Bloodcrete: Chapters 15-16 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

Above we have some unexpected fanart of Tani that I almost forget to post! Actually, these are just sketches prior to theoretical final art by RobotCat. When they contacted me I was a little skeptical that they just wanted me to commission them, but they're actually offering various art in exchange for nothing but a little recognition and collaboration. It's nice to get this sort of enthusiasm for your work. ^-^

The previous chapters answered some long-standing questions, while these raise some new ones. Expect the characters to continue exploring new corners of the Nine Worlds throughout!

-

Chapter 15

Now that she was a Ruler, Fiyu wanted to do nothing but soulcraft. She had mastered most of the basic skills long ago, but she needed to build up her spiritual muscles now that she had broken through to a new level. Just crafting sublime materials into bricks for her third floor was a strenuous yet satisfying activity. Given how she had only just caught up to her companions, she had no shortage of work.

And yet, for reasons that she couldn't possibly deny, her relative insisted that they leave Ichil. So Fiyu found herself packing up all of her things. At least that was easier, now that she could store mundane items within her soulhome.

"We will be visiting the Fithan city of Nondol," her relative told her. "I believe it is the best location for you to acquire several types of materials for your Ruler floor."

"But I already have various materials," Fiyu said. "Will I need even more?"

"You do not know how far you may travel, or if we will be separated again. I wish for you to have all the core materials you might require to survive, even if you are on an incompatible world."

Fiyu disliked that implication, but she supposed that his argument was prudent. In a sense, it didn't matter where they went, which was why she had only asked about their destination right before the trip. She checked everything stored within her soulhome, then stepped closer to her relative.

"This is a delicate trip," Relative Guchiro said. "There is little danger, but I need to take care. Do not be alarmed when we arrive."

Then her relative activated his borrowed weirkey and the darkness was torn away from the world. Fiyu did her best not to swallow her heart as they crossed the void, and she held tight to her relative to avoid stumbling. It seemed to take longer then usual, then they stood on firm ground again.

Instantly Fiyu was overwhelmed by the immense weight all around her. A world of dense pressure, crushing toward her from every side. She would have been alarmed, if her relative had not advised her against it. On her second pass with her senses, she reassured herself that none of the density was moving any closer to her. They stood within a perfect sphere of ordinary air.

Her first reaction had been so overwhelming that Fiyu had not even looked around her. Now that she did so, she found her environment at once familiar and strange. They stood on a floor of stone with unremarkable buildings: except for being formed of darker rock, they could have been from Norro Yorthin. All of it was lit by soft blue lights held within elaborately carved spheres.

But beyond that, the city was nothing like she had seen before. All of the buildings were contained within a giant sphere of glass. In every direction she could see, there was only crushing blackness: the pressure she had felt at first was the entire ocean pressing in on them. The lights illuminated some distance beyond the glass, but endless fathoms of ocean stretched beyond.

It was somewhat relieving to note that the glass was incredibly dense, far more than the water around them. And it only stood to reason that if the city had survived this long, it would not be harmed by a little more water. Still, she could not help but look to her relative to ask the obvious question.

"If you had used your weirkey less precisely, would we have ended up in the water instead?"

"It would have taken a grave error, because of these." Relative Guchiro walked to the edge of the empty plaza and set his hand on a stele that stood at the corner. There were four, and though they were intricately carved from a sublime material, they had been so ordinary compared to the glass bubble that she had barely noticed them. "Certain materials not powerful enough to become weirkeys have other effects on such inter-world movement. They are often used to prevent weirkey travel in a region, but they can also be used to guide it."

Before she could ask anything else, a Fithan woman approached them. She seemed somewhat troubled by their arrival, despite the fact that she wore a uniform and emerged from a small tower like she was posted to guard the plaza. Perhaps they received visitors at a more sensible rate than the Fithan normal.

Fortunately, her relative was prepared to speak to the guard, and their conversation was brief before the two of them were permitted entry. Wondering if the others would be as open, Fiyu stepped closer to her relative to whisper to him. "Ask her if the Order of the Deepest Blue preaches against outsiders here."

"I do not think it's necessary, but..." Relative Guchiro asked the question indirectly and the official just gave him a strange look. Soon they were ushered onward without any trouble, and her relative leaned closer to her. "Remember that Fithe is an entire world. Nondol floats in an entirely different ocean, so they have never even heard of the Order here."

Chastened, Fiyu remained silent and resolved to simply observe. There was certainly a great deal to see.

As they approached one side of the glass sphere, Fiyu began to sense what she had already expected: they were only inside one fraction of the city. The sphere extended into a glass tunnel at one end, large enough for many to walk side by side without touching unnecessarily. On the other side, the tunnel merged into a far vaster sphere that was only one of many.

Since it was beyond her more precise senses at first, Fiyu stared at it with her eyes. The city of Nondol floated like a cluster of sapphires glowing in the darkness, yet the spheres were so large she couldn't make out any individuals from her distance. It showed a trilateral symmetry, so she looked to the side and found a thin line of light: another tunnel and exterior sphere similar to the one she walked in. No doubt there was a third on the other side, hidden by the city.

"How does it remain in place?" she asked. Her relative started to loosen his jaw, then paused instead.

"Your senses are now a part of your body. I think you will be able to tell."

After building her Corporeal Floor, her senses had come so naturally that she rarely needed to exert herself. Now Fiyu did so, stretching around the edges of the city to find the answer. Along the way, she discovered a surprising number of animals. Few neared the tunnel lights, but there were schools of dense fish moving in strange patterns. Far larger creatures swam further out, and she briefly feared what would happen if they rammed the tunnel. But they were soft, slow-moving, and apparently peaceful.

Beyond them, Fiyu brushed against something far denser beneath the central city. She frowned and focused on it, slowly making out rings of what felt like a sublime metal, more durable than any she had felt since the Yorthin Coliseum. Gradually she realized that it was a vast chain, each link larger than her body. The top piece was fused to the bottom sphere of the city and she guessed that the other end was anchored to the ocean floor. How to construct such a thing, on the other hand...

"What happens if the city is damaged in battle?" she asked. The idea of a crack appearing in the glass troubled her deeply.

"The depths Fithans are a people of war," Relative Guchiro said, "but even more focused than their relatives on the surface. Unsanctioned dueling and other reckless actions are strictly outlawed. Individual sections of the city can seal themselves in the event of a disaster, and there are other precautions, but obviously they hope that none of those will ever be triggered."

"And they all live like this?"

"Only some of them. There are other cities closer to the surface, unpleasantly bright by our standards, and a few live on floating cities far from land."

Though the city wasn't too bright for her, Fiyu actually found its light more troubling than even the Fithan sun. They were surrounded by darkness, yes, but they broadcast their sapphire light in every direction. On Ichil, everything would have been carefully cloaked so that the city didn't announce its location. No doubt the oceans contained predators, so she could only surmise that they were not drawn to the light for some reason.

As they entered the first sphere of the city, they received a few strange glances but continued untroubled. That left Fiyu to wonder at everything around her. She noted large clusters of tiny fish at certain points and realized that they were eating waste released from the city. There were so many people and buildings... she wished that she had her companions present and wondered what they would have noticed.

After so long on the land, it was a little strange to be surrounded by depths Fithans. Their bodies were a bit smaller and more wiry than their counterparts on land, they generally wore their hair shorter, and with her new senses she could feel how their horns were firmly rooted in their skulls. Their clothes tended to be made of less porous materials and adhere closer to their bodies.

Oh, and she supposed their skin was blue instead of red. Friend Nauda would have noticed that.

Unlike the straight walkway, the first full-sized sphere contained a less two-dimensional environment. Fiyu could sense an open space at the top of some spheres, but not this one: it was packed top to bottom with buildings. Without her broader senses, some parts of it would have been suffocating, with absolutely no way to see outside. Or perhaps some preferred not to see the ocean around them? In any case, the city continually opened on itself, with walkways and stairs moving in every direction.

Despite all the differences, many things about Fithan society appeared familiar. Fiyu saw many signs on establishments, unfamiliar in detail but unquestionably representing local Houses. They also had considerable differences in wealth: the poorest regions seemed to be made of stone, while the wealthiest were built from glass. Mostly glass darkened too much to see through, which was much less stressful than living within a transparent home.

When they passed what appeared to be a sublime material market, Fiyu automatically leaned toward it. But her relative marched onward without even looking, so she trailed after and cast him a curious glance.

"We're here to find more materials for me, are we not?"

"Of course," Relative Guchiro said, "and there are many promising materials. The ocean depths contain different kinds of darkness that can synergize with Ichil's, and there is a volcanic range nearby. No ice, but the cold is more considerable than it appears: without warming materials, this place would risk freezing."

"That sounds promising, but surely the Fithans collect such materials?"

"Yes, and we'll purchase some of them." Her relative turned and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But you are a Ruler now, and govern your own soulcrafting. The only path forward will involve collecting your own sublime materials."

Fiyu bobbed her head, warmed by his trust, but she had to ask her next question. "Does that mean we're leaving the city? I don't think I can survive in such dense water..."

"Your Corporeal Floor makes you more durable than you think, but you're right. We're going to an old friend to ask for permission and transportation. Forgive me, but I need to organize what I'm going to say."

So they walked through the rest of the city without speaking. Ordinarily, Fiyu would have been happy to listen to her relative share interesting information about the region. In recent times, she would have experienced it alongside Friend Nauda and Friend Theo. Though she still enjoyed observing the new environment, she realized that this wasn't how she wanted to travel the Nine Worlds.

The second large bubble they entered was roughly similar to the first, but the third immediately reflected a significant difference. There were soulcrafters everywhere, and guards on the streets all wearing a similar House logo. Fiyu wanted to ask about them, but remembered what Relative Guchiro had said. He had passed through every security check with a few words so far, but now they were approaching a much larger building.

Even though the building itself was only three stories tall, it had something unusual above it: empty air. In a city where space was at an absolute premium, the ability to have an ornate roof and free space overhead reflected great wealth. They appeared to be near the center of the cluster, so the sapphire spheres on all sides created a glow that was almost like a sky.

Passing through the fortified gate to the building took longer than usual, as the guards needed to confer with someone inside. Eventually they walked in on a path lined with strangely diffuse statues. Their interiors contained considerable complexity, but it was a repetitive organic pattern dissimilar to Ichili art. Still beautiful to her senses, and she suspected they were artificially formed.

That theory proved correct when they found a man shaping one of the statues with his hands. Some sort of life cantae emanated from his fingers, and the statues grew slightly - Fiyu saw that they were coral, and their colors were likely carefully chosen as well. When the man turned, she realized that she should have been paying more attention to him.

He was unusually short, even more slender than her, and he wore a simple blue tunic. But his spirit burned with the strength of a Stronghold, making Fiyu realize that he was probably the leader of the entire city. Unlike almost every depths Fithan she had met, his horns curled into high spikes, and something intense burned at their cores.

"Guchiro." He smiled thinly and set down a pruning tool. "It has been too long."

"Thank you for seeing me, Heshfer." Her relative bowed politely, but not deferentially. "I've uncovered new information about a topic of mutual interest. I had hoped that I might recruit your assistance."

"I fear that will not be possible. One of my own projects has... borne unexpected fruit."

"How so?"

Heshfer glanced briefly at Fiyu, but after a moment's consideration continued to speak to her relative. "You may recall the sonar technique we once perfected. While testing it, I... woke something from depths even lower than ours. We know almost nothing of the beast, because all senses that near it wither. I had actually considered contacting you to see if you would fare better, but based on recent information I doubt it. It bears a mantle that consumes information."

"If it is still threatening the city, I could investigate."

"Oh, it isn't threatening. If it wanted to destroy Nondol, it could do so. This creature is beyond Dominion, Guchiro... far beyond. Everywhere it swims, light and heat die. When it came within a hundred leagues of Nondol, the city was dim for a month. Five percent of our population died in the chaos, and that was with swift action."

That should have been dismaying news, but her relative took it in stride. He merely crossed his arms and considered for a moment before answering. "I have also discovered a troubling entity. I believe that it has more insidious effects at a distance, manipulating truth itself."

"You don't understand the position I'm in, old friend." Heshfer turned away from them to grow another spike on his coral sculpture. "The leaders of other cities suspect that I am responsible for awakening this beast, and blame me for their own suffering. My position is extremely precarious. I have considered rushing my ascension to Dominion just to avoid being attacked by a greater power."

The two of them continued speaking of the political situation, but Fiyu could only follow a small percentage of it. Her relative didn't seem to have great familiarity with Fithe, only with this specific soulcrafter. It appeared unlikely that anyone would be convinced, so their trip was likely to be disappointing.

She wondered again why her relative had stopped at Authority. That was certainly overwhelmingly powerful for the majority of regions, but it wasn't the peak, and she didn't believe that he had failed his ascensions. Now he was speaking to a Stronghold as if they were equals. In the past she had asked him such questions and he had never given her a proper answer.

Eventually even Relative Guchiro accepted that he couldn't convince Heshfer, and instead negotiated use of local vessels for harvesting materials. It sounded as though it would be easy, since many in the city were still afraid in the wake of the mysterious creature. Technically it was fortunate that they had permission, but when they finally departed Fiyu felt mostly dissatisfied.

"I was too optimistic," her relative told her as they departed. "After so many years with no progress, who would think that we would both uncover a threat at almost the same time? The Order of the Deepest Blue may be propagandists, but something may truly be changing..."

"Why did you never tell me about this acquaintance before?" Fiyu asked. "Were you Authorities at the same time? Why has he ascended and you haven't? I understand that he is threatened by an undersea beast, but what threat do you see on Ichil and why have you never told me of it?"

"You have many questions."

Relative Guchiro said nothing after that and continued on in silence until they had left the higher sphere. She feared that he might never answer and that she was still a child when it came to this. But as they descended into the city, he spoke quietly.

"The blueprints that I followed to this tier end at Dominion, but the world contains threats no Dominion could face. I have waited for many years, but I have not been idle. There are other elements of soulcrafting, and when you have ascended you will be ready to learn more of them. But for now, you need to focus on yourself, because these threats are too large for any of us."

"For now?" Fiyu pushed her senses over his body nervously. "One day you'll tell me everything?"

"One day, you will join us."

-

Chapter 16

Theo wasn't sure what to expect when he emerged into the Gold Wastes. Many of the Nine Worlds could be more consistent than Earth, but then again his journeys through them had been rather limited. Given how little he knew about Fithe, he could only guess based on intelligence from Blacksilver.

The first thing that struck him as he crawled out of the cave was the color. Though the sun was still crimson overhead, the rocky and dusty landscape were dull yellow. Not really gold, if that was where the region got its name, but enough to be striking. Of course, he wasn't there to do toponymy. If the Gold Wastes were really so close to Tymetron, hopefully the local common knowledge would be valuable military intelligence for Norro Yorthin.

So Theo headed out into the wastes. He kept his shielding wall fully cloaking him and didn't use any cantae, since he didn't know what to expect. That was the same reason he'd left Krikree and Senka behind. Allegedly the local soulcrafters weren't likely to attack on sight, but the Blacksilver officials hadn't even been certain about that.

As he walked, Theo extended his gravity senses in all directions. It didn't seem likely to find anything in a hazy wasteland like this, but at least he could practice. To his surprise, however, he almost immediately discovered a large point of mass. It had to be something big, to be observable from such a distance.

He headed in that direction at an even run, his enhancement chambers enough to maintain his stamina. The closer he got, the more his eyes could resolve the point of mass. It seemed like a city, but an unusually compact one. Less a city than an overgrown fortress, with walls and spires on every side. No outer city or camps, as far as he could see.

Since he wasn't getting attacked, or even observed, Theo eventually got bored. He threw himself forward and then neutralized his gravity so that he would float sideways. Air resistance slowed him down eventually, but moving this way at least he could soulcraft.

After talking to Nauda, he'd had a new idea of his own. The fundamental shape of his cantae flow over his first three floors was a sphere, but his soulhome was a cube. That had never really bothered him, since he had more than enough willpower to shape it. But while brainstorming ideas for Nauda, it had occurred to him that it didn't have to be that way.

His soulhome effectively had eight corners, and they largely didn't do anything except store cantae. It had never bothered him, and trying to cram more sublime materials into the corners would have just tangled his elegant flow. But if he used sublime materials only to shape flow instead of add to it...

Theo was only part-way to carving an initial experiment when he reached the city. It looked even more like a fortress close up, and he began to consider plans to get inside. To his surprise, an Authority descended from the city gates to meet him without any particular animosity.

"Hey there!" The woman was a head taller than him and looked like she ate an entire cow for breakfast every day. "You're not local, huh?"

"I'm just moving through," Theo said blandly as he tried to come up with a new plan.

"The important thing is that you're not with Tymetron. Excuse me." 

With no further warning, she emitted a wave of piercing energy. Most of it shed off his shielding wall, but the cantae was so intense that some of it got through. Theo braced himself to prevent damage, but to his surprise there was none whatsoever. It had apparently just been an analysis technique, albeit an aggressive one.

"Oh, weird blueprint you've got! Definitely not local." She put her chin in her hands and thought for a moment. "Well, if you're a mercenary they hired, you probably can't do much harm. Go on in then, huh? Causing a little trouble is fine, but if you cause too much, we'll squash ya."

"I..." Theo hesitated as she physically pushed him toward the city gate. "I'm trying to avoid anyone from Tymetron. Old enemies. I don't suppose you can tell me anything?"

"Nope! You're not going to find them here, but I've got work to do."

And so Theo found himself thrust inside the city, a bit baffled by the entire experience. He was definitely in a different part of Fithe.

Every aspect of the city was heavily fortified and frankly rather boring. He spent more time looking at the people: they were a bit darker red than most dust Fithans, with typically enormous builds. Almost everyone went about armed, even the merchants selling food on the street. Despite that, the atmosphere seemed as laid back as the guard at the entrance.

More importantly, the average soulcrafter's tier was substantially higher. In most areas in the Nine Worlds, a Ruler was a rare power. They were uncommon even in a hub city like Norro Yorthin, used to fill many critical roles. But here, there was a Ruler every other street. Strangely he hadn't seen a single Authority since the gate guard, which made him wonder if they were all militarily engaged.

Only one type of structure interrupted the fortress-like buildings: combat arenas. Just in the time he had been walking, he'd seen a sand pit for wrestling, a stage with two martial artists competing, and a fenced pentagon. Several times he saw locals fighting one another, but it seemed more good-natured than bloodthirsty. Most of those he observed used close combat styles, and in the arenas they especially favored a type of wrestling.

The average skill level wasn't bad either. Theo would bet on himself against any two of their Rulers, and even more if they were close combat fighters in an area where he could fly. But the occupants of this city against Norro Yorthin? Unless they were lacking high tier soulcrafters, they'd probably win in a war.

When his initial wandering uncovered nothing suspicious, Theo decided that it was time to contact someone. He found an Archcrafter selling bundles of spiced food on skewers and approached. "Can I have one?"

"Got money?" The man folded his arms over his broad chest, but when Theo showed him a Fithan Disc, he grinned. "Here you go, local specialty! Drinks are extra if you can't handle it!"

That was the benefit of having a global currency. Theo received one of the skewers and bit into it experimentally. To his surprise, it didn't seem to have any actual meat. The vegetables were incredibly hardy and the fruits had an odd flavor, but both blended with the spices. Just one skewer was probably going to be filling.

Midway through his meal, Theo spoke up again. "The guard knew I wasn't from Tymetron. How did she know?"

"You really are foreign, ain't ya? Half the soulcrafters in Tymetron use blueprints with demonic materials, and anyone with some power has to get a big gold seal so they'll serve their leader." The vendor shook his head. "They'll do it to anybody. I had a cousin who got captured, and they sealed him too. Took an Authority to get rid of the thing."

"I got attacked by someone from Tymetron, but I don't know much about them. Just who is this leader?"

"Wish I could tell ya, but that's not my sort of thing. About all I can do for you is keep giving you food if you keep giving me money, ha!"

That was already helpful, though Theo kept that to himself. House Blacksilver had feared the continent of Tymetron because it was dominated by an enormous empire, but Theo had suspected that there was something worse going on. The leader of the empire, at the very least, was a soulcrafter beyond Dominion. What he was doing forcing seals into other people's soulcrafting, he had no idea. Perhaps it was related to the new capacities soulcrafters gained at that tier.

While he finished his meal, Theo gained a little more information and examined the city further. He learned that the city was called Eltario and that it sat on the northwestern edge of the Gold Wastes, facing Tymetron. It bore the brunt of many invasion attempts, which was why it was more of a frontier fortress than a polished city.

Simply observing taught him something else: the local population integrated both types of Fithans. Perhaps one in ten people on the street were depths Fithans, just as large-bodied as the others and treated no differently. He saw several purple-skinned hybrids like Tythes as well, though none had his single horn. The vendor claimed not to know much about the military, but Theo surmised that the depths Fithans in the sea between the two areas had cast their lot with the Gold Wastes.

Before doing anything more extreme, Theo took time to make sure that there wasn't anyone tailing him and that he wasn't missing any shadowy secrets. As far as he could tell, Eltario was exactly what it appeared to be. There was a public announcement of a skirmish on the coast, but no one seemed to take it too seriously.

Unfortunately, none of the civilians who would chat with him knew very much about the broader conflict. Theo eventually decided that he would have to ask some of the more military locals. He found another fighting pentagon and sat nearby to listen in. They mostly talked about local rivalries and matches, but he could wait.

Just sitting there might be suspicious, so Theo decided to soulcraft. People engaged in soulcrafting all throughout Eltario, so that just made him blend in. That was his excuse, anyway: he also really wanted to get back to his new project.

He finished carving his first experiment out of a lesser sublime material he could afford to waste. One side was a set of right angles that would perfectly slot into the corner of his soulhome, while the other side was a concave slope. His idea was that it would fill his corner and help shape his cantae into a natural sphere. Yes, he could easily do that with willpower, but if he filled every corner, his soulhome could practically run itself.

Or so he'd hoped, but the first test didn't have as much effect as he'd expected. If he had been an amateur, filling that space might have prevented a little efficiency loss. Given his experience, letting cantae wander into that space wasn't very likely. But then he had a breakthrough when he experimented with the leftover coatings for his windows: the exterior coat was designed to repel cantae. That definitely shaped his flow, so it was a matter of shaping corners exactly the right size to encourage a sphere...

"Hey." Someone interrupted his work and Theo realized that his means had become his end. He forced himself back to the physical world and focused on the Fithans around him. "You here to fight Tymetron?"

"I already did once," Theo said, "and I'm not sure I want to again. Just how big is their empire?"

"No idea. Big enough we'll never conquer them in a million years, not big enough to conquer us." All of the Fithans around him wore red and gold armor, but it was a tall bearded man who spoke to him first. "You're not from around here, huh?"

Obviously not, but Theo bit that back. "Just trying to find my way. Can you tell me more about th-"

"If you want information, you gotta earn it." The soldier smacked a fist into his palm. "And I don't mean money. We'll help out anyone who's fighting the enemy, but only if you have what it takes. Do ya?"

There wasn't really a choice. Theo nodded and soon found himself being escorted to the fighting pentagon. Multiple rules and suggestions were shouted at him, many of them contradictory. He got the impression that they just wanted to see his skill, or his "guts" as the locals put it. The official rules seemed to be that the first person taken to the pentagon floor lost, but unofficially it was more complicated: if he flew into the air and tossed cantae bolts, he doubted they'd be happy.

Worse, his opponent was the bearded soldier. The man was a Ruler too, and not an amateur one. Either he wasn't using his shielding wall or he didn't have one at all, because he was proudly displaying a soulhome filled with physical enhancements. Fighting him hand to hand would be stupid, and Theo began to wonder if he was making a mistake.

There was only one way to win this: end it quickly.

"Get on with it!"

Someone in the crowd shouted the words, and that was apparently enough to start the match. The soldier stampeded across the arena directly toward him, arms raised to grab him. Theo let himself be caught in the crushing bear hug, just making sure to get his arms around his opponent.

Then he cast three quick applications of gravity: an anchoring point in his center of mass, increased gravity over himself, and inverted gravity over the soldier.

Even with the anchoring point, Theo was nearly bowled off his feet. But the inverted gravity sent the soldier into the air and Theo jerked him backward, directly into the increased gravity. In one smooth movement, he flipped over backwards and slammed his opponent to the pentagon floor.

There was no way that any of them believed that had been done on strength alone. As Theo unevenly rose to his feet, he looked for accusations of cheating, but to his surprise the crowds were cheering. Apparently they approved of tricks, providing they resulted in someone getting smashed into the ground. Even the soldier, who was dazed for a while, laughed when he got up.

"Nothing like that on Tymetron, either!" He jerked his shoulder to pop it back into his socket. "If you want to take those skills against them, we're not going to complain."

"I think I want to know what I'm getting into first," Theo said. That didn't seem to put them off, and the soldier dragged him out of the pentagon to join his friends.

"You've earned a few answers! Tymetron's huge, I'll grant you that. Everybody likes to sneer at their normal soldiers, but they have some real strong soulcrafters too."

"Ask him if he understands Dominions," one of the other soldiers said.

"Fine, fine." The soldier leaned closer to Theo and frowned. "Do you understand that there's Dominions, then there's Dominions? Just ascending from Stronghold is one thing. But those who have been there for a really long time, they get even stronger. Maybe with no limit."

Theo actually understood better than them, but he just nodded.

"Well, the leader of Tymetron is a really tough one. They say when he arrived on the continent, he killed three Dominions at once to take over. That's old Plutalgion, if you don't know. Strongest demonic material user I've ever seen, no joke. He'd kill me by looking at me."

"Something must keep him in check," Theo said, "or he'd conquer everything himself."

"Well, he did conquer everything on the continent! But he'll never take the Gold Wastes, because we have Giatrice with us. She's a tough one, with experience all the way across Fithe and even other worlds. They've fought three times - I saw the second one, that's why I survived seeing Plutalgion - and every time he's been driven back."

Theo pressed them for more information and gradually got a better picture of Tymetron. This Plutalgion was definitely a soulcrafter of the seventh tier or above, and what was worse it sounded like he had several Dominion-tier commanders. The entire Norron continent only had two Dominions - maybe a third if one was hiding in the Wavefront region Theo didn't know much about.

It seemed like the Tymetron empire was being kept in check by the Gold Wastes soulcrafters, and especially Giatrice. If Plutalgion ever left the continent, she would start killing his Dominions and take back the continent. That was how such conflicts usually went, in his experience. Most likely the Ruling Cities were prevented from being flattened by this determined resistance force in the Gold Wastes.

"One more question," Theo said once he could squeeze in another word. "Have you gotten a sense that Plutalgion - or someone in Tymetron - is angry lately? They were making threats about retaliation when I last ran into them."

He got mostly silence until one of the soldiers toward the back of the group spoke up. "I did hear something like that. They sent someone to another continent and they never came back. But if you ask me, they weren't really that angry. It wasn't an important soulcrafter. Seemed more like someone had forced them to take action about it."

That was a curious detail, but no matter how Theo pushed, he couldn't get a clearer answer than that. It did confirm his suspicions that Vistgil really had set off the war. Tymetron didn't actually care about their dead soulcrafter: they had been pushed into acting. And even if they couldn't attack Norron themselves, just their demonic ploy might be enough to eliminate it.

Theo thought that was about all the information he could get from the Gold Wastes. He'd be happy if he could get back without wrestling anyone else.