordered back. "A Chaos Whale summon?!"
"She can't slot it yet, but seeing it will help," Irwin said.
Hopefully.
The two remained sitting there, watching their sleeping children, both lost in thought.
A day later, Irwin stared at all four of his other children staring at him.
"Tell me this again," he said softly.
"They beat us to it! We want our fourth cards," Zan exclaimed, pouting at him.
"Did they tell you it hurts?" Irwin asked softly.
"Don't care. Chaos Whale Baby!"