Chasmfall: Chapters 5-7 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

The early chapters of this book were unusually long, but now we're back to shorter ones, so you're getting three of them instead of two.

These chapters include some answers, or at least significant steps toward answers. I know some readers have expressed frustration about some of the unknowns or about apparent discrepancies. All I can really say is that I have a clear overall picture in mind and I hope its reveals will be satisfying. Not every thread can appear in every book, but they'll all be woven together in the end.

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Chapter 5

The Blacksilver Authority to take them to Arbai wasn't Dhan, instead an elderly Fithan man who appeared to have little time for them. He demanded they gather together with barely enough forewarning to collect their supplies, hectoring House staff to pull together some resources they apparently planned to trade. Fiyu was still readjusting her mask when he pulled out his weirkey and transported them all.

Traveling by weirkey instead of gate, the flesh-shriveling dryness hit Theo from all sides. He briefly glanced at the others to confirm that no one had been left behind, then quickly looked for their destination. Fortunately, there was no sandstorm at the moment, so it was easy to find the School of Emerald Indulgence looming, a honeycomb of balconies and tunnels.

"This the place?" the Authority asked.

"Y-" Theo had barely finished nodding when the man disappeared, leaving them in the middle of the Arbaian desert.

Fortunately, this time they were well-prepared and not under duress. Nauda had packed a significant amount of water, just in case, but Theo didn't anticipate that would be a problem. He set about lifting the barrels of granitebile with a gravitational field and neutralizing their momentum so they could be carried behind them. While he did so, he noted that Senka hadn't managed to sneak along, this time. It might have been his imagination, or maybe she'd truly been around less since his attempt to train her.

One thing they hadn't been able to do was call ahead, since all the Blacksilver Authorities wanted to do was confirm that the school still existed. There was a remote possibility that they wouldn't be allowed inside, though Theo doubted that was likely. Even if something significant had changed with Navim, they had a relationship of debt with the School of Emerald Indulgence.

Several Arbaians met them before they arrived, their bodies shaped like great spiked wheels. One of them uncurled just enough to reveal an emerald-studded core. "Why have you come to this place, outsiders?" There wasn't exactly suspicion in the echoing voice, but they clearly treated arrivals by weirkey differently than stragglers from the desert.

"I owe a debt to Master Uvvah Ulim," Theo said. "Some cycles past, he granted me a favor in exchange for knowledge. I have returned to pay that debt."

"And these barrels? What are all they?"

"Our hosts have sent a number of sublime materials along with us, common materials on Fithe that we hope can be traded for common materials of your own." He considered explaining about the granitebile, but the Arbaians who had met them were clearly warriors. Likely more educated than the average guard, just more interested in security than commerce.

"We know one of your relatives." Fiyu walked directly up to one of the guards and stared up into his gemstone sphere. "His name is Navim. He will vouch for us."

"Navim? Are they the...?" The guard trailed off before pulling back and the two conversed in low voices. Soon enough, they were told to follow but wait outside the main entrance while the guards walked further inside. Since there had been no wildcards up to that point and Navim was apparently still present, Theo let himself relax, focused more on potential random attacks than the situation turning truly bad.

While Fiyu stood and waited as if her presence could force them to capitulate, Nauda ambled up beside him and leaned on her staff. "They're being a bit unfriendly, aren't they? We saved a member of their community."

"I think they are being reasonably cautious," Fiyu said, smiling over her shoulder at them. "But I believe they will let us in soon."

"Most likely." Nauda smiled back, but released a sigh as soon as Fiyu turned away. "Really, though."

"I suspect we all look alike to them," Theo said. "It's a pretty daunting trek to the nearest gate, which is so unused that Tatian barely keeps it guarded. If they don't see many humanoids like us, I doubt they really register the details."

"...humanshapes? Is that a word in your language?"

"It sounds better there, yeah."

Fortunately, they didn't need to wait too much longer. There was some commotion on one of the upper levels, then an enormous mass of stone launched itself down at them. It would have been alarming if it hadn't been Navim, his upper body now branching into three limbs but otherwise as they remembered him. Nauda only flinched slightly and Fiyu quickly ran to intercept his landing point.

"Navim! We have returned." She smiled up at him and Navim lowered the gemstone sphere at his core so it was nearer her face.

"You have indeed returned. My only regret deeper than your absence was that I was unable to thank you for saving my life."

"I am sorry for that, but it was essential to return to Myufuru."

"So I heard." Navim's body rose higher to regard Theo and Nauda as they approached. "I am glad to see that all of you appear to be intact. The rumors regarding Myufuru were grim, and though I wanted to believe in your resilience, at times it seemed improbable. Please, enter the School of Emerald Indulgence as my guests."

They followed Navim into the catacombs, all suspicion falling from them as the other Mundhin confirmed the identity of the outsiders. Along the way, their stories tumbled together, a truncated version of their own travels mixing with Navim's rather more stolid account. It seemed that he had recovered from near death, written a monograph about the experience, and improved his reputation as a scholar.

Though he didn't even mention it, Navim had also ascended to Archcrafter, and developed a shielding wall that made it impossible to tell how much further he had soulcrafted. He'd also altered his body, growing shields of durable stone on several appendages. It was not a full war construct, lacking in offensive spikes and instead possessing smaller limbs for delicate work. Still, Theo had no doubt that his soulcrafting had improved along with his scholarship.

To Theo's surprise, their conversation advanced to a small cavern filled with a dense mist that reduced the burning dryness. Within, they were served water and actual food edible to humans. It seemed that in addition to his other work, Navim had established more of a connection to the gate in Tatian, ensuring that lost travelers could be cared for.

Not that there was much commerce, since the two sides had so little to offer one another. The Arbaian side of the gate remained unguarded, but the Tatians had organized more than local Farmguards after Magnafor had torn through them. It appeared to be at least a reasonable working relationship, which was more than the School had ever established with Tatian before.

Eventually the conversation fell off from the frenzied recounting and Navim regarded them all with his impassive non-gaze. The mental focus of his sphere soon came to rest on Theo. "I presume that you are not here solely for the sake of discourse and companionship. You believe that our School can assist you in the conflicts you have intimated?"

"We have several goals," Theo said. "For a start, I promised your master that I would return to speak with him."

"Ah. Master Uvvah Ulim was further weakened striking down a demonic incursion and is not seeing many visitors. I believe that he will wish to speak with you, but it may be some time before you can be scheduled between more important affairs of the school."

"What happens if he..." Nauda's question faltered out as she reached the obvious, but Navim raised a rocky limb.

"Do not be concerned, we understand that death is part of life here. Though Master Uvvah Ulim will hopefully lead the school for many more cycles, he is making arrangements for his passing. We may not be the largest school, but our philosophy is respected and he has never fostered a... I hope that the term 'cult of personality' is known to you. The School of Emerald Indulgence may change, but it will persist."

That was well and good, but it was a distraction, so Theo stepped in again. "We'll be staying on Arbai for approximately thirty days, and we have several things we want to do in that time."

"Approximately?"

"Depending on variables. We made arrangements with our allies to transport us back at a set time, but if your master has a weirkey for Fithe and is willing, we could return at another time." Though Theo was still parched, he made himself set aside his glass and focus. "We have a limited amount of time to soulcraft, and though I don't imagine you'll give us your finest sublime materials, some that are common here may be completely impossible to obtain in Norro Yorthin."

"Indeed, if you had not come with such goals, I would have been concerned regarding impersonation." Navim turned from him to sweep his focus over the others. "All three of you are welcome, and I believe that you will easily be able to earn your keep. This region is not rich with sublime materials, but I suspect you will be able to find something of use to you."

"What work will we be doing?" Fiyu asked. "I imagine all the maintenance of your building must be optimized for Mundhin labor."

"It is, but there's work to be found for other forms, and hardly menial labor. For example, I believe that your knowledge regarding this Chasm of Lamentations, and its inclusion in cyclical Fithan customs, would be of great interest to many scholars here. Perhaps we could collaborate."

"I would like that." Fiyu had been smiling the entire time, but managed to smile broader. "Do you think it is possible that, once our time here is complete, you might want to explore Norro Yorthin as well?"

"Perhaps, but it is too early for such predictions." Navim's limbs rolled underneath him and he rose to his full height. "At minimum, we will have this time together. Come with me and we can make use of it."

-

Chapter 6

Despite her best intentions, Nauda realized that she had been underestimating Arbai. She had thought that harvesting sublime materials there couldn't be anything except endless quarrying in the sun, but with every day that passed, she learned that there was far more to it.

There were gradations that she couldn't see, of course, which she'd somewhat anticipated. The local Mundhin lived in stone and they understood it with far more subtlety than others could, similarly to how they might conceivably view Tatian as "a bunch of plants". Since assisting them required learning at least basic differentiation, she was able to imagine how diverse the rocky plains appeared to them.

But what surprised her was the diversity found even by her foreign eyes. She traveled with Navim and the others through caverns of rainbow crystals, fields of sand that flowed like water, valleys that refracted the sun into stunning palettes of color. Soon she'd learned that Arbai contained more than just philosophers, including long traditions of art, some of which wasn't impenetrable to her.

That day, she worked within what she could only describe as a cloud of stone. Thousands of rocks floated together in a tumbling mass that somehow maintained its cohesion as it traveled over the Arbaian plains. She had asked for an explanation, but soul translation had failed her: the answers had included numerous words like "attractionforce" and "weightforce" that she could only understand superficially.

One thing was clear: the stone clouds only occasionally traveled through the region, so they needed to be harvested when the opportunity presented itself. Since she was smaller than all but specialized Mundhin, Nauda was sent directly into the cloud to retrieve rare materials. Each time she leapt up onto a piece of floating rock, it sagged under her weight, but she hadn't quite figured out why some floated back up and other went tumbling into the storm. Gradually she figured out how to navigate her way through the chaos, locating her targets.

One particularly swift-moving stone caught her attention and Nauda thrust her staff toward in its direction, only for it to tear through her binding. She lunged after it, redirecting off another floating rock, and grabbed it with both hands. On her tumbling way down, she banged against a few of the other rocks, but eventually regained her balance. That was one more acquired.

As she made her way out of the rock cloud, Nauda noticed another one of the irregular dark stones, which supposedly contained ore that the Arbaians needed. This one didn't resist her staff at all, so she pulled it along with her until she emerged into the exterior shell of floating sand.

"This way, Tatian." One of the Mundhin gestured toward her larger stone, so she slid it through the air toward them. They no longer called her outsider, but most of the miners had nicknamed the three of them by their worlds, or a lie in Theo's case.

Speaking of the other two, Nauda looked to find them. Theo was considered the most useful of their group thanks to his gravity, which allowed him to significantly alter the cloud, so he was working with the higher tier soulcrafters. Fiyu had helped a little measuring the density of the rock storms, but now stood near the edge with a few other guards. It seemed that they had killed a few demons in the meantime, though there had yet to be any problems like Navim had intimated.

"There you are." Navim turned from his rocky table to her, his voice slightly pleased if she understood Arbaian emotions. "Have you been successful?"

"You tell me." Nauda dropped the rock onto an empty space and Navim took it carefully. Rough as his limbs appeared, they peeled away the stone in subtle layers.

"This will be useful, but there is something more." Navim extracted a bright blue gemstone from within the heart of the rock. "A potent notemerald, though less useful for our purposes. Perhaps this sublime material could be part of your compensation."

Nauda frowned. "I'm not sure I understood that word. Aren't emeralds green?"

"Hmm... you say 'emerald' but I am not sure that is quite correct. Our materials are notemeralds, with superficialities both similar and different. Your soul may consider them most similar to emeralds."

Though her mind did several flips as it adjusted to his meaning, Nauda thought it was clear enough. More importantly... "I think I saw another gemstone glinting in the cloud, very similar to this one, but it was red. Could it be another emerald?"

"These storms usually contain a wide variety. They were not on our list, but I think it would be in your best interest to locate them. It is said that a complete set can be quite valuable for armaments."

"Good, then I'll try to find it again." As she turned away, Nauda patted Navim on one rocky limb. She still wasn't entirely comfortable navigating the Arbaian concept of touch: reaching toward a central sphere was clearly inappropriate, while touching an outer limb didn't convey a Tatian sense of affection. A world traveler like Navim, at least, understood her meaning, but she wished that she had a stronger understanding.

Back inside the rock storm, Nauda attempted to track down the crimson gem she'd seen earlier. It was nearly impossible in such a mass of shifting stones, but she did locate another small dark rock, and to her surprise stumbled across a yellow emerald within a much larger stone. Prying it out without causing damage took a little work, then she tucked it into her pocket.

Since such a firm foothold was rare within the cloud, Nauda straightened and looked around. She saw a few Arbaians also harvesting lower in the storm... and some sort of trouble within the sandy region. It seemed that the demons that purportedly followed such storms had finally arrived.

It shouldn't have been any problem at all, given the size of their group. Fiyu's storms of light could easily tear through first tier demons, while the Arbaians had Archcrafters and a few Rulers with spiky limbs built for combat to deal with the more powerful demons. They should have been exterminated quickly, yet as Nauda made her way from foothold to foothold, she was surprised that the numbers seemed to be increasing, perhaps in response to such a large gathering of soulcrafters.

When she reached the edge of the battlefield, she hesitated before the melee. The shapes were slightly unfamiliar, but she could easily see that the small blocky demons were the first stage, attempting to sacrifice themselves to become the larger four-limbed demons. Vaguely like the local Mundhin, though much thicker and lacking a gem-covered core. Just striking them would be useless, and there were so many soulcrafters moving around her it was difficult to know when to act.

"This is good practice." Theo appeared from nowhere, barely glancing at her as he flattened part of the battlefield with one of his fields. "When we enter the Chasm, we'll be fighting alongside lots of soulcrafters just as powerful as us, and some stronger. Get used to the competition."

Annoyed by his lecture, and doubly annoyed that it was necessary, Nauda did her best. The demons resisted her bindings to some degree, but they seemed to be incredibly stupid, blundering directly into her wards. Nauda tried to set those up at the edges, stopping the demons from scattering further and sacrificing themselves.

The numbers declined rapidly, yet something wasn't quite right... she frequently saw second stage demons emerge, yet didn't see many die. As the battle turned against the demons, they rushed into circles and sacrificed themselves, growing into something larger, and yet...

When she looked backward, Nauda saw what she'd feared: multiple second stage demons had gathered inside the cloud, disguised among the other rocks. "They're sacrificing!" She managed to scream over the storm and pulled a large chunk of rock to show the location, and the Arbaians quickly reacted to her, but it was too late.

Six of the second stage demons dissolved into sand... and something much larger began to emerge from the center of them. For an instant, the third stage demon consisted of inchoate mass, but the rocks held them back for too long and it fully emerged into their world.

A titan. As soon as they saw it, the Arbaians began to retreat.

The demon stood over five times her full height and carried an enormous pillar of crystal in one hand. She had seen only a few in her life, and those had been formed of flesh instead of stone, but the similarity was undeniable. Tatian titans had flat eyeless faces, and while this one was largely humanoid, instead of a face there was only a rocky crater.

Several Arbaians launched ranged attacks, but stone and cantae splintered off the demon as it took its first step forward. That was the worst thing about titans: aside from their raw size and strength, they had cantae resistance that made them truly dangerous. As far as Nauda knew, it wasn't practically possible for Ruler-tier soulcrafters to defeat one.

Theo gave it a shot, dropping an entire column of the rock cloud onto the titan's head. Though it stumbled slightly under the assault, it appeared unharmed, and that enormous club finally began to move... as slow as it seemed, when it built up speed, the club tore through the cloud with terrifying force.

Nauda dodged aside from the rocks sent flying, but several of the Arbaians were struck and fell. The titan took an earth-shaking step and brought its club around again, this time sweeping lower. If it struck anyone, it might swat them like insects... and some of the Arbaians had yet to move.

She sprinted directly toward the titan, grabbing one of the fallen Arbaians. Her strength could heft his mass up onto one shoulder, but leaping away required straining her soulhome. The crystalline club howled just behind her, creating eddies all through the air behind her.

Once she got to a safe distance, Nauda stared back grimly. She could rescue one or two of her allies, but what could they possibly do against a titan? Fiyu and Theo remained at a distance as well, retreating along with the others. Just when she began to despair, she felt an Authority's cantae burn from overhead, a surge that could only be Uvvah Ulim.

The head of the school plunged out of the sun, but didn't strike the titan directly. When the enormous Arbaian halted in midair, a shadow seemed to follow the path he would have taken. It swept through the stones and struck the titan in the shoulder, breaking off most of one arm. The club tumbled to the ground... but the titan reached down with its remaining limb and grasped it again.

Uvvah Ulim continued to float overhead, his limbs rotating in a spherical formation, but the further shadows he released deflected off the club. Each chipped away more of the demon's body, but his advantage wasn't as overwhelming as Nauda would have hoped.

Without warning, it moved faster than it ever had before, hurling its club like a spear. The crystalline bar streaked toward Uvvah Ulim, and even though he contracted and slid to the side, it still glanced off one of his rocky surfaces, sending gravel scattering through the air.

A moment later, Theo struck, sending more rocks raining down on the titan. This time the Ruler-tier Arbaians struck with him, creating a hail of bolts that battered the titan a step backward. It turned its cratered face toward them... and then Uvvah Ulim struck.

This time, the raw force blew through the center of the titan, leaving the remnants to crash to the ground. Nauda let out a cheer, but she was basically the only one. Despite the victory, all the Arbaians only straightened and raised limbs in the direction of their teacher. Clearly a gesture of respect, but Nauda wasn't sure what to make of it. Without speaking, Uvvah Ulim began to float back toward the School, much slower than before, his limbs floating loosely.

It seemed that harvesting would resume, but Nauda remained, slightly frustrated at herself. What Theo had said was true: she needed to adjust to this sort of combat. More than that, she needed strength, and not just an ascension.

She now held two of these strange emeralds, which did burn with a very durable power. Nauda shook herself and returned to the cloud of rocks, determined to find the rest.

-

Chapter 7

When Theo was finally called to speak to Master Uvvah Ulim, he went alone. Though he hadn't intended to share any secrets his allies didn't already know, as he walked to the heart of the School, he decided that it was perhaps for the best. Deceit would likely be impossible against such an experienced Authority, so he needed to choose truths that would not hurt him if spread.

Whether or not he could truly trust the old Mundhin Arbaian... Theo could come up with a thousand possible ways that this could be manipulating him, including the old master having worked for Vistgil all along. But unlike so many other organizations across the Nine Worlds, Uvvah Ulim had known what he was and never brought down any retribution on him. The secrecy that had kept Theo safe so far could easily prevent him from finding any answers, if he clung to it too fiercely.

So, by the time he entered the dusty chamber, he had affirmed his decision. The door echoed closed behind him and the scattered rocks across the chamber floor began rattling. This time they did not form limbs, merely a small pile atop which Uvvah Ulim's core sat. He seemed diminished from his battle with the titan demon, if not simply from age.

"You have returned, Lost One." The sapphires glittered brightly even in the shadows. "I confess, I had wondered if you would never pay your debt, and if my only consolation would be a minor act of altruism of unknown value."

"Many Tatians are alive because you took us back," Theo said. "I returned to offer the knowledge I promised as soon as I could, though I can only hope you consider it repayment."

"We shall see, but the intent has nonzero value. Sit, Lost One. Where have your travels taken you?"

Another region of stones swept together, forming a chair for him. It still felt strange to sit on a Mundhin's body, but Theo knew that Arbaians had very different conceptions of the self, even not considering philosophers. When he sat down, the small pieces gave way slightly, rendering it a more comfortable seat than expected.

Since Uvvah Ulim remained in expectant silence, Theo told as much of his story as he dared. He withheld information about his first visit to the Nine Worlds, though the old philosopher no doubt noticed the omissions. In any case, he seemed much more interested in Earth, which Theo described freely. 

Many of his comrades had displayed disbelief whenever he spoke about modern technology, sometimes to comical extremes. Uvvah Ulim listened with not just credulity, but an insightful grasp of the concepts introduced that occasionally revealed the gaps in his understanding. Theo understood the underlying concepts of technology better than most, but could eventually only plead that he stood on the foundations of giants, which was well understood on Arbai.

When he had said enough, his throat painfully dry, the room was silent for a time before Uvvah Ulim spoke again. "Despite the notable lacunae in your narrative, I count your debt paid, Lost One. You have told me more of strange lands than any traveler in a generation, and your experience of the worlds is truly incredible... and I hope that the full nuance of that word is communicated."

"I've walked a strange path here, one that's taken me through other worlds outside the Nine. On that subject, I hoped that we might be able to exchange information more equally."

"I have traveled a few, and met other Lost Ones, but none like your Earth." Uvvah Ulim settled deeper into the gravel around his central sphere. "What I find most curious is the utter lack of cantae and its replacement by physical principles that differ from those our philosophy has uncovered."

"Are you saying you've never run into another world with different energies? I thought that some outsiders had highly twisted cantae."

"This I have witnessed, but I always believed it to be a difference in form, not of nature. A familiar animal in a new costume, not a new species. If your world truly lacks cantae, then it is unique among all I have ever heard tales of, excepting some accounts that were clearly facetious or allegorical."

"We have tales on Earth, too." Theo chuckled, though it turned into a cough. "Ironically, we tell quite a few stories of other worlds filled with magic. I don't think I've heard any of those in the Nine Worlds, though I may not have been listening."

"You are not wrong, young one. I have heard many tales and I do not believe any sapient beings across the Nine possess quite the same impulse. Perhaps the absence of magic in your world leads to its desire, or perhaps they are memories of a time when travel from your world was more common."

"I thought it was increasingly common, though. I've heard that there are multiple other people from Earth."

Uvvah Ulim was silent for a long time, his presence so absent that it was difficult to believe there was another living being in the chamber. Though his voice always echoed in Theo's mind, when it reemerged, it carried a new edge. "I have never been a scholar of such Lost Ones, but I do not believe they are all created equal. Some, such as yourself, appear to have wandered into our realms as guests. Others... seem to have been invited for specific purposes. I have chosen to avoid such matters due to the great risks involved."

"Is that why you never went to the place you called the Cleansed Lands? It nearly killed me on my first visit, so I can understand why."

"It is not quite so simple. You reference the world of white ground and a black sun that we spoke of in our earlier meeting, yes?"

Theo managed to swallow his smile. "I'd hoped that we could speak of it, yes."

"All that I can tell you are accounts of scholars. Quite respectable scholars, but their very respectability required them to express deep misgivings about the accuracy of their accounts." Uvvah Ulim drew himself up a little higher. "There are many fragments of realms that are connected to the Nine Worlds. Philosophers have debated their origin, largely without aspirations to empiricism. They show signs of once having been occupied, yet there have never been any claims of meeting indigenous occupants."

"Long dead worlds, then."

"Indeed. There are a few occupied realms, such as your Earth, that appear to connect to the Nine Worlds only rarely. Because these tales appear increasingly as you extend further into the past, I have always considered them largely the realm of mythopoeia."

"And the Cleansed Lands?" Theo asked.

"I am getting there, Lost One. They stand sui generis, as vast as a full world and yet utterly lacking any sign of life. That is, contemporary life: some have suggested that the very absence of any features might itself be a sign of artificiality."

"How so?"

"Some Mundhin have ventured into the space you described. They performed a number of experiments, noting that the ground there is flat beyond any comparable terrestrial landscape. Furthermore, the intense pain most experience appears to be residue from some great act of destruction. For that reason, some have speculated that the world that once existed there was... wiped away, like a cloth across a slate. Cleansed of whatever it once held."

"By whom?" Theo asked, even though he didn't expect an answer. Uvvah Ulim only chuckled.

"A question that perhaps should not be asked, either because it is unnecessary or because answers, if they existed, might prove unfortunate." He was silent for a long moment, and when he spoke up again his tone was less certain. "There is another oddity regarding the Cleansed Lands: everyone who has ventured into them has described exactly the same landscape. Either it is entirely uniform, or all entrances lead to the same place. This trait is quite rare among worlds."

The Chasm of Lamentations was another example, which was a curious thought, but Theo set that aside. "When I was there, I thought I saw some sort of line across one horizon."

"All others reported the same, but regrettably no one ever was able to approach it due to the rigors of the journey."

"The demons." Theo remembered the demon tearing through his comrades, and with the taste of answers on his tongue, it lost a little of its bitterness. "When I was there, I escaped a demon vastly more powerful than any I'd met, beyond titans. Prior to that point, I had thought that demons only manifested at roughly comparable strength to nearby soulcrafters."

"That would be an entirely different domain of study, Lost One," Uvvah Ulim said wearily. "Many have their pet theories about demons, but I have never been fond of demonology. I have read the words of a few Mundhin who stand in the furthest reaches of Dominion, who claim that titans sacrifice themselves just as all lesser demons. It seems a plausible enough concept."

"The furthest reaches of Dominion?"

"As in the final tier of soulcrafting, if their postulates are to be believed. According to them, the Dominion tier stretches forever, endlessly pushing skyward into greater cantae without unlocking a new tier. But their justifications for all related matters have always struck me as... somewhat ad hoc."

For an elderly Mundhin, that was practically an insult to their mothers. Theo smiled and let the subjects go, since they obviously didn't interest Uvvah Ulim. He thought he'd be allowed a little longer, so he needed to ask about something more immediately relevant. "Have you ever read about a place called the Chasm of Lamentations? I've heard that it exists on both Noven and Fithe."

"Both?" Uvvah Ulim let the question hang in a clearly scholarly fashion. "I believe it would be more correct to say neither. Such a place has been listed as one of the fragmentary realms that floats in the chaos around the Nine Worlds. Unlike most, the paths that appear to it are broad, leading to the illusion that it is part of a single world, but in fact it drifts."

That theory made a great deal of sense, and Theo had been suspecting the answer must be something similar, but what frustrated him was that he had never noticed during his first life. Even though they had gone into the Chasm multiple times, he'd never thought about it as anything but part of Noven. Was he more experienced now, or had he been blind at the time?

"If you are an aficionado of such strange tales, you may be interested in one more: there are some who claim that there are not merely nine possible weirkeys."

"You mean weirkeys for the fragmentary worlds?" Theo asked.

"Or for Earth. To my knowledge, the existence of such has never been rigorously tested by any sources available to such a scholar as myself. However, in the schools of philosophy that exist far beyond me, they do make reference to unknown varieties. Weirkeys that can be used for two different worlds, for example. It is possible that a sufficiently sublime weirkey might be able to travel freely to fragmentary worlds, even those that drift chaotically."

Even to the Cleansed Lands, the implication hung unsaid. Theo certainly didn't want to go back while he was still so weak, and it was laughable to think of near mythical weirkeys when he still couldn't use the most basic. Still, he knew that Vistgil had wanted to prevent him from seeing something in the Cleansed Lands, so he would need to find his way back one day.

"Ahhh..." Uvvah Ulim let out a heavy sigh and rocks began to dribble from Theo's chair. "One can feel so young when engaged in simple conversation, but I grow weary. Your debt is paid, Lost One, and I hope you have found our conversation enlightening."

"Very much so." Theo stood from the chair before it fell apart beneath him and bowed. "Thank you for being so forthcoming with your wisdom."

"What is the use of knowledge if not to be shared? But... one more thing, Lost One. There are some scholars who live their entire lives in a single school, focusing on their chosen discipline. I believe that Navim is no longer among them, not after the accident gave him so much experience of other worlds. Please treat my student gently."

Theo wasn't sure how to respond, but Uvvah Ulim dissolved back into rocks. The gemstone core shifted away from him, as clear a refusal as he could imagine. He bowed one more time and then departed the room, thinking over all he'd learned.