Chasmfall: Chapters 8-10 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

Hello, new patrons! Since Patreon analytics aren't the best, would you mind commenting where you're coming from? I know for sure some patrons are coming from the book release and some from RoyalRoad, but the majority are actually unknown, so more data would be useful.

Speaking of RR, the release date for TWC3 will likely be September 11. That means you're getting some more chapters of the fourth book before the brief break, then it should continue up until the conclusion.

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Chapter 8

Though the terrible sun never moved from its position overhead, Fiyu's internal sense of timing reminded her that opportunities were running out. With each cycle of sleep that passed in Arbai, she had one fewer chance to find what she needed before they returned to Norro Yorthin. And so, though she knew that meticulousness was essential, her searching through the rocks became increasingly hurried.

Living in Arbai had not been as oppressive as she had initially feared. Her soulcrafted mask protected her from the excessive light, while the interiors could actually be pleasantly dark. Since the Mundhin seemed to enjoy light without requiring it, they had some rooms that completely lacked windows, and she had quickly moved to one.

"Next, we must examine to the west," Ally Navim said. Fiyu nodded her understanding and bent down, tracing her fingers through the dust as she extended her senses beneath them.

Her first impression of the landscape had been solid rock, with very few of the underground structures common on Fithe. As she had worked with the local soulcrafters, Fiyu had gradually fine-tuned her sense of density to differentiate different types of rock. It had never been a valuable skill in her home world, but her core capacities were equal to the challenge, once Ally Navim had helped her make the necessary adjustments.

Fiyu reached deeper, feeling the layers of rock, the gemstones, the veins of metal ores. Eventually she found one that extended some distance to the west and walked toward it slowly, maintaining her sensory hold. When she arrived just above it, she removed the stakes from her cloak and began defining the edges.

Though the Mundhin had many ingenious mechanisms to find the rocks they needed, her senses reduced the amount of trial and error required considerably. There was likely a great opportunity for collaboration between Arbai and Ichil, though it didn't surprise her that one had never been built before. Any sane Ichili who found a gate into Arbai would have immediately destroyed it.

"That will be sufficient for today." Ally Navim came to rest beside her, settling on all three of his upper limbs. "Thank you for your work, Fiyu."

"You are most welcome, Navim. Could we perhaps continue the search for the other materials we discussed?"

"Yes, I have been scrutinizing the manuscripts regarding excavations. I planned our route today to investigate a new region, so please follow me."

Ally Navim guided her to a large pit lined by jagged crystals, which Fiyu had only vaguely felt at a distance. It alarmed her at first, since sharp edges on Ichil nearly always meant a highly dangerous environment. But though these crystals were sharp enough to harm an ordinary person, a cantae-enhanced soulcrafter could resist them, and they held no sinister traps.

Judging from the hand-holds cut into the crystals, the local Mundhin were even less concerned, simply climbing their way up and down the pit. It extended far enough for the bottom to be consumed in shadow, which Fiyu noted only because it offered the possibility of shade. 

"Why is this place filled with crystals?" she asked. Ally Navim began to climb his way down one of the sides as he answered.

"These gemshafts are created by concentrations of certain geological processes. It is my understanding that these processes do not occur on other worlds, so an explanation would require numerous digressions into foundational principles."

"I would like to hear of them, but perhaps we should focus on our search for now."

She followed after him gingerly, extending her senses over all the crystal spikes. The vast majority were composed of a familiar lattice that she presumed was not valuable to the Mundhin. There were a small number of denser crystals in the lower regions that she suspected had been their objectives, now too infrequent to be worth regular work.

Her own goal was a far more complex crystalline structure, one that strained her ability to distinguish. Its properties were allegedly among the denser materials, but unfortunately her senses were not equal to determining fine patterns within such density. Fortunately, Ally Navim was able to use other senses to help guide their path.

After several false paths that led them only to cantae-generating sublime materials, Fiyu began to look forward to working within the shadowed region of the pit. However, as they bored into one of the last sections in sunlight, she suddenly felt something that triggered a purely academic recognition. Perhaps...

"Navim... could we try this one?"

He thrust his hand into the crystal, ignoring the cuts to his mining limb. When it emerged, he held a large chunk that glittered like a diamond. Fiyu eagerly cut away the useless crystal, focusing on the complexity within. Soon even her visual senses could make out the dark gemstone within.

"Is... is this it?" Fiyu took the piece from him and stared into it, marveling at the complex lattice within. It was certainly different from the previous materials, not generating cantae but hopefully bearing other valuable properties.

"I believe this is pure undamaged darklattice. There is more than enough for a mask to meet your specifications."

"Actually, I have been considering my original goals and believe that they might be improved, in particular if the darklattice is integrated in my soulhome as an armament."

As they ascended from the pit, Fiyu explained her new intentions. A mask to shield her from light and noise was essential for travel in most worlds, but she sought a more absolute control. The Chasm of Lamentations held many dangerous sensations, according to Friend Theo, so she desired an armament that would ward all her senses from aesthetic violence.

Thoughts of Friend Theo made her wish that he was present, since his skills could easily have lifted them from the pit. By the time they had reached the top, she had finished discussing the details and had time to calculate the number of cycles. It was fortunate that she had discovered darklattice before they needed to depart, but there was insufficient time for Ally Navim to complete his work.

At the top, they stopped a moment to rest without verbal agreement, and Fiyu sat in Ally Navim's shadow. "Navim... I do not wish for you to rush this work. Could we arrange another visit so that I can acquire the completed armament?"

"After giving the matter a great deal of thought, I have decided that it may not be necessary." Ally Navim shifted his limbs to look at her closely with his central sphere, carefully maintaining his shade. "I have permission from Master Uvvah Ulim to return along with you. The world of Fithe contains a great deal of rock, and though it is not entirely unknown to us, a monograph based on those experiences would be quite popular."

"Oh! We would certainly welcome your presence. The city of Norro Yorthin is frustrating in many ways, but I will do my utmost to help you."

"I'm sure that you will, Fiyu." Ally Navim gave a low chuckle before going silent.

Now that their time together was no longer so short, Fiyu allowed herself to release some of the tension. There would be many opportunities to speak with Ally Navim. He had soulcrafting of his own to do, so she ventured inward and continued with her own work. The darkburn bonsai filled her second floor with cantae and she had nearly completed the mistsphere's altar, so she would soon need to collaborate with Friend Theo to complete her barrier wall.

As much as she was encouraged that Ally Navim would return with them, that return brought with it a different sort of tension. It was not so long now before all their preparations would be put to the test.

~ ~ ~

Moving between worlds had surprisingly little impact on Theo's life, since he was now obsessively focused on his soulcrafting. All the bricks he had been working on for future floors or walls had been set aside for later construction, because he'd found something much more valuable. He would need to make up for lost time, but the end result would be superior.

Acquiring such a material had been one of his secondary goals for visiting Arbai, but he hadn't been certain that he could find them, or that it would actually work. As he steadily worked the materials within his soulhome, Theo ran over all the details of the blueprint for the hundredth time.

His original plan for a solar blueprint had included a crystalline barrier wall that would enhance the light that passed through it. Getting more use out of a barrier was difficult, but he thought that he could squeeze a little bit more power out of his blueprint that way. Something similar could still work with his new soulhome, but it required modification.

Actually, it might have needed modification anyway. Theo was still frustrated that his original blueprint, pored over for decades on Earth, could have flaws. He wondered if, repeating his thoughts so many times through the lens of memories, he'd actually twisted the original design into something that appealed to him mentally but was actually less effective. The blueprint he'd thought of as so flawless might have itself reflected the flaws in himself.

The new blueprint did the same thing, but intentionally. And this time, he wasn't going to trust any theory, every single step of the process was thoroughly tested.

Lightcarbon was one of the more unusual sublime materials he'd run across, fracturing strangely when he tried to form bricks. Since he'd purchased more than enough of it, he'd been able to perfect the process and now had a large section of his wall built. Rather than compromise with a mortar that might not match, he'd used craftgems to fuse them all together. Usually he thought using craftgems was a sign of lacking creativity, but barrier walls tended to come apart if they weren't composed of a pure material. They joined with the lightcarbon and formed a perfect crystalline wall.

All the bricks had been tested on their own, but Theo retreated from his soulcrafting to test the assembly, just in case. When he drew cantae from his soulhome, it passed through his vestibule, then through the wall. Though the end result was a simple gravitational field that lifted him into the air, it used less cantae for the same result. The increased efficiency of the barrier wall would let him squeeze a little more gravity out of each field, too.

Though he'd intended to dive straight back into his soul, Theo found himself blinking in the darkness. Had it really grown so late while he worked? Since the return to House Blacksilver, he'd done almost nothing but soulcraft, except to earn merits with the others or take steps toward other sublime materials.

There had been a cost to that, he realized now. Even though Navim had returned with them, the two had spent relatively little time together. Theo told himself that he would amend that after they survived the Chasm of Lamentations, though he found himself wondering if another deadline wouldn't appear...

Even now, opportunities were slipping away. Many houses were focused on the upcoming Chasm event, but despite his focus, life in the city continued with many unaware of it. There was some squabble over mining rights, a major duel between Strongholds, a new war with factions of water Fithans, and more. Once in the State of Rest he'd seen a challenge for a type of sublime mold that fascinated him, but he had to pass on it: the risks of injury were too high for the advantages gained, especially when he needed to focus on completing his current goals.

Back in his soulhome, Theo checked the wall section's solidity, then began to move it outward. Sitting near his vestibule was good enough for testing, but not for a final location. He'd thoroughly tested the limit of his soul's diameter earlier and placed large lightcarbon blocks in a perfect circle for the wall's foundation. Binding the wall in place was going to be considerably more difficult.

Along the way, Theo formed obelisks of sublime materials. It was a trick he'd learned partway through his old soulhome, the temporary constructions resisting the pressure at the edges of his soul. They were useless otherwise, but he'd remove them all once the wall was complete. Though it existed a bit beyond his normal limits, the circular shape would resist the pressure well enough. More importantly, when he ascended to Authority, his barrier wall wouldn't require wasteful expansion.

Still, as he struggled past the obelisks, Theo felt like the bricks became heavier and heavier. Perhaps he needed some sort of spirit dolly cart... no, he could push through with willpower. Step by step, Theo managed to place the blocks into their position on the foundation circle. Bracing his shoulder against it, he fumbled the craftgems from his pocket and set to binding them in place.

When they were fused in position, the pressure barely lessened. Realizing that he might have been more overambitious than he'd calculated, Theo quickly gathered some of his other finished lightcarbon bricks and reinforced the wall into a flat pyramid. That would resist the pressure better until the construction was complete.

Theo let his focus slip and the boundaries of his soul practically rolled him back to his soulhome at the center. Compared to the stress of trying to work in space that barely existed, it was an immense relief. Slumping against one of the cool walls, Theo looked over his design again while he considered what work he could do while spiritually exhausted.

His core technique chambers had been largely finished in preparation for the duel with Esaire, and his singularity technique remained lethal. What he needed to do now was finish chambers that would strengthen him enough to use it. Old temporary materials were slowly being replaced with stronger sublime materials, though there was always more work to be done. Those old sigils from Deuxan still hung on his walls, weak as they were. Not a problem for the time being, but they needed to be replaced before he ascended to Authority.

Just in case the Chasm had somehow shifted and arrived sooner, Theo had focused on his emptiest chambers, but there were plenty of other improvements to make. He had created three bulk material speed rooms to fight Esaire, and condensing them down into one had produced a viable chamber, it just needed more refining. All of that came down to better sublime materials, and though he could purchase a few with merits or Fithan Discs, others would need to be harvested personally.

Aside from the barrier wall and strengthening chambers, Theo's primary concern was his sense of gravity. The abyssfluid had worked perfectly, suspended in the center of the chamber and giving him a much stronger feel for all sources of mass around him. All the walls were still blank, so he'd knew he'd need to put in a lot of carving time later.

In theory, it shouldn't matter at all. Theo knew what to expect at the Chasm and caution would do them more good than power. He still dedicated himself to the work as if his life was on the line.

~ ~ ~

"Grow, you insufferable twig." Nauda kicked at the surgestalk roots, which was not an established soulcrafting technique.

Even after days of pouring cantae into the surgestalk seed, and giving it sublime water imported from Aathal, it hadn't grown enough. The thick stalks had barely required any sublime soil, rapidly spilling out over the top of her soulhome, but they weren't stretching high enough. She wasn't sure if that was their natural form or if the sky's pressure prevented it from shooting upward.

It did grow, however. She could climb the largest stalks for almost half her height, and though they bent, they didn't break. If she could coax the surgestalk to grow higher, she might be able to climb it when she ascended.

Meanwhile, vines and stalks had begun covering the rest of her soulhome, which she'd fought at first and then realized wasn't necessarily a bad thing. All the vines strengthened the integrity of her soulhome and even generated a small amount of cantae. Once she had trimmed everything covering windows or creeping inside, they hadn't interfered with cantae flow.

In fact, it worked so well that Nauda was seriously considering adding more plants to her blueprint. They fit in her soulhome better than expected and she'd taken to the work quickly. Most likely the surgestalk would die in her ascension, and there was no space for it, but she could replace it with a more appropriate sublime plant. Most likely one that grew more slowly would also generate more cantae and blend with the rest of her blueprint better.

Not that she would get a chance, if she didn't advance quickly enough. There were only two more months until they entered the Chasm, and she needed time to work on her Ruler tier. No matter how many blocks she created in advance, crafting the third floor couldn't be done in a day or a week.

Since the surgestalk wasn't growing any more, Nauda turned away and began making her way down the side of her soulhome. The vines also served as a good ladder, now that she thought about it. Along her way, she considered everything she could do before she ascended.

By far her greatest success so far was her staff chamber. She'd crafted a perfect replica of her staff from Fithan metals and filled the rest of the room with an Arbaian sublime stone called immovalon that resisted attempts to move it. The result was a significant strengthening both of her staff itself and her binding technique. When she had time to build a Ruler-tier chamber over the top, they would grow even stronger.

Nauda hesitated on the way down and stared through the window of her sensory chamber, her greatest failure. Though Fiyu had done her best to help her, none of the methods she'd tried had been truly successful. Currently the room was filled with sensory sublime materials that made her eyesight and hearing a little sharper, but it was nothing like the extrasensory perception Fiyu possessed. At least Theo was too absorbed in himself to lecture her on how it should be constructed.

On the ground floor, Nauda wandered into her warding chamber. She'd carved some immovalon into the shape of her wards, but it clearly wasn't right, because it only strengthened her warding technique slightly. Soulcrafting was supposed to be intuitive, so perhaps her intuitions were simply muddled up.

She had time for everything, just not enough of it. Some of her objectives would need to wait.

Outside, Nauda walked to her tower and examined the storage chamber. It no longer contained any of the powerful sublime materials from home, since all of them had been integrated into her soulhome. Instead, it held only a series of gemstones from Arbai.

Those had been by far her most valuable find. She had worked together with Fiyu and Navim to track down two complete sets of emeralds, one in an ordinary green and others glowing strange colors. When bound together, they were supposed to generate great strengthening cantae, or at least that was what the Arbaian stories said. Apparently this construction was actually related to the name "Emerald Indulgence", though only in a philosophical sense.

The set in her soulhome worked well enough, but the parallel set that still existed in the real world refused to cooperate. They were meant to be collected in some kind of armament, and should have been very helpful to her. Unfortunately, when Navim had crafted a stone belt for her, it had strained her cantae as if she was attempting something beyond her. When she'd shown it to Antha, the woman had determined that the belt was high Ruler tier, and no amount of effort could force her soul to accept it.

Nauda ran her fingers over the gemstones again, wondering if she should ask Navim to recreate the armament. It could be given a less efficient form, temporarily, and that might weaken the cantae enough for her to use it. Later on she could correct the errors, so it would only be a temporary impediment.

Abruptly Nauda tossed the gemstones back into the chest and closed it firmly. No. If Fiyu could reserve an entire floor until she reached Ruler tier and Theo could make a thousand trade-offs, she couldn't let herself take the easy route. She'd begin soulcrafting both a chamber and an armament that she'd need to be a Ruler to wield and then rise to the challenge.

Returning to her body, Nauda stretched and then hastened to the main Blacksilver office. Antha wasn't present, but Nauda greeted the lower ranked officials and asked for a requisition form. There she described the type of armament she would need in detail. Navim could craft an excellent prototype, but for her real armament she needed something other than unfeeling stone.

When she left the office, finally feeling good about herself, Nauda was suddenly struck by an Authority's cantae. She desperately swallowed her instinctive panic and forced herself to look. It was only Janne, House Blacksilver's female Authority.

"Nauda." The woman folded her arms within her voluminous robes. "You and your allies are still determined to throw yourselves into the Chasm?"

"Yes, we are." An hour ago, the answer might not have come so easily, but now she was certain of her path.

"Then you will be coming with us. If you want your rewards, you need some skin in the game."

-

Chapter 9

During his time in House Blacksilver, Theo had been called upon to do a wide variety of tasks for the sake of the House. Frequently killing demons or some other errand that only soulcrafters could perform, or occasionally using his expertise to help their officials. This was the first time he had been summoned in secret along with a large number of Archcrafters and Rulers.

Two of Blacksilver's three Authorities stood at the head of the room.

"Some of you I've helped," Dhan said without preamble. "Some of you will be journeying with me to the Chasm of Lamentations. Some are merely loyal to House Blacksilver. Today, all of you will be assisting me. I would thank you, but I would prefer to do so after we've been successful. I will leave the rest of the explanations to Janne, because I need to prepare myself."

Dhan pulled down his mask and turned away, though he walked into the room behind them instead of characteristically vanishing. Theo realized belatedly that he wasn't expelling any cantae, as if he needed to conserve it. Meanwhile, Janne pulled back her floppy hood enough to see and walked to the head of the group.

"In preparation for the Chasm," she said softly, "Dhan will be harvesting a sublime material known as a dewfossil."

At his side, Fiyu pulled on his sleeve for an explanation, but Theo saw uncertainty or disbelief on the faces of many others. He glanced to Nauda, who shrugged, and fortunately Janne noted the widespread surprise and explained.

"They aren't a children's tale. Under certain conditions, liquid power from the depths of the Fithan oceans can become concentrated on land. However, it is difficult to extract this sublime material, and completely impossible to store it outside a soulhome. We have learned the location of one dewfossil, so we must act quickly. It will require Dhan's full concentration to absorb the material, leaving the rest of us to defend him."

"Against what?" a Fithan ruler asked.

"Distractions of any kind. It is possible that demons will be drawn in, though not certain. The dewfossil is located outside of Norro Yorthin's territory, so other Ruling Cities may also attempt to extract it. Your presence may be unnecessary, but the dewfossil would be lethal to anyone beneath Authority, so opposition is more likely."

With the stakes established, the other soulcrafters became absorbed in the rest of the briefing. Theo hadn't heard of dewfossils in particular, but there were countless sublime materials. If House Blacksilver was willing to dedicate so many resources to the harvesting, it must be valuable. His only question was whether it was a sublime material to make a stronger Authority... or one that might help Dhan ascend to become Blacksilver's first ever Stronghold.

As for the sublime material itself, it allegedly sat in a region between cities with unusual verticality. Great spires rose for half a mile and plunged even further through vast caverns underneath. Though the dewfossil was most likely to be near the top of one, the detection was imprecise, so they would also be working as a search party. Janne emphasized repeatedly that none of them should attempt to harvest the sublime material themselves.

Once, Theo would have tried to make plans to steal it for himself. Now it no longer seemed so weak to do something to assist others, but those thoughts distracted him from his purpose.

He expected to have time to confer with Nauda and Fiyu, but their group began moving as soon as they were done discussing the plan. Though they were all transported by weirkey, a few at a time, some took Fithan chariots with them. Presumably they intended to begin with stealth but escalate soon.

When it came time for their turn, Janne spoke from behind them. "Normally, you would not be brought along on such an assignment. But unless you can compete here, you cannot serve House Blacksilver in the Chasm."

Before they could respond, they were torn away from Fithe. Unlike most trips between worlds, they didn't dip through a transcendent threshold, they drowned in it. For a time beyond time, they were carried through the raging empty chaos between worlds. It would have been completely disorienting if he hadn't experienced it before, using a pair of weirkeys to move toward another world, then curve back to Fithe and enter at a different point.

They arrived and he immediately braced himself, checking in all directions for an ambush. Yet it seemed that they had successfully arrived in secret, nothing but wind whistling around the spires. Ignoring the landscape for the moment, Theo instead bent down beside his companions to be sure the trip hadn't harmed them. Nauda was on one knee rubbing her forehead, already recovering, while Fiyu shrank in on herself, displeased but clearly functional.

"Is returning to the same world always like that?" Nauda asked. "What a glorious gift weirkeys are."

"It's not so bad once you're an Authority." Theo helped her up and examined his surroundings more carefully.

They stood atop the only flat outcropping of stone that he could see, surrounded by spiraling stone pillars. His first thought was incongruous: they reminded him of disturbing drill bits, yet the worn stone appeared completely natural. Spires thrust into the sky at many different heights, and when he moved to the edge of the outcropping, he saw them plunge into the dusty earth below. He could barely see cavern entrances beneath the dust clouds, but this far up, the sky was remarkably clear.

"What curious structures." Fiyu had her head down, presumably examining them with her primary sense. "I do not believe they were made by human hands."

"When I asked, they said something about wind erosion." Nauda rubbed her head one last time and then stamped her staff against the ground as if to refocus. "The whirlwinds that create them are supposed to be quite dangerous, but they might be the least of our worries."

As Theo examined the region, he thought he could see the dust being drawn into unnatural spirals of wind. At least, unnatural as far as he understood the laws of airflow, which were no doubt different here. Whatever the reason, Nauda was right: they needed to focus on their task.

Other Archcrafters from House Blacksilver were moving the chariots into shadowed positions not visible from the air, while Rulers spread out to begin searching. Most likely none of them would find it: Dhan was currently meditating atop one of the spires, while Janne waited in reserve.

At two points during the search they encountered small groups of demons, but the Ruler-tier soulcrafters crushed them so quickly that they barely made a sound. They moved as a unified team, nothing like the incompetent volunteer squads outside Norro Yorthin. Theo didn't even bother to participate, conserving his cantae for a greater threat. If he made any difference in a larger battle, it would no doubt be via his singularity, and with so many allies around, he would need precise control.

Eventually Dhan located the the dewfossil in a cave atop one of the spires. Theo had been shadowing him and caught a glimpse of it: sand flowed like water within a sphere embedded in the wall. For all the sublime material's obvious potency, it was also immensely fragile, its contradictory nature threatening to fracture with the slightest disruption.

While Dhan sat down beside the wall, preparing to draw the dewfossil into his soulhome, Janne built wards around him, slowly pushing the rest of the group out. He didn't blame her, because a small lapse in concentration could turn the dewfossil into nearly useless sand. Even at his peak, Theo would have needed to pay attention to harvest such a sublime material.

Outside the cavern, they set up guard positions that didn't make it obvious which spire held the dewfossil. A good policy, but as Theo watched Janne, he began to doubt it was simple caution. She didn't just anticipate a challenge, there was a good reason to believe in a greater threat.

"Is that natural?" Nauda spotted it first, shielding her eyes and staring past the spires. Not longer after, Theo was able to pick out a large chariot at the center of a whirlwind, moving toward them at great speed. There were several Fithan soulcrafters on board, their soulhomes too guarded to determine anything at a distance.

As they drew closer, more of the Blacksilver soulcrafters took up positions with cover. Theo spent more time focusing in other directions, just in case the obvious chariot was only a ploy. His sense of gravity wasn't perfectly tuned, but the chariot was the only significant source of mass in the wasteland around.

When the chariot came into sight, Theo saw that it was formed from bright blue stone, quite unlike the chariots in Norro Yorthin. Without so much as a word, one of the Blacksilver Rulers unleashed a huge gout of flame that consumed the chariot. As it faded, a bright sphere glimmered in the burning wisps, then exploded outward in a blinding flash.

"This region and all sublime materials within it belong to Lasaa Anklon!" As the chariot came to a halt, one of the enemy Rulers stepped up onto the side.

"No one has claimed this land," one of the Blacksilver Rulers responded. "Let us conduct our business and we'll depart in peace."

"Having stolen what is rightfully ours!"

Without warning, a second Ruler hurled a lance of blue flame from the chariot, aiming for one of the spirals. Not the one containing Dhan, but troublingly close. Another Blacksilver soulcrafter appeared from around the side of another spiral and knocked it out of the air, but as it sheared through the pillars below, Theo winced. 

The wards around Dhan would no doubt hold, but Rulers might be able to distract him from his task. The Blacksilver soulcrafters outnumbered the representatives of Lasaa Anklon, but if a brawl broke out, the collateral damage might well prevent either side from attaining victory. Theo would use his singularity if his life was threatened, but that would only exacerbate the problem. Where was Janne while the tension ratcheted up?

"Look, it's obvious that you've located sublime resources we missed." One of the enemy Rulers spread his arms in a facsimile of reasonableness, but he kept his cantae on full alert. "We both represent noble Houses from Ruling Cities. Let's not allow our battle to damage the rewards. Let's arrange a method to decide the battle without collateral damage. Perhaps a series of duels between-"

"Agreed." Janne appeared in the air behind the chariot, without any dramatic flash of cantae. Yet a moment later the chariot crumbled to ash and the foreign soulcrafters plummeted.

They didn't get far before the Authority's cantae seized them. The Rulers might have been able to inconvenience or distract Janne, but taken so off guard, they were completely helpless. She raised a robe-swaddled arm toward the hovering group, as if considering what to do with them, but then lowered them to the outcropping.

"Okay, that's contest enough." One of the Rulers managed to resist the cantae pressure, but didn't attempt to fight back. In fact, the man's laughter seemed to be authentic as he raised his hands in surrender. "Is there really something so important that it's worth bringing one of your Authorities?"

"Lasaa Anklon is a respected ally." Janne floated down beside him, arms disappearing back into her robes. "But we cannot trust you. If you do not attempt to fight, you will be released when our work is done."

"I suppose we can't complain about the offer. And what House do you represent?"

Instead of answering, Janne turned sharply to look toward the north. Theo couldn't see anything with his eyes or his senses, so instinctively looked back to the others. Nauda was peering in the same direction, clearly futilely, while Fiyu slowly frowned.

"Ambush positions!" Janne called out the command and then dropped over the edge of the outcropping, pulling all of the foreign soulcrafters with her. Though Theo still hadn't seen the source of the concern, he hurried to get into a secure position.

Not long after, he stood on one of the curves of a nearby spire, tucked into a smaller twist. It was just large enough for the three of them, given Fiyu's need for space. She looked increasingly troubled as her senses focused north, but had yet to explain anything.

Then Theo finally saw the dust. Not a line but a wave, cresting over the ordinary storms as an entire force advanced on their position.

His gravity senses counted a full ten chariots, each filled with a number of soulcrafters. As they drew closer, he was able to make out more details. All of the chariots were formed from the same featureless gray stone, identical except for the fact that two were larger models of the same mold. The soulcrafters riding them wore gray armor, what felt like a relatively cheap armament but still notable for being so ubiquitous.

"Nauda..." Fiyu paused to clear her throat. "Do you know what this army is?"

"I'm not sure, but we can try to find out more." Nauda reached back to her and also gripped Theo's wrist. He relaxed his soul and let her use her telescope, even though he hadn't expected that it could give them a glimpse of soulhomes so far away.

It must have improved, because he soon found his spirit floating above a soulhome. Though only a single story, it still made him pause, because it was a rectangle of unrelieved gray stone. No windows, just arrow slits at regular intervals. The edges of the top cut off at a sharp angle, leaving the top covered in smaller rectangular structures.

Something shifted in his spirit and Theo thought they'd moved to the other side of the soul... until he realized that they were looking at an entirely different soulhome. The foundational dust was a slightly different hue, but the stone structure was practically identical. Nauda's spirit brushed against his and they shifted to another soulhome, this one with two floors. Instead of even stones, it had a completely smooth surface, as if the building was covered in concrete.

"What is this?" Nauda breathed. Theo couldn't truly touch her as a spirit, but brushed his hand through her arm.

"Don't worry about that. Try to count their soulcrafters' tiers bef-"

Overwhelming cantae washed over them and Theo felt as if he was torn apart before he abruptly returned to his physical body. Nauda's technique hadn't taken long, but the line of chariots had come much closer. She was currently holding her head and wincing, but Theo thought that their spirits had simply been rebuffed, not harmed.

It was less comforting to realize that it had probably been an Authority.

"Could it be the Asplundat Movement?" Nauda asked them the question, but they only stared back at her and she frowned. "Don't you talk to anyone? I don't know the details, but it's a major power on this continent. Surely you know them, Theo."

He opened his mouth, realizing how easy it would be to lie. Just given his knowledge of soulcrafting, he could have feigned a great deal, but instead he spoke tersely. "The name sounds familiar, but I thought it was local politics. Given the army they can field, they must be a major power, not a single House."

"But... their soulhomes... that can't be natural, can it?"

"No, I've seen it before. Both designs like that and the uniformity. Maybe this Asplundat only has a few types of sublime materials, maybe they just force all their soulcrafters to follow the same blueprints. Either way, I think we need to follow Blacksilver's lead on this."

From their position, most of the others were hidden, but Theo could barely see a few Archcrafters. They tried to keep their cantae low, but their postures spoke of obvious stress. More important than their fear might be the fact that Janne had moved them to the northern side of the spire field, to try to intercept the enemies before they could reach Dhan's position.

When the line of chariots reached the edge of the spiral field, just beyond ambush range, it halted. One soulcrafter rose from a chariot, dressed in similar gray armor to all the others but bearing an Authority's cantae.

"This region has been claimed by the Asplundat Movement. Depart or be removed." The words echoed through the entire field of spires and the Blacksilver soulcrafters Theo could see looked grim. He set them out of mind and focused on the enemy forces, because he didn't think this encounter would resolve amicably.

"We are conducting a peaceful exercise." Janne rose from below with a flat expression on her face. "This is neutral land, so if you strike us, you are committing the Asplundat Movement to war."

"No stalling." The enemy Authority raised a hand and began gathering cantae. "Stop harvesting the dewfossil immediately or we will consider it an act of aggression."

"You have no right t-"

A lightning bolt of cantae struck one of the spirals, turning it into a column of molten stone. Two soulcrafters who had been hiding there screamed, but not for long before the raw magma consumed them.

Theo could see exactly what was going to happen, but he was hopelessly slow compared to Authorities. Another bolt flashed downward... but Janne moved ahead of it, ash joining the swirling winds and somehow redirecting its path. One of the chariots on the wings of the Asplundat line exploded, scattering soulcrafters.

Several more bolts crackled out, and briefly it seemed like Janne had the upper hand. None of them hit any of the Blacksilver positions, and while they didn't curve back as effectively as the first, many flashed close to the enemy chariots. But after only a few bolts, while the other soulcrafters were just beginning to move, the Authority appeared beside Janne, striking a blow that sent her smashing through one of the lower spires.

As she disappeared into the dust storms and silence descended over the battlefield, Theo realized that it was even worse: the first Authority still hovered by the chariots. The Asplundat Movement had sent two.

Blacksilver soulcrafters began releasing cantae toward the enemy, but it was all absorbed by a broad gray shield. It flickered down a moment later, allowing the lesser Asplundat soulcrafters to unleash their own barrage. Not the most elegant technique, but effective in such broad battles, giving them an overwhelming advantage. Theo stood still, not wasting his cantae but unsure when he would have a chance to act.

Two vast hands of ash emerged from the dust storm, wrapping around the enemy Authorities. They drew on their full cantae and shattered free, but moments later were under assault by thin ash lances. When one tried another bolt, it bent fiercely, almost striking the other Authority.

The two Authorities moved in sync, planning to locate and overwhelm Janne... only for one of them to be struck by several huge gouts of flame from the side. Though the Authority resisted them with another gray shell, he was pushed far from the main battle and looked up in grim surprise.

Those attacks hadn't come from any of the Blacksilver positions. A moment later, the chariot from Lasaa Anklon burst from the dust, their Rulers aggressively barraging the Authority while their other soulcrafters spread out. "You can pay us back later, Norro Yorthin!" one of them called, then the battle scattered in every direction.

Several enemy soulcrafters left their chariots to leap in Theo's direction, but Fiyu reacted first, hitting a broad swath of them with a hailstorm of light. Many Archcrafters fell, their armor smoking, though some of them used a technique to draw themselves through the air to one of the spires.

A Ruler plunged through, his more durable armor shrugging off the bolts, only to be caught by Nauda's staff. She didn't try to bind him long, just hurled him backward into one of the chariots, spilling its occupants into the spires.

Though Theo held back to analyze the enemy, it didn't require much time. The Asplundat soulcrafters clearly followed rigid blueprints, each using identical gray cantae bolts and armor. Their first tier soulcrafters were helpless and never should have been brought to this battlefield, while their Archcrafters had some sort of movement technique. He wasn't as sure of the Rulers, other than that they appeared to have stone blocks forming over their hands that could destroy cantae.

None of it would be particularly effective against gravity. Theo cast a field over a large portion of the group, hitting them with over ten times normal gravity and sending them plummeting into the dust clouds. Some of the Archcrafters cast cantae to spires and bound themselves there, but they still dangled, struggling against the vastly increased gravity.

That was when one of the Asplundat Authorities glanced in his direction.

Even though he had been expecting it and tried to move immediately, Theo almost wasn't fast enough. Nauda grabbed his shoulder and pulled him aside. The next thing he knew, he was sailing backward, watching the spire where they had stood dissolving into molten stone. Fiyu sailed alongside them, but they had barely landed on another spire before they needed to leap again.

Soon after, Janne emerged from below in a sphere of ash, blocking enemy Authority action. Theo began using more carefully targeted gravitational fields, but he kept his eye on the main battle raging overhead. It wasn't going well.

Janne might be stronger than her Asplundat opponents, but she wasn't strong enough to fight both. They were boring but powerful fighters, coordinating their actions with rigid precision. If the two had been alone, the Blacksilver Rulers might have been able to distract enough for Janne to regain the upper hand, but as the battle continued, it became obvious how it would end. It seemed that the Asplundat Movement didn't want to destroy the fossildew, otherwise they might already have won.

"Enough!" one of the Authorities boomed over the battlefield, and in the time everyone flinched, they saw what had happened and hesitated.

Though a great many of the Asplundat soulcrafters had fallen below or been scattered, their Authorities stood firm. One hovered over their grand chariot, casting her presence over the entire battlefield, while the other stood atop a spire... binding Janne in a circle of lightning.

"Your Authority has been bested," the woman continued. "The Asplundat Movement takes no pleasure in killing anyone. If you retreat, you will be allowed to live your lives, or join the Movement in the future. If you continue resisting, we will begin executing one of your weaker soulcrafters every minute until you comply."

"That's not very nice," Tythes said from behind her.

The battlefield had already been frozen, but now surprise overtook shock. Without anyone noticing, Tythes had somehow moved directly behind the enemy Authority. There was no reason for the House Crimson Authority to be present, and Theo had actually been hoping not to run into the rogue power after his duel. Yet here he was.

"Just who are you?" The enemy Authority turned to him, cantae blazing, but Tythes didn't back away.

"I was just taking a walk." He took a long drink from a wine skin, then tossed it to the side idly. "So who are you? What's going on here?"

"The Asplundat Movement will not tolerate this farce of a-" Tythes cut her off by falling forward, slamming his forehead into her nose. She flinched backward and he continued falling, a strange flipping movement that took him heels over head so that his feet struck her directly in the face.

As bizarre and sloppy as the movement looked, it sent the Authority sailing back through the sky. An instant later, cantae surged below... and Theo caught a glimpse of the wine skin Tythes had tossed before it exploded just beside the other enemy Authority. The man fell backward, his shield smoking, and in that time Janne broke free of the lightning surrounding her. A wave of ash swept in all directions, driving back the enemy soulcrafters and incinerating several of the chariots.

Clearly, Tythes's apparent apathy had disguised a well-planned entrance. Yet there was something strange about his movements... he had an Authority's cantae, unquestionably, yet Theo felt certain that there was some deep instability in his soulhome...

"Blacksilver!" Janne's voice rang over the battlefield before the combat could resume. "Retreat to the caverns, defend the dewfossil!"

A few stared at her stupidly, but Theo understood: she wanted to reduce the casualties among lower tier soulcrafters while misdirecting the Authorities. Given that it was now two against two, Theo was willing to leave it to them and avoid being instantly killed by a stray attack. Since some of the Blacksilver Rulers were already descending, Theo gestured for the others to jump after him.

They plummeted straight down for a time before he cast a gravitational field around them, slowing their pace as they entered the dust. Though it was more difficult to see, he could still make out the mouth of a large cavern. Since the other Blacksilver soulcrafters appeared to be entering it, forming cantae lights, it appeared that they were making their stand there.

When they fell into the darkness, Theo reduced their momentum to land lightly in the cavern. It appeared ordinary enough, so he retreated from the entrance and began preparing. Enemy soulcrafters would soon be swarming to their position, and though they might not be Authorities, Rulers were still enough to overpower him.

Unless he was ready. Theo raised his hands in front of his chest and began preparing a singularity.

-

Chapter 10

Nauda had fought in communities before, many times, yet she struggled to work together with the Blacksilver soulcrafters. She might have gotten to know many of them, but they didn't know one another's techniques and goals clearly enough. Or rather, most of them did and she was left out, only able to work effectively with Theo and Fiyu.

Since Theo had retreated to prepare, that left only Fiyu. She was a great ally to have at your back, but in this battle...

Primarily, Nauda focused on reaching out to bind Archcrafters when they attempted to rush into the mouth of the cavern. The base soulcrafters were frequently taken down by Fiyu, while the Archcrafters pushed through. Even a few seconds of struggling against her binding left them as easy targets for the others, so her allies had lost no soulcrafters since they'd set up their defenses.

The caverns were actually beautiful, if only there had been time to appreciate them. Vast columns of rock pierced through, but what surprised her was that they were actually pearlescent in the cantae light. Perhaps the wind had worn off the shine above. Smaller stalagmites formed nearby, even brighter rainbow colors in the shadows.

An enemy Ruler rushed in, snapping through several of the stalagmites, and Nauda jerked her mind back to the battle at hand.

"Bow before the Asplundat Movement, city scum!" The Rulers were easy to differentiate even without cantae, because their armor included a full helm that reduced their faces to a single slit. They also appeared to be capable of forming gray stone around them, as this one had turned his hands into two enormous sledgehammers.

Fiyu struck the entrance of the cave with a storm of light, but it scattered off the Ruler's armor. One of the Blacksilver Rulers hurled a sphere of flame, only for the enemy to smash it to the ground with one rocky fist. They might appear to use brute force, but he filled his armor with so much cantae that he was likely to be able to rush right through their assault.

Nauda extended her staff, not trying to bind his entire body but just his forward leg. The man almost stumbled, but he reacted too quickly to fall, and he immediately turned on her. She barely dodged away from the first swipe of his sledgehammer, and his other arm was already swinging at her.

She had no time to do anything but retreat, staying just ahead of the blocks of stone. Just as Nauda felt her back hit one of the vast stalagmites, she swept one foot across the ground to generate a quick ward, then jammed her staff at her opponent's face.

One prong struck in the slit of his helm, but before she could drive it home, his rocky fists thrust out at her. The force of the blow snapped straight through her wards and would have taken off her head if she hadn't ducked aside. She heard the stone shattering behind her, fragments scattering in every direction. Refusing to give in, Nauda twisted on the ground, driving her staff into the back of his knee.

The Ruler grunted and almost dropped, but her well-placed blow couldn't fully bridge the gap between them. One rock-covered leg struck out at her and she barely defended with one forearm. She felt the cracking impact in her bones and skated painfully across the cavern floor, barely keeping hold of her staff as she tumbled over the surface.

When she pushed herself upright, a Blacksilver Ruler was attacking, this time trying to sent darts of flame through the gaps in the enemy's armor. Nauda struggled to get to her feet, watching the two of them slam cantae into one another. She might be able to survive against a Ruler, but she couldn't truly compete. She couldn't afford to dedicate an entire floor to a skill like Theo, so she had no choice but to ascend. At least, so long as she survived the battle...

"Are you alright?" Fiyu appeared nearby as her stealth technique washed over Nauda. Accepting her hand up, Nauda pulled to her feet.

"I think I didn't break anything after all, but they got through..." With the choke point broken, more Asplundat soulcrafters were pushing their way in, getting behind stalagmites and preparing to battle across the cavern. Most of it was still lit by cantae flames, but they occasionally winked out as someone died, leaving the cavern mottled in darkness.

The two of them crept to a new position to prepare to attack the enemy flank... until they saw another Ruler staring in their direction.

"Excuse me." The face plate on the Ruler's helm flipped up without a touch, which was necessary since his hands were covered in gray stone spheres. His face was set in a sad smile that Nauda didn't see any deception in. "I can't properly see you, but I can track your movement. You seem like talented young soulcrafters, so please retreat to safety."

Fiyu frowned and released the stealth technique, clearly displeased with herself. Nauda simply lowered her staff in his direction. "Why pretend? Your empire clearly follows a 'surrender or die' policy."

"Regrettably so today, but not always. I'm afraid you've seen our worst face, but I've always believed we should work together with the Ruling Cities. My name is Homez, I was hoping-"

Whatever he had intended to say, he was interrupted when one of the Blacksilver Rulers rushed at him, surrounded by green flames. Homez's face plate snapped down and he reacted with surprising agility, weaving around the heart of the strikes and letting the rest splash off his armor. Despite the heavy spheres on his arms, they moved smoothly and he brushed aside a direct attack before striking his opponent in the chest with both spheres.

The man hurtled backward, disappearing into the shadows, and Homez started to turn back to them. Nauda struck before he could, thrusting out her staff to bind him. She knew it would only hold for a second, but before he could overpower her, Fiyu might-

Homez raised one arm and her technique slid off the stone sphere. Even when Nauda threw in more cantae in disbelief, he smoothly deflected her binding.

She realized in that moment that they couldn't win, not in a fair fight. This man was no brute relying on cantae intensity, he was a Ruler with three fully-crafted floors. Though he appeared kinder than the brutal Ruler, Nauda feared him far more.

Fiyu released a storm of light... and Homez promptly disappeared. When Nauda caught sight of him again, he was standing beside them, one arm moving for each of them. Fiyu reacted quicker, trying to cut his arm with her cantae blade.

Somehow Homez twisted his arm away from her attack, then tapped her in the head with one stone sphere. Fiyu immediately crumpled to the ground.

Nauda didn't realize that she was the one screaming until she was lashing out at the enemy, striking him with a brutal series of staff strikes and kicks carrying more cantae than she had known she possessed. The sheer ferocity of it seemed to take Homez off guard, but he calmly defended himself. Even through her rage, Nauda realized that he was regaining control of the fight, so it was only a matter of time...

One of the stone spheres hit her arm and she skidded back, the entire limb going numb. She desperately looked to Fiyu, fearing that one of the stone fists would crush her, but Homez shook his head.

"Don't worry, that was a nonlethal technique. Enough people already hate the Asplundat Movement, we don't need to make enemies of new outsiders."

Reasonable as his words seemed, Nauda couldn't see anything except Fiyu's body. Her cantae hadn't disappeared, and she didn't seem bound, so he might be telling the truth, but Nauda was still helpless to reach her.

Then the other Ruler stomped up beside his ally. "Finish them, Homez!" They both used the same techniques, but there was no comparison between the smooth stone around Homez's hands and the brutal sledgehammers of his ally.

"I don't believe the dewfossil is here," Homez said, idly deflecting a cantae bolt that flew in their direction. "This is a diversionary movement."

"What? Fine, then the Authorities will find it. Let's just kill them and be done with it." The other Ruler smashed his sledgehammer hands together, and though Nauda could only see his eyes, she was certain that he grinned.

One of those heavy blocks rose over Fiyu, but Homez put his arm in the way. The Ruler glared at him, teetering on a line between shouting and attacking. Homez raised his face plate and frowned, but as he opened his mouth to object, their argument became irrelevant.

Deeper in the cavern, Theo completed his black hole. As Nauda felt his cantae vanish, she realized that this was no quickly created technique, he'd crafted it perfectly.

The dark sphere hummed to life in the mouth of the cavern, instantly pulling in several unfortunate soulcrafters who had been running in. An Archcrafter tried to dig his hands into the stone, but his technique wasn't strong enough as the darkness grew, tearing him free.

Though Nauda was more accustomed to the strange gravity than anyone else there, she knew she only had a moment. She didn't know if she could rescue Fiyu... but at that moment the other woman's body lifted into the air and began to fall in her direction. Across the cavern, Nauda felt Theo manipulating another of his fields. He might be able to do that while the black sphere consumed on its own, but his control wasn't very precise.

Nauda knelt enough to catch Fiyu's body, which felt strangely heavy for a moment before the strange gravity vanished. The strongest pull was toward the dark sphere, but Nauda was far enough away to scramble back. Most of the Blacksilver soulcrafters were at a safe distance, since Theo had timed it well... but not all.

Spotting a woman she recognized losing her grip, Nauda extended her staff and bound her ally to move her to safety. Even though she was further away than any of the Asplundat soulcrafters, Nauda had to strain her cantae to move her allies. That sphere of darkness was growing, distorting everything around it as it drank in more and more cantae.

"Petty Archcrafter tricks!" Both enemy Rulers were being drawn in, but the brutal Ruler actually stepped closer, contemptuously swinging down one sledgehammer to crush the technique.

At the end of the swing, his arm ended in a stump, the stone immediately absorbed. He cried out in pain and shock, struggling back, but his cantae had fueled the technique further. Though he desperately turned away, trying to pull himself across the floor, his armor began to break apart and soon he was drawn into the sphere with a final cry, even the sound itself twisted beyond recognition.

Not far away, Homez watched for only a moment before he lowered both arms to the ground. The stone of his spheres merged smoothly into the floor, then his body began to pull away, as if drawn by some deeper current. He managed to increase his distance until he could stand. After one frowning stare back at them, he retreated from the cavern.

Finally the black sphere collapsed, leaving fragments of stone to rain down over the chamber. The surviving Asplundat soulcrafters ran in terror, while everyone from Blacksilver breathed a sigh of relief. Nauda ignored all of them and stared down at Fiyu in her arms.

"I am alright, Nauda." Fiyu smiled at her and pulled away, only a little shaky on her feet. "He was not lying. His technique was not intended to do any permanent harm."

Whereas they hadn't hesitated to kill. Nauda shoved aside such thoughts and focused on Fiyu. "So you're fine? Sorry I grabbed you like that."

"It was to save my life. I do not mind." Fiyu carefully rearranged her robes as she did when uncomfortable, but compared to when they had first met, Nauda thought it was significant progress. 

Suddenly the weariness overcame her and she dropped back to take a seat on a broken stalagmite. She'd pushed herself hard, trying to keep up with Rulers, and the emotional exhaustion took something out of her much worse than cantae. Against a more brutal opponent, Fiyu could well have been killed, and Nauda would have been completely helpless to protect her. That possibility ached within her, even as the others began to celebrate their victory.

Theo appeared beside them, suitably grim. "I'm sorry you nearly got caught in it. I've been trying to think of a way to give you both immunity, but we don't have the sublime materials for it."

"One of them got away," Nauda said, "and they know this is a diversion. Do you think they'll help the Authorities?"

"I'm not sure how much of an impact we can have."

"Come on!" One of the Blacksilver Rulers appeared beside them, most of her face one giant bruise but tugging them to rise. "All of this is for nothing if Dhan can't finish his work!"

Though reluctant to do anything, Nauda forced herself up. While the most injured were treated, the rest made their way to the mouth of the cavern. The dust storm appeared to have died down... or perhaps it had been entirely consumed. Even the air above felt scorched, and she saw destroyed spires everywhere, annihilated by the battle between Authorities.

Before any of the Blacksilver soulcrafters could throw themselves into the fight, one of the spires exploded. Dhan emerged in the shower of stone, wrapped in a burning cloak of cantae. Even Nauda's senses could tell that he'd managed to fully absorb a new sublime material. More importantly, his soulhome was completely fresh compared to the drained Asplundat Authorities.

"Is the Asplundat Movement going to war?" Dhan didn't shout, but he put enough cantae into his voice for it to echo over the entire battlefield. "Think carefully before you strike."

"You... you scattered cities are nothing." One of the enemy Authorities wiped blood from his lips, but he drifted groundward. Many of their chariots had been destroyed, but the Asplundat soulcrafters began to gather their dead and injured to retreat. "When it comes time for the true battle, we will seize sublime materials that make this seem like nothing."

"Maybe you will. But today, you will retreat without taking any more life."

It seemed that they would. For all the ferocity they'd shown in battle, the Blacksilver soulcrafters showed no bloodthirst in victory. Instead they began to gather together, even the injured. Too many had died for them to celebrate, but the outcome was unquestionable.

"Huzzah." Tythes lounged on top of one of the remaining spires, waving a wine skin hard enough to slosh wine in all directions. "Approbation and veneration all around. You are all very brave and strong. I feel like I should have been given the dewfossil, for coming in and helping."

"Why are you here?" Dhan lowered his voice as he floated down beside Tythes, but Nauda could still make out the words. "We asked for no help from House Crimson."

"Oh, my father was just worried about the Assplund... Aspund... about the Movement taking out the lesser Houses. Sent me to... well, I can't quite remember the instructions part. But count my help as a gift, alright?"

"Your help is appreciated, but you cannot expect us to accept such an explanation."

"I very much can." Tythes tossed his wine skin to Dhan, then slid down the curve of the spire, spiraling until he was swallowed by one of the caverns.

Though that bore thinking about later, Nauda wasn't worried about either of those Authorities. Instead she searched the wreckage for Janne, finally spotting her sitting atop the primary outcropping. Many of her robes had been burned away, revealing only more robes underneath. She looked immensely weary, but Nauda didn't particularly care.

Instead she gestured to Theo, who thankfully generated one of his fields without objecting. It took them up to the outcropping easily enough, then as soon as the world was righted, Nauda stalked across the top to confront Janne.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Nauda barely waited for an answer, since the look in the older woman's eyes was enough. "We risked our lives for House Blacksilver. I think we deserve some real answers."