Irwin's Journey 509: [Sidestory 6] Explosive jab

Uvra looked at the young apprentice, not sure if she'd heard him right.

"Wait, wait, wait," she said, waving her hand around. "Tell me this again?"

Yagrav's hopeful look turned slightly worried. He seemed to collect himself, taking a deep breath, before explaining again.

"We are trying to find a cardsmith for Ter'dorn, because if he returns now, he probably won't ever get past rank zero, Teacher Uvra," Yagrav said. "So, we have got all of the people in town that play Survive the Burrows together, and he has already found a few that he resonates with. Now we just need to find out if any of those can become at least an Amethyst rank smith."

"Amethyst?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know we don't have the cards to train those, right?"

"I know, but that's because of the cards, right?" 

Uvra cocked her head to the side, getting an idea where this was going.

"They want to get their own cards to train with," she said.

"Exactly!"

Uvra crossed her arms, staring at the kid, feeling a wave of pride.

And here I go and think that the new generations never try anything useful, she thought.

"Testing them costs us nothing except for some time," she said, watching him and wondering if he was going to push this one step further. 

"Good," Yagrav said, biting his lip as he seemed to hesitate. Then his gaze hardened, and he looked up. "What if we want to do this for all of the Ganvils that failed to bond yesterday?"

"Then I'd say, good," she said. "There were only very few this time, three if I'm not mistaken, but if this is a success, I'm sure there will be more coming."

Though I wonder where they are all supposed to get their cards from, she thought. 

It was clear to her that Yagrav and the others were underestimating just how many cards an apprentice needed even to reach the quartz rank, let alone Amethyst. 

"Great, I'll go and find Bas'car and see what Klei'am said," he said, only for her to raise her hand. 

She had felt the powerful presence of Klei'am move towards them through the narrow ganvilways that crisscrossed the building's ceiling and walls. 

"I… yes?" Yagrav said, eyes narrowing.

Uvra pointed at an opening in the ceiling of the teacher's lounge where Yagrav had found her. He proved as quick on the uptake as with smithing, as his eyes only widened for a moment before he crossed his arms and waited with her. 

It only took a minute before two Ganvils shot out and down.

"Uvra! These brats have a great idea, did you agree yet?" Klei'am shouted.

"I did," Uvra said, not surprised to see one of the most powerful Ganvils on Scour this excited. She knew from her long years that many didn't agree with Frisyuustis's way of getting them to bond.

"Good! My teleport back will be here in a week. As soon as I get back, I'll send two thousand cards from my personal collection to fund the training of the rank zeros," he rumbled, landing on her shoulder with enough impact to make her wince. "I'll also see if I can get some more, but that will have to wait. I've got some more ideas, so-" 

Uvra felt his attention focus on the young duo before him.

"-scram! The other three are waiting in the lobby. Take them and return later today with all those who can potentially bond with them. With some luck, we can switch these roles for a change!"

Uvra watched Yagrav's eyes widen, then he turned and sprinted away with a final thanks tossed over his shoulder as he disappeared through the corridor.

Klei'am grinned, then laughed. "We tried this before, you know? A thousand or so years ago," he rumbled. "The problem was the same as always. Politics. People started interfering. Some were afraid that the cardsmiths would be bonded with subpar Ganvils -as if that's even possible!- while others feared that a wave of subpar smiths would start sucking up all the cards. Bah! Those Grove nobles and Mountainridge nobles are all the same. Fools."

Uvra raised her eyebrow.

"Then Frisyuustis had a meltdown, the first of multiple, and refused to allow his rank zeros to bond unless with one of these choosing events. So many rank zeros are just withering away now… sad really."

"I… didn't know about this," she said carefully, realizing it was partially true. She'd known some of what he'd said, but not the full extent.

"Yes, well, and then there's good proper smiths like you and Berjin who just refuse to bond," Klei'am snapped. "I should have Flowrishin knock some sense into the lot of you."

Uvra felt a shiver as she imagined that happening. At the same time, a kernel of doubt grew.

"What use are some old cardsmiths like us?" she said. "I'm maxed out on cards, so I'll be dead in what, seven hundred years?"

"So what?" Klei'am snapped. "There are rank zeros who will be able to reach rank three if they bond with you. That means that even after you kick the ore, they will be around for over three times as long as without you."

Uvra felt the tiny seed grow slightly, then she shook her head.

"I'm too old to have someone running around in my soulscape and mind," she said.

Klei'am just snorted, and she was pretty sure he heard the uncertainty in her words.

"Whatever," he said. "For now, let's prepare the room for some people later today. I'm expecting twenty to thirty, but most will likely have a sensitivity below Amethyst."

"Twenty?" Uvra asked, shaking her head. "I just know that Oilarella girl is going to be here again."

"Who?" Klei'am asked.

"Ah, one of the amethyst kids who is close to topaz, but just not there," she said, sniffing. "She just keeps coming here every few days to try again. Must have gone through the testing more times than anyone I know."

"Oh, that's good," Klei'am said, sounding excited. "If she resonates with one of the Ganvils, it bodes well for her and whoever bonds with her. People underestimate just how far passion for smithing can carry you."

Uvra watched him, almost asking a question she'd wondered about a long time. Then she held back. Ganvils were too protective of their bonds, and if she asked for Flowrishin's original potential, who knew what the result might be.

--

"All right," Malliz shouted, sounding super excited. "To the victors the spoils!"

He held up the topaz-ranked card before giving it to a team of five younger players. He took a glance at their board, still surprised to see such a new one with a group that had no nobles or merchants amongst them.

Must be her uncle, he thought, glancing at the one accepting the card. He's a woodshaper with some skill in rune-forging if I recall.

The girl accepted the card with a wide smile, while there was a soft applause from those who had remained. 

"Now, we have to leave," Malliz said, watching Yagrav talking with a group of twenty-eight youths and a few older participants. The four unbound Ganvils were nestled on his friend's shoulders and head, all their lips curved up in grins.

"I still don't get what you are playing at," someone shouted.

"You will find out later," Malliz said as he waved and ran to his friend.

"There's another tournament in two days?" the same voice called out.

"Definitely," Malliz shouted as he reached the group. From their excitement, he could see that Yagrav had told them what they were going to do, and he slapped his short and sturdy friend on the shoulder. "Ready?"

"Yes," he said, matching his grin.

A minute later, they were walking through town in a long line, the two of them ahead.

"I'm surprised that Louka and Sajin didn't show up," Yagrav said.

Malliz saw and ignored the flash of pain in his friend's eyes. There was nothing he could do about it, and he knew Yagrav would grow over it soon enough.

"Louka went with mother to that new town being created up north," he said. "They won't be back for a few weeks. Sajin… well, he is probably out hunting again. Last time I spoke to him, he said he was forming a group with some of the other hunters' kids, and they were allowed to hunt alone, though with some supervision."

His friend was quiet for a while before shrugging.

"Guess that's the end of that?"

It was the end of that year ago, Malliz thought, but he held his comments to himself. Yagrav had always had a hard time letting go. It was one of his best qualities.

"Who cares," he said instead, his gaze moving to one of the two Ganvils that rested on his friend's head. Dark gray, like most of them, he had the idea that it was focused on him a bit more. Did that mean they resonated? If it did, he hoped he was the only amethyst rank that did. If he could bond with a Ganvil, he could swat three rustbees with a single strike. His father wouldn't be able to push him to take over a small shop in Blackglass as a learning experience; he would be able to learn how to reforge cards, and hopefully his own heartcards. From what he'd been able to figure out, self-made heartcards were far better than those made by another. 

Unless that other person is the Guildmaster, of course, he corrected himself while gently prodding his heartcard.

And last, but definitely not least, he would be able to stay with his friend. Yagrav had a tendency for outlandish plans, and he needed someone around to make sure he didn't overdo it. From what he'd seen, Bas'car wasn't much better, which made sense if bonds were based on some kind of resonance not just with soulforce but also personality.

Which means that any Ganvil I could bond with would be as calm and collected as I, he thought, glancing again at the dark gray Ganvil.

--

Yagrav watched as another of the group they had brought walked out of the testing room.

"Quartz ranked," the girl said, sighing as she shook her head. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," the Ganvil said, sounding sad. "Good luck in life."

The girl nodded and sprinted off, seemingly close to tears. Had this been hours earlier, Yagrav might have felt worse and gone after her. Now, all he was able to do was grimace and focus on the final few that still had to go in.

"I had expected… more," he said slowly.

"Of all the people on Scour, the Crathans have the highest innate soulforce sensitivity," Klei'am rumbled from where he was sitting on Teacher Uvra's shoulder. "It's absurd to think that even the least sensitive nearly always has a quartz rank sensitivity. However, even among your people, finding those above Amethyst is hard. Then you still need Ganvils that resonate with those found. Still, don't underestimate this idea."

Yagrav looked at the powerful Ganvil, getting the feeling that it was observing him.

"We are making a list of everyone Amethyst-ranked and higher, and I'll start sending more Ganvils here after they go somewhere to do a matching and fail. There will be more chances."

"Shouldn't you do this in other places?" Yagrav asked, frowning.

"Don't worry about it," the powerful Ganvil said. "For now, I think someone is going to be happy in a few moments."

Yagrav focused on what he could see through the door, inside the testing room. The soulforce sensitivity runes had been turned up to Amethyst-potential. The first of those they had brought, meaning that at least one of the Ganvils would be bonding.

He was proven right as a young girl almost jumped out of the room a few moments later.

"I did it," she shouted happily. 

One of the Ganvils, a dark-gray one, flew towards her, landing on her shoulder.

"Yes, you did," he said, sounding at least as excited as she had. 

"Okay, you two head out into the main hall," Klei'am shouted. "Next!"

Yagrav looked to the side where the last few stood: a tall, quiet girl who had to be sixteen or seventeen, and two younger boys. Ter'dorn was looking down from the rafters, and Yagrav could only imagine how he must be feeling. These were the last chances he had of the seven that he'd found that resonated with him.

Well, I guess he isn't the only one who might get sad, he thought, watching where Malliz stood, arms crossed. His friend seemed to have thought one of the Ganvils might have resonated with him, but that one had been the first and only until just now to succeed in finding someone. 

Half an hour later, a shout of excitement came from the tall girl. "I sensed that!" she shouted again, and Yagrav felt a slight relief.

"Three of four," he said, turning to where Ter'dorn sat. 

It wasn't hard to see that the Ganvil was happy, his lips curved in a massive grin as he flew down, landing on the girl's shoulder.

She looked at the Ganvil as she walked out of the room. "Mother is never going to believe this," she said. 

"I hope she won't be upset," Ter'dorn said calmly.

"Oh no," the girl said, shaking her head. "The results mean I can actually do something other than follow her line of work. She'll be beyond happy."

"That is good, then perhaps we should go out into town and have a chat?" the old-sounding Ganvil asked.

"Good idea," the girl said, nodding as she bowed to Uvra or Klei'am and walked away, Ter'dorn on her shoulder.

A minute later, the hallway was empty, safe for Yagrav, Malliz, Uvra, and three ganvils.

"I'm sorry we couldn't find you one this time," Malliz said.

Yagrav could sense his friend's own disappointment, but he held it in well.

"It's fine," the Ganvil said calmly. "You said you were going to try again and that there were people who weren't here today?"

"Yes," Malliz said, nodding quickly. "There are at least another hundred people who should gather for the next one.

"Besides," Klei'am said, interrupting whatever the other Ganvil might have said. "I'm going to be heading out a bit sooner than expected and bringing more rank zeros here. I'll also have a chat with Flowrishin to see if we can bring young amethyst-ranked apprentices here."

"Uhhhhh," Uvra grunted. "Remember what we told you? We don't have enough teachers for you to dump a ton of people on us!"

"That's fine," Klei'am said. "After they bond, I'll just move them to other distant towns with small charters. Seeing how successful this was, I'm sure even that old rusty ore will agree."

Yagrav heard Bas'car sniff softly, and he realized that this old rusty ore was his creator slash father. Still, he didn't say anything.

"Now. Why don't the two of you head out?" Uvra said, looking pointedly at him and Malliz. 

Yagrav saw that his friend was looking far happier suddenly.

Right, if Klei'am brings more rank zeros that failed to bond, it's far more likely for him to find one willing to bond to an amethyst-ranked potential, he thought.

"Let's go to my place," he said, nudging his friend. "I'm sure that Mother is curious how things went."

"Oh, before you kids go," Klei'am said. "Who fronted that card you used as a prize?"

"Me," Malliz said, waving it off. "But it's fine, I-"

"I'll get you a few new ones, both one as a replacement and some for the next prizes," Klei'am said, sounding like he'd brook no argument. "Now, off you go!"

Yagrav grinned at Malliz, who rolled his eyes.

I wonder how long it will be until he finds a Ganvil, he thought.

--

A year after the first Bonding of the Failures, as some had been derisively calling it, Yagrav cracked his neck, staring at the quartz-ranked card.

"And?" he asked hopefully. 

"Ninety-one percent," Bas'car said.

"Finally," Yagrav snapped, feeling like he'd finally made some headway. "I can't believe how hard this is!"

"Righhhhhht," a sarcastic voice came from beside him. "You have it hard."

Yagrav grinned as he turned to Malliz, who was sweating, his slightly more toned muscles shivering as he glared at the dark-gray ganvil before him. A chunk of flattened Degnin Iron ore lay there, and Yagrav could sense the impurities from here. His friend was glaring at him, his face showing more and more the adult he would soon be, while his last growth spurt had taken him a few inches above Yagrav. 

"Practice more," he said, shaking his head sadly. "Perhaps that will help."

"Practice more, he says," Malliz snapped, slamming his hammer back on the ore without trying. "I practice six hours a day!"

"Well, there are twenty-three hours in a day, and then there's the evening," Yagrav said, copying something Teacher Uvra loved to say.

"Exactly!" a voice called out from behind him, making him spin around to see the woman standing in the doorway, leaning against it as she watched them.

"You two ready for today? Might want to take a shower and all that?"

Yagrav grinned as he more felt than saw Bas'car change into his small form.

"Go ahead," he said, waving at Malliz. "I'll be right behind you."

His friend looked at him, then glanced at the other apprentices wrapping up their practice. Most were Amethyst and topaz-ranked, trying hard to make up for their lack of talent by working twice as hard. 

"Sure, go and do some more bonding," he said, smirking as he walked away.

The gray Ganvil behind him flared up before changing into a small dark-gray form that landed on his shoulder.

"You did great," a youthful, chipper voice said. 

"Thanks, Ral'esh," Malliz said, nudging his bond with his chin. "At least someone appreciates my hard work."

Yagrav grinned as the two disappeared out of the practice area, while Bas'car snorted.

"Those two really fit well together," the Ganvil muttered.

"Definitely," Yagrav agreed, recalling the joy of his friend when, half a year ago, a Ganvil actually wanted to bond with him. 

Too bad those two will never be able to grow beyond topaz-ranked cards, and only those that match his soulcards, he thought, walking toward a nearby group of younger nobles. They belonged to the smaller, weaker families, but just thinking of them like that made Yagrav hold back a sigh. So much had changed in the last year that he could barely believe it.

"Indyra, how was your attempt?" he asked, staring at a fourteen-year-old girl who looked up startled before blushing. A few of her friends giggled, but he ignored it.

"Very well, Yagrav," she said, nodding happily. "I finally managed to reach eighty percent. Still far from you and Lasada, but perhaps I'll be able to finish a useful quartz card in a few years!"

"I am sure it won't take that long," Yagrav lied, knowing it would likely be three or four at the fastest. The girl only had an amethyst potential, and according to Bas'car, her Ganvil wasn't all that skilled either. "What about the rest of you?"

"Practicing hard," a boy who was almost as tall as he was but likely three years younger and a third of the weight said. "I'm going to hit eighty percent in a few weeks! I can feel it!"

"Yagrav, are you organizing another party soon?" one of the girls asked, causing a hush to fall over the group of younger nobles.

"Probably," Yagrav said. "Make sure to bring some of your friends this time, all right?"

A host of agreements followed that, and he stayed and chatted with them for a little while before moving to the next group. 

When he finally walked out to the distant baths, Bas'car let out a weary sigh.

"You are sure we have to keep doing this?"

Yagrav grinned. "It's not that bad. The last party was a success, and even the other Ganvils enjoyed themselves."

"I know, but it's such a lot of work," his bond said. 

'We need to do this,' Yagrav said, moving into their mental speech, which Bas'car had unlocked a few months ago upon reaching rank one. It wasn't the default choice of most Ganvils, but Yagrav had explained that they needed it to be sure nobody could overhear them. 'If I want to get the amount of social capital, as Malliz calls it, to eventually become someone of influence, it's best to start now and start with those I can actually influence.'

'Ugh, I know. It just feels so… annoying,' Bas'car said. 'And those parties are starting to get annoying already.'

'Well, that's because we've had a lot lately. I'm planning to have less starting a year from now, and even less when we reach amethyst rank.'

'That's going to be at least seven to ten years from now,' Bas'car said, sounding hopeless.

'Oh, don't worry. Starting next year, it will be only one a month, then after that one every two months. Eventually, we will only do three per year,' Yagrav said. 

He couldn't stop his own desire for those days from slipping through, and he felt Bas'car snort at him mentally.

'You hate it as much as I! Stop denying it!'

'If I stop denying it, it will only become worse,' Yagrav said.

They continued bickering through a quick bath and a long testing round. They found another seven amethyst-ranked apprentices, one of whom would stay here while the rest would be moved to distant charters.

"Don't forget, I'll be holding a large party in three years," Yagrav said, smiling at the amethyst-ranked apprentices who were still in disbelief at having actually gotten a chance to become cardsmith. Not that they would get anywhere near the top, but due to having a bonded Ganvil, they would at a minimum become a rank higher than their own talent could take them. 

A short farewell later, Yagrav and Malliz were walking back to his mother's estate. It was dark, darker than they usually walked. That said, his mother had become slightly less worried after Bas'car had shown her what he was capable of.

"What are you going to do for your sixteenth birthday?" Malliz asked, chomping on a dry piece of dark, sugary bread that he'd taken from the charter's mess hall.

"What do you think?" Yagrav asked.

"A party," three voices said in chorus, as even the two Ganvils joined in.

"Exactly," he said, shaking his head at the annoyance he could sense from all three. "The Elglaim house is going to send at least three of their younger girls, and the Balvorun are sending both their under-eighteen unmarried girls."

"Ugh…! Don't tell me you are planning to-" Malliz said.

"Not in a thousand years," Yagrav said with a snort. "If I ever get married, it will be someone I love, not for social status. The thing is, they don't know that."

Malliz let out a soft laugh, opening his mouth, when Bas'car hissed.

"Incoming!"

Yagrav moved without thinking, years of practice causing him to summon his greatsword, breastplate, and vambraces. At the same time, his thick belt and the coifed boots flowed up and around the rest of his body.

It was just in time as something burst out of the ground a step away, showering them with sand and rock.

"A Sectide," Malliz snapped from the side, hurling a pale orange bolt of fire at it. 

The fire slammed into the eight-foot-tall demonic insect's head, rocking it slightly but otherwise showing no effect. Pale yellow with poisonous green and purple blotches, it was built long and lithe, with nimble arms that had razor-sharp claws as long as Yagrav's head. Its tail was thick and tapered, and it stood on oddly crooked legs that Yagrav knew gave it more speed than most people had. He also knew they hunted in packs of three or four.

"Where are the others?" Yagrav asked, placing himself in front of his friend while he felt Bas'car float up in the air, a thrumming bastion of soulforce.

"Two are coming up a street away," Bas'car said. 

His voice barely faded when they heard screams and shouting, followed by calls for guards. The Sectide, agitated by either the fire attack or the screams, rushed towards them.

Yagrav stomped on the ground, using his explosive speed to blur forward before it could get halfway there or build momentum. He, however, didn't need time to build momentum. Using his sword like a battering ram, he slammed into the Sectide, causing his hand-wide blade to slit through its upper body with a sound as if he'd slashed a fruit. The multifaceted eyes froze on him, double-jawed mouth open and unmoving as a thick yellowish liquid dripped down. 

Yagrav made a flinging gesture with his sword, hurling the dead thing off and staring at it in stunned surprise. 

Sajin always told me I should go out hunting… that I was already stronger than I thought, Yagrav thought, looking around.

His mind was empty and still, and he felt calmer than he had in a long time.

The screams had fallen quiet, and a moment later, two red blurs appeared beside him. He raised his sword only for two guards to appear, swords and shields raised. Eyes cold, they looked around until they saw the downed Sectide.

"You did this?" one asked, before glancing at his greatsword, green and sticky. "Damn. Are you faster than that thing with such a blade? Remind me not to spar with you."

Yagrav nodded, and the guard scratched his head.

"You okay, kid?"

"Fine," Yagrav said, looking around to see Malliz stare at him wide-eyed. 

"Good. We are going to keep searching if more show up, but it should be fine. Just to be clear, stay inside. Right?"

Yagrav nodded, and the guards grinned, one slamming his shoulder. "Not bad for such a young one. Keep it up."

They vanished in blurs of red fire, while Malliz moved beside him.

"That was intense! You just rushed it without any fear, and it was like a blur!"

Bas'car landed on his shoulder, a wide smile on his face.

"Let's go and see my mother," Yagrav muttered.