Irwin's Journey 502: Elderly Rage

Rindiri slowly wandered through her house, her hand trailing across the familiar railing of the staircase leading down, her gaze floating from the small, rarely-used kitchen to the luxurious lounge area. After a few minutes, she found herself on the balcony overlooking Blackglass City, nestled in her favorite chair as she gazed down at the bustling city. From this high up, the tiny figures of Crathans walking around looked like insects. Dozens of airships—mostly barges—flew around, carrying ore, stone, and other valuable materials dug from deep below. 

Almost a hundred years…

She sighed, angling her gaze upward at the eternally clear sky and bright burning orb of Scour's sun. Crathans didn't have to worry about staring into it, and so she did. 

Her choice had been made, and she knew she'd be leaving soon, but part of her wished she could stay. 

"You could get a body split card," she told herself. 

It was one of the things she'd debated over the last few months, ever since the Captain had told her he would be taking one more century-long leap before leaving Scour, likely forever. She raised her hand, staring at the three empty slots on her right hand. Three cards for her final heartcard, the one she wouldn't be upgrading to a soulcard. Technically, she knew that she could slot them and remove them later, or even if she had her heartcard formed, ask the Captain to destroy it and change it. 

"Probably not that last thing," she whispered, shaking her head as she recalled the pain of the first time.

Still, if she did, it meant she'd probably keep one part of her here, like the Captain did, dormant and only awakening when the natural time-dilation had stabilized enough. Did she want to do that? She wasn't sure. 

She turned her gaze back to the city. 

She barely believed her time on Scour was coming to an end.

You could stay.

She crushed the tiny voice, knowing full well that it was her weariness speaking. Yes, of course she could stay. But it would mean she'd never be able to return to Eluathar and see Zender, her only surviving child. A shiver ran through Rindiri as the face of Earilla flitted through her mind. Even as a Yuurindi, she'd been more bound to her less-perfect children than was normal. After she became a Crathan? Since then, every time her mind wandered to the hundreds of her children that she'd never met, those who had died only a few years old, she felt a stab of sadness. It had been worse shortly after she'd changed and gotten more manageable over the years. 

That was until they returned a few months ago. Now a face had been added to her sadness. 

Earilla. 

Rindiri unbiddenly thought back to a few months ago, when she had returned to the main office of her Shipwright Guild and had gotten the status updates from those currently in charge. Mostly, some petty and tiny things. The long-lived Crathans and Viridians that had been in charge during her absence had done well. 

A few hours in, while she was still reading through the piles of notes about what had happened on Scour, some new employee had disturbed her with the message that three women were waiting to see her. They said they were her great-granddaughters. Curious, she'd let them in, not knowing the news they would bring. They had entered and looked at her with a reverence that had made her uncomfortable, calling her Matriarch, a term she'd bristled at. 

A few minutes later, she cared nothing for the term as she listened to what had happened in her absence.

Earilla, and a great many others, had died during a freak accident. The Portal Closing Guild had been working on an emerald-rank portal, but something had gone wrong. The closing party had died, and hundreds of thousands of low-rank Insectoids, together with three queens, had burst out from it. These things happened sometimes, but usually, the insectoids dug deep down. Not this time. Likely from the presence of an earth titan below, they had gone up and burst out of the desert. 

Earilla and her family had moved out to one of the quieter towns a few hours from Blackglass. It, and four other villages, had been wiped out before the Insectoids could be dealt with. Only a handful had survived.

Rindiri sighed again, her hand drifting to her pocket as she removed the tiny amulet. Made from Frost Iron, it was cold to the touch and glittered in the light. One side depicted Earilla, older than she recalled, while the other held a short tribute message to one of the heroes who saved thousands. 

"You could have survived, teleported away," she muttered, staring at the amulet with a prick of anger. Of all her children, Earilla was the most mobile, the fastest, the most elusive. If she'd died to something like this, it was because she'd taken too many dumb risks.

'She managed to save one of her daughters, our grandmother,' one of the women said. She had introduced herself as Rilla, apparently named after Earilla. A moment later, she'd invited her to visit soon. 'We don't know much about Earilla, our great-grandmother, because our grandmother never wanted to talk about her much. We would love it if you could share some things with us.'

Rindiri clenched her hand around the medallion before pocketing it again. A hundred and ten years ago. To them, it had been ancient history. To her, it had been days at the time, months now. Months in which she'd lived without trying to think too much, handling the company and preparing it for eventual disappearance. She had introduced the current Guild Council to the three Crathans from Eluathar who would be moving messages and items back and forth to Eluathar. 

What she hadn't done was visit her family. 

"I guess I'll have to go later today," she muttered, part of her knowing she likely would find another excuse as she had every day since she'd returned.

A loud chime sounded from the runes in her workroom.

There we go, she thought, pushing herself up and quickly walking through her luxurious house and into a room filled with books, maps, and an enormous desk filled with neat stacks of papers.

A large square crystal was embedded in the surface of the dark-purple wooden desk, the runic engravings lighting up to show someone from the main entrance far below wanted her for something. She quickly pressed the runes in order, and the chime faded.

"Yes?"

"Guildmistriss! He.. I mean to say," a woman's voice stumbled across the other line before seeming to catch herself. "Cardsmith Irwin is here to see you."

Rindiri's eyebrows shot up. The Captain? He rarely came here, nearly always busy with one of his many projects. 

"I'm on my way," she said, sweeping her hand over the runes to cut off the connection.

It took a while to go down the tower, something she usually enjoyed, as it gave her a chance to take a look at the different stages of the ships, some production models, others experiments. Now she just ran past, waving at the few old-hand shipwrights, mostly Viridians and Crathans that knew her.

"I'll come and check later," she shouted at two burly, silver-haired Crathans who had been responsible for the experimental warships she had been working on for most of her time here. 

When she ran into the main hall, a sprawling area with miniature representations of all the airships they currently made, she saw the Captain standing in front of one—their largest hauler—with a design that she'd based on one of those she and the Captain had come across during their travels across the Portal Gallery, long ago.

"Captain," she called out, causing him to turn and smile at her.

"Guildmistriss," he said, one of his dark eyebrows raised as his volcanic eyes flickered with amusement.

Rindiri sniffed, knowing he preferred that she call him by his name, but over the years, she'd found she was far more comfortable calling him by his former title. Besides, who knew what life had in store? Perhaps they would be back out there sometime in the future? The simple thought made her almost excited.

The Captain's smile faded, and he let out a weary sigh.

"I heard about Earilla. I wish we could have been here, and I asked why no one had put up a warning on the boards. Apparently, everything was over within a few hours, and they had no chance to warn me," he said, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.

Rindiri could sense the almost bubbling anger as the Captain's voice deepened and turned flat, something it always did when he was trying to hold in his emotions.

"I know there was nothing we could do," she said, and she meant it. That didn't take away the guilt she'd felt ever since returning—the constant what-ifs.

"Let's go and have a bit to eat."

Rindiri looked up in surprise, but before she could even think about a response, the Captain was walking away to the exit. 

She followed him out into the enormous city, which had grown to rival Teinnoran in the few hundred years since they had left. It sprawled across the desert, which in many places had been transformed into forests of Volcano Trees, or meadows beside rivers of Pyroflux.

As they walked farther into the merchant district, where the Shipwright Guild's main headquarters was, she barely saw anyone looking at them. 

"It's nice to be able to walk around without being spotted," Irwin said as she moved beside him.

"It is," she agreed, before grinning as she continued. "Though it also means we have to be wary of pickpockets."

The Captain let out a snorted laugh. 

They continued through the city, talking about little things like what had changed and how many Crathans now lived, until they reached a large Ignitzian-run restaurant. The Captain gave a happy snort, and a short while later, the two were seated at a private table at the back of the restaurant, between a large indoor Volcano Tree and a stone statue that depicted a battle between a rather familiar-looking Crathan and three enormous Insectoids.

Rindiri looked at the Captain, who hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the menu before turning to her.

"Have you decided what to do?"

Rindiri wasn't surprised at the blunt question. Irwin had always been like that, and it was one of the ways she enjoyed talking with him: straight to the point.

"Yes," she said. "I'll be leaving with you if that's alright."

A flicker of something passed through his eyes, then he nodded.

"I'd like that. You do realise that at least the first part of the trip will be my traveling as fast as I can in a straight line to Mudball? Even at that speed, it will take months, or longer if we run into trouble."

"It's fine," Rindiri said. "I take it Scintilla is coming?"

"She and Brecka both are," Irwin said, and a smirk slowly formed. "As is Pur'am."

"What? Ambraz's second kid?" Rindiri asked, leaning forward in surprise. She fully knew that Ganvils didn't look at things like that, and that he'd made way more rank zeros, but she also knew that Ambraz himself looked at both Silv'am and Pur'am very differently. Even different compared to what she knew what Proginators usually did with their Proginy.

"He's been causing a lot of issues in the few months he's been at the Volcano Academy, and Trimdir and Hou'dor are having a lot of issues keeping him contained."

"Unlike Brecka," Rindiri said, slowly realizing where this was going.

"Exactly. For some reason, she seems to be the only one able to keep him from being a total annoyance," the Captain agreed.

"A shame she doesn't want to be a cardsmith," Rindiri said, leaning back as she watched one of the Ignitzians put down their meal. Unlike all Ignitzians she'd seen during their journeys, this one wasn't eyeballing Irwin constantly, likely having gotten used to being around Crathans for a long time.

"She doesn't want to, and I fear she wouldn't be able to be as good as Pur'am would need her to be."

"So you two have an idea what kind of smith would fit him?" Rindiri asked, glad they had moved on from talking about Earilla. "Perhaps one of your kids?"

Irwin snorted, shaking his head. "The only one I could imagine would be Soot, though I shudder at the thought of the two of them wreaking havoc across the Portal Gallery, stealing every growth card they can. No… Ambraz has a feeling there's something else that might work, and it's possible Pur'am doesn't need a smith but something else to bond to."

"Something else?" Rindiri asked, her curiosity growing. "Like what?"

"Like-"

The Captain was interrupted by a surprised cry from the side. "Matriarch!?"

Rindiri closed her eyes before turning to the side where two Crathans stood. One was her great-great-granddaughter Rilla, the other was a young Crathan in his early teens, who was staring at her.

"Rilla," Rindiri said, looking at her. "Please don't call me that, alright?"

The younger woman nodded slowly, her surprise slowly fading as she looked at the Captain, then back at her.

"Yes… Guildmistriss?"

"Rindiri will be fine," Rindiri said. "Captain, this is Earilla's great-granddaughter, and…"

"My son, Brejin," Rilla said quickly. "We were on our way to the-"

"Guildmaster Irwin," the boy suddenly said, his voice causing the surrounding room to go silent instantly.

Rindiri heard the Captain groan softly. Rilla must have noticed, too, because she gave her son a quick look and whispered an order to be quiet.

"Matri-  Rindiri," Rilla whispered, trying not to pay attention to the dozens of people now staring at them curiously. "I was hoping you would visit. Did we anger you when we arrived? I am sorry if we did, I-"

"You didn't," Rindiri said, feeling herself slip back into her usual self. "Let's head out of here, and we can find a quiet place to talk."

As she spoke, Irwin had risen, putting some soulshards on the table as payment.

"You are really him," Berjin whispered excitedly, looking up at the much taller Irwin. "I thought you were a rumor, but you look exactly like him, and my cousin said you had returned, but I didn't believe him, and-"

"Berjin, be quiet," Rilla hissed, prodding the teen. 

"Yes, it's really me," Irwin said, seemingly unbothered as he glanced at the boy. "I see you have gotten your Quartz rankplate already. Impressive at your age."

Rindiri frowned, her eyes scanning the boy before noting the simple bracelet on his left arm. It had a small quartz stone.

Since when do they use rankplates here? she thought, deciding to ask the Captain later.

"I'm just back from my attempt at my Amethyst one," the boy said, his eyes glistening. "I didn't make it, but I learned a lot and I'm sure next time I'll do better, besides-"

"Berjin," Rilla cut him off, before giving the Captain a faint smile. "I am sorry for causing a commotion, Guildmaster. Perhaps I can make up for it by hosting the two of you at our house?"

Rindiri felt like rolling her eyes, but instead, she glanced at the Captain, who looked back at her and shrugged, apparently leaving it to her.

Great.

"Alright," she said, motioning at Rilla. "Let's go."

Rilla smiled. "This way," she said, walking to one of the exits of the large restaurant.

Rindiri felt the eyes of all the people on them as she walked out, while Berjin moved beside Irwin and began barraging him with questions mostly related to cardsmithing and styles. 

"I am sorry about that," Rilla said as they walked away. "Berjin has a hard time keeping control over his emotions."

"No, I don't," the boy snapped from behind. "I just don't understand why I have to be quiet all the time!"

"That's not what's wrong," Rilla said, glancing over her shoulder, eyes narrow. "You just shouldn't talk all the time."

"Same difference," the boy said, before turning to the Captain. "Is it true that you can make cardseeds just like the Grandmaster Flowrishin? Can you teach me?"

"You would need to be able to reforge ruby-rank cards sideways first," Irwin replied, before going into a lengthy explanation of the difficulties of cardseed forging.

Rindiri sighed, her mind drifting off as they walked through the city. Rilla softly talked about the rest of their family, though Rindiri realized she barely paid attention. Instead, she wondered what would have happened if she'd been here a hundred years ago.

--

Irwin hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the young Crathan, almost jumping beside him. The boy had a surprisingly high sensitivity, not enough to be comparable to the best he knew, but definitely far above average. He also seemed to have an inexhaustible enthusiasm for card forging. Enough that he was considering asking Ambraz to bring him to Frisyuustis. There were plenty of rank zeros around, and there was no saying how far Berjin could go with this much love for smithing.

"Guildmaster, have you ever reforged anything above diamond?" Berjin asked, jumping forward instead of walking.

"Yes," Irwin said with a grin. "I've reforged a few Ammolite cards, and sideways reforging a diamond is also harder if that is what you mean. A heartcard is harder, while making a cardseed is even harder still, as I told you."

"Is there anything above Ammolite?" the boy asked.

"Not that I know of," Irwin said, thinking about the experiments he and Ambraz had done over the last few months. 

"Hmm," the boy said, staring at the ground as he swung his arms forward and hopped in line with Irwin's steps, easily keeping up. "I bet there's something higher! Grandmother says there's always a way to improve."

Irwin smiled at that, nodding. "Perhaps. We will find out eventually, I guess. So, who is your grandmother?"

"Grandmother? Oh, that's what we call her, although she's not really our grandmother. She's wayyyyy older than that."

"Berjin," his mother called out a small distance ahead, where she was walking with Rindiri. "Remember what I told you?"

"Yes, yes. Be respectful of Grandmother," Berjin said, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head at Irwin in disbelief. He mouthed something that Irwin guessed wasn't very nice.

A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a dark, walled courtyard. Although meant to keep out prying eyes, Irwin was able to look across it at the squarish, four-story building inside. Like nearly all other buildings in the city, it was made from the black, glossy stone. Pale yellow and orange highlights were everywhere, from canvas that hung across walkways to vines with deep-orange fruit. A group of children was running around a small copse of Volcano Trees in the middle, something that seemed to be the current trend from what he'd seen.

Ahead of him, Rilla was frowning slightly. "I… Rindiri, do you mind if I call you Matriarch while we are inside?"

Irwin saw Rindiri frown.

"Why?"

"Because… Grandmother is rather strict on these matters," Rilla said, appearing somewhat uncertain.

"I prefer you don't, but if you must," Rindiri said.

Irwin wasn't surprised about that. Although Rindiri was a Crathan for almost as long as she had been a Yuurindi now, she'd been raised to be respectful of elders. 

"Thank you," Rilla said, looking relieved, before she put her hand on a small square rune. 

A soft chime came from the other side as the gate unlocked. Rilla pushed the massive gate open with the ease granted by being a Crathan, and the four of them walked inside.

"Berjin is back!" A young scream came from the trees, and before the gate had been fully closed, a group of children had rushed them, clustered around him. 

"You still have the quartz bracelet!"

"Did you fail?" 

"Will you be able to try again?"

"When are you getting us our first cards!?"

Irwin grinned as he saw Berjin's mouth open to try and answer, only for the questions to continue barraging him. 

No wonder he talks so fast, he thought. If he doesn't, there's no way he can get a word in.

He followed Rindiri and Rilla as they walked towards the main house, leaving Berjin behind.

The entrance of the building was surprisingly small and cosy, with a small sitting area in the first room, which had six hallways leading away. They took the double one at the back and reached a far larger one with an enormous dining table and a square staircase that led up.

"There are sixty-one of us living here currently," Rilla said as she walked to the staircase. "Most are family, with a few friends. Grandmother lives on the top floor with some of the other older uncles and aunts. We are lucky that it's in the afternoon, as most will be out now. I'll bring you to Grandmother first, then after that, I'll find you a quiet place where you can continue your conversation if you want."

I wonder about that, Irwin thought, his senses having already picked up the powerful fluctuations from the top floor.

"Your Grandmother has four soulcards?" he asked.

Rilla turned around in surprise, then seemed to recall who he was. "I- Yes, Guildmaster Irwin. How…?”

"I can sense her, and she seems to be heading down here," Irwin said as he traced something that was dropping down the side of the building. A moment later, there was a dull boom from outside, followed by annoyed mutterings. Then the door they had closed was kicked open, and an elderly Crathan walked into the room. She wore a long, open dress with dark, almost leather-looking pants and a pale shirt. Her bare arms were less muscular than most Crathans that Irwin had seen in his life, while her eyes blazed like silver suns. 

"About time you brought her back," the woman snapped as she walked inside, rubbing her back with one hand. Her gaze moved from Rilla to Rindiri and narrowed. "Hello, grandmother," she said, stalking forward until she stood a few steps from Rindiri.

Irwin held back the desire to hum as he saw how much the two women looked alike, though the new one was clearly far older. 

"And you are?" Rindiri asked, crossing her arms, seemingly unimpressed. 

"Zaidirini, but you can call me Zai like my mother did," the woman said. 

"You are Earilla's daughter?" 

"Yes, I am. Glad to hear you remembered mother while you were off galavanting across the Portal Gallery for a few hundred years," Zai said, her eyes narrowing. She seemed ready to jump at Rindiri at a moment's notice.

Irwin focused on his abilities, readying himself to intervene if Zai attacked, wondering what was going on. Rilla stood to the side, looking stunned.

"Your mother didn't explain to you how long I would be gone?" Rindiri asked, raising an eyebrow, still seemingly unperturbed. "She knew."

"Bah! Nonsense about time-dilation. As if anyone can change this-" Zai said as she waved her hand around. "For an entire world!"

Irwin's eyes widened as he felt her faintly influence the time dilation around her. It wasn't a lot, barely a fraction, but he'd never seen anyone do anything like it.

"You can't sense it if you aren't also in another world," Rindiri said. "Now, is there anything else you want to tell me? If not, I'll be on my way. The Captain and I have more important things to do than listen to a disgruntled old woman."

Irwin gaped at Rindiri, while Zai snorted, shaking her head.

"Don't think you can get away from me that easily. You and your burly boyfriend might have two-"

"Enough!" Rindiri snapped, stepping forward, her eyes flickering angrily. "I am sorry that I wasn't here to save Earilla. I wish I were, but I'm not going to stand here and listen to this. Now, out of my way."

Zai's eyes widened, and her hands moved. She was fast, faster than Irwin had expected, but she wasn't anywhere near fast enough. Rindiri flowed to the side, grabbed one of the woman's arms, flipped her over her shoulder, and slammed her into the ground. The rock cracked while Irwin saw a look of surprise in Zai's eyes. Before she could move again, he sighed and stepped forward, grabbing her wrists and raising her up from the ground, feet dangling in the air.

"This is about enough," he rumbled, only now noticing that the children stood in the entrance looking inside with eyes wide with confusion and worry. "How about we all sit down for a drink and a chat?"

"Let go of me," Zai growled. "Don't think I don't know who you are! You are the one who took grandmother away, leaving mother all alone! I've been waiting over a hundred years to be able to tell you exactly how I feel about that." As she spoke, she kicked Irwin in the chest with enough force to make him take a step back. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but he did notice the surprising weight behind it. 

"Grandmother, don't kick him! He's Guildmaster Irwin," Rilla said, finally seeming able to react. 

"Bah! Shut it, you! I know who he is," Zai shouted, kicking Irwin again. 

This time, he wasn't moved, and he just raised an eyebrow. "If you are about done, I don't think I've seen anyone this old act so much like one of my children when they are throwing a tantrum."

Zai wasn't done.

Irwin saw her eyes flare up, and the next moment she was gone from his hands, flowing like mist beside him. He had no idea what she was trying to do, and he didn't care. With a speed faster than movement, he wrapped her in his soulforce and forcefully dragged her into his soulscape. 

Sighing, he rubbed at the stains on his shirt before looking at Rilla, who was quickly looking around. 

"Where did she go?" she asked. "You didn't hurt her, did you?"

"She's in my soulscape," Irwin said, as he sensed his other, giantself look at the woman screaming at him to bring her back. "I'll let her back out when she's calmed down. Now, perhaps you can explain what is going on?"

Rindiri was glaring at the ground when he said that, then looked up. "How long has she been like this?" 

Rilla glanced from Irwin to Rindiri, then back, before her shoulders slumped.

"I think you should probably just come with me," she muttered. "So I can explain."

Irwin glanced at Rindiri, who nodded instantly. 

"This way," Rilla said as she turned around and walked back through the large room towards a corridor. "Berjin, take the little ones and go back outside. Everything is alright, and I'll explain later!"

Irwin saw the boy nod quickly before shepherding the others outside. He hesitated as he was about to close the door, looking at Irwin with worry.

"Your grandmother will be fine," Irwin said, smiling.

Berjin just nodded slowly before closing the door. 

Irwin sighed as he followed the two women, both quiet.

Great, now let's see what's going on, he thought, as his otherself watched Zai zip across his soulscape, seemingly looking for an exit.