Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin slowly followed Scintilla through the tunnels, his steam floating around in a massive, thin cloud, trying to scout for anything dangerous.

Reaching a small crossing, Scintilla turned and looked at him, a slight worry in her eyes.

"Are they really alright?"

"They are doing fine," Irwin said, smiling at how worried she was for the tiny embers. It didn't surprise him as she'd been guarding them and feeding them for weeks while the Earth Titan and the invader roamed around.

Not that I can keep them there for too long, he thought.

He felt the weight of hundreds of tiny embers in his soulscape, and the combined resonance of their still-forming soulskills, which would eventually give them their cardslots, was already causing an imbalance. It was as of yet tiny, but it would get stronger over time, and as strong and stable as his soulscape was, he knew he would need to move them back out in a few days, especially because Ambraz and his other selves' efforts to calm them down kept failing. The tiny embers, especially the less stable and formed ones, excitedly rushed through his mindscape. The idea of sleep seemed alien to them.

He was walking through the narrow, cracked, and torn-apart tunnels that led back to the massive cave with the forest, the Viridians, and his friends.

Trying to distract himself, he focused on Scintilla and her cards. She had five handcards and still no soulcard, which both surprised and worried him. The first four were of the same ilk- hot, fiery, and temperamental. The fifth was different. It felt like liquid, frozen fire.

"Nice new card," he said.

Scintilla turned and grinned at him.

"You are likely the only one who thinks that, pretty eyes! If she hadn't already, Mother would have kicked my ass when she finds out," Scintilla said. "But I can now go to your world and stay there as long as I want."

Irwin wasn't surprised, not after what he heard the girls tell him, and he focused on the card, trying to hone in on its details as much as he could.

"Some type of cold fire?" he asked, holding back a slight worry. He hoped it wasn't because those usually had a lot of issues and were hell to combine with the others into a fullhand. Worse, making them into a proper heartcard was insanely difficult, especially for him because he had no affinity with cold. If he had to do it, he'd need to get her a very specific sixth card to bridge the imbalance he could already feel.

"I found it in the family tombs," Scintilla said. "It's called Frostfire, and it was in the forbidden section."

Forbidden section? That sounds about right, Irwin thought.

--Inside Irwin's Soulcape--

"What are you grimacing about, kid?"

Irwin turned away from the dozens of embers rushing through the river of pyroflux, sending out constant feelings of joy. His four children, the newest addition actually able to form simple words and sentences, were floating nearby, playing tickle-slap with his feet.

"Scintilla's fifth card is called Frostfire, and from what I can tell, it's one of those troublesome blended cards."

Ambraz's groan resonated through the area. "That is going to be hell to combine. Fine, I'll create that house we need, add a table, and start searching to see if we have anything that could potentially help with that."

Irwin nodded as he felt Ambraz influence the surrounding soulforce. As close as they now were, Ambraz's resonance had become a nearly perfect copy of his, and the Ganvil began easily manipulating a section of the area bordering the mountain and his soullake. Irwin watched for a bit before resuming his playing and chatting with his children.

-- Realworld --

"Your mother has a tomb with cards?" Irwin asked, surprised and relegating the worry about the Frostfire card to his otherself and Ambraz.

"What? No! There's this thing called The Smokeblade Tomb, where the best of my family is remembered with statues, placards with what they did, and some family history books. There's a small library, and it doubles as a small hideout. Not that it's been used for anything like that since the time of the Bladewars when the Matriarch still warred for dominance," Scintilla said. "There's a forbidden area, locked behind a lot of runic locks and other things, and it holds some cards, metals, and other things that were deemed unsafe or dangerous."

Irwin grimaced but didn't say anything. He must have made some sound as Scintilla turned and sniffed at him.

"I know it sounds stupid, but my mother and the others are planning to keep me on Igniz for the rest of my life. The best way to get off would be to go with a merchant, but there was no guarantee I could get a good card anywhere else. So, I did what looked like the best option."

Irwin frowned. He could understand she would go and try to find him, just like he came here. But that did leave one thing.

"What about our children?" he asked, trying not to sound like he was blaming her.

"This all happened before I knew how fast they were growing," Scintilla said. "After we saw they would likely fully form within a few years, I decided to stay. Or I would have left a year ago."

"Well, that's not a problem anymore," Irwin said, feeling a slight worry fade. "We can bring them with us."

"So I can come with you then?" Scintilla asked.

Irwin grinned. "If you want?"

Scintilla turned and jumped at him, hugging him close while kissing him. After a minute, she pulled away, still holding him tightly, hanging from his shoulders, and staring at him in the eyes. "Yes!"

"Good," Irwin said. "Then I'll show you around my soulscape soon."

Sctinilla blinked, seeming surprised. "I'd love to, but why?"

"Because that way, I can just take you along without having to tell anyone," Irwin said.

"What? But- you're soulscape… Wait, how big did your soulscape become?"

"I'll show you soon," Irwin said.

They continued chatting softly till reached the last tunnel, and got a clear view of the destruction that had been wrought hours ago.

Scintilla stepped forward, smiling. "I'll get us past the rubble!"

"No need," Irwin said, following the sound waves of his own voice and reappearing beyond the partial cave-ins.

Scintilla reappeared in a swirling burst of fire, eyes wide. "Did you get a teleport?"

"Almost," Irwin said.

He was about to explain when he felt something zip through the steam he was still keeping in a wide area around them.

Focusing on the location, in a tunnel almost four hundred feet up and to the left of where they stood, he spread out the steam there. It was a small cave with three exits, and as it filled with steam, he couldn't detect anything. After a few moments, he pulled it back, shrugging at Scintilla.

"Thought I felt-"

Something rushed through the tunnel a hundred feet from them with such speed he could barely track it, but it was all the warning he needed. He grabbed Scintilla, let out a short clack with his tongue, and drew her along the rapidly spreading soundwaves, rushing through the tunnel and out into the large cavern. They reappeared on a slight slope with loose rock, and Scintilla gagged.

"By The Infernal Crevice," Scintilla hissed, gagging, then vomiting the contents of her stomach across the rubble. "What-"

"Incoming," Irwin snapped, spreading his steam around in a thin, wide area, focusing mostly on the towering, rocky wall with its numerous holes and crevices.

He was barely done when something shot through it, straight at them. He saw a pale blue flash rushing at Scintilla.

No you don't!

In one motion he stepped forward, summoned his hammer at its maximum size straight in the path of the pale blue shape, while his other self joined him, causing his perception to increase. There was a dull thud followed by a crackling sound like ice shattering as something slammed into the hammer with enough force to move it a fraction. With how massive it was, Irwin was actually impressed, but he wasn't going to tell their attack that.

Instead, he unsummoned it, revealing a pale-skinned, blue-haired invader, shakily pushing himself up from the ground. There was a purplish gash on his cheek, eyes blurry as he shook his head. Irwin didn't hesitate a moment and exploded forward with kinetic energy, slamming his fist down and reforming the hammer a split second before reaching the rising figure.

"Behind!"

Scintilla's cry came too late as something struck him in the back, just as his hammer struck the head of the rising figure with a sickening crack. Purple blood sprayed out in a cloud as Irwin stumbled forward, knocking the now headless body away. Pain bloomed from his stomach and back, and as he looked down, he was stunned to see a finger-thick lance of pale blue ice sticking through the side of his stomach.

"You evil purple-blooded demon!"

Scintilla's scream was followed by a crackling of fire as the area lit up, and saw his own shadow stretched out before him. The lance was ripped from his back, and he shuddered as a piercing cold bloomed from his stomach, spreading outward. A strange, familiar sensation shook him to his core, and his soulflame shot out from his body, rippling around as if searching for something.

He barely sensed Ambraz jump out of his soulscape and land on his shoulder.

"Kid, why- Kid? Irwin!? You… that’s… How?!! Use your flame. Burn it out of your body!! Like with the Bablibon!!"

Irwin shivered and dropped to his knees, shoving his shock, pain, and everything else to one part of him while the other turned crystal clear. He focused on his flame as he felt his energy rapidly drain.

"Shove it against the wound! Both sides!"

Irwin didn't bother to use his hands, willing the flame to encircle his torso, focusing on the two finger-sized, round holes on each side of him. It felt odd, but as he forced it to enter the holes he sensed something push back. At the same time, his flame finally seemed to find whatever it was drawn to and it began almost hungrilly forging forward, trying to drill into his body.

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With all his focus on the single task, Irwin felt his flame's rage building, similar to what he felt long ago when he fought the purple thing within the Bablibon. Fear bubbled up, but it was drawn in by his other self, and this part of him hissed as he drew on his soulcard and heartcard, funneling all his soulforce into the flame. The fire began roaring, shrinking down to a thumb-thick ball that raged as it slowly began pushing inside. Where it went, Irwin felt the freezing sensation stop, warmth slowly returning to it.

Explosions and shouts came from behind him, but he was barely able to stay on his knees and not fall to the ground. With the part of him dealing with the pain and shock, struggling to keep it away from his other self, he felt like he was pushing against a mountain.

Inch by inch, his flame moved further until he finally compressed a small seed of something within his body.

Out!

Letting one side slack a bit, he began forcing the seed that way, holding it back and moving it bit by bit.

Finally, after what felt like a struggle of hours, he shoved something out of his stomach.

A tiny purple mist hung, wrapped in his flame and trying to force itself free. Irwin instantly recognized it, and as he pushed himself back to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body, he growled.

"Ambraz, what is it?!"

"The same thing as what came from that Bablibon," Ambraz snapped. "But it's way stronger! Burn it!"

Irwin didn't need to be told twice, and he used all the energy he had left to increase the heat of his flame.

Something had changed behind him, but he couldn't turn to look.

I wonder if it's conscious like the other one, Irwin thought as he squeezed harder and harder.

Seconds ticked by, then a minute- two, and finally, the fist-sized orb of flickering purple smoke exploded, tiny tendrils flowing through his fire, burned away until nothing remained.

Irwin was spent, feeling tired enough to sleep, but he couldn't. There was another one of the invaders. He finally realized what had changed. The explosive sounds of combat had stopped.

Turning around, a sharp jab of pain came from his stomach, and Irwin put his hand on the front, feeling a thick wad of bloody clothing. Scintilla stood behind him, looking worried, while behind her stood a half dozen Viridians, Boohm, Zender, and Tang. Irwin's eyes shot open wide as he saw the second invader dangle from Tang's massive hand, which was wrapped around his lower face, neck, and left shoulder.

Hate-filled purple eyes glared at him, but only some muffled grunts made it past the wrist-thick fingers pressed against his lips. The invader's hands were wrapped around the finger, seeming to try to peel it from his face.

"Are you alright?" Scintilla asked as she stepped forward, swaying on her feet. Only now did Irwin see that she had dozens of gashes crisscrossing across every bit of her, ripping her blood-stained clothes apart.

"I'm fine," Irwin said, taking a step toward her. "But you don't look too well! What happened?"

Scintilla grinned, but as her mouth opened to answer, her eyes rolled up, and Irwin barely managed to catch her before she slumped onto the ground.

"Scintilla?!" Irwin shouted worriedly.

One of the Viridians ran past a worried-looking Boohm and Zender, shoving them. A moment later, the scent of dry leaves came as he held his hands up to her. An orange glow came from his palms, surrounding Scintilla while Irwin watched. Very slowly, some of the wounds on her face and neck closed, and after half a minute, the Viridian stepped back.

"She is fine. Just needs a lot of rest and good food," he said.

Irwin let out a relieved sigh, but before he could ask Tang how he'd caught the second invader, the Viridian focused on him. He leaned forward, worriedly staring at his stomach and the hole from which blood still slowly oozed.

"I… can't heal this. We need to return to Canadensis. There are others who can help," he said, rising and looking at Irwin. "Will you be alright till we return?"

Irwin nodded, but he wasn't too worried. Although he was used to it and barely noticed, every bit of Igniz was blistering hot, and he could already sense his increased regeneration, knitting the wound from the inside. If he weren't so drained of energy, it would have likely already closed the holes.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about it. Tang, how did you catch him?" Irwin asked as he walked closer to the towering Fiz'rin.

"Bloody impressive is what he did," Boohm shouted.

Tang snorted, ignoring the Onyxian. "Your girl was keeping him occupied enough for me to grab him as he flew past me," he rumbled. "But that's barely important. What was that purple stuff?"

"I don't know," Irwin said, frowning as he glared at the invader. "But perhaps this one can tell us. It's about time we get some answers. Can you let him speak?"

Tang hummed and turned his captive's face toward him. "If you try anything, I will squeeze," he said calmly. The muscles in his lower arm bulged slightly, and the invader's eyes shot open, now filled with fear. "Blink if you understand."

The invader rapidly blinked.

Tang unwrapped one finger, and the invader gasped for breath, coughing for a full minute before finally stopping.

"What did you savages do with Screez?" the invader growled, his voice ragged as if he'd been screaming for a long time. "What was that purple stuff!? Did you poison him, or did you pull out his soul? Damn you, you vile creature!"

Irwin frowned. That wasn't at all the reaction that he'd expected. Was the demon just copying what Tang had asked?

"Why don't you tell us?" Irwin said. Using the tiny bit of energy that he had recovered over the last few minutes, he summoned his flame again. "Tell us what that purple stuff was, or I'll burn whatever of it you have out of you!"

"I don't have anything like that, and I have no idea what it is," the invader snarled. "I don't know what game you are playing, but I can sense the filthy essence you are trying to hide! The others will find you and the rest of your kind and wipe them out!"

Irwin blinked, then looked at Ambraz, who was sitting on his shoulder, lips pursed.

"You are a Guidar?" Irwin asked slowly.

"What? No! Do I look like a soulsucker to you?!" the invader screamed angrily. "If anyone here resembles those demons, it is you!"

Irwin stared at the invader, trying to see if he was acting or not. The hate in the being's eyes made it hard to figure out, and after a few moments, he glanced at Tang. "Let's head back to Canadensis. I have the feeling this is going to take a while."

Tang wrapped his finger back around the invader's mouth, causing his eyes to flare with hatred. Irwin ignored the muffled curses as he turned to Heimnin, who was standing amidst the Viridians. The young Viridian had some cracked bark on his head, but otherwise, he seemed no worse for wear from his tumble down the tree.

"The earth titan is still somewhere around here," Irwin said. "Heimnin, can your people hide us from its presence?"

"The earth titans will not come anywhere near the trees," the young Viridian said, his voice close to a shout. "But will you be able to hold him captive? I don't wish to bring any danger to Canadensis."

"Don't worry, young treeling," Tang rumbled. "When I have something in my hand, there is little that can remove it safe for someone killing me. And this one is far too weak for that."

Heimnin stared at him for a bit, then bowed his head and turned around. "Let's head back! Sahroot will want to hear what happened."

Irwin walked beside Tang, taking the occasional glance at the captive invader.

I wonder if he could sense I'm a Galadin, or if he was talking about something else, he wondered before focusing on walking. Although his wound was healing and his energy refilling, it was still stinging painfully.

It took over two hours to reach the edge of the forrest, and by the time they did, Irwin's energy had refilled to a quarter, and his wound was closed. All that remained was a pale, tender spot. What surprised him was that it was showing signs of leaving a scar. Ever since he'd gotten his enhanced regeneration, his wounds had healed scar-free, and as he poked it, he wondered why this one was different.

"You okay, captain?" Zender asked, walking beside him.

"I'm fine, just a bit sore," Irwin said.

"It's the first time I've seen something just pierce through you… I wonder what kind of skill that was," Zender said.

"It was some form of Lancet Beam," Ambraz said. "Those are skills that start as a beam, usually originating from eyes, and as they hit, the last few feet turn solid. This could be a solid metal, stone, or, in this case, ice."

"And that purple stuff?" Boohm asked from behind them.

"It's an infection of some kind," Ambraz said. "We came across it before when we fought an infected Bablibon."

"I thought I heard you say that," Boohm said, his voice turning even louder. "You have to tell that story sometime soon! I've only heard legends about those things- nasty buggers that are able to easily kill soulcarded. How did you even kill that one?"

"You need specific cards for them," Tang rumbled. "I've fought a few in my time, though I have to say, for someone with just one card, that is pretty impressive."

Ambraz laughed. "A soulcard? The kid didn't have a soulcard when this happened. Just his heartcard!"

"What?!"

Irwin ignored the constant chatter, enjoying the walk below the trees. He kept a constant eye on Scintilla and was glad to see she was now breathing well and had pressed her face closer against his chest. Wondering if it would help, he summoned some steam and wrapped it around her, keeping the temperature roughly at what he had used back on Scour.

Shortly after Heimnin told them they had reached the halfway point, Scintilla moaned softly, the sound muted by the steam cocoon. Irwin slowly withdrew the steam.

"No, not yet! That was so nice," Scintilla muttered as her eyes fluttered open. They were unfocused and glazed over for a moment, then they sharpened, and she looked around. "Wha-? Where's that disgusting invader?" she snapped, struggling in Irwin's arms.

"Calm down. One is dead and the other bound," he said, turning so she could see the invader still being restrained by Tang.

Scintilla glared at him, then leaned back against Irwin, snuggling into his chest and smiling up at him.

"You became a lot stronger. Can I hire you to be my bodyguard?"

Irwin grinned, shaking his head. "No. I'm going to help you get strong enough so you can defend yourselves, then we can keep each other safe."

He saw Zender move closer, looking at Scintilla curiously, and he turned again.

"Scintilla, I'd like to introduce you to a few of my friends and crew," Irwin said. "This is Zender, and that grinning Onyxian is Boohm."

Scintilla's eyes widened as she saw Zender. "Is he family of yours? He's almost as hot! Remind me to introduce him to some of my younger nieces."

"Nice to finally meet you," Zender said, his grin wider than before. "The captain told us a lot about you. It's good to see he wasn't exaggerating."

I did? Irwin thought, trying to recall when he'd spoken about Scintilla with Zender around.

"Aye, nice to meet you," Boohm shouted, causing Scintilla's eyes to open wide.

"Are you still deaf from that earth titan's shout?" she asked, her voice loud as she looked at Boohm.

The Onyxian pursed his lips. "No, no. I was just born with a slightly louder voice!"

"I see," Scintilla said, turning to Tang.

"I've heard about you," she said. "You are A'Tangerion The Slayer, aren't you?"

Irwin stared at Tang, then Scintilla, then back at Tang.

Tang quietly stared at Scintilla, then sighed. "I prefer Tang, and I take it this means you are the daughter of one of the Matriarchs?"

"Great-great, and a few more, granddaughter," Scintilla said. "I thought you had vanished?"

"Just living in seclusion," Tang said, his voice a deep, somewhat annoyed rumble. "And I'd prefer you not tell anyone about where I am so I can keep it that way."

"I won't tell anyone," Scintilla said, though her eyes began gleaming. "Is it true you have a secret stash of super rare ores, minerals, and crystals?"

Tang raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the invader.

"Ah, right… Sorry," Scintilla said, sounding anything but. "Do you have any Anamalliage?"

"What?! Don't be preposterous," Ambraz shouted.

Irwin looked at Tang, and his eyes widened. He saw a tiny hesitation in the large eyes.

"You have some!" Scintilla said, seeming to have noticed the same thing.

"No," Tang rumbled. "I was just surprised you even know of it. It's not actually common and is mostly seen as a legend. Also, there's none on Igniz."

Irwin didn't respond, watching quietly. Something about the Tang's reaction made him doubt if he really didn't have one, but he wasn't going to call the other out on his perceived distrust.

"You know where to find Anamalliage?" Ambraz shouted, flying from Irwin's shoulder and circling Tang.

Irwin's eyebrows shot up as he realized he'd missed that little titbit. He was about to ask more about it when he noticed that the invader's eyes had gone wide as he stared at Tang. Tang himself was glaring at Ambraz as if willing to be quiet already.

"Perhaps we should talk about these things after we deal with our captive," Irwin said loudly.

Tang threw him a grateful look while the others fell quiet.

Tang pulled the invader close to his face. His eyes narrowed pools of fire that promised violence as he growled dangerously. "I am sure our little guest will keep quiet. Right?"

The invader blinked rapidly, but Irwin didn't believe it for a moment. No matter what was going on, if he got away, he'd use anything he heard against them.

Not that he's likely to get away, he thought.

As they continued walking, he tried to remember what Ambraz had told him about Anamalliage. Something about it being able to increase a Ganvil's progress by large jumps? Between either the knowledge where to find it, or perhaps even a few pieces, and the Purperion mask, he couldn't wait to talk to Tang.