Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Three days into the Glacial Area, Irwin was weary to the bone, his skin constantly tingling, and he was sick and tired of ice and icy mountains.

There was no sign of the Glacial Area ending anytime soon; instead, the mountains had grown taller and jagged. It was taking ever more time to navigate between the valleys between them while the clouds of gas above seemed an endless pale mass. If it hadn't been for the electric barrier and the constant hissing from one side, he'd have long since gotten hopelessly lost.

Every few hours, he had to shove masses of ice and snow from the deck to stop the ship from becoming overburdened. If he hadn't started taking short rests every few hours, lying in the cabin, and having a worried Greldo taking short looks outside to make sure the ship remained where it was, he'd have long since given up and turned back.

As it was, he was standing behind the snow and ice-covered wheel, hands gripping tight, grinding his teeth, and wishing for nothing else but a volcano. The only thing keeping him even mildly distracted was Ambraz, who was the only one besides him able to stand the cold.

"So World Anvil's can't leave the world they are on?"

"No. At rank six, when a Ganvil becomes a World Anvil, it becomes very difficult," Ambraz said. "Then, at rank seven and beyond, it's completely impossible. We are so in sync with the world's soulforce resonance that leaving through a portal would rip the portal corridor apart."

"So, that's why you are searching for your homeworld shards? To find the World Anvils?"

Ambraz snorted. "Some are. I was doing it because my Progenitor told me to."

Irwin hummed. Ambraz had mentioned the word progenitor before, but he'd never gone into details.

"Is that like your father or mother?" he asked.

"Something like that," Ambraz said. "Anyway, that's why there will be a time when I need to remain on Eluathar."

Irwin knew Ambraz was changing the subject, but that was fine with him.

"Eluathar and not one of the adjacent worlds?" he asked, wiping fresh hail and snow from his face.

"Kid, do you think I'm crazy? As stable as those adjacent worlds will be, Eluathar is a rank-six world! The ambient soulforce and its resonance are way more powerful than that of any of its adjacent worlds. Besides, if I go to an adjacent world and Eluathar becomes unstable, I could get imprisoned there!"

"What about the other Ganvils? I thought you wanted an adjacent world for them?"

"Definitely," Ambraz snorted. "And with me stabilizing and eventually defending Eluathar, they are going to have a great world to finally rebuild what we have lost. Someone else can become a worldanvil there."

Irwin hummed as he wondered what that would mean for him. Would he have to remain with Ambraz?

"How long will it take for you to become rank six?" he asked.

"I'm going to be the youngest rank-six in the history of my people," Ambraz said, sounding incredibly smug and sure of himself. "I'm already rank three, and I'll become rank four within another ten years! It shouldn't take me more than two or three hundred years to become rank six! … what? Why are you laughing?"

Irwin grinned, shaking his head. "Nothing. I was just worried I'd have to go around without you, but it's good to hear that won't be anytime soon."

Ambraz grunted and rumbled a bit while Irwin looked into the distance. They were gliding around a mountain, and as the next ice-covered valley appeared, a twinkling purple area hovered just at the center of a cliff. The hail and snow caused the glowing soulforce to create diffuse and sparkling aureolas. It would have been hard to see in any normal area, but in the middle of the heavy snowing, hailing, and icy nothingness, it stood out like an amethyst blaze.

"There's a portal there," Irwin said, unable to hold back his incredible relief.

"What? Where?"

Irwin pointed to the side as he slowed the ship's forward motion. "Beside that cliff, twenty feet below the clouds."

"I don't feel it, move closer!"

Irwin hadn't been planning anything else, so he remained quiet as he moved closer. Only when they were a few hundred feet from the unopened portal did Ambraz exclaim: "I feel it. It's really weak. It has to be a rank one or two portal."

Irwin didn't care if it had been a rank zero portal, and he continued until the deck of the ship stopped right below the portal. Then he pressed some of the glyphs on the center of the steering wheel, which would keep the ship from drifting off too much.

Walking to the portal, he sensed the gentle resonance, and he knew it wouldn't be too hard to tear the portal open. The reaction most likely wouldn't be anywhere near as harsh as that of the Eluathar portal. After a few moments, he headed to the cabin, and opening the door, he looked right at Greldo, Rindiri, and Zender.

"You found a portal!" Zender shouted excitedly. "Is it rank six again?"

"Of course not," Greldo said with a snort. "I'd have told you that, remember?"

"It's rank one or two," Irwin said. He noticed scuff marks on Zender's face and a new belt with a short sword resting on his leg. He faintly recalled that Greldo had said he was practicing with Zender and that Zender had been practicing with the guards back in Portal Keep.

"Yes, and I'm going to open it," he said, turning to Rindiri. "I'll warm up a small pocket around me and bring you to the steering wheel. Then I'll open the portal. Can you get ready to move the ship a safe distance away, just in case?"

"Of course, Captain."

"Can we come too?" Zender asked excitedly.

"Zender, stop bothering the captain," Rindiri said, frowning at her son. "You know he needs to conserve his energy!"

Zender sighed with a deep sadness but nodded.

Greldo laughed, padding Zender on the shoulder before turning to Irwin.

"How are we going to do this after you open the portal?"

"I'm going to check the portal and see what it's like, then we are going to make the Galubs enter. After that, we will leave," Irwin said.

"Sounds great," Greldo said. "And are you going to refill your soulforce and continue to search for the other side?"

Irwin hesitated for only a moment before shaking his head. "No. It's time we head to Granvox. If we go further, who knows when we will return?"

"About time!" Ambraz said from his pocket. "Let's get this over with!"

Irwin grinned, and he walked back outside. A few minutes later, Rindiri was behind the wheel inside a small pocket of slightly hot steam while Irwin stood before the closed portal. He dropped the usage of Incandescent Eyes, and immediately, the soulforce of the portal rift disappeared from his view while his regular senses returned. The soft resonance of the portal was so weak that he wondered if he'd have felt it from all that far away.

Probably not, he thought as he began softly resonating his soulcard in the opposite of the portal.

There was a slight resistance, then the portal's soulforce followed his soulcard's resonance, and before he could even warn the others, it went from stable to unstable to a bright flash of light.

A surprised shout came from behind him while Irwin stared at the simple dark portal that hung before him. Pale silvery lighting rippled along the edges, slowly fading away.

"Rindiri, you okay?" he shouted.

There was a soft groan from behind, and Irwin turned to the wheel, suddenly worried. Rindiri stood there, blinking and staring into the distance.

"Rindiri?"

"I'm alright," she shouted, shaking her head. "Just… blinded."

"Gelwins balls," Irwin grunted as he ran to the wheel. Absently, he noticed that the temperature was rising very slightly, and a sense of warmth came from the portal behind him.

Rindiri was blinking, but he saw her eyes follow him, showing she wasn't completely blind.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would just open like that," he said.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have looked," Rindiri muttered, still blinking.

Irwin took over the wheel while she began gently rubbing her eyes.

"It will take a few hours before I can really see again. It's a good thing it was only a rank one portal," Rindiri said after a few moments.

"Take your time," Irwin said. "I'll stay at the wheel until you can take over."

Rindiri nodded, and Irwin kept an area of hot steam around her as she slowly found her way to the cabin door. When she was gone, he sighed, staring at the portal hovering at the deck. The ice and snow that billowed around it were sizzling, and drops of water rained down on the deck, melting tiny holes and rivulets into the ice. A quick look at his soulforce showed it was very slowly refilling.

"What can we expect from a rank one portal?" Irwin asked.

"It's hard to say without going inside, but most aren't all that different from the larger worldshards you have been on," Ambraz said. "They are regular worlds, and they sometimes have a few adjacent worlds, but most of the time, they are barely stable enough for themselves."

"Are they more dangerous than higher rank worlds?" Irwin asked, thinking back to when they had found Eluathar. Back then, Zender had said that rank six worlds had very few dangers and usually none around the portal entrances, and Rindiri and Daubutim had said he was right.

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"Much," Ambraz said with a snort. "They were stable enough to form, but sometimes only barely. That means the unstable ambient soulforce will cause a lot of odd mutations in the beings that live on it."

Irwin almost asked if the Ganvil homeworld had been a rank one but barely held back. He was pretty sure Ambraz wouldn't have been able to laugh at the joke.

"Is that why Galubs are the way they are?" Irwin asked.

"Hell no! The Galub homeworld was likely a rank two or three," Ambraz said. "You would have to ask Doomblade if you want to be sure. There will be constant predation and fighting in this world."

"The things on it will be weaker then?" Irwin asked.

"What? No!" Ambraz said, rustling in Irwin's pocket. "Don't go in there carelessly! Just because the ambient soulforce isn't as stable doesn't mean there is none. That is, there will be chaos, and there will be weird mutations everywhere."

Irwin frowned. He'd somehow expected the world to be less dangerous, not more, when they became lowrank.

"How long will the world remain stable now that a portal is open?" he asked.

"It depends," Ambraz said. "Doomblade is comparable in strength to a single soulcarded, so his presence will likely balance out the presence of the portal. If he survives or becomes stronger, the world might even eventually become rank two."

"Wait, worlds can become higher rank?" Irwin asked, startled.

"Worlds can drop a rank. Why wouldn't they be able to grow if their ambient soulforce becomes more stable? Though, it only ever occurs to rank one or two worlds," Ambraz said with a snort. "To make a world go from rank three to four would require there to be thousands of soulcarded beings, and that usually doesn't happen."

Irwin frowned as he looked at the portal. His mind instantly went back to creating cards from the ambient soulforce… what if he could do that? Wouldn't it be just a matter of time to make that many soulcarded?

"Hypothetically," he said slowly. "What would happen if everyone in the world was soulcarded?"

Ambraz made a choking sound before laughing.

"I have no idea! I guess it would become a rank-ten world? But it's nonsense to even ponder it! There are only three known rank seven worlds, and two of them are among the most ancient worlds around. Rank eight… I haven't even read about those."

"So why do you think rank ten is the highest?" Irwin asked, slightly confused.

"Because it's based on a familiar ranking system, the same as my race," Ambraz said. "And it is a ranked one-to-ten system. Then again… I don't really know if rank ten is even possible."

"Are there any rank ten Ganvils?" Irwin asked.

"No," Ambraz said before continuing almost sadly. "There is one rank eight, and only barely."

Irwin remained quiet for a bit, feeling that Ambraz wasn't really present. Finally, he hummed.

"So, what else has ten ranks?"

"Most crafted things," Ambraz said. "Though, like with worlds, there's barely anything ever made above rank six."

"Weapons and armor?" Irwin asked, interested.

"Yes, but don't bother. Even a regular topaz weapon card is more powerful than a rank five weapon," Ambraz said with distaste. "I read that the ten-step ranking system is a remnant of long ago before people had cards. I didn't believe it back then, but after all we have learned about the Galadin, I guess it's probably true."

I wonder what a rank ten crafted weapon would look like, Irwin thought as he watched more and more water flow from the top layer of ice that had covered the ship deck.

Eventually, the door reopened, and Rindiri stepped out. Irwin quickly pulled a pocket of steam around her and waited till she reached him. She was still blinking, but when she met his eyes, she nodded.

"Can you take the cold?" Irwin asked, looking at the melting ice. Near the portal, the temperature was a lot higher, but it didn't emanate nearly as far as the other portals he'd seen.

"I'll be fine. I might have to go inside for a few times, but I'll live."

"Good. Don't take any risk," Irwin said as he stepped aside, letting her take the wheel. "I'll check the portal quickly."

"Are you sure you should? Perhaps it's better just to throw the Galubs in," Rindiri said.

"Yes, but there's a very small chance that there are more Terullian runes there," Irwin said.

"I still wonder if those are worth the risk, but fine. Be careful," Rindiri said.

"I will be," Irwin said, raising his voice enough for Greldo to hear him. "I'll go in now and return as fast as I can."

"Don't do anything too stupid," Greldo shouted from the cabin.

"Be careful, captain!" Zender shouted after him.

Irwin grinned as he walked to the portal and, with a quick wave, hopped in.

The world turned black, and then Irwin was rushing through a portal corridor that was narrower than any he'd been through. It was also incredibly transparent, and he looked around at the chaotic space around it in surprised awe and shock. There was barely any visible energy, and he could see the details of the distant nebula.

"If we ever come across one of those Oculithar in here, we'd be dead," he muttered.

"Don't jinx us," Ambraz whispered. "Just keep your soulcard as calm as possible."

Irwin nodded, and he kept looking around, keeping quiet and still as he shot through the corridor. When they finally reached the end, he was glad to see it.

Slamming into the end felt worse than what he was used to, and as he stumbled out of the portal, he felt a painful jab in his head. He ignored it, looking around a yellow and orange, cracked plain. Far to one side were mountains, probably a few day's travel away, and billowing clouds of gray covered the distant horizon. Orange bolts of lightning slammed into the ground, and he felt the shivers when they hit.

Turning around, he saw a massive forest of what he could only describe as mushrooms and fungi stretching out as far as he could see. Some purple and black-capped specimens were easily as tall as some of the trees on Scour, while what looked like blankets of pale teal moss hung from others, creating tentlike areas.

The world's soulforce resonance was weak and slightly chaotic, though he did feel that it was better near him. The further away he sensed, the worse it became. At the same time, his soulforce was refilling faster than it had done outside the portal.

"Okay…" he muttered, looking around. "Any sign of Terullian buildings?"

"I don't sense anything," Ambraz muttered. "There's something moving in that mushroom forest, though."

Irwin frowned, watching the distant skyline. At first, he saw nothing but the swaying fungi sheets and thin mushroom stalks, then a very faint dark-red outline flitted through the shadowy undergrowth. The heat signature was so weak that Irwin almost thought he saw something rustle in the wind. Only when it moved to the side of a mushroom, no longer obscured by other things, did he see it for what it was. Some type of low-to-the-ground creature, likely staring at him or the portal.

"What do you think… leave or wait and see?" he whispered.

A dull roar came from the forest, and he watched as a dark gray and brown being rushed towards him. Teal lines covered a triangular head with similar frills on the back points and a lower jaw that seemed far too wide and toothy. Two hand-length, curved teeth jabbed from the bottom of the jaw. The wide, flat body zoomed across the ground, ending in a pointy tail.

"There's other things looking at us from the forest," Ambraz said.

Irwin hummed, wondering what made the thing believe it could get to him when it was at least ten seconds out. With the portal at his back, even in the worst case, he could just jump back through that. His hammer appeared in his hand, and he focused on the monstrous thing before hurling it forward. The hammer left his hand with a boom of kinetic energy. At the last moment, he decided against coating it in fire, instead relying on the hammer's brute force.

The hammer was like a streak of dark copper, surprising even himself with how fast it went and leaving a tingling in his palm. Even then, the monstrous thing managed to dodge to the side in the last instant, causing the hammer to hit the ground, then skid across the stonelike surface, leaving a foot-wide furrow behind.

Irwin unsummoned, then resummoned his hammer and hurled it at the much closer demon. By now, he had a much clearer view of its wide, vertically slit pale orange eyes and the thick fungus-like growths covering its leathery skin.

He hesitated for a moment, then hurled his hammer again. The hammer almost teleported into the monster's head, knocking it flat into the ground, green goo splurting everywhere. Irwin jumped sideways just in time to evade it.

"The others are still looking from the forest," Ambraz called from his pocket. "I think it's time to leave."

Irwin couldn't agree more. He took a quick look at the body, but there was no sign of a card. With a last look around, he turned to the portal and jumped inside. Moments later, he was hurtling back through the portal corridor.

"Are all rank one worlds this… horrible?" Irwin asked.

"I don't know," Ambraz responded with a weary grunt. "I know they aren't the best of worlds, but I've never seen one until now."

Irwin, arms crossed as he looked out into the darkness of the chaotic space beyond, wondered if they would have been happy with a world like this when they were searching for one of their own.

Probably not.

A long time later, he stepped out of the other side of the portal, landing on a slick, wet deck with chunks of ice all around. It was still incredibly cold, but a quick look showed that Rindiri and Greldo were on the deck, looking at him.

"That wasn't too long," Greldo said, raising an eyebrow. "I'd expected you to be away longer."

"Low-rank worlds take a shorter time to reach," Ambraz shouted from Irwin's pocket. "We even fought something!"

We? Irwin thought, but he just grinned as he walked up to Greldo.

"Let's go and get Doomblade."

"Sure, sure. Use me as your personal teleporter," Greldo said, grabbing his shoulder.

A dark, shadowy rush later, Irwin stood on the other ship. There was nobody on deck, and the door was closed.

"Doomblade, get out here," Irwin shouted.

There was a moment of silence before an angry snort came from inside the cabin. "Is the temperature better?"

"A bit, and we have found you a portal," Irwin responded.

The door was shoved open instantly, and Doomblade stomped outside. As soon as he appeared, he hissed and clasped his arms around his shoulders. Irwin wasn't at all surprised that his chains were gone.

Greldo moved to the prow, removing the ropes binding the ship to The Sonata, while Irwin took position at the steering wheel.

"That's a weak portal!" Doomblade shouted as he stood, shivering near the railing. He turned to Irwin, angrily glaring at him. "Couldn't you find me something better?"

Irwin didn't even bother responding, instead slowly sailing the ship forward. It took him a while to position the portal above the deck, and by that time, Doomblade had returned back to the cabin.

"Get out here," Irwin shouted.

"Is the portal ready?" Doomblade snapped.

"Yes, now get out here," Irwin said angrily.

The cabin door opened again, and this time, Doomblade came out, carrying a three-horned Galub by the neck. The smaller Galub was struggling, trying to rip the larger, stronger hand free, and as soon as the cold hit it, it began shivering.

"What are-" Irwin began, only to quiet when Doomblade hurled the Galub through the portal.

"I'm not going in there without knowing if it's safe," the five-horn growled, turning to Irwin with dark eyes.

Irwin thought about the demons that were waiting within the mushroom forest.

"You might want to throw a few more in then," he said. "There are some other demons in there. You can probably kill them easily, but I don't think one of them can."

Doomblade's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Irwin thought he was going to complain. Then the five-horn turned and almost ran back into the cabin. He returned with two more struggling three-horns and hurled them into the portal before looking at Irwin with a raised eyebrow.

"Two more should do it," Irwin said. He wasn't exactly sure, but he was sure it wouldn't hurt either.

A few moments later, Doomblade flung another three-horn and one four-horn into the portal.

"There. If none of those return, I'll prefer staying out here," he snarled.

Irwin expected him to return back inside, but the five-horn began pacing before the portal.

Time passed slowly, and after an hour, Irwin began worrying. Doomblade was giving him more and more angry glances and seemed ready to become angry when the four-horn appeared back on the deck. He immediately began shaking and shivering, but Doomblade grabbed him.

"And?"

"There are some four-legged flat Gwaggir out there, but they are weaker and smaller," the four-horn croaked.

"How many?"

"I killed four, and no more came."

"What does the world look like?" Doomblade snapped.

The Galub began rattling in their own language, something Irwin hadn't heard many times yet, and when he finished, Doomblade nodded.

"Keep them alive," he snapped, hurling the four-horn back and turning to Irwin.

"I'll leave," he said. "I'm sure that should make you happy. I know it makes me happy!"

Irwin blinked, then shook his head with a dull grin. "Yeah, it won't make me sad."

Doomblade snorted, then headed back into the cabin. A moment later, Galubs began running from the door, jumping into the portal. Most were three-horns, but as ten, then fifty, ran through, Irwin was surprised to see a few more four-horns. Doomblade stomped out after the final one, moving to the portal.

He stared at Irwin, and he sniffed.

"You could have killed me at any time… but you didn't. Don't come bothering me too soon, but if you need mercenaries in the future, come and find me," he growled. Then, without another word, he jumped into the portal, vanishing.

Irwin stared at the portal, then at Greldo.

"I wouldn't do that unless there was no other choice," Greldo said in distaste.

"I wasn't planning on it," Irwin said. "Did any remain on the ship?"

"I don't hear anyone," Greldo said just as Ambraz spoke. "There's nobody here."

Irwin grinned and slowly sailed the ship away from the portal until the prow sat close enough from the back of The Sonata for Greldo and Rindiri to rebind the other ship.

A few moments later, Irwin was back on the deck of his own ship, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, let's wait until our soulforce is refilled. After that, we head back!"

"Granvox, here we come!" Ambraz shouted.

Irwin grinned, feeling a load lift from his shoulders. Finally, they could sail without any baggage!