Irwin's Journey 460: As the back so the front

"I always worried about her," Vaidara muttered, as she leaned back and rubbed her eyes. "Still, after she joined with Lord Sachindrian, things seemed to be calming down. I had hoped that not having to do Burrows for a while, and being together with Sachindrian would help her forget…"

Forget what? Irwin thought, but he asked the other question her muttering brought up.

"Together with Sachindrian?" he asked.

"Ah, yes, Lord Sachindrian was completely infatuated by her," Vaidara said with a weak smile. "At a certain point, we had all hoped that it would mellow him out and be good for Minerella. Now I'm starting to wonder if things didn't start going wrong when the two of them got together." 

"That's not it," Hilbarin grunted. "Even before that, she was a weird one. Remember the last few queens?"

Irwin saw Vaidara's shoulders slump.

"Can you explain what is going on?" he asked. "You don't seem at all surprised, and what do you mean, help her forget?"

"We are surprised that she would kill one of ours," Hilbarin said as he stared at the window that dominated the left side of the room. "We are not surprised that she finally snapped. She was always… different."

"Different how?" Irwin said. "And do I take it that the Headteacher and I are right? It is likely Minerella Silverspring?"

"Yes," Hilbarin said with a weary sigh. "None of us knew she could do this to heart or soulcarded, but I have seen her pluck cards from queens like it is nothing. We promised to keep it to ourselves out of fear that some lord would try to grab her. She was so upset back then, so it seemed the right thing to do at the time…"

He glanced at the Empress, who was frowning at him, and Irwin was pretty sure she knew as little as he did about what was happening. He hummed as he walked to a chair and sat down. 

"Tell me a bit more.. Why would she do these things now?"

Hilbarin looked at Vaidara, who was still sitting with her head in her hands.

"Her heartbond, Stravin, died during the Night of Burrows," she said. "Like Hilbarin said, she was always different. Got angry at the oddest times, sometimes waited for the queens to be weak before slicing them apart in ways that weren't needed, those kinds of things? But… well, she was never the same after Stravin died."

"Stravin?" Irwin asked. He'd never heard that name before.

"He was one of the original strongest of the one hundred, back when Rustbeard and I were barely in the top twenty," Hilbarin said. "You know the seven are just what remains of the original One Hundred? The guards?"

Irwin nodded, and Hilbarin looked out of the window with a stare that seemed to see something other than the colorful night beyond.

"Things were different then. Being one of the hundred meant you had to help in case of emergency, but only had to really work every few months. Dangerous fights, but nothing compared to what came after."

Lady Sandrihna, who had been quiet throughout, leaned forward and put a hand on his arm. The simple gesture seemed to snap Hilbarin out of it, and he grinned.

"After Stravin died, Minerella disappeared for almost a year. When she returned, she wasn't the same. She was calm, laughed a lot, but most people got the shivers if they looked into her eyes. That includes me. What was more concerning was that she returned as a soulcarded. I have no idea how she got it, but she has to have found a Derlin card and used it."

"We don't know she got a Derlin card," Vaidara said. "Not for sure."

Hilbarin shook his head. "There is no other way she went from a one-carded to a soulcarded in a few months. Perhaps Stravin had hidden one. He had been at the top for a long time by then, and would have had the chance. Tutor, you must agree with me that this is the only way, right?"

Irwin hesitated, but didn't answer as he thought about what he could do if he were outside Scour and had some Chaos Whales nearby. Or even if he just had to make a low-ranking heartcard, and fill it. Anything below topaz he could probably fill by himself if he had to, though that would turn whoever he did into something like Brecka. Not something he was keen on.

Hilbarin watched him, his eyes slowly widening as a gleam of interest grew in them. "There is a way to go from handcarded to soulcarded in a month?" 

"Yes, but not something we can do right now," Irwin said as he glanced at Nimlarel, who had been watching the entire conversation quietly. "Otherwise, I would help you."

The young woman was staring at him in stunned silence, and Irwin cocked his head as he thought about something. "That said, I think you might have to come along with me in a year or two."

Nimlarel's eyes began sparkling, but Hilbarin grunted to draw Irwin's attention.

"Well, even if it is possible, is there any way someone beyond you could do it on Scour?" he asked.

Irwin thought about it for a while, then shook his head. "Not likely. As rare as they are, I think that her finding a Derlin card is more likely."

'Which makes me think,' Ambraz suddenly said, causing Irwin to look at the spark. 'Why are there so many Derlin cards here? Is it because of the time dilation, and it's just a natural occurrence due to how much time has passed here?'

Irwin hummed, rubbing his chin, causing a sharp scratching sound to echo through the room.

Need to shave tonight, he thought as he thought about Derlin cards and time dilation.

Everyone was quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts, when Irwin shook himself out of them and looked up.

"You said Minerella was different even before her bond died? She did things to the queens? Do you mean she liked hurting them?"

Hilbarin grimaced. "That too, but she was just… crazy. She was only a one-carded, but she refused any of the cards Stravin offered her. She kept saying she was looking for something special, but she would never say what she wanted. She did ask Stravin to bring her Insectoids, and she would kill them herself. She said it was for practice, but I saw her face when she stabbed them with that blade of hers… it wasn't normal."

Irwin frowned.

'Do you think she already had the card she has now, but weaker?'

'I don't know, but I've never heard of a card type that allows any of this,' Ambraz grunted. 'That doesn't mean it's impossible, though. The more I hear about this, the more we need to inspect her card.'

Irwin stared at Ambraz's spark as it flitted around the room. 

The Empress, who had been quiet up till then, spoke up. "We need to apprehend her. Although we don't have any absolute proof, all signs point to her. We can't let her roam around with all the risks it brings, but I fear she will likely resist. As will Lord Sachindrian."

Irwin felt himself nodding along with her, but when she looked at him, he froze. There was a spark in her eyes that told him he wouldn't like what was coming.

"Tutor, as the strongest among us, could you help us capture her?"

'You walked into that one with your arms open,' Ambraz said.

Irwin held back an annoyed sigh. He knew that if he agreed, he would probably not be back in time for tomorrow's lessons. Worse, with Lord Sachindrian at war with the Empress, it meant he would have to sneak inside and get her? Storm some castle? None of that was what he had been planning. The problem was, he couldn't with a good conscience let Minerella continue. He might be the only one who could stop her, based on all he had heard, and Ambraz was right, he had to inspect her card.

He looked around and saw that everyone in the room was observing him, waiting to see how he would react. Hilbarin had his arms crossed, face stoic, while Nimlarel and Vaidara looked hopeful and curious. Curiously, Lady Sandrihna had a worried frown, staring at her hands.

"Maybe," Irwin finally said, crossing his arms, having a bad feeling that he knew the answer to his next question. "I take it she is with Lord Sachindrian?"

"We can't be sure, but it is very likely," the Empress said.

"Great," Irwin muttered. "So, now what? Do you expect me to single-handedly attack that Sachindrian and grab her? You two are at war; he will be expecting something."

The Empress didn't react but rose to her feet. "By tricking her into leaving the safety of Sachindrian's Mountainridge," she said as she walked to a rather nondescript wall.

Irwin watched curiously as she moved her hand across it, and his eyebrows shot up as a circle of runes appeared. At the same time, soulforce rippled outward, neither of which had been there moments before.

'I hadn't sensed those,' Ambraz said, sounding highly confused.

Irwin didn't respond but watched as the Empress let her soulforce flow out of her in a beautiful pattern. 

The runic circle flashed twice, then the area within the circle changed from a wall to a hole. It was momentarily black, like a portal, then it changed again, and Irwin saw an enormous chamber with balconies lined with bookshelves, tables with glass tops, and crates stacked in corners. The Empress stepped into the room, and Irwin watched as she turned smaller as she walked to a table, lifted a glass cover, and took something out.

"So that's how they hid it," Hilbarin grunted as the Empress walked back out. She flashed her soulforce in a simple way, and the runes faded, the hole closing.

"That place is below the central volcano, isn't it?" Hilbarin asked.

The Empress smiled thinly as she walked to Irwin.

Irwin didn't look at her, as his entire attention was on the card she had in her hand. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar long-eared, rabbit-like being with twinkling eyes that had a book chained to a belt around its waist.

'Kid, that's.. That's!'

'A Derlin card like the one I had,' Irwin shouted in his mind, feeling something happen that hadn't in a long time. His lips went dry at the potential of what he was seeing.

The last time he had seen a card like this was when he was still a handcarded, back on Giard. He stopped an unconscious desire to summon his hammer as he took a deep breath. His hammer was the part of his first soulcard that was based on that Derlin card's reward. His second growth card, and his first Ammolit card, had been the source of much of his success. He vividly recalled the desert world, standing far from the scouting party and looking through the book. Back then, he didn't have a good idea where he would go with his soulcards, and was in a situation where he needed something immediately. Ambraz had helped him pick the hammer from a seemingly endless list. But now he knew so much more. What could he find if he used such a card again? A unique card that even he couldn't make yet? A card with a type so rare it was legendary? It could be a better sixth handcard for his current heartcard or the start of his next one.

His mind spun as ideas piled up, but he managed to snap out of it when the Empress stopped before him.

"Minerella has been trying to get this card for almost forty years, asking for it repeatedly," she said, as she held out the card for Irwin to see. "However, as it is one of only a few potential ways for the Empire to survive in moments of catastrophe, neither I nor any of my predecessors have ever used it."

"And now what?" Hilbarin grunted. "As one of your last acts as Empress, you suggest we use it as bait?"

The Empress calmly examined the card. 

How do I get her to give me that card? Irwin thought.

He was pondering offering to make more heartcarded when he remembered something and froze. How could he have forgotten something so important?

A year ago, he'd almost used the final charge on his template card on the seedling card that he had made. Then he'd been distracted when Zou attacked. After that, he'd thought about it a few times but had been too busy, and as he didn't need to slot it yet, he knew he had time, which meant…

'We still have the template card!'

There was a moment of silence, then Ambraz sent him a wave of fear.

'Don't even think about it! Using a template card on a Derlin card will cause both to blow up,' Ambraz exclaimed. 'It's been tried, and it's not a good idea. Remember what I told you about Derlin cards? How they can't copy cards if they are too powerful? Well, there are few cards as powerful as Derlin cards.' 

Irwin felt his sudden excitement die down as he leaned back in his chair.

'Too bad,' he thought. 

He was about to focus on something else when Ambraz's own excitement suddenly bubbled over, and he saw the tiny white spark of soulforce frozen in midair.

'Ambraz?'

There was a moment of silence, then Ambraz burst out in laughter.

'Who cares about copying the Derlin card! Copy the result!'

Irwin felt his excitement shoot right back up. Ambraz was right. If he could get a Derlin card of a type he couldn't make himself, he could copy that. Something that was so rare he'd not even heard of it… Perhaps a card that drained soulforce like the one Minerella had? Or one to increase his own soulforce regeneration?

So many choices! What should he-

'A shadow teleport,' Ambraz said, sounding sure of himself. One that allows for static teleport portals that drain ambient soulforce. You will probably never be able to make shadow cardseeds, and it's fully possible that Dahlia will never get to the level that she can do those, even if she comes to Scour for a few hundred years.'

Irwin stared at the spec as a host of ideas spun through his mind. Images of Greldo getting such a card and thus the ability to create semi-permanent shadow teleporters. It would solve one of their biggest issues, namely, instant movement. It meant that if or when he had an army ready at Scour, he could move it around rapidly. Even better, he and Greldo could return to the gas giant and search for more template cards. If they could have multiple people with that ability? Even better, having multiple identical shadow telleports should increase the eventual heartcard's power greatly.

"Tutor, are you alright?"

Irwin blinked, staring at the Empress who stood a few paces away, the card now hidden in her hand as if she was afraid he would jump her to grab it. 

"I will help, but I need that card," he said, staring her in the eyes. 

The Empress took a step back, while Hilbarin suddenly frowned.

"I know you see it as a way to fix some potential horrible calamity," Irwin said, pointing at the card. "But that one won't help with that. There are different Derlin cards, and that one is one I have seen before. It will allow you to pick a single handcard from a long list, though you have to know what you need, and there is a set time limit."

He turned away from the Empress and looked at Hilbarin, knowing the future Emperor was the one he would probably have to convince.

"In exchange for that card, I'll make you four heartcarded, whoever they have to be, and…" Irwin hesitated. "When I need to go outside for a few years, I'll bring one heartcarded along and if I can find what I need, fill their soullake before we return."

Hilbarin glanced at Lady Sandrihna, then frowned. The Empress spoke before he could.

"Tutor, we would be willing to listen to you, but in a sign of good faith, can you explain why you are suddenly so interested in this specific Derlin card?"

Irwin leaned back, pondering it for a moment before deciding to just go with the easy answer.

"Not every cardsmith can forge every type of card," he said. "In my case, that means things like shadow and teleport are not what I am good at. I would use that card to create the card I need most, one that will allow me to teleport from here to my own world and back. Or to other places."

"Why don't you just slot shadow and teleport cards?" Lady Sandrihna asked, suddenly far more interested than before.

"Creating a heartcard requires the handcards to combine well together, but it goes further. Every soulcard puts limits on what the next ones can be. In my case, if I tried to add a shadow teleport now, or any sort of teleport, it would make my future heartcards far more difficult," Irwin said. "Worse, it also means I can't add anything but roughly the same types I already have. Instead, I want to have the ability to get similar types to what I have with small changes. That will allow me to become more versatile."

Lady Sandrihna was nodding so hard her hair was flailing around, striking Hilbarin in the face.

"I understand! So, that means that the first heartcard is really important, right?" she asked, raising her own hands. 

Irwin had examined them before, and knew that all her handcards resonated well with each other. Not a single one was very special, but they would give a solid base.

"Exactly," he agreed. "For instance, your handcards are mostly body improvements, with some slight utility. It's a good base for a heartcard, and it will allow you a lot of freedom for your following soulcards."

"How many soulcards can I have?" Lady Sandrihna asked, eyes gleaming.

Irwin shrugged. "Your highest current handcard is ruby-rank, so you can have five soulcards followed by a single heartcard. Or you could keep the six final handcards uncombined if you want more versatility."

"So, does that mean we can't really solve anything with it ourselves?" Hilbarin asked, preventing Sandrihna from asking the host of additional questions she seemed to have ready.

"It depends on the problem," Irwin said. "If your problem were that you needed something to create ice, a card type that doesn't exist here, you could use this to get one."

"Ice?"

Irwin frowned, trying to come up with a way to explain ice. "If things get really cold, water becomes hard," he said. "It gleams, like crystal, and can shatter like rock. It is called ice."

Four people looked at him in stunned disbelief, and even the Empress looked like she thought he was lying.

"I'll show you sometime in the future," Irwin said. "But for now, I can probably make most of the cards to solve problems here."

Hilbarin hummed, looked at the Empress, then at Irwin.

"If you promise that you will make us all the heartcarded we need to prevent the Burrows from overflowing, help Lady Sandrihna to get her soulcard, and promise to help us if we ever need a specific card, we can probably give you the card… after we capture Minerella."

Irwin hesitated, and Ambraz moved in front of him.

'Those are a lot of promises, kid, but… I think you should take the offer. Besides, if we stay here long enough, eventually other smiths will learn how to create heartcards.' 

Irwin stared at the Empress ' closed hand, sensing the Derlin card in it. He already had a lot of things he had to do, but most of what they requested were things he would have done anyway. 

"Alright," he said slowly. "But there's one caveat. I will not stay here forever. Eventually, after I learn what I need, I will have to go back to my own world."

"Well, that is fine, right?" Hilbarin said. "If you get that shadow teleport, we can always request help, or help you if it is needed?"

Irwin nodded, suddenly getting even more anxious. He wanted to clear the area for the future Smiths Guild, get enough people to heartcarded so they could defend it, and rush out. Even if he failed to create a heartcard for himself that allowed him to move things through his soulscape, it meant Greldo could bring his family here.

"Alright, we have a deal," he said.

Hilbarin and the Empress looked highly pleased with that, and Irwin felt a slight worry as they grinned at him.

"Then, as soon as we finish with Minerella, we will start sending six-handcarded to Cinder Grove," Hilbarin said, crossing his arms. 

Irwin let out a weary laugh, realising he was probably going to spend more time creating heartcarded. That meant he would have to make weekly trips to Flamerock to refill his soullake. He wondered what Preg would say if he kept draining the Ancestral Coperion.

"Fine," he said. "Now, how do you suggest we lure Mineralla here? And how sure are you that she will even come?"

"Leave that to me," the Empress said, her smile turning predatory. "Sachindrian thinks he has hidden his spies well, but I know where they are."

--

"Don't," Sachindrian said, sitting behind his desk and staring at Minerella.

He was holding the message he'd gotten, and wished she hadn't seen it. It said that the Empress would move some of her cards, including the Derlin card, to Cinder Grove for the Tutor to inspect. 

"It is a trap, and none of my spies have seen the Tutor for nearly a day," he said.

Minerella let out a high-pitched laugh, and for a few moments her eyes gained a crazed look. It lasted for only a moment, but Sachindrian felt his skin crawl at the sight. She rarely had her episodes, but every time she did, he wondered again if his choice had been the right one.

"So? He is powerful, but he is only one person," Minerella said. "If I can get my hands on that card, I'll become far more powerful than him!"

And me, Sachindrian thought as he held back a snarl. 

"Yes, he is only one person," he agreed. "But how do you suggest walking into an obvious trap, one with the Empress, Hilbarin, and the Tutor there, and walk back out with that card? Why not wait till you fill your soullake and get another heartcard? With four, you will have a much better chance."

"What? Wait for you to maybe find and capture one of those old smiths that hide on the edges of nowhere, and could maybe reforge the heartcard I need?" Minerella said, her voice again calm and soft. "No, my love, I think not. Instead, why don't you stop building your forces and finally trigger your plan? If you do that, the Tutor will have his hands full with other things than some silly trap."

Sachindrian stared at her quietly. He had never told her exactly what he had planned… so how had she learned about it?

"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" Mineralla asked, smiling as she leaned forward and licked the side of his head.

Sachindrian almost shuddered, knowing she was lying. She was not his first, nor would she be his last, and he knew he never spoke in his sleep. 

How did she find out, he thought, while Minerella leaned back, smiling at him.

"If you don't start now, the Tutor will continue making heartcarded and your plan will be doomed."

Sachindrian still didn't respond, but he knew she was right. The problem was that he had been planning to contact Hilbarin to discuss an end to the hostilities. He knew if he said that he was just angry with the Empress but more than willing to have Hilbarin as his Emperor, that Hilbarin would likely cave. It would save him a war, something Sachindrian knew none of the others wanted.

He didn't mind a war… but only if he knew he would win. 

"No," he said, knowing his next words would push her away. Part of him didn't want it, but he wasn't willing to risk everything he had built. Not even for her.

Minerella's eyes gleamed as she leaned closer again.

"Come, my love," she said. "You can't seriously want to-"

Sachindrian felt a pain flare up in his chest. It was so startling that he barely believed it, but that didn't stop him from triggering his first heartcard. He felt it build up, but at the same time, his soulforce was draining rapidly.

"No, no, don't go," Minerella crooned in his eyes, holding her blade through his chest. "Your soulforce will help me get what I want."

Sachindrina wanted to raise his arms to struggle, but he knew it would waste the energy he needed. His mind calmed as he sensed the buildup, calculated the drain, and realized something. He stared at the woman who had wormed her way into his heart, seeing the craziness had fully returned.

"You shouldn't have done this," he whispered as he felt the buildup finish. 

Minerella's eyes flared with anger, but there was nothing she could do as the world around him swirled in a cloud of ash. 

--

Minerella glared at the small heap of ash on the chair, lowering her beloved sword with a snarl.

"You better not return here," she hissed. "Or I'll finish you!"

After glaring at the air for a few more moments, she walked to Sachindrian's desk, opened it up, and took out paper and a pen. She hummed, suddenly smiling, as she began writing the orders that would start his plan. 

"And if anyone tries to stop me, I'll drain them dry," she whispered, her lips curling in a dangerous grin.