Irwin struck his final blow on the card before looking up. He'd sensed Daubutim walk into his smithy a few minutes earlier, but he'd wanted to finish his card first. Picking up the card, he glanced at it, hummed, and moved it into his soulscape before turning to his red-eyed friend.
Daubutim sat in one of the corner chairs, arms crossed and the epiphany of calm. Anyone who didn't know him wouldn't notice anything strange, but Irwin did know him, and he instantly sensed the barely concealed joy.
"What happened?" he asked, realizing it had been another few months since they last spoke.
"My otherself returned," Daubutim said.
"That's great," Irwin exclaimed as he sat down before his friend in the stone-and-wood chair specially made for him. "So what happened?"
"Many things, but the most important is that the Guidar sent Chained assassins into the Library," Daubutim said. "The reason I couldn't speak with my otherself or even use my soulscape was because of The Library itself. You see-"
Irwin calmly listened to his friend explain how he'd survived for months while following the guidance of a demonic book, only to arrive at the Library entrance of a world called Dakousal One. A backwater, far from anything else, it was still the largest world near Zarkon, which explained how his friend had managed to reach it. The part of The Library beyond Dako, as its inhabitants called it, had managed to keep working soulforce-stabilizing runes, which allowed them to still use their soulscapes.
When his friend finally stopped, Irwin had a dozen questions, but one stood out.
"So, this Zragal," Irwin began
"Zragh'al," Daubutim corrected.
"Right, Zragh'al… they are soulforce spirits?"
"Yes," Daubutim said. "According to Librarian Segaster, they are some of the most ancient things inside the Library that can actually communicate. It is unclear where they came from and whether the few the Librarians have in specific areas are somehow related. What is known is that none remain beyond the Library, which is a good thing. A few dozen very nasty stories sit in one of the books I was given to read, about what happens when they are taken to a world beyond the Library. The weakest are said to be as powerful as a five-soulcarded, but they are able to dominate anything that touches their pages."
"Right," Irwin said, sighing. "Because, why wouldn't there be a nice ancient entity?"
"Kid, there are plenty of those," Ambraz sniffed. "Remember Exarg? Or Preg and Igg?"
Irwin sighed, knowing Ambraz was right. It just would have been so useful if they had just found another of the nice ancient things.
"Why are you asking about them?" Daubutim asked, his eyebrows lowering a fraction. "You can't be thinking about interacting with one?"
"You said the pressure it exuded was as strong as what you felt from me, right?" Irwin asked as he rubbed his chin.
"Yes, roughly," Daubutim said, his eyebrows lowering again, now hovering above his lightning-filled eyes that were swirling faster.
"Well, I am stronger than I was the last time you saw me," Irwin said. "And I am going to be a lot stronger still as soon as my heartcard is ready to become a soulcard. What if I try to force some answers from that thing? Whatever it might need could be useful."
Daubutim's eyes began swirling faster and brighter, and for a moment the entire smithy was illuminated by it. Then it calmed, and Daubutim shook his head.
"Not yet, perhaps in a few months. My otherself has only just begun reading. If you want to intimidate anyone, it might be best to come with me and intimidate the Librarian. Right now, I am having the greatest issue getting the books I need. Librarian Segaster is adamant that I become a rank one Librarian first, and because they have lost nearly all of their own apprentices, he is trying to get me to join their branch."
"I could," Irwin said, though he had the feeling Daubutim wasn't serious. He was proven right almost immediately.
"No," Daubutim said, sighing. "I will need to become a First Rank Librarian either way. With the Library beyond Zarkon in ruin, and the same for most others around the Langost Branch, this is the perfect time. If I can become a rank three Librarian before the Library gets cleared of intruders, I might be able to claim the spot of head Librarian for our own world before the older Librarians realize what we are building there."
Irwin smirked as he saw his friend's eyes swirl faster.
"I am sure you will become a rank four Librarian before then," he said.
"Unlikely. I would need to make my way to one of the two Main Libraries in our branch, either at Suderfuix or Dimarintsia. Assuming those are still safe, they will do a thorough investigation of Zarkon, which will show it is far more populous than what they have a record of. It is best to keep them away from Zarkon until I consolidate my own power within the Library area and rebuild all of the runes if I can."
A deep hum came from Ambraz, drawing both their attention. "About those runes. What do they actually do? You said they stabilize the soulforce within the Library?"
"Yes. The Library, without the runes, is a chaotic mess. Every corridor you walk through is randomly connected to another, and when you turn around, the soulforce causes them to switch places," Daubutim said, sounding almost excited. "Over the millennia, paths of order have been made throughout, and each time a new world is found, a Librarian goes there to create a stabilized area. If the world is a major one, an attempt is made to create a path through the Library to reach one of the existing paths. These paths are widened and stabilized constantly, and it is said that the Library within the Central Core is completely stable."
"Right, right," Ambraz said, sounding amused. "This doesn't sound familiar to you two?"
Irwin blinked, and it took him only a second to realize what Ambraz meant. Even then, he wasn't as fast as Daubutim, whose eyes widened instantly.
"The Shadowrealm…"
"Exactly," Ambraz said as he began flying around while talking. "It's like they are both adjacent to the Portal Gallery, mirroring them."
"But you need a portal to get into the Library," Irwin said slowly. "While shadewalkers can just move into the shadowrealm."
"I am not saying they are the same," Ambraz grunted. "Just that they are remarkably similar."
"My otherself is already looking into it," Daubutim said. "Though I might not be allowed into the sections that are required. The most important thing right now is to find the books that describe how to recreate the stabilizing runes."
"Well, if you need my help, let me know," Irwin said.
The lightning in Daubutim's eyes slowed to a crawl, and he looked at him.
"I will. How far are you? You reforged your heartcard… so why is it not a soulcard yet?"
"It's not ammolite ranked yet," Irwin said. "I am currently using it for everything, so it should be ready in a few weeks."
"Interesting. So, heartcards can have the growth type?" Daubutim said calmly. "Wouldn't that be a good fit for Pur'am?"
"We aren't sure yet," Irwin said, while Ambraz let out an annoyed groan. "It might be a good fit, or it might cause Pur'am to try and consume the cardsmith after he bonds with them. To answer your question, yes, heartcards can have the growth type, though they don't always show up in the descriptions. We think it's one of the reasons the knowledge about what they can actually do is so well hidden."
"You say it will take only a few weeks? That sounds short."
"It's because of my other soulcards, and the resonance between them and my new heartcard," Irwin said, sensing his cards.
For a short while, he explained to Daubutim how he believed the things worked, not surprised that his friend was able to ask questions some cardsmiths might not have thought of. When he finished, Daubutim pushed himself up, looking at the door.
"Let me know as soon as you have an idea of when you will make your worldcard. We will need to plan accordingly, because there is no saying how long it might take. For now, I need to find Greldo and find out what the status is around us. The fleets haven't encountered resistance in weeks, which means we have either found most of the Chained fleets or are hiding somewhere."
"I will," Irwin said, feeling his excitement grow.
As Daubutim walked away, he looked at Ambraz, pondering what to do. His otherself was still working with his new heartcard, but if he doubled down, it would be done faster. The thing was that he had been doing nothing but for months now, which was exactly why he had been doing some smithing.
Let's just create some more soulforce constructs, he told himself.
-- Three months later --
Irwin watched the new geyser burst to life. Superheated liquid rained around him, clattering on what was now the enormous Pyroflux swamp separating his mountains and the Aurahills. Technically, this swamp was part of both and not really a true slice of his soulscape.
A few more, he thought, examining the twelve-foot-high golden-white geyser that would supply this too-shallow part of the swamp with more pyroflux.
He shot a few dozen feet up and searched around for the proper next spot within the dark brown, muddy region that spanned as far as the eye could see.
"That should do," he muttered, noticing a slight hill that rose in the distance, the ankle-deep muck beside it clearly not supplied with enough pyroflux.
A few moments later, he landed on the hill and focused on his heartcard. He drew in the soulforce around him, shaping it into the solid source when he felt a shiver run through his heartcard. His control over the geyser source almost snapped, and he struggled as it grew twice as big and dense before he regained control. A distant rumble came, almost as if a storm was coming, and Irwin could sense the barriers many miles away expand.
"Finally!" he exclaimed.
Ambraz appeared in the air beside him, letting out a whoop.
"It's Ammolite?!"
"It is," Irwin said, finishing the geyser and noticing just how much smoother his control was and how much denser the source was. As it erupted out, he knew it was way bigger than he had planned, but that would be fine.
"Great! Let's fill the heartcard," Ambraz exclaimed, landing on his giant shoulder.
"I need to warn the others," Irwin said as he felt his otherself already on it.
"Yes, yes, but there's nobody in your soulscape anyway. Luath and the others are still exploring Eluathar, so there's no need to wait beyond just telling the others, right?"
Irwin grinned as he moved Ambraz and himself across the vastness of his soulscape towards the center, where his latest heartcard hung above the expanse of liquid soulforce. The difference was clear as day, at least to him.
"It's bigger, but also drawing in way more soulforce," he said, grinning.
"Tell me about it," Ambraz said, circling the heartcard. "Imagine if you didn't have the absurd soulforce sea that you do."
"I would have had to hope that my soullake was even large enough," Irwin agreed, glancing around. "No worry about that now. I could fill a lot of these."
"Yeah, unlikely that anyone would even notice the drop," Ambraz agreed as he shot back to Irwin. "Right, I'll hide in the smithy. Good luck!"
Irwin snorted as his friend vanished, leaving him alone, hovering high above the sea, staring at the heartcard.
One more after this, he thought as he gently allowed the heartcards to pull the liquid soulforce below.
A tremor ran through the surrounding ambient soulforce, while far below, the soulforce sea began going choppy, large waves creating a whirlpool that began speeding up. It took a few minutes for a funnel to form in the center, and as it rose up towards the heartcard, Irwin saw the distant clouds begin to move around his location.
Such a difference… the storm might not even manage to manifest in time, he thought, feeling the resistance of his enormous soulscape as it worked against the sudden movement.
He soon found that he was wrong.
The tip of the funnel hit the heartcard, and an explosive whoosh of ambient soulforce rippled outward with such force that Irwin felt it across his entire soulscape. Distant, tiny plumes from volcanoes were shoved sideways, dissipating in a sudden hurricane-strength gale that began spinning through his entire soulscape. Soulforce constructed birds and other creatures that were being dragged around, and Irwin sensed many seeking refuge in the soundtree and volcanotree forests. Sadly, he didn't have the ability to help them, as his full attention was drawn to the heartcard before him. It was guzzling in soulforce at a rate that bordered on dangerous, though compared to the capacity of his soulforce sea, it was barely enough to move the needle.
I wonder what will happen when I make a worldcard… will it also draw in soulforce?
Irwin felt his entire mind meld together as it usually did for these occasions, while the clothing of his giant body was being dragged around. His control over his soulscape became far smaller until he was only able to keep himself locked in place. All around him, a storm raged that blotted out the sky and caused waves of over forty feet to thunder outward.
What felt like hours later, Irwin felt the heartcard before him stop pulling in soulforce and begin glowing like the sun. The glow expanded, and then a massive explosion pushed away the clouds that had formed, creating a small dry area.
Irwin felt the heartcard vanish from where it had been, and like with every previous time, there was a tiny moment of worry. Then a sliver of light shot towards him, forming into a readable crystalline surface of his newest soulcard. Irwin skipped down to the bottom, as it was the only thing he and Ambraz had to know to see if they succeeded.
Card: Pyrothermal Cadence
Type: Sound, Pyroflux, Fire, Regeneration, Soulforce, Soulcard, Ammolite, Forged by Irwin Roddington
Owner: Irwin Roddington
An explosive card that allows the wielder to summon vast Pyroflux geysers surrounded by clouds of humming Pyroflux. Fire that surrounds the geysers will resonate in a cadence that greatly stabilizes the surrounding soulforce. The size of the Pyroflux geysers depends on the wielder's soulforce and the surrounding rock, stone, and heat. Geysers created within the wielder's soulscape increase the soulscape size based on the resulting Pyroflux.
Passive: Massively increased fire resistance.
Passive: Massively increased Soulscape size [Pyroflux]
Passive: Massively increased regeneration and soulforce regeneration based on ambient heat
Passive: Greatly increased ability to separate sounds
Active: Create a Pyroflux Geyser
Active: Control Pyroflux Steam
[Unique] Passive: Soundwaves generate kinetic energy within the wielder's body
[Soulcard Passive]: Geysers increase the soulscape stability
Irwin felt a wave of relief as he saw the line they had been hoping for, while also sensing the accompanying soulforce resonance. His emotions must have overflowed the line, as Ambraz appeared beside him, shouting as he did.
"Success!"
Irwin burst out laughing as the Ganvil spun around him, growing and shrinking in size before eventually landing on his shoulder.
"Did you sense how much bigger it made your soulscape?" Ambraz exclaimed. "If the last one does the same, you will end up with way more than Exarg said we would need. Close to four times the size of the biggest he knew about!"
"That is, if the next card gives this much growth," Irwin said, unable to keep a grin from his face. "If it doesn't, we will only be the regular size."
"Only he says," Ambraz snorted before sighing. "That means I can actually go to rank six soon."
"You could already do that," Irwin said, glancing at the Ganvil. "I can easily move you, just like I did with Brazardian."
"Yes… But I worry that the changes when going from soulscape to whatever the worldcard will do to you will change something," Ambraz said. "I can't take the risk. What if the resonance changes slightly, or additional things happen when your soulscape becomes a world? No, it's fine to wait just a bit longer, though I have to say I am getting somewhat impatient."
Irwin watched his friend, stunned that he'd finally answered his question. They had talked about this a dozen times in the last few years.
"Why didn't you say this sooner?" he asked.
"Because I didn't want you to rush and make mistakes," Ambraz said, flying in front of him, lips quirked up. "You have the habit of always wanting to help everyone, and this is too important to rush."
Irwin opened his mouth to say he wouldn't have, then paused and shut it. Ambraz was probably right. Even if he knew he shouldn't, it was fairly possible that he would have let himself be influenced by things.
"Kid, it's fine. It's one of the reasons people like you," Ambraz said, landing on his shoulder. "Now, how about you go tinker with the new soulcard. It should be stable in a few days or weeks, and you can start slotting the final batch."
Irwin smirked at that.
Yeah, months probably, he thought, thinking about their gross underestimation of the time it would have taken him to move the heartcard to Ammolite.
Still, as he hovered high in the sky near the spot his sixth heartcard had been, he felt a sense of anticipation. Soon, even if it was months from now, he would be slotting his final six cards. After that, he would need to finally make his worldcard, and then… then he would have to see. Clear the Langost Branch, if he was that strong. Go to the Guidar space and take the fight to them? That might be far too much… as he still had no idea how they had dealt with Yilda. Head for the central branches and find more allies? Prepare for more worldcarded?
We will just have to see, he thought as he began scanning for how many soulforce constructs he had lost.
--
Mozarath crossed his arms as he stared at the distant harbor. A fleet of a few dozen ships was arrayed in front of it, more than the paltry seven ships he'd managed to gather over the last few months. It had become clear within the first month that the Chained Fleet that had been sent here had not been doing too well. Each ship they found spoke of the same thing - being chased down by either a larger or better-equipped fleet.
"Klaz, you are sure there are Faithfull there?" he asked, turning to the Girdaim, whom he was now occasionally calling by his name, a thing he'd never expected to happen.
"Yes, Lord Mozarath," the Girdaim said, the purple crystal flaring brightly for a moment and highlighting his Touhiri puppet's beautiful face.
"That harbor is called Dimwacht," Klaz said. "It is one of the larger harbors, and they have a large enclave of the Faithfull there."
Forty warships, and at least one battleship, Mozarath thought, glancing back at his own fleet. Theoretically, they might be able to defeat them, but he would lose most, and he had no idea what he might need them for.
"Fine. Remain here," he said, drawing deeply on his soulforce.
Drifting up a bit, he moved away from the ship until he was beyond the barrier, before spreading his arms as he shot towards the incoming fleet.
They will pay for making me waste my soulforce, he thought, reaching for one of the skills that he didn't use a lot. Like stretching an arm, he felt something move away from him and grow, while a distortion appeared in the air before him. It reached the nearest ships, and he gritted his teeth.
This is costing me a tenth of what I have… they better surrender after a few ships, or I will still have to send them in.
As he thought, he used his ability as if it were a fist that squeezed the nearest ship. The distortion increased, enveloping the ship as he had intended before expanding within moments to engulf the other six ships that roughly sat beside and behind him.
What…
The closest six ships were crushed together, while wood splinters and dust exploded out from between the distorting air. The distortion vanished, and a thick wooden clump with some liquid dripping from it plummeted to the ground.
Mozarath glanced up at the rest of the ships, noticing one of the captains gaping at him. He felt almost the same, but he made sure none of that showed.
"Surrender," he mouthed.
The man shuddered, then nodded, and although he couldn't hear them, Mozarath guessed the reason the ships were suddenly slowing down was that someone had shouted new orders.
Well, that is interesting, he thought as he turned and flew back. On the deck, he saw Klaz stare at him, his puppet's face slack and his purple eye wide with fear. Landing beside him, Mozarath walked to his cabin. He needed to figure out what had just happened.
"Head to the port and accept their surrender," he said, not bothering to listen to the reaction.