Deadgold: Chapters 1-5 (Patreon)

Okay! This is the official start of Deadgold, which should be posting regular chapters into 2026. There may be a break or two for end-of-year posts or other events.

I'm reposting the previous preview chapters, but they are not substantially different; this is just a courtesy for those who didn't want to read the early chapters or want them all in one place. If you read the preview chapters, feel free to start at Chapter 4.

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Chapter 1

Theo took up his weirkeys and stepped from one war to another.

On one side, water and blood, churning together at the edges of House Blacksilver's territory, becoming a grim mud. The long cold war was over, and now soulcrafters raiding from Tymetron were just a normal part of life, a threat he was regularly sent out to face. No one knew when the fighting would escalate again, but everyone agreed that it was only a matter of time before more than raiders arrived on the shores of the Norron continent.

On the other side, golden dunes that he now saw were covered in golden wreckage. The Gold Wastes weren't truly gold, but Theo still felt the difference as he floated above the storm of yellow dust. He'd intended to arrive in an empty region so that he didn't upset their putative allies, so he hadn't expected to see the signs of a battle so immediately.

Even though his body could easily resist the Fithan sun now, Theo instinctively used a hand to shield his eyes as he examined the region. There was no sign of a battle taking place currently, but it seemed clear that the conflict between the Gold Wastes and Tymetron was heating up as well.

That was his reason for coming here, burning some of his increasingly precious free time. Everyone else on Norron seemed content to assume that the Gold Wastes were balancing the Tymetronese empire, and it was well known that their top soulcrafter had punished Plutalgion for leaving. All of that sounded uncomfortably vague to Theo, given how much of their overall war strategy depended on an aeon-class soulcrafter whom they hadn't truly negotiated with.

He'd been concerned about that for a long time, and despite his nudges to the powers of the continent, they had yet to make real contacts with the Gold Wastes. Taking matters into his own hands had proved difficult, between his own soulcrafting, fulfilling his obligations to House Blacksilver, and engaging in battle with Tymetronese raiders. Somehow it was months later and he was only now managing to get away...

Theo's eyes unfocused as he realized that it had been fully half a year since the battle against Tymetron.

The way the time seemed to melt away reminded him of becoming an adult back on Earth, going from having a free schedule to barely having time for anyone. Fortunately, he wasn't so bitter or obsessed this time, and being elderly in spirit meant he was more adept at juggling multiple objectives instead of merely adventuring aimlessly... that wasn't the usual sort of advantage he expected travelers between worlds received, but the idea made him smile.

Aside from keeping the fighting under control and assisting Blacksilver soulcrafters, Theo had managed to keep several other plates spinning. They were in regular contact with Dave and the Mercury Court, and they'd been keeping up with the Landguard as well. He'd wanted to find more weirkeys to prepare for the war, but those were his only two successes: another Deuxan weirkey tossed out by Dave and a Tatian weirkey begrudgingly "loaned" by the Landguard.

In this case, planning meant that he hadn't simply weirkeyed to the Gold Wastes in the hopes of something happening during his limited free time. No, he'd sent someone over two Fithan months ago and arranged for this location, so in theory...

[Theo-sister!] He picked up the pheromone, exploding through the air, before he saw Krikree at the head of a dust cloud streaking toward him.

"Hey there," Theo said as she got close. "I see you look-"

Then the Slescan collided with him, claws gripping his coat as her face practically rammed into his and her antennae bounced against his face. He realized that she wasn't just excited to see him, Krikree's scouting must have had dramatic results, either good or bad.

[Good sublime! Critical danger! Haste!] Krikree's pheromones were overlapping one another with her intensity and she began pulling at his cloak for his weirkeys.

"Alright, we can go right away." Theo had a decent number of weirkeys now, so it was easy to pull out one in each hand. Krikree immediately used two free hands to wrap around his and her face went still, her antennae shooting bolt upright in concentration.

Since ascending to Authority, Krikree had struggled to use weirkeys properly and he still wasn't sure about exactly why. Theo actually hadn't been able to spend much time with her, leaving much of that to Nauda. Their current running theory was that it was partially an in-built limit in Slescan castes, partially Krikree's mind not being as well-suited to the space-warping movement.

Her work hadn't been for naught, though, because she could assist others with weirkey travel. In this case, Theo felt her will join his as he pulled them away from Fithe: a Slescan claw trying to bend the world in a specific direction. She seemed to be guiding him toward the ocean between the large island of the Gold Wastes and the continent of Tymetron itself. Not to an underwater city, he hoped, because that would be a tricky journey.

When Theo felt a cluster of soulcrafters, he was fairly certain they'd identified the right place. There were some anti-weirkey defenses in the waves, making the fabric of reality unbending, so he targeted the closest region of ocean he could manage and slipped between worlds.

And so he stepped yet closer to this war, even if the journey only brought him to an empty stretch of ocean.

[Good! There!] Krikree vaulted over his head to his back and then pointed forward. [Dust ants and gold ants! Many!]

She was right about that: Theo could feel the battle more clearly now, a mass of multiple Authorities and at least two Strongholds. This was a serious fight, kept small only by the location excluding everyone who couldn't fly. Getting involved would entangle him with the conflict, but perhaps that was what he needed in order to make the Fithans in the Gold Wastes real allies.

Even though his mind was racing with potential scenarios, Theo knew that even at his top speed he was going to take a while to reach the battle itself. He glanced over his shoulder, where Krikree crouched alertly. She would be happy to remain in scouting mode all the way to the battle, but perhaps it was a better use of his time to get an update from her now.

Alright, he'd come far enough that he could admit to himself that he just missed her and wanted to catch up.

[How have you been doing, Krikree?] he asked via pheromones.

[Fulfill mission! Scout Gold Wastes, determine beetles and ants. Not make contact, but effective scouting. Also investigate Tymetron! Many ants, many princes, very dangerous.]

That was what he'd sent her to do, and Theo would be glad for the military intelligence, but he found himself with an odd smile on his face. [And how have you been personally?]

[!!!] Krikree emitted a wordless pheromone, briefly paused with her eyes fixed on him, then her antennae wiggled oddly. [This scouting fun. Krikree think many thoughts, about roles and hives. Wants help Blacksilver beetles, must prepare for ants.]

[Have you found a gift for Nauda yet?]

[Krikree found! Krikree also has gift for Navim-thinkrock. Couldn't find gift for Theo-sister.] Krikree's antennae drooped and Theo considered reassuring her, but they perked back up a second later. [Maybe location has gift. Krikree finds tasty meats and good sublime! But Theo-sister must help convert sublime for Krikree's soulhome.]

[That's good to hear.]

[Theo-sister has finished gift for Nauda-queen?] Krikree pushed close, peering around the side of his head.

[Not quite.] Theo instinctively glanced into his soulhome, where his newest project remained in his basement. [It's strong enough, but Nauda will need to approve whether it's close enough for her soulhome.]

[Nauda-queen strong! Strength means requirements. Krikree help scout sublime.]

It seemed like she was doing well, then, and had come so far from the scout who had been crippled by Slescan pheromones. There hadn't been time to conduct tests, even if they had been ethical, but Theo thought that ever since overcoming the mental barriers that made her struggle to soulcraft bricks, Krikree had been doing a better job of dealing with new barriers herself. He liked to see that, and wondered just what observations she would be able to share with him one day once she had complete clarity.

Unfortunately, their conversation couldn't last forever, because Theo's flight was taking them toward the battle. He almost missed the first anti-weirkey devices, which were actually hidden underneath the ocean and projected their restrictive field above. In the distance, rapidly closing, he saw buoys with anti-weirkey stones and pondered if they had been released from below.

There was no more time to contemplate that strategy either: in the distance he now saw an unnatural storm, cantae flickering over the surface of the ocean. Theo had expected ships, but instead of any vessels, there were only two groups of soulcrafters circling in the air. What was tying them so closely to that point, such that neither side attempted to leave the anti-weirkey region? He couldn't find any trap keeping them in place, or determine what they could be fighting over in the middle of the ocean.

Krikree began to pull weapons from her soulhome, and she had the right idea: these last few seconds were best used to prepare. Theo reviewed his soulhome without actually stepping into it, since the conditions were more than familiar to him by now: he'd completed all his bricks and put together his Stronghold floor, which was packed with cantae from the sublime materials he'd accumulated, yet still oddly provisional because he was lacking a material for an implosion to coat the interior surface.

Still, it should be more than enough for a fight like this. The risk of failure here had nothing to do with his soulhome.

As they drew closer, the Gold Wastes faction sent out an Authority to intercept him. Theo decided that instead of being insulted by them just sending an Authority, he would take it as a compliment to his newly polished shielding wall. The Authority was a middle-aged man wearing armor that was half covered in dust, half drenched in water.

"Halt, outsiders!" The man raised a weapon in a defensive stance. "This has nothing to do with you!"

"It looks like you're fighting Tymetron," Theo said evenly. "If so, I would fight on your side."

The Authority examined him skeptically, which gave Theo the opportunity to double-check his gravitational senses. He confirmed the two armies, with one Stronghold apiece, but also noticed an extremely dense point of mass just under the waves, with several Authorities fighting over it... and something even lower. Theo forced his expression to remain neutral as he realized that there was another dense mass in the depths, and worse, more soulcrafters around it.

"What's your angle?" the Authority asked, with a glance over his shoulder at the battle.

"Tymetron threatens us too." As he spoke, Theo gave a friendly smile and folded his arms behind his back... which he used to begin generating a singularity, now that the man had finished examining him. "Let me prove that you want us as your allies."

"I don't recognize you, or even know what that outsider is. You could be here to steal the deadgold. You could be a new weapon created by Plutalgion, for all we know. Let us examine your soulhome."

"No time!" Krikree floated under her own power, lowering her weapons as she approached. "Examine Krikree!"

"Back!" The man raised his sword nervously, perhaps sensing the lethal potential within Krikree.

Fortunately, at that moment the enemy Stronghold resolved Theo's problem, as he had suspected might happen: the woman in golden armor unleashed a whirlwind that rapidly drew up water, becoming a stormy column that tore through the battlefield toward their group. Finally.

Before it could strike, Theo whipped his hands from behind his back, clasping them together and finishing his singularity. It blazed into being in the path of the whirlwind, apparently lost within the crashing water and cantae... except that the cyclone began to collapse. As it did so, the singularity emerged, a sphere of black rapidly growing larger as the remnants of the battle fell into it.

[Krikree, intercept!] Theo sent the pheromone as he examined the chaotic battlefield.

[Intercept!] She launched herself away, grabbing an Authority from the Gold Wastes who was about to be pulled into the singularity. Her rescue was a bit rough, practically spiking him into the water, but it let her rebound in the other direction, catching another of their allies who would otherwise be consumed.

With the concern of collateral damage neutralized, Theo smiled and continued ramping up the singularity. One of the enemy Authorities had already been pulled in, and he absolutely had the Stronghold's attention now. She scowled at him and raised both hands, one focusing on her cyclone and the other unleashing a bolt of cantae.

Theo bashed the bolt aside with brute force while his other hand maintained the singularity.

They locked eyes, getting a sense for one another's soulhomes. Theo thought his shielding wall would hide enough, but had to assume his opponent would have some knowledge of him after the battle in the Asplundat Movement. Her soulhome used a mix of a standard wall and the thorn-wall that many from Tymetron used, so she might have some unorthodox blueprints. While he had been approaching, he'd watched the enemy Stronghold, noting a tendency toward large techniques like the cyclone. She'd never once worked together with any of the Authorities under her command, so unless she had been holding back a secret, she'd likely fight alone.

Or she'd run. Theo blinked in surprise as the Stronghold called out a retreat and began fleeing the anti-weirkey zone at top speed. She only took the time to throw up a wall of wind behind her, which served to provide some cover for the Authorities who scrambled to follow her.

Suspicious that it might be a trap, Theo remained where he was and simply moved the singularity to the wall, consuming the barrier to reveal the fleeing army. A few of the Authorities from the Gold Wastes tried to chase after the Tymetronese soulcrafters and one was nearly pulled into the singularity, only saved at the last second by Krikree.

Just before disappearing over the horizon, the enemy Stronghold unleashed another attack, a corkscrewing beam that moved at incredible speed... yet it was aimed too low. Going on combat instincts, Theo cast a reversed gravitational field, pulling all the soulcrafters near the water into the air before it could hit.

As the beam evaporated a line of water, Theo realized that it hadn't been aimed at any of the combatants, it had been trying to destroy the point of mass just under the water. So they really had done the smart thing and fled instead of trying to fight him - he was almost disappointed. Theo had run into a few Strongholds from Tymetron who weren't as smart as Jazin and had tried to pit their cantae against his singularity, to disastrous effect.

That left the mass, which Theo had instinctively dropped up toward himself. He neutralized the gravity and found himself looking at a strange lump of dull gold rock... definitely a sublime material, but not so strong that it would automatically merit a battle like this.

Technically that was victory, but Theo realized that it wouldn't be that easy as his eyes left the material. All the soulcrafters from the Gold Wastes were looking at him now, including a very suspicious-looking Stronghold. As if that wasn't enough, the soulcrafters deep within the ocean were moving now, some of them swimming toward the surface with unclear intent.

A fight would have been easy... this had the potential to be much more challenging.

-

Chapter 2

Above the waves, it seemed as though everyone had frozen, but the pause was an illusion. Beyond the preparation of cantae by nervous soulcrafters and the subtle shifting of position, Theo could feel all those points of mass beneath the surface. Were they intending to attack, and if so, what was his best move? He was high above the surface and his singularity was still manifest, so he was safe enough, but if the depths Fithans attacked those from the Gold Wastes, should he step in?

There wasn't much time to analyze it, not facing a Stronghold with so many Authorities as backup. Surely they wouldn't attack, after Theo had won the battle for them and even asked Krikree to keep them alive, but the Fithans looked extremely tense.

"Move away from the deadgold," the Stronghold said. "If you're really here as an ally, we need a show of good faith."

"How about this?" Theo gestured toward the waves. "Do you know there are depths Fithans currently moving toward us?"

The way the Gold Wastes soulcrafters reacted with a mix of flinches and curses was answer enough. Theo heard some of them shouting about betrayal, while at least one yelled "They're stealing the rest!" As for the Stronghold, he braced himself, soulhome channeling cantae in preparation for some technique that Theo couldn't discern at a glance.

While everyone was distracted, Theo broke a fragment of the mass into his soulhome. Given the potential threat, there was no time to think about that.

His singularity was still hovering over the ocean and it would be a simple matter to move it down. Theo began to shift it into the path of the depths Fithans, operating on combat instincts... and then hesitated.

Tactically, that was unquestionably the best move, since he could annihilate most of the attackers before they realized the danger his singularity posed. Yet it was possible to be tactically correct and strategically wrong, and the fact was that he didn't know enough about the current battle. The man he had been when he returned to the Nine Worlds would have taken the most ruthless path and abandoned the consequences behind him, but Theo didn't want to be that man anymore.

As the Fithans broke from the water, unleashing attacks, Theo moved the singularity into the arc of their techniques, absorbing most of the cantae. But before the soulcrafters themselves could be sucked in, he closed his hands and the singularity vanished, leaving the battlefield chaotic with the left-over momentum as all the unnatural mass disappeared.

In the moment, there had been no time for further analysis. In the aftermath, Theo realized that he had made the right decision: the attacks hadn't been lethal, they had been designed to stun or knock away. Similarly, the Stronghold from the Gold Wastes hadn't been preparing a counterattack, just some sort of defensive wall. Both he and the depths Fithans seemed more focused on the dark gold mass that remained beside Theo.

Since the entire battle was apparently over the sublime stone, Theo reached down to the deeper mass and cast another gravitational field, pulling it upward along with many of the Fithans remaining in reserve. Creating a column where the ocean fell skyward produced chaos in the ocean waves, which broke up the remainder of the attack.

"You couldn't resist, could you?" The Stronghold folded his arms and glared down at the depths Fithans... irritated, not furious.

"Hey, the plan was already ruined." There were two fierce-looking Authorities, their horns so similar that they might have been brother and sister, who were leading the depths group. The brother looked around suspiciously while the sister spoke with a shrug. "You can't blame us for trying to get such an enormous mass."

"No, I guess not. But we didn't plan this either, it was really just a coincidence."

Both sides turned to look at Theo, who now understood that he might have gotten in the way of what was intended to be an ambush. He realized that while he didn't know what was going on, he was still the linchpin of the battle, so he could afford to be blunt.

"You're from the ocean cities between the Gold Wastes and Tymetron," Theo guessed as he turned to the Authority siblings. "And you're allied against the empire, I take it. This was an ambush?"

"It was never as planned as all that," the Stronghold from the Gold Wastes said. "There was a battle here, so we went out to scout, and the Tymetronese tried to take us down. Our allies from below were going to provide backup... though it looks like they planned to take all the sublime materials as payment."

"These materials?" Theo's reversed gravity had finally pulled up the larger mass, along with a few stunned Fithans, and he used more precise fields to lift it into the air. Since they were all still suspicious of him, Theo levitated both golden masses to a position above both factions.

[Not take sublime?] Krikree sent from a position just above the waves.

[We might be able to take them,] Theo sent back, [but we need allies more. That fine with you?]

[Recruit dust ants.]

Their pheromones took only fractions of a second to exchange, and meanwhile both sides seemed to have calmed down now that they believed Theo wasn't trying to steal their sublime materials. One of the dust Fithans revealed a broad chariot, which he used as a medical platform for those who had been injured in the attack. Meanwhile the depths Fithans gathered at the surface, easily maintaining position in the waves with a combination of swimming and cantae.

The Stronghold from above and the twins from below both flew to hover opposite Theo... between him and the mass of gold, he couldn't help but notice, but they didn't seem aggressive anymore. Since he had been acting ahead of his military intelligence for long enough, Theo simply folded his arms and waited for them to make the first move.

"We do owe you," the Stronghold eventually said. "We might have been able to win the battle, but Tymetron brought more soulcrafters than we expected, and there would have been heavy losses. This is a much better outcome."

"Unless you're planning to demand payment," the brother said. "What's your angle?"

"I'm from Norron." As he spoke, Theo took care to address both sides. Krikree floated up beside him and crouched in the air, cleaning off her antennae. "You might know that we had a major clash with Tymetron, and we're trying to prepare for the backlash."

"Really, from Norron?" the sister asked. "Since when do they have outsiders like you?"

"Norron might have changed more than you think, but I'm here on behalf of House Blacksilver."

He'd intended just to spread the House's name a little more, but to his surprise both sides nodded in recognition. "I guess I'd believe that about Blacksilver," the Stronghold said. "She's a Slescan, isn't she? Yet it seems like she ascended past the normal limit for her caste."

Krikree's antennae shot up. "You know Slest?"

"Aye, there's a gate to Slest back in my home city." The Stronghold chuckled and shook his head. "Sounds like the two of you would have an interesting story, but we really don't have time. We need to get the deadgold back to safe territory before Tymetron sends any more forces, and to do that, you need to be more forthcoming about your claim."

"Take it," Theo said with a nonchalance he didn't feel - giving up mysterious sublime materials ran against his instincts, as much as it was the strategically correct decision. "What we want is to exchange information and discuss a potential alliance."

"Then we'll split it fairly." The brother Authority muttered something to his sister about making sure they didn't get cheated, then flew to the mass of deadgold. Meanwhile the Stronghold barked a few orders to his own soulcrafters, and they sent a few to negotiate just how the sublime material would be split.

It sounded like the dust Fithans were going to argue that they had done more of the fighting, so they deserved a larger share, while the depths Fithans claimed that they would naturally have gotten more of it if outsiders hadn't intervened. They bickered a little, but the negotiations appeared to be largely friendly as far as Theo could tell.

So these two factions had an unusual sort of alliance: they were both aligned against Tymetron, but they might cheat or steal from one another, yet there would be no hard feelings about that. Compared to the open warfare between land and sea on most parts of Fithe, that was unusually peaceful. An empire like Tymetron distorted everything around it, or maybe it was Plutalgion himself who rallied the world against him.

"I guess it does make sense to talk with your factions." The Stronghold turned back to Theo as the negotiations got underway and gave a thin smile. "We used to think Norron was irrelevant, but then last year... we really bloodied Plutalgion's nose thanks to you."

"That's one of the things I wanted to talk about," Theo said. "We suspected as much, but we could use more exact military intelligence."

"It's unusual, actually." The Authority sister folded her arms and looked away, where Tymetron loomed over the horizon. "Usually someone like Plutalgion can strike and return before anyone's the wiser."

"It sounds like none of us have full information, so why don't we put the story together?"

Once the others nodded, Theo took the first step by explaining how Tymetron had intended to incite conflict, to soften up Norron while also stealing the Asplundatcrest. He was a little vague on the details of the escalation, since he wasn't sure what they would believe: the region around Tymetron had a higher average tier than Norron, but the aeon-class organizations that had gotten involved were higher yet. As he explained how the Tymetronese army got entangled in battle, escalating even to Plutalgion arriving, the Stronghold from the Gold Wastes picked up the story.

"However you did it," the man said, "you had Plutalgion distracted and everyone knew it. Giatrice... you know Giatrice, right?"

"Top soulcrafter in the Gold Wastes," Theo said briefly. "Beyond Dominion."

"Right, right. Well, she weirkeyed over to Tymetron and assaulted one of their fortresses, including slaying one of their Dominions. Tymetron may be powerful, but they can't afford to lose Dominions like that, so it was a serious blow."

"Exactly how many soulcrafters does Tymetron have at Dominion and above?"

The Stronghold regarded him with narrow eyes, then shook his head. "If you don't know, I guess that's key military intelligence I shouldn't hand over. Though truth be told, I'm not sure either. They like to pretend they have endless armies, so they keep their exact numbers unclear."

Theo made himself smile blandly. "Something to exchange in a future negotiation, then."

"Heh, maybe."

"Anyway, after that the story goes below." It was the female Authority picking up the story this time, explaining undersea politics with abstract waving motions. "Tymetron was off-balance, so we decided to launch a raid to steal back a lot of our prisoners of war. It seemed to work until we rescued them, but we didn't expect Plutalgion himself to come and try to crush us before we could retreat. Guess he had to throw his weight around, after losing one of his fortresses."

"Heh, so that's what it was about." The Stronghold chuckled as if he was finally putting something together. "That attack forced Giatrice to move before she was ready, but she must have decided that it was worth the risk, because she went to intercept. She and Plutalgion fought again over the ocean, letting your forces get away."

"Leading to this battle," the sister concluded. "We know we owe you for the chance, so we wouldn't have taken everything, but you can't blame us for wanting a cache of deadgold like this."

"Entirely understandable. Everybody's on edge, with Plutalgion this active."

They spoke as if the chain of logic was entirely obvious, leaving Theo as the only one who didn't fully understand. Based on what they'd said, he surmised that the battle between aeon-class soulcrafters had somehow led to the deadgold mass at this location. He set aside the question of why that would happen, because after that the political calculus made sense. The depths and dust Fithans had a rough alliance, jostling against one another as they tried to stay ahead of the Tymetronese empire.

"You might get another chance," Theo told both sides. "I can't get into all the details, but it seems likely that Tymetron will be attacking us again. If we can arrange for you to hit back, that will help all of us. Even basic communication about attack timing could be crucial."

"Aye, not a bad thought." The Stronghold scratched at his beard as if considering. "Don't suppose you want to come back to the Gold Wastes now and talk it over?"

"I didn't plan to get involved here, so I'm a bit overextended. Why don't we arrange a meeting with both sides, and you can invite anyone else aligned against Tymetron? It would be nice to meet Giatrice and see if we can't coordinate."

Both the Fithans had been positive up to that point, but now Theo realized that he had overplayed his hand: even a Stronghold didn't simply discuss meeting with Giatrice. She was aeon-class in a region where only some understood that soulcrafting went beyond Dominion, so that was simply beyond the pale. It hadn't ruined his chances, by any means, but Theo saw that they thought he was reaching.

"We need to get diplomats involved," the sister said with a shrug. "I agree we should arrange something, but it won't be soulcrafters deciding the terms."

"Agreed. We'll arrange negotiations, then contact Norron." The Stronghold started to move away, but Theo extended a hand to interrupt him; if he was already ahead of himself, he might as well push for more information.

"What exactly is deadgold?" he asked.

"You were really telling the truth about not knowing?" The Stronghold turned back to look at him with an unreadable expression. "Then it's not my place to explain. Suffice it to say... if Tymetron is really sending their strongest soulcrafters to war, it's one of the only shields we have. Everybody is going to be fighting over it in the months to come."

There would be no more answers, and it seemed that was the end of negotiations. Theo hovered near the Fithans for a while longer, just in case Tymetron returned with a vengeance, but nothing disrupted the proceedings - in fact, the Fithans seemed almost jovial as they hacked apart the sublime material. In the end they split the deadgold about sixty-forty in favor of the Gold Wastes, then they separated with promises of future meetings.

Once he was alone, Theo quietly pressed his hands together. His singularity, which had been tunneled into the clouds overhead instead of dispersed, finally returned to his soulhome. He'd been putting forward a friendly face, but there was no sense being incautious.

In the silence, Krikree hovered up beside him, still crouched mid-air. "Make deal between ants and beetles?"

"Sounds like it," Theo agreed. "But it will take some time for those meetings to be arranged, so we need to use it well. It's finally time for those gifts."

"Go see Nauda-queen?"

"That's right. I don't know about this deadgold material, but this is one of the best things we can do to prepare for war."

-

Chapter 3

"One brick at a time," Nauda told the group. "I'm not saying it will be easy, I'm not saying your soulhome will be the way it was before, but you can make one more brick. There will be other times to worry about your overall blueprint: what matters now is the next brick."

Just speaking simple words shouldn't have mattered, yet as Nauda looked over the group of soulcrafters, she saw the effects. They refused to give in to despair and instead focused on their soulcrafting, doing what they could to repair their soulhomes. Nauda moved among them, offering suggestions to those who really had obstacles to their work.

All of the fighting had led to increasing numbers of damaged soulhomes in unprepared soulcrafters, and House Blacksilver was growing from soulcrafters who felt they had nowhere else to turn. Even though Nauda could probably have given a military justification for focusing on herself, she felt a debt to House Blacksilver, so she helped out with the rehabilitation whenever she needed a break. She knew that to some of them, she was herself a symbol of recovery, which she would use to her advantage even if she wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

There were more Asplundats among the group than she would have expected, and a few from the Wavefront, both drawn in by Blacksilver's outreach efforts. The Wavefront simply had particularly rough conditions, but Nauda didn't like how many from the Asplundat Movement seemed unprepared. Sometimes their ideals seemed to work out... and other times it felt like they were throwing unprepared soulcrafters into the war as fodder.

At the end of the room, she spotted Grekig helping a young soulcrafter rebuild a collapsed shielding wall. The Blacksilver Authority was dressed as immaculately as always, robes drawn up even more grandly than she remembered, and really was good at teaching. When she passed, Grekig followed to meet her by the door, away from the students.

"Thank you again for your assistance," Grekig told her, smoothing down one of his mustaches. "So many of them need motivation more than instruction."

"Not a problem," Nauda answered. "Let me know whenever I can lend a hand."

They went silent, their history unspoken between them as the gap seemed to yawn wider. Technically they were both Authorities, but there was no comparison between their positions in Blacksilver: Grekig was barely beyond Ruler after a mangled ascension, whereas everyone knew that Nauda was on her way to becoming a power of the House.

"I... wanted to inquire about the sublime material you used to repair cracks," Grekig asked stiffly. That must have cost him, so Nauda made sure to smile casually, as if it was nothing.

"I was fortunate to find something called elationmortar," Nauda told him. "I don't have the base material anymore, but it was actually produced by one of our Arbaian allies... are you familiar with Navim? He's living in the Blacksilver facilities in the Arbaian quarter."

"This is... some manner of material that can repair such damage?"

"It was what I needed, anyway. You'll need to diagnose the exact sublime materials that you need, and you'd be better at that than I am."

"I see. Thank you."

That wasn't necessarily true, but Nauda figured she would leave the man his pride. She nodded respectfully as she passed on her way out, leaving the house of rehabilitation to find a less occupied Blacksilver facility. She didn't know if Grekig had a chance of actually repairing all the damage to his soulhome, but changing his defeatist attitude was the first step.

As the streets of Norro Yorthin whirled around her, Nauda drew energy from the surprisingly diverse crowds. It had grown wilder, so even though House Blacksilver was becoming an institution, it felt like there were more houses and factions than ever before. Last time she'd had dinner with Antha, there had been discussion of actually building another ring to the city, the problem was something to do with rebuilding the whirlwind defense overhead.

None of that particularly mattered to her, that day, because Nauda was ready to focus on herself. With Fiyu on her own journey and Theo bouncing around the Nine Worlds, she was mostly occupied with her own soulcrafting. When Nauda arrived at a Blacksilver soulcrafting complex, she was waved in without the need for identification and took an empty courtyard.

Once there, she sat down and slipped into her soulhome. Sometimes she was still surprised by the sight of it, her walls and central structure towering so high. Not only had she doubly-reinforced the roof of her Authority floor, she had fully built her pyramid to prepare for ascension.

That made her feel like a fraud, even though no one could see past her shielding wall anyway, because she wasn't actually ready. Her Authority floor was far more developed than it had been last year, but it was still lacking key materials. The lesson she'd taught to the other soulcrafters was useless for her, because there were no more bricks to soulcraft... Nauda forced herself to embrace the spirit of the rule and entered her soulhome anyway.

Her staff tower was the closest to complete: she'd soulcrafted all her temporary materials into proper supports. Two of the three chambers were filled with wardsilver and wardplate, she just needed a third central material to match them. Nauda checked over her work there, then stepped across her walkways to the core tower that represented her body.

The omphalos in the center was working perfectly, filling the chamber with raw potency that fueled her stomping technique, but the life and death chambers to either side remained unfilled. She had excellent materials, like the felinesolar and ghostworm fangs, but with such large chambers she needed more cantae. That was what was holding her back, and despite all her soulcrafting over the previous months, she still felt far from her goals.

Nauda sat down and began to work with the materials she had, filling out the chambers a little more. Just when she was starting to grow frustrated, she felt a familiar presence overhead. Nauda emerged from her soulhome in time to see Theo and Krikree drop into the courtyard. Theo approached her with a smile while Krikree skittered with manic energy in a zigzagging pattern behind him.

"How are things going in Norro Yorthin?" Theo asked.

"The soulcrafting is fine," Nauda said, "but I'm a bit lost in the crowd. You want to visit the State of Rest sometime?"

"I do, but I want to bring Fiyu with us."

"Wait, are you going to get her? Are you saying it's time?"

"Yes, I think it is." Theo sat down opposite her and pulled a dark piece of bone from his own soulhome. "I don't know if this will work for you, but this is the best I can do for now."

"This is amazing."

Nauda took the bones gently and ran her fingers over the glassy surface appreciatively. She had helped House Blacksilver slay a sublime beast that had been attacking their allies, and its bones had proved a powerful material, but their death energy was strangely incompatible with her body. Somehow Theo had reforged the bones into the shape of human hips, as well as given them a great deal of weight from his own powers.

"I can use this," Nauda said with a smile. "Just how long did this take you?"

"Ugh, too long." Theo folded his arms and frowned as if he hadn't just pulled off a miracle. "I still have a lot to learn when it comes to crafting materials. These were already 'death bones' so it's absurd that it took me so much time to make them compatible."

"No, this is remarkable. Thank you."

"Krikree too!" The Slescan suddenly stopped her skittering and rushed forward, shoving some sort of dull gemstone in her face. Nauda had to lean back and intercept it so that the stone wouldn't go directly into her mouth. "This wardstone! Authority-tier sublime material! Gift for Nauda-queen!"

"Wait, this is... perfect for my staff tower." Nauda stared over the dully glistening stone, then looked up at them with an uncomfortable smile. "This doesn't feel right. I'm just sitting here while you bring me materials for soulcrafting..."

"Nauda-queen is good queen. Feed lots. Make bigger." Having pronounced her unchangeable opinion, Krikree sat back and began cleaning her antennae. It seemed like all her energy had been dedicated to giving the gift, because she had calmed down now.

"You set aside your own soulcrafting to help Fiyu and me ascend," Theo said gently. "It's only right that we repay you for that now. Besides, we have even more reason to want you at Stronghold than before."

That sounded like it had a story behind it, especially since Theo had just been to the Gold Wastes to spy on Tymetron. She wanted to ask him all about it, but she also didn't want to slow him from going to get Fiyu. Even after a short time apart - at least by Ichili standards - Nauda missed her fiercely.

"I'll work on both of these materials," Nauda told them with a grateful smile. "What happens next for the two of you?"

"I've confirmed that the situation in the Gold Wastes is stable," Theo explained, "and they're providing a counterweight to Plutalgion. But Tymetron has a lot more soulcrafters than anyone else, so I'm confident that his armies will be undermining us elsewhere. The empire might have a lot of problems, but one thing it doesn't care about is the difference between dust and depths Fithans."

"Oh, you think he might have allies or vassals under the ocean?" Nauda's eyes widened as she considered it for the first time, since it was so easy to forget about the ocean civilizations in the middle of the continent. "Yeah, that could be a problem. What can we really do, though?"

"Krikree scouts Wavefront!" Krikree's antennae shot upright again. "Discuss with Theo-sister. Water Fithans hate land Fithans, but not hate Krikree. Can open negotiations. But wanted to give Nauda-queen gift first."

"That's right." Theo scratched around the base of Krikree's antennae without seeming to be aware of it. "Most are focused on soulcrafting, but political alliances could be more important than raw strength. That's one thing I disagree with House Blacksilver about: even if the entire continent is allied, we can't fight Tymetron. We need more Dominions, and especially aeon-class allies."

"Surely even you can't think we'll reach the aeon tiers in time for the war," Nauda said, "so does that mean we're seeking others? You think Emperor Dave or one of the big organizations will fight for us?"

"Hey, don't count us out. If we can keep the war at a low level for long enough..." Theo grinned with a flash of his old confidence, then shook his head. "I think the chance of any given aeon-class soulcrafter helping us is very low, so we need to try everything and play the odds. Right now, Plutalgion and his armies are limited, so now is the time to search and take risks. If they return for a full invasion, we won't have a chance."

They chatted about various potentials, as well as places across the Nine Worlds where they needed to return. Nauda was in particular looking forward to returning to Ugustial on Noven, even if she wasn't ready for the statue being crafted for her, yet restrained herself. It was too early for her to be planning such things, not at her current tier.

It seemed that Krikree was lingering because she insisted on seeing Nauda soulcraft the wardstone. Nauda began working on the exterior, carving away the rough to get to the powerful core in the middle, and that seemed to appease her. After Krikree said her farewells to "Theo-sister" she went off to find one of the new Blacksilver Authorities to ferry her to the Wavefront to begin scouting ahead of them.

Once again, Nauda reflected that there were distinctly different classes of Authority. Even though House Blacksilver now had numerous Authorities, Krikree was treated differently because she clearly wasn't some faction leader who had reached her peak.

That left just the two of them, and Theo's expression grew somber as he rose to his feet. They'd managed to make him relax for a brief time focused on soulcrafting, but now the burdens of all the politics and war that Nauda was ignoring settled back on him.

"There's too much," Theo told her quietly. "Too many fronts to the war, too many potential leads, too many threats. I need you with us."

"I'm coming," Nauda answered as firmly as she could. She got to her feet and clasped his arm, and was glad to feel the strength in his grip when he clasped back.

Then he shot into the sky, leaving the courtyard and vanishing soon after. He would be going to retrieve Fiyu, but Nauda refused to let herself be distracted by thoughts of that, not when she had so much work to do. Theo's statement hadn't been intended as a reprimand - she trusted him enough to believe that now - but it did remind her that she had essential soulcrafting to do.

For them to have a chance, Nauda needed to join her friends at Stronghold. They had dedicated time to finding materials for her and she needed to be worthy of those gifts, so she dedicated herself to soulcrafting the new materials.

-

Chapter 4

Even though Theo had implied that he was going to meet Fiyu, because he knew that would encourage Nauda, he didn't intend to go to Ichil right away. That could end up consuming a lot of time, and even after he saw Krikree off, there was one more thing he needed to do in Norro Yorthin.

Once the Arbaian quarter of the city had been mostly occupied by organizations from the other side, but as House Blacksilver had expanded, it built institutions within that section as well. Their buildings were carefully constructed domes like all the others, simply flying Blacksilver colors, or in one notable case built from black and silver marble. Theo noted this with satisfaction, since he hadn't been involved with any of that, it had simply been done by the House's Arbaian partners.

His business, however, was with one Arbaian in particular. Theo floated down to the plaza outside the building, then nodded to the guards as he passed inside - familiar shapes, but not well-known to him. Down one hallway, then the second door on the left, where Navim conducted his work.

"Welcome, thou of many names," Navim said without looking up from his laboratory table. "Does it grow difficult keeping them straight?"

"Not really, but based on the reputation I'm getting, pseudonyms may be outliving their usefulness." Theo leaned on the table to look over the experimental lenses as he spoke. "I have something that needs your expertise."

"What is it?" Navim pulled back, retracting a limb that carried a number of panes of glass and turning his sapphire-studded core to him.

"Do you want all the information I have, or do you want to go in tabula rasa?

"Perhaps we should begin with the latter."

Theo withdrew the fragment of deadgold from his soulhome and set it down on an unused part of the table. Other than checking it for any potential traps or dangers on the way, he hadn't really had time to uncover anything in particular about it. Navim used a heavier limb with surprising delicacy to place the lump of metal onto a silver plate and then began to examine it.

"I will be conducting a number of basic assessments," Navim said without raising his sphere. "My mind would hardly be taxed by speaking while I do so."

"That's good, but the only abstract issues I have will be related to that material." Theo shifted to sit against the table instead of leaning and folded his arms. "Have you given thought to how long you want to stay in Norro Yorthin? Not that I don't like having you here, especially because we still don't have an Arbaian weirkey, but given how the war is heating up, I would understand if you were cautious."

"Do you think Norro Yorthin is particularly likely to be attacked?"

"It's far from our traditional enemies, but if Plutalgion ever identifies Blacksilver as the enemy and tries for a decapitation strike..."

"That is plausible, but such threats are true of nearly anywhere, given the existence of weirkeys. There is an Arbaian fable about a scholar so paranoid that he built a fortress of anti-weirkey stone and, to sum up a somewhat repetitive tale, it is this extraordinary effort that draws attention and destroys him in the end."

"I think House Blacksilver will be glad to have you here, so I'll see if they can't invest some more in defenses." Theo glanced over at the Mundhin, considering both body and soulhome. "What do you need to ascend to Authority? I'd feel a lot more comfortable with you in the second class of tiers."

"Did you ever determine a universal nomenclature for that?" This, more than any of the potential threats, was enough to make Navim shift his sphere away from his analysis.

"Some people divide the tiers into threes: soulcrafter-class at first, host-class starting at Authority, then aeon-class starting at Ophaon. The problem is, this isn't close to universal, and since most regions don't know about anything beyond Dominion, you'll just confuse them throwing out terms like host-class. It makes sense to have a term, though, because the difference in cantae is so palpable."

"Hmm, intriguing. I will have to consult Arbaian sources when I have an opportunity. However, as it happens my own ascension is not in need of guidance, and only requires a small amount of charity. What limits me are my own exacting specifications."

Theo chuckled and nodded. "I had a bit of a problem with that myself, before Authority. What is it, maybe deciding on your final body layout?"

"Indeed, that is part of it. You may have some flexibility in your plans, since you will have another major ascension, but that seems exceedingly improbable for me. For that reason, I want to have all my blueprints finalized before taking this step. But if I develop a new tool, that requires new soulcrafting, which requires remodeling..."

"And you want all of this to be stabilized by the ascension. I get it."

"I am not, however, so far from my goals." Navim tapped one limb against his central gem sphere. "I have a plan that I think will appeal to both your sense of balance and your ambitions. I intend to remodel my core, and I would like a formation that includes a sapphire from every world."

"Nine perfect sublime sapphires." Theo whistled as he considered it. "You're right, I really like the symmetry of that. I couldn't even begin to advise you about the Arbaian elements, but could you use more sapphires?"

"That is indeed what I was working my way toward asking. I have already acquired several, but a number of worlds still elude me..."

They spoke about Navim's plans for a little while longer, and Theo added one more item to his list. He was already too busy, but he didn't mind this errand at all, and in fact would have been glad to ditch certain Blacksilver obligations for a sapphire hunt; his role as a blueprint adviser was useful to the House, but only some of the soulcrafters sent to him had the ambition to actually be interesting.

In any case, they couldn't talk for long before Navim pulled his tools away from the golden lump and then settled back, drawing all his limbs closer to the center of his body. Even if Theo hadn't been familiar with Arbaian body language, it couldn't have been clearer that the tests had been completed.

"I would not venture to name it," Navim said, "but chemically this is similar to gold, so it can be termed a sublime gold at minimum."

"What about 'deadgold'?"

"Hmm, it is not particularly aspected to death, which suggests theories I will not hazard aloud just yet. To give another evaluation, it is roughly Authority-tier, though it does not generate enough cantae to be a central material. However, its reinforcing properties, though unusual, are potent enough that it could potentially be of use even to Strongholds as a secondary material."

Theo flicked a finger and lifted the gold into the air to examine it himself. "What do you mean by unusual?"

"Further analysis, and implementation in a soulhome, would be required to answer that question." Navim shook his central sphere, clearly an imitation of a humanoid gesture. "There I fear I have bad news, because this sublime material will be compressed a great deal when it enters a soulhome. This small quantity would be rendered nearly unusable within a soulhome."

Exactly how sublime materials shifted from physical world to soulhome depended on spiritual properties that required a specialist, so Theo assumed that Navim was correct. It didn't surprise him, because he'd carried the compressed stone in his soulhome, and the mass retrieved from the ocean had been so huge that he wondered how valuable the material could be. Based on the notation Navim was now writing out, the materials had a minimum viable size, so even a piece like that would only equip a few soulcrafters.

Equip for what remained an open question.

"Well, I wouldn't advise trying to soulcraft with it anyway," Theo told him. "This has something to do with Tymetron, and it's highly valued by the Gold Wastes and other factions that fight the empire. The fact that it has potential to defend, however, does not render it safe."

"Indeed, it could be the opposite," Navim pointed out. "Just as the dose can make the poison, or antidote and venom can be closely related, the defensive value of this sublime material could hold dangers as well."

"Glad we're on the same page. I'm going to investigate more, and hopefully get some actual answers about how they use it. Keep this piece and see if it has any value for armament construction. The others have a lot more experience with the material, but it could be that they could use an outside perspective."

"It will be a fascinating project."

"Good." Theo pushed himself upright and nodded to Navim. "I'll be back to talk, and it won't be weeks this time, I promise. But there are so many things they need me to do..."

"Indeed, your schedule could be viewed as an object lesson in the dangers of becoming too important."

Theo chuckled and headed out. If he stayed around too long, he might be waylaid by House Blacksilver, and he still had a stop to make.

~

After the chaos surrounding the mountain and the Asplundatcrest, Homez would have been more than happy to never have so much excitement in his life again. Unfortunately, it had rapidly become clear that the jar of sand was well and truly broken, because Tymetron was not going to return to making threats from afar. Even if they didn't invade with full armies again, this was war.

Sometimes war meant doing battle against other Authorities, and sometimes it meant that Homez needed to go meet with the great councils. Those clashes could be both more dangerous and more meaningful to the overall war effort.

At the moment he sat outside the grand council chamber, just like any other citizen. Its entrance faced the Movement Fountain, one of the few extraordinary expenses across the Asplundat Movement. Though strictly speaking it was an unnecessary luxury, the massive collection of pools and fountains was meant to be a symbol of the entire nation. Unlike luxuries in so many places, it was open to all, so he saw children and sometimes even entire families playing in the water.

As he watched, Homez smiled wistfully. He still loved the Asplundat Movement, even knowing its flaws, even after spending time touring the Ruling Cities. Despite all the arguments about politics, he truly believed that the Movement had something to offer Fithe. They couldn't let everything they had built be crushed by Tymetron. And they couldn't let those pressures bring out the worst of the Movement again...

Before he could be called in, Homez was interrupted by a surprise guest: Theo dropped out of the sky, neutralizing his fall with his characteristic cantae-free flight method so that he landed lightly. As usual, he was looking sharp in that white coat, though his gaze was even more intense than normal.

"Homez," Theo said with a nod. "Have a moment?"

"I do unless the council calls me in." Homez glanced toward the doors as he stood up, then smiled at Theo. "Until then, I'm just waiting. What is it?"

"I need to ask you a question with potential national security implications, and I don't have time to play games about-"

"We're on the same page there, we can't afford to worry about that. What is it?"

"Have you heard of a sublime material called deadgold?"

"You're right, that does have security implications." Homez sighed as he realized he was going to bend the rules again. "The Asplundat Movement first heard the term five months ago, during a failed effort to negotiate with the depths Fithans off our northern coast. They would have been willing to form an alliance in exchange for some of this material, and though our negotiators tried to bluff, they seemed to view our ignorance as a mark against us."

"That's more or less what I surmised." Theo folded his arms and scowled in the same movement, as if his entire body was winding up like a spring. "They talk about it at the Gold Wastes too. I think we need to figure out how it works and get our hands on some before the war gets worse."

"How much do you know?"

"Well, it seems like it might be tied to Tymetron taking military action, but I don't think we got any after the battle last year. There are still more unknowns than I'd like."

"Could it be related to the golden seals placed on Tymetronese slaves and soldiers?" Homez asked. He'd started the sentence uncertain, but Theo was nodding almost immediately as if he'd thought the same thing, and that stern approval could be strangely heartening. "We still don't have a good example of how it affects the soulhome, but we know they place a material to bind them in some way."

"I had exactly the same thought," Theo agreed. "Maybe deadgold is just a way to render someone incapable of being bound by Plutalgion, though that wouldn't justify so much effort being put into acquiring it. My operating theory is that the same power that binds can be weaponized in the other direction, but that's pure speculation. We don't know that the two types of sublime gold are even slightly connected."

"As it happens, I was about to petition the councils that we need to be doing more of this sort of research. If I discover anything, I'll share it if possible."

"Thanks, Homez. Knew I could count on you." Theo gripped his shoulder and started to move away, as if he really had no more time.

"How does the war look to you?" Homez asked, a little desperately. "I know that no one can see the full scope of it, but I only know about the raids on the Movement."

"Truth be told, I'm afraid that Plutalgion is gearing up for another attack. I just confirmed that his enemies punished him for his attack here, but that's because he left the empire open. If he mobilizes his forces, he might be able to safely attack, and if he does, we don't have anyone who can equal him."

"Then how much time do we have? I fear the councils are assuming we have years to soulcraft and prepare."

"The Ruling Cities are thinking the same way." Theo shook his head. "I don't think they're entirely wrong: Tymetron isn't strong enough for a full scale invasion. If we can stop the next attack, we can buy ourselves a lot more time. The problem is figuring out what it is, and making sure the blow isn't mortal."

"Any chance they'll decide it isn't worth it and abandon the war?"

Theo chuckled mirthlessly as if that was an absurdity. Homez had actually been a bit hopeful, even if he hadn't really expected that to be possible. Surely, even by the logic of empire, it couldn't be worth it to keep attacking a far-off land that offered resistance and few worthwhile sublime materials.

Unfortunately, his life up to that point had made clear to him that most others didn't share that gentle logic.

"We'll keep in touch," Theo promised as he moved away. "I've finished most of my obligations to House Blacksilver, and we're gearing up to take action. I'm not sure what form that will take, but you could be a part of that. Especially if we can learn more."

"I'll do what I can." Homez smiled at him one more time and then watched the sky even after the strange outsider had become a dwindling speck.

Did that meeting change anything about his plans? Homez realized that it did, even if he was still going to meet the council for the same reason as that morning. The need to take aggressive action had become more urgent, and his plans no longer seemed so reckless. If the Asplundat Movement was making itself vulnerable, Homez would gladly throw his body in front of the weak point.

Finally he was summoned to meet with the council. Of course every citizen had the right to speak with those who guided them, but simple efficiency meant that average farmers couldn't complain to the highest councils about trivial problems. It still felt strange to Homez that he was allowed directly in to meet with the great council, and even recognized many of them by mask, if not by name.

"What is it, Homez?" one of them asked. "We respect you, but we must prepare for war."

"War is the reason that brings me here," Homez said, as he had planned. "I am here to speak on behalf of a plan that others have brought before you: the Movement needs a second champion. Citizen Dominion has led us ably, but the Ruling Cities have two Dominions now, and the enemy has more."

"We have already investigated that matter," another council member said. "The Ichili is an outsider, not ultimately loyal to the Ruling Cities."

"Yes, but they are attempting to raise more Dominions as well. We risk being swept aside as a second-rate power if we do n-"

"No, you listen. Do you think we're sitting on an endless reserve of sublime materials that could elevate someone to Dominion? We would better defend the Movement if we could, but as things stand, it would be a great expenditure that would fracture unity, bankrupt us, and potentially not even result in a sufficient Dominion."

That had been an objection Homez expected, since his allies had reported the same. On a whim, Homez threw out his planned arguments and took a new tack. "As it happens," he said carefully, "I have just spoken to a contact from the Ruling Cities who has shared their newest military intelligence with us. The sublime material called deadgold? It is a weapon that can be used against Tymetron, if only we can discover the methods of soulcrafting. If we work together with the Ruling Cities..."

"But the risk..." It was one of the older council members, scratching a balding head above his mask. "We have always had one Dominion. To try to share power between two risks creating a ruling class, just like our enemies. You know the truthwatchers are already unhappy with our concessions to-"

"That is where the deadgold comes in. We aren't creating a second Citizen Dominion, only raising up a servant to defend us against this threat."

"What do you mean?"

Their eyes were all on him now, so Homez drew himself up and pretended that he'd planned all this. Actually, the pieces of old and new plans connected well enough... "We propose creating a new position called the Sword of Asplundat. A soulcrafter who will dedicate their soulhome specifically to battling Tymetron. Deadgold can be the centerpiece of that, and if they use a blueprint that will be of less use against the Ruling Cities, they will be less likely to see it as an escalation."

"And who would be this Sword?" someone demanded from the side. "You?"

"I am a mere Authority, I could never be elevated to Dominion so quickly. No, my greatest hope is merely to serve the Movement in creating a new position that can defend us all."

"You aren't the first to offer such a proposal," the central council member said. "But it still rests on the assumption that we can create a Sword of Asplundat. We don't know enough about our enemy, much less this sublime material. War is not the time for experimentation."

"Maybe it is." Homez took a deep breath and prepared to bring up the other topic, the one that he hadn't breathed a word of to Theo. "As you wisely said, there is too much we do not know about our enemy. There is no way to learn more without taking a dire risk, and I would like to offer up my self for that risk..."

-

Chapter 5

For the first time in her life, Fiyu was somewhat discontent to be on Ichil.

Oh, certainly it was more pleasant here, surrounded by absolute darkness and familiar dangers, than on the blinding hellscapes of most worlds. But after traveling for so long, Fiyu missed Friend Nauda's presence. Beyond that expected absence, she could not help but think of Fithe and its terrible problems. It was possible that, in her absence, Plutalgion and the empire of Tymetron were destroying all of her allies.

As she could not do anything for them now, it was all the more important that she was dutiful in her work. Reaching Stronghold had made her a potent force in the previous battle, but the scale of the conflict was expanding much faster than she could ascend. She needed to continue developing her soulhome in order to have a chance of remaining relevant.

At the moment she knelt alone in a field of grass, apparently passive and still, despite the fact that she was preparing for the war. This was a challenge of perception, not might - oh, the field did contain bladeflowers and acidpits, but those were not major threats to an experienced traveler, much less one at Stronghold. What was truly difficult was not leaving the field intact, but leaving it with anything of value.

Focusing on her Corporeal Floor, Fiyu stilled herself until she reached a state of quasi-hibernation, little of her body functioning except for her senses. She needed to maintain a challenging balance: magnifying her power to the highest levels of precision, yet using it so gently that her senses barely brushed the grass.

If she pushed too forcefully, the fragile flickerflowers growing within the field would be crushed instantly. Even the ordinary flowers were delicate, and the more potent they were as a sublime material, perversely the weaker they became in the real world. A flower that she could use in her current state would be so fragile that it could be destroyed by a breath, so ethereal that all but the sharpest senses wouldn't even realize it existed before it was gone.

As her senses spread out, Fiyu adjusted first to the Ruler-tier flickerflowers, making sure that she could observe their every detail without damaging them. She ceased breathing and pushed further, searching out more powerful examples. At first she thought that she was failing, then she discovered one: Authority-tier flickerflowers were simply so rare that she hadn't run into one before.

Fiyu rose into the air and floated as subtly as possible to the flower, then finally took a breath. Just a shallow one, to sustain herself before she made the attempt. In a single motion using her full speed, she reached down, grasping the flower with her spiritual strength and pulling it into her soulhome before it could be destroyed.

Thankfully, she managed it: Relative Guchiro had coached her well. This flickerflower was not strong enough for Fiyu, and it was far too flimsy to be suited to Friend Nauda's soulhome, yet it was too valuable to ignore. If there did come a day when she had an opportunity to use it, the flickerflower could be an excellent gift to an Authority.

It was said that more powerful flowers could not grow close together, since they would destroy one another, so Fiyu moved deeper into the field before beginning her search again. The second search took almost as long, then the third went faster as she began to adjust: Fiyu now had three Authority-tier flowers in her home, a strong result except for the fact that it still did her no good. Nothing but practice for her true search.

Alighting on a hill, Fiyu settled down and attempted to still herself even more than before. She became nothing but her senses, a shadow on the wind that stretched throughout the completely desolate landscape. For a time she felt as though it was hopeless, so she stilled the part of herself that analyzed and stretched thinner.

Until at last she found it: a Stronghold-tier flickerflower.

She almost didn't dare to move, since even her lightest senses threatened to destroy the material. Fiyu took some time to collect herself, then gathered her robes around herself so that they couldn't even flutter unnecessarily. Finally she floated toward the flower as a frozen body, a levitating sarcophagus.

When she arrived, she feared that even her presence might destroy it. Fiyu would once have hesitated and potentially lost her target, but she reacted instantly, grasping the flickerflower and drawing it into her soulhome.

In her rush she entered as well, finding herself on the ground of her soulhome. The flickerflower in her hand trembled, but aside from damage to the stem, it had survived intact. Fiyu allowed herself to breathe again and carefully took the flower to her storage chamber to place it in the glass case she had prepared for this purpose. Though the flickerflower was not so brittle within a soul, it still required careful handling to use its full strength.

Even though not a single technique had been used, Fiyu found herself surprisingly drained. She looked at the flickerflower in satisfaction once more, then left her soulhome and flew back to the camp. Her weariness made her want to fly low to the ground, but she forced herself to the clouds so that she would not damage the fields for future soulcrafters who might seek flickerflowers within them as well.

At her new speeds, it did not take her long to reach their camp alongside the ocean shore. It was thoroughly obscured, yet she still felt as though she could sense the light within: they had two tents, each of which contained shocking lanterns. Even though the canvas was carefully designed to contain any light, her mind still conjured a malignant glow.

Light or no light, when Fiyu passed through their defenses and landed in camp, she was able to relax to some extent. She eased further when she confirmed that everyone in camp was intact and unharmed; the tent canvas was a sublime material designed to resist senses, but at Stronghold she could easily feel within.

The larger of the tents currently contained Relative Guchiro, who sat with legs crossed for meditation, and Associate Senka, who hovered lazily nearby. She could feel the muscles of their jaws working, but the tents muffled all sound. Technically there was no need to do anything but confirm their presence, yet Fiyu found herself uncharacteristically desirous of company. As if, after pushing herself so close to non-existence, she needed to be reminded that she was a living being.

She opened the flap of the outer chamber and made sure to seal it completely behind her. In the small bundle of deeper darkness, she could be reassured that the light was not truly visible, even if she still sensed it in the main tent beyond. By the time Fiyu stepped through into the lit interior, the other two were waiting for her.

"Success?" Relative Guchiro asked.

"Yes, I have a sufficient flickerflower." Fiyu smiled proudly.

"That's sporping great," Associate Senka said with false good cheer. "That means we can go now, right? I'm telling you, I'm certain that we can find an entrance to a river on Siata."

"It would not be wise to go on such an open-ended journey when time is so short," Relative Guchiro answered flatly.

"Aww, come on, don't give me that. Plutalgion has been sitting on his fumpet for months, he'll probably stay there."

"We do not know that. Our allies could currently be under attack in Norron, and even without a crisis, my absence can only be explained away so long."

"Yeah, but you were the one who wanted to leave. You begged me to reveal the secrets of the universe, I remember you getting on your knees and saying exactly that."

"Your memory may be in error."

Fiyu smiled to hear the two of them, even if their conversation was inane. Associate Senka had agreed to offer what mangled guidance she could to Relative Guchiro, as he was now facing a challenge beyond everything he had prepared for. He and his allies had paved a road to Dominion, hoping to launch themselves beyond, but now he had reached the end of that road.

What exactly Associate Senka would get in return for her help remained unspoken, at least within Fiyu's presence. It seemed plausible that she wanted Relative Guchiro's expertise to find more of her rivers, as she had implied, though Fiyu was skeptical that it would be only that.

"We cannot leave yet, Senka," Fiyu interjected when the two of them paused. "We have yet to venture far underwater."

"Under that water?" Senka looked toward the ocean as if she had advanced senses of her own. "No thanks. I don't want to swim in pitch darkness until big invisible jaws eat me."

"That is why it is important to be alert."

While they spoke, Relative Guchiro glanced to her in a silent question, but Fiyu only shook her head. Neither of them had received any communication, either directly or via the rare inter-world communications devices they both carried. As far as they knew, to a rough approximation, they still had time to prepare.

After enjoying the company for a time and restoring herself, Fiyu departed and repeated the careful exterior chamber process to enter her own tent. Currently it was occupied by Associate Janne, whose muscles were slightly tensed as if she was currently soulcrafting. She actually wasn't aware of Fiyu until she arrived: the Fithan woman had come along for training, not to develop an additional sense.

"Oh, Fiyu..." Associate Janne peered at her as if the light was too low, which perhaps it was for others. "I wanted to ask you about some of these materials. I think I understand their physical properties, but the problem is that my intuitions here are a little wrong. I'm afraid they'll crumple up and die in light."

"I will assist you, Janne," Fiyu said as she sat down. "But first, I would like to show you one of the things I found. The flickerflower is extremely delicate, but I believe it might be able to survive in one of your mist-filled chambers."

They worked together for a time, and after Associate Janne accidentally crushed one of the Ruler-tier flickerflowers, she managed to get the hang of it. Fiyu was even more careful delivering her one of the three Authority-tier flowers, which Associate Janne took with appropriate reverence. She really was a talented soulcrafter, and quite subtle compared to the warlike stereotype of Fithans.

That meant that Associate Janne had plenty of soulcrafting of her own to do, leaving Fiyu to her own devices. She had very much wanted to return to Ichil, both for her own preparations and to make up to Relative Guchiro for missing the divine ice, but that meant abandoning House Blacksilver. The deal they had struck was that she would assist Associate Janne, thus increasing Blacksilver's overall military capabilities. Not everyone was happy, but Friend Theo considered it an acceptable compromise, so Fiyu had been content.

Now that she had presence of mind and time to herself, Fiyu stepped into her soulhome. It was time for another experiment.

After seeing how long it had taken Friend Theo to soulcraft bricks at the Stronghold tier, Fiyu had been disciplined and made sure to use these relatively quiet months to soulcraft the materials for her fifth floor. Most of the bricks, however, lay as a disassembled pile beside her soulhome, to be used when she needed new chambers more urgently.

With so much time spent between soulcrafting bricks and helping Associate Janne, Fiyu had not had much time to collect new materials before recently. All she had crafted, thanks to Relative Guchiro, was a material similar to kinmetal which could be forged into cantae pipes that she would need on her next floor.

For the time being they were useless, as she had only assembled her newest heart chamber, including the roof. She would need to do some careful soulcrafting to fully fuse the surrounding chambers and make sure there were no flaws in the roof, but that would come later: having this chamber complete early allowed her to conduct essential soulcrafting experiments.

As much as she wanted to move the flickerflower into that chamber, she shouldn't perform a risky action with such a valuable material. Instead, Fiyu focused on the more mundane activity of mixing a sublime sealant. Of course anyone could do this simply by mixing together appropriate materials, but for this she needed to impart her own cantae and produce an extremely high quality sealant.

Once she was done, she applied it carefully to the single chamber she had built on her upper floor. Her ordinary soulcrafting was efficient enough, not allowing any perceptible cantae to escape, yet this needed to be far better: she needed to prevent even imperceptible leaks. So far, her efforts had been only partially successful, even applying multiple coats of sealants.

If it finally worked... then Fiyu could far better help her friends and allies. She had discussed the matter at length with Relative Guchiro and they had made the frightening but carefully-measured decision to soulcraft in separate directions. The early floors of their soulhomes could be used to fuel entirely different designs, so they developed separate blueprints.

Sometimes she was still nervous about that idea, but she reminded herself that there was no point in becoming a copy of Relative Guchiro: they already had him, strong and unbending and a better version of such a warrior than she could be. If she wanted to contribute, Fiyu needed to take a different path, subtly altering the blueprint to be suited to her instead.

The sealant proved inadequate, and before Fiyu could attempt a second batch, she felt a new arrival. It had been so long since she felt anyone except the four in their group, or the occasional sublime beast, that she instantly tensed. Fortunately, she recognized the familiar shape of Friend Theo.

Fiyu smiled and hastened through the tent entrance as quickly as security and propriety would allow. She had lent the others her Ichili weirkey, since she was traveling with Relative Guchiro. They were the only ones who knew her exact location, so the arrangement allowed them to come and secure her. It was possible that Friend Theo was here because of a disaster... but her senses estimated that this was his normal level of tension, not a disastrous level.

"Glad you're here." Friend Theo smiled instinctively, but he didn't even try to turn his head toward her. He seemed remarkably comfortable in the darkness, which was a good sign for what was to come.

"All is well on Fithe?" she asked. "How far has Nauda come?"

"Things are heating up a bit, and I'm hoping to bring you back to help Nauda."

"Oh, do not worry! It took a great deal of searching, but I have found a suitable material for her. If you have found something for her death chamber..."

"I was able to put something together, and Krikree surprisingly came in with a warding item." Friend Theo frowned as his senses extended over the area. "But we can talk about that later. How much more do you have to do here? Can we make a stop before we go back?"

"A stop? What do you need?"

"It's not about me, I was thinking we should get something for Navim."

As Friend Theo explained about Ally Navim, Fiyu found herself smiling so broadly she was glad that her friend's senses couldn't detect it. She had always found Friend Theo to be kind under his gruffness, but he could indeed be self-centered at times. Now he had arranged this for her, and was dedicating his time to helping others... it made her glad about the news that she had for him.

"Of course we can find something for Navim," Fiyu told him, "and just today I finished one of my main objectives. But now that you are here, we have a new goal. Do not worry, it will actually benefit you. You have been looking for a material to coat your new floor, yes?"

"You found something?" Friend Theo asked, his neck relaxing a little.

"Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we know of something. However... this is the only thing you may not like... we will need to travel deep underwater to get it."

Now Friend Theo did move, shifting toward the ocean. Everything around them was dark, yet the heaviness of the water's oblivion would be obvious even to his senses. To finish their journey, they had no choice but to plunge into the crushing waves.