Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 298: Unstable tension

Irwin and Tiscian both sipped from their drinks as they looked at each other. The Ignitzian Blademother had taken a chair opposite of him, and with him sitting almost on the ground, their eyes were almost level with each other.

Irwin sighed as the powerful, almost gaseous drink made its way down his throat. It was, like most things he'd experienced on Igniz so far, hot and spicy, and he very much enjoyed it.

"It's called Cam," Tiscian said as she lowered her glass. "Officially, it has another, much longer name, but nobody really uses that."

"It's really great," Irwin said. "I'm going to have to see if I get a supply for the ship."

"I'll arrange for a few bottles to be brought," Tiscian said, putting the glass on the table and looking at him. "What happened to you is called Sire Resonance. It… only happens if heat is shared between two Ignitzians or with a Fire Elemental."

It took Irwin a moment to realize she didn't mean fire, and then he frowned. His soulcard had increased his fire affinity greatly, but it wasn't the only one he had. So why would it work like this for him? Was it due to his control or because he was a smith?

A soft giggle came from the hallway behind them, and Tiscian's eyebrows lowered as she turned around. The two young Ignitzians stood there, one with her hands over her mouth and the other frowning and shaking her head.

"But Elder Tisci, those are just stories, right?!" she said.

Tiscian's eyebrows lowered even more, but neither of the girls seemed to take the implied threat at heart.

"Didn't I tell you two to stay in your room while the adults spoke?" she said, tapping her finger on her armrest.

The girls shared a look, after which the mouthy one shrugged. She looked at Irwin, her eyes glistening.

"You are Aunty Scintilla's heat-partner?" she asked, looking him over.

The other girl giggled again, pulling her sister's arm and whispering something.

Tiscian let out a weary groan before slowly rising from her seat. "If the two of you are not back before I get to you, you will both be doing an extra week of kitchen duties!"

The girl's eyes shot open, and they both turned and dashed away while letting out shrieks.

Tisician sat back down, shaking her head.

"Sorry about this. They are both close to setting out for their apprenticeship," she said.

"It is fine," Irwin said. "But what they said… this-" he gestured at himself"- isn't something that happens a lot?"

Tiscian took another longer drink before she replied.

"No. Technically, they are right. Although I, or some of the other Blademothers, could take our young within our soulscape, it's usually a whole process and isn't very useful unless we need to flee. With a fire elemental… Well, the last time it happened is said to have been hundreds of years ago, but it's debatable if it's even true."

Irwin frowned deeper as he sensed his two tiny daughters -his mind reeled at that for a moment- explore the depths of his soulscape's volcano. Sensing their joy made him smile. Ambraz was still with them, impervious to the heat and high soulforce concentration, while his second self was observing everything from a bit of a distance.

"What are the requirements?" he asked before thinking of something else. "Is it harmful?"

"Let me answer the second question first," Tiscian said as she topped off both their glasses. She looked at her glass for a bit before speaking again.

"It is not harmful, but it is not without risk. You will need a bit of history of my people for me to explain this properly. You have heard that all Ignitzians look like me, right?" she said, gesturing at her chest and face.

Irwin frowned, and it took him a moment to understand what she meant.

"Like women," he said.

"Yes," she said. "Well, legends and stories from the era far before we even found the Exit Portal say that we didn't always look like this. Eons before we found beings with cardslots, our ancestors looked more like this."

She raised her hand, and a column of fire appeared above her hand, reshaping into a being with a swirling vortex of flame instead of legs, a body that seemed made of molten rock with two slender arms and a head adorned with a mass of flame. Irwin noticed there were no handcards on their hands, and he frowned.

"Because we didn't have access to the Central Register, and my people back then didn't record history, we only have stories and images like these to go by," Tiscian said. "They speak of a time, long ago, when a portal appeared in our world, and beings with handcards came through. At first, there was a lot of fighting, although there was very little information on why and how it had stopped. But it did, and by the time it did, my ancestors had… well, there's no easy way to say this, but they had forcefully absorbed the heat of some of the handcarded."

Tiscian sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the door.

"The mixes of those forced minglings were very different from any other Igntizans. What must have been more of a shock back then was that some of these oddities had cardslots as the portal beings did."

"Wait, so the first Igntizians didn't have carslots? They were soulskilled?" Irwin said, surprised.

"Yes," Tiscian said with a weak smile. "My ancestors also weren't as intelligent as we are, and more… animalistic is the word many others use. However, in our case, elementalistic would be more accurate."

Irwin was quiet, but as he watched Tiscian, he began having a sinking suspicion as he thought about the Sylvaneth that moved to the Leafarit world. Was there a chance that the same thing happened here?

Gelwin did say that long ago after the soulskill that gave handslots was found, many species began mixing, he thought.

"The first Ignitzians with handslots didn't all look like us," Tiscian said. "Besides sill having a strong resemblance to those before them, there were also those that looked like men. However, as time passed, fewer of those appeared, and by the time we found the Exit Portal, both the original Igntizians and the handcarded were gone."

"What were those called? The original handcarded?" Irwin asked.

"Nobody knows," Tiscian said. "Like I said. My people have never been one to keep track of history, and these things that I just told you? Well, the girls were right. We have no way of verifying any of it."

"So, what does this have to do with me having my… daughters inside my soulscape?" Irwin asked.

"Well, according to our untrustworthy history, there was a time when it happened a lot. When the original hand-carded were still here, this was supposedly a regular occurrence. When it happened, it became difficult to remove the young from the heat-bonded person's soulscape."

"Wait, they can't leave again?" Irwin said, sitting forward, causing the broken remains of the chair to crack and snap dangerously.

"They can!" Tiscian said quickly before frowning. "I think. The thing is, this hasn't happened for as long as I remember. The last time was a few hundred years before I was ignited, or born as you call it."

Irwin leaned back, took a drink, and looked at Tiscian.

"Alright, perhaps you should tell me what happens with the Igntizians if they are within their… sire's soulscape," he said.

"Ignitzians at a young age aren't set," Tiscian said. "The children of Burrian Fissure, the one I just spoke about, all became more like him."

"They became boys?" Irwin said, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Yes," Tiscian said. "Although their children were just like me and the others, there have been instances of Ignitzians looking like you."

Irwin felt a slight headache build up as he rubbed his eyes.

"Alright, so the worst thing that could happen would be that my daughters aren't daughters but sons?" he asked, not sure why that would be a problem.

"No, the two you have now are beyond the proto stage," Tiscian said. "They are what they are. But you have three more offspring somewhere within the lava."

"And if I would take those into my soulscape, they could or would become boys," Irwin said.

Tiscian nodded, and Irwin realized that meant more to her than he still understood.

"And…?"

"The last time this happened, the children of Burrian Fissure had a… difficult life. Different from the rest of us, they felt they didn't belong and eventually left for parts unknown. It is a popular fiction among my kind to wonder where they went, but the truth is that they likely left through the Exit Portal. Although it is long ago, and they are likely long dead, theirs is a story we share and, with it, a warning. Don't put unstable Ignitzian flame seeds within their sire's soulscape."

Irwin nodded slowly, wondering about the strangeness of the worlds of the Portal Gallery. While some parts seemed the same everywhere, so much was different.

"So, what you are saying is that I shouldn't take my other children into my soulscape until they are stable?" he said.

Tiscian shrugged. "That would probably be best for them. There are many among my kind that would advise for the opposite, but in many cases, that's just because of wistful curiosity."

"So, you don't know exactly why this happened," Irwin said, thinking about his original questions.

"We don't," Tiscian said before hesitating. "There is one more thing. If you could keep the two with you, at least for as long as you are here, that would be great. Those that grow within their sire's soulscape grow faster, stronger, and gain one or more of the types of their sire's soulcards."

Irwin's eyebrows shot up. "So if I keep them there, they will be able to form stable bodies faster?"

"Yes. Depending on the soulforce saturation, it might be as fast as a year," Tiscian said. "There is a lot of research being done for this, but as we still don't know the requirements-" she shrugged.

Why do I have the feeling that the requirements are that the sire needs to be a Galadin? Irwin thought.

It was still just guesswork from his side, but the story of the Ignitzians resembled that of the Sylvarith, and with all he remembered from what Gelwin and Daubutim told him of the ancient times… Seeing Tiscian look at him like a hawk, he nodded.

"They can stay for as long as they want. When will they be able to communicate beyond emotions and desires?"

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Tiscian smiled at him, her eyes burning brightly. "It depends on their growth, but they are already further along than I had thought possible. Perhaps a few months to half a year. How long will you be staying on Igniz?"

"Not sure yet," Irwin said. "But I'll be searching for Scintilla, so it depends on how long that will take."

Tiscian's smile faded, and she stared at him intently.

"She is dead, Irwin," she said softly. "There is no way for my people to survive the cold she was subjected to. Even a hundredth of it would be lethal. It was almost as bad as when an Earth Titan's soulskill starts absorbing the surrounding soulforce, causing a frost snap."

"Perhaps, but her body wasn't found, so I'll be searching," Irwin said stubbornly.

"Very well… After you have settled and had some time to rest, I'll have someone guide you to the area where it happened," Tiscian said with a weary look. "For now, do you have any more questions? Otherwise, I'll guide you to your room. The Bladematriarch will want to speak to me."

"No, it's fine for now," Irwin said, realizing he was both weary and wanted to talk with his two daughters.

"Alright," Tiscian said as she rose. "I think the Bladematriarch will want to speak to you about what is happening beyond Igniz, as you are the first to have reached us safely in a long time. But I'll ask her to wait for a day or two."

"I think Hind will want to go to her people soon," Irwin said. "I'll be going with her, so I will likely be gone for longer than a few days."

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"The Fiz'rin girl," Tiscian said, lowering backing into her chair ." Then I'm going to have to ask you to speak with the Bladematriarch tomorrow."

"Can't I just tell you what's out there, and you can relay it?" Irwin asked.

Tiscian shook her head. "I wish I could do that, but the Bladematriarch has a thing for wanting to know things firsthand."

Irwin sighed, recalling the last time he'd spoken with a leader of any sort. His meeting with Brazardian would remain with him for a long time, and he had the feeling meeting the Bladematriarch wouldn't be much different.

"Alright. As soon as possible, tomorrow would be best then," he said.

Tiscian rose, then rolled her shoulders.

"I'll do my best, but The Bladematriarch has a lot of things to do, and with the recent attack…" she shrugged.

"I guess I'll see that tomorrow then," Irwin said as he got up and followed Tiscian to the door.

They walked out into the dimly lit courtyard, a ruddy glow in the sky the only light source.

Neither Irwin nor the Tiscian cared as they walked towards one of the other compounds. It had a similar, though smaller entrance, and Tiscian stopped before the door.

"This is the main guest quarters, and all of it is for you to use. There should be food, and if you need anything else, just ask any of the guards," Tiscian said as she pointed at a few nearby figures that made a hand gesture in greeting.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Irwin said.

"Don't mention it," Tiscian said, looking at the sky for a moment, then at him. "I'd say for you to be careful with your daughters, but somehow, I feel that won't be necessary."

"Nothing will happen to them while I'm around," Irwin said calmly, meaning every word of it. "He'd barely met the two, but the strong connection between them and his soulscape, soulcard, and flame made him feel protective of them.

Tiscian smiled, then turned and strode away, heading back to the area with the airships.

Irwin watched her leave before turning to the door. Ambraz appeared on his shoulder, letting out a weary sigh.

"How are those two?" Irwin said.

He could see through his second self that they were resting. Either sleeping or meditating, he couldn't say for sure, but drifting in the depths of the volcano, in a place so hot and dense, most fire elementals would likely love it.

"Awesome little things," Ambraz said. "Their soulforce resonance is almost the same as yours, which means it's close to mine. It… is really nice to be around them."

Irwin turned to Ambraz, surprised by the statement and the sense of joy he felt from the Ganvil.

"Don't look at me like that," Ambraz snapped. "They are just too cute! Those big eyes!"

Irwin wasn't sure how to react, so he opened the door and stepped into a smaller, less luxurious version of Tiscian's abode. Boohm sat on one of the couches, biting tiny pieces of fruit from a slice.

"Captain! How did it go?" he asked, leaning forward with gleaming eyes.

--

Irwin was lying on the stone, sand-filled bed, arms behind his head, staring up at the black ceiling. The bed reminded him of Scintilla's back on Scour, but he'd never looked up at a ceiling of black stone before.

It had taken him some time to explain to Boohm what had happened and to learn that Hind had left with an airship for Obsidian so she could contact her people. She would return the next day.

His mind was buzzing with everything that happened since he'd arrived, from hearing that Scintilla might be dead to meeting two of his children and having them somehow jump into his soulscape. As he thought of them, he focused on them through his other self. The tiny Ignitzians were still sleeping, drifting in a tiny fissure within the massive magma-filled chamber of his soulscape's volcano.

I wonder if I should search for the other three before I set out to find Scintilla, he thought.

As he thought of Scintilla, the image of the fiery Ignitizian came to his mind. Between the two little... children? Should he call them that? He didn't know- but between them and the sudden fear of losing her, he had figured out one thing. He wanted to see her again. Talk to her and find out why she'd done what she'd done. Besides that, she had to know how he would feel about it. It had destroyed her family's chances of some sort of progression.

The thoughts kept Irwin awake for a long time, but eventually, he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

--

"They moved into his soulscape and lived…" the short, stocky Ignitzian asked, sounding excited.

Tiscian just waited as she stood in the throne room of the Bladematriarch, an area more resembling a training room, with blades of various sizes decorating the walls and resting on stone pedestals.

The Bladematriarch stood in the center of the sandy training circle, her hand on her short, wide sword. An aura of danger hung around her, but Tiscian didn't mind. The Bladematriarch of Obsidian had been like this for as long as she could recall, and she'd gotten used to it.

The shiny black eyes with bright orange circles around the pupils focused on her.

"How likely is it that he will be willing to make more children? I have some granddaughters that are ready for that, and if he could keep the Embers in his mindscape, they might pick up on his talent for smithing!"

"I fear he has become somewhat obsessed with Scintilla," Tiscian said.

"Your third youngest? But… didn’t she…”

Tiscian saw the weariness in the Bladematriarch's eyes, and she nodded.

"Yes, she shared heat without properly getting permission," she said, feeling the same shame burning deep within her as she had when her daughter had told her.

"Yes, yes," the Bladematriarch said, waving her hand away. "I mean, she's dead… right?"

Tiscian felt a stab of pain but pushed it down. Why was she still surprised that the Bladematriarch didn't care about what Scintilla had done? The powerful Ignitzian followed the path of power and cared nothing for how new Igntizians were born. Rumors had it that when she was young, she'd made a sport of going around, making children with the strongest she could find. Unlike Tiscian's path, which she had inherited from her mother and those before her- the path of the willing. It was one of the three paths that currently fied for power with her race and something no outsiders knew.

At least she doesn't believe in the path of conquest, she thought as she nodded.

"Yes, Scintilla was among those that followed the outsider demons below The Obsidian Mountains," she said. "Like the others, she was caught in a blast of the freezing cold and soulforce void."

The Bladematriarch walked forward, wrapping her powerful hand around her arm. "I am so sorry for you, Tiscian. Scintilla was a promising one, easily on par with some of my own. However, with her dead, why is the smith still focused on her?"

Tiscian held back a weary sigh. "He seems to have feelings for her," she said.

"Ah, so he didn't care she mingled heat without permission? Good boy!" The Bladematriarch said as she squeezed again before walking away with a wide grin. "Well, that just means we need to give him some time to forget and then introduce him to some suitable blademaidens!"

Tiscian didn't react but waited as the Bladematriarch continued walking.

"What do you think? A week or three should suffice, I'd say?"

For someone over a thousand years old, how can she be this clueless? Tiscian thought, making sure none of her thoughts appeared on her face. A tiny stab of anger toward Scintilla for setting back their ability to provide the next Obsidian City Bladematriarch and bringing some more balance to the court of blades. It only lasted for a moment, as she pictured her daughter, bright and filled with life.

"I would wait for half a year or more," she said, knowing that was probably far too low but also knowing anything more would potentially anger the ancient Bladematriarch.

"What? That long? Ah… young people are so weak and unstable these days," The Bladematriarch shouted. "Well, I guess that should be fine as long as he remains here. He is going to remain here, right? If not, we need to get him introduced earlier and suggest he bring some blademaidens along! From what I've heard of him, he could use some bodyguards."

Tiscian was surprised that she actually agreed on something with the old Bladematriarch.

"I'll make sure to arrange that," she said.

"Good, good! Now, when will he be coming here so I can have a look at him?"

"Would early tomorrow morning suit you?" Tiscian said.

"Brilliant! Also, make sure he brings some weaponry or armor when he shows up if he doesn't have them carded!"

Tiscian held back another sigh, knowing she was going to be remaining for a long, long time.

"Bladematriarch, he is not one of us, and I fear it would be wrong to ask him to duel you," she said. "Besides, he only has a single soulcard."

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport! I'll be gentle with the boy. Besides, he's a smith. He should be able to handle some punishment, right?"

Tiscian grimaced, wishing her mother was still alive to deal with this nonsense.

"May I remind you that the last time you did this, you removed the arm of the Smith's Guild's youth champion?" Tiscian said.

The Bladematriarch cocked her head, her eyes growing hazy.

"I did? No, no. I think you are mistaken. I don't recall that," she said, her voice hazy, as if coming from a great distance.

Tiscian felt her temperature cool as fear gripped her. Was the ancient woman having another episode already? It had only been a few years since the previous one! She quickly glanced to the side, where the Bladematriarch's guard stood, noticing one rushing away while the others looked on with eyes filled with worry.

"Perhaps I misremember," Tiscian said very carefully. If she confused the ancient Ignitzian, there was no saying how she would respond. "I am getting a bit older," she added quickly.

The Bladematriarch didn't react, her eyes fuzzy, while a powerful energy rippled out from her. The fire in the beautifully crafted braziers began dimming, then flaring up, pulsing as if following a heartbeat.

"Bladematriarch, have you managed to trace those purple-bleeding demons?" Tiscian asked, needing all her years of life experience and dealing with more powerful people to keep calm.

“Purple… bleeding…?”

She swallowed as two eyes that were dulling more and more focused on her.

"Yes, the… the ones that dared attack us?" Tiscian said, hoping and praying that the Bladematriarch would remember and be jogged out of what was going to occur.

"No… I… those don't exist, they-"

The Bladematriarch stumbled forward, grabbing her head. Immediately, the guards moved. Two appeared beside Tiscian, not teleporting but moving with pure speed.

"Quick, you must leave," one whispered.

Tiscian felt her body move against her will, zipping along a trail of ash before appearing on the other side of the building, far beyond where she had been before.

The torches in this area were flickering and pulsing the same; however, she saw a group of Blademaidens stare at them, eyes wide with terror.

"Blademother, I fear the Bladematriarch won't be able to see you for a while," the guard whispered.

Tiscian nodded, knowing this wasn't the place to talk. The guard watched her for a moment before vanishing. Tiscian saw some ash drift down, showing the guard had used a movement card.

Taking one more look at the surrounding blademaidens, she prepared to leave when a tremor ran through the building. The fire of the torches and a fireplace was gone, as was any glow, while at the same time, Tiscian felt a drain on her soulscape.

She stumbled forward, hearing thuds from all around. Looking to the side, she saw that the blademaidens had crumped into heaps.

I can't leave them here, she thought, as she moved forward, grabbing the nearest one and, without any hesitation, pulled her into her soulscape. The drain on her energy increased instantly, but she didn't stop until all of the crumped warriors were with her before staggering out of the building.

All across the promenade that lay below the circular staircase, Ignitzian stood or lay, staring in horror at the building.

Tiscian walked from the door, struggling down the staircase before turning to look back.

The entire building, usually wreathing with flames from many different braziers, torches, and swirling waves of runic fire, was completely dark.

Great, just what we needed, Tiscian thought, turning and walking to the nearest warriors.

--

Irwin woke with a start, his eyes flashing open as he felt a distant outburst of soulforce. It took him a few moments to fully wake up, but by that time, he was on his feet and walking to the room's window. As he moved, he checked on his two daughters, but they were still asleep.

Reaching the window, he looked outside, but there was nothing to be seen besides the clear night sky, filled with puffy clouds of ash that very dimly glowed as they flowed past.

A pulse of something powerful seemed to try and drain a tiny bit of his heat, his soulforce, and Irwin blocked it instinctively.

"What is that?" he hissed.

Ambraz landed on his shoulder, mouth a tight line.

"It feels familiar…" Irwin whispered as he sensed an odd resonance between his soulcard's flame and whatever was happening far from where they were.

"Kid, there's trouble brewing," Ambraz grumbled. "There's a multiple soulcarded, very powerful person in this world, very slowly becoming unstable. And from what I can sense, they have a card similar to your fire card."

"A Devouring Flame?" Irwin hissed.

He'd searched for flames like that all throughout his journeys and never found one. All he had were the fearful curses of the Galubs.

"Close, but not exactly," Ambraz grunted. "This one is draining the heat and soulforce of everything around it. Not just from certain things."