Irwin's Journey 471: Future growth

Irwin frowned as he stared out across Flamerock, which had new walls and towers, with Ignitzians walking across everywhere.

"After the Smiths War, Flamerock became a lot less open to new people," Rinbus said from beside him. "With Lejingi able to create most of the harder cards, and them now having a dozen Cardsmiths… well, they have become a bit isolated."

Irwin's frown deepened. "What about Nilish?"

"She remained with the Smiths Guild for a while, but when one of the Burrows in the nearby ridges overflowed, she came back to support the other Blademothers."

"So, there's another Smiths Guild here?" Brecka asked curiously.

"I guess you could call it that," Rinbus said with a shrug. "They only have fourteen Cardsmiths, though. Anyway, let's go to the entrance. Like I said, teleporting inside is not allowed."

Irwin nodded as he turned to the path leading to the distant entrance. It was one of many that led from the surrounding mountains, all congregating near one of the gates into the small city.

It seems they all began to separate themselves again after that stupid war, he thought, feeling his annoyance grow. 

'Don't worry, kid, it's pretty normal,' Ambraz said, seemingly reading his mind.

Irwin looked at his shoulder, somewhat confused.

'What?'

'You were getting angry that they reverted to their old ways, right? It's normal. It's why so many Ganvils leave Granvox at some point and even live far away their entire lives,' his bond said calmly. 'Beings that live so long become set in their ways and have a hard time changing. If you want something to really become different, it's easiest to go somewhere that has no established order. Well, either that or you need to clear out who was in charge before, but… well,' 

Ambraz sent a mental shrug before continuing.

'Just because things looked different on Scour before you left, doesn't mean it was. Many of those in charge retained their original mindset, and when the war happened, they reverted to how things were before because it was easy. It's also exactly why the Oxarites keep switching around their Steel Council members.'

Irwin thought about Ambraz's words as they walked towards the gate. He could sense the truth in them, but it still pissed him off.

'It's not all bad, you know,' Ambraz said, thoughtfully. 'The places that last the longest are those with a stable leadership and a set of clear rules. Those usually do exactly the same things, act the same, and react the same in nearly all situations. As long as the rules aren't bad, most people will be fine with it. The places that are actually bad? Well, usually those don't last long, because they cause instability and eventually war.'

Irwin pondered his bond's words some more, wondering what that meant for something like the Smiths Gulid he was building and expanding. He didn't come to a conclusion as they reached the gate.

A small group of Ignitzians was walking towards them, with a tall, burly familiar one in the lead.

"Tutor Irwin! When I heard you were spotted, I almost called our scouts liars! It's good to see they weren't," Blademother Nilish shouted as she stopped before Irwin. 

She got another heartcard, Irwin thought, eyebrows raising as he saw she'd grown a bit again while her hair looked somewhat like his and Brecka's: long, dark-red, curled metal wires with flames licking around them. Beyond that, she didn't seem to have changed at all, looking no older than she did when he'd last seen her.

"Nilish, it's good to see you," Irwin said, realising he meant it. "How have you been?"

Nilish barked a laugh as she put her hands on her sides and looked up at him. "I really thought I'd be as big as you by now… Oh well. I take it you are still not looking for another heatbond?"

Irwin blinked, then saw the gleam in her eyes and Nilish's barely contained mirth.

"No, sorry," he said.

"Ah, such a shame," Ninish said with a shrug. "I guess I'll have to continue softening up Nilish!"

Brecka snorted, thudding her fist into Nilish's shoulder. "Are you still trying to steal other people's heatbonds?"

"A Ignitzian needs a hobby, right?" Ninlish said, before turning to Irwin. "So, I take it you are here to talk to Preg?"

Irwin nodded. "Rinbus told me that Igg is still alright?"

"Define, alright," Nilish said, her joy fading. "He has tried breaking free every time he has woken up over the last fifty years, and Preg can't even leave their grotto anymore. Let's go, I'll fill you in on the way."

Alright grimaced, following beside her while the rest walked after them.

"We won't get any trouble with the other blademothers?" he asked as they passed through the gate.

"Them? No way," Nilish said. "Thanks to the heartcards you got me, and the one Lejingi made, I'm not the strongest! They can whine and complain all they want, it's not going to do them any good."

Irwin glanced at Nilish.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Nilish snapped. "I'm not bullying them… at least not a lot."

"Right, so how is Lejingi doing?" Irwin asked.

"Pretty good! She no longer has to reforge constantly, which means she's been working on that trick you taught her. Thanks for that, by the way! We found a really cool card about seventy years ago, and she was able to duplicate it almost seven times before it shattered."

Irwin frowned. "What do you mean, it shattered? Do you mean she was making cardseeds and something happened?"

"Yes," Nilish said. "How she told me was that she kept splitting it apart, creating two or three new ones, giving us one or two, and kept the other one to do it again. Then, at the seventh time, the card just… broke? She tried with a few others, and it kept happening, though not always at the seventh attempt. She had a whole chat about it with me, but…" Nilish grinned as she faked closing her eye and snoring.

"We need to talk with Lejingi," Ambraz said, his voice sounding highly interested.

"Agreed," Irwin said, rubbing his chin as he tried to reason out what might have happened. 

Had Lejingi just made a mistake? Or was there a maximum number of times he could split a card? He tried recalling how many times he'd split a card, then split the result again. Perhaps two or three times? Usually, he focused on creating cardseeds from nothing.

As he chatted with Nilish about smaller things that had happened over the years, his otherself began thinking about experiments to do.

It took them a long walk, a teleport, and some more walking to reach the depths below Flamerock, but when he did, Irwin instantly sensed a heavy pressure flowing through the enormous underground cavern. It was as if a looming threat constantly weighed down on everything, and it took him only a moment to sense where it came from.

"It's Preg," Blademother Nilish said wearily. "It's best if you go forward on your own… the closer others get, the harder it is for Preg to keep Igg asleep."

Irwin nodded, turning to Brecka and the others.

"You can go back up and find something to eat," he said. "I'll find you after I speak with Preg."

Nilish coughed softly, drawing Irwin's attention.

"Tutor, I think you might find Preg is going to request your help."

Irwin looked at her, raising an eyebrow, not sure what she meant. He already knew the ancient fire elemental wanted his help.

"As in… right now," Nilish said dryly. "I have spoken with him a few times over the last few years, and he was rather clear. If you returned, he wanted your immediate help…"

Irwin stared at her for a moment, wondering if she was making a joke. It quickly became clear she was serious. 

"Right," he muttered, turning to the Brecka. "I have no idea how long this will take. Can you see if you can find some more of the things we need and move them into your soulscape?"

"I will, but be careful, alright?"

"I will," Irwin said as he nodded at the others.

As he walked away, he heard Nilish ask Brecka how she'd been and if she was interested in some sparring.

Perhaps I should have told her to be careful, Irwin thought.

He headed deeper into the caverns, walking along lava and pyroflux-filled lakes, sensing and seeing the younger Ghulnithair swimming below the surface. 

When he reached the edge of the largest pyroflux lake, the one with the massive pillars that held Preg and Igg's cavern, he could sense the pressure from within. There weren't any of the younger fire elementals anywhere there, and as he reached the black, sandy edge of the lake, he could sense Preg's focus on him.

'Guess we will have to swim down,' Ambraz grunted. 

Irwin didn't bother responding, took a deep breath, and jumped forward and into the depths of the immense pyroflux lake.

The temperature around him skyrocketed, moving to a point that even he felt warm, though not uncomfortably so. Arms spread, he slowly let himself sink to the bottom, Ambraz floating beside him.

'I can't wait to hear what those World Skills are about,' Ambraz said excitedly.

'Let's see if he is willing to share it first,' Irwin said. 'We were gone for far longer than we said we would.'

'Bah, it doesn't matter. He still has that Igg under control, and it's not like we did it on purpose. Besides, he was so sure of his time!'

Irwin rolled his eyes and didn't respond, merely waiting till they reached the lakebed. The light changed quickly, going from ambient and above to merely ambient, coating everything in a pale golden hue. As his feet slowly touched the ground, Irwin pushed himself forward, sailing through the water and toward the enormous hole in the wall ahead of him. Made entirely of smooth black rock, it was covered in thick red and orange layers of moss that seemed to attach to tiny cracks and holes. 

The hole led down a slope, then a tunnel, and Irwin dropped another few hundred feet before he reached a massive oval chamber. It was clearly created and not natural, and there were multiple smaller holes in the walls, while an enormous pool of Ancestral Copperion flowed at the bottom, the thicker liquid looking odd as it rippled within the thinner pyroflux. Two enormous black snakes lay in two of them, one curled up and seemingly comatose, while the other was partially unwound, its head raised out of the hole, six eyes staring at Irwin.

'You returned, youngling… I had almost given up hope.'

Preg's voice echoed around Irwin, a bit like how Ambraz's voice did. Not sure how he should reply, he felt a push against his soulscape, followed by another message.

'Just speak in your soulscape and let the words vibrate the soulforce. I will hear it.'

Irwin focused on his soulscape and tried what Preg said. It took him a few attempts when he suddenly heard his own voice, like an echo around him.

'Preg?'

'Good. I can hear you,' the ancient being said. 'You were gone a long time. Is there something wrong in the Portal Gallery?'

It took Irwin some effort to speak, but as he continued, it rapidly became smoother.

'The corridor is surrounded by Oculithar,' he said. 'And when I was excited, there were hundreds outside.'

A wave of annoyance and anger was quickly curbed, and Irwin saw Preg's head snap sideways, focusing on Igg. For a moment, the other ancient fire elemental's soulforce rippled, then it faded and returned to a quiet nothingness.

Irwin felt a shiver run through him at the immense power and pressure that had flooded the room a mere moment before. It was far more than he had, even in his biggest form. Preg didn't react, but slowly looked back at him.

'Did you sense any of the elder Oculithar?' the ancient being asked, a lingering anger echoing through his voice.

'When I moved into the Exit Portal from Scour, I felt one,' Irwin said.

'Then I understand why you were gone so long,' Preg said, sounding weary. 'The Soulforce here always was strong, but it has become far more unstable over the years. I fear they are lured to us, searching for any tiny rip or crack to force themselves in here.'

'That is what we thought too,' Irwin agreed.

'I wish I could stay and help, or fight, but I have no more time,' Preg said. 'I can't even leave this place anymore, not without waking Igg, and as much as it saddens me, my brother has far outstripped me in power in his current state. You need to help me with reopening a portal.'

'That's why I am here,' Irwin said, while a tiny bit of him worried what would happen if Igg woke before that. 

'Good,' Preg said, uncoiling further as he slowly swam out of his hollow. 'To reopen an unstable portal requires both immense soulforce and far more control than I have. This is why our home is here, near the Liquid Copperion.'

As he spoke, Preg floated down, then in the Ancient Copperion, dipping all the way down until only his head was still outside.

'What about the portal?' Irwin asked.

'Do you not sense it?' Preg asked, rising out of the Copperion, holding still a few feet above the Copperion, its eyes all focused on the empty pyroflux above it.

Irwin frowned, gently releasing his hold on his Soulforce Senses. The pressure that oozed from Igg made him shiver again, but at the same time, he quickly sensed something odd in front of Preg—a tiny fluctuation. He focused on it, and it took him only a few moments to sense what was there. 

'It's like an Exit Portal, but… different,' he whispered. 

'This was the Portal to our final world shard,' Preg said. 'Although I can't reopen it, I was able to keep it stable enough to not disappear completely.'

Irwin kicked off, swimming up with powerful motions, having a hard time getting his immense weight up, even with the buoyancy of the pyroflux. Preg's tail moved out of the Copperion and below Irwin's foot, who felt himself being pushed up until he stood before the tiny, unstable ripple.

It feels… sharp, Irwin thought, focusing his entire soulforce senses on the spot before him, prodding it softly. It was like putting his finger on a sharp blade or a piece of glass, and as he pushed harder, the pain intensified.

He faintly felt Preg's focus on him, but he ignored it as he stared, circling the spot, flowing his soulforce around it, and pushing from multiple angles.

'To open it, you need to find the resonance it used to have and strengthen it,' Preg said softly. 'Then, as it begins to open, you need to feel the change in resonance and allow it to grow without letting it shatter.'

Irwin nodded absently, humming softly as he sensed the overlap between reforging very difficult cards and the shattered remains of the portal. Unlike the Exit Portals, it lacked the powerful stability and instead felt like… like…

'It's like someone cut a hole into reality,' Irwin muttered.

Preg let out a weary sigh, but said nothing. Still, something about it caused Irwin to look up at the ancient fire elemental snake. Four of its eyes had closed, while two were looking at him.

'What exactly is the primordial chaos?' Irwin asked.

Preg remained quiet for a bit, then sighed. 'The primordial chaos is the place from which most soulforce comes. It has always been there, and likely will always be there. The Portal Gallery moves through it, though far from the true, deep parts of the chaos. It is a separate place from the material universe, where the worlds exist.'

'The real universe?' Irwin asked with a frown. 'What do you mean by that?'

'It is… hard to explain,' Preg said, with a weary sigh. 'Why don't you try to open it a few times. I'll make sure there's enough soulforce around.'

Irwin blinked, sensing that the ancient being wasn't interested in talking more about the subject. 

'Can you tell me more about it before you leave?' he asked.

'I will tell you about worldskills and the real universe before I leave… If you succeed," Preg said. 'They are connected after all.'

Irwin felt a wave of curiosity from Ambraz, matching his own, but he pushed it back.

'Alright. Is there anything else I should know?'

'No. All you need to do is match the original resonance, then let it flow into the place it has to go without letting it shatter,' Preg said.

Irwin nodded, focusing on the sharp remnants of the portal, wrapping it in soulforce. 

Let's see who this goes to, he thought.

--

Preg watched as the tiny youngling moved his soulforce with an ease and fluency that he couldn't do even if he wanted to. Part of it was because he had too much soulforce, making control at these tiny scales far more difficult. That said, he also knew he had never been this skilled at the control required to reopen a closed, chaotic portal.

He will succeed… and faster than I had expected, he thought, focusing most of his attention on keeping his brother deep asleep. He used some of the soulforce from the Ancestral Copperion pool, not worrying about how rapidly it was draining. Although each attempt at opening the portal took a large amount of soulforce, the pool had enough to attempt it many, many times, even if he syphoned off a part to keep his brother calm.

Although most of his attention was divided between those two things, he had enough left to ponder what to tell the youngling. His research over the last few years had shown he was right, and that telling him about worldcards should be fine, but the real universe?

 Perhaps it's best if this knowledge is lost, he pondered. All of the younglings now thought that the Portal Gallery and the realm the worlds remained in were the same, and they spread across both with great abandon. What if they realized the truth? Would they again start closing the exit portals? 

Even if they did, the changes in this Portal Web probably can't be undone, Pregg thought, thinking back to a time so long ago that barely anything from that time still existed. The Portal Gallery had been far smaller and unstable in those days, with only a few thousand worlds connected by corridors. Now? The last time he'd been outside, he hadn't even been able to sense the ends of the corridor web. For all he knew, it had spread so far that they rivaled some of the other Portal Realms. That would mean it should have enough structure and stability to remain as it was, no matter what happened.

Besides, from what I heard about those Guidar, it might be best if at least some of them know these things, Preg thought, wishing he didn't have to be the one to make these choices. 

Brother, why did it have to be you…

Preg felt a part of him float back through time, and he let it, trying to ignore the old memories. 

What felt like a few moments later, though he knew it was likely a few days, he felt a shocking amount of soulforce drain from the Ancestral Copperion. He quickly locked onto the opening portal, already sensing the chaotic soulforce from beyond filtering through.

'You succeeded,' he said, looking at the ragged, weary-looking youngling. 'I will need to move my brother through quickly, then follow before he starts running rampant.'

As he spoke, Preg moved to the side, put Irwin on the ground, and floated to where his brother began stirring. Behind him, a tear ripped into the center of his home, and Pyroflux began funneling in and through. He kept the portal small, reading the soulforce to rip it open if it showed any sign of destabilizing. 

Wrapping part of his tail around his brother, he pulled him out of his home.

'Pre… Preg? I sense… what do I sense?' Igg hissed, his eyes rolling around in their sockets as he began stretching.

'Home,' Preg said, moving him to the small hole. 

'Younling, Irwin… You asked about the true universe and many things,' Preg said, focusing two of his eyes on Irwin, triggering an ability he had never used. Splitting two tiny portions of his self from the main, ignoring the horrifying pain, he sent one to his descendant, feeling a wave of horror and sadness which he ignored. She could speak with what he left her for as long as it remained. The other part, he pushed against the youngling's soulscape barrier.

'Allow this part of me in, it will explain what you need to know,' Preg said, sensing the portal start to tremble. He pulled on the Ancestral Copperion, draining almost half of what remained in a single flush, causing the portal to ripple open. A wave of chaotic soulforce poured out, and for a moment, he felt a tremor run through himself as he recalled the last time he'd felt that- so many eons ago. Then he shoved it down.

'Go, brother,' he said, pushing Igg.

It wasn't needed, as Igg shot forward and into the chaotic portal, vanishing with a flood of pyroflux. Preg glanced at the youngling, who was holding onto an edge, his body stretched to the portal, pulled that way by the pyroflux. His tiny sliver was already inside his soulscape, already speaking with him.

Goodbye, Scour… I hope you survive what is to come, Preg said, before rushing towards the portal. As he touched it, he shoved the soulforce from the Ancestral Copperion away, making it flood to the depths, causing the portal to shrink and close within an instant.

--

Irwin growled as he held onto the ledge in the black rocky wall, finally feeling the pyroflux stop to flow behind him. His body sank down, and he shivered as he sensed the horrifyingly chaotic soulforce flow around him and away. 

A mere second later, calm returned to the enormous grotto.

Irwin pushed himself up, looking around, and trying to comprehend what had just happened. The enormous pool of Ancestral Copperion was almost drained, the sharp odd scratches that had been the remnants of the portal were rapidly fading, already less than they had been, and there was no sign of the two ancient fire elementals.

One thing, however, had changed.

-- Irwin's Soulscape --

"You have an incredibly vast soulscape already," Pregg, or a tiny sliver of him, said.

Irwin blinked, hovering above his soullake and watching the enormous black six-eyed snake hover before him. His soulforce was nearly drained from letting him inside, but he barely cared. 

"Preg?" he asked, not sure what he was looking at.

"Yes, and no, youngling," the enormous snake said, flying towards one of the lava lakes.

Irwin followed him, watching how the fire elemental lowered itself inside the lava before leaning its head on a large outcrop.

"Ahhh, your soulscape is great. I wish I could see what kind of world it will turn into. It will be nearly perfect for fire elementals like ourselves."

Irwin licked his lips, sitting down on a nearby rock. He could sense the being before him slowly fading away, like a song turning soft.

"Are you… dying?" he asked.

"I am not alive," Preg rumbled, almost happily. "I am a soulsliver, a part of what I was. Enough to answer the questions I promised, but not enough to exist on my own."

Irwin swallowed, wishing he could bring Ambraz inside, but knowing he didn't have the soulforce for it. He would just have to tell him later.

"I… what…" he tried to come up with the right question, but his mind was still shaken by the immense amounts of soulforce he'd felt moved about. That wasn't even speaking of the headache he still had from reopening the portal, which had been harder than creating the most difficult heartcard he had ever made.

"Ahh, to be young. Let me help you," Preg said, smiling with four eyes, while two remained closed. 

"A worldskill… a worldskill is the natural evolution of a completed soulscape. For beings like myself, with a soulskill, we grow and use our soulskill to create and form our soulscape. It is why I needed to tell you this here. Don't tell the young ones, or they will inadvertently use their soulskills differently, either consciously or subconsciously, to create the worldskill they desire. For you? You have three parts of your soulscape ready, a fourth in development, and if you continue like this, three left to go. As soon as you reach your sixth finished part, you will feel how your soulscape starts to change… to grow exponentially. You will likely gain new memories from your ancestral memories that tell you not to do so. But just in case… don't unless you wish to create an unfinished worldskill."

Irwin swallowed as he saw Preg look at him with absolute seriousness.

"Now, when you finish your final soulcard, you will no longer be able to prevent the change," Preg continued after a while. "Your soulskill and your soulscape will combine into your worldskill, and depending on how much soulforce you have gathered, you have a choice to make. If you have what you have now, or perhaps a little more, you will need to form your worldskill while on another. It will bind you to that world, and your soulscape will greatly change the world. Don't choose a world with life… You might wipe it all out."

Irwin's eyes widened as he felt his skin crawl.

"Now, if you manage to gain ten times more than you have now, you can remain in the Portal Gallery and form it there. If you do this, your worldskill will penetrate through to the Material Universe, which by some is called the true universe."

Pregg was quiet for a moment before continuing.

"If you do that, a new world will be formed around your worldskill, based completely on your soulscape. From all I know, this is the better option, though I have never seen it done. Now… there is something you must know." 

Preg's other two eyes opened, and all six stared straight at Irwin.

"Both options will mean your death unless you create a true clone of your soul and keep it out of your soulscape. If you don't, your mind and soul will be dispersed over the world."

Irwin swallowed and nodded. "I… I already have a truesoul," he muttered.

Preg's eyes shot open, and he leaned forward. "I sensed you were split, but I didn't know it was a true soul. That is good! Very good! Make sure to remember and keep one of your souls out of your soulscape when you form your worldcard."

"Will the part of me that remains here disappear?" Irwin asked.

"Yes," Preg said with a nod. "It is the price you pay for gaining this strength."

Irwin leaned back, thinking about what he'd just heard. It took him a while to shake himself out of it and realize he still had limited time left before Preg was gone.

"What happens when I get a worldskill?" he asked. "Do I lose my soulscape?"

"Your soulscape changes into a world, and you will be able to move things to and from it as you do with your soulscape now," Preg said. "Your worldskill will increase the power of all your abilities, and far more while on your world. On there, you will only have to fear beings with more soulforce than your world will have, things like Elder Oculithar, if they could reach it, or some similar things."

Irwin nodded slowly. That means if Ambraz becomes a worldanvil on there, I might be able to move him back out!

"Young one… You need to remember one very important thing," Preg said slowly, still highly serious. "The final step, moving to a worldskilled? A great many beings who reached that step die… Keeping your worldskill from remaining stable depends on a great many factors, but two are more important than the others. Your soulskill and soulscape need to be stable and coherent, and you require enough soulforce. The latter you already have, at least for one of the choices you have; the other one? Your soulskill- Soulcards, they are far more spread out than nearly any soulskill I have ever seen. If your aim is to become a worldskilled, you should not choose to spread your soulskill further. If you do, you will likely fail."

Irwin saw how the dark snake became slightly translucent, and he felt the foreign soulforce rapidly fade.

"One final warning," Preg said. "If you are not sure of yourself, stop after your fifth part."

Irwin felt the sliver of Preg start to dissipate even more, and he shook his head to clear it.

"The material universe, what is it?" he asked quickly.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Preg said. "It is the place where matter comes from. It's the source of the ground of the Portal Gallery, and the source of nearly all non-chaotic soulforce. Oh… and before I forget? It is likely the destination of those Guidar… though why? I cannot… say…“

Irwin watched as Preg vanished, the soulforce that he'd been made of dissipating into nothingness. He stared at the spot for over ten minutes, trying to make sense of everything. Then he shook himself, realizing Ambraz was talking to his otherself, which had been as out of it as this part of him.

"Right… Lets see how much Ambraz already knew from this," he muttered.