Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith-Chapter 294: Split shock

Irwin stood on the prow, staring at the distant corridor walls, finally angling off to give way to a larger area. They were approaching the part of the branch that housed Igniz and a few of the other, lesser worlds of the Ignitzions. The barriers had managed to hold out against the storm, and he was happy to see the relatively calm area they were approaching.

"It feels like ages since I was here," Hind said softly. "I can't wait to see my family. They will be so surprised to see that I'm not dead."

"I'm sure they will be very happy to see you," Irwin said. He was curious to see where Hind came from, a city deep below the surface of Igniz called Smelter.

He glanced at the howling storm beyond the barrier. Wary from the last, long stint through the storm, he was happy that Earila was now behind the helm.

"It's quiet," Hind said. "The previous time, a constant stream of merchant ships was here, going to and from the Igniz worlds."

Irwin nodded, not surprised by that. He'd seen the same when he was traveling across the Dimarintsia River, the constant streams of merchant ships pouring in and out of the corridors leading to the many worlds.

"I'm glad we will be out of the constant storm," Hind said as she looked at the side and scowled. "I think I'll be having nightmares about it for a few years- the constant droning."

"Have those a lot, do you?" Irwin said teasingly.

Hind rolled her eyes. "We really should check if you aren't actually a child of Uncle Lava!"

Irwin blinked as he suddenly recalled the time he'd pretended to be Orwin, the illegitimate child of Daubutim's uncle Ondrist.

"Unless he is able to have children with humans, I doubt it," he said absently.

He thought about the times he'd been traveling across Giard, which was gone, wondering what had happened to the people he'd met. He barely ever thought about them or of the family he must have had back there. Had any of them survived? His mother and brother hadn't told him about any, but he'd never asked either.

What a time to think of this, he thought, letting out a sigh. He could have asked when he was home, and he only thought about it when he was many months away.

"Sorry, captain. I didn't mean anything with it."

Irwin looked up to see Hind watch him worriedly.

"Don't worry," he said, shaking his head as he looked ahead. "I was just thinking about something that had happened."

He proceeded to tell her about his and Daubutim's stunt, and Hind listened with rapt attention.

"It must be horrible to see your world destroyed," she said with a sigh. "I know Fiz is gone, but that was so long ago that nobody from that generation is even alive."

"Igniz, isn't your original homeworld?" Irwin asked in surprise.

"No. That's just a rumor that spread long ago," Hind said with a shake of her head. "Our homeworld was in these regions, but it was only a rank one world. It was a world of fire and lava, with an atmosphere that was barely breathable and constant acidic rains. There are some old stories that say that our people only lived beneath the ground, barely ever heading up. Apparently, there were nearly unending corridors below that housed the life. When the planet began becoming unstable, portals appeared; nobody knew about it, and all the beings that came through died on the surface. Only when the world started ripping itself apart did my people find out there was something wrong."

Irwin was listening curiously, trying to imagine what it would be like to live in a world like that. He knew that rank-one worlds were worlds that barely ever had a nice climate, but Fiz sounded more like a broken-down worldshard than anything else.

"How did they manage to find the exit portal?" he asked.

"They didn't," Hind said with a shrug. "When things got really dangerous, portals to shardworlds began appearing in the caverns below the world. The elders began exploring them, and they found one with a portal leading to another world close to shattering. We were incredibly lucky that it was a farming world of the Ignitzians, and they didn't just wipe us out. Still, by the time we all arrived there, only a few thousand of us remained. Many were lost on Fiz or on the many shardworlds connected to it. There's a small chance some survived like us, but if they did, nobody ever heard about them," Hind said, grinning at Irwin. "I actually thought you were one when I first saw you. There are stories about that back home, heroes finding lost branches of our race and bringing them home, or finding that they have their own world and going there."

Irwin hummed thoughtfully.

If we find a lava-rich world, perhaps we can get the Igniz and Fiz'rin to create an enclave there, Irwin thought.

He continued asking a few questions about Hind's home until they reached the end of the corridor and entered the larger branch. It wasn't nearly as massive as the one around Eluathar, but it was still hard to see the distant corridors while the ceiling rose high above them. The temperature, which had been rising steadily for days, began climbing even more, showing they weren't too far from a world portal.

"Greldo is taking his time," Hind said. "Do you think he's gone all the way to Igniz to tell them we are coming?"

"I don't know," Irwin said. "The last bit took way longer than planned, and Igniz is still a bit over a week away."

"Well, we should reach Carva in a day," Hind said.

Irwin was about to respond when he saw something move through the ambient soulforce toward them. Although he wasn't always able to pick up when his friend came and went, if he moved through ambient soulforce, he was able to pinpoint the slight disturbance.

"Speak of the demon," he said, looking to the side as Greldo appeared.

"I've got news, and you aren't going to like it," his friend said as he walked to the prow.

"Are you ever going to show up to tell us everything is alright?" Irwin said, holding back a weary sigh.

"The harbor around Carva is destroyed, leveled to the ground, and the exit portal is gone: closed, I presume. There's wreckage everywhere, mostly Igniz ships," Greldo said.

Irwin's hair stood up as he saw Greldo glance at Hind. Zender and Dahlia moved toward them, looking at Greldo worriedly.

"What is it? Raiders or smith hunters?" Irwin asked.

"Neither, I think," Greldo responded slowly. "You remember that ship I saw out in the storm? Well, there are a few wrecks similar to that. I looked around, but I couldn't find any bodies."

"What about Igniz?" Hind asked, her burning pupils a sharp burning point.

"It's still there, but they have cordoned off the harbor city," Greldo said. "Half of the harbor is in ruins, and there are more of those ships on the ground below. There are also hundreds of ships filling up the harbor, some looking so old and banged up that I'm surprised they aren't crashing."

"So, the Igniz were attacked," Irwin said, thinking for a bit before turning to Greldo. "Did you manage to get any information?"

"I couldn't get anywhere close without being spotted," Greldo said with a shake of his head. "They have more shadowwalkers moving around the perimeter, and I didn't want to risk it."

"I hope this doesn't have to do with that war happening on the other side of the Portal Galery," Dahlia said.

Ambraz snorted. "Distance isn't something that can be easily overcome. You can only teleport that far, and even if you had only diamond-ranked soulcards focused on teleportation, you couldn't teleport across an entire main branch, let alone with ships."

"Whoever they were, the Ignitzians managed to beat them off," Greldo said. "I scouted around but couldn't find any more of them."

Irwin felt a sense of relief that was shattered as he thought of something.

"Did you check beyond the barrier?" he asked.

Greldo froze, then cursed under his breath. "No."

There was a moment of silence, and then Irwin looked into the distance. "Alright. Let's go and see if they will even let us into the harbor. Zender, check the sail. Dahlia, increase the ambient soulforce. Greldo, keep an eye on our surroundings. If those ships were here, some might still be lurking around."

Zender and Dahlia nodded as they ran off while Greldo stayed put.

"Already on it," Greldo said as he put his hands on the railing. "Coal has put a few of his shadow clones on different spots around us."

"Good," Irwin said as he moved to stand beside his friend. He absently noticed Hind walking away.

Neither spoke for a while as they flew further into the spacious corridor, the narrow dead-end corridor they came from disappearing behind them.

"Are you worried about Scintilla?" Greldo said after a while.

Irwin, who had been pondering about the mysterious attackers, sighed. "I haven't seen her in years… anything could have happened already. I can't let myself be worried by this now."

"Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean you aren't," Greldo said softly.

"Scintilla is strong, and with her flame dash, she should be able to stay out of harm's way," Irwin said, though he wondered if that would help her much in ship combat.

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"So you are worried," Greldo said before seemingly hesitating. "What about… your children," he finally said awkwardly.

Irwin didn't respond, staring into the distance, wondering that himself. As they closed in, the reality that he might meet them became more obvious, and he couldn't keep shoving it away. He wanted to see them, but would they still be in the lava streams? Could he even see them? What would they even look like? Could they talk and think? What would they think of him… he'd not gone and searched for them yet.

What do I say to Scintilla…

The final thought was the one that had been constantly going through his mind when he wasn't keeping himself busy. Although it was long ago, he still remembered their time together. She had said she would not become pregnant -was it even called that for them?- without talking about it with him, but she had done so anyway, mingling their heat to create new Ignitzians. He'd talked about all of this many times with Greldo, his mother, and his brother, going through feeling betrayed, annoyed, weary, and reluctantly happy to see her again. But that had been years ago.

Now, he was just… worried. He still felt a desire to see her, but at the same time, it was tempered by what had happened and all he had seen and done since then.

Irwin thought about the final conversation he'd had about it with his mother.

"What is done is done. Either forgive her or break it off."

Yeah, he thought with a weary sigh. Perhaps that would be for the best. It wasn't as if he had time to stay here and be with her. He wondered why things like card smithing and even fighting were so much easier than these things.

"You okay?"

Irwin looked at his friend, who was watching him quietly. He'd gotten lost in thought.

"Just wondering what to say to Scintilla when I see her," Irwin said honestly.

Greldo nodded, leaning on the railing. "Just tell her the truth. That you are pissed off by what she did."

Irwin grinned. "I was going to do that for sure."

"Then what else matters?" Greldo said. "She will probably apologize as she did in the letter. Just see how you feel at that point."

"Easy for you to say," Irwin muttered.

Greldo raised an eyebrow, then turned his gaze off in the distance.

"Did I ever tell you why I don't want a real- A long relationship?"

Irwin didn't answer. He had a good idea why, but Greldo hadn't talked about it a lot.

"Back home, Mom lived her life, going from abusive partner to abusive partner," Greldo said softly. "Both back on Giard and all over the Portal Gallery, I saw orphans. Kids whose parents died either in portals, from pirates and raiders, or during wars. All left alone to fend for themselves because those who should care for them are dead. I don't think I want to add to that. Perhaps if I ever decide to stay on Eluathar… meet the right person… Never say never and all that. But right now?"

Greldo's eyes turned hard, his fingers clenching around the reinforced railing, which still squeaked in protest.

"I only ever want to do that when I am strong. Strong enough to protect who I love from anyone and anything. Know that nothing can kill me and take me from them or them from me."

Irwin gazed at his friend, surprised by the vehemence behind his words. They had spoken about many things, but this was the first time his friend had mentioned this. Not that he'd not known… It had been clear from his actions. As their eyes locked, Greldo snickered.

"But… that's unlikely to happen any time soon. So, I have some fun and keep it to that. Not that you shouldn't do what you think is right, but that's why I'd say don't bother with it too much. It's just that seeing what you are going through just makes me more sure."

Irwin waited for a bit, but Greldo didn't continue, just staring off into the distance.

"Guess we will see," Irwin muttered as he got lost in his thoughts.

--

Another day passed, and they didn't encounter another ship. They reached the ruins of Carva, and Irwin was horrified to discover that it showed no more signs of a portal. Not even the opening that must have been there remained. After investigating it for a short while, they continued on.

Three days later, they were slowly flying toward the distant spec that was Igniz's harbor. Earila was behind the helm, and everyone else stood on deck, ready for anything. The ambient soulforce was a sparkling cloud within the barrier of their ship, Nim'ron ready to crank it up as high as he could if the Ignitzions became a bit too jumpy.

"They have spotted us, and a trio of ships are moving to intercept," Greldo said.

"Alright. Everyone, be ready, but look nice," Irwin said, glancing at Greldo when he said that.

"I always look nice!" his friend said.

"Brat, nobody can glare like you can," Ambraz said.

Irwin grinned at that, especially as he saw Ambraz's scowl.

“Fast for Portalguardian ships,” Zender said. "And a bit smaller."

"Big enough," Irwin said, watching the massive ships approach them.

The largest type of ships, besides the massive freighters some of the merchants used, would be unable to navigate anything but the largest branches and corridors. Runes covered sections of their hull, and he knew carded would be behind those spots, ready to fire at any enemy ship while being protected by the barrier and the reinforced hull.

He had seen similar ships many times, but as they closed in, looming over The Concerto, he still felt impressed. Within moments, they were blocked in, one left and above, another right and below, while the latter stood straight in front of them. Hundreds of soldiers were staring down or toward them.

"Step away from the helm and be ready to be boarded!"

The deafening shout came from a tall, fiery-haired Ignitzion who stood on the ship blocking them.

Irwin waved at Earila. "Do as she said."

He only said so for the people on the other ships, as they had discussed this before.

"Drop your barrier!"

Irwin stared at the woman and raised an eyebrow. They had expected a lot of things, but dropping a barrier was a dangerous thing for a ship to do- especially when a storm was raging. It might not be as bad as beyond the branch's barrier, but the howling wind and swirling clouds of chaotic soulforce could still cause The Concerto a great deal of damage.

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"That's not a normal request," Nim'ron said softly. "They must be very wary."

Why? We are just one ship, Irwin thought. Dropping their barrier wasn't something he wanted to entertain.

He took a step forward, using his soulcard to make his voice loud enough to rival hers.

"I'd rather have a chat before we do that. You seem rather agitated, and I'm not interested in being locked away for no reason," he shouted. "We are not here to harm anyone."

A ripple ran through the crew, and within moments Irwin felt a swell of soulforce as a few hundred soldiers began readying their cards. Commanding voices rang out as they seemed to get ready for a combined assault.

"Do as we say, or we will blow you apart," the lead Ignitzian shouted, glaring at him.

Well, great, Irwin thought. If they had to, they could try and make a run for it. They were faster than these ships, but that would require Nim'ron to keep the barrier up amidst their full barrage. He didn't feel like trying that unless he had exhausted every option, though he was sure of their chances. If he started reforging, he didn't believe they could pierce a Nim'ron's empowered barrier if even the Oculithar couldn't. That all said, they hadn't come here to fight or run away.

"I am looking for Scintilla, Ignalia, Hotzli, or Lasvirish," Irwin shouted back. "I'm here to see my children!"

He'd not planned to use this so soon, but he didn't see any other chance.

A hush came across the ships, and their leader frowned at him.

"Who are you?" she finally asked, a bit louder this time.

Shouldn't you have started with that? Irwin thought.

"Irwin," he shouted back. "I was with Scintilla and the others on-"

"Scour! Now I remember you!" a softer shout came from one of the other ships.

Irwin saw another Ignitzion step forward from between the other warriors, and he faintly recognized her. She was one of the soldiers who had been with Lasvirish, and as he saw her, he felt a wave of relief.

There was a commotion as the leader of the main ship called someone over, and Irwin couldn't hear anything of what they were saying. He glanced at Greldo.

"She's telling her to teleport the one that just spoke to her," Greldo said, his ears twitching.

He quickly proved to be right as the Ignitzion vanished. Irwin quickly turned to the second ship and saw her appear there. A moment later, she grabbed the familiar-looking woman and brought her back to the lead ship, where a rapid conversation ensued.

"She's telling them about how she met us, what we did on Scour, and…" Greldo trailed, and his face turned slightly pale.

Irwin frowned. "What?"

Greldo just shook his head, focusing on the two talking women. The conversation lasted for only a minute or two before the lead women turned back to them.

"Alright! Follow us to the dock!"

"Earila, you heard her," Irwin shouted before turning to Greldo. "What is wrong?"

Greldo opened his mouth, then closed it as he looked at the ground. Irwin was getting a very bad suspicion, but before he could ask again, Greldo looked up at him.

"I am sorry, Irwin… they were saying that Scintilla had died during something that happened during the attack," Greldo said softly.

Irwin felt something in him shift slightly, and instinctively, he offloaded it all to his second self, hidden in his soulscape. Immediately, he felt his other self sink to the ground as a wave of shock ran through it. Oddly, as that other part of him was taking the burden, staring at its hands in stunned silence, the other part of him was able just to take a deep breath and nod. He knew he'd have to deal with this soon, likely within hours. But for now, he needed his calm.

"Did they sound sure?" he asked.

Greldo stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "Hard to say. I guess we will find out soon. They called for someone called the Blademistress to meet us."

"You okay, kid?" Ambraz whispered softly. "Try and… I don't know… breathe?"

Irwin nodded but said nothing as they flew after the ships leading them to the harbor. He felt his other self think about the moments he and Scintilla had together, feeling immense sadness.

I've taken both portions of calm and left that self with the full sadness, he thought.

As he was both and knew all the thoughts running through his two minds, the other self was the one to deal with it now. It was already lowering the shock he was feeling, and he knew that when he had the moment to undo what he'd just done, it would be easier.

Trying to ignore the question of whether that was actually a good thing, he waited as they were guided to a harbor that was obviously meant for the massive Portalguardian ships.

"Everyone stay here," he said before turning to his friend. "Ready?"

Greldo nodded, placing his hand on Irwin's shoulder. The world turned dark, and Irwin felt himself be yanked through the shadows, across the deck, the small divide of the pier, and onto the pier itself before the sounds returned to their normal crispness. A slender, older Ignitzion with long hair tied in a ponytail stood before them. Part of her hair was dull and flameless, and her skin seemed less vibrant than that of those behind her. Still, the burning sharpness of her eyes almost made Irwin take a step back. She had a sword on her hip, a hand resting on its pommel. The resonance coming from her cards showed she had multiple soulcards, though Irwin couldn't say how many.

"So… you are Irwin," she said as she walked forward. "I can see why my daughter liked you."

Irwin stared at her, slowly letting those words sink in before answering.

"You are Scintilla's mother?" he asked, trying to see the similarities but finding no more than all Ignitzions had.

"Yes," she said, staring at him quietly, her eyes seeming to drill through him, searching for something.

After a few moments, she looked back at the dozens of soldiers.

"You can leave. He is my daughter's heatsource. I'll take full responsibility."

Heatsource? Irwin thought, slowly feeling his other self overcome the grief and shock in favor of curiosity.

"I am Blademistress Tiscian, but you may call me Tiscian," the woman. "Do you have a quiet place on your ship where we can talk?"

"Yes," Irwin said.

"Then lead on," Tiscian said as she slowly hovered up.