Chasmfall: Chapters 11-13 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

New chapters! But I'd first like to take a moment to talk about fan communities.

Readers sometimes request communities aside from the Patreon, and while I think those can be good, my concern is always that managing them will take up too much of my work time. When started by fans, however, I think they can be a positive thing. If they ever hit critical mass, I'm happy to promote them as fan communities.

Currently, the only semi-established one is the subreddit for my work. But this week, a patron volunteered to create a Discord server and in fact just set one up. I'll put the invitation link here and you're free to check it out!

Most of the discussion is here on Patreon chapters, but other channels do serve as repositories of fanart, lore posts, and information. Don't expect me to be there very often, as I like to focus on writing, but if the community ever gathers in a space, I might show up sometimes for AMAs or other special content.

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Chapter 11

Theo had been entirely supportive of Nauda's demand for clear answers, but given the amount of cleanup, they didn't come immediately. He'd almost thought that they'd been forgotten when they were summoned back to House Blacksilver. Yet when they entered the lush central chambers, the one to greet them was the last Authority. Karchibol, he thought the old man's name was.

"Take a seat." Old as he was, he stood with his back straight and his arms tucked behind it. "This information will eventually become public knowledge, but for now, it isn't to leave this room."

After exchanging a glance with Nauda, Theo sank onto one of the low cushions. Fiyu folded her legs under her beside them, hands on her knees awaiting instruction. The old Authority looked as though he was about to break out a chalkboard to lecture them, but merely spoke with his arms behind his back.

"I know the three of you are outsiders to Fithe. Do you know our world outside of Norro Yorthin?"

"We've barely seen it except for a few trips," Nauda said. "I know this city is just one of many city-states known as the Ruling Cities."

"Norro Yorthin is one of the most powerful, controlling a large region of these plains, but yes, we are only one of many. I'll not lecture you on local politics, but you should know that all cities worth naming have at least one Stronghold-tier soulcrafter, while there is only one Dominion in all of the Ruling Cities. He sits in Dris Kolonb, which is a relatively small city that dedicates itself to matters that affect all cities."

He hadn't known anything about the specific continent, but it was a familiar story to Theo. "I'm guessing that the Ruling Cities are rivals except when it comes to outsiders... such as the Asplundat Movement?"

"Then you understand." Karchibol's lips thinned in displeasure, but he soon continued. "The Asplundat Movement is the second largest region on the Norron continent, controlling almost all the north. Their founder is a Dominion, and they have enough Strongholds and other soulcrafters to crush any individual city. Norro Yorthin doesn't border their territory, but we still faced them today."

"Is it because of the Chasm of Lamentations?" Fiyu asked.

"That's the secret we would prefer not get out. Usually, Chasm Invitations are divided among all the Ruling Cities. This year, the Asplundat Movement has been far more aggressive. They've stolen many Invitations from other cities, in some cases entirely removing them from the competition. It seems they intend to dominate the Chasm and use its sublime materials to further their conquest of the continent."

"This is not.. against the rules? They cannot be removed?"

Karchibol shook his head slowly, white hair rippling. "The Invitations aren't arbitrary limitations, they're required to enter the Chasm. Besides, the Ruling Cities make so much noise about anyone being able to earn their way in, it would look hypocritical to oppose them directly."

"So this year will be different than normal." Theo sat forward, considering the consequences. Odd past statements had all fallen into place, but he was unsure of all the ramifications. "Does that mean that the Ruling Cities will be working together? Lasaa Anklon's soulcrafters seemed eager to fight with us."

"Of course it cannot be that simple. We will still be squabbling with one another while the Asplundat Movement presents a unified face. Though today's conflict does have another upside: we've begun talks with Lasaa Anklon and they may be more amenable to cooperation."

"This Asplundat Movement uses common blueprints, and they saw our techniques... do we need to be worried that they'll be fully prepared for us next time?"

That earned an immediate snort from the Authority. "The Asplundat Movement's method of adaptation is to return with a larger army. Did you see their soulhomes? No imagination among them, just brutal force. Their souls are as dull as their architecture. If they had their way, they'd dominate the entire continent and force everyone to follow exactly the same blueprints."

Theo sat back, somewhat mollified. Since the default Asplundat blueprint didn't defend against his gravitational fields or singularity, he had much less to fear from the Movement than most. He shouldn't have been surprised they wouldn't adapt, since few could soulcraft countermeasures as quickly as Esaire had. They would also be a more predictable opponent, though their stronger soulcrafters no doubt branched out from the base blueprints.

Meanwhile, it seemed that Nauda had been thinking along entirely different lines. "Who else will be present at the Chasm?" she asked. "There are other forces on the continent, right? I heard something about  a place called the Wavefront. Who all should we expect to be dealing with?"

"The Wavefront is a neutral power that protects the continent from the mud Fithans." Karchibol waved them aside. "Someone else can brief you on other cities that might oppose us, though many of our fiercest rivals will be right here in Norro Yorthin. But you're right, there will be others."

"From the Norron continent?"

"Well... no. There are credible rumors that a great empire of Tymetron will be sending representatives. Some say that the mud Fithans have stolen Invitations, though I'm skeptical of that. We've received word that the House of the Lost will be present, but they have often joined in the past."

"Then something's different this time." When Karchibol looked uncomfortable, Nauda pressed him further. "You've conducted this contest for decades and it's never been so intense. All sides sacrificed lives today. That doesn't make sense unless there's something more to it than a mere contest."

Karchibol was silent for a long time, then sighed. "I believed that it was better not to speak of this, but the other two overruled me, if you insisted. Yes, something is different. The last time we ventured into the Chasm, there were a number of... irregularities. It seems that the knowledge has spread much further than we'd hoped."

The three of them sat and waited, clearly expectant. Karchibol watched them for a time... and then actually sat down, abruptly looking far more human than he had before. When he spoke again, he'd lost his precise diction.

"Ten years ago, the soulcrafters venturing into the Chasm of Lamentations unlocked a great vault that had never before been opened. Though they didn't get far, they did retrieve an ancient armament of troubling power. It has been called the Scepter of Separation, though we do not know its true name or who created it. When pointed at a soulcrafter, it... uncreates the bonds within their soulhome, at least temporarily. This could be used for reshaping work, but..."

"It could be used to kill," Theo said as the last facts came together. "Anyone struck by it would be temporarily crippled. I'm guessing that every Dominion on Fithe wants to acquire it in order to defeat their rivals?"

"I'm afraid it's even worse than that." Karchibol cast him a weary smile. "The scepter was activated several times before being lost in the Chasm, and it appears... remarkably easy to use. Even an Archcrafter is fully capable of wielding it, potentially against someone of a higher tier. And, no matter their tier, the effect is the same."

"That's unbelievable. It was used enough that you're completely sure of its effects?"

"It can't entirely ignore cantae intensity, of course. Ten years ago, a Ruler used it to kill an Authority, and the scepter was damaged in the process. But the reverse... an Authority was able to instantly disable Rulers with it, possibly endlessly. So yes, Dominions could use it to break the balance of power, but it could also leave them vulnerable to Strongholds. The Ruling Cities hoped that the Scepter of Separation could be quietly controlled, but now it has become a threat that no power can ignore. Worst of all, everyone will be seeking to claim everything else the vault contains."

For a time Karchibol just sat wearily, and Theo didn't blame him. There were multiple questions, but they all spent a while turning that thought over in their minds. Armaments that could level the playing field between tiers were extremely rare, so he understood why a contest for sublime materials had become a war by proxy.

"There are additional complications." Karchibol's control abruptly returned and he rose to his feet smoothly, again an untouchable Authority. "If House Blacksilver were to acquire the scepter, we would give it to the leadership of the Ruling Cities in return for immense resources and favor. Such a power is better kept as a deterrent against warmongers. But others may not make the same decision. It is widely believed that if House Crimson acquires the scepter, they will use it to rule Norro Yorthin."

"So you need us to get it first," Nauda said, but Karchibol immediately shook his head.

"You will do nothing of the sort. The battle for the scepter will be among Authorities, if not Strongholds. You will participate in the Chasm as normal, acquiring sublime materials. Just because there is a greater prize does not mean that we can overlook all the other profits to be had."

That was more or less what Theo had been anticipating. Though Nauda looked displeased, she couldn't deny that they were out of their league in such a fight. Theo fully intended to ask about the exact location this scepter had been lost, in case his knowledge of the Chasm could bring them there first, but he didn't like the sound of the conflict at all.

Because of the risk, of course, but also because this sounded very much like something Vistgil might have schemed to strike his enemies...

-

Chapter 12

As Nauda inventoried every sublime material in her soulhome, she began to wonder if she was completely losing objectivity. 

To her credit, she felt largely prepared to ascend. The surgestalk had continued growing, now pushing nearly a full floor into the sky above her soulhome. She'd finished applying the new layer of petals over her windows and other exposed parts of her soulhome in preparation for the event. Every chamber hummed with raw cantae.

To her detriment, there was so much more that could be done. Her supposed sensory chamber was filled with reasonably powerful materials but completely failed to grant her a new sense. Efforts to find sublime materials to strengthen her wards had been unsuccessful. She was still dissatisfied with the chambers in the tower separate from her soulhome. For that matter, there was still the barrier wall Theo wouldn't shut up about.

Actually... Nauda left her soulhome and blinked in the shadows of her room. Still rather short, so there was time. She walked through the Blacksilver complex, searching him out. Hopefully he would be working with Fiyu, but she was certain that he would be soulcrafting in one of the usual locations.

Eventually she found him soulcrafting in a small courtyard, a defensive field placed around him. Nauda was puzzled until she saw Senka scampering around the edges, chewing on something absolutely filthy. The little creature finished chewing and then ran at Theo, only to be caught up in the field. Part of her body suddenly falling in the other direction, she flipped backwards and tumbled over the courtyard before flopping onto her back.

"Nauda Nauda!" Senka stared at her and blubbered. "Theo is being a dirty fumpet. Make Theo play with Senka!"

"Maybe not now, Senka." Nauda's words had absolutely no effect on her, of course, and she wriggled over, grabbing hold of Nauda's ankle.

For a moment she considered using her staff to bind Senka in place, maybe even keep her mouth closed. Eventually she decided that would be unkind, since Senka couldn't help whatever she was. Instead she extricated her leg and continued forward until Theo looked at her.

"I've continued trying to train her, to no avail." He sighed and lowered his field. "Sometimes it feels like she's trying to convince me not to."

"Senka just wants yummies, not work!"

"Ignore her. Did you want to ask me something?"

"Yes, actually." Nauda frowned over at Senka, who was running for them. A moment later, Theo dropped her into the air with another field. Her babbling reached a higher pitch, which was exceedingly annoying, so Nauda reached out to touch his knee and drew both their spirits into her soulhome. If she ignored her body just a little, she could hear nothing but the quiet natural sounds of her soul.

Though Theo looked over her soulhome with interest, he soon stopped and turned back to her. That was what she had been hoping, so Nauda overcame her last uncertainty. After swallowing one more time, she finally spoke her mind.

"You frustrate me sometimes, Theo, but I do respect you. I wanted your advice."

"From this humble soulcrafter? I assure you, I take no pleasure in explaining things to people." His smile at his own expense was just enough for Nauda to forgive him. She gestured for him to follow and walked closer to her soulhome.

"I want to ascend to Ruler, but... this absolutely has to work. I've seen what we'll be facing... no, the truth is I've only seen the beginning of it." Nauda slowly ran a hand over the vine-wrapped stone. "Do you think I'd be making a mistake, trying to ascend now?"

"Yes, definitely. I have no doubt that you could, but it's premature." Theo shrugged. "As you noted, I give my opinions pretty freely. What else do you want me to say?"

"How much of a mistake? I want to talk about the really advanced soulcrafting issues you always imply you know, the ones beyond Authority. So yes, Theo, I'm asking for a lecture. I need to get this right."

He was silent for longer than she expected, given the invitation to lecture, and then slowly drifted up to her roof. Nauda had to climb the vines to join him, not far behind. Though he stared skyward at first, his gaze soon shifted back down.

"When you ascend, the force from piercing the sky will rush through your soulhome, reinforcing everything. Generally speaking, for optimum soulhome design, you want the strongest materials you can possibly endure, held through as many ascensions as you can manage."

"But isn't it sometimes better to replace them? If we'd somehow gotten that dewfossil and could use it, wouldn't that be better than our current materials?"

"Most likely, but you shouldn't underestimate the strength of a sublime material that matters to you, carried through all your soulcrafting." Theo shook his head slowly. "Your basic construction has always been good. Excellent, even. These walls will only grow stronger over time as you ascend. But can you show me one of your strongest sublime materials?"

"Down here." Nauda flipped over the edge of one wall, sliding through the window into the room that contained the monstrous skull on its altar. Theo followed by drifting through the ceiling. To his credit, he didn't ask her about the origin of the skull, just considered the chamber.

"There's one thing you're doing absolutely right: keeping this powerful material through multiple ascensions. But... you really want my opinion?"

"This humble novice begs your wisdom, great master."

Theo smirked, but when he answered his voice was flat. "This altar is barely passable, you could almost certainly find better materials. Your walls are all blank... carving symbols or covering them with another material may not transform your strength, but it enhances the power of the central material. You don't have any furnishings or other supportive materials... this chamber is in no shape for ascension."

"And you have room to talk?" Nauda had known exactly what she was asking for and still had to choke down irritation. "You ascended to Archcrafter with some of your chambers empty. Have you been resenting us the entire time for the lost strength?"

"It's always more complicated than that." Theo drifted closer to one of the walls, running his hand over it. "Right now, you could easily find something... say a sublime paint. It's common enough in Fithe. If you painted everything perfectly and then ascended, this room would be stronger. But if you ascend and then use that material, it simply won't compare. With your new cantae, you might be able to find a stronger material for the walls, but the adequate ones would be much rarer, and they might not match your blueprint. The more shortcuts you take, the more rigid your possible future designs become."

For the first time, all his optimization talk made a bit more sense to her, all her irritation vanishing. "Is that how people hit their limits? Their ways of soulcrafting become more and more limited until their soulhome isn't strong enough to ascend again?"

"That's one of the ways, yes."

"But you didn't answer my question. And I did want an answer."

"About my ascension?" Theo was silent for a time, and if he had smiled at her, she wouldn't have believed it. When he spoke, his spirit stared out past her soul. "I don't think it will hurt me in the end, but I'm not sure. I should be able to make up some of the loss at Ruler. From my earlier experience, the one that you can't ever make up is the ascension to Authority."

"Because it's more difficult than the others? I thought that Stronghold was even harder."

"It is, but it's not the same. Reaching Authority is a... phase shift, you could say. The strength it grants your soulhome can't be replaced, even if you search out incredibly rare sublime materials. A botched ascension to Ruler, you might be able to fix with ten years of remodeling. But Authority... well, you've seen how many people reach that tier and get stuck."

She had assumed it was something like that, but Nauda actually found the explanation a bit reassuring. She might have stumbled her way this far, but she would have a second chance. Reaching Ruler would let her fully use all her resources and stay alive. That would be enough to finally get her blueprint in order, then she could ascend to Authority and be able to start her real work.

Though she already had her conclusion, Nauda didn't find herself wanting to shoo Theo away. Instead she made her way down one of the open gaps... she really needed to work on ladders at some point. When she reached her feasting table, she gestured over it.

"What about the Nine Worlds Feast? Does that need to be absolutely perfect before then?"

"Soulcrafting is never that simple," Theo said as he examined the food. "Hard materials like stones, you want to settle early. But food that's perishable in real life... never changing your feasting chamber can actually lead to stagnation. It all follows a realistic logic... plants, for example, need resources to continue growing but can catch up to you over time."

"Huh." Nauda glanced over the surgestalk vines, briefly second-guessing her decision. "Does that mean that a soulhome constructed entirely of plants would be ideal?"

"That wouldn't be a very durable structure, and not all sublime plants are created equal. Never mind that... have you been supplementing what the Authorities give us? I don't recognize some of these foods."

"I've been busy. The feast is supposed to match us, right? I've bought a few new things at the markets, and paid a soulcrafter chef to prepare some of the food more to my taste. I may not know the finer points of high tier soulcrafting, but I'm pretty confident in sublime food."

"Yeah, this is well done." Theo glanced up with an odd smile, difficult to read on his wispy spirit. "I could nitpick that your table is a bit basic and the room contains too many different objects, but it's a solid feast. That explains your physical strength."

"That's only the beginning, if the ascension goes the way I want." Nauda smiled at him, but it suddenly wasn't enough. She released her technique and they returned to the real world, where she squeezed his knee and smiled for real. "Thank you, Theo. I want to be ready to take on the Chasm with you."

He chuckled. "If we manage that, we'll be set f-"

"Give Senka yummies now! Now, now, now!" Though she should have been entirely pinned in place, Senka flailed wildly and seemed to be getting closer to them by sheer orneriness. Theo sighed and got to his feet slowly.

"I'm guessing you're going to try it soon. Do you want company? Non-Senka company?"

"Why say Senka's name? Why? Why?"

Doing her best to block out the nonsense, Nauda tried to think about what she truly wanted. The idea of having Fiyu there alongside her appealed, but given all the thoughts swirling through her mind... "Thank you, Theo, but no. I guess I'll just ask for last second advice about the ascension itself."

"Hmm." Theo put a hand over Senka's mouth, and though she seemed to be trying to bite it, he managed to keep her silent. "I saw that you'd put petals from our Aathal trip all over the top. To defend against the pressure?"

"Not just that. I'm told that Tatian ascensions involve some sort of intense rain, so the petals should help shed it."

"Good thought. Then I probably only have one word of advice: make an umbrella."

While he departed, thankfully taking Senka with him, Nauda considered his advice. It was obvious, now that she thought about it. She had been most worried about the spiritual rain beating down over her soulhome, but it would be striking her as well. Rain might seem trivial, but given the difficulty of ascending, it never hurt to be careful.

So, as she checked over her entire blueprint one last time, Nauda assembled a few materials. Not just random objects, but sublime materials that meant something to her. She fashioned a stick out of hearthtree wood from Tatian, reinforced it with Fithan stone, and managed to bind several layers of petals into the canopy. It wasn't an elegant umbrella, but it resonated with her soul.

That accomplished, Nauda took a moment to rest, letting her spirit relax and her soulhome fill. When she finally returned to her roof, the time felt right.

When she began climbing up the side of the surgestalk, she was surprised how easy it was. With the thick vines firm in both hands, the pressure from above didn't feel nearly so oppressive. She carried her umbrella stuck in her belt, slightly awkward but not getting in the way given the ease of climbing.

Once she climbed a full body length above her soulhome, the sky began to push back harder. Each time she reached up it was a struggle and her cantae began to drain as she tried to break through. Yet this still wasn't overly challenging... she'd already endured one ascension, she could grit her teeth and force her way through this one.

Nauda raised a hand and pushed her will skyward, piercing the barrier... and that was when the rain struck her like a hammer.

The drops plunged out of the empty sky overhead, skipping from a drizzle to a wall. Nauda was drenched in an instant, the raindrops growing larger and battering at her spirit. She lost her grip from the impact and slid down nearly a pace before catching herself.

Her instincts to reach for her staff to defend herself made Nauda grab the umbrella instead. It didn't rise smoothly, but she managed to get the canopy between herself and the brutal rain. As soon as she earned a moment of relief, she realized that her head was ringing and her spirit felt bruised. The Aathali petal seemed to be repelling the rain, but the drops continued to buffet it.

Unable to help herself, Nauda looked back down over her soulhome. She was surprised to see that the rain was tearing through the surgestalk vines, drops impacting in tiny explosions. If the vines hadn't been so thick, the drops would have been pummeling her roof instead. Fortunately, all of the petals endured much more effectively, preventing the water from causing damage inside.

If Nauda had needed to claw her way up through the stinging rain, it would have been a miserable ordeal. Given a moment's respite by Theo's umbrella, she was able to catch her breath and brace herself. When the umbrella started to tear apart, Nauda cast it aside and clawed her way up with all her strength.

The rain still smashed into her, but Nauda snarled and kept climbing hand over hand. The pressure increased, and by the time she reached the limits of the sky, she was roaring so loud it overwhelmed the downpour, but she threw everything she had against the barrier.

When it finally broke, Nauda was shocked at the rush of relief. Not just cantae flowing through her like air, it was as if she'd taken a drink of the most refreshing water in all the worlds. The cantae flooded from the sky more intensely than before, more like liquid than air. It filled her soul, sinking deep into everything that she had built and everything that she was, filling her with new strength.

Eventually the flow of strength lowered her to the grass outside her soulhome. Though the remnants of the surgestalk lay in ragged pieces, her soulhome was surprisingly untouched. Instead of having endured a brutal storm, everything glistened like dew in the morning.

Nauda laughed out loud and rushed to the pile of bricks she'd been preparing for her third floor. Yes, they had been suffused by the rush of cantae as well, stronger than they had been before. But when she tried to pick one up to begin work, her head spun and she dropped it as she realized just how exhausted her spirit was.

Receding to the real world, Nauda flopped onto her back and just lay there for a while. Her body surged with new strength, her mind just hadn't caught up. Eager as she was to begin work on her third floor, she wouldn't advance further by just throwing herself into the problem. No, she needed to work smarter.

Fortunately, soulcrafting wasn't the only path she had ahead of her. Nauda hopped to her feet and went to collect all of the Arbaian gemstones she had been storing. It was time to commission her first Ruler armament.

-

Chapter 13

Despite the impending deadline, Fiyu found herself often pleased with her work. As she carried bricks from her central workstations to her barrier wall, she often did so with a skip in her step. Actually quite immoderate, if it hadn't been within her soul. There might be threats in the future, but she believed that she would be as prepared as she could be.

Her barrier wall now extended all the way around her soulhome, and she had been able to spend significant time polishing it. The enemy Ruler who had been able to pierce her stealth before would now have a more difficult time, or so she hoped. Originally she had been planning to add a ridge to the top of the wall, but Friend Nauda pushing to ascend and succeeding had led Fiyu to change her priorities. She would not waste time on a capping ridge that would need to be removed later, not when she had more productive if more unorthodox soulcrafting to complete.

If she had kept to her original design, she would have already completed the wall, but instead she built a much larger gatehouse just opposite her soulhome's door. Friend Theo had assisted her with the initial blueprint and then she had modified it to be a better match. At times she felt that others believed she simply followed her relative's instructions like an obedient child, but she had been taught the principles of soulcrafting. Relative Guchiro would be proud of her.

The gatehouse was actually formed of two towers three times the thickness of the rest of her wall, straining the limits of her soul at the edges while also pushing higher. Though the section in between them was also heavily reinforced, the towers were the essential part: she had carved each one to the same shape as her Soulsilver Bracers.

Fiyu carefully lifted the bricks in one arm as she made her way up her ladder to the top of the bridge between the towers. It was the only section that still required fundamental work, and she hoped to finish soon. Of course, the towers needed considerably more polish and carving, both in general and because she intended to carve the same intricate patterns as covered her bracers.

The carving had been a somewhat new experience for her, as her spiritual skills had focused more on polishing and glass-blowing. Friend Theo had been very helpful in offering suggestions, though he was not able to assist directly until that day because Friend Nauda had required assistance.

When she needed a moment to relax her spirit, Fiyu receded from her soulhome to confirm that Friend Theo still sat beside her. She had been fully aware of his presence, of course, it was simply good to confirm. Even in the midst of soulcrafting, his hazy body managed to glance at her, but she only smiled at him and returned.

Currently, the door in the center of the gatehouse was a weakness, preventing the barrier wall from attaining its true potential. The ideal door would have been another arch of the extremely rare sublime material that her relative had given her, but Fiyu was unable to find more of that. Instead she was working on carving a door from Aathali wood, which would at least allow for smooth control of cantae.

As she set herself to the simple work of laying the final bricks, Fiyu allowed her mind to wander to Friend Theo's work. She had been assisting him with the fine-tuning of his sensory chamber. He had built upon an extremely appropriate sublime material and designed the rest of his chamber around it. Truly, Friend Theo was doing quite well, already as competent as Ichili children. The powerful cantae flow of his blueprint gave him immense range and potential, it was just a matter of his mind and soul adjusting to the new sense as he fine-tuned the chamber.

Usually they spent long periods soulcrafting quietly, interspersed by brief conversation. Before the next of them, they were interrupted by a new presence appearing. Fiyu brought all her cantae to bear, even though she recognized one of the Blacksilver Authorities.

"Let's not waste time." Associate Karchibol frowned down at them. "If you want that Ichil trip of yours, it has to be now. Dhan and Janne need the weirkey nearly as much as I do."

Though Fiyu was glad that her request had been answered, she would have preferred one of the other Authorities. Associate Janne had fought alongside her, and Associate Dhan was at least a familiar face. Neither meant they could be fully trusted, but they were preferable to the man who acted like an elder relative when he was still nearly a stranger.

"You're going deep into Ichil?" Friend Theo asked. "Depending on the location, I might want to go along."

Associate Karchibol waved a hand. "It makes no difference to me, so long as you don't waste time. We need to go now."

"I'll require a short time to assemble resources and-"

"Not good enough. I'll do what Blacksilver has agreed upon, but I still don't like taking Archcrafters to their deaths in the Chasm."

The tension in Friend Theo's neck made it obvious that he was irritated, no doubt that a "mere Authority" was insulting him. Fiyu hastened to speak before she would need to interrupt them. "Excuse me, but I have a solution." She reached into her cloak and revealed her prepared sack. "I have exchanged some of my money for craftgems, as well as universally useful Ichili materials. I have a sufficient quantity for my ally as well, so we may depart now."

Anger breaking, Karchibol turned toward her with a frown. "You're just carrying that with you?"

"It is important to be prepared." This was really no more than basic precautions, though those seemed less common on Fithe. In any case, Karchibol was appeased and gestured for them to move close for the transfer. The black Ichili weirkey already glinted in his hand.

When they both came to stand beside him, Karchibol reached to grip them both. Fiyu suffered his touch, but reached back to grip Friend Theo's coat. Her sense of touch had been twisting lately, the presence of allies both comforting and discomforting... and then all other thoughts were washed away as the terrible light between worlds consumed them.

It faded to reveal a blessed darkness, not absolute but still comforting. When she turned toward the only source of light, she soon found the walls of Bleaklight City. She was taller than she had been when Relative Guchiro first took her there, but it appeared exactly the same to her purest senses: the thick outer wall, the intricate spiraling plazas arching overhead, the tangled streets in the heart. Unlike some cities, both walls and streets were lit with gas lanterns. They had been shockingly bright when she first saw them and she now realized they were likely dim and unstable to others.

"They don't know much about other worlds here," Associate Karchibol said, "so you'll have to get him in. I have my own business to take care of elsewhere. You have until the dust has passed through, then return here. Do not keep me waiting."

His ambiguous statement was explained when he thrust an object toward her, though Friend Theo intercepted it for her sake. It appeared to be a glass sphere filled with a storm, and as Associate Karchibol rose into the sky and vanished, Fiyu examined what he had left behind.

Clever glasswork divided the sphere into two halves, one of which contained a miniature dust storm and the other nearly empty except for a few grains. Though Friend Theo puzzled over it a moment, presumably with his sense of gravity, Fiyu understood immediately. The empty half of the sphere  was a vacuum, and there was a slight flaw in the glass between them, so the dust would slowly be drawn from one side to the other until the pressure equalized.

"It looks like this will run for several hours," Friend Theo said, "but that's an estimate. I'm not sure whether or not we can afford to split up, or whether we can afford not to."

"We should begin." Fiyu began walking toward the gates and spoke quietly as they approached. "This place is called Bleaklight City, and I know it from my childhood. I wish that I could have shown you and Nauda everything, but I fear our associate will not grant us enough time."

"Are the gates going to be a problem?"

"No, a city of this size is accustomed to strangers. We will be permitted entrance."

Though they were, the guards examined Theo with their senses for much longer than Fiyu had anticipated. After her journey through so many shocking worlds and living in Norro Yorthin, her shock at other worlds had dulled. A great many Ichili were only dimly aware that other worlds existed and might never have met an outsider. Only the fact that the locals were accustomed to mistrusting many other Ichili allowed for them to be eventually permitted inside.

Both were given pins that bound to their clothes and emitted an unpleasantly intense light. They could not be easily removed and would prevent them from hiding in the shadows, likely to discourage antisocial behavior. Each pin also contained anti-cantae properties, and even a month ago the light would have pierced through her stealth technique. Fiyu was somewhat confident she could now overcome it, though she hoped that she would not be required to test this.

Inside, they stood on the wide central street of Bleaklight City. When she had arrived as a child, it had seemed an impossibly vast space crowded with people, as dangerous as any other landscape. Now, she understood that the city was nowhere near the size of a place like Norro Yorthin, even considering the volume of its many floors, and the population density - though more reasonable - was quite low.

More than that, she felt a deep sense of melancholy that she had returned to it like this. What she wanted was to guide Friend Theo and Friend Nauda through the city carefully, showing them its delights and rediscovering its strengths. Yet now one of her friends was missing and there was no time to explore, no time even to stand and reflect as she was.

"Do you have a plan?" Friend Theo asked. He tapped at the glass sphere and frowned. "At the rate the mass is changing, I would guess a little over two hours. I'm not sure how dangerous this city is or how much we need to do."

"Though not as safe as a true community, for someone like yourself who will not offend Ichili, you may travel freely." Fiyu examined the sphere and set her own sense of time. "I am afraid that we must likely split up, but you have not told me what you needed to do here."

"I wanted to buy some equipment that will prepare us for the Chasm. Not proper armaments, but the sort of thing you don't find on many other worlds. What about you?"

"I have decided to purchase some additional sublime materials for my Corporeal Floor. Though I am not prepared to begin full soulcrafting there, I have... recognized that I am fragile compared to you and Nauda. Acquiring some of the materials should help reinforce my body and soul."

"That sounds like a wise decision. Assuming you're counting time internally, let's try to accomplish everything we can in an hour, then meet back here to check."

"There is a spark fountain in the central square. That would be an easier location to meet."

Friend Theo accepted her expertise quite reasonably and then departed. Then, quite abruptly, Fiyu was alone in a sense she had not been in some time. Despite her melancholy at her rushed visit to the city, Fiyu found herself smiling as she set about her work.

Though she had told Friend Theo the truth, she had omitted other errands. First she traveled to the nearest Biolumin Relay, hosted within the city. Unfortunately, there was no message from Relative Guchiro waiting for her, or indeed any messages at all. After confirming that the message she had left was still unread, Fiyu headed out to seek other relatives.

The branch of relatives in Bleaklight City was not close, but she had memorized their locations in the case of emergencies. If she had been separated from her guiding relative by a less shocking method than falling into another world, she would have made her way to them and been incorporated into their social network. When she arrived, however, she discovered that many of her contacts had departed, and the messages they left for relatives did not offer any particular wisdom.

But neither of those had been truly necessary, because Fiyu had other resources now and could support herself. She might still be vulnerable in an unknown region like the Greater Dark, but she had been taught the environment of Bleaklight City thoroughly. Having completed filial duties, she set about conducting her soulcrafting business.

First she made her way to the deep markets, blissfully free from gas lanterns, and adapted to the minor changes since her last visit. They contained many valuable sublime materials, though during her previous visit she had not been competent enough to do anything but rely on Relative Guchiro and learn from his teachings.

She might not be confident in her ability to construct her Corporeal Floor, but her relative had thoroughly taught her both theory and practical steps. Her second floor needed to represent her body in the deepest sense, so it could only be filled with sublime materials from Ichil.

Her most valuable find was cloudspider silk, a dark material that almost perfectly matched her hair. Though voidspider silk was more commonly used as a construction material, cloudspiders produced a more powerful sublime material. She also purchased a number of bloodembers to represent her body heat and astralcorpuscles for her flesh.

Regrettably, she was unable to purchase any of the truly rare materials that would represent her heart, lungs, or other essential organs. Not only could she not locate any, the other purchases had exhausted almost everything she had saved. These might be her last purchases before the Chasm, even presuming that Friend Theo paid her back for the funds she had loaned him.

Still, she thought it was reasonable to hope that the new materials would assist her. Instead of merely storing cantae, her second floor chambers would begin to resonate along with her body. That might make her more resistant to techniques such as the one that Enemy Homez had used to disable her. She might also be able to refine them to some degree, such as braiding the cloudspider silk in the same fashion as her own hair. Even if Relative Guchiro required changes later, that work would do no harm.

All her shopping exhausted her allotted time, so Fiyu returned to the chosen place. The spark fountain was not currently functioning because it was an hour of sleep, and she was disappointed, wondering if the fountain would have seemed so shocking after all her otherworldly experiences. Friend Theo sat nearby, carrying a large sack over his shoulder.

"Did you find everything you sought?" she asked. Friend Theo grumbled something about having to carry around everything, but it was his pleased grumbling.

"Look at this: silencemoss makes the perfect earplugs, so we can use it to protect ourselves from the sounds in the Chasm. I also got these animabladders... can you check them for me to be sure that the merchant didn't cheat me?"

Though Fiyu dutifully checked over the animabladders, she believed that Friend Theo had negotiated a good deal. The core of each was the bladder of a creature that could easily float through poisonous environments, but these had been modified with a metal pipe that fit into the mouth. She knew that some Ichili used these to store air and breathe in dangerous environments, and presumed that Friend Theo had spent some time with them in his previous life.

"I believe that these are sound," she concluded, "but I do not know if they can filter the necessary threats. Are there poisonous gases in the Chasm of Lamentations?"

"I'm not sure they're really gases, but there are regions where breathing becomes lethal. These should cover all three of us, though I want to modify the straps. Oh, and I have these two masks: I assumed yours will protect you entirely, so they're just for Nauda and me."

Seeing all of Friend Theo's preparations eased Fiyu's mind more than she had expected. She knew that he was knowledgeable, but also that he could be impetuous by reasonable standards. But these preparations would not have shamed an Ichili, and it seemed clear that he truly knew the dangers that they were about to face and had carefully planned their journey.

She corrected herself: Friend Theo knew the environmental dangers. None of them could fully predict the threats from rival Houses, the Asplundat Movement, and other enemies.

"We made good time, and I didn't need to spend as much money as I expected." Theo handed her the money sack with a smile, and oddly Fiyu almost decided to brush his hand when taking it. Troubling. "Since we still have time until Karchibol returns, is there anything else you think we should do? Anything you've been missing from Bleaklight City?"

"Oh... that is a kind offer, but..." Fiyu found her answers within her hesitation and smiled. "I would prefer to enjoy it alongside you and Nauda. We can explore the city when we return with our own weirkeys."

"That sounds like a good plan to me. Finding more sublime materials, then?"

"Your offer is kind, but I have already located every one of the materials that my relative mentioned. Others will require more effort and journeying."

"What about alternative materials?" Friend Theo must have sensed her dismay at the idea, because he immediately raised his hands. "Hear me out. I'm not asking you to soulcraft your Corporeal Floor with replacements. But if we find materials that are deeply appropriate to your blueprint, they can reinforce your body in the short term. Even if your relative says they're not appropriate for your Corporeal Floor, you could use them elsewhere, right?"

It was a surprisingly prudent plan, so Fiyu smiled back at Friend Theo before catching his sleeve to draw him into the city. "Yes, let us begin."