Irwin's Journey 522: Rude awakening

Irwin clicked his tongue and shot across the soundwaves toward the back of another adult Chaos Whale. Seglassinder, Basil had said she was called, though after having talked about names with Luath, he sincerely doubted that was correct. It was probably overly simplified.

Reappearing on the back, he was already facing the Shaidin.

He looks a lot like Umbral, he thought, noticing the same pale skin, completely black eyes, and oddly wrong proportions of his body. Upper arms a bit too long, shoulders too wide for the hips, and knees that seemed too high for the legs.

There was one major difference, however.

Where Umbral had been nearly emotionless and in complete control, this Shaidin was smiling and nodding his head along with the song. His hands were pressed against the younger Chaos Whale’s head, and he seemed completely preoccupied.

Irwin hesitated, wondering how he should get the other’s attention. He cleared his throat with no result, then shrugged.

“I was told you are called Zeit. Are you a friend of Umbral?”

The Shaidin jolted, turning his head towards him. Still, Irwin noticed that he left one hand on the Chaos Whale. The smile on the Shaidin’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look so composed Irwin almost didn’t recognize him from moments before.

“I am Zeit. Who are you?”

The cold voice was similar to Umbral’s, but smoother and colder. It reminded Irwin of Gloom. Still, there was no sense of soulforce buildup or aggression, so he remained calm.

“The one who unchained Umbral.”

Zeit’s eyes widened minutely, just like those of Umbral had done when Irwin did something to surprise him. If he hadn’t been around the other Shaidin as much as he had, he would have missed it.

“Nobody can unchain that which binds a Shaidin,” the Shaidin said, coldly. “Did you use one of the Chaos Whales?”

Irwin smirked, remembering how stunned Umbral had been.

“No. I did it, just like I unchained a number of Accenti a few years ago,” he said.

Zeit was quiet for a moment before answering.

“I don’t believe you, and I wonder why you would lie, but it matters little. Umbral is free, by Slaudi’s own word, and so am I.” As he spoke, Irwin saw another minute narrowing of the eyes. “You… very much match the description of a cardsmith called Irwin. One, we were told to kill upon finding.”

Irwin raised an eyebrow. If he hadn’t known what he now did about the Shaidin, he might have worried. Instead, he knew what would come after.

“If the Guidar wish you dead, we shall wish you alive,” Zeit said.

He is definitely a bit different from Umbral, Irwin thought, carefully keeping the slight amusement he felt from showing.  

“That’s good to hear, and it matches what Umbral said,” he said instead.

“You claim to know my brother. What can you tell me of him?” Zeit said.

Irwin hummed. “He was brought to me by the help of a teleporter that can cross entire branches.”

“Terlo,” Zeit said calmly.

Irwin nodded. “Terlo. The man apparently knew about Shaidin, and he was able to influence the bindings on Umbral. They made a deal-”

The Shaidin’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of anger burning deep within.

“-where Terlo loosened the chains enough for Umbral to have the time to find me.”

“So you could unchain him?”

“Exactly,” Irwin agreed. “Umbral learned about the others I had unchained while on the world, found me, and we made our own deal.”

“My people don’t like deals,” Zeit said, while Irwin felt a slight tension in his soulforce. With how in control the Shaidin were, he knew that if he could feel anything, Zeit was mustering a lot of power.

“I know, but Umbral was the one who proposed it,” he said, quickly continuing. “Umbral taught me how to make soulforce constructs in exchange for unchaining him.”

Zeit seemed to freeze, and Irwin realized that his assumption about Umbral had been correct. As much as they had mastered hiding their emotions, they were strangely fallible, especially shortly after being unchained.

“Tell me about the deal Umbral made with this teleporter,” Zeit said, face emotionless again.

“Terlo needed him to go to…” Irwin frowned as he dug through his mind. “The Sickedor main branch. There, he had to find a minor branch called Dohar where a group of survivors needed help against the Guidar. He was to protect their world and trail them for a hundred years,” Irwin said.

“I have not heard of this main branch,” Zeit said. “Where is it?”

“From what I understood, it is on the entirely opposite side of the known Portal Gallery,” Irwin said.

Zeit just stared at him, then exhaled. “You are not lying. Did Terlo insinuate he would teleport my brother there?”

Irwin nodded.

Zeit stared at him, almost as if wanting him to be lying. When it was clear Irwin wasn’t, he closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened them again, a steely resolution had filled them, fading almost instantly.

“Then he is by far the most powerful teleporter I have heard about,” Zeit said softly. “Even at the height of our power, we only had teleporters with the ability to move across a few branches. To go from one side of the entire known Portal Gallery to the other? I am not sure it is even possible. Fine. I will have ot find my brother another time.”

“Now, you said he taught you? I… wish to see this for myself,” Zeit said, removing his hand from the Chaos Whale. He lingered, seeming reluctant, before floating up to the larger Chaos Whale. “Show me.”

Irwin stared at him. “I know what your kind can do within someone’s soulscape,” he said calmly. “I would suggest you don’t try anything. It wouldn’t go well for you.”

Zeit just stared at him, and from what Irwin had learned from Umbral, he guessed the Shaidin didn’t believe him.

Well, he will find out soon enough, he thought, locating a spot in his soulscape where a few of the soulforce constructs were, including one of the larger red-tinted wyrms. Then he pulled on Zeit, feeling a slight resistance but not enough to prevent him from pulling the Shaidin into his soulscape.

-- Irwin’s Soulscape --

Zeit felt a shiver at the ease with which the cardsmith had pulled him into his soulscape. Although he’d not resisted actively, the quick pull had taken him by surprise, and he’d not managed to restrain his automated response. It had meant nothing, as an overwhelming control had yanked him away.

The shiver returned as he sensed the immense ambient soulforce rolling around him. He’d never been as good at making soulforce constructs as some of his people, but his soulforce senses were sharper than most. What they told him was that he was in an enormous space, the walls so far away he could only sense faint echoes of them.

He also instantly sensed the soulforce constructs that swam in the pale fluid that flowed down a river in front of him.

Pyroflux, he thought, noticing how it was slightly off.

“You have external matter in your soulscape. Why?” he asked, walking a few steps forward to stare at the rather crude soulforce construct that was swimming around. Crude, but far more sophisticated than they should be if Umbral had thought him for only a short while. It spoke of great potential.

Or of someone who spent a large amount of time practicing, he reminded himself, thinking about the strong time dilation worlds that still existed.

Still, it was clear to him that the cardsmith had been taught by one of his people. Even from this distance, he could clearly sense the specific way his people used control over brute force.

He looked up to see the smith staring at him, an eyebrow raised, curiosity almost radiating from him. The lack of worry startled him for a moment before he thought about just how large the man’s soulscape was.

I could still cause him a world of pain, Zeit thought, picturing for a moment what he could do if he had to fight the cardsmith. Then he pushed the thoughts away.

“Very well. I believe you were trained by one of my people, which makes it highly likely that it has to have been Umbral,” he said. “This means that your other claim feels more likely.”

“Glad to see we agree,” the cardsmith said.

A soft and curious hum rippled out from above them, and Zeit looked up. His calm and quiet evaporated as he saw the tiny Chaos Whale calf, likely only days old, float down. It let out a curious ripple.

He didn’t hesitate, but shot up in the air, hovering beside the tiny calf.

This… is a summon?

“How did you get this?” he asked, turning a cold gaze on the cardsmith. Had he been killing Chaos Whales just like those disgusting Guidar?

“From those Girdaim called The Faithful,” the cardsmith said, his eyes narrowing and a growing anger burning deep within. “They were killed, but not before they killed a great number of Chaos Whales.”

Zeit growled. For a moment, he wondered if the smith was lying, then he dismissed the thought. It made perfect sense, and it explained why the Guidar chains had blocked his memories of the Chaos Whales. The Guidar knew what they could do and how strong the cards they left behind were. Besides that, without the Chaos Whales, the stability of any branch would buckle under the uncontrolled chaotic soulforce that rippled beyond. Their mere existence allowed weaker branches to form and connect.

He stared at the young calf, sensing its connection to the surrounding Soulscape. It wasn’t bound, per se, but it would never be able to exist for extended periods beyond this place.

“What are your plans with him?” he asked, sensing the joy of the young being. It pained him to know that it would never be truly free.

“I am planning on many things,” the cardsmith said softly. “But I plan for Luath to help me with smithing, while I find out what it means to have a summon like him.”

“Luath,” Zeit said, knowing the name was probably a tiny portion of its true full name. “Chaos Whales can not live safely without a pod.”

“I have been told,” the cardsmith said softly. “What more can you tell me about them? If I move some of the Chaos Whales in here, will that be enough?”

Zeit froze at the casual mention of moving a Chaos Whale into a soulscape, let alone multiple.

“How many can you move in here and for how long?” he asked carefully.

“If I don’t move the bigger ones, I can have six or seven here for as long as needed.”

Zeit slowly turned around, staring down at the Aura Construct below, trying to understand what he had just heard.

“You can hold six Chaos Whale young in your soulscape… indefinitely?” he asked, just to make sure he had not misunderstood.

“Yes.”

“I see. In that case, I would suggest you bring in one of the older ones and two of the younglings if you can,” Zeit said, struggling to keep his disbelief out of his voice.

As he stared at the cardsmith, the man blinked twice before frowning.

“Now?”

Zeit just nodded, suddenly wondering if the cardsmith was lying. He didn't sense any lies, only truth, but perhaps it made more sense for him to have found a way to trick him than to actually be holding Chaos Whales in his soulscape.

He watched as the cardsmith’s eyes unfocused slightly, but not enough to be gone.

He has multiple minds? Or a way to split his focus?

A few minutes passed, and he was starting to feel like the cardsmith might have been lying, when the Chaos Whale calf suddenly jolted away from his hand. A sense of joy and curiosity washed over it as it shot up into the air.

Zeit followed its trajectory, and for a moment, he wondered what was happening. Then the female adult Chaos Whale he had conversed with and five of the younglings appeared mid-air. They seemed to immediately focus on the calf as they flew down, humming a happy, welcoming song.

He was not lying, Zeit thought, watching how the calf slowed as it closed in. It seemed hesitant. Zeit moved to go up and reassure it when a giant version of the cardsmith appeared beside it. Easily twenty-five feet tall or more, it caused even the other young Chaos Whales to look small. It hovered there, putting a hand on the tiny calf, nearly hiding it from view. A shiver ran through the calf, and then it shot up to the pod of others, its soft song mingling with the deeper. Barely a quarter of the smallest other one, it was quickly surrounded, and a sense of joy erupted as the song intensified.

Zeit was about to focus back on the cardsmith when he was stunned to hear the man start humming with the whales, his own voice almost as deep as that of the adult. More stunning was that the Chaos Whales seemed neither startled nor worried. Instead, they seemed to have expected it, leaving room for the man’s voice to join theirs.

“I think this is going to take a while. Do you want to stay here or return to the outside world?”

Zeit slowly turned his head to stare at the man’s Aura Construct, which was looking at him.

Definitely multiple minds, he thought.

“I would like to go back outside,” he said.

“Good.”

A shove and a jarring shift later, Zeit hovered in midair, only some of the nearly-adult Chaos Whales still hovering around them, while the most powerful one here, Scarinader, had joined them. The cardsmith now was standing on the scarred Chaos Whale’s back, while the human in golden armor stood beside him.

This cardsmith is far stronger than the Guidar are expecting, he thought, slowly turning towards the cardsmith. Although he still hadn’t introduced himself, Zeit knew who he had to be. There was only a single cardsmith the Guidar were hunting in this mainbranch. Irwin.

“What are you planning to do?” he asked.

“In regard to what?” Irwin asked, seeming confused by the request.

“The Guidar have sent me here because they know something is going on here,” Zeit said, glancing at the distant harbor. “They don’t know the details, but if they find out, they will send a major force here. More than you can possibly hope to defend against with the defenses you have here now. They will also send multiple Guidar Chainers to nullify you.”

A range of emotions rushed across the cardsmith’s face. Surprise, worry, then anger.

“Nullify? How?”

“Depending on who they send, the chainers can nullify soulforce resonance,” Zeit said softly. “It is how they eventually overwhelmed my people.”

“Umbral didn’t tell me this?”

“Umbral didn’t know,” Zeit said, sighing sadly. “The chains restrict us greatly, both in memory and in what we can share with others. Kimdi will know even more than I do, but you would have to find him, wake him, and unchain him.”

“Kimdi?”

“He is the leader of what remains of my people,” Zeit said, feeling a deep tremor of sadness. “The strongest of us.”

Irwin was quiet for a while, his eyes narrow as he thought about what he’d been told, and Zeit waited quietly. It was good to see that, as powerful as he was, he had the clarity of mind to reflect on what he learned. Quick reactions were only good mid-combat.

“He is with the Guidar, Slaudi?”

“Yes, as is Nabr. There are more of us kept back in Guidar territory, but I don’t know exactly how many and where. More than one, less than ten.”

“The rest of your people?”

Zeit saw the hint of compassion, and he ignored it. “Wiped out. We resisted the Guidar too strongly, and we caused them so much trouble that they couldn’t risk us ever returning.”

“... Is there any way for you to…” the cardsmith hesitated, but Zeit knew what he wanted to ask.

“They killed all our females,” he said, hearing the coldness slip into his voice. “There are rumors that one is still there, but they are no more than that. Worse, one will not be enough. We would need at a minimum of ten females. When our demise became evident, our most powerful elders tried to find ways to hide some of us away. We failed.”

--

Irwin swallowed as he looked at the Shaidin, the being's pitch-black eyes unfocused and filled with a cold hate.

They are in the same spot as Gloom is, he realized, wondering suddenly how many more civilisations and species only had a handful of survivors.

The Titan Sliver… technically, he is like this, isn’t he?

Irwin’s thoughts spun around as he realized how lucky the Galadin Empire had been. They had realized the danger and split up, hiding enough parts of themselves to ensure at least some had survived.

I wish I could speak with Gelwin, he thought.

“There is no way to… crossbreed?” Irwin asked, feeling slightly disgusted by the idea, just like he had when Gloom had told him about it.

“No. None of the surviving species is able to produce viable offspring,” Zeit said. “Let’s not continue on this course. It is something my brothers and I have long since put behind us. All we want now is to assist in wiping out the Guidar from the face of the Portal Gallery.”

Irwin nodded, still feeling a sense of horror.

“So, what will you do now?” he asked softly.

A nasty smirk grew on Zeit’s face. “Oh, I am going to hunt a particular Guidar that is holding two of my brothers captive,” he said. “Then, after I kill him, I will have to find a way to contain them and bring them here.”

Can he even kill that Guidar by himself? Irwin thought, remembering that Umbral had implied the same, though with less certainty.

“To be unchained,” he said.

“Either by you,  or the Chaos Whales,” Zeit said.

“Let’s say you fail,” Irwin said slowly, ignoring the dangerous flicker in Zeit’s eyes. “You might lead the Guidar to my world.”

As he spoke, he focused fully on the Shaidin. As horrible as he felt for them, he wasn’t willing to let them potentially guide the Guidar to their front door.

“Fail? Against a single Guidar?” Zeit asked, seemingly confused and surprised instead of angry.

A moment later, he did something Irwin hadn’t expected. He began laughing, softly first, then louder. It rocked his body as it hung mid-air.

Irwin shared a surprised look with Basil, who had been quietly listening in. The warrior shrugged, clearly as confused as he was.

Zeit stopped over a minute later,  wiping his hand over his face. Even then, it took a few seconds for the emotionless facade to return.

“My apologies,” Zeit said. “I shouldn’t have shown you something so unsightly. However, no matter how much the Guidar have learned, they are nearly unchanging. For one as young as Slaudi to try to stop me from killing him? Impossible.”

“What if he uses your brother’s help?” Irwin asked, feeling slightly awkward.

Zeit shook his head. “Only Nabr remains. He is strong, but he can’t stop me. Besides, I fear he might not survive. Slaudi will have sensed that I am no longer chained, and there is a chance he ends Nabr. It is also possible he sends him after me, but I doubt it. There is no way for Slaudi to stop me from killing him. He might flee, but even that won’t help.”

“What would happen if you killed him?” Basil asked. “Will the Chained fleets leave?”

Irwin hummed, doubting it but wondering all the same.

“No. The Guidar leaders will know and send reinforcements eventually,” Zeit said. “Especially because they allowed him to wake three of my people. That said, we are not their most valuable weapons, and they are spread across a fast area. It is why my people lasted as long as we did. I expect that they send Guidar Chainers to try and restrain whomever they can.”

Irwin crossed his arms, his feet planted on Scariander’s back.

“And the fleet currently in the Langost branch?”

“They will remain, following the last orders they have gotten until new Guidar appear,” Zeit said.

Irwin shared a look with Basil. “We could use this to go on the offensive?”

“How large a fleet do you have across this main branch?” Zeit asked.

Basil frowned, clearly not interested in answering that. Irwin hesitated as well. Should they explain that over half of their fleet was currently lying in the harbor? There were only twenty ships, and although more were technically arriving every day from Scour, their main bottleneck wasn’t the ships but the crew. Few people from Scour were interested in coming here.

“No matter,” Zeit said, glancing at the harbor as if he read his mind. “If you do not have a hundred times the numbers, you won’t be able to stop their fleets.”

So they have what, twenty thousand ships across the Langost Branche? Irwin thought, feeling his skin crawl.

He’d heard about the massive numbers, but this much? What did that mean for the entire Guidar armada?

“They have tens of thousands of ships?” Basil asked, frowning. “That doesn’t match what we have heard. They should have only a few thousand in the Langost Branch.”

“Four or five thousand,” Zeit agreed. “But their ships, especially their largest warship, would take a dozen of your own to combat.”

“Why?” Irwin asked.

“Their shields are hard to penetrate, even for me,” Zeit said. “To down one of them would take far more energy than the soulforce on any of the ships I see here can put out.”

Irwin frowned as he felt a sense of worry. He’d known the Guidar were powerful, and had a massive fleet, and that they were far from their equals, but this? It meant that unless he or one of the others was present during a battle, the chances of loss were far too great, and that was only with the fleet currently here.

How are we going to ever defend against them all?

It took him a moment to push back his growing worry; the sense of growth he’d felt over the last few years suddenly evaporated.

‘Kid? What’s going on? We knew they were stronger and had a massive fleet!’

Irwin shook his head, clearing the worry.

‘Yes, but I might have underestimated just how much bigger,’ he replied.

‘Perhaps we did, but only some of those are here, and they are divided over many fleets. There are other ways than a single brute-force attack,’ Ambraz said.

Irwin knew he was right, but he also knew that if the Guidar did find them and send even a fraction of their full fleet, they would be in trouble.

If I go all out, could I stop them? he wondered, instantly knowing the answer to that.

He was strong, and he could likely hold back a regular fleet, perhaps two. But fleets of thousands or tens of thousands of ships? A constant influx that never ended? No single person could do that.

Unless I get a Worldcard, he thought, taking a deep breath. But even then, I can only be in one place.

He watched the ships in the harbor. The strongest two, his own ship, the Concerto, which was now used mainly to scout the borders, were likely strong enough, but they only had one more of the same power.

Not just one, he suddenly realized.

Feeling a sense of hope grow again, he quickly warned Blade, who had returned to his soulscape and the Caldera a day before. A few moments later, he focused, and the dark-red hulled Caldera appeared nearby, its sails gleaming brightly.

“What about something like that?” he asked.

Zeit stared at the ship, his mouth opening slightly before snapping shut. After a few moments, he nodded.

“Two of those could likely stand up to one of the best ships sent to this branch; however, if they send their truly best, you would still need ten to one. I am curious, however, how is there such a massive amount of soulforce within those hulls?”

Irwin didn’t respond, but he waved at Blade, who was behind the helm, getting a quick wave back. He pulled the Caldera back in.

Two… so we need to get more of these, and even stronger ones, he thought. I wonder how Rindiri will feel when I tell her this.

He turned back to Zeit.

“What about those Guidar Chainers,” he asked. “How strong are they?”

“I can handle a single one, but two is too much,” Zeit said calmly. “Their main ability is to suppress soulforce resonance, causing any use of it to weaken greatly. Between that and their own physical strength, they usually overpower anyone they know.”

Irwin blinked, while Basil let out a sharp bark of a laugh.

“Physical strength he said,” the golden warrior grunted.

Irwin saw Zeit look at him, his gaze taking in his stature.

“How strong are you compared to one?” Irwin asked.

“I am faster and more agile,” Zeit said. “But they are stronger.”

“Would you be able to see how strong I am compared to one?” Irwin asked.

“I can,” Zeit agreed. “However, if you want me to train you, you will need to wait until after I have eliminated Skaudi.”

Part of Irwin understood and agreed with that, but another part wanted to know how he would fare against what the Shaidin seemed to think were the strongest of the Guidar.

“How long would that take?” he asked.

“No more than a year,” the Shaidin said sharply. “He is heading towards the south, and it will take me months to catch up. After that, I need to kill him, which will take some planning if I want him to be unable to warn anyone.”

Irwin nodded slowly.

That will give me time to finish my next heartcard, he decided.

He stared at the Shaidin, wondering if he could make the other stick around to wait for Daubutim. He wanted his friend to think about letting Zeit leave, but he also sensed it was unlikely the Shaidin would remain without force.

“You seem troubled to let me leave,” the Shaidin said, suddenly. “Let me assure you. I would rather die than be bound again, and will die before I give the Guidar anything they want. Be it your location or anything else.”

Irwin nodded slowly, believing Zeit. Still, was it worth the risk?

One moment, the Shaidin was there, the next he was gone.

Irwin blinked and looked around, spreading his senses rapidly. It took him a moment to feel the Shaidin’s soulforce signature a mile away.

“Where did he go?” Basil snapped.

Irwin spun around, sensing the distant Shaidin soulforce resonance, spiking brightly.

“I don’t like my odds of leaving if you attempt to stop me, so I fear you will have to trust me,” a voice rippled near his head. “If possible, I will return with my brother. Until we meet again.”

The voice vanished.

“How… he can project his voice?” Basil hissed.

“It looks like it,” Irwin grunted.

“Great. Now what?” Basil asked, rubbing his chin with a gauntletted fist.

“Now we talk with Daubutim and the others,” Irwin said. “We need more ships and more crew… and more powerful soulcarded.”

As he said it, Irwin had the feeling he was going to have to reforge a whole lot more cards with the Chaos Whales to help fill soullakes.