Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin felt relaxed and drained as he finally struck the final blow.

The card flashed brightly as the ambient soulforce that had been blocking his vision either surged into the card or seemed to drift away. As his surroundings cleared up, the card's previous red color drained away into a crystal clear pale border.

Irwin let out a breath of relief, sensing just how weary he was. His soulscape barely had a quarter of its soulforce left.

This isn't just twice as hard as a Ruby reforge, it's on a whole other level, he thought.

His soulscape self unsummoned his soulstrum guitar before grabbing the thin booklet and raising the tablatures. Flipping through it for a moment, it began slowly examining the song.

The part of him in the real world took the card, sensing the immense bottled-up power inside of it.

So this is how strong my hammer card was just before it became a heartcard, he thought.

The image of the spear seemed to almost pop out of the image, while a forest of hazy flaming spears surrounded it. Irwin wondered who he should give the card to. Anyone slotting it would need to have cards with a very strong synergy.

Wishing he had the time to inspect it more closely, he knew there were more important things first.

He looked up from the card to see Dahlia staring at him, eyes wide, a card forgotten before her. She seemed almost frozen in place, staring at the card in his hands. Her face was slightly ruddy due to his fiery night vision having kicked in, which was what finally caused him to snap out of it.

What is going on? he thought, looking around worriedly.

Tentacles were wrapped around their barrier, which had turned into a dense silver that looked more like solidified translucent metal than energy. Only a few cracks remained through which he saw the world around them, and those showed explosions of energy and swirls of fire.

"You really always overdo it, don't you?" a weary voice asked.

Irwin looked at Greldo, still lying where he had before. He had improved slightly, no longer looking like he'd pass out at any moment. Boohm sat next to him, legs crossed and elbows on his knees, grinning widely. Hind stood on the prow, looking at him with an unreadable expression, while Zender stood beside Earila. Both were grinning, though Earila looked slightly pale. The birds on their shoulders were as quiet as they had been till now.

Really need to talk with them about that, Irwin thought.

"Nice show, captain!"

Boohm's shout shattered whatever held everyone in captive silence.

"Captain, that was amazing!"

"What kind of card is it?"

"Are you actually a diamond-rank smith!?"

"Can you-"

"How did you incorporate the Chaos Whale's song in it?!"

Irwin grimaced as questions and remarks continued, many of which were from Dahlia, asking about details of what he'd done. Midway through, Ambraz turned into his small shape and landed on his shoulder.

"Kid… that card is -" Ambraz said before letting out an exasperated sigh when the questions continued. "Whatever. I'll tell you later."

"I'll tell you all about what happened later," Irwin said as he raised his arms, causing everyone to fall quiet.

Dahlia clenched her teeth but nodded. Irwin had the feeling she'd be finding him as soon as she could to ask him a lot of things.

"So, how are things going out there?" he asked, looking around and suddenly realizing just how much ambient soulforce was swirling around in the barrier of the ship. It was multiple times what he'd expected to be there. "Nim'ron?"

"I'm. Fine. Remind me. Not to ask… for- For a lot… of-" Nim'ron groaned, was quiet for a few moments, before continuing in a less forced and strained voice. "Not ask for more soulforce again. I'm close to passing out."

"What about the shield?"

Nim'ron groaned, causing Irwin to worry, but Ambraz just laughed.

"Don't worry, kid, Nim'ron is just not used to channeling this much power. It's hard for him to take only what he needs, so he's now constantly channeling the ambient soulforce through himself and into the shield. Think of it as if you have to eat non-stop and continue after you are full, food spilling out everywhere."

Irwin shared a worried look with Greldo, wondering if that analogy made any sense. His friend just shrugged, smiling wearily.

"Well, at least you can take it easy for a while," Greldo said. "All three Oculithar are trying to squish us while the ships and the whale are hovering around."

Irwin jerked out of his reverie. "And Basil?"

"I don't know," Greldo said. "I tried stepping into the shadow realm, but it made me go unconscious for an hour or so."

"But you are better now?" Irwin asked, worried as he examined his friend. His soulforce was low, but not dangerously so, and as he watched, it was refilling at a normal rate.

I wonder why it's not faster, Irwin wondered. Shouldn't the ambient soulforce help?

"So, how long can you hold with this much ambient soulforce?" Irwin asked.

"An hour before, you will need to start refilling it," Nim'ron croaked. "But just do regular reforging for a while. If you saturate it again, I might actually go unconscious."

Irwin looked around, realizing that the ship was still moving.

"Earila, where are we flying to?" he asked.

"Very slowly away from the docks, Captain. I thought it would be best, just in case something goes wrong, but if you want-"

"No, no! That's good," Irwin interrupted her.

"Boohm, can you get us some food?" he asked.

The Onyxian stared at him for a moment before jumping up. "How could I forget," he shouted before running away and disappearing into the cabin.

Irwin sat down beside Greldo, leaning against the railing.

"I wonder how long it will take for them to kill these," Greldo muttered, rubbing his head.

"Kill? Bah," Ambraz snapped. "It's more likely that they will chase them off."

Irwin shivered at the thought of three Occulithar roaming around the insides of their section of the Portal Gallery.

"It would be best if we can kill them," he said, looking at Ambraz. "Any idea?"

"I think I told you I don't know much about them, right?" Ambraz said. "From what I could see from the damage they were taking from the ships, I'd say they are killable, but we just need to do more damage."

"Did you see the massive lightning bolt Basil shot out?" Hind said as she walked closer. "If we could get more of those…"

Irwin faintly recalled something like that happening, but he'd been too busy with reforging at the time.

"What happened?" he asked curiously.

"The Chaos Whale did what you did with the shields, but then to Basil," Ambraz said. "He flooded him with immense soulforce and somehow overcharged his cards. I'm pretty sure we will have to fix it because, from what I could tell, it was close to shattering."

"I wonder if we can find someone that could handle that much energy," Greldo muttered.

"Maybe the Chaos Whale can give the energy to a ganvil?" Hind asked.

"To do what with?" Ambraz snorted. "That much soulforce… it makes what Irwin did here look like nothing."

Hind said something, but Irwin didn't pay any more attention. Instead, an idea began forming, and ignoring the rest, he took out the cards he had with him, flipping through them as he searched for something.

I know I saw one, he thought as he looked at the images and tried to recall what it had looked like.

Going through one stack, then another, he finally stopped as he looked at a card with an image of a swirl that looked somewhat like a whirlpool. Instead of water, this one seemed made up of swirls of energy. He felt a slight annoyance as he realized he couldn't read the card himself, and not for the first time he missed his old card.

Perhaps I can sneak some functionality into my next cards, he thought, looking at Ambraz.

"Ambraz," he said. "Read this card to me, please."

"This? Kid, what… oh… oh! That might work! Perhaps we should- yes, but then… Hmmm"

"Ambraz?" Irwin said as the ganvil continued muttering to himself.

"What? Right! This card allows the wielder to build up his energy over the course of an hour before releasing it in a pulse around the wielder. If we reforge it, focus on the capacity, and let it create a beam instead of a pulse, we could have someone use the power of those Chaos Whales!"

There was a silence around them, followed by a groan from Greldo.

"Great, so what you are saying is I need to get someone from those ships to us, then get him to the Chaos Whale."

He rose with a groan, heading towards the cabin. "I'll need to sleep for a few hours. Wake me if something goes wrong," he said.

He passed Boohm, who just walked out, and grabbed some of the food, causing Boohm to curse as he almost lost his balance.

Irwin cracked his neck as he got up. "Nim'ron, I need to reforge another card."

"Yeah, I heard you," the ganvil said, sounding slightly afraid. "Mind waiting till after you are done eating?"

Irwin nodded, but he barely listened. He was thinking about the details of what he had to do, knowing he might have to stop at Emerald because he would become soulforce-deprived or close to it. That meant a single reforge, up, and all the rest had to be done with sideways reforging.

He began pacing, but after only two passes along the deck, he froze as his other self flipped a page in the tablatures and stared at the part of the previous reforge where the Chaos Whale had joined in. All the notes were slightly changed in pitch and timing, so minutely that he had to flip back and forth to see exactly what was different. Besides that, another entire bass line was added, and like a missing puzzle piece, it almost glued together the rest of the resonances- both his soulstrum guitar and his singing. The longer he looked, the more he understood, and he also realized what he'd felt when it was happening.

The melody creates a third, new resonance between the existing card and the song. It's like a projection of what it will become, and it's creating a path for the card's resonance to follow.

"Ambraz, move to my soulscape," Irwin whispered.

Ambraz didn't bother asking why but zipped inside, where Irwin held up the tablatures, showing the final few pages.

"What is…" Ambraz began before falling quiet and hovering before the page.

He remained silent for such a long time that Irwin almost thought he'd fallen asleep before talking.

"Kid, use that playback feature and let me hear this part," Ambraz said, his voice calm.

Irwin triggered the heartcard's ability, and the song started playing immediately. His guitar's energetic tune was balanced by his wordless singing, the nonsensical sounds seeming almost perfect until the deep base of the Chaos Whale joined in. With a smoothness that Irwin barely followed, a slight dissonance- a tension in the song's melody and beat was ironed out.

"Again," Ambraz said when it hit the end of the page.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Irwin did as asked, then again. And again. Only to replay the same bit a dozen or more times.

Finally, Ambraz began joining in, his own hum slightly less deep than the Chaos Whale's. Without having to hear it, Irwin kept replaying the song, listening in wonder as Ambraz began mimicking the sound and depth of the Chaos Whale. Finally, after a long time, Ambraz let out a content sigh.

"I can do this… We need to reforge a card! Let's do the one you were doing."

Ambraz jumped out of his soulscape, and Irwin looked up with his other self, which had been thoughtlessly eating anything and everything Boohm had put before him. As he rose, his stomach felt slightly bloated, but he didn't care.

"Are you alright? Did you learn something?"

Irwin jerked to the side, noticing Dahlia sitting next to him, looking at him with glittering eyes.

Her ganvil, Juul'rish, was flying around them excitedly.

"I sensed it! That was amazing! How did you do that, Am'braz?" she piped in her high, flutelike voice.

"Not now," Ambraz said. "Nim! Are you able to hold some more?"

Nim'ron groaned. "I don't think I have any choice, do I?"

"Good! Kid, let's do this!"

Irwin nodded, running after Ambraz, who flew to an empty side of the deck where he reformed in his large working shape.

Irwin took the topaz card out of his pocket, then hesitated.

"Should we try with another one first?"

"No need," Ambraz said. "We will be fine."

Irwin only hesitated for another moment before trusting Ambraz and putting the card on his back. He focused on the card's resonance, then began playing a slower, more measured song on his soulstrum guitar. As the chords and notes filled his soulscape, he struck the card, starting the reforging.

--

Dahlia leaned forward, staring at Irwin as he worked, his towering body moving with a grace that still surprised her. She'd expected something like him to use the brutish, forceful path, but instead, his arms and movements more resembled a dancer. A hulking, metallic dancer, but still.

She could faintly hear and sense the way the ambient soulforce began resonating with what he was doing, though the beautiful sound of his instrument had yet to become audible. According to Esther, who was far more sensitive to soulforce fluctuations, there were dozens of layers in the resonance, creating a tapestry, as she called it, on par with what some of the teachers in the academy had been able to create.

"Am'braz is copying what the Neamhnathair was doing," Juul'rish piped. "I know you can't hear this, but it's… beautiful! They are sideways reforging the card, but it's so smooth."

Dahlia groaned. How was this even possible? She'd always been among the best in the Golden Friction Academy, and she prided herself on her control and growth. But ever since she'd met Irwin, she'd realized there was a whole other level beyond what she'd seen. Her grandfather had warned her that she was only special within their small pond and that if she ever headed to the main branches beyond the Langost branch, she would be no more than average. She'd not really believed him until she had arrived on Eluathar. There, she had found dozens of smiths that had a sensitivity and aptitude that put her to shame. Even with barely any knowledge, people like Trimdir and Endil were able to do as well at the lower reforges as she could.

As she thought of Trimdir, she couldn't help but be reminded of her Grandfather. The gnarly old smith had the same aura around him as her grandfather had.

While her thoughts ran rampant, she kept watching as Irwin reforged the card. He finished reforging it sideways faster than she knew she could, then did it again and again, forcing it in a direction he desired. She tried to pick up what he was doing and how he changed the resonance, but she knew she only caught the bare minimum. A few times, she cursed her own lack of ability to hear exactly what he was doing.

When he finally finished reforging it to Ruby rank, the card was practically humming, and she wished she could inspect it- that or the one he'd done before. Her own card would let her inspect the resonance it had and its new abilities, and perhaps she could link what she'd seen him do to the end result and reproduce it with her own techniques. As soon as he looked around and met her eyes, she leaned forward.

"Can I see that before you let someone slot it?"

Irwin's burning eyes widened slightly, and then he nodded. "Sure, but don't damage it. We need it."

Dahlia held back the desire to snort. Why would she damage a card? That'd be horrible!

She accepted the card and triggered her own card's skill. A shimmering page with detailed information hung in the air above it.

Card: Satidas The Incendiary Spear

Type: Fire, Weapon Summon, Ruby

Forged by: Irwin Roddington

Perfection: 91%

Chance to reach the next stage: High

Owner: -

Satidas The Incendiary spear was created in the heat of a flame hotter than many others, resulting in a semi-conscious entity that will enhance the combative nature of the one who wields it. With the ability to build up incredibly powerful attacks, any wielder risks draining out all their soulforce if they aren't careful.

Passive: Greatly increased dexterity

Passive: Increased strength and agility

Active: Power buildup bolt - either pour your own soulforce inside Satidas or take it in from an outside force. When you trigger it, a spear of highly condensed fire will shoot out of Satidas's tip, incinerating whatever it strikes.

Active: Summon Satidas The Incendiary Spear

Dahlia gaped as she read the card's description, barely believing what she said.

He created a named card, she thought as she reread the description to be sure she wasn't mistaken.

Steeling herself for what she might find, she flipped the page over to look at the diagram that showed the card's resonance graph. It was a marvel of intricate lines and details that covered the entire page. Unlike her own best works so far, which still looked rough around the edges, this oozed with telltale signs of a skilled smith. It might even be close to those Delavera had made for her. She recognized some tiny imperfections, lines that seemed to end in nothing, and loops that wouldn't work, but she could only shake her head as she handed the card back.

"You better be careful who you hand that card to," she said slowly. "Although it has some limitations if someone gets enough time and the proper timing, it is a monstrous thing."

--

Irwin looked at Dahlia thoughtfully.

So she has the ability to investigate the cards, he thought.

It probably shouldn't surprise him.

"Zender, can you check if Greldo is awake?" he asked.

"Yes, captain!"

Zender's footsteps echoed dully on the deck as he sprinted away, and a short while later, he returned with a yawning Greldo.

"I really had hoped you'd be slower with this," Greldo muttered, stretching himself. "Is there any food left?"

"The Captain ate it all," Boohm shouted, looking both impressed and happy. "But I'll get you some!"

"Are you going to be alright?" Irwin asked.

"I'll be fine. So, how are we going to do this?"

Irwin hesitated, then shrugged. "Head to Daubutim and tell him what the card can do. We need someone trustworthy to take it, and that person needs to be placed on the Chaos Whale."

"At which point we better hope that thing understands what it has to do," Greldo said, yawning again. "Fine, let me have it then."

Irwin handed the card over, and they waited for Boohm to return with a small plate of steaming meat.

Greldo devoured it within moments before taking a step back. "I'll probably stay there after, just to save my energy. Don't do anything stupid!"

Irwin snorted, but before he could snap something back, Greldo was gone.

For what had to be thirty minutes or more, Irwin paced across the deck, part of him looking at the songs he'd recorded or chatting with Ambraz. Finally, a low, rumbling hum came from outside. A bright glow poured out from one of the small gaps between the tentacles.

"I think they have started!" Nim'dor said.

A screeching howl of pain echoed out from around them as a set of tentacles was pulled back. Their surroundings became visible again as they saw a cordon of ships encircling them. The Ruby's Revenge was closer to them than the others, and next to it hovered the scarred Chaos Whale. Flames rippled across its body, coalescing toward a small figure that stood on its dorsal fin. Whoever it was was holding something that was so bright that Irwin saw that everyone but him and Hind were looking away.

One of the three Oculithar was pulling away from them, rushing toward the distance.

As Irwin watched the brightness ramp up, the colors seemed to invert for a moment. Then, a thin lance of pure white fire shot out after the fleeing Oculithar. It speared into its center, leaving a tiny hole behind, but within moments, the area around the hole began to bubble. Blisters covered the skin, then popped, spraying a mist of purple blood everywhere. As the mist hovered around, Irwin gripped the railing.

He recognized the mist, the color… and the vileness of the soulforce imbued within.

The Oculithar continued fleeing, but he knew one thing. It had to be destroyed and fast. They could not let it roam this part of the Portal Gallery. Looking at the Chaos Whale, he saw the tiny figure turn back to them.

No, no! Kill the other one, Irwin thought. He was about to roar at the distant figure but barely held back. Instead, he let out a wordless bellow and shot forward across the soundwaves until he was far enough from the ship. Then, as he fell down, he took a deep breath.

"FINISH IT! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" he roared, his voice amplified to dwarf even Boohm's.

The figure on the dorsal fin jerked at him, but Irwin was happy to see the glowing spear turn back to the fleeing figure.

With a hum and a movement, he returned back to The Concerto, and as he landed on the deck, he saw everyone, but Boohm had their hands across their ears, grimacing in pain.

"Sorry," Irwin said.

"It's fine, Captain. They will get used to it," Boohm said with a laugh. Nobody else answered, but Hind pointed at her ears and shrugged.

Irwin ignored them and watched as another spear of blinding light sped after The Oculithar. It struck it off-center, near the base of a tentacle, and he winced, worrying that it wouldn't be enough. His worry lasted as long as it took for the tentacle to stop moving, and then slowly, the mass girth of its base began shrinking as fire licked from fissure-like wounds. A few moments later, another howl echoed back to them as the tentacle dislodged from the Oculithar, and it began moving erratically. Clouds and fumes of purplish mist rippled around.

The Chaos Whale moved with a burst of speed, and Irwin saw the figure barely hold on as the massive being shot forward.

What is it doing? Irwin thought.

He didn't have to wait long to figure it out as the Chaos Whale reached the tentacle and opened its mouth, biting down on the loose tentacle, and immediately the purplish fog started being sucked towards the gaping maw.

I hope that whatever that evil is, it won't infect the Chaos Whale, he thought, slightly worried. He hoped the Choas Whale knew what it was doing.

"I think the Chaos Whale is hungry," Boohm shouted, stepping up beside Irwin. "Do you think those Oculithar taste good? Perhaps I should try and cook one."

"No, that's a bad idea," Irwin said as he watched with mixed relief as the purplish fumes vanished.

The tentacles that were partially in his field of view began moving as the other two Oculithar started unwrapping themselves from them.

"They are leaving," Irwin muttered.

He watched as the two Oculithar dashed off on opposite sides, along with the Spear wielder and the Chaos Whale.

"Not just leaving, they are fleeing, Captain!" Boohm shouted.

Irwin's hands gripped the railing so hard he could feel the tough wood groan, and he only just managed to hold back from cracking it. They were leaving and would hide in the Portal Gallery, praying on ships after the storm ended.

"There's nothing we can do," he said, turning to where the holder of his last card was blasting apart what remained of the twitching Oculithar. Only a single tentacle remained, and the Chaos Whale was again chewing on one.

He glared after the Oculithar until they disappeared in the distance, the storm hiding them from view.

"Those things are going to cause problems," Irwin said, turning to Ambraz. "We are going to need to figure out a way to deal with them. One that doesn't involve Chaos Whales."

"Kid, I've got no idea yet. Let's just examine that dead Oculithar and see what we can learn. Perhaps it dropped a card? From what I know, nobody has ever found a dead one."

He's right, Irwin thought, turning to Earila. "Move us closer to the Oculithar!"

"Yes, captain!"

Irwin relaxed his hands and watched the carcass close in. The other ships had also moved closer, and as the final twitches stopped, they stopped firing. The whale, its stomach bulging, moved towards the carcass and bit down in one part. Slowly the swirling purple gas was sucked away, and the body began drifting down. When all of it was gone, and no signs of movement were left, the Chaos Whale let go, and the body was pulled down, slamming into the ground and cracking parts of the rocky ground, causing a crumbling indent.

Irwin watched the body for a few moments before deciding Ambraz was right. There could be a card somewhere, and if there was, it might be best if he found it. If it had the same problems as the one from the massive Earth Titan back on Clour it could cause problems.

"I'll be right back," he said to Boohm.

Then he turned, let out a soft shout, and followed the soundwaves toward the carcass. He landed beside the thing, still watching it wearily. As he stood on the rocky stone and looked around, he realized just how bumpy and hilly the layer of rock on the bottom of the Portal Galery here really was. Worse, it made him feel tiny, especially beside the massive being before him. Just lying there, draped across the ground, it towered above him.

"Do you think the card is inside, just like with those Earth Titans?"

"No idea… But there's only one way to find out," Ambraz said.

Irwin sighed as he walked towards the body, reaching out and very carefully touching it. He'd expected some kind of blueberry, soft skin. Instead, it felt like he was touching something made of pliable metal or rock. Except for some thin ridges, the skin was smooth and slightly reflective.

Nothing happened as he touched it, and emboldened, he began exploring the carcass.

After a short while, he found himself near a large hole where one of the tentacles had been ripped clear. An opening wide enough for him to enter was dripping with thick orange puss and paler fluids.

"If it's anywhere, it will be in the heart or head area," Ambraz said hesitantly.

Irwin wanted to ask him to scout ahead, then he thought about waiting for Greldo, only to shove both ideas away.

"This is going to suck," he muttered, coating himself in a thin layer of flame before slowly crawling into the opening. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The inside of the Oculithar was softer than the outer skin, and as he climbed further inside, he felt the puss squelch between his fingers. A disgusting stench was coming from deeper inside, and as he closed in, he felt his stomach rebel.

The end of the tentacle continued for longer than he'd expected, and he almost wondered if it would be a dead end when he saw the end after a slight bend. Curious but also disgusted, he climbed out into a hollow area. A large rotting mass of flesh, skin, and bone-shards covered the bottom, parts of it disturbingly familiar.

Irwin grimaced as he looked at the thick dark skin, some with blueish streaks that lay in one part of the stomach.

Those are pieces of Chaos Whales, he thought.

"I guess these things can suck pretty large things through their tentacles," Ambraz said, his voice echoing hollowly in the large hollow area. "Over there should be the heart if it's anything like any other beast."

Irwin didn't reply, worried he'd get something disgusting into his mouth. Instead, he walked and crawled across the uneven ground toward where Ambraz was indicating for him to go: one of three large tubes that continued deeper into the body. He tried not to pay attention to the soggy mass he was standing in, eyes focused straight ahead. When he reached it, he was happy to see it was larger than the tentacles had been and blissfully without rotting matter.

"Why this one?" he asked, trying to keep his lips together as he climbed inside.

"There's something odd down there," Ambraz said. "Don't you sense it?"

Irwin shook his head. To his surprise, there was very little soulforce around him. Just tiny slivers that seemed almost afraid to move. They continued ahead until they began passing membrane-like patches in the walls.

"That one," Ambraz said as they reached the seventh one.

Irwin saw nothing different about it, but he didn't care. He enlarged his flame and shoved it into the membrane, quickly burning a hole through the thin, weblike structure. As soon as it opened, he felt a strange tugging sensation on his soulforce.

Carefully, he widened the hole so he could look inside.

A thin transparent growth covered the back wall while a pale yellowish fluid bubbled inside. Attached to the back sat a small, finger-sized lump of something metallic. The only reason Irwin instantly noticed it was because it seemed to be entirely absent of any soulforce resonance. Instead, it felt like he was looking at… nothing.

"Kid… did I ever tell you that strange things happen when you are around?" Ambraz grunted. "I think we just figured out two things in one day. How to kill Oculithar, and why Aurorium is so hard to find."