Irwin's Journey 487: Glittering eyes

Irwin hummed a rapid tune, weaving the melody around the thunderous strikes of his hammer clashing on Ambraz's surface. The electric sound of three soulstrum guitars accompanied him, one lower than the others.

Too many little errors, he thought with a frown.

His keen ears easily picked up every time one of his aura-clones couldn't keep up with the melody. He knew that most people wouldn't hear it, but for the level of reforging he was attempting, it was too clear.

Two mistakes later, he felt the card destabilize. With a weary, annoyed sigh, he stopped his hammer before it could swing down again. 

"Another failure," he muttered, before grabbing the ruby-bordered card and flicking the slowly vibrating thing into Ambraz's waiting mouth. The card wasn't anything important, but he knew that to nearly everyone else, the act of experimenting on a ruby-ranked card while knowing he would probably destroy it would be deeply unsettling, if they even believed it in the first place.

Well, other smiths, merchants, and rich lords might understand, Irwin thought as his focus momentarily moved over the massive number of cards he still had.

A deep explosion from Ambraz drew him back to the here and now, and he watched a plume of soulforce-imbued smoke trickle out from between his lips.

"You are getting better, so why do you look so annoyed?" Ambraz asked. "You only practice it a few hours a week. What do you expect?"

"That my aura-clones, as they practice on their own, show more progress," Irwin said, sensing how said aura-clones began exactly that again.

"They aren't actually separate entities, you know that, right?" Ambraz said. "They are all you, so you mean you are angry with yourself for not learning how to play one of the more difficult instruments I know of, that require a stable soulforce while you are reforging?"

Irwin took a deep breath, exhaled, and smiled at his bond. 

"You are right," he said. "I just feel that I should be able to do it."

"Oh, I agree, and you are," Ambraz said. "All the way up to ruby-rank, at which point things get incredibly complicated. Still, though I think it's a good thing to practice for the higher ranks, it's best not to spend too much time on it. You are already working on two cardseed resonances, one of which is nearly done. I think you should focus on that for now."

I know, but if I ever want to create the soul-clone cardseed, I need to learn this, Irwin thought, looking around the small smithy, and out across the storefront.

The previous empty shelves and display racks now held cards, most emerald and up, with a 'request to sideways reforge' section having a few lower-ranked cards. 

It had been almost another year since he'd semi-permanently moved into Blackglass, nearly all of which had been spent working on improving the body-duplicate card. He was almost at the point where he succeeded over half his attempts, and from the previous three cardseeds he had learned to make, he knew that meant he was going to get a final big improvement soon. Probably. Still, he'd gotten annoyed at doing the exact same steps with minute changes and found a few other projects to work on. One being the soul-clone cardseed, he knew he should be able to make eventually. 

"Fine," he said, as he pulled another card from his soulscape. "Let's make another body-split cardseed. I expect the final understanding to click in a few days."

"I agree… Have you decided when to go to Eluathar?" Ambraz asked, the curiosity in his voice matching that which Irwin felt through their bond.

"Right, after we make a card for Scintilla," Irwin said, humming a happy tune as he imagined having her here with him. "I hope her plan works."

"Are you going to do the same for the kids?"

Irwin instantly shook his head as he looked around. "No, not yet. We know the force all of this exerts on my soulscape, and I have three soulcards, most designed to increase my soulscape and soulforce in some way. Let's see if Scintilla is alright."

"I guess that's true… think you can bring Pur'am to Eluathar when you move?"

Irwin almost dropped the card at the surprise question. They hadn't talked much about the purple Ganvil with a bottomless appetite for growth-type cards. Most of the time he was either in Irwin's soulscape, hanging around Ambraz, or being held at bay by Brecka. 

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, after watching Ambraz for a moment.

"If I keep him here, he won't find a cardsmith to bond with," Ambraz said, his voice low and worried. "Worse, there are only a few people here who can keep him under control."

Irwin didn't respond right away, thinking about who would even be suitable to bond the explosive Ganvil. He'd actually asked Brecka if she wouldn't like to become a cardsmith a few months ago, again, but she had been clear. As much as she enjoyed the benefits, she didn't enjoy the process. 

"Who would he even be able to bond with?" he muttered, shaking his head. "It would have to be someone who gets mostly growth cards, and even then, did you manage to find out what would happen to the bonded smith?"

"Not exactly, but I have an idea," Ambraz said hesitantly. "I think their growth cards will grow faster than normal… or they won't grow at all."

"What?" Irwin exclaimed.

"Purperion helps cards and skills grow. Remember how your hammer-card ranked up?"

"Of course. We talked about that before," Irwin said, frowning. "But wouldn't that mean their cards would grow faster? Why do you think they might not grow at all?"

"Because it's possible that Pur'am will drain that growth for himself, as sustenance," Ambraz said quietly.

Irwin stared at the Ganvil, then at the card, then shook his head as he put it back in his soulscape.

"Let's go and have a bite," he grunted. "I need to think about this."

Ambraz didn't respond except turning into his smaller size with a flash and flying to his shoulder. They quietly walked out of the smithy, closing the door behind them before heading to the restaurant a few dozen feet to the side. Four Crathans were sitting at one of the large tables, chatting and eating.

One saw him coming and raised her hand in greeting. "Guildmaster."

The others quickly turned and did the same, smiling at him.

Irwin had to struggle to remember their names before recalling that the first person who greeted him was called Ulborgha. She had been one of the Yuurindi, together with her brother Ulburgh. He recalled because they had been one of the few siblings who arrived.

"Ulborgha," he greeted back, nodding at the others. "How is the eastern mine going?"

"Great," she said, perking up at the attention. "We have found tiny traces of Firesteel in that Degnin ore vein and are hoping for a small vein of that buried below it."

"Firesteel," Ambraz exclaimed, flying up and around the four Crathans. "That's great! If you find that vein, let me know right away!"

Irwin saw the confusion and surprise Ambraz's behavior caused, and he smiled.

"You are thinking about another batch of rank-zeros?" Irwin asked.

"Yes," Ambraz said. "A batch from Ancestral Copperion, and another from Firesteel? Between those and Frisyuustis's brats, we have the potential to have the strongest Ganvil outpost besides Granvox!"

Irwin saw the other Crathans share looks, and he hummed.

"Ulborgha, please let us know when you find it, alright?"

"I will, guildmaster!"

Irwin nodded at them before walking away and into the restaurant. He planned to have a bite while pondering how to handle Pur'am. 

"Uncle Gwuildmaster!"

A tiny blur ran across the room, slamming into his leg, and Irwin smiled down at Slaun.

Well, I guess I can play a bit first, he thought.

--

An hour after he'd eaten in Nimlarel's restaurant and played with her two boys, Irwin was quietly walking through Blackglass. The town had significantly grown, even gaining a few dozen more Crathans as Rinbus found more and more of his people preferring to change over, risking the Guidar re-chaining them. Still, his stocks of Crathan cardseeds had grown to nearly a hundred. He would leave about half here and bring the rest to Daubutim.

"You are sure Hou'dor can keep him in check?" Irwin asked.

"Oh, definitely. Hou will even be able to teach him a few things," Ambraz said. "Besides, there are plenty of rank four and five Ganvils there to help him if he needs it. Trimdir can hold him in his soulscape, as can Bronwyn or a few of the others."

Irwin nodded, stopping at the edge of the town to stare out across the immense lake of Ancestral Copperion. He had drained enough from it to create a small lake in his soulscape, but it didn't even make a dent in the supply in front of him. Even better, Nimlarel and Rinbus still moved around the undergrounds, draining any other pockets of Ancestral Copperion and adding them here. From what he could sense, there was so much that he could probably fill his soulscape with it and not have enough room.

"Let's drain a bit more, then we can go back and work on the body-clone cardseed," he said, leaning forward and sticking his hand in the Ancestral Copperion. 

"How much are you even going to take?" Ambraz asked. "You haven't even fully filled what you have now!"

Irwin shrugged. His otherself was hovering over the lake, watching as a thick waterfall of liquid metal poured into the center. Amidst the sloshing sound, there was barely a splash, and the ripples that managed to form spread out only a little before flattening out.

"Perhaps double what we have now?" he said, sensing how the lake slowly grew. "I think having enough space to hold ten times my maximum soulforce would be good. We can also leave some on Eluathar."

"That's a good idea," Ambraz said. "The others can make more rank-zeros like that!"

"That too," Irwin agreed, thinking more along the lines of having some of the others hold the Ancestral Copperion in their soulscapes if they could. To him, it was a tiny effort, but he knew the material caused powerful fluctuations in the soulscape of those weaker. They had found that out the hard way when Rinbus had attempted to bring back too much on his first run.

Pondering what had happened, he stared out across the lake, noticing that it was slowly becoming a bit red. A glance up showed that the light-giving fruits high on the ceiling were dimming. He knew they had drained too much of the abundant ambient soulforce and needed to assimilate it. This meant the enormous cave system would grow far darker, with only the dim crystals giving a bit of light. It was like a day and night cycle, and he knew that as more of the plants spread across the ceiling, that feeling would only grow stronger.

It's becoming like a tiny world on its own, he thought, wondering what it would look like in a hundred years—or a thousand. 

Hours later, he was standing in the smithy, looking at the three cardseeds on Ambraz's back. The first had been easy enough, the second much harder, almost failing, then the third easy again. He felt like he was on the precipice of something, though, and he swiped them away before staring at Ambraz.

"As soon as I'm ready, let's do one more," he said.

Between his powerful regeneration and the soulforce flowing out from the Ancestral Copperion like a thick mist, it would take about half an hour to replenish what he'd used. 

"I sensed more improvement on that last one," Ambraz said. "Are you close?"

"Very," Irwin said honestly. 

Ambraz's excitement grew, and the two waited till he was finally ready.

"Let's start," Irwin said as he raised his hammer.

The first part of the work was easy now, as he'd done it hundreds, if not thousands, of times for this soulseed alone.  Within half an hour, a churning mass of soulforce was compressed in the barrier Ambraz was holding.

"Alright, time to move it," Irwin said.

He pulled Ambraz, the card, and everything else into his soulscape, ignoring the sharp drain on his soulforce. Showing not a single moment of distraction, Ambraz grew in a flash, changing to a size that matched Irwin's giantself's body, which was waiting and ready. The Irwin in the real world summoned his soulstrum guitar and continued where his otherself had left off.

All of it took barely a blink of an eye, and as soon as Irwin was striking Ambraz, sensing the soulforce ripples wave over the soulforce in the barrier, he began strengthening said barrier. With Ambraz humming and helping direct the tiny soulforce fluctuations, Irwin started squeezing the barrier far tighter than Ambraz could. 

It was a technique they had developed over the last half year, which worked better than trying to incorporate it entirely in his soulscape or entirely outside. Why it was so much easier to create the start of the cardseed in the real world, he didn't know, but he did know why the second part was easier here. With Ambraz not needing to hold the barrier, the Ganvil's ability to influence the soulforce and smooth out any tiny instabilities was something Irwin could only match if he had no other things to do. Things like playing his soulstrum guitar, compressing the barrier, feeding in more of his soulforce, holding ninety percent of the soulforce resonance fluctuations quiet, and keeping that single, pure note as perfect as he could.

But amidst all this, he'd started sensing something he'd not noticed before. Not with this cardseed or the others.

It's like a feedback loop, he thought, compressing the barrier more while a part of him focused on that barrier. So soft that he could barely perceive it, the soulforce barrier made of his own soulforce was resonating with the pure tone that was the ignition point of the cardseed. It was matching his hum, Ambraz's hum, and his soulstrum guitar whine, and with each passing moment, it grew stronger, causing the cardseed to become stronger, which in turn caused the hum to grow stronger.

It… It's like it doesn't need my help anymore, Irwin suddenly realized. A part of him was telling him that even if he stopped, the seed would be fine now. All he and Ambraz were doing was increasing the odds of destabilizing it by making a tiny mistake.

If he were wrong, the cardseed would fail, but… 

Irwin stopped humming, letting only his soulstrum guitar and Ambraz continue. There was no difference within the compressed soulforce with the glowing square in front of him. A wave of confusion came from Ambraz.

'Stop humming,' Irwin managed to mutter without dropping his focus.

A tiny wave of confusion came from Ambraz, then his hum fell silent.

Immediately, the feedback loop between the tiny cardseed and the barrier became more obvious, seeming to strengthen instead of weaken. 

Far more sure of himself now, Irwin's otherself in the real world stopped playing on his soulstrum guitar.

The resonance between the barrier and cardseed almost sprang into clarity, and for a single moment, it looked like he'd made a mistake as it seemed to jitter. Then something changed in the tone. A tiny, minuscule discrepancy he'd not noticed, and instantly the tone grew from a whispered hum to a roaring howl.

Irwin felt the soulforce within the barrier sucked into the square while streams of differently resonating 'impure' soulforce were forced out. He quickly shoved more of his soulforce inside, as the howl became clearer and clearer.

It lasted for only a few minutes, growing so loud that he knew that had anyone been in here but him and Ambraz, they would have gone deaf while their own card resonance might have scattered.

With a final increase in power, the soulseed finished, and Irwin quickly let the barrier drop, not sure what would happen if he left it. The tiny card hovered midair, then drifted towards him.

"It's perfect," Ambraz grunted, changing into his smaller shape and landing on Irwin's shoulder. "How did you know to stop?"

Irwin shook his head, staring at the card quietly. "I sensed the resonance between the barrier and the cardseed."

"Amidst that ruckus? Your senses are bloody ridiculous," Ambraz said, but a wave of excitement came from him. "Do you think the other cardseeds are like this? That we have to stop at some point?"

"Yes. It would explain why we still fail sometimes," Irwin said as he examined the card, his smile widening as he realized just how good it was.

It's a hundred percent. It has to be.

"You found the cardseed," Ambraz said, interrupting him with his almost accusatory exclamation. "You said you would need a few weeks, and you found it now. Bah!"

Irwin snorted. "What are you upset about?"

"I'm not upset," Ambraz muttered. "I had hoped we could wait till they found some Firesteel."

Irwin hesitated for only a moment. He wanted to see his family, but he didn't have the card for Scintilla yet. He still had to make a body-clone card that allowed the slotting of individual cards for her. However, now that he had the ability to create the cardseeds faster and with more guarantee of success, it shouldn't take too long. That meant it was fine to stay a few more days.

"We can stay for a few more days as we create and reforge cards to find the one Scintilla needs," he said.

"With your luck, that might be the next one. Hell, it could be the one we just created," Ambraz said before bursting out in laughter. "We really should go and see Brazardian if we get a chance. I can't wait to see how he reacts to all this."

Irwin snorted, shaking his head. "That won't be for a while. After we are done here, which will be years from now, we need to head to Mudball and find Greldo."

Ambraz's laughter died as fast as it had come. "Kid, I'm sure he will be fine."

Irwin felt his own joy die down as a deeply buried worry for his friend stuck its head up. 

"Yeah," he said, looking at the card. 

He has to be.

-- 

Greldo let out a breath of relief as they sailed through the mountain pass towards the portal he knew would lead to Mudball. It hung there as quietly as when they had found it many years ago. No sign of any habitations, though that didn't mean anything. Though he hoped it did.

The last few weeks had been horrible, from dodging Guidar patrols and scouts to being constantly besieged by the shadow Oculithar. He was weary to the bone, while the others looked even worse. If they hadn't had the soulcards they did, they would have long been overwhelmed. 

"Alright, let's hope there's nothing on the other side," he said, turning to the others. "I'll move you all into my shadowpocket and then go through."

A few weary nods were his only reply, though Gloom's eyes were still constantly scanning his surroundings. As weary as he was, he still seemed ready for anything and had been for every moment of every day. Between that and Greldo's keen senses, it had saved them from a few sudden attacks.

Greldo pulled the ship with the others into his shadowpocket, moving through the shadows toward the portal. A few of the mountains cast large enough shadows for him to reach them without needing to expend any additional energy.

Let's hope things are clear on the other side, he thought as he moved into the portal.

A flash of blackness later, he was barreling through the familiar portal corridor. It was empty, while the barriers around it looked sturdy and clear. 

So far so good, Greldo thought, letting out a weary sigh.

They had been traveling for months, but it felt like years. He barely remembered how an undisturbed rest felt, and his hope for some quality time with Dahlia had been shattered long ago. Luckily, they should be able to take it easy once they're there.

As long as those stupid tentacled things don't keep finding us.

The trip through the portal corridor went excruciatingly slowly, but when he reached the end, he was still surprised to be there. 

Another flash later, Greldo appeared on the other side, immediately inside the shadowrealm. The same dead world that they had seen the first time greeted him. No Accenti. No Guidar army. No shadow Oculithar. 

Greldo shot up in the air, looking around, greeted with a bleak landscape of cracked hills and dark sand. 

Most of his worry faded, as he knew that if anyone had come here, they would have blocked this part, at a minimum. 

Good, then it's time to head to Mudball, he thought.

--

Irwin sat outside his house on Eluathar, staring at his children running around and playing. He'd arrived a few hours earlier, and after a lot of hugging, they had finally let him and Scintilla have a moment.

That meant the two of them were sitting below the small patio that looked out across the inner court between their house and that of his mother, who stood a bit away, laughing at Glow's antics. Ambraz had taken Pur'am to the academy to explain things to Trimdir and the others. 

"So, you are sure?" he asked, glancing at the Ignitzian whom he'd loved for over a decade now. She sat beside him, leaning against his shoulder.

"Definitely," she said, looking at the card in her hand. "You think I'm going to let you stay there all alone if I can help it?"

"I'm not all alone," Irwin said softly. "Brecka is there, and Rindiri. There are also a lot of others."

Scintilla shook her head and held the card he'd made for her over her hand.

"You know what I mean," she muttered, hesitating only a moment before letting the card slip into the first slot of her left hand. The body-clone card slid inside instantly, the first of the six cards that would eventually become her next heartcard.

Irwin leaned forward, wondering what it would look like. He had an idea of his own, but Scintilla's card was different from his. It would create not just a true clone of her body, but one that was nearly independent and able to slot cards of its own. Well, all but the first one.

Scintilla's eyes widened, then she slumped forward on the table. Irwin caught her head before it could smack on the table, frowning. 

A quick scan showed the kids still playing, though Ti was standing at the back, watching him and Scintilla. She said nothing, faking breathing hard, and waving the others away to continue the game of high-intensity tag without her.

'She's fine,' Irwin mouthed to his perceptive daughter.

He focused back on Scintilla, wondering how long it would take.

Close to ten minutes, Scintilla began stirring, pushing herself back up and shaking her head. There was no sign of any second body.

"Are you okay?" Irwin asked, examining her closely.

"Yes," Scintilla whispered, cracking her neck before staring off into the distance. 

Slowly, a smile crept up on her face.

"Though I'm glad I had extra clothes in my soulscape," she said. 

Irwin was about to ask why, when a second Scintilla appeared beside her. She was wearing a loose pale robe with a belt around it. 

"This is… weird," she said, turning to the first Scintilla. 

The two stared at each other for a while before turning to Irwin with raised eyebrows.

"I think I can get used to this," they said in unison. "Now I'll be able to sleep and practice way more!"

Irwin was about to agree when two pairs of beautiful eyes began glistening.

"We can also do some other interesting things like this."

Irwin froze, sensing a familiar hunger in his heartbond. One of the two licked her lips while the other moved closer, putting a hand on his arm. 

Before he had to react, a loud cry from the courtyard saved him.

"Heatmum?! There are two of you!!"

Both Scintillas let out a tsk before turning to a group of six children who rushed her. But not before she raised her eyebrows at him.

Irwin grinned back as he saw her start answering the dozens of questions their kids threw at them.

Yeah… this should be interesting, he thought.