Endburn: Chapters 13-14 (Patreon)

Chapter 13

After days of fighting, Fiyu had begun to think that nothing in war was ever conveniently timed, but now they were lucky, if only in a small way. The Caretaker's message had come at a moment when all three of them had just been in combat, so they were due a break and there was nothing to stop them going together. Even if the war took them in separate directions again in the future, she was happy to travel with her companions for a little longer.

They returned to Quiet Garden and she wished that they had time to explore it together. She and Lifemate Nauda had been able to visit various places on their marital journey, but they had yet to explore even a tiny fraction of the Nine Worlds. With Friend Theo to help guard, they could even have traveled in dangerous places.

And Quiet Garden was dangerous, for all that it seemed a somber and restrained city. There were no vicious beasts here, instead deeper and subtler threats lurking beneath the silent Siatans leading them inward. If their negotiations had gone slightly differently, the encounter might have transformed into something else entirely.

When they reached the center, Fiyu was concerned they would need to complete some new task or otherwise prove themselves. For once it seemed that no new obstacles stood in their path, so they were escorted directly into the small garden.

Where the Caretaker waited.

The ancient Siatan was the size of a child and sat motionlessly in a field of flowers. They radiated a sense of calm so powerful it was almost suffocating. Lifemate Nauda had made Fiyu increasingly sensitive to color, so she reflected that the Caretaker was a dark shade of green, like a forest after a rain, peaceful but containing hidden depths.

"You said the plants were ready?" Friend Theo asked.

"A year ago, you gave me an unusual plant you called a crestflower." The Caretaker waved one fingerless hand and three flowers spun into being in the air before it. "These began as specialized materials, and they have grown more specialized under my care. Please take them."

Each flower continued to rotate on the eddies of cantae, and despite all the power, Fiyu found herself instinctively moving forward. One of the flowers immediately drew her, its petals dark yet with a pale sheen when it moved. This one was for her, she was certain of it. She could see the remnants of the crestflower they had made together, but this had transformed into something new.

"They're beautiful," Lifemate Nauda whispered. She had come to kneel beside Fiyu, though she was drawn toward the second flower, which glowed with warmth that hid great strength - just like Lifemate Nauda.

"What are they called?" Friend Theo asked. He gripped his flower with a less reverential air, examining it carefully. His flower also suited him perfectly, stark white with sharper edges.

"There are no names for such created materials," the Caretaker told them.

"Triuneflowers," Fiyu said softly. "They began with our cantae mixing together, but now it has truly fused. Three in one."

"An acceptable name."

"You said these would help," Friend Theo pressed. "I can feel the power, but it's not clear how they're supposed to be used. There's something slippery about them, not quite formed..."

"Place them atop your soulhome before ascending," the Caretaker explained, "and they will absorb the rains that would normally stress your soulhome. My craft, however, was dedicated to give them pluripotent capacity. If you fix your mind and soul upon what you need, the flower will fix its new strength into what you require at the next stage."

That seemed an incredible gift to Fiyu, so she gently took her flower in her cupped palms. Friend Theo didn't seem satisfied, however, and continued asking questions. "Is that only the case for an ascension to Dominion? Could we plant the seeds, harvest more, and use one each ascension?"

"I would not suggest it, as these plants have no seeds. I bent these in particular toward the ascension before you, and though I could have chosen another target, you would be better served by other paths beyond this point."

Even Friend Theo was quiet after that, and obviously they were not going to refuse such a gift. Fiyu shifted closer to Lifemate Nauda, eager to get her perspective on the triuneflowers, since sublime plants were her specialty. Mostly, Fiyu was relieved that she didn't need to rearrange her current floors around such a material. Instead, she was offered a perfect step to the next tier.

Truly, aeon-class soulcrafters were exceptional beings. Prior to that point, Fiyu had experienced them primarily as threats, since Plutalgion and his allies used terrible power to obliterate all who opposed them. In the Caretaker Fiyu found an entirely different path, disappearing into the forest.

"There were some who told me that you would never live to take this gift." When the Caretaker spoke again it was almost startling. Its eyes closed very slowly, almost as if it would return to sleep. "If the Nine had followed their ordinary course, Plutalgion and Tymetron would have swept away your continent. It remains to be seen what will happen in this new course."

"I know this is all you owe us," Friend Theo said, "but is there any way we can convince you to help directly against Plutalgion?"

"No. If I were to face him, it would be the end of me. My life has been very long, but I believe there are better uses for it yet."

"We do not mean any offense," Fiyu added, hoping they wouldn't upset such a powerful being. "I am sure you know how hopeless our battle seems, so we must seek every possible advantage."

"Yes." The Caretaker said nothing else, settling into a meditative position. All Siatans had strange bodies, more energy than flesh, and even the Caretaker's internal processes seemed to still. Fiyu had never seen anything like it, not in a living being. It was almost like death, or perhaps this was the slow and subtle life of plants.

When the Caretaker said nothing else, it seemed that they were dismissed. Friend Theo clearly wasn't satisfied, but it didn't look like he had a question that he thought was likely to work. When Lifemate Nauda gestured for them to go, he didn't resist.

After they offered their thanks for the gift, they retreated from the garden in silence, bearing the triuneflowers with them. Even though Fiyu's floated easily above her hands, it seemed to possess a terrible weight, as if it was rooted to the world itself. By the time they had moved back into Quiet Garden, she felt weary.

"How are we going to get these into our soulhomes?" Lifemate Nauda asked.

Normally that question would be entirely unnecessary, for soulcrafters of their experience, yet this was a difficult case. Ordinarily sublime materials entered the soulhome via concrete methods that involved breaking them down. Tearing apart or eating the triuneflowers would feel like a violation of such an elegant creation.

This flower was hers in a very deep sense, created especially for her. It was not an intimate gift, not like the materials Fiyu and Lifemate Nauda had made for one another, instead a clinical precision with a different sort of purity. Operating on instinct, Fiyu drew her flower closer, toward her heart, and it slipped into her soulhome without a struggle.

Her companions did the same and soon the three flowers were gone. Like this they granted no power, but they could all feel the potential. Yet faced with aeon-class opponents, it did not seem like even that could be enough.

"Are you still going to try to make Guchiro go first?" Lifemate Nauda asked to break the attention.

"No, this is a clear sign," Friend Theo agreed. "But we have to check in with the war first."

~

As much as Nauda wanted them to push forward and gain every advantage they could, they returned to Fithe in the middle of a disaster. It seemed like so little time to her, but due to the distortions between worlds the war had advanced. They had no choice but to throw themselves into battle again, taking on Dominions to hold back the invasion a little longer.

Eight more days passed before Tymetron pulled back their lines, and despite all the fighting, not a single Dominion had fallen on either side. Nauda knew that was an inevitable result of the most powerful soulcrafters having weirkeys and the ability to retreat, but she still found it frustrating. They had only managed to take down enemy Dominions in the early stages, before Tymetron grew more cautious.

Once the Norronese forces got some space, Nauda hoped that it was finally time. She didn't even want this from a tactical perspective, she actually wanted to see Theo ascend for his sake. But before they could think about that, they were called to another meeting.

This one was on the far east coast, past the lines of war over the ocean. Even though Nauda could fly now and the average ocean held no dangers for her, the churning sea made her uneasy. Melitta was there with them, having apparently concluded her negotiations.

Abruptly the sea roiled and something erupted from it. Nauda instinctively shifted back in the air, gathering her cantae to give herself a strong position to move from. What emerged struck her less as a person than a building, all shell and spikes. Yet she restrained her instincts, as what she felt wasn't a sublime beast, it was definitely a soulcrafter.

"Norron welcomes the Underqueen," Melitta said with a deep bow. "We are grateful for your presence."

There was no sign of a queen as far as Nauda was concerned. She hadn't overestimated the size in in shock, either: the oblong shells were many times the size of even a war chariot. The armor was formed from a deep blue shell covered in cruel spikes, which could have been torn directly from a giant sublime beast, if not for the sections where the halves met in the center that had clearly been crafted by human hands.

When the halves opened, Nauda thought she might catch a glimpse of the soulcrafter underneath, but there was another layer of armor. This one was at least vaguely humanoid, but it was still a head taller than her and unusually wide. It was covered in spikes as well and Nauda was struck with an irreverent thought that it might be spikes all the way down.

"I cannot fight your war for you." When she actually spoke, the Underqueen's voice wasn't as deep as Nauda expected, even echoing within her armor. "I am the protector of an ocean twice the size of your continent, facing threats from the dark vents to the stormlands."

"We do not ask you to fight our war now," Melitta assured her. "So far, Tymetron has been reluctant to send out their strongest soulcrafters. But when they did attack, we managed to injure two of them. This is an unprecedented opportunity to stop an empire that threatens us all."

"I do not seek to renegotiate our terms," the Underqueen said. "I only wish for you to be clear on my limitations. There are many under my reign who would prefer I not have come at all. Even if you were willing to hand all of Norron to us, that would not be sufficient payment."

"You can't serve as a deterrent unless you announce your presence. Perhaps you could enter the war by defeating one of their Dominions?"

"That is not a precedent you want to set when you face three superior soulcrafters."

"They've already attacked us once, we have to play the same game..."

While Melitta and the Underqueen discussed the exact terms, Nauda shifted nervously in the air, wondering what she was meant to add. There were other officials to lead the negotiations, including tacticians who joined in the debate. Maybe she was just there to show respect to a great power, or as a representative of the Ruling Cities, since this was supposed to be an alliance with all Norron. Based on how the Underqueen acted, she seemed to consider even that a little beneath her.

It felt arrogant to evaluate soulcrafters so much more powerful than her, but Nauda found herself trying to draw comparisons. She had seen Plutalgion, Emperor Dave, the Demonweaver, the Caretaker, and other soulcrafters in the third great realm of soulcrafting. The Underqueen was one of the most war-like in appearance, and there was no question her over-sized armor contained many weapons.

But how did her actual strength compare? It was difficult to evaluate tier at such an advanced stage, but Nauda guessed that the Underqueen was an Ophaon, no higher. She definitely couldn't defeat all their opponents, and might not even be able to beat Plutalgion in a straight fight. Getting her involvement made them not horribly outclassed, but it definitely wouldn't win the war for them.

In a strange way, this made her understand Theo's apprehension. He floated closer to the main discussion but didn't enter it either, just absorbing the information and making his own calculations. This was all about whether or not they would have enough time for an ascension, after all.

Before the end, Fiyu floated beside Nauda and rested her head on her shoulder. Nauda wasn't sure if that was appropriate for a high stakes negotiation, but wasn't going to refuse an opportunity to hold her wife. It seemed like Fiyu was a bit weary, since she had been fighting alongside them while holding back her entire Ethereal Floor, preparing for ascension.

Eventually the negotiators agreed that the Underqueen would strike the Tymetronese position from the north, announcing her presence by simultaneously destroying reinforcements coming by ship and sending a wave inland. The Asplundat Movement wasn't happy about the additional damage, but it was obvious that letting Tymetron run rampant in the regions they'd already taken would be even worse. Once everyone had agreed, they set off to begin the next stage of the war.

Which would mean something very different for the three of them, if the plan hadn't changed. Keeping Fiyu close, Nauda flew over to Theo to make sure he hadn't changed his mind.

"Any more excuses?" she asked. "The Underqueen sure looks like she could buy us time."

"You're right," Theo agreed with surprising simplicity. "It's time to ascend."

-

Chapter 14

As Theo checked his soulhome one final time, he reflected that in some ways this ascension was overdue. He'd had his primary materials in place for some time and the polishing work he was doing within the rooms had become increasingly marginal. Yet there had just been no time for soulcrafting while the continent was plunged into war.

Once that would have struck him as an annoyance, maybe he'd even have reprimanded himself for inefficiency getting entangled in a conflict like this. Yet as Theo examined his soulhome, he instead found himself thinking about the Ruling Cities, the Asplundat Movement, and the Wavefront.

Currently his body sat on Arbaian sands as he prepared for his ascension. That had been a suggestion from House Blacksilver when they made arrangements, a surprisingly simple improvement he was kicking himself for not thinking of first. He was so accustomed to using weirkeys that he'd forgotten that gates could work with less time distortion. They needed to correspond with Norro Yorthin regularly anyway, so they slipped into Fiyu's stealth bubble and then passed through the gate.

Now they were on another world, where they couldn't be detected, yet they were just a short message away if anything went wrong. Not that he would be able to stop, if anything happened mid-ascension. Nauda and Fiyu sat beside him, working on their own soulcrafting while they stood guard.

Recognizing that he was wasting precious time, Theo flew to the top of his soulhome and set his feet firmly on the base of his pyramid. Being sheltered from detection on Fithe also meant that he was separated from everything happening there. Here in Arbai, with its endless sands and unmoving sun, there didn't seem to be any war going on at all. It would go on seeming just as peaceful if Plutalgion attacked and everything began to fall apart.

Theo threw his will against the heavens and the ascension began.

~

Krikree fights for Theo-sister! Of course, Krikree always fights, for beetles and lost sisters and justice, but this is different. As Krikree deploys her weapons against the gold ants, she is filled with new purpose.

Today, she knows that Theo-sister is hidden in a rockhive, beginning to ascend. She is confident that Theo-sister will be successful, because he is Theo-sister. Soon he will become a Dominion, like a very big prince, bigger than any prince Krikree has ever seen. But not prince! This is very important and Krikree chitters to herself as she fights.

Instead, she fights to protect all of the hives from the gold ants, so that there is not devastation once Theo-sister returns. The battle is very complex, larger than any hives or colonies Krikree has encountered, larger even than her conception of war. Epistemically troubling! Krikree alone cannot stop the destruction, but if she does her part, she can protect the beetles.

Some of those beetles are protecting themselves, she observes as the sleighbeetle flies over the battlefield. Blacksilver Rulers within hurl techniques down over the battlefield, as well as bombs prepared by Navim-thinkrock. Good beetles!

Suddenly an enemy Stronghold appears in the air, targeting the Blacksilver beetles. Danger! Krikree leaps over the sleigh, even though she knows there is grave threat. Some of the gold ants rely on their metal techniques and Krikree can fight them, especially with her new golden sword that the Ruling City beetles made for her. But others at Stronghold are very skilled, like truly fearsome queens, and Krikree has been injured many times against them.

When Krikree collides with the Stronghold, she unleashes all her weapons at once and the two of them tumble across the battlefield. The Ruler beetles are safe now, but Krikree is not. She attempts to disengage and two of her low quality spears are shattered in the attempt.

"What are you doing here, little bug?" the Stronghold grates out in a deep voice. "What does Slest care about our war?"

"Tymetron bad hive!" Krikree declares.

"Are you willing to die with them? Because you will, unless you think you can weirkey faster than I can get my arms around your neck."

Intimidation! Tricks! Krikree recognizes that the enemy wants to make her retreat so that they can continue attacking the beetles. She has scouted these things, especially with Katir-thinkgem, and she is not tricked. Unfortunately, the gold ant is not covering for weakness: he is very likely capable of defeating Krikree in a fair fight.

Before they strike one another again, a small form floats beside them. It is only a Senka-fake, not the real Senka-food, but the enemy ant hesitates. Krikree's antennae shoot upright as she considers whether or not she can use this to her advantage.

"No... no, that's not a real one." Her enemy readies his cantae again. "I don't know how many of those you have, but they're one shot each, aren't they?"

"Beware!" Krikree says, thrusting the Senka-fake forward like a weapon. "Danger!"

"You need to learn more about bluffing, little bug. You can't-"

Krikree swings the Senka-fake like a bludgeon, smacking the enemy across the face. He roars in rage and attacks more fiercely than before, blowing apart the fake and sending Krikree flying back through the air. This battle is beyond her.

It does not matter. Krikree catches herself, then leaps into battle. Time for Theo-sister!

~

The pressure from above impacted Theo more powerfully than any previous ascension, but he kept moving upward, one step at a time. Maybe it was the tempering from the war, maybe he'd just adjusted to the progression of ascensions, but it didn't feel overwhelming. He'd grown more than the difficulty had, so he continued upward toward the sky.

As he took the next step, a quake shuddered through his foundation. Not as bad as the one at Stronghold, especially because his foundation had been tempered in the process. Maybe he could have worked a little more on his basement fortifications, but the quake probably just knocked a few items off the walls. Theo kept walking skyward.

Acid rain began to pelt his skin and he only had to brace an arm in front of his eyes. The pain was nothing to his spirit, the only potential risk was to his soulhome. When he glanced back to check on the damage, Theo realized that he was prepared for that as well.

His triuneflower hovered in the air, untouched by the storm. It soaked in the acid rain effortlessly, even better than he'd expected. When he'd received it, he'd known that the Caretaker had produced a perfect sublime material for him, but he'd underestimated just how useful it would be. Soon enough he'd need to begin shaping it, which was the major unknown... until then, he'd keep walking upward.

Thunder rolled through the heavens and lightning impacted Theo's soulhome. It caught a lightning rod and flowed down into his basement, but the rod was incinerated in the effort. He'd known that was the new difficulty at this tier, he'd just underestimated the intensity. There were only so many lightning rods and far more bolts gathering overhead.

They weren't going to stop him.

~

There had been a time when Senka had almost convinced herself that she was going to get through the war without turning into an exhausted, bloody mess. After she had injured two Dominions, the Tymetronese soulcrafters were wary of the fake copies of her, even if they suspected the truth. Enough days had passed before she had to use a second blast that she'd built up reserves again.

Of course it didn't last. Nothing good ever sporping lasted.

Currently she had exactly one shot left, and it was going to hurt her. She'd wanted to save it, but Tymetron had decided to do another push and Theo wasn't there to get in the way. The battlefield was being dominated by a Dominion who launched a storm of molten gold. Only some of the Norronese soulcrafters were shielded by deadgold, and even though they could stop enslaving gold better now, the storm itself was still devastating.

So Senka slipped through the storm, preparing herself. She probably couldn't kill another Dominion, not now that they were so cautious, but she'd be blooked if she didn't at least cause an injury.

As she got in range, Senka found herself hesitating. There was a shadow of her old self still there, and sometimes it seemed like it grew stronger the more of her memories she regained. It whispered that she was risking her life for nothing, becoming a simpering fool.

In all their debate over the next strategy, Theo had never once referred to her as an option. Everything had been focused on either Theo or Guchiro and he hadn't even consulted her. She tried to tell herself that he had spent months with her, mapping out the Bloodfire Pit, and she couldn't doubt his dedication. It even made sense from a certain strategic perspective, given the amount of time they needed to finish.

None of that mattered to old shadows within her, some screaming in entitled rage and others weeping in abandonment. At the beginning she had just been planning to use them, but she was past that now. Far past it. She hoped that Theo wouldn't consider her plans a betrayal and the rotten feeling within her stomach was more than she could bear at the moment.

Senka unleashed the fastest blast she could, tearing though the golden storm and encompassing the Dominion. At the last second they manage to twist aside, but one of their arms was taken by the blast and burned away in an instant.

All around the storm of gold collapsed, and Senka collapsed with it. As she plummeted she felt the curse gripping her mind and hoped that it had been enough. And that she wasn't making a mistake.

~

With another surge of will, Theo clawed his way to the top of the pyramid. The pressure was even stronger up here and the bolts of lightning slammed into him like a drum. They barely slowed him down.

If he focused now, he could pierce the sky and ascend to Dominion. For the first time the exhaustion got to Theo and he almost considered it before he threw that option away. This was the first true war he'd ever fought in, and on the scale of the Nine Worlds, he knew that Dominions were soldiers, not leaders. To reach any of his goals, he needed to be more than simply adequate.

So while the lightning continued to slam through his body, Theo instead reached downward to focus on the triuneflower. It had soaked up so much of the acid rain and altered it... not purification, exactly; if anything the acid seemed to be more potent. A fitting ingredient for a bitter part of him that still existed, as much as he'd changed.

When his will touched the triuneflower he felt it immediately respond to him, ready to reshape itself. The sheer potential surprised him, but there was no doubt at this stage. His Dominion floor would be primarily dedicated to Ethereal chambers and this would be a perfect fit. He already had materials enhancing his mind and void techniques on lower floors, so he transformed the triuneflower into a vehicle to unleash acid ferocity.

His original plan had been to use it for raw cantae, but now he realized that was too modest. Sources of cantae were more common than a material as unique as this, so he began to shape it instead into a source of intensity, perfectly matched to all his techniques. The pale flower shimmered as its colors began to change and it took its true form.

Suddenly the acid rain was battering him again after feeling like little more than a drizzle. Theo realized that the triuneflower had absorbed all the rain that it could and was reaching its maximum potential. He gripped it with both hands and focused skyward.

~

Guchiro clashed with the enemy Dominion in the air and both of them tumbled in opposite directions, requiring time to regain control. They stared at one another across the battlefield and the Tymetronese woman glowered as her demonic leather fluttered around her.

Sometimes, in these breaths between battles, Guchiro wondered if he was making a mistake. His allies had planned to pass beneath notice, to slowly and carefully build themselves up without getting involved in conflicts just like this. The time investment, not to mention the immense threat of higher powers, was a reminder of everything they had sought to avoid.

Yet he had learned so much, unlocking one of the secrets that would take them to Ophaon... perhaps that was worth it. He only hoped that he was not sacrificing himself for the cause. Many of his allies had retreated even further, fearing that he would end up dead before the end.

Once more they clashed, and this time Guchiro managed to catch his opponent's leg with a spike of darkness. He hurled her downward into the enemy army, using her body as a projectile. So long as she continued fighting like this, he would have the advantage, but he knew it wouldn't last.

He told himself that he was doing this for Ward Fiyu, and it was true that she had gotten him pulled into this war. It was also true that he was fighting for Associate Theo, who had proved a more important ally than Guchiro ever would have expected at first. The continent's entire strategy was built on projecting strength until they could actually build up that strength, and this would be a clear step along that path.

A shudder rolled over the battlefield as an Ethereal Floor activated. His opponent rose to her feet, surrounded by a shell of cantae that formed a giant the size of a great building. This was an opponent who would test him to his limits under normal circumstances, so fighting her when she had so many dangerous allies was a risk he would have once considered unacceptable.

Irrational or not, Guchiro plunged toward the giant.

~

Nothing left but him and the sky. Theo could feel that his soulhome had survived the trials, the triuneflower had taken its new form, and he was standing atop his pyramid.

Some bricks tore away in the storm, acid rain coated him, and blasts of lightning impacted his body with every moment. But none of it was enough to stop him. Theo didn't have any final answers for himself, but he knew what moved him now: he was fighting for everyone who was fighting for him. So many depended on him, he couldn't let them down.

When he threw his will upward, the heavens shattered in an instant. As the cantae flooded down, Theo drew it in with a deep breath. The rush of ascension wasn't even slightly diminished even though he had experienced it so many times before, and he lifted into the air as the power soaked into his soulhome.

He was a Dominion now. Higher than he had ever attained in his first life, and the limits of power as far as most in the Nine Worlds knew. Only another step on his path, albeit an important one.

As Theo thought about everything they faced, the joy faded faster than normal. Just increasing the intensity of his cantae would be significant: the weaker Strongholds would be nothing to him now and few of the Dominions could challenge him. But Tymetron still had aeon-class soulcrafters and it seemed likely that he'd have to fight them. Perhaps he could do that with a fully crafted sixth floor, but it would still be suicide now. The problem was finding the time to soulcraft so much with a war still raging...

"Congratulations, Theo!" He heard Fiyu's voice, then she entered his soulhome hand-in-hand with Nauda.

Not her spirit, her actual self. They all hesitated in surprise before Fiyu laughed happily. Nauda kicked off one sandal and tested the grass with her feet, really feeling it for the first time. It was said that Dominion-tier soulcrafters could allow others into their soulhome and they'd wondered whether it would be difficult to master. Apparently not at all.

"Let me show you around," Theo said as he floated down to them. "You already know the layout, but this is a first for us."

"I'm glad we won't have to rely on my telescope all the time anymore." As she spoke, Nauda removed her other sandal and kept testing his grass. "A bit spiky, but it doesn't feel bad. Hmm, I wonder if there's some sort of metaphor there."

"Do I have to worry about you tracking in mud now?" Theo shot back. "That's not actually snark, do you think it could happen?"

"Enough," Fiyu said as she took them both by the arm. "I wish to see the triuneflower. We can make plans for the other two."

Soon enough there would be far too much to do. Theo needed to meet with the Norronese Dominions, he needed to choose his next risk, and his strength would be tested in the fires of war. But for now, for a little longer, he let himself enjoy his soulhome with his friends.

-

Progression fantasy with lots of tiers and breakthroughs runs the risk of them feeling repetitive. This was something I considered when planning TWC, which is part of why I had different challenges at different tiers. But even so, with three characters there are a lot of ascensions, so I've also been playing with different plot situations and different narrative techniques. Hope people liked this one.