Bondsfungi: Chapters 33-34 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

I wasn't sure about sharing this, but I value honesty, so I should inform you that my mother has died. This is the end of a long struggle with cancer, so it's not a shock. I'm not requesting sympathy, and you shouldn't feel obligated to comment on this, I'm just letting you know that I won't be prompt in responding to messages.

This chapter was prescheduled and I have prescheduled the next several weeks as well, so chapters should continue without interruption. Please feel free to comment as you normally would, as I will enjoy reading all the comments when I get to them. The long term schedule should continue as planned, I'll just be a bit absent over the next period.

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Chapter 33

For once in his life, Theo wasn't interrupted by a deadline. It had taken multiple days, but he'd finally guided Krikree through ascension. She seemed to have deep reserves of willpower when she applied herself, so it was more about convincing her that it was acceptable. On the other side, she seemed surprisingly cheerful, crawling around their camp and chittering to herself.

Technically they could have gained more strength by having her soulcraft a Ruler floor, but Theo decided that was too much of a risk. Just the previous day, Fiyu had whistled that Nauda was still holding and implied that their situation remained dire. Now that they had a group of three Rulers, Theo thought they could try to brave the crossing.

"Well, look at you." Kathina watched Krikree with an odd look. "Now that you've ascended, do you get a promotion? Are you a royal guard now?"

"Not!" Krikree jumped onto Theo's back as if to shield herself. He supposed that was actually an improvement.

"We are doing it today, right? No more preparation?"

"No more preparation," Theo agreed. "I've arranged to try to meet with Fiyu on the other side, but we're going to need to make it across the war front alone. I'd like to get as far as we can without drawing attention, but they'll definitely be chasing us before the end."

Theo checked over the sleigh one last time, since minor damage to one of the sublime materials could ruin their plan. It seemed in functional shape, though it would definitely need some refitting if it survived back to Fithe. Odd to think that something he'd stolen from Esaire worlds away on Deuxan had served them so well, but with luck it would carry them over the war front.

They started by retreating until they could rise without attracting too much attention. Theo began with a gravitational field dropping them into the sky, extending his range as far as he could until his soulhome began to struggle. That put them just below some of the silvery blue clouds, roughly the same shade as the sap Kathina had smeared across the bottom of the sleigh, so he hoped they wouldn't stick out too much.

Once that was done, there was no choice but to push forward. They might already have been spotted, so delay could only cost them.

For the first several minutes, he could almost believe that they'd make it through without being noticed. They sailed high over the land, silent except for the wind around them. He could see the beetles flying beneath, buzzing in simple patterns while their riders stared downward. Perhaps it would really be that easy.

Then a column of fire erupted beneath them and he barely swerved the sleigh to the side in time.

Even though he'd dodged it, the flame immediately drew the attention of every Slescan on the battlefield. They soon unleashed an enormous volley of stones, spines, and even bursts of acid... none of which had any chance of reaching them. Theo cast a gravitational field in the air below them and all the attacks cascaded back down on the battlefield.

But it wasn't long before another column of flame forced him to swerve again, and the Slescans switched to less tangible attacks. Theo created a point of anti-mass that repelled most of the weaker cantae, but the real problem would be the Rulers...

What appeared to be a a small cantae bolt suddenly blossomed into a sphere the size of his torso, swerving in midair toward the sleigh. He couldn't repel something that big, but every time he turned, their relevant speed decreased. If either side discovered that they were just trying to get across, then they'd really have no chance.

"Keep going!" Kathina leapt to the front of the sleigh and sliced through the sphere. They burst through the fragments as Theo kept accelerating, remnants of cantae scattering off his coat. Several other beams or bolts targeted them, but Kathina moved faster than he'd seen before, deflecting every one.

Unfortunately, the giant beetles that had been scouting were now rising toward them. A few on opposite sides began to fight one another, but others closed in from all directions. While still trying to fly them as straight as possible, Theo began flinging techniques in every direction.

The beetles were too armored for a simple torsion bolt to penetrate and he had no time for a singularity. Attempting his disorientation technique led one beetle to spiral wildly, but many of the others were forced on by their handlers. He could drop one or two with a maximized gravitational field, but there were too many, coming from too many directions.

When the first got within range, they began firing arrows before Kathina could get free. Krikree hopped up, her spears whirling, and battered the projectiles out of the air. Not long after, Kathina sent an arc of cantae slicing through the beetle's wings and it plummeted. But there were at least three more almost in range...

Abruptly Theo realized that he had been thinking about it wrong. Instead of targeting the beetles, he sent torsion bolts into the straps that held the baskets on their undersides. Firing bolts so rapidly made them weaker, but they were still intense enough to tear through the material and send many of the beetle handlers plummeting below.

"Enemies!" Krikree shouted at him from behind. Her announcement seemed redundant until he saw the beast emerge from the clouds.

It was an enormous dragonfly, its vast purple wings shredding clouds in all directions. He'd failed to detect it in any of his searches, since it was so far above the battlefield. Now it glided down toward them, soldier ants clinging to its back and preparing to leap.

Theo automatically tried to send it back upwards with a gravitational field, but to his surprise his cantae deflected off the sublime beast. Even when he released the field underneath them, he couldn't disable the dragonfly. His maneuver sent them plummeting away from its claws, but it was beginning to dive after them.

Krikree threw herself off the sleigh directly at the dragonfly's face. Theo stared in shock as she stabbed into its eyes with her spears, then propelled her body toward the soldiers.

His first instinct was to pull back, to make sure that they could rescue her. But they were most of the way to their goal and the fire was getting worse: Kathina was stretched to her limit repelling strikes against the sleigh and there were still more beetles he needed to fend off. Telling himself that it had been her choice, Theo gripped the controls again and increased their speed.

Not long after, the dragonfly plummeted past them in a nosedive, shedding purple blood and insectoid bodies. A small figure leapt from its back and Theo just barely resisted his instinct to strike it. Krikree landed on the back of the sleigh, her antennae vibrating wildly while she waved about her two spears as well as a sword and a long mandible still dripping purple.

"Enemies not!"

Even with the three of them, it was beginning to get worse as they approached the lines on the opposite side. Just as Theo wondered if they could make it, he heard a locating whistle. There was no sign of Fiyu, but if the plan held he knew exactly where she would be. Then he just needed to reach her in the right way...

"Kathina, we need an explosion!"

"Wait for a fireball!" she managed to shout as she continued deflecting attacks.

While they waited, Theo cast more gravitational fields, this time drawing beetles closer to the sleigh. It would be impossible to stop them if they all arrived, but he needed absolute chaos in order to escape. Just as the beetles rose to the sleigh's height, another sphere of cantae seared toward them.

This time, Kathina waited until the last possible moment and then struck it with her red sword. The resulting impact was more light than pain, but it still blinded him. He could sense beetles scattering in every direction, so he magnified their gravity instead of reducing it, sending them plummeting to the ground.

Kathina fell backward and barely grabbed the back seat, pulling herself in. Krikree grabbed at his back, chittering wildly. Theo just watched the ground sweeping up towards them and waited until the last possible second before he threw all the cantae he had into reversed gravity.

The bottom of the sleigh scraped across the ground instead of crashing. All of them were still for a moment as they caught up to the fact that they had survived. Then Theo felt the subtle sphere of cantae surrounding them and saw Fiyu approaching with a smile on her face.

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Chapter 34

Though Fiyu feared another strike against her stealth sphere every step of the way, they managed to travel back to the camp without being detected. Once they left the death zone she was able to relax to a limited degree, though she didn't grow lax. Fortunately, Friend Theo was always silent and his ally Acquaintance Kathina seemed to understand the operation.

The difficulty was the new Slescan, who crawled onto Friend Theo's shoulder and stared at Fiyu. "Ivo-sister, what? What? What?"

"That's Fiyu," he answered quietly.

"Fiyu-queen?" The Slescan skittered into her path and dropped into a subservient position. "Krikree serve Fiyu-queen."

"This is inaccurate," Fiyu said. "I am not a queen. You do not need to serve me."

In response, the Slescan retreated to Friend Theo in panic. It appeared to be a Ruler tier soulcrafter, so potentially a valuable ally and thus worth the additional discomfort. Fiyu disliked being treated with inappropriate veneration, but at least it did not appear likely to touch her in any way.

Nothing else marred the journey back. After so long hoping, Fiyu was pleased to finally reunite all three of them. Friend Nauda still suffered from her wound, but Fiyu hoped that the reunion would bolster her spirit and allow her to make a full recovery. Clearly from the tension that seized her back even when she was not in pain, Friend Nauda had hidden struggles, but Friend Theo would be able to assist in ways that Fiyu could not.

When they returned to camp and she released her technique, one of the Crimson soulcrafters leapt in alarm and fired a cantae bolt at the Slescan. Friend Theo deflected it and scowled at the man, which appeared quite effective. Fiyu had yet to master scowling techniques. The others began meeting one another, while Fiyu pulled Friend Theo's sleeve to draw him to Friend Nauda.

She slept again, thankfully peacefully. Just having the three of them in the same tent was a great relief... if not for the Slescan, who was stiffly pointing at Friend Nauda. "What, what?"

"This is Nauda," Friend Theo said, "and she's not a queen."

"Nauda-queen. Too many queens." The Slescan shrank back, multiple muscles throughout her body trembling in some sort of inborn response. Before either of them could respond, Friend Nauda grunted and sat up.

"Please don't call me that." Her voice sounded a little weak, but the fact that she could sit up was wonderful. Friend Nauda extended an open hand to the Slescan and smiled. "There's no difference between the two of us."

"Not!"

Thankfully, Friend Theo spoke to the Slescan in low tones and it departed the tent to stand guard outside. Once it was finally the three of them, Fiyu held her breath. Fortunately, her two companions smiled at each other, and after a moment Friend Theo dropped down to hug Friend Nauda. She closed her eyes, clearly receiving necessary Tatian interactions, and let out a sigh.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"Fiyu said that you were injured," Friend Theo said as they pulled back. "You seem to be recovering well."

"I am, but we need to talk about soulcrafting later. I have some questions to ask." Friend Nauda spoke lightly, but her neck tensed as if she was hiding something. It seemed that she carried a burden that she had not shared, and Fiyu could only hope that Friend Theo could help her lift it.

Fortunately, both of their bodies soon relaxed as they began to talk to one another. It had been some time since they had been in the same place, and they had all discovered such different aspects of Slest. Fiyu felt both a deep love for her companions and pride that she had chosen well. Combining their knowledge, she felt as though she had a much stronger understanding of the conflict in Slest.

After exchanging critical information, they continued speaking just for the pleasure of one another's company. If only Relative Guchiro had been present, Fiyu's joy would have been complete. She desperately hoped that one day soon she would be able to introduce him to her companions.

Surrounded by the warmth of her companions, Fiyu did not allow herself to consider the alternative.

~ ~ ~

As much as Theo enjoyed speaking with the other two, he couldn't allow himself to truly relax. There were so many threats outside the tent that would soon be intruding on them, including enormous unknown variables that could be the death of them. Even if Nauda no longer seemed likely to die, she was staying silent about something painful.

And her hair had changed. He was surprised that Fiyu had never mentioned it until he realized that the shift in color might not have registered to her. Nauda had always had light blond hair, but all the color had leached away, leaving it an unusual gray.

That evening, Kathina gathered together food from the group, added some of her own reserves, and drew nearly everyone into creating a grand meal. Clearly a way to unify the group, and he saw that she'd already earned some loyalty from the Crimson soulcrafters. Amid all the outsiders, she was no doubt a stable pillar of Fithan customs, even if from a different House. He left that entirely to her and waited until Fiyu began her soulcrafting to find Nauda.

She sat on the edge of the bluff beside their camp, staring into the depthless purple sky. Instead of facing toward the battlefield, she was actually looking toward the beetle mound not far from them. Activity still continued there, regardless of the war or the outsiders nearby.

"The bondsfungi are winning," Nauda began flatly. "I thought they were under control, but starting when I was injured, they took over. I don't know how my soulhome can recover from this."

"They aren't the worst sublime material in the world," Theo said. "We might be able t-"

"I can feel my body getting stiffer every day. I might be imagining it, but I think my skin is starting to turn gray. It's going to make me into another stone corpse, and everything I've tried has failed."

There wasn't much he could say to that. Theo thought through a number of possible compassionate responses before disregarding them. "Is that why your hair is turning gray?"

"What? No." Nauda gripped a strand of it and chuckled bitterly. "Keeping secrets seems so petty now. None of what I've tried to do mattered. I'm sorry that I wasted so much of your time designing my new blueprint."

"You sound like me."

That got her attention. Nauda stared at him and kept staring until he offered an explanation.

"Like the person I was back on Earth, I mean." Theo looked away from her and stared out over the Slescan landscape. "It's easy to get locked into a specific frame of mind. The bitterness creeps in when you don't notice. It poses as realism or humor and suddenly you're breathing it."

"So it comes back to this." Nauda raised her arm, which really did seem to take considerable effort, and gripped his shoulder. "Theo, I need you to be honest with me. What are you going to do if you defeat Vistgil? If you gain immortality and ascend to Dominion or whatever lies beyond? What then?"

"That's... so far in the future, it doesn't se-"

"Don't give me that. Is power and revenge all you care about, or is there any more to you? Oh, you're kind to Fiyu, and you helped me when I had nothing. But do you really know why, or are you just following your instincts? Are you a smarter version of these bugs, or do you stand for something?"

Theo swallowed and did her the courtesy of thinking through her statement. There were so many easy ways he could have argued and many incidents that he could have thrown in her face. But it was what she said about following instincts that got under his skin. He'd known more than a few people who thought they knew who they were, but merely chased impulses. When he'd returned to the Nine Worlds he'd been so confident in his self-awareness, and he'd been wrong. Now...

"I don't know." Theo removed her hand from his shoulder slowly, maintaining eye contact. "I can't give you a certain answer except that I don't think I'd become your worst image of me."

Nauda pulled her hand from his. Her lips parted as if she was about to speak, but then her eyes cooled and she waited. Listening.

"You know, the first time I came here, I thought I was a great hero. I thought I had a destiny. But in the end, I was just playing out a game someone else had set up, proud of being the most powerful piece. Back in Norro Yorthin... I saw someone like me. So confidently walking the easy path, believing that he'd chosen it. One thing I know: I don't want to do that anymore. I want to stop people like Vistgil, but I also want to stop the person I used to be."

She stared at him for what felt like an eternity, the sounds of night slowly encroaching on them. At last Nauda gave a weary smile and settled back. When she spoke again, it was so softly that he needed to lean closer to hear her.

"You don't like how I keep secrets, do you?"

Theo blinked in surprise, but didn't hesitate. "I told you everything essential about my identity within a year of when we met. If we're going to make accusations about identity, I'm not sure whether or not I know who you really are."

"That's fair enough. But this might not be." She stiffly raised her eyes skyward. "Can I entrust you with what I'd hoped to do?"

"Tell me first."

"You remember the city of Nlukoko. The Authority there, Ariano of the Golden Wings... he's worse than he seems. Every day I lived there, I saw how he slowly made life worse for the people of his city, and he intends to expand. I promised myself that I'd become an Authority and bring him down. Let Nlukoko become a healthy community again."

Theo nodded. "But that isn't all, is it?"

"No. Before that I lived in... I suppose it doesn't matter. Practically every city on the lower side of Tatian has the same problem... the entire system is rotten to the core." Nauda smiled bitterly. "I'm not going to ask you to revolutionize half a world, though I suppose that matches your ambition. But I do have another request. I was born in a city called Erusha, not exactly the lower side but close enough. The false community there... it's worse than anything else I've seen. Slavery of the soul, enforced by an Authority who twists your warmest emotions to servitude."

"So you want two Authorities defeated and two cities liberated."

"Yes. I suppose that's really all. I know it might seem small to you, given everything you've experienced, but those cities were my entire world once. I don't want anyone to have to grow up the way I did."

"They won't have to." Theo placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back to face him. "But it won't be me completing those dreams after your death, you're going to be there with me."

"Theo, please don't try... the bondsfungi are everywhere, and I've tried everything. Please just be kind to Fiyu and-" She cut off with a yelp as Theo dropped her into the air.

This time he didn't balance her gravity in any way, letting her plummet into the sky. He followed her and matched speeds, but enclosed himself in a separate field so that he moved smoothly while she tumbled. Nauda twisted around, looking more like her usual self as she glowered at him.

"Just... just what do you think this is going to accomplish?"

"I know you well enough to know that you're stronger than a bunch of mushrooms." Theo finally halted their fall abruptly, before they reached a dangerous height. In the early night, the Slescan countryside was almost lost in the misty shadows beneath them. "I'm not going to let you give up. I am a crazy old man and I'll experiment on you until we find something that works."

Nauda sniffled, then wiped her nose and shot him a harder glance. "I praise you for your generosity, oh glorious one."

"That's better. Now, show me your soulhome and we'll find a solution."

She reached out to grab his arm and they both entered. Just as she had said, the bondsfungi were everywhere, but Theo's first impression was much different than hers. He examined several parts of her soulhome carefully before spinning his spirit around to address her.

"They've spread everywhere, but what are they actually doing?" Theo waved his hand through a patch of bondsfungi on her life tower. "Are they consuming your sublime stone? Choking out your sublime plants?"

"I suppose not, but they're still taking over." Nauda walked through the center to throw open the door to her life tower. "Look at my heartoak! They just keep spreading, no matter what I do. I tried to destroy them, quarantine them, leave them alone... what good did it do me?"

"Maybe more than you think. I've spent over a year struggling to find a sublime plant that can feed on my cantae and grow along with my soulhome. You've tried everything else, why not embrace the bondsfungi?"

After a brief stare, Nauda shook her head sharply. The shimmer of her gray hair created a rather different effect than her blond hair once had. "I saw what they did to corpses. Grekig told me that I had to get rid of them or they'd take over, which is exactly wh-"

"He was an idiot. You're going to gain control of this sublime material and there will come a day when you'll regret ever trying to get rid of it."

"Okay, now you sound like him. Are you going to make me meditate and tell me I should feel better about being a Ruler forever?"

"I am going to poison you." Theo left her soulhome, removed a myrm spine from his, and poked her in the arm.

Nauda winced and clutched at the injury, staring at him. "Just what are you doing?"

"That's a sublime poison from a beast called a myrm. Probably not fatal, but we'll find out if you don't apply yourself. There are techniques to control poison and we're going to cover them, right now."

"And you couldn't have told me this before poisoning me?" Despite her grumbling, Nauda did return to her soulhome and Theo joined her a moment later.

"You probably mastered most of your fundamental soulcrafting skills when you were an adolescent. It's easy to forget what it feels like to attempt a task when you lack the basic skills. Now, you're going to make yourself remember."

Though she cursed him under her breath, Nauda did follow his instructions. It was difficult at first, but she gradually worked a bead of poison out of her foundation. As she cradled the sphere in one hand, she began to smile.