Author: Sarah Lin
Date: 2022-07-29 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Fiction
Description: Betrayed. Murdered. Reborn. One last chance, to make it right. Theo's adventure ended with his mentor's hands around his neck. The betrayal cost him his friends, allies and everything he had built... but not his life. Though broken and powerless, Theo has one last chance to enter the Nine Worlds, wielding the knowledge and expertise of his first life. This time, he needs more than just power, he needs to unravel the deception that killed him once... and is coming for him again. Theo gained immense power in the Chasm of Lamentations, but he gained new problems as well. Nauda's soulhome is a wre

Bondsfungi

Book #5 of The Weirkey Chronicles

Version 1.0

© 2022 Sarah Lin

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The story so far...

Books One to Three

Theo’s first journey in the Nine Worlds ended in tragedy. Betrayed by Vistgil, the mentor who first taught him how to survive in the Nine, he barely escaped an attack by a terrifyingly powerful demon after his friends sacrificed themselves to hold it at bay. When Theo died soon afterwards, he awoke in a hospital bed back on Earth, with no trace remaining of his magical Stronghold-tier soulhome and its powers.

Forty years later, Theo once again finds his way to the Nine Worlds, reborn as a young man in the peaceful agrarian world of Tatian. As other travelers tumble through the cracks between worlds, he meets a shy Ichili woman named Fiyu and Navim, a Mundhin stoneshaper from the arid world of Arbai. After proving themselves in combat, Theo and his companions are invited to the city of Myufuru to be trained as soulcrafters. Fiyu and Theo are trained by a young Tatian woman named Nauda, a strong fighter with unusual binding and warding techniques.

During a training bout, one of Nauda’s other students uses a powerful Archcrafter-tier armament against Navim, but he loses control and a blast from the staff shatters the Mundhin’s rocky body. None of the local healers can help, so Theo and his friends rush to carry Navim to his home world. As they arrive in Arbai, however, they are ambushed by mercenaries while a rival Earth-born student seals the gate to Tatian. Stranded in the Arbai desert, Theo and his allies press on to Navim’s school and leave him in the care of the Arbaian healers.

Theo strikes a deal with the school’s master, a fourth-tier Authority with the ability to use weirkeys, to return them to Myufuru. They arrive to find the training village overrun by demons, and they witness Theo’s rival breaking into the giant tree housing the vault of sublime materials… just in time to watch the entire tree twist in on itself and snap out of existence entirely.

In the aftermath, powerful Tatian soulcrafters begin to search Myufuru for interlopers from outside the Nine Worlds, so Nauda invites Theo and Fiyu to journey towards her home in the north. When they arrive in the city of Nlukoko, Nauda outlines a plan to venture into the wilderness beyond to reach a gate to a hub city in the world of Fithe.

As he researches the mythical Artifacts of Elghiera in Nlukoko’s library, Theo is interrupted by another demon attack. During the battle, he rescues an unusual imp-like being who calls herself Senka and promptly attaches herself to his leg, complaining that a “big mean fumpet” is looking for her. Searchers soon arrive to meet with the Lord of Nlukoko, so Nauda suggests that they lay low by slipping through the city’s gate to the world of Deuxan.

Theo visits a local establishment in the nearby city of Anguedan to gather information, and is shocked to discover that a century has elapsed in the Nine since his previous life. He returns to find that Fiyu has unwittingly insulted a young member of the local ruling family, who promptly challenges her to a duel. Unsatisfied by the result, the group’s leader, Esaire Ai Armaeu, forces another duel which Nauda wins at the cost of a broken arm.

Nauda decides to skip paying for a healer by instead ascending to Archcrafter, reinforcing her body and unlocking space to build another floor in her soulhome. However, they still lack the money to buy a sleigh to travel to Fithe, so they decide to remain in Anguedan until the upcoming annual rainhorn hunt. In the meantime, Theo attempts to look up the family of his old ally Brigana ai Teraeves in the court library, but finds no mention of them.

When the rainhorn hunt begins, Theo, Nauda and Fiyu find they can hunt the beasts effectively by combining Nauda’s strength, Theo’s gravitational powers, and Fiyu’s stealth. However, they are drawn into a grudge match with Esaire and his allies, and they are forced to flee back to Tatian by stealing one of the Armeau family’s sleighs.

The Armeau forces chase Theo’s group into the north of Tatian, trapping them in a cave after both parties are ambushed by an enormous sublime beast called an eryo. Esaire is wounded and the Deuxans are defeated, but Theo is forced to ascend to the Archcrafter tier earlier than planned in order to slay the eryo.

As they depart for Fithe, Nauda shows them something unexpected: an enormous cliff running around the entire planet, separating the lush verdant half of Tatian from a blackened wasteland on the other side. Meanwhile, Esaire is chastised by his grandfather Arceon for allowing the vendetta to get out of hand, but upon hearing that Theo was searching for the ai Teraeves family, the elder Armeau abruptly decides that they need to travel to Fithe.

Theo, Fiyu, and Nauda arrive in the hub city of Norro Yorthin, accompanied (unwillingly in Theo’s case) by Senka. As independent soulcrafters, they are unable to gain well-paying work or passage through the city’s gates to Ichil or Arbai, so they set out to ally with one of the city’s great Houses. Their first attempt goes badly: House Crimson is influential and powerful, led by a Stronghold and multiple Authorities, but its recruitment event is disrupted by one of those Authorities: Tythes, the irreverent and unpredictable heir of the family.

After counting out the House of the Lost (too risky) and the House of Coin (too canny), they eventually join House Blacksilver, an outsider-friendly organization with a good reputation for public works. As they settle into their new position, Theo sets himself and his allies a target: to earn invitations to an expedition to the Chasm of Lamentations, a dangerous region rich in sublime materials and artifacts.

While providing security during negotiations between Blacksilver officials and House Crimson, Theo is spotted and confronted by Arceon, the head of the Armeau family. To Theo’s surprise, Arceon interrogates him about his search for the ai Teraeves family before being interrupted by Tythes and their House of Coin hosts. Before Theo can escape, Esaire claims a blood vendetta and publicly challenges him to a duel. Theo is forced to accept, but negotiates a six-month delay to allow him to prepare.

Theo’s preparations are interrupted when Fiyu is given a chance to travel through the gate to her home world of Ichil. Theo and Nauda accompany her into the dangerous sunless world, and they reach a Biolumin Relay which allows Fiyu to leave a message for her elder relative. On the return journey, however, Fiyu is badly injured and realizes that she will remain vulnerable if she continues to wait before ascending from the first tier.

Theo finally fills all of his soulhome’s technique chambers, granting him access to a technique he has bent his entire soulhome towards: manifesting his singularity as a miniature black hole, consuming matter and cantae alike. Fiyu purchases a Chasm Invitation and Theo manages to win another from from House Teal, but is immediately attacked by a group of mercenaries hired by Esaire. Theo and Nauda lose ground rapidly in the ensuing fight, and Fiyu rushes to ascend to Archcrafter mid-fight so she can defend her allies.

On the day of the duel, Tythes wagers a Chasm Invitation that Theo will lose, and Nauda accepts the bet. When the duel begins, Theo is hounded around the arena by Esaire’s superior Ruler-tier speed and cantae. Wounded and desperate, Theo tries to form one singularity after another, scattering them into the corners as he is forced to dodge… until he uses his new wormhole technique to pull the partially-formed black holes together. Esaire’s soulhome cracks under the pressure, and Theo spares his life once the victory is clear.

In the aftermath, Theo learns that the entire ai Teraeves family and several others were destroyed a decade after his own death, and even mentioning the family name has become forbidden on Deuxan. Meanwhile, Nauda collects her Chasm Invitation from Tythes, who rages at her publicly, but later confides to his aunt Gethyrue that the three young soulcrafters might be just the people he has been looking for…

Book Four: Chasmfall

With the Armeau family retreating to Deuxan in disgrace, Theo and his allies focus on preparing for the expedition to the Chasm of Lamentations. In addition to ordering rare materials from Fithe, they make a trip through Norro Yorthin’s fourth gate to the verdant world of Aathal and harvest many sublime materials from the hostile plant life there, as well as trading with the tree-like native Aathali. Theo even tries to train Senka to be more cooperative, but she only shows frustratingly brief flashes of lucidity amid her usual antics.

After resisting pressure from House Blacksilver’s Authorities to give up their Chasm Invitations, the three young House members are instead offered training and resources to maximize their chances. Theo requests the chance to travel by weirkey to Arbai, as well as help with building a Nine Worlds Feast. As they eat, he tries again to persuade Nauda to build a shielding wall in her soulhome, but her heart is set on ascending to the Ruler tier first.

When the trio arrive in Arbai, they are quickly reunited with Navim at his school. They stay for several weeks, gathering Arbaian sublime materials and fighting demons, and Theo finally meets with the school’s master to share his knowledge of worlds outside the Nine in exchange for his earlier assistance. As they prepare to depart, they receive some welcome news: Navim will accompany them on a scholarly expedition to Norro Yorthin.

Back in Fithe, House Blacksilver’s Authorities request assistance with securing a rare sublime material as part of their own Chasm preparations. Their caution is well-founded: before they can harvest the dewfossil, they are attacked by the Asplundat Movement, an aggressive force hailing from outside the Ruling Cities. With an unexpected intervention from Tythes involving an exploding wineskin, Blacksilver manages to fend off the assault long enough to complete their mission.

With Theo, Nauda, and Fiyu having proven themselves in the battle, the Blacksilver Authorities agree to share more information about the Chasm expedition: in addition to the Asplundat Movement, other forces from within and outside the Norron continent will vie to secure an ancient armament known as the Scepter of Separation. With such fierce competition, the group hastens their preparations: Nauda ascends to Ruler, Theo finishes his shielding wall, and Fiyu journeys to Ichil to purchase materials for the Corporeal Floor on her second tier.

When the expedition finally begins, the major powers jostle for position on the open plains near the entrance to the Chasm. Theo uses his previous experience to guide his allies away from the battle and find an alternative route, close to the lethal river running through the center of the Chasm. However, his careful planning is disturbed by a familiar source of frustration: Senka has somehow followed them, despite the supposed impossibility of entering the Chasm without an Invitation plate.

The group travels safely down the river, harvesting sublime materials and fending off an Asplundat attack along the way before reaching the ruins deeper in the Chasm. Despite an uncharacteristic display of apprehension from Senka, Theo guides them to his intended target: an island in the middle of the river with an intact locked building. As they approach, however, they discover an Authority from a rival House has already reached the island. He briefly attacks them until the arrival of Tythes results in him being slapped by several fish and then kicked off the island.

In return for saving their lives, Tythes magnanimously offers them the chance to repay the debt by spending a week trying to open the building’s enchanted lock so he can plunder its contents. The tension increases when Fiyu awkwardly approaches first Theo then Nauda to broach the subject of potentially becoming lifemates. Misunderstandings abound, and Nauda is almost glad when the building is ripped off the island as Tythes fights off the returning rival Authority.

Freed by Tythes’s disappearance along with the building, the others creep down the Chasm to the main section of the ancient ruins, and discover their Blacksilver allies encamped on the outskirts watching a pitched battle over a sealed vault. When they include Theo in their farseeing technique, he realizes with dread that the vault is guarded by Vistgil, his former mentor turned nemesis. As they watch, the leader of Norro Yorthin’s House of the Lost breaks the vault’s door, but does not enter; moments later, the ruin collapses in on itself and vanishes.

Theo decides to make use of the distraction to sneak into the waterfall region of the Chasm to search for the Scepter of Separation before escaping. When they discover that Asplundat soulcrafters are already combing the area, Nauda goes to parley while Theo ascends to Ruler to give them an edge.

After fighting off the Asplundat soulcrafters, Nauda spots the Scepter, but cannot retrieve it before a pitched battle breaks out between enemy Authorities. As wave after wave of raw cantae rush over her, she watches helplessly as her soulhome buckles under the pressure and collapses into ruins. Theo and Fiyu survive thanks to their shielding walls, but are nearly knocked into the Chasm before the Scepter lands in Senka’s hands and she calmly uses it to dispatch their assailant.

For an agonizingly short time, Senka is fully lucid as she explains how her mangled soulhome and unstable mind are a result of a catastrophic event involving Vistgil centuries ago. She identifies him as part of a shadowy conspiracy to manipulate the Nine Worlds using the fragmentary worlds that exist around it, especially the five rivers that flow through them. Before she can continue, however, they are attacked by the returning rival Authority, and Senka shatters the Scepter as she uses it to hurl both him and herself into the Chasm.

The explosion attracts the attention of Vistgil, but Fiyu’s stealth technique is sufficient to veil them long enough for the leader of the House Of The Lost to return and distract him. With Nauda crippled and Senka seemingly lost, the three friends retreat from the Chasm back to Fithan soil. House Blacksilver is pleased with their performance and rewards them with powerful tools and materials, as well as promising to help Nauda rebuild her shattered soulhome. Fiyu is distraught at her friend’s plight, while Theo’s thoughts linger on the calmness in the bright golden eyes of his former mentor.

On Ichil, Fiyu’s relative finally receives her message via the Biolumin network. His joy at hearing her voice is tempered by the content of the message, her distorted words implying that she is being held in Norro Yorthin and controlled by outsiders. Guchiro grimly draws his weirkey and goes to find his ward...

Chapter 1

Theo glanced at the battle being waged below, glowered, and went back to trying to get some soulcrafting done. It wasn't that the battle was trivial to him, far from it, but after a couple months of preemptive war he needed to conserve his time or he wouldn't get anything done. Until he received the signal, he had to consider the battle as irrelevant.

The signalstone spun in place just in front of him. Theo's gaze wandered back over the side of the rocky spire that sheltered him, toward the mass of soulcrafters fighting below, but then returned to his task. If his hosts in Saan Fraskin didn't want him to get involved, it wasn't his place to wonder why, so he left his single gravitational field in place and looked inward.

Within his soulhome again, Theo began climbing up the ladder he'd placed against the side. It was fine for now, but he was gambling on his gravity being able to carry him between floors at later tiers, because using exterior ladders was becoming increasingly inconvenient. Perhaps the silver lining to the fact that he had only been able to find enough sublime materials to build three of the nine rooms he wanted on his third floor was that he could simply climb into the empty spaces.

It wasn't a matter of finding an adequate material: House Blacksilver had helped him locate a sublime stone called densecrest that was a perfect match for his blueprint. The local understanding of gravity as a scientific concept was limited, so he'd been surprised that they found one that fit so well. The densecrest seemed tied to the essence of mass itself, and on top of that it was barely within the limits of the Ruler tier, thus a perfect foundation for the eventual leap to Authority.

As Theo sat down to work, he glanced at the sad little pile of bricks he had left from the last batch. Densecrest was rare in the best of times, and the rising conflicts that resulted from the battle at the Chasm of Lamentations had disrupted supply chains and entirely cut off some regions of Fithe. But with such a perfect material, he was willing to wait until he could acquire enough - it wasn't as though he didn't have other work to do.

The blackflint in his hands resisted at first, but eventually he managed to strike it at just the right angle, breaking off another shard. The sublime material was potent but brittle, shattering under the force of most skills meant to shape it. He'd needed to begin learning the spiritual version of knapping, which was a new technique for him and thus required significantly more training than familiar skills like carving.

In the end, however, he held a triangular spike of primitive power. Theo glanced outside his soulhome again - the signalstone was still spinning - and then went back to work.

To his surprise, he managed to finish knapping three more spikes, which was all he needed. Apparently the soulcrafters of Saan Fraskin didn't want his help. He carried the spikes extremely carefully, despite their durability, into the single corner chamber he'd built on his third floor.

Within, the air hummed with the raw power of the sublime stone he'd retrieved from the heart of the island that Tythes had destroyed. He'd made a few inquiries since leaving the Chasm of Lamentations, but no one seemed entirely sure what it was. What he knew was that it was an immensely powerful sublime material, one that he would never have been able to incorporate into his soulhome as a Ruler if he hadn't used the crucible during his ascension.

Even now its raw weight threatened the walls of the chamber, despite the altar of soft stone that was meant to incorporate it. That had required a great deal of experimentation, and the spikes were the newest element. Theo used his will to hold back the flooding cantae and forced the spikes into the softer stone. Now he had a complete circle of spikes expanding around the central stone... Theo took a deep breath and released his concentration.

Cantae flooded from the mysterious stone... but the blackflint spikes managed to channel it along their sharp lengths. The force shot out in all directions and he held his breath, but the lines of force were caught by the carved patterns on the chamber walls. Instead of threatening structural integrity, the power of the stone flowed through the walls of the room, rendering it a unified chamber that could be drawn into the overall flow of his cantae.

Of course, creating a sphere was still awkward without all the rooms on his third floor. He had so many problems he needed to solve before he ascended, if he didn't want to end up like Nauda.

Now that the stone he'd gained from the Chasm was properly integrated into his soulhome, the question was how exactly to use it. Theo was considering his options when pain in his hands distracted him. He realized how much the knapping had worn on him, one finger even bleeding from the sharp edges. Even if he wouldn't bleed out from losing spiritual blood, it hurt enough to distract him. Perhaps he'd done all he could.

Withdrawing from his soulhome, Theo glanced at the signalstone - still spinning - and decided to examine the battle again. There were people dying down there and his hosts still hadn't ordered him to take action. Most cities on Fithe were proud, but not accepting help from Norro Yorthin would be simply childish, given the rising threats.

Though Saan Fraskin had a very different culture, their army was basically what he expected of Fithans, regardless of the city. A few Rulers did battle in the central melee, while Archcrafters led groups of lesser soulcrafters who fired volleys from cover. By contrast, the Asplundat Movement's army was a gray mass, just as strictly regimented by tier but moving in strange formations. This army wasn't nearly as well-equipped with their gray armor as those he'd fought closer to home, but it was still a formidable force.

Yet his allies refused to call him in, even though they seemed to be giving ground. By his estimation the average city soulcrafter was better than the average Asplundat, but the Movement was better coordinated, and having consistent blueprints with no weak links or unstable attackers counted for a lot. They were successfully driving the army from Saan Fraskin back through the mudflats, toward the water where they'd be at a disadvantage.

While he waited for either the signal or the recovery of his hands, Theo stared out over the muddy terrain. Land and sea never met smoothly on Fithe, instead forming a boundary of mud twisting in a thousand flourishes. It almost looked like writing, but from high enough above he could see the natural patterns of wave and dust, forming fractal patterns...

His eyes unfocused as he thought back to Senka. Telling him that soulcrafting was fractal was one of the many strange clues she had given him, though far from the most important. There hadn't been the slightest sign of her since the Chasm and yet she occupied more of his mind than she ever had as an annoying little imp. If he'd had more time...

Theo realized that he was staring at a Fithan army surging from out of the water. Beside him, the signalstone let out a low whine and crumbled to dust.

All at once he understood why his hosts hadn't called him to participate in the battle. Either they weren't sure or they were simply secretive, but they had been holding him in reserve for when the water Fithans attacked. The army surging from the shallows was all blue-skinned and fanged, not any faction from the land. Apparently this front of the fighting was more complicated than he'd expected.

The water Fithans only charged to the edge of the mudflats, which was presumably the maximum range where their soulcrafters could hurl jets of water and spheres of pitch black mud at the Saan Fraskin army. It would have been a devastating ambush, if Theo hadn't been cracking his knuckles at exactly that moment.

All the projectiles that the water Fithans had carefully calculated to strike their opponents instead sailed skyward, no longer so affected by gravity. As a Ruler, Theo found it far easier to extend gravitational fields over large areas, even while maintaining others. Creating fields perpendicular to the planet's gravity was also simpler, though nowhere near as powerful. His second field arced the projectiles away from the Saan Fraskin army, sending them hammering down into the Asplundat Movement.

That first act turned both the tide of the battle and the attention of every prominent soulcrafter toward him. Theo saw that the water Fithans had spotted him atop the rocky pillar and they weren't stupid enough to keep throwing physical projectiles. All through the shallows, soulcrafters were preparing cantae bolts to strike his position.

Not fast enough, not with his soulhome starting to operate with its true efficiency.

Theo dropped all but one gravitational field and instead slammed a singular field over the army in the water, flattening many soulcrafters to the ground and even making the Archcrafters and Rulers stumble. Most low tier soulcrafters, and especially the mass-produced blueprints of the Asplundat Movement, were entirely unprepared for gravitational techniques such as his. That was the reason that House Blacksilver sent him on missions across the continent as the battles increased.

Of course, all the stronger soulcrafters regrouped and mustered their cantae. He couldn't generate enough gravity to pin down a strong opponent reinforcing their body... but that had always been the simplest application of his power. Theo reversed his field, lifting all the big tough fighters into the air before slamming them back down into the water.

It wouldn't kill them, of course, but the water Fithan ambush had shattered into disarray. The Asplundat Movement wasn't doing much better: the spheres of mud clung to them like tar, pinning many to the ground. Meanwhile, only a few soulcrafters from Saan Fraskin watched or cheered, most of his allies taking the opportunity to fire on their opponents.

Though he enjoyed dominating the battlefield, Theo knew it couldn't last. A water Fithan rose from the waves further off the coast, glowing with an Authority's cantae.

The next instant, three javelins of cantae burned through the air towards him, almost on top of him in an instant. Theo had been prepared to retreat off his pillar, yet the javelins all missed, overhead and to his sides. He hesitated a moment, expecting the attacks to curve toward him, and that moment was nearly too long.

Because there was a fourth javelin hurtling directly toward him.

If his old battlefield instincts hadn't been resharpened by all the recent combat, Theo might have died right then. Instead, he reacted instantly on both a physical and spiritual level. While sidestepping he applied the strongest perpendicular gravitational field he could. Against raw power, especially an Authority's cantae, it couldn't push the projectile very far, but it was enough. Theo barely threw himself aside from the javelin, feeling the heat as it passed under his arm and tore a hole through his coat.

Theo let himself fall off the side of the rock pillar, hoping to buy another moment by reversing direction when the enemy Authority attacked. His desperate defense had made him drop every field except one, and he considered that it might be time for his last contingency. Yet there weren't any other javelins coming in his direction.

"Don't worry about the Authority, Framkis!" That boisterous shout could only be Aronth, who Theo eventually spotted hovering just above one crest of the mudflats. The enormous man was his contact in the city, an Authority tier soulcrafter who specialized in brute force. "Just keep that army pinned down!"

Theo - or "Framkis" as he was calling himself to outsiders - tried to refocus on the army, but he couldn't help but watch the more intense battle. He quickly got an answer as to why the water Authority hadn't attacked him: Aronth was manifesting an enormous maelstrom of flame, so intense that it evaporated most of the water near the shore and flooded the space above with steam. It blew back the other Authority's cloak, but she appeared unfazed, readying another javelin.

While the two of them wrecked the watery side of the battlefield, Theo returned his attention to the Asplundat Movement. They had begun to regroup and burn their way through the tar-like mud, only to be flattened by his next gravitational field. Theo neutralized his own gravity and kicked off the side of the spire, floating to a safer distance.

But this time, he wouldn't be allowed to stop the entire army. The more time enemy soulcrafters had to adjust to his techniques, the less he could use them in such overwhelming ways. Usually he stayed ahead of the information, but the Asplundat Movement shared information particularly swiftly.

A Ruler stood up and waved a hand, sending an arc of pure wind slashing at him. Not cantae or a concrete substance imitating wind, just a wave of force in the air honed to a knife's edge. A true black hole might have been able to suck in even light, but Theo hadn't attained such extreme power, so wind and other similar attacks required him to take evasive maneuvers.

He dropped into the sky by reversing his gravity, realizing too late that there was a chariot containing another Ruler. Theo threw himself to the side with a perpendicular field, narrowly avoiding a guillotine of wind trying to cut him in half. Even then, the air exploded in a shower of blades that stung him as he dropped himself to a safer distance.

When he righted himself, Theo realized that he was bleeding from several shallow cuts. His coat had protected him from the worst of it, but his face and hands had been unprotected. Fortunately, as a Ruler he no longer needed to be worried about Ruler-tier cantae simply tearing through him, but he couldn't afford a battle of attrition with two Rulers prepared for his abilities.

But he wasn't limited to fields. Theo hurled a large cantae bolt downward, a torsion bolt hidden within it. The Ruler on the ground swept aside most of the cantae with a wave of her hand, but the twisting energy refined in his soulhome pierced through her defenses and her shoulder, sending her staggering.

An instant later Theo dropped back toward the ground, avoiding a horizontal pulse of wind from the other Ruler. He cast several cantae bolts, forcing his opponent to examine them for hidden torsion bolts, but they were all distractions. Instead Theo applied his full gravitational force to the flying chariot the Ruler stood on. His gravity might not be powerful enough to crush soulcrafters, but it could break the materials controlling the vehicle.

Neither Ruler was defeated, but they were clearly taken aback that their strategy hadn't overcome him. Before Theo could target either again, he felt a surge of cantae from the rest of the Asplundat army. Most had been pushed to the ground or too slow to react, but now they launched a volley of bolts toward him.

While he'd been busy, the Archcrafters had resisted his field and summoned all their cantae. Instead of trying to target him, they blanketed the sky, a vast hail of bolts that would have been a serious problem for him... about a year ago.

Instead of trying to dodge, Theo generated a point of anti-mass directly in front of him. As the cantae bolts struck his power, they parted to all sides. Using anti-mass effectively was still difficult, even as a Ruler, so the bolts passed troublingly close to his body. Theo remained calm and hoped that it made him look precise instead of unable to push the attacks further away.

After several seconds of sustained fire, all of it flowing harmlessly away from his position, the Asplundat soulcrafters fell silent. Theo cast his next gravitational field reversed, and though the Rulers and several others had locked their legs into the mudflats, he still pulled much of the army into the air. Several allied Rulers were hurling flames into their midst as well, finally providing backup.

It was all nicely in hand, much the same as the other battles. The instinct that saved Theo wasn't anything he could pin down, just a flickering impression from all the combat experience in his past. Theo dropped himself backward with a perpendicular field as rapidly as he possibly could without knowing why.

He watched jagged shards of rock erupt just in front of him.

An entire column of rock had risen from the mudflat, clearly unnatural both in its speed and the cantae flowing through it. Theo had barely gotten clear when it exploded, and he had no time to worry about the hail of stones down over his allies, because he needed every bit of his attention on the new threat.

Where the column had stood, an Authority of the Asplundat Movement floated in midair. Their body was entirely covered in gray stone armor, similar to the other blueprints, but Theo knew immediately that this soulcrafter was no mindless drone. Whoever was inside the armor, they had completely hidden their presence and carefully moved underneath him, choosing the perfect time to strike.

Theo rapidly cast two gravitational fields that-

His opponent was faster, unleashing a shockwave that swept in all directions. Theo survived, unlike a few others caught in the blast, but that was about all his defenses could manage. The shockwave overwhelmed his artificial gravity, sending him tumbling downward and slamming into the ground.

Instead of letting himself fall back up, Theo instead neutralized his gravity and skimmed to the side. Only then was he able to clear his head enough to think again after the impact, and he saw that there were vicious spikes of earth covering the area where he had been. Even more cantae flowed through the ground beneath him as the Authority tried to pen him in for a killing blow.

Fortunately, the impact had made Theo release his first gravitational field, the one he had been maintaining since before the battle started. Before any of them had arrived, Theo had lifted several boulders over the mudflats and kept them suspended in the clouds above... until moments ago.

Normal gravity reasserted itself and the boulders plummeted to the battlefield. Each impact pulped the mudflats, scattering chaos in all directions. One of them even struck the Authority directly, and though the reinforced armor survived the blow, the distraction gave Theo time to return to the air and put some distance between them as the raining stone broke apart every formation.

The very first thing Theo did was fall into the sky to gain as much height as possible, this time checking more carefully for flying chariots. Even falling at the highest gravity he could manage, another spike of earth very nearly caught him as the Authority recovered.

A wall of earth rose in front of him and Theo realized that it was only intended to slow him down. Rather than risk taking a look at his opponent, Theo cast a larger torsion bolt ahead of him. It barely managed to tear through the reinforced earth, and as he scraped through the hole, he realized how risky that had been. If the Authority had been more prepared or closer, his bolt might have failed to penetrate.

Theo heard the sounds of an avalanche and had to look back, spotting the armored Authority passing through the crumbling wall of earth. He lifted himself higher again, but his opponent wasn't trying any more spires, just coming after him directly.

That was going to be a problem. Theo had unusually high aerial mobility for a Ruler, but Authorities could use their denser cantae to simply move themselves through the air. Worse, this one would likely use their shockwave technique again as soon as they got a chance, which could send him flying. He wished that he had been able to develop the gravitational anchoring technique he'd planned, or a thousand others, but at the moment his only choice was evasion.

He swerved violently to dodge another cantae bolt, simple but powerful. It hadn't been intended to defeat him, the Authority was just forcing him to rapidly switch between his fields. Theo tried to rise further but had no choice but to drop back toward the ground to evade an arc of cantae. Eventually he was going to make a mistake...

The Asplundat soulcrafter had gained significantly on him when Theo felt the pulse of cantae. Another shockwave. Theo didn't try to dodge, just turned to face it and reinforced his cantae as he moved in the opposite direction. He couldn't escape the shockwave, but he reduced the impact until it just felt like slamming into a brick wall.

His opponent sped up, burning cantae rapidly to end the fight, and Theo wasn't sure how many tricks he had left. So far he'd never revealed his singularity technique in these battles, and now he wouldn't have a chance to-

A molten column of lava interrupted his thoughts and the fight. It completely eclipsed the Asplundat Authority, and though their armor emerged unharmed, their attention left him.

"Yeah, that's right." Aronth floated above the primary battle, or at least the remnants of it, and grinned. "Took you too long, and now your only choice is to pick on someone your own size."

The words squirmed in Theo's mind, since the actual phrase had been something closer to "fight a bigger boar" but they were soul translated into a more familiar idiom. He might not have even noticed if he'd still been so tense. It only took a brief glimpse of the battlefield to realize that the greatest point of danger had passed.

"You know you're the aggressors here." Aronth floated closer to the armored soulcrafter, fire burning in his hands. "If you retreat now, we'll let you go. Framkis, release your control over their armies."

"Of course," Theo said politely. He hadn't been able to maintain gravitational fields during the entire fight, but given how battered and disoriented the army was, it looked as though they were still being weighed down.

When the enemy Authority finally gave the command, the Asplundat Movement began to retreat. In the shallows, which were returning over the scorched region, the water Fithans also retreated. Their own Authority cradled a burned arm but appeared to have survived as well.

In the end, the battle hadn't resulted in nearly as many casualties as might have been expected, which was actually the goal. Despite how he had been thinking of them, Theo knew that the other Fithans weren't truly enemies that needed to be killed. The purpose of this battle was gaining a superior position as conflict heated up on the continent, not eradication. No doubt there were sublime material gathering regions at stake, or perhaps it had all been about a political maneuver regarding the Asplundat alliance with water Fithans. Ultimately, Theo didn't care.

As he watched the armies retreat and caught his breath, Theo wondered when he would need to pay attention to these politics. If his suspicions were correct, the source of all this conflict had been instigated by Vistgil on another Fithan continent. The war spread slowly, but when it came it would threaten Norro Yorthin and all the Ruling Cities. If it truly came to that point, he would have a difficult decision to make.

"Another successful battle!" Aronth flew closer to him and practically shook him by the shoulders. "Well done, Framkis! It's not every Ruler that can turn the tide like that!"

"I'm sorry I can't help you any further," Theo said, "but this group was already prepared to target me, so in every future encounter they'll have more countermeasures."

"No worries, we have what we need from you. Trust me, the politicians back in Saan Fraskin will be happy." Aronth jabbed a thumb at his chest. "Me, I want you to ascend! Fighting you as an Authority sounds like fun!"

Though Theo smiled and nodded, he doubted it would happen and had little interest in the possibility. By his measure, Aronth and the other two Authorities in that battle were very average soulcrafters for their tier, relying on ordinary Authority traits like flight and raw power. Stronger than him for the moment, but not a challenge if he completed his ascension properly. None of them seemed to be carrying any weirkeys, whereas Theo expected to be traveling other worlds by the time he reached that tier.

After so long in the air, Theo was relieved to lower himself to one of the Saan Fraskin chariots and return to normal gravity. It would take the army some time to recover and return to the city, so back to soulcrafting.

Chapter 2

Nauda found the battlefield frozen in time, the twisted corpses petrified where they fell. All the fallen combatants had been reduced to statues of themselves, eerily lifelike if not for the gray coloring. Even the blood and the stench of the battle were gone, replaced with an oddly sterile blue glow.

She stumbled to a halt, uncertain exactly what she was seeing. House Blacksilver's reports said that the battle had taken place just a few days ago. Her first thought was some kind of massive technique binding the entire battlefield in time, but there had been no indication of anything so extreme, if it was even possible. When she bent lower, Nauda saw that there were small mushrooms growing on and between the bodies, emitting the blue glow that cast everything in such a strange light, but the stone-like appearance of the bodies was no trick of the eye.

"Bondsfungi got here already." Jefria walked up beside her and put her hands on her sturdy hips, clucking in disapproval. "Just spring up overnight, they do. Sorry about all this."

"I don't even know what these are," Nauda admitted. She could feel cantae flowing through the "bondsfungi" though she couldn't determine its exact nature.

"Oh, right, you're from a ways away, ain't ya?" Jefria tapped Nauda in the forehead where a Fithan's horns would have been and chuckled. "It's staring me right in the face, but I keep forgetting. Bondsfungi is a rarish sublime material, but you never know where it will pop up. It especially grows on battlefields or cemeteries and it gets just everywhere. Once it gets its hooks into bodies it doesn't let go and starts growing fast, so overnight you get whole fields like this."

"So your request wasn't to help us recover the bodies?"

"Goodness no! It's probably possible, but that's dangerous work, and it doesn't matter much to us anyway. None of our young ones in this fight, so we just want you to help with the living."

Nauda bent closer to one of the mushrooms, only for Jefria to grab her shoulder. The middle-aged woman was just a first tier soulcrafter and couldn't hold Nauda back even in her current condition, but Nauda still halted and looked back to her curiously.

"They say those are dangerous," Jefria said with a shake of her head. "They like dead bodies, but they'll get into live ones if they can. Of course, they're probably not much danger to a strong young Ruler like you, miss, but it's best to be cautious, I always say."

Though she managed to suppress it to a single deep breath, a wave of shame washed through Nauda. Any time anyone paid her the slightest respect, she felt like a complete failure and her ruined soulhome seemed to burn again. The only unquestionably successful soulcrafting project she'd completed since her injury was building a massive three story shielding wall. It defended nothing, only hiding her shame and in a perverse way humiliating her even more than letting the world see.

Pushing aside those thoughts was an all-too-familiar maneuver, so Nauda kept her voice steady. "I take it this isn't the battlefield where you wanted help?"

"Oh, you had the right way, but I think we'd better circle around. They probably haven't spread to the rockier area, so you should be able to help out there." Jefria began trudging a broad arc around the petrified battlefield, not even looking at it. "We appreciate you coming out so soon, even if you're not a healer. You might be able to save a few."

"There are healers on their way," Nauda said, "but I ran ahead. Now, can you show me the rocks?"

Past the petrified battlefield, Nauda discovered much less grim farmland. The low-lying fields looked like miserable dust farms by Tatian standards, but at least they weren't covered by corpse statues. However, they'd been damaged by the battle as well: various large rocks had fallen into the fields, heavy enough to require a whole team of low-level soulcrafters.

Nauda tested the weight before hefting one from the ground and throwing it out of the field. Jefria made impressed noises, which only shamed Nauda again. In her current state, she had access to significant levels of strength only briefly, while her cantae held out. Just lifting one of the rocks for several minutes would have been impossible for her, much less engaging in serious combat.

But since all she needed to do was relocate the rocks, she could help like a proper Ruler. When she removed some of the larger boulders she caught sight of the gnarled root vegetables underneath. So that was where dustcarrots came from. They were bland but filling, a staple of many Fithan tables, so Nauda was glad to help the farmers get their crops back.

While they worked, Jefria explained that the soldiers who fought outside their farms had taken measures to reduce civilian deaths but not cared about the boulders casually scattered through their fields. She seemed appreciative but not astonished as she worked around Nauda, sweeping up the smaller fragments and mending damaged fences.

Just when Nauda was starting to think she'd do nothing but throw rocks, they heard muffled cries from below. Jefria immediately shouted something about caverns and beckoned Nauda further. When Nauda removed the boulder she indicated, it revealed a smashed stone staircase. Several workers had apparently taken refuge from the fighting below and been trapped.

They were all alive, but going several days on limited food and water had taken a heavy toll. Nauda joined Jefria and the stronger survivors to carry the weakest away from the fields to the village itself.

If it could be called a village. Nauda still wasn't quite comfortable with the squat little fortresses, even though they seemed to be the common housing of the poor. She could easily recognize the relief of the people as their loved ones thought dead returned, however, so she helped everyone reach the tented area that had been set up to care for the injured.

There, she would have been helpless even if she had her former strength. Many of the villagers had large cuts or bruises, and two had lost limbs. Apparently the soulcrafters had used cantae techniques that scattered in all directions, leading to collateral damage. Nauda noted how the villagers didn't seem to think of their first tier neighbors as soulcrafters at all, instead reserving that term for Archcrafters and above. The way they said it, that didn't sound like entirely a good thing.

Real healers from Blacksilver would be needed for them, so Nauda retreated as soon as she'd done what she could. Jefria joined her, and thankfully didn't seem eager to get back to work. As they stood together near the village's heavily-defended well, Nauda found herself staring out toward the battlefield.

"Will it just stay that way?" She wasn't sure if her question was too vague, but Jefria immediately looked out toward the statues.

"Afraid so. The sublime materials take years and years to finish their growing and there's not much you can do about them before then, unless you can hire a soulcrafter." Jefria took a long drink and then handed the ladle to Nauda. "My uncle's village was even nearer a big battlefield and they had to move, since the bondsfungi just kept growing into the village."

"I don't know if we'll be able to do anything about that, I'm afraid." Nauda paused to take a drink of water, but Jefria only shook her head.

"No need for apologies now, miss. We're plenty glad that you Blacksilver folks are helping out like this."

Nauda froze for a moment, thinking back over their conversation carefully. Had she once identified herself as a Blacksilver representative? As far as she knew, the entire expedition was working without announcement over the entire region, so how did Jefria know? Nauda kept her expression neutral and spoke quietly. "Blacksilver folks?"

"Well, you are, right?" Jefria chuckled as she took the ladle back. "Nobody comes this far from the city to help except Blacksilver."

"I see." Since she was away from any natives of Norro Yorthin, Nauda decided to ask a question that had been on her mind for a long time. "Please be honest with me, as an outsider: how do you feel about the great Houses in the cities? Are they fair to those who live around them?"

Jefria set the ladle aside slowly and scratched her stomach, more thoughtful than uncomfortable. "I don't know where you're from, miss, but I figure the problems aren't so different anywhere you go."

"It doesn't seem so familiar to me. Won't you tell me?"

"Well... it's pretty obvious that city folk think they're better than us. Not that we don't strut about sometimes, saying that they don't know where their food comes from and the like. But as I see it, the big difference is that the cities have all the soulcrafters and they get to decide how things get decided. We have our resentments, no doubt."

"Such as?"

"Roads, for one." Jefria gestured vaguely toward the path Nauda had taken there. "They're always wanting to repair the roads that matter to them, saying that the roads out to our farms don't matter because there's not many of us. Fair 'nuff, city folk need roads too if they can't fly. But they ignore that we need most of those roads to carry in all the goods they want. So they tax what we sell, but what do they really give us?"

That was a very different picture than Nauda had gotten from Antha, if not an entirely happy one. While she chewed it over, Jefria was happy to continue speaking.

"Now, Norro Yorthin is better than most. But they tend to treat everybody outside the city as part of the wild tribes, no matter whether they cause trouble or not. As I see it, the Houses are more of the same, just going after whatever they want for themselves."

"Except Blacksilver?"

"I'm not saying they're all good eggs, but they're a friend to us little folk. Maybe they spend more time on the poor in the cities, but every time they've sent someone out here, they've helped." Jefria patted her on the shoulder. "You have a good heart, miss. People like you are why we trust Blacksilver."

"I appreciate that, but I'm just afraid of making mistakes without realizing it." As soon as Nauda uttered the words, she realized that she'd stumbled directly into her vulnerability, so she pushed on. "What about the Asplundat Movement? I've heard what they say about the Ruling Cities."

"Hmph! A lot of noisy bother, if you ask me. Doesn't matter if soulcrafters are all polite, we want them to treat us right. I'd rather be free than-" Whatever Jefria had been intending to say was cut off by cries of alarm and Nauda leapt to her feet, staff in hand and politics far from her mind.

Three Fithans were walking toward the village, but even without the cries Nauda immediately knew that they didn't belong. Norro Yorthin had a highly developed textile industry, yet these three wore ragged and stained leather hides. She also thought they had unusually large horns at first before she realized that they actually wore head gear that exaggerated their horns to several times the normal length. Combined with the fact that they were all Archcrafters carrying weapons, Nauda had a good guess about what they were doing.

"Miss..." Jefria gripped her sleeve tightly, eyes fixed on the three. "They're up to no good. Can you chase them off?"

"I can try." Nauda didn't want to admit how much of a risk it was, but she made herself walk confidently to intercept the attackers.

"You know who we are, don't you?" One of the rough Fithans raised his sword toward the villagers by the healing tent. "Give us all your food and valuables, and your friends might recover. Make any trouble, and all of you can join them."

Some villagers quailed while others looked to her, removing her last chance of avoiding a confrontation. Nauda didn't let any of her doubt onto her face as she strode toward them, beating her staff against the ground with each step. They wouldn't be able to see her soulhome, just get a sense that she'd built a high shielding wall. She saw their eyes note the armament in her hands and the belt of emeralds around her waist, which would hopefully make them think twice.

In fact, she wasn't sure she could beat three Archcrafters, not if they were experienced working together. Within her walls there was mostly stone slag and a pathetic single chamber to house her sublime materials. Her cantae might be a Ruler's, but she could only fight as one briefly.

"I think you should keep moving." Nauda stopped at a safe distance, slamming her staff down beside her. "Don't trouble these people."

"You think we obey your city laws?" one of the Fithans behind the leader sneered. "We take what we want, when we want."

"These people are under the protection of the great Houses of Norro Yorthin. Do you think you can take what's theirs?" She didn't like claiming ownership of the villagers, but it seemed like the easiest way to get through to the raiders. Her words produced sneers, but also a bit of uneasiness.

"We don't fear them." The leader swept his sword in her direction instead. "You think your words and alliances matter? Out in the wastes, we're not soft. Out here, only power matters."

"Then test mine." Nauda still hadn't revealed the slightest hint of cantae, but she gestured for them to attack with her free hand.

The leader attacked immediately with a killing thrust, fast for an Archcrafter. Not fast enough. Nauda extended her staff in his direction, pinning him in place. After letting him struggle just a moment, she whipped her staff around, striking him across the face and sending him tumbling back into his allies.

His sword spun into the air and Nauda snatched it with both hands, snapping it in half over her knee. If they hadn't already felt that she had a Ruler's cantae, that drove the point home. She contemptuously tossed the halves onto the ground in front of them and withdrew her cantae again, as if they weren't worth taking seriously.

In truth, she couldn't keep fighting like that for long. Using her full strength as a Ruler had already emptied half the cantae in her remaining chamber, and they wouldn't wait long enough for it to refill. If they actually attacked her, it would be a difficult fight. Binding them would be too exhausting, so she would need to use that threat as a feint, then use her more intense cantae to deal killing blows early in the fight.

If it came to that... but after staring at her, the three raiders scrambled backwards in retreat. Nauda watched them leave, trying to keep the relief off her face.

"Well done, miss." Jefria appeared behind her, along with many smiling villagers. "They would have taken everything."

"Are they going to come back?" Nauda asked. Jefria immediately shook her head.

"I hope not. The wild tribes prefer to live in the harshest wastelands, so they usually don't get this close to Norro Yorthin. You scared them off good, seems like."

"All the same, I'm going to throw some rocks as a demonstration."

Nauda returned to the fields and began hefting boulders, either with her physical strength or with her staff. She sent them spinning into the wastelands with derisive ease, just in case the raiders or their allies were watching. In between she would sweep her gaze over the horizon as if to make a point, though she actually needed the pauses in order to recover.

As she worked at clearing the fields, she spoke more to the others about these wild tribes. In retrospect Nauda realized that she had heard hints of them in the city, she had just misunderstood the real meaning. Apparently local mythology said that the earliest Fithans had lived in wasteland tribes, so those who still did were treated with an odd mix of contempt and awe. The farmers who actually suffered under their predation seemed to have much less of the latter.

There were no further attacks by the time the rest of the Blacksilver delegation began to arrive. The first group was the healers, but just having more Archcrafters around would no doubt ward off any raiders. Nauda saw that the group included Grekig, so she stopped her work to go meet him.

When she had returned from the Chasm of Lamentations with devastating soulhome damage, House Blacksilver had assigned Grekig to help her. The well-dressed and exquisitely-mustachioed man had been a powerful soulcrafter in his youth, on course to become an Authority, but his ascension had gone horribly wrong. Since then, he worked as the House's recovery expert, though he hadn't been able to do much for her yet.

"Three members of one of the wild tribes attacked here," Nauda told him before he could begin another lesson. "I chased them off, but I'm not sure if they'll be back."

"Here?" Grekig glanced around the villagers as if her words needed confirmation. "That's so close to the city... usually the wild tribes stick to the wastes in between. I suppose the recent battles against them might have pushed their territory."

"Battles against them? Are they a threat?"

"Yes and no. The wild tribes are disorganized and fractured, but they're among the fiercest and most brutal soulcrafters here. And there are more of them than you'd think. Whenever there's rumors of major war, every city works to get their region in order by quelling the local tribes. Or recruiting them if possible, but they mostly disdain us."

"Ah, I understand."

"I'm not sure you do, if you fought them." Grekig frowned at her, running his knuckles over his mustache. "You realize how weak you are at the moment? You'll need to accept your limitations even after you rebuild three floors, much less now. I'd never have allowed you out of the city if I knew the wild tribes were active again."

"Thank you for sharing your wisdom." Nauda barely kept the bitterness out of her voice, and it usually dissipated over soul translation. She didn't want to argue with Grekig, since his motives seemed pure and he'd offered her a variety of techniques to help her recover.

Still, she didn't want to deal with him at the moment, so she went to help the healers. They had rapidly taken care of the villagers with recent injuries, moving on to soldiers who had suffered more serious wounds from the battle. When she drew close they asked her to help by holding down one of the soldiers who was shaking violently. The man struggled mindlessly, his eyes covered in a blue film and apparently sightless.

Most likely they wanted her to use her binding technique to freeze him in place, but Nauda was too weary for it. Instead she bent down and pinned him physically in place, allowing the healers to do their work. They had compassion for her as well, and thus the decency not to question her weakness. The man coughed violently throughout the procedure, his breath smelling absolutely foul, but otherwise his struggles were easy to contain.

Outside the healing area, Grekig moved cautiously, waiting to give her another lesson. But soulcrafting felt so completely futile, Nauda stayed with the villagers. At least here, she could do a little good.

Chapter 3

The city of Saan Fraskin was shaded for the majority of the day thanks to the enormous half-sphere of stone that curved over the seaward side of the city. Where the coastal location might make a city a valuable port on another world, on Fithe it caused a war zone. In times long past the defensive wall had been created to help ward off attacks from the ocean, built from powerful materials that it would take an Authority to even scratch.

As he made his way to the plaza, Theo ran his eyes over the curving wall one more time. None of the citizens seemed to notice it, since it was no doubt just part of the scenery to them. Or at least he presumed as much, since there'd been no time to talk to any of them. As he was swept across the Ruling Cities, he'd gained very little in the form of relationships.

Sublime materials, on the other hand...

"Oh, by the way..." Aronth had been walking beside him and suddenly broke off whatever he had been saying, rummaging in the pack at his side. His hand emerged with a chunk of stone so white that the shadow had no effect on it. "We did manage to find a little more of that sublime material you wanted! They're going to give you a proper reward, but I figured I'd throw this in."

"Thanks." Theo smiled broadly as he gripped the densecrest, slowly crumbling it into his soulhome. This chunk would probably make enough bricks for another room or two on his third floor. "How did you manage to get your hands on it?"

"Oh, you know how it is when everybody expects fighting! All the sublime materials useful for combat start going to the soulcrafters that will be in the worst of it. How else are you going to get ready for a war, ya know?"

Though Theo wasn't entirely confident in his past experiences of the Nine Worlds, he'd seen wars before. In the early stages, there was sort of sublime material triage: top tier soulcrafters would be given enough materials to ascend if at all possible, then they filtered to others close to ascension, then those making progress on their current floor, and finally to less important needs.

"That's what all this was actually about." Aronth had continued speaking without any input from him, aside from receiving another blow to the back. "You helped us keep control of those mudflats! The way I understand it, they dig up a few materials there, but the real treasure is when these turtles come to lay eggs. Those eggs are a real great sublime material and having another season of it before a war could make our soulcrafters a lot tougher. Wish we could give you one, but they'd be a bit old by now, haha!"

"I'm sure I'll manage." Theo's feast chamber was one of his lowest priorities, especially when it came to Fithan food. An opportunity to gain foods from other worlds could be valuable, but his chamber was in good condition for an ascension. "You sure the leaders won't resent having to give up some to me?"

"Oh, not at all! Just payment for services rendered! Besides, we're all Ruling Cities, ain't we? We may fight a lot, but if the Asplundat Movement or worse starts attacking us, we can't have Norro Yorthin falling behind, can we?"

As Theo saw it, the reverse was more likely, but he let the comment pass. Saan Fraskin was still one of the most prominent among the Ruling Cities, with multiple powerful Houses and two Stronghold tier soulcrafters. But a vicious war with the water Fithans a decade ago had cost them a few of their strongest, so they couldn't compete with an overpowered city like Norro Yorthin.

"The real question is what those mud Fithans will be doing!" Aronth glared out toward the shielding wall. "We bloodied their lip here, but rumor has it they're getting restless. People say that something is disturbing the depths, too, and more of them are coming up onto land! I know most aren't spies, but that's not going to make me like seeing them crawling through my city..."

Aronth continued talking until they finally reached the plaza. It was unusually cool for mid-day, shadowed both by the wall arching overhead and the city hall buildings looming much less impressively. This wasn't the largest plaza, which was reserved for the celebration of local soulcrafters to take place that night, but it was still a position of honor. Theo hadn't seen many plazas, but it was similar to what he'd experienced in every previous city.

There, Theo was introduced to several city officials and representatives of major Houses. He promptly forgot all of their names, since he was likely never going to see any of them again. What mattered more to him was the array of sublime materials set out on tables, though he kept his eyes off them for the sake of propriety. After some generic platitudes, they got to the point.

"As agreed, your contribution to our city will be repaid purely in the form of sublime materials." One of the officials Theo didn't remember smiled broadly and swept his hands over the assembled group. "These were specially prepared for our own Rulers who we hope will be able to ascend, with this table filtered according to your preferences. Since you've declined other forms of payment, you may choose two materials instead of one."

"House Blacksilver thanks you." Theo didn't need to mention Blacksilver, but since they had been generous with their terms for their journey, he did what he could for their reputation.

"Ah yes, that was it. They don't have a branch here, I believe, but we're thankful that the houses of Norro Yorthin are willing to help a sister Ruling City."

They didn't have any branches at all, being moderately important within the city but insignificant outside of it. Theo felt he'd done his part and the officials were moving on to others, so he set about examining the bounty of sublime materials they'd prepared.

As promised, a table of materials had been assembled specifically for his blueprint. Or at least their approximation of it, since as usual many of them only vaguely had something to do with weight. Still, Theo judged the selection better than average. There was a glowing rock called a flameheart that would have been an exceptional sublime material to strengthen his core singularity on the third floor, if he didn't already have the superior miniature sun from the Chasm of Lamentations.

Finding sublime materials that were superior to those he could already access was always the problem. He was a Ruler now and preparing for the most important ascension of his soulcrafting career, so there was no more allowance for placeholders or compromises. By the time he ascended he needed twenty-seven chambers in perfect order.

A rapidly spinning dagger caught his eye, an armament designed to drill through opponents and then return to the hand. It would have merged perfectly with his torsion bolts, but Theo felt that over-investing in armaments was unwise.

One of the later design principles of his blueprint, in old or new forms, was that each corner column of his soulhome was intended to operate as a unit. The torsion bolt chamber on his first floor flowed directly up into the stonevortex room on the second, then into the hypothetical third. Each could function on its own, but his strongest techniques were supposed to combine the strength of an entire column.

Vortexwater spun violently, but he dismissed it as not close enough to gravity. Slateshards were allegedly one of the sharpest sublime materials at his tier, but he had enough penetrating power from the rainhorns. A sand called vermillionmotes orbited like true gravity, but it was too weak as a material. Flightplate levitated all objects that touched it, but he eventually judged that it would be a stretch to try to work it into his plans.

Finally he spotted something that seemed perfect: a set of dark purple shells labeled as from beasts called depthclaws. They were designed to endure immense pressures, so a reasonable match for his soulhome, but what caught his eye was how sensitive to liquid they were. He realized that it would be a perfect match for the abyssfluid he'd already gained. His plan to build it into a new sensory perception had stalled, but with the shells forming a superior container, that chamber might finally come together.

Theo tucked the shells under his arm but didn't officially claim the material, in case he found two better options. Unfortunately, he'd gone through the entire table prepared for him and only found one likely candidate. When he turned to look over the rest of the plaza, he saw plenty of materials and armaments suitable for the average Fithan soulcrafter, but few that would be right for him.

One table was dedicated to sublime plants of varying kinds, so Theo scrutinized it. His blueprint needed a living material in the early tiers so that it could grow along with him, since every top tier design required the strength that came from an evolving material. Finding a sublime plant that could match his soulhome would be challenging, and indeed he failed to find anything acceptable on the table, so he returned to his default plan of searching Aathal for his plant.

Wandering through the rest, he was pleasantly surprised to find something called a slipstream stone that perfectly captured the essence of a wormhole. He needed a material to cap his northwestern column that could hopefully lead to a true teleportation skill, but eventually he decided that the slipstream stone would be compromising too much. Since he already had a better wormhole material from Ichil, he needed something that distinguished itself.

Was it possible that he really couldn't find a second material in the entire collection? Theo kept the scowl off his face and tried to shift his thinking instead. He was focused on techniques, since they would have the largest immediate effect, but strengthening chambers were just as essential for his final blueprint. Perhaps searching for such materials would be more productive.

As he ran his fingers along the depthclaw shells, Theo came to another realization. Saan Fraskin sat next to the ocean, so their rarest materials might be other aquatic ones. Since he was unlikely to be able to visit any of the underwater Fithan cities in a time of war, this might be his only chance to acquire such materials. With two new standards in mind, Theo looked over the tables with new eyes.

He did spot a large number of unique materials, from flaming seaweed to seafloor glass, but it was a jar of black water that caught his attention. It had the uninspiring name of "heavywater", but as he felt its cantae, he quickly realized that it might be what he needed. Not intense enough to serve as part of a technique, instead offering a steady strengthening presence. A remarkably strong material, so long as he could find a place for it in his blueprint.

Theo didn't need to consider his design long before he reached his conclusion. One of his empty strengthening rooms could be a bathing chamber, which could help him in multiple ways. He could build a pool with some of the lesser materials from the Chasm, which were still well above average, and then the heavywater would complete the design.

Pleased to have found two appropriate candidates after all, Theo circled the plaza once more before officially taking the heavywater and the depthclaw shells. Both would require a bit of effort to draw into his soulhome, so he waited to determine the next step first.

"You done already?" Aronth popped out of one of the buildings beside the plaza, a drink in hand. "Leave it to you to go through the whole city's rewards so quickly! You're done here, right?"

"I believe the officials implied I would be returning," Theo said. "Are you taking me back?"

"Oh, I'm afraid we don't have any weirkeys to spare. But don't worry, we've prepared a nice journey back home!" Aronth grabbed him around the neck and dragged him back into the city. "After all your work, you deserve to travel in style! Luckily, the House of Coin has an Authority traveling to Norro Yorthin, so you'll get to go with him. Which is pretty great!"

"The House of Coin?" Despite himself, Theo frowned, wondering if it could actually be a coincidence. He thought he was on decent terms with the branch in Norro Yorthin, but perhaps they still resented him for cheating in their gambling houses.

"You have one back home, right? They said that you were on good terms with them. Those bastards are everywhere, haha! Anyway, their chariots are the lap of luxury, let me tell you, so you don't have to worry about anything. Trust me, you'll love it!"

When they reached the chariotport, the "chariot" proved to be more of a barge, maintaining only the general shape of the smaller flying vehicles. This one would have been a chariot for a giant, with two full floors and an entire crew. Something that big was likely a luxury vehicle for an Authority who didn't want to fly under their own power.

Though Theo remained cautious at the beginning, the House of Coin's Authority was a short man who appeared entirely uninterested in Theo. In fact, he didn't seem to care about anything except getting underway as quickly as possible, so Theo said a bruising farewell to Aronth and then got on board. Now that he was a Ruler, he could easily carry everything with him. His storage chamber was filled with camping supplies, tools, food, and even a bunch of rope, just in case.

"It will take us several days to reach Norro Yorthin," an aide in House of Coin livery said, "even at the Authority's top speed. Do you have any special needs?"

"Nothing in particular." Theo stepped into his cabin, which was surprisingly plush. The only difficult part would be finding a seat that wasn't smotheringly soft.

"We do carry a number of amenities, and food will be served when it doesn't disrupt your work. What exactly we can prepare will depend on the day and available materials."

All at once tired of everyone else, Theo forced a smile at the aide. "Let me know whenever there are sublime materials on the menu, otherwise I'll take whatever is easiest for you to prepare. Just one meal a day, because I'll be engaged in soulcrafting otherwise."

"Of course." The aide bowed and left his cabin, leaving him blissfully alone. Theo tested out a few of the overly padded chairs before deciding that it was all the same.

What mattered was that he had several days in which no one was likely to bother him, which meant several days for focused work. He could return to flint knapping or begin crafting densecrest bricks for new chambers, but what captured his imagination was this new bathing chamber. Soulcrafting tiles to cover the walls and floor would be simple enough, so he focused on the recess that would contain the heavywater. Digging into the foundation of his soul at this stage would test even his skills, unless of course he raised the floor and filled the space with strengthening materials. Perhaps something that provided warmth, to create a heated bath? But no, that might slightly decrease the efficiency of his cantae flow along the floor.

Still, Theo reflected as he gripped his new sublime materials, these were exactly the sorts of problems he wanted to have.

Chapter 4

When Nauda returned to the House Blacksilver complex, she was dead on her feet even though she had ridden in a chariot the majority of the way. She'd been soulcrafting the entire time, in accordance with what Grekig told her was the best recovery strategy, but it all felt so utterly futile. A few bricks of mediocre materials forming a useless pile.

Worst of all was the mass of stone slag across almost a third of her foundation. The raw power of the Authorities had melted the stone, and most of it had hardened into a lump that was nearly impervious. Even Grekig had admitted that she couldn't do much with it, instead advising her to accept the loss of space and build on top of it. Yet she struggled to follow his instructions, because it would mean sealing that terrible failure into her blueprint forever.

She'd actually had a little luck before: when she'd borrowed Theo's Esoteric Chisel, it had been able to chip away at the slag. But he'd gone to fight across the continent and taken it with him, so she stalled. On her way in, Nauda greeted Antha and asked if he'd returned, but apparently he was still fighting.

Though the administrator of House Blacksilver wanted to talk to her, she knew Nauda well enough to see that she was exhausted. Nauda made vague promises that they would get together at some point in the future and instead made her way inward. If she couldn't borrow the Chisel again, she needed to find another meaningful project. Helping the villagers had reignited her drive to move forward however she could.

Before she could return to her room, she spotted a familiar face. "Hello, Nauda." Fiyu smiled at her and bobbed her head cheerfully. "I am glad that you have returned safely from your journey."

"Yeah. Not even any injuries." Talking to Fiyu should have made her feel better, but Nauda was just too exhausted for anyone else.

"Were you able to help many people?"

"Yeah. I did quite a bit." Since Fiyu didn't deserve the brunt of her exhaustion, Nauda met her gaze and managed a smile. "I saved a group of villagers that was trapped underground, so it's good that I went ahead. But they were attacked by one of the wild tribes... did you know about them?"

"I have heard that they are a danger of the wasteland." Fiyu regarded her somberly, the light glinting off her rainbow mask rendering her eyes invisible. "Do you know more of them, Nauda?"

"I had to learn a little more, but I'm not sure I know enough. I feel like I have more questions than answers."

Nauda paused awkwardly, her hand starting to move. If she had been talking with another Tatian, she could have touched their arm in a way that would make it clear that she valued them but required privacy. But Fiyu was shy, and Ichili, and... Fiyu. It was all very uncomfortable.

"I will let you recover from your journey." Fiyu gave her one more smile and then continued on. However else Ichili could be difficult for her to understand, Nauda liked how they always respected privacy.

Yet as she returned to her room, Nauda was haunted by Fiyu's presence as much as if the other woman was still with her. Try as she might, she couldn't forget the incident in the Chasm. How Fiyu had revealed so much so bluntly and their relationship had become a nasty tangle of emotions. Somehow Fiyu seemed able to turn off her feelings and go back to being simple companions, but Nauda didn't work that way. She couldn't ever forget that Fiyu had asked her to become a "lifemate", directly after asking Theo.

By the time she'd reached her room, Nauda had mostly shaken off the thoughts. What did being lifemates even mean to Ichili, anyway? Most likely they just carried one another's packs and enjoyed a monthly shoulder pat.

Once she was locked in her room, Nauda sat down and began soulcrafting. She should have taken a while to decompress or unpack her supplies, but instead she moved directly into her soulhome. Not because she wanted to or because she expected to make progress, just out of habit. Or worse, because she didn't know how to do anything else...

That was the truly chilling thought she wanted to escape. She had been a soulcrafter all her life, and now that it might be taken away from her, she was nothing at all.

Within her soul, she could face concrete problems, if ones she didn't know how to solve. Nauda remained at the borders of her soulhome for a moment, eyes flowing over the walls. They were the only part of her soul that looked suitable for her tier, a thick and powerful barrier formed from a sublime material called fleshstone. Grekig had helped her acquire it and she had driven herself into the task of building the wall as high as she could, since it was easier to start on something new than to rebuild.

Yet staying there would do her no good, so Nauda wandered through the unfinished gate. That was something else she needed to work on: according to Theo, a gate in her shielding wall would help increase the efficiency of her soulhome, but since its absence didn't weaken the obscuring effect, it felt useless for the time being. Especially given what awaited her inside.

She had built a primitive room in one of the undamaged areas of the soulhome in the early days after the Chasm, when she felt like she needed to soulcraft something just to survive. A tent stretched between it and the remnants of her exterior tower, just to hold a little more cantae. But the rest of her soulhome was empty grass and the impenetrable slag of her old soulhome.

It hadn't been a complete loss, she reminded herself for the thousandth time. Many of her most powerful sublime materials had survived: her skulls from home, the new materials from the Chasm, even the belt of emeralds that mirrored the one she wore on her physical body. Yet with all of them thrown together in her storage chamber, they didn't grant her a fraction of their true power. Other sublime materials had been lost forever, like her old blood red paint and likely all of the foods in her Nine Worlds Feast.

Nauda slowly padded to her storage room, looking over what remained grimly. What hurt most of all was that her telescope was no longer usable: the falling stones had bent the shaft at a right angle and the lens had been horribly scratched. She had carried it with her for so long, knowing that she couldn't repair it herself, and now she felt completely blind when looking at others' soulhomes.

Unwilling to stare at her losses, Nauda refocused on something she could control. In one of the few unoccupied areas of her soul, the heartoak was growing taller. It was by far the most powerful sublime material that House Blacksilver had given her, since Grekig said that it was good for regrowth and for limiting physical damage to those with spiritual injuries.

As she bent down beside it, Nauda began coughing violently. She did so occasionally in her real body as well, not for any discernible reason. Her injury hadn't been physical, yet damage done to the soul could leak over into the real world.

She hadn't known that, prior to her injury. She had never expected it to matter.

So far the heartoak had grown to reach her waist, the trunk already rather thick. It put off a surprising amount of cantae, and just being near it made her feel a little better. If she built walls and a ceiling around it, she could have a new heart chamber and try to begin again. Yet it all felt so...

Shoving the thoughts aside, Nauda instead focused on removing weeds from around the base of the tree. Spiritual parasites, according to Grekig, damaged fragments of herself that would grow into unintended pieces of her soulhome unless she carefully uprooted them. Even a few days without focus and more of them popped up.

As soon as she couldn't spot any more, Nauda straightened to get her supplies. Sublime trees that required so much work were rare, but their care was simple enough: sublime water, sublime fertilizer, sublime mulch. Nauda carefully fixed up the nest of mulch before watering the roots as best she could. Eventually the heartoak would grow enough to fill a chamber, and she hoped by then that she would know what to do with it.

But every single blueprint idea just felt pathetic to her. The fact was, her soul was permanently marred by the slag of her old plans, too unshapely to even serve as a foundation. She tried to imagine Grekig's blueprint building over it, but that would mean accepting never ascending past Ruler, and she couldn't allow herself to stop there.

That attitude had been what got her into the mess in the first place. Coughing painfully, Nauda dedicated herself to her futile work.

~ ~ ~

When Theo returned to the House Blacksilver complex, restless energy coursed through him. Absolutely nothing unusual had happened on his trip with the House of Coin, aside from a few comments implying respect he hadn't earned. That was good for his soulcrafting, but after so long in combat, sitting in one place for so long felt wrong.

It was late at night when he arrived, so most were sensibly asleep, but fortunately he saw a light on in the administrative building. The woman there appeared to be working late, as she often did, and greeted him with a polite nod.

"Glad to see you're back, Peanen." She used the fake name that he pretended he wanted kept secret within the House. "All reports have been good, so you're in Blacksilver's best graces, but I'm afraid I don't have your sublime materials ready for you."

"That's fine." Theo did briefly glance at the merits book, but instead focused on her. "I wanted to ask about the letters I sent to the House of the Lost."

"No response. At all." The woman frowned and tapped her fingers along the desk. "They used to be more conversational, before the Chasm. But all signs indicate that they've retreated to their fortresses, with barely any presence in Norro Yorthin. I could try to contact them directly, but..."

"Probably just a waste of your time." Theo had been afraid of that: at his current tier he simply wasn't important enough to draw the House of the Lost's attention. Their leader had power beyond Dominion, capable of fighting toe to toe with Vistgil, so he suspected that anyone beneath Authority wasn't even worthy of their notice.

Of course, if he had told them everything he knew, that would no doubt have gotten their attention. The problem was how to make safe contact with them, and in the end Theo had decided that the risks were too high. Vistgil and his plans had infected so many organizations, even if the House of the Lost itself was secure, it was impossible to get to them without risking his life.

If only he had been able to, he might have gotten some real answers. Once again, Theo found himself thinking back to everything Senka had said. His revenge, immortality, and any real understanding all stood too far beyond him. His only path forward was to ascend to Authority so perfectly that it could carry him not just to Dominion, but beyond.

Setting aside the issue, Theo focused on the administrator again. "Where next? There have to be some war zones I haven't visited yet."

"Yes, but even if you weren't reaching diminishing returns, there's a bigger concern." Her voice shifted and she finally stopped playing with her quill to focus fully on him. "Are you aware that Dris Kolonb has declared that the Ruling City Wargames will be held again?"

"I'm not even aware of what that is."

"The Ruling Cities are a collection of very loose allies, which I hope you understand clearly after fighting both for and against many of them. But with wars heating up across the continent, we can't afford to waste lives fighting one another. Dris Kolonb has ordered a complete halt to all inter-city conflicts, but that doesn't remove the real hatreds behind those conflicts, which could themselves be a problem..."

"Ah, so these 'Wargames' are a way to resolve conflicts between individual cities so they can present a united front later." Theo nodded as he considered it. He hadn't heard of them before, but she had implied that they were an old tradition resurrected. "When?"

"That isn't quite the right question, I'm afraid. Don't think of the Wargames as a simple tournament, they're... so much more." She waved a hand to encompass everything on her desk. "There will be duels that serve as arbitration between city states, resolving conflicts that otherwise would have become wars. Competitions for specialists of all kinds. Countless chances for Houses to distinguish or ruin themselves."

"But I don't think you'd enter me for anything but a Ruler-only competition, so there must be more to it. More distribution of sublime materials?"

"Exactly right. The capital of the Ruling Cities does have a vault of materials for emergencies, and they seem worried. Negotiations with Tymetron have failed, and though I'm not privy to the details..."

She trailed off and Theo frowned as he considered the implications. The continent of Norron was huge enough for a lifetime, with plenty of conflicts between Ruling Cities, the Asplundat Movement, and others. But the world of Fithe was larger than one continent, and Tymetron had a threatening reputation. He hadn't been able to research the matter thoroughly, as it was one among countless issues that needed his time.

"So they're taking the war preparations seriously," Theo said, "and there will be competitions over sublime materials. I'm guessing that you want me to participate in those, so we're back to my question: when?"

"Six months." The administrator shook her head and opened her book again, though her quill only twitched over it instead of writing. "More or less, since negotiations are ongoing. But the victors will receive sublime materials powerful enough to bridge the gap to Authority, so every House on the continent will be competing. We need everyone we have in peak condition in order to have a chance."

Without knowing the exact materials, Theo couldn't be sure, but his first reaction was skepticism. Sublime materials that pushed a person through an ascension were often shortcuts, and in fact it had been one of those shortcuts that had limited his potential in his previous life. At the time it had seemed like a lucky break, acquiring such a powerful material that let him ascend just in time to be victorious. Now he found himself wondering if he even wanted them.

There was no question, however, that he wanted their value. If he could place highly in such a competition, House Blacksilver would be immensely in his debt. That would put him in position to demand their full resources, which could be even more effective than just acquiring another material. Perhaps more importantly, it might get him enough political capital to get real answers from the House of the Lost or other major organizations.

"Six months, then. I'll do what I can to be prepared, and you can help by letting me know which sublime materials you've been able to acquire."

"It will be ready tomorrow morning." The administrator smiled as if surprised he was so agreeable. "We haven't been able to find some of the more obscure ones, but we have more densecrest and I think you'll be pleased with some of our acquisitions."

"That sounds great, thanks." Theo left her to her work and headed deeper into the compound.

Thankfully the night left him mostly alone with his thoughts. His relationship with Blacksilver was no longer as it had been before his duel with Esaire, desperately scrounging for every last coin and merit. Theo had enough merits to pay his salary for years, so instead of trying to maximize his participation, he focused on the most useful opportunities available. Fighting across the Ruling Cities had been perfect, since it gave him combat experience along with merits and sublime materials, but now he was ready to spend a long while ignoring such tasks.

They would let him, most likely even if he ran out of merits, because they couldn't afford not to. The three of them had been key to House Blacksilver performing so well in the Chasm of Lamentations, and Theo himself was widely viewed as the next potential Authority. Since Blacksilver only had three, if he ascended he would become a significant part of the House's military strength.

Of course, his sights were set a great deal higher than that. But Theo set other thoughts aside when he spotted one of the only other people who would be out so late.

"Hello, Theo." Fiyu smiled and stepped within a pace of him, which was practically an Ichili hug. "I am glad to see that you have survived."

"You didn't trust me?"

"I believe in your capabilities, but to make yourself a target for many enemy Authorities is highly risky behavior." She was somber only a moment before her smile returned. "You may rest if you wish, but there are a number of things I wish for us to discuss."

"I'd like to talk," Theo said. "Did they tell you about these Ruling City Wargames too?"

"Ah... yes, more people in the city are speaking of them. However, I believe that House Blacksilver is unsure quite what to make of me. They are perplexed that I have not yet ascended to Ruler, and they are... less than receptive to my explanations."

Honestly, Theo could understand their perspective to some degree, since it seemed increasingly unlikely that Fiyu's relative would be finding her any time soon. But he knew better than to rush her, and she was still able to remain productive despite holding back. "Maybe you can sweep the Archcrafter events, then."

"Perhaps. I did have some questions for you regarding the working of subliminalsteel." Fiyu's smile finally faded for good and her focus retreated as her senses spread through the building. "But that is not what I wished to speak about at this time."

"What is it, then?"

"You have missed Nauda, as she is working with Grekig again. I believe that our fellow companion... requires our help."

Clearly she did, but Fiyu wouldn't make the statement for no reason, so Theo examined her carefully. "What kind of help do you mean?"

"Since you departed, I believe Nauda's mental condition has worsened. Her body is usually straight and confident, but many of her muscles are... loose, as if the life is slipping from them." Fiyu took another half-step closer, her voice fading almost to a whisper. "She is distraught over the state of her soulhome. All I have to offer are technical suggestions, and she does not need simple advice. I fear that I do not understand her well enough to offer true support."

"I'll talk to her." Theo did his best to catch Fiyu's eyes through the mask and gave her a reassuring smile. "She's been through a lot, so it makes sense that she'd be down sometimes. But we can help her get through it."

"I hope that this is true. Thank you, Theo." Fiyu gave him a little bow, which was a sign that he could move on.

Theo was still restless, and frankly didn't want to think about Nauda at the moment. She had been particularly sharp with him lately, and while he had no room to complain about anyone acting choleric due to bitterness, his patience was limited. He remembered how he had been at times on Earth: he didn't want help, he wanted to lash out.

If Nauda really wanted his assistance, she could ask for it. Until then, she would need to figure out exactly what she really wanted and whether that included picking herself up again. Just as well that Fiyu had said she was gone, because Theo wasn't in the mood for any long conversations.

He abruptly changed his course from returning to his room to instead visiting a training courtyard. Perhaps there he could blow off some steam and consolidate what he'd learned during all his battles across the Ruling Cities.

Six months until the Wargames. So many days and yet not long at all.

~ ~ ~

When Nauda left the House Blacksilver complex, she wandered without direction. The chaotic crowds of Norro Yorthin were no longer strange to her in any way, so she let their buzz overwhelm her. Anything to drown out the facts of what she had just learned.

It had started during an extended session of soulcrafting. She'd borrowed the Esoteric Chisel from Theo again, which he seemed to resent even though he wasn't using it much himself. With it she'd been able to chip away at some of the stone slag covering her foundation, for all the good it did.

But while she was doing so, she noticed a slight blue glow in the corner of her eyes. Odd, since her soulhome carried a warm Tatian orange. At first she thought it was a trick of the light, since she saw nothing unusual, but inside her own soul there should be no such illusions. She'd investigated more carefully, pushing aside the detritus of her ruined buildings that she'd struggled to clear, and finally discovered it between two partially fused stones.

A glowing blue mushroom.

She stared for a moment, part of her mind uncomprehending even as another part recognized the bondsfungi she had seen on the battlefield. Her first instinct was to smash it, but she reined in her impulse and instead investigated further. As she had feared, the fungus had spread further. It didn't seem to be choking out the grass of her soul yet, but it grew alongside it at an alarming rate.

For once she went to Grekig herself, asking him for his advice. He had an inspection skill nearly as effective as hers had been, so he was able to send his spirit inside her soul to investigate. That was almost worse, because she was able to see the dismay on his face before he could control it. Based on his investigations, fragments of the fungus too small to see had spread even further than she'd thought.

"Normally bondsfungi only infect the dead or dying," Grekig had told her. "Your weakened state must have been enough for them to enter your soul."

"My shielding wall couldn't stop it?"

"It should have, but perhaps the unfinished gate let them through, or if your control was..." His sternness had finally ebbed and he'd given her a gentle smile like he hadn't since her early treatments. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to defeat it. Even weak soulcrafters have been able to purge it from their souls, and you have stronger cantae than they did. Your will is far stronger too, if you've really made headway on the molten stone."

"So there's a treatment for this?"

"There's no easy method without damaging your soul permanently, but we can stop the spread and then eradicate what remains gradually. Here, let's begin by protecting your heartoak..."

She'd listened to his lessons and thrown herself into the work, in part because it felt more productive than the usual concessions he offered and in part because it was easier than thinking about it. Because she'd been sloppy and careless, her soulhome had degraded even further. No doubt she'd been infected while caring for the villagers, a bitter fact that returned to her often.

Someone in the crowd bumped into Nauda's shoulder and she was actually the one to stumble. Normally her body was far stronger than the average person, but in her current state... they saw she was a Ruler and apologized, which only made her feel worse. She shuffled on, taking brief glimpses inside her soulhome.

Just as Grekig had advised, she'd made a line of stakes across her soulhome, their energy preventing the further spread of the bondsfungi. He'd approved of her work, but she hadn't been done, adding additional circles of protection around her heartoak and the little room of her most valuable supplies. Even if he believed she had quarantined every last speck of the bondsfungi, she wanted to be sure, so that it wouldn't all become worse.

Apparently there were procedures to burn away all the infection, they just required preparation and recovery time. Nauda hoped they would work, or told herself that she hoped. But every time she looked inside her soul, she felt only despair.

Chapter 5

Under six months until the Ruling City Wargames. Every morning when Theo awoke he mentally counted the days remaining before he dove into his work.

Though it was another deadline, he firmly told himself that he wouldn't let this one dominate his schedule. For too long, he had been focused on the duel with Esaire and then reaching the Chasm of Lamentations. Now his life wasn't under threat and he had plenty of sublime materials, so he needed to spend some time on the matters he had been letting slide. In the long term, investigating the truths of the Nine Worlds could be more important to his survival than power.

But of all the thousand things he needed to do, that day he had one easy place to start: House Blacksilver was supposed to deliver all the sublime materials he'd ordered. In addition to supply problems from the fighting, this set was far more challenging to acquire, going beyond the materials available in the House stores.

When he arrived at the usual storehouse, he was surprised to find that none of his requests was there. Instead he was sent deeper into the Blacksilver complex, to the central buildings where only the leaders worked. He needed to wait for someone, but that didn't bother him since he just got back to soulcrafting densecrest into bricks. Having that kind of brute force work available made Theo almost entirely immune to boredom.

When one of Blacksilver's Authorities walked into the room, Theo abandoned such thoughts and his soulcrafting.

"This way." Dhan was wearing his mask, even inside the complex. It was actually a new armament, Theo noted, still of Ichili design but this one built from Authority-tier materials. He wasn't the only one preparing. "A shipment like this was too valuable to risk."

They entered a heavily secured room which contained only a single dark box on the floor. Dhan cut the lock in half with a burst of his cantae, allowing Theo to pull off the top. The interior was divided into seven compartments, each containing a carefully wrapped sublime material. They collectively emanated enough cantae to blow his hair back.

"Confirm that you have everything you requested," Dhan said, "then I'll leave you to it. This room will seal when you exit so don't leave anything behind. Given the value of the materials, I'd get them into your soulhome before you go."

"Understood." Theo knelt down beside the box to check its contents against his mental list.

Not all the sublime materials he needed could be purchased, but this was his best effort to put the wealth he had possessed to use. The total had cost him more than four thousand merits as well as numerous Fithan Discs to smooth the process. But as his eyes wandered over the valuable materials, Theo reflected that they made his relationship with House Blacksilver entirely worthwhile.

Seven different materials, only the densecrest familiar to him. Theo confirmed that the quantities were what he was expecting and expected Dhan to march off, but the Authority paused by the door.

"The three of us are stretched to a breaking point preparing for war," he said softly. "House Blacksilver desperately needs a fourth Authority to keep up with its rivals, but don't let them rush you to ascend."

Before Theo could think of how to respond, Dhan swept off as expected. Theo considered his words for a moment and decided that the consideration was ultimately in his favor... especially if he could take advantage of these materials.

As he crushed the densecrest into his soulhome, Theo examined each individual item more closely. He was most interested in the sunlessrose, a sublime plant imported from the darkest depths of the Fithan seas. It was said to grow along with a soulcrafter remarkably well, so it was just the sort of thing he wanted in his soulhome, yet as he examined it, Theo began to doubt.

It was powerful, yes, and the deepest darkness he'd ever seen. But its nature had more in common with with depth and pressure than the void of his singularity. Worse, now that he got his hands on it, he didn't think the rose would grow effectively in his soulhome. It would serve well as the centerpiece of a chamber, but he had wanted a material that would strengthen the structural integrity of his soulhome.

Theo carefully set it aside to examine his other materials. The triple-layered sack of deathdust was exactly what he had hoped: the raw intensity of it would add significant lethality to his cantae, if he could just figure out how to store it. That one was definitely becoming the centerpiece of an enhancement chamber.

Similarly, the voidflint was exactly what he had been hoping: it was related to the blackflint he already possessed, just more intense and dangerous. He wasn't sure exactly what he would use it for, but the opportunity to acquire some had been too valuable to pass up.

A glass box contained the slitherscales, and Theo wasn't entirely sure what to make of them. They moved against one another even when he didn't touch the box, and they had a decent amount of cantae, but his research had given him the wrong impression. They were supposed to increase agility, which he wanted to combine with the raw speed of his tornadogems to give him full mobility. Unfortunately it didn't seem like they would mesh well, so he'd have to think hard about fitting them into his blueprint.

He was even more irritated about the chaosgem. It was the most powerful of the materials, right next to the sunlessrose, but it emanated disruption and confusion, not the fiery chaos of a star. The problem with ordering such rare materials was that it was impossible to test samples. Most likely it could play a major role in his soulhome, but it would be hard to do without compromising.

Worst of all was the staticstone, despite initial first impressions. It froze everything around it in place, even the flecks of dust in the air, and was difficult for him to pick up. He'd hoped that it could serve as an anchoring technique that could work with his other gravitational skills, but everything about its cantae just screamed pre-scientific concepts of the world to him, a far cry from his disciplined gravity. Potentially a good material for someone else, just not for him.

All in all, Theo was aggravated about his purchase. Two of the seven materials were entirely unsuitable, and three of them couldn't be easily incorporated into his design. He tried to tell himself that it hadn't been a waste, since he could probably give the sunlessrose to Fiyu. Still, waiting so long for the mediocre results rankled.

Since he'd finished crumbling the densecrest by that point, Theo entered his soulhome along with the deathdust. Inside, the densecrest rock became a boulder, while the deathdust remained inside the sublime bag designed to store it safely.

Before he got to work, Theo put the densecrest with the other stone. He had crafted enough bricks for a fourth chamber, and estimated that he had enough raw material for two or three more. That meant he still needed to get at least one large stone of densecrest to finish his third floor. Of course, having the material didn't matter if he didn't make time to craft the rooms, which was easy to forget when there was so much more dynamic soulcrafting ahead of him.

Theo hefted the deathdust in one hand, deciding where it would be best placed. Maybe it didn't matter overly much, since his whole soulhome could draw off it, but he needed to pay attention to the little details of efficiency. In the end he decided to place it in between his anti-mass and torsion chambers on the first floor.

The only problem was that the chamber was currently filled with a variety of minor strengthening materials, starting with the medals he'd collected on Deuxan. Those had never been part of his plan, and they weren't that remarkable as materials, yet as Theo removed them from the walls, he found himself hesitating.

They had gone with him through two ascensions, so their power had grown. Perhaps he could feed them into his singularity, but he decided against it and instead bundled them all into his storage room. He might find a better use for them, or there could be another emergency where he could bring them back out to strengthen an empty room.

With the room clear, Theo began experimenting with the deathdust. It did no good contained within its sack, but when he tested it in the few clay or glass containers he had lying around, the dust started to burn through them. Unfortunately, he didn't have excess powerful materials that struck him as a good match.

Abruptly inspiration struck and Theo ran to get one of the lesser gravitational materials he'd stuck away in his storage room. It had been called something like orbitstone, reasonably powerful but too bland: it just made things orbit around it. Given that his entire blueprint was designed to create such an orbit, another little material doing the same thing had been useless.

Now, however, he built a plinth for the orbitstone and placed it firmly atop the raised center. It added very little to his soulhome... until he carefully poured out the deathdust. Just as he hoped, it fell into orbit around the central stone. Theo cast his full will into it, fixing the entire room in his mind so that none of the deathdust would stray and damage his other work.

As soon as it was done, he felt the difference. The chamber walls had already been carved to support the materials within, but the deathdust was a far better match than the previous contents. With this, his torsion bolts would penetrate more easily, and he might even be able to integrate the destructive energy with other techniques. Definitely an improvement, one of many he needed.

Theo stood back in satisfaction, reminding himself that even though he was focused on his core technique rooms, he should be happy with strengthening aspect chambers as well. They might not matter as much as gravitational techniques, but if he wanted to be a top tier soulcrafter, he needed the full support of every chamber on every floor.

Having digested his irritation, Theo threw himself into his work. He did a variety of experiments with the slitherscales, and though none of them quite worked out, he began to feel as though they could have a major role on his second floor. Once he got tired of that, he went down the first floor to convert more blueshards from the Chasm into tiles for his bathing chamber, which was coming along nicely.

Many of the new chambers needed work, but Theo realized that he was finally coming closer to eliminating all placeholders from his blueprint. The first floor's core chambers were in place, just needing more work on the deathdust and bathing chambers. On the second floor, he had two empty rooms, one of which could hopefully house the slitherscales. Of course, his top floor was only a third built, but he had plans for most of it as well.

Perhaps the voidflint could play a central role in another chamber. Yet when Theo set to work knapping it, he almost immediately began cutting himself. He thought that he'd mostly gotten the hang of it, and even went back to knap more blackflint as an experiment, but the voidflint seemed actively malicious, as if it wanted to spill his blood.

By the time his hands were covered in spiritual blood, Theo was feeling light-headed. He decided to set the voidflint aside for the time being, perhaps until his skill at flint knapping had much improved. Meanwhile he washed his hands off in the heavywater, which made him feel slightly better but didn't remove the weariness from all his work.

Too worn to soulcraft any further, Theo hopped up to deal with the many other issues he needed to pursue. The problem was knowing where to start. He didn't dare investigate Vistgil directly, but he needed to research the Artifacts of Elghiera much further, since he still hadn't taken advantage of all the city's libraries. For that matter, he realized that he'd never investigated the dark-haired Tatians in the city, who might be able to tell him more about the blackened half of the world, or Nauda's true origins.

On a more prosaic level, his coat and jacket were getting increasingly worn. He thought he knew what needed to be done to build an armament chamber, it was just a matter of finding time. For that matter, he'd flagged a number of House Blacksilver requests as potentially worth pursuing. Since he'd just spent so many of his resources, it would be worth building them up again.

Better to have too many options than too few, but Theo was honestly a bit annoyed.

Theo began with one of the easiest tasks: he might as well give the sunlessrose to Fiyu. He found her in one of the soulcrafting courtyards, hard at work as usual, and she was silent a moment before emerging from her soulcrafting.

"Hello, Theo." Fiyu remained seated with her legs crossed and patted the tiles in front of her. "Are you here to soulcraft as well?"

"Sorry, but I just finished."

"Oh, I see." She appeared briefly disappointed, her emotions as transparent as usual, but soon smiled again. "We should make time to do so at some point. I feel as though we are too busy to travel together in these recent days."

"We can definitely make time." Theo reached into his soulhome and withdrew the sunlessrose, hoping that it would make up for his negligence. "What do you think of this? I thought it would fit my blueprint, but I'm wondering if it might be a better match for yours."

"Oh!" Fiyu finally rose, carefully taking the sunlessrose from him and examining it with her lips slightly parted. "A growing sublime material, and quite a powerful one. I understand how it could be aligned with my darkness, but does it not also suit your singularity skill?"

Theo explained his thoughts and Fiyu quickly understood. He was right that it was a perfect match for her soulhome, though she seemed to intend to retain it for her Ruler floor. He decided that there was no point in joining the voices urging her to ascend and just hoped that she would survive long enough to reap the benefits of her carefulness. She agreed to transfer the value of the sunlessrose to his account without being asked, so all in all he was quite pleased with their meeting.

Leaving Fiyu to her work, Theo considered everything he needed to do and decided that he'd missed something important. Even though he'd had the opportunity to spend time with Navim since his return, he'd let himself be too distracted. As Fiyu had reminded him, loyal companions were valuable as well.

He hadn't visited Navim's house in the Arbaian quarter of the city often, but found it easily enough. Fortunately, the Mundhin was in, currently working on an elaborate sculpture of trees. Theo stared at it for a while, trying to figure out its soulcrafting purpose before realizing that it was just a statue.

"This is a commission for an Aathali client," Navim stated, without looking up from his work.

"Fithan stone crafted into Aathali shapes." Theo leaned closer to admire the fine detail. "A symbol of unification, I take it?"

"That may be the implicit intention, though I did not inquire. I have found that since stoneshaping is well known here, clients can be rather... discerning, shall we say." Navim finished an exquisitely detailed bud in the midst of opening and ceased his work, instead settling his lower limbs back and shifting his gemstone sphere to focus on Theo. "I am glad to see you, Theo. Do you require anything?"

"Actually, I was here to help you," Theo said. "I saw that you put in a request with Blacksilver for certain services that were gravitational in nature. Anything I can help with?"

"Indeed you could, and perhaps better than the majority of those who have made attempts to help. This way."

Navim lifted his bulk and walked to another sphere of the house, apparently an entirely different working area. Since the passageways were designed for bulky Mundhin bodies, Theo followed without difficulty, examining the walls. They were covered with papers and plaques, mostly written in Arbaian scripts. Theo's linguistic knowledge was broad enough for him to read all the local languages, so he skimmed them. It seemed that Navim had become rather entrenched with the local Arbaian intelligentsia, even if they were mostly other species.

"If I recall your abilities correctly," Navim said as he moved, "you do not have any capacities that would impart a permanent effect to sublime materials."

"That's a rather advanced crafting skill," Theo answered. "Wouldn't you need to process sublime materials for that?"

"Always to some degree, but the creation of armaments is more complex. But I do not require those skills, necessarily, provided that you can assist me to the necessary degree of precision."

Navim finally came to a halt carefully beside another table. The spherical room was a little cramped, with a desk covered in books and information spheres crammed in alongside the worktable. Atop it, Theo saw a complex sprawl that looked like clockwork to him. All metal, which was less common on Arbai, so either Navim had significantly developed his skills or this was a more complex commission.

"The most valuable of my research, by almost any standard, is this attempt to merge Fithan and Arbaian technology." Navim extended one of his delicate grasping limbs and lifted one of the smallest cogs. "Though there are many stoneshapers more skilled than I, their region lacks some of the techniques developed by the School of Emerald Indulgence. For that reason, I believe I may be able to make a breakthrough."

"But you need gravitational assistance?"

"Yes, this has been more difficult than I expected. There are countless soulcrafters who can provide services that produce hovering, but the underlying principle is entirely different. Those push against the force of gravity, which will disrupt the sensitive mechanisms."

"Something like this?" Theo lifted one of the less intricate pieces with a gravitational field. He still couldn't make it halt in place very easily, so it wobbled as he tweaked the strength of the field, but Navim immediately shifted his gemstone sphere to examine it.

"Can I touch it without disrupting your effect?"

"Of course."

Navim reached out and grasped the piece carefully, and Theo canceled its gravity completely. He expected it to wobble afterwards, but Navim managed to release it without applying more than the slightest force, so the metal piece hovered almost motionlessly.

"This will do," Navim said, a new warmth in his voice.

"Believe me, I know the difficulty," Theo said. Since Navim sounded pleased, he let himself smile. "I'm always looking for gravitational sublime materials, only to keep finding ones that are tied to flying or hovering or something else. Entirely unsuitable."

"Then I am hopeful that you may be able to understand another concept that some have struggled to grasp. They may hear the words through soul translation, but they lack the specificity of understanding. You are no doubt aware that objects have weight related to their density, which produces resistance to acceleration. But the word 'weight' is imprecise, especially as fundamental laws vary between worlds. I am seeking to manipulate the core concept of this resistance to acceleration, as well as-"

"You're talking about mass and inertia?"

For a moment Navim's body was entirely still, his gemstones managing to convey a sense of surprise, then he let out a low chuckle. "The way you say those words, I believe you understand. Here, let me show you what is required and then I wish to discuss these things with you."

Theo found a seat and followed instructions, creating a gravity-free region for Navim to work. Beyond that, Navim wanted ways to entirely eliminate inertia, which Theo couldn't manage as effectively. He did what he could with his anti-mass skill, but he'd never used it so precisely, or to truly remove the mass of an object. After a few false starts with sample parts, they reached a sufficient compromise.

Once Navim was able to do his work and they found a rhythm, the Mundhin began to ask about the sciences of Earth. Normally Theo was reluctant to discuss it, but Navim's questions were rather different than usual and he felt confident that none of the information could ever make it back to Vistgil. He enjoyed the work and conversation more than he expected and an hour flew by before Theo needed a break to refocus.

"Your world sounds remarkable to me," Navim said as he returned all the pieces and tools to their proper places. "You have explored far deeper into the truths of reality, which is no wonder when you have an entire world dedicated to the principles that drive Arbaian schools."

"I don't know about that," Theo said with a dry chuckle. "We have scientists, yes, but they've made it so easy that most people don't really understand the principles anymore."

"Is that not the case for everyone? No individual can understand all forms of knowledge, not since the days of the earliest philosophers. It is necessary for all to accept the work of other specialists so that they can drive wisdom forward in their own fields."

"That's a really generous interpretation. If you could see all the things people believe on my world, I don't think you'd be so enamored with them." Theo sat back and stretched before reconsidering. "Then again, most of what I've seen of Arbai is the schools of philosophy. Maybe you have your own superstitions I've never even heard."

"Indeed we do, though if Fithe is any indication, they may not be the same as yours. Do you have time to hear of them?"

In a sense there was no time at all, since Theo had a thousand tasks he needed to do. Yet he found himself smiling at Navim and saying, "All the time in the world."

Chapter 6

Though the majority of House Blacksilver's operations took place within the central complex, they owned a variety of satellite buildings throughout the city. Some were simply businesses run by citizens aligned with the House; many were healing houses, food pantries, or similar services. Others included way stations, safe houses, and a luxury retreat.

Nauda should have been pleased that there was a building dedicated especially to rebuilding work, with facilities and staff for a wide variety of injuries. Yet, every time she made her way there to meet with Grekig, it reinforced that she was no longer part of the true community. Not a Blacksilver soulcrafter, just a failure.

Those thoughts were likely not the ones she was meant to be focusing on as she sat and meditated in the healing room, but Nauda was helpless to stop them. As she was helpless to do so much else.

"Tighten your core and relax everything else." Grekig's voice floated to her from the exterior of the room. "Let the physical sensations move into your soul. The heart of your soulhome, the routes of your cantae, hold those tight to you. All your other defenses are melting away, dissolving so that the bondsfungi will be vulnerable..."

When he wanted to, his voice could be very soothing, and Nauda found herself finally attaining her perfect focus. She set aside thoughts of the damage to her soulhome and dwelled in what it should be. "Now."

"Are you certain? There is no need to rush. The exercise will be available tomorrow the same as today."

"Of course I'm c-" Nauda cut off and took a deep breath, calming herself once more. "I am certain."

"Very well." Grekig stepped behind her and poured the molten lava over her head.

A wave of pain rolled through Nauda's soul, but she resisted the old urge to fight it. Instead she let the lava rush inside, watching calmly as it flowed away from the stakes protecting the majority of her soulhome. It passed over and through the rubble, not touching the stones but burning away all trace of the bondsfungi.

Or so she hoped. As the sublime lava ebbed in her soul, Nauda lost her serenity. She'd lasted long enough, now she wanted to see the results. Stumbling closer to the still-heated region, she inspected every nook and cranny for the bondsfungi. Though she didn't spot any mushrooms, she had thought it was taken care of the previous week too, only for them to return.

"That was very well done," Grekig said from the physical room. "You should focus on recovery so that we can apply a second dose tomorrow, just to be sure."

"Thank you." Nauda spoke half in her soul and half physically as she returned.

The room in the healing lodge was a surprisingly peaceful one, deep rich soil supporting grass and trees as were rarely seen on Fithe. Not everyone found such an environment peaceful, but for Nauda it was a relief. Grekig knelt opposite her, putting away his sublime materials, but he turned to smile at her when he saw her emerge.

"I've investigated the matter further," he said, stroking his mustache, "and I think I know why it has been difficult for you to rid yourself of the bondsfungi. It seems to feed on cantae, so the fact that yours is more intense has made it more resilient. I don't believe there's ever been a case of a Ruler with an infection, so you're dealing with an unprecedented problem."

Nauda sighed. "I'm overjoyed to hear that I'm still breaking new ground as a soulcrafter."

"It was an unfortunate combination of circumstances, but I believe you will be able to surpass it, if you can fully apply yourself."

That erased whatever shred of calm had been left. "Fully apply myself?"

"I didn't mean to criticize, just don't falter before it's entirely gone." Grekig tried to brush it off, but when he saw her continued stare, he set aside his containers and turned fully to her. "Perhaps this can be encouragement after all. You see, the bondsfungi isn't an intelligent invader: a Ruler's soul isn't substantial enough to support one of those. It's not so different from many other plants you might grow inside your soul, or a fragmentary weed, it's just more aggressive."

"I apologize, this humble servant cannot read between such complex words."

"Don't be... just remember that this is within your control. If you can fully grasp the bondsfungi with your mind, you could eradicate them yourself. Of course, we don't expect you to accomplish such a thing, so we have tools to assist you. But please apply your full willpower to driving the infection out."

That was what she had been expecting: everyone believed that it was her fault. Her fault for building insufficient defenses, for letting the fungus get inside, for not simply shrugging it off. And truth be told, she felt a bit of that guilt herself, which was why it stung so deeply from others.

To her surprise, Grekig shifted closer to her and shook his head gently. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Nauda. I know you have more than enough will to accomplish this task, you just need to find it again. Anyone with the strength to chip away at Authority-melted stone is more than capable."

"Even though you think I shouldn't be trying that?" Nauda asked.

"Well, it's likely that it has bonded to the foundation of your soul, so nothing will regrow even if you chip it all away. I still believe that you should incorporate the remnants into a memorial chamber." Grekig finished putting away his supplies and drew them into his soulhome as he stood. "But the work isn't useless. You could carve the remnants to fit a blueprint instead of being forced to make an unusually shaped chamber. Just keep making new bricks like I've told you."

Nauda made sure to smile and thank him, though her mind immediately went to the fact that Grekig had never been able to remove his own internal damage. She'd seen the design of his memorial chamber, a mass of stone surrounded by other remnants of his past. It was a decent blueprint, in a sense making the best of a bad situation, but she just couldn't accept it.

The core problem was that the molten remnants of soulhome damage were a terrible source of cantae, adding almost nothing to her soulhome. In fact, their only notable trait was just how resistant they were, but her best efforts could only break it apart, not fashion the slag into usable materials. So far, all she had was a smaller mound and a pile of fragments.

Since Grekig needed to lock many of the rooms behind them, Nauda didn't linger and instead wandered back onto the streets of Norro Yorthin. He went his own way and Nauda realized how low the sun had dropped: she risked being late for her meeting with Antha.

The two of them met at a small restaurant that opened to the street to share spiced buns and wine. It was a Blacksilver establishment, but more importantly it was run by Antha's husband. Antha had withheld that information for the first two times they visited until eventually they couldn't hide their flirting. Her husband greeted them briefly, but otherwise left them alone in one corner to talk.

"How is your recovery going?" Antha asked, just before she popped one of the smaller buns into her mouth.

"Pretty well," Nauda lied as she searched for a way to redirect the conversation. "I didn't realize that our House had so many facilities."

"We do the best we can for our members."

Despite the fact that they were both engaged in soulcrafting almost every day, sometimes it felt like they couldn't talk about the subject together. Antha managed combat soulcrafters, she wasn't one herself. Nauda prevented the conversation from digging itself deeper by asking about her children, which led to a flurry of updates about their progress. Fithan schools seemed expensive and competitive compared to Tatian, but a parent's love for their children was clearly the same across worlds.

As much as Nauda wanted to ask Antha about business, she felt awkward bringing it up too much. Only after they'd mostly finished their food did Antha mention that increased activity from the wild tribes was making it more difficult to acquire supplies, which was the perfect invitation.

"I hadn't heard of them before recently," Nauda said. "Are they much more active lately?"

"Not more active, just closer." Antha toyed with her serving fork on her empty plate as she spoke. "It's all a gambit from House Crimson, of course."

"House Crimson? That's the first I've heard of it."

"You haven't, really? I suppose it's more administrative gossip. Normally, House Crimson contributes as little as possible to the city: they barely send anyone to clean up demons, they shortchange the city guard, that sort of thing. Fighting the barbarians can be costly, so of course they never do that either. But suddenly, starting... oh, a few months ago... they start aggressively fighting wild tribes in the city's territory."

Nauda frowned as she thought of Tythes and the other members of House Crimson. "And how does this gambit benefit them?"

"That's the question. They claimed that it's for the common good, but that has to be a lie. My personal theory is that they're intentionally pushing barbarians close to specific routes. That way resources don't come in on time and they can take advantage of that somehow, maybe because they have reserves to sell."

"Is there proof of that? In the sales, I mean."

"Not proof, exactly..." Antha trailed off as her husband stopped by to pick up their plates, stretching up to kiss his cheek. When he left, she turned back to Nauda with a lazy smile. "Alright, I'm beat. I don't suppose you have that sleigh of yours so we can ride back to the complex?"

"Afraid not." Nauda slid to her feet, offering the other woman a joking arm of support.

"That's alright, we can walk." Antha chuckled and leaned on her as they left the restaurant. "You want to know the real House Crimson gossip? They're trying for ascensions, of course, but something they attempted went horribly wrong. They tried to hide the details, but we know that three of their Rulers all died at the same time."

That tickled something in the back of Nauda's mind and she frowned over at Antha. "But it must not be just an accident, if it's gossip?"

"Well, it could be that they were trying something desperate, but rumor has it that there were internal conflicts. It's well known that the House has several factions competing for the ear of their patriarch. Could be that someone wanted to eliminate their competition for Authority."

Such conflicts certainly sounded far worse than the disagreements within House Blacksilver, but Nauda wasn't surprised by anything, since House Crimson included Tythes. She realized that it had been a long time since she'd seen him, which was a relief she should have relished more. It was too much to hope that he'd died in the Chasm - she was sure he'd made appearances since then - but at least he was staying quiet.

They continued chatting as they returned to the complex, and it should have been a lovely evening. Nauda was actually starting to relax when she heard the chanting. Norro Yorthin was a chaotic mix of people from many worlds and cultures, but the group in huge blue robes stood out to her. If the incomprehensible chant wasn't ominous enough, they carried rough signs that spoke of repentance and judgment.

"Who are they?" Nauda whispered to Antha as they slipped around the group. "Don't tell me they've been here all along too."

"Oh no, they're new. Call themselves the Order of the Deepest Blue, I believe. A whole bunch of water Fithans under an official truce, but if you ask me they're causing more trouble than they're worth."

Only when Antha mentioned it did Nauda look underneath the hoods enough to tell that they had blue skin instead of the usual red. She had the impression that the Fithans on the watery half of the planet were just as sophisticated as the others, despite land prejudices, but this group looked more than a little crazed.

"Are they representative of water Fithans?" Nauda asked. She knew what many would have answered, but trusted Antha to provide a more measured perspective.

"No one I know had ever heard of them before they arrived." Antha tried to pull her further away as Nauda continued examining the group. "Truth be told, they're usually not so different from us. They don't have Houses, exactly, but they have their own factions and wars. This group is just a cult, I think."

"And why are they coming to preach on the land?"

"Everyone in the water is sick of them, maybe? Let's not stare at them, I've heard stories..."

Leaving with Antha would have been wise, but a moment later Nauda lost her opportunity. The Order of the Deepest Blue had been shouting at anyone within range, spewing vaguely threatening platitudes. All that changed when one of them spotted her. It was just suspicion at first, then anger, then suddenly the man was shrieking at her.

"Outsider! One of them is here! Outsider!"

That would have been alarming enough, but the group rapidly surged toward her, shoving the crowds aside. Many in the crowds pushed back, but enough retreated that the cultists had already reached her. In better times Nauda might have managed a smarter response, but instead she only lifted her staff defensively.

Cantae slammed into her, and though her shielding wall held, her body was pinned in place. Antha instinctively pulled at her sleeve, only to be shoved aside as the cultists swarmed to her. Nauda struggled against the bindings, recognizing them as similar to her own technique. Frustratingly, the cultist binding her was a Ruler as well, so she'd need to exert herself seriously to escape.

"Look at her!" The cultist stabbed out a finger, which lifted her into the air for the crowd to see. "Not Fithan, not Arbaian, not Aathali! This filth from outside the Nine Worlds seeks to destroy us all!"

His claim, more than his technique, stunned Nauda into silence. She was used to people being slightly confused about what she was, but there were other Tatians in the city. Being accused of being an outsider was so absurd that she didn't manage to speak until he started again.

"They lurk among us, drawing the d-"

"Don't be absurd!" Nauda hurled her cantae against her opponent's, partially breaking herself free, at least enough to shout over him. "I'm Tatian, as much a citizen of the Nine Worlds as you are. What are you doing, coming into our city and accusing us?"

Her cry appealed to the gathering crowd, and to her surprise the cultist actually hesitated. Looking over her, not in anger but as if actually considering her words. Even as her opponent's eyes narrowed in anger, she realized the stupid truth: this wasn't a ploy against her, he honestly believed that she was an outsider because he was too provincial to know what Tatians looked like.

"Lies!" The cultist gripped her tighter, wrenching her into the air. "You have a gate to Tatian in this very city, do they look like this deceiver?"

Nauda wanted to ask why a deceiver would take a form that was obviously wrong, but even if she'd had the strength to speak, she doubted logic would get through to the cultists. What troubled her was that the crowds didn't seem as on her side as she'd hoped. Her skin might be the same as Tatians from the lower realm, but perhaps a difference in hair color was enough to make them suspicious.

Was no one going to help her? The cultist Ruler wasn't strong for his tier, and she would have easily been able to free herself if she was in better condition. Antha struggled at the edge of the crowd, helpless to save her. Nauda actually spotted a rare Tatian in the city, but the dark-haired woman only glanced at her briefly before turning away.

At that moment she heard an enormously loud belch and the shattering of wood.

Tythes crashed through the balcony of a nearby building and plummeted into the street. He struck head-first at an angle that would have killed most people before his feet fell stiffly, like a plank of wood. Yet somehow he just kept on falling, flipping back up to his feet with his body still straight.

"How dare you accuse my dearest companion of being an outsider?" Tythes wiped a wine stain from his mouth and began walking toward her as if there were stairs in the air. "Nauda here is a valued member of House Blacksilver and a close, close personal friend. Isn't that right?"

He swaggered up beside her in the air, wrapping an arm around her cheerfully. Nauda gave him her most venomous smile. "Of course we are."

"You see? We're the best of chums! Bosom buddies since childhood! If you ask me, all of you are the outsiders here. Who wears shoes like that, anyway? Not the good people of Norro Yorthin, let me tell you! Down with the vile shoes, I say! More down than shoes ordinarily are!"

Nauda wanted to hit him, but his grip had utterly destroyed the cantae binding her in place. He could have forced her to cling to him or fall but instead created a layer of cantae that allowed her to stand beside him. Besides, his drunken rambling was effectively breaking the serious aura the cultists had created.

Faced with an Authority, the Order of the Deepest Blue had no choice but to retreat. Some of the crowd seemed to believe that the entire thing had been a whim of Tythes and returned to their business. Antha started to move toward her, but was left behind as Tythes pulled Nauda into the air.

"Come, most devoted of companions! Let us drink to celebrate our tearful reunion!"

"Let go." Nauda tried to squirm out of his grip even if it meant falling, but didn't manage it until he had flown her up to the roof of a nearby building. Best to keep him in a public space, so... "We aren't going back to the place where you were drinking before?"

"Oh, I wasn't drinking there. I entered from the other side so that I could crash through their balcony."

"You did that intentionally?"

"Property damage is the grandest entrance!" Tythes folded his arms and nodded to himself as if pleased. "I'm disappointed that I had to save you, though. You're going to be my rival in a thousand years, remember? I thought you could have taken care of those idiots yourself."

"You didn't give me a chance," Nauda said, hoping to throw him off that trail.

Something in her tone must have tipped him off, because Tythes focused on her the next moment. For a single chilling heartbeat, there was no trace of drunkenness, just his eyes boring into her. Nauda desperately tried to reinforce her shielding wall even as she realized that it was probably too late.

"Ah." She wasn't sure what she saw in his eyes as he understood. It wasn't scorn or pity, to her surprise, but something she couldn't name. A moment later he smiled lazily again. "Better add another thousand years before our duel, then! Wait, no, I don't want to wait that long... I'll train you myself."

"I don't want to train with you."

"Then I'll kidnap you and force you to learn how to kill me! I see no flaws in this plan. Truly, my genius knows no bounds!"

Though Nauda didn't believe Tythes would actually harm her directly, at least not in public, she did believe there was a real threat in his words. He'd imprisoned all three of them on the island in the Chasm and been entirely willing to sacrifice them for his own ends.

That was when Nauda realized her way out.

"Thank you for the help," she said calmly as she turned away, "but I'm going to go back now."

"Oh, but I think we need to talk." Tythes slid around in front of her, his smile growing frostier. "There's a great deal at stake, and you've already been useful to me once. Perhaps we-"

"If you try to control me or any of my friends, I'll tell your father what you were doing in the Chasm."

"What foolishness is this?" Tythes covered up his reaction almost immediately, but she caught the flicker in his eyes. She was right, in essence if not in every detail. "You think I would keep anything from my dear father? I laugh at such a notion, laugh I say! Ha! Ha ha! Ha h-"

"I heard that three Rulers went missing from House Crimson." Nauda gave him her sweetest smile. "I don't know if you were the one who killed them, but I have the feeling that they helped you open a certain door. And if that's something you want the rest of House Crimson to know about... well, I'll be very surprised."

All the false laughter fell away and Tythes cast her a murderous glare, but Nauda pushed through that too.

"Don't give me that. If you wanted me silenced, you would have done it in the Chasm or afterward. I'm not really interested in threatening you, I just want to be left alone."

"Well, this is unexpected." Tythes ran a hand through his hair with an oddly wry expression. "I tend to assume that everyone's an idiot, so I'm always surprised when someone puts anything together. You're right, I really should have killed everyone who knew the details of the door. But I like you little scamps too much for that."

"You're lying again, but I don't care." Nauda folded her arms and forced her smile wider. "I don't want to get involved in House Crimson's affairs. Do whatever you want and leave us in peace."

"The thing is, my House's affairs will eventually be everyone's, whether they like it or not. If you've been listening to rumors, then you likely have some idea of what my father is doing. I think that I know you, Nauda, and I have some idea of what matters to you. I believe that you'd rather remain broken forever than allow him to wreak his intentions on the world."

Nauda's breath caught in her throat as she met his stare. She'd known that Tythes only played the fool, but hearing him speak sincerely chilled her. Even though she knew it might be another trick, she couldn't help but imagine that the leader of House Crimson truly did plan something terrible.

"Anyway, that's all I've got, so toodeloo!" Tythes promptly threw himself over the edge of the building and tumbled out of sight.

After standing and staring for a while, Nauda slowly moved to find the easiest way down. She would need to investigate further with Antha, who was no doubt afraid for her. Even if the entire encounter had been an attempt to manipulate her, the fact was that Tythes had unknown assets from the Chasm and potentially a very dangerous agenda. That deserved more attention.

Worse than that, there was a cult preaching against outsiders. Nauda would need to tell Theo, if he ever deigned to speak to her. But more than anything else, she wanted to get back on the ground and go to sleep.

Chapter 7

The auction house was a terrible place to read, which made Theo feel foolish with a book in his hands. It would have been even worse on the main floor, instead of in the House Blacksilver private box, but it was still rather noisy. More than once he'd needed to go back several paragraphs when he realized that he hadn't absorbed anything.

But with so much on his plate, he had no choice but to multi-task. Bad as his reading was, it made the wait during the auctions bearable. The previous day he'd thought that he could get through with soulcrafting alone and quickly learned that the bidding could go unbearably long.

His progress in soulcrafting had been mostly encouraging. He hadn't been able to figure out how to work voidflint without cutting himself, but everything else was going smoothly. His bathing chamber was complete until he found additional materials, the deathdust was working perfectly, and even the slitherscales proved easier to work with than he thought.

In fact, one of the few stubborn failures was the reason he was in the auction house: he still hadn't found a plant that would match his soulhome. Multiple options, both in person and in accounts, had been tried and found inappropriate, too weak, or unmanageable. When he'd tried to experiment with a compromise, it had died in the soil of his soulhome, just like back on Tatian. That left him with no choice but to attend the auction house in the hopes of finding another rare sublime material.

He stared from the box's window over the heart of the auction house. A boisterous central floor, a large balcony covering half the room, then smaller balconies and private boxes above, many larger than the Blacksilver balcony. Still, it had half a dozen plush seats in position to see the stage at the front of the room, befitting one of the Houses with multiple Authorities.

Theo realized that his mind was wandering over random subjects again. He wasn't sure exactly when his eyes had left the book, but he flipped back a page to be sure.

Part of the problem was that his reading was relatively dull. One of the few things he knew about Vistgil's plans and goals was that he cared about something called the Artifacts of Elghiera, enough to take major direct action to acquire one. As far as the rest of the Nine Worlds was concerned, they seemed to be mythological.

Even after searching the Blacksilver archives and making requests to allied Houses, Theo had only come up with a few books that mentioned the Artifacts. This one was almost certain to be another dead end: a series of children's fables about magical baubles. Yet he felt obligated to read the entire thing in case it contained some clue that could put him on the right track.

Up on the stage, a bright purple shrub was driving the bidding up to tens of thousands of Fithan Discs. Theo didn't see what was so notable about it, but it might be nothing more than a fancy show of wealth. Unfortunately, that day's items were grouped by price, not soulcrafting potential.

When the shrub was finally sold, Theo briefly paid attention to check the next item. It was another of the life-based sublime materials: strong enough, but entirely inappropriate for his blueprint. Theo sighed and looked back down to his book when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" He kept his tone light but immediately readied his cantae, prepared to launch himself to safety if necessary. It was overwhelmingly likely to be someone from Blacksilver, but still...

"It's Kathina. Can we talk?"

Theo frowned and rose to pull open the door. It was a Fithan woman wearing robes of the House of Coin over practical armor, with hair dyed blood red. After meeting his eyes briefly, she smirked.

"I take it you don't remember me. And here I thought I was more striking than that."

"Kathina of the House of Coin," Theo said quietly as he dredged up the memories. "We met at the State of Rest when I was new to this city. Considering that we never spoke again, I can't say I was expecting this."

"Neither was I, but life has thrown us quite a few surprises since then." Kathina stepped forward, but he didn't gave way. "May I come in?"

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here on behalf of the House of Coin with an offer that we believe you'll want to entertain." She smiled just enough to let her teeth flash like Fithan Discs. "Or, if you prefer, you could sit in your box and listen to the auction for the rest of the day."

Deciding that there was no point in being confrontational, Theo stepped aside and gave an over-dramatic bow to usher her in. He remembered Kathina being arrogant and dismissive, but that had been before a great many things happened. It wouldn't surprise him if her tune had changed since then.

"You know, I thought you were a presumptuous brat when we first met." Kathina sat down in one of the Blacksilver chairs and propped her feet up on the edge of the balcony. "If my superiors knew what I'd said then, they might not have let me make the offer. But since then, you won a very public duel against a superior opponent, cheated our gambling houses, ascended to Ruler, and led your House to a frankly baffling level of success in the Chasm of Lamentations. It's enough to make one reconsider."

"I accept your sincere apology." Theo sat down one seat away from her and folded his arms across his chest. "The House of Coin wouldn't have sent someone unless they had a proposal. Out with it."

"You've been doing some interesting research lately. We'd like to help."

She twisted her hand and pulled a book from her soulhome, extending it to him casually. Theo refused to take it and instead kept staring at her. "And just what will this cost me?"

"Oh no, this is a token of our esteem. I insist." Kathina propped the book on his arms with another smirk, finally meeting his gaze. "Given the value you've displayed, the House of Coin would like to recruit you. Ideally to our House, but we'd accept a liaison from House Blacksilver for the time being. This book is only the beginning of what we can offer you."

Since it felt like an ordinary book and he looked ridiculous with the thing balanced against his chest, Theo unfolded his arms and examined the book more carefully. It was an old but well-preserved record, an ancient history if the first page was to be believed. As he examined it, Kathina continued speaking.

"If Elghiera was a real person, they existed so long ago that the records have faded into myth. What I handed you, however, is a credible account of a real war fought over a number of artifacts supposedly connected to him. Ordinarily, ancient armaments are either too degraded to use or simply inferior. In some rare cases, they contain sublime materials or other investments that cannot be replicated. I don't know if there's anything to the Artifacts of Elghiera, but I'd start here."

"I see. Thank you." Theo slowly swallowed his irritation. He closed the book and set it in his lap before returning Kathina's gaze. "I presume that you have more that you're willing to offer me conditionally?"

"Oh, we'll give them to you. A little information without any clear value is a cheap price to pay for your potential favor." She crossed her other leg over the one on the balcony and settled back into her chair.

"I know my worth, but I also know the kinds of assets that a House like yours possesses. If you're really trying to buy me, I'd appreciate some honesty about exactly what kind of investment you think this is."

Kathina was silent for longer than she had been since entering, her eyes ranging across the ceiling. When she spoke, she'd dropped her earlier casual tone. "The House of Coin is large and powerful by some standards, but there are entirely different scales. We can't even manage stable trade over the entire continent: when the Asplundat Movement decided to throw out our branch Houses, there was nothing we could do. And that's nothing compared to the organizations that stretch across multiple continents, much less those that can trade from the highest mountains to the deepest depths."

Theo judged that as a sober analysis of the scaling involved, only mentally adding another stage: the largest of organizations spanned across multiple worlds or even all nine. Still, he wasn't sure what it had to do with him, since they couldn't know of his final ambitions. "That's a bit grandiose."

"You're considered a worthwhile asset for a number of reasons. One thing the House of Coin lacks is top tier soulcrafters, and your rapid rise is worth an investment. We'll need every Authority we can get if a war does come, and some analysts believe you could ascend to Stronghold."

"That's very flattering."

Again she smirked, but this time it didn't seem quite directed at him. "You think you're hiding your ambitions, but you're not. Don't worry, I like that about you. Anyway, another asset is the fact that you're an outsider. Most of your kind join the House of the Lost, and the events in the Chasm have led us to believe that you have information we can't buy elsewhere."

"I can't claim any grand knowledge, but I know a few things." Theo had been worried at first that the House of Coin might have been infected by Vistgil, but none of this made sense for his usual methods. If this was really just about their self-interest, he could relax a little. "I'm not going to betray House Blacksilver, but I'm open to working with you."

"Ooh, betrayal. Is this an Ichili drama? You're allowed to resign from one House and join another, you know. Think about what we could offer you, with branches across dozens of cities."

Truthfully, Theo had to think about it seriously. He valued a number of things about House Blacksilver, but couldn't deny that they were a medium-sized house in a single city. The House of Coin could no doubt be trusted to compensate their members fairly, so the relationship could be a very lucrative one.

In the end, it came down to the fact that nothing was forcing him to make a decision. Theo shook his head and answered simply. "I'll consider your offer, but I think I'm in the most effective place for me at the moment."

"I was afraid of that, but had to try." Kathina dropped her legs from the edge of the balcony and pivoted to seated position, watching him carefully. "Honestly, I think we could work well together. But if it has to be as business partners for now, we can live with that. Is there anything else you need? We're not going to gift you sublime materials, but if you need information..."

"Why are Fithan Discs called that?" Theo asked.

Kathina blinked at him. "What?"

"I've traveled many of the Nine Worlds, and Fithe is the only one with a unified currency named after itself. Why?"

"Oh, that's simple. The Disc Consortium is an intercontinental organization that established standardization. Each Disc is made with materials specific to our world, and work-intensive enough that forging coins is more trouble than just earning them. It's a point of pride for some that we have more efficient markets, so I'm surprised you haven't heard." She cast him a wry smile. "No charge for the remedial economics lesson."

Theo chuckled despite himself. "Just curious."

"It's actually not standardized across the entire world, by the way. When water Fithans aren't trading with us, they actually use something called a Fithan Wheel. Similar goal and technique, but different methods to get there." She paused, her humor disappearing. "We noticed that you've been trying to acquire sublime materials from the depths, though we aren't sure what. If you're looking for something, we might be able to connect you with a suitable seller."

"Actually, it's not exactly that." Up to that point, Theo hadn't given them any information they could use, but he decided that it was low risk, since they already had access to most of his economic activity. "Before I ascend to Authority, I need to find a growing material that can keep up with my soulhome. It's proving more difficult than I expected."

"Based on what you displayed in your duel, that might be difficult. I don't think you're going to find it here, and finding suitable plants on Aathal is more difficult than you think. Actually, I think you might be best off talking to the dark Tatians."

"Do you have connections with them?" Theo asked. Kathina immediately shook her head ruefully.

"I wish, but I don't even know if 'dark Tatian' is the right name for them. They don't particularly like us, but they do more business with the House of Coin than anyone else. I only bring them up because I've seen them sell some truly nasty plants: not life-generating like those from Aathal, but life-draining. We might be able to arrange a sale."

"If there are no strings attached, I'd be grateful for it."

"The only thing we'd take from it is a commission. Honestly, you're more paranoid than half the merchants in our House."

If they could really arrange a meeting, that might make the entire day far more fruitful than he had expected. Theo considered thanking her, but Kathina seemed to have a good grasp on the entire transaction. She could have left but instead stayed in the booth, watching the auction and occasionally offering sarcastic commentary.

"You think this entire thing is a circus, don't you?" Theo asked. Kathina shrugged, which was definitely not a denial.

"These public auctions are designed to fleece those with more money than sense. Our real auctions are invitation only - I could arrange that, by the way - and conducted much more sanely."

"Sealed bid, I assume?"

"And the winner pays the second highest bid, of course."

As far as Theo knew, that was the best-regarded policy on Earth as well, so he shouldn't have been surprised to find it on Fithe. Despite himself, he had to admit that it was easy to spend time with Kathina, now that she wasn't looking down her nose at him. No, she was reserving all of her scorn for the current auction item.

"Look at that thing: big fireball tree, how original. It has value, sure, but in the range of one or two thousand Discs. Now they have the bidding up to twenty thousand, and it'll probably go up to twenty four or so before-"

"One hundred thousand!" The voice boomed out over the auction house, silencing everyone for a moment before a wave of gasps and whispers followed. Despite himself, Theo joined them by moving to the edge of the box to find the source.

A young man was seated atop one of the larger balconies, both legs on the edge and his hands behind his head, clearly enjoying the attention. He was mostly obscured by dark robes, but Theo noted that his hair was black with a streak of red and that he had a sword practically his height leaning on the seat beside him. The only other people on the balcony were a Fithan woman and a serpentine Eubhan, both clearly as shocked as everyone else.

It should have been absurd, yet Theo felt a cold knot twist in his stomach.

"Who is that?" he asked. He wasn't sure how his voice sounded, but Kathina gave him a very strange look before she rose to stand beside him.

"Another outsider who just recently came to Norro Yorthin. He came through the Arbaian gate, and according to our best intelligence he stumbled upon some sort of ancient cache. Due to that, he's been throwing around far more money than a first tier soulcrafter should possess. I won't say this sort of thing is common, but the fact that it happened encouraged my House to try to find their own outsider."

"Did he give a name?"

"He's going by Raythe Darkblade."

Theo sighed and rubbed his eyes. "There's a good chance that he's from my world."

"Oh, really?" Kathina turned toward him in surprise. "Is that a common name where you come from?"

"Uh... let's just say that I have a feeling."

"If it's any encouragement, we didn't try to approach him beyond setting up auctions for him. As far as the House of Coin is concerned, a little bit of money and power isn't significant in the grand scheme of things."

"I shouldn't say anything..." Theo realized that it was utterly stupid to say something like that and cursed himself. Seeing another person from Earth had really thrown him off. Now he was committed to finishing the sentence, and honestly, it might be for the best. "I don't know him or have any specific intelligence about him. But there's a chance that this will end poorly. I'd take your money and stay away."

"We'll take that under advisement." Kathina seemed oddly subdued as well, but she rallied with another smile. "We'll connect you with dark Tatian merchants, and we can do far more if you're willing to work with us. Just consider our offer."

With that, she was gone, leaving Theo to stare from his balcony. He made himself consider talking to Raythe, since a human contact could potentially have valuable information, but resolutely dismissed the idea. Getting involved with Magnafor had nearly gotten him killed, and even Senka had advised him that Vistgil was manipulating most people from other worlds.

He'd managed several years of traveling in the Nine Worlds without running into another person from Earth, but that time had come to an end. Theo left the auction house, telling himself that he was making the right choice. Steering clear of others was the wise decision, and he even had new leads on a number of different issues. His future was looking bright.

Theo remembered the last time he'd felt that way and found himself looking back repeatedly.

Chapter 8

Fiyu did not consider herself practiced in the arts of deception, but she attempted something known as a "scheduletrick". It was a rather devious practice she had learned about from Fithans, since they tended to schedule their days rigidly. Such a thing would have been feared as an ambush on Ichil, but she understood that the intentions were benevolent.

Earlier in the day, Friend Theo had asked if she wanted him to bring back food from an exterior source and she had accepted. What he did not know was that Friend Nauda had also arranged to soulcraft with her prior to dinner. Because they nearly always became distracted and went past their allotted time, Friend Nauda would be hungry and suggesting a meal at the exact time that Friend Theo returned with a bounty of food, then they would all agree to have a meal together.

This was not deception or betrayal. It was a scheduletrick.

There was some uncertainty at first, and shockingly, neither of her friends suspected her. But despite some degree of tension in their muscles, the two of them agreed to eat together as they had not for many days. Friend Theo had brought more than enough food, as he usually did, and Friend Nauda spread out a blanket for them to sit on while they ate in her room.

Throughout the meal, Fiyu carefully monitored their bodies along with the conversation. Friend Nauda's posture had slipped recently, with a troubling pressure in her stomach, but it dissipated as she relaxed. Friend Theo gained increasing tension in his neck and shoulders when he worked without rest, which thankfully eased throughout the meal.

If only it had all been blissful companionship. Loath as she was to admit it, Fiyu could detect conflict between the other two, just beneath the surface. Their use of lyingwit was no longer playful, instead truly biting at one another before they retreated. Had they been Ichili, Fiyu would have insisted that they sit down and parlay, but she feared that she didn't truly understand them, so all she could do was attempt the scheduletrick and hope it reminded them that they were friends and companions.

For the most part, they discussed their scattered business, which Fiyu found enjoyable and believed that her companions did as well. Friend Theo was attempting a truly alarming number of different objectives, but since he always applied himself effectively to any given task, she hoped that he could accomplish them. Friend Nauda was working on her recovery but also investigating matters related to House Crimson and the wild tribes, which seemed a worthy focus to Fiyu.

Whenever they discussed soulcrafting, Friend Nauda's calves tensed in an unusual way. Perhaps as if she would have shifted her feet if they sat at a table, or perhaps as an impulse to move away. Clearly she was hiding her true feelings about her progress and perhaps the extent of the damage. Fiyu only wished that she knew how to help her.

"I understand why Blacksilver doesn't want to go up against House Crimson," Friend Nauda was saying, "but if the rumors are true, what they're doing affects everyone in the city. There's likely to be serious backlash from the wild tribes, or worse."

"If." Friend Theo uttered the word pointedly. "You might have a convincing enough case for us, but imagine a risk-averse House leader. To them, one of the most aggressive Houses pursuing its own interests isn't enough of a surprise to challenge them."

"Pursuing their own interests is one thing, but at the cost of the entire city? Especially when the rumors are so credible..."

"But the fact that you got those rumors from someone else means they probably already know. If you want to change Blacksilver's course, you need new information, or at least present what everyone knows in a more compelling story."

Friend Nauda's hand hit the floor with surprising force, her entire arm agonizingly taut. "And just how am I supposed to do that?"

Even Friend Theo seemed to be taken aback. It was impossible to know how he would react, since it could just as easily be compassion or anger. Before the situation could deteriorate, Fiyu cleared her throat and uttered the thought that had been building for some time.

"Is it not possible for us to help one another?" Both of them turned toward her, thankfully without anger, and she continued more quietly. "It seems to me that Nauda requires more information, and Theo has just acquired a source of it. The House of Coin is even more concerned about such disruptive acts, is it not? Perhaps they would be willing to share information with Nauda, and with it she might be able to present a more convincing case."

"That... is possible." Friend Theo regarded her briefly and then settled back. "Kathina does seem willing to cooperate. She actually expressed a desire to meet you, Fiyu, but I declined on your behalf."

"Thank you, Theo. I feel that I have met too many people recently."

"Maybe it could work." Friend Nauda chewed her lower lip for a while before speaking again, but her back straightened a little. "You let me talk to your contact and we pool information. The House of Coin probably knows far more than I do, but they don't have any connections to Blacksilver."

"I'll make the arrangement tomorrow," Friend Theo said.

Fiyu settled back, glad that she had helped all of them forward, but it seemed that she would not be permitted to simply enjoy the conversation. Friend Nauda turned toward her with that odd curve of her lips that usually meant slight shame. "Sorry if we've been ignoring you, Fiyu. I just realized that we've talked so much about our own soulcrafting without even asking you about yours."

"That is okay." Fiyu shook her head carefully. "I am glad to hear of your work."

"But surely you've been up to something. I remember that you were trying to make more contacts with Ichili within the city."

"I did, and I have had some success at acquiring Ichili materials, but many of them are taking reasonable precautions regarding the increasing violence on Fithe. They have told me that Fithan wars do not spill over through gates, but it still not a simple matter for them to pick up their businesses, particularly with the Greater Dark on the other side..."

As Fiyu spoke, she made sure to continue smiling, but examined both of her companions with her senses as deeply as she dared. Friend Theo slightly turned away, likely understanding that she didn't want to speak about her own soulcrafting because she felt uncomfortable remaining at a lower tier. But though Friend Nauda had raised the question, she did so with such warm kindness that Fiyu could not resent it. She deeply valued the understandings that both of them brought her and hoped that they could be maintained.

Because she knew their interest was genuine, she told them of her new plans for her windows, and they both had thoughtful comments to offer. In truth, she was rather certain of her designs. Both of them had offered her significant insights in the past, but now she primarily needed Ally Navim's expertise.

Her intervention prevented any arguments, so the dinner concluded happily. The other two went in separate directions, which was somewhat regrettable, but Fiyu intended to spend the evening soulcrafting. She collected her supplies in a sack, briefly wishing that she could simply carry them within her soulhome like Friend Theo, and then headed to the exit.

She had reached their familiar sleigh and settled in when a figure floated from the sky. Fiyu quickly identified Associate Janne, though the Blacksilver Authority's method of simply appearing out of the sky was always somewhat alarming.

"May I ask where you're headed?" Associate Janne asked, keeping pace with the sleigh as it floated toward the exit.

"I intend to work with an associate in the Arbaian quarter," Fiyu answered.

"Ah. That's fine." Associate Janne shifted in front of the sleigh, her entire body oddly slack, and maintained a constant distance instead of attempting to stop her. "We've noticed that you've been seeking sublime sands and particular types of glass. I was worried that you might be taking longer trips outside the city."

"Would that be a problem?"

"You're free to, of course. But there has been increasing tension and attacks on vulnerable soulcrafters. Given your current tier and the fact that you've proved valuable to us on several occasions, you would be a prime target for assassination. If you need particularly rare materials, please feel free to ask the House. I'll handle the matter personally, if necessary."

"Thank you, Janne." Fiyu bowed from her seat, hiding her reaction to the mixed sentiments. Associate Janne was kind to offer personal help, but she also joined the others implicitly criticizing her for remaining at Archcrafter instead of ascending. The increasing number of voices urging her on was beginning to trouble her.

"Staying within city limits will be safer, because they've begun generating a more powerful barrier that will repel even Authorities. We're also tightening restrictions on entrants, so while the city isn't completely safe, the number of avenues for a direct strike has decreased."

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance."

"There's one more thing..." Janne shifted in the air, for once a bit of muscular tension emerging in her shoulders. "I didn't think this was necessary, but Karchibol insisted that I warn you. You wouldn't trust an Ichili who said they had a message from relatives, would you?"

"Oh, certainly not. Not if they were a stranger." Many Fithans seemed to believe that Ichili trusted one another absolutely, but that would be foolish. It was simply that other Ichili stuck to polite norms.

"Good. Our Ichili allies have reported suspicious behavior and even refused entry to a number of soulcrafters trying to enter Norro Yorthin. There's concern that they might be seeking someone with violent intentions."

"I understand. I will be cautious."

"In that case, let me know what sublime materials you need so we can stop talking."

Fiyu could not ignore the offer, so she made several specific requests of Janne. Having a Blacksilver Authority assist her directly could very well help her resolve a few of her current problems. Despite the interruption, Fiyu left the Blacksilver complex in a good mood.

This dissipated along the way, even the familiar presence of their sleigh unable to calm her. Fiyu was entirely aware of her vulnerability at her current tier: her relative had told her that her blueprint had serious weaknesses until she finished her Ruler floor. But the horrible injury done to Friend Nauda had frightened her, convincing her even more that she needed to wait for her relative before completing her Corporeal Floor.

She had done her best not to be idle in the meantime. Every surface had been polished to perfection, she had completed the gauntlet-shaped gatehouses for her armaments, and had collected many materials that she hoped would be helpful when her relative returned.

Beyond that, however, she had begun working on a new idea, one that actually altered her relative's blueprint. At first the idea of "seeingholes" to the outside had dismayed her, like invitations for others to stare into her soul. But as she became accustomed to the idea of windows and saw how they operated in the soulhomes of others, she began to wonder if they would not be suitable for her design. The sensory window that Friend Theo had helped her complete back in Tatian had not been a liability, so perhaps others could strengthen her design.

That was the reason she went to meet Ally Navim, aside from his companionship, and fortunately she arrived before she could distract herself too much. Fiyu landed the sleigh and scurried between the Arbaian houses until she could enter Ally Navim's familiar sphere.

"Fiyu." He awaited her, in the midst of work as usual. "I am glad to see you here."

"As am I, Navim." She went to sit in her usual place across from him. "Were you able to acquire the materials? If not, I am more than happy to assist you in your work as usual."

"As it happens, I did."

Ally Navim completed his work and reached into one of his drawers. Though his stony limbs remained impervious to her senses, Fiyu had gradually come to read more into the precise movements of Arbaian body language. They made few automatic movements, unlike the instinctual muscles of most species, every single motion precisely intended.

And, in the exact angles of how Ally Navim placed the box on the table, Fiyu believed that he was proud. "The sand was too smooth for glass of the quality you required, but as it happens the Aathali have developed new methods of water-wearing. I believe this should be suitable, without any loss to its cantae."

Fiyu thanked him and eagerly examined the sand, smooth against her fingers but rough to her more precise senses. As he had said, it would be suitable. The two of them wasted no more time talking, instead dedicating themselves to processing the sublime sand into glass.

Because Fiyu's soulhome was divided into three materials, she couldn't simply create regular windows like Friend Theo, and she certainly couldn't have open holes like Friend Nauda. Instead she intended to design three different blends of glass, each precisely suited to the material around it. So far she had completed two of the three, with additional materials left over.

That was one of her open questions. From what her relative had told her, a Corporeal Floor should not contain any windows even if the design included them. It was possible that he had withheld some information from her, since she had been very young when they were separated, but she believed she understood the theory well enough.

Instead, she would begin work on windows for her third floor. Since the materials she was using strained her soul as an Archcrafter, they would be quite suitable as a Ruler. Then, when she met her relative again, she would have six perfectly crafted windows. If he approved of her change, then she could assemble her floors swiftly and not need to delay.

Her thoughts were so often with Relative Guchiro these days. Often she longed to return to the Biolumin Relay, even though she knew it was futile. He had implied that he had enemies on occasion and she hoped that no accident had befallen him.

"Navim..." Fiyu had not intended to speak, but it was too late, his gemstones were turning toward her. "I have seen that most Arbaians live in schools, but do others live alone?"

"Of course. There are some who dedicate themselves to a single field in isolation... do you understand the word "wisehermits"? They can often go years without consulting with any other scholars."

"And this is an unusually long amount of time." Fiyu nodded in satisfaction at her understanding.

"You could say that." Ally Navim chuckled for unclear reasons, then continued speaking as he returned to his work. "But the majority desire to spend time with others. I know that some from other worlds consider us to be cerebral, but I believe our desire for platonic affection is at least as strong as any others. Isolation can be harmful to both intellect and personality."

"Oh... then are you disappointed to have left relatives from your home?"

"I do miss them at times, but I considered that when I made the choice to join you here. The Arbaian quarter of the city is very well-suited to us, and I have developed new relationships here. However, I enjoy none of their company as much as yours."

Ally Navim settled one of his larger limbs on the table near her, an invitation instead of an imposition, and Fiyu happily patted it. Normally she would not do such a thing with an ally, but she believed that she understood how Arbaians conceived of touch. Such a thing was entirely appropriate for allies, free of any other potential implication, and sent a rush of warmth through her.

"Of course, what I said is only true of Mundhin." Ally Navim sensed her overflowing emotions and returned to other matters smoothly. "The Eubhan species is notorious for being anti-social, and the arguments in their conferences are legendary. There are other species as well, in lands I have only read of..."

As she continued listening to Ally Navim, Fiyu was truly happy. And yet that happiness could not remove the motes of loneliness deeper within her.

Chapter 9

Theo lingered in the State of Rest long after his meal had been completed, and by this point the staff left him alone. He was meeting Kathina there soon and he saw no reason to leave, since it was as good a place as any. If she took long enough, he might even be able to finish the most recent book about Elghiera.

The ancient writers who discussed the wars over the artifacts were themselves split on whether Elghiera was historical or mythical. Centuries past those events, Theo doubted he could uncover the truth. His most important finds were less stories than implications: the writers seemed to believe that these artifacts were involved in great wars against demons.

Since demons were generally more of an annoyance than a threat requiring a war, that itself was curious. One of the books Kathina had given him scorned the oldest sources for that very reason, but Theo wondered if something had been lost to time. Perhaps demons had once been more threatening, or been controlled to fight the wars of others. It definitely seemed that some ancient figures believed that the Artifacts of Elghiera would be useful in combating the demons of their day, which might explain a great deal if only he knew more of Vistgil's plans.

Most likely he would never know the truth of the past... though Theo hesitated as he thought back to Senka again. She was much older than she looked, but surely she couldn't be that old. There had still been no sight of her, and she might have been a useful resource, but with so many issues on his plate, Theo couldn't afford to go hunting for her. That just left him imagining her alone, gibbering to herself as she struggled to pull her mind together...

He was a few pages from the end of the book when he felt a Ruler enter the State of Rest. Though Kathina seemed to have a heavy duty shielding wall, he'd never seen her use it to suppress her presence in the slightest. Rapidly skimming the last pages, he closed the book just as she arrived and handed it to her.

"Thank you again for these."

"No trouble at all." Kathina took the book and smoothly passed it into her soulhome. "None of that is exactly forbidden knowledge, just obscure. Are you ever going to tell us why you have this... hobby?"

"It might not matter at all. But do tell me if anyone else starts pursuing the subject, or claims they can buy or sell Artifacts of Elghiera."

"Believe me, I'd know if anyone ran around making claims like that. Everyone in the House of Coin would be laughing for days. Nobody is even claiming to trade that sort of thing."

"Not even Raythe?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. No, he's just buying up expensive sublime materials from Arbai and Aathal lately." Kathina cocked her head as she glanced over the table, which had been cleaned but apparently had a few traces of the meal. "I see you've already eaten. We have time before the meeting is scheduled, so I would have joined you."

"Sorry, but I finished a while ago." Theo stood up and left his payment on the table before glancing toward the door. "Will we be too early if we walk?"

"Probably not, and the dark Tatians always tend to arrive early anyway. They're as bad as Ichili when it comes to that sort of thing."

They left the State of Rest with Kathina in the lead, guiding him to the mysterious location where the dark Tatians would supposedly show him their sublime materials. Though Theo was eager to see if they had any plants appropriate for his soulhome, he was even more curious to ask them a few questions. Presumably they had to know more than the provincial Tatian peasants on the upper half of the planet, and what they told him could be useful information about Nauda.

Despite those thoughts, the reminder of Nauda led him to bring up Fiyu's proposal. "Earlier you spoke about wanting to recruit my allies. Well, it turns out that Nauda actually has a request for you."

"Oh?" Though her expression remained the same, something cooled within Kathina. He decided to press on regardless.

"She's been investigating House Crimson manipulation of the wild tribes, including for potential disruption of trade routes and control of certain markets."

"Not very likely, in my opinion." Kathina scraped something off a ridge of her armor as they walked. "They're definitely more involved in that problem than they should be, but I think the conflict is primarily internal. But the House of Coin isn't particularly happy with their actions, so if she wants to talk about the information we have, it would probably be a good investment in causing problems for them."

"Thank you," Theo said. "I'll let you arrange the rest of the details yourselves."

Kathina didn't answer for a while, simply ambling her way through the city. She revealed very little on her face, but judging from the way her eyes shifted, he guessed that she needed to consider carefully before speaking. But in the end, she did speak.

"I'm surprised that you're still soulcrafting with her, after her carelessness destroyed most of her progress."

Theo frowned. "She's rebuilding."

"No doubt she will, but how long will that take, and how far will you have ascended by the time she gets back to where she started?" Kathina's stare softened, which he wasn't sure was better. "I'm not telling you to rob her and leave her in a ditch somewhere. But someone as ambitious as you are needs to be realistic about who is capable of keeping up with you."

"Another reason I should join the House of Coin, no doubt." Theo gave her a flat smile as if her words had simply slid off, and Kathina looked away with a sigh.

As they continued in silence, however, the words dug deeper into his mind. Theo felt as though his head was a hollow shell filled with different voices. The man he had been during his first visit to the Nine insisted that he should stick with his chosen companions to the end. The man he'd been on Earth argued that this was naivety and that he should forget her. When he tried to move past either, he was swamped by voices offering realistic projections, considerations like how Fiyu would react, and questions about what truly mattered to him in the end.

Listening to all the voices, Theo wasn't sure if there was any "self" listening at all, or if he was nothing but the chaotic disagreement.

He didn't reach any conclusion on their walk, especially once Kathina distracted him with lighter conversation. In the end they reached one of the many buildings owned by the House of Coin, mostly built from the same red stone as the rest of the city but with armored golden plating. Nothing about it particularly spoke of Tatians, but as he understood it they weren't prominent enough in Norro Yorthin to have an established presence.

Kathina led him inside, where both of their identity plates were checked by Archcrafter guards, and then to one of the side chambers. She stopped with her hand on the door handle and turned back to him. "You're on your own from here. Don't try any Tatian customs you may know, but otherwise, they're reasonable. They won't like you, but there aren't any major pitfalls like with some worlds."

"You aren't joining the negotiations?"

"They know the commission we're owed and they'll be good for it. They prefer to handle business alone, so... good luck." With that she opened the door and gestured him through.

The other side was an ordinary enough Fithan negotiation chamber, chairs surrounding a stone table shaped like an enormous whirlwind. Theo paid more attention to the three Tatians sitting on the other side. All of them had golden brown skin like Nauda, but jet black hair unlike any Tatians he'd known. He realized that he didn't even know for sure that they were from the lower side of the planet, tempting as that conclusion was.

"We understand that you wish to purchase Tatian sublime plants." The leader was a heavyset man with a harsh voice, the words soul-translated from guttural sounds he had never heard before. Theo nodded to the merchant and his guards before sitting opposite them.

"I believe the House of Coin has already given you the necessary information and you have options for me." Despite their surly nature, he had to wonder if they were really so different from the Tatians he'd known. "Straight to business, then?"

"You are a purchaser, not part of our community." The woman behind the lead merchant scowled at him, while the man on the other side opened a case and began placing a series of materials onto the table.

Though Theo was primarily interested in those, based on their behavior he wondered if the chance to interrogate dark Tatians was actually rarer than sublime materials. They certainly didn't seem to like talking to others normally, so this moment when they wanted his money might be his best chance to get information from them.

"I may not be a part of your community," Theo said, "but I hope these materials are offered in the spirit of community. Tell me, which side of Tatian are these from?"

That got him an immediate glower from the woman and the lead merchant appeared mildly discomforted. No doubt they were used to dealing with Fithans who had only abstract knowledge of their world. Still, they might suspect he had merely stepped through the gate, so Theo reached into his soulhome and pulled out one of the eryo claws, setting it on the table in front of him.

"I may not have access to Tatian materials, but I have some familiarity with them. So I hope that you'll trade fairly with me."

The man setting out the materials fumbled one of them at the sight of the claw, the merchant's eyes widened, and the woman stuck with her strategy of glaring at everything. But after an extended pause, the leader of the group spoke.

"These materials were primarily taken from the Nkagankaga Plains, particularly deathbeast caverns. Some of the roots were stolen from the gardens of First Citizens, as it seems you surmised. We could not sell such a thing back home, yes, but we will not let anything so dear go cheaply."

"I see." Theo had never heard any of those names before, so he simply nodded somberly. They seemed to think he knew more than he did and he was happy to play along. "I care primarily about their quality, so I'll begin inspecting the materials."

They presented him with an enormous array of plants, diverse on a spiritual level but largely similar physically: all were as dark and grim as the upper side of Tatian was warm and inviting. Theo quickly disregarded several of the options as inappropriate or too weak, soon coming to three possibilities. None were labeled, so he needed to inquire about their wares directly.

First, the bloodthorn was a thorny vine that dripped with venom that made the name easy to understand. Second came something called grizzleroot, a grayed mess he would have ignored if not for its raw cantae. His third choice was called a schismflower, one of the only traces of color on the table, but its bright blue was painful to look at and seemed to fragment the air around it.

It was a difficult choice. The bloodthorn might be overall strongest, but he judged that it was probably the perfect material for a swordsman, not him. Nothing about the grizzleroot stood out to him, but it would be the most suited to reinforcing a soulhome. Finally, the schismflower struck him as the most potentially interesting but also possibly incompatible with his blueprint.

Thinking back to all the plants that had died in his soulhome before, Theo realized that this problem might not be suited to purely abstract consideration. The real question was whether or not he could get the Tatians to agree to an experiment. They spoke of community, but they otherwise seemed so different from those he knew that he really had no idea.

"I'm not taking the risk of purchasing a sublime plant that will die immediately," he said as he sat back. "Can I take a fraction of these in order to test them?"

"We do not have so much time, but we do have this." The lead merchant pulled a small pouch from his robes and slid it across the table. Theo picked it up carefully and saw that the inside appeared to contain a dark ash. "If you commit to making a purchase, we will allow you to use it to test several of them."

The woman pulled out a knife armament, which was far from comforting, even when the male assistant revealed a cutting board. She cut a tiny slice from each of the three materials he'd chosen, then deftly flicked the pieces onto the table beside the ash.

Apparently they trusted him to do the experiments... or more likely they trusted the House of Coin to enforce the terms of the agreement. Theo nodded as if he knew what he was doing and took all four sublime materials into his soulhome. He paused as soon as he did so, to see if they would take any action in the physical world, but they simply waited for him.

Picking an empty spot between his soulhome and shielding wall, Theo bent down to see what he could do. The slices of the materials had transformed into seeds, which they had definitely not contained before, so her knife must have been designed specifically to process materials. Interesting, but he couldn't afford to waste time.

He dug a little hole with his hands and set the schismflower seed into the dirt. Nothing happened, of course, but he carefully took some of the ash and sprinkled it over the top. The immediate surge of cantae made him pull back, just in case it was a trap, but when it faded, what remained was a schismflower. Much weaker than the one lying on the table, but as large as if it had been growing for days. Presumably the ash was a method of testing materials quickly.

Since he had all three, Theo moved to plant the other two seeds. He'd only used a fraction of the ash, so should he add more? Before he was even finished with the third hole, he noticed that the schismflower appeared to be wilting. Theo hastily planted the bloodthorn and then moved to watch it.

The schismflower didn't go out quietly, planes of cantae lashing out and tearing apart the aged grass of his foundation. That reaction was even worse than the hearthtrees or any other plants he had tested. As strong as it was, it was clearly inappropriate for his soulhome, so Theo uprooted it before it could do any more damage.

That left two, and they didn't seem particularly promising. The grizzleroot hadn't grown very much, while the bloodthorn was developing into a bleeding mass. At first he thought the internal form might differ from the one they'd shown him, but as it oozed more and more sap, Theo realized that it was dying as well.

Was his soul just entirely incapable of supporting living materials? He'd attributed it to being a bitter old man before, but the bloodthorn should have been appropriate. Perhaps he had been entirely wrong and the real problem had been his soul slamming between Earth and the Nine Worlds repeatedly. Considering that the transition had entirely wiped out his old soulhome, perhaps it had left him with a permanently broken foundation.

It was unfortunate that he'd agreed to make a purchase, especially since any of them would cost a significant portion of his Discs. Theo was considering whether or not one of the sublime plants could be used by someone else when he felt a throbbing from the grizzleroot.

When Theo bent closer, he was shocked to feel the cantae resonating with his soulhome. That didn't make any sense, unless... Theo yanked on the stubby leaf above the ground and realized that he'd been a fool: the grizzleroot had been growing down, not up.

The roots he pulled from the ground were a bit shrunken, likely due to being forcibly grown by the ash. But even in the air, they visibly reached toward the ground. For the first time since he'd returned to the Nine Worlds, Theo felt his soulhome respond positively to a plant. The grizzleroot was twisted and grayed, which was apparently just what his foundation needed.

Immediately his mind leapt to the possibilities for using it, but the Tatians had already been waiting for some time. Theo set aside all three plants and returned to the physical world with the ash in hand. "I'll take the grizzleroot."

"Really? You tested it and...?" The merchant winched down his eyebrows and nodded. "It's unusual for someone's soul to react positively to that one, particularly such a young soul. But it is your purchase, of course."

"Unless there's something else I need to know, I'd like that one."

"Grizzleroot is known to be a troublesome material. Hardy, so it does not die when errors are made, but stubborn. It will refuse to respond to many sublime materials that should feed it, and sometimes retreats into dormancy if it dislikes its environment. But if you are capable of making it grow, it is exceptional."

Theo nodded and completed the transaction, handing over a large pile of Fithan Discs in exchange for the full root. Just in case, he took it into his soulhome, but the whole material resonated even more strongly with his foundation. The way it felt, he'd have to be more careful about it spreading too far than getting it to grow.

Since the transaction was complete, Theo rose to go. With other Tatians he would have clasped their arms or gone through other affirming rituals, but the three seemed ready to be done with him. Still, while he had their attention, Theo decided to push for a little more information.

"I've always wondered, since your hair marks you so clearly... what happens if you want to visit the lighter side of Tatian?"

The woman immediately snorted. "He doesn't know so much after all."

"There are methods." The merchant watched him coldly, but as his fingers counted through all the Discs again, he seemed to relent. "Hair can be dyed, and there are materials to do so quite effectively. Crossing over may be difficult, but it's not as impossible as you think."

After that, the three of them clammed up, so Theo accepted that he'd gotten as much as he would and departed the mercantile hall.

He should have been considering everything he could do with the grizzleroot, or one of the many soulcrafting issues he needed to solve. Yet as he walked back into the city, Theo found himself thinking about Nauda. All he knew for sure was that she was aware of the divide on Tatian, since she had always been tight-lipped with information.

Had she ever explicitly claimed to be from the lighter side of the world? She had certainly let him assume it. Theo would need a long time to decide if she had lied to him.

Chapter 10

The mushrooms filled Nauda with more emotions than mushrooms ever should: anger, shame, despair. Despite her best efforts, and despite what she told the others, the bondsfungi kept reemerging no matter how hard she tried to kill them.

According to Antha, it was roughly five months before the Ruling City Wargames would begin, and Nauda had no idea if that fact was relevant to her. There certainly was no category for crippled soulcrafters. Grekig had urged her to put it out of mind, but the information she'd pried from him suggested that it included many team events, some of which could potentially work around her weaknesses. Based on his expression, she had a feeling that he didn't expect her to attend.

And, if she was honest with herself, what had she done to earn a place there? She had worked her hands bloody chipping away at the slag of her old soulhome, which gave her nothing but an enormous pile of useless rocks. Some of the region she had uncovered was growing back, but Grekig had been right: the stone had fused to the foundation of a large part of her soul and seemed impenetrable to even the Esoteric Chisel.

"Are you focused, Nauda?" Grekig's voice floated to her from outside her soulhome and she realized that the answer was an emphatic "no". "We need everything you have, if we're going to get rid of this infection for good."

"I'm sorry. Give me a moment."

Nauda dedicated herself fully to the task of gripping her entire soulhome to prepare for the sublime lava. She'd gotten better at the skill, which actually brought new problems. When she was fully focused, she thought that she could feel the bondsfungi, like a thin layer of corruption over a surprisingly large area of her soulhome. It was difficult to believe that she'd ever eliminate it for good, but she did her best and signaled for him to work.

The lava washed through her soul, and she was sure that she felt the bondsfungi die, but Nauda didn't really believe they were gone. Some fragment would survive and regrow. Maybe the real solution would be to pin it into a smaller region and then just live with it, or perhaps...

"We need to talk about your heartoak."

The voice brought her out of her soulhome and Nauda frowned at Grekig. "Is something wrong with it? I thought that it was growing well."

"It's growing extraordinarily. Generating cantae beyond expectations, which is due to your careful tending." Grekig's smile was just a prelude to stroking his mustache. "But that's going to become a problem soon. You see, heartoak trees are limited only by carefully constructed walls, and if you grew one the size of your soulhome you'd be an extremely limited soulcrafter. It's already as large as an ordinary room, so you need to contain it soon. You've been constructing bricks like I asked, so why not use them?"

She had to admit that he had a good point. Nauda glanced back inside herself, though she couldn't see the tree immediately. Because it was putting out so much cantae, she'd set up another tent over it that connected to her main building, just to improve her stamina a little. Obviously nothing but a stopgap measure, but all her plans for the future felt even more short-sighted.

"Just keep it in mind." Grekig moved away from her to begin locking up. "And don't worry about the expense of the sublime lava. It's produced as a waste product from one of the House's operations, so we have as much as you need."

The idea that she was costing the House had indeed occurred to her, but she wondered just what he meant by bringing it up in such a way. At home, it would have been an unquestionable reprimand, and even in the humblest of Tatian villages it might have been a pointed statement. Here on Fithe, she was never entirely sure.

As soon as they left the rehabilitation building they moved in their separate directions, as always. Even if Grekig had wanted to spend more time with her, Nauda was in a hurry. Their work had gone longer than she expected, so her meeting with the House of Coin representative was drawing close.

All Nauda had was a location and a description, but she presumed that this Kathina would find her. She still wasn't sure what to make of the woman, since she didn't entirely trust Theo's judgment. Not that she thought that he could be distracted by a woman, not for a moment, but it was easy to imagine him being seduced by power, especially the kind of power the House of Coin could offer.

When Nauda reached the restaurant, she had barely begun to scan it before someone called to her. "Nauda! Over here." Kathina looked essentially as expected and waved her over to sit. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm afraid not," Nauda said. It might be an insult, but her soul felt too scorched for her to eat.

"Well, I'm going to eat and hope that it doesn't offend you." Kathina leaned her head on one hand, examining her for several seconds but revealing nothing. "You've built quite an impressive shielding wall. Impossible for anyone to tell what's behind it."

That had to be a backhanded compliment, so Nauda responded in kind. "Thank you for your insight."

The House of Coin representative barely seemed to react at all, leaving Nauda with no idea if her sarcasm had even reached her. Eventually Kathina sat back, examining the ceiling instead of her. "You know, our House could sell you just what you need. There's a sublime material called a rebirthcloud... it floats through your soulhome, strengthening all your materials almost as well as an ascension. I imagine you're having trouble working with new materials, so that could seal them in place."

"I've never heard of that," Nauda said carefully. "Everyone would be using it constantly if there wasn't some sort of catch."

"Oh, without question. The rebirthcloud seems to burn something out of the soul, making further ascension impossible. But if you want to get into shape in time for the Wargames, it might be your best bet."

"No thank you." Uncertain just how much of the offer had been intended as another insult, Nauda remained silent and just held her gaze.

Unfortunately, Kathina seemed entirely uninterested in matching wills with her, instead looking around the restaurant. An attendant brought a skewer of spiced meats, which Kathina began eating eagerly. As soon as she finished chewing one piece, she paused to glance up at Nauda. "I hear you have questions about House Crimson?"

"That's right." Nauda was still off balance and struggled to regroup her thoughts. "Theo said that you didn't believe House Crimson was actually manipulating trade via the wild tribes."

"Some of them might be, but it's more likely internal power struggles."

"Then perhaps you'd better start there. Just what are their internal struggles?"

"Oh, it's the usual, just much worse than normal." Kathina stabbed an empty skewer into the air as if to draw a hierarchy. "House Crimson's leader is named Wiltur, a Stronghold who has been immortal for over a century. One of the old powers in the city, without question."

Nauda had known the name but not the rest, so she leaned forward despite her dislike for the other woman. "He must have given up hope of ascending to Dominion."

"He'd like to, I'm sure, but it isn't to be. Instead, it's well known that Wiltur has been hoping to find himself an heir. Not that he wants to give up power: he wants someone who could take over the House while he rises to bigger things. Don't ask me exactly what: the common guess is that he wants to join the Ruling City leadership at Dris Kolonb."

"Their House has five Authorities, right?"

"Well, you've done some research after all!" Kathina began eating another skewer while she gestured with the previous. "Two of them are very dull, or at least as dull as an Authority can be. One is Wiltur's sister-in-law Gethyrue, who has been stuck at Authority for decades but is an important pillar of the House. That leaves two who Wiltur hopes can be his next Stronghold."

"One of them being Tythes?"

"Yes, the former golden boy of the house. I've heard you've clashed with him a bit, but my House prefers to steer clear. Anyway, the last of their Authorities is named Roker. Nobody knows very much about him because he's the newest and he doesn't act often, leading to mixed rumors about whether he's a failure or a secret weapon."

Nauda turned over the information in her mind, wondering if it would be premature to ask her questions about Tythes. Perhaps it would be better to circle back. "I take it that the different factions within House Crimson are led by the Authorities?"

"Not entirely. There are a lot of ordinary people within the House who dislike the direction Wiltur is taking them. They might have been thrown out, but Gethyrue serves as a neutral party keeping the struggles under control. Both of the dull Authorities play the usual games, trying to increase their power by politics since they've reached the limits of their soulcrafting. And though Tythes's faction isn't taken very seriously, he does have his followers."

"Does that have anything to do with his ancestry? He is half-water Fithan, right?"

"Yes, but it's not that relevant." Kathina shrugged as she chewed for a while. "Wiltur had a temporary relationship with a woman from the oceans, another Stronghold, in the hopes that their children would be unusually powerful. That doesn't usually produce better soulcrafters, at least not after you account for the advantages their parents give them, but after so long he was getting desperate. Anyway, it makes Tythes more exotic than a pariah."

"But I understand that he's fallen from grace. There are stories that his soulcrafting stalled when he began drinking?"

Kathina stopped eating, instead wiping off one of her hands with a somber expression. "This isn't a closely kept secret, but if you know more about his shameful past, Tythes might target you. Are you sure that you want to know?"

"I'm sure." Nauda doubted that he could do worse than he already had, so she sat forward and tried to make her determination clear. After a brief pause, Kathina nodded and spoke in a lower voice.

"Tythes was brilliant as a child, and when he grew old enough to soulcraft he exceeded all expectations. Wiltur guided him the whole way, grooming him to be his heir, and for a while everyone in the city feared that House Crimson would become dominant.

"But then, Tythes participated in a tournament for Authorities, and he somehow... just fell apart. He didn't receive any injuries, and in fact he won his first two matches before abruptly dropping out. Everyone wanted to know why, of course. The only credible information I have is that he spoke to an Arbaian competitor for the entire night before he forfeited. Ever since then, he's been a drunken nuisance."

"That's really all that's known? It's hard to believe a conversation could have such an impact... Wiltur must have been furious."

"Absolutely livid." Kathina finally smiled again and began toying with another skewer. "He actually put out a bounty on the Arbaian competitor and scorched the sand to find him. But the tournament had attracted people from many worlds, and no one knew where that Arbaian had gone."

"You said that Tythes fell apart." Nauda frowned as she thought back to the times that she'd seen him fight, never sure if he was holding back or unconventional or a fool. "Isn't that just an assumption? He should still have all the strength and potential he did before even if he stagnated."

"Oh no, his soulhome has been seen in public and it was an absolute wreck. Some speculated that the Arbaian injured him in a private battle, but there was no sign of one. It could in theory have been poison, if anyone knew of a poison that could destroy an Authority." Kathina raised both her eyebrows mischievously. "The simple fact is that no one knows what occurred in that room, but it ended Tythes's career as a soulcrafter."

Nauda sat in silence to consider the story. It was frustratingly lacking in the important details, but it did explain the conversation she'd overheard in the Chasm. Perhaps Tythes really did fight unusually as a way to compensate for his soulhome damage, but she knew he wasn't a drunk. Whatever had happened, and whatever he intended, he had an agenda.

They spoke for a while longer, Nauda sharing what she knew of Tythes short of the significant secrets. By the end, Nauda felt like she had a much stronger understanding of the politics of House Crimson and why everyone else in the city took them so seriously, but she still didn't understand what it all had to do with the wild tribes.

"I'm not sure either," Kathina answered her unasked question. "But the House of Coin dislikes the instability they're causing, which is why I've given you all this information. It's also why I'm going to tell you about where they're striking next."

"What?" Nauda sat up straight and resisted the urge to look around suspiciously.

"We've obtained advance knowledge of another operation that House Crimson will be leading against the wild tribes. Not an official movement with the city, something more circumspect. We can't be seen to get directly involved, but... let's just say that we would be grateful if someone else acquired that information. Financially grateful."

"So you're sending us to do your dirty work." Despite her tone, Nauda was pleased to get such important information from the meeting. She couldn't go herself, but perhaps she could convince Blacksilver with such solid intelligence.

"That's the best kind." Kathina grinned and then tore into her meat.

Chapter 11

Over the course of his lives across multiple worlds, Theo had stepped into a number of dressing rooms, but never with anything at stake. Technically he stood in the dressing room of Hessika and Oland's shop, but as he pulled the items of clothing on one at a time, he stepped into his soul and did some of the most delicate soulcrafting of his life.

The problem was that he was working with cloth, which broke so much more easily than stone and couldn't be easily repaired with his skills. Yes, the tailor couple would fix any errors made, but he was already running his stores low purchasing so many new materials. Irritatingly, the process of making clothing that was supposed to serve as armor involved treating it like the most fragile of materials.

Theo lifted the white cloth to the wall, carefully placing one pin after another. It was a special type of bindingsteel used by tailors and armament crafters, which would strengthen the material in the end but could so easily tear through it meanwhile.

Behind him, the stone he'd retrieved from the Chasm pulsed with enough cantae to flap the materials he worked with. Theo had at first resisted the idea of using this chamber for an armament, but in the end he had decided that a lack of defensive capacity was one of his biggest weaknesses. Instead of a technique, the corner chamber would channel the raw defensive power of the stone that had resisted the annihilating river into his armament clothes. It was the strongest defense he was capable of crafting, and unlike an active technique, it would always help him passively.

Technically he could have gained a slightly better efficiency ratio by creating an elaborate replica of all his armament clothing within his soulhome, but Theo didn't want to be tied to specific clothes that he might outgrow. Instead he'd modified his carvings a little and tied each wall to one of the materials. Those could be reworked later without him needing to waste time renewing his armament chamber.

At last Theo completed pinning the white cloth to the corner - the outer wall, of course, in keeping with the overall design of his soulhome. He'd already pinned the dark cloth to the inner corner, where it soaked up the cantae flowing from the central stone. That left the corners near the doors, which had less space to work with but should be appropriate for what remained.

Back in the dressing room, Theo was disappointed to see that his coat was still ragged. Regardless, he pulled it on and felt the layer of protection settle over him. He'd discussed the full process with the tailor couple, but he still needed something else.

"Do you have the leather?" Theo asked, opening the door enough to reach through.

"Right here!" Oland cheerfully shoved what felt like sturdy boot leather into his hands. "Do you need any help with that? Leather is always a bit more difficult to work with, since it doesn't coop-"

"I'll let you know if I falter, thanks." Theo pulled his hand in with the same motion that he drew the leather into his soulhome. Unlike all the powerful materials he'd been using lately, soulcrafted clothes had been designed from the very beginning to be accessible.

Piece by piece, Theo completed the remainder of his room. The most substantial elements of his outfit remaining were his boots and his belt, so he separated their materials on the northern and eastern walls. That still left some oddly empty spaces, so he asked them for a few more materials to cover the remaining pieces: metal reinforcement, cufflinks, buttons, and the like.

All in all, the process took them several hours, but it was easy compared to the soulcrafting he usually attempted. Theo understood again why many soulcrafters sought to rely on armaments. He hoped that in his case, it would be a column of support for his blueprint instead of a crutch.

When he finished, he was ready to sweep out the door... but there was someone else in the room, ordering sublime clothing. They were quite audible, since they seemed to have strong opinions and Oland was doing his best to keep them from hectoring his wife. Theo paused, wondering if he was really going to wait in order to have a more dramatic exit. Well, it wasn't like he didn't have other work to do.

Theo returned to work on bricks, since he'd let those fall by the wayside again. He'd constructed his fourth chamber on the third floor, and definitely needed to build more, but the other necessary types of soulcrafting were so much more dynamic. It wasn't too long before the other customer left, so Theo finally stepped out of the dressing room.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Oland clapped when he emerged, which made Theo smile.

"It looks exactly the same," he pointed out, "and wouldn't you just be complimenting your own work?"

"The customer makes the clothes, we always say!" Oland moved closer to fuss with some of the details while Hessika regarded him quietly. She couldn't examine his soulhome, but she could very likely tell how well his internal work flowed into the external armament.

"I can feel the defensive strength," Theo said, "but I may have made some minor errors, because none of the damage seems to be repairing."

In response, Hessika merely pointed past his legs. Theo twisted to look and immediately saw the difference. Nothing had changed earlier, but several old rips in his pants were gone and his boots were as black as if they'd just been cleaned. Some of the damage to his overcoat had repaired itself as well, and when he looked closely he thought he could even see a tear knitting itself back together. The large hole that had been caused by an Authority's javelin still gaped, but at the current rate he thought it would close in less than a day.

"Oh, then perhaps everything is done after all." Theo fidgeted with his collar, but it actually felt as though it fit him even better than before. Thanks to his armament chamber, the clothing was in a sense part of his soul.

"Always happy to get more business from you!" Oland chuckled and shook his head. "Unfortunately, we've probably just ensured that you never have to visit us again. We're really terribly bad at business that way."

"I'll be back if I ever have a need." Theo settled the final payment and left the couple with a spring in his step.

The test he really wanted was of his clothing's raw defensive capabilities, which he couldn't exactly ask Hessika and Oland to do. Fiyu was always happy to test, but she tended to hold back enough it was hard to be sure how valid the results were. Of course, the reason he'd finally made himself finish the armament chamber was that he had a very good opportunity to test it coming up soon.

Tomorrow, House Blacksilver was going outside the city to confront the wild tribes.

~ ~ ~

For a few days, Nauda had been proud of herself for acquiring the information and arranging the collaboration between Blacksilver and the House of Coin. She remembered Jefria and all the other villagers who suffered outside the cities, and though she couldn't change their lot, she could do a little to help them. If her actions stopped House Crimson from doing more damage, they would be worth it.

Then it slowly became clear that she wasn't going to be allowed to join in the expedition. The wild tribes were too unpredictable and gave no quarter, so she would be a liability. None of them said it explicitly, but that was their implication. She tried to take comfort in the fact that she had at least convinced Theo to get involved.

When they left her behind, Nauda focused on the good that might be done. Even in her weakened state, she could improve the world a little, and that was what mattered. The positive thoughts carried her into her soulhome, where she was determined to rebuild her way up.

That was when she discovered the bondsfungi, spreading not only across the ruins, but on the other side of her first barriers.

She swallowed her emotional reaction and forced herself to soulcraft. Carefully examining the spread, reinforcing her successful barriers, putting down further stakes. Yet the ruins of her soul were still lit by an unnatural blue light, an undeniable signal of her failure.

Nauda worked until her hands were only numb lumps, then she continued working because the alternative was so much worse.

Chapter 12

In the end, Theo was surprised to learn that the only people joining him were Dhan and several Blacksilver soulcrafters. The group had decent combat potential, and he had never expected Blacksilver to commit all their Authorities. But he'd assumed that Nauda would join them, since the operation was her idea, or for Fiyu to provide stealth. He still thought Fiyu would have been a good addition, though he wasn't going to force her to leave the city if she didn't want.

They traveled in an armored chariot, which raced over the wastelands before gradually gaining altitude to hide within the clouds. In theory they would be able to hide from the House Crimson fighters to observe what they were doing before they decided whether or not to act.

"Don't lose focus, even for a second," one of the Blacksilver Archcrafters told the others. "The wild tribes still possess a strength we've lost in the cities, so they'll tear through your defenses. If it comes to violence, put them down quickly and don't get surrounded."

"Is their cantae actually more intense?" Theo asked. He didn't think increasing intensity was possible aside from ascension and highly advanced techniques, but it was possible that he'd missed details in his past life.

"Not more intense, just more vicious. Their techniques are lacking in polish, but they make up for it in raw power."

Theo was skeptical, in part because he didn't think much of the Archcrafter - Nauda could probably beat him even in her current state. He glanced back to Dhan, but the Authority was soulcrafting with no sign that he was paying any attention to the conversation. It was true that this might be beneath him, unless House Crimson had also invested their higher soulcrafters into the fight for unknown reasons.

Given that their real purposes were still unknown, Theo thought that was a safe bet.

Past the smaller communities surrounding Norro Yorthin, they traveled over empty wasteland for a long time before they finally spotted their targets. The House of Coin had given them accurate information: there were soulcrafters in House Crimson livery doing battle with Fithans in rough leather.

Despite everything he'd heard about the wild tribes, the battle looked like an ordinary enough Archcrafter fight to Theo: cantae bolts, armaments, a few more exotic techniques. They had a pair of Rulers in their horde, but Theo thought that old Nanjuma from Tatian could have easily taken both. He was tempted to see if he could flatten all of them with a single gravitational field, but their goal was observation instead of confrontation.

And that paid off rather quickly: the barbarian Fithans weren't being killed or pushed away, but subdued. One of the Crimson Rulers had some kind of stunning technique, and as soon as one of the wild fighters had their defenses battered down, they were immediately neutralized and tied up with the others.

"Troubling." Dhan rose to stand at the side of the chariot faster than Theo could react. "This is a violation of our agreement with the tribes, at the very least, and House Crimson has been lying about their activities."

"What would they be doing with captured Fithans?" Theo asked.

Instead of answering, Dhan slowly shook his head... and then abruptly snapped into action as crimson flames engulfed the chariot.

Theo defended himself in time, but it didn't matter because Dhan had shielded the entire chariot. That was good, because the flames burned with an Authority's cantae. When they faded, Theo expected to see the wild tribe leader, but instead spotted a man in House Crimson robes. Not someone he knew, just a muscular man with a shaved head.

"This is a House Crimson affair!" He thrust a hand in their direction, carrying a short staff that appeared to be made of solid ruby, clearly some sort of armament. "You have no r-"

"House Crimson has been lying about its affairs." Dhan stepped from the chariot into the air. Beneath them, soulcrafters on both sides were shouting in surprise, but the two Authorities looked only at one another. "Exactly what are you doing here?"

"You'll run back to the city if you know what's good for you."

"Or something will be bad for us?" Dhan asked, cantae beginning to flow through him.

The enemy Authority waved his ruby staff in their direction. "Or you have an accident and I report that all of you were regrettably lost in battle with the wild tribes."

"Yeah, you tell 'em, bro," Tythes said, leaning against the other Authority's shoulder.

Theo was irritated that he hadn't noticed Tythes approaching, but it was clear that no one else had either. Dhan's hands formed fists, the Blacksilver soulcrafters let out cries of surprise, and the other Crimson Authority gaped before he flailed angrily at Tythes.

"What are you doing here, you miserable cretin?" He hurled a cantae bolt at Tythes, who easily stepped out of the way.

"Roker, Roker, is that any way to react to a dear ally supporting you against the enemy? You know that I'm your most loyal supporter, a brother by the blood of battle, if not birth. I would climb the highest mountain for your respect, pluck the stars from th-"

"I don't need your help," Roker bellowed, "as if you have anything to offer but foolishness!"

"Well, I tried." Tythes shrugged and turned to face the Blacksilver group. "Hey, do you want some help? I'll be your most loyal ally."

Before any of them could respond, Roker lifted the staff and was briefly engulfed in a column of crimson flame. It released a shockwave of cantae that silenced the battlefield and made even the other Authorities brace themselves. When it faded, Roker lifted the ruby staff with a savage grin.

"You might make feeble jokes, but you know what this means, don't you?" Roker asked gleefully. "Your own father has chosen me. You're a pathetic has-been, and as soon as I control House Crimson, I'm throwing you out on the street."

"I thought you were going to fight Blacksilver," Tythes said. His voice was unusually flat, without any of his usual insouciance. The effect of his sentence was to draw their group back into it, and Theo prepared to use a field to pull all the other soulcrafters out of the way if the Authorities truly began to fight.

"It... it doesn't matter! I can take you both!" More crimson fire began to burn around the armament, as if Roker really intended to fight both. Dhan pulled his mask over his face, and Tythes flexed his fingers.

Would they actually go through with it? Theo thought he saw both reluctance and willingness in the Authorities. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the wild tribes were using the opportunity to retreat, which he thought was in no one's best interests. Before the tension could spill over into a fight, Theo lifted himself with a gravitational field and approached the Authorities, ready to evade at a moment's notice.

"War is approaching," Theo said, "and you all bicker among yourselves? Does this serve anyone?" He'd been ready for them to attack him for his presumption, but they actually seemed to be listening, so he continued. "This has passed beyond a conflict you can solve with a fight. If you need to compete, why not do it against the wild tribes we're all supposedly here to deal with?"

Theo met their eyes one by one, still ready for evasive maneuvers if necessary. He thought that none of them really wanted the fight except Roker, so an alternative might provide a path away from a conflict. But earlier Roker had implied he'd kill the entire Blacksilver group to silence them, and though suppressing the incident was impossible now, he might still attempt it.

Instead, Roker laughed and returned his staff to his back. "Hah! Make it a contest of bodies, then. I won't even use our House's armament, but I can still take out more of the barbarians than you can, Tythes. And you, Blacksilver, compete with us if you think you really can."

Without another word, Roker slammed down into the wasteland, blocking off the retreating tribal forces. Tythes glanced at Theo briefly, then shrugged and fell out of the sky. He tumbled wildly before colliding with one of the barbarians head first, immediately laying out the man.

That left only Dhan, his eyes hard behind his mask. When he looked at Theo he gave a brief nod of respect, but he didn't join the competition. After a brief gesture toward the Blacksilver soulcrafters, he floated to the perimeter of the battlefield.

His gesture apparently meant that they were free to do as they pleased, because the chariot began descending and some of the others leaped out to participate. Tythes and Roker were easily taking out barbarians, Roker shouting out his totals as he went, but their overwhelming power scattered the wild tribes in many directions, which meant there were fights for everyone.

Standing above the fray might seem more sophisticated, but since the crisis had passed, Theo wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. He lowered himself down to the edge of the battle, seeking out an Archcrafter for an experiment. One of them was an ordinary enough soulcrafter in rough leathers wielding a spear, so Theo put himself in the man's path.

"You think you can stop us?" The barbarian let out a yell and charged him, then promptly pancaked against the ground.

Theo frowned and weakened the gravitational field. He didn't feel any particular danger from the man's cantae, but he'd wanted to be cautious just in case there really was something to the wild tribes' reputation. If so, it had to be in their higher ranking soulcrafters. The barbarian roared in anger and pushed himself to his feet, which displayed a lot of raw power, but Theo could easily have applied ten times as much gravity or simply dropped him into the stratosphere.

Instead, he released the field. Immediately his opponent lunged forward, stabbing him in the chest with his spear... but the tip failed to penetrate his coat. Both Theo and the barbarian stared down at the point of impact, then Theo grinned. Instead of using any of his techniques, he simply kicked the barbarian in the chest and sent him sprawling.

Though Theo intended to fight with skill instead of brute force, he decided that this was a good time to test all the strengthening chambers he'd been soulcrafting. It would have been stupid against real opponents, but this fight was already over.

One of the wild tribe's Rulers leapt from the dust, slashing at Theo's arm. He instinctively moved as if he was still a swordsman, which meant that the blade slashed across his shoulder. There was just enough time to notice that it had cut through both coat and flesh before a fist struck his jaw and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Theo caught himself. He'd taken a blow to the arm and he could taste blood in his mouth, but those were distant, irrelevant facts. The Chasm stone reinforced all of him, not just his clothing, which meant that his body was now much more durable than an ordinary soulcrafter. The barbarian took an involuntarily step back and Theo realized that he was grinning.

He launched himself at his opponent the next moment, beginning a vicious brawl. The barbarian was strong and tough, and definitely better at grappling, but it didn't matter. Theo simply threw all of his enhancement chambers against his opponent's strength and battered away until the barbarian didn't get up anymore.

When it was over, Theo rose to his feet a bit unsteadily. Fighting a physical specialist like that had been mindless, but if he'd fought for real, there wouldn't have been a contest. Theo had no intention of melee combat against more dangerous opponents, but he was satisfied that his supportive soulcrafting had been effective. If an opponent did make it through his techniques, they wouldn't be able to take him out in a single blow.

Several Archcrafters from the wild tribes stood nearby, weapons in hand as if they intended to attack him together but couldn't work up the nerve. Theo noticed that the blood was vanishing from his clothes as they repaired themselves, so it must have looked like he was healing instantly. The cuts remained underneath, and they were actually starting to hurt now that the adrenaline wore off, but his opponents didn't know that.

Theo smiled at the group and they scrambled to flee in the other direction.

Instead of following them and getting involved in the aggressive competition between Tythes and Roker, Theo observed the entire battlefield. All of this felt too easy, particularly given the wild tribes' reputation. He half-expected one of their stronger soulcrafters to attack and tried to search the entire area just in case.

For a brief moment, he thought he felt a dark presence watching from the clouds. When Theo whipped around to look, he saw nothing.

That set him on edge and drained some of the pleasure from his fight, but no one attacked them in the end. The Crimson Authorities finished their contest, Roker crowing about having defeated more opponents and Tythes stealing his belt before running off. Dhan gathered the Blacksilver soulcrafters, instructing them about reporting the incident. Though the contest had dissipated the tension, there would still be consequences when everyone learned what House Crimson was doing.

Many of the barbarian soulcrafters had run off, but those that had been captured had simply disappeared. Theo wondered exactly what they would be used for and had a feeling that he'd find out soon enough. Most likely it was a simple answer like recruiting them, or using them as raw materials in forbidden arts, but any answer would have a political impact.

One of the injured barbarians was struggling to his feet, raving about how the wrath of the wastelands would gather and raze their city to the ground. Theo left him behind.

~ ~ ~

"How could it have spread so far, so fast?" Grekig stared at her soulhome in undisguised dismay. Even after two full doses of sublime lava, there was still a faint blue glow throughout her soul.

"I don't know." Nauda had spent so long trying to destroy the bondsfungi that she was afraid her spirit itself was infected, even though that should be impossible.

"I'm trying to be understanding, Nauda." Grekig knuckled his upper lip as he turned away. "No one suggested that bondsfungi are easy to expel, especially since they've been feeding on your cantae for so long. But at some point, you have to accept that this is under your control. Recovery will take your full focus."

Leaving her soulhome behind, Nauda just stared at him as he paced around the meditation room. There was something new in his tone that she didn't like, or perhaps it was just coming to the surface. She did her best to understand his frustration and wondered if she was the most difficult case he'd ever worked with. Grekig didn't talk about other recovered soulcrafters very often, but she got the impression that most took whatever they could get and were grateful.

"This is a drastic step, but we could get the Authorities involved again." He finally came to a stop, nodding to himself. "Now, it's easier to destroy than create, so it's not as if they can simply repair the damage. But if you lowered your defenses, it would be possible for one of them to scour everything in your soulhome. Even the bondsfungi couldn't survive that."

"Could my foundation survive it?" Nauda asked quietly.

"Nauda... you need to understand that your condition is severe and all ordinary treatments have failed. The results might limit you, but not so severely as letting this mess completely overrun your soul. You have to accept the life ahead of you, not the life you might have wanted."

"I don't want to be like y-" Nauda cut off before she could say the last word, but it was too late.

Grekig didn't yell at her or even look as frustrated as he did at times. If anything, he seemed a little hurt. The next moment she saw his face close off and knew that it would be permanent. He carefully wiped his hands off on a cloth and picked up the remaining sublime lava before walking to the door and holding it open for her.

"Clearly, you have higher priorities than truly recovering." Grekig gestured to the open door. "I have done all I can for you. There's no need to attend any further meetings."

After briefly considering an apology, Nauda decided that it was pointless. She remained composed as she walked out the door and until they walked in separate directions. But as soon as Nauda was alone on the busy street, she sagged, barely holding herself up by her staff.

She should have known that this was coming, given the successive failures. Perhaps she truly was at fault, her mind on some level wanting to be injured. There was no point thinking about it, not when thinking had failed her so spectacularly.

As she struggled forward, the lower hem of Nauda's dress caught on one of the spikes of her staff and part of it tore. She hadn't made such a clumsy mistake since her earliest training. But when she looked down, Nauda realized that her dress was ragged and dirty. It had been with her ever since Nlukoko, gradually wearing down so slowly that she hadn't noticed. Now there was nothing left but a miserable rag.

Nauda tried to grip her staff tighter, but there was no strength left in her hands.

Chapter 13

"Four columns, then, alternating between techniques and reinforcement chambers. Symmetry of function." Navim sat with his limbs in a rough pile and his gemstone sphere settled atop them, musing as their conversation wound down. "Though it is not as precisely symmetrical as a Mundhin fractal soulhome, I think the trade-off for flexibility is likely worth the cost."

"That was my calculation at the blueprint stage," Theo said. Ordinarily he might have sketched it out, but Navim could easily visualize everything he described. "Unfortunately, I had to throw out my original technique plan, so I'm still trying to decide on the last column."

"Hmm... you completed one column with an armament chamber, and you made previous reference to anchoring and tunneling techniques. It seems that your Ruler tier is dedicated primarily to support techniques."

"Yes, because the new chambers can also support the lower, more dangerous techniques. The problem is, each column has to follow a specific theme." Theo tapped out the floors for his own sake. "My torsion bolt is lethal enough and there's no point overloading it to compete with my singularity. The stonevortex on the second floor intensified its spin. So the third floor should be... something related to spinning, or orbiting. The problem is, I already have those capacities elsewhere."

"If your soulhome follows a spherical flow, each circle must pass through the other side. Is the opposite column relevant to this decision?"

"The opposite is my gravity and wormhole techniques, which honestly is only an adequate match. It's the mass and anti-mass combination on the opposite circle that I really wanted to synergize. The other columns work well enough on their own."

"Then you have a variety of potential techniques for the open chamber." Navim was silent for a long time, completely motionless, and Theo patiently waited until he finished thinking. "It seems to me that your soulhome, though powerful, takes only a few fundamental approaches to combat. You are largely lacking in non-lethal skills, for example."

"That's not fully true. I can use only a fraction of my full gravitational fields."

"Which is another application of pure force, potentially overwhelmed by cantae or even physical power. Set aside reversed fields for the moment, as they are another application of force that requires continuous attention. If you need to disable an opponent who you cannot or should not kill, what options are available to you?"

"Maybe you have a point." Theo sat back and rubbed his chin as he considered the argument. "In the future I might be able to pin them to the ground with mass or anchoring techniques... but like you said, those require me to keep feeding cantae into them. Are you practicing the questioning technique, or did you have a suggestion?"

"As it happens, I have been reflecting on the fragility of many species during the course of my work." Navim lifted one of the hovering plates they had worked on earlier to demonstrate. "You have never had trouble, due to your soulhome, but I've noticed that gravitational techniques seem to easily disrupt beings with your sort of flesh. Dizziness, vomiting, and many other symptoms."

"Because of how our auditory system works. There are tiny hairs that detect-" Theo cut off, his hand half-way to his ear. He'd been intending to tap it just in case Navim was unclear on human anatomy when the idea struck him and everything began to fall into place.

It could absolutely work. Disruption of the inner ear could be disorienting, from children on a merry-go-round to astronauts dealing with space sickness. Most soulcrafters reinforced their bodies from external disruption, which was why they didn't get sick when flying around, but they didn't reinforce the functioning of the vestibular system. Maybe a few Ichili did, but not most. If he used the twisting cantae from his previous two rooms, he could create rotating planes of gravity far worse than anything that had ever existed in reality. Strong soulcrafters armored from external assault might be laid low, since his technique wouldn't attempt to penetrate their spirit, just manipulate their body's functioning. And the principle could easily scale...

A low chuckle emerged from Navim's sphere. "You seem to be pleased with your idea."

"You've given me a great one. It wouldn't be effective against Arbaians, at least not without modification, but it has so many potential uses, I think it's worth it. Best of all, it can work with some of what I already have, though I'll need to consider the blueprint..."

At last, the chaosgem he had purchased could be put to use. Its cantae of "confusion" had been too fuzzy and unscientific a concept to merge with his soulhome, but it could easily function as disorientation. He'd need to figure out some details, and he had no idea what sort of carvings would support a disorientation skill, but the concept was solid.

Realizing that he was going too far down the rabbit hole, Theo pulled back to smile at his friend. "Thank you, Navim. I wish I had an idea equally worthy to offer you."

"Your continued assistance has already been a great help to me," Navim said, "and you've helped more than you know by connecting me to House Blacksilver."

"Oh? How so?"

"If I wanted to pursue combat alone, I could have acquired all the necessary materials and potentially ascended to Ruler. However, I seek to pursue both that discipline as well as the art of stoneshaping. These require such different skills and materials that it has slowed my progress and stretched my resources."

"And Blacksilver has helped? I thought you had plenty of commissions in the city."

"Enough for ordinary money, but for rare materials, connections are necessary." Navim finally shifted to his feet, the pile of rocks becoming his usual hulking shape. "Your House is seeking armament crafters to assist them in the upcoming Wargames, and though I may not be among the best in the city, we have come to a satisfactory arrangement."

"Then I'll be glad to have you helping us." Theo stretched his legs, but their conversations always took a long time to wind down. "I didn't realize that you had been drawn into that preparation too."

"If you have not observed, this city loves to obsess over grand events." Navim's sphere slid closer and the pressure of his mind increased. "But despite the central focus, other events continue to occur. I am very curious about the consequences of your conflict out in the wastelands."

"Oh, that. I'm honestly a bit disappointed. The other Houses are upset that Crimson was lying about its activity, and Wiltur is allegedly furious, but there's no one that can really punish such a powerful organization. They'll be under more scrutiny, and House Crimson is now required to lead more forces in joint exercises, but it's just another move in a long game."

"But such choices can have consequences. The House of Coin is no doubt pleased with the return on a minimal investment."

"Definitely, and Blacksilver got some credit as well. Actually, the only person who didn't is Nauda, and I'm not entirely certain why."

"You haven't asked her?"

Theo frowned and slowly got to his feet. "She's busy with her recovery, so we haven't talked much lately. Speaking of which, I should apologize in advance if we don't have as much time together in the future. I have nearly enough materials, so I really need to get working on finishing every chamber on my third floor."

"I will welcome our evenings together." Navim rose as well and escorted him to the door. "If my advice has been helpful this far, Theo, may I offer one more suggestion?"

"Of course."

"It is well known that the path of soulcrafters is filled with dead ends, and the same is true of all branches of research or philosophy. But, in my experience, the dead ends are not often where we predict. Sometimes a singular focus can obscure greater value at the periphery of our vision."

From anyone else, Theo wouldn't have accepted such a vague statement, but he listened to Navim seriously. His advice seemed pointed and, based on context, likely related to his upcoming focus on soulcrafting. Not what he would have expected, from a fellow work-obsessed soulcrafter. Still, he nodded his acceptance of the suggestion and turned it over in his mind as he left the Arbaian quarter.

He hadn't come to any particular conclusions by the time he returned to the Blacksilver complex, but to his surprise he found someone waiting for him. Kathina was chatting with one of the guards and broke off to greet him when he drew close.

"I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop by to notify you of something."

"More about the wild tribes conflicts?" Theo asked. He used his access to let her in, since a corner of the courtyard was more secure than the street.

"No, that's all developing as expected. No changes there for a few months, I think. But there was something you specifically asked me about." Kathina stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Our friend Raythe Darkblade? He won a tournament and was heard to be talking about having an Artifact of Elghiera."

Theo suppressed a chill and forced himself to think. "Anything more specific? Is there a sign that he's acquired anything new, such as a ring with an unusual gemstone?"

"If he'd purchased it by any means, legal or illegal, the House of Coin would know about it. Either he had another method of acquisition or he already had it. I just wanted to tell you, because I couldn't believe it when I've heard. I've gone from thinking this was an eccentric interest to wondering just what you're investigating."

"I wish I knew more myself. So he won the first tier tournament and was boasting about it. That tracks with-"

"Not the first tier tournament, the Archcrafter. He ascended at some point."

By any rational standard, the mention of the Artifact of Elghiera was more important, yet the news unsettled Theo. This Raythe had already ascended, and if he won the tournament it couldn't have been overly rushed. It all felt too similar to his original experience in the Nine Worlds, and he had to wonder if Raythe had been met by Vistgil and promised a new world...

"Do you want to investigate further?" Kathina asked. Theo immediately shook his head.

"Stay passive. If he volunteers more information, I want to know, and tell me if it seems like anyone is watching or following him. But if I'm right, he's going to start acting more erratically and it might be risky to get involved."

Kathina stared at him a long moment as if she didn't quite believe him before eventually shrugging. "Suit yourself. We were keeping an eye on him anyway, since he likes throwing money around, so it's not a problem."

It should have been a lead, and he had a difficult decision to make when it came to deciding how close to get. The potential for answers was so close, in the very same city, yet if Vistgil was really leading another person from Earth, Theo needed to stay far away. All of that deserved more thought, yet Theo found himself thinking more about the fact that Raythe was already an Archcrafter.

As he made his way deeper into the complex, Theo struggled with emotions he thought he had put behind him. Part of him had become used to everyone being impressed with his swift progress, just like it had been in his first life. Raythe was likely to ascend even faster, and the fact that it might be because he had an Artifact of Elghiera was no real comfort.

That didn't make his progress worthless. If Theo finished his chambers on his third floor, he could explode the artificial sun and significantly strengthen his singularity. There were other tasks to be done to polish his blueprint before he ascended to Authority, but if he pushed everything else aside and focused on them, it didn't need to take an excessive amount of time.

Passing the training courtyards, Theo was briefly distracted by the sound of someone crying. He almost put it out of mind before dimly recognizing the voice. Though he didn't have time to waste, Theo still turned back and glanced through the doors.

Nauda sat in the smallest courtyard, bedraggled and miserable. She had a few sublime materials around her, but judging from the fist imprint in the floor, she hadn't been successful. As soon as he got close she looked up at him, her tear-covered face haunting him for a moment before she rapidly wiped it.

"Are you okay, Nauda?" He started to step inside, but she hurled her technique, binding him in place and pushing him out.

"Go away. I don't need anything from you."

If she spat in his face when he offered help, then he should just leave her alone. Theo pushed past her weakened technique and turned to leave when Navim's words returned to him. What in his life really had value? So much of his first visit to the Nine Worlds had been false, but not his relationships. Walking forward alone and discarding everyone who was useless to him... that could prove to be a dead end, when all was said and done.

"Nauda... I'll leave, but I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk, I'm here."

In response she hurled her staff at him, the sharpened points burying themselves in the door. Theo closed it and turned away.

Chapter 14

When Nauda heard footsteps outside her door, she knew who it would be. Certainly not Theo, after she had thrown his offer back in his face. It wouldn't be Antha or any of her other acquaintances in Blacksilver, because their relationships only went so far. A Tatian community would not have been comforting to her in that moment, but without a community she had no one.

"Nauda?" Fiyu waited for a moment, then timidly knocked again. "You have been inside for a long time. Are you well? Would you like me to come in?"

"Sorry, Fiyu." Nauda forced herself up, her joints aching as they moved for the first time in hours, and nearly fell against the other side of the door. "I just need some time alone. Don't worry about me."

Fiyu was quiet for so long that Nauda wondered if she had left silently, but eventually Fiyu whispered "Okay, Nauda" and padded down the corridor. Leaving her alone again.

In her absence, Nauda slumped against the door, feeling the grain against her forehead. Fiyu only wanted to help, but Fiyu was perfect and beautiful and filled with potential. If Nauda tried to heap all her problems onto her, she would only infect Fiyu with her misery.

Her leg twinged in pain and Nauda had to brace herself to avoid falling. She dropped her back against the door instead and slowly slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. How long had it been since she'd left her room? It wasn't very messy because she hadn't really been living in the room, just existing. For the first time since the damage to her soul, she had actually stopped soulcrafting.

Misery alone couldn't sustain her, so Nauda gradually turned to anger. Theo in his cursed self-repairing coat, trying to sweep in to save her. As if he wouldn't sacrifice her in the end, if she actually stood between him and his goals.

Nauda heaved the breath from her lungs and slumped lower. Maybe if she remained alone in her room she could convince herself that her bitterest thoughts were true, but she knew she was being unfair. He'd risked his life for her more than once and offered her a great deal on his path upwards. He could just be so arrogant about it.

She knew, whether or not she liked to admit it, that she was angry more with herself than with Theo. Over the past few days she'd gone back over every decision she could have made differently, from building a shielding wall to fighting more cautiously in the Chasm. The fact was, she'd made those decisions in the past and she couldn't see how any decisions in the future could matter. After everything she had survived, she deserved better than this.

The thought stuck with her, not as comfortable as her pain, and Nauda shoved it away.

But try as she might, she was alone in her room with nothing to occupy her thoughts. Maybe she wasn't facing her full emotions. Anguish was miserable, but the raw emotion was cathartic. The idea that her suffering could have a pettier source was unpleasant by contrast, a sickening doubt slowly worming its way through the pure emotion.

One of her problems with Theo was his ruthlessness, so reminiscent of some of the worst Authorities she knew. Nauda wasn't deceiving herself there. But was another piece of it pride? She hated the idea and forced herself to confront it.

No one had ever believed in her, but she had proved them wrong. She had been the exception escaping her home and gaining an important role on Tatian. Even after meeting the others, she had been forging the path ahead of them. But Theo had been on her heels, believing that he was the exception, and she had seen some of herself in him. So in her mind she had to reflect the worst of those tendencies and she couldn't accept any trace of anything else.

Nauda took a deep, shuddering breath. For the first time since she'd locked herself in her room, she thought about the problem without repeating the same old patterns.

It was true that she couldn't see a way forward, but it was sheer arrogance to think that she could solve everything herself. In fact, she had a friend who had also experienced serious setbacks, and he had offered to help.

If he threw it back in her face, she was going to punch him, but Nauda stood up to find Theo.

Her new resolution might have wavered if he had been away, but fortunately he was spending most of his time soulcrafting these days. Nauda only needed to ask Antha about the soulcrafting courtyards, then tracked him down. Theo was testing a singularity between his hands but extinguished it when she entered, without saying anything.

"I need help." Once she got those words out, Nauda forced herself on. "I know we've had our problems with each other. But you're a good soulcrafter, and I need your perspective to get out of this. Will you help me?"

"Of course." Theo was on his feet almost immediately to close the distance between them, and she couldn't find anything but concern in his eyes. "I doubt I know better than the Blacksilver representative when it comes to specific sublime materials, but I'll do what I can."

"No, I don't mean the infection. I want to redesign from the ground up."

He paused, slightly surprised, and then smiled. "In that case, I think we need something to drink. No, I insist, these things take time. You get drafting paper, I'll get some drinks, and we'll meet back here."

Nauda reluctantly obeyed, though she had to admit that it was easier to lean on Theo's directions for a while than to sit miserably with herself. By the time she found paper and other supplies and returned, Theo was waiting to direct her to one of the meeting rooms instead. That was probably easier than doing all their work on the courtyard floor.

When they arrived at the room, she saw that he'd gotten not just drinks, but an entire platter of food. For a moment Nauda was afraid that he was going to try to slowly rehabilitate her and make her talk about her feelings and come to terms with herself. Then he sat down, she saw the spark in his eyes, and Nauda realized that fear had been foolish.

"You're going to enjoy this, aren't you?" She poured herself a glass of water, since her throat was suddenly parched.

"Absolutely I am. There are so many concepts for soulcrafting that I'll never be able to explore for myself because of the choices I've made." Theo rapped his pencil against the papers eagerly. "This should be fun."

The water tasted like a fresh spring rain. Nauda drained her entire cup, poured another, and drank that too before she spoke again. "Be honest with me, Theo. Do you think that I can really recover from this and become a competitive soulcrafter?"

"Without question. You're going to have some weaknesses until you reach Authority, but the problems aren't insurmountable."

"Does surmounting them involve following your instructions to the letter and becoming a living armament for you to wield?"

Theo sighed, and she almost thought he was going to snap at her, but instead he sat back and spoke in a quieter voice. "Is that really how I seem?"

"Sometimes. But that's not fair to you." Nauda rubbed her face with both hands, wondering why she was snapping so much. And why the bread on the platter looked so good. She held off for a little longer and forced herself to face the matter head on. Before she could figure out anything, Theo spoke again.

"You said you wanted to go back to basics. What, at the very core, do you want your blueprint to accomplish?"

"I suppose I never really got a chance to think about that. I was always grasping for whatever power I could find. But I guess... I spent years training with a staff, and my binding technique. Throwing out energy like you or Fiyu has never felt as natural to me. I suppose that makes me a physical fighter... does that mean my soulhome is fundamentally simplistic?"

"Many reinforcement blueprints are, but yours doesn't have to be." Theo smiled again and began sketching rough blueprints on one of the cheapest papers. "The least inspired physical fighter is one who has just stuck tons of aspect chambers side by side. The better ones organize them for efficient cantae flow. But ideally, your design should fundamentally echo your goals in some way."

"Like your orbiting?"

"That's right. Real gravity has satellites in orbit around it, and my central power has my chambers and cantae orbiting as well. Of course, the parallel will always break down at some point, but having a strong thematic concept can strengthen the overall design. For example, I knew a Tatian fighter who built his soulhome like a giant heart, with passages carrying cantae around to each chamber."

"Actually shaped like a heart?"

"Only roughly, but he put a lot of effort into the internal patterns."

Nauda considered the matter as she chewed on one of the pieces of the bread, briefly so hungry that it was hard to focus on anything but the food. As she was picking up the last of the crumbs, an idea started coming together in her mind. Maybe... "If my soulhome is fundamentally about reinforcing me, why shouldn't it be me? Could I make a giant statue?"

Theo's eyebrows shot up. "That's an interesting idea. I don't think I've seen it done before. Okay, I see one immediate problem: human bodies are wide, whereas soul foundations are circular. The only way to make good use of your accessible foundation would be to make your statue very, uh, round."

"That feels wrong. It needs to reflect me closer than that." Nauda popped one of the smaller vegetables into her mouth and enjoyed the flavor as she bit into it. "But it doesn't have to be just me. What if we centered the statue of me, but supported it in front and behind with unrelated towers?"

"No." Theo answered surprisingly sharply, but he looked excited instead of didactic. "Where's your staff? Never mind, doesn't matter. We can incorporate that into the design: it doesn't need to be all armament chambers, but we can balance the design with the staff. Three towers at the base, all merging later. It will work if we do it like this."

He rapidly sketched out a top down look at her foundation and Nauda found herself nodding. At the base level her feet would need to be a bit cylindrical, but not more so than statues carved in older and simpler styles. Her staff would be immensely thick, even wider than her old outside building, but the end result was three circular buildings all clustered around the center of her soul.

In a flash she could picture it: her soulhome rising as a representation of her, not in every curve and detail but a powerful form underlying her strength. Her legs could merge together mid-way up, giving her even more floor space, while her staff would be a straight tower. She could have one arm - or both? - reaching out to grasp the staff tower, thus uniting every component of her soulhome.

"Is this idea crazy?" Nauda asked. She wanted to pick up a pencil herself to keep designing and reined in her enthusiasm. "Do you think it could actually be a design equal to yours or Fiyu's?"

"There are a lot of details to work out, but it's intriguing." He tapped his sketch of the base again. "One of the easiest things to do wrong is lack floor space which, no offense intended, your old blueprint did. But this design uses up most of your soulhome, and the gap in between the three towers isn't as much of a problem as you might think. I can actually think of ways to put it to use."

"Surely there are good reasons why people haven't done this before."

"I can think of one right away: it requires an enormous amount of planning that most people can't do. Imagine the average soulcrafter, who dreams of ascending to Archcrafter or at most Ruler. They aren't thinking of their soulhome in three dimensions, just one floor at a time. What if they never reach Ruler and they're left headless? What if they build their head at Authority, what are they going to soulcraft after that?"

"A lot of good blueprints don't attain their full strength until later..." Nauda smiled sheepishly as she realized where her thoughts were headed. "You said yours was weaker until you can craft a full sphere at Ruler. Fiyu has implied that her design was weak before her second floor, and hasn't reached its potential until Authority. Am I designing something that would be weaker until I reach the very top?"

Theo grinned back at her. "Delayed gratification isn't worth anything on its own, but I think your design is unquestionably built for the long term. Exactly how it develops will depend on a lot of smaller decisions we need to make, but I think this could work."

As quickly as it had come, Nauda's enthusiasm drained away. "In order to design any of this, we'd need to know the proportions of the statue, and to do that, we need to know the true highest tier for soulcrafters. I suppose that's rather a big problem, since it's a mystery for th-"

"I think it's nine."

He answered so easily that Nauda almost got annoyed at him for acting like he knew everything, but Theo had sat back and was staring out the window with a distant expression. She decided to hear him out and waited until he collected his thoughts.

"Senka said that soulcrafting was fractal, so I think it must follow a pattern. Three sets of three, therefore nine."

"But 'fractal' implies repeating," Nauda pointed out. "Does the pattern extend further than that?"

"That would mean there were twenty-seven tiers of soulcrafter, and I don't think there's any way to square that with reality unless there's a magical higher dimension that has never been mentioned before." Theo shook his head and began making horizontal lines on the paper. "Remember that she was trying to speak quickly before she lost consciousness. Most likely she meant that the system contains repeating patterns, and if that's true, nine tiers is most likely."

"Then give me that pencil and let me try this."

Though he'd brought several, Theo still handed her his pencil and let her work. The two of them discussed the design chaotically, sometimes figuring out the specific details and sometimes realizing that they weren't exactly sure how many heads tall a person was. The proportions wouldn't come out smoothly divided into nine pieces unless she distorted herself, which was another major decision.

Eventually Nauda had a rough idea of how her soulhome might look when complete. The first three floors would be separate towers representing her legs, which would unite in her hips at the fourth floor. Depending on how she built her arms, she could also make a connection to her staff at that time, which would mean her full soulhome would be united at Authority. Even though the design would be unorthodox, Nauda found herself pleased with the idea, and Theo thought it would be workable.

"The overall structure might be solid," Nauda said as she stared over the finished design, "but what's inside? Can that represent every part of my body too? No... no, I guess that doesn't make sense. It would be ridiculous for the first floor to be entirely dedicated to giving me extraordinarily powerful feet."

"You could be known as Nauda, the Mightiest Calves in the Nine Worlds." When she smiled, Theo grinned back before continuing in a lower tone. "In theory, a soulhome that was an exact duplicate could be very powerful, but I think it would sacrifice too much for the sake of the design. Besides, it would take you far too long to get to important organs like your heart and brain."

Nauda glanced back at her sketch, realizing that her statue was going to be headless for a very long time, even if she did reach mythical tiers one day. In that case... "So will it just be a me-shaped building filled with everything else? Is that actually a good design other than the overall structure?"

"I think we can do better than that. Three columns suggests to me that you should have three fundamental concepts each flowing separately. Not one sphere like mine, or three intertwined themes like Fiyu, but solid columns of concentrated power."

"That makes sense, I guess, but what?"

"Depends on your sublime materials. Many of your best survived, right? You're going to want to make use of those, because they're the only part of your soulhome that's been reinforced by your ascensions. Let me into your soulhome and we can take inventory."

"I... can't. The telescope was damaged, so I've lost that technique." Nauda paused uncomfortably, expecting Theo to be disappointed or show a hint of scorn. To her surprise, he waved it aside without the slightest hesitation.

"Doesn't matter, blueprints are mostly theoretical anyway. What do you have?"

Feeling better about her decision, Nauda began writing down everything that had survived. She didn't hide anything the way she had back on Tatian, instead revealing every skull and unique material. Listing them all out, she felt simultaneously as if they weren't enough for the work of her life and that she had more left than she thought.

"The heartoak that Blacksilver gave you is a powerful material," Theo said. "I almost considered buying one, if I wasn't so sure it would have died in my soul. Too much life and healing."

"Looking at the list like this, it does seem like I have a bit of a split." Nauda began making marks beside the items in her list. "I should probably separate all these remnants of death from the living materials. Then, what, is the staff for inorganic materials like stones?"

"And your external techniques, I was imagining. That could be a good balance."

"I suppose we need to get this started pretty quickly. My heartoak is getting pretty big - I think it would fit in the circumference of one leg, but it might already be too tall."

"Actually, maybe not." Theo shuffled the papers to return to one of their previous drawings, then rubbed out the line between the first and second floors. "Most sublime trees are contained within a single room because soulcrafters build only one floor at a time, but you don't have that limitation. I think heartoaks can grow to be pretty tall, so it could fill two entire floors."

"Would that make my soulhome too simplistic?" Nauda asked. Despite her objection, she found herself thinking about how wonderful it would be to walk inside and see a tree extending above her.

"Not necessarily, because the tree won't take up the entire column. I assume you're pretty good with the Tatian shaping and grafting techniques, or if not you can learn. You can embed other objects in the tree, place them in the boughs, and so on. It might be a bit heavy on the raw power aspect, but you have your staff tower to provide techniques."

"But... the remnants." Nauda thought about the slag of her old home, which usually filled her with despair, and was surprised to feel a little hope. "Can anything be done with them?"

"You said that you've chipped away most of it, haven't you?" For once, she was glad to see Theo's confident grin. "I was thinking that you could shape the remaining part into the base of one of your legs and then flatten it. Since it's fused to your soul, you're not going to find a more durable foundation. That's just one base of three, but we-"

"Could get the Blacksilver Authorities to fuse the other two!" Nauda grinned as she cut him off, staring at the base drawing again. "I suppose my other leg needs to have a hollow center so that the heartoak can reach the soil, but that shouldn't be too hard. Then the staff is a perfect circle... it can work. Is there any chance I can use the rest of the melted stone for something else? Other than having an Authority blast it, I mean."

"Most likely, yes. I'm guessing that you've found it difficult to work with?"

"I can barely break off little fragments of the stuff, much less turn it into anything useful. I've been thinking of throwing it out, but that felt wasteful."

"You'll need to train in a new technique, but I'm sure it's possible." Theo sat back and began spinning the pencil through his fingers. "I'd suggest talking to Navim and seeing if he can't teach you the internal side of stoneshaping. But even if that doesn't work, I think you want to build your new walls from the remnants of the old ones. They don't have much cantae, but being struck by an Authority has rendered them extremely durable."

For the first time, as the enthusiasm of soulcrafting faded, Nauda was left with some real optimism. Theo would never have lied to try to make her feel better, and he wouldn't tell her to settle for mediocrity like Grekig. The work might be hard, but he'd push her every step of the way.

"Okay, so living materials on the right, dead materials to the left..." Nauda bit her lip as she began planning out individual rooms. "I can see the potential cantae flow for aspects of my body, but the technique tower is going to be a problem. Some of those materials were entirely destroyed."

"On that note, I have a gift for you." Theo's hand slipped out of his coat, but he pulled a stone from his soulhome. It emanated cantae that seemed to freeze the air around it. "This is a staticstone, and it didn't work for my blueprint at all. But I was thinking that it might make a good technique chamber for your staff."

"How much did it cost?"

"I said it was a gift."

Nauda clasped the stone and his hands, smiling but applying a little force. "I'm not impoverished, Theo. Thanks to my problems, I haven't touched much of what I earned in the Chasm. I'll have them transfer the appropriate amount to you and we can all keep soulcrafting together."

Part of her wondered if he really hadn't been thinking about repayment. Theo was no fool, and she doubted that he could have forgotten about her stores of value. In fact, he might have been testing her, checking if she would take his sublime materials for nothing. She didn't detect any of that on his face, but his mind was dark and subtle.

No. Pushing all such thoughts out of mind, Nauda touched his arm gently as she accepted the staticstone. He had offered her friendship and she wouldn't be the one to ruin it. They both rose to their feet, a bit tired after so long working. Somehow all the food had disappeared from the platter and she barely remembered eating it.

"Thank you, Theo." She smiled as she turned the stone over in her fingers, feeling it push against her every movement. Yet just beyond it, she could see the papers and the enormous list of tasks she needed to do... "I need you to be honest with me again. You said that I could eventually become strong, but we don't live in a perfect world with infinite time. Do you think I can rebuild fast enough to help in the Wargames?"

"That's harder to answer." Theo frowned as his eyes ran over their designs. "I think you'll make a lot of progress quickly, but you can't rebuild so much that fast, and you're a long way from Authority. You should be able to fight effectively along with Fiyu and me, but Blacksilver probably wouldn't let you enter."

"I appreciate your honesty."

"Remember that you aren't starting over from nothing, Nauda." He clasped her upper arm in the Tatian manner and offered a smile. "You have three floors of potential space and many rare sublime materials. Most of all, you have yourself. All the discipline and tenacity you've developed are something that can't be replaced by any blueprint."

It was almost too much, yet instead of mocking him, Nauda found herself turning away with tears in the corners of her eyes. The touch on her arm was the standard Tatian gesture, but she very nearly embraced him in that moment. She was pleased and yet pulled away.

"And you have the greatest asset of all: me!" Theo put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Truly, my awe-inspiring genius is unparalleled."

Nauda laughed despite herself. Her throat ached and it felt good. Whatever he was doing, it was the exact opposite of the false humility she knew so well. "Nonsense!" Nauda said through the laughter. "I will be victorious because my heart beats with the blood of destiny!"

He laughed too, and she actually did embrace him then. It could have been uncomfortable, but he understand exactly what she meant and squeezed back. She didn't realize how desperate she had been for normal touch until then, but still pulled back before long.

"Then there's no time to waste." Nauda began picking up all the papers they'd created. "I want to talk to you about carving as a soulcrafting technique. Your style seems to be carving everything, so I was wondering..."

Chapter 15

Theo staggered back as Nauda's fist collided with his jaw, stumbling several steps before he could right himself. He knew her staff was coming next, ready to bind him in place, and felt her cantae splash against his coat. In her current condition, his coat repelled it entirely, leaving him free to-

Her staff kept coming, the tines stabbing him in the chest. His coat held against that as well, though with Nauda's strength behind it the blow still hurt. Another step back and she was rushing at him, snarling, her staff whipping around for another blow...

A narrow but powerful gravitational field sent her staff plummeting to the side. Theo immediately stepped forward, filling one leg with cantae and kicking the shaft. He reversed the gravity at the same moment he struck and the staff went skittering across the tiles, far out of her reach.

Nauda leapt to recover her weapon and he chased after her, noticing too late that she had left a line of wards with her feet. Unfortunately for Nauda, her skill remained too weak and he charged directly through it, the wards splintering off his coat. He rammed into her back with his shoulder, not an elegant move but charged with cantae.

She was much better than him at hand to hand combat and managed to twist, blunting the blow and sending him to the ground. This time he couldn't catch himself and he flopped over onto his back. In that time, Nauda grabbed her staff and rushed to finish him off.

It might have worked, but Theo wasn't even winded from their melee. Physical combat might not have been his strength, but the completed bathing chamber in his soulhome let him keep fighting without tiring. His mind was still crystal clear and he used his focus to reach up and cast his newest skill before she could strike.

"That won't..." Nauda choked, staggered to one side, and then collapsed to her knees, vomiting onto the tiles. She wiped her mouth and spent a while just catching her breath from the fight.

Theo sat up and watched her as she recovered. This match had been as fun as the previous, and all the design work had reminded him just how much he enjoyed Nauda's company. He reflected that she was physically attractive in such a distant way that he briefly wondered if there was something wrong with his new body. But no, he wasn't a horny teenager anymore, he should be able to have healthy platonic relationships.

Nauda finally looked in his direction, still grimacing from the taste. "I thought for sure I'd be able to resist the technique that time."

"It's getting stronger." Theo hopped back to his feet, checking his soulhome for any irregularities. The chaosgem worked for his new disorientation skill, but it didn't quite gel with the rest of his blueprint. It was taking a lot of tweaks and modifications to slowly integrate it fully into this gravity design, but in the end he was sure it could do much worse than that.

"Your durability chamber is too effective." Back on her feet, Nauda wrung out the hand that had punched him. "I wish we could go back to the Chasm and get another one of those stones, because I'd be happy to have one or two."

"I doubt we'd have much luck there, but when we finally get access to weirkeys, we'll be able to locate more resources I know."

"I am honored by your charity, oh great master."

Nauda still looked a little woozy, but had otherwise recovered from the fight. She jerked her head to the side, indicating that they should head out. Sometimes they soulcrafted directly in the training courtyard, but since Nauda had vomited there, moving made sense. On the way out, Nauda apologized to one of the cleaning staff by name, which Theo thought was a little odd but at least meant she was feeling better.

As they walked back to their rooms, Theo remembered his other news item and reached into his coat for one of the few objects he didn't carry in his soulhome. "By the way, the specialists finally returned your gloves. The reason the Blacksilver specialists couldn't figure them out is that they're 'clear' armaments, meaning they aren't aligned with any technique."

"What's the point in that, then?" Nauda asked. She did take the gloves from him, running her hands over the fine fabric.

"Apparently they can be attuned to another skill, not as powerfully as a unique armament but requiring less space in your soulhome. The specific techniques are a bit obscure, but you can probably figure those out yourself."

"I will if I remember them." Nauda tucked the gloves into her belt and sighed. "I keep forgetting these exist. I was hoping that an ancient armament from the Chasm of Lamentations would contain some overwhelming skill, but apparently not."

"Don't discount the benefit of any force multiplier, especially ones that don't require a large portion of your soulhome. Fiyu's bracers, for example. I wish that I had something like that myself, and you know how I generally feel about armaments."

Their conversation was briefly interrupted when they reached his room. While Theo locked the door, Nauda marched in and pulled out the wine he stored there, gargling some before taking another drink. Given that the taste in her mouth had been his fault, Theo let it pass, mostly just glad that she seemed so much more comfortable.

"Do we have specific soulcrafting to do today?" he asked. Nauda shrugged, but he saw a twinkle in her eye.

"I wanted to go over some of my blueprint again."

"Sure, we can. I'll just get-" He was partway to the papers when she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Actually, Navim helped me repair the telescope. It's still bent and scratched, so not much good for investigating others, but it's adequate for cooperative work. Or I hope it is... I figured I'd try in private in case I fail horribly."

Despite her words, she seemed to have no trouble at all inviting him into her soulhome. After so long discussing the designs in the abstract or catching glimpses when she lowered her defenses, Theo was eager to get a good look at everything she had done over the past month.

The heart of her soulhome was now filled by three foundations of white stone, fused with her soul by overwhelming cantae. Two of them were surrounded by simple walls built from the temporary bricks she had previously made. They leaked cantae horribly, but he'd advised her that there was no point wasting more time on a stopgap measure. Eventually they would be replaced by well-built walls of the same melted stone as her foundation.

Her third pillar was basically just sublime cloth draped over the heart tree. Theo floated near and stuck his head through, observing that the heartoak had not been disturbed by being transplanted. The roots had thickened and the leaves were thicker while staying within the bounds she had set. It was already about two floors high and would be an excellent source of cantae once enclosed.

A few of the rebuilding techniques had required the assistance of Blacksilver Authorities, and it had been Theo's influence that convinced them. He thought that there had been a little unspoken tension there, as Nauda felt that they didn't respect her enough on her own, but as a whole she seemed quite happy with the developments.

The most significant change for him, aside from their relationship, was his prioritization of the Ruling City Wargames. Nauda would need an influx of brand new materials of high quality once she got past her initial rebuilding stage. Unless he could find an old cache, or they suddenly gained access to another world, the Wargames were her best shot. He and Fiyu could earn Fithan materials for Nauda, and in the process he might be able to take a step closer to the House of the Lost.

"How's stoneshaping with Navim going?" Theo asked as he floated out of the tent. Nauda sighed and gestured at the pile of broken rocks.

"You can see the bad news for yourself, can't you? The best I can do is make sad blobby bricks like those."

"You can't expect to learn a discipline as complex as stoneshaping in just a month, even if you're only learning the soulcrafting side of it." Theo examined the bricks, which looked like blobs that vaguely aspired to being rectangular. He'd never trained in the skill himself, so he wasn't sure about her progress, but it was true that bricks like those would never serve for her walls.

"Well, aside from taking a look," Nauda said, "I wanted you to help with a few details of my death room."

They walked to the building that would eventually become Nauda's left leg. She had taken to calling it her "death room" and he had to admit that it was appropriate. The floor was covered with skulls, rainhorn antlers, eryo claws, and other remnants of dead beasts. Her centerpiece was definitely the black skull she'd brought with her from Tatian, which he'd helped design an altar for.

She had a few questions to ask him about composition, since there was a difference between rooms with several merged purposes and isolated concepts. Theo accepted in theory that merged rooms could be potent, but he much preferred isolated ones. Now, instead of mixing many different concepts, Nauda had a room that was truly lethal.

In his ghostly form Theo couldn't do anything more than offer guidance, so he was ready to depart and begin his own soulcrafting. Just as he started to shift away, however, Nauda waved for him to stop. She didn't say anything, just beckoned him to follow and led him to the stakes along the edges of her soulhome.

"I've isolated most of the bondsfungi here," she said, "but I think it's gotten inside. Thankfully, it's struggled to grow on any of the melted stone since we had Karchibol blast it. I haven't wanted to bother you with this, but... I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the infection."

"What do you need to do about it?"

Nauda stared at him blankly. "What do you mean?"

"I tried to do a little more research on the material. It's not like I found any secret solutions that Grekig missed, but as I was reading about it, I had another question." Theo gestured to the glowing blue mushrooms surrounding her soulhome. "What harm is it actually doing?"

"I can't decide if that's a stupid question or a great one." Nauda blinked a few times and bent down to examine them. "Most obviously, they turn flesh into stone. There were entire fields of dead bodies that had been petrified."

"You aren't a dead body."

"Yes, but whenever they infect villagers, their health deteriorates as their organs harden. And with other soulcrafters, the bondsfungi choke out everything else unless they can purge them. It can't be good to just let them keep growing inside me."

"I'm not so sure. You've survived with them for several months with no ill effects."

"Grekig said that because I'm a Ruler, I can probably resist them longer. Plus I've been fighting them back."

"That's one interpretation, but he also said that a Ruler hasn't been infected like this before." Since he was just a spirit, Theo floated directly into the mushrooms, examining their cantae. "They might act like an invasive species in most contexts, but they're still a sublime material in your soulhome. You're a Ruler, not a peasant. What if instead of fighting them, you embrace them?"

Nauda's eyes widened. "And you don't think that could go horribly wrong?"

"I think that you've already tried the best methods of eradicating them to no success. Don't spread them everywhere, especially not on the heartoak, but see if you can't bend them to your will. They're not intelligent, after all, just instinctual. If you can work with them like any other material, you might find a benefit to them that no one else has."

"I... will consider that." She glanced up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Theo. I imagine you have work to be doing?"

He did indeed. Theo passed out of her soul, accepted the Esoteric Chisel from her in the real world, and then passed into his own soulhome.

The ferocity with which Nauda worked on her new design had inspired him, so Theo had been dedicating even more of his time to soulcrafting. He'd completely finished the bathing chamber on the first floor and tweaked many of the other rooms. Eventually he might find more supportive materials, but all the essentials of the first floor were completely ready for ascension.

Several large boulders of densecrest sat at the edge of his soulhome, reminding him of the one area he'd been slacking in. He had finally purchased another piece of densecrest, which meant he had enough raw material to finish every single room on his third floor. Now that he had the Esoteric Chisel back, he could make more bricks. So far he hadn't set aside the time for it, which would need to change soon... but not today.

Instead Theo walked to the experimental garden beside his vestibule. He'd been successful at just about everything but the grizzleroot. It still resonated strongly with his soulhome, but it refused to grow. No matter how he coaxed it, the roots wouldn't expand to anything like their full potential. There were a few types of sublime water and sublime fertilizer he hadn't tried, but those were expensive and his funds were low until his regular income from the petalfilters came in.

His other problem was the voidflint, which still cut up his hands instead of knapping properly. He knew there was real potential there, maybe even a chamber centerpiece, but he hadn't cracked the problem yet. Theo made another few attempts, even using the Esoteric Chisel, before going back to the drawing board.

But he definitely wasn't going to give up. Not when he was having so much fun.

Chapter 16

Watching her two companions filled Fiyu with a surprisingly mixed array of emotions. She never feared that they would abandon her, not for a moment, but she did worry that they would leave her behind with all their intensive soulcrafting. Even if Friend Theo took time to prepare for Authority and Friend Nauda required time to recover, she would still remain at Archcrafter, doing what she could to prepare.

Such worries were largely overwhelmed by happiness. After Friend Nauda had been so miserable, closing in on herself, Friend Theo had been able to crack her shell and make her enjoy life again. Fiyu dearly wished that she had the same skill and that she could have put those smiles on Friend Nauda's face.

Fiyu had been pleased to offer Friend Nauda suggestions about the polishing of her staff tower, and the two of them sometimes soulcrafted side by side. But it was dwarfed by the time that her two companions spent working together. They did invite her on many occasions, and they never directly excluded her, but it was a simple fact that they had developed the blueprint together and so needed to invest time in perfecting it. She was truly and unquestionably pleased to see them so happy together, as companions should be.

Yet, where once her thoughts would have stopped there, Fiyu found herself wondering what it would be like if Friend Nauda and Friend Theo became lifemates. She did not think it was likely, based on Friend Theo's stated position and Friend Nauda's tendencies. Yet the thought remained in her mind, and Fiyu was uncertain what she felt about it.

Such thoughts were a distraction from her work. She returned to her meditation and made that part of herself go dormant again.

While her companions focused on their soulcrafting, Fiyu attempted to keep abreast of the activity in Norro Yorthin. There was more Wargames fervor, as always. The drama with House Crimson had been largely forgotten, aside from a scheduled military action. The Order of the Deepest Blue had been expelled to the outer city for causing trouble and earning themselves no allies. Other Ichili continued to spread word of suspicious entities stalking the Greater Dark, reinforcing her desire to remain secure.

And yet, Fiyu found that she had been in her room long enough. When she heard that Friend Nauda was going to join Friend Theo on the next mission into the wastelands, she resolved that she would travel with them.

~ ~ ~

The most reasonable plans had been made impossible, leaving only the increasingly perilous.

Guchiro floated above the gate that would allegedly lead him to the city where his ward was being held and considered an assault one last time. Despite the cloudspiders crawling over their webs in the sky around him, the gate was not heavily guarded, at least by his standards.

Ward Fiyu's message had left him with clear directions to her location, yet he remained blocked by a simple gate between worlds. The guards were only Rulers, offering little resistance, but his research on this city called Norro Yorthin suggested that it contained considerable military force.

A frontal assault would not lead him to his ward. Guchiro accepted this, yet stared at the gate for a while longer, hoping he could see another path. The soulcrafters who kept it were Ichili of respectable caution, securing against nearly all stealth techniques. Their defenses had actually increased since his first attempt, allegedly due to the Fithan war on the other side. He suspected that the unstated reason was that his investigations had incited further security.

That was perfectly dutiful of them, given that they should not simply accept claims of relativehood. A kidnapper could easily slip away into the Greater Dark and take a child for their own, which was indeed a valid concern.

None of that made the blockade any less frustrating. They had even refused his attempts to send a message through, as they wanted the gate entirely shut due to the Fithan war. Guchiro wasn't sure why they took it so seriously, given that Fithans were always at war. Allegedly this one included overwhelming soulcrafters, but he could never be certain of the frame of reference for such statements.

A cloudspider above him began to glide lower, weaving an acidic web from its spinnerets. Guchiro ignored it, giving the sublime beast a chance to live. Instead he let the words of his ward's message run through his mind, by now a familiar stream.

"Relative Guchiro. I am well. I have been taken to the city of Norro Yorthin, on Fithe. It may be found by traveling to the gate near the source of this message. I am held by an organization called House Blacksilver, and controlled by outsider traveling companions. I will not be able to speak honestly in person."

The sentence construction was unmistakably his ward's, yet the incongruities of the message continued to trouble him. It was remotely possible that she had herself changed in his absence, leading to the discontinuity, yet he doubted that she would change so quickly. By far the most likely possibilities were that she had left the message under unusual conditions or that her state of mind had been altered. Damage did occur in biolumin relays, but aside from that, the only possibility...

Dismissing such fanciful ideas, Guchiro traced a finger over his weirkeys and considered alternate routes. Without a weirkey for Fithe, finding another gate and traveling to Norro Yorthin would take considerably more time than passing through, but it might be his only option.

He was reasonably certain that his ward was truly in Norro Yorthin: the local Ichili refused to give him much information, but he had received credible reports that a young woman had won a local contest of first tier soulcrafters using stealth and lightstorm skills. That was likely to be Ward Fiyu; the question was her present condition.

The cloudspider drifted closer to his neck, a shadow among shadows crawling across the winds.

Information about this Organization Blacksilver had been gathered more easily, before the locals had begun regarding him with suspicion. None of the information made it seem like a sinister organization that would hold his ward captive, and it held an above average reputation among local Ichili.

Of course, those truly responsible could be the outsider traveling companions his ward mentioned. Guchiro frowned and began manifesting solid darkness around himself. That fragment of the message troubled him most. He had never taught her to fear outsiders, and it was strange for her to refer to her captors as companions. That added credence to the idea that her message had been monitored, yet that possibility conflicted with other details.

Finally the cloudspider struck, hurling a web gleaming with cantae as it lunged to bite his neck.

Twisting the darkness around himself into several rotating blades, Guchiro cut the spider into pieces. As the remnants fell, he extended a tendril of shadow to grasp its silk core, which would be an appropriate material for his ward.

Because he would find Ward Fiyu, no matter what it took. He would observe her interactions with these Fithans or outsiders and that would tell him the truth of her present condition. Then he would do whatever was necessary.

Chapter 17

As she concentrated, Nauda felt the stone slowly take shape beneath her hands. She had expected the art to feel like shaping putty, but instead it was as if the stone temporarily became a part of her body and she needed to flex an unused muscle. When she'd first begun stoneshaping, there had been odd twinges and spikes that marred any progress she made.

Now, Nauda was able to gradually fashion a brick of stone simply by touching it. Not easily, and certainly not quickly, but the shards obeyed her command. She drew them into herself one by one and they flowed together the way they had refused to do via so many other techniques.

She and Navim had discussed alternatives, including growing her walls entirely in a single act. Fashioning structures from a solid piece of stone was one of the strengths of stoneshaping, after all. But not only was it far beyond her capabilities, her mind didn't conceive of buildings in that way. Navim thought that the exact method didn't matter: all the stone that had been reduced to slag believed that it belonged together, so it would begin to fuse again if she applied any material to unify her soulhome.

Nauda frowned as she felt a few particles of something else within the stone. Remnants of destroyed sublime materials. She wasn't as good with the removal techniques but managed to slowly reject the remnants until they floated to the surface and could be chipped away.

Having to remove impurities, which still happened with troubling regularity, always exhausted her. She managed to hang on until she had completed her task, then finally ceased stoneshaping. That left her kneeling in her soulhome, gasping for breath and holding a single pristine brick.

Tired as she was, Nauda hefted the brick to join the others. She wasn't just assembling piles of rock anymore, she was truly soulcrafting again.

So far, she had completely finished one third of her first floor: her staff tower. Fiyu had been extremely helpful with suggestions about polishing it so that it was more like a true staff, though Nauda wasn't really far enough along for the finer points of that work. The only other structures she'd completed with final materials were the arches for her new doorways, to prepare for what awaited her in the physical world.

If she counted temporary bricks, she actually had a full first floor, but she hoped that she could replace at least one of her feet before they all needed to leave to fight the wild tribes. At least the temporary wall around her heartoak was keeping it from expanding outward, instead growing denser and upward.

Technically, she would be a Ruler with just a single floor of rooms. But as soon as she finished soulcrafting her ceilings, she could truly regulate her cantae instead of just getting by with stopgap measures. Each room was absolutely packed with powerful sublime materials, so she would be able to handle herself to a reasonable degree. She would finally be a real soulcrafter again.

A month ago that would have been the greatest relief she could imagine, but now she was hungry for more. Once she built her second and third floors, she could begin moving up some of her materials, leaving the first floors of each column as enormous heart chambers. An ordinary soulcrafter could never do something so insane, since it would give them a lot of cantae and nothing else. But if her blueprint came together as they planned, she would have three upward currents, powerful in their simplicity but balanced between the three.

When she decided that she couldn't manage another brick, Nauda emerged to check in with Navim. They weren't at his home in the Arbaian district, instead meeting at a metalworker's office in the heart of the city. She had nearly forgotten, caught up in her own work.

"The task is complete," Navim said, "but we did not wish to disturb you. I believe that the proprietor, however, would prefer for you to free up this space."

Nauda hastily scrambled off the elaborate metal scale that had been weighing her, as if she had violated some social norm. When she looked to the back, the smith just waved a hand from her forge. The thickly muscled Fithan woman was back to work on a dark iron much heavier than the materials Nauda had commissioned. It looked like a mass-produced armament breastplate, preparation for war.

"You don't need to rush," the smith called. "I don't get Ruler commissions all that often, so you're worth some extra trouble. But if you could check the final product, it would be satisfying to get this one done."

"I will, thank you." Nauda looked around the forge until Navim directed her attention to a nearby table, where the three pieces of metalwork lay.

As she stared at the work she had commissioned, Nauda felt a thrill of excitement along with the cantae. The elaborate swirls and patterns of metal formed the shape of three small doors, though once she drew them into her soulhome they would allegedly be the perfect size. They had been rather expensive, but Nauda thought that it was finally time for her to invest some of her money from the Chasm.

"From right to left," Navim explained in calm tones, "we have bloodfiligree, echosteel, and verdantfiligree. Despite the inconsistency in nomenclature, they are as well-matched as can be achievable under real world parameters."

"Let's apply them to the doors, then. I'd like to have your guidance." Nauda started to draw the metal into her soul, then hesitated and glanced at Navim. "Actually, have you ever visited my soulhome directly?"

"I do not believe so, but I confess it would be satisfying."

Navim seemed happy, but Nauda found herself grappling with a formless guilt. He had gone to extra effort to help repair her telescope, yet she hadn't even considered him when it came to testing its effects. Her new doors had been created with his help, but had she properly thanked him for them?

She continued to worry over the matter as she carried the metal filigrees to the center of her soulhome. Rather than forming her doors from wood or her melted stone, Theo had advised something brand new. Navim had helped her select a sublime material from Arbai called thresholdstone, then assisted her considerably when it required enormous effort to work.

But in the end, she had an excellent door for each of her towers, and once the filigree was applied, they would be complete. Navim, his spirit a rather large mass of stone, moved forward to examine their work with his usual academic curiosity.

"It seems that your hypothesis was correct," Navim said. "The three central doors do unify the towers, but they require more to distinguish them, or dividing cantae flow could be prohibitively distracting."

"Hopefully you've taken care of that for me." Nauda leaned two of the pieces against one wall and picked up the bloodfiligree to check it against the door to her death chamber.

All the dimensions matched precisely, but some of the patterns had slight differences. Whether the problem was her stonework, her drawing, or the smith's metalworking, Nauda set about correcting the carvings on her door. Not only was that easier than trying to alter the metal, the symbolic skull in the filigree looked much better than hers. The horns on her skull looked a bit like rabbit ears, now that she looked at it again.

Fortunately, she still had the Esoteric Chisel, so it was a simple matter to make the alterations. She needed it less and less as her stoneshaping ability improved, but Theo had still convinced her about the potential value of carving for soulcrafting. The ideal soulhome wasn't a solid block of material, after all, and artful shaping of the interior enhanced the central materials.

Finally she was ready. Nauda lifted the filigree and carefully placed it against the carvings on her door. When she pushed cantae into it, the metal flared to life. The heat burned her hands, but Nauda forced herself not to rush as she eased the filigree inward.

She took a deep breath when the two materials fully sealed together, afraid that she would notice some terrible error... but no, everything matched. Her tower now had a door of light stone inlaid with crimson metal whorls, and even though she had designed it, she found herself struck by the beauty of the final result.

"Now, to replicate this work twice more." Navim had been silent to allow her to concentrate, but now urged her on. With his help and advice, Nauda touched up the other two doors and applied the filigrees to them as well. Even with one of her towers missing a ceiling, Nauda could feel the difference in efficiency once her work was done.

"Thank you for all of your help, Navim." She brushed off her somewhat scorched hands but didn't leave her soul, since their conversation was better kept private. "I wish that I could repay you better for this, but I don't think my stoneshaping will ever be enough to assist yours."

"Repay me aside from the considerable financial remuneration?"

"Oh, you know what I mean."

"I suggest that you frame the matter differently." Navim raised a heavy limb and placed it just above her shoulder, his spiritual presence overlapping hers just enough that she almost felt him. "When I was injured and close to death, you journeyed into an unknown world in order to save my life. There is no calculation of debt between us."

"Navim..." She tried to put her hand on top of his limb and the spiritual touch abruptly wasn't enough. Returning to the world, she reached out to touch the large shoulder-like joint near his gemstone sphere. When she tried to put her feelings into words she faltered, hoping that the touch would be enough.

The enormous Mundhin was silent for a time, then gently took her hand in one of his smaller manipulation limbs. "Perhaps in the future, when your work is less pressed, we can perform a few experiments with stoneshaping. In addition to cross-world stoneshaping being an understudied field, I would enjoy spending more time with you beyond this work."

"So would I." Nauda had to pull away from the emotion in order to make her final payments to the smith, then they resumed their conversation once they climbed into the sleigh. "I'm afraid that all of us might be more distant, at least until you work with us in the Wargames. Literally the only time I'll be leaving the complex before then will be to fight the wild tribes."

"Yes, this upcoming expedition. I hope that Tythes does not succeed in rendering it another imbroglio."

"He's not happy unless it's imbroglios on every side."

Nauda dropped Navim off at his home, then returned to hers. She wondered if it would actually be true that she'd never leave until she'd finished her work. Most likely Fiyu or someone else would invite her out to eat at least once, and she couldn't soulcraft at maximum potential for every hour of every day.

But for her next task, all she needed was Theo's assistance. She repeatedly glanced back into her soulhome as she drove to the Blacksilver complex, examining her heartoak. For the past several weeks she had been coaxing the lowest part of the trunk to change its shape and at last it had opened up a space, so it was time to take a risk.

When she returned, she found not only Theo in the soulcrafting courtyard, but Fiyu as well. Fiyu emerged almost immediately to smile a greeting, while Theo took longer to complete his work before his soulcrafting haze faded.

"Finished your doors?" he asked. Nauda waved the matter aside.

"They're done, but that's not why I'm here. I want to insert the heart today."

"I suppose this is as good a time as any to test."

Theo gestured for her to sit down and Nauda lowered herself to the ground beside them. She laid a hand on Theo's knee and Fiyu reached out to touch the edge of her sleeve. How long had it been since the three of them had been linked for soulcrafting? Nauda felt a strange smile coming over her face and swiftly pulled them all into her soulhome.

Though Fiyu expressed deep admiration for the new filigrees on her doors, Nauda was impatient for the next step and ushered them into her life chamber. It was still open to the sky, but with the heartoak's boughs growing thicker every day, the room was pleasantly shaded. Nauda still hoped to add secondary materials around the stone edges, but for now she walked directly to the heartoak, then bent down to the chest at its base.

The throbbing mass of flesh still took two arms to heft into the air and left her hands covered with a sticky green residue. It pulsed in her hands like the heart of some unnatural beast. Though it was one of the most powerful materials Nauda had found in the Chasm of Lamentations, it had taken her until recently to figure out how to use it.

"It will go in the hole in the tree?" Fiyu peered inside and then turned back, concern obvious even on her spiritual face. "Nauda, are you sure that it is safe?"

"I've been getting used to this thing. It's definitely monstrous, but it's mindless." She cut off with a grunt as she hefted the heart up to shoulder level. "I think it will work."

"The idea is to mix the natural healing of the heartoak with the deeply unnatural vitality of the heart," Theo explained. "Right here in the trunk, the two should merge and produce a stronger effect than either alone."

Fiyu didn't object again, just hovered nervously as Nauda pushed the mass into the crevice in her tree. It immediately began pumping cantae through the wood and Nauda felt a twinge in her chest, as if she'd just placed a new heart inside herself. Yet as it continued pumping, she didn't feel overwhelmed, just strengthened. Unlike the bondsfungi, which still felt like an intruder even when dormant, the heart easily became part of her soul.

"In theory, this should help with recovery." Nauda pulled them all out of her soulhome and stood back to her feet. "Probably best to test it here."

"I was thinking of doing it," Theo said, "but Fiyu would probably be better at causing a minor exterior injury."

"Oh!" Fiyu hesitantly got to her feet and fidgeted as she looked between them. "I would prefer not to harm you, Nauda, but I will help with the test."

Nauda stuck out an arm for her to cut. "Don't worry, I'll heal normally even if the heart didn't work. And it should definitely help keep me alive in the end."

Though her face was fixed in a mask of concern, Fiyu raised a hand and generated her blade of pitch black cantae around it. She very hesitantly slid it out beside Nauda's arm, at first missing so that Nauda felt only a tickle of energy. When she tried a second time, Nauda felt an intense line of pain as the blade sliced through her skin.

It had gone through so easily, Nauda didn't even need to suppress a wince. She definitely needed to work on her defenses, just as soon as she had time for it. They all stared at the flesh wound, which wasn't deep but bled profusely. Even as they watched, the blood darkened and slowed, binding the wound closed. Nauda felt the heart throbbing in the injured part of her arm but it didn't seem to be healing very fast, at least not visibly.

"I think it's working," she said slowly, "but not quickly. At best I might recover from injuries a little sooner."

"It's weak now," Theo said, "but wait until you ascend a few times. Unless you start to feel your soulhome reject it, I think this was a good decision."

"I hope that it keeps you safe, Nauda." Fiyu gave her a very small smile. "I also hope that we can remain together when we go to fight the wild tribes. Even if the danger is believed to be small, I fear that accidents could occur."

Nauda did her best to reassure her, both in that moment and over the coming month as she soulcrafted harder than she ever had. It was a fever dream of work that left her frequently delirious at the end of the day, actually attempting to give the Esoteric Chisel back to Theo twice before he reminded her that she'd already returned it.

But in the end, she thought it was worth it. By the time they needed to leave, two of Nauda's chambers on her first floor were complete and she had access to all her techniques. Her heartoak had continued growing, faster than she could build the second floor, so she'd draped her sublime canvas over the top. Not ideal, but she wouldn't be a liability to her friends anymore.

When they finally climbed into the sleigh to enter the wastelands, Nauda almost immediately fell asleep and was unconscious the entire way.

Chapter 18

After so long working intensively, Theo had been looking forward to riding in the sleigh with just Nauda and Fiyu, like their old journeys. But while he had been focused on soulcrafting, the army dedicated to fighting the wild tribes had been growing. Allegedly the horde was bigger than expected, though he also suspected that it became a political game where every player wanted to make an appearance.

That meant involuntary guests. He didn't mind that the House of Coin had sent Kathina as their representative, but he was annoyed when Karchibol insisted on joining them along with two Rulers from the House. Seven in the sleigh was tolerable for everyone but Fiyu, it was just far from an intimate journey.

Not that it could have felt too private, given that they joined a fleet of other vessels. There were large chariots from the usual suspects, such as the House of Burning Leaves or the House of Waves. House Crimson had sent a full three vehicles: one chariot with Gethyrue and several soulcrafters, another with Tythes snoring loudly, and an inverted pyramid that flew in ominous silence. Rumor claimed that it carried Wiltur, but the Stronghold of House Crimson had yet to make an appearance.

Theo had soulcrafted in the back for most of the journey, moving to the front bench only as they neared their destination. That necessitated some rearrangement, Nauda moving up alongside him before falling straight back asleep against his shoulder. The seats behind him had shifted an annoying number of times before Kathina ended up beside Fiyu.

"I'm sorry if this is too close," Kathina said. "We're all a bit packed together for Ichili propriety."

"I have become accustomed to it." Despite her words, Fiyu pressed herself all the way against her side of the sleigh. She'd been uncomfortable with every partner except Theo or Nauda. "Thank you for your consideration. Other travelers tell me that the House of Coin is more understanding than most Fithans."

"Is that really so? I wasn't sure whether or not most Ichili hated us."

"I cannot speak for everyone, as I am not native to the neighboring region. They have accepted me only to a limited degree. But those who travel further said that institutions run by your House are preferable."

"Well, we try to work with anyone. There's an old phrase, 'the sky is green if the customer says it is.' "

"I do not agree," Fiyu said quietly. "I understand the idiom. But outsiders cannot be allowed to take liberties merely because they wish to purchase something. They are entering into another community and must align with its rules, even regarding the color of the sky."

Kathina chuckled and leaned against her own side. "I suppose that works on Ichil, but not here. I'm glad that we could talk, though. I've been wanting to test your skills ever since you won the first tier tournament."

"I do not dislike you, Kathina, but is it not true that we may be rivals in the upcoming Wargames?"

"Our Houses aren't exactly in competition, but I suppose so." Kathina tapped her fingers along the side of the sleigh in a rapid rhythm. "This is the last opportunity for many soulcrafters in the city to investigate one another. Only two months until the Wargames, after all. So there are opposite schools of thought: one is to hide your tricks until the competition, the other is to test them out as vigorously as possible."

Fiyu nodded slowly, and Theo was actually curious about how the conversation between the two of them would have gone, but at that moment there was a shout from the back of the sleigh.

"The horde is up ahead!" Karchibol rose to his feet, the sleigh lightening as the old Authority drew his cantae up around him. "No more chatter. There may be ambushes."

Theo still couldn't sense anything, but he saw that Authorities in other vehicles also appeared more alert. Except for Tythes, who was invisible except for a purple sock poking up from his chariot. As they drew nearer, everyone else began to prepare weapons or step into their soulhomes to check one final time. He nudged Nauda, and she seemed alert in seconds now that she had caught up on sleep.

The endless wastelands of Fithe proved to be not so endless after all: the rocky soil gave way to mountains, jutting up out of the ground without any foothills. Going over the top would have been difficult, but the chariot in the lead began turning. As they made their way around, he saw another mountain, a valley in between the two... and the wild tribes.

There were certainly more of them than he'd seen in the past encounter, a sprawling mess of barbarians around campfires. So this was the horde that so many had been buzzing about. As he expanded his senses over the group, Theo noticed an unusually high number of Archcrafters, but not very many Rulers and only one Authority. Unless they all had shielding walls, the fight didn't seem fair.

"The caverns beneath are-" Fiyu wasn't able to finish her sentence, because at that moment several spears of stone thrust from beneath.

Karchibol flew from the sleigh in an instant, shattering the spears in a flurry of cantae almost as widespread as Fiyu's bursts. The other vehicles had all deflected the ambushes except for Tythes, and Theo couldn't spare the slightest concern for the man. He was more focused on the soulcrafters emerging from hidden caverns in the mountain and swinging slings.

One gravitational field sent all of the projectiles flying into the clouds, and Theo immediately began picking off the attackers with torsion bolts. This was a real battle and he had no intention of brawling with them.

Just as he began thinking that the ambush had been a complete failure, Theo spotted a massive boulder flying toward them. When he tried to use a gravitational field, the stone lit up with cantae. Not an Authority, but a Ruler burning enough energy to propel the projectile regardless of gravity. Nauda leapt up to try to bind it in place, but her strength faltered and suddenly the boulder was on top of them.

Theo didn't see any choice: he rolled the sleigh out of the way and spiraled toward the ground.

His close allies anticipated it and leapt out smoothly, but some of the others were sent flying. Karchibol had flown off to his own fights, and it looked like the full horde was beginning to advance. Theo skidded the sleigh to a halt and leapt out to defend it from damage.

The Ruler riding the boulder was still coming toward him. Theo tried another torsion bolt, but when the barbarian spun it merely blew a hole through part of the boulder. The thing was still moving toward him rapidly and he wasn't sure if it was a vehicle or projectile. With only a split second to decide how to move the sleigh and himself, Theo hesitated when he saw someone else leap in.

Kathina intercepted the boulder and swung a sword, creating a blindingly red line that sundered the boulder in half. The Ruler leapt from the stone, all its momentum carrying him forward as he hurled a sphere of flame. Without hesitation, Kathina drew a second sword and sliced the sphere in half as well, the flames snuffing out.

Before the Ruler could attempt anything else, Theo hit him in the shoulder with a torsion bolt. His body was too reinforced for it to pierce through, but it dealt a nasty wound. The barbarian grimaced and cantae flooded down the injured arm, controlling it like a puppet as he drew up more fire in both hands.

Though Theo had multiple options for defense, he let Kathina meet the blasts head on. He waited to act, getting a better look at her fighting style. Her movements were smooth but ordinary enough, wielding twin swords of red and blue. She seemed to use the latter primarily to deflect attacks, though he couldn't entirely figure out the techniques she was using.

After getting a clear look, Theo struck the enemy Ruler with his disorientation technique with all the force he could muster. The man choked and staggered, froth spilling from his lips.

It was joined a moment later by blood as Kathina slammed the red sword through his chest.

As soon as the enemy soulcrafter was dead, she whipped the sword out and held both at her sides while she glanced back at him. "Looks like there are more of them coming. You ready?"

He nodded and levitated himself into the air to prepare for a more dangerous opponent. But the next wild tribes members that attacked them were merely Archcrafters, and even less imaginative soulcrafters than the Asplundat Movement. Theo handled them at range while Kathina dealt with those who got through, though either of them could probably have handled the entire group alone. Given the numbers of the enemy, they might as well conserve energy.

"Enough of this!"

The voice echoed over the entire battlefield on an Authority's cantae, knocking over many of the soulcrafters who weren't prepared. Theo identified the source as a barbarian floating above the further mountain, similar to the others except for the enormous animal fur around her shoulders.

"To fight you weak city-dwellers," she declared, "we'll use your little rules. Send your strongest out against me. By the time the battle is done, you'll see our superiority!"

Her announcement actually paused the battle briefly, giving Theo time to check and confirm that Fiyu and Nauda were both safe. Not very far away, fighting from secure positions near Karchibol. That struck him as unnecessarily cautious, given that the enemy only had a single Authority. Still, it might be for the best if the matter was resolved with a duel. Less life lost on both sides, which should have been the goal if they were facing wars against superior opponents in the future.

"We decline." The voice didn't boom over the valley, actually drawing more attention due to how quiet it was. Theo looked up in time to see someone emerge from the inverted pyramid above them.

Wiltur of House Crimson was not a particularly large man, his slender body wrapped in red silks. His face was sternly lined but clear, which was a common appearance for immortals. Though he stood casually with his hands behind his back, he burned with a Stronghold's cantae.

"House Crimson wants nothing to do with any barbarian tribes. Let this put the rumors to rest."

When he raised a hand, Theo realized that the cantae around him wasn't a show of force: it was the beginnings of a technique. A red sphere emerged from the sky like a second sun and began to descend toward the mountain, eerily slow.

The barbarian leader let out a scream and attacked the sphere with her full power, which shielded her for only a shocked moment before the red light consumed her. The sphere continued downward unimpeded and impacted the mountain, blowing an enormous hole in it and wiping out many of the wild tribes in an instant. A few of the House soulcrafters let out a cheer.

Then the shockwave began sweeping toward them.

~ ~ ~

When the shockwave barreled down on her, Nauda's first instinct was to try to protect Fiyu, but the two of them had been separated in the fighting. Instead she grabbed a pair of Blacksilver soulcrafters who looked unprepared and leapt into the air, clearing the expanding wave of destruction.

The energy itself wasn't bad enough that it would have killed anyone directly, but as she saw the boulders tumbling underneath them, Nauda wondered how easily they could kill unprepared Archcrafters. Either Wiltur was actively trying to kill his enemies within the city or he was shockingly indifferent to collateral damage. She decided that it didn't-

A column of cantae slammed into her and she smashed into the earth.

Nauda grimaced and pulled herself up, just glad that she had survived. She'd kept her grip on her staff but lost the other two soulcrafters, who were hopefully safe. Before she could find her attacker, another beam hammered her into the ground, shattering the stone and dropping her into a large cavern.

She spun to land on her feet and swept her staff in a defensive gesture, in case it was another ambush, but the cavern was empty. That might not matter, since there was a wild tribes Ruler coming down after her. Just surviving his techniques had consumed a troubling amount of her cantae. She was grateful that she had survived the strikes, which might have killed her before her aggressive rebuilding, but she wasn't in any shape to fight a powerful Ruler. This one looked stronger than any of the other Rulers she'd seen, on the verge of-

Without warning he was flung to the side like a child's toy. Tythes slid down through the hole in the ground, his hands in his pockets. When the wild soulcrafter leapt to his feet with a roar, Tythes flicked him to the side with a lazy sweep of his foot.

"You know, when I was younger I really looked up to you." Tythes began walking toward the Ruler without any particular hurry. "The wild tribes, the fiercest and strongest Fithans! Our great ancestors! Imagine how disappointed I was when I found out the truth."

The Ruler unleashed several beams of cantae in succession, but Tythes absorbed them without flinching and continued walking forward.

"It turns out, you don't live in the wastelands because you want to be tough. It's because we took everywhere better from you." His shuffling steps somehow became a leap and before Nauda realized what he had done, Tythes had thrust one arm through the Ruler's chest. He patted the choking man on the head. "Given how you dedicate your lives to violence, it must hurt to know that we're much, much better at it."

Nauda braced herself in a defensive position as the corpse slumped to the ground. She liked this version of Tythes even less than the other one, especially when he turned toward her.

"Oh, gosh, I had no idea you were there!" Tythes clapped his hands to either side of his head. "I definitely did not want you to hear all that!"

"What kind of game are you playing?" Nauda asked, keeping her staff between them for all the good it would do. Tythes walked toward her cheerfully, one of his sleeves covered in blood.

"No real shock. Good. I had a feeling that you already knew how the world works."

With no idea what the mad Authority in front of her wanted, Nauda reverted to her oldest instinct: saying nothing. She knew that Tythes didn't really intend to hurt her, but she had no idea what he wanted her to say and it wasn't worth taking the risk. The battle going on overhead might not have been any threat to him, but a stray attack could potentially be lethal to her.

When Nauda felt a surge of Authority-tier cantae, she expected that the attack was coming. She looked up to the source and froze when she saw Roker floating overhead. He should have been Tythes's ally, but he was aiming his ruby staff directly downward with a look of hatred on his face.

For the first time in her life, Nauda saw a flicker of surprise on Tythes's face. An instant later the flames scorched downward and engulfed the cavern.

She should have died in that moment. When the shockwave passed, Nauda had no idea how she remained uninjured. The cavern felt like the inside of an oven even after the flames had passed, yet she was unharmed.

A woman floated at the mouth of the cavern, trailing burning robes. Gethyrue. She had entirely deflected the column of ruby fire... but at a cost. Her raised arm was burned black and the rest of her body trembled in the air. As she started to fall, the cantae she had used to defend ebbed away.

An animal snarl emerged from Tythes's throat. He leapt with such force that the shockwave drove Nauda into the wall. She only caught a glimpse of him flashing into the air, the impact sending Roker tumbling back through the air. But he didn't pursue, instead taking Gethyrue in his arms with surprising gentleness and disappearing.

Nauda slowly climbed her way back to the surface, wondering just what internal House Crimson conflict she had witnessed. It should have been a relief that her new soulhome had endured a clash of Authorities even worse than the one that had crippled her before. As Nauda returned to the violence on the surface, she took no comfort in it.

~ ~ ~

Nothing about the battle pleased Fiyu. Even as she unleashed another torrent of light to suppress her opponents, she frowned and struggled to focus.

She disliked that she had been pushed away from her companions. She disliked how there were so many unknown bodies moving around her, some allied and some opposed. And, after all of that, she disliked her uncertainty in the battle itself. Everyone agreed that this group of Fithans intended to attack the city, and they certainly seemed uncivilized when they ran snarling at her. But there was no pleasure to be found in putting them down, and she wondered about the purpose of the entire battle.

Another enemy leapt out of a stealth technique, snarling and swinging a sword, but Fiyu had been aware of his presence from the beginning. She generated a blade of cantae around her hand in order to defeat him, but didn't get a chance to swing before Associate Karchibol sent him flying.

"Be cautious." Associate Karchibol turned to her with a stern expression, as if he was a relative. "They may be brutes, but the wild tribes have sharp blades."

Fiyu nodded in acceptance and remained focused on the battle. It was true that she was at risk. The Archcrafters of the wild tribes were not particularly skilled, but their cantae was just as intense as hers and almost all used offensive techniques. She would have been safe with her companions, but in the unstable melee she required constant attention.

Her senses worked as hard as they could, tracking not only the movement of bodies and rocks but all of the smaller densities that could hide a lethal surprise. At Archcrafter her technique was still somewhat limited, so she struggled to contain all of it and simultaneously fight. So when Fiyu first felt the rhythmic pulsing at the edge of the battlefield, she barely noted it.

Then she realized that it was a pattern. A code.

Her name!

Fiyu whirled toward the source so quickly that she briefly broke her usual precautions. Another enemy struck at her, but she sent him flying away with an unformed burst of cantae. She scanned the edge of the battlefield with all her senses, even her eyes, and gasped as she saw a stealth technique evaporate.

Relative Guchiro! He was standing on the edge of the battlefield, exceedingly somber. She had imagined that their reunion would be joyous, but his grim expression was appropriate given that she was in the middle of a highly dangerous battle.

That didn't stop Fiyu from smiling so hard her cheeks hurt and beginning to move toward him. "Guchiro! Relative Guchiro! I am h-"

"Don't rush!" Associate Karchibol grabbed her by the upper arm, jerking her back.

In a single terrible moment, Fiyu knew what would happen. She could see it all play out, but she was too slow to act or even speak. If she had only found a moment to explain, she could have cleared up the entire misunderstanding, but Authorities moved so fast, so terribly fast...

Her relative's eyes blazed in anger and he swept across the battlefield in an instant. Associate Karchibol barely raised a barrier in time, and it shattered under her relative's strike, sending him staggering back. Even as Fiyu opened her mouth, Relative Guchiro shaped a bubble of protective cantae around her and then leapt to meet his opponent.

"Guchiro, no!" Fiyu called out louder, but she wasn't sure if her words reached them, and in the time it took her to speak, the two had exchanged multiple blows.

Even though she had advanced far in his absence, Relative Guchiro was still every bit as awe-inspiring as she remembered. When Associate Karchibol unleashed a swarm of cantae spheres, they were instantly speared by lances of darkness. More splintered against Associate Karchibol's defenses, but that had been a distraction: her relative had closed the distance between them, the blade at his hand easily slicing through the sphere.

Another Authority joined the battle, one of those representing House Crimson, striking Relative Guchiro with an avalanche of flame. Associate Karchibol joined the assault, and for a moment Fiyu feared for her relative. She saw him emerge, only for the Crimson Authority to slash a blade of fire through his body.

It passed through harmlessly. An instant later, Relative Guchiro was cutting through the Crimson Authority's arm while a tendril of darkness slithered underneath Associate Karchibol's defenses, grabbed his leg, and hurled him into the air. As both tumbled, her relative unleashed a luminous torrent that made her own lightburst look like a feeble candle.

The moment of silence after would be her opportunity. Fiyu drew in a breath to shout for him to stop, but then she saw a beam of crimson descend from above.

Cantae carved a deep furrow into the ground and Fiyu had to break free from her relative's defensive sphere in order to avoid it. As she had feared, it tore directly through the sphere, as well as several soulcrafters behind it: the source had been Acquaintance Wiltur. He lowered a finger with annoyance and Fiyu realized that it was too late.

Of course Relative Guchiro had evaded the beam, but he had also begun a counterattack. Spikes and tendrils of darkness struck Adversary Wiltur from all sides. As a Stronghold, of course he could break through them, but more emerged from the shadows endlessly.

He let out an angry shout, cantae exploding in all directions. All the power that had been swelling up within him emerged again, another terrible sphere suspended above where Relative Guchiro stood. Fiyu tried to cry a warning, but it was too late.

As the sphere began to descend, spikes of darkness began striking it from the side, repeated hammer blows that splintered when they struck but slowly altered its course. The crimson sphere was untouched, but it swung back at Adversary Wiltur, nearly striking him before flying into the distance and eclipsing a large part of the horizon in a second dawn.

Just when Fiyu thought that the battle could grow no worse, Unknown Tythes flew into the air. He was carrying an injured woman in his arms... it was Acquaintance Gethyrue. Fiyu had no idea what happened, but Tythes flew directly toward his relative and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"An assassination attempt, father? You thought you could get away with that?"

Adversary Wiltur frowned, hesitating for the first time that Fiyu had seen. She feared that he would unveil a weapon, but she caught a glimpse of something else in his hands.

A weirkey. Fiyu felt a moment of relief, not understanding why her relative looked shocked. Then Adversary Wiltur snapped the weirkey in half and the world shattered into a million pieces.

Chapter 19

At first Issak thought he had died, then he was plowing dirt with his face. He pushed himself up, ready for an attack, but saw no one. That was when he realized that it was much worse than he'd thought.

The earth wasn't a natural red, it was covered in blue and purple filth. When he looked up, even the sky had changed to a sickening purple, emanating from a terrible violet sun. For a second he went back to his theory that he had died and gone to some underworld, like some of the tribes believed, then he pulled himself together.

His back hurt and his spear was still covered in the blood of an opponent. His back wouldn't hurt in the afterlife. More likely he had fallen into one of the other worlds that some claimed existed in the city. Those stories had always struck him as even less credible than tales of the afterlife, and he'd always thought that the strange people he saw occasionally probably just came from some far-off island. But now he definitely felt like he was in another world.

"Ho!" Issak called out to the surrounding space, without any response. No one within sight, and no sign of the battle. He chose a random direction and set off, beating his spear against the ground.

He'd landed in a relatively flat area, but there were blue and green plants everywhere. A terrible monster appeared without warning from behind one of them and Issak cried out in anger before thrust his spear at its head. To his surprise, it glanced off some sort of natural armor and instead dug into the beast's body.

It must have been a sublime beast, because it didn't die immediately, but it wasn't close to the equal of a third stage warrior. As it gnashed blade-like jaws at him, he hefted the beast into the air and smashed it into the ground, then blew it apart with a rush of cantae. No real challenge, but if there were more of those things, he would need to move cautiously.

Some time later, after killing several more of the beasts, he spotted another human. Not anyone he knew, a man from one of the other tribes. Just a first stage warrior, unfortunately, but better than one of the city dwellers.

"Ho!" The other soulcrafter waved and approached him. "What is this place?"

"We've been thrown to another world," Issak said. "Everyone else must have been as well."

"Is something wrong with the air? It feels..." The man cut off, panting for breath.

At first Issak assumed that the man was simply weak and out of breath, but when he filled his own chest with air, it did feel wrong. Not like poison, but wrong. Issak snorted loudly and drew his cantae out of his soulhome, resisting whatever the effect was.

"Get used to the air." Issak grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and pulled him upright. "This is a savage world, without a city dweller in sight. Without their farms and walls, they'll be helpless. If we work together, we can rule this place."

~ ~ ~

Nauda stumbled in total disorientation, at first wondering if she had been struck by an attack. She had been in the middle of a fight with several of the barbarians when they were all distracted by truly massive levels of cantae, presumably Wiltur attacking again. Then something even more fundamental had begun to fall apart, Nauda's body had been stretched across an infinity, everywhere and nowhere, and she had stumbled into a new world.

It was blessedly verdant compared to Fithe, but the purple sun left no doubt she was far from home. Nauda began running through the worlds she hadn't visited, considering what she knew of each. Before she could reach a conclusion, she realized that something was wrong with her breathing and focused on the more immediate problem.

Clearly, something in the air was different than other worlds. Nauda stepped into her soulhome and quickly found the mask that she'd used in the Chasm. Back in the real world, she placed it on her face and breathed carefully.

When she paid close attention, she thought that the air felt a bit thicker, almost like she moved through a fog even though it was completely clear. In theory, her body should have transitioned when she was thrown between worlds, so she wouldn't immediately choke to death or die from a simple illness. That was no guarantee of health or compatibility, however, as her visit to Ichil had made quite obvious.

After several breaths, Nauda decided that the mask wasn't helping. There was nothing in the air that needed to be filtered out, the fundamental quality had changed. She hung the mask around her neck in case it came in useful and focused on her breathing. The throbbing core of her heartoak was burning throughout her chest at a very low intensity, perhaps helping her adjust. She would have to accept it for the time being.

The region appeared to be composed of rolling hills in all directions and she had landed in a relative depression, leaving her with little horizon. Nauda cautiously moved to the top of the nearest peak, hoping she would find that others had been transported nearby.

No one at first, so she began moving methodically. As she reached the top of another rise, Nauda suddenly saw an enormous bug emerge from the bushes and froze.

It was larger than any bug she'd seen before, as long as she was tall and rising past her knees. More than anything it reminded her of the insectoid demons, but it didn't immediately attack her as a demon would have. The large black eyes stared in her direction and some of its six legs shifted, but she had no idea how to read any of its body language.

"Hello?" Nauda started softly. "Can you tell me where I am?"

The bug looked at her a little longer, then shuffled on. Something about the blank way it had stared at her made Nauda suspect that it was an animal, not one of the intelligent inhabitants of the world. That, or it had just snubbed her.

Despite the dire circumstances, or perhaps because of them, the idea made Nauda smile. She decided to steer clear of the bug in case there were more of them: even if it wasn't violent, it had large jaws that looked like they could do some damage. If only her telescope had been in good working order, she could have examined it further, but instead she continued exploring.

Several larger hills later, her hopes that everyone else had landed nearby had died. Instead she settled for gaining a stronger understanding of her circumstances. There was a small nest of the bugs she'd seen earlier, a cluster of trees inhabited by smaller eight legged bugs, and a number of flying bugs.

She was beginning to realize that her language needed more words to describe bugs. On Tatian, they were all minor annoyances or crop pests, but here they seemed to be the dominant form of life. She'd tried talking to all of them, but they'd reacted with either indifference or mild hostility until she retreated.

When she traveled further in the direction the sun was setting, Nauda began to see other signs. There were no more hives of small bugs and she spotted a few tree trunks that looked smoothly cut. Reaching the top of the next rise, she finally caught sight of something resembling civilization.

What she'd at first taken to be another hill was in fact a hive, dozens of bugs moving to and from various holes. Though roughly similar in shape to the others, these clearly had greater intelligence. Some carried bundles of materials, other collaborated on digging, and a few stood in a perimeter around the hive. She'd reached civilization... which wasn't necessarily a cause for relief.

Even if they were intelligent, that didn't mean they were friendly. Nauda didn't see any signs of weapons, but they all had vicious pincers on their faces and their feet ended in dexterous claws. She was considering whether or not it would be a wise idea to approach them when she abruptly spotted another human.

It was one of the wild tribes soulcrafters, not a particularly strong one. They'd been enemies a short time ago, but in an unknown world they might be allies. He was hiding behind a bush, examining the hive, so she moved up behind him quietly.

"Peace." Nauda's first word still startled him, but she quickly raised her hands in a passive gesture. "I have no intention of fighting you, not here. We're all strangers to this place."

"Stay away, city dweller." His glower broke apart when he spoke, and the man reached for his mouth in surprise. "What's wrong with my voice? What have you done to me?"

"It's soul translation." She did her best to listen to her own words instead of the meaning, but couldn't glean much meaning from them. The sounds struck her as a mix of clicks, whistles, and other odd sounds, plausibly the language of these bugs. "It's because we're in a different world."

"No more lies! I'll survive on my own, so just leave!"

Nauda frowned, wondering if it was worth forcing the issue. She'd only met one person so far, and when the sun set she could use someone to help keep watch for wild beasts. Of course, given how little she trusted him, working together could be an even greater threat.

He solved the problem for her by sprinting from the bush, away from both her and the hive. Yet in the process he moved within sight of the guarding bugs, which roused themselves and started to move forward. The faster the wild tribes soulcrafter moved, the more the guards closed on him, until finally one stood in his path.

"Stand aside, or I'll cut you down!" He drew a sword and menaced the nearest guard.

They didn't say anything or threaten, one of the other bugs simply struck him in the side. Nauda took an automatic step forward to help, but it was too late: the guards killed him almost immediately, then they began dismembering the body. She could only stare in horror as several of them carried the remains back into the mound.

Nauda carefully slipped away from the hive, reconsidering her plans for this new world. They were clearly too organized to be simple sublime beasts, yet they had no other traces of civilization. She did suspect that they only attacked when he got too near their territory, but she wasn't sure. If she saw any other organized bugs, she was staying far away.

The sun had reached the horizon, its color fading from a brilliant violet to a softer purple. As it grew darker, Nauda desperately hoped that her friends weren't alone in some far-off world...

~ ~ ~

Being violently thrown across space and time to enter a new world wasn't something Theo had experienced many times, and he would be happy to never repeat it. He recovered fast enough to catch himself as he fell through the crack in reality, then he groaned.

The earth, the sky... this was definitely Slest. It had a bad reputation as one of the most lethal worlds for unprepared world travelers. Arbai might have a more unlivable environment, and Ichil might be the most actively predatory, but Slest was uniquely dangerous. The average sublime beast was supposedly powerful enough that even Archcrafters were at risk.

Since he wasn't immediately in danger, Theo let his thoughts drift back to the battle. The Ichili who had arrived must have been Fiyu's relative, based on her cry. There was some family resemblance in the lean frame and dark hair, though he wore a metal mask that covered the lower half of his face. He'd been impressive, a soulcrafter at the very peak of Authority. And the way he'd layered so many strikes so precisely and rapidly to deflect a Stronghold technique spoke to an extremely high level of skill. His arrival had made everything far worse.

Theo was confident that Wiltur had destroyed his weirkey as a tactical decision. Insane, expensive, and reckless, but tactical. No opponent on the battlefield was a large enough threat to make him panic, so Theo guessed that it had something to do with what Tythes had been shouting. What had happened or what he was doing was unclear, but apparently Wiltur had decided it was worth sacrificing a valuable asset.

The sundering of the weirkey would have broken a ragged hole between worlds, casting them all to the key's destination. Unfortunately, the chaos between worlds would have tossed them around during the transition, so there was no telling how far the others might be or just how many had fallen through. Their best hope was that one of the Authorities had a Fithan weirkey to take them back.

Meanwhile, he needed to get his feet under him. Theo noticed that something was wrong with his breathing and hypothesized that the atmosphere was composed of different gasses, perhaps too different for the shift between worlds to fully adapt. He began exploring the area, searching for sublime materials that could be used to assist the process.

Though he was unsuccessful in that, he discovered his sleigh lying over a hill. It had been banged up when it landed, but otherwise it was in tolerable shape. They'd unloaded many supplies to take more people and the few left had apparently been thrown out. Still, it was better than nothing.

Finding the sleigh made Theo optimistic that he'd find the others quickly, but as he widened his search radius, he discovered no one. There were a few strikingly red rocks that had presumably been thrown from Fithe, and one corpse, but no living people. Usually breaks between worlds only took beings with a soul, so this explosion must have been especially bad.

Finally he spotted someone hiking over a nearby hill... Kathina. Theo rapidly drove closer to her and she waved with both hands, then gave an enormous smile of relief when he got close.

"Lucky that we ended up nearby." She vaulted up into the sleigh behind him and he set it to hover in place so they could talk to one another. "I was afraid we'd all been sent to other worlds."

"No, I think everyone who got caught in the cracks was sent to Slest."

"So that's where we are. Regrettably, the House of Coin has absolutely no information about this world. There's only one gate to Slest on the entire continent, and it's within Wavefront's borders."

"I have basic supplies, but we need more, starting with local sublime materials to adapt." Theo eased the sleigh into movement again, though he kept it low in case the local inhabitants were active. "I don't suppose you found anything?"

"Actually, I did." Kathina pulled a compass-like armament from her soul and grinned. "Normally we use this to track down sublime materials in the wasteland, but it works here too. Everything I found was too weak for soulhomes, but I can show you."

She guided him to a hollow that flowed with cantae, sublime plants filling every cranny. The way they clustered together seemed reminiscent of cultivation, but Theo saw no sign of any owners. He hopped out to examine the materials, testing their properties carefully to find those related to respiration. Kathina quickly understood and eventually they found flowers with pale green leaves that felt appropriate.

"We need to adapt to breathe this world's air perfectly," Theo explained as he began picking some for his soulhome. "A wreath of these should be enough for a start, you just have t-"

"I know the principle. I haven't done exactly this before, but I can manage it."

Indeed she could. Theo thought he was rather skilled at impromptu soulcrafting, but Kathina finished only a minute or so after him. Once he'd made a wreath of the flowers and placed it on his soulhome door, each breath came a little more easily.

That was a pretty good start to getting his feet under him. Theo leapt back into the sleigh, nodded to Kathina, then they began to explore.

~ ~ ~

For a time, Fiyu merely sat on the ground and struggled to contain her dismay. She had been so close to Relative Guchiro, only to be torn away by a strange twist of fate she didn't understand. Just seeing him had made her heart ache, then it had all been taken away. By the time Fiyu controlled her emotions, she needed to lift her mask to wipe away tears.

Her situation was not hopeless. She recognized her surroundings as Slest; Relative Guchiro owned a weirkey for that world. He had even showed it to her, a spiky key of chitin. The way she had been thrown into the world randomly meant it could take him a long time to search, but now that he knew she was alive, he would definitely come for her.

More concerning was his behavior, which she could not explain. It was true that Associate Karchibol should not have grabbed her, and Relative Guchiro was always very quick to defend anyone under his protection. But his method of contacting her, and his immediate attack, struck her as unnecessarily suspicious.

Had he not received her message? Perhaps he had been trailing her between worlds ever since the accident and only now caught up to her, without ever returning to Ichil. Whatever the reason, she was certain that there would be a rational explanation once she could speak to her relative again.

In the meantime, he would want her to be as resourceful as he'd taught her. Because he owned a Slescan weirkey, he had advised her regarding the world. She would need to make a few modifications in order to thrive in the new atmosphere, and her stealth technique would need to shift because the world made heavy use of the sense of smell. Now that she reflected on his lessons with more experience, she believed that he had even tried to warn her about how bright the sun was. At the time she had thought it would be like a cavesteader lamp in the sky.

But she was not the child she had been then, and the purple sun was nowhere near as oppressive as the one in Tatian. Fiyu would adapt and find her friends, then she could introduce them all to her relative. If she was cautious enough, she could finally be reunited.

Even her relative could not teach her about all the possible conditions on an entire world, so she would need to improvise. Most importantly, the level of aggression in the locals varied widely between continents and even regions, and Fiyu had no idea where she had landed. It was best to be cautious until she understood better.

Fiyu had just found sublime materials to help her breathe when she noticed another person approaching. It was a soulcrafter from House Crimson, which put her on edge at first, but the man didn't appear to be angry. Instead, he raised both hands to show he didn't hold a weapon or cantae.

"Please, you need to help us! She was hurt, and now she's even worse..."

Though suspicious of a trap, Fiyu felt his body twitching in actual panic, so she followed him. He led her to a small cluster of trees, where an old woman lay. Fiyu recognized Acquaintance Gethyrue, though she looked much worse than before, with burns across her face, one arm scorched, and bloody gashes in the robes around her legs.

"When I arrived, terrible beasts assaulted me!" The soulcrafter had to pant for breath, clearly not having been able to adapt yet. "I was barely able to flee them, and she saved me. But the beasts are nastier than they look, and she was already so injured... she needs treatment, or she'll die."

"I am not a healer, but I will help as much as I can." Fiyu bent down beside the old woman, testing her breathing. It felt weak, but her cantae still flowed strongly within her. "We need to carry her away, immediately."

"Carry her? That would just make her wounds worse."

"You killed the beasts here." Fiyu rose and looked until she found the insectoid corpses, which didn't take long. "Those were trained animals, and they may have released a message in death. Their masters will be coming soon."

Chapter 20

After an entire day of searching earned them only one House Crimson soulcrafter and one barbarian, Theo decided that more extreme measures were necessary. Unfortunately, their search had also revealed that the region was filled with hives of organized and aggressive insects. While Kathina guided the other two in collecting food and making a camp, Theo soulcrafted.

He'd invested some time into his sensory chamber, but hadn't needed to put it into heavy use until now. Now he carefully set the depthclaw shells in their carved places and poured the abyssfluid inside. When he walked around his soulhome, they made quite detailed ripples, but learning to use it outside his soulhome was an entirely different challenge. It was like trying to control a new limb and he could have used tips from Fiyu, but he made gradual progress.

Once he was confident he could sense a major threat before it got in range, it was time for a better search. Too much of the day had already passed, so Theo camped for the night, sleeping in the sleigh instead of bothering with the rest of camp. He didn't really trust the barbarian woman with them, but she was outnumbered three to one and apparently cooperative.

The next morning, they all piled in to gain altitude. Theo let Kathina drive so that he could focus fully on his sensory skill, otherwise just providing a reversed gravitational field to lift them as high as possible. More and more of the landscape around them became visible and there were no obvious threats as they ascended into the bluish clouds.

No obvious allies, either. Other soulcrafters might be hiding under tree cover or inside the occasional caves, but Theo didn't see any sign that the hives weren't operating as normal. Rising high enough, he eventually caught sight of a substantially larger hive, practically a miniature city even without considering underground tunnels.

"Are we sure that we can't contact them?" the House Crimson soulcrafter asked. "I was examining the ones that look like ants, and they're not sublime beasts. If they have soulhomes, then they must be intelligent enough to communicate."

"That doesn't mean they'll be friendly," Kathina said. "From what I've seen of them, I don't think their intelligence is really like ours."

"Maybe they could build this much like normal ants, but can they maintain a complex society this way? They must have leaders of some kind, and I refuse to believe they all operate so mindlessly. They've domesticated animals, after all. What if w-"

"Look!" The barbarian woman lurched to her feet and pointed in the other direction. "There are kin down there."

When Theo followed her arm, he spotted a small group of humanoids moving over the hills. It was hard to see details, but he thought she was right that they were from the wild tribes. Not who he wanted to find, but better than nothing.

"I don't like the terrain between us." Kathina carefully eased the sleigh around and began moving in that direction. "Look at those raised areas... I think there are tunnels underneath. I guess if we can fly over them it doesn't matter, but..."

"We need to land." Theo felt something in the sky and at first thought his new sense was malfunctioning, because it couldn't be that big. Whatever it was, it was flying toward them fast.

As he let normal gravity take over, Kathina guided their fall and slid them toward a cluster of trees that would hide the sleigh. They were none too soon, because a speck on the horizon grew rapidly. Just as they finished obscuring themselves it came into sight: a black beetle the size of a house, buzzing directly toward them.

Worse, it wasn't just an animal. There were reins leading down from its head to a woven platform that hung underneath, and he spotted several individuals on it. Most stood upright, unlike the giant ants, but they seemed to have too many limbs. Possibly the true Slescans.

"They saw us. We need to fight." The wild tribes soulcrafter stepped out of the sleigh and hurled her spear.

Theo and Kathina sprang into action at the same time, thankfully choosing different targets. He managed to grab the spear before it flew outside the trees, stopping its flight without using any cantae. Kathina covered the barbarian's mouth and pinned her against the sleigh. The soulcrafter from House Crimson stared at them in surprise, mercifully silent.

They all waited as the beetle buzzed overhead, circling around the region and clearly searching for them. After a time, it buzzed on without any of the occupants searching the ground. Theo could still feel it traveling over nearby hills, no doubt searching for the flying vehicle that had been detected. That was going to be a real problem.

"Touch me again and I kill you." The barbarian shoved Kathina away, though the threat was weakened by the fact that she hadn't been able to escape until Kathina let go. "We could have fought them."

"And they would have sent more. You can't just kill scouts and expect no retaliation."

"It doesn't matter what sublime beasts they have. We can't cower in fear."

Kathina folded her arms and fixed the barbarian soulcrafter with a flat gaze. "If you're going to disobey and get us into a conflict, you're a liability. Don't do it again."

To avoid an argument that would just waste time, Theo handed the woman her spear back. "We need to be cautious for now until we understand the local hives. They might view us as intruders."

"Umm..." The House Crimson soulcrafter cleared his throat before trying again. "Are you sure they'd attack us? The ones riding the beetle clearly used tools. This area must be their farm, with the ants being... I don't know, their earlier life stages, or a different species. Shouldn't we consider talking to them?"

"Not when we have so few options."

The soulcrafter looked to Kathina for support, but she shook her head immediately. Theo thought that she had the better grasp of their situation, and fortunately the other two couldn't really challenge them. That might be a problem if they met up with the larger group of wild tribe soulcrafters, who it would be too much to hope the barbarian had forgotten about.

That night they ate a meal of stringy meat from one of the wild beetles plus a few gnarled fruits that had proved to be edible. Theo had plenty of food in his storage chamber, but kept it in reserve while they could forage. Plus, he wasn't going to feed a large number of potential enemies.

When they settled down to rest, the barbarian soulcrafter tried to sneak away from camp almost immediately. Kathina went out to intercept her and they argued in terse voices before eventually returning. Theo knew that was going to be a problem and wished he could trade the barbarian somehow. He'd gladly toss someone to the flesh-devouring ants in exchange for Fiyu and Nauda.

More beetles buzzed throughout the night, but the air was clearer in the morning. His group headed over the uneven region, keeping the sleigh low to the ground while watching for insects between the ridges. Theo's new senses informed him of an unnerving number of bodies moving in the tunnels below, comparable to an ant colony on Earth.

If they attacked, their numbers would be overwhelming, but Theo wasn't concerned about that. A single gravitational field would likely be enough to deal with the relatively weak ants and their sublime beasts, no matter how many there were. What bothered him was the intelligent Slescans: he didn't know how many Rulers the hive could field, or whether they had any Authorities. Flattening part of a colony would likely lead to a distress signal that would summon more.

"Waste. Remove." An unearthly voice floated to his mind, not touching his ears, oddly flat and yet ethereal at the same time.

"What?" Theo looked back to the others, who only stared at him. "Did someone say something?"

"We've all been completely silent," Kathina said. "I have pretty good hearing, and the most I can hear is the insects crawling below the ground."

"I could have sworn..."

"Are you feeling okay, Theo?"

"Waste. Remove." The words came to him again and Theo whipped his head around, trying to find the source. Except he was starting to wonder if it could be a sound at all, since it didn't seem to come from any direction, just floated through the air. Yet he did get the sense it came from below...

"Are you sure you didn't hear anything?" Theo asked as he searched around. The Crimson and barbarian soulcrafters stared at him as if he'd gone fully insane.

Just when he was beginning to wonder about it himself, Theo saw one of the beetle-like creatures emerge from the mouth of a tunnel. They all tensed up, fearing detection, but the beetle never once looked up. Instead it pushed a ball of what looked like gray mud in front of it until the sphere rolled down a slope. Theo shifted the sleigh's arc, both to hide better from the tunnel entrance and to see the slope.

At the bottom was a small pit, filled with similar balls of waste. He couldn't help but draw the connection to what he'd just heard, but how did that make any sense? If Kathina's ears were better than his and she heard nothing, he needed a lateral explanation...

Judging that it was worth the risk, Theo floated lower, just over the entrance. The beetle had returned inside, but another emerged soon. Theo closed his eyes and concentrated on listening, but he didn't hear anything. At least, not until Kathina drew in her breath.

"You idiot!"

The sleigh wobbled and Theo opened his eyes and looked back. He saw the barbarian struggling with a beetle and thought they were being attacked before he saw the metal hook through its head. Judging from the trailing rope, she must have hooked one of the beetles and jerked it upwards. Distracted by him, Kathina hadn't been fast enough to stop her.

"What's the problem?" The barbarian cracked open the shell, examining the innards. "These are way bigger than the other beetles, so they've got have more meat on them."

"Do you think you can just take one of them without consequences?" Kathina leaned over her seat to grab the barbarian, who glowered back at her.

"We killed the other ones without a problem. But fine, if you care so much..." She scooped out some of the meat and hurled the corpse over the side of the sleigh.

Kathina lunged out to grab it before it could fall, but the insect's body broke apart. Theo cast a gravitational field to catch both, almost too late for the reversed gravity to cancel out their momentum. Once both were lifted closer to the sleigh he managed to breath a sigh of relief, while Kathina grabbed the barbarian by her leather shirt.

"You realize that could bring the entire hive down on us?" Kathina nearly shouted before controlling her voice.

"They're just bugs." The barbarian shoved off her hands and began sniffing at the meat she'd collected. Kathina's anger cooled into something worse and she sat back, slowly wiping her hands.

While they argued, Theo pulled in the beetle fragments. At first he thought they were surprisingly odorless, but as they got closer he was overwhelmed with a stench worse than anything he'd ever smelled. Except a moment later it didn't smell so bad, more like some sort of flower. Theo wrapped the pieces in a cloth and rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginning of a migraine.

"Incursion. Incursion. Incursion."

The eerie voice whispered to him again.. and Theo felt the insects underground begin moving more rapidly. He didn't hesitate, just grabbed the sleigh controls and began flying at maximum speed.

As they raced over the region of tunnels, insects began to spill from the entrances, swarming in all directions. His abrupt movement had jolted the others, but they all fell silent when they saw the horde. It seemed to be mostly ants, canvassing the ground instead of looking up... but a large number of them were gathering around the tunnel where the beetle had been killed.

The sleigh managed to outpace the signal, but Theo still felt the word "Incursion" thumping in his head over and over. Only once they passed beyond the tunnels did it fade and he finally let himself slow down. They found an unoccupied cluster of trees and hid themselves as well as possible, watching as the swarm slowly calmed down and began to return to their tunnels.

"We made it out." The Crimson soulcrafter slumped down into his seat, his face pale and sweaty.

"See?" The barbarian gave an indifferent shrug, though Theo thought it was bravado. Kathina looked about ready to shout at her, but Theo cut her off.

"Did you really hear nothing?" he asked. She frowned and shook her head.

Once the hive seemed to have subsided, his group settled down behind an unoccupied hill. Trees made good cover, but they also tended to house wild insects, and Theo didn't want to risk causing a disturbance that might be detected. Besides, the others needed time to recover from the close call.

He was more concerned about what he had been hearing. Theo crawled to the top of the nearest hill, peering over to examine the tunnel colony. It was still more disrupted than it had been at the beginning, and he didn't hear anything.

Yet he was sure that it hadn't been his imagination. During his years on Earth, Theo had learned multiple languages so that his soul translation in the Nine Worlds would be more flexible. So far it had worked just as intended: he heard basically any language spoken as clear English. This had to be something else, and though he had a theory, he wasn't sure he could really believe it.

One of the languages he'd learned fairly well was American Sign Language, which so far hadn't been tested. It seemed unlikely that soul translation would work for pure signs: what would it do, make his eyes see different symbols? After a decade without returning to the Nine Worlds, he'd decided that it was worth trying. He'd also made an effort to learn Morse Code, though he'd eventually dropped it because it felt pointless. Yet now he began to wonder if both had mattered after all.

When he thought back over the experience, he came to the conclusion that he hadn't actually been hearing any sounds. It had been pure meaning appearing in his mind, which he'd just assumed was a voice. Many insects communicated via pheromones... could he actually have been hearing those signals?

If so, then he might be making a breakthrough in communicating with the inhabitants of Slest. Theo turned around to the group just in time to see Kathina cut the barbarian woman's throat.

Kathina let the body fall and wiped off her sword before returning it to her soulhome. When she saw them staring at her, she shrugged. "What? She was clearly a liability, and at this rate she would get us all killed."

"You can't just..." The Crimson soulcrafter only stared at the body for a moment before his horror turned to her. "You think you're in command because you're stronger? That makes you no better than the wild tribes."

"What makes us different from the barbarians is that we can work together, and we'll all die if we don't."

Theo strode down the hill to interrupt them both. "There's no time to argue, not if this is in their range. Get the body. We need to move."

They obeyed, though they argued as soon as the sleigh got underway. Kathina believed that the insects wouldn't travel beyond a set territory, while the Crimson soulcrafter wanted to bury the body. In Theo's opinion they should run as far as possible, but he had to admit that charging into unknown territory would take on other risks. The west was occupied by the largest hive and going northeast would only bring them into contact with the larger wild tribes group. No doubt there were other threats he hadn't seen from above.

Once they got a safe distance away, he was overruled because Kathina didn't want to carry the corpse with them. They found a desolate region and she used her sword to cut a quick grave in the ground, the blade cutting the stone like cloth. Aside from insisting that it be deep and that they cover the beetle as well, Theo just hoped they worked quickly.

"From the wild tribes we came." The soulcrafter from House Crimson stepped over the grave and spoke the words like a benediction. "To them we must never return. We remember the sacrifices of our ancestors even as we leave behind their blood."

Theo stayed silent out of politeness, if not respect. Kathina didn't give that much, rolling her eyes at the display. Once it was done, Theo insisted that they move again before creating a camp. As far as he could judge the insect hives, he thought they were in a wasteland in between occupied regions, since he saw only wild bugs instead of any organized groups.

Just in case, Theo kept watch while the other two made simple food from the available resources and then slept in the sleigh. Theo ate some of the beetle meat, but once he was alone he reached into his soulhome and pulled some fruit from his storage room.

Though he watched the horizon for any sign of pursuit, he saw nothing and instead spent time thinking about Kathina's killing of the barbarian. Arguably murder, even though they had been mortal enemies just a week ago. The man Theo had been when he first returned to the Nine Worlds would have entirely agreed with her and possibly done the killing himself. Now he found himself evaluating her ruthlessness, even if he couldn't entirely disagree with her logic.

There was no sign of any insect groups by the time his watch ended. Theo woke up Kathina and settled into the sleigh, hoping that the next day would be less eventful than the previous.

He woke up to the sound of pained screams and insectoid legs skittering.

Chapter 21

Nauda threw herself into a crevice, holding her breath as another one of the bugs passed. For a moment she thought for sure that it had noticed her, but it eventually trundled onward. She let out a sigh of relief and crept deeper into the tunnels.

She hadn't run into anyone else during her travels in this new world, so Nauda had tried to become familiar with the various species of bugs. The wild varieties were generally a bit smaller, the size of her head instead of her body. There were segmented, war-like hives that viciously defended their territory and sometimes sent out long lines of scouts that she'd stayed far away from.

But these rotund bugs seemed to be harmless. She'd begun thinking of them as leafpuller bugs because their main activity seemed to be dragging leaves and other materials back to their mound. Each of them had a horn on the front of its head, but the tip was dull, suitably only for penetrating leaves or digging into soft dirt. Unlike any of the other species she had observed, they never fought anyone. When they bumped into one another they would rub horns, almost as if apologizing, and then trundle along.

Unfortunately, she had no choice but to sneak into their mound, because she was running out of food. With so little floor space available, Nauda hadn't made a full storage room for her soulhome. She'd had a little bit of food lying around, and had scavenged a little more, but hunger drove her to desperate measures. At least her breathing wasn't quite as difficult as it had been at first, though it still left her too easily out of breath.

Outside, the humming began. Most evenings, for no purpose that Nauda could determine, the beetles would gather in clusters and begin vibrating their wings. They soon shifted to different notes that harmonized with one another, then began a beautiful melody. At first she had been concerned that it was a warning or alarm of some sort, but every night they gathered together they simply made music.

Now she was using that opportunity to try to steal from them. Nauda began exploring the tunnels more rapidly, since almost all the beetles were outside. Finally she discovered it: a room filled with large golden globules. She saw the beetles creating and carrying so much of it, she knew they must have a storage area. It was actually closer to one of the other entrances and she'd gone in the wrong way.

Gently approaching one of the globules, Nauda poked her finger through the thick outer layer and found the liquid as thick as honey. It actually might be partially honey, since the leafpuller bugs seemed to live in harmony with ordinarily sized bees. They blended the mixture out of fermented leaves and other materials, and though she wasn't sure how it would taste, the bugs seemed to subsist on it.

She flicked her tongue against it, paused, and then licked more. The mixture wasn't as sweet as honey but had a strong earthy taste. Above all, it tasted delicious to her hungry body. Nauda scooped more of it into her mouth and also began shoveling globules into her soulhome. They kept well enough on their own and she could find a jar of some sort if necessary. Her concerns about incompatible food melted away as she gorged herself on the goo.

All that vanished when she heard a rustling and saw one of the bugs standing in the entrance to the storage chamber. It stared at her and then let out an odd grunt. Before she could think of a way to slip around it, the bug moved in and began poking her with its horn.

Not dangerously, even if her body hadn't been reinforced by cantae. It just insistently pushed her out of the room. Several other bugs appeared, grunting as well, and they all formed a wall horning her out of their mound.

"Sorry, sorry..." Nauda didn't know if they understood her or why she was apologizing, but she felt a bit guilty stealing their food. The gentle bugs seemed distressed by her presence and just wanted to push her out.

When she fled she heard the buzzing stop, the harmony breaking and then finally going silent. Nauda waited outside the range of the mound, guilt mounting even as she inventoried all of the goo she'd stolen. Eventually the bugs returned to their thrumming music and she felt a bit of relief. It looked like they had plenty of the stuff, so it wasn't as if they were in danger of starving.

Nauda had made herself a camp in the boughs of a large tree, one of those with enormous leaves. Thankfully, the leafpuller bugs only seemed to gather leaves on the ground and they kept away pests, so she was relatively safe there. Still, just in case her theft had triggered some reaction, Nauda stayed awake late into the night after the bugs had stopped humming and gone to sleep.

That was easy, since she had too much to do to sleep anyway. Nauda had somewhat lost track of the days, but she thought that she had been soulcrafting for just over a week. While keeping an eye on the real world, she stepped into her soulhome and began to work fusing bricks together for her second floor.

When she hadn't been able to find anyone else within range, Nauda had decided to change strategy entirely. Even if help wasn't coming immediately, Fiyu or Theo would eventually come to find her. Meanwhile, the world was largely more dangerous than the leafpuller bugs, so they would all be facing threats. Nauda believed that the best way she could help any rescue efforts was by soulcrafting as much as possible.

She had two high priorities, and right now making bricks from the reclaimed stone would help both. First, she wanted to finish her second floors as quickly as possible so that she could make the first floors into pure heart chambers and dedicate the second to more precise uses. Second, her heartoak was getting taller, almost to the height of her second tier, so she needed to catch up and roof it off. It had taken much of the week just to replace the last of her temporary bricks, so there was too much to do.

Unfortunately, her second floors weren't just single rooms, instead divided into chambers for different aspects and techniques, so they required a lot more bricks. Nauda eventually slept, without anyone or anything targeting her. The next day she woke, ate some of the leafpuller goo, and went right back to work.

Around mid-day, a line of the most vicious bugs marched up to the leafpuller mound. Nauda spotted a number of them that looked almost human, and considered approaching them, but decided to wait to see what would happen. They didn't move like a war party, and as she watched the leafpuller bugs all vacated their mound to allow the line entrance.

Nauda's curiosity slowly turned to confusion as she saw the line reemerge. The new bugs all carried golden globules on their backs, so many that they must have emptied out the entire mound. Others carried a translucent goo that Nauda hadn't seen before, but it felt like a sublime material even from a distance. Some of the humanoid bugs carried leafpuller eggs. They all marched away, without a word being uttered, leaving the leafpuller bugs with nothing.

It couldn't have been a robbery, since it all appeared so orderly. Nauda wondered if the leafpullers were actually more like animals, being farmed by the more organized groups, but they seemed more active than that. In the wake of the line, the bugs crawled around apparently aimlessly for over an hour. Eventually they returned to work making new batches of goo, a bit listlessly.

That night they didn't make any music and Nauda felt the absence.

The day after, she began exploring the region more carefully. She hadn't noticed any trails before, but after seeing the line of bugs, she now suspected that some apparently empty areas had been carefully cultivated. Their nest must be far to the east, but they'd made a road so they could come and take what the leafpuller bugs had created.

Somehow Nauda felt simultaneously more and less guilty. The small amount she had taken meant nothing, when their stores had been entirely emptied by the dominant species, but she felt bad for the leafpullers. They went back to their routines with a sort of resigned determination that broke her heart.

"Well, hello there!"

Nauda nearly leapt out of her skin and stared upward. Tythes was standing in the sky, wearing a bug as a hat. He lifted it to her respectfully and grinned, much less respectfully.

Chapter 22

Still disoriented from muddled dreams, Theo didn't hesitate: he slammed his strongest gravitational field around him indiscriminately. As he struggled to his feet he reversed it, even as his eyes barely made out the chaos around him.

Bodies and fangs and weapons thrashed in the air. Theo looked past them for the source of the scream and saw the House Crimson soulcrafter being savaged by several insects. They were all floating within his field, but the ants didn't seem to notice, biting over and over again even though their target appeared to be dead. Closer to the sleigh, Kathina had also been woken by the scream and come up slashing with both swords, though she was now trapped in the air as well.

Since none of the attackers seemed capable of resisting his gravity, Theo examined his surroundings more carefully. There were insects on all sides, so the group must have surrounded their camp before moving in. He observed two different types: the giant ants he'd commonly seen as well as unusual humanoids that appeared to be somewhere between insect and mammal.

"Think they followed us?" Kathina asked. Reminded of her presence, Theo lowered her to the ground with a secondary field.

"I don't know how they tracked us, but that's the most likely explanation," he said. "It's regrettable that they didn't attack while one of us was on watch, or we might have avoided any deaths."

"They might have waited for the weak link." Kathina glanced toward the floating corpse, which the ants were still tearing into, without any particular emotion. "At least he was worth something before he died."

There was no time to think about her ruthlessness given the present situation. Theo stretched his senses as far as he could, particularly into the sky, since the dawn light was cloaked in mist. No sign of flying beetles or other groups, but that was no guarantee of their safety.

"Is it draining you to keep them all in the air like that?" Kathina asked. She jabbed one of the thrashing ants with a sword, sending it drifting into others. "I can kill them off."

"No, this might be our best chance to acquire information, if there aren't more coming after us immediately." Theo gestured over his shoulder to the sleigh. "Fly around and check if there are any stragglers, or signs of another group."

"Got it." She let her swords slip back into her soulhome and leapt to scout.

Meanwhile, Theo closed his eyes and focused on other signals instead. If the colony had been able to track them based on so little, their pheromones must be stronger than he thought. The biggest threat would be if the suspended Slescans were currently sending signals bringing the entire hive down on them. All told he saw only a few dozen, so he suspected this was just a scouting party.

[Kill. Incursion. Kill. Obstacle. Kill. Obstacle. Distress.] Now that he was thinking about them properly, he no longer heard the words as sounds. He took a deeper breath and the chorus of signals grew louder, streaming from all of the insects.

The majority were still broadcasting [Kill] and [Obstacle], but more were beginning to send [Distress] pheromones. Theo hastily began working gravitational fields and points of mass, pushing all the scouts into a smaller area and trying to draw all their pheromones back to the ground. His gravity would have been incapable of stopping shouts for help, but the pheromones were slow-moving and, as he felt the messages concentrate and double on one another, he thought that he'd managed to capture all of them.

Of course, the colony would have some mechanism to track the scouting groups that it sent out, so that was only delaying retaliation. Theo wasn't sure whether or not they would write off the scouts as a loss or if they would scorch the earth to pursue them. He might finally be able to get some answers.

He wasn't sure what to make of the soldier ants' soulhomes, which were broader than most soulcrafters but taller than sublime beasts'. Well, humans were animals, so perhaps the line wasn't as sharp as most assumed. They felt strong enough to be a threat, but they were highly specialized and their exoskeletons were somewhat weak. Most likely he could have crumpled them with gravity, though he held off until he knew whether peace was possible.

The humanoid Slescans were more promising, since they felt distinctly like Archcrafters to him. They had lumpy soulhomes of sublime mud, without any shielding walls, but anyone who could soulcraft had to possess at least some sentience. One of the nearest appeared somewhat male, if facial shape was any indication, so Theo walked to stand in front of him.

"Can you understand me?"

"Kill! Incursion! Kill!" The scout thrashed more violently as Theo drew close, four arms each holding a knife and all flailing wildly. He'd stopped emitting the [Kill] pheromones and instead belted them out in a quick staccato sequence. Theo heard him clearly, but had no idea if the soul translation was working the other way.

"We aren't here to fight you," Theo said, "but you attacked us."

"Enemy! Kill!"

"No, we're not enemies. Not enemies." Theo concentrated, wondering if he could somehow emit a spiritual pheromone, but that just made his head hurt.

Besides, he thought that the Slescan understood him, he just didn't care. Theo examined him more carefully, wondering exactly what this species was. Roughly humanoid aside from the four arms, more than a head shorter than him, an odd waist that looked somewhat like a thorax, and a pair of antennae. Yet this one had a head of light green hair, like a mammal. Green skin as well, though that seemed like a trivial detail compared with the odd mix of mammalian and insectoid features.

The face was the most unusual, mostly flesh but with chitinous plates emerging from the neck to the mouth, which was a lipless line. His eyes had black sclera that glinted like an insect's facets, but had green irises in the center. Despite the fact that he kept shouting "Kill!", his face showed no visible anger. In fact, it didn't show any emotion or movement aside from the antennae, which shook wildly.

Though this species might be a native inhabitant of Slest, Theo found himself wondering if they were mammals that had been transformed to match the world. They certainly acted more like insects than simians, responding with raw instinct and completely unwilling to engage. Even though they should have noticed it was useless, all of the living Slescans continued thrashing in the air.

Theo tried to talk to some of the others, but they all displayed similar behavior, attacking uselessly whenever he got near. He took the weapons away from a few of them, noting that they were crude but unquestionably crafted, far beyond what any animal on Earth could accomplish. A few of the humanoid Slescans wore clothes, but seemingly at random, just occasional shirts or wraps. They didn't appear to have any genitals and he realized that they might all be sterile workers.

Just when he was about to give up and check on Kathina, Theo noted that one of the hanging humanoids wasn't actually dead. She had a sleeker carapace than the others and held four spears loosely, her body slumped and her antennae drooping. When Theo approached her, she looked at him but didn't move.

"Enemy." Her voice was soft and it didn't sound like her heart was in it, so Theo took a step closer to talk to her.

"We don't want to fight you. You do understand me, right? We're not your enemy."

"Not enemy?" Her antennae lifted slightly.

"No. Can you tell me why you aren't struggling like the others?"

"Futility. Attack failure. Enemy too strong. Conserve energy."

He folded his arms as he considered the longest sentence he'd gotten from any of them yet. Some of the phrases resolved as several words in his mind, but the actual sounds she was making were all singular. As if verbal speech had been adapted to the insectoid method of communication and perhaps even thinking.

"Could we form a truce? Is that possible?"

"Come. Krikree report." Her voice was even softer, so Theo took another step closer to listen.

Abruptly she lurched in the air, two of her spears digging down into the ground to push her forward. Both her upper arms leapt up to impale him with the other two spears. She attacked absolutely soundlessly, her mouth closed and her eyes glittering black and green.

Theo immediately flattened her to the ground with stronger gravity, of course. While she struggled against it, he took away her spears before neutralizing her gravity again and pinning her to a point of mass in the air.

"Futility." All four of her limbs hung limp, and this time Theo thought he saw real despair in her eyes. "Gambit failure. Krikree distress."

That same sound again. Since it wasn't translated, he could guess... "Is your name Krikree?"

"Krikree." She repeated the sound and stared at him with those blank insectoid eyes, which was not exactly helpful. Theo raised a hand to touch his own chest.

"I'm Ivo." Best not to spread a pseudonym he'd used on another world, plus he predicted there was a good chance that it would get repeated.

"Ivo-what?" Krikree snapped out the phrase and waited expectantly, then began repeating it with more animation, her antennae trembling. "Ivo-what? Ivo-what?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, but at least he was getting somewhere. "I don't understand."

"Krikree is soldier caste. Krikree is scout. Krikree is Blue-Red-Blue hive. Krikree is Archcrafter. Ivo-what?"

"Well, you need to understand that our colonies aren't like yours. We don't have castes."

"Not!" She practically shouted the phrase, but when she didn't continue, Theo shrugged it off and kept talking.

"I'm from another world. Norro Yorthin hive, you could say. I'm a Ruler, but I think you know that." When she continued staring at him, Theo decided that it was time to continue with a gentler approach. "If I let you down, are you going to attack me again?"

"Krikree failure. Krikree obey."

Though he stayed alert while he lowered her back to the ground, Krikree showed no signs of attacking him. Instead she dropped down onto her haunches in a strange posture, her lower arms balanced against the ground. Her upper arms raised to her antennae, running over them repeatedly as if to smooth or clean them. When she finished, she tilted her head to the side, and though her face displayed remarkably little, Theo thought he saw curiosity there.

"Norro Yorthin hive what?"

"I'm not really sure how to answer that." Ignoring all the scouts still flailing around them, Theo sat down cross-legged across from her. "We didn't want to come here, it was an accident. But we're in your territory, aren't we?"

"Incursion bad. Kill."

"Yes, that does seem to be how it works. The colony must have leaders, queens or ranking soldier castes. Would it be possible for us to form a truce?" Around them, the endless [Kill] pheromones finally got to Theo and he glared at them in distraction. "Can you make them stop sending signals, at least?"

"Krikree is scout." She stared at him for a time, her antennae wiggling in broad circles as if tasting the air, and he reflected that this encounter was even stranger for her than for him. "Just scout. Caste too low. Krikree just scout."

"Alright, I understand that. But there must be a way we can make progress."

While he was considering his options, Kathina finally returned, gently lowering the sleigh beside all the thrashing scouts. Krikree immediately stared at it, uttering "What? What?" until it landed. Then, when Kathina stepped out and swept her hair back, there was a sudden change in behavior.

"Queen!" Krikree slammed her head into the ground, arms prostrate.

"Well, I'm no queen, but I suppose this is better than cannibalism." Kathina smirked, but glanced at him with an odd expression. "I take it that you've been gathering intelligence."

"Or trying to. They've all been useless except this one." Theo got back up to confer with Kathina, only for Krikree to tug on his pants with one arm.

"What-queen?"

"Do you mean who? This is Kathina." Theo gestured to her and Krikree immediately put her face back into the ground.

"Kathina-queen. Krikree begs for life. Krikree is good scout. Krikree more useful as worker than meat."

"Wow." Kathina folded her arms and regarded the prostrate ant for a while before shaking her head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you if you're our only source of information. Sure, you can work for us. Just answer all of his questions."

"Krikree obey." She rose back to her seated position and thrust a finger in Theo's direction. "Ivo-what?"

"Uh..." Kathina sent a befuddled glance in Theo's direction, but now that she'd started talking, Krikree didn't stop.

"Ivo-prince?"

"Ivo? And what does that mean?"

"Ivo is mate?"

"Hah, no!" Kathina smirked at him, entertained by the entire situation, but he couldn't return her smile because he was busy trying to follow Krikree's logic. She'd clearly been raised in a society somewhat similar to an ant colony, though he needed to avoid making assumptions based on Earth parallels. This situation must be as baffling to her as when Fiyu had been thrown into Tatian.

"Ivo-drone?"

"No!" Theo interrupted before Kathina could ask about that, and Krikree swung her head back and forth between them, antennae circling wildly. "I told you, our hives organize themselves differently. We're just working together."

"What? What?"

"Okay, enough." Kathina only raised her voice slightly, but Krikree immediately cowered again. After one last glance at her, Kathina focused entirely on Theo. "I went as high as I could without your help, Ivo, but I didn't see any other groups. Just one who got away, but I killed it before it even reached the next hill. That said, if they've tracked us this far, they'll probably send more after their missing scout group."

"Then we need to move," Theo said, getting back to his feet. "I guess our only choice is to head for the wild tribes group, though we should observe them first."

They made plans over the next several minutes, with Theo checking in with Krikree as a source of intelligence. She seemed adamant that a truce was impossible, declaring "Not!" every time they suggested such an option. When asked how they had been tracked, her story was less clear, but it seemed to have involved pursuing pheromones as well as finding blood from the slain barbarian.

That made Kathina frown and she eventually silenced Krikree before turning back to him. "I think our only chance is to make a false trail, then travel further off the ground in a different direction." She drew both swords from her soulhome. "Now, are you going to complain if I exterminate the bugs? Not your pet. But if we leave the others alive, they'll only give our pursuers information about us, and I know you're not so foolish as to try to take them all along."

Theo watched the thrashing insects. Speaking to Krikree had just proved that at least the humanoid Slescans were sentient, so it wasn't a trivial decision. True, they had attacked first and killed the soulcrafter whose name Theo had never even learned. No doubt they would all try to kill them again if he released his gravitational field. Still...

"Krikree, what do you think?" He glanced down at her and her antennae stood up in alarm.

"Krikree is scout."

"Come on, tell us. Surely you must have some feelings about all of them being killed."

"Queen is life and death." Krikree returned her head to the ground. "Kathina-queen can kill. Krikree thanks for mercy."

"You see?" Kathina flipped her swords around her hands with a grim smile. "It's exactly what they'd do to us. If we do this right, we can hover the bodies out in another direction to create a false trail."

In the end, Theo didn't see an alternative. As soon as he nodded, Kathina began killing the hovering scouts. They were essentially helpless, but at least they only shouted "Kill!" and [Enemy] instead of begging. Most likely the plan would work, if they flew higher and used Krikree to check their scent. He glanced back to her, expecting to see her quivering in fear, but instead she stared at him.

"Ivo-what." This time it wasn't a question, she just gazed at him with her antennae wiggling.

Gaining a source of local information should have been a relief, but Theo had a feeling that his life was about to get more interesting in the worst possible way.

Chapter 23

After one day with Tythes, Nauda would happily have gone back to fighting to survive alone in a hostile world. He hovered horizontally beside her, lying with his arms clasped behind his neck. Either he really was that lazy or he just wanted to show off.

"-of course the bears were actually all just costumes, but they didn't know that." Tythes gestured with his feet, as if that would help her understand any of his story. "So when they tried to use the paint, it exploded right in their faces! Of course, you must be wondering what happened to those socks I mentioned. Well, they-"

"Tythes, please." She stopped walking and grabbed his robes. His flight overwhelmed her physical strength, so he began to drag her. "If you're going to force me to work for you, at least tell me why."

"I was getting there!"

"I really don't think you were," Nauda said.

"Oh, fine. I'll tell you the truth." Tythes brushed away her hand and shifted to stand in front of her. "Since the very first time I met you, I have been astonished by your beauty and-"

"You haven't."

"This is actually a long con to steal more of that delicious go-"

"It isn't."

"I'm actually three badgers working an elaborate human-shaped contr-"

"No." Nauda rubbed her forehead and walked away from him. "Fine, don't tell me."

"Do you want to know the real truth?" His voice shifted, enough to draw her attention. Tythes stepped closer to her, his face deadly serious. "The truth is that you can't make me tell you, so I won't."

Nauda struck him across the face with her staff. It was very satisfying and completely useless, since it just bounced off. Even if Tythes had taken soulhome damage as well, there was no comparison between their current states. She sighed and walked away from him, which would have felt more meaningful if it wasn't in the direction he'd commanded.

She turned back around, stabbing a finger into his chest. "You know what? I think that you need me. Your own father tried to assassinate you, then threw you into an unknown world. If you had any weirkeys, you'd be gone already. You're as stuck here as the rest of us."

"Don't be absurd. This is exactly where I want to be." Tythes folded his hands behind his back and stared down at her. "This plan has been years in the making. Seven years ago, I advised my father to acquire a Slescan weirkey. Four years ago, I casually mentioned turnips in our conversation. Then I switched my robes to three shades lighter in order to-"

"Who are you trying to impress?" Nauda turned away in disgust, only to find him walking alongside her. Instead of acting ridiculous or overly serious, he spoke in a quiet tone.

"Obviously this was unplanned, because any plan that involved such a risky and unpredictable action would be a terrible one. No, truthfully this has really set me back. I have contingency plans, but I can't prepare a contingency for every region of every world. It's taken me this long to come up with a workable strategy, and unfortunately you're the first worthwhile person I've found. Before you, it was just a few barbarians and some House Crimson soulcrafters who tragically died somehow."

"You're just concerned about getting back to Fithe? You don't care that your father tried to assassinate you?"

"That's not what's happening, and I'm not mocking you this time." As they continued walking, Tythes gestured vaguely at the sky. "He gave Roker that ruby staff, which is our House's most powerful armament. That was just as an insult to me, but Roker took it as permission to arrange a plan of his own. My dear father had nothing to do with it, aside from letting him ride along."

"But you accused your father."

"In public, and you shouldn't pay attention to anything I say in public. The purpose was to shame him in front of so much of House Crimson that he couldn't control the situation. Regrettably, I didn't predict that the presence of that Ichili would press him to such a drastic countermeasure."

"So is this an assassination attempt? He hoped you'd die on Slest?"

"Maybe, maybe not. My beloved father can be quick to anger at times, but he doesn't throw away resources as valuable as an Authority." Tythes shrugged again and walked a little faster. "Most likely he just wanted to disrupt the narrative that was building, because it would have made him look bad. If I get back safely, my cherished father will welcome me with open arms and loudly professed relief. So, really, all of this is just a big inconvenience."

Nauda had thought he was actually being truthful with her, until that moment. She almost didn't push him, then changed her mind. "You didn't consider Gethyrue's injury an inconvenience. I saw the look on your face."

"That's true." Tythes turned on her abruptly, no hint of a joke on his face. "Gethyrue helped raise me, and I never wanted her to be harmed in my schemes. One of my primary goals is to find her, because I owe her more than I can repay."

She blinked and took a step back, taken off guard by his sincerity. There was no turn, either, no cruel joke. Someone who mattered to him really had been injured, and he really was at a disadvantage. Nauda wasn't sure how that made her feel.

They traveled until midday, when Tythes suddenly declared that it was time to stop. Since Nauda had nothing invested in their progress, she was happy to comply and sat down to return to her soulcrafting. While she worked on building her second floor, Tythes began pulling things from his soulhome: two tents, a low table, a statue of himself, a cooking pot, another statue of himself, a set of silver-inlaid plates, and a third statue that he spent a while adjusting beside the table.

Doing her best to ignore him, Nauda very nearly missed when he did something more subtle. Tythes slipped something very small from his soulhome and dropped it by his feet. She had only a moment to see that it was some kind of stone sphere, inlaid with complex designs that reminded her of the Chasm of Lamentations. It disappeared into the ground a moment later... and she saw that Tythes was watching her.

"You saw, huh? If you were somebody else, I'd have to kill you, but I think you can guess what it is."

"An armament from the Chasm?" Nauda asked.

"Got it in one. I thought that opening the door would be the path to endless riches, but everything within has been a real pain to figure out. This defensive sphere is great, but it's the only thing that I've made usable." Tythes sat down cross-legged beside the table and began pulling out more food.

Nauda watched him from her soulhome, certain that he was lying about how many armaments he'd mastered. Whatever the sphere did, she felt cantae flowing strangely around them. It would have been entirely invisible if she hadn't been looking for it, similar to how Fiyu's stealth skill worked. She decided that she could live with it, especially if they were moving into a more dangerous part of Slest.

After inhaling some food, Tythes began soulcrafting without moving away from the table. Nauda was actually surprised, struggling to remember if she'd ever seen him soulcraft. His control was among the tightest she'd ever seen, not offering the slightest peek into his soulhome, probably even if her telescope had been undamaged.

As she worked, Nauda thought back to what Kathina had said. Was it possible that the entire story had been a ploy, or had his soulhome truly been ruined? If so, there was a parallel between them that she'd never considered before. She would have asked, if she wasn't sure that he would react negatively.

By the time she grew tired, Nauda had made major progress on all the rooms above her death chamber. Part of her thought that she should focus more on her heartoak chamber, but she could always trim the tree back later. The rooms in her death column would significantly increase her physical strength, which she would likely need as soon as Tythes drew her into his problems.

Once she realized that she needed a break, Nauda was about to leave her soulhome when she caught a glimpse of the gloves from the Chasm. They were from a different set of ruins, but still...

"I found these in the Chasm." Nauda tossed them onto the table. "Apparently they're a neutral armament that needs to be charged, but I haven't figured out how."

"I might be able to help." Tythes poked the gloves gingerly, as if he expected them to snap at him. "But right now, I think you need to work on your core chambers. A physical fighter like yourself needs a lot of supporting rooms to survive in a place like this."

"Can you really see through my shielding wall so easily?"

"Not at all. That's just my estimation based on what I've seen of your fighting, before and after your injury." Tythes flipped the gloves back to her. "Focus on yourself for now. As soon as we get in range of something that matters, I'll need you to take a risk, then I can help with the gloves as payment."

That was about as good a deal as she could expect from Tythes, so Nauda accepted it. She ate the remaining food while he was resting, got in another hour of soulcrafting, and then fell asleep in one of the tents.

Over the next several days, they did exactly as Tythes had said. He frequently flew off for no apparent reason, always taking the stone sphere with him. She just kept marching south with no idea what he actually intended. At least in the meantime she made significant progress. Though part of her was tempted to soulcraft her staff tower to prepare for the gloves, she resisted the urge and kept working on her death column.

Eventually, Tythes returned from a flight with a smile on his face. "No more meandering!" He arced down just beside her but didn't land. "Unless you're injured or otherwise unready, we're going right now."

"Going wh - aah!" Nauda's question was cut off as Tythes grabbed her by the back of her dress and lifted her into the air.

"No time to waste! I'll explain on the way."

She hung awkwardly from his hand, likely more awkwardly than was necessary. They flew at great speed over the landscape, some of the bushes coming troublingly close to her feet. At least the aura of his cantae blocked the wind from her as well, otherwise the flight would have been miserable.

"To leave Slest, we obviously need to find a weirkey," Tythes said. "The problem is, though this region can produce a large number of lesser soulcrafters, Authorities are actually relatively rare. I made trouble over a large area and didn't get any satisfying resistance. But my investigations have revealed that every colony needs to have at least one person who is an Authority: the primary queen."

"Do you mean a monarch, or is this a bug thing?"

"Most of these insects are sterile, you know. Only the queens have the ability to reproduce, and the lesser ones do so in great numbers. But each colony has a primary queen who only has select children who become the next general of elites, and she also serves as the primary leader."

"That sounds like a monarch."

"Hush, there's no time for that." Tythes swung her back and forward in the air. "This region is divided into two... queendoms, you might say. Almost all of these hives belongs to one or the other, aside from a few independent colonies. I'm not sure about the soul translation, but they seem to be called the Blue-Red-Blue hive and the Gray-Blue-Gold hive. We need to approach one of them, and we need to do it carefully."

So he had a decent plan after all. Nauda squirmed enough to get a look at him and saw that Tythes appeared completely serious. "So, we're going to approach a hive?"

"Of course not, where did you get that idea? No, getting anywhere near the lower castes just leads to a lethal response. What we need to do is attack the queen directly."

"Uh... that doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Trust me, I think it will work. Now, this plan is going to require me to act like I'm betraying you, but you should remain calm because I would never actually betray you. That way you'll stay all nice and passive while you march to your doom."

Nauda grimaced and accepted that she didn't really have a choice. They soon began flying over a region spotted with larger mounds, hundreds of the war-like bugs swarming below. So far it seemed like Tythes's sphere kept them completely hidden, but they were approaching a much larger mound. She had a feeling that their stealth wasn't going to last.

Though still lumpy and made of natural materials, the central hive also had hard surfaces of worked stone and several regions with glass windows. Nauda half-expected to see banners showing the colors of the queendom, but there were no signs of ownership at all. Even a Tatian village might have local signs or symbols, but the hive appeared completely anonymous.

Tythes landed on a nearby hill and pushed Nauda to step forward a little, then without warning shouted loud enough to hurt her ears.

"Queen Ahyona of the Blue-Red-Blue hive! I have come from far-off worlds because I've heard of your majesty!"

The only sign of a response was swarms of bugs beginning to emerge from most tunnels, many approaching them. That wasn't exactly comforting to Nauda, and everything was made much worse by what Tythes said next.

"In accordance with your customs, I have brought you a servant from my world! She will serve you well and help bridge between our hives."

So that was what he'd meant. Nauda glowered at him over her shoulder and he cast her a cheeky grin, but his attention was mostly focused on the central mound.

Then someone burst from one of the large doors, sweeping into the air on an Authority's cantae. Nauda didn't know much about Slescan species, but she immediately suspected that the figure was not a queen. He looked more human than even the humanoid bugs, with fangs and antennae atop a head that looked distinctly male to her. Male and angry.

"You dare try to deceive my queen with such words?" Even more cantae built up within him, massive wings of purple fire erupting from his back. "You will die and your bodies will feed our young!"

In a single blinding movement he released an arc of violet cantae. Tythes deflected it with one hand and reached the other into his coat, pulling out something small. A scepter. It pointed at the enemy Authority and Nauda didn't see anything happen, but a moment later his wings spluttered out and he spiraled to the ground in shock.

"Well," Tythes said with his hands on his hips, "this is going exactly according to plan!"

"By that, do you mean...?"

"This is the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen. Improvise! In this context, improvise means run!"

The bug Authority burst to his feet, furious and building up even more cantae. As Tythes lifted into the air to confront him, Nauda sprinted for her life, directly into the swarm surrounding them.

Chapter 24

Issak had lost track of the days, instead counting by recruits. Journeying through the foreign world, he'd repeatedly come across other members of the tribes, and they'd all fallen into line. All but one, and he had been killed, same as the city dweller who had attacked them. Now he led nearly two dozen soulcrafters, almost half of them with some strength at the second stage.

It wasn't enough to rule yet, but he was on his way. What he needed to do was figure out how to enslave the lesser inhabitants of this world. The larger bugs, that looked like proper humans, clearly had many of them subjugated and obediently working for them. So far, all his attempts had just required him to kill the monsters in the end.

The first land they had traveled through had been weak, sending them flying bugs that declared they needed to leave the "Gray-Blue-Gold" domain, whatever that meant. Issak and his warriors had simply ignored the messengers and continued taking what they wanted.

Now, however, they faced more serious opposition. There were always war-like bugs traveling in lines, mostly toward some conflict to the south. When they got too close, Issak would kill them, but mostly he let them be. More trouble than they were worth.

"Got a flier!" One of the warriors in back was shouting and pointing, as if he needed the help. Essan. He was strong and thought he was a leader, not that he had a chance. Problem was, people like him would join a mutiny in an instant.

"I'll take care of it." Issak drew all his cantae together and formed a lance of yellow power. No tricks, no gimmicks, just the full power of his soulhome concentrated down a single line.

Overhead, one of the huge flying bugs was buzzing around. Several of the other warriors were hooting like idiots, or even trying to shoot bolts of cantae. Issak waited until the bug got closer to overhead and he could see the beady little eyes of the bugs riding it.

His lance tore through the basket, one of the riders, and the larger bug without stopping. The surviving riders were thrown in different directions, while the beast itself drifted slower, its damaged wings struggling to keep it aloft as it dripped blue ichor. Shame they couldn't ride the fliers. He'd captured one earlier, but it refused to respond to any commands, even on pain of death.

"Now attack! Finish them all!" Issak pointed at the fallen warriors, not because it was necessary but just to get his warriors used to following his orders. They deferred to him for now, but he needed to have their absolute loyalty.

He stayed back and watched them cut down the bug survivors, emphasizing his superiority. Too many tribe soulcrafters reached the third stage and thought they were important just because their cantae was strong. His spear should have reminded them of the difference between someone who had ascended twice and someone with a true soul fortress.

"Most of them are rough." One of the warriors from his own tribe came up to stand beside him, folding her arms tightly. Rebkha, he thought her name was. "We need to whip them into shape. That means we need strong materials."

Issak glanced at her with a frown. Rebkha had never been one to make trouble, and she understood that they needed a good leader. Problem was, she was smarter than most of the warriors. If she ascended to his stage, she might try to challenge him for leadership.

But that was a problem for another day. Issak grunted and nodded to her. "Starting tomorrow, we send out a few groups to scout. There have to be strong materials in this place."

For the next week they searched more than usual, finding three new warriors but only a few materials worth anything. They ran across a mound of fat bugs that put up surprisingly little resistance before being cut down, which was the only cache. Within the disgusting tunnels they discovered some goop with a decent amount of cantae. Issak wasn't going to touch the stuff himself, but he forced it on the weaker warriors to increase his army's strength.

Most likely, if they wanted the best materials, they were going to take on one of the bigger hives. They weren't ready for that, not yet. The bugs might not be strong, but there were a lot of them.

Just when he was about ready to give up scouting, one of the warriors reported that there was some kind of pit generating cantae. Unfortunately, there was another group already there: city dwellers with a vehicle of some kind.

A flying vehicle could be just what he needed: let him ride while all the others had to walk. Since he'd said that every warrior could take what they earned, Issak declared that he and a few trusted allies were the only ones strong enough to investigate. That way he could take the vehicle for himself, as well as any powerful materials. If there actually were any.

Just getting close, he could immediately tell that this pit was something different. It wasn't a mound or tunnels, but a huge hole taken out of the earth. Similar to the mines the city dwellers loved so much, but this one had slick sides. In fact, it looked like nothing so much as a mud hole to him. But the cantae... there was something strong down at the bottom, worth investigating.

"Issak, do w-"

He raised a hand to cut off the warrior. "No talking. We need to find the city dwellers first."

At first he saw only a few bugs, toiling uselessly on the muddy slopes. Eventually he spotted them: several people in a long and flat vehicle, mostly hidden in the trees on the other side of the hole. One of them walked out and Issak immediately stared at him.

The man wore an elaborate white coat that trailed behind him. He would have looked like every other fancy city dweller... but the way his eyes stared down into the hole made Issak hesitate. Those eyes held a ruthless ambition that he didn't want to challenge. When he tried to investigate the man's soulhome, he ran into one of those walls that city dwellers loved so much, hiding their strength when they should have showed it to everyone.

That man was going to be a problem. It looked like he'd already figured out how to enslave the bugs, because he had one of them crawling behind him. If he was allowed to take the sublime materials there, he might become even more powerful, so an ambush was one option, but it could also cost them too much.

Before he came to any conclusion, Issak saw the other occupant leave the vehicle and join them. She was stunningly beautiful, her curves managing to make even the city dweller armor look good. Strong as well, no doubt about it. Suddenly Issak had a much harder choice to make.

"Boss? What do we do?"

"Shut up. I'm thinking."

Chapter 25

When they at last reached the trees, Fiyu's head was a single throbbing mass of pain. She had been maintaining her stealth technique for days, at a larger circumference than usual, with less cooperative occupants. At times she had thought Friend Theo and Friend Nauda were too noisy, but they were Ichili born compared to the Fithan soulcrafters with her.

At the end of the day when she could relax her sphere, Fiyu wanted nothing but sleep. Yet she could never rest so easily, not when she needed to take care of the others. Their group had expanded to two members of House Crimson and two soulcrafters from the wild tribes. All had agreed to band together to survive, which was sensible, but at times Fiyu questioned their intentions.

She desperately longed for Relative Guchiro to find her. Her dreams were filled with terrible visions of him being consumed in Adversary Wiltur's crimson beam. It was not unreasonable to expect him to take considerable time to search all of Slest for her, but the waiting was miserable.

"Fiyu, there are those beetles again..." It was one of the Crimson soulcrafters, so she pushed herself to investigate.

"These are not intelligent," Fiyu said quietly as soon as she saw the animals. "You should note the ridges on their upper shell. They will eat our food if they can, but otherwise they are harmless."

The soulcrafter thanked her, but the true thanks would have been leaving her to rest. It was better to have them looking to her for guidance instead of acting recklessly alone, but that meant they had to consult her about every minute detail. Every member of their group frustrated her, with one heavy exception.

Since she had already forced herself to rise again, Fiyu advanced to the first tent they had put up in camp. She was so exhausted that she didn't follow ordinary privacy rituals, merely poking her head in. Acquaintance Gethyrue had taken off her outer shirt in order to apply healing to her arm and stomach again. Though her arm was no longer burned black, Fiyu could feel the hole in her stomach, and the older woman's body still twinged in constant pain.

"Please don't mind me, girl," Acquaintance Gethyrue said. "You have enough to handle yourself."

"Is there truly nothing I can do for you?" Fiyu asked. Immediately the older woman gave a broad smile.

"You've helped more than enough. See how much better my burns are?"

As far as Fiyu understood Fithan society, that would ordinarily be a dismissal: it was a lie, but not intended to deceive her, only to make her accept the end of the interaction. But Fithan culture could still be rather confusing, and Fiyu believed there was a deeper sadness in the elder's eyes. She pretended to be strong even when she did not wish to be. So Fiyu forced herself to ask again.

"I do not understand why you are focusing on your burns. Is the injury to your stomach healed?"

Immediately Acquaintance Gethyrue smiled sadly. Instead of telling more strong lies, she pulled away the cloth band that surrounded her waist. It appeared to be a token of fashion, cinching her robes tighter, but it obscured the bloody cloth underneath. The fresh blood stains would have made the injury obvious even to someone without Fiyu's senses.

"Do you believe the injury will be... mortal?" Fiyu didn't want to ask, but having an Authority along with them, even a weakened one, made a critical difference in their plans.

"I'm not sure, if I must be truthful. The most insidious threat was a small material hidden within the flames, designed to burrow into the weakened target and kill them. It's more than I expected Roker to think of, so he must have had help." Acquaintance Gethyrue chuckled without humor. "They intended to kill my nephew, so they used a weapon that I would not be able to heal. Thus it is a threat to me as well."

"Would it be possible for us to extract the material?"

"Not unless you have an Authority available. Your relative, perhaps, but if he couldn't track our path into Slest by now, he doesn't know our location."

Fiyu was still not sure how she felt, telling Acquaintance Gethyrue about Relative Guchiro. She did not like to reveal information unnecessarily, but she feared that if he returned, there could well be another battle. After having come so agonizingly close, she could not accept another such mistake.

"So there is truly nothing I can do for you?" Fiyu asked. She said it in the strange sense of other worlds, a question that implied emotion instead of a query. So she was surprised when Acquaintance Gethyrue actually answered.

"There is one thing. When we passed that beetle mound earlier, I noticed that they produced a number of materials. The probability is low... but there is a chance that they have a form of sublime honey. It would not cure my wound, but it could fight back the infection."

"I will investigate." Fiyu hastened from the tent, glad to be given a clear mission at last.

The journey back to the mound was tiresome, but the task itself was not so difficult. Fiyu manifested a stealth sphere around herself and then simply walked inside. Just as her relative had told her, the inhabitants of Slest relied heavily on their sense of smell. It would perhaps have been troublesome for her as a novice, but her stealth technique had long since developed beyond such weaknesses.

After investigating all of the tunnels, stepping aside from the beetles when necessary, Fiyu discovered several stores. Many appeared to be food or eggs, which she left alone. But deep beneath the mound, she finally discovered a room that contained cantae-generating materials.

One of them appeared to be a type of sublime honey. Fiyu took all of it that she could carry, then examined the others. Most were relatively ordinary materials, suitable for the soldier ants that she saw frequently but not for most soulcrafters. However, there was a pale green skull with enormous mandibles that immediately reminded her of Friend Nauda's materials. Fiyu took both and departed the mound.

Along the way, she could not help but think about House Crimson again. At first, the idea of relatives being at war had been traumatizing, but she had learned that Fithans did not view relatives in the Ichili way. They were related by blood and blood alone. Their conflicts were sad, but they were not fundamentally betrayals because there was nothing to betray.

"Gethyrue?" Fiyu peered into the tent again, only to find Acquaintance Gethyrue lying on her back. There was sweat on her face, and she often flinched in pain. Yet when Fiyu drew closer, the old woman's eyes opened.

"There you are... and it seems you found it after all."

"I have done what I could." Fiyu offered her the sublime honey, which Acquaintance Gethyrue expertly applied to her wound. Following that, she entered her soulhome with the honey in hand, apparently to mirror the process internally. Soon enough she returned, her eyes more unfocused than before.

"You are a kind girl. I wish that Tythes wouldn't toy with you." Acquaintance Gethyrue reached out as if to touch her, then pulled her hand back to her stomach. "I have made my peace with myself and calmed my spirit. If I die, my soul should be stable enough to leave behind a sublime legacy."

"Truly? I had thought..."

"I've failed in some things, but not all. No, I think the attack is far enough in the past that I can pass some of my work along. If I do, you must take up all the materials. Don't let House Crimson take them, the vultures. I'm sorry to put this onto you."

Fiyu wanted to examine the woman's injury again, but wouldn't be so rude as to touch her. Instead she found a clean cloth, dampened it, and set it on the older woman's forehead. There was no need to touch her to feel the heat of a fever. This seemed to rouse her, so Fiyu dared to ask her next questions.

"Did the honey help your wound? Or was it only preparation for death?"

"It relieved some of the pain, and I may pull through yet." Acquaintance Gethyrue shook her head slowly, dislodging the cloth. "Remember what I said. Take the materials to Tythes. And... some of them should belong to you, for your kindness. You're a resourceful girl, you just need to take charge..."

The older woman lapsed into delirium and Fiyu could only sit beside her, wishing that she could do more to help. This was not the first time Acquaintance Gethyrue's condition had worsened, but it felt more serious than the previous incidents. There was little that Fiyu could do, since by far the best healer in their group was the one suffering.

Accepting that she could do no more, Fiyu went to her tent. None of the others had put it up for her, so she fumbled through the motions herself. In the end, when she crawled into a safely enclosed space, she should have fallen asleep immediately, yet she remained awake.

She wanted Relative Guchiro, yes, but she also longed for her friends. Thoughts of lifemates were completely impossible at that moment, she just wanted Friend Nauda and Friend Theo sleeping in the same tent, breathing the same air. Somehow in thinking of them she drifted into the comforting darkness.

All too soon, the morning invaded. The Fithans did so little to keep out the oppressive light. Fiyu struggled up, realizing that she had forgotten to remove her mask. It had marked deep creases in her face, but that did not matter. Even a little sleep had refreshed her, and she was determined to do what Acquaintance Gethyrue had advised. She needed to take proactive steps to plan their next movements.

After dealing with the problems of her fellow travelers, Fiyu moved away from all of them and knelt down on the ground. She stilled her cantae entirely, focusing instead on her sensory chamber. No, that alone would be insufficient.

Stepping into her soulhome, Fiyu carefully removed the window that Friend Theo had helped her soulcraft, when they had just met. It and the curtain were still precious to her, so she set them aside with reverence. Instead she placed the larger curved window that she had created with Ally Navim, setting it firmly into the wall and sealing the entire construction together. She would raise sensory defenses again, but for the moment she wanted perfect vision.

Fiyu exhaled until her lungs were empty, then she breathed in the world. Her senses expanded in all directions, through the empty sky and the tunnel-ridden ground. It was further than she had ever extended herself before, and when it was done she gasped for breath.

Friend Nauda was here. Many leagues away, but she was close enough to barely be felt. Fiyu knew that she might be deceiving herself and pushed on anyway. She believed that Unknown Tythes had been present as well, which made it more likely. If only there had not been so many complications, Fiyu might have been heartened by the revelation.

Instead she returned to Acquaintance Gethyrue's tent. The older woman was already putting away her bedding, much livelier than she had been the previous day. She saw her approach and smiled.

"You seem more determined, girl."

"I believe that I have found your relative, and also one of my companions." Fiyu regretted leading with that statement and lowered her head sadly. "But I fear that it will not be easy to reach them. It seems that this region is split between two great forces that are at war. Not only many insects, but soulcrafters as well."

"Is that so?" Acquaintance Gethyrue closed her eyes and wavered for a moment, then nodded. "I can't feel them anymore, but I did think there might have been unfamiliar Authorities fighting."

"I do not know of local affairs or why they are fighting. However, it appears that the line along which their wars are fought is to our north. We must brave it if we are to reunite with others."

"And, let me guess, both our companions are sitting on the other side of the front?"

Fiyu shook her head slowly. "They are traveling directly into the center."

Chapter 26

Theo woke up to an insect sleeping on his chest, antennae bouncing against his face, and wondered just what was going on with his life. Krikree's sleep patterns were irregular, but no matter where she started, she usually ended up cramming herself into whatever part of the sleigh he occupied. He'd wanted to gain enough information about Slest to form a plan and ended up as part of a "hive" with unknown rules.

He carefully sat up and moved Krikree. When she was unconscious, she was completely insensate, so he could have been less gentle. Once he deposited her in the bottom of the sleigh, she squirmed and wiggled her arms before drawing all six limbs up against her body and going still again. After watching her a brief moment, Theo pulled a blanket from his storage room and laid it over her.

The Slescan dawn around him rendered the world in neon blue. For a few eerie moments as the sun peeked over the horizon, it entirely transformed the landscape. Theo supposed that it was beautiful, but it was also guaranteed to wake him up.

Not far from the sleigh, Kathina sat keeping watch. When he walked out to stand beside her, she yawned and slowly got to her feet. "All clear tonight. More of those soldier ants arrived, so I think we might be running out of time. Figure things out with your pet bug, alright?"

"I'll do what I can," Theo said. He saw that she'd pulled out a cooking pot and there was still something simmering within. "Breakfast?"

"Don't get used to it, but I made extra in case we move today. Now I'm going to take a nap."

Kathina left him to stand guard, which most days meant uninterrupted soulcrafting. Theo ate a little of the food while he organized his work mentally, checked the pit just in case something had changed, and then stepped into his soulhome.

As had become his routine, he began by chiseling densecrest into bricks. It was by far the most time-consuming element of soulcrafting he needed to do, so he spaced it out among all his other work and activities. One brick at a time, he was completing his third floor, chambers finishing more quickly because later rooms required fewer new walls. At the moment he had completed seven chambers, leaving only two remaining: just three walls and two ceilings.

He considered this progress to be validation of his overall strategy of focusing on material acquisition first and leaving the grunt work for later. Yes, he hadn't reached his potential earlier, but now he was thrown into a resource scarce environment like Slest and it wasn't slowing his progress at all. There was still months of work he could do before requiring new sublime resources.

Since he had no solid endgame plan, it could actually be months. He thought that the most likely path to leaving Slest would be Fiyu's relative, with the second most likely a rescue attempt from Blacksilver. But if neither occurred... could he ascend to Authority in this place? Most likely yes, but it would probably stunt his future soulcrafting unless he altered the fundamental variables.

How far those could be altered was still an open question. He'd made great progress with Krikree, but learning more only revealed how inhospitable Slest was. When they'd finally found the pit, with its potential for worthwhile sublime materials, he'd decided that they should stay as long as it took, since it would be more profitable than searching for allies who could be leagues away.

Once he'd crafted as many bricks as he could at high quality, Theo set them aside and returned to his storage room. These days, it was just as often a workroom. He made another effort at knapping the voidflint, but though his skills had vastly increased, it still managed to cut his hands. So far all his work had only produced a few shards, which wouldn't be enough for a chamber. Giving up for the time being, Theo flicked his blood into the singularity in his central chamber, washed off his hands in the heavywater, and headed out to the experimental garden.

Recently he'd created a small bed of sublime soil that he'd acquired in one of the beetle mounds and tried growing the grizzleroot within it. The soil wasn't a very powerful material, but since he was making no progress with its growth, he figured that he might as well experiment.

This was the moment of truth. Theo reached down to the first of the three buds and pulled it from the soil... only to find that it had only grown a few inches. Another failure. He sighed and placed it back into the soil, though he had little hope for significant progress.

The second bud had been a slightly different experiment: he had been watering it with heavywater from his bathing chamber instead of standard sublime water purchased in Fithe. This one had grown almost twice as much as the first, but he couldn't afford to waste such a potent sublime material growing a plant. Had it grown more because the heavywater was a more powerful material, or because it had come from within his soulhome?

For the third experiment, he'd tried something wilder: wrapping the roots around a tornadogem from his speed chamber. Ordinarily sublime plants required the same food as ordinary ones, but there was always an outside chance that it could feed off cantae directly. A long shot worth trying...

Nothing. Theo lifted the root up to his face and looked for the slightest signs of growth.

"Just what do you want?" he asked the dangling root. It still seemed to match his soulhome excellently, and he could make it take different shapes or merge with other materials with the slightest application of his will. But it refused to grow quickly, so he presumed that it was lacking the right nutrients.

So far, only sublime liquids had had much effect in his experiments. He'd tried to use some of the goo-like foods that the local Slescans ate, but the grizzleroot had rejected all of them. Holding the root in his hands, it coursed with life, but when in the soil it begrudgingly refused to grow.

Even if he figured out the grizzleroot, he still wasn't sure how he was going to integrate it into his soulhome. The fact that it had failed to synergize with the tornadogem meant that it might not serve as a good strengthening chamber. It could effectively strengthen the integrity of his soulhome, but where could it go? One common use of sublime plants was growing over the exterior walls, absorbing excess cantae and defending during times of stress like ascensions, but having the grizzleroot all over his walls would ruin the pure white exterior he'd crafted.

Theo knew he wasn't going to think of a solution by banging his head against the problem. He left his soulhome and instead walked to examine the pit. As Kathina had said, there were a few more of the soldier caste ants, so he couldn't get close as easily, but he knew what he would see.

According to Krikree, the muddy pit could produce some of the most valuable sublime materials available. She didn't know much about their exact natures, because those materials were restricted to queens, princes, and royal guards. But she did know some about their harvesting, and specifically the dangers involved.

The pheromones wafting out of the pit were still largely [Wait] and [All Clear] signals. Stealing the materials was more difficult because all the workers and soldiers would go into a frenzy if the [All Clear] pheromones dropped off too much. It was like a base where guards checked in by radio every few seconds, rendering a stealthy attack impossible. The fact that they put so much more effort into the pit than into many of their hives was a sign of how much they valued the materials.

Even as he watched, some of the soldier ants tossed beetles down over the edge, where they would tumble into the pit at the bottom. Theo shook his head and went back to his position, returning to soulcrafting. His mind hadn't fully recovered, but he could craft a few more bricks.

After only two more, he heard a skittering behind him. Krikree headed straight for his back as if she was going to climb over him, then hesitated and shifted to the side. She muttered "soulcrafting" to herself and then sat down in her usual position. He knew from experience that she would just sit there watching him for as long as it took.

Given her patience, he pushed himself until he actually made an error, cracking a brick in half. He really was close to his limits, then. Since he had some margin for error, Theo tossed the densecrest fragments into his singularity and then emerged from his soulhome to face her.

"Krikree awake," she announced. "Ivo-sister awake."

Right, she had started that about a week ago. After repeating "Ivo-what" ad nauseam, she had begun calling him "Ivo-sister". Though he hadn't bothered to ask her about it yet, it seemed like a positive title and she didn't cower before him as she did with "Kathina-queen".

"Food?" Krikree pointed at the pot eagerly. "Krikree food?"

"Yeah, help yourself." He waved her toward it and smiled when she began devouring what remained with all four hands. In the earlier days she had been hesitant about eating, as if she expected to go a long time without food. As their communication improved and she grew more comfortable, there had been less need to mind her.

Once she'd finished eating, Krikree sat back on her lower four limbs and began cleaning her antennae. Theo leaned in and decided to begin the day's session. "Krikree, we need to talk about the exact military capacity of the colony."

"Krikree scout!" She froze in position except for her antennae trembling eagerly.

"No, this isn't actually about scouting. I need to test your past knowledge. How many soldiers does the colony have?"

"What region?" Krikree asked. "Central hive? Satellite hive? Beetle farm? What, what?"

"I mean the whole thing, all of the Blue-Red-Blue colony combined. I'm hoping for a military hierarchy." When she cocked her head at him strangely, Theo decided that he needed to take a different approach. He found a stick and began drawing a circle on a sufficiently empty stretch of dirt. "Say that this is a single average hive. And these little dots are the workers, you follow? I need you to help me make enough dots. Particularly the proportion of worker caste to the soldier caste."

Krikree stared down at his drawing, then declared "Not!" and began making random scratches in the ground.

"Okay, never mind that. Do you not understand symbols?"

"Symbols what?"

"Let me try this..." He pulled some paper and pencils from his soulhome and made a little sketch with the faces of the three of them. "This is Kathina at the top, like a queen, then the two of us here. Do you understand?"

"Kathina-queen. Ivo-sister. Krikree." She answered quickly enough, but she was staring at him, not the paper. Still, he did his best to draw an organizational chart that represented his understanding so far.

"We have the queen at the top, maybe with a prince. Then there are lesser queens, leading different species. Then we have all the soldiers and workers, but do they have their own ranks? Do they all answer to the ruling roles, or are they divided into separate organizations?"

He offered the paper and pencil to her, which Krikree took carefully. She then began turning the paper around in all four of her hands, staring at it as if at an alien object. If she saw the lines, she didn't seem to grasp that they represented anything. That was always the problem: soul translation let them communicate easily about simple subjects, but the meaning could still get lost along the way.

Sighing, Theo stared out toward the pit and wondered what else he could try. Maybe he was using too much abstraction. From what he had seen of the hives, their lives were extremely concrete, even their words taking the form of tangible pheromones.

A crunching sound distracted him and he turned in time to see Krikree shove the rest of the paper into her mouth. She chewed for a time and then said "Not food!"

"Fine, we'll try something else." Theo grabbed one of the pebbles that littered the landscape and set it down on the cleared space. "Let's say this is you. This is Krikree, understand?"

"Not!" Krikree stared at the pebble as if expecting it to change, her antennae leaning forward.

Theo groaned and wondered if it was time to give up. They had advanced in some ways, but too many conversations ended up like this. He got the distinct impression that the higher castes were more human-like, so the question was if it was possible to contact them without violence. Once again, he was beginning to question if this really constituted a plan...

"Not Ivo-sister!" Krikree suddenly thrust a pebble at his face, then set it down beside the other one. "Not Krikree and not Ivo-sister. Chkchkchk."

He'd never heard the odd chittering sound that she made at the end, which completely slipped through soul translation. As always, Krikree's face revealed nothing about her feelings. Yet, the way her antennae were waggling back and forth... was that a laugh? Theo chuckled and searched around for a larger rock.

"Okay, say that this is Kathina-queen..."

Using physical objects as representations proved to be the key. Pulling into use an increasingly large number of items from around the camp, Theo gradually got a stronger understanding for how the local colonies were organized. He was still unclear on some of the social roles, but tiers of soulcrafting were relatively objective, so there was nothing that could be miscommunicated.

Beneath the queen and other potential Authorities, the only truly powerful members of a colony appeared to be the royal guard. In the case of Blue-Red-Blue colony, that meant eight Ruler tier soulcrafters spread across their entire territory. Some of the lesser members of the hive might be dangerous enough to be a threat to a Ruler, but they had stunted soulhomes and no further potential. Beneath them, there were hundreds of soldier castes like Krikree, not organized into groups beyond the specific roles and commands they had been given. Then several thousand in the worker caste, though they didn't seem to distinguish strongly between the workers and non-intelligent beasts in their service.

At least, he was fairly confident in the numbers. Krikree seemed to find the idea of representing everyone as rocks to be endlessly entertaining, letting out more "Chkchkchk" sounds and waggling her antennae with each new development.

What was clearer was that there were two major colonies at war. Krikree insisted that the Gray-Blue-Gold colony was bad, but he strongly suspected that was just her conditioning. Apparently both colonies had young queens who wanted to control the entire region, with the balance between them based on many different factors that were unclear to him.

One of them seemed obvious enough: Krikree's Queen Ahyona had taken a new Authority-tier consort and intended to press her claim after she'd born a child. The timing appeared to be a matter of some discussion, and Theo found himself wondering if it was possible for the insects to emit pheromone rumors. Insects from Earth didn't have the brain capacity, but here...

"Krikree, who did you discuss all this with?" So far, attempts to ask her about her society beyond hierarchy had failed, but he decided to push. "Did you have other sisters in the soldier caste?"

"All soldier caste sisters," Krikree answered quickly, but she did so in her stiff seated position, so he thought that might be the hive dogma.

"But do you... I don't know, spend time together? It sounds like you talk about the queen when she isn't present. Are there sisters from your hive that you miss? Did we... kill any of them when we found you?"

She stared at him unblinkingly for a time, then answered slowly. "All sisters eat together, sleep together. Nest is warm and safe. But most do not like Krikree." Abruptly Krikree skittered forward, partially climbing his shoulder and tapping her antennae against his face. "Not like Ivo-sister. Krikree glad to find new colony."

Theo smiled at her and wondered if she understood the expression. He had no antennae to respond with and wasn't sure exactly what step to take. Before he could make any decision, he felt something move in their direction and all thought of idle chatter vanished.

"We have humans incoming," Theo called as he rose to his feet. Kathina sat up in the sleigh, swords in hand, while Krikree scrambled back to grab all her spears.

It was two of the Fithan barbarians, slowly making their way around the pit and giving the soldier ants a wide berth. The man was long-haired and displaying his Ruler cantae clearly, while the woman had shorter hair and wore a heavy club across her back. Given their movements, it seemed obvious that they had seen Theo and the others and were coming to intercept.

"More trouble than they're worth, if you ask me," Kathina said as she walked up beside him. At least she'd put her swords away for the discussion.

"But we could use a few more fighters, if we're really going to try to steal the sublime materials." Theo folded his arms and watched them approaching. "If they wanted to attack us, I don't think they'd show themselves like this."

"Unless they plan to kill us in our sleep. But fine, if they're offering a truce, we can cooperate. If your pet is right about the sublime materials, I suppose there will be enough to share."

"Enemies!" Krikree helpfully pointed to the figures approaching.

"No, we just agreed we're talking to them. Only attack if they attack us."

"Yes, Kathina-queen!" Krikree immediately prostrated herself again, though she kept her grip on all her spears.

There was no more time, because the barbarians were finally within range. Thankfully they didn't shout, which might have alerted the soldier ants, but waited until they stood face to face. The man thumped his chest and spoke first.

"My name is Issak. This is Rebkha. I was your enemy in the normal world, but here, we need to stick together."

"I'm Kathina of the House of Coin," she said. "I don't suppose that you have a way back to Fithe?"

"No one will come for us. We will survive or die based on our own strength." Issak gestured out to the pit. "The bugs are guarding strong materials, aren't they? We saw you had already subjugated one of them, but you haven't attacked. If we work together, can we split the spoils?"

"Only if you cooperate," Theo said. "The pit is dangerous because it has so many guards."

That was fudging the truth, leading Kathina to shoot him a glance. He barely met her gaze, hoping his meaning was clear enough in his eyes. Though he wasn't sure about barbarian customs, something in their manner troubled him. Best to keep information from them until he could be sure.

"A fair warning," Issak said. He stepped closer and spoke in a low voice. "We will also offer you one: we fled another group of tribesmen. They would not work with you, and if they follow us, they may be aggressive. You must be wary of them."

"Thanks for telling us." The way Kathina smiled as she spoke, he thought she was suspicious now too. Maybe these two barbarians just wanted to use them to fight their kin, but there was likely something else going on.

Controlling information was going to be important, which could be a problem. Theo turned to Krikree, who was still watching them suspiciously. "Krikree, these two are members of Blue-Red-Blue now. Don't attack them, guard them. Do you understand?"

"Krikree obey!" Her black and green eyes stared into his and Theo could only hope that she comprehended what he meant.

Chapter 27

The rain hammering into the earth didn't seem to impede the bugs in the slightest, which meant its only effect was to make Nauda miserable. She'd finally managed to escape the majority of them after days of running, with numerous cuts and bites for her efforts. But since the pulsing heart within her heartoak prevented her from bleeding much, they seemed to have trouble tracking her.

Now she hid within a tiny little recess, plenty damp but at least out of the rain. She'd have looked somewhere else, if she didn't think this was the best resting place she was likely to get. Here she could recover and soulcraft in peace. Her body hurt everywhere, but at least her injuries were healing at an accelerated rate.

Most likely they'd be healing faster if she could contain all the cantae from her heartoak tree, but it just kept growing. Even though she'd built walls up to the second floor of that tower, it stretched beyond them far enough that she was going to need to trim branches to fit it under the roof.

But she'd soulcrafted too much already, so instead Nauda sat and ate some more of the leafpuller goop. She'd grown more fond of it than she'd expected, so it wasn't too bad having little else to eat. If she sat back and watched the rain, she could almost enjoy herself. The view of the world, all its blues and purples cast in muted shades, was beautiful in a way.

"Hi there!" Tythes walked directly in front of that view carrying an umbrella. "Finally found you!"

There were a number of rips and stains on his robes, making it the first time Nauda had ever seen him looking less than immaculately disheveled. His usual rumples and wine stains were clearly calculated, but this spoke of actually lacking control. It might have been a little humanizing, if he didn't also look so utterly pleased with himself.

"Are you shocked by my survival? It's a long story, I don't want to get into it. Actually, wait, you won't understand how amazing I am unless I do, so let me-"

"Just tell me whether they're still chasing you," Nauda said flatly.

Tythes stepped within her little recess, which didn't have much space, but at least he held his umbrella so it shielded both of them to some degree. "Oh, I did more than just escape. Now I have a much clearer picture of the situation here and the exact path to my survival."

"Do you mean our survival?"

"Not everything is about you, Nauda, grow up." Tythes settled into place and put his hands behind his head. "We have a few days of traveling ahead of us before it gets tricky again. I'm going to need your help, and this one will be a bit dangerous, but I'm also much more certain that you'll actually do some good this time."

Nauda frowned but decided to ignore his jibes for the time being. "I have a question first: how did you find me? I thought that I was hiding myself well."

"Oh, I put a tracker on your soulhome when we met before. Can you find it? Here's a hint: I couldn't get through your shielding walls, but that didn't matter."

Irritated, both at herself and him, Nauda stepped into her soulhome. She retreated through her outer gate to the further reaches of her soul, struggling against the pressure. It didn't take her long to find it: there was a picture of Tythes's face in bright red paint.

By this point, Nauda just sighed and went looking for a sublime material to go scrub it off.

Over the next several days, Tythes didn't explain any of his plan, instead sending her walking while he flew around apparently at random. Slower and more cautiously than before, she noted. He was strong, but whether due to his soulhome damage, his apathy, or something else, he wasn't so overwhelming that he could shrug off opponents at his own tier.

Just when her annoyance was beginning to boil over, that evening Tythes brought back a larger dinner. It contained a surprising number of sublime foods of all types, from meat cooked better than she'd been able to manage herself to dishes filled with fruit to blue rocks that tasted surprisingly sweet when licked. He didn't explain any of it, just sat across from her.

"Have you decided what you want to do with those gloves?" he asked. Nauda searched for a sarcastic reading before she decided she should take his sincerity while it was being offered.

"I have so much to rebuild, I hadn't really thought about them." Nauda pulled the gloves from her soulhome and set them down on the table away from the food. "You said you'd help me."

"I can do one of two things for you. I could interweave these with a material that would strengthen them for a specific type of technique. But my recommendation would be something different: wear one glove in real life and place the other permanently in your soulhome."

The concept of armaments paralleling interior and exterior was a common one, so Nauda voiced the obvious concern: "Won't they be opposite hands?"

"I can fix that. What I can't do, and probably can't be done, is to create perfect duplicates of these gloves to place inside your soulhome." Tythes lifted the gloves and tested the material between his fingers. "So it's your choice. You can have a fairly strong armament now that you'll eventually outgrow, or you can have one that will start slower and improve as you ascend."

"Hmm, it seems like you're trying to convince me one of these is better, but it's just so unclear..."

"I'll do either, just decide."

Actually, the latter option appealed to her much more and it was only the fact that Tythes pushed for it that made Nauda hesitate. But after all the decisions she'd made... "Alright, take one of the gloves."

"Excellent! Now, bask in the glory of my sartorial prowess!" Tythes grabbed the right glove, then slipped a bobbin of silver thread from out of his cloak. Despite his flourishes, he then proceeded to sew the new thread into the fabric in a surprisingly ordinary way.

"Is that thread from the Chasm too?" Nauda asked. "Just how much did you get from that vault?"

"Not as much as I'd hoped. It's an edge, but sadly not an overwhelming one."

"It seemed overwhelming enough before, when you used an armament and pulled an Authority out of the sky. That wasn't another Scepter of Separation, was it?"

"Oh, not at all." Tythes briefly glanced up from his work to grin at her. "It would be highly amusing to answer your question by using it on you right now, but sadly you're one of the few people the armament would have zero effect on. But against higher tier soulcrafters with more power than training... well, let's just say that it's effective."

That wasn't really an answer, but Nauda was accustomed to it, so she moved on. "All of this just to do... what? To become the Head of House Crimson?"

Unlike usual, Tythes was silent for a time before answering. "My father isn't just the head of House Crimson, and he doesn't want his family to be merely a House." After saying that, Tythes drew the glove into his soulhome and dissolved into a golden haze.

Left alone at the table, Nauda ate in silence and considered his words. It was possible that he'd displayed a moment of honesty, but she thought it was also likely that he was trying to manipulate her. His methods were nothing like the fawning adoration of Tatian, instead making her dislike him while trying to slowly convince her to cooperate. Giving her gloves, which would likely be a true gift, was only another step in that plan.

She couldn't see anything of what Tythes was doing in his soulhome, so she slipped into hers and considered her plan for the gloves. So far she had built her staff tower up to the second floor, including the ceiling, but hadn't yet decided how she was going to divide it. She had begun working on supplementary materials for her binding technique and her wards, but there might be space for a third. Her binding was already associated with her staff, so potentially the glove could be associated with wards...

Nauda shook her head as she realized there was only one real choice. Her nullstone sat in the pile of materials that she had yet to reintegrate, and she'd never explored her nullification technique to its fullest potential. Wards needed to be placed onto a surface to be effective, thus making them less appropriate for something she wore, but she could easily imagine a nullification glove.

She was figuring out the details of how to arrange her rooms when Tythes abruptly returned. He triumphantly held up the glove, so she joined him to examine it. Somehow he'd reversed it perfectly: she was holding two left-handed gloves. Of course he hadn't asked her which hand she preferred, but left was fine with her.

"Now, this is payment for your misery of the past days," Tythes said. "Which means my account is clear to run up a new misery tab! Get ready!"

Despite his enthusiasm, it was a few more days until he demanded anything of her. Nauda placed the parallel glove in her soulhome with the nullstone resting on top, and it created an immediate powerful resonance, but she didn't integrate it with her soulhome. She wanted to talk to Theo again before she sealed in any design decisions in her staff tower.

Instead, she focused on the heartoak tower. Instead of hacking off branches, she decided to fully embrace the idea of a multi-floor chamber. She used the remainder of her bricks to build her life tower to the limits of her soulhome and finally seal it off. The heartoak would soon grow to its full height and then hopefully spread out just enough to fill the chamber. She'd added narrow walkways between levels, but didn't intend to fill them with anything. Instead, she could use the heartoak as a spine onto which she could graft other materials, like the pulsating heart.

"Nauda! It's time for you to embrace your inner thieving nature!" Tythes grabbed her while she was still soulcrafting and shook her by the shoulders. "Did you finish the glove? It doesn't matter, because it's time to throw yourself into a war zone filled with brutal, merciless insects. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"You've developed the next stage of your plan?" Nauda pulled her supplies back into her soulhome and followed him as he began striding across the landscape.

"As you saw, we are no longer on good terms with the Blue-Red-Blue colony. Probably because you were an insufficient gift and definitely not due to any error on my part. But the second colony in the region is called Gray-Blue-Gold, and honestly they may be the better option. If we strike today, we can get into their good graces."

"And this involves a merciless war zone?"

"You see, the two colonies are currently in a temporary ceasefire. But Queen Ahyona of Blue-Red-Blue has recently gained an edge, and she intends to use it to defeat her rival. Queen Yeshir of Gray-Blue-Gold is outnumbered, with only one long term hope: her mother left behind another queen egg when she died. She was attempting to take it to a safer location when Queen Ahyona caught up and stole it. We now have a short time to take it back and gain her favor."

"Just how did you learn about all this?"

"I am the beetle whisperer!" Tythes threw up his hands, since there was no stopping him now. "The problem is, I'm too visible to reach the egg - all their defenses are checking for enemy Authorities. I'm going to create a distraction while you slip in, grab the egg, and escape."

"Wait, isn't the group with the egg going to be powerful?" Nauda stopped walking, looking over the horizon for the fighting, only for Tythes to grab the back of her dress and carry her on.

"It definitely will be, and I won't be able to distract them all. That's why I've prepared a pair of defenses for you." Tythes dropped the carved sphere and she nearly missed catching it. "Just hold it. You should be invisible to them until you get close, then they'll have trouble seeing you."

Nauda felt the power radiating from the sphere and looked up in surprise. "Thank you, Tythes. This will-"

"And this!" Tythes pulled a bucket from his soulhome and dumped absolutely foul smelling liquid over her head. While Nauda spluttered and tried to wipe it away, he tossed the bucket over his shoulder and went on. "I believe this will mark you with the special scent the insects use. Don't count on it alone - in fact, once they discover the deception, it may make them angry. Just run in, grab the egg, then run straight south. Don't worry about me, just get to a place where you can hide."

"But I was going to stay and weep for the nobility of your sacrifice."

"A rational response, no doubt, but there's no time. Let me tell you what to expect."

Despite his tone, Tythes did inform her of the exact location and distribution of her target in full military detail. It seemed like the Blue-Red-Blue colony had the egg within their territory, but was taking it to a safer location. Her only hope was getting far enough south that she was in contested territory, where she could hide until Tythes returned.

It was all a bit much for her, but Nauda pulled on her glove and prepared herself.

Before they spotted the caravan, they reached a region with considerably more hives. Long lines of fanged bugs traveled south, apparently not noticing them. Tythes eventually dropped her off with a wave, then hurtled in the opposite direction. Not long after, things began exploding along the horizon.

Nauda ran south, looking for the caravan. It didn't take long: unlike the ordinary lines of bugs, this one was a compact group surrounding a golden beetle. A silk platform balanced on its back, containing several humanoid warriors along with a number of items in the very center. Those had to be the eggs, and allegedly the queen egg was pearly white whereas the others were more translucent.

There were quite a few bugs around it, though, and many of them looked strong. Nauda crept closer as long as she could, trusting the stone to protect her, but it could only last so long. One of the humanoid bugs let out a cry and she sprinted toward them.

Several of the smaller ones closed on her, but Nauda leapt over their heads. While in midair, one of those on top of the beetle unleashed a burst of green flame. Nauda had no time to think, just instinctively raised her hand... and was surprised when her glove swallowed the majority of the impact.

She passed through the flames and landed on top of the beetle, but was immediately assaulted on all sides by weapons and cantae bolts. Even at her peak, she couldn't fight that many. Nauda retreated off the side of the beetle and turned so that it was at her back. All around her, the slower bugs were beginning to shift toward her, and the strongest already prepared to attack.

"Protect egg! Protect queen!" One of the leaders was shouting the commands over and over again, which made her hesitate, but they'd swarm her in another instant.

Instead of fighting them, Nauda launched herself backward, flipping in the air above the beetle. While she was inverted, she pointed her staff down and grasped the package with her technique. When she continued on and completed her flip, it was torn from its bindings and hurled into the air, to the shock and horror of the assembled bugs.

Sprinting after it, Nauda caught the bundle before the eggs hit the ground. The whole mass was bigger than it had seemed from a distance, as if each egg was as large as her head. She tore off the packaging, hoping that she'd been correct since she wouldn't get another chance.

While most of the eggs were translucent, one of them was a glowing pearl. Nauda set the others on the ground to distract her pursuers, then clutched the queen egg to her stomach and sprinted to the south.

Cries of anger thundered and a swarm began to pursue her.

Chapter 28

After a day with the city dwellers, Issak was convinced that his first impression had been wrong. Usually his instincts for people were good, but the one called Ivo wasn't nearly as dangerous as he'd seemed. All he did was plan and soulcraft all the time, never hardening himself or training with weapons. Most likely he had a few city tricks up his sleeve, but Issak was no longer worried about them.

He couldn't send any commands to the ambush party, but his old plan would work fine. The instant they had safely taken the strong materials, they would attack and kill Ivo before he got a chance to use any tricks. Then they'd be able to focus on Kathina, likely killing her with significant losses. If only she would listen to reason and join them, because he'd found that she had a warrior's heart. Those still occurred in city dwellers, if rarely.

Worst of all was how Ivo coddled that bug, always listening to its insane chatter and actually letting it touch him. Issak had thought that they'd managed to master this world, but all they'd done was steal a pet. There was nothing for him to learn, which meant every moment he stayed was wasted.

"What are we waiting for?" Issak asked for the third time. He forced the city dweller to meet his gaze and gestured out toward the pit. "I understand waiting until the rain stopped, but why now? They only add more beasts by the day."

"That's because they're preparing the materials," Ivo answered. "Better to let them do the work for us, then take the results."

"Hmph. How long will we end up waiting here?"

"As long as it takes. If you don't want the materials, you can move on without us."

Gritting his teeth, Issak shook his head. If only he had a way to send a message to the others, he might be able to hurry things along. Just then, he grimaced as the bug skittered past him to grab at Ivo's pants leg.

"Ivo-sister, the soldiers are still a bit hungry."

While Ivo thanked her and sent her away, Issak stared at him without bothering to hide his disgust. "You let that vermin call you sister? Not even brother? Do you have no pride as a man?"

In response, Ivo stared at him with the blankest look that Issak had ever seen. It was is if the idea had never once occurred to him and he needed time to think about what had been said. Normally Issak would have brushed it off as city dweller foolishness, but the void in Ivo's eyes almost made him take a step back. That stare suggested that he would much rather spend time with the bug than him.

"She seems to mean well," Ivo said, and the spell was broken. He shrugged weakly and moved away. "Anyway, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until conditions are right to harvest the materials."

Luckily, Issak didn't need to wait until their cowardice was satisfied. The very next day, the warriors that should have been under his command couldn't wait any longer and attacked the pit themselves. Issak heard their battle cries and rushed closer in time to see a cluster of several of them fighting their way through the line of guards.

Mutiny already, then? He needed to strengthen his control, if they slipped away so quickly. But as more and more of the guard bugs moved away to fight them, Issak realized that this might work in his favor.

"Come on," he said, "let's take the materials now! When are we going to get a better chance?"

"Perhaps we should." Kathina appeared beside him, drawing her swords from her soulhome. "This attack might completely ruin the timing, so we should take what we can."

Then it was finally happening. Issak got his cantae ready but nodded to the other two, offering to let them go first and thus putting him behind them. Rebkha stayed even further back, readying her sword and watching the little bug as it trailed after Ivo. Good, she could kill it when the battle turned.

First, however, they sprinted toward the pit they had been staring at for so long. A few remaining bugs turned on them, but before Issak could even prepare a single bolt, the bugs flew into the air. Some kind of cantae trick from Ivo, and it did clear the way for them to run underneath, but Issak was not impressed. All of the bugs thrashing in the air were clearly unharmed, making it a gimmick without any real power.

The sides of the mud pit were surprisingly slick and Issak nearly lost his footing before he created a spike of cantae and slammed it into the mud. Stepping on that, he was able to join the others in searching for the odd red plates that the bugs had been collecting. He noticed that Ivo floated to avoid getting his shoes muddy, which was a sad imitation of the fourth stage of power.

When Issak reached one of the partially buried plates, he carefully pried it out with one hand. Heavier than he'd expected. It was roughly triangular with an odd curve to it, almost like a scale but harder. Not bad, strong enough to take one or two into his soul fortress. Definitely not worth all the waiting, though, so Issak gestured toward his raiders on the opposite side.

Some of them ignored him, but others leapt across to attack as the ambush began.

Ivo flicked a finger and his raiders leaping into the air plummeted. Issak wasn't sure exactly what happened, but they struck the slope and tumbled down, taking bugs with them. Some of the bugs had already been falling down the slope into the hole and he wondered that it hadn't been filled up. Could the strongest materials be at the bottom? Given all the cantae around, he couldn't be sure, but he felt a powerful source.

Another gimmick, even if it was an effective one. Issak had seen city soulcrafters like that before, dangerous at a distance but crumpling at the slightest blow. Checking that Kathina was busy on the other side of the pit, Issak drew up a lance of power, preparing to throw it at Ivo's back.

Without warning the infernal bug leapt at him, making no sound but thrusting all four spears wildly. Issak hurled the half-formed spear but the thing skittered away too quickly. Her attack was infuriating, four limbs allowing her to thrust over and over again and even forcing him back a step.

Issak grabbed at one of the spears, easily snapping off the head, but the next thrusts struck his arm. Even through all his cantae reinforcement, they pierced his skin and he had to draw back. Fine, if the bug was going to get in his way, he could crush it immediately. A quick blast smashed her into the mud, then he gathered a sphere of cantae that would finish her off.

Behind the bug, Issak saw Ivo turn back to him. And flinched. That look of pure evil was back, but there was no surprise at all. Ivo began to raise a hand in his direction and Issak hastily prepared another attack.

Then a roar shook the pit. Issak was deafened by the sound and abruptly realized that it had been more than a roar: all of the mud was shuddering, sloughing down into the pit at the bottom.

Before he could react, Rebkha grabbed his arm and leapt. He wanted to scream at her for cowardice, but as she leapt out of the pit, he saw the beast emerge. A terrifyingly huge bug with a face like a demon, covered in blood red plates just like the one he'd found. It erupted from the hole at the bottom of the pit and slammed into one side, its maw consuming bug and warrior alike.

When they landed outside the pit, Rebkha looked back and faltered when she saw the beast. It swung wildly, taking another bite in their direction. It might have slammed into them if Kathina hadn't swept in, both blades cutting through its side and sending scales in every direction.

That gave Issak enough time to pull Rebkha to a safer distance and shout at all his warriors, suddenly grateful that most of them had stayed outside the pit. As soon as he got their attention, he gestured for them to come.

"You fools ruined my plan! Let's go, let the city dwellers get themselves killed!"

The warriors included many brave men and women, but one look at the monstrous bug sent them following him. It had crawled almost to the top of the pit now, its legs strangely short, as if they weren't meant for such movements. Issak didn't care, he just wanted to get away before it began its true rampage.

He didn't look back at first as they got to safety. Instead he shouted at all the warriors, reinforcing his leadership and trying to brush past the fact that they were running away. Not that any of them would believe they could fight a monster like that. He'd almost convinced himself when he felt an ominous pulse behind him.

Issak looked back and stared. The monstrous bug floated in the air above the pit, suspended upside-down, but that was barely worth his notice. Where its head should have been floated a sphere of darkness so black he thought his eyes must have been tricking him. Around that sphere spun scales, corpses, bugs, and rocks, all of them slowly falling into the darkness and vanishing without a trace.

Floating on the other side of the chaos, Ivo had his hands raised. Issak could have sworn that he looked directly at him at that moment.

"Faster, you idiots!" Issak turned away and struck at the warriors who were faltering or looking back. "We're done with this wasteland, there's a better kingdom for us to conquer to the south!"

"But..." One of the others panted for breath, but still managed to object. "What about the strong materials?"

"I already have enough for me, and if you obey I might share a few! Come on, faster! Now that we've gotten through here, it will only get easier!"

Yelling at the top of his lungs, he almost convinced himself. But Issak never looked back again.

~ ~ ~

Once the myrm was dead, Theo released the singularity. Kathina had been ready for it according to their plans, so she was safe, but nearly all of the insects in the pit had been drawn inside. Krikree... she had been knocked down and he'd needed to use a gravitational field to keep her from falling in. As soon as Kathina took control of the myrm's body, he moved to find her.

"Krikree help?" She sprang up as soon as he released the field, a bit battered and missing two of her spears but otherwise intact. "Allies bad!"

"We suspected, but we weren't sure." Theo flew them both out with a reversed field and Krikree clung to his side.

"Ivo-sister knew? Double-cross gambit?"

He blinked to hear that word coming from her, but it hadn't felt like a clumsy soul translation. The local language might be blunt in some ways, but he needed to remember that their methods of communication were sophisticated in the fields that mattered to them. Apparently Slescan insects had a concept of double-crossing, which was a bit ominous now that he thought about it.

Of course, all the barbarian soulcrafters had fled. There had been a lot more of them than he expected even in his worst projection, and Theo had only fed a few of them to the myrm. It was probably just as well that Issak had triggered everything early, because an ambush from all of them might have been worse. Given their lack of defenses against gravity, Theo wasn't terribly worried for himself, but Krikree was quite fragile.

An unfortunate percentage of the myrm's body had been consumed by his singularity, including all the head and part of the thorax. There hadn't been much choice, given how it had shrugged off most other wounds and even repelled some cantae. It was definitely a formidable sublime beast, and he understood why the local colonies would farm them so carefully.

"Are the important parts left?" Kathina asked. She stood between them and the corpse, still holding her bloody swords. "We didn't wait so long for nothing, did we?"

"Sublime materials inside," Krikree said as she skittered closer. "Krikree help!"

They took the myrm apart as quickly as possible, since the Blue-Red-Blue colony was sure to investigate the disaster soon. The unbelievable part was that this was just an adolescent myrm, forming a pit to eat any insects that fell inside until it could gain enough strength to molt. Their ancestors must have ruled Slest, before Slescan species with intelligence developed soulcrafting and began controlling their life cycles.

If they had waited until the myrm emerged on its own, in theory the sublime materials would have reached their full potential. Still, if it had been drawn out by a few more bodies sliding into its pit, it must have been close enough. They certainly harvested a bounty of scales, bones, and other sublime materials. Krikree collected many of them while repeating "Good" to herself, and Kathina seemed to believe that certain bones would be useful for strength soulhomes. The creature had many spines coated in a poison that he couldn't think of a use for, but saved in case it was valuable.

There was no skull for Nauda, given that it had been consumed by his singularity. Theo hoped that it hadn't been an important material.

Theo noticed that Kathina had stopped working on the body to stare southward. He joined her, extending his senses in case the barbarians were returning, but she immediately shook her head.

"No, I don't think they're coming back. With any luck they'll die in a more chaotic region."

"Not likely," Theo said. "They have some actually strong soulcrafters in the group, and they're reasonably organized."

"Despite their mediocre attempt at an ambush." She turned back to him and shook her head. "Never mind. We obviously need to leave this area, but where to next?"

"East, I suppose. There will be more Slescans coming from the north, the areas the barbarians go will become dangerous, and there's no point retracing our steps."

"Works for me. I'll start loading everything up."

Since Krikree seemed to have the dismantling of the myrm well in hand, Theo floated back into the pit. It had been severely damaged in the battle, but now that the myrm had emerged, the hole in the bottom was no longer a death trap. Theo descended into it, cautious just in case there were other larvae, but found only a dim cavern, not much bigger than the beast itself.

If he understood Krikree's explanation, the larva had been placed there by either adult myrms or Slescans. When Theo investigated more carefully, he found a small nest area at the center, bound by a ridge of sublime stone. It was a rather weak material, likely just designed to shelter the egg, so the cantae that was distracting him must be coming from somewhere else.

Several cantae bolts were enough to tear through the stone, and Theo eventually spotted it: a piece of ivory that had been carved into the shape of an egg. It put off decent cantae, but there was something else about it... when Theo experimented, he found that it could pass through stone easily. Curious. Since there was nothing else of use below, he ascended to meet up with the others.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked Krikree. She immediately sat back to report.

"Tunnelegg. Valuable material, not for soldier caste. Can create tunnels in stone. Can link places without moving between them."

"I see." Theo chuckled as he realized that it was the perfect sublime material at the worst possible time. It would be an excellent cap to his column for creating a wormhole, but that was one of the rooms he hadn't completed yet. Even if he'd built the walls, he couldn't afford to test something as tricky as wormholes in a dangerous world. For the time being, he'd just keep it in his storage room.

"Krikree soulcraft." She dissolved into a haze of green mist and Theo realized that it was the first time he'd seen her touch her soulhome.

She had no shielding wall and her technique was basic, so it was incredibly easy to look directly into her soul. Before he examined her construction, he noticed that she hadn't taken a single one of the sublime materials she'd gathered. Instead, she appeared to be busy repairing damage from the battle with very simple sublime mud.

As for her soulhome itself, it was a mound of half-spheres made of sublime mud, similar to many of the hives on Slest. Unlike those, hers included several chitinous shells for extra reinforcement. That let her build her second floor atop them, but as he looked over the soulhome, he had to wonder if it was structurally sound.

A dome was an inherently stable shape, but he was skeptical that some of them could stand, given all the odd angles and openings. He looked even closer in idle curiosity and noticed that there was something strange about all the points he thought would be weakest. Instead of simply being mud fused together, there were odd green flowers growing. Their roots dug into the mud, binding it together... and suddenly Theo had his solution.

When he'd been deciding where to place his grizzleroot, he'd been thinking about the empty spaces in his soulhome, but that was limiting. His walls would only be weakened by adding plant materials, and he didn't want to mar his perfect outer surface.

But those weren't his only options. His structure of nine rooms meant that he had four extra large pillars in the center. They used up some of his floor space, but he'd considered that an acceptable sacrifice to make his blueprint stable. Now that he looked at them again, he began calculating how easily he could grow the grizzleroot through them. It couldn't penetrate the glassy surfaces, but the interior of stone could easily be reinforced with a living sublime material running through it.

He finally knew where the grizzleroot would go, if he could just get it to grow. Despite everything that had happened, Theo set about soulcrafting cheerfully.

Chapter 29

With every day, Fiyu felt increasing tensions between herself and the remainder of her group. She desperately wished to travel north in order to reunite with Friend Nauda, but many flatly refused, and all were unsympathetic except for Acquaintance Gethyrue. If she had been dishonest, it might have been easier to convince them, but she was obligated to tell her traveling companions that Friend Nauda was actually moving in their direction.

The problem, for both parties, was the death zone in between. Most regions of Slest she had seen were covered in gently rolling hills, with generous trees and shrubs. Not this one. A long stretch of land was desolate and flat, meaning that anyone who stepped into it was easily visible. It entirely lacked tunnels underneath as well, so every path across was dangerous.

Fiyu could sense every hive in the region if she fully focused her senses, but that didn't mean that she could untangle the conflict. One mound from the first colony might be next to a mound from the second, with only occasional fighting in between them. The entire region around the death zone seemed to be contested, with boundaries changing even during the time they waited. All she knew for certain was that two substantial armies camped on opposite sides of the desolate plain, ready for a war.

At midday, when Fiyu customarily investigated their surroundings, Friend Nauda was nowhere to be found. Fiyu tried again, cleared her mind, and double-checked her soulhome, all with a rising sense of panic. Surely it couldn't be...

"Nauda is missing!" Fiyu turned to the rest of the camp and made her announcement, but she only received a few glances in return, and outright scorn from the wild tribes soulcrafters. Perhaps that was to be expected, as Friend Nauda was not their relative or ally, but it still distressed her.

"You can't find her?" Acquaintance Gethyrue asked. The old woman was feeling better that day, sitting up beside her tent without bandages. "Are you sure she hasn't just moved outside your range?"

"No, she's only been moving in our direction. It would be impossible for her to leave, unless..." Fiyu sat down beside Acquaintance Gethyrue and pressed her hands together. "Please, do you have other methods of looking for her?"

"It's not the most sophisticated, but if you have an idea where she was previously, there is one way." Acquaintance Gethyrue pulled a metal ring from her soulhome, clearly a specialized armament. When cantae began to run through it, an image of the Slescan landscape lit up within the ring. "Now, controlling it is a bit tricky, but if you could sense any landmarks..."

Though it was frustrating not to control the image herself, Fiyu offered the information she had about Friend Nauda's last location and trajectory. Almost immediately, Acquaintance Gethyrue began running across conflicts, Authorities flashing through the air so quickly they barely appeared in her seeing device for a moment. Yet those battles were moving northward and there was no sign of Friend Nauda.

Another battle took place on the ground some distance to the west, involving humanoids and even Fithans. Fiyu searched this one much more thoroughly, but there was no sign of Friend Nauda. She shifted back, discouraged, while Acquaintance Gethyrue continued examining the scene.

"This one is causing trouble..." Acquaintance Gethyrue pulled back the view and winced. "It looks like forces are beginning to move into the empty zone. If the other side sees it, that conflict could spill over."

"What was that?" One of the House Crimson soulcrafters had been standing nearby and now whirled on them. "Are you saying the bug armies are moving? Will they sweep over us?"

"I'm not sure. I can only see a small fraction of the battlefield like this, but I'm trying to find out."

"Wait." Fiyu touched the armament with one finger while using her eyes to plead with Acquaintance Gethyrue. "I would like to test something. Nauda was traveling near Tythes. Did you see him?"

Acquaintance Gethyrue closed her eyes and put a hand to her stomach. "I'm not sure. He may have been in the battle between Authorities, but it's hard to track their movements."

"What if we assume that Nauda was traveling on her former course, but moved to avoid that battle? We didn't look over that area at all. Please, you must check. You must."

The others had begun to argue, but Fiyu ignored all of them and focused on the vision of the battlefield. Just when she was beginning to despair, she caught a glimpse of blond hair: it was Friend Nauda! They needed to sweep back and catch up to her, because she was running wildly, carrying a large bundle. She staggered as if she had been on the run for several days, and wider searching revealed that there was a group of Slescans pursuing her.

Then Fiyu realized the worst of it: Friend Nauda was running directly toward the death zone. It might appear to be a relief to her after the uneven ground, but she would be visible to multiple hives in range. In her current state, she couldn't possibly survive. Fiyu didn't want to take her eyes away from the armament, but forced herself to look at Acquaintance Gethyrue.

"Gethyrue, we must help her!"

"There's no time!" One of the other Crimson soulcrafters pushed Fiyu and she gasped. "We need to retreat before they overrun us. At least to the hill with those beetles, that's always been a safer region."

Acquaintance Gethyrue looked between them briefly, closed her eyes, and finally spoke quietly. "All of you can retreat to the beetle mound. Fiyu, I'll go with you to rescue your friend."

"Oh, thank you!" Fiyu hastened closer to her, willing to be carried if necessary, but Acquaintance Gethyrue lifted them both in a sphere of cantae. They floated briefly, provoking anger from some of the others, before they streaked along the ground.

As they went, Fiyu carefully spread her stealth technique around them. It was difficult to hide an Authority's power, but Acquaintance Gethyrue was more subtle than most. Also, when Fiyu examined her cantae carefully, it flowed fitfully. This journey was no doubt costing her... but it was for the sake of Friend Nauda.

Once they began crossing over the death zone, Fiyu examined their surroundings carefully for Slescan movement. There were indeed forces advancing, but the closest groups to Friend Nauda were still those pursuing her. Strangely, they seemed to be sweeping their path methodically, as if they couldn't sense her, but surely she would be visible once she left her coverage. Now that she was closer, Fiyu could sense her friend again, needing to push through a layer of filmy cantae surrounding her.

When they drew near enough, Fiyu finally searched with her eyes as well. There, Friend Nauda! She was still staggering forward, occasionally looking over her shoulder. Fiyu had only a few moments to examine her before they swept down and the bubble enclosed her.

"Nauda!" Fiyu hastened to her so that she would not be alarmed.

"Fiyu?" Her friend stared at her, shock giving way to relief.

Fiyu was so overcome with emotion that she wanted to step forward and take her friend's hands, even though that would not be appropriate. The choice was taken from her due to the fact that Friend Nauda was carrying an enormous egg with a dense Slescan body inside. It was an irrelevant detail, but because it drew her attention, Friend Nauda lifted it carefully.

"It's a long story," she said, "but I need to take this to safety and the bugs after me want it. Can they smell through your stealth technique?"

"Do not fear, Nauda. Even if they saw you disappear, if we move they will not be able to find us."

Beside them, Acquaintance Gethyrue had dropped to her knees, blood visibly staining the front of her robes by her stomach. She took a deep breath and rose to her feet unsteadily. Clearly, flying back was not an option, but they still needed to move. Fiyu carried the egg for Friend Nauda, while she offered support to Acquaintance Gethyrue.

"I couldn't draw the egg into my soulhome," Friend Nauda said. "At least, when I tried I was afraid that it would kill the queen inside. Right, that's a queen egg. I don't think she's close to hatching, but she must have too much of a soul to be supported in my soulhome."

"I will protect the egg, Nauda. But tell me, were you traveling with Tythes?"

"Yeah, and he actually got me involved in this. He's not coming to rescue us, so I say we don't worry about him. Do you have a place to rest safely? I've been on the run for days."

"We have a camp along with four other soulcrafters. On the other side of this empty region, it is considerably more peaceful."

Just reuniting with one of her companions left Fiyu much encouraged, and she believed that it was reasonable to hope that they would be able to escape safely. Behind them, she noted that there were groups of Slescans and Fithans entering the death zone, but they should be unable to detect her presence.

Then she felt a Ruler's cantae begin to blast across the landscape. She identified the source as a species she had not seen before, squat with heavy legs and a jagged horn on its head. Whatever its nature, it was casting out a line of cantae in a vast rolling wave. It rolled over the landscape harmlessly and there was no time to do anything but reinforce the sphere hiding them.

When the line of cantae swept over them, Fiyu felt her stealth sphere crumble away and gasped in shock. She restored it as quickly as possible, but the wave of cantae slowed, then reversed. With Acquaintance Gethyrue moving so slowly, it was impossible to dodge. The wave swept back and forth over her, eating away at her technique until they were laid bare in the middle of the death zone.

"We need to run." Acquaintance Gethyrue tried to lift into the air but collapsed back to her knees. Nauda got a better grip under her shoulder and supported her as they ran.

Yet, no matter their speed, being visible in the middle of the empty zone was a death sentence. Fiyu was unable to overcome the technique-consuming wave... until suddenly it vanished. She searched back and discovered several Fithans hacking at the Slescan that produced the wave. There were more running after them, one in the lead throwing himself forward on bursts of cantae.

He arrived before she could recover, skidding to a halt just beside them. "We took out the bug," he said tersely, "can you get us to the other side?"

"Yes, I can." Fiyu smiled, grateful that her luck had finally changed.

"Good. My name is Issak."

Chapter 30

Issak couldn't believe his luck. The huge lines of bugs had stumped him, since they might all swarm his group, and some of the others had been getting impatient. After the disaster with the monster, they were more willing than ever to challenge his leadership.

Finding not one but two city dwellers with stealth techniques was just what he needed, and he thanked the strength of his luck that he'd had an opportunity to save both of them. As they got all the way across the empty plain to the trees on the other side, he realized that he was past the worst of it. The question was just how much he could wring from this encounter.

The slender foreign beauty known as Fiyu was the one getting them through, but she would also be the biggest problem. Even if she had only reached the second stage of strength, her ability to go invisible was unacceptable. He wouldn't live with someone who could cut his throat without even challenging him to a fight. Luckily, the task of hiding his entire tribe within her sphere seemed to be draining her, so she would be weakened by the time they reached safely.

Her closest ally was also from another world, yet barely felt like a soulcrafter at all. Stunning and curvaceous, but given her lack of power Issak set her out of mind. There were much larger threats among the other soulcrafters in their group.

All of them met on the other side, some distance from the increasing fighting among the bugs but not nearly far enough for his liking. The other members of the group included two tribesmen, who stared at his group with shame, and two city dwellers with decent soul fortresses. Strangely, all of them deferred to Fiyu, perhaps because she held the threat of sudden assassination over them.

There was one strange factor: the old woman had actually reached the fourth stage of power. Ordinarily he would consider her the biggest threat, but she was suffering from an injury that left her so weak she fell unconscious as soon as they returned. Issak thought about killing her and decided that it would be better to respect her, to help convince the city dwellers of his intentions. If he could manipulate her, he might even be able to use her to control the others.

Of course, this Fiyu had already taken control of the old woman's care. She had only reached the second stage, he was fairly sure of it, but she was definitely the largest threat.

"This is a good place." Essan approached him as soon as they had enough space to be alone, gesturing around to the bluff and the nearby bug mound. "We can take food from the weak bugs, and we're shielded from the rest."

"Not far enough," Issak said. "We riled up all the bugs behind us, and there's no telling how far they'll spread. There are weak bugs everywhere. I say we deal with the city dwellers, then head east to find our new kingdom."

"What are you doing about the city dwellers?"

"I'm not letting you ruin this plan too. Shut up and obey."

Essan growled at him, but fell back. Issak began moving among his tribe, giving a few commands to prepare for the next step. With Rebkha backing his plan, he had everything he needed. They would rely on him for the important negotiations, and no matter how they ended, once the threats were gone he would be in control.

Everything was coming together. Now he just needed to get Fiyu alone.

~ ~ ~

After so long alone or with Tythes, Nauda was relieved to finally be in a group again. Of course Fiyu was the most reassuring, but it was just more pleasant to have an active camp around her. When she was honest with herself, she had to admit that it didn't matter that many were from the wild tribes - she just enjoyed the buzz of community.

Fiyu wanted to stay with her at all times, but they were both beset by obligations. The House Crimson soulcrafters debated retreating further from the lines or reinforcing their present position, while the wild tribes settled in as a defensive line.

With vastly more mouths to feed, many wanted to go steal food from the nearby mound of leafpuller bugs. It might be misplaced guilt, but Nauda wanted to start off on a better foot with this hive, especially if they would be nearby for some time. So, when no one objected too hard, she headed out to attempt to negotiate.

When she drew close, she made sure that there were only the harmless leafpuller bugs. After confirming there were no more dangerous species - Fiyu called the most common "soldier ants" - Nauda stepped near the boundaries of their mound. It might be a foolish attempt, but her conversations with Fiyu had affirmed her belief that most of the bugs were reasonably intelligent.

Several emerged to trundle in her direction, befuddled for a while before they attempted to horn her away from their mound. Nauda carefully removed one of the globules of food she'd taken before and set it down in front of them.

They reacted immediately, scuttling between the globule and her as if confused. After some time, the bugs grabbed the blob of food and pulled it into the nearest tunnel. Nauda waited, wondering if she had just given up food for no reason, but they soon emerged with a globule of their own. The leafpullers set it down, pulled back, and then watched almost motionless.

This blob seemed to be larger than hers, and Nauda had no idea how to interpret that. It seemed like an exchange of gifts and they might believe that she represented another mound. That was just guessing, but it was better than starting by stealing their food.

"Thank you." She spoke even though they didn't react to her words, then picked up the globule and retreated while facing them. Since none of the others knew that she'd carried a store of food with her, she could tell them she took this and hopefully hold them off long enough to establish good relations with the leafpullers.

On her way back, Nauda pondered their next step. She was immensely relieved to have found Fiyu and their total soulcrafting strength had increased, but that could be a problem. If they got everything in order before Tythes returned, she might be able to-

Nauda caught sight of Fiyu away from camp, kneeling to extend her senses. Issak stood behind her.

She leapt on instinct, even before he started to act. He moved with shocking speed, drawing up a powerful lance of cantae aimed at Fiyu's back. Of course she sensed it and began to rise, but Issak was a Ruler and had clearly planned to backstab her from the beginning.

Just as the lance left his fingers, Nauda hurtled in between them, catching the side with the prongs of her staff. Yet, in the instant they made contact, Nauda realized that it was going to overwhelm her. There was no time to think or analyze the situation beyond that, she just threw her body in front of Fiyu.

Pain slammed through her torso and Nauda staggered, nearly falling. She looked back and saw Fiyu, startled but unharmed. Good. On instinct Nauda looked internally and was pleased to see that her shielding wall hadn't even been scratched by the lance of cantae.

When she looked down, she stared at the hole in her stomach. Nauda tried to turn back to Fiyu but crumpled into darkness.

~ ~ ~

Just how had the other foreigner been able to absorb his lance? As Issak rushed back to camp, he still couldn't figure it out. She had barely felt like a soulcrafter at all, and his cantae should have torn right through her. Somehow she had misdirected and mostly absorbed the brunt of the damage, even if it would probably kill her.

There was no time to think about that. Issak called to his tribe to attack, but several of the city dwellers put up a shield around the old woman's tent. He shouted for them all to ignore her and move on, saying that they had all they needed.

Somehow it was actually true. Rebkha had recruited the two tribesmen that had been with the group and Essan had stolen a large portion of their supplies. Issak pretended that he had planned every detail and that they were leaving with everything they needed. As they ran over the hills, leaving behind the worst of the violence, he almost convinced himself.

When one of them asked about Fiyu, Issak told the man to shut up and tried not to think about the way her eyeless head had turned toward him.

No one pursued them and the tribe gradually slowed to a sustainable pace. Their numbers had increased and they had enough supplies to live a little more comfortably. He still needed to watch for Rebkha or Essan trying to undermine his leadership, but he was equal to the task. Now that there were no foreigners, he could control the tribe.

They had left behind the lands of monsters, both bug and human. When they reached a new hive and exterminated the inhabitants, Issak could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Chapter 31

With the barbarians gone, Theo was honestly starting to feel as if he was in control of life on Slest. Other than declining supplies of good food, he had everything he needed, so it was an opportunity to soulcraft in peace.

He'd finished all the bricks for his third floor and was putting the finishing touches on the final chamber. Once that was done, he'd finally be able to implode the miniature sun from the Chasm, strengthening his singularity and truly arriving at Ruler tier in every sense. His experiments with the grizzleroot indicated that it could definitely reinforce his stone and survive within the pillars, so that would be an excellent design as soon as he made it grow more successfully. So much was going well that he didn't even mind that he hadn't cracked the trick of the voidflint.

Once he'd reached his limits, he went to check on the others. Kathina had made more progress with the sublime materials from the myrm, so she was soulcrafting frequently. Meanwhile Krikree refused to touch any of them and he hadn't taken the time to figure out why. She was seated at the edge of camp, eyes fixed toward the armies in the distance.

"Krikree guard," she informed him.

"Yes, very good." He sat down beside her and looked out toward the armies. Eventually they were going to need to choose a new direction to travel, because heading across those lines would be a huge risk. In addition to more powerful Slescans, there were flying beetles regularly patrolling the area.

While listening carefully, Theo began picking up [Mutual Destruction] pheromones from the lines. It was hard to pick up pheromones from so far away, so for the signal to rise above all the others, it must have been emitted by a huge number of the soldiers.

"Krikree, what's that signal they're emitting?"

"What?" She cocked her head and then began cleaning her antennae.

"I mean the main pheromone coming from the armies." Theo had no idea if it would work, but if soul translation worked from pure intention and meaning, could it go the other way? He concentrated on meaning, letting all specific words and sounds slip from his mind, and tried to say [Mutual Destruction] without opening his lips.

"What? What?" Krikree crawled up his torso, her lower arms on his chest and her upper grabbing his head.

"Uh, I was trying to say..." He made another attempt at [Mutual Destruction]. Krikree stared, then suddenly scuttled back to her usual posture, chittering all the way.

"Chkchkchk. Ivo-sister can't talk. Is..." Then she emitted [Mutual Destruction], much purer and closer than any of the other signals.

"What exactly does it mean?" he asked. "They're saying it out there, but they're also fighting sometimes."

"If enemy, colony fights. If queen command, colony fights. But if nothing gained from fight, say Mutual Destruction. Is truce. Wait until command, or until battle."

Theo considered that in silence, shifting his understanding of Slescan communication yet again. He knew that ants on Earth sometimes threw themselves into battle without any sense of self-preservation, but they could also form truces in certain situations. Here on Slest, with more complex language available, apparently those tendencies had evolved. There was an ebb and flow of it, the pheromone fading when fighting broke out, but then returning as the sides watched uneasily.

For the next hour he traded pheromone signals with Krikree, never able to emit them easily but gradually improving his accuracy. Theo was so focused on pheromones and soul translation that when he heard a piercing whistle, he almost didn't understand. Then his mind kicked into gear, he recognized the Ichili code, and he leapt to his feet.

It had to be Fiyu, whistling for help. After the "help" signal, she whistled "companion injured". She used the whistle for a close relative. He doubted that her elder relative would be easily injured, and she would not use that whistle for simple allies, so it was likely to be Nauda. Somehow they had found one another. But as the call for help repeated shrilly, Theo realized how desperate she must be.

He responded with an acknowledgment whistle, which was rapidly returned. As Krikree stared and rubbed her antennae, he began a conversation with Fiyu.

She clearly needed help on the other side of the war front, even if the whistling codes weren't complicated enough to explain every detail. But as they continued communication, Theo couldn't help but listen to the pheromones as well. Fewer of the Slescans were emitting [Mutual Destruction] and more of them began repeating [War].

~ ~ ~

A terribly injured companion, a dying ally, and two associates who continued demanding more of her. Fiyu wished that she was a child again, that a trusted relative would pick her up and make everything better. If only Relative Guchiro would at last find her.

But there was no one else, only her.

The two soulcrafters from House Crimson were arguing when Fiyu walked up to them and forced herself to raise her voice. "Our group must work together to survive. You, please inventory the supplies the wild tribes did not steal. You, please repair the barricades and keep watch for Slescans."

While the first man nodded and moved away, the second glowered at her. "Why should we still listen to you? Gethyrue was healing until you forced her to overexert herself."

"Please do not cause disturbances. This is a difficult time, and the group must be unified."

"No. We need t-" He cut off as Fiyu held her cantae blade to his throat.

"My dear friend is injured and the group requires unity. If you cause disturbances, you will be removed." This time he obeyed, retreating to the barricades and watching her the entire time.

Fiyu briefly considered whether or not they might attack Friend Nauda before judging that this was unlikely. In any case, she needed to act or her friend would die. Though Fiyu had bandaged her wound to reduce bleeding, that would not be anywhere close to sufficient for such an injury.

Considering that fact led Fiyu to return to the beetle mound. The only hope of survival was the fact that Acquaintance Gethyrue was a healer, and she also required help. Fiyu could not heal a major internal wound, but she knew a method to assist her other ally. She wasted no time, moving unnoticed through the tunnels until she located more of the honey.

As soon as she found it she rushed back, barely taking care not to bump the beetles. Nothing had gone wrong in her absence, so she hastened to Acquaintance Gethyrue's tent. She appeared to be unconscious, even after Fiyu applied the honey to her wound.

"Gethyrue... I am sorry to disturb you, but you are needed." Fiyu took the step of touching her shoulder, and would even have shaken her if it had been necessary. Fortunately, the older woman regained focus, weary but awake.

"What is it?"

"My friend... she has a grave wound, and you are the only one who can help her."

Acquaintance Gethyrue nodded weakly and attempted to leave the tent, soon requiring Fiyu's physical assistance. Given the crisis, she barely even noticed the excessive contact. It was not far to the place where Friend Nauda slept fitfully.

When Acquaintance Gethyrue began to work, Friend Nauda's flesh began repairing itself much faster than it normally could. Eventually there was only a circular scar on her stomach, but she grimaced in pain. Acquaintance Gethyrue slowly lay down on the same bedroll, not even able to return to her tent, and fell asleep as well.

Now Fiyu had only herself and two unreliable associates. She sank down to the ground, the relief at Friend Nauda's healing fading as despair took her. Her friend might not bleed out, but she could still die. Both of them could easily die, even if the Slescans did not find their location and attack them.

Desperately, Fiyu whistled for help. Perhaps Relative Guchiro's search had brought him closer to her and he needed only to know her location. It might potentially draw an enemy, but she allowed herself to whistle repeatedly.

An answering whistle. From the instability, she immediately realized that it could not be her relative: it must be Friend Theo! Leaping back to her feet, Fiyu rushed to the edge of camp and began extending her senses even as they exchanged information.

The growing chaos in the death zone between them made it too difficult to detect their exact location, but Friend Theo whistled that he had two companions in good condition. Regrettably, that would not be enough to survive a crossing, not with more powerful Slescans joining the armies. Fiyu briefly hesitated in her whistles, considering attempting to cross in order to bring them back under her sphere of stealth. But some of the Slescans could defeat it with brute force, and Friend Nauda was still so injured...

In the end, they agreed to hold position. Friend Theo thought that it might be possible to survive the crossing, with additional work that he didn't know how to communicate via whistle. This was a better plan than she had, and Fiyu was grateful to communicate with him again, so she responded with approval.

Until they could reunite, she would do everything she could.

~ ~ ~

At first, Nauda had wondered if she would never wake up, then she realized that those thoughts meant she was conscious again. Not only was she conscious, there were ear-splitting whistles echoing around her.

It must have been Fiyu's Ichili codes with Theo. Or possibly her relative, and without any insult to Theo Nauda hoped that it was Guchiro instead. The sounds made her head hurt, but since everything seemed to make her head hurt, she tried to tune out the whistling and focus on herself.

Sitting up was impossible, so Nauda tested what she could move. No injuries to her limbs, it just took considerable effort to shift her arms. She managed to bring one up to her stomach and found that it was covered in dried blood. There was a tender spot where she had been struck and the flesh underneath it was a solid column of pain, but the worst seemed to have passed.

Nauda tried to conserve her strength, hoping that her soulhome could finish healing her. She faded in and out, occasionally feeling a cloth gently clean her injury and almost always seeing Fiyu beside her. If she'd had more strength, she could have offered some sort of comfort.

That evening, Nauda was surprised to hear the humming music of the leafpuller bugs. Whatever else was going wrong in the world, they continued their cheerful music. Whether it was the encouragement or just the rest, Nauda felt restored enough to enter her soulhome. She wanted to check on her heartoak and see if anything could be done to increase the speed at which her body regenerated.

Yet when she stepped through her wall, she was met by a blue glow and knew that something was wrong. All around her soulhome, the bondsfungi blanketed every hard surface. She desperately struck at one of them on her wall, but it did no good: the faint blue glow of the fungus covered the rest and it would just grow back.

When she entered her life tower, Nauda saw the worst of all: the bondsfungi had spread over the heartoak. Instead of a peaceful green, the room was lit in an unnatural blue. The cantae flowing from all the bondsfungi seemed to wrap her body in a layer of ropes... or perhaps stone. Everything about her was beginning to harden. With a cry of despair, Nauda stumbled out of her soulhome.

At least Fiyu was alive. Nauda lay back, aching, and hoped that was enough.

Chapter 32

Even though getting across the war zone was the highest priority, Theo didn't rush. It bothered him to know that Nauda might be dying on the other side, but the truth was that he didn't have any healing abilities that could miraculously save her. He'd checked with Kathina and Krikree, and since their group lacked healing, all they could provide was backup.

Accordingly, his second highest priority was preparing to survive the journey. The largest factor would be the shifts in the Slescan war, but the only variable he could control was the strength of their group. That boiled down to a grim equation of power.

Theo couldn't have ascended to Authority even if he gave up all other objectives, not under these conditions with no supporting work. Kathina hadn't revealed much, but had never implied she had a chance at ascending. She was soulcrafting daily, and of course Theo would continue his work, but neither could make a breakthrough that would substantially increase their military force.

That left their only hope the insect sitting at the edge of camp and muttering "Food" to herself.

Once it was time for a break in soulcrafting, Theo walked to sit down next to her. He waited until she finished eating whatever she had found, then pulled one of the strongest myrm bones from his soulhome and handed it to her. "Krikree, this is for you."

"Krikree guard!" She grabbed the material happily in all four hands and... just held it.

"I don't mean for you to guard, for you to add to your soulhome."

"Not!" Krikree dropped the bone and flinched back from it.

Kathina was doing her own work perched on the side of the sleigh, but apparently had been paying attention, because she stepped closer. "If I tell you that it's alright to soulcraft the material, does that make it okay? Or do I need to order you?"

"Kathina-queen!" Krikree immediately flattened in front of her. "Krikree is good soldier! Krikree not greedy, not steal!"

"This place..." Kathina shook her head and then waved to Theo. "I'll leave it to you."

Even after Kathina retreated, Krikree remained trembling in place. Theo had no idea how or if ants comforted one another, but he tried rubbing along her back. This seemed to have a little effect, so he slowly shifted up and scratched her head near the stalks of her antennae. She flicked her antennae out of the way any time he got close, but pushed her head against his fingers when he stayed near the bases.

For a moment he thought of it like petting a cat, but her hair felt completely human, not like fur. And that forced him to face the fact that Krikree was a sapient being who had been raised to live in constant fear for her life.

"It's okay, Krikree, no one is going to punish you. Are soldiers not allowed to use sublime materials in Blue-Red-Blue colony?"

"All colonies." Abruptly she pulled her head away and began rubbing her antennae with her hands, but she remained close by his side. "High materials are for high castes. Never challenge higher castes. Futility. Futility. Fut-"

"That's not how things will be here." Theo picked up the bone slowly so as not to alarm her. "You call me sister, don't you? It's okay for me to use sublime materials, so why shouldn't it be okay for you?"

"Ivo-sister." Krikree stared at him for a long time, face completely blank but her hands still running over her antennae. Eventually she crept forward and gingerly poked at the sublime bone.

In the end, he wasn't able to get her to take the bone or any of the strongest materials. The only one she would accept was the sublime meat from the myrm, which she reluctantly consumed while constantly shooting glances back toward the sleigh. He wondered if that method of induction was the key difference and planned future tests once she'd calmed down more.

Within her soulhome, Krikree sat and chewed for a while before abruptly spitting the meat out onto her walls. Yet while she'd chewed - more likely while her soul processed the material - the meat had transformed and now appeared very similar to the mud that formed the rest of her soulhome. That answered a question he'd been idly curious about, so Theo watched carefully as she began to soulcraft.

Getting her to ascend was going to be a challenge, even if the spheres of her soulhome were reasonably close to her sky. Theo developed a plan to slowly increase her potential and just hoped that Fiyu wouldn't whistle an emergency before they were ready.

Over the next several days, he slowly helped Krikree build her way up. She wouldn't soulcraft at all if Kathina was too close, and wouldn't attempt anything complex unless he was soulcrafting right beside her. When she proved reluctant to take certain materials, he focused on the bones that she was willing to take and helped her build a shielding wall. It curved inward like a partial dome, reinforced along the arc of the myrm's ribs. Not the ideal structure, and he wasn't sure how well it would hold up, but it was remarkable just how fast her mud technique could put up walls.

Instead of sleeping when they did, Krikree fell into an odd schedule. She would guard or soulcraft intensely for about an hour, then lay down wherever she was and instantly fall asleep. After a short time she'd pop up again and return to work as if she'd never stopped.

Those were his only chances to talk to Kathina easily, so when Krikree next fell asleep, he headed over to the other side of the sleigh.

"It's asleep?" Kathina asked. When he nodded, she smiled and drew a sword. "Good, I've been wanting to spar."

Theo enjoyed the physical activity to offset all his soulcrafting, even if it went pretty much the way he had expected. If he used his gravitational techniques Kathina didn't have strong counters, but without them he struggled. She could close the distance remarkably fast and was able to strike his torsion bolts out of the air with her blue sword. He wasn't helpless up close, but he couldn't compete with a Ruler who was a physical specialist.

Once they were both worn out, they sat on the same bench of the sleigh, facing opposite directions. Kathina sighed heavily and rubbed her face for a while before leaning back and staring skyward. He almost wondered if she just wanted to sleep before she spoke up.

"Did you know that we're missing the Ruling City Wargames?"

"Really?" Theo thought back, trying to count all the days since they'd entered Slest. He'd been so focused on other objectives that he hadn't really considered it. "How long will they last?"

"It probably won't matter. If someone came today, maybe they could still add us in as surprise participants. But it looks like we'll be here even longer, so the Wargames will all be over. There will be some secondary conflicts and some duels later, but nothing like the main event."

"You've never seemed to hope that the House of Coin will rescue you."

"Because they won't. It's a basic cost benefit analysis." Kathina pulled one of her swords from her soul and began carefully examining the edge. "If they had a good way to rescue me, they definitely would. I don't want to give you the impression that we discard our members. But weirkey travel is expensive, and no one could calculate exactly where we went, so... no, they won't be searching for me."

"That sounded more personal than just marking time," Theo said. "Was there something specific that you needed from the Wargames?"

"There were all manner of prizes, including some that I needed to ascend to Authority. That's what I hoped, anyway." Finding some flaw invisible to him, Kathina shifted into her soulhome for a moment before returning with an oiled rag she wiped along the blade. "Regrettably, power tends to accumulate, same as money. If war finally arrives at Norro Yorthin, the House of Coin will focus its resources on those who are already Authorities. They'd invest more in me, but as a peak Ruler, not anything beyond."

"I know that you're a competent soulcrafter, but if I knew more about your goals, I could try to help."

Kathina examined him skeptically, then abruptly shrugged. "After going through all this, I suppose it would be foolish to take advantage of one another. My blueprint is all about dualities. I have two towers with a balcony wrapped around both of them. I can give you the details, but what I'm lacking is hard to find."

"Fire and water?" Theo asked as he thought about her dual swords. He was actually fairly curious about how exactly she situated her towers and divided them into chambers.

"Earth and water. Representing Fithe itself, I'm sure you see."

"Then is it hard to find enough water materials?"

"Only to a degree." Kathina frowned at another flaw in her blade but continued speaking. "Truthfully, the House of Coin would like to expand into the oceans if possible. We already trade between cities and nations that are at war, so eventually the higher ups began to think that it was foolish to have any biases against 'mud Fithans'."

"So you're all working the long term angle."

"I guess you could say that. But I have to ask: how are you so calm about this? I know you're ambitious, so I can't figure out why you're not troubled to be trapped in situation after situation where your only option is to gain more strength. I get anxious when I feel like I don't have any control."

Theo had never considered it that way, but in a sense his entire life was under pressure: Vistgil stood high above him, along with the demons and the Cleansed Lands and so many other threats that might destroy him. The only action he'd ever had available was preparation.

"I guess I'm just used to it," he said. Kathina cast him another glance but didn't push further.

After several more days, Theo had convinced Krikree as far as he thought he could and instead had her focus on building a tower to ascend. Meanwhile, he was more than pleased with his own progress.

At long last, he had carved every single chamber on his third floor to his satisfaction, even the ones still lacking materials. To facilitate flow between floors, he carved several vents through his floors, not based on  his blueprint but entirely based on experimental data for what felt best. Adding glass might be an improvement, at least once he'd finished this step. He then removed all the displays currently on the third floor, taking particular care with the armament chamber for his coat. Once everything had been cleared and the floor was nothing but pale stone, he retrieved the miniature sun from his storage chamber.

It was another material from the Chasm of Lamentations that he'd never learned the exact identity of. That didn't matter, because its potential was obvious. Theo tried to pull his singularity up to the third floor and felt the familiar shaking of his new walls, then began the process again.

Unlike the first two times, the implosion of the miniature sun didn't completely overwhelm him. He was actually able to watch as it fell in on itself, fueled a far greater power in its core, and then exploded in all directions. The majority of the raw power was absorbed into his singularity, but the explosion also cast off violent layers of darkness.

When it was done, every surface on his third floor was coated in the same glossy black surface. Ready to be filled, in other words. The inner surfaces of his central column were still a bit rough, which he'd need to spend time on later, but his hands ached too much to try using the Esoteric Chisel on them.

Instead of replacing materials or running any other tests, Theo decided to try something much simpler. He edged close to the center of his heart column and summoned the singularity, pleased to see it rise and fall smoothly. When he reached out to touch it, the power resonated with him... and this time it was enough to lift him.

If he cradled the singularity in his hands, Theo found that he could move along with it, easily stepping off on the floor he wanted. Before, it had never been powerful enough to lift him within his soulhome, but the addition of the miniature sun seemed to have crossed the boundary. It was actually a relief, since his blueprint would have been flawed if he'd needed to add in another method later.

Theo was about to throw away the ladders he'd built when he hesitated. In his first visit to the Nine Worlds, he had always discarded old tools that were useless to him. It had never come back to bite him then, but he wasn't so confident that he'd be spared this time. Some unknown effect could weaken his singularity or his soulhome might undergo a direct assault. Since he still had room in his storage chamber, there was no sense in throwing away something useful.

But as soon as they were out of sight, they were also out of mind. Theo lifted himself into the heart of his soulhome and let his cantae flow. At last, it swept in a perfect sphere around him with no need to force its path with his mind. In the privacy of his soulhome, Theo smiled like he hadn't in years.

Chapter 33

For once in his life, Theo wasn't interrupted by a deadline. It had taken multiple days, but he'd finally guided Krikree through ascension. She seemed to have deep reserves of willpower when she applied herself, so it was more about convincing her that it was acceptable. On the other side, she seemed surprisingly cheerful, crawling around their camp and chittering to herself.

Technically they could have gained more strength by having her soulcraft a Ruler floor, but Theo decided that was too much of a risk. Just the previous day, Fiyu had whistled that Nauda was still holding and implied that their situation remained dire. Now that they had a group of three Rulers, Theo thought they could try to brave the crossing.

"Well, look at you." Kathina watched Krikree with an odd look. "Now that you've ascended, do you get a promotion? Are you a royal guard now?"

"Not!" Krikree jumped onto Theo's back as if to shield herself. He supposed that was actually an improvement.

"We are doing it today, right? No more preparation?"

"No more preparation," Theo agreed. "I've arranged to try to meet with Fiyu on the other side, but we're going to need to make it across the war front alone. I'd like to get as far as we can without drawing attention, but they'll definitely be chasing us before the end."

Theo checked over the sleigh one last time, since minor damage to one of the sublime materials could ruin their plan. It seemed in functional shape, though it would definitely need some refitting if it survived back to Fithe. Odd to think that something he'd stolen from Esaire worlds away on Deuxan had served them so well, but with luck it would carry them over the war front.

They started by retreating until they could rise without attracting too much attention. Theo began with a gravitational field dropping them into the sky, extending his range as far as he could until his soulhome began to struggle. That put them just below some of the silvery blue clouds, roughly the same shade as the sap Kathina had smeared across the bottom of the sleigh, so he hoped they wouldn't stick out too much.

Once that was done, there was no choice but to push forward. They might already have been spotted, so delay could only cost them.

For the first several minutes, he could almost believe that they'd make it through without being noticed. They sailed high over the land, silent except for the wind around them. He could see the beetles flying beneath, buzzing in simple patterns while their riders stared downward. Perhaps it would really be that easy.

Then a column of fire erupted beneath them and he barely swerved the sleigh to the side in time.

Even though he'd dodged it, the flame immediately drew the attention of every Slescan on the battlefield. They soon unleashed an enormous volley of stones, spines, and even bursts of acid... none of which had any chance of reaching them. Theo cast a gravitational field in the air below them and all the attacks cascaded back down on the battlefield.

But it wasn't long before another column of flame forced him to swerve again, and the Slescans switched to less tangible attacks. Theo created a point of anti-mass that repelled most of the weaker cantae, but the real problem would be the Rulers...

What appeared to be a a small cantae bolt suddenly blossomed into a sphere the size of his torso, swerving in midair toward the sleigh. He couldn't repel something that big, but every time he turned, their relevant speed decreased. If either side discovered that they were just trying to get across, then they'd really have no chance.

"Keep going!" Kathina leapt to the front of the sleigh and sliced through the sphere. They burst through the fragments as Theo kept accelerating, remnants of cantae scattering off his coat. Several other beams or bolts targeted them, but Kathina moved faster than he'd seen before, deflecting every one.

Unfortunately, the giant beetles that had been scouting were now rising toward them. A few on opposite sides began to fight one another, but others closed in from all directions. While still trying to fly them as straight as possible, Theo began flinging techniques in every direction.

The beetles were too armored for a simple torsion bolt to penetrate and he had no time for a singularity. Attempting his disorientation technique led one beetle to spiral wildly, but many of the others were forced on by their handlers. He could drop one or two with a maximized gravitational field, but there were too many, coming from too many directions.

When the first got within range, they began firing arrows before Kathina could get free. Krikree hopped up, her spears whirling, and battered the projectiles out of the air. Not long after, Kathina sent an arc of cantae slicing through the beetle's wings and it plummeted. But there were at least three more almost in range...

Abruptly Theo realized that he had been thinking about it wrong. Instead of targeting the beetles, he sent torsion bolts into the straps that held the baskets on their undersides. Firing bolts so rapidly made them weaker, but they were still intense enough to tear through the material and send many of the beetle handlers plummeting below.

"Enemies!" Krikree shouted at him from behind. Her announcement seemed redundant until he saw the beast emerge from the clouds.

It was an enormous dragonfly, its vast purple wings shredding clouds in all directions. He'd failed to detect it in any of his searches, since it was so far above the battlefield. Now it glided down toward them, soldier ants clinging to its back and preparing to leap.

Theo automatically tried to send it back upwards with a gravitational field, but to his surprise his cantae deflected off the sublime beast. Even when he released the field underneath them, he couldn't disable the dragonfly. His maneuver sent them plummeting away from its claws, but it was beginning to dive after them.

Krikree threw herself off the sleigh directly at the dragonfly's face. Theo stared in shock as she stabbed into its eyes with her spears, then propelled her body toward the soldiers.

His first instinct was to pull back, to make sure that they could rescue her. But they were most of the way to their goal and the fire was getting worse: Kathina was stretched to her limit repelling strikes against the sleigh and there were still more beetles he needed to fend off. Telling himself that it had been her choice, Theo gripped the controls again and increased their speed.

Not long after, the dragonfly plummeted past them in a nosedive, shedding purple blood and insectoid bodies. A small figure leapt from its back and Theo just barely resisted his instinct to strike it. Krikree landed on the back of the sleigh, her antennae vibrating wildly while she waved about her two spears as well as a sword and a long mandible still dripping purple.

"Enemies not!"

Even with the three of them, it was beginning to get worse as they approached the lines on the opposite side. Just as Theo wondered if they could make it, he heard a locating whistle. There was no sign of Fiyu, but if the plan held he knew exactly where she would be. Then he just needed to reach her in the right way...

"Kathina, we need an explosion!"

"Wait for a fireball!" she managed to shout as she continued deflecting attacks.

While they waited, Theo cast more gravitational fields, this time drawing beetles closer to the sleigh. It would be impossible to stop them if they all arrived, but he needed absolute chaos in order to escape. Just as the beetles rose to the sleigh's height, another sphere of cantae seared toward them.

This time, Kathina waited until the last possible moment and then struck it with her red sword. The resulting impact was more light than pain, but it still blinded him. He could sense beetles scattering in every direction, so he magnified their gravity instead of reducing it, sending them plummeting to the ground.

Kathina fell backward and barely grabbed the back seat, pulling herself in. Krikree grabbed at his back, chittering wildly. Theo just watched the ground sweeping up towards them and waited until the last possible second before he threw all the cantae he had into reversed gravity.

The bottom of the sleigh scraped across the ground instead of crashing. All of them were still for a moment as they caught up to the fact that they had survived. Then Theo felt the subtle sphere of cantae surrounding them and saw Fiyu approaching with a smile on her face.

Chapter 34

Though Fiyu feared another strike against her stealth sphere every step of the way, they managed to travel back to the camp without being detected. Once they left the death zone she was able to relax to a limited degree, though she didn't grow lax. Friend Theo was always silent and his ally Acquaintance Kathina seemed to understand the operation.

The difficulty was the new Slescan, who crawled onto Friend Theo's shoulder and stared at Fiyu. "Ivo-sister, what? What? What?"

"That's Fiyu," he answered quietly.

"Fiyu-queen?" The Slescan skittered into her path and dropped into a subservient position. "Krikree serve Fiyu-queen."

"This is inaccurate," Fiyu said. "I am not a queen. You do not need to serve me."

In response, the Slescan retreated to Friend Theo in panic. It appeared to be a Ruler tier soulcrafter, so potentially a valuable ally and thus worth the additional discomfort. Fiyu disliked being treated with inappropriate veneration, but at least it did not appear likely to touch her in any way.

Nothing else marred the journey back. After so long hoping, Fiyu was pleased to finally reunite all three of them. Friend Nauda still suffered from her wound, but Fiyu hoped that the reunion would bolster her spirit and allow her to make a full recovery. Clearly from the tension that seized her back even when she was not in pain, Friend Nauda had hidden struggles, but Friend Theo would be able to assist in ways that Fiyu could not.

When they returned to camp and she released her technique, one of the Crimson soulcrafters leapt in alarm and fired a cantae bolt at the Slescan. Friend Theo deflected it and scowled at the man, which appeared quite effective. Fiyu had yet to master scowling techniques. The others began meeting one another, while Fiyu pulled Friend Theo's sleeve to draw him to Friend Nauda.

She slept again, thankfully peacefully. Just having the three of them in the same tent was a great relief... if not for the Slescan, who was stiffly pointing at Friend Nauda. "What, what?"

"This is Nauda," Friend Theo said, "and she's not a queen."

"Nauda-queen. Too many queens." The Slescan shrank back, multiple muscles throughout her body trembling in some sort of inborn response. Before either of them could respond, Friend Nauda grunted and sat up.

"Please don't call me that." Her voice sounded a little weak, but the fact that she could sit up was wonderful. Friend Nauda extended an open hand to the Slescan and smiled. "There's no difference between the two of us."

"Not!"

Thankfully, Friend Theo spoke to the Slescan in low tones and it departed the tent to stand guard outside. Once it was finally the three of them, Fiyu held her breath. Fortunately, her two companions smiled at each other, and after a moment Friend Theo dropped down to hug Friend Nauda. She closed her eyes, clearly receiving necessary Tatian interactions, and let out a sigh.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"Fiyu said that you were injured," Friend Theo said as they pulled back. "You seem to be recovering well."

"I am, but we need to talk about soulcrafting later. I have some questions to ask." Friend Nauda spoke lightly, but her neck tensed as if she was hiding something. It seemed that she carried a burden that she had not shared, and Fiyu could only hope that Friend Theo could help her lift it.

Both of their bodies soon relaxed as they began to talk to one another. It had been some time since they had been in the same place, and they had all discovered such different aspects of Slest. Fiyu felt both a deep love for her companions and pride that she had chosen well. Combining their knowledge, she felt as though she had a much stronger understanding of the conflict in Slest.

After exchanging critical information, they continued speaking just for the pleasure of one another's company. If only Relative Guchiro had been present, Fiyu's joy would have been complete. She desperately hoped that one day soon she would be able to introduce him to her companions.

Surrounded by the warmth of her companions, Fiyu did not allow herself to consider the alternative.

~ ~ ~

As much as Theo enjoyed speaking with the other two, he couldn't allow himself to truly relax. There were so many threats outside the tent that would soon be intruding on them, including enormous unknown variables that could be the death of them. Even if Nauda no longer seemed likely to die, she was staying silent about something painful.

And her hair had changed. He was surprised that Fiyu had never mentioned it until he realized that the shift in color might not have registered to her. Nauda had always had light blond hair, but all the color had leached away, leaving it an unusual gray.

That evening, Kathina gathered together food from the group, added some of her own reserves, and drew nearly everyone into creating a grand meal. Clearly a way to unify the group, and he saw that she'd already earned some loyalty from the Crimson soulcrafters. Amid all the outsiders, she was no doubt a stable pillar of Fithan customs, even if from a different House. He left that entirely to her and waited until Fiyu began her soulcrafting to find Nauda.

She sat on the edge of the bluff beside their camp, staring into the depthless purple sky. Instead of facing toward the battlefield, she was actually looking toward the beetle mound not far from them. Activity still continued there, regardless of the war or the outsiders nearby.

"The bondsfungi are winning," Nauda began flatly. "I thought they were under control, but starting when I was injured, they took over. I don't know how my soulhome can recover from this."

"They aren't the worst sublime material in the world," Theo said. "We might be able t-"

"I can feel my body getting stiffer every day. I might be imagining it, but I think my skin is starting to turn gray. It's going to make me into another stone corpse, and everything I've tried has failed."

There wasn't much he could say to that. Theo thought through a number of possible compassionate responses before disregarding them. "Is that why your hair is turning gray?"

"What? No." Nauda gripped a strand of it and chuckled bitterly. "Keeping secrets seems so petty now. None of what I've tried to do mattered. I'm sorry that I wasted so much of your time designing my new blueprint."

"You sound like me."

That got her attention. Nauda stared at him and kept staring until he offered an explanation.

"Like the person I was back on Earth, I mean." Theo looked away from her and stared out over the Slescan landscape. "It's easy to get locked into a specific frame of mind. The bitterness creeps in when you don't notice. It poses as realism or humor and suddenly you're breathing it."

"So it comes back to this." Nauda raised her arm, which really did seem to take considerable effort, and gripped his shoulder. "Theo, I need you to be honest with me. What are you going to do if you defeat Vistgil? If you gain immortality and ascend to Dominion or whatever lies beyond? What then?"

"That's... so far in the future, it doesn't se-"

"Don't give me that. Is power and revenge all you care about, or is there any more to you? Oh, you're kind to Fiyu, and you helped me when I had nothing. But do you really know why, or are you just following your instincts? Are you a smarter version of these bugs, or do you stand for something?"

Theo swallowed and did her the courtesy of thinking through her statement. There were so many easy ways he could have argued and many incidents that he could have thrown in her face. But it was what she said about following instincts that got under his skin. He'd known more than a few people who thought they knew who they were, but merely chased impulses. When he'd returned to the Nine Worlds he'd been so confident in his self-awareness, and he'd been wrong. Now...

"I don't know." Theo removed her hand from his shoulder slowly, maintaining eye contact. "I can't give you a certain answer except that I don't think I'd become your worst image of me."

Nauda pulled her hand from his. Her lips parted as if she was about to speak, but then her eyes cooled and she waited. Listening.

"You know, the first time I came here, I thought I was a great hero. I thought I had a destiny. But in the end, I was just playing out a game someone else had set up, proud of being the most powerful piece. Back in Norro Yorthin... I saw someone like me. So confidently walking the easy path, believing that he'd chosen it. One thing I know: I don't want to do that anymore. I want to stop people like Vistgil, but I also want to stop the person I used to be."

She stared at him for what felt like an eternity, the sounds of night slowly encroaching on them. At last Nauda gave a weary smile and settled back. When she spoke again, it was so softly that he needed to lean closer to hear her.

"You don't like how I keep secrets, do you?"

Theo blinked in surprise, but didn't hesitate. "I told you everything essential about my identity within a year of when we met. If we're going to make accusations about identity, I'm not sure whether or not I know who you really are."

"That's fair enough. But this might not be." She stiffly raised her eyes skyward. "Can I entrust you with what I'd hoped to do?"

"Tell me first."

"You remember the city of Nlukoko. The Authority there, Ariano of the Golden Wings... he's worse than he seems. Every day I lived there, I saw how he slowly made life worse for the people of his city, and he intends to expand. I promised myself that I'd become an Authority and bring him down. Let Nlukoko become a healthy community again."

Theo nodded. "But that isn't all, is it?"

"No. Before that I lived in... I suppose it doesn't matter. Practically every city on the lower side of Tatian has the same problem... the entire system is rotten to the core." Nauda smiled bitterly. "I'm not going to ask you to revolutionize half a world, though I suppose that matches your ambition. But I do have another request. I was born in a city called Erusha, not exactly the lower side but close enough. The false community there... it's worse than anything else I've seen. Slavery of the soul, enforced by an Authority who twists your warmest emotions to servitude."

"So you want two Authorities defeated and two cities liberated."

"Yes. I suppose that's really all. I know it might seem small to you, given everything you've experienced, but those cities were my entire world once. I don't want anyone to have to grow up the way I did."

"They won't have to." Theo placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back to face him. "But it won't be me completing those dreams after your death, you're going to be there with me."

"Theo, please don't try... the bondsfungi are everywhere, and I've tried everything. Please just be kind to Fiyu and-" She cut off with a yelp as Theo dropped her into the air.

This time he didn't balance her gravity in any way, letting her plummet into the sky. He followed her and matched speeds, but enclosed himself in a separate field so that he moved smoothly while she tumbled. Nauda twisted around, looking more like her usual self as she glowered at him.

"Just... just what do you think this is going to accomplish?"

"I know you well enough to know that you're stronger than a bunch of mushrooms." Theo finally halted their fall abruptly, before they reached a dangerous height. In the early night, the Slescan countryside was almost lost in the misty shadows beneath them. "I'm not going to let you give up. I am a crazy old man and I'll experiment on you until we find something that works."

Nauda sniffled, then wiped her nose and shot him a harder glance. "I praise you for your generosity, oh glorious one."

"That's better. Now, show me your soulhome and we'll find a solution."

She reached out to grab his arm and they both entered. Just as she had said, the bondsfungi were everywhere, but Theo's first impression was much different than hers. He examined several parts of her soulhome carefully before spinning his spirit around to address her.

"They've spread everywhere, but what are they actually doing?" Theo waved his hand through a patch of bondsfungi on her life tower. "Are they consuming your sublime stone? Choking out your sublime plants?"

"I suppose not, but they're still taking over." Nauda walked through the center to throw open the door to her life tower. "Look at my heartoak! They just keep spreading, no matter what I do. I tried to destroy them, quarantine them, leave them alone... what good did it do me?"

"Maybe more than you think. I've spent over a year struggling to find a sublime plant that can feed on my cantae and grow along with my soulhome. You've tried everything else, why not embrace the bondsfungi?"

After a brief stare, Nauda shook her head sharply. The shimmer of her gray hair created a rather different effect than her blond hair once had. "I saw what they did to corpses. Grekig told me that I had to get rid of them or they'd take over, which is exactly wh-"

"He was an idiot. You're going to gain control of this sublime material and there will come a day when you'll regret ever trying to get rid of it."

"Okay, now you sound like him. Are you going to make me meditate and tell me I should feel better about being a Ruler forever?"

"I am going to poison you." Theo left her soulhome, removed a myrm spine from his, and poked her in the arm.

Nauda winced and clutched at the injury, staring at him. "Just what are you doing?"

"That's a sublime poison from a beast called a myrm. Probably not fatal, but we'll find out if you don't apply yourself. There are techniques to control poison and we're going to cover them, right now."

"And you couldn't have told me this before poisoning me?" Despite her grumbling, Nauda did return to her soulhome and Theo joined her a moment later.

"You probably mastered most of your fundamental soulcrafting skills when you were an adolescent. It's easy to forget what it feels like to attempt a task when you lack the basic skills. Now, you're going to make yourself remember."

Though she cursed him under her breath, Nauda did follow his instructions. It was difficult at first, but she gradually worked a bead of poison out of her foundation. As she cradled the sphere in one hand, she began to smile.

Chapter 35

Fiyu didn't know what Friend Nauda and Friend Theo had discussed on the first day, but it seemed to have broken down the last barrier between them. The way Friend Nauda carried her pain inside still troubled Fiyu slightly, but she was immensely grateful that Friend Theo was present to help. Slowly but surely, Nauda's injury healed and she began moving more easily, though all her muscles remained oddly stiff.

Meanwhile, Fiyu experienced a renewed desire not to fall behind her companions. She still couldn't bring herself to try to ascend, not when her Corporeal Floor was more concept than reality. But she carefully analyzed all of the Slescan materials that Friend Theo brought along with him, finding several that she hoped would serve well. When Friend Nauda negotiated with the "leafpuller" beetles, Fiyu went along and experimented with the sublime materials they had. She even traded with Acquaintance Kathina to see what she had.

The battle front had been chaotic for several days after her companions managed to pierce through. Now the conflicts gradually declined, but everyone knew that it was only a matter of time. Acquaintance Gethyrue briefly felt well enough to scan for hidden Authorities, and she believed that neither queen had arrived on the battlefield.

As far as Fiyu was concerned, she did not care for Slescan battles. She had reunited with her companions. Her every hour needed to be devoted to protecting them until her relative arrived.

~ ~ ~

With half his time dedicated to pressing Nauda to her limits, Theo wasn't as able to soulcraft as frequently as before. It bothered him at times, especially since he'd yet to solve his grizzleroot or voidflint problems. Yet she was showing real progress, actually pushing the bondsfungi from some regions of her soulhome by will alone.

He told himself that it didn't matter, since he no longer had so much brute work to do. When he had extra time, the majority of it was spent finally smoothing his heart column. Ever since the initial accident that had changed the course of his blueprint, he'd been bothered by the fact that the black surface was irregular, like a carving that conformed to no pattern. The Esoteric Chisel was the first tool he had that was equal to the task of shaping it, so he set about creating perfectly smooth walls to house his singularity. Some of the other rooms with a blackened layer needed touching up too, once he started.

Krikree couldn't leave him alone either, frequently asking questions about her third floor. Apparently her soulcrafting up to that point hadn't been done according to a formal blueprint, instead following instinctual commands. Now she happily built a new floor of oddly placed spheres, and he hoped that she would grasp the basic principles sooner rather than later.

While soulcrafting with her, he had an opportunity to analyze her chambers in greater detail. The design was brutally simple: a string of rooms enhancing strength, speed, and durability. No techniques at all, though one chamber was dedicated to pheromones and he was uncertain as to the purpose of another filled with strange materials. Overall the design didn't appear to distinguish between the first and second floors. If he understood Krikree, she had modified several chambers so she could resist types of acid and fire used by some Slescans, but otherwise her design was similar to others of comparable rank. Building that into a proper blueprint was an interesting challenge.

Distracted by thoughts of everyone he was helping, Theo's hands slipped again. A long fragment of voidflint sliced through his arm, shedding so much spiritual blood onto the ground below that his head spun.

Groaning, Theo forced himself up to clean his hands. He was doing such a bad job of this, he was practically fumbling like Nauda with the poison exercises. It had been a long time since he'd struggled so much with any element of soulcrafting.

Once he'd cleaned his hands in the heavywater, Theo returned to where he'd left the voidflint... and saw that the grizzleroot underneath had expanded. Even as he watched, the roots drank in the last of his blood.

All at once, he understood how blind he had been. For so many years on Earth, soulcrafting had been purely cerebral. Then, upon his return, all of the basic skills were so effortless for him that he'd only needed to exert himself during ascensions. It had all been just an exercise to him, and he'd forgotten the core of the discipline: he was shaping his very soul.

When Theo returned to knapping the voidflint, everything had changed. He cut his hands several more times, not due to an error he could think his way around but because that was the price the material extracted. There was a place for sober drafting of blueprints, but his soulhome needed to be built with his sweat and blood.

As he hewed out a spike of voidflint, his blood sank into the soil and his soul's foundation glowed red and black.

~ ~ ~

At first Nauda had just gone along with the exercises because Theo had forced her, but he was absolutely relentless. She had endured hours of pain struggling to soulcraft poison that wanted to dissolve her soul. After all of that, working with the bondsfungi wasn't exactly easily, but it certainly didn't feel as impossible as before.

Instead of viewing it as an infection, she reached out to it as another resource within her soulhome. Unlike all of Grekig's coaxing advice, Theo's harrowing lessons tested her, and she responded to the challenge. One small patch at a time, she convinced the bondsfungi to retreat from her other materials.

Eventually she pushed it to the exterior of her soulhome, where it actually seemed to thrive. The bondsfungi converted corpses into stone, but when attached to her walls, they reinforced the blasted stone. It covered the legs of her statue like a second skin, and though she hadn't planned on glowing blue, at times she almost liked the effect.

Moving in real life still felt a bit unnaturally stiff, but she no longer believed that the bondsfungi were an irredeemable enemy. Even if they didn't help her, they could coexist, and that was more than she had believed possible in her moments of despair.

Nauda reached her absolute limit just as the sun began to set, as planned. As she eased her aching body into a comfortable position, she heard the beetles begin their usual humming music. It had become a welcome part of her day and she thought the others agreed, even the Crimson soulcrafters staying quiet while the notes began to harmonize.

"Do they know it's music?" Nauda asked aloud, not entirely meaning to. Fiyu looked up from her own work and considered the question seriously.

"Do you mean that it might be an instinct?" she asked. "Or that it serves a purpose such as calling for kin?"

"It doesn't seem to have a clear function, but I thought I might not understand. I'd like to believe that they just enjoy the music, but I wondered..."

"We might have an answer," Theo said. He caught the attention of Krikree, then pointed toward the mound. "What?"

Krikree dropped into her reporting position and spoke rapidly. "Work beetles make sounds. Unnecessary activity. No utility. Common in all hives. Work poorly if not allowed."

"Then it is music." Nauda smiled, happier than she had expected. She almost wished that she could join them, though she knew that the beetles at best tolerated her presence. Whenever they traded, they always reacted cautiously as if she represented an enemy colony.

After the music concluded, Nauda tried to draw that peaceful sensation into her soulhome. She had more work to do, but first walked a slow circle, attuning herself to everything within. The bondsfungi seemed to respond, but they only soaked up her cantae instead of helping. Still, in that moment while humming the leafpullers' tune under her breath, Nauda didn't care.

She decided to keep walking and took a broader circle around her shielding wall... and spotted another picture of Tythes. It was much smaller than the first, but made from the same red paint. This one was sticking its tongue out.

It should have annoyed her, yet Nauda found herself more disturbed. If Tythes had marked her again, then he should know exactly where she was. Even if Fiyu's technique could block his tracking mark, Nauda was frequently outside of it. The egg she had stolen still sat among the other supplies, kept warm and fiercely guarded by Krikree after she learned about it. She couldn't think of a good reason that Tythes would rush her to steal the egg, then simply abandon it for so long.

Could his schemes finally have outpaced his strength? As much as he annoyed her, Nauda didn't want to think of him dead or captured. She decided that she would help if she could, but since he had vanished, all she could do was hope that he wasn't too miserable.

~ ~ ~

Tythes sat back, let out a huge sigh, and patted his stomach. In case that wasn't clear enough, he smacked his lips and licked the remainder of the food off his fingers. "Delicious," he declared, "simply delicious. You have outdone yourselves." He waved grandly over the remnants of the feast, then leaned closer to the Slescans on the other side of the table and spoke in a lower voice.

"Now, I believe we have business to discuss?"

~ ~ ~

Issak sat on his throne atop the mound. At last, he had the kingdom he wanted. Several months ago he had been just another member of the tribes, struggling to find food while the city dwelling cowards teamed up against him. Now, in this savage world, his strength could give him everything he was due.

There were still threats out there, to be sure. They'd journeyed a long way, but it was possible that one of the murderous city dwellers might pursue. By the time they arrived, he would be ready. Even as he watched, bugs moved piles of mud and stones to complete the large fortification around his kingdom. That type had refused to cooperate until Rebkha doused herself in some of their scents, then somehow she had managed to make them obey her.

He'd need to deal with threats from within as well, of course. Rebkha played along for now but could challenge him if he didn't pay her proper respect. Essan was an entirely different kind of problem: he'd found three more tribesmen on his excursions and promptly begun making them loyal to him alone. Eventually Issak would have to put him in his place or in a grave.

His thoughts were interrupted by one of the round bugs, approaching with a plate of honey on its back. Issak eagerly picked it up and savored the intense flavor. It had been unpalatable at first, and the bugs had just left it lying around in blobs. But after he'd started killing those who served poorly, they'd shaped up. There were always more bugs, so they could just find more of the round ones later.

"Issak! There's a bug line!"

Throwing aside the rest of the honey, Issak burst to his feet. They had only been attacked by one line of the warrior bugs, and his leadership of that battle had stabilized his control. If he wanted to stay in control, he needed to prove that he could crush every errant line of bugs that came their way. It was just the same as in the tribes: prove that you could kill your enemy by the score and they would bow to you.

Only one part of his wall was incomplete, giving the enemy an obvious entrance... and a choke point. Issak walked to it, gathering his cantae. Sure enough, there was another line of the warrior bugs headed in his direction. It looked like they might have one of their flying bugs as well, but none of those had a fraction of his power.

"Stop wasting your time!" Issak waved his hand and released a basic cantae bolt that tore through three different bugs. The rest began running toward him, jaws gaping, but he easily crushed them. "You have no chance against us. Submit to our strength!"

All of the bugs continued advancing, charging as if they didn't even notice they were being killed, crawling over their dead comrades. That line really did stretch out a long way... Issak forced a mocking laugh and gestured for the others to join him.

With their combined might, they annihilated the attackers as they came, no doubt wiping out entire generations of the bugs. Essan pushed to the front, making a grand show of impaling multiple bugs on his spear. Issak was trying to decide if he needed to step in to keep him from hogging too much glory when one of the bugs latched onto his leg.

Essan let out a bellow and stabbed the bug, killing it instantly. Another reared up, biting into his back. Issak should have saved him, but he pretended to be distracted as the bugs swarmed over his rival. Each could barely draw a little blood, but his injuries widened and his body began to tear apart, his screams seeming to go on and on...

"Issak!" The cry from behind him made him whirl, and suddenly Issak realized that there were screams coming from within the mound.

More bugs were pouring over the walls, climbing as easily as over flat ground. He briefly thought that he needed to change his plans before he saw who had called him. Rebkha had found a defensive position beside one of their buildings and generated a wall of flame, burning alive every bug that got anywhere close to her. Yet they kept coming, and their sheer indifference to their own survival made Issak hesitate.

Then part of the ground gave way and bugs exploded from below. By the time Issak realized that they had tunneled underneath, they had already killed Rebkha. At least it had been quick, since so many had torn into her at once.

Everywhere Issak looked, he saw his tribe falling to the vermin. Each of them was far superior, killing ten times their number. Any group of city dwellers would have been shocked at their strength and retreated, but the bugs threw their lives away by the dozens. Isolated and fighting for themselves, his tribesmen fell one by one.

They wouldn't take him so easily. Issak drew his cantae into one of his lesser used chambers and then brought it down around him like a hammer, crushing every bug in a vast circle. It didn't matter if he lost a few allies. A few miserable bugs would never take him. Surviving this challenge would only make him stronger, then he could start up a new kingdom.

"Are you the leader?"

The voice from above made Issak jump. When he looked up, he wasn't sure what he was seeing: the floating being looked like some sort of cross between a beautiful woman and a bug. She floated like a fourth stage but made no move to attack him, two pairs of arms folded across her chest. Her face was human enough, except for glittering gemstone eyes.

"I am Issak of th-"

"I don't care," she interrupted. "I am the queen of Blue-Red-Blue colony. You have reduced my lower castes and consumed resources. Previously, I ignored this because I was concerned with important priorities. But now it is time for war, so you must be removed."

"You want to take me down yourself?" Issak summoned an even larger hammer of cantae and slammed it around him hard enough to form a crater. "Do it, then! Or you'll watch me build a mountain of your bugs until I reach you!"

"I will not be fighting."

Issak stared at her, unable to read anything from her face. He was nearly taken off guard when a tunnel opened up nearby, but his combat instincts were too well-honed for the ambush. A single lance thrown down the tunnel killed dozens of the bugs, and the others wouldn't get close.

The queen still floated above, watching indifferently. Issak raised a fist in her direction and shouted, "If you're not going to fight me, why are you even here?"

"Queens do not fight drones. I am here to watch."

She did just that, her gemstone eyes taking in the battlefield as Issak struggled against the horde. He fought better than he ever had before, finding new reserves of strength he had never known. First one bite, then the second. When he finally went down under the waves of skittering legs, the last thing he saw was the queen watching without expression.

Chapter 36

In the early morning light, Nauda stepped out alone and forced herself through exercises that she hadn't done in years. Once she had completed her physical training and begun enhancing herself as a soulcrafter, they had been less necessary, but she needed the familiar routine. Both to calm her mind and to test her current condition.

Her movements were slow and her flesh still felt too much like stone, but if she concentrated, she could complete the physical routine. She wasn't sure if the bondsfungi were still fighting her, or if this was simply what she would have to live with now. Despite all the changes in her soulhome and Theo's approval, part of her couldn't believe that it could truly work.

Normally, only Theo and Fiyu were awake by the time Nauda finished her entire routine of exercise and soulcrafting. She always looked forward to those hours, but that day when she turned back to the camp, she knew it wasn't to be. Everyone was awake now, even Gethyrue sitting up and listening, and an argument had already begun.

"This isn't just another movement!" one of the Crimson soulcrafters shouted. "You've seen how many bugs there are, they're preparing for war!"

"They might be," Theo said, "but they're telling each other to wait, not to attack. We shouldn't retreat when we don't know which direction they'll be moving."

"You really expect us to make decisions based on voices only you can hear?"

Unwilling to get involved in the argument, Nauda instead slipped in beside Fiyu and asked, "What's going on?"

"There have been shifts in the Slescan forces," Fiyu whispered. "Now there is disagreement about whether we need to retreat from this position."

"Any idea what caused it?"

"Some claim that they felt Authority-tier soulcrafters arrive on the battlefield, but there is disagreement regarding exactly how many and when."

Nauda listened to the argument for a while longer, picking up some more of the details. Theo seemed to be arguing reasonably based on the information they had, but she wasn't sure that was enough. When she glanced over the group, she wondered if Krikree had any insider knowledge, but the Slescan only sat and looked between the speakers in confusion. Looking past her, Nauda realized that their lone Authority had been silent so far.

"Gethyrue, what have you seen?" Nauda broke into the first available pause, loud enough to cut off further argument. "You must have been paying attention for other Authorities."

"My eyesight is unclear, and most have shielded themselves." Gethyrue shook her head as if hoping to ward away attention, but many of the others turned to her. After another ragged cough, she continued. "I agree that a Slescan Authority arrived to the north, but it may not be their queen. I also felt a powerful source of cantae to the south. Someone moved at Authority speeds to the east as well, then vanished entirely."

"So they're hemming us in," one of the Crimson soulcrafters said. "Can we flee to the w-"

"That's presuming that they've noticed us at all," Theo interrupted. "Given the number of Authorities involved, rushing in any direction could be falling directly into a trap."

While the argument continued, Nauda ate her breakfast and checked her equipment. Her staff had weathered the conditions perfectly and her glove now felt comfortable on her left hand. No matter how events turned, she had a feeling the day wouldn't end without violence. Then again, it might result in more scattering, so she checked on her ordinary supplies in her soulhome as well.

Before they could come to any conclusion, an Authority impacted the battlefield. The Slescans chittered loud enough to be heard from a distance and the camp began scrambling, but Nauda instead focused on Krikree.

"Ahyona-queen." She began to tremble and shrank to the ground.

Nauda bent down beside her. "Krikree, you don't need to obey her anymore. Come with us, we'll help you."

"Yes, Nauda-queen!" Krikree hopped up and rushed to Theo's side, only partially fearful. Nauda supposed that it was a slight improvement.

Everyone scrambled for the sleigh, but fortunately Theo kept control of the situation and took the helm, with Krikree guarding him aggressively. Fiyu helped ease Gethyrue into the middle seat, supporting her carefully. Nauda started to get into the back at the same time as Kathina, so they exchanged a nod before taking opposite sides. Between the two of them, hopefully they could fend off ranged attacks.

Theo angled their path southwest as the flat region became a battlefield. Even from a distance, Nauda could feel the cantae flashing from all sides as the Slescans hurled themselves into war. She realized that Theo had been right: everything up to this point had been mere skirmishes.

Then specks appeared in the sky ahead of them and the Crimson soulcrafters let out cries of despair. Nauda shielded her eyes to look further and saw what they feared: there were flying beetles approaching. Much larger than the ordinary scouts, with large baskets filled with troops.

Clearly hoping that they were just headed to the war, Theo turned further west to try to evade the army. But then a golden beetle outpaced the others, flashing across the sky directly toward them. Much faster than the maximum speed of the sleigh, so even though some yelled at Theo to run, Nauda saw him grimly begin preparing to fight.

As it caught up to them, Nauda realized that it wasn't a true beetle at all: it was a large metal ship fashioned to look similar to the flying beetles. She wasn't sure if it was actually made of gold, but it flashed grandly in the sun. Only an Authority could move such a heavy vessel so quickly, so Nauda accepted that they were about to face one of the queens.

Cantae erupted from beneath the sleigh, binding it in place and hurling some of the inhabitants to the ground. Fiyu was jolted from her seat and Nauda caught her with one hand before instinctively pulling back. Even though Fiyu smiled at her and didn't seem upset, Nauda could barely pay attention to her. They were trapped in a spiderweb of cantae and the golden beetle had caught up to them. It didn't blast them out of the sky, instead landing not far away.

The beetle's ornate mandibles split apart, widening until they revealed a door. The queen that floated out was less human-looking than Krikree, standing upright but with a body formed of smooth red lobes. She had vicious mandibles instead of a human mouth and large eyes partially on the side of her head that regarded them somberly.

"You see, they're here!" Tythes swaggered out of the golden beetle and put an arm around the waist of the queen. "I told you, Queen Yeshir, my underlings would come through."

"Where is the egg?" The queen's voice buzzed more than the others and her eyes flickered over the group.

Suddenly Nauda was stricken with a fear that she had somehow just left the egg behind. Tythes met her gaze with a flat smile, staring daggers, and she wondered what would happen if they had lost it. Fiyu lifted the egg from its carefully wrapped position beneath her seat and raised it overhead. The pearly surface glinted in the sun and drew everyone's attention.

Tythes moved first, sweeping up the egg and presenting it to Yeshir with a grand bow. She immediately ignored the rest of them and carried the egg back into the beetle, clicking to herself and stroking it with all four arms. While the others stared, some just beginning to understand that they were spared, Tythes flew down to the sleigh just beside Gethyrue.

"Is it too late?" he asked quietly. Gethyrue gave him a weak smile and touched his cheek, entirely different from the stern role she'd played in their previous encounters.

"It seems not." She leaned back and closed her eyes. "But it would have been worth it, nephew."

"Hush, Gethyrue. Let me help you." Tythes gently lifted her from the sleigh and floated her some distance away, his cantae flowing into her.

Nauda just watched him, trying to decide if he had been faking the emotions she'd seen on his face. It could have been a performance, especially with two House Crimson soulcrafters watching, but she thought he'd betrayed some real emotion. Hopefully Gethyrue would tell him about their help so that he wouldn't sacrifice them all for whatever his new plan was.

At the front of the sleigh, Theo stepped out and stretched. He glanced back at her, but Nauda could only shrug back. The cantae webs had faded, but they were clearly embroiled in a larger scheme now. She could still feel the battle in the north, and it felt like there might be two Authorities fighting. Probably Queen Ahyona and her consort, if Nauda understood the Slescan conflict correctly.

When Yeshir emerged from the golden beetle again, Tythes finally left his aunt to float beside her. The queen placed her hands on his face and tapped her antennae against his forehead. "When a strange outsider arrived making promises, I did not truly believe. You have protected my sister egg, and I have incurred a debt I can never repay."

"It was my pleasure, Queen Yeshir." Tythes gently took one of her hands and kissed it, which made the queen shift in what Nauda thought was pleasure. She started to glare at Tythes, but had to swallow the expression when they both turned in her direction.

"But how did your underlings know that the egg had been stolen?" she asked.

"You there, underling!" Tythes stared at Nauda, his false smile promising endless pain if she didn't play along. "How did you retrieve the egg from those Blue-Red-Blue thieves?"

"I was following your orders when I saw them steal it." Nauda forced herself to smile and bowed to Yeshir. "We have done our best to care for your sister egg."

"It was sufficient," Yeshir said, "but now the battle is at hand. The egg must be taken to a safe location while I take my stand against Ahyona. All of you must prepare yourselves."

She turned away sharply to return to the golden beetle, chittering commands to unseen guards. Most of the others dispersed once she departed, discussing the events or making preparations. That left Nauda standing with Tythes, so she grabbed his robes and pulled him closer.

"Ahyona never actually took the egg from Yeshir, did she? You sent me to steal it." Nauda tried to hurl the terse accusation at him, but it slid off Tythes's lazy smile.

"The details aren't so important, are they? Thanks to your actions, the queen of Gray-Blue-Gold is grateful for your help, instead of commanding her soldiers to eat you alive." Tythes brushed her hand off his robes. "I suppose you could tell her, if you really have a death wish. But isn't it all so much better this way? Yeshir may not have a weirkey to Fithe, but if we help with her war, she can get us home."

"And what's all this kissing her hand?"

"Sadly, the majestic Queen Yeshir is without a consort and very lonely indeed."

Nauda did her best to glare through his smile. "If this was your plan from the beginning, I am going to do my level best to punch you."

"Of course it wasn't the original plan." Tythes shrugged. "In some contexts, 'improvise' means 'seduce the nearest head of state'."

They stared at one another for several seconds as Nauda struggled to accept the new situation. She might not like it, but Tythes had taken them much closer to a real solution. Before she could decide whether it was worth punching him anyway, Krikree scuttled up beside them, staring at Tythes.

"Tythes is prince?" she asked. He immediately turned to her and put his hands on his hips.

"Yes, yes I am!"

"Tythes is Yeshir mate?"

"Not exactly, but I still feel that I deserve to be called a prince." He stroked his chin theatrically. "Actually, how does Tythes-emperor sound?"

Three more golden beetle vessels landed nearby and Nauda briefly wondered just how much power this Gray-Blue-Gold colony had. But the others didn't contain new soulcrafters, they appeared to be decoys to protect the egg. Once all four flew to the south, Yeshir emerged from the last vessel and spoke over all other conversations.

"Your outsider hive has done me a service, but a great battle has begun against my rival. Your injured will be cared for, and your worker caste may retreat. But I require all soldier caste in order to kill Ahyona."

"You see," Tythes said, sliding up beside her, "Ahyona has an Authority-tier consort. Even if Yeshir and I work together, she also has her royal guard, so the outcome of the fight is truly in question. But help us fight one itsy bitsy little death feud, then we can all go home!"

"Stealth is more important than power. I require this one."

The queen floated directly to Fiyu, reaching out as if to physically take her. Nauda acted before she could think, stepping in and thrusting the tines of her staff around the queen's arm. Fiyu flinched back as Yeshir turned to Nauda.

"I do not kill you now only because of the great service you have performed." Yeshir twisted her arm and easily reversed Nauda's technique, slamming her into the ground. "But I will not tolerate interference. All useful warrior caste soldiers must fight."

"She is not yours to take."

Nauda pushed to her feet just in time to see an Ichili man emerge from the shadows, standing between Fiyu and the Slescan queen.

Chapter 37

Fiyu's breath caught in her throat as she feared she would again see her closest relative throw himself into battle. Relative Guchiro appeared ready to fight, but had yet to take any aggressive actions. Meanwhile, Unknown Yeshir's posture shifted. She had previously moved with nearly no secondary movements, but now her antennae vibrated at high speed.

"This one is a member of your hive?" she asked.

"She is kin." Relative Guchiro floated in front of her as an unmovable wall and Fiyu had to resist the urge to reach for his back.

"I respect your rights, but I am currently engaged in an existential conflict."

"Easy, easy!" Unknown Tythes slid in between the two of them, grinning cheerfully. "I don't think this has to be a bad thing at all! With three Authorities combined, we would have a definite advantage in the war. Queen Yeshir can ensure the survival of her colony and our Ichili friend here can defend his relative from her enemies. Less risk for everyone."

Unknown Yeshir turned to him, antennae twitching in an entirely different way. "You speak reason. Tell me, outsider, would you be willing to assist us?"

"I will do so if you allow me time to confirm that my kin is unharmed," Relative Guchiro said.

"Very good. We will form new plans that depend upon three Authorities."

As they turned away, Fiyu could finally breathe again. Relative Guchiro's senses scrutinized the entire group, but his eyes remained fixed on her alone. She couldn't help but stare back as his senses examined her, checking for injuries. Fiyu reached out with one hand and he interlaced his fingers with hers.

"Fiyu. You are well?"

"I am, Guchiro. I am very relieved to see you."

"There are important matters we must discuss, but later." Relative Guchiro drew her closer and Fiyu eagerly embraced him. With his dark cloak wrapped around her, she felt safe and protected in a way she had not for years.

Normally every muscle in his body was entirely controlled, but she could feel the tension in his shoulders as he held her. For the first time she had observed, her relative's body contained traces of exhaustion and stress. All on her behalf. Fiyu nestled deeper into his cloak and listened carefully as his powerful heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. Some of the stress remained, but she hoped that she would resolve it as well.

"Now, we must speak of the company you keep." Relative Guchiro pulled her away, his face hardening again, and Fiyu hastened to stop him.

"Guchiro, please listen! I have found companions who I trust very much, you must not harm them. An associate from House Blacksilver was impertinent, but he only feared for my safety."

"You no longer need to reason with me, Fiyu. I had opportunity to observe your circumstances on this occasion." His hand rested gently on her back. "I believe I have been misled, but we will uncover the truth. As for your companion, I saw her commitment when she confronted an Authority for your sake."

Her relative's gaze had shifted to Friend Nauda, who watched them with an unusual expression. Perhaps this was all strange to her, but Fiyu was too delighted to worry. She pulled her relative's hand so that she could introduce them, hoping only that he would approve.

"Guchiro, this is Nauda, one of my companions. She has been a loyal ally since we were separated."

"I'm, uh, pleased to meet you." Friend Nauda looked a bit unsure what to do and settled for a slight bow.

"Thank you for assisting my ward," Relative Guchiro said. "We will need to speak further once the violence has passed."

"So you're her relative." Friend Theo approached as well, standing at an appropriate Ichili distance.

Fiyu hastily introduced him as well, continually checking her relative's body for signals of approval. He still appeared tense, however, and soon drew her away. Not so far as to be out of earshot of her companions, but creating distance from the rest of the group.

"If you wish it," he said quietly, "I can take you and your companions from this world immediately. My commitment to the Slescans holds no weight. What is most important is that you are unharmed and you are not being manipulated by anyone else."

"I... do not believe that we need to leave." Fiyu looked over the entire group, from Acquaintance Gethyrue lying peacefully to Unknown Tythes and Unknown Yeshir debating strategy. There were so many stories she ached to tell her relative, so many questions in need of answers, but she could still feel the Slescan armies were clashing. "This conflict relates to commitments I have made in Fithe. I believe that it would best to resolve it decisively."

"Very well." Some tension remained in her relative's facial musculature, perhaps a question of his own, but he appeared determined. "I will not permit them to take you for any reason, but I will assist. Most Slescan wars do not engender new obligations."

"Oh, but perhaps you can help an associate of mine, Gethyrue. That should be discussed with Tythes, because the matter is most important to him..."

It required more negotiation than Fiyu had expected, and Relative Guchiro stood beside her, impatience perceptible only in the muscles of his arms. In the end, it was agreed that Acquaintance Gethyrue and the two Crimson soulcrafters would be evacuated, but to Ichil instead of Fithe. Her relative lacked a weirkey to Fithe, and though it remained unstated, having them in Ichil would provide him with insurance. Surprisingly, Unknown Tythes agreed to this plan. Since it was improbable that he trusted them, it seemed more likely that he had a greater distrust of the members of his own House.

Her closest companions agreed to remain, though there was not time to discuss their full reasons, and Acquaintance Krikree appeared confused by the entire discussion. That left Associate Kathina, who spent some time staring toward the increasing battle, twisting her swords in her hands. Eventually she turned back to Relative Guchiro.

"There's no path straight back to Fithe?"

"I could return you to the Ichili gate to Norro Yorthin," he said, "but they have substantially increased security and I cannot guarantee your entrance."

"Well... I guess I've already missed the Wargames by a long shot." Associate Kathina finally gripped the hilts of her swords properly and nodded to herself. "I guess I might as well keep investing in Slest."

That meant it was time to depart soon. Fiyu wanted to speak to her friends a little more, but Relative Guchiro was clearly in a hurry. She followed, keeping hold of his cloak, but when it came time to use the weirkey he gripped her arm tightly. The concern for her radiated through his body and Fiyu could not help but smile.

When her relative carried them through the chaos between worlds, Fiyu floated along in comforting darkness. Far less chaotic than her other journeys, especially the weirkey explosion that had stranded them on Slest. She didn't even have time to fear that another accident would tear them apart before they emerged on a peacefully light-free Ichili plain.

"Do not be alarmed," Relative Guchiro told the Fithans. "Please follow me and you will be housed safely."

Her relative generated a light above his hand, shockingly bright for Ichil but likely very dim for the Fithans. This would be their first glimpse of the rocky landscape around them: not dangerous by Ichili standards, but filled with rocky crevices and cliffs that could be fatal to those without proper senses. Fiyu did not recognize the exact region and simply followed her relative as he walked toward one of the cliffs.

With deft manipulation of cantae underneath the surface, Relative Guchiro opened a door that emerged from the cliff face. This was more familiar to her: he had several times housed her in safe locations such as this. After examining several traces to confirm that nothing had been tampered with, Relative Guchiro led them inside.

The Crimson soulcrafters appeared uncomfortable until Fiyu led them to an eating chamber and allowed them to turn on several very bright lights. No doubt Ichil was troubling to them, and they might not like being locked in, but they appeared grateful to be alive. After ensuring that they knew where the food was and that it was edible to them, Fiyu went to check on her relative.

He knelt in one of the back chambers, gently lowering Acquaintance Gethyrue into the healing pit. Even from a distance Fiyu could feel the warmth of the liquid, which wrapped Acquaintance Gethyrue in its comforting embrace. Once, before she had become a soulcrafter, Fiyu had been injured by a demon and needed to spend time floating in a healing pit. She had found it very comforting and hoped that Acquaintance Gethyrue would feel the same way.

"Thank you." She touched Relative Guchiro's wrist, but he was too experienced a traveler to be alarmed. "Perhaps you should lock this door once you leave. I trust the others to some degree, but not enough to risk my life."

"Will you require food?" he asked.

"I soulcrafted an incomplete Immortality Conduit, so that shouldn't be necessary unless you will be gone for many days."

"No, this should be resolved in much less time. However, you may remain in the healing pit if it is necessary." Relative Guchiro nodded politely to her, then indicated for Fiyu to follow him into the corridor.

The doors of the safehouse closed firmly, leaving them alone. Her relative turned to her, smiling briefly before he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Fiyu, I must ask one more time. You truly wish to return to Fithe? No one has any power over you?"

"No, I am well." Fiyu frowned, wondering if her relative believed she was still a child. "I have found valued companions, and House Blacksilver has been a worthy ally. Of course I will defer to your judgment, but I believe I could still benefit from remaining in Fithe. Did you not receive my message?"

"Let me tell you what I received."

As her relative repeated a twisted version of her message, Fiyu squirmed in alarm. She had put so much thought into her biolumin message, she still remembered every word, so she repeated it for him. His face grew increasingly severe, and seeing her relative so troubled made her anxious as well.

"Who could have altered the message?" Fiyu asked. "I thought that... unless it was someone well beyond the power of ordinary soulcrafters?"

"The message was only slightly altered, which suggests their ability to manipulate it was limited. I have heard a single similar account, but I believed that it was due to message degradation or an error of memory." Her relative folded his arms over his chest and his senses swept out over the mountain before retracting. "The matter requires investigation, but there is no time. If you are committed to this conflict on Slest, I will assist you."

"Oh, but there was so much I wanted to tell you! I have journeyed on Tatian and Arbai and Deuxan and... I have many questions. I ascended because it was the only way to save my companions, but I do not know how to soulcraft a Corporeal Floor. My companion Theo has given me very alarming information. There are political conflicts on Fithe that I find bewildering. And... and is it normal for someone my age to experience a desire for a lifemate? It has been-"

"Fiyu, my dearest ward..." Relative Guchiro stared at her with pain in his eyes, then wrapped her up in his cloak and held her close. "I lost you for so long, and you have grown so much. I promise you, there will be time for us to discuss everything. But for now, time grows short and we must return to fight the Slescans' war."

Fiyu accepted that it was true, but treasured every remaining moment in the warm darkness.

Chapter 38

The queens first clashed over the battlefield, cantae raining from their impacts without any care for the Slescans beneath them. Theo watched from the bluff as Ahyona and Yeshir fought, apparently evenly matched, until Ahyona's consort appeared. That had been the plan all along: Yeshir immediately dropped into a newly dug tunnel, thoroughly distracting the enemy leaders while they chased after her.

Despite the fact that the fight was a short distraction, it gave Theo ample opportunity to evaluate the Slescan queens. Both had mastery of flight and multiple skills that focused on overwhelming power, generated from soulhomes that had likely received the most valuable sublime materials from their entire colony. Their greatest weakness was likely lack of combat experience, though he judged Ahyona had spent more time in fights with equals. Overall, he judged them stronger than the average Fithan Authority, but less dangerous than an elite like Fiyu's relative.

Still, he was glad that the plan didn't involve him interfering in that fight. A conflict between five different Authorities would be too chaotic for even his experience to stay in control, and that could quickly lead to an accidental death. But he had a different role to play.

"Battle." Krikree skittered up beside him, all her weapons clustered together in front of her like a shield. If her antennae were any indication, she had doubts about the fight, and he didn't really blame her.

"Krikree, will fighting the Blue-Red-Blue colony be a problem for you?"

"Not! Krikree fight with Ivo-sister. Krikree good soldier caste."

"And I'm glad for that, but do you think there's any real moral difference between them?" Theo watched her for a while, her antennae wobbling, before deciding that question might be too complex. "Are you glad to be fighting for Gray-Blue-Gold instead?"

"Gray-Blue-Gold bad!" Krikree struck all her weapons against the ground demonstratively. "Bad."

"But you're going to be helping them win the war."

"Not! Krikree fight for Ivo-sister and strange queens."

Deciding that was the best he'd get, Theo smiled and rubbed around the base of her antennae. Based on information he'd gotten from Yeshir and Tythes - two extremely biased sources - he thought that the Blue-Red-Blue colony was overall the more brutal. But that was by Slescan standards, and he wasn't sure how much difference the victory would really make for people like Krikree.

Below the bluff, Fiyu and Guchiro were still talking in low voices. They hadn't been given much time to catch up, since the plan had begun the instant they returned and the next phase was coming soon. It seemed they were making the most of it now.

Without warning, Tythes appeared in mid-air nearby, his arm wrapped around a tired Yeshir. They hadn't flown in, they had popped out of nowhere, almost as if they had been under a stealth technique. It annoyed Theo that none of his senses had given any warning, but he still needed to talk to Fiyu about the finer points of that chamber.

"Step one is complete!" Tythes declared. "We only have a little while before the enemy relocates us, so we need to make the most of it. My dear Yeshir will recover, the Ichili should get ready for battle, and the rest of you need to come this way to discuss a few changes."

The planning area turned out to be the top of the bluff, so Theo didn't need to do anything more than stand up. He could still feel the enemy queen causing destruction through the tunnels and had to discipline himself to ignore her and focus on the meeting.

"Ahyona is fighting on two fronts," Tythes said once they had assembled. "The most obvious strategy would be to hold back her troops until she wins the upper tier fight, then dominate the rest. Instead, she's throwing out everything she has at the same time. That means even a stalemate in the air will begin to tip in her favor."

Yeshir nodded in agreement. "My colony can endure if we win the day, but they require support. Delaying without drawing attention would be ideal."

"Would projectiles from overhead work?" Theo asked. He immediately drew the skeptical attention of Yeshir, but Tythes snapped his fingers in his direction.

"Perfect. I might even be able to spin it as an Authority technique, get them distracted. Don't worry, my dear, this will work well." Tythes glanced behind them to the battle. "Get enough of them up in the air, then retreat. The plan is not to fight all those soldier castes you see coming, just let them waste time taking this area. By the time they're finished, we'll have won the battle."

That should have been enough, and time was short with an army visibly advancing on them, but Nauda stepped closer to the central group. "Wait. If the Blue-Red-Blue soldiers come here, what are they going to do to the beetles?"

Yeshir glanced at the mound as if it was the first time she had given it any thought. "That is an unclaimed mound, so it will be destroyed. For this reason I advise you to retreat with all valuable assets. You can take them from the mound if you want."

"You're going to let them die? Surely we can hold this front."

"It would be an unnecessary and distracting risk." Yeshir stepped off the side of the bluff and floated away, clearly not considering any further discussion. Theo stared out at the beetle mound, not having really considered it much before that moment. Slescans were dying every second, so one hive didn't seem like a priority, but Nauda clearly disagreed.

She stepped in and grabbed Tythes's sleeve before he could fly away. "Tythes... do this for me, please. You must want to work with us, or it would have been in your best interest to kill us, multiple times. I'm telling you now that this matters to me."

"I'm sorry, Nauda." Tythes pulled away, his eyes flat. "I'd prefer to work with you, but I can't afford to jeopardize this alliance over a few bugs. I have too much at stake."

He flew to join the queen, leaving Nauda fuming. She did cooperate by breaking chunks of rocks, which Theo lifted into the air with a gravitational field, then striking them with her staff. Buoyed by massively reversed gravity, they arced up into the clouds. Theo concentrated on extending his gravitational field as far as he could until eventually they escaped his range.

Some time later, he saw the first of the rocks streak out of the sky, impacting on the battlefield with explosive force. He and Nauda kept up the barrage until all of the Authorities departed. Fiyu went along with her relative, and though Theo momentarily worried for her, he hoped that she would be safer alongside Guchiro than anywhere else.

"That's enough." Nauda stopped breaking rocks and turned to him. "Theo, we can't just run off."

"Do you see how many there are?" Theo gestured toward the lines of soldier ants still moving toward them. He'd targeted a few with his projectiles, but they were obviously going to overrun the position. Even with a broad gravitational field, he'd only be able to hold some of them back.

"And let them kill the beetles? You heard them make music, same as the rest of us."

Theo sighed and rubbed his eyes. "When did you become friends with these beetles? I've listened to their pheromones and they only vaguely know you. What do you gain by risking your life for them?"

"Nothing!" Nauda grabbed the front of his coat and leaned in until their eyes were only inches apart. "There's no strategic objective, they don't have any sublime materials, I don't know a single one of their names. But they're innocent people and they don't deserve to die. Does that matter to you at all?"

It took him a long time to answer.

~ ~ ~

For the first several minutes, Fiyu sat comfortably in her relative's defensive sphere. She could easily see the battlefield around them, but not even the strongest of the royal guards could break through his cantae, and the Authorities above were thoroughly distracted.

Even when her relative dissolved the sphere and they entered the battle, she felt entirely safe. Relative Guchiro had masked his strength down to Archcrafter, but his skill was obvious. They fought their way back to back, unleashing hailstorms of light in both directions. She marveled at how efficiently he produced the volleys before forcing herself to concentrate so she could keep up.

A Ruler-tier Slescan charged through the hail, its heavy shell deflecting the bolts. Fiyu desperately concentrated her fire, but it gathered its cantae in a shell as it closed the distance. Just before it reached her, Fiyu slid in low, swiping a blade of cantae through her opponent's legs. It stumbled, twisting to bite her even as it fell... and dark cantae burst through its chest.

Her relative dropped the body to the side, his identical blade fading from his hand. And Relative Guchiro nodded to her, he actually nodded!

Just then, Fiyu spotted a beetle diving toward him from behind. She wanted to cry out a warning, but instead raised her hands. Relative Guchiro dropped to the ground, giving her an angle to unleash a stream of bolts through the beetle and its occupants.

Others had closed around her, but her relative calmly placed his hand on the ground and a forest of dark spikes erupted, impaling every Slescan nearby. He stood up and they moved back to back again, but Fiyu knew that the most dangerous moment was coming.

When the fighting overhead broke, Enemy Queen Ahyona's consort finally turned his attention to them. Seeing how much damage they were doing to his army, he released a sphere of cantae large enough to destroy most Archcrafters.

Relative Guchiro charged directly through it, unveiling his full power and unleashing a hail of bolts directly into his opponent. Fiyu stared overhead, hoping that the battle had been decided in that moment... but the other Authority emerged some distance away, wings broken but still able to fight.

That left Fiyu alone on the ground with few allies. She wrapped herself in a sphere of stealth and ran toward Associate Kathina and Associate Krikree, who had been fighting on their own front closer to the Gray-Blue-Gold lines. They had all been sprayed with a "signalmist" by the queen, which meant that her side would not attack them. Once there, she would no longer be surrounded.

It wasn't so far, the distance had seemed very safe when they were planning... but then Fiyu felt a wave of cantae shredding through her stealth. She whirled and unleashed a storm of bolts blindly, only for the wave to continue pressing her. Too late, she realized that the Slescan attacking her was in the air, riding along with several others in a flying beetle.

Before Fiyu could think of a solution, a bright red streak shot past her. Associate Kathina buried both her swords into the beetle's head, then kicked off it, her backflip both pulling her swords free and sending the beetle crashing to the ground. The stunned occupants began to emerge, readying their weapons, but Associate Krikree leapt into their midst, striking in all directions.

In order to help her, the two had needed to leave the safety of their lines. The only way Fiyu could show her gratitude was by hurling a lightstorm in between them and the Slescan army. Gathering together, they retreated to the primary body of the Gray-Blue-Gold army.

As soon as she had a moment to breathe, Fiyu looked to the battle between Authorities. Now that they had the advantage in numbers, it was clear that her relative's side would be victorious. She watched Relative Guchiro closely, marveling that she could now follow the movements that had once been invisible to her. A small voice in the back of her mind had feared that, after having seen so many Authorities on so many different worlds, her old impressions of her relative would seem childish.

Instead, she was relieved to find that he was as exceptional as she remembered, even taking on both enemy Authorities at once when necessary. He was everything she had remembered... well, there had been his misunderstanding over the message. If their positions had been reversed, she would not have misunderstood Associate Karchibol's intentions.

Fiyu was briefly troubled by this thought before she accepted it. She was no longer a child, so it was not inappropriate to realize that her relatives were only human. Relative Guchiro was a worthy relative who was far more powerful than her, but she might be able to teach him something, for the first time in their lives.

Overhead, Unknown Tythes and the enemy consort spun wildly through the air. While the enemy queen was alone, Relative Guchiro wrapped numerous tendrils of darkness around her. Enemy Ahyona contemptuously burst through them, only for Associate Queen Yeshir to appear behind her, sword cleaving through her neck. Across the battlefield, her consort let out a cry of anger, but he was now outnumbered three to one.

Even though many were still dying, Fiyu smiled and waited for her relative. Finally, she would be able to repay him the smallest amount for his kindness.

Chapter 39

Nauda should have been watching the line of soldier ants approaching, but her gaze continually wandered back to the beetle mound. She had been afraid that she would watch them calmly go about their business until they were torn apart, or even walk out to be dismantled. This was Slest, after all, and it ran on different rules. After seeing how miserably afraid Krikree was of those higher ranked than her, Nauda could imagine the beetles accepting death.

When they at last detected the attack, the mound exploded into activity. Not to flee, she realized, but to block off entrances. Multiple beetles used their horns to push large stones into the entrances of their tunnels. Many of the stones had polished exteriors and emerged from side tunnels, suggesting that their defense was planned.

Would that really be enough? She almost considered agreeing with Theo then and just leaving them to their own devices. There were so many other things she could be doing, likely still saving Slescan lives. But she didn't know if she could actually save many Gray-Blue-Gold soldiers, whereas the beetles were just trying to defend their home so they could make their goo and buzz their little songs.

It wouldn't be enough. There were still leafpullers outside the mound, and the last group pushing the boulder toward the largest hole wouldn't arrive in time. Soldier ants were catching up to them and the beetles began to emit panicked buzzes.

Even then, Nauda hesitated. She had come back from the brink, rebuilding her soulhome further than she'd ever imagined. Fiyu and Theo were waiting for her, and she had obligations in Fithe, not to mention if she returned home. This fight meant absolutely nothing in the ultimate scope of the war.

Remembering the question she'd thrown in Theo's face, Nauda leapt. If she didn't fight here, she didn't stand for anything.

Her staff caught one of the ants while she was still in the air and she swung it to the side, ramming it through the rest of the line. She didn't land in time to save all of the beetles, but her staff hit the ground hard enough to break one of them in half. The surviving beetles were still trying to move the boulder and continued until she pushed them with her foot, urging them toward the last hole.

Nauda fought a defensive action, crumpling soldier ants with each blow as they retreated up the side of the mound. She had never really imagined that the enemy would retreat, but as the swarm advanced on her, she let go of the last vestiges of that hope.

The last unblocked hole of the mound sat at the top, but there were still beetles scattered all around. Abruptly Nauda realized the truth: the last beetle to push each rock into place had no way to get inside. Maybe all but one could go in through the last hole, but one would sacrifice itself. Those that remained sat beside their blocked tunnels, buzzing sad final notes.

Letting out a cry, Nauda threw herself to the first of them. She formed an arc of wards in front of them with her staff while she grabbed the beetle under her other arm and hurled it backward toward the entrance. Though it stumbled around once it landed, it did scuttle into the hole. Since the ants had nearly broken through her wards, Nauda jumped away to the next one.

One at a time, she grabbed the remaining beetles and launched them toward the top of the mound. On the third, an ant managed to crawl around the edge of her ward and tore into her leg. She pushed past the injury, leaping away just before the swarm closed around her. After she hurled the fifth beetle to safety, a flying bug flashed out from overhead, biting into her shoulder. Nauda grunted in pain before she pulled it off, hurling it into the others chasing her.

Seeing no more beetles outside the mound, Nauda raced back to the top and created a quick circle of wards. The ants had already climbed over most of the mound, but she had a moment to catch her breath and examine the area.

Any beetles outside the mound were dead, but at least the stones seemed to be holding: the ants swarmed over the tunnel entrances, but couldn't dislodge the rocks. None of that would matter if she didn't get the last hole closed, and its intended rock was currently swarming with soldier ants. She couldn't come up with any solution and the ants had already arrived, their fangs tearing into her wards.

Flipping her staff to a horizontal stance, Nauda cast binding energy in both directions and captured two of the ants. Then she began spinning, smashing the two into their allies in a widening circle. As she did she raised her staff and swung it in broad circles, sweeping the mound clear of attacking ants. That earned her another second, but she had no time to rest, she needed to find the last stone.

Yet when she extended her staff to bind it, she noticed something worse: a heavier bug with wide horns was marching toward one of the barricaded openings. Arcs of cantae lit up between its horns and began to press into the stone, which she could hear crumbling even from the top.

Nauda jumped to stop it, but the bug raised its horns to meet her. On instinct she reached out with her left hand, grabbing one of its horns. As soon as she did so, her glove quenched the arcs of cantae. She immediately lifted it into the air by its horn and used it as a bludgeon, smashing the soldier ants closing in around her.

She wasn't quite fast enough. Nauda felt mandibles close on the back of her leg and collapsed to one knee, and the rest immediately rushed her. In seconds, her world was filled with skittering legs and biting faces, and she should have died then.

Except where the mandibles closed on her leg, they cut a little skin but didn't bite deep. Instead of tearing her apart, the jaws seemed to skate off her, as if she was armored. Blood and pain were distant things.

Somehow Nauda threw herself backward and into the air, out of the swarm until she slammed onto her back with the bugs between her and the ground. To her surprise, she heard them crumple underneath her, and the impact briefly made the other soldier ants fall back. Nauda leapt up before they could attack, throwing herself back to the top of the mound.

The first of the ants had just reached the top and she barely grabbed it by one of its back legs, hurling it into the second. But her jump had been too reckless, and another ant grabbed onto her leg. This time she grimaced her way through the pain and began flailing in all directions, crushing ants with every blow. Pushing herself to the limit, she could just barely defend the entrance, but they would never stop coming.

Why wasn't she dead? As the battle became a grueling slog of blood and crunching chitin, Nauda couldn't understand how she was still fighting. She was covered in dozens of cuts, but given the damaged state of her soulhome, she should have been torn apart. There was no time to think about the stony cast of her skin: she dedicated herself fully to defending the entrance.

Gradually her binding techniques were reduced to simply bashing ants with her staff. Her steps became stumbling falls she barely stopped. She no longer felt injuries, pain was simply her state of being.

But Nauda fought on, until the world grew dark.

~ ~ ~

A broad gravitational field rendered the majority of the Slescan soldiers helpless, flailing in the air as they marched into the region Theo controlled. But some circumvented even his broadest field, and he knew it was only a matter of time until the Ruler-tier castes arrived. He hoped that he wasn't going to regret this.

The first was a bright green ant, much larger than the others, that spat a stream of acid at him. Theo dodged without too much trouble, but it became just a little harder to maintain the field. He retaliated with a torsion bolt, but the ant skittered away and prepared to unleash more cantae-charged acid.

Then the second arrived, humanoid and firing bolts of cantae from all four arms. Even though he managed to repel many with a point of anti-mass, one burned into his sleeve and he staggered. The injury made his control slip for a moment and one of the soldier ants managed to touch the ground and leap at him, fangs burying into his shoulder.

His coat mostly absorbed the blow and he tore through it with a torsion bolt. Theo beat a hasty retreat, hurling sphere after sphere of cantae. The Ruler tier Slescans continued advancing, stepping around the hovering spheres as they pressed him further.

Finally Theo let himself smile. He completely released all other techniques, the army raining to the ground, instead raising his hands and drawing back all the spheres he'd released. All the singularity energy he'd gathered flowed together and the Slescans hesitated in surprise. Just long enough for the singularity to unify. Theo clapped his hands over the dark sphere and it reappeared in the air in the midst of the falling army.

At first it didn't have enough mass, but the first ant that fell into it immediately crumpled into the event horizon. It expanded further as it absorbed more of them, aided by a jet of acid that only made it grow faster. Soon the entire field of ants was being pulled into the air, thrashing wildly as they circled around the dark sphere. One by one, they touched the event horizon and were consumed.

The Rulers backed away, emitting [Danger] pheromones to one another. Not all the soldier ants were responsive enough, many marching forward into the effective range of his singularity. It was larger than his body now, so vast it seemed to drain light from the battlefield.

That had been his end goal, but as Theo stared past it, he began to have doubts. Would he just maintain the singularity as it took in the entire army marching toward them? Could he? The singularity's range killed everything that entered it, but the endless lines would spill around its limits faster than it grew.

More importantly, did he want that? The ants might be mindless killing machines, but what about the sapient Slescans? The battle would soon be over and Gray-Blue-Gold would be victorious: since Yeshir allowed surrender, many of those on the battlefield before him could survive.

It wasn't what Nauda had asked of him, but... Theo raised the singularity into the air so it no longer threatened the advancing army. Then he locked eyes with the leaders and threw all his willpower into a single thought:

[Mutual Destruction].

He saw the ants hesitate in surprise, but they seemed to understand. Theo tried over and over, emitting [Mutual Destruction] from his soul while maintaining the singularity churning overhead. A few of the ants began releasing the same pheromone, but others still emitted [War] or [Kill]. So far the Ruler castes hadn't engaged in the chemical conversation at all, staring between him and the singularity overhead.

"You heard, right?" Theo pointed at the black sphere and let it drop a foot lower. The Ruler castes flinched back. "Stand down, or I will bring Mutual Destruction on you all."

For a moment the battlefield hung in the balance. He remained tense, ready to dodge or bring the singularity back down if the gambit went wrong. But then the leaders began to retreat, emitting complex new pheromones and taking the ants along with them. The signals spread across the line slowly as the army peeled away and began moving in the opposite direction.

In the distance, Theo could feel his Authority allies, but none of the others. The battle was won. That might not matter, if he hadn't been able to stop enough of the army.

When he released the singularity, the energy flooding back into his soulhome made it easy for him to rush back. He discovered the beetle mound completely littered with corpses of soldier ants. Nauda knelt at the top, covered in the purple fluids of the insects and her own blood. Her staff lay at her feet and her hair was matted over her face, so he hesitated as he approached, wondering if she still lived.

Then she coughed, spitting up more blood. Theo quickly rushed to help her, finding her a comfortable place on the irregular surface of the mound. Nauda's eyes struggled to focus, but she gripped his arm, leaving a gory hand print.

"Did any... get through?" She spoke so softly that he could barely hear her.

"I don't hear anything from below." Theo squeezed her hand affirmingly and smiled, as one of the beetles poked its head out. "Look, do you see them?"

"I... can't see much... of anything." Nauda shook her head slowly, her hand weakening in his. "I've never fought like that. I should be... dead. I can't explain it."

She could barely hear what he said, so Theo just held her hand as the beetles clustered around them. Nauda might not understand, but he did. Her defenses were down and he could practically see the blue glow within her soulhome. In the heat of the battle, she had finally attained true mastery of her bondsfungi: just as they reinforced the walls of her soulhome, they reinforced her skin. Even now, he could feel her remaining cantae attempting to knit her flesh back together.

The beetles interrupted his thoughts, a few pushing him with their horns. Most emitted [Confusion], but he also felt [Intruder] and [Ants] from some. Yet they seemed less interested in him than in Nauda, clustering around her with odd shuffling movements.

Eventually one of them emitted a new pheromone: [Symbiote]. It rippled through the assembled mass, more and more beetles declaring [Symbiote] as they surged inward. They pushed him out of the way, but Theo let them, since they were only lifting Nauda up onto their backs.

He followed, just in case, but as he heard the beetles emitting [Symbiote] over and over, he knew the danger had passed. The battle was over.

Chapter 40

Nauda knew she wasn't truly alone in Slest anymore, but she still felt a vague sense of unease whenever she looked around and saw no one. Well, no one who looked human to her. The beetles ambled by occasionally and either bumped against her or gave her globules of goo. Her soulhome was filling up with extra food, since she felt bad not accepting their gifts.

She was soulcrafting when the others appeared: Fiyu and her relative at the core, but Theo and Tythes stood beside them. Fiyu smiled at her, but the two of them had already said their farewells after being introduced to Guchiro. Though Tythes was approaching her, Nauda ignored him to watch the two Ichili.

Even now, she wasn't sure what she felt about them. Gratitude that Fiyu was so happy, of course. But when they had met, Nauda had seriously wondered if they would just somberly clasp hands and nod to one another. Seeing them actually be physically affectionate was odd: she was glad to see that Ichili weren't entirely cold, but part of her felt rejected that Fiyu couldn't feel so comfortable with her.

"I'm sure this staring business is very important, but there are minor matters of House politics to discuss." Tythes leaned into her field of vision to block off Fiyu. "Can I trouble you, or are you too busy with the critical task of turning leaves into food pulp?"

"Did you really come back to Slest just to harass me?" Nauda asked.

"Oh, if only I could say that I did. That would be delightfully petty. Sadly, I'm here on business."

Nauda groaned and made herself stand up. Her body no longer felt as though it was turning to stone, but she had yet to fully recover from the battle. "Fine, let's get it over with."

"I thought you might want to know that Gethyrue has fully recovered. Our absence held my cherished father in check, and when we both turned up alive, he was placed in a difficult position. We're all going to pretend to be a happy family again."

"Roker isn't going to be punished for trying to assassinate you?"

"Not by Wiltur." Tythes briefly seemed to be staring through her, then he returned to a lopsided grin. "You see, this is far from the first internal conflict in House Crimson. We're just going to return to the same old dance, trying to outmaneuver one another. For that reason, I thought I should spend some more time on Slest, to locate an edge I couldn't find on Fithe."

"Wonderful." Nauda rubbed her eyes and she imagined it. "You're going to be coming over here to bother me all the time, aren't you?"

"Why would I spend time with a beetle botherer when I could stay with the delightful Queen Yeshir? She doesn't know quite what to make of you, by the way. Perhaps you'll be given a title such as 'ambassador to the beetles' or 'chief of large leaf objects' or something like that. All of which is to say that I will be coming over here to bother you frequently, yes."

Nauda sighed and nodded her acceptance. Tythes didn't linger for long before flying away, and thankfully he was replaced by Theo. He climbed up the side of the mound and sat down on one of the ridges, without saying anything, so she sat down beside him. They stared into the setting purple sun for a while before Nauda broke the silence.

"I've been trying to listen, but I haven't been able to hear these signalscents you told me about."

"You may be able to get a translator," Theo said. "Anyone of Krikree's species can use both languages interchangeably."

"I'm sure I'll figure something out eventually." Nauda glanced toward Fiyu, then inward. "I know that House Blacksilver wants me to get a Slescan weirkey for them, but one of the first things I want is to acquire a sublime version of the honey that Fiyu spoke about. The leafpullers keep it, but not in concentrations that would work in my soulhome. I think it could go on the second floor of my heartoak, since this journey has made it obvious that we need a healer. Do you think it-"

"I think that you've proven that you can handle your own soulcrafting." Theo smiled at her as he rose back to his feet. "If you want to talk about the details, I'm only a world away. But otherwise... I look forward to seeing what you create."

Nauda rose and clasped his hand, holding it longer than she'd intended. She felt as though she needed to say something, but after long enough he turned away to join the others. While watching him and waving farewell to Fiyu, Nauda's face remained in a smile, but it slipped away after they vanished.

Now she truly was alone in Slest. Guchiro would visit her again on a set schedule, but for the time being she was the only human seated atop a mound of beetles.

The light dimmed, their humming music began, and Nauda smiled.

~ ~ ~

After so long breathing the Slescan air, returning to Fithe was a little jarring for Theo. He would eventually need to soulcraft a chamber to help him adapt to any world, but that was an objective for a later tier. As everyone's gaze turned toward the future, he found himself thinking about everything but soulcrafting.

This visit was to be the last before Fiyu and her relative ventured deep into Ichil. Fiyu herself remained inside the Blacksilver complex, making her arrangements for her absence and saying her farewells. That left Theo and Guchiro standing in the courtyard. The tall Ichili man stepped closer, eyes lacking the warmth they held when he was near his ward.

"Fiyu has not told me all your secrets," Guchiro said, "but it is clear that you are an outsider, and older than you look."

"That's true." Theo knew there was no point denying it with someone this experienced, so he just met the man's gaze. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, but I have been thinking about the fact that the falsified message from my ward specifically mentioned outsiders where she did not."

"Not the first time that an organization has tried to make problems for us."

Guchiro shook his head somberly. "That is not the only explanation. In my long life, I have made enemies... and I have also meddled where perhaps I should not." He tilted his head, oddly reminiscent of Fiyu. "You have traveled on Ichil before. Are you familiar with the Jukkean Ice?"

Theo frowned as he sorted back through his memories. "I don't think so."

"Most are not. If one travels across the Greater Ice, one will eventually reach a region lost to time. Even speaking of it is forbidden in many cultures. It is said that fell beasts lurk in that abyss, and at the center of the frozen nightmare lies a monster that no soulcrafter can match. From it flows a treachery that corrupts the very heart of Ichil."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"When I was younger, I investigated this matter, and it was during that time that I heard another story of the Biolumin Relays being corrupted. It has been many years, but..." Guchiro closed his eyes and released a slow breath. "Perhaps there is nothing to this. Over the years, I have been told that it is a fool's errand. And it is certainly nothing that you or my ward are remotely capable of facing."

"For now." Theo waited until Guchiro opened his eyes again and held his gaze. "I may not be from the Nine Worlds, but I promise you, I'm not one of those corrupting it. If Fiyu eventually faces such mythic threats, she won't face them alone."

"Perhaps that is what I wanted to hear." Guchiro gave him a narrow smile and stepped away. "You will need to work hard to live up to those words."

Once Fiyu had returned and said her farewells to him as well, Theo left the Blacksilver complex for one more meeting. Kathina was waiting for him at the State of Rest, already partway through her meal. She gestured toward the food waiting for him and barely slowed down.

"I know you've been jumping between worlds, but there's a lot of Fithan news to catch up on."

"The House of Coin hasn't changed its mind about me?" Theo asked. When she shook her head, he tucked in his napkin and began to eat. "Then go ahead."

"Norro Yorthin performed well in the Ruling City Wargames, but not as well as some hoped. House Crimson is enraged at its poor showing, since it was missing two of its Authorities and had two more injured. But, for the most part, everyone has turned to putting their own Houses in order. With even the wild tribes subdued, what remains are increasingly minor affairs. For most."

"But not the House of Coin?"

"We're more concerned about how rapidly the Asplundat Movement is advancing. It seems like they have backing from across the ocean, someone using them against the Ruling Cities. The war is definitely coming, and it will be bigger than anyone expected." Kathina shook her head slowly. "Not just against the Asplundat Movement, but against forces completely unknown."

"I see." Theo chewed thoughtfully before clearing his mouth. "But they won't start with a war, will they? Most likely they'll begin with a smaller action that they can claim isn't a step toward war. And many of the Ruling Cities will accept it, while only the House of Coin feels the impact at first."

"I thought you'd understand. That's the problem, but none of us have a solution."

They ate in silence for a time. Though Theo tried to focus on the politics, he found more of his mind enjoying the complex flavors after so long eating primitive fare in Slest. Before he decided what approach to take, Kathina spoke again.

"Sometimes I wonder what path my life would have taken if not for our enforced absence." She sat back and stared over the restaurant. "Perhaps I would have become an Authority and become a scion of the House. Or perhaps I would have realized that I was overconfident. Now I'll never know."

"I doubt that will be the last opportunity," Theo said. "If this war is really because of what began in the Chasm of Lamentations, then I think it will be bigger than even your analysts predict. You know what they say about finding opportunity in chaos."

"If so, I'll see if I can't get to it first." Kathina smirked at him before she departed.

He watched her as she left, pondering hypothetical paths through his own life. If he had encountered Kathina just after returning to the Nine Worlds, he might have embraced her ruthlessness. Instead, he had started down a path that he'd never predicted.

Once he finished eating, he returned to the Blacksilver complex. He hoped that during all that time, the officials would have guided Krikree through the process. Instead he entered to find her crouched on top of a cabinet, occasionally hurling objects at anyone who got near. As soon as she saw him, she scuttled over the floor and hung from his shoulder.

"Ivo-sister, what?" She thrust the identity plate with her name partially inscribed on it at his face. "What? What?"

"I guess we need to sit down and explain it more carefully." Theo guided her to one of the tables to handle the process himself. She had insisted on staying with him, and since he thought she had more of a future away from Slest, he'd agreed.

Before they got very far, one of the Blacksilver officials approached with an odd smile. "I don't know about your new friend, but otherwise the House is very happy with you."

"Really? Despite the fact that I disappeared for months?"

"But you played a major role in quelling the wild tribes, you brought back sublime materials from Slest, and if Nauda is successful, we'll be the only House in the city with a connection to that world. Plus, you have revenue from all the petalfilter production to collect." The official patted her record book with one hand. "If you want us to start searching for materials again, say the word. Supply is getting more difficult, but we'll do whatever we can."

"Actually..." Theo considered it briefly, but in this, his path forward was obvious. He finally had the resources to check up on the legacy of another old ally. "Forget the materials for now. I want you to get me access to Noven."

~ ~ ~

After so many weirkey trips, Fiyu was beginning to think of visits to Ichil as nothing but brief interludes in darkness, no more stable than blinking her eyes in a hellish light world. Yet, when they finally returned with only the two of them, she realized that the travel between worlds was finally at an end. For the time being, she was wrapped in darkness with her relative. Nothing could be sweeter.

Well, perhaps not. Having been separated for only a few days, Fiyu did not truly miss her new companions, but she did frequently find herself thinking of how they might react. Their brief time apart would be healthy for all of them, she believed, but she looked forward to the time that they would reunite. Until then, she was grateful to travel with her relative again.

They walked together through the razorforest, easily avoiding the edges that would have been so troublesome for others. As no predators in the region relied primarily on sound, they would be able to speak. Fiyu remained quiet until her relative finished collecting his thoughts.

"The affairs on Fithe are more complicated than I first believed," Relative Guchiro said. "Fithans are always engaged in internal wars, that much is unremarkable. But this conflict has its roots outside of Fithe, and even my brief investigations have revealed hands from many worlds."

"You believe it will be too dangerous?" Fiyu kept her breathing even, maintaining a higher degree of control than had been necessary on other worlds. "I hope that you will not take me away from these events, even if there is a risk."

"Fiyu... when we were separated, you were nearly a child. A soulcrafter just past awakening, barely capable of defending herself in the dangerous regions of Ichil, much less other worlds. But you have acquitted yourself well, and that means that risks will become an ordinary part of your life."

"Truly? You won't ask me to leave House Blacksilver? I had thought that you would want me to join Ichili organizations."

"I did have plans, but it is normal for adults to take control of their own journeys." Relative Guchiro extended his senses toward her powerfully enough that she felt them ripple through her hair. "I wish that you had not been forced to grow up under such circumstances, but you rose to the challenge. And, given everything that you have encountered, you may be involved in affairs of greater import than concerns of Ichil alone."

Fiyu didn't hide her smile as they walked onward. They needed to separate to shift around a bush of razors, then met on the other side. Her relative's body had grown tenser again and she could tell that he had moved on to business.

"First, we must discuss your Corporeal Floor. You have made a number of changes and gathered new materials, so-"

"I apologize if I have made errors." Fiyu lowered her head, trying to make her contrition clear. "Every step was necessary at the time, but I hope it has not ruined the blueprint you designed so carefully. I am willing to scour every chamber and soulcraft from the beginning again, if you deem it necessary."

"Start over?" Her relative smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I was going to say that it's past time that you ascended to Ruler."

Epilogue

For the most part, Mihul preferred to avoid Norro Yorthin. Even though it was just on the other side of the gate, the wind was terrible on his leaves, and the sight of so much desolate earth left him philosophically disturbed. However, it did contain a link to the world of Arbai, whose inhabitants could be as intriguing as they were fundamentally inhuman. On occasion, he had no choice but to enter Fithe to participate in an event.

When he entered the stone box that they called a building, Mihul was surprised to find it more reasonably appointed than most. No soil anywhere, of course, but there was a large region with sufficient space for an Aathali audience. There were also a significant number of Arbaians present, along with the expected Fithans and perhaps other races. They all looked much the same to him, with their identical mammalian bodies.

Mihul disliked to waste time, so he had entered just before the presentation was to begin. Even if the claims - and quite suspect claims they were - proved to be untrue, he would have wasted no more time than the allotted hour. Before he waited long, a Fithan stepped onto the stage.

His appearance created some stir among the Fithans, so Mihul examined him more carefully. Given his blue skin, he must have been a water Fithan, not the dominant local species. Whoever he was, he raised a hand for silence and then stepped forward to address the audience.

"The Order of the Deepest Blue welcomes you. I believe that all of you will find tonight most enlightening." He bowed to the mammal section of the audience. "I sincerely apologize for the overzealous behavior of some members of our order. I hope that by the time the night is done, you will understand their emotions, if not their conduct."

That created an additional stir, which interested Mihul not at all. Fortunately, the presenter wasted no time, gesturing for an Arbaian to join him. It was one of their long species, the vines with fangs. As it rose, the robed man continued.

"Because I cannot offer proof of some of the claims I intend to make tonight, I wanted to begin with a demonstration. My colleague here has soulcrafted a skill for scholarly purposes: through the analysis of specific characteristics, she is able to determine the age of any object with a high degree of accuracy. You there, sir, how old are you?"

"I feel that you will tell me," another Arbaian said. The presenter chuckled and then gestured to his companion, who slithered closer and paused a moment before speaking.

"Forty seven years, six months, four days," she said. "According to Fithan time, but I can convert to another calendar if soul translation was insufficient."

"No, no, you were quite accurate." The Arbaian shifted back in surprise and many in the audience expressed polite approval.

Several others demanded that the Arbaian vine guess their ages as well, the entire process striking Mihul as dubious. Those speaking could easily have been planted for the sake of running a con. While the presentation continued, Mihul carefully reached into his soulhome and retrieved two items before sending them wafting to the stage.

"How old are my leaves?" he asked.

The Arbaian hesitated slightly longer than usual before answering, "The first is six days, while the second is a sublime material that is more than five centuries old. I fear that my technique is more accurate for recent dates than for ancient materials."

Against his will, Mihul rustled his branches in surprise. Everyone was watching him closely, so he had no choice but to vocalize his thoughts. "You are quite correct." That caused another wave of approval, and Mihul had to admit that he had been bested. Her technique was clearly accurate, the question was what purpose it served.

"You there, young man." The presenter regained control of the room and gestured to another Fithan. "Why don't you come up here and be tested?"

"Why not?" The young Fithan swaggered up to the stage, adjusting the enormous sword across his back. Mihul reconsidered his designation: this one was another mammal, but the coloration was wrong for Fithe. His suspicion was confirmed the next moment by the presenter.

"Welcome, welcome. Now, you look like a Fithan man just past adolescence, but you're from another world, aren't you?"

"Yeah, what about it?" The young outsider crossed his arms belligerently. "My name is Raythe Darkblade, and I'll be the greatest soulcrafter this city has ever seen. Does it matter where I come from?"

"Not at all. But if you would stay still so that my colleague could guess your age..."

The Arbaian slithered closer and waited, but this time Mihul thought that the delay was a ruse. She knew exactly what the result was, intentionally delaying the revelation. As the pause extended, more and more members of the audience leaned in. When she spoke quietly, everyone heard the answer.

"Four months old."

"Four months?" Raythe turned on the Arbaian angrily. "I guess your skill is worthless after all, because I'm nineteen!"

"Or so he believes." The presenter stepped in, voice rising over the crowd, all traces of his formerly jovial manner gone. "I invite every scholarly Arbaian in the audience to date him by any means available to you. Believe me, you will find that the outsiders are much younger than they appear. This is because none of them are what they appear to be."

"Hey, just what are yo-" The outsider was cut off as the Arbaian wrapped the end of her vine around his waist and his mouth.

"Outsiders do not come to the Nine Worlds as souls housed within bodies. No, a new being is created in the moment they appear, one that contains memories that may be no more accurate than the apparent age of their bodies. When tested, none of their history can be proved prior to the point where their being was constructed. I ask you, what else exhibits the same behavior?" The presenter looked over the audience and bared his teeth. "You know the answer: demons. Outsiders are not themselves demons, but they are every bit as unnatural."

"Enough!" The outsider pushed his way free and began swinging wildly with his sword. Everyone nearby shifted away in disapproval except for the presenter, who Mihul noted watching him with a sliver of teeth showing. "Why are you telling these lies? I came here to fulfill a great destiny!"

"Or so you believe. But I believe everyone in this audience understands that intentions and results are rather different. If you w-"

"I'm not listening to this any longer! Come on, let's go!" The outsider leapt back to where he had sat, grabbing at a Fithan. An instant later, both of them disappeared via weirkey, prompting surprise from the audience. The Authority with him had certainly hidden their presence well.

"It's a pity he ran, but that is usually the case when outsiders are presented with the truth. They are rather unstable, you see." The presenter spread his arms to encompass the audience. "I hope that you will listen to what I say. These beings appear to be like us, may even believe themselves to be, but they are artificial in body and soul. Not every outsider is evil, but every single one of them draws demons - please feel free to check your own records and see how they increase along with outsiders. Their very presence weakens the integrity of the Nine Realms."

All around Mihul, the audience murmured and pressed closer. He was forced to admit that he found himself credulous. Analysis of demonic trends was a minor hobby of his, and it was true that their pace varied oddly over time. Perhaps the presence of outsiders would be the hidden variable that could explain the unusual fluctuations.

"It seems I have your attention. Many on your world, from the Asplundat Movement to larger empires, have recently accepted this truth." The presenter bared more teeth. "Now we come to the question I offer all of you: what are we going to do about it?"

-

The story will continue in Bloodcrete, which is currently being posted on Patreon. If you enjoyed this book and want to support the series, please leave a review!

Want to review this book?

If you are interested in reviewing Bondsfungi, click here:

http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B0B783JS7X

If you want to read more TWC ahead of the public releases, early chapters of later books are available on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/sarahlin

Here are some other ways you can keep up with my work:

Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/dMSw2A

Blog: http://sarahlinauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sarah-Lin-1041738042689736/

There are also communities for my books on the following platforms:

Reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/TheBrightestShadow/

Discord: https://discord.gg/gdUsJpAEAt

Wiki: https://thebrightestshadow.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Brightest_Shadow_Wiki

It means a lot to me that you read one of my stories all the way to the end! If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting me via Patreon, leaving a review, or dropping me a note. ^-^ Thanks for reading!

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all my alpha and beta readers for their feedback.

Thanks to Cultivation Novels, Western Cultivation, and GameLit Society for the community.

Appendix: Soulhome Architecture 101

(This appendix was originally posted on my subreddit, with character expressions and soulhome diagrams. These don't play well with many ebook formats, so they can't be included here, but I'm including the raw script due to reader requests. Here's the link to the full version:

https://old.reddit.com/r/TheBrightestShadow/comments/k6vxt8/soulhome_architecture_101_with_theo_nauda_and_fiyu/)

Soulhome Architecture 101
with Theo, Nauda, and Fiyu

Nauda smiling: Hello everyone!

Theo smiling: We're going to be explaining the art of soulcrafting from The Weirkey Chronicles.

Fiyu neutral: Are we self-aware now? Is this another meta-fictional story?

Theo neutral: This isn't canon; just go with it.

F smiling: That is better, but I do not understand why we are represented by heads.

T frowning: They're chibis, and I, for one, am personally insulted to be portrayed this way.

N grinning: It isn't canon; just go with it.

F neutral: Before we look at some soulhome designs, we will introduce the basics...

Basics

N smiling: The first part won't surprise you. Cantae is a form of energy that living beings can only use if they open up a space inside their soul, called a soulhome.

T neutral: You can use it to make yourself a little stronger, or shoot it as a bolt, but these things are child's play compared to building within your soulhome.

F neutral: Such people are called soulcrafters.

T frowning: You can't use just anything: only materials with spiritual properties - called sublime materials - can be pulled into your soul and used in construction.

N smiling: But inside, soulhomes follow simple logic. Bigger rooms can store more cantae. Physically sturdy rooms make you spiritually sturdy. Fancy rooms with valuable sublime materials crafted into patterns are more powerful than just throwing a magic rock inside your soul.

F neutral: Not everything is architecture. Usually you begin by creating a "heart chamber" that has sublime materials to generate cantae, which flows through the other rooms.

T neutral: The process rapidly gets more complicated, but we'll focus on the basics today.

F smiling: Let us look at some simple blueprints. I think that will make it easy to understand.

[Unplanned Farmguard Soulhome]

N neutral: We'll start with a humble village soulcrafter. They probably built one room at a time without too much planning.

T neutral: It's actually not terrible... squares are balanced shapes, and the internal doors will allow for strong cantae flow.

F question: Why do they have so many doors to the outside, though? Won't cantae leak out?

N smiling: That isn't obvious to everyone, Fiyu. They may have opened more to make soulcrafting easier.

T frowning: It's an inefficiency, but that's trivial compared to the fact that their design is lopsided. Feast rooms generate cantae, just not as much as heart chambers, so it should have been switched with the technique chamber.

N neutral: They were clearly doing the best they could with what they had.

F smiling: I don't think it's so bad. They have some cantae, a chamber to strengthen themselves, and room for a technique.

T neutral: I rate it 30/100. Thoroughly mediocre.

[Terrible Soulhome]

N disgust: Just... just what is this mess?

T disgust: This is what I meant when I said the previous one wasn't terrible.

N 06: I cannot imagine anyone in the Nine Worlds soulcrafting so haphazardly.

T neutral: They might have been from an outside world, just treating it like a game.

F neutral: ...I think I understand. They started with a plan to the west, then changed their blueprint as they kept building.

T smiling: Yeah, I think you're right. They began with a heart chamber, but after they built their first technique, they found some really valuable sublime material and built the circular chamber to take advantage of it.

N neutral: Young soulcrafters, take heed: valuable materials are better held for the proper time instead of thrown in at random.

F sad: Unfortunately, the cantae flow between the chambers doesn't make much sense. I think they would need to remodel to make this work.

N 09 minus the question mark: Looks like they just kept tacking on new techniques and a strength chamber as they needed them.

F smiling: The northern technique chamber is not so bad. It might be an upgraded technique, merging the flow from the heart and technique chambers. They are trying.

T disgust: 5/100, irredeemable garbage.

[Generic Farmguard Soulhome]

F 02: Oh! These were the blueprints they gave out at Myufuru!

N smiling: Yes, this is a common soulhome design for Farmguards. Note the extra large heart chamber evenly distributing cantae to every chamber.

F neutral: But this would be a soulcrafter at the peak of the first tier. Most of them have only finished some of the chambers and are thus weaker.

T neutral: The thing about common designs is that many generations have looked over them, so they're usually not bad, definitely better than the average hotshot with a random plan.

N neutral: I'm guessing you have some criticisms, oh wise one?

T frowning: Lining up the enhancing rooms and the technique rooms looks good on paper, but it's better to intersperse them. Strengthening rooms generate some cantae too, and that should flow into appropriate techniques.

N neutral: That's true. There's also no internal cantae flow within the soulhome, so the heart chamber has to keep up with every other room. But that's why it's larger than average.

F question: I am wondering... why is there an extra door to the west? There are already three technique doors.

T neutral: They probably built that room first and never closed up the door. If they did that... 50/100, serviceable.

F smiling: But they might reverse their blueprint on the second floor and send cantae upwards. That would improve efficiency.

N smiling: Archcrafter design techniques are too much for now, Fiyu. Let's move on to a more unique design....

[Generic Healer Soulhome]

T smiling: Good, we get to see a circular design. Circles are architecturally strong, so they can make soulhomes much more durable.

N 07: In my opinion, if someone can damage your soulhome, you've already lost.

F question: I have not seen a healer's blueprint before. Why are there so many chambers to generate cantae?

N neutral: Healing is complicated and extremely resource-intensive, so they need multiple sources.

T neutral: Yeah, you actually see designs similar to this everywhere in the Nine Worlds. It's a reliable blueprint.

F neutral: Hmm... I think they mix together different sources of cantae for different purposes? One pair for closing wounds, another for curing illnesses?

N 04: That's right, and each door is built as a sub-chamber so they can apply the cantae via specialized techniques!

T smiling: Healers are limited before they soulcraft multiple floors, but this is a solid 80 for a start.

Spoilers Ahead

F neutral: What is a spoiler?

T frowning: The next image contains minor details about how we soulcraft in the first book.

N smiling: You can skip the next part if you absolutely want to avoid all spoilers.

[Theo's Soulhome]

T smiling: My soulhome is a work in progress, but you can see the basic design.

N neutral: That vestibule to modulate cantae is seriously advanced stuff. Too technical to get into now, I think.

T neutral: Doesn't make a huge difference at early tiers, anyway.

F smiling: I like how the design is very orderly. All of the rooms are balanced and the connections are symmetrical.

N smiling: This is a good time to point out the subjective element. This would be a bad design for someone like a healer who wants fluid concepts, but it's effective because Theo wants many distinctly themed rooms.

F neutral: It is similar for me: I am better able to use light as a weapon because it is dangerous on my home world.

N neutral: It's worth saying that the sheer number of doors would be a weakness, if the heart chamber wasn't designed to set the cantae orbiting.

F neutral: That is true. It also loses some cantae space to the thick walls and pillars, but I believe our companion did this to support future tiers.

T smiling: You thought I was going to give myself a 100/100? No, the true strength of my design will barely be hinted before Archcrafter tier.

N 10: Your false humility is useless, when you've soulcrafted all this in just a matter of months.

F smiling: Can we see your soulhome next, Nauda?

[Nauda's Soulhome]

N neutral: I'm afraid my soulhome is rather modest, and my plans have been altered as I experienced a few difficulties in life.

F smiling: I like your heart chamber! Are the proportions based on the golden ratio?

N 04: Oh, good eye. Yes, I have powerful sublime materials in my heart chamber, so distributing their cantae effectively is important.

T neutral: The construction is solid, and you know I respect the craft on that telescope. But you're making poor use of the size of your soul, and it might not be easy to expand.

N neutral: I know, I know, you think I should build a tower.

T smiling: Separated soulhomes are rare, but there are legitimate reasons to design them that way.

F neutral: All of your chambers are mergers of cantae-generation, techniques, and strengthening. It is not how I was taught, but it is a consistent design.

N smiling: It's a more common model on Tatian than the previous Farmguard blueprint, honestly.

T neutral: Of course, the obvious thing Nauda has over either of us is that partially-constructed pyramid. When built high enough, it will make her an Archcrafter and unlock an entire second floor.

N neutral: I think ascension is probably beyond the scope of this introduction.

T neutral: Considering just the first floor... reasonably effective design, but with flaws. I'd say 65/100.

T neutral: Reasonably effective design, but with flaws. I'd say 65/100.

N 07: I'm humbled by your magnanimity, oh esteemable sage.

F smiling: I think that you are a 100, Nauda.

[Fiyu's Soulhome]

F 03: Umm... normally strangers shouldn't see this, but if this is non-canon, they can't tell anyone, right?

N smiling: I think you're safe, Fiyu.

T neutral: What's interesting about Fiyu's design is that it uses three different building materials, which would normally clash, but fuses them into several planned synergies.

F smiling: Yes. My relative said this blueprint was very difficult, but that it would be best for me.

N neutral: Which of the three materials is that entrance?

F neutral: ...

T neutral: Even though this breaks some standard rules, like having the walls and pillars not line up perfectly with the materials, in this case it's clearly done for a reason. You have to know when to break beginner rules.

N 04: I'm glad to see the window we helped you add to your sensory chamber!

F smiling: Yes, it is very helpful in these hellishly bright worlds.

T neutral: This is also a completely circular design, which makes good use of soul space and is highly durable.

N smiling: Honestly, the purity of the design doesn't do you justice, Fiyu. You have some powerful techniques in there.

F smiling: ...

T smiling: I'd say this is 90+, and only that because I don't know how well the blueprint flows into higher floors to justify the curve. It's clearly a design that's been refined over generations.

Conclusion

N 05: There you have it! A basic introduction to soulcrafting.

F neutral: Please follow precautions and obey your elder relatives when working on your soulhome.

T smiling: These principles would serve you well on every floor, but they're just scratching the surface of soulcrafting's complexity.

F smiling: But I think that is for future books.

N smiling: We'll see you in The Weirkey Chronicles!

(Again, if you'd like to see this conversation with full images, you can find it here: https://old.reddit.com/r/TheBrightestShadow/comments/k6vxt8/soulhome_architecture_101_with_theo_nauda_and_fiyu/)

Table of Contents

- Title
- The story so far...
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 39
- Chapter 40
- Epilogue
- Want to review this book?
- Appendix: Soulhome Architecture 101