Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Vibru grabbed the table, his sharp claws drilling into the precious wood as he held back his desire to rage at the towering Loydin standing in front of him. It was holding a small crystal covered in tiny runes with an image hovering above it that showed the metallic, gleaming face of a young man with long hair. An emerald crystal dangling from his hair showed he was a cardsmith.

"You are a hundred percent sure this is the target?" Vibru hissed, jabbing his finger into the far too-familiar visage. Just looking at it caused his anger to grow.

That Fiz'rin scum, he thought, recalling how the hammer-wielding brute had destroyed his precious sword by tossing it into the barrier.

"Yes," the Loydin said, showing no reaction to his anger. "Zirt expects him captured within the month."

Zirt expects? Zirt isn't even a captain yet, Vibru thought, picturing the smug face of the first mate of The Ruby's Revenge.

Taking a deep breath, he continued through clenched teeth. "This smith's on Granvox! How-"

"I don't care," the Loydin said. "You have your orders. I still need to meet with the others."

"The others?" Vibru growled. "I thought I was supposed to capture this smith! If the others-"

"The others are going to have their own targets," the Loydin said. He hesitated for a moment, then the first sign of any emotion came to his face in the form of a denigrating smile. "Their targets won't be as easy."

Vibru's desire to rip the metal abomination apart was growing by the second, but he said nothing.

The Loydin gazed at him, seemingly expecting him to react. When nothing happened, the over seven-foot metallic being snorted, turned, and left.

For a moment, the only sound in the room came from Vibru's teeth as he gnashed them together. Then he forced himself to relax his hands from the table. After a few moments, the rage left his eyes, and he began thinking.

"So… there's other targets," he whispered to himself.

Very slowly, his face was split by a toothy, evil smile.

--

Irwin yawned as he woke, stretching himself. It was eight-day again, meaning he had no courses, no metal to purify. Greldo and the others wouldn't return to the city either, as his friend was exploring a large shardworld and wouldn't be back for at least another week.

Which meant it was time to focus on the cards lying on the table. Twelve cards that he'd saved over the last few weeks. The best and those he hadn't dared attempt yet. Not with all his failures up to this point.

It's been over a month since we arrived here, he thought.

Most of those days had been spent memorizing new categories and types, purifying the Gneisian ore, and working on reforging. The evenings, many without rest, he spent practicing piano in his soulscape. In between, he'd been trying to forge his new cards.

First, a bit of music, he thought, closing his eyes again.

A moment later, he reappeared in his soulscape and made his way to the piano. It was slightly different from when he'd started, as Ambraz had kept tweaking the soulforce construct to make the sound as close to the real one as he could. It also wasn't the only one there. A smattering of string instruments lay on flat rock. Some looked like lutes, others like violins, and there were even instruments Irwin had only seen on the cards after he'd reforged them.

Irwin placed his fingers on the keys and slowly played the first part of the Galadin music sheet song. It was a comparatively simple piece, but even then, he still couldn't play all of it perfectly. Part of it was his skill, another part a lack of an example, but it was also the instrument. Although most of the notes he could play, he had found that there were points where he had to curb the tones in a way he wasn't able to on the piano.

When he finished, he frowned, staring at the beautiful instrument, annoyed at constantly running into things that prevented him from playing the music exactly as written.

According to Narios, what he was trying to do was bend the note, and it wasn't really possible on the piano. He'd said he could try to play two notes at the same time, but even then it wasn't the same. Narios had shown how to do it by playing a lute and pulling on the string, causing the sound to wobble.

After a few moments, Irwin got up and picked up one of the lutes Ambraz had made. It was based on one of his failed reforges, with a longer-than-normal handle and seven strings, which was one more than it should have. He plucked the strings a bit, struggling through a short piece of the same song he'd just played.

"It's not completely right," he muttered before looking around the other instruments.

Wondering what he was truly looking for, he stepped out of his soulscape and got up from the bed.

"So, kid! Are you ready to do this?" Ambraz said as he flew in from the main area.

Irwin grinned at his friend's enthusiasm. Ever since they had arrived on Granvox, Ambraz had been slowly changing, mellowing out a bit, and at one point, Irwin realized just how much he enjoyed being around the Ganvil.

"Yeah, let's get a bite to eat, then start!"

A short while later, Irwin stood before Ambraz. He was fed, rested, and mostly stress-free, and hoped that meant he'd succeed on at least one of the cards he wanted.

He looked at the twelve cards he was holding. He'd sorted them, and the top one showed an amethyst card with two rough outlines of a four-eyed humanoid head. They faintly overlapped, making it almost seem like a broken card. Ambraz had told him what it could be, and he still wondered. He'd attempted similar cards twice before, but they all shattered when he went beyond Topaz. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Alright, let's try the split mind one first," he said, pocketing the rest and placing the card on Ambraz.

"Sure, why don't you start with the most difficult one? Well, at least you have two tries on that today," Ambraz said with a snort.

Irwin couldn't blame him. Of all the cards, the mental splitting ones had been the ones they had been having the most trouble with. Still, this was the amethyst one, meaning it was the least likely to succeed as it was already partially set in what it wanted to become. However, if, by some miracle, he managed to succeed, this card would allow him to improve as fast as possible.

He focused on the card as he summoned his hammer, then waited. It took a while before Ambraz began humming, slow and hesitantly. Irwin knew that even the Ganvil wasn't completely sure if they were heading in the right direction, which made sense as nearly every card that dealt with mind cloning or mental splitting was found and not reforged. Even Brazardian hadn't been able to tell Ambraz much besides it being something he preferred not doing due to the high failure rate.

"Okay, let's go and show this Blurred Head card what we can do," Ambraz muttered.

He began humming again, and Irwin struck the card, causing the shimmering image to appear.

Alright, let's see how far we get this time, Irwin thought as he followed Ambraz's hum and began resonating his soulcard.

Immediately he felt the strong resistance from the card as the direction they were heading in was far from what it desired. From something physical, to something more intangible.

Just go, little card, Irwin thought as he struck again. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

With each hit, he tried to move it only a tiny bit. Over the weeks, he'd learned that large changes would cause the cards to gain a dissonant resonation almost instantly, which would result in them exploding.

A dozen strikes in, Irwin's mind was fully focused on the card, any lingering stray thoughts gone in favor of pure focus. The card was shivering softly, but it was still moving along with his soulcard's resonance. Ambraz's humming had become more confident, and Irwin tried to follow along with the minute changes.

As the Topaz rank closed in, Irwin slowly felt himself grow excited. The card was still holding strong, even though it was under stress. As the final strike went down, he almost shouted in joy, staring at the card as it glowed with a bright light, shivered, and then settled. A Topaz-bordered card lay there.

"Finally!" Ambraz shouted. "It only took us a month and ten failures, but hey, now we have it at Topaz! Just one more step to go!"

Irwin grinned, staring at the card, before hesitating.

"I think we should do a few others, then come back to this later," he said.

"I agree. That thing was horrible to keep in tune," Ambraz snorted. "But something easier this time, alright? A musical instrument?"

Irwin grinned as he took out the stack and put the next card on Ambraz. It was another amethyst, and it showed an oddly large lute with only four strings.

"Alright, let's do this!" he said.

--

Half a day later, Irwin cracked his neck and frowned at the five cards that lay on the table. Three were Topaz, the only ones that hadn't shattered of the ten they had done, while the two remaining were Quartz and the rarest they had managed to get ovet the month of searching. So far, he'd been too worried to try one, as both were instruments with the growth type and had cost more than any other ten cards combined.

"I think I want to try this one," he finally said, tapping one of the two growth cards. It showed a long lute-like instrument.

"About time," Ambraz said from the side.

"And…" Irwin continued as he licked his lips. "I think we should not force it beyond what we can. Keep it on the edge of perfection even if that means it won't become a piano."

"What? Are you sure? I thought you were hellbent on that?"

"We have been here for a month and only found these two," Irwin said. "I want to have at least one of them in a state that we can use, just in case we get all the other pieces. Even if that means I'll need to switch to a lute or whatever this is."

"Alright, let's do this!" Ambraz shouted.

Irwin grinned and grabbed the quartz card.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Ambraz started humming almost as soon as the card touched his back, and Irwin's eyebrows shot up as he heard the explosive, energetic melody.

"What? I've been examining this thing for weeks now, wondering when we were going to do it," Ambraz said, sounding smug. "Remember what Vera said: to get the best outcome, a song needs to be expressive! So, if we are going to go for the best outcome with this one, why not use an old Ganvil song from the homeworld?! Now, get to it!"

He began humming again, his deep voice following a powerful rhythm that rapidly built up into an energetic song. Irwin grinned and shook his head, then quickly joined him. When he was sure he had at least the start right, he struck down.

--

Skylar yawned as he rushed towards the squarish building that housed a dozen other smiths. He was holding his saxhorn below his arm, grinning widely.

"I can't wait to let him hear the entire song!"

As he entered the building and ran up the stairs, he stopped in the hallway leading to Irwin's apartment. Pasilha and Roubi were standing on the opposite end, staring at the door.

Now what? Skylar thought as he shook his head.

"Hey, what are-"

Pasilha turned, eyes wide, as she waved at him agitatedly.

"Quiet!"

Skylar walked toward them, unsure what was happening. As he closed in on the door, he began hearing a soft, deep song, the words inaudible, but the melody and the beat clear. His soulcard jolted and began resonating along with it, something that barely ever happened.

Is Irwin singing?

When he reached Pasilha, he stared at the door, barely believing what was happening. "Are we hearing him through the apartments dampening runes?" he whispered.

"It's been getting louder for a while now," Pasilha whispered back, staring at the door in a seeming trance. "We think he's reforging something… either that or he and Am'braz are practicing a song. If that's the case, I can't wait to hear it!"

Skylar watched the vibrating door for a while, before shaking himself out of the stupor.

"What are you two even doing here?" he asked, turning to Pasilha.

"We were going to ask him to check out a concert in the city," Pasihla said.

Skylar looked up in surprise, wondering which concert they meant, when the resonance and humming increased again. He stared at the door, wondering how loud it had to be inside the apartment.

Perhaps I should explain to him that being louder doesn't mean the cards become better, he thought.

Still, he didn't move, staring at the door, wondering what card Irwin was making.

--

Irwin was grinning like a madman as he struck the card. The border was already gleaming yellow, but he didn't care. All he cared for was following the resonance of his soulcard and humming along with the energetic song. He wasn't the only one either; the card they were reforging seemed more than willing to follow along.

Ambraz went from humming back to singing, his deep voice booming out, causing loose things to rattle on the shelves as he bellowed as if angry at someone, using the his native tongue.

Irwin wished he knew the words, but all he could do was hum along with the song, which began increasing in tempo beyond even its initial speed.

The card, which had already been allowing itself to be molded far beyond its boundaries, seemed to shiver, and Irwin sensed how it almost willingly followed the resonance of his soulcard. A dozen strikes later, the song wasn't done, but the card flashed, its border turning emerald.

We did it, Irwin thought.

He was about to shout for joy when he realized Ambraz wasn't stopping. Instead, his voice seemed to grow even louder.

Irwin's mind jolted as he stared at the card, noticing it seemed almost hungry to continue. He'd never seen anything like it, and he really wanted to stop and talk with Ambraz. This was a growth card! If they continued, they might fail-

The main beat came, and Irwin struck down without even realizing what he was doing, his body following Ambraz's raw song.

As the card's resonance became malleable again, following the song, Irwin knew there was no way back now. If he didn't continue, the card would be ruined either way. Realizing Ambraz wasn't paying attention, he focused back on the song, deciding to just let it happen. He did hope Ambraz would stop at the next rank because even with whatever state he was in, Irwin didn't believe the two of them could reforge up to Diamond.

--

Skylar bobbed his head to the beat of the hammer, swaying along with the intense melody resonating through the hallway. Dozens of people were around him, some humming along, others dancing in a frenzy, but most shouting the single word that kept resonating through the hallway. None of them knew what it meant, though the Ganvils were flying around the ceiling in a frenzy as they slammed into each other and the walls. Nearly all of them were singing along with the song, but none seemed capable of explaining what was happening.

"He blew up the dampening runes!" Roubi shouted, jumping up and down with gleaming eyes. "He blew them up!"

"We know already," Skylar shouted back.

He grinned as the song reached its pinnacle and… stopped. With a final screamed word, the following silence caused everyone to stop what they were doing, staring around in stunned realization that the song was done. Then, a roaring cheer ran through the crowded hallway as people began shouting and stomping their feet.

Skylar waited, watching the door. After a few moments, it was pulled open, and Skylar couldn't hold back a loud laugh at Irwin's surprised and confused look.

--

"So… everyone heard?" Irwin asked, leaning back in his chair as he gazed across the table at the others.

"The last five minutes could probably be heard throughout the academy," Skylar said with a grin. "And with thirty-plus Ganvils bellowing along- well, let's just say I'm pretty sure everyone heard!"

"Good," Ambraz said, flying around the ceiling, seeming unable to sit still.

Loud chatting could still be heard from outside the apartment while other songs were crackling through the hallway. Apparently, the students had decided that an impromptu hallway party was in order.

Skylar's bonded Ganvil, Za'rish, was moving from one nook to another, her lips curved in a wide grin.

"That song was amazing! Why haven't I ever heard this!?"

"Most of the others prefer the older songs," Ambraz grunted. "If you like this, we can see if The Rusted Hatchet is still open. I used to go there with Hou'dor, and they played these songs."

"Can we come?" Roubi asked.

"You wouldn't fit," Ambraz said with a grin. "It's made for a hundred Ganvils max."

"So, what were you reforging that needed this?" Pasilha asked.

Irwin hummed, unable to keep the smile from his lips.

"You will find out eventually," he said as he got up. "Anyway. I still have some time left, and I still want to reforge some other cards."

Skylar rose with a snort. "Right, right. We are leaving already! Though, you might want to find another place because I think without those dampening runes, it might become hard to concentrate soon!"

Irwin hesitated as he listened to the volume of the party outside.

"I'll just go to Vera's classroom," he said. "I'm sure those dampening runes should hold out."

"Wait, are you going to sing something like that again?" Za'rish asked.

"No," Ambraz said. "The kid's other cards require another type of song. But I'm sure we can do something like that again soon!"

From her sigh and grimace, Irwin knew that if Za'rish had been human, she'd have deflated and looked sad.

When he closed the door after Skylar, Pasilha, and Roubi, Irwin took the red-bordered card from his pocket, staring at the instrument.

His smile was gone, and he frowned. "It looks like some sort of lute with a really long neck," he muttered.

"More like one of those other instruments Narios showed us," Ambraz said. "But I don't think any of those were made of metal."

Irwin nodded. "So, now what…"

"Simple, there are two things you can do," Ambraz said. "Either we sell it and hope we find more growth cards because I don't see us making a piano from that single one we have left… or you slot this."

Irwin stared at the card, not sure what to think. Although he liked the look of the sleek metal instrument, he hadn't really heard a string instrument he liked as much as a Piano. He was trying to come up with a reason not to when Ambraz continued.

"Listen, we don't really need the cash, and you can just unslot it if we do manage a better one. In the meantime, you can practice with it, and who knows, it might grow on you?"

"Right, I can just take it out again," Irwin said, feeling like he could kick himself.

"What do you think this would get us if we sold it?" he asked.

"Not that much," Ambraz said instantly. "There are very few people looking for anything like this, not like weapon cards or anything that deals with combat, really."

"Then let's just do that," Irwin said, grinning. Even if he had to take it out later, he was very curious to see what the ruby rank instrument card would sound and be like.

"What does the card do besides being an instrument?"

Ambraz was quiet for a long time before swallowing.

"Dammit, that explains something, alright," he muttered.

"What?" Irwin asked, suddenly worried.

"It's… whatever, you will see in a moment."

As he spoke, Ambraz flew to Irwin's book, which lay on the table and landed on it.

"There- look for yourself."

Irwin almost ran to the table, opening the little book.

Card: Ethereal Strings

Type: Ruby, Growth, Inspired, Reforged by Irwin Roddington

Owner: -

A rare instrument that has no physical strings but creates them by using the wielder's soulforce. Depending on the wielder's soulforce capacity, a louder sound can be created.

Passive: Greatly increased resistance to soundwave damage

Passive: Increases the ability of adjacent sound-based cards

Active: Summons a Soulstrum Guitar capable of creating up to a hundred decibels of sound

A Soulstrum guitar?

Then he saw the odd types and frowned. "What does the Inspired type do? I'm pretty sure we haven't covered that one yet."

"Yeah, because it's one of the rarer types. It only appears on some cards and only after it has been reforged. I might have seen it if I hadn't been so absorbed by the song… Anyway, it's the reason that the card was so willing to follow the resonance. Technically, if we had wanted to, we could have forced it way harder than we did."

Irwin grunted. "Hard enough to become a piano?"

"Maybe," Ambraz said. "I don't know much more about the type than that some of the best cards Brazardian made had it, and all of them became Diamond."

Irwin stared at the card, then at the text. "So. What do we do? Wait and try to craft it up to Diamond later?"

"That would be useless," Ambraz said. "First, you don't know if you want to keep it. Second, it's a growth type, so there's no need to risk it. You realize it's a hundred percent, right?"

"I might have missed that," Irwin said as he hummed. "So, slot it?"

"Yeah. Let's see what a soulstrum guitar even is."

Irwin hesitated for a moment, then held the card above the final slot of his left hand. By now, he had enough experience with it that he wasn't at all surprised when it simply slid into his hand. There was a bright, blood-red glow from his hand as a third tattoo appeared beside the others.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then Irwin sensed a presence appear in his mind. It wasn't like the other cards, not even like his soulcard. Instead, it was accompanied by a solid sensation, and instinctively, he raised his hand, pulling it to him.

A heavy coper-colored instrument appeared in his hands, the weight trying to drag them down.

"Heavy," Irwin hissed as he put it on the table, which creaked dangerously.

The soulstrum guitar was longer than he had expected, though not unwieldy, and every part of it was simple yet beautiful, from its sleek neck to its rounded body. The hole across which the strings should go was a bit bigger than what Irwin had seen before, and dense ripples of soulforce were visible inside. At the same time, a soft, happy resonance came from the instrument.

"Damn… you could brain someone with that," Ambraz said. "Alright, let's see what it does!"

Irwin nodded, picking the guitar back up and putting it on his knee. He had only very little experience with the lutes, just enough to test them out, but he did know all of them had little knobs on the neck. This one didn't. All there was was the neck, slightly curved at the end, and the body. No strings, no knobs. Nothing.

So, now how do I get you to work, Irwin thought as he focused on the instrument.

A sense of something drawing on his soulforce came from the soulstrum guitar, and he allowed it to pull in a bit. Bright fiery light that looked like molten metal rushed from the neck to the body as six strings softly hummed to life.

"Nice, I can see it definitely took after your current soulcard," Ambraz said. "That matches with what I know of the Inspired type."

Irwin barely heard him, feeling the incredible urge to strum the strings. Putting his thumb there, he could feel the intense heat radiating from the strings, and he immediately knew that he had to keep it away from anyone who couldn't handle the heat. Just touching the top string caused an odd humming thrum, and experimentally, he pulled it down slightly before releasing it.

A howling whine, like a massive demon screeching in the night, erupted from the guitar as Irwin's soulforce resonated all at once, guided by the soulstrum guitar.

Irwin clapped his hand on the snares, causing them to quiet.

Soft cracking sounds came from all around, and he looked up. Faint crack lines ran across the surrounding walls while startled screeches came from the hall, followed by people shouting questions.

"Shit," he whispered.