The Weirkey Chronicles: Chapters 21-23 (Patreon)

The RoyalRoad version of this story continues to skate along, though frustratingly it's stayed just below the front page on many days. I'm surprised to see that the average rating is still fairly high, but today the chapter where Theo's first blueprint fails will go up. As you guys advised, I'm going to post double chapters today, but we'll see if that has any effect.

Meanwhile, this trio of chapters is Theo's first chance to really flex his new powers! My design goal going in was to have Theo's wins not be based on physical strength or bigger fireballs, but instead show the potential of creative application of his abilities.

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Chapter 21

Not only did they have a week to prepare for their second match, they also knew exactly who their opponent would be: Famaj's team. The Farmguard was quite cheerful about it, expressing anticipation for the match without any hint of rivalry, but Theo still felt a flicker of annoyance. He decided to leave the reconnaissance to Nauda and focused on his soulcrafting.

Unfortunately, no prizes were awarded for the first round, he'd exhausted his money, and no one was handing out useful sublime materials. He'd acquired as much ore from the mine and fruit from the orchards as they would hand out, just in case, but hadn't come up with anything yet.

At the moment, he was staring at the bogstone while idly hammering apart a piece of stone. He hoped that inspiration would strike him, but while it didn't, he at least wanted to accomplish something. Using some of the more ordinary sublime ore from the mine, he'd begun soulcrafting one of his empty chambers. He'd borrowed Fiyu's spirit lantern and was using it to melt down and reshape the stone into a specific pattern.

What he'd crafted was a representation of the time-space continuum, with objects of great mass distorting it, except instead of a planet he'd created a replica of his soulhome. It was a slightly dubious exercise, but he'd poured everything he knew about gravity into the construction of it. In theory, it would allow him his first technique once his heart chamber began working, not that it seemed likely to.

Once that was finished, he'd begun adding trim and more elaborate door frames, just to add some polish to the path between the room and the central chamber. He'd etched gravitational symbols on them, but didn't delude himself into thinking that would make a huge difference. Having a more polished room might strengthen his technique slightly. At best. Presuming he got any of it working.

With a growl of frustration, Theo took a massive swing at the rock. It cracked in half and several pieces went flying across the room, breaking against the glossy black walls.

Except some of the fragments slid directly into the bogstone, sinking into it rapidly and leaving only ripples. Those ripples grew and distorted one another until the stone began to lift into the air, its surface bubbling strangely...

And then it dropped back to the ground. The reaction was over, nothing fundamentally changed, and the bogstone was just a little more dense than before.

Yet as he bent down to examine it, Theo realized that he finally had his answer. He needed to transform the bogstone from a simple material representing a bog to a core representing a significant source of mass. What better way than to have it absorb other sublime materials? It was a bit of a mental stretch, but an influx of new cantae from other materials would help smooth over the process.

Theo sat down and took several deep breaths, trying to figure out if there were many major flaws in his plan. It was no blueprint considered for decades, but he thought that it would work. At worst, he didn't think that the bogstone could explode. He couldn't afford not to take the chance.

He started with the useless fragments of stone he had left over, but their reactions were similarly short-lived. A bit of experimentation led him to discover that if he spun the sphere, the ripples stabilized and it stayed in the air longer. But even though it was growing denser and denser, it didn't seem to be getting closer to a fundamental transformation. There had to be something, more of a reaction...

His gaze fell on the slate of magnigem. It was by far the densest sublime material he owned, stubbornly resisting cantae and other effects. Though he'd planned to use it as a pedestal for some future ability, it might also be just the right material for a transformation. After a bit more thought, Theo picked it up and dropped it onto the bogstone.

This time it wasn't absorbed easily, the two sublime materials reacting violently with one another and sending cantae in all directions. But the blackened walls resisted it, and he hadn't rebuilt the roof, so he only needed to endure the blast.

Lifting his new combined core into the air, Theo began squeezing it with his bare hands, throwing all his willpower against it. As he spun it, he reminded himself of who he was. A bitter old man who had been a fool as a child, spent miserable years seeking that lost youth, and had nearly lost his second chance pursing that dream. His sun had collapsed, leaving nothing but a black hole that consumed everything...

When he opened his eyes, the sublime materials had surrendered to his will. A dark sphere the size of his head hovered in the air in the center of his soulhome, force cascading from it. Theo quickly spun it, forcing it to balance. This time the process seemed to ignite a reaction and it continued to spin... but also start to drift toward the ground.

Theo knew he was close, but it wasn't quite self-sustaining: it needed more mass. He experimentally threw all the remaining stone into the core and saw it vanish without a trace, increasing its mass a little further. Laughing as he realized that it would work, he rushed through his soulhome, grabbing up every sublime material without a critical purpose and hurling it into the core. Though he hesitated for a moment before adding the demonic materials, they were absorbed all the same. The nature of the materials didn't matter, they were all just mass to him.

At last, when he had thrown away everything else, a black core of power rotated in the center of his soulhome. It was as dense as all the sublime materials combined, though of course it wasn't really a singularity. No amount of willpower could bridge a gap like that.

Still, it had been a success. Cantae rushed from the core, some of it lost into the sky, but most of it flowing through his outer chambers just as he'd planned. Though he didn't like how it hung unsupported, it seemed to be locked into place by the blackened walls around him. Those had been his frame of reference, after all, and they had been created by the implosion of a metaphorical sun. The heart of his soulhome now felt stable.

When he walked to the only chamber that he'd soulcrafted, he discovered that it was drinking up the raw cantae, just as he'd hoped. Now that he'd soulcrafted more than walls, he could do better than just reinforcing his body with cantae. Instead, he should be able to manifest it in an actual ability...

Returning to the real world, Theo tried his first experiment on a cup in his room, and found himself laughing again. Finally, it had worked.

Of course, he quickly discovered all the limitations of his new skill. He suspected that it would be possible for him to create new sources of "spiritual mass" and use gravity in extremely creative ways, but that required far more power than he had, or that he would ever possess as a first tier soulcrafter. So the only options available to him were to manipulate gravitational fields related to existing sources of mass, and only the world itself was massive enough to matter.

That would be enough, or so he hoped. He also discovered that he was limited to only a single gravitational effect at once, no matter how he tried to practice. However, he suspected that the limitation could be overcome with significant soulcrafting, which would be ongoing work for years. As much as he'd accomplished that day, it was just finding the path he intended to walk.

The process had taken him four of the six days they had before the next match, so Theo used his remaining time to stress test his core and single technique chamber. In between those sessions, he finally let himself consider their opponents again, as he could actually play a significant role on their team now.

Fortunately, he hadn't missed all of the interesting matches. He was able to attend one of Navim's fights, which the Mundhin won by virtue of being nearly impossible to push out of the ring. One of the last matches before the next round involved Famaj's team, and he was surprised to note that Famaj was near Archcrafter, his soulhome straining against the sky. If he obtained the right sublime materials from the contest, he could probably ascend.

Not that it would matter, if Theo played his cards right.

Only one observation ruined his good mood: he saw Kuber talking to Magnafor, and when he asked about it later, Kuber wouldn't explain anything about their conversation. But judging from how much soulcrafting he was doing, Magnafor must have given him a suggestion. Theo still couldn't think of any way Kuber could reach Archcrafter quickly to use his armament, but it was possible that Magnafor was more experienced when it came to that.

The day before the match, Theo sat in his room as usual, focusing on his preparations. He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice someone outside his soulhome until he heard a soft cough and saw that Fiyu and Nauda were standing by his door.

"You have accomplished something, yes?" Fiyu cocked her head at him curiously, trying to peer into his soulhome. "Must it be a secret? Will you tell us?"

"Sorry, I've just been distracted." Theo realized that it was senseless to keep shutting them out, he just wasn't used to being open with anyone. He got to his feet and brushed off his hands, even though he'd only been working spiritually. "Yeah, you should know about what I can do now. Actually, you can help me test. It would be embarrassing if I find out it doesn't work on a resisting soulcrafter."

Nauda raised her eyebrows. "You seem very confident."

Theo grinned. "Want to help me find out if it's justified?"

-

Chapter 22

When the day came, he was ready. Not a genius or a god, but his soulhome was finally more than a shell. After one final training session, he walked with Fiyu and Nauda to their preparation area. No one else had arrived, but they'd be coming soon, as it wasn't long until the match.

"What's our strategy for Famaj's team?" Theo asked. "I assume you've finished all your scouting?"

"He has nine members, just like we do." Nauda began ticking off her fingers. "Famaj himself is a straightforward Farmguard, but with significant cantae. His first pick was a man named Josiku, who is probably the physically strongest on their side. There's a Deuxan woman who I haven't been able to learn much about, but her soulhome is very well-crafted. Beyond them, there are three Tatians and a Fithan of moderate strength, which leaves just two weak soulcrafters."

"You sound more than ready." There was no need to go over their own side aloud, but he considered them briefly. He was confident in the three of them, but beyond that, their team wasn't strong. Maybe Kuber if Magnafor had found some magical way to let him ascend immediately.

"We should be." Nauda cast a smile at both of them. "Our capacity to react is excellent, especially given your new heart chamber. I mostly worry about every time we need to put forward a team member... I think I'll try to take that role first and spare the others who aren't as prepared."

Theo thought that protecting the weaker members of the team was probably a waste of her energy, but the fights would still be useful for her. As time passed, however, those lesser members failed to appear. It went from being irritating to concerning, and eventually Fiyu began casting glances toward the arena.

"We might be late... do you think they went to the arena instead?"

"Let's see." Nauda grimly took them in that direction, and as Theo followed he became certain that something was wrong.

When they arrived, they discovered that Famaj and his team were waiting, and the audience had mostly assembled, but their alcove sat empty. Nauda immediately left to track them down in their rooms, while Theo went to talk to Nanjuma. Though he stood in the center with a bland smile on his face, when Theo got close, he saw the concern in the old man's eyes.

"Our team didn't show at our meeting point," Theo said. "Do you know what might be wrong?"

"I can tell you that there have been few demon attacks recently, and no violence in Myufuru." Nanjuma's eyes briefly went unfocused as if he was looking through the ground itself. "We have the right number of soulcrafters within Landguard Village, but I cannot tell you about their condition."

"What happens if they don't arrive?"

"It would depend on the reason... but I suppose your family would be forced to fight with a limited group."

That was what he had been afraid of, and further fears were soon confirmed when Nauda returned. She only brought Kuber with her, and the Tatian man leaned heavily on her shoulder. When they finally stopped, he slumped onto a bench and looked as though he desperately wanted to vomit.

"A few of us... relaxed last night..." He coughed for a moment and accepted a drink of water from one of the Tatian healers. "This morning... I don't think I've ever been this sick..."

"All the rest are even worse," Nauda said. "I helped them to the healers, and I don't think there's any threat to their lives, but I hope someone will check."

Nanjuma touched Kuber's forehead briefly, then shook his head. "His body is struggling to repel something of ill intent. There is a rare event in which food can become sickening. Perhaps your team unfortunately ate the poisoned food."

Most seemed to accept that explanation, which was patently absurd. Since Nauda was too busy helping Kuber to the healers, Theo looked to Fiyu instead, and she simply nodded. Her focus shifted toward the other team, which was probably the right level of suspicion.

Famaj looked deeply concerned, and most of his team was confused. But the Deuxan woman sitting in the back had a smug smile on her face and didn't flinch from eye contact. In many Deuxan courts, poison was a way of life and a common means of promotion. The chance that she had mildly poisoned their team was high, but could he prove it? Probably not in any court, much less a Tatian circle.

"Are they just drunk?" one of the instructors asked. A few laughed and the Deuxan woman spoke up.

"Will we be robbed of our match simply because the other team made poor decisions?"

Her question prompted immediate disagreement, some arguing and many in the stands simply unable to avoid giving their opinions. It grew louder and more chaotic until Nanjuma coughed, the sound amplified so much that it crushed all others. The old man raised his hands for order, then spoke quietly.

"We will examine this matter to determine if any of our food has been tainted, of course. I think whether or not today's match continues should be determined by the two families involved."

Famaj stood up and stepped to the side of the ring. "There is no joy in competing against sickened opponents. We will continue only if the other family is willing to agree."

That pronouncement prompted a grimace in the Deuxan woman, which removed any remaining doubt in Theo's mind. She couldn't object without drawing undue attention, however, so the question turned toward them. Theo wondered if she could really get away with poisoning, in a world as naive as Tatian, but the others clearly wanted his attention.

They formed a tight circle, for a time just glancing at one another, then Fiyu spoke quietly. "Many of their team members have cantae barriers. I think I could overcome any one individually, but I will soon exhaust myself."

"I think that's the wrong question," Theo said. "What we need to be asking is whether the experience is worth it. I'd personally rather get as many fights as possible, but it's true that we'll probably win fewer and reveal more of our abilities. But do we really need to be concerned with our exact win rate?"

Nauda took a deep breath, nearly spoke, then something shifted and her words came out flatter than he expected. "I would like to win this competition, but we also need to prove ourselves to everyone watching. Famaj and his family will have Tatian support after this is over. We need to earn it."

"Then you think we shouldn't fight?" There was clearly more that she hadn't said, but he decided not to press her on it. After a long pause, Nauda shook her head.

"We can try, if you're both willing. But we can't use our normal strategy."

"I should go first," Fiyu said. "If I have enough time to rest, I can recover most of my cantae. I might be able to make it through three fights, depending on my opponents."

"Then I suppose that's our choice." Nauda straightened her back and tapped her staff against the ground. When she turned back to Nanjuma, she looked completely confident. "We fight!"

The crowds cheered appreciatively, less in bloodlust than in admiration of her determination. Famaj looked at them for a time, and glanced back toward his own team thoughtfully, but eventually nodded and returned to his side. Nanjuma retreated to the stands and handed the ceremonial bell to one of the judges, who rang it immediately.

For the first round, Famaj sent out one of their Farmguards: the woman had an unremarkable soulhome, but she was reasonably strong. Normally Theo would have been happy to eliminate her, but he could only fight three times, so it was probably better to stick with Fiyu's strategy of going first.

Once Fiyu stepped into the ring, it wasn't really a fight. The Farmguard kept trying to close the distance between them, but she wasn't nearly as fast as Mogi, so she always collided with the scattering bolts. Even with Fiyu trying to conserve herself, her opponent was soon knocked from the arena and they took the first match.

That done, Fiyu returned to their area, sat down with her knees under her, folded her hands in her lap, and lowered her hood over her eyes. She had the right idea: there was no question that they'd win multiple matches, but if they ended up exhausting themselves, they'd forfeit all the rest.

"Should I go?" Theo asked, but even as he spoke, Nauda was already rising.

"No, I'll try. Even if they don't know about your abilities, they might send out one of their best to try to eliminate you right away."

Theo thought that he might be able to take their best, but it wasn't worth the argument. Nauda stepped out into the ring, set her staff firmly in front of her, and waited. Unfortunately, she didn't have to wait long before one of the Farmguards leapt to his feet. Judging from the man's expression, they again had a plan to counter her.

As soon as the bell rang, Nauda thrust her staff forward... and her opponent raised a fist in front of his face. Both of them froze in place, power clearly flooding between them. The man's sleeve began to tear away, ripped by the invisible force, revealing an ornate bracer carved of a bright wood. Whatever it was, it was obviously an armament.

They remained locked there for several heartbeats, then suddenly Nauda let out a cry and wrenched her staff away, dropping to one knee. Even though she had been the one attacking, her opponent looked unharmed. He smiled and began advancing, bracer still held in front of him.

When he drew close and pulled back a leg to kick her, Nauda struck. This time she swept her staff low, the force nearly sweeping him off his feet. She lunged in with a thrust and he put the bracer in the way, but this time she didn't attempt to use any force, she just struck him in the face with the head of her staff. He staggered back and Nauda thrust the butt of her spear toward his bracer, but he somehow managed to leap away.

The two began slowly circling, weapons ready. Theo glanced to Fiyu, who looked concerned but confused, so he could only speculate. Whatever the bracer was, it must have absorbed or short-circuited the technique Nauda used to bind opponents in place. He realized that though her staff was likely extremely effective in many places, here on Tatian it was a known quantity with established counters.

Not making the same mistake twice, Nauda fought cautiously, and since her opponent was also willing to wait, the match dragged on. They stayed at a distance, Nauda occasionally making an attempt to bind a limb, while he only occasionally threatened. Yet given how Nauda was sweating, it didn't seem like she could last for much longer.

Except... he noticed that many of her interrupted movements led to the end of her staff tracing patterns on the ground in front of her. It was subtle, but she was laying down cantae in a way that he hadn't seen before. Though he couldn't see well enough into her soulhome, he had a strong feeling that this was the fourth room that she had kept locked.

Eventually Nauda let out a growl and thrust her staff forward, again trying to bind her opponent. He blocked once more, this time only briefly before Nauda sagged down to her knees, barely holding herself up with her staff.

Her opponent charged... and the instant he reached the line of cantae she'd been drawing, he was sent tumbling backward. The cantae burst was surprisingly bright, a wall of force exploding solely outward. When it faded, Nauda was back on her feet and her opponent lay unconscious outside the ring.

As she walked back to their side, Theo smiled at her. "Nicely done. Luring him into the trap was a good move."

"It wasn't entirely a lure." She remained controlled until she sat, then he saw her posture sag. "I didn't think they would have such a powerful armament - one of them must have borrowed it from family. That took more out of me than I expected, and I had to reveal my last trick."

"Not necessarily - to most watching, it might just have looked like you created a cantae shockwave. Or is that trapping technique well-known?"

"No. Not here." Nauda refused to give any more information, simply watching the arena with her Tatian smile fixed on her face defensively.

They'd won two matches, just not as well as he might have hoped. Fiyu was only slightly drained, but Nauda had been seriously weakened. It seemed that the other team knew it, sending out one of their weakest members to continue draining their cantae.

However, they hadn't planned for Theo. He stood up and stretched, walking to the arena at a relaxed pace. Even though his technique would be clear enough, he didn't think they'd be able to come up with a counter to it quickly, at least not other than the obvious counters he was prepared for.

When the bell rang, his opponent gathered all his cantae to prepare for a charge... and Theo simply extended a hand and created a gravitational field.

Instantly the Tatian man was struck by double normal gravity, and though he struggled to remain on his feet, burning through cantae rapidly, he wasn't prepared for it. In a matter of seconds, he dropped to one knee, then collapsed entirely. Theo withdrew his hand, smiled at the judges, and returned to his side.

For a little while there was silence in the audience as the healers came out in alarm, but his opponent was just exhausted, not seriously injured. The other side hesitated as well, which was even better, since it gave his teammates time to recover. He had considered prolonging the match himself, except that he hadn't yet soulcrafted enough to generate anything other than a field equal to the world's gravity.

From across the arena, Famaj gave him a nod of respect, though Theo didn't really want it. Not when he'd chosen the muscle-bound Josiku over him. Josiku actually stepped up next, flexing as he stepped into the arena. 

"Looks like you came up with something strong. You think it'll be enough against me?"

Once, Theo might have risen to the challenge, but instead he just glanced at his allies. Nauda squinted toward their opponent, then shook her head. "If I could resist your field some," she whispered, "it wouldn't stop him enough. He's extremely strong physically, but he's slow and he doesn't have any ranged techniques. Fiyu?"

"Yes, I can." Fiyu unfolded herself and went out to fight him, which seemed to annoy Josiku.

Unfortunately for him, the muscular Farmguard had met his match. Fiyu simply kept her distance and rained concentrated bursts of light down upon him. Decently strong cantae flowed through his body, but it was clearly draining with each impact. He shouted at her to stand and fight him, but Fiyu dodged away from his clumsy attacks and continued wearing him down from a distance.

Eventually he collapsed, and the loss clearly hit Famaj's team hard. Fiyu had no expression on her face, but as she walked back, she swayed a little. Even if she had avoided injury, she'd clearly emptied most of her soulhome in the fight. They needed to buy her as much time as possible before she had to fight again.

He and Nauda glanced at each other, since one of them had to be the sacrificial lamb. Theo started to get to his feet, but to his surprise, Nauda pulled him back down and stepped forward. There was a burning determination in her eyes that he didn't quite understand, but he chose to stand down and let her go.

Soon enough, one of Famaj's Fithan competitors stepped out... and he was wearing the previous Farmguard's bracer, not to mention a smirk that was practically an act of war on Tatian. Nauda gritted her teeth and waited.

The same moment the bell rang, she leapt forward, her staff whirling around her. Not using her ability, simply using it as a quarterstaff. Theo realized in surprise that she was actually pretty good, clearly trained in hand to hand combat and capable of reinforcing herself with cantae.

Unfortunately, her opponent wasn't relying solely on the armguard. He drew a sword and ably fended off her attacks. Combined with the bracer, he wove a skilled defense, especially since he was still fresh. Nauda eventually saw her chance and struck at the bracer with the end of her staff, but his sword batted it aside and then reversed, slashing across her chest.

The crowds gasped as Nauda staggered backward, but she wasn't bleeding. Theo hadn't been able to see well, but he thought that she'd managed to surge her cantae to defend against the cut. Wasteful, but better than a potentially disabling blow. Unfortunately, the effort left her on her hands and knees, gasping for breath.

Her opponent was too cautious to rush in, even though she hadn't apparently set up any traps, and instead began circling around her. Nauda remained on her hands and knees as he moved, then without warning lunged up, thrusting her staff in his direction.

Taken off guard, the Fithan only barely moved the bracer in the way in time. But it clearly did its work and Nauda gave a low groan, sagging as if her staff was the only thing keeping her upright. Her opponent smirked and remained in place, letting her exhaust herself against the bracer.

Nauda cried out and twisted her staff. The resulting crack rang over the arena and the bracer shattered into several fragments that clattered to the ground in the silence.

Her opponent staggered back in surprise... but Nauda's staff slipped from her fingers. It clattered to the ground and she followed a moment later, unconscious before her face hit the arena.

-

Chapter 23

Everyone stared at the arena, where Nauda lay with her staff still rattling to a stop beside her. Since the Fithan was still on his feet, they had clearly won the match, yet it didn't feel like a victory based on the reaction. The first Farmguard to use the bracer leapt up into the ring, even as healers came to attend Nauda.

"She can't do that!" He tried to scoop up pieces of the armament, but it had clearly been broken beyond repair. "This... this has been in my family for generations..."

Nanjuma stepped in front of him, gently pushing him back to his side. "You chose to bring your armament to this match and base your strategy around it. Having done that, you cannot refuse the crops you have sown. Sit back down."

It was nice to get some support from the authorities for once, but Theo realized that their situation had worsened. Assuming that Nauda wouldn't be able to fight her third round, they would definitely forfeit one match. That might be the best case scenario, if he and Fiyu couldn't continue their streak. When he glanced at her, she shook her head sadly, still recovering. So it was up to him.

He let it drag out by checking on Nauda, since the Tatians could never object to him being concerned for his "family member". But once it was thoroughly confirmed that she was just exhausted, not injured, he had no choice but to get ready for the next match.

Famaj looked troubled, as if he was belatedly concerned about their tactics. It didn't stop him from gesturing to the Deuxan woman, who eagerly stepped out into the ring. She drew two silvery knives from her hips and spun them around her hands, taunting them since they had no real choices about matching her.

Fortunately, he had a good chance. Theo pretended to look worried as he stepped out into the ring, eyes shifting between her knives and her feet. For a flickering moment it reminded him of sparring with Brigana, but the truth was that the two women didn't look much alike, and for the first time, those events felt like they had been ages ago.

The bell rang, a knife flashed out, and he raised his hand. Instead of generating a full gravitational field, Theo focused it solely on the knife, which fell to the ground sooner than it should have. As the Deuxan woman noted its path, he directed his hand toward her next.

His field couldn't quite flatten her to the ground, not with her flooding cantae through her body. She grimaced and managed to draw another knife, then exerted all of her effort to fling it at him. Again, Theo released the field on her to focus solely on the knife and make sure that it didn't reach him.

As soon as she was free, she leapt across the arena, hurling a pair of knives and drawing one more to thrust at his chest. Theo smiled and finally brought his gravitational field down on the entire arena.

The gravity wasn't any higher than before, but in the air, his opponent couldn't resist and hit the ground heavily. She clutched her remaining knife and started to get up, only for him to kick it out of her hand. Though he could have kept his distance and let her exhaust herself, he didn't want to risk her pulling out any other tricks. Instead he used one foot to shove her legs until they skidded heavily out of the arena.

When his victory was announced and he released the gravitational field, she pushed up, glaring daggers at him. Her anger was somewhat limited by the fact that she was struggling to straighten, her heart no doubt struggling to recover from the heavy gravity. He bent down beside her and spoke quietly.

"Not everyone is naive here. If you poison anyone again, I won't hold back."

Seeing the moment of fear in her eyes was gratifying, but his main goal was to leave a deterrent. Theo returned to his own side, glancing inward to his soulhome. Even though he'd handily won two matches, maintaining the gravitational fields had emptied several chambers of cantae. It hadn't been a priority compared to finishing his heart chamber, but he needed increased reserves as well.

Reserves were going to be the problem, he realized as he returned to their side. Nauda was still sleeping unconscious between the benches, while Fiyu knelt, focused inward but not having restored herself yet. He didn't want to go directly back out into the ring, but there might not be a choice.

Worse, Famaj's team didn't waste any time. Even though it wasn't their turn, they sent out their remaining weakest member. Theo smiled bitterly as he realized there was nothing they could do about one insignificant Farmguard with a mediocre soulhome. If either of them went out to fight, they'd use up their last match, so it was the same as a forfeit.

Of course, this was a guaranteed victory, while fighting another real match might result in a loss. Famaj had yet to fight, however, and would be a difficult opponent. The question was whether a potential loss was worth the experience, and he found himself looking down to Nauda. She'd seemed so earnest about needing this, yet he couldn't ask her why it mattered so much to her.

"I know you're not afraid of me." The Farmguard gave them a pleasant Tatian smile as he waited. "Come out and end this."

It would have to be one of them. Fiyu turned her head toward him and he could see the uncertainty just in the tilt of her head. There wasn't really a choice, but they also didn't have any other options...

"Wait!" A voice from the stairs drew everyone's attention and his head whipped around, expecting some sort of final revelation, or the results of the poison investigation.

Instead, it was the Fithan man from their team, clutching his stomach and limping up the stairs. He slowly made his way toward the ring, clearly in great discomfort but equally determined. One of the healers tried to help him, but he waved them off.

"I'm here... to fight on behalf of Nauda's family." The man took a deep breath and straightened as he stepped into the ring.

"Really?" The Farmguard gripped his staff uncomfortably. "I suppose, if you insist..."

The bell rang. The Farmguard lowered his staff to fight. And the Fithan promptly stepped back out of the ring.

Theo smiled and moved forward to catch the man before he collapsed. Many in the audience began to cheer, clearly supportive of standing up for family. Again, it was their loss, but Famaj and his teammates didn't look happy. As he helped the Fithan back, Theo realized that he didn't even know his name and felt a bit guilty.

"That was smart."

"I think... that Deuxan bitch poisoned us..." The man eased down onto the bench and clutched his stomach again. "I'll make it through, but... it feels pretty awful. But I heard you were still fighting and... couldn't let you do it alone."

"Well, you had perfect timing."

"I was waiting... at the bottom of the stairs..."

Smile broadening, Theo decided to throw his own pride away. He didn't know a lot about Fithan culture, but he could make an effort. "I'm shamed by the fact that you fought for us, yet I don't even know your name."

"It's Javes. And... it's fine." Javes gave him a vicious grin. "The fact that you took down the Deuxan... is thanks enough."

Unfortunately, even the heroic effort from Javes wasn't enough to end the match, not with two fights remaining. Theo glanced down at Fiyu, only to find that she was missing, having finally risen. When he walked up beside her, just within the shade of the tent, she gave a slow sigh.

"A little more time won't help at this point. I'll go out next and hope they send Famaj. I don't know if I'll win, but you should be able to take the last match."

"That's as good of a plan as we have, I think. Be careful."

"Always." With that, Fiyu headed out into the arena for the final time.

From the very beginning of the match, it was obvious that it wasn't going to be like the previous two. Fiyu moved more sluggishly and sent out bursts of light only cautiously. Her opponent was a Farmguard of reasonable strength, with emerald armor that mostly weathered her blows. Several times he got in close to Fiyu, but she always managed to retreat.

Unfortunately, that wasn't all their opponent had. He retreated and stretched his legs a bit, cantae flowing through them. Not simply to reinforce, but in a developed technique. Theo couldn't determine what it was at a glance, he just knew that it would be fast.

In a single instant the Farmguard crossed the arena and struck Fiyu, yet she struck in the same moment. Not with her usual bursts of light, but ducking his strike and sweeping her hand to the side.

Theo didn't get a good look, but he was certain that he saw black cantae flicker around her hand like a knife. It had broken straight through the armor and cut a line of blood across her opponent's chest, and perhaps more importantly sent him collapsing to the side, body slumping over the ring of water. Fiyu also collapsed, but slowly pushed her way back to her knees.

He headed out to help her, not even looking at Famaj. He hesitated to help Fiyu up and settled for offering an arm, which she gripped enough to rise. As they returned, she spoke very quietly. "Is he... alive?"

"Alive?" Theo blinked and looked to the Farmguard, checking that he was being attended by the healers. "He took a deep cut to the torso, but I don't think his life is in any danger."

"Good. I wasn't sure..." Fiyu's fingers dug harder into his arm. "I didn't want... to use that one..."

A lethal skill that couldn't be easily toned down, then. He wasn't really surprised that she had something like that, given her home on Ichil. All he did was smile and lead her back to a comfortable seat. "We can work on it later, if you want. For right now, you've done enough."

"But Famaj... will it work?"

"I guess we'll find out." Theo gave her a reassuring smile and walked back to the arena. Though he could have dragged the delay out longer, there wasn't any point. The last match wouldn't be won by brute force, if he won at all. It had gone on long enough and he was eager to finish it.

Famaj walked out slowly, though not because he was afraid. Instead his gaze slowly moved over the injured on both sides, growing sadder as he drew closer to the ring. When he arrived, he looked up at Theo and shook his head sadly.

"This wasn't the match I'd wanted for us. This is... not being a good member of our community. For that I apologize, but I cannot forfeit the match, because it would betray my family's effort."

"I wouldn't want you to." Theo flexed his fingers on both hands one at a time while forcing himself to smile. "What match did you want for us?"

"A conflict to prove the strength of our conviction." Famaj raised a fist and clenched it, flexing both muscle and cantae. "I hoped we could teach each other lessons that would strengthen all of us, not try to reduce the enemy's strength for the sake of mere victory."

The bell rang, but both of them ignored it. Theo gestured for his opponent to attack. "You've seen what I can do. What lesson were you going to teach me?"

"The limits of simple tricks." Famaj finally smiled, then cracked the knuckles on one hand. "But I'll admit, I'm curious to feel it for myself. Why don't you try to pin me down like you did the others?"

Theo complied instantly, covering the entire arena with a gravitational field before Famaj could set up anything else. The Farmguard grunted and dropped slightly, but caught himself with a quick step forward. Then he slowly began to straighten, rolling his shoulders and smiling.

"I've never felt heavy in quite this way... but it isn't going to be enough." Still smiling, he took a slow step forward, then another. "It's a good trick, but it will never work against an opponent with enough strength. Perhaps it's enough to suppress lesser demons."

Double gravity was proving less of an obstacle than Theo had hoped, even for a simple first tier soulcrafter. As Famaj walked forward, he seemed to be adjusting, his steps coming more confidently. His fists hung at his sides, but they were ready to strike if Theo attempted anything. Just as an experiment, Theo released a burst of raw cantae, but it dissipated off his opponent like smoke. Step by step, Famaj was closing the distance.

Theo flipped his hand upside-down and reversed the gravitational field.

His artificial field canceled the gravity of the world and Famaj's next step was weightless. For an instant before it landed, his eyes widened in shock, but it was too late: his firm push off the ground sent him floating into the air, sailing upward.

Flailing wildly, Famaj failed to change his trajectory at all, but did release a burst of cantae. Even prepared to dodge, Theo only barely got out of the way, but he only needed to dodge once. He reversed the field again, dropping Famaj to the ground at twice his normal weight.

Famaj snarled and pushed himself up, just in time to become weightless again. He sailed forward and Theo struck his shocked face with another burst of cantae. This one sent him sliding through the air, out of the ring, and into the barrier surrounding the arena. The audience was partially silent, partially cheering half-heartedly.

Eventually Famaj pushed himself up, shaken but not seriously injured. He moved toward the ring fast enough that Theo nearly activated another gravitational field defensively, but Famaj laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. As soon as he did so, the audience began applauding much more warmly.

"It seems you taught me a lesson about the limits of strength instead!" Famaj gripped both his shoulders, but not as a threat. "Despite how it started, this match ended well. I wish you and your family all the best as this competition goes forward."

Of course, that wasn't truly the end of it. The Deuxan woman glowered even more fiercely as the mood in the arena turned jubilant, and the Farmguard who had lost his family heirloom still sat dejected. If their teams fought again, Theo suspected it would go very differently, but in the meantime he resolved to be careful of poison.

When he turned back, he discovered that Nauda was sitting up and smiling. Fiyu hovered beside her, nervously trying to tend her without any direct contact, but she smiled as well when he approached. Despite the handicap, they'd won all but two of their matches.

"We won this time," Theo said, "but I think we're all out of tricks now."

Fiyu sighed. "Can we not celebrate our victory first?"

"I didn't say we shouldn't. I was actually looking forward to soulcrafting with the two of you, now that we've all tested ourselves like this."

"Perhaps, but not yet." Nauda shook her head slowly. "First we must celebrate, and I propose that we begin our celebration with hours of sleep."

There shouldn't be any way for that plan to go bad.