Irwin's Journey 496: Unlikely pets

Irwin's otherself took a small bite as he tried to keep his focus on Scintilla and Nimlarel while also observing what his otherself was doing.

It had been weeks since they had unchained Umbral, and so far, the Shaidin hadn't asked to be allowed out of his soulscape. Instead, he'd been focused as much on Irwin's progress… or lack thereof, as Irwin himself had. 

It's not completely true that I had no progress, Irwin thought to himself, slightly annoyed.

He thought back to the cardseed he'd made a few days ago. It had gone much better already; his progress after only five weeks was better than what he usually had after a year. That speed of improvement had shocked even Ambraz, though the Ganvil had been quick to point out that it likely wouldn't last that long. 

Forming the simple soulform construct still took over an hour. Better than the three hours, but most of that progress had come in the first week. After that, every week shaved off only a few minutes. At this speed, it would take a year or more before he could create the first simple soulforce construct fast enough to Umbral's liking, let alone anything actually useful.

"Hotstuff?"

Irwin looked up with a start, seeing both Crathan women stare at him across their small private table.

"Were you watching your otherself practice again?" Scintilla asked, smiling when he nodded. "Nim and I were discussing heading out to that new small town east of Blackglass. They are having trouble with Wyrms. They keep attacking the town every few weeks, and the Shadow Rangers are having trouble finding why."

Irwin frowned. "They can't find their nest?"

"Oh, they found it, they just can't get close," Scintilla said. "According to them, it's deep within an Earth Titan body."

Irwin's frown deepened. Wyrms that had found Earth Titans usually remained there for a long time, and when they were done, many had grown so enormous that they headed deeper in the earth instead of staying near the top. If they were leaving the corpse, it meant it was likely not voluntary.

"Something is chasing them out?"

"That's what we think," Nimlarel said. "Rinbus and Brecka are going to be back tomorrow, and then we are heading out."

"You should come," Scintilla said, leaning forward. "You've been doing nothing but practicing lately, even more than you already were for those cardseeds."

Irwin wanted to deny it, but he knew it was true. It wasn't just Scintilla that had noticed it either. Rindiri had told him to take it easy even before he'd started practicing the soulforce constructs. 

"Alright," he said, drawing his attention from his otherself and splitting it more equally across his two selves.

Scintilla's eyes lit up with an internal fire, and she poured him another drink.

"Good! Have you decided when we will head back home?"

"Not yet. I need to talk with Umbral first."

"You haven't yet? He still hasn't said anything about leaving your soulscape?"

Irwin shook his head, took his glass, and drained it in a single gulp. The burning liquid, an Ignitian drink that even they took care in drinking, slid down his throat and left a nice tingling sensation. 

"I'll head back and do that now," he said as he got up. "You two have fun, but make sure you don't have a headache tomorrow morning!"

Scintilla reached out and pulled him in for a quick kiss before smiling at him. "We will be fine."

A few minutes later, Irwin entered his smithy. The place had turned into a cosy, slightly messy place, with forged items on one side and the cards on the other, and he headed for the forging area and his small worktable. Ambraz flew down from the rafters, landing on his shoulder.

"About time you go and ask him," the Ganvil said. "Remember our bet? I think it's because he enjoys teaching you! If I'm right, I get those two ice-typed cards."

Irwin snorted, wondering, not for the first time, why Ganvils had such a predisposition to consuming cards with rare and odd types. Ambraz said it was the taste, but he had the idea that it wasn't all. Or if it was, it was just an effect caused by something underlying. Whatever it was, he hoped Ambraz was wrong because they only had six of those cards.

"Fine, fine," he said, pulling Ambraz into his soulscape.

The drain was still hefty, but not nearly as much as it had once been. Even practicing the soulscape constructs had somehow already helped reduce it slightly, something Umbral said was because it was already making his soulscape's soulforce slightly more structured.

-- Irwin's Soulscape --

Irwin let his last attempt slowly fade away. It had taken him an hour and ten minutes to create the pattern, and he'd been able to hold it for a while. 

Umbral said a short distance away, legs crossed and eyes closed. According to him, Shaidin learned and used meditation from a young age to increase their control of their own soulforce. As if sensing him looking, the Shaidin's eyes snapped open, focused on him. 

"You have a question," Umbral stated, clearly not asking a question.

"You have been here for close to a month in merchant's time," Irwin said. "According to what you showed me, your soulscape has recovered as much as it can with the limited time… why have you not asked me to bring you back to Scour?"

Umbral held his gaze for a moment, emotionless first, then with a tiny gleam of humor. "Because if I do, I will have to leave. I made a deal with Terlo, and my people always abide by it. So, if I am outside your soulscape, I will be honorbound to leave and find him to do my part of the deal."

Irwin stared at the ancient being, older than anything but the titan sliver. Even Gelwin was likely not even half the Shaidin's age. Being around an entity this old, and knowing how many more there were, made him feel incredibly young. Odd, because by now he was older than nearly all people who had lived in Malorin back on Giard, and his young self would have likely thought him ancient by now. 

"So, what do you intend?" he asked.

"Although Terlo told me how to find you, and helped me get the ability to even talk with you, you are still the one who unchained me," Umbral said calmly. "I wish to help you, not just as a reward, but also because I feel that you have the ability to create a force that can finally rid our Portal Gallery of these Guidar. So, for as long as you don't speed up the time dilation as you explained to me, I will stay here and help you. At least, until you learn how to create a simple living construct."

Irwin stared at the Shaidin, feeling a slight weight slide from his shoulders. It surprised him, but it took only a moment to realize what it was. Without really noticing, he'd been getting more and more worried that he would lose his teacher before he had learned all he could. From what he and Ambraz had garnered from watching Umbral create constructs in his own soulscape, even just learning how to create a few of those would likely improve his understanding of everything he did when reforging cards. In the worst case, it would increase the speed at which he learned and created new cardseeds. In the best case, he might be able to learn how to adapt existing cards in ways he couldn't know. 

"Then I will keep the time dilation as it is now until I can create at least one of those constructs," he said, feeling a tiny stab as he realized that meant even more time till he saw his children. Part of him knew that if Scintilla hadn't gotten her body double skill, which allowed her to be here with him, he might not have been able to hold out that long.

"Good," Umbral said, showing no emotion. "I am close to creating a new practice schedule for you. Don't interrupt me for the next few days."

The Shaidin closed his eyes, leaving Irwin staring at him curiously.

Well, I guess that gives me time to see what's up with those wyrms, Irwin thought.

A day later, he, Ambraz, Scintilla, Rinbus, and Brecka stood inside the body of the earth titan staring at the oditity inside its stomach.

"I mean… how?" Did it swallow it?" Brecka asked, hands on her hips as she glared at the portal hovering before them. A giant Insectoid queen lurked below, glaring at them with dozens of eyes, but not daring to move. As strong as she was, even her limited mind seemed able to discern the power gap between herself and the six beings before her.

"If that's true, it would have killed it," Ambraz said. "I think it probably died and this formed after…"

"Which means it's the youngest portal we have found so far," Irwin said, turning to Rinbus. "How old would this be?"

"Everything I could find shows that this body can't have been here much longer than ten years," the Accenti-turned-Crathan said. 

"That's very recent," Irwin muttered as he glanced at the queen. They had already cleared out all other Insectoids, which had been chasing away the Wyrms. 

A shadowy flash came from the side, and as the cloud of shadows faded, Nimlarel appeared together with a group of twenty Portal Closers. Irwin recognized a few who told him the group was among the more experienced. Each had five topaz hancards, which left the last one open for them to get a high-rank heartcard. It was something that had slowly become the norm, as it gave the Portal Closers the ability to earn a lot and later gain a heartcard of a rank that matched it. If any of them reached above Emerald, Irwin knew he would see them eventually, as he was still the only one able to create heartcards of the Emerald rank. 

To his surprise, there was also an even more familiar face, one who already had a heatcard.

"Guildmaster!" Julla said.

Irwin smiled as he nodded back at one of the first Oxarite members of their first guild. 

"Julla, it's been a while," he said. He had a good idea why she was here, though he was surprised Nimlarel had actually brought her along. Still, that would have to wait for a bit later, and he turned to the group of portal closers.

"Welcome," he said, nodding at them. 

"Guildmaster," the twenty said, some of those he recalled having spoken to before, smiling at him.

One of them, likely the group leader, stepped forward. She was a Viridian with yellow leaves in her long green leaf hair, showing she was older than most, and Irwin knew he had seen her with one of the first groups. If he recalled correctly, the woman was also the one who had been adamant to keep her final cardslot open, and she was one of those working to get a ruby-rank heartcard. Sadly, as was becoming more common as of late, he had no idea what her name was. 

"Nimlarel requested the most experienced group," she said, getting a round of grins from behind her. "For Topaz, that's us. I hadn't expected such high-ranking people here. Is there something wrong with the portal, Guildmaster?"

Although she smiled slightly, Irwin saw a tiny bit of worry in her eyes.

"Yes, Groupleader," he said, causing her bark-lips to twitch upward. "This portal is likely the newest portal we have found so far. Either that, or the earth titan swallowed it and dragged it here…."

"Unlikely," the group leader said with a shake of her head. She turned to the portal, her eyes glistening with interest. "I didn't even know new portals still appeared."

"Well, I want you to go in and come back out if anything seems off," Irwin said. "If it's not a regular portal, we will bring in a full raid to close it."

"We will be fine," the group leader said, motioning for the rest to get ready. "Will you deal with the queen, or…"

Irwin snorted as Brecka and Scintilla ran forward, almost seeming to race each other. Everyone turned quiet as the queen let out a startled screech, her anger finally overtaking her fear. Sadly for her, it mattered little.

Scintilla turned into a red, fiery dash that passed below and behind the queen. Behind her, Brecka barked a laugh as she jumped forward, her body blurring as she shot towards the queen. The queen had enough time to slash out with her frontal claws, missing Brecka as the massive warrior slammed into her at the same time as Scintilla drove Leafbrand into her back. 

The entire battle lasted only a minute, and when it was done, Brecka and Scintilla could be heard bickering about who did the most damage.

"It's like they never grow up," Nimlarel muttered.

Irwin and Rinbus grinned at her, knowing she was comparing the other two women's behavior to some of her older children. 

A few minutes later, Irwin stood beside the portal. The squad of Portal Closers had gone through, and they were all watching intently. It was always unclear how the portal's time dilation would be. In many cases, it was a lot faster inside, meaning they didn't take long to exit. Irwin didn't expect it to last that long at all this time, seeing as they would just be scouting. He wasn't disappointed when a minute later the first one jumped back out. He quickly scanned the man, finding no wounds, though he looked weary and his face was covered in a thin layer of soot. The man walked to the side to let the others clear out, turning to Irwin.

"We found the Linchpin already," he said. "It was a really small volcanic shard, and from what we could see, it was highly unstable. The queen outside was the only one, though there were some queen larvae inside that we took care of."

As the man spoke, the others jumped out, and when the last one -the group leader- exited, the portal disappeared in only a few moments.

'Kid, I think this is good news,' Ambraz grunted. 'If portals start spawning more, it probably means we are slowly stabilizing the world by removing the old ones.'

'That… makes no sense,' Irwin responded. 'If it's stable, shouldn't it be impossible for portals to spawn?'

'It's not a single sense of being stable,' Ambraz replied. 'The ambient soulforce doesn't have the same resonance everywhere, and from what I can sense, it's actually pretty unstable here.'

Irwin let his soulforce senses roam freely, and he quickly saw what Ambraz was talking about. Although it wasn't too bad, the roiling clouds of ambient soulforce that moved around seemed… agitated compared to what he was used to. He continued scanning a bit more before reigning them back in as he felt a slight headache grow, something that had begun happening more as of late.

'As more get cleared, the ambient soulforce will start stabilizing more and more, and because of how much ambient soulforce there is now, large swaths of Scour will become a lot safer.'

Irwin nodded, his attention split between the group leader explaining what they had seen and Ambraz. 

"Pretty Eyes, think we can go and explore this place before we leave? Perhaps the heart is still intact!"

Irwin looked at Scintilla. "Sure. But don't get your hopes up too high."

Scintilla prodded him before heading towards the distant wall, the others following her.

"I'll bring them back," Nimlarel said, rolling her eyes as Brecka ran forward and slammed into the nearby wall before climbing up to a hole that the wyrms had managed to drill into it before they were likely chased away by the insectoids.

Irwin barked a laugh, then sprinted after his sister and his heartbond. When Scintilla turned into a bright red streak of fire that reached the hole before Brecka Irwin clicked his tongue and a moment later reappeared behind her. 

"You really need a movement skill," Scintilla said, looking at where Brecka was limbing up, a wide grin on her face.

Irwin's eyebrows shot up, and with a sudden grin, he took a deep breath and shouted, 'Boo'.

Scintilla spun around and jumped back with Leafbrand in her hand. There was a moment of surprised annoyance on her face.

In the split second she'd hung there, Irwin realized he might have overdone his impromptu joke, then gravity exerted itself, and Scintilla fell from view. 

"Hey! What-" Brecka's surprised cry was cut short as the two fell back down.

Oops, Irwin thought, though he wasn't overly worried. Neither of the two would be hurt from the fall, though they might be annoyed. He grimaced and rushed to the edge of the tunnel. Below him, Brecka was hanging from one arm, holding Scintilla with the other, while both women glared up at him.

"Sorry?" Irwin said, unable to stop himself from grinning.

The grin turned to a full-blown laugh as Brecka grunted and threw Scintilla up at him. Shaking from the laughter, he still managed to catch his heartbond and put her beside himself. As he continued laughing, her glare slowly turned to a weary smile, and finally she laughed with him.

"Don't throw people at me while I'm climbing, brother!"

Irwin looked at Brecka, who climbed into the tunnel, but her annoyed huff only made his laughter louder.

"Okay. Fine. Let's go and see if we can find the heart," she said, shaking her head.

Irwin and Scintilla followed her, and as the two of them stopped laughing, Scintilla leaned into him.

"It's good to see you loosen up a bit," she whispered, before prodding her finger in his ribs. "But don't scare me like that again!"

"Don't make fun of my sister, and we have a deal," Irwin replied. 

Brecka glanced over her shoulder, her frown gone and replaced by a smile.

They walked through the maze of wyrm-created tunnels, Brecka in the lead.

"Remember the first time we were in one of these?" he asked Scintilla.

"Ugh. Don't remind me," she grunted. "Bloody Numili."

Irwin's hum stopped. "Whatever happened to her? Did she ever pop back up?"

"Mother said there were rumors of her appearing on one of the most eastern frontier worlds of the Ignitzians. It was one which rumors say has or had one of those giant portals."

"A World Portal?" Irwin asked curiously.

"Maybe," Scintilla said with a shrug. "We never knew much about them. All that stuff we found out in the last few years? I don't think anyone in our part of the Portal Gallery knows about this. Maybe not even in the central branches…"

"So, what were the rumors about?" Irwin asked. "Just that she was there, or…?"

"No. Apparently, she went through the portal and wasn't seen before," Scintilla said, staring off into the distance. "I don't know much about it, and mother didn't want to speak about it."

They didn't say much after that, Irwin using his soulforce senses to keep an eye on their surroundings. Eventually, Brecka broke the silence, and Irwin was surprised by her words.

"There's the heartchamber!" she said, stepping to the side to show them a hole in the wall ahead of them. A faint mist of dense soulforce drifted out from it.

Irwin had a good idea of what they would find as they moved closer and poked inside.

The chamber was much larger than the one he recalled, the ceiling over forty feet up, while the heart that hung in the center was the size of a small barn. Tendrils moved from the walls and ceiling, holding it still, while a much thicker tendril moved from the heart and into the rocky floor. The dark-red, almost black, rocky hunk of flesh was dead, but a soft movement came from a long white shape wrapped around its base.

"A wyrm!" Brecka hissed.

"It's absorbed the hearcard's remains," Ambraz grunted. "Such a shame."

Irwin hummed as he stared at the Wyrm. 

It's different from the smaller ones, he pondered, examining its sluggish movement. The simple soulforce signature within it seemed different too, almost as if it was on the point of changing. If he had to guess, absorbing the heartcard had done something beyond just making it larger. But what?

As he leaned forward, a strange idea began to take shape. He had to learn how to create creatures in the future, and Umbral had told him that it was easiest to have them in his soulscape so he could learn as much from them as he could. The Wyrm before him, even though it was apparently changing, was still far simpler than many other creatures he'd seen. Probably because it was nearly mindless. Besides that, he'd been having issues finding things that could live in his soulscape. He had no basic sustenance, and most creatures he'd been able to find needed at a minimum of plants.

Wyrms, however, lived from a combination of heat and soulforce… both of which were abundant in his soulscape. Perhaps it was the reason their soulforce signatures were so simple? He didn't know, but besides their weakness against direct fire, they seemed the best option so far. 

The only problem was, did he actually want a wyrm in his soulscape? 

Well, it's not like they can harm me or anyone else… Besides, they are far simpler than even a bird.

After a few moments, he waved the others back. 

"Let me try something," he said, stepping into the room

"What are you doing?" Scintilla hissed worriedly.

Irwin didn't take his eyes off the Wyrm, a massive one that was almost as thick as his torso. 

"Don't worry," he said, not bothering to whisper as it was clear the Wyrm had already detected them. Its head was moving up, the teeth in its maw pulsing inward and outward slowly. Beyond that, it didn't react.

He stretched his soulforce aura, intending to bring the Wyrm into his soulscape, only to be surprised when a powerful wave of soulforce repulsed his aura. 

It can do that?

He whistled as he tried again, only for the Wyrm to rebuff his effort even strongly while its movement became more jerky. 

Let's try something else, Irwin thought as he glanced at the ceiling. As he's mentioned before, it was over forty feet high, which meant it should be fine. 

His otherself warned Umbral of his plans, and a moment later, he switched his normal body and his giant body. The change was still as jarring as the first time, as the massive chamber suddenly became a lot smaller. The reaction from the Wyrm was instant, as it seemed to recoil backward, unwrapping part of itself from the tendrils in a blur of motion.

"Now hold still," Irwin grunted as he grabbed for the Wyrm. His movement wasn't all that fast, but he managed to catch the sluggish Wyrm behind its head either way. The skin felt dry and slightly like metallic bone, and as he pulled it towards himself, he felt the Wyrm struggle only slightly.

"What are you doing?" Scintilla shouted from behind him.

"Seeding my soulscape," Irwin replied, using the word that he'd heard Umbral use.

This time, he didn't try to pull the Wyrm inside, but he just switched his two bodies again. His regular body reappeared in the heartchamber, while his giant body and the body vanished.

-- Irwin's Soulscape --

Irwin appeared in the lower foothills of his soulscape. The Wyrm in his hands was quickly becoming more agitated, bending its body in a useless attempt to break free.

"That's not a creature most people start out with," Umbral shroud from his position a few yards away. "It's some sort of predator?"

"A wyrm," Irwin shouted back, looking around and hesitating. The smaller Wyrms lived in the soft sand of the deserts, but they could also dig through the rough flesh of the earth titans. They should be fine here… right?

"Alright, I'm going to let you go now," he said, staring at the Wyrm that was now fully awake from whatever sleep it had been in and seemed highly pissed off. Sadly, as big as it was, it was no more than a rope in his hands. There was no sign of any intelligence, and Irwin hesitated before forcing his soulforce around him, making it pulse aggressively. Instantly, the Wyrm stopped moving, frozen as if in fear.

Irwin put it on the ground, hand on the back of its head, before jumping back. He didn't have to take the preciousings, as the Wyrm remained where it was. Only when he stopped radiating the oppressive soulforce did it shiver and rise up. In a single, smooth motion, it rammed its head into the rocky ground, teeth forward. With a screen that made Irwin's hair stand on end, it ducked straight down, pebbles and debris shooting from slits that opened in its side.

I never saw that before, Irwin thought as he watched the Wyrm dig into the stone as if it were nothing but mud and disappear from view within a few seconds. It left behind a hole filled with shards of stone, while a thin layer of sand was spread around it. Sensing it rapidly disappear into the depths of his soulscape, Irwin leaned forward and pinched some of the dark red sand, examining it. It reminded him of a few of the deserts that existed on Scour.

"I wonder if all of Scour was stone until those wyrms appeared," he muttered.

"No idea," Umbral said as he closed in, eyes on the ground. "I take it you won't allow me to hunt it?"

Irwin snorted, shaking his head. "Not unless I can figure out if it can multiply," he said.

"Can't you just get more?"

Irwin hesitated, cocking his head as he scanned his soulscapes' stability. Having foreign elements in it usually destabilized soulscapes, but he didn't even feel a difference. 

"That might not be a bad idea," he said. "But if I do, don't hunt this one. It's different." 

Umbral didn't show any reaction to that except for a short nod, while Irwin focused on the Wyrm and where it was heading.

-- Scour --

"Are you sure it won't be dangerous?" Scintilla asked as they made their way back out of the Earth Titan.

"It's just digging around and keep far from the underground lava and the volcanic region," Irwin said. "Besides, I can create an impenetrable layer when others are there."

"Are you going to keep them?" Brecka asked, sounding almost as interested as Umbral.

"Probably not," Irwin said. "Though if I can somehow copy their soulforce pattern and create fake ones from my own soulscape, I might. Umbral said if I get good enough, I can even change them, just like with cards."

"Bah, if you want big creatures, couldn't you have gone for Chaos Whales?" Scintilla asked.

Irwin blinked, thinking about the flying giants of the sky. Long ago, he'd moved them in his soulscape, but back then, it had been something he couldn't keep up for a long time. Now? Now he could probably keep some within it without any problem. But that didn't mean he could make a soulforce construct from them any time soon, or even ever. The thing was, there was another good reason to keep them inside.

'If I have some chaos whales in my souslcape, do you think their soulforce will help fill up my soullake?' he asked, pondering about the last time they had been there. Back then, if they had tried, he would have had to eject them instantly or risk blowing up his soulscape. Now it should be fine… probably.

'Only one way to find out,' Ambraz said, though Irwin felt the wave of excitement from his friend.

"I'll think about it," he said, turning to Scintilla with a grin. "But I think it will have to be both until I can make something simple, so we are going to go hunting some more Wyrms!"