Archcrafter: Chapters 7-9 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

Three items of business, then new chapters!

First, my novella Blades Falling Softly was chosen for one of r/fantasy's book of the month clubs! I think most people here who wanted to read it already have, but if you were waiting, there's a Q&A with me and there will be discussion posts throughout the month. If you're a $5 patron or have been around for several months, you can just message me to ask for a free copy.

Second, another worldbuilding post for TBS is up! Covering the Rhen, this time.

Finally, see above for the new cover draft for TWC1 that I received from the artist. If you care about this (and it's quite important for branding), please take a moment to type up some thoughts now.

As for the chapters... after the second book, I wanted to give the characters time to breathe, but next chapter, they'll start getting some serious deadlines again. ^-^

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Chapter 7

In the morning, Theo woke before the others to buy some early bread and gain a little more information. He was pleased by how much they'd accomplished in one day and had every intention of keeping up the momentum. With one year until the deadline, there would be time to relax later, but for now they needed to get the ball rolling.

When he returned, he found that Fiyu had departed to clean up, while Nauda brushed her hair in bed. As soon as she saw him drop the bread beside her, she gave an odd smile. "Somehow, I think that your infinite wisdom has decided on the path we're going to take today."

"It doesn't take any great wisdom," Theo said, "plus we caught a lucky break: House Crimson is conducting a trial today to induct new members."

"House Crimson? From what I've heard, they're powerful and influential, but their reputation is... cold and indifferent at best. And disturbingly unstable in recent times, according to rumors."

"We don't need them to be our friends, we need them to benefit us."

Nauda shook her head and chewed on a piece of bread for a while before swallowing and answering. "They apparently have the promising soulcrafters they want, so would we even stand out? We can't earn anything from them if they don't think we have enough to offer."

Theo waved the objection aside. "There's no reason not to start with the most powerful House. We can work our way down if absolutely necessary."

They continued to argue over it, Nauda bringing up other Houses that had made a better impression on her, until Fiyu joined them in the room. She was fitting her mask to her face, both of which appeared to have been freshly washed. When she smiled at them, he thought it was authentic. He'd suspected that she would recover quickly, since she had known she would be separated from her relative for a long time.

Unfortunately, Fiyu seemed to have no opinions whatsoever about which House they should join, so they remained stalemated. In the end, the fact that House Crimson was offering them an opportunity that day won out, so the group headed out to make their attempt.

House Crimson crowned a hill in the northeast, actually within the innermost circle of the city, which clearly proved to be the oldest and wealthiest region. The grand outer wall to the House complex was the same red of the city buildings, a fact that the House had exploited in propaganda to imply that they best represented the city. To make it clear that this was private territory, in case the reinforced gates and soulcrafter guards weren't clear enough, there were bright red banners hung every few paces along the walls.

Normally they would never have been allowed inside, but today the House was conducting a trial to select new members. The three of them joined a large group of hopefuls, some of whom seemed like mere workers, and Theo counted soulcrafters in the crowds. He saw some rough soulhomes, but there were Archcrafters among them and even two Rulers, which suggested fiercer competition than he'd expected.

Eventually the entire group assembled in a courtyard, buildings on all sides looming over them. Theo noted that the building ahead of them was the first true palace he'd seen on Fithe: the outer walls might be formidable, but the huge curtained windows and balconies couldn't be defended. Of course, if they really had a Stronghold-tier soulcrafter among them, that was defense enough. He could just see someone watching them on one of the balconies, though it wasn't likely to be their true leader, not for something like this.

"All of you are here today because you want to join the House Crimson." A Ruler rose over them on a platform of wind, staring down at the group somberly. "But our House has more hopefuls throwing themselves at us than we can possibly accept. For that reason, we have devised tests that will determine your worth in many different ways.

"Listen closely, because these rules will be explained only once. Over the course of today, there will be seventeen different trials, some of them announced and some hidden. Your performance on each will be graded, and your scores tallied. A sufficiently high score in one category could earn you entrance, or-"

"Nah." The lazy voice cut through the Ruler's speech, magnified by cantae. Theo wasn't sure where it came from, but the Ruler turned toward a balcony and immediately bowed.

"Lord Tythes!" Though thrown off his speech, he quickly managed a smile and gave a sweeping gesture. "Everyone, today you are honored by the presence of Tythes of House Crimson. He is one of our most talented Authorities, destined to become our second Stronghold."

The destined future of House Crimson slouched over the edge of the balcony, wearing disheveled robes that failed to cover his chest, though whether by design or by accident was anyone's guess. Wine stains covered one side of them, and the offending bottle of wine swung up to his lips for a long drink. Dropping the bottle, Tythes looked out over the group as if he found them particularly boring.

He didn't feel like an Authority, but Theo presumed that he had a shielding wall in place. The one curious detail about his appearance was that his skin was an odd purple and he had a single horn poking from his hair on the left side - he couldn't have looked more like a half-breed if he'd tried. Getting mixed signals, Theo reserved judgment until he had more observations.

"Lord Tythes," the Ruler eventually continued in a lower voice, "I was just beginning the test of our newest potential recruits, so if-"

"I said nah." Tythes raised his hand to his face, glanced down as if deeply offended that the wine bottle was no longer there, then refocused. "Seventeen tests sounds like way too many. There's going to be one test, and it's going to start now."

Stepping forward, Tythes pitched over the side of the balcony, but instead of falling, he floated upward, flipping a few times before turning upright. As he did so, Theo felt his soulhome and seriously considered retreating: Tythes might be acting like a fool, but he wasn't just an Authority, his soulhome was a dangerous one. Only the possibility that it might be a test of nerves kept Theo motionless in his position.

"My lord, I think-" The Ruler cut off the instant that Tythes waved at him, then the Authority focused down on the group below.

"What's going to happen is that I'm going to slam a bunch of cantae down on all of you. If you can keep standing, you win! If not, you can get out. Sound fair?"

Everyone stared at him in silence and he chuckled.

"Good answer, because it doesn't matter what you say. Okay, I'll count to eight so you can leave if you want. One... two... three... never mind, it starts now."

With no more warning than that, cantae pressure crushed the courtyard and nearly everyone crumpled. Most of the first tier soulcrafters never had a chance, smashed down to the flagstones immediately. Fiyu and a few others managed to drop down to one knee instead of collapsing, bowing in the face of such overwhelming force.

Theo considered resisting for a moment but decided to do the same before the cantae flattened him. He wasn't sure if using a reversed gravitational field would have been wise, since his gravity couldn't possibly affect the cantae. It was essentially like a solid wall descending on them, so sending himself upward might just smash him against it, which could be deadly if Tythes was as reckless as he looked.

Only three people were left standing... one of them Nauda. She had her staff braced against the ground and grimaced to stay in place, but she was resisting the cantae flooding down over her. The difference between an Archcrafter and an Authority was too vast to possibly overcome, but she might have endured.

Unfortunately, Theo doubted that this was really a trial at all.

"Oh, some of you are standing. That's nice." Tythes floated lower, looking over them. "The thing is, you have to keep standing. Good luck."

He could have brought them down just by keeping up pressure, but Tythes didn't wait more than a few seconds before he suddenly made a downward swatting motion. A column of light slammed down on one of the soulcrafters still standing, not just pressure but an established technique. It hammered them into the flagstones, eyes and mouth bleeding.

"That's one..." Tythes started to turn, but the next man in line wisely dropped down immediately. With a wry grin, Tythes floated on, shifting toward Nauda... who remained standing. "Hmm, are you not very bright or just stubborn? Are you really going to stand up to me?"

"It's obvious that no one else will." Nauda grated out the words, sweat now covering her body as she struggled to remain upright. Theo glanced at her in surprise, since she obviously understood what was happening by that point. What would drive her to take a stand against impossible odds for nothing?

"Oh, that's fun." Tythes clapped his hands together, then raised one, cantae gathering in it. When Nauda didn't flinch, he gave another lazy grin. "I'm not sure where you're from, but is it one of those weird places with strange views about striking women? I will absolutely flatten you."

"I know." Nauda couldn't last much longer, but she glared at him with everything she had left.

"Okay then."

With that, Tythes brought down his hand and slammed Nauda to the ground with just as much force as before. That left everyone in the courtyard bowing except the House Ruler, who seemed to have retreated off to the sides. Most of them stared up at the rogue Authority, wondering what they could do if he started killing people, but at that moment Tythes threw up his hands in an elaborate shrug.

"Looks like everybody fails! Go away and stop disrupting my sleep."

As soon as he landed on the balcony, his power veiled itself again and the oppressive force lifted. The vast majority of the former contestants scrambled to flee, while a few looked over to the Ruler as if hoping this had been part of the test. But the other man simply looked shaken and didn't respond, so they soon retreated as well.

Theo found himself alongside Fiyu as they rushed to help Nauda. The column of light had come down on her hard, but he judged the force had been somewhat evenly distributed. She lay on her back with no sign of broken bones, though she was bleeding from her nose.

"Nauda, are you alright?" Fiyu bent down beside her and Nauda gave a low groan.

"He didn't kill me, but... the pressure felt like it was crushing my chest. I think... I should see a healer."

"For now, you must rest. We will take care of you."

Fiyu gingerly touched the other woman's robes, then looked to Theo for help. He neutralized Nauda's gravity so that she could remain floating on her back, then the two of them slid her out of the courtyard between them. As he went, Theo glanced back over his shoulder, trying to evaluate what he'd seen. Parts of it felt like a performance, but he was also certain that Tythes had wanted the trials to end and would be willing to strike anyone else who ignored him.

That meant no challenging House Crimson, but their position had unquestionably worsened. Even if Nauda's injuries proved minor, it would take time and effort for her to recover, plus their strongest option for a House alliance had closed. Then again, given what they'd seen, staying out of House Crimson might have been for the best.

A glow behind them made Theo start to move for cover, but it wasn't the rogue House scion again. Instead, he saw a robed woman descend from the sky beside the soulcrafter who had first been crushed, then bend down beside him. Violet light flowed from her hand over the man, who suddenly sat up gasping.

It had obviously been a healing, but Theo was more interested in what he had seen. The woman's soulhome was expertly hidden, so his only chance to examine her strength had been in the moment of healing. There, he'd felt an Authority's cantae and gotten an impression of a highly polished soulhome. Perhaps this was another ranking member of House Crimson come to clean up the mess.

"Theo, should we avoid her?" Fiyu asked the question softly, but they didn't have a choice. In another moment, the woman was standing beside them.

Up close, Theo realized that he'd gotten the wrong impression of her age. Though her back was straight and she looked reasonably young, the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes and mouth suggested that she was far older. Perhaps she had soulcrafted excellent health for herself, but not yet true immortality. They would have to hope that her experience had made her less volatile than Tythes.

"I must apologize for my nephew." She spoke in a quiet voice that still seized their attention. "Please forgive his youthful indiscretions. The House has placed a great deal of pressure on him, and it causes him to lash out."

"He is your relative?" Fiyu asked. The old woman responded with a practiced half-shrug.

"I used the term in the sense of being my junior within the House, as we are not actually related. However, I trained him when he passed beyond the abilities of his parents and his tutors, so I bear the responsibility for his actions."

"Never mind that," Theo said. They might not have any leverage except the woman's honor, but he thought that could be exploited. "Are you going to heal our friend?"

"Yes, give me but a moment." Again he caught a glimpse of an Authority's soulhome as a violet light spread over Nauda's body. When Theo relaxed the gravitational field, she returned to her feet with wide eyes, no sign of her injuries except a bit of dried blood above her lips.

"Thank you." Nauda gave the woman a friendly touch to the arm, but she immediately shook her head.

"We do not deserve your thanks. For now, I suggest that you depart. It may be quite some time before House Crimson conducts future trials, so you will need to be patient." She disappeared in a blur, back into the House grounds. Whether she was going to reprimand Tythes or clean up after more of his messes, Theo couldn't be sure.

As they wearily put some distance between themselves and House Crimson, Theo considered the encounter. It seemed plausible that Tythes was simply lashing out, and if he was really so essential to the House's future, there might be no one to stop him. Many Authorities were like the old woman who hadn't given her name, managing to break through later in life and unable to soulcraft further. Soulcrafters who could ascend to Stronghold and beyond at a young age were rare, which gave them entirely too much power. The fact that House Crimson hadn't anticipated such behavioral issues spoke poorly of them.

"Our first attempt has not gone as we'd hoped," Nauda said mildly. "Tell us, Theo, where will your enlightened guidance take us next?"

"Hey, I'm not sure anyone could have predicted that." Theo glanced at the other two, but was glad to see that their spirits hadn't been broken. "Let's try a House with a calmer reputation next, shall we?"

-

Chapter 8

Several days later, as they entered another House complex, all they'd essentially done was narrow their options. The House of Coin was stable and well-managed, but he judged they were too canny and well-staffed to offer them much of an advantage. House Teal hosted many trials, but they were trying to prop up their own position and had nothing to offer. When Nauda had convinced them to at least try one of the small Houses, it had been so limited that she'd agreed that was a dead end.

Now they sat in another courtyard, this time for House Blacksilver. The group along with them wasn't nearly as large as those hoping to join House Crimson, but the group was reasonably large and unusually diverse: he spotted Ichili and Arbaians along with Fithans. Around him, he noted that the grounds weren't particularly luxurious, but they were practical and well-maintained.

It had taken the two of them teaming up on him to attend the House's trial event. He felt that any organization that devoted as much energy to appearing benevolent as House Blacksilver must be attempting to cover something else. They hadn't figured out the city's black markets or smuggling operations, which must exist, so perhaps they were the local mafia. But Nauda believed they had good intentions and Fiyu had been attracted by their Ichili facilities, so now they were giving it an honest try.

"Do you think their name comes from this material?" Fiyu had pried up one of the stones beneath her and examined the glossy black surface. "It is a worthy material for a name, but I cannot tell if it is silver as well as black."

"Oh, it definitely is." Nauda bent down beside her, shifting the flagstone to reveal the silvery sheen that merged with the black, producing a color Theo hadn't seen on Earth. "Can you not see that part of the color?"

"I could, but not through my mask." Fiyu smiled to herself, as if pleased she had uncovered the reasoning behind the name. Then someone from House Blacksilver marched into the room and she guiltily replaced the stone and straightened back up.

The woman conducting the trial was an unremarkable Fithan, wearing a Blacksilver uniform but otherwise exactly like many of the other functionaries they'd met. None of the trials they'd seen or heard about had gone as explosively as the one Tythes had ruined, which at least suggested that the city wasn't ruled by power mad Authorities, but simple officers doing their job bored him.

"Thank you all for coming to House Blacksilver." She gave the assembled group a polite smile that was as much a part of her script as every other word. "We do not consider ourselves an elite organization, but because our resources are limited, we can only afford to pay a certain number of soulcrafters. For that reason, we need to conduct this trial. I will explain the terms, then you may all choose whether or not you wish to participate."

As the woman walked to a table, a number of House servants brought out several heavy cases and began to set them up. The functionary unlocked the first, then slipped out a vial of liquid that glistened an unnatural purple.

"This is granitebile. It's a sublime material from one of our mines, but it's considered a waste product because it has few productive uses. In pure form, it's a poison that could damage an unprepared soulhome. We've severely diluted this, but consuming it isn't without risk. The trial is to consume a single vial without defending yourself, and we will evaluate how well your soulhome resists the effect. If you're not confident in your ability, please decline the trial."

Depending on the exact properties of the "granitebile" the test was either brutal or cleverly designed. Without more information, Theo wasn't about to go first, and fortunately several soulcrafters immediately moved to the table. Judging from their lack of hesitation, they must have attempted the trial before, or just be idiots. The House functionary forced them into a line, so a broad Fithan Archcrafter drank the first vial.

With his defenses lowered, it was easy to get a sense for his soulhome, and Nauda reached over to touch Theo's knee so he could take advantage of her telescope. They peered into the man's soulhome, getting a glimpse of a squat building formed from common Fithan stone. He might have an Archcrafter's cantae, but his floors were too short, and the stones forming his wall were set together poorly.

An instant later, purple liquid flooded in from the edges of his soul, the sublime material magnified within his soul. The man flooded his own cantae outwards, attempting to sweep back the tide, but that was a weak maneuver that barely pushed some of it aside. Purple liquid flooded past him, splashing up against his soulhome, leaking through the cracks in his walls and splashing into the windows.

As the granitebile flooded through the man's soul and dissipated into cantae, Theo understood the brilliance of the test. A true poison could have dealt devastating damage, but the diluted granitebile only left deep purple stains, revealing all the man's weaknesses in stark color. There was no way to deny that his soulhome had handled the test poorly, so the man cursed and stalked out of the room without arguing.

Others continued with the trial, while Theo slid into his own soulhome and began to work. What impressed him about the test was that it favored quality over strength: any idiot with enough money and willpower could have forced their way to Archcrafter, but the trial wouldn't turn away skilled soulcrafters who lacked the means to ascend. There were multiple viable options for dealing with the staining poison, so it let all potential candidates show their worth.

His soulhome could have kept out the flood, but Theo wanted to do better, hence it was time for some last second soulcrafting. He began by creating a barrier to cover his technique window, just in case, then began to soulcraft barriers from his leftover hearthtree wood.

While he worked, the others made their way through the trial, most failing. Some couldn't lower their defenses enough, immediately burning away the granitebile, which revealed a lack of fundamental control over soulhome techniques. Most who succeeded did so with simple good construction, though it clearly wasn't an exceptional result. One candidate with a barrier wall around his soulhome was ushered into another room. No one succeeded with pure cantae - it would take a Ruler or better to actually push aside a poison directly, and they didn't need trials like this to prove their worth.

Busy with his soulcrafting, Theo didn't realize that Fiyu had stepped into the line until he saw her at the front drinking a vial. The purple flood rushed through her soulhome, lapping at the sides before washing away without leaving a trace. Her perfectly polished walls retained their true colors, so finely honed that they rejected the outside influence.

Though the woman leading the trial tried to take her into another room, Fiyu shook her head and sat at the side, waiting for them with a smile. Nauda went next, stirring up a circular pattern of cantae from her heart chamber. It didn't attempt to strike back the flood, just redirected it slightly. Her soulhome easily repelled the portion of the flood that reached it: a few stains remained, but she'd proven her worth with the advanced cantae flow.

That left him, but he was adept at ad hoc constructions like this. There weren't many left in line, so Theo was able to walk up to the table and get a vial easily. He checked the granitebile, just in case it contained something more sinister, then lowered his defenses and allowed the poison into his soulhome.

As he'd known it would, it swept in from one side, meeting the V shaped dam he'd constructed. The flood of poison split in half against the hearthtree wood, flowing to the sides and out of his soulhome without touching his central building. It left the wood horribly stained, but Theo was surprised that the yellowed grass of his foundation actually drank in the poison without harm.

"It's certainly enough to pass, but..." The woman regarded him oddly, eyes unfocused as she peered into his soul. "Soulcrafting something so quickly is impressive, and your soulhome looks like it would have performed well regardless. But to simply waste resources to pass the trial..."

"They're not wasted." Theo entered his soulhome again and picked up a piece of the stained wood. Though he didn't let the Blacksilver functionary look directly into his soulhome, he took a fragment of the dam inside and fed it into the singularity in his heart chamber. She might not understand the exact technique, but her eyebrows rose slightly as she realized he could absorb the material harmlessly.

"Very well, then. Normally we would take you aside to discuss terms of employment with House Blacksilver, but since you seem to have companions waiting for you, we'll address the three of you at once."

Theo went to join Fiyu and Nauda, who smiled back as they rose. Though there were other Blacksilver employees around, it was actually the trial proctor who led them into one of the buildings around the courtyard. The office they entered was simply furnished, like the rest of the complex.

"House Blacksilver attempts to be generous but fair," the woman explained once she was behind her desk. "We evaluate each of our members by a system of merits based on their contributions to the House. Every month, one hundred merits will be deducted from your account, and in return you'll be given your salary. If you do not contribute sufficiently in a month without informing us, it will be viewed as a... lack of commitment."

"What's our salary?" Nauda asked. The woman pulled a stone slate from behind her and set it on their side of the desk, so Theo leaned forward to glance at the listed positions.

"It's based upon three things: your soulcrafting tier, your total contributions to the House, and other confirmed positions, such as being a stoneshaper or armament crafter. I think you're capable of calculating your salaries for yourselves, but let me determine how many merits we'll grant you based on your demonstrated skill in the trial. Presuming that you agree to the terms, of course."

That was less important than Theo's question: "What if we acquire more than a hundred merits in a month?"

"This slate will explain the tasks you'll be expected to perform as a member of House Blacksilver." The woman found another in her desk, then handed over both. While they drew back to examine them, she continued with the familiar speech. "Soulcrafters are expected to harvest sublime materials, serve as guards, handle demons, and hunt sublime beasts. If you truly contribute to the House, you will be well-compensated."

The slates revealed a system that seemed simple and fair. He and Nauda would receive one hundred and fifty Fithan Discs per month, while Fiyu received only eighty. But if they continued contributing to the House and increased their merit rank, the difference between tiers declined, which would discourage moochers but allow first tier soulcrafters with other talents to earn a better wage.

Most importantly, the merit values listed for the various tasks suggested that one hundred merits was far from an impossible goal. That meant it would be possible for a group like theirs to accumulate many, both increasing their salaries and likely trading the merits in return for other rewards. Theo had heard rumors of some Houses granting Chasm Invitations to their most productive members, so this could well be the path they needed. 

"How much money is that?" Fiyu asked quietly as they huddled up. "I have purchased nothing since we arrived here."

"It's a lot." Nauda chewed her lower lip as she looked over the slate. "Too much, I think. There must be a catch."

"I will ask." Fiyu turned back to the Blacksilver official before they could object. "Excuse me. Do you directly give us this amount each month?"

The woman shrugged without looking up from her notes. "There are adjustments. If you damage House property, there could be deductions, but if you contribute something significant, it could be increased as well. You can also use your salary for services: we offer highly secure rooms for a reasonable price, for example, if you wish to stay here instead of an inn."

"I will require a complete list of all such adjustments."

"We don't exactly keep lists like that. There are too many unknowns... for example, if you bring us unusually valuable sublime materials, you can be paid in merits or in coin. Your paid salary will be lower than the value, but not much, so-"

"Please let me see the most complete list you have." Fiyu's frown made her disapproval obvious, actually seeming to shame the woman slightly. "I would like to join House Blacksilver, but it is important to know the exact terms of any commitment."

Grumbling under her breath, the woman sorted through her desk before coming up with a partial list. As soon as they looked over it, Theo realized that their caution was entirely necessary. The monthly cost for room and board was quite reasonable, but all the other fees...

"Transportation, healing, instruction, material evaluation, repair..." Nauda shook her head and stared at the list skeptically. "They promise you a huge salary, then take most of it away in bits and pieces. Now I understand how some people become permanently indebted to Houses."

Fiyu looked between them nervously. "Is this a trap? Should we reject the offer?"

"No, I think this is reasonable." Theo tapped the list and nodded to himself. "They could easily charge more and force people to become debt slaves, but these fees are reasonable. An average soulcrafter working with them would receive a decent life, just not much profit on the side. It's a fair offer, and we should be able to do much better than average."

Across the room, the functionary had finished her work and now watched them. Though she likely couldn't hear their whispered conversation unless she'd significantly enhanced her hearing, she wiped her eyes and sighed. "I knew the three of you might be trouble. I believe you could do very well in House Blacksilver, but please don't make my job harder than it already is."

"We have some questions." Nauda broke from their huddle and they returned to stand in front of the desk. "Deducting some of these fees from our pay seems unfair. For example, we will not require House transportation, because we possess a levitating vehicle already."

"If you use your own vehicles, then we could remove that fee." The woman smiled a little too readily and got out a paper contract, but Theo cut her off.

"There's more. We have our own blueprints, so we don't need to pay for soulcrafting instruction. I can evaluate all the sublime materials we harvest, and we can repair our own equipment..."

Though the woman groaned, she accepted their negotiations. Nauda looked a little hesitant at some of his choices, but Theo was confident in every skill that required nothing but expertise. In the end, they negotiated contracts that granted them the services they needed while still leaving them with the majority of their salaries.

The others seemed pleased by the results, but Theo had one more question: "Was House Blacksilver given any invitations to the Chasm of Lamentation?"

"Oh?" That got another look of mild surprise, but the functionary quickly nodded. "We are not a small House, so we were granted five Chasm Invitations. Three of them are reserved for our most talented and skilled Authorities or veterans of previous chasm expeditions. That leaves two that can be purchased by merits... but I must warn you, they will cost over a thousand, and there may be competition for them."

"That's fine." Theo glanced back at the others and Nauda smiled at him.

"So we finally won you over?" the woman asked. He nodded and then turned back to the official.

"We'd like to join House Blacksilver."

-

Chapter 9

After so long rushing between worlds, a significant portion of it being pursued, Theo was glad to fall into a routine. Though they could serve as ruts, routines could also be optimized. As the three of them adjusted to life in House Blacksilver, he set about doing exactly that.

Since they were new recruits, they weren't taken into any important confidences, just given necessary tasks. Fortunately, their strength as soulcrafters ensured that they didn't need to waste time with any truly tedious activities, as unranked members often needed to do. Instead, they could begin with work better suited to their skill.

Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to work day and night to rack up as many merits as possible: everyone else had the same idea. The jobs he judged had a good merit/hour ratio - like dangerous harvesting or occasionally demon extermination - were all fiercely contested, so they could only get one per week or so. However, he'd learned that there were rarer and more rewarding tasks, so resolved to pay attention for those.

What they could do beyond the other members of House Blacksilver was work on everything at once. Theo built his schedule around enormous blocks of working, soulcrafting, and skill refinement with Nauda and Fiyu. The result left them with very little free time, but they were simultaneously racking up merits, money, and most importantly power.

At the moment, Theo sat within his soulhome, hammering away at a boulder. The sublime material was called eclipsebasalt, and he was still immensely pleased to have found it. Eclipsebasalt was incredibly durable and contained cantae nearly perfectly, but it wasn't exorbitantly expensive for two reasons: it was unusually challenging to soulcraft, and difficult to work into a soulhome. But since it fit his design perfectly and he had the skills to soulcraft it, he'd been able to acquire multiple boulders for a reasonable price.

It was durable enough that even his skills with a spirit hammer couldn't just break it apart, but he had more tricks in store. The traditional method of breaking such boulders in half was to hammer a line of spikes and create a plane of weakness. Instead of purchasing any from the House stores, he'd improvised them from other materials, though it still required significant work.

How many hours had he been working? Theo stopped hammering at the spikes and immediately felt new waves of spiritual soreness. Recognizing that he needed a break to work efficiently, he wiped away some sweat and just leaned on the spirit hammer for a while, staring back toward his soulhome.

With the eclipsebasalt he'd broken so far, he'd laid most of the groundwork for his second floor, though it was currently covered by a tarp and still missing most of the bricks in one corner room. Still, it had been satisfying progress: with each new room completed, he'd significantly increased his available supply of cantae. He might not be a peak Archcrafter yet, certainly not with empty rooms, but no one on his tier was going to out-muscle him with raw cantae.

He thought about checking on how the other two were doing before remembering that they'd gone out on some sort of assignment with Ichili immigrants. Still, he knew their soulcrafting quite well. 

Fiyu had been spending her money in the markets near the Ichili gate, acquiring the materials that she was missing in order to complete her first floor chambers. Meanwhile, Nauda had completed the walls and ceiling of her second floor, though this time instead of pushing upward, she remained focused. That was good, because for all the strength of her Archcrafter materials, her blueprint needed tightening overall.

Early on during their work, he'd explained to them his basic strategy: they'd spend their money and merits freely until they had run out of options with an excellent rate of return. Fortunately, they'd understood immediately, and in fact the explanation might have been unnecessary. Every merit he'd spent building his second floor strengthened him enough to acquire even more merits, and so on. The trick was recognizing the point where investments got diminishing returns and start saving instead, which would likely be different for each of them.

Of course, the easiest promotion available to them was having Fiyu ascend to Archcrafter, but she insisted that her relative would give her a special sublime material for that step. Theo was sure she had the willpower for it, and she'd done plenty of polishing on her first floor, but decided not to press the argument.

When Theo returned to his work, he was surprised how much easier it felt, putting more spiritual force into each swing. It wasn't long after he resumed work that he finally heard a crack from deep within the eclipsebasalt. He eagerly struck the line of spikes until at last the boulder split in half.

Though the outer surface of each boulder was black, the inside glowed hot white. One of the things that made eclipsebasalt so difficult to work with was that the light and dark sections shifted unpredictably, but he'd mastered the patterns after a few false starts. Now he could craft solid bricks that had a brilliant exterior and a dark interior, then place them with the light side out.

Theo retrieved his spikes, set the boulder halves on their flat ends, and began creating new lines. The trick was not to work the light side until the final chiseling stage. Done this way, his second floor glowed to match the solarstone of his first floor. It could represent an eclipse, like the name, or it could be the corona of a black hole. The exterior would deflect attacks well, while the interior was a good match to his gravitational cantae. He almost considered using plates of eclipsebasalt to cover the entire tower, but felt that he could find a more perfect sublime material for that.

Most of his soulcrafting hours had been spent on the hard work of building a new floor's walls, but the majority of his thoughts had been on the contents of his chambers. He had an absolutely perfect design for his second floor, which would come later. For now, he was more concerned with finding appropriate materials to furnish the chambers on the ground floor.

That was the point where he wasn't sure about the balance of cost and rewards. There were countless worthy sublime materials available through House Blacksilver, it was a question of which were most helpful to them at the moment. He'd eaten some sublime foods along with the others, and the addition of Fithan dishes had strengthened his feasting chamber, but he needed more than incremental improvements.

His weakest chamber was unquestionably the southern one, which was filled with emblems won from Deuxan nobles. Those had nothing to do with his design, they were just being stored where they'd do some good, so the room might as well be empty. He already had chambers dedicated to concepts like feasting and storage, so he needed something else, perhaps something relaxing...

Unfortunately, relaxing wasn't his strong suit. And while there was so much work to do, he saw no reason to be worried about it.

Once he had broken the boulder apart into block-sized chunks, Theo recognized that he needed to stop for the day. Carving them into proper bricks without ruining the bright surfaces required absolute focus, which he didn't have at the moment. When Theo withdrew from his soulhome, he was surprised to find that his room was completely dark. The sun had set and he'd been too deep in his work to bother creating any sort of light.

After finding one of the light spheres, Theo turned it to generate a soft red light. They sold others that created light in many hues, but the red ones had been cheapest. What mattered was that they lit up the room enough for him to read the papers on the desk beside his bed.

There he looked over the calculations again, more as a focus aid than because he'd needed to run the numbers on paper. The Fithan year was slightly longer than an Earth year and they operated on a thirteen month cycle. So each of them needed to acquire 1300 merits from their work just to remain employed at House Blacksilver - they received security and other services for that fee, but he counted it as a loss toward their true goals.

So far, they'd been able to earn an average of fifty merits per week, meaning over 2500 per year. The 1200 merits after their salaries might be enough to purchase Chasm Invitations, but that would mean purchasing absolutely nothing else. He'd already spent a significant amount on eclipsebasalt, and Nauda wanted her armament. On top of that, he worried there might end up being a bidding war. So the simple math suggested they needed to find better sources of merits on top of other paths to Invitations.

That would have been necessary in any case, since there were apparently only two invitations remaining. There was an outside possibility that one of them could become one of the House's top soulcrafters and earn one of the protected spots, but unless everyone above them stopped soulcrafting or there was a war, that possibility seemed unlikely. He needed to get into the city more and find out where a Chasm Invitation might be bought.

Looking over the numbers again didn't do him any good, and he didn't feel like sleeping, so Theo locked his room and headed out for a walk. The Blacksilver complex was generally silent at night, but various guards and workers still kept busy. Theo wandered from the men's chambers and started to go toward the women's side before remembering both the hour and his friends' absence.

Instead he drifted to the main courtyard and eventually into the office. His plan had been to check the various lists and boards of work, just in case any new options presented themselves. As soon as he entered, the woman who had administered their test - he'd learned her name was Antha - waved him toward her desk.

"There you are," she said. "You were supposed to come today, but I suppose it doesn't matter. It's the same salary no matter when you take it."

"Salary?" Theo asked brilliantly. She tossed a small sack of coins to him and he reflexively caught it in one hand. It wasn't her words that surprised him, but the fact that it had actually been a full month since they'd joined the House.

His life was so filled by his work that the month had passed almost before he'd realized it. Finally, all of the preparations he'd made and skills he'd redeveloped could come together in the swift pace he'd hoped for. Buoyed by his progress, he didn't even resent the time he'd needed to wait, because it had given him the chance to refine his new blueprint.

"All of you have been worth the trouble." Antha gave him a slight smile before she returned to her work. "Keep it up and I'm sure you'll be pillars of House Blacksilver in no time."

"We plan to stick around, but we need to make faster progress than this." Theo tested the bag's weight in his hand as he considered the matter. "Are there any special opportunities we could volunteer for?"

"That's not enough for you? You already negotiated a hard enough deal... apparently it works for you, so I can't object, but you're getting better salaries than most newcomers."

Unfortunately, it would be a bad deal to spend merits increasing their salaries when they might not remain with House Blacksilver long term, so they needed alternate paths. "Are there any high value jobs we'd be specifically suited for? They don't have to involve combat or soulcrafting."

"That sort of thing doesn't just fall into your lap. But..." Antha paused, frowned to herself, then dug beneath a record book for another paper. "We actually do need a delegation to go meet with some mud Fithans. Dust Fithans are a bad choice for obvious reasons, so we usually rely on foreigners to represent us. Now, the House has a lot of foreigners, but if you three can prove your negotiation skills, perhaps..."

"Weren't you just complaining about those skills?"

"I suppose I was. I'll mark you down and we can discuss it further when the time comes. It won't be for months, depending on higher level negotiations, so just focus on earning merits and proving yourself for now."

He nodded acknowledgment and wandered back out, counting his salary just in case. After fees, he'd earned 110 Fithan Discs, which meant 1430 per year. That would be 3250 between them, though it could have been over four thousand if Fiyu had been willing to ascend to Archcrafter. Theo set that aside, since he wasn't sure how much it would matter in the end.

The amount of money they were earning, especially combined with their reserves from Deuxan, was a considerable amount for individuals, but not so much for vast organizations like Houses. Until he had more information, he wasn't sure whether Chasm Invitations would be available on the black market or only fought over in auctions by Houses. It might be wiser to spend that money on themselves, though he intended to save his until they knew for sure.

On his way back to his room, Theo considered alternative methods. He'd learned that the granitebile used in the entrance trials was produced in great quantities and considered almost useless. Several possibilities for its use, such as cleaning or intentional coloring, had leapt out at him, but the Fithans weren't stupid: over generations they'd tried most of the obvious things. His methods would work, they just required other ingredients that rendered the result more expensive than the cheapest alternatives.

Still, if he could come up with a new use for granitebile the House would immediately become richer and they'd reward him for it. Theo spent a while sorting through all his old memories for a hint of something that might lead to a breakthrough. He'd been focused on combat soulcrafting, but with all the sublime materials he'd encountered, there might be a fragmentary memory of something.

When he returned to the corridor to his room, Theo spotted a body on the floor and immediately threw aside all his long term thoughts. The lump of cloth gave little clue in the low light, but a pool of liquid glistened beside it. If it was a corpse, the House might be under an attack, so he-

No, it was Senka lying in a puddle of her own drool, which was worse.

"Senka's back!" She popped up with a cheerful smile. "Senka waited a long, long, long time for Fiyu and Nauda but they never came."

"Where have you been, anyway?" Theo walked past her to unlock his door. He knew that she'd find a way in somehow, so he might as well get her out of the hallway where she might blurt sensitive information.

"Senka found some food that tasted yummy but then someone got angry for no reason and Senka had to run away and then Senka jumped into a sewage pit and that did not taste yummy." She continued her nonsensical babble as she followed him, then suddenly tossed a bag down onto the ground. "Anyway Senka found pretties!"

Since "finding" objects was her one real use, Theo bent down to pick up the bag. To his surprise, it contained several dozen Fithan Discs, smaller bags of craftgems, a few lumps of sublime coal... and what appeared to be a half-eaten fruit. Not a sublime one, just severely chewed and extremely smelly.

"Thanks, Senka. You can have this part." He gingerly picked out the fruit and tossed it toward her, only for her to swat it directly back into his face.

"Take Senka's gift, you big mean fumpet! Hmph! Senka is angry now!" She promptly stormed out of the room in a huff, though unfortunately it wouldn't last for long.

As he locked the door, Theo looked back to the bag and considered that she'd inadvertently taught him a lesson. Yes, they'd find other resources outside of House Blacksilver, but he'd been counting on that.

The real lesson was that they had no idea what random chance would throw at them.

-

I'm including some more notes about the cover here, because I didn't want to influence the discussion. I've found that voicing my own concerns can direct the conversation toward what I noticed, missing what might stand out to others. Overall, I feel like this one loses the color scheme that made the blue cover most people voted for work. I like some elements that were added, but feel like the upper buildings are too much outlines.

I don't want to delay everything even more, but it's important to get this right. =/ Please give your thoughts, regardless of whether or not they match mine.