Irwin's Journey 440: From the bog rises the foulmouth

Irwin walked through the dense part of the Grove, following Fireza, the tall, lanky, and almost black-leafed Viridian woman. The color of her leaf hair, the ruggedness of her barkskin, and the soft haziness of her voice would tell anyone who knew these things just how ancient she was, even by Viridian standards. 

Which made her brisk pace and the joyful energy in her pale green even more astonishing.

Irwin scanned her again, just to be sure she wasn't actually a hidden multi-soulcarded. He found the same he had the first time he'd met her. A horribly mismade heartcard that likely made it harder for her to age gracefully instead of easier. Still, she was the only heartcarded he'd found so far.

Fireza moved across the mossy path, stopping before a wooden arch. It stood in a wall of vegetation so dense Irwin couldn't see through it, while the soulforce radiating from it blocked him from sensing what lay beyond.

Fireza stopped and turned to him, looking slightly down her nose at him. Irwin already knew it wasn't because she didn't like him or thought him less. It was because her body had started becoming rigid, and for all the speed her limbs still moved, her back and neck were almost immobile.

"We are about to enter the place I told you about, the Dwaelen family's hidden grove of elders," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "I wish to reiterate that you please don't touch anything, not with your hands or with your soulforce. Most of those here are either those that failed to grow into one of the Elder Trees or who have chosen not to."

Irwin nodded, feeling his excitement grow. As far as he knew, most details about how the Elder Groves worked were hidden from public knowledge, and the fact that some Viridians could remain semi-conscious for thousands and thousands of years, waiting for something, was definitely something nobody else knew.

"Of course, Lady Fireza," he said, keeping his own voice a low rumbling whisper. He had been surprised to find that she, like Daubutim, preferred not to use her family name but instead used only her first name. 

"Good, then follow me, fellow seeker of knowledge," she said, her eyes gleaming with joy even though her face remained stuck in a calm, pleasant look.

She walked through the arch, and as Irwin followed her, he felt something wash over him. A sentient wave of power carried with the soulforce that now rippled around him in a density he'd only felt in one place before—the gas giant.

It's like the Titan remnant, he thought as he followed her across the path of moss out into the open. 

Finally able to look across the low bushes that had been blocking his view, he saw a deep ravine. The rocky sides were covered by vegetation and glistening, tiny streams of water dripping down. Far below, the surface of a teal marsh gleamed and bubbled while a modest lake covered the furthest part. 

Across the marshy ground, spread out to give each a large amount of space, stood thousands of trees. Some were no taller than he was, while others were over forty feet tall. Raised paths, either carved into the roots or made to look that way, wound between the trees, allowing someone to approach them. 

A single, enormous tree stood at the other side of the valley, growing up and out, its trunk blocking the entire rocky side and its canopy so high that it reminded Irwin of clouds. 

"That is the Guardian of the Dwaelen Grove," Fireza said. "I can't tell you its name, as it was lost in time, though some suggest it was Dwaelen. I doubt this, but what I do know is that it makes sure anyone not meant to be here is guided away safely, sentient and non-sentient alike. The only reason you were able to find this entrance was due to my presence."

Irwin took a deep breath, smelling water and soil mixed with wet vegetation as if after the rain. He let his soulforce senses flow out, focused on the enormous tree. A faintly curious presence lingered in the soulforce around it, but he instantly knew it wasn't Lord Urdwellan. Although he didn't know how the Viridian who had become the Guardian was far older than Lord Urdwellan would have been by now. 

Didn't he tell me that they brought some elder trees with them when they arrived on Scour? Irwin thought, trying to remember the conversations he'd had with Lord Urdwellan.

"Follow me," Fireza said.

Irwin did, following her to the edge where a staircase had been carved into one of the Guardian's immense roots. Its tip was dug deep into the edge of the ravine, and as Irwin followed the Viridian Elder down the stairs, she began telling him a story.

"We lost this place a few times in the history of my family. The first was so long ago that we don't have any details except this. One of my ancestors, the only one left in my family line, felt a powerful draw that had been growing as more of those born from the same trees as he died. When he was alone, he wrote that the draw was no longer something he could resist, so he traveled into the depths of the Grove until he came across this place. A handful of the older locals had known about it, but the entrance had been blocked to all. My ancestry was able to enter without issue. If he ever wrote what happened inside, this was lost in time, but when he returned, he was not the same. Within fifty years, he managed to increase the number of my family from one to dozens… Some historians know him as The Nutbearer," Fireza said, followed by a slight laughter. "Sadly, we have lost all but a single one of his books, the oldest one, and the only reason we have that is because he left it here, in the grove."

Irwin didn't respond, following her. As she continued to tell him more about her family, a pattern began to make itself clear.

"Lady Fireza," he said as she stopped explaining how they had lost it the most recent time, to be found again a few thousand years ago by her own Grandmother. "It is curious that your family keeps condensing down to a single person, only to find this place again. Have you managed to find out what happened to the others?"

Fireza sighed as they finally reached the end of the staircase, now far below ground level.

"It is something many of my family have asked themselves," she said. "Some have suggested a curse or a disease, while others have wondered if there are more malevolent things going on."

"Nothing was ever found?" Irwin asked, wondering if Lord Urdwellan's descendants were having the same problem as the Galladin had. Was there a group of Chained hunting them?

"No," she said. "I have done extensive research on this myself and have come to the same conclusion my Grandmother did. Without guided action, older Viridian lines have the tendency to die out."

Irwin frowned at that, glancing at his host. "I was told that you are the last of your line, but…".

"But you doubt that?" she said, laughing softly. "Good. Because I am, of course, not. However, I am the last of the Dwaelen family to come here regularly. The younger generation seems more adventurous, and many have spread across the world, joining distant new towns or trying to help push the Grove further into the Burning Lands."

"Does that mean you will lose this place again?" Irwin asked, feeling a strange sense of sadness for that idea.

"No," Fireza said. "When I finally can't go on and either take my place here or allow myself to return to the grove, there are those that will return and decide on the next keeper."

They wordlessly continued for a while, moving past the trees. Irwin noticed that there wasn't a real rhyme or reason to how they were placed, just far enough apart that if one grew, there would be space. His soulforce senses were now at full power, and as they walked forward, he began to notice something… odd. Far away, near the distant lake, something odd lingered in the soulforce. Something powerful, ancient, and decidedly not Viridian. Something… familiar.

Irwin frowned as he looked toward it, noticing a gnarly old tree, one of the larger ones around, with a canopy of yellowish and red leaves. Before he could investigate further, Fireza began talking.

"Now, fellow searcher of knowledge… You promised me information about my family that was lost in time and have managed to pique my interest enough to bring you here," she said, causing Irwin to shelve the oddity for later and focus on his host.

"My cards have told me that you are to be trusted, even though you are far more powerful than you claim to be," she continued before raising her hand and gesturing around them. "There is no way anyone can either follow us or overhear, making this a perfect place to talk."

Irwin watched her, seeing the deep desire for knowledge to find out what had happened within her mind. He'd spoken with her a few dozen times across the last two months, and it had taken a great deal to gain her trust. Still, he had not shared who he truly was or where he came from, just hinting that he was older than he looked and knew things. 

Well, at least now I know why she felt so secure in allowing me to come here, Irwin thought as he sensed the pressure of the soulforce around him. If he did anything he shouldn't, the Guardian would try to stop him. He doubted it could actually stop him from fleeing, as he felt he would likely be able to move away with his soundwave movement, but the density of the soulforce was far more than even he could muster. 

"Like I said before, what I am about to share with you must remain with you," he said before looking around. "And within this grove, at least for the foreseeable future."

Fireza placed her hands together on her chest in an odd gesture.

"On my family name, I will not share what you share with me now, with anyone, until you say otherwise," she said. 

The dispersed sentience within the ambient soulforce seemed to coalesce at her words, and Irwin felt something shift. Almost as if whatever was present agreed with her in some way.

"I am not from this world," he said calmly. "Roughly forty thousand years, I came here to practice my profession, learning from a man called Gebladir Urdwellan, who was at that point the lord of house Urdwellan and the leader of the world Scour."

A wave of joy surged through the soulforce resonance, and the dispersed sentience coalesced even more. The joy was mixed with a sense of curiosity and recognition.

Fireza had been rigid before, but now she froze entirely, and after a moment, she took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I am glad I brought you here," she said. "Because if I had not sensed the grove's reaction just now, I might have called you a liar."

"I don't know a great deal about your family," Irwin said. "But I will share what I do know. Have you ever heard of a place called the Portal Gallery?"

"There were mentions of it in my family's oldest books, those that are kept in here," Fireza whispered, her voice trembling with excitement. "I always thought it was a metaphor, something to say we came from beyond the Burning Lands."

"It is not," Irwin said before calmly telling her some of the things he'd shared with Rinbus.

Unlike Rinbus, however, Fireza interrupted him many times, asking questions to elaborate on details. Some he knew, some he didn't, but when he finally finished, the morning had passed to afternoon and eventually evening.

"So they lived during the night and slept during the day," Fireza whispered, sounding amazed. "There are references and mentions to this, but most of us have waved it away as nonsense."

"Oh, it wasn't," Irwin said. "The other species that were here, most couldn't handle the heat. Only the Ignitzians and the Viridians were able to. Though I do wonder where those others have gone."

Fireza sighed. "The legends and stories speak of multiple wars that were fought over the millennia. Somewhere references in the stories left in the Dwaelen grove library, though sadly, the eldest records, those that could corroborate what you say, have been missing for a great, great many years."

"Any idea how or why?" Irwin asked. "From all you told me, that would mean someone in your family took them?"

"This is one of the biggest mysteries among the eldest families," she said with a sad sigh. "Not just ours, but the libraries of all are missing the oldest parts. That which is left only goes back to six or seven thousand years. There are hints of older things but no details."

Irwin hesitated, looking around before turning to Fireza.

"Have you ever heard of The Guidar?" he asked. 

Fireza was quiet for a few moments before responding.

"I have… Some of my ancestors were close with the Acenti, and that name was mentioned in their most ancient stories and legends. However, I was told never to mention them, as those Acenti that still know this guard the secret closely."

"They do," Irwin said, thinking about the things Rinbus had told him over the last half year. 

For a few minutes, neither said anything, lost in their own thoughts, until Irwin looked up.

"Now, the reason I wanted to see this place," he said. "It's because I would like to see if Lord Urdwellan, the one I knew, was able to leave a tree here, and if I can speak with him."

"Speak? That is not exactly how it works," Fireza said. "If he remains, he will be nothing but a memory. Just like the Guardian, they are mostly instinct-driven, and the best you can hope for is some memories."

Irwin frowned, sensing the hilarity at those remarks from the sentience that was now hovering around them like a faint mist, the soulforce resonating with a song.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. "The guardian seems to be more than a little curious and is actively listening to us right now."

Fireza slowly turned around, her eyes flickering across the distant groves.

"I… sense a slight difference with normal," she muttered. "As if the air is denser, the soulforce just a fraction louder."

Irwin was once again reminded of just how large the difference in soulforce sensitivity was among people. He knew that most, if not all, smiths would have been able to sense what he could, though perhaps not in as great detail.

Perhaps…

Irwin closed his eyes, focusing on the most sensitive part of his soulforce senses, his perception of the ambient soulforce through his own soulforce pressure and his hearing.

Very slowly, he focused on the Guardian, and as he did, he felt the Guardian's attention and focus increase.

~My, my…. I didn't think anyone would ever wake me up again after the last time!~ 

A voice rippled out from around them, resonating the soulforce so powerfully that it created physical sound, not unlike what Irwin did when he played with his soulstrum guitar.

Fireza gasped while Irwin opened his eyes. A dense layer of soulforce hovered in front of them like a cloud. To his senses, it was all some form of green mixed together, and he knew all of it was some form of vegetation-type soulforce. 

~ You are a rather skilled cardsmith, ~ the voice continued.

Irwin grimaced at that, and the voice returned with a soft sigh.

~ Ah, my apologies. I didn't wish to reveal something I should not have… Still, I am sure my distant descendant is willing to keep this to herself. ~

There was no pressure or danger in the voice, but Fireza's voice was louder than normal.

"I won't!" she said, her voice cracking slightly. "Guardian, who are you?"

~ My name? What was it… Do I recall? ~ the voice mused. ~I was born to the Origin Trees on Virandi long ago… as… Urdwel, the first of a new line. When one of my descendants found a new world, they brought me along to become its Guardian… ~

The voice kept drifting off as if it were reliving things nearly lost in time.

"Ancestor, what happened to our world?" Fireza whispered. "Why do we not know the things Irwin speaks of?"

~ I… do not know… Waking gets harder, and after the last time, when young Gebladir woke me, I didn't expect to ever wake again. ~

Irwin felt his interest grow. "What happened to Gebladir? Did he close the Exit Portal?"

~ So very long ago, ~ Urdwel muttered. ~He spoke of a storm that ravaged the Soultree, of a growing infection.~

Soultree? Irwin looked at Fireza, but she seemed as confused as he was.

'What's a soultree?' he asked.

'Dunno,' Ambraz whispered. 'Ask him?'

"Urdwel, what is this Soultree you speak of?" Irwin asked.

~ Your kind called it The Portal Gallery. An odd name for one of the Soultrees. ~

"Ancestor, we have lost so much of our history," Fireza whispered, seemingly not interested in the Soultrees. "Please, while you are awake, can you share what you recall?"

~ Yes, young one, I can. Though… you have only a few years left. Perhaps you should bring others? ~

Fireza took a step back, and Irwin had the distinct feeling she wanted to bow her head but failed.

"Of course, elder! How long do I have?"

~ Not very long… perhaps ten years? So hurry…"

Irwin blinked at that. Ten years weren't that short?

Well, if you are this old, it might fly by in a moment. 

~ Before this, though, I need to speak more with the young SmithSmith, ~ Urdwel said, his voice becoming stronger, less airy. ~ Gebladir left something here…. Feisty, mouthy, annoying. He said it was in case the world needed more stability, though how one such as that can stabilize anything is beyond me. I put it to sleep shortly after it was placed there… but I feel it is time to wake the annoying one. ~

Irwin felt his skin start to crawl while a groan came from Ambraz.

'Please tell me it's not what I'm thinking?' Ambraz said. 'Tell him to let that old rusty tool sleep!'

Irwin had no time for it as he sensed the Guardian's soulforce flow like a tidal wave, slamming into the tree he'd sensed before into the thing buried deep below the ground.

'No, no, no,' Ambraz grunted. 'Okay, now I'm so happy I can't move out!'

Irwin ignored Ambraz as he sensed something deep in the earth shift. A tremor ran through the ground, the murky water sloshing about while clouds of insects he'd not even noticed flew up. 

The tremors strengthened when he saw a bulge appear in the distance, water flowing away from it. 

"What is happening?" Fireza whispered.

"I think we are about to get company," Irwin said, shaking his head as something dark and gleaming broke through the surface of the bog. A moment later, an anvil the size of a small house shot into the sky with a triumphant bellow.

"Hah! You can't keep me asleep, you stupid sapling! Rotten to the core you are, trying to trick me!"

'I knew it,' Ambraz groaned. 'And how did he even manage to become rank seven?'

"What? How much time passed? Why is everything… Wait! We have company? And a smith at that!? So that's why you woke me," the Ganvil said as he flew forward on wings that caused loud booms and tremors. He landed on the ground a few dozen feet in front of them with such violence that mud and water sprayed everything within a hundred feet, including Irwin and Fireza.

"Hello, Yuustis," Irwin said.

"So people remember my name," the Ganvil shouted happily. "I knew it. But why do you call me by my old name? I am Frisyuustis, the most powerful monarch to ever be!"

'That little…. He's only rank seven!' Ambraz growled.

"Congratulations on reaching rank seven," Irwin said. 

"Thank you, I- …. Wait. How do you know all this? Should I know you?"

Irwin sighed. "We met a long time ago when Gebladir was still alive," he said. "I am Irwin, bonded to Ambraz."

"Ambraz, that little brat that changed his name as if he were one of Brazardian's," Frisyuustis roared. "Hah, that brings memories."

"Yes, Ambraz, also, Am'braz," Irwin said. "He is actually one of Brazardian's progeny."

"He what? Impossible," Frisyuustis said. "He was only what, rank two? No progeny is ever that weak at that age!"

"There's a bit of story to that," Irwin said. "I'm sure we can get to that, but for now… can you tell me what happened after I left? Why did Gebladir close the exit portal? Why wasn't it ever reopened?"

"You better believe we are going to discuss this," Frisyuustis muttered. "Also, what do you mean, it wasn't opened again? You, stumpy! What is he talking about?"

~ You foulmouthed piece of rusty metal, ~ Urdwel rumbled. ~ Do you want to sleep for another ten thousand years? ~

"Blah, blah. You don't scare me," Frisyuustis snapped. "The worst thing that can happen is that I wake up even more powerful! Perhaps I'll have finally reached rank eight! Now, what's going on?!"

~ How should I know? I slept for most of the time. ~

Frisyuustis groaned, and Irwin felt the Ganvil's sharp, powerful soulforce directed toward him.

"You, brat, explain what happened to me!"

'That old, nasty piece of rusty shrapnel!' 

Irwin ignored Ambraz's growled curses.

"I only know that when I returned from the outside, the Exit Portal was closed," he said.

"That stupid storm is gone, then? How long did it last?"

"It is," Irwin said. "The storm lasted for many years and only stopped recently."

"Ugh… well, I guess it's a good thing I can't move away from this world any more than," Frisyuustis grunted. "I presume Granvox is gone?"

"It is not," Irwin said, wondering why Frisyuustis would assume that. "As far as we know, it's still fine."

"Oh, good! That means if I can get a connection up, I can tell those rusty runts that I wasn't as useless as they said! I bet none of them are even rank five yet!"

Right, Irwin thought.

"Anyway, I don't see that bratty Ambraz with you… Did you finally ditch him?"

'That-' Ambraz's voice came to a strangled stop as he grunted curses in his own language, some of which Iriwn had learned over the years.

"No," Irwin said. 

"Then where is he? I can't wait for his reactions!"

I don't think you would like it much, Irwin thought, listening to Ambraz's increasing litany of curses.

"I'm sure he will be very impressed," he said. 

"He better be! Now, I take it you came here searching for me?"

Irwin blinked, glancing at Fireza, who was following everything in utter silence, seeming stunned.

"I wanted to find out what had happened," Irwin said. 

"Oh."

The disappointment in Frisyuustis' voice was deep.

"Well. Now you know," he said lamely. "Right, well, I guess I'll go and see what happened to this world then! As I'm going to be keeping it stable for the foreseeable future, I'll need to find some proper followers!"

~ You will do no such thing, ~ Urdwel said. ~I can't let you roam around like this.~

As he spoke, Irwin sensed the surrounding soulforce ripple and move in patterns he'd never seen before. They almost seemed like-

Runes! He's forming runes with his soulforce!

'This is not possible,' Ambra shouted at the same time.

"Oh, come on! I don't want to sleep again," Frisyuustis shouted, shooting into the sky, seemingly determined to leave.

~Nor shall you,~ Urdwel said, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere. ~But you will not leave here until I am satisfied that you will behave. ~

Irwin watched in awe as the soulforce around them formed in runic patterns of intricate detail, one of the light green plant-typed soulforce dense among the rest. Slowly, a beautiful, deep, and incredibly complex song began weaving itself through the clearing.

'It's like cardsmithing,' Ambraz said. 'How is he doing this?!'

Irwin didn't answer but watched as Frisyuustis's form was locked down by tendrils of green that shot up from the marshy ground and the surrounding cliffs. They were long enough to hold down a Portal Gallery ship and easily around the Ganvil, locking him in place.

~ Now, I'm going to keep you here until you learn proper manners and won't try to subjugate some town, ~ Urdwel said.

"No! No more sermons! I told you last time I'm not going to listen to you," Frisyuustis shouted as he was slowly pulled back down.

~Either you learn, or you sleep,~ Urdwel said.

He sounds far more awake than he did last time, Irwin thought.

He waited quietly until Frisyuustis had been tied up in a knot of hardening vines. Eventually, the Ganvil stopped complaining, reduced to a slight mutter.

'He's a disgrace,' Ambraz sniffed. 'No rank seven monarchs should be this easily confined. I wonder how he even reached this stage… I think he cheated somehow, though I have no idea how.'

Irwin didn't respond, but as soon as he felt Urdwel's attention return to him, he took a step forward.

"Elder Urdwel," he began. "What you just did, what was it? How did you make runes from the ambient soulforce?"

~Ambient soulforce? No, young Smith. All the soulforce you feel is mine. Nobody can manipulate true ambient soulforce, as it's too muddled. One would need a way to siphon out only the types one can use, which is incredibly difficult.~

Irwin nodded, turning to the tree as another question snapped to mind.

"How can you even do anything? Do you still have cards?"

~ When I became a grove tree, my cards melded into a single soulskill, ~ Urdwel rumbled, sounding amused. ~ Had I managed to gain more powerful ones during my lifetime, I might have been able to become a world tree. Sadly, I would have needed cards more like yours. ~

Worldtree, soultree, Irwin thought, frowning. 

~Now, I can sense your questions bubble below the surface, but I must ask you to contain them and leave for a short while. I have to speak with my descendant.~

"Can I return tomorrow?" Irwin asked.

~Tomorrow? No, that is far too fast. But shortly, you may return. When I have finished fully waking, educating the foulmouthed one, and teaching my descendant. Soon. A year or two should work. ~

Irwin blinked, his mouth opening. Two years? Couldn't-

~Enough, young one. I have other things to attend,~ Urdwel rumbled.

Irwin felt the soulforce surge again. A moment later, a thick vine wrapped around his waist. He knew he could have blocked it, stopped it, or resisted, but he also knew that would definitely not be the right thing to do. 

"Irwin, I'll find you when I am done," Fireza shouted.

Irwin waved at her as he was lifted up at a speed that blurred the world. Moments later, he stood at the port and was gently pushed out. A soft whisper echoed after him.

~Questions later.~

Irwin watched a thin green barrier of soulforce ripple across the entrance. Still not strong enough that he couldn't break through, but… 

"Well, now I have more questions than before," he muttered, turning around and walking away.

'At least we don't have to worry about that rusty monarch,' Ambraz said before a wave of joy came from him. 'Yes! That's his name from now on. The Rusty Monarch!'

Irwin shook his head as he focused on the trip back to the city. It would take over a day if he walked, which he wasn't planning on.

Soultree instead of Portal Gallery, he mused. And runeshaping of his soulforce just like a cardsmith does. I wonder if he was a cardsmith in his life…

--

Two weeks after he'd met with Urdwel and Frisyuustis, Irwin was just eating a light meal. His otherself was watching Scintilla and Zannia.

I wish all of them could have been there, he thought, not for the first time.

Letting out a soft sigh, he wished he could somehow pull them inside. 

I just need to keep practicing and learn how to create the proper seeds, he thought.

As he pondered his best next step, going to practice or wandering the city for a bit to clear his mind, someone rushed through the gate. A moment later, Rinbus burst through the door, a wide grin on his face.

"Irwin, the Cardschool is going to hold a competition for non-affiliated cardsmiths! There are two smithing positions that will free up this year."

"When is it?" Irwin asked, rising.

"In two weeks!"