Archcrafter: Chapters 1-3 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

Hey, everyone, the third book is starting now! The covers aren't finished, but this book went long and so it will run for several months at least. I can't guarantee no delay afterward, but there's no reason to make anyone wait longer.

Not sure if this one should have too long an introduction. It's the longest so far, with several payoffs I've hinted at. Look forward to seeing a lot of two worlds that haven't been featured before. I hope everyone enjoys it.

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Chapter 1

Theo might have entered an entirely new world, one he barely knew, but one thing hadn't changed: demons tended to run in straight lines.

Most young soulcrafters would have been terrified by the sight of nearly a dozen demons rushing toward them, but now that his plans were starting to come together, numbers were nearly irrelevant. Extending a hand, Theo drew the cantae within his soulhome into his gravitational chamber and dropped a field onto the demons, flattening them with several times normal gravity.

That alone couldn't kill them, but his only goal had been to stop the momentum of their charge. He didn't even bother to shift his hand while reversing the field, since that was only a concentration aid, and let the demons fall up into the air. Before they could fall far, he carefully added other fields in both directions until he had them pinned in place.

Of course, that wouldn't kill them either. But the flood of cantae bolts tearing through the entire group definitely would.

He glanced over his shoulder to check on Fiyu, who stood atop a rock that jutted from the dusty wasteland. Though he could have smiled at her, she was much too focused on the battle going on around them for any communication beyond combat information. Regardless of the fact that the risks were low, she took the challenge deadly seriously.

Technically they were hunting demons to earn their place in the Fithan city of Norro Yorthin, but Theo had judged that objective trivial compared to their abilities. So over the past week, they had been focused on practicing use of their skills. For Fiyu, that meant launching more controlled storms of light from hiding, while his was a little more complex. As an Archcrafter he could finely tune each of his gravitational fields, but it still took practice to be able to get an opponent hovering off the ground - slamming enemies up and down was much easier.

If they did enter the city, however, they'd be likely to face situations where lethal skills were less useful, so he needed fine control. Even the lowly first stage demons were good for practice, since they always resisted with perfect violent malice.

His thoughts screeched to a halt as a demon burst from the underbrush, loping toward him. Theo instinctively cast a gravitational field on it, but to his surprise, the beast kept charging, even when he intensified the field. Its maw opened wide, revealing layers upon layers of teeth...

Which froze in the air a pace from his head, quivering and slavering. Theo took a deep breath and looked past the demon to Nauda, who stood with her fork extended in its direction. She didn't taunt, since they all had to watch each other's backs in the field, just nodded.

"You want to finish it off?"

"Thanks, Nauda." She could easily have done so, meaning that it was a chance for him to practice one of his other skills. Theo extended his hand toward the beast and attempted to create twisting planes of gravity within it that would create a gravitational torsion effect. The technique had become much easier now that he was an Archcrafter, but it was still a complex skill, and demons were resistant targets.

Not resistant enough: the insides of the demon crumpled up and when Nauda dropped it, the beast lay still. That breed was highly durable, but it seemed even they needed their internal organs.

"I believe that we are nearly done." Fiyu spoke from atop her vantage point, finally beginning to smile. "Perhaps today will be enough?"

"It's certainly a bigger outbreak than normal." Theo put a hand over his eyes to scan the horizon, noting other demons and the groups of soulcrafters exterminating them. Nauda took a position between them, squinting at the group to their east.

"Do you think they need help?" Nauda asked. Theo glanced briefly and then shrugged.

"Last time they got angry with us for getting in their way. If things fall apart, we'll have to trust the city guard to take care of it."

Fiyu nodded. "We do not want to offend anyone before we truly enter the city. But... I am surprised that they can have so many demon incursions near such a large population. It seems a great risk."

"It's because of the gates," Theo explained, "and they most likely have multiple Authority-tier soulcrafters using weirkeys to travel further. The fabric of the Nine Worlds is weaker here, so they have to deal with more of this sort of thing."

As the conversation continued, Theo began to walk over the battlefield, gathering up what remained of the demonic bodies and drawing them into his soulhome. They were useless for most soulcrafting purposes, but he could throw them into the singularity at the core of his first floor. Hopefully, once it gained enough spiritual mass, it could become a singularity in truth.

Norro Yorthin was a massive hub city on Fithe, just as Nauda had promised. It had no fewer than four gates to other worlds, and during their week of demon hunting, he'd learned that they led to Tatian, Ichil, Arbai, and Aathal. In his previous visit to the Nine Worlds, he'd seen a few bigger hub cities, but not many. After rushing through the countryside of Tatian and Deuxan, he'd finally arrived in real civilization, so he might be able to spend a while there profitably.

Unfortunately, the gate to Tatian was not the most prominent, standing in an outskirt of the city proper. Their group could have bought tourist passes to the city, or tried to sneak their way in, but if they wanted to use the other gates, that meant getting proper identification. If he understood Fithan culture, that was better earned than bought, which was why they were helping the city guard with demon incursions.

"Reinforce the west!" A chariot formed from a whirlwind of dust swept past them, the figure within shouting down to them. "Almost done!"

Theo couldn't see the figure through the wind chariot, but recognized the voice as Jothan. The man was a Ruler-tier soulcrafter who served as part of the Norro Yorthin city guard, one who had been reasonably friendly to them. Of course, he could have handled much of the demon incursion himself, but he was saving his cantae for if the battle got truly out of hand.

"Alright, we check west." Theo glanced to the other two, but they were already moving, Fiyu dropping from her vantage point to join them. He didn't give them a second glance and focused on the problem.

Ahead, he spotted a group of Fithan soulcrafters retreating from a group of demons swarming out of a cloud of dust. They were first tier soulcrafters with mundane soulhomes, but at least they were keeping in good order as they backed away instead of scattering and causing a panic.

Nauda swept ahead of them, trailing her staff behind her to trace a line in the dust between the demons and the Fithans. It appeared useless, though he knew better. At the end of the group she turned on the demons, swinging her staff overhead and crushing the nearest. Two more blows, two more down - ever since she'd begun working on Archcrafter rooms, her physical strength had been increasing.

Despite being in the middle of the battle, Theo found himself dissatisfied with his own roadblock. All the skill in the world couldn't earn him the right sublime materials, and he wasn't willing to soulcraft anything that didn't contribute toward his final blueprint. He needed a solid building material to begin soulcrafting his second floor, plus so much more... Theo wrenched his attention back to the battle.

Most of the other demons ignored Nauda, instead rushing for the weaker soulcrafters... but when they reached the line, they smashed into a barrier wall that flickered into being. It existed for only a moment, but powered by an Archcrafter's cantae, it sent them reeling back.

Finally in range, Theo pinned them to the ground with gravity and Fiyu tore them apart the next second. Instead of continuing to fire, however, she came up behind him, coughed a bit on the dust they'd kicked up, then spoke quietly. "There are no good rocks to stand on."

"Got it." Theo reversed gravity enough to carry her into the air, where she could rain destruction over the rushing demons. 

Since she could easily destroy her own targets from there, Theo focused instead on a group of demons on the far side. They promptly fell into the air, and he let them sail far up before he brought them down again with all the gravity he could muster, crushing them all as they impacted on the ground.

Across the battlefield, Nauda was taking apart the rest. A demon managed to leap at her from behind, clawing at her shoulders, but she whirled with surprising speed, grabbing its head with one hand and bringing it down hard against her knee. By the time the body hit the ground, Fiyu had annihilated the last group and the horde of demons was gone.

"Thank you." An older Fithan man from the retreating group bowed to them, but a younger man promptly shoved him aside and pointed further west.

"They're sacrificing!"

Immediately they all turned their attention in that direction, and in the moment it took Theo to observe the scene, it was almost too late. The next group of soulcrafters in the line had collapsed even worse, failing to prevent a circle of demons from crumpling up to summon a second stage demon.

Theo struck first, trying to flatten the entire group, but he was too late. The last of the demons disappeared and something new emerged, briefly an inchoate form before the massive second stage demon appeared. It gave a savage grin and launched itself not at him, but at the retreating soulcrafters.

Their cantae bolts dissipated harmlessly against the demon's skin as it knocked a woman aside carelessly, smashing through her soulcrafted defenses. A man lunged in to impale the demon, but it bent aside from the thrust and then broke his arm with a single blow. Unless they did something, that demon would tear through the entire group.

Nauda hurled a cantae bolt that glanced off the demon's head - such strikes weren't her strength, but the Archcrafter cantae caught the demon's attention. It bent down and then lunged for them, crossing the distance in terrifyingly little time.

One of its feet slammed into the ground and suddenly sent it sailing skyward. Theo had been trying to retrain his instincts to send opponents up instead of down, since more opponents could resist heavy gravity than could resist its reversal. This time, it had paid off.

He let it sail upward and then slam down, but despite the force of the demon's momentum, he didn't even hear anything break. Instead, it merely began to climb up, grinning savagely in their direction. It probably had unnatural durability, then, and no amount of slamming it against the ground would kill it. Though he wanted to test how well it would survive against truly massive speeds, Nauda made an upward gesture and he nodded in return.

Theo sent the demon upwards at a slow pace, giving Fiyu plenty of time to pepper it with bursts of light. Nauda leapt up under her own power to strike it from behind, but the demon twisted with surprising agility. Somehow it caught her staff in one hand before it could hit, pulling Nauda in the air and forcing Fiyu to cut off.

The demon swiped across Nauda's face and she flinched back, but it didn't stop her from thrusting out with the fork in her other hand. It caught the demon's arm as it pulled back for another blow, binding it in place. Both combatants spiraled like that, each binding one limb of the other...

Until Nauda wrenched both down and slammed her forehead into the demon's nose.

Dividing his field into two, Theo let the beast drop and sent Nauda skywards. The demon crashed down, again being flooded by Fiyu's bursts of light. They might not be able to kill it, but they did burn, and the demon turned on her with a low growl.

At that moment, Nauda struck from above, at the precise instant Theo and Fiyu released their techniques. The demon had a moment to look startled, but not enough time to avoid her streaking blow that smashed its skull down into the ground.

Though it managed to survive, it couldn't get up in time to avoid Nauda stomping down onto its neck. When the demonic presence faded, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Nauda might be able to fight toe-to-toe with a second stage demon, but they were a serious threat to Fiyu and Theo didn't want to get anywhere near one until he had more Archcrafter rooms constructed.

A chariot of dust careened down toward them and they stepped back on instinct, but Jothan pulled up expertly and dropped from the vehicle to land beside them. "Huh." He glanced down at the fallen second stage demon, then grinned at them. "I was coming over to take care of it, but the three of you know what you're doing."

"Jothan." Fiyu approached him with a nervous smile. "Have we contributed enough to the city? Will we be allowed to travel freely now?"

"Oh, after today, you've done more than enough. Actually, since you've done so much for us, I'll fast track you in. Grab your things and come by the tower, I'll get you the official guard commendation."

With that, he hopped back up to his chariot and sped off, back toward the city walls that loomed over part of the horizon. Fiyu smiled broadly and Theo felt the corners of his lips turning up as well. They'd been delayed a bit, but not set back, and now they could enter the city with a strong position.

Norro Yorthin had been built in three vast rings, though he'd only heard rumors about the innermost wall. The gate from Tatian sat in the outermost, a sprawling mess of buildings constructed in different styles. Though it was surrounded by a guard station that remained on high alert, there was little traffic through the gate, since it opened into a wasteland on Tatian.

That thought brought him back to the impossibly tall cliff Nauda had shown them. Theo shook off the memory and focused on his present goals.

They'd arrived flush with cash from their hunting on Deuxan, so they'd found simple accommodations and set about earning their commendation so they could truly explore the central city. As he grabbed his pack, Theo found he had no emotional attachment to the simple room, he just wanted to move on. More than anything, he was annoyed to have to carry so many things instead of keeping them within his soulhome.

"Heya! Didja kill some demons? Didja?"

Then there was the other annoyance... Senka popped up from behind one of the low cots with a grin on her face. The little imp promptly latched onto Nauda's leg, letting out little whines when Nauda attempted to peel her off with her staff. "We're actually getting into Norro Yorthin today," Nauda said. "You don't have to come with us, but you can't stay here."

"Senka will come! The people here are all fumpets!"

"Everyone is a fumpet to you," Theo muttered as he headed out. Senka either didn't hear or pretended not to hear, instead flopping from Nauda's leg to Fiyu's. The Ichili woman seemed to treat children differently, because she just took Senka's hand and led her as they headed out. They'd secured their sleigh with the guards to keep it safe from theft, so they mostly walked for the time being.

Though Senka was definitely not a child, whatever she was, she could pass as one since children were exempt from the usual paperwork requirements. Besides, Theo wasn't going to waste any time getting special permissions for her. Commendations for Fiyu and Nauda would benefit all of them, but Senka remained a wildcard who could easily hinder as much as help.

They made their way to the guard tower near the gate quickly enough, passing by others who were waiting for audiences or begging for entrance paperwork. There were plenty of soulcrafters in the crowd, but in a hub city like this, that meant absolutely nothing. Even being an Archcrafter didn't give any automatic authority, because Fithe only cared about how powerful you actually were. That benefited them, since Fiyu remained a first tier soulcrafter but was quite capable.

When they stepped into the office, Jothan turned from one of the desks with a smile on his face and several stone plates in one hand. "As soon as you accept these, all of you will be officially citizens of Norro Yorthin. As new, unaffiliated citizens, you'll be entitled to... basically nothing. But it will be easier for you to join a House or travel, and merchants might not cheat you as much."

Accepting the stone plate handed to him, Theo looked it over carefully for traps, unlikely as it was. But it was mostly inert stone, the only complex part of it an inlay of silvery ore. It was a sublime material, just not a strong one, probably there to make the identity plates more difficult to forge. He might have been able to do it himself, if he'd known the necessary details, but in this case it was easier to just follow the rules.

"All you need to do is pulse cantae gently through it to bind the plate. Cantae doesn't have unique signatures, so... but I don't need to tell you that, do I?" Jothan laughed at himself and instead just waved vaguely at the plates. "Point is, this isn't some sublime masterpiece. Don't lose them or let them get stolen. Your real identity is found in city or House records."

Binding the plate was trivial, so Theo turned it over to look better first. His false name was etched on the front, identifying him as Deuxan to hopefully deflect some attention. Beyond the pattern in the silver, the plate was mostly blank except for a carved line along the bottom with the sigil of the city guard. That was what made this effort worth it, in theory.

"Does the guard commendation earn us anything?" Nauda asked. Jothan could have kicked them out, since his job was done, but he sat back on his desk and folded his arms.

"On its own, no. Lots of people in the city have worked with the guard, sometimes just for money. But the commendation marks you as soulcrafters worth at least a little, so when you join a House, you'll be able to negotiate a better starting salary."

"Everyone speaks of these House organizations." Fiyu had already tucked her plate into one of the many folds in her robes. "I have not yet seen them."

"Oh, but you have!" Jothan gestured vaguely to points outside the room. "The money exchange by the gate is run by the House of Coin. Those soup lines for the poorest peasants? Courtesy of House Blacksilver. Even this tower is maintained by the contributions of House Crimson. They and all the other big Houses are the main contributors to the city guard."

Though he'd been focused on work, Theo had absorbed some information about the city, but talking to Jothan was a much better chance, so he decided to risk a question. "You suggest we join a House?"

"Unless you really intend to just pass through, absolutely. Nothing gets done here without the Houses being involved."

"Then which one would you recommend?"

"No comment." Jothan straightened from the desk, his expression growing serious. "The city guard is officially independent, and we do take that seriously. We're the only force that works on behalf of everyone, free of internal politics. Everything else is quid pro quo, but you can't run a guard like that."

The phrase "quid pro quo" buzzed in Theo's mind as his soul simultaneously heard several things. He thought the literal words were "blood for blood" but the phrase was so well-worn in the Fithan language that the specific words were almost irrelevant. Apparently it had a commonly understood meaning similar enough that his soul heard the Latin phrase, but he could only guess at what Fiyu and Nauda heard.

"We will remember your words, Jothan." Fiyu smiled broadly at him and bobbed her head. "Thank you for helping us."

"No, thank you for assisting the city guard." Jothan stepped forward and clapped Theo and Nauda on the shoulders, which he'd only started doing after several demon fights. He'd never gotten close to touching Fiyu, which made sense if the city had an Ichili population. Fiyu might not find Norro Yorthin comfortable, but she'd be given enough personal space in relationships, or something close to it.

Elsewhere, there might have been longer goodbyes, but Fithe didn't stand on ceremony, so Jothan turned back to his desk. Recognizing the dismissal, the three of them left his office, soon being joined by Senka. A few stared at them exiting the guard tower, but more out of boredom than any suspicion. In a city this large, Theo hoped that they could completely disappear.

Once they did, then he might be able to make progress in peace. Against the forces that were threatening him, he needed far more strength, so sublime materials and soulcrafting time were essential. Perhaps more importantly, in a city like this, he might be able to learn more about his enemy. Hopefully this would be a good base of operations for a long time, it was just a question of how...

"I've been talking to some of the villagers," Nauda said as they walked toward the main gates. "Everything really does revolve around the Houses here, but they don't seem to to resent them. If anything, they just hope to get employed by one of the better Houses."

"I see." Fiyu had spent much less time learning about Fithe, focused almost solely on gaining information about the gate to Ichil. "What I do not understand is how they can run a military based on contributions from civilians. What if a House decides not to pay?"

"They do, sometimes, and that's why the city guard is so serious about trying to stand above politics. But making contributions is a way of buying influence, and failing to make payments would be a sign of weakness, so apparently it works well enough." Nauda's gaze slid over to Theo. "But I suppose these petty observations are all incomplete, oh knowledgeable one?"

"Not here." Theo smiled as he stared at the entrance. "I only spent a few days on Fithe once, and it wasn't this part of the world at all. I'm learning along with you."

"But you've known many Fithans."

"They must have been from a very different culture, because they had clans and powerful families. Here, the Houses seem to be wholly independent organizations. As far as I've been able to tell, family means nothing here. World of origin doesn't mean anything either. So we're all starting off in the same place."

Ahead, the second wall of Norro Yorthin stretched upwards... and a wall of dust stretched even higher. The inner city appeared to be surrounded by a tornado of dust, not whirling intensely but incredibly vast. He could presume that it broke the dust storms that swept through the rest of Fithe, but he didn't actually know that for certain.

Theo found his smile growing wider as he felt that little thrill of discovery that he'd so often lost in his second life in the Nine Worlds. As they walked through the gates of Norro Yorthin, he finally walked into the unknown.

-

Chapter 2

The first thing Theo noticed within the city was the relative lack of dust. It was still stirred up by the feet of the crowds, but compared to the constant dust storms outside, the air was practically clear. He noted that the streets were bone dry, but they seemed unnaturally clean, suggesting that the city had some sort of street cleaning organization. Another sign that they'd reached real civilization.

"There are many people." Fiyu's eyes were so wide that he could actually see a hint of them through her translucent mask. She shuffled to the side, tugging on their sleeves to move them into defensive positions. "They are all bumping into each other."

"I'm afraid Fithan crowds can be a bit rough." Theo managed to pull out of his personal thoughts to give her a reassuring smile. "But if you can bear with it, we should be able to find private rooms. As soon as we find a secure place, we can use our sleigh instead."

"But where?" Nauda asked. "If I understand the signs, there are several inns near the gate, but those would be temporary at best. Where are we actually staying?"

"Perhaps we do not need to stay." Fiyu smiled uneasily as she looked back and forth between them. "If I can return to Ichil, I may be able to contact my relative. He is a skilled soulcrafter and he would reward you as thanks for assisting me."

"Fiyu..." Theo had known this was coming but put it off, which he belatedly realized was a bad habit he'd thought he'd outgrown in his years on Earth. "I do think we should investigate the gate as one of our first priorities, but we have no idea where it leads on Ichil. Statistically, it's very likely that it will be nowhere near anywhere you know."

"I am aware, but I may still be able to send a message to my relative." She gripped their sleeves a little tighter. "If I was able to return, you should come with me. We could continue traveling together on Ichil."

Theo had been intending to gently lower her expectations so she wouldn't be crushed, and now had to consider the opposite outcome. If Fiyu did find an easy path back home, that would entirely throw out his current plans and potentially break up their group. Then again, her relative must be an Authority, so his weirkeys could prove even more valuable. The question would be Nauda...

"I'd like to visit your home, Fiyu." The other woman stepped closer, but instead of brushing her in the Tatian fashion, just moved to better shield her from the crowds milling around them. "But there are many other things we need to do, and I think many of them are best done here."

Though Fiyu bobbed her head agreeably, Theo saw a bit of tension in her stance. Despite everything, she might still be afraid that they would leave her, or simply be contemplating that their goals might take them in different directions. He wasn't sure how close they'd grown in her personal calculations, but Ichili didn't form connections often.

"There's no point making decisions now," Theo said before the mood could worsen. "A city this big will have countless opportunities and we need to judge them first. We should check the gate to Ichil, but also the gate to Arbai. It's another low chance, but it might take us close to where Navim lives, and the master of his school might have a weirkey to Ichil."

"Oh, we could see Navim again!" Fiyu let go of their sleeves to clasp her hands together, her smile broadening. "I would like that."

"The point is, you have many different paths back home, so don't pin your hopes on just one. We need to scout Norro Yorthin thoroughly so we're in a strong position whatever happens."

"Let's start with a little tour." Nauda gave his arm a little squeeze, he thought in thanks for disarming the situation, and then turned forward. "Stay between us for now, Fiyu, and we can make basic plans."

As they headed into the crowds, they made their way into the human flood. Unlike Deuxan, where bumping into someone could start a duel or even a feud, here everyone ran into each other. Most didn't apologize or even make eye contact, just pressed on about their own business. Since the three of them were all soulcrafters with enhancement chambers, they were in no real danger, so long as they stayed alert for pickpockets.

That was one of the several things he'd warned them about when they'd first entered and he'd shared his limited knowledge of Fithe. Fiyu would have no trouble, supremely aware of her own person, but he wasn't sure if Nauda was accustomed to such suspicion. He might have assumed she wasn't before, but after seeing the cliff on Tatian... he had no idea what the culture was like down below.

Though Fithe had a reputation as an aggressive world, Theo thought they were actually safer than average in the city. Fortunately, Norro Yorthin wasn't currently at war and wasn't near a watery part of the world, so there would be less widespread violence. They'd learned that dueling was strictly regulated and it seemed that the Houses were mostly happy to operate as economic engines without meddling in the lives of wandering foreigners. Due to the presence of many powerful organizations, the city was relatively low on crime, though the word "relatively" carried a lot of weight.

As they continued, the noise of the crowds drowned out all but essential conversation, so Theo began examining his surroundings with new eyes. He'd been focused on situational awareness of potential threats, but now he could observe the city itself.

Unlike the messy buildings outside the great tornado wall, everything within was clearly organized by a central authority. Most of the buildings appeared to have been hewn from the red stone of the wasteland around, and he wondered how well the color would hide blood. Buildings arced up to at least three floors on either side, giving the slight impression of walking through a canyon.

Soon enough he began noticing the important signs: the businesses he saw almost all had a conspicuous color scheme that he doubted could be purely aesthetic. He spotted a restaurant with dark blue tables and lanterns, yet it displayed a golden banner in the window - clearly the marker of a House. Once he started looking, nearly every building had some marker of their patron, whether it was just a patterned cloth by the entrance, a door painted brightly, or an interior entirely cast in a single color.

If they spent any time at all in the city, he'd need to learn those signs, but for the moment his attention shifted to the people themselves. The majority were Fithan, with unnaturally red skin and slight fangs - he spotted only a few of Fithe's other major species, marked by bluish skin and horns. Their presence lent weight to what he'd heard about this region not being at war, in any case.

Aside from them, he spotted a number of Arbaian natives, obvious in the crowds due to their enormous rocky bodies. Fiyu was no longer the only Ichili in sight, as he spotted a number of them as they walked, some wearing masks but others simply squinting in the light. What struck him as strange was that he saw no species from Aathal - and he would have noticed, since they all looked like trees.

"Another locked entrance." Nauda looked away from a gate he'd barely noticed. She jerked her head to the side and they pushed their way from the central crowd into an alcove between two buildings, which muffled the sound a little bit. "So much of this city seems to be locked away."

"That's just to be expected, in a city with fractured loyalties." Theo had been noting the walls and other barriers, just not thinking much about them beyond their House insignias. "Most likely each House has several different private grounds for their own purposes."

"So the city is divided into many regions." Fiyu bobbed her head, a slow smile appearing on her face. "I noticed that the crowds moved strangely, but could not determine the barriers to their movements. Now I realize that they were social."

"I understand what Jothan told us now," Nauda said, "but would joining a House actually help? Seems like for every place it would let us enter, we'd be locked out of several others aligned with opposing groups."

Theo shook his head. "It would be impossible to do business as independent agents. I'd bet that aside from the House grounds, most of the city will take custom from anyone. Perhaps we'd gain some benefit from being unaligned, but I doubt most of the average people care enough about House politics to mistreat customers."

"This is premature." Fiyu looked back toward the main street, but frowned at the bustling crowd. "First we must learn all we can about the gate to Ichil, and the other gates. Perhaps we do not need to align with anyone."

"I agree. It looks to me like the central circle of the city is relatively small, so we can guess a few things..." Theo bent down to trace a simple map in the dirt. He could have used gravity to give them all a bird's eye view, but he'd decided that going that high might attract unwanted attention. Plenty of people in the city could fly by various means, but no one broke the tornado wall and he'd only seen the wind chariots outside, so he thought it might be a local norm.

However, he'd been watching the crowds before and after they'd earned their way inside, so he thought that he'd learned something important: the gates to Ichil and Arbai lay in opposite directions. Each was surrounded by rings of security, markets, and other businesses related to the world on the other side. Once he lay out what he knew, the others immediately understood.

"So Ichil is to the north, Arbai is to the south." Nauda shook her head down at the map. "This is a big city, so it would take us a while to go all the way around the circle. Are you suggesting we split up?"

"We don't have to, but I think we shouldn't waste time." Theo glanced toward Fiyu, who remained unreadable for once. "We need information about the gates, and failing that, all the local Houses. The sooner we learn that, the more we can benefit from it."

"I would prefer to stay together..." Fiyu took a deep breath and then nodded to herself. "But I can go with Nauda. We can each investigate one gate and then meet back here at nightfall. Can you take Senka?"

He definitely didn't want to, but since Fiyu was going outside her comfort zone, he decided that he could put up with it. At least... he could if Senka was around. Just when Theo was beginning to hope that she'd left them in the crowds, she popped up from a pile of refuse.

"Senka heard Senka's name!"

"We are going to split up." Fiyu bent down beside her with a gentle smile. "Can you go with Theo to look at the gate?"

"No! Senka doesn't wanna! Senka wants to eat yummies!"

"You ate this morning. We must investigate the city now."

"No! Nooo! Senka wants yummies!" She promptly threw herself onto her back and began to thrash back and forth, like a horrible parody of a toddler. Fiyu shifted back, as if shocked that reasonable words hadn't worked with a child-like mind. Then again, most of the Ichili children he'd met had been very well-behaved.

Nauda bent down beside her, opting for the same tone. "We'll get something to eat while we walk."

"Senka wants yummies sporping now!"

Theo was a reasonably patient man after all his years of life, but he had very limited stores of it for Senka's little tantrums. He grabbed her by the back of her robe and jerked her into the air to face him. "You've been following us and eating our food since we arrived here, but you don't have to. If you want food, go get it yourself."

"Fine, Senka will!" She twisted with surprising speed and managed to escape his grip. "Senka doesn't need you fumpets anyway!"

Before the others could stop her, she darted between them and into the crowds, quickly becoming lost among the legs. Though Fiyu looked concerned, there was no real way of retrieving her. Part of Theo hoped that she would go find someone else to bother, but he had a bad feeling that in a few days she'd crawl back to them, babbling so miserably that the others would take pity on her.

"I suppose we cannot find her," Fiyu said, so Theo pounced on her acceptance.

"If she wants, she can find us. I think your plan was good: we split into two groups, gather all the information we can, and meet back at a central location tonight. So long as you don't do anything that would lead you to join a House, I don't think we can get into too much trouble."

They agreed on their meeting point, a large square with statues of the city founders, and then separated in opposite directions. Since Fiyu obviously wanted to visit the Ichili gate, Theo found himself heading south. He had a pretty good idea what he would find, however, so he was more interested in gaining a better sense for the city.

They had only split up for half a day, yet as he walked Theo began thinking about the ties that bound them. When he thought about the trials they'd shared and the emotions that had run through those times, it felt like they had a bond, but were they unified by anything more concrete? Nauda had her own agenda and goals that she kept hidden, while Fiyu might not have any grand objectives beyond returning home to continue her training.

Was that actually enough? He could easily imagine that in the future, it would become clear that they were simply three people who had come together in a disruption between worlds. Then again, when he thought about his friends in his first life - now a century dead - there hadn't been much more binding them.

Brigana, Khaluu, Eratius... he'd stumbled across most of them, as friends or as enemies, and they'd stuck together right up until the day Vistgil had gotten them all killed. Though Theo felt a familiar surge of anger, his time in the Nine had worn that emotion down to sorrowful determination.

Theo actually stopped walking for a moment as he realized something new: that loss hadn't actually been what had made his life on Earth unpleasant. Many others his own age had lamented that it was so easy to make friends in school, but so difficult as an adult. He'd been even worse than most, barring himself off from others in his obsessive mission to return to the Nine Worlds. Yet as big an obstacle as that had been, part of the problem was that he'd been hoping meaningful relationships would simply come to him instead of being built over time.

Yet now that he was back in the Nine, and even placed in an environment where it was easy to meet new people, he'd started to fall into old ruts. Instead of imagining their group drifting apart, Theo thought about what he could do to maintain those relationships, even if their goals took them in separate directions. Nothing about his outcomes would change unless he fundamentally changed.

Slightly cheered by that decision, Theo headed forward with new determination. Most likely, neither gate would take them where they needed to go, but Norro Yorthin could well contain the path they needed. Though not as trivial as Archcrafter, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to ascend to Ruler, then a city such as this would have the materials to reach Authority. Once they reached that tier, they could acquire their own weirkeys and move freely.

On his way, he noted many stalls that sold sublime materials, weaponsmiths, and combat arenas... the problem was that there were just too many opportunities in such a large city. All three of them already had a strong foundation and such commonplace materials were useless to them. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself and potentially call down Vistgil, but he couldn't afford to waste his time, either.

A scuffle in the street ahead caught his attention, taking place around the entrance to some sort of soulcrafter establishment, a building with a finely carved front that wouldn't have otherwise captured his attention. Several young soulcrafters were arguing, trying to shove their way in.

"Don't you know who we are? We're from the House of Burning Leaves!" One of them stepped forward toward the doorway, only to be pressed back by a wall of cantae.

"No exceptions." A powerfully built Fithan man barred the door, his skin covered in scars. It wasn't his muscle or his scars that caught Theo's attention, but the fact that the man was a Ruler. If a third tier soulcrafter was guarding the entrance, perhaps the building wasn't so unimportant after all.

Unwilling to go up against such overwhelming power, the soulcrafters slunk away, already beginning to convince themselves they hadn't wanted to enter anyway. Theo set them out of his mind and gave the building a better look. The sign declared it to be "The State of Rest" and an instinct told him that the phrase was similar to "sublime" in the local Fithan language. So it was a powerful soulcrafter institution, but an understated one. Notably, he didn't see any indication that it belonged to any of the Houses.

"May I ask what the trouble was about?" Theo asked as he approached. The Ruler kept his arms folded, but regarded him with a friendly smile.

"Simply a few misguided youths. The State of Rest does not allow anyone beneath the rank of Archcrafter to enter. You, being of the requisite rank and considerably more polite, are welcome." Despite his rough appearance, the man spoke very smoothly, which suggested that he needed to keep out threats of a social variety as well. Theo had gone from mildly interested to intrigued, but kept his expression neutral.

"I'm afraid that I am new to the city and not yet familiar with your establishment."

"Ah, well... this is a place for soulcrafters to relax free from House politics. We serve a great many refreshments, but the primary attraction is the opportunity to exchange information. There is no entry fee, but we do maintain certain standards. Specifically, citizens in good standing able to afford our services..."

Recognizing an obvious invitation, Theo slipped his identity plate from his robes as well as a bag of craftgems. Since Fiyu preferred not to carry many, he had almost half their considerable supply. The guard's eyebrows rose fractionally at the sum, but he spent more time looking at the labels on his identity plate. Soon enough, the Ruler returned both to him and gestured inward with a smile.

"We do not get many Deuxan guests here, so I believe you may be of interest to some. I hope you will enjoy your time in The State of Rest."

"Thank you." Theo stepped through the door and felt a subtle barrier tingle over his skin - it didn't try to analyze him, just kept out heat and noise. Even one step inside, the world felt much cooler and quieter.

In the future he might enjoy spending time there, but Theo had too many urgent objectives at the moment and only had time to scout. The interior of the building was larger than the small door would have indicated, spread out across booths over two floors. All of it was tastefully lit with blue lamps, though the greatest show of wealth was how the booths were constructed from wood, which was rare in this part of Fithe.

Since he moved in smoothly, as if he was comfortable in the place, few gave him more than a glance. He noticed that everyone within was an Archcrafter or Ruler except for a few staff, some Fithan but also a lean Ichili man. In one corner, an Aathali's branches bent low as he engaged in conversation with several other soulcrafters.

Lacking the social knowledge to truly take advantage of the place as of yet, Theo instead looked for simpler opportunities. There appeared to be a desk for exchanging clandestine messages, as well as a board that seemed to cover requests. He glanced at them briefly, not letting himself attract attention. After skipping past servers who offered food or drink, he finally spotted what he wanted.

A finely crafted board in one shaded corner was far more organized than the previous, containing only formal-looking announcements on expensive paper. This was exactly what he needed: anything on the board was common knowledge to talented soulcrafters, but still unknown to many others. It was a much better place to start than blundering through the streets.

His eyes ran over the announcements, noting how many seemed to be invitations for employment from the major Houses of the city. All highly specialized requests, which suggested that they respected the establishment as well. Currently his group couldn't meet those requirements, and he wouldn't enter any of the contests suggested, but-

Theo stopped and stared at a paper in the center of the board.

Most of the paper was filled with local names, but his attention was seized by the title at the top: The Chasm of Lamentations. He hadn't thought about that name in years, not since his first visit to the Nine Worlds. The Chasm was a region of great danger and natural wonders that was accessible only once every decade or more.

As far as he knew, the Chasm was located on Noven, so why was its name listed here in Fithe? There were no explanations on the paper, only the names. When he looked closer, he saw that there were empty spaces as if they might be filled by other people. The names of those who had visited it, or would be going?

There were too many questions, but he was certain of one thing: this was the exceptional opportunity he'd been waiting for.

-

Chapter 3

The young Theo would have rushed up to the nearest person and demanded everything they knew about the Chasm of Lamentations, but instead he swallowed his enthusiasm and reacted calmly. He finished scanning the room, ordered an inexpensive drink of some sort of blue wine, and pretended to relax while considering the best path forward.

It was remotely possible that this was an unrelated location referred to by the same name, though previously the Chasm had been a notorious legend. That led to the opposite concern: it might be another trap laid by his unseen enemy. The Chasm of Lamentations was a location filled with dangers that could be circumvented via knowledge, which meant it was an appealing target for someone just like him. He needed to be suspicious of the very fact that a visit to the Chasm could prove so valuable.

While he waited, he listened to the conversations around him, trying to absorb as much of the local environment as possible. He learned many rumors about individual Houses, and got a strong sense that Norro Yorthin was a city balanced between many powers, but no one mentioned the Chasm. In the end, he decided that he should defer any direct interactions until he had a strong grasp of the city.

Instead, he finished his drink and returned to the exit, or more precisely to the bouncer who worked there. The man nodded to him politely, but Theo stepped out of the main path to speak to him. "Thank you for inviting me in, but I wondered if I might ask a few questions."

"About our establishment, certainly. Anything about House politics, the State of Rest takes no position. I would also never reveal anything about clientele."

"Nothing like that. I merely noticed the papers advertising a number of different competitions, many of them without any times or places listed. In particular, I was curious about this Chasm of Lamentations."

The bouncer had relaxed when he started speaking, but his eyes narrowed when he mentioned the Chasm. Regardless, the man answered in the same polite tone. "I'm afraid most competitions are available only by invitation, so you need special permission to enter. That is especially true for the Chasm, where the invitations are always fiercely fought over."

"Oh? Is it that valuable?" Theo pretended a disinterested smile. "I assumed that the people of this city would have long ago gained control of any sources of sublime materials. Is this one new?"

"Not new... I'm unclear on the reasons, but the Chasm is only accessible once every eleven years for a brief period. Many of its most valuable materials have been harvested by the champions of the houses, but others regrow during that period. Hence the intense competition to be allowed in."

That suggested it was an authentic opportunity, unless the bouncer was in on the deception, a possibility that Theo quickly dismissed. If there was really a great event to harvest sublime materials every decade, then there would be numerous records of it. Though caution remained important, that meant that his knowledge could potentially be useful to them, and reaching the Chasm was essential. Assuming...

"And when will the next eleven year period elapse?"

"I believe the event will occur in slightly over a year." The bouncer kept his voice low, more caution than a hushed whisper. "We list the names of those who have already earned an invitation for the sake of their reputation, but otherwise the State of Rest is uninvolved with the contest. That is all I can tell you."

One year. Even if it was extremely difficult to acquire one of these invitations, he thought that would be more than enough time. It might be troublesome to acquire three for the entire group, but he could easily go and loot the place himself. Assuming that there was no trap and the competitors themselves weren't a problem... no, it would be better to bring Nauda and Fiyu.

"I won't impose on your good will." Theo gave the bouncer a Fithan nod and started to step away before pretending to reconsider. "I've seen very little of this city, but I have a feeling that I'll be returning here eventually."

"We would welcome your business."

"No, we wouldn't." The new voice cut into their conversation and Theo saw a woman cutting a swift path toward them. Ruler-tier, red-skinned Fithan, wearing practical armor. She had her hair dyed a blood red that matched her skin, cut in a sharp line to either side of her face. "You stumble into Norro Yorthin and think you can grab a Chasm Invitation just like that?"

"I was merely interested," Theo started to say, but she cut him off.

"I've seen that kind of confidence before. You think it's just another material hunt that you can easily master. Well, you're wrong. A single Chasm Invitation sells for more than you're worth, and that's the price now, not when the season draws near."

Her words might have been intended to intimidate, but only told him that these Invitations could be bought on the open market, if for an exorbitant amount. That combined with the list suggested that control of them was a game played among Houses, a game he needed to play.

Adopting his best neutral smile, Theo didn't back down even when she marched into his personal space. "And who am I addressing?"

"Just someone offering friendly advice." She poked him in the chest, leaving no doubt that it was a threat. "I am Kathina of the House of Coin. Even if you think you're ready for the Chasm, you don't have what it takes to reach the starting line."

"Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't." His old instincts wanted to wager her that he would, but he realized that anything he won would be trivial compared to angering the House of Coin and potentially getting further embroiled in politics. "I take it you have some personal interest?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"You're right, it's certainly not." With that, Theo stepped back with a polite bow and turned away. He thought he saw her give an annoyed sort of smirk, but she didn't pursue him when he returned to the street.

Distraction shed, Theo headed into the city with renewed purpose. He still needed to do research to be absolutely certain this was the same Chasm as on Noven, or perhaps it was a class of location instead of a specific one. If the competition occurred every decade, contenders would be exchanging intelligence from previous veterans, so he could easily confirm whether or not he had the knowledge advantage he expected.

Still, he thought it was likely, so the question was how to acquire these Chasm Invitations. If he had any sense for how Fithe operated, he guessed that they were distributed by some sort of official organization that controlled the expedition, then fought over. No doubt some were given to each significant House, then traded, exchanged, or otherwise used as bargaining chips. Over the next year, he needed to get his hands on three of them.

Promising as that goal was, Theo forced his gaze back to the street level. If he did manage to enter that competition, it would be on the back of many smaller accomplishments, so he still needed to evaluate the city carefully. He hadn't spent much time in the State of Rest, but he did need to make sure to have reached the Arbaian gate before nightfall.

Even as he examined the streets around him, Theo couldn't entirely contain his enthusiasm. The sublime materials they could acquire in the Chasm, even if it had been picked over by others with similar knowledge, would be a huge boon to them. Leaving Norro Yorthin was no longer a viable option and he wondered if it would be worth lying to the others to make sure they stayed.

Theo immediately grasped the thought and examined it more carefully. No, that was childishness masquerading as ruthlessness. If they were really his friends, it would be best to approach them honestly with both the risks and the rewards. They would understand how it could benefit all of them.

What pulled him out of his thoughts was a group of people he passed in the street - a group he didn't recognize. Though Theo acknowledged that there were countless species and ethnicities across the Nine Worlds that he didn't know, he usually had a strong sense for anyone's world of origin, and it was rare that anyone threw him completely as Senka had.

In this case, it was an entire group of soulcrafters, their soulhomes walled up tight. But physically, he could get a great deal of information from them: all humanoid, with golden brown skin that he would have considered Tatian... except that they had pitch black hair. Theo had visited many places across Tatian and never once seen someone without light hair, so this puzzled him.

He glanced at the group once more over his shoulder, confirming his observations. The most likely explanation was that they might be Tatians from the dark half of the world beneath the cliff, yet that immediately led him to wonder why Nauda's hair was light instead of dark.

In the end, he decided that speculation was irrelevant: he needed more data about Tatian. They could just as easily be from the world below, a group he'd simply never seen, or a faction that soulcrafted a change of hair color for some reason. He tucked the idea away for the time being and resolved to keep his eyes open for dark-haired Tatians in the city.

"Didja miss Senka?" Just as Theo was beginning to feel positive about life, an imp attached itself to his back. "You looked all sad. Because you missed Senka a lot, right?"

"Not even one hour?" Theo reached over his shoulder to try to grab her, but she scrambled over to the other side of his head. "You couldn't stay away from us for a single hour?"

"Senka went off to sporp blook up but then waited a long, long, long time and got bored." She ducked aside from his second attempt to grab her, giggling obnoxiously. "Then Senka saw that you were so sad without Senka and so she had to come back!"

Instead of trying to talk to her, Theo just let some of his cantae flow and reached back faster than she could move, tugging her off his back and holding her at arm's length in front of him. "I've had about enough of you. Keep chattering and I'll send you floating off into the city."

"That sounds fun! But Senka wonders... will everybody see Senka and wonder what mean fumpet was so mean to a nice little Senka?"

Theo hesitated, staring into those purple eyes and wondering if there was anything else behind them. That had almost been a threat, and though he would have normally dismissed the idea, he'd tried to reconsider his assumptions after he'd misread Tatian culture. Yet Senka just stared back at him and swung back and forth with a vapid smile.

"Fine." He lowered her to the ground without letting his annoyance leak out. "You can come with me for now."

"Yay! But Senka wants to ride!"

He drew the line well before letting her ride him, and there, at least, he could outargue her. Eventually Senka's intense obnoxiousness seemed to run out and she settled for following at his side, holding his hand. It annoyed one part of his mind, but he rationalized that appearing to lead a child deflected attention from him. Instead of a young Archcrafter who might be dangerous, he was just a kindly father who had managed to scrape into Archcrafter. That could be a useful deception, especially once he soulcrafted a shielding wall.

"Hey. Hey." Senka tugged on the leg of his pants as they walked, barely audible over the crowds. "What are you doing now?"

"Scouting the city and visiting the Arbaian gate. You should know this."

"Nah. What are you doing. Why are you here?"

Theo glanced down at her, then decided to just ignore her. It was a valid question and he wasn't about to answer it to the insufferable little imp. Instead, he increased his pace toward the gate in the hopes that it would offer some simpler answers. He could finish scouting the city once Senka had been dumped onto Fiyu or anyone else she didn't annoy. Or into a ditch, though the ditch might not be as patient.

A wall caught his attention: not one of the crimson stone walls that represented societal barriers, but a huge block of sandstone. In the consistently red city, it stuck out, but Theo realized that there were more than a few such walls ahead. Remnants of an older city built with different stone? Or perhaps...

When he examined the crowds more carefully, he realized that their composition shifted ahead of any changes in architecture. He saw far more Arbaians, rock-shaped Mundhin along with serpentine Eubhan and other species he couldn't even name. When he looked beyond the obvious, he realized that there were Fithans wearing all encompassing robes and face masks for sand instead of dust. It seemed like Norro Yorthin contained an Arbaian community within its walls, which didn't fit his expectations for Fithans.

"Wow, it's a bunch of rocky fumpets!" Senka punched his leg, apparently out of sheer excitement. "Except... do they have fumpets?"

"I guess we're about to find out." Theo grabbed her hand and pulled her into the Arbaian quarter.