Irwin's Journey 453: State of the empire

Nimlarel woke up groggily, wondering what had awoken her, she found that the gleaming light from behind the closed window shutters had moved from one side of the room to the other.

It's morning… 

She struggled to sit up, recalling the card, and frantically searching in her shirt. It took a few moments to locate it, tangled in the blankets. As she held it, she took a deep breath. Was everything a dream? She could sense the familiar tension of her soulcard, but it was pulsing oddly. She closed her eyes, ignoring the constant, always-present pain, and focused on the horrible carrot. It felt almost as if it was building up to something.

He did say I had to slot more cards, she thought, opening her eyes.

But first, she would have to ingrain the first card. She knew that much. 

She prodded at where she felt the new sensation. It was almost hidden by her soulcard's constant agony, but she'd lived with that for so long now that any change couldn't hide from her.

You feel clean and calm, she thought, prodding the location of the card. It faintly reminded her of what she recalled of her handcards, long ago, before they had been crushed together.

It took her only a short while to figure out what the card did, and after that, she had fun lengthening the shadows in the room. It felt like a useless card, even if she could pull a tendril of shadow to stretch out across the room. 

The queen's shadow guards would have loved to get their hands on this, she thought.

She recalled her time with them, back when they had hoped her card would fix itself. They had seen her as the solution to having only a single powerful teleported, and even one that used shadows. Sadly, when her problems came without solutions, they eventually began ignoring her. 

Nimlarel looked at the second card, green-bordered and gleaming brilliantly, trying not to hope. The pulling, tearing sensation she felt had been with her for years now, but it had never been as bad as it was now. It was only because the physical pain wasn't as bad as the soulforce pain that she could ignore it for the most part. Still, she vividly recalled the last time she'd stood in front of a mirror. 

Even if nothing works, please, please let this one work, she thought. Then atleast mother and father can bury me in the open, without having to those boxes.

She shivered and, with a skill born from decades of practice, pushed the sensations away, focusing on the card.

"Please, little one, help me out here?" she whispered, staring at the card. 

With a deep breath, she held the card above her hand. A shock ran through her arm, and she fully expected the card to start cracking as it sank down. That was what had happened with all cards she'd tried to slot over the years, even the red one she managed to find in a burrow seven years ago. 

Not this time.

The green-bordered card with the faint outlining of a person shook and shivered a few times before sinking into her hand.

As soon as it vanished, she felt a change ripple through her, starting with her soulcard. The pulsing tension vanished instantly, while the constant tension lessened to a point so weak Nimlarel could barely recall when she'd last felt that good.

Before she could investigate what else might have changed, she felt her mind grow sluggish, and she slumped onto the bed.

Ah, right… Body improvement cause… unconsciousness…

Her thoughts faded, and the last thing she noticed was a horrid itching sensation from her entire body.

--

Nimlarel yawned as she woke again, feeling better than she had in years. Her mind was clear, the pain distant, and the tension from he soulcard no more than a distant, painful squeezing sensation. She held back from stretching, knowing it would exacerbate the long, open wounds she had. There was a constant, deep itching sensation all across her body, but compared to what she was used ot, it was easily ignorable. Instead, she calmly rolled on her back, raised her hand, and looked at the two cards in her left hand.

I couldn't slot a single card for decades, and now I have-

Nimlarel's thoughts came to a screeching halt as she saw the thin lesions on her wrist and hand. She vividly recalled when she'd gotten them, thin lines that had started pulling apart, bleeding only slightly as they gave a gruesome view of what lay below the skin. The first time, she'd almost had a panic attack. Her mother had tried to soothe her growing panic, but as more appeared over the days, weeks, and months that followed, she'd lost most of her hope. Before that, she'd at least looked normal. Now?

She had stared at the gruesome things daily, analysing them, hoping to see a sign of them slowly closing, fading. They never did. All that ever happened was that they grew more pronounced.

Until now.

She pulled her hand so close to her face that she almost slapped herself as she looked at the lines of slightly folded back skin and flesh. 

They shrank...

The ones on her hand she knew best, as she hated wearing gloves because they had the tendency to get stuck in the open wounds. She knew the number, the size, and the depth. While she looked at it, she saw the edges of one of the wounds very slowly curl back. It was so slow it was almost unnoticeable, but Nimlarel stared at them with a sense of growing relief.

Seconds turned to minutes, and she had no idea how long she lay on the bed on her back, staring at her hand. What she did know was that, at some point, the wounds on her hand had closed together. They were' completely gone, but they had gone from long open sores to thin lines with a glistening layer of slowly congealing blue blood.

Nimlarel swallowed as she lowered her hand and pushed herself to her feet. A quick search of the room later, she held a small mirror and pulled back the top of her shirt. 

They are closing…

She stared at the lines on her throat and collarbones, then scrambled to pull off her top. A few moments later, she was examining herself, finding that all of the sores had gone, leaving only a myriad of long lines. Nimlarel didn't care as she felt tears running down her face. She could deal with scars. Scars were normal. Many people had scars.

She slumped on the bed, crying.

--

Irwin leaned back in the chair, looking at the Empress. She was dressed in a simple, but beautiful robe, while her hair had been braided in a bun at the top, with the rest falling down from it to hug her sharp face. The table between them was filled with empty plates. Only a few scraps and crumbs remained after Irwin had satisfied his appetite. 

"I hope the meal satisfied you?" the Empress asked softly.

"It was great," Irwin nodded. He almost asked if she'd made any herself before holding back. "So. Why don't we get to the reason I'm here? You want me to side with you. Why should I?"

The Empress didn't seem annoyed by his bluntness. Instead, she held his gaze for a moment.

"There are a few things to explain before I answer that," she said. "One, and I really have to make this clear. My main goal is the well-being of the people living in the Empire. Even with my personal help, we have been struggling to keep the Burrows at bay, and whatever happens, the seven need to start helping again. If they don't, the first Eternal Mines will start overflowing within a few weeks."

Irwin nodded for her to continue. She hadn't told him anything he didn't already know, although he wondered about what she meant with her own help. He could sense the general direction of her cards, and they weren't exactly meant for combat.

"Do you know why Lord Sachindrian and some of the others decided to rebel?"

"How would I?" Irwin asked.

"When Hoibra the Cardsmith was still alive, my predecessor, the late Emperor, instructed him to create heartcards for every first and second born of the most powerful Mountain Lords and Ladies of the time. This was a massive change from how things normally worked, but he had no choice. Hoibra was reaching the end of his natural life, and there still wasn't anyone to replace him. Before, only those who were selected to become the next in line would get a heartcard; however, Hoibra was likely to be dead before then. So, instead of creating heartcards for the replacements of the seven, he did as the Emperor instructed, and in the last few years of his life, he created twelve heartcards."

'Twelve? In years?' Ambraz exclaimed .' These people…'

"Those twelve would seed the new Emperor. I'll not bore you with what followed after, but in the end, my father convinced the others that I would be the best candidate. Not every noble, however, agreed, and with twelve extra heartcarded living within the Empire's borders, tensions began to rise."

Irwin held back a sigh. He really didn't want to hear about the entire history of the Empire, but if he had to make some decisions, it didn't hurt to learn more. He just hoped he wasn't hearing a single, one-sided story. 

Whatever. I'm sure I'll get the other side soon enough.

"A few years after I became Empress, the father of Lady Selderine, Lord Selderine, started the first rebellion. He believed I was too weak, listened to the Council of Steel too much, and would not be able to lead our people if another series of Burrow Breaches occurred. He… likely believed that the other Lords and Ladies would support him, but they didn't. Instead, they backstabbed him, allowing my guards to capture him. To this day, I believe they did it because they feared him. Lord Selderine was one of the most powerful soulcarded of the time, his soulcard making him a powerful Metalshaper."

Irwin nodded for her to continue.

"After the rebellion failed, I exiled Lord Selderine. He was found dead a few months later, and Lady Selderine never truly forgave me that."

"Why didn't you lock him up?" Irwin asked.

"Because he was too powerful," The Empress said. "Which is why I have no idea who managed to kill him."

"Alright, so, there was a rebellion, you won… how come there's another now? Did the others also want to  become Emperor?"

"They did," the Empress said with a sad smile. "I had believed things to have calmed down, but I was misguided. Lord Sachindrian was the one who assisted me most back then, and I thought- Well, it doesn't matter anymore. He was secretly plotting against me, and if not for Vaidara, I would already be dead. She saved me from an assassination, and now we are in the situation we are in."

"What about the other Mountain Lords?" Irwin asked.

"They have split into four factions," the Empress said. "The two largest groups are either still supporting me, or Lord Sachindrian. A smaller group is keeping out of things, though I fear they are mostly hoping to stop in at the end and swoop up what remains. The final group, the eastern and northern Lords and Ladies, have rallied around Lady Sandrihna."

Irwin groaned as he realized the murkiness of everything.

"And she is?"

"Lady Sandrihna is… special," the Empress said. "She is the youngest of the current Lords and Ladies, and the daughter of another candidate. Her parents died during the Night of Burrows, as so many heartcarded. Still, if not for them, the Tuarlas Eternal Mine would have overflowed, and the eastern mountain ridges would have been lots. She is also the only Ruler without a heartcard, and the only reason a more powerful Lord or Lady hasn't overthrown her is because Hilbarin Deadslate is on her side. This is also why the other eastern and northern Lords and Ladies have decided to follow her."

Irwin poured himself another glass of the strong Ignitzian drink, downing it in a single go.

"Alright," he said. "So, there are four factions. You, Lord Sachindrian, some in the shadows, and Lady Sandrihna. The reason they are trying to overthrow you is because… they want the power and think you are doing it wrong? Because they were all candidates to be Empress or Emperor, they all have heartcards or soulcards, and so they are strong enough. Got it. Now, why should I not just help one of the other three sides?"

The Empress smiled thinly. "Lord Sachindrian believes we should take what we need from the Viridians. If he becomes Emperor, there will be more war."

"And what  do you need?" Irwin asked, already having an inkling.

"Cardsmiths that can create heartcards," the Empress said, staring at him intently.

"Right. So that doesn't help your point much," Irwin said, raising an eyebrow. "If I were to join this Lord, there would be no reason for war. Right?"

"We have lost too many heartcarded," the Empress said, shaking her head. "A single cardsmith can't create the balance we need. Currently, the mountain Lords and Ladies can barely keep their own lands safe, and with the Seven no longer helping, the Eternal Mines are slowly overflowing. Soon, the regular mines will start seeing the same problem, and when insectoid Queens, or larger groups of warrior ants, appear, there will be nothing to stop them."

"How many heartcarded do you need?" Irwin asked.

"As you probably know, before the Night of Burrows, the seven were the one hundred," the Empress said. "With the increase in Burrows, that would probably be the minimum. Otherwise, even if we create a temporary balance, a single similar event will see the empire overrun."

They really lost nearly everything, Irwin thought. He wondered how horrible the night must have been, that most of their most powerful defenders had been wiped out in one go.

"So, you need about a hundred heartcarded," he said, rubbing his chin. Even to him, that was a tall order to do in a short time. "What makes you believe the Viridians even have that many cardsmiths capable of creating heartcards?"

"Nothing," the Empress responded. "From what I know, they have only a dozen, and most of those are old, which is why so many still follow me. However, Lord Sachindrian seems convinced the Viridians have hundreds and are not allowing those to create heartcarded in the Empire because they fear the Oxarites."

Irwin held back another groan.

Now I remember why I let Daubutim do all this stuff, he thought. 

"Alright, so that leaves this Lady Sandrihna," he said. "Why is she not with one of the other three camps?"

The Empress hesitated before sighing. "Because she believes she can learn how to create heartcards in time to help her people."

"She's a cardsmith?" Irwin asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Yes. She was the prodigy of the Volcano Academy, but when Lord Sachindrian made his move, she returned home as fast as she could with Hilbarin Deadslate."

Irwin leaned back, a smile slowly creeping up on his face.

"So… why shouldn't I support a fellow cardsmith then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Lady Sandrihna is many things, but not a ruler," the Empress said. "She spends most of her time improving her craft, and she has no stomach for politics. If she became Empress, she would also have to leave the East and live in the capital."

Irwin frowned, already feeling more of a connection with the unknown fourth party than with all the others. If not, just because he wouldn't want to be in charge of anything like that either.

"Alright, and why isn't she with you?" he asked.

The Empress held his gaze for a while before lowering it. "That might be my own fault. She… requested I allow Hilbarin Deadslate to move to Tuarlas and help guard its Eternal Mines. The problem is, I need to keep over a dozen Eternal Mines in check, and there's only one that far east. Hilbarin could hold three if he were in a more central spot… So I denied her request, and the next day she and Hilbarin were gone."

Irwin barked a laugh, ignoring the Empress' momentary annoyed glare.

"Didn't you see that coming?" he asked.

"I would like to let you know that I was juggling a thousand things at the time, while the most powerful Noble in the Empire decided to start a rebellion," the Empress said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Lady Sandrihna isn't the only-"

She stopped talking and shook her head, but Irwin had a good idea what she was going to say.

"You don't want to be the empress, do you?" he said slowly.

The Empress regained her calm, looking at him, before taking another drink.

"Why would anyone want to have this role?" she said after a few moments. "Assassins get found every month, Lords and Ladies want things I can't give them, and the responsibility to guard the entire Empire. No. I don't want this. But I want someone like Lord Sachindrian to be Emperor even less."

There was a silence in the room after that, as both of them drank from the strong Ignitzian liquor.

"So," Irwin said. "Why do you want me to side with you then? If you need more heartcards than I could make in a year?"

The Empress blinked, looking stunned. "So it's true then? You can make heartcards? And more than one in a year?"

Irwin didn't answer the question but raised his eyebrow.

"If you join my side, it means the Lords and Ladies now following Lord Sachindrian will mostly return to my side as long as I promise them a heartcard," the Empress said. "If that happens, the seven will return, and I can add an extra condition that every one of the heartcarded they get has to help deal with the Burrows."

Irwin whistled, shaking his head. "So, what you mean is that you don't have a solution for if another Night of Burrows happens?"

"I might, but it depends on something," the Empress replied slowly. "Will Nimlarel be able to teleport now that you helped her?"

Oh, that's how she wants to do this, Irwin thought, tapping the table in a steady pattern.

"Perhaps."

The Empress looked at him, her pupils shrinking to tiny dots.

"Can you create teleport heartcards?"

"I could."

The Empress let out a sigh of relief, a broad smile covering her face.

"Then I would ask you to create two more teleporters," she said. "With those, even if we only have the seven and a few more, they can move around fast enough to prevent issues."

"I thought that during the Night of Burrows, all of the Eternal Mines overflowed," Irwin said, feeling slightly confused.

"They did," the Empress said with a sad smile. "But there were only a dozen queens among them. If another event like that happened, all we had to do would be to quickly kill those. We might lose a lot of people, but we will eventually survive."

Irwin stared at her for a while before letting out a weary sigh. "So, that leaves one question. Even if they might only have a dozen or more cards that can make heartcarded, why haven't you asked the Viridians for help yet?"

"We have, but they are in the same situation," the Empress said. "The root network blocks most burrows, but it has created passageways that end below the larger cities in the Grove Forest. All of the cardsmiths they have that can are constantly creating more heartcarded to meet their own needs. The Grove Elders have promised that they will help if our Burrows are unmanageable, but… only if they don't have the same issue."

Irwin frowned. "Even if they can only make one heartcarded per year, they should have dozens, if not hundreds, by now. Right?"

The Empress smiled sadly. "One would think so, however, my information network has found that their smiths succeed only one in ten times. The others? Sometimes, even the cardsmith dies in the process. So, even if they would prioritize us over their own safety,  they wouldn't be able to create more than two or three heartcarded in the next few years."

Irwin's eyes drifted to the table as he pictured cardsmiths dying while trying to create a heartcard. He knew it was difficult, sometimes even dangerous, but how?

'It's because their own soulcards aren't stable enough,' Ambraz muttered. 'It happens, sometimes. Very rarely… but I guess when you have lost all knowledge on cardsmithing, this is the outcome.'

"Why are there no more cardsmiths that can create heartcards?" Irwin asked. "There are plenty of prospective smiths with the required talent who could learn how to do this."

The Empress smiled as she shook her head. "Perhaps there are, but most of the cardsmiths that could teach them aren't in the Card School or the Volcano Academy. They are either in hiding, traveling the world, or working for some Lord or Lady and enjoying what life has to offer."

"All of them?" Irwin exclaimed in disbelief.

The Empress's smile widened. "That is why your existence is such a miracle. Where are you from? How did you get here? Are there more Smiths where you are from? Can they come and help us?"

Irwin's mouth snapped shut, and he hesitated before pushing himself to his feet.

"Those aren't things that matter right now, because the answer to the last one is no," he said. "You gave me a lot to think on. I am not yet sure who to help, but I want to talk with Lady Sandrihna. As much as I sympathize with your situation, I'm not sure I want to step into this mess. Besides, I don't feel like being used as some bargaining chip."

He walked away, not interested in how his final message would be received, but when he reached the door, the Empress called out.

"If you can convince her to move to the capital and take the mantle, I won't oppose her."

Irwin looked back to see The Empress staring at him calmly and absolutely sure of herself.

"I'll keep that in mind," Irwin muttered as he left.

--

Irwin pulled open the door to find Nimlarel and Teacher Lejingi sitting at the table with a bottle of golden liquor, three glasses, and bright smiles.

"Tutor, thank you! Thank you, thank you!" 

Nimlarel shouted as she almost ran towards him. She hadn't replaced her hood or cloak, and Irwin saw thin white lines disappear behind the high color. Halfway there, she raised her hand, which Irwin saw held two cards and had more of the long, thin white scars.

"I feel better than I have felt in… as long as I can remember," she said. "Lejingi said you wouldn't accept anything for your help, but please. If there is anything I can do!?"

Irwin looked at the young woman, slightly shocked by the incredible one-eighty compared to when he'd last spoken to her. Gone was the calm, almost timid Oxarite.

"There might be something in the future," Irwin said as an idea suddenly came to him. "I've been asked to ally myself with either The Empress, Lord  Sachindrian, or Lady Sandrihna. I'm having a hard time figuring out what they all want, and I have only spoken with The Empress."

As he spoke, he saw a moment of shock slowly fade from Nimlarel's face.

"I could use some counsel on what is actually going on in the capital and with the lords. Think you can help with that?"

Nimlarel's face warped from joy, to shock, to a stunned disbelief before finally ending in a slight daze.

"I think you should come and have another drink," Lejingi said, sounding amused. "Before you go unconscious. Also, Tutor, I think Nimlarel is ready for her third card."

Irwin blinked, then put his hand in his pocket, faking pulling it out as he retracted it from his soulscape. He held it out, and Nimlarel took it, her face still slightly dazed.

"Yes, a drink seems like a great idea," Irwin said, guiding her to the table.

I'm sure this will be more enjoyable than the conversation I just had, he thought.