Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

"Are you sure you don't need another day of rest?" Scintilla asked.

"No," Irwin said, quietly listening to her cards resonate again.

Ambraz let out a dry snort. "Are you sure you are prepared for the pain?"

Scintilla's eyes gleamed as she stared at the Ganvil. "I'm always prepared," she said, her smile widening. "Didn't you hear so last night?"

"I… UGH! You- you…."

Ambraz flitted to the center of the room, changing to his large size.

Irwin ignored their shenanigans as his otherself played on his Soulstrum guitar, practicing the song he and Ambraz had come up with. The resonance it would cause was the only thing they could come up with that would work with Scintilla's set of cards, and it was one of the most complex he had made.

"You sure you're okay?"

The soft whisper made him look up, and he saw Scintilla look at him, a slight worry on her face.

"I'm sure," Irwin said.

"And we really can't do this in your soulscape?"

Irwin looked around the small makeshift smithy that he'd been using. It barely deserved the name, with only Ambraz in his anvil form and his hammer there, while lacking any form of forge.

"We can't create it there because your hearcard will be very different from mine," Irwin said. "The only types of heartcards I could make in there would be variations of parts of my own."

"If you could even hold your soulscape together," Ambraz huffed. "You know how much difference there is between a card, even one at the highest rank, and just the weakest heartcard."

"And there's that," Irwin said. "But, if we want to finish in time to leave after, we need to start now."

Scintilla walked towards Ambraz as he'd instructed her, while Irwin turned to the door. Zender was standing there, fidgeting and looking worried.

"Tell the rest I'll be starting," he said.

"Yes, Captain," Zender said, turning away and closing the door behind him.

"Alright, put your hand on Ambraz and pull all your cards up for us to see."

Scintilla looked at him for a few moments before doing as he requested, causing six cards to hover above her hand. Their jagged, uneven resonance strengthened, and Irwin held back a grimace.

That fifth card….

He glared at the card, which seemed to be willfully resonating against the reasonable flow the other five were giving off. Irwin knew Scintilla would have needed to remove the fifth if it wasn't for the most powerful sixth one. If it wasn't nearly as powerful as the one he'd made and very special due to its odd combination of features, he'd have pushed more. Instead, he felt a desire to see how far he could push his skills as he looked at the hapless mismatched resonance.

Preparing himself, he quickly inspected all the cards again.

The first three cards were simple body-strengthening cards. It had surprised him when he'd learned about that, but Scintilla had said that the Ignitzians always gave their young ones simple cards for the first three. That way, they would all grow fast, strong, and stable while focusing fully on their blade skills instead of the tricks and gimmicks cards could give.

The fourth card was her flaming dash card, a mid-range rapid movement card. With the ability to bring atleast one person along, at the risk of getting very sick, Irwin knew it was the card he was going to need to work in with the next two as Scintilla used it more than anything else.

He quickly glossed over the fifth card, having watched it up close for hours that morning, leaving him with the sixth. Taking a quick look at his and Ambraz's handiwork, he nodded.

"Alright, let's do this," he said, raising his hammer. "Ready?"

"I was born ready, pretty eyes," Scintilla said.

Although she showed a steely expression of resolve, Irwin knew she was slightly worried.

"You can do this," he said before focusing on the card.

As he struck down, he felt a tiny bit of worry, but it vanished as soon as the disjointed song of Scintilla's cards rang out.

Good, it's exactly what we prepared for, he thought.

His otherself began playing the soulstrum guitar as he focused on the sixth card. The first step would be one of the three hardest, as he'd need to shape it as the core, even though Scintilla had a far stronger bond with her initial three cards.

"We start," he said softly before ignoring Scintilla. He had no time now to focus on her, and she would need to deal with the pain herself.

Striking down, he pulled the sixth card's resonance into focus while using his own resonance to mute that of the others. The piercing sound of his soulstrum guitar's high notes began stabilizing the card, creating an increasingly complex resonance, while Irwin continued striking. One benefit rapidly showed itself, as the card that he created seemed more than willing to reform to his wishes, its resonance following along almost without a hitch. It was a good thing, too, as it would take far longer to start due to Scintilla's lack of bonding with the card.

Time passed slowly as he continued to lay the foundations of the song that would be the final heartcard. Things were easy at first, requiring only a few deviations from their preset plan, but the more the sixth card's resonance increased, the harder the other five cards began resisting. When Irwin finally reached the next stage, he was hyper-focused, hearing nothing that went on around him as his entire being was doing one thing- holding the new song, the new resonance that was being born together.

Although the general outline was as they had planned it, so many minutiae had changed that he was now working fully on his own senses and instincts.

A wordless signal came from Ambraz, and Irwin acknowledged it by striking the cards again, this time focusing on the first three cards. He and Ambraz had decided to use it as the glue to bind the others together, as the simple body cards were the easiest to change.

Right now, the only thing that was there was the main melody, the lead around which he would shape the rest of the song. Usually, he'd have started with the base or the beat, but that would have made it far harder to get the main melody exactly right for the counter melody that would be the single part of the fifth card they would take.

As the three cards pulled into focus, he allowed Ambraz's soulforce to take over the new resonances. While his guitar continued to hold the main resonance, Ambraz's deep voice began adding in another, low resonance, pulling in the resonance of three of the cards all at once. Irwin now only listened, focusing on keeping the final two cards in check as he trusted Ambraz to do something he couldn't. Atleast not yet. Pull from three resonances at the same time to create a coherent, new resonance.

Within a few strikes, the song changed from a simple one with just a complex melody to one with a deep beat that changed and added to the complete song. A tremor ran through Irwin's feet, but he ignored it.

As he struck and listened, working in tandem with Ambraz, time lost its meaning, and he slipped into a state of near-trance.

When the moment came to pull the flame dash card's bit in, Irwin was working on pure instinct.

The resonances around him looked like a continuous rippling of different colors, while the sounds seemed to promise a beautiful, upbeat, and fiery song. Pulling the parts of the card that he knew signaled its ability to move and teleport, Irwin added it to the whole, creating a new layer, a new rhythm.

The card almost seemed to desire its spot in the whole, shattering itself and allowing the part Irwin desired to flow away.

As the entire resonating song clicked and hung there, Irwin felt it, almost waiting for what was to come. It was intricate, beautiful, and… unfinished. Had he not been so engrossed, he might have worried, but instead, he felt elated. Working the card, reforging it made him feel truly alive, and channeling his joy, he focused on the final card.

Hovering like a frozen crystal amidst the beautiful, enthusiastic, resonating, and unformed heartcard, it seemed almost to indicate disdain. An undercurrent of powerful stability, counter to the chaos of the fires and flames all around, seemed to want to keep its independence.

Irwin struck the cards, pulling the cold and stability forward while pushing away the sense of disdain.

Taking a deep breath, he added his voice to the song, using the reverberations as the basis for the final missing ingredient in the heartcard. Like the songs he'd played with his friends, the heartcards resonance needed just one more thing.

Using the words of one of the songs, changing them to match the current resonance, Irwin belted out, pulling in the final card.

The card's resonance tried to resist him, holding strong for a few moments before ripping apart into its individual elements. Irwin felt Ambraz hold back a powerful dissonance that tried to form, as he added more and more of the final card's resonance in the mix.

A beautiful card outline was forming above the shattered cards, hovering above Ambraz. Simple but elegant, the resonance inside began setting as an image appeared. A sword almost identical to Leafbrand appeared, surrounded by a raging inferno. The flames were burning hot in the center, but the further out they became, the more they changed, going from pink to purple to a pale blue that seemed to promise a cold unlike any other.

With a final whoosh, the resonance set into its final form, and the card hovered for a fraction of a second before being drawn into Scintilla.

Irwin lowered the card, realizing he was out of breath and had a slightly sore throat. He barely noticed either, as he saw Scintilla watching her chest while her shape changed. Her red and orange, flaming hair dimmed as the orange turned golden, and flickers of a pale blue, nearly white, appeared. Her skin gained a gleaming quality, and her eyes turned silver.

"It's magnificent," she whispered before her eyes rolled up and she slumped down.

Irwin barely managed to catch her, and as he did, he realized he was empty. His soulscape and soulforce were drained, and as he sat down, his back against Ambraz, he closed his eyes.

"If you weren't already, this would prove you are a Ruby Rank smith," Ambraz muttered. "Did the recording work?"

Irwin's otherself, who had been hovering above his soullake, just as spent, raised his hand and summoned the Tablatures. Flipping to the back, he stared at the pages-long song, complex and intricate, that was now there.

"It worked," Irwin muttered.

"Great, because I want to see a few of the parts later," Ambraz said. "You did… something that I had thought impossible."

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Irwin pushed away his desire to sleep, thinking back to what he'd just done and trying to understand what Ambraz meant. He came up short and shrugged.

"Which part?"

"When you meshed that flaming dash card into the mix, you somehow pulled from the frostfire card," Ambraz said.

"I did?" Irwin asked, frowning as he tried to recall. "But that-"

"Shouldn't be possible without destabilizing the entire construct," Ambraz said. "Yeah. I know."

Irwin hummed as he closed his eyes, hearing Ambraz mutter something about brats with too much talent. He couldn't recall what he'd done, and for a moment, he thought about looking at the tablatures to see if he could find out what had happened. Then he shook his head, closed his eyes, and both of his selves fell into a comatose slumber.

--

"Do you think he will stay?"

"I hope so… can you imagine the growth we could get if he reforges cards for us?"

"Why would he do that?"

"But he helped-"

"For his own gain."

"Well…"

Hind ignored the constant chatter around her as she chewed on her extra spicy mushroom and nut stew. Boohm was eating an entire fish which he had grilled himself, while Zender was sitting a few tables away, chatting with a group of Viridians that were roughly his age.

"Did you say goodbye to your father?" Boohm asked, ripping Hind from her thoughts.

"Yes, though I'll see him again when Irwin and Scintilla arrive."

"Did you ask him?"

Hind sighed and nodded, unable to keep the sadness from her face.

"I told you he wouldn't come," Boohm said, his loud voice surprisingly soft and gentle.

"I had to try."

"I would have done the same thing," Boohm said, reaching for his glass of syrupy, powerful tree sap liquor. "Both if I were you and if I were Helm."

Hind looked up, slightly confused. "You wouldn't have gone with your child?"

Boohm's eyes radiated a powerful sadness as he looked at his drink.

"No. Children need to learn by themselves, especially when they are adults. If we deprive them of that, what we make are weak people who will not be able to survive in this harsh world."

Hind watched him for a few moments, noticing the barely concealed pain. She knew Boohm had a troubled past, and she wondered if part of that had to do with his own upbringing. Before she could ask him, his eyes lost their sadness as he sat up, a smile blooming on his face.

"So, finally decided to return instead of flirting with those youngsters?" he said, his booming voice resonating through the room and drawing a lot of attention. The group of Vridians still at the table stared at him, some annoyed, others laughing.

Zender, who had been walking up to them, tsked. "You are just jealous! But no, Irwin and Scintilla are coming, so I think we should prepare to leave."

Hind felt a slight sadness, knowing she wouldn't see her father in a long time. Perhaps never.

"I'll go and see my father," she said, getting up and ignoring what remained of her meal.

As she walked out of the small eatery, she saw she hadn't needed to hurry. Her father was chatting softly with Sahroot while Loumei and Heimnin stood next to them. Irwin and Scintilla came walking toward her. As she saw Scintilla, the first thing she noticed were the silver eyes, and then she saw the lighter, brighter hair that had silvery blue highlights. When she closed in, she noticed that the Ignitzian's skin had gained a metallic luster, not unlike that of her and Irwin's.

"Are you ready?"

She focused on Irwin, who didn't show even the slightest bit of weariness. Instead, he radiated a steely resolve.

"Yes, Captain," she said.

"Alright, then, let's say our goodbyes!"

--

Irwin watched Zender chat and shake hands with a group of young Viridans while Sahroot walked over to him. Helm walked beside him.

"Smith Irwin… you are sure we can't do anything to make you stay here with us? I can offer you a free home, food for you and your family, and the first choice of any card or metal we find," Sahroot said, staring at him.

Irwin shook his head. "No, but I thank you for the generous offer."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Sahroot said, shaking his head. "Well, then, I want to wish you the best of luck on your further endeavors, and know that if you ever need a place to lay low, you are more than welcome here."

Irwin reached out, grabbing the offered hand." If I never need to, I'll know where to find you!"

Helm had a slight grimace as he looked at Irwin and stepped forward when Sahroot stepped back.

"Please take good care of my daughter," he said. His eyes gleamed as he continued. "I know she can be a handful, and you have my permission to discipline her if needed."

"Dad, you meanie!" Hind shouted as she jumped forward, grabbing for Helm, who easily dodged her.

"Now, now, daughter! I'm just doing what every father would!"

Irwin heard Scintilla hold in her laughter, but Boohm had no such reservations. His deep, bassy laugh rippled through town.

"Everyone on my crew is also my friend, and we will always help each other," Irwin said.

"Damn right!" Boohm shouted, stomping Zender on the back, almost causing the lanky youth to topple over.

They continued their goodbyes for a bit, everyone wanting to shake hands with them before they left. When they finally finished, Helm led them towards where his ship hung. He'd gone and gotten it while Irwin and the others were dealing with the Earth Titan.

As they shot up into the sky, waving at the Viridians below, Helm set a familiar course. Irwin was about to comment on it, but Hind beat him to the punch.

"Why are we heading this way?" she asked.

"Because Tang told me to bring you to him before you left," Helm said.

I'd have liked to give my opinion on that, Irwin thought, but he kept quiet as he hoped that meant what he thought it might.

Scintilla and Hind chatted most of the trip back while Zender had moved beside Irwin. As they zipped by, Irwin noticed a slight worry and distant sadness in the young Yuurindi's face.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, guessing it had to have something to do with Rindiri.

Zender looked up, seeming to snap out of whatever he was thinking about.

"Nothing, captain," he replied, his eyes darting around a bit before focusing on Irwin. "It's just… Sting has been inside my soulscape ever since we got here, and he's getting anxious to get out."

Irwin didn't have to be a genius to hear that wasn't what was going on, and he waited for Zender to continue.

"I had hoped he could see some more of this world," Zender said with a shrug, looking away guiltily.

Something about the way he was looking around made Irwin somewhat suspicious. Had he done something while with the Viridians? He cocked his head.

"We are going to check out more worlds before we return, and you know that… What else is bothering you?" he asked calmly, trying to project reassurance.

Zender looked slightly startled before visibly hesitating. After a few seconds, he let out a deep sigh and clamped his arms in front of his chest. "I… ever since he has been in my soulscape, if you can even call it that, it's been stabilizing a lot. It's getting to the point that I can sense my genes growing stronger from the stability."

Irwin saw the conflict in Zender's eyes and guessed what was going on.

"And now you fear the stability will fade or not continue when Sting comes back out," he said softly.

Zender nodded, then quickly looked away, rubbing his eyes. "I know it's stupid and bad and that I shouldn't think like that."

Irwin put his hand on Zender's shoulder, squeezing softly. "Thinking something isn't bad. Everyone thinks up things they know they shouldn't do. It's acting on that, which is the problem."

Zender nodded, keeping his hand in front of his eyes. "I just want to become strong enough to help Mom and make her proud."

"I am sure she would be incredibly proud of you if she knew what you've done so far," Irwin said. "Also, don't worry about becoming strong. With your increased stability, I am sure I can forge you a heartcard."

Zender's bloodshot eyes focused on him." Are you sure?"

Irwin was about to say yes before catching himself and focusing on Zender. He scanned the soulforce resonances he felt, then as much as he could from the cards. Although there was still a weakness to the resonance, the instability was far less than it had been.

"Yes," he said, noticing that Hind and Scintilla had stopped talking and were looking at them. "I'll try to make it as optimised as possible, and perhaps it can be Topaz rank."

Zender wiped his eyes and nodded. "Thanks, Captain. I… I'm really sorry for-"

Irwin raised his hand, smiling. "It's fine. Just promise me one thing?"

Zender closed his mouth with a snap, looking at him seriously and nodding.

"Talk with me or Greldo before you start eating yourself up again? Alright?"

"I will, Captain," Zender said, nodding, his eyes bright. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Good. Also, while we are not on board a ship, call me Irwin, alright?"

Zender's eyebrows shot up, and he shook his head. "No, no! If mom heard that, she'd have my hide!"

Irwin grimaced, wondering why he had a sense of déjà vu. "Alright, just… talk to us, alright?"

Zender nodded, then resumed looking out of the ship.

Irwin looked up to see that both Scintilla and Hind had turned back forward.

I need to pay a bit more attention to the others, Irwin thought, and as he did, he wondered how Earila was doing. She'd been on the ship with Sprig, Greldo, and Coal for a while now, and he decided to have a talk with her when he returned. If Zender, who was usually the more stable of the two, had been walking around with something, chances were she was too.

The trip to Tang's quarry continued, with Scintilla and Hind chatting about many things and Irwin and Zender lost in their own thoughts.

When they finally landed, Irwin saw Tang lumber out of his home. He was carrying a large crate under one arm. It was so big that Irwin knew barely anyone else could carry it, even with two hands.

"Just stay seated," Tang rumbled as he waved Helm back to his seat. "This won't take long. Irwin, if you could?"

Feeling his hope grow, Irwin sent a signal to Ambraz, who appeared on his shoulder, leaving the children to play under his otherselve's watchful eye. He jumped off the airship and walked to Tang, who put the crate on the ground. This close, Irwin saw it was made of stone slabs held together by thick, sturdy metal beams. The thing, even empty, would probably weigh a ton.

"Ho, ho!" Ambraz hummed as he flew to the box and landed on it. "There are some interesting bits and bobs in here!"

"Smith Irwin, I'm going to do something I don't do often," Tang rumbled. "I'm going to gamble that my own judgment, your actions, and the fact that Helm's daughter sees something in you mean that you will be a man of your word."

Irwin's eyebrows shot up, and he stood up straighter.

"I always do my very best to fulfill the promises I make," he said.

Tang stared at him for a bit, then shoved the crate closer with his foot. "I believe you, which is why in here you will find a few… bits and bobs," he said as he looked at Ambraz. "What I ask in return is that if you find a way to break me out of my current predicament, you return and do so or send someone else to do so."

Irwin glanced at the crate before meeting the swirling pools of lava that were Tang's eyes.

"I will," he said. "And at least one of the things in there will help me do this faster than without it."

Tang's eyes narrowed. "Good, but remember. Don't go too fast. That's how I got in my current predicament."

"That's why I'm here," Ambraz said, flying back to Irwin.

Irwin glanced at Ambraz, wondering if he was serious, before deciding it didn't matter.

"Thanks for the warning," he said before wrapping his arms around the chest as best he could. Lifting it proved it was as heavy as it looked, and although he could easily lift it, he also knew that barely anyone back on his homeworld would have been able to.

"Use it well, and I hope to see you sooner rather than later," Tang said.

"Don't expect me back within the next few years," Irwin said, worried about what Tang was actually expecting.

Luckily, the massive Fiz'rin let out a rumbling laugh. "Don't worry. As old as I am, a decade, more or less, won't cost me anything. Just know that if you aren't back in a century, I might start getting worried."

It took Irwin a few moments to grasp what Tang said or realize that, yes, he could return in a few decades, and it would be barely a fraction of his likely lifespan. It was the first time that he really understood just how much his future had changed after finding Ambraz and gaining his soulcard.

"I'll definitely be back within a century," he said before humming. "Or I'll send someone with a message."

"Good. Then may the Heart of Metal be with you," Tang said before turning around and stomping off.

"Thanks!" Irwin shouted, causing Tang to wave without looking.

Shaking his head at the man's intensity, Irwin turned and headed back to the airship.

I hope it can carry this much weight, he thought.

Hours later, with a heavily overloaded ship, they finally shot out of the tunnel and into the open. Looking at the sky, Irwin took a deep breath.

"I think I prefer being above ground," he said.

"Me too," Scintilla said, giving him a one-armed hug.

As they shot toward the distant tower, Irwin glanced at the city that sprawled in the distance. Little had changed since he'd last seen it: buildings flattened and crumbled, and tiny specs rushing away from it toward the tower and the exit portal. The portal tower, however, had changed as a constant barrage of fire and short beams of red slammed into the mass below. Banners fluttered from two of the smaller towers around its massive gate, red and golden with swords emblazoned in the middle.

"It looks like it was a good thing, leaving this fast," Helm shouted over his shoulder. "Two of the Matriarchs have arrived already…"

Irwin felt Scintilla's hand clench around his, and he looked at her.

"Will this cause trouble?" he asked.

"Maybe… probably? I don't know," she said before glaring at the tower. "But I do know, it's going to be very difficult to just sneak out now. Let's hope Mother has things under control."