Bondsfungi: Chapters 3-4 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

We're getting close to the release of the fourth book, but it looks like I can squeeze a couple more chapters in. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 3

The city of Saan Fraskin was shaded for the majority of the day thanks to the enormous half-sphere of stone that curved over the seaward side of the city. Where the coastal location might make a city a valuable port on another world, on Fithe it caused a war zone. In times long past the defensive wall had been created to help ward off attacks from the ocean, built from powerful materials that it would take an Authority to even scratch.

As he made his way to the plaza, Theo ran his eyes over the curving wall one more time. None of the citizens seemed to notice it, since it was no doubt just part of the scenery to them. Or at least he presumed as much, since there'd been no time to talk to any of them. As he was swept across the Ruling Cities, he'd gained very little in the form of relationships.

Sublime materials, on the other hand...

"Oh, by the way..." Aronth had been walking beside him and suddenly broke off whatever he had been saying, rummaging in the pack at his side. His hand emerged with a chunk of stone so white that the shadow had no effect on it. "We did manage to find a little more of that sublime material you wanted! They're going to give you a proper reward, but I figured I'd throw this in."

"Thanks." Theo smiled broadly as he gripped the densecrest, slowly crumbling it into his soulhome. This chunk would probably make enough bricks for another room or two on his third floor. "How did you manage to get your hands on it?"

"Oh, you know how it is when everybody expects fighting! All the sublime materials useful for combat start going to the soulcrafters that will be in the worst of it. How else are you going to get ready for a war, ya know?"

Though Theo wasn't entirely confident in his past experiences of the Nine Worlds, he'd seen wars before. In the early stages, there was sort of sublime material triage: top tier soulcrafters would be given enough materials to ascend if at all possible, then they filtered to others close to ascension, then those making progress on their current floor, and finally to less important needs.

"That's what all this was actually about." Aronth had continued speaking without any input from him, aside from receiving another blow to the back. "You helped us keep control of those mudflats! The way I understand it, they dig up a few materials there, but the real treasure is when these turtles come to lay eggs. Those eggs are a real great sublime material and having another season of it before a war could make our soulcrafters a lot tougher. Wish we could give you one, but they'd be a bit old by now, haha!"

"I'm sure I'll manage." Theo's feast chamber was one of his lowest priorities, especially when it came to Fithan food. An opportunity to gain foods from other worlds could be valuable, but his chamber was in good condition for an ascension. "You sure the leaders won't resent having to give up some to me?"

"Oh, not at all! Just payment for services rendered! Besides, we're all Ruling Cities, ain't we? We may fight a lot, but if the Asplundat Movement or worse starts attacking us, we can't have Norro Yorthin falling behind, can we?"

As Theo saw it, the reverse was more likely, but he let the comment pass. Saan Fraskin was still one of the most prominent among the Ruling Cities, with multiple powerful Houses and two Stronghold tier soulcrafters. But a vicious war with the water Fithans a decade ago had cost them a few of their strongest, so they couldn't compete with an overpowered city like Norro Yorthin.

"The real question is what those mud Fithans will be doing!" Aronth glared out toward the shielding wall. "We bloodied their lip here, but rumor has it they're getting restless. People say that something is disturbing the depths, too, and more of them are coming up onto land! I know most aren't spies, but that's not going to make me like seeing them crawling through my city..."

Aronth continued talking until they finally reached the plaza. It was unusually cool for mid-day, shadowed both by the wall arching overhead and the city hall buildings looming much less impressively. This wasn't the largest plaza, which was reserved for the celebration of local soulcrafters to take place that night, but it was still a position of honor. Theo hadn't seen many plazas, but it was similar to what he'd experienced in every previous city.

There, Theo was introduced to several city officials and representatives of major Houses. He promptly forgot all of their names, since he was likely never going to see any of them again. What mattered more to him was the array of sublime materials set out on tables, though he kept his eyes off them for the sake of propriety. After some generic platitudes, they got to the point.

"As agreed, your contribution to our city will be repaid purely in the form of sublime materials." One of the officials Theo didn't remember smiled broadly and swept his hands over the assembled group. "These were specially prepared for our own Rulers who we hope will be able to ascend, with this table filtered according to your preferences. Since you've declined other forms of payment, you may choose two materials instead of one."

"House Blacksilver thanks you." Theo didn't need to mention Blacksilver, but since they had been generous with their terms for their journey, he did what he could for their reputation.

"Ah yes, that was it. They don't have a branch here, I believe, but we're thankful that the houses of Norro Yorthin are willing to help a sister Ruling City."

They didn't have any branches at all, being moderately important within the city but insignificant outside of it. Theo felt he'd done his part and the officials were moving on to others, so he set about examining the bounty of sublime materials they'd prepared.

As promised, a table of materials had been assembled specifically for his blueprint. Or at least their approximation of it, since as usual many of them only vaguely had something to do with weight. Still, Theo judged the selection better than average. There was a glowing rock called a flameheart that would have been an exceptional sublime material to strengthen his core singularity on the third floor, if he didn't already have the superior miniature sun from the Chasm of Lamentations.

Finding sublime materials that were superior to those he could already access was always the problem. He was a Ruler now and preparing for the most important ascension of his soulcrafting career, so there was no more allowance for placeholders or compromises. By the time he ascended he needed twenty seven chambers in perfect order.

A rapidly spinning dagger caught his eye, an armament designed to drill through opponents and then return to the hand. It would have merged perfectly with his torsion bolts, but Theo felt that over-investing in armaments was unwise.

One of the later design principles of his blueprint, in old or new forms, was that each corner column of his soulhome was intended to operate as a unit. The torsion bolt chamber on his first floor flowed directly up into the stonevortex room on the second, then into the hypothetical third. Each could function on its own, but his strongest techniques were supposed to combine the strength of an entire column.

Vortexwater spun violently, but he dismissed it as not close enough to gravity. Slateshards were allegedly one of the sharpest sublime materials at his tier, but he had enough penetrating power from the rainhorns. A sand called vermillionmotes orbited like true gravity, but it was too weak as a material. Flightplate levitated all objects that touched it, but he eventually judged that it would be a stretch to try to work it into his plans.

Finally he spotted something that seemed perfect: a set of dark purple shells labeled as from beasts called depthclaws. They were designed to endure immense pressures, so a reasonable match for his soulhome, but what caught his eye was how sensitive to liquid they were. He realized that it would be a perfect match for the abyssfluid he'd already gained. His plan to build it into a new sensory perception had stalled, but with the shells forming a superior container, that chamber might finally come together.

Theo tucked the shells under his arm but didn't officially claim the material, in case he found two better options. Unfortunately, he'd gone through the entire table prepared for him and only found one likely candidate. When he turned to look over the rest of the plaza, he saw plenty of materials and armaments suitable for the average Fithan soulcrafter, but few that would be right for him.

One table was dedicated to sublime plants of varying kinds, so Theo scrutinized it. His blueprint needed a living material in the early tiers so that it could grow along with him, since every top tier design required the strength that came from an evolving material. Finding a sublime plant that could match his soulhome would be challenging, and indeed he failed to find anything acceptable on the table, so he returned to his default plan of searching Aathal for his plant.

Wandering through the rest, he was pleasantly surprised to find something called a slipstream stone that perfectly captured the essence of a wormhole. He needed a material to cap his northwestern column that could hopefully lead to a true teleportation skill, but eventually he decided that the slipstream stone would be compromising too much. Since he already had a better wormhole material from Ichil, he needed something that distinguished itself.

Was it possible that he really couldn't find a second material in the entire collection? Theo kept the scowl off his face and tried to shift his thinking instead. He was focused on techniques, since they would have the largest immediate effect, but strengthening chambers were just as essential for his final blueprint. Perhaps searching for such materials would be more productive.

As he ran his fingers along the depthclaw shells, Theo came to another realization. Saan Fraskin sat next to the ocean, so their rarest materials might be other aquatic ones. Since he was unlikely to be able to visit any of the underwater Fithan cities in a time of war, this might be his only chance to acquire such materials. With two new standards in mind, Theo looked over the tables with new eyes.

He did spot a large number of unique materials, from flaming seaweed to seafloor glass, but it was a jar of black water that caught his attention. It had the uninspiring name of "heavywater", but as he felt its cantae, he quickly realized that it might be what he needed. Not intense enough to serve as part of a technique, instead offering a steady strengthening presence. A remarkably strong material, so long as he could find a place for it in his blueprint.

Theo didn't need to consider his design long before he reached his conclusion. One of his empty strengthening rooms could be a bathing chamber, which could help him in multiple ways. He could build a pool with some of the lesser materials from the Chasm, which were still well above average, and then the heavywater would complete the design.

Pleased to have found two appropriate candidates after all, Theo circled the plaza once more before officially taking the heavywater and the depthclaw shells. Both would require a bit of effort to draw into his soulhome, so he waited to determine the next step first.

"You done already?" Aronth popped out of one of the buildings beside the plaza, a drink in hand. "Leave it to you to go through the whole city's rewards so quickly! You're done here, right?"

"I believe the officials implied I would be returning," Theo said. "Are you taking me back?"

"Oh, I'm afraid we don't have any weirkeys to spare. But don't worry, we've prepared a nice journey back home!" Aronth grabbed him around the neck and dragged him back into the city. "After all your work, you deserve to travel in style! Fortunately, the House of Coin has an Authority traveling to Norro Yorthin, so you'll get to go with him. Which is pretty great!"

"The House of Coin?" Despite himself, Theo frowned, wondering if it could actually be a coincidence. He thought he was on decent terms with the branch in Norro Yorthin, but perhaps they still resented him for cheating in their gambling houses.

"You have one back home, right? They said that you were on good terms with them. Those bastards are everywhere, haha! Anyway, their chariots are the lap of luxury, let me tell you, so you don't have to worry about anything. Trust me, you'll love it!"

When they reached the chariotport, the "chariot" proved to be more of a barge, maintaining only the general shape of the smaller flying vehicles. This one would have been a chariot for a giant, with two full floors and an entire crew. Something that big was likely a luxury vehicle for an Authority who didn't want to fly under their own power.

Though Theo remained cautious at the beginning, the House of Coin's Authority was a short man who appeared entirely uninterested in Theo. In fact, he didn't seem to care about anything except getting underway as quickly as possible, so Theo said a bruising farewell to Aronth and then got on board. Now that he was a Ruler, he could easily carry everything with him. His storage chamber was filled with camping supplies, tools, food, and even a bunch of rope, just in case.

"It will take us several days to reach Norro Yorthin," an aide in House of Coin livery said, "even at the Authority's top speed. Do you have any special needs?"

"Nothing in particular." Theo stepped into his cabin, which was surprisingly plush. The only difficult part would be finding a seat that wasn't smotheringly soft.

"We do carry a number of amenities, and food will be served when it doesn't disrupt your work. What exactly we can prepare will depend on the day and available materials."

All at once tired of everyone else, Theo forced a smile at the aide. "Let me know whenever there are sublime materials on the menu, otherwise I'll take whatever is easiest for you to prepare. Just one meal a day, because I'll be engaged in soulcrafting otherwise."

"Of course." The aide bowed and left his cabin, leaving him blissfully alone. Theo tested out a few of the overly padded chairs before deciding that it was all the same.

What mattered was that he had several days in which no one was likely to bother him, which meant several days for focused work. He could return to flint knapping or begin crafting densecrest bricks for new chambers, but what captured his imagination was this new bathing chamber. Soulcrafting tiles to cover the walls and floor would be simple enough, so he focused on the recess that would contain the heavywater. Digging into the foundation of his soul at this stage would test even his skills, unless of course he raised the floor and filled the space with strengthening materials. Perhaps something that provided warmth, to create a heated bath? But no, that might slightly decrease the efficiency of his cantae flow along the floor.

Still, Theo reflected as he gripped his new sublime materials, these were exactly the sorts of problems he wanted to have.

-

Chapter 4

When Nauda returned to the House Blacksilver complex, she was dead on her feet even though she had ridden in a chariot the majority of the way. She'd been soulcrafting the entire time, in accordance with what Grekig told her was the best recovery strategy, but it all felt so utterly futile. A few bricks of mediocre materials forming a useless pile.

Worst of all was the mass of stone slag across almost a third of her foundation. The raw power of the Authorities had melted the stone, and most of it had hardened into a lump that was nearly impervious. Even Grekig had admitted that she couldn't do much with it, instead advising her to accept the loss of space and build on top of it. Yet she struggled to follow his instructions, because it would mean sealing that terrible failure into her blueprint forever.

She'd actually had a little luck before: when she'd borrowed Theo's Esoteric Chisel, it had been able to chip away at the slag. But he'd gone to fight across the continent and taken it with him, so she stalled. On her way in, Nauda greeted Antha and asked if he'd returned, but apparently he was still fighting.

Though the administrator of House Blacksilver wanted to talk to her, she knew Nauda well enough to see that she was exhausted. Nauda made vague promises that they would get together at some point in the future and instead made her way inward. If she couldn't borrow the Chisel again, she needed to find another meaningful project. Helping the villagers had reignited her drive to move forward however she could.

Before she could return to her room, she spotted a familiar face. "Hello, Nauda." Fiyu smiled at her and bobbed her head cheerfully. "I am glad that you have returned safely from your journey."

"Yeah. Not even any injuries." Talking to Fiyu should have made her feel better, but Nauda was just too exhausted for anyone else.

"Were you able to help many people?"

"Yeah. I did quite a bit." Since Fiyu didn't deserve the brunt of her exhaustion, Nauda met her gaze and managed a smile. "I saved a group of villagers that was trapped underground, so it's good that I went ahead. But they were attacked by one of the wild tribes... did you know about them?"

"I have heard that they are a danger of the wasteland." Fiyu regarded her somberly, eyes invisible within her rainbow mask. "Do you know more of them, Nauda?"

"I had to learn a little more, but I'm not sure I know enough. I feel like I have more questions than answers."

Nauda paused awkwardly, her hand starting to move. If she had been talking with another Tatian, she could have touched their arm in a way that would make it clear that she valued them but required privacy. But Fiyu was shy, and Ichili, and... Fiyu. It was all very uncomfortable.

"I will let you recover from your journey." Fiyu gave her one more smile and then continued on. However else Ichili could be difficult for her to understand, Nauda liked how they always respected privacy.

Yet as she returned to her room, Nauda was haunted by Fiyu's presence as much as if the other woman was still with her. Try as she might, she couldn't forget the incident in the Chasm. How Fiyu had revealed so much so bluntly and their relationship had become a nasty tangle of emotions. Somehow Fiyu seemed able to turn off her feelings and go back to being simple companions, but Nauda didn't work that way. She couldn't ever forget that Fiyu had asked her to become a "lifemate", directly after asking Theo.

By the time she'd reached her room, Nauda had mostly shaken off the thoughts. What did being lifemates even mean to Ichili, anyway? Most likely they just carried one another's packs and enjoyed a monthly shoulder pat.

Once she was locked in her room, Nauda sat down and began soulcrafting. She should have taken a while to decompress or unpack her supplies, but instead she moved directly into her soulhome. Not because she wanted to or because she expected to make progress, just out of habit. Or worse, because she didn't know how to do anything else...

That was the truly chilling thought she wanted to escape. She had been a soulcrafter all her life, and now that it might be taken away from her, she was nothing at all.

Within her soul, she could face concrete problems, if ones she didn't know how to solve. Nauda remained at the borders of her soulhome for a moment, eyes flowing over the walls. They were the only part of her soul that looked suitable for her tier, a thick and powerful barrier formed from a sublime material called fleshstone. Grekig had helped her acquire it and she had driven herself into the task of building the wall as high as she could, since it was easier to start on something new than to rebuild.

Yet staying there would do her no good, so Nauda wandered through the unfinished gate. That was something else she needed to work on: according to Theo, a gate in her shielding wall would help increase the efficiency of her soulhome, but since its current state didn't weaken the obscuring effect, it felt useless for the time being. Especially given what awaited her inside.

She had built a primitive room in one of the undamaged areas of the soulhome in the early days after the Chasm, when she felt like she needed to soulcraft something just to survive. A tent stretched between it and the remnants of her exterior tower, just to hold a little more cantae. But the rest of her soulhome was empty grass and the impenetrable slag of her old soulhome.

It hadn't been a complete loss, she reminded herself for the thousandth time. Many of her most powerful sublime materials had survived: her skulls from home, the new materials from the Chasm, even the belt of sapphires that mirrored the one she wore on her physical body. Yet with all of them thrown together in her storage chamber, they didn't grant her a fraction of their true power. Other sublime materials had been lost forever, like her old blood red paint and likely all of the foods in her Nine Worlds Feast.

Nauda slowly padded to her storage room, looking over what remained grimly. What hurt most of all was that her telescope was no longer usable: the falling stones had bent the shaft at a right angle and the lens had been horribly scratched. She had carried it with her for so long, knowing that she couldn't repair it herself, and now she felt completely blind when looking at others' soulhomes.

Unwilling to stare at her losses, Nauda refocused on something she could control. In one of the few unoccupied areas of her soul, the heartoak was growing taller. It was by far the most powerful sublime material that House Blacksilver had given her, since Grekig said that it was good for regrowth and for limiting physical damage to those with spiritual injuries.

As she bent down beside it, Nauda began coughing violently. She did so occasionally in her real body as well, not for any discernible reason. Her injury hadn't been physical, yet damage done to the soul could leak over into the real world.

She hadn't known that, prior to her injury. She had never expected it to matter.

So far the heartoak had grown to reach her waist, the trunk already rather thick. It put off a surprising amount of cantae, and just being near it made her feel a little better. If she built walls and a ceiling around it, she could have a new heart chamber and try to begin again. Yet it all felt so...

Shoving the thoughts aside, Nauda instead focused on removing weeds from around the base of the tree. Spiritual parasites, according to Grekig, damaged fragments of herself that would grow into unintended pieces of her soulhome unless she carefully uprooted them. Even a few days without focus and more of them popped up.

As soon as she couldn't spot any more, Nauda straightened to get her supplies. Sublime trees that required so much work were rare, but their care was simple enough: sublime water, sublime fertilizer, sublime mulch. Nauda carefully fixed up the nest of mulch before watering the roots as best she could. Eventually the heartoak would grow enough to fill a chamber, and she hoped by then that she would know what to do with it.

But every single blueprint idea just felt pathetic to her. The fact was, her soul was permanently marred by the slag of her old plans, too unshapely to even serve as a foundation. She tried to imagine Grekig's blueprint building over it, but that would mean accepting never ascending past Ruler, and she couldn't allow herself to stop there.

That attitude had been what got her into the mess in the first place. Coughing painfully, Nauda dedicated herself to her futile work.

~ ~ ~

When Theo returned to the House Blacksilver complex, restless energy coursed through him. Absolutely nothing unusual had happened on his trip with the House of Coin, aside from a few comments implying respect he hadn't earned. That was good for his soulcrafting, but after so long in combat, sitting in one place for so long felt wrong.

It was late at night when he arrived, so most were sensibly asleep, but fortunately he saw a light on in the administrative building. The woman there appeared to be working late, as she often did, and greeted him with a polite nod.

"Glad to see you're back, Peanen." She used the fake name that he pretended he wanted kept secret within the House. "All reports have been good, so you're in Blacksilver's best graces, but I'm afraid I don't have your sublime materials ready for you."

"That's fine." Theo did briefly glance at the merits book, but instead focused on her. "I wanted to ask about the letters I sent to the House of the Lost."

"No response. At all." The woman frowned and tapped her fingers along the desk. "They used to be more conversational, before the Chasm. But all signs indicate that they've retreated to their fortresses, with barely any presence in Norro Yorthin. I could try to contact them directly, but..."

"Probably just a waste of your time." Theo had been afraid of that: at his current tier he simply wasn't important enough to draw the House of the Lost's attention. Their leader had power beyond Dominion, capable of fighting toe to toe with Vistgil, so he suspected that anyone beneath Authority wasn't even worthy of their notice.

Of course, if he had told them everything he knew, that would no doubt have gotten their attention. The problem was how to make safe contact with them, and in the end Theo had decided that the risks were too high. Vistgil and his plans had infected so many organizations, even if the House of the Lost itself was secure, it was impossible to get to them without risking his life.

If only he had been able to, he might have gotten some real answers. Once again, Theo found himself thinking back to everything Senka had said. His revenge, immortality, and any real understanding all stood too far beyond him. His only path forward was to ascend to Authority so perfectly that it could carry him not just to Dominion, but beyond.

Setting aside the issue, Theo focused on the administrator again. "Where next? There have to be some war zones I haven't visited yet."

"Yes, but even if you weren't reaching diminishing returns, there's a bigger concern." Her voice shifted and she finally stopped playing with her quill to focus fully on him. "Are you aware that Dris Kolonb has declared that the Ruling City Wargames will be held again?"

"I'm not even aware of what that is."

"The Ruling Cities are a collection of very loose allies, which I hope you understand clearly after fighting both for and against many of them. But with wars heating up across the continent, we can't afford to waste lives fighting one another. Dris Kolonb has ordered a complete halt to all inter-city conflicts, but that doesn't remove the real hatreds behind those conflicts, which could themselves be a problem..."

"Ah, so these 'Wargames' are a way to resolve conflicts between individual cities so they can present a united front later." Theo nodded as he considered it. He hadn't heard of them before, but she had implied that they were an old tradition resurrected. "When?"

"That isn't quite the right question, I'm afraid. Don't think of the Wargames as a simple tournament, they're... so much more." She waved a hand to encompass everything on her desk. "There will be duels that serve as arbitration between city states, resolving conflicts that otherwise would have become wars. Competitions for specialists of all kinds. Countless chances for Houses to distinguish or ruin themselves."

"But I don't think you'd enter me for anything but a Ruler-only competition, so there must be more to it. More distribution of sublime materials?"

"Exactly right. The capital of the Ruling Cities does have a vault of materials for emergencies, and they seem worried. Negotiations with Tymetron have failed, and though I'm not privy to the details..."

She trailed off and Theo frowned as he considered the implications. The continent of Norron was huge enough for a lifetime, with plenty of conflicts between Ruling Cities, the Asplundat Movement, and others. But the world of Fithe was larger than one continent, and Tymetron had a threatening reputation. He hadn't been able to research the matter thoroughly, as it was one among countless issues that needed his time.

"So they're taking the war preparations seriously," Theo said, "and there will be competitions over sublime materials. I'm guessing that you want me to participate in those, so we're back to my question: when?"

"Six months." The administrator shook her head and opened her book again, though her quill only twitched over it instead of writing. "More or less, since negotiations are ongoing. But the victors will receive sublime materials powerful enough to bridge the gap to Authority, so every House on the continent will be competing. We need everyone we have in peak condition in order to have a chance."

Without knowing the exact materials, Theo couldn't be sure, but his first reaction was skepticism. Sublime materials that pushed a person through an ascension were often shortcuts, and in fact it had been one of those shortcuts that had limited his potential in his previous life. At the time it had seemed like a lucky break, acquiring such a powerful material that let him ascend just in time to be victorious. Now he found himself wondering if he even wanted them.

There was no question, however, that he wanted their value. If he could place highly in such a competition, House Blacksilver would be immensely in his debt. That would put him in position to demand their full resources, which could be even more effective than just acquiring another material.

"Six months, then. I'll do what I can to be prepared, and you can help by letting me know which sublime materials you've been able to acquire."

"It will be ready tomorrow morning." The administrator smiled as if surprised he was so agreeable. "We haven't been able to find some of the more obscure ones, but we have more densecrest and I think you'll be pleased with some of our acquisitions."

"That sounds great, thanks." Theo left her to her work and headed deeper into the compound.

Thankfully the night left him mostly alone with his thoughts. His relationship with Blacksilver was no longer as it had been before his duel with Esaire, desperately scrounging for every last coin and merit. Theo had enough merits to pay his salary for years, so instead of trying to maximize his participation, he focused on the most useful opportunities available. Fighting across the Ruling Cities had been perfect, since it gave him combat experience along with merits and sublime materials, but now he was ready to spend a long while ignoring such tasks.

They would let him, most likely even if he ran out of merits, because they couldn't afford not to. The three of them had been key to House Blacksilver performing so well in the Chasm of Lamentations, and Theo himself was widely viewed as the next potential Authority. Since Blacksilver only had three, if he ascended he would become a significant part of the House's military strength.

Of course, his sights were set a great deal higher than that. But Theo set other thoughts aside when he spotted one of the only other people who would be out so late.

"Hello, Theo." Fiyu smiled and stepped within a pace of him, which was practically an Ichili hug. "I am glad to see that you have survived."

"You didn't trust me?"

"I believe in your capabilities, but to make yourself a target for many enemy Authorities is highly risky behavior." She was somber only a moment before her smile returned. "You may rest if you wish, but there are a number of things I wish for us to discuss."

"I'd like to talk," Theo said. "Did they tell you about these Ruling City Wargames too?"

"Ah... yes, more people in the city are speaking of them. However, I believe that House Blacksilver is unsure quite what to make of me. They are perplexed that I have not yet ascended to Ruler, and they are... less than receptive to my explanations."

Honestly, Theo could understand their perspective to some degree, since it seemed increasingly unlikely that Fiyu's relative would be finding her any time soon. But he knew better than to rush her, and she was still able to remain productive despite holding back. "Maybe you can sweep the Archcrafter events, then."

"Perhaps. I did have some questions for you regarding the working of subliminalsteel." Fiyu's smile finally faded for good and her focus retreated as her senses spread through the building. "But that is not what I wished to speak about at this time."

"What is it, then?"

"You have missed Nauda, as she is working with Grekig again. I believe that our fellow companion... requires our help."

Clearly she did, but Fiyu wouldn't make the statement for no reason, so Theo examined her carefully. "What kind of help do you mean?"

"Since you departed, I believe Nauda's mental condition has worsened. Her body is usually straight and confident, but many of her muscles are... loose, as if the life is slipping from them." Fiyu took another half-step closer, her voice fading almost to a whisper. "She is distraught over the state of her soulhome. All I have to offer are technical suggestions, and she does not need simple advice. I fear that I do not understand her well enough to offer true support."

"I'll talk to her." Theo did his best to catch Fiyu's eyes through the mask and gave her a reassuring smile. "She's been through a lot, so it makes sense that she'd be down sometimes. But we can help her get through it."

"I hope that this is true. Thank you, Theo." Fiyu gave him a little bow, which was a sign that he could move on.

Theo was still restless, and frankly didn't want to think about Nauda at the moment. She had been particularly sharp with him lately, and while he had no room to complain about anyone acting choleric due to bitterness, his patience was limited. He remembered how he had been at times on Earth: he didn't want help, he wanted to lash out.

If Nauda really wanted his assistance, she could ask for it. Until then, she would need to figure out exactly what she really wanted and whether that included picking herself up again. Just as well that Fiyu had said she was gone, because Theo wasn't in the mood for any long conversations.

He abruptly changed his course from returning to his room to instead visiting a training courtyard. Perhaps there he could blow off some steam and consolidate what he'd learned during all his battles across the Ruling Cities.

Six months until the Wargames. So many days and yet not long at all.

~ ~ ~

When Nauda left the House Blacksilver complex, she wandered without direction. The chaotic crowds of Norro Yorthin were no longer strange to her in any way, so she let their buzz overwhelm her. Anything to drown out the facts of what she had just learned.

It had started during an extended session of soulcrafting. She'd borrowed the Esoteric Chisel from Theo again, which he seemed to resent even though he wasn't using it much himself. With it she'd been able to chip away at some of the stone slag covering her foundation, for all the good it did.

But while she was doing so, she noticed a slight blue glow in the corner of her eyes. Odd, since her soulhome carried a warm Tatian orange. At first she thought it was a trick of the light, since she saw nothing unusual, but inside her own soul there should be no such illusions. She'd investigated more carefully, pushing aside the detritus of her ruined buildings that she'd struggled to clear, and finally discovered it between two partially fused stones.

A glowing blue mushroom.

She stared for a moment, part of her mind uncomprehending even as another part recognized the bondsfungi she had seen on the battlefield. Her first instinct was to smash it, but she reined in her impulse and instead investigated further. As she had feared, the fungus had spread further. It didn't seem to be choking out the grass of her soul yet, but it grew alongside it at an alarming rate.

For once she went to Grekig herself, asking him for his advice. He had an inspection skill nearly as effective as hers had been, so he was able to send his spirit inside her soul to investigate. That was almost worse, because she was able to see the dismay on his face before he could control it. Based on his investigations, fragments of the fungus too small to see had spread even further than she'd thought.

"Normally bondsfungi only infect the dead or dying," Grekig had told her. "Your weakened state must have been enough for them to enter your soul."

"My shielding wall couldn't stop it?"

"It should have, but perhaps the unfinished gate let them through, or if your control was..." His sternness had finally ebbed and he'd given her a gentle smile like he hadn't since her early treatments. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to defeat it. Even weak soulcrafters have been able to purge it from their souls, and you have stronger cantae than they did. Your will is far stronger too, if you've really made headway on the molten stone."

"So there's a treatment for this?"

"There's no easy method without damaging your soul permanently, but we can stop the spread and then eradicate what remains gradually. Here, let's begin by protecting your heartoak..."

She'd listened to his lessons and thrown herself into the work, in part because it felt more productive than the usual concessions he offered and in part because it was easier than thinking about it. Because she'd been sloppy and careless, her soulhome had degraded even further. No doubt she'd been infected while caring for the villagers, a bitter fact that returned to her often.

Someone in the crowd bumped into Nauda's shoulder and she was actually the one to stumble. Normally her body was far stronger than the average person, but in her current state... they saw she was a Ruler and apologized, which only made her feel worse. She shuffled on, taking brief glimpses inside her soulhome.

Just as Grekig had advised, she'd made a line of stakes across her soulhome, their energy preventing the further spread of the bondsfungi. He'd approved of her work, but she hadn't been done, adding additional circles of protection around her heartoak and the little room of her most valuable supplies. Even if he believed she had quarantined every last speck of the bondsfungi, she wanted to be sure, so that it wouldn't all become worse.

Apparently there were procedures to burn away all the infection, they just required preparation and recovery time. Nauda hoped they would work, or told herself that she hoped. But every time she looked inside her soul, she felt only despair.