by Sarah Lin
Still, the lack of rooms enhancing him directly did bother him. Without them, he was as vulnerable as Fiyu, and a sword blow to the wrong place could kill him instantly. Yet trying to go up against a Ruler's cantae would be foolish in any case, so he remained focused on his plan.
With the wormhole done, it was time to move on to another material. Fortunately, he'd been distracted from spending merits recently, so they'd piled up in his account. The trip to Ichil alone had been worth 175 on top of what he would have expected to earn that month. All told, he'd just barely scraped over a full thousand merits. Enough for the Chasm Invitation... but he'd probably have to choose against it.
Theo stepped out of his room, noting absentmindedly that he'd apparently soulcrafted through the entire night. He'd need to get proper sleep later, especially in the last days before the duel, but for now pushing himself was harmless. Even after he obtained everything he needed, he'd have to make it all cohere and refine the technique.
When he stepped into the materials office, Antha looked up at him without expression. "The usual, Peanen?"
"Not quite. I'm going to actually purchase something today."
"Well, wonders never cease." Antha pushed the books of merit rewards over to him and he reflexively ran over them again.
Of course, with a thousand merits to spend, there was absolutely no point even looking at something like the Esoteric Chisel. Instead he focused on the sublime materials, particularly the less expensive ones that he might soon need to purchase more of. This was a challenging technique, after all, and it might require more than just raw materials and carving.
Soon enough, he found his other usual entries:
Voidgum 48 merits
Twilitwood 83 merits
Soulshadow Stone 300 merits
Dark Lantern 420 merits
Bleakburden 790 merits
Chasm Invitation 1500 merits
Just as he was starting to regret that he would have to leave the Chasm Invitation for later, his eyes flashed back to it in surprise. After so long, he'd barely actually looked at the number, but it had increased. Not only that, but by fifty percent. Theo slammed the book down on the table in front of Antha.
"Why is the Chasm Invitation more expensive now?"
"Because there's only one left." Antha patiently pushed the book away from her work. "Another member of House Blacksilver purchased the first, therefore we require a greater commitment for the last."
"Who?"
"You should know better than to ask that. All such information is private."
Recognizing that he was taking his anger out on the wrong person, Theo stepped away from her table, fuming. Despite all his efforts, he'd fallen into the basic trap of assuming his targets would stay in place. He'd been so focused on the ways that Esaire would improve that he'd started considering all of his other conditions as fixed values.
After taking a deep breath, he told himself that it didn't matter. He needed a sublime material most anyway, or the Invitations would be irrelevant. For now, taking focus away from the duel was weakness.
"I'll take the bleakburden," Theo said. Antha blinked in surprise, but nodded.
"If you want to spend all your merits that way, you can. I'll have someone retrieve it from the protected stores."
According to the description, bleakburden was an exceptional sublime material: not in its rarity, but in its strength. Most materials were useful only in soulcrafting or in the physical world, but bleakburden had powerful effects in both. It was an absurdly dense stone that held far more weight than it should, and would have been a critical component of many defenses if it didn't react so poorly with other materials. He wanted it because it was a perfect representation of mass.
When Antha returned with the bleakburden in a special case, she required a special cart to carry it. Theo was able to pick it up with cantae reinforcing his body, but it was difficult. Opening the case, he stared down at the dark rock. Unlike many sublime stones, it was a rounded disc instead of a sphere, but what mattered was that the cantae was every bit as intense as expected.
Theo reached down to squeeze the stone... and it refused to enter his soulhome. He blinked, actually looking for interference before considering the more likely explanation that he'd just failed. Yet it shouldn't be his willpower or his abilities, since he'd been easily absorbing sublime materials ever since he'd returned to the Nine Worlds.
He knew the real reason: his heart wasn't in it. With his advanced experience, he could draw many materials into his soulhome without really putting in effort like most soulcrafters. But not this, not a stone that was nearly breaking his present limits.
Instead of trying to force it, Theo hefted the case and headed back to his room. Truthfully, part of him didn't like being so focused on the duel. It was his life on the line, but it was also a small vendetta, unimportant in the vast scheme of things. While it consumed him, he couldn't focus on reaching the Chasm of Lamentations, much less on taking revenge on Vistgil or resolving any deeper problems.
On his way back, he passed Fiyu, who smiled widely at first, then more nervously when she saw his scowl. "Theo? Is something wrong, or is that just your face?"
"It's nothing important." He could have brushed it off, but after risking their lives together, Theo decided to push on. "Someone else took the cheapest Chasm Invitation, so now our job is a lot harder. Six months will pass without us getting a single one..."
"Oh. Oh, that is..." Fiyu reached inside her robes and then revealed a plate of pure white crystal, cut into a precise rectangle. "I acquired it with my merits. I was waiting to tell you when you needed to be cheered up, but now it seems I have troubled you."
"Fiyu, that's amazing." He stepped forward, probably too far into her personal space despite all they'd shared, but resisted grabbing it from her. Smiling again, Fiyu extended the plate for him to examine more carefully.
The Chasm Invitation was made out of a strange white marble that didn't contain any particularly powerful cantae, yet it did resonate strangely. He recognized it from his visit to the Chasm of Lamentations, since the entire place was made out of the stuff. More importantly than the material, it was inscribed with two elaborate sigils representing Norro Yorthin and House Blacksilver.
"So that's one." Theo handed it back to her with a smile. "This one is yours, but you can count on Nauda and me finding a way to earn one too. Then all three of us can go together."
"I hope that we can." Fiyu smiled even more broadly and tucked the Invitation away. "But first you must be concerned for your life."
"After today, I'm going to be a lot closer." Theo swept past her to his room, dark mood banished by such a small thing. They might not be able to join him in the duel, but he did have allies beside him.
When he opened the bleakburden case again, this time he had no trouble cracking the stone and drawing it into his soulhome. Time to get to work.
Chapter 33
Though Nauda told herself she was soulcrafting, she was mostly just stewing over her same problems. She'd significantly enhanced the chamber on her Archcrafter floor dedicated to her new staff, but it wasn't enough. For a while she worked on building toward Ruler, but the pressure soon got to her and she stumbled back down.
So when someone knocked on her door, she wasn't upset at the distraction. When she discovered that it was Fiyu, she was pleased... though the other woman was frowning and her hair was in a much messier version of its usual braid.
"Is everything alright, Fiyu? Shouldn't you be preparing for your tournament today?"
"My soulhome is ready, but my mind is not." Fiyu pushed her way in without making contact, and Nauda gladly stepped aside to let her be a little more comfortable. It was rare for Fiyu to express herself so openly, or at least it had been before their journey to Ichil.
"I'd help if I could, but I'm not sure I'm the person you want to talk to. I failed my tournament badly."
"Oh, do not say that, Nauda. And it is not a matter of stre
ngth, I am worried that I will not represent myself well. All the strange insults, and being in front of the crowds, and..." She touched her braid, but not as a nervous gesture, instead bringing it over her shoulder. "Do you think this would look bad to Fithans? I think it feels beautiful, but I know most people use their eyes first."
"I... would advise you do it slightly differently."
"Please assist me." Fiyu walked further into her room and sat down in front of her table, regarding her brush and the few other items she'd laid out there. "Complex hair styles on Ichil are usually focused on having various pins dividing the hair into layers. I am not good at those either."
Nauda stared at the other woman's back, unsure if it was really okay after so long staying apart. Fiyu had put distance between them ever since the moment when she had taken Nauda's hand while ill. Truthfully, Nauda had no idea if she even remembered her actions while delirious, and had assumed they were back to remaining apart. "I'll do what I can."
Careful not to touch Fiyu directly, Nauda pulled her hair out of the messy braid and brushed it out. The other woman's hair was remarkably thick, though fortunately her regular brushing didn't leave it with tangles. Having silence between them was a bit uncomfortable, but Nauda didn't think she could talk for all that long about hair.
"I'm going to braid it into several plaits, then weave those together. That should be practical but also look nice."
"Thank you, Nauda." Fiyu sat cooperatively, displaying no apparent discomfort, so Nauda decided to keep down the same path. Perhaps, after they were both immortals who had lived for a thousand years, Fiyu would voluntarily hug her.
"I wish I could do more for you than this." As she worked, Nauda spoke slowly, glad there was no mirror to make it more awkward. "Normally if a friend was going into a tournament, I'd be trying to give them sublime materials or last-second advice. But your soulhome is so finely balanced, and you have the skills you need..."
"Oh, but it will help to know that you are cheering for me!"
"Well... I'm glad it helps, Fiyu."
After that, it became slightly less awkward, as it seemed that Fiyu wanted to take her mind off the tournament. By the time she finished the plaits, Nauda wished that she could make the moment last longer. But since Fiyu no doubt knew each and every hair on her head, she would obviously notice any stalling, so Nauda simply finished her work.
Fiyu seemed quite happy and departed with another broad smile for final preparations. After that, Nauda had no chance of focusing on her soulcrafting. Fortunately, there weren't so many hours to while away before it was time, and when Theo came to collect her, he was all business.
They flew to the Yorthin Coliseum quickly, Fiyu quiet the entire way. Theo seemed to realize that she needed a distraction and kept up a conversation with Nauda about the tournament schedule. Apparently there were tournaments later in the year that awarded a Chasm Invitation, though those didn't restrict soulcrafter tier, which meant they had very little chance.
Eventually they reached the coliseum and Fiyu had to depart to join the other contestants. Intellectually, Nauda knew that Fiyu was a talented soulcrafter who had just recently survived being impaled through the stomach. She still felt anxious when she saw Fiyu walk out onto the sands among so many others.
~ ~ ~
The initial melee went heavily in Fiyu's favor, of course, Theo had never doubted that. Her ability to cloak her presence combined with her situational awareness was an overwhelming advantage, especially against first tier soulcrafters. A few with vision-based skills attempted to hunt her down, but she dealt with them in short order.
Waiting for the final few to drop was dull, since Fiyu wisely conserved her strength for the one-on-one tournament that would come afterward. He returned to soulcrafting, trying to balance all his cantae flows again. It was within his power in theory, but much trickier with so many sublime materials filling the rooms and adding their own cantae to the mix.
In the end, two of the contestants eliminated each other, leading to only fifteen remaining instead of a full sixteen. The judges discussed for a while before determining that Fiyu would be able to pass through her first round based on her performance in the melee.
That was a good advantage, and it also led to Fiyu suddenly emerging in the stands beside them. "I am not required to join the others yet," she explained, then moved between their shoulders and waited for them to create a space for her. He realized that she'd done something special with her hair, a somewhat more elaborate braid that he presumed was aesthetically beautiful to her senses.
Theo expected her to carefully watch her opponents as the matches began, but instead she withdrew into herself. It didn't seem to be the combat on display, which was unquestionably competent but nothing that should shock someone with her experience. He realized that it got worse at the beginning of the matches, when the contestants ritually insulted one another.
The next round was a Fithan man and an Ichili woman, who walked onto the combat floor and nodded to one another.
"I heard you weren't born blind," the Fithan man said, "but the first time you saw yourself in the mirror, you tore out your own eyes. Now that I get a look at you, I believe it."
The Ichili woman twirled a pair of long knives around her fingers. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear. I heard a rumor that you were so clumsy you tended to fall down and stab yourself in the back repeatedly."
Their taunts complete, the two of them began circling. They were better than average, but Theo didn't think they were astonishingly skilled soulcrafters, which was why it seemed odd that Fiyu was fidgeting with her braid while watching them. He considered asking, but decided to let her deal with her own issues.
The match ended with the Fithan man victorious and they were replaced with two more Fithans, who issued their taunts and began fighting. Again, they had solid finished soulhomes, just nothing that would have challenged Fiyu's skills... yet her lips pressed together tighter and tighter until Nauda finally spoke up.
"Are you okay, Fiyu?"
"I am worried about the beginning of the match," she said.
"Why?" Theo asked. "I haven't seen anyone who you don't have a good chance of taking."
"Not about the fight. I... do not understand these insults. They are supposedly jokes, but they are only insults or threats."
Theo paused and exchanged a glance with Nauda. She shrugged nearly imperceptibly and bent a little closer to Fiyu. "You don't need to say anything if you don't want to."
"But I wish to participate to respect Fithan culture." Fiyu pressed her lips together again as another set of contestants exchanged their insults, then shook her head. "I do not understand."
"You... do realize they aren't real insults or threats?"
"I am not foolish, Nauda. But I do not understand why some insults are good and some are bad. They all seem simply unkind to me. Are there established rules for insults?"
Nauda paused and cast a glance back to Theo, so he tried to take a different approach. "Unfortunately, it's based on intuition and it's all very subjective."
"This is frustrating. I will copy what the Ichili woman said."
"Fiyu, that doesn't... you're not carrying any knives, so it wouldn't make sense, and she was playing off his rumor line. Do you see patterns in what they're saying? They imply the other person is ugly or incompetent, but in a memorable way. The insults are never too serious, more playful."
"But she threatened to murder him..."
"Sometimes they go the other way." Nauda tried to catch her eyes, but Fiyu remained fixed on the arena. "If the insults or threats are incredibly over the top, then they can't be taken seriously. Do you understand?"
Based on her expression, Fiyu did not understand, but there was no more time. The first round of matches had concluded, so she needed to leave them to go sit with the other remaining contestants. Nauda glanced over at Theo nervously, but he could only shrug. He thought Fiyu's mental discipline was too good for her to make a
n error while flustered, he just wasn't sure what would happen.
Soon after Fiyu was called into the arena opposite a Fithan woman. She flinched at the roar of the crowds, but headed forward with determination. Her opponent grinned, no doubt thinking that Fiyu was scared of her, and hefted a large halberd to her shoulder. Soon enough Fiyu stopped across from her, still fidgeting with her braid.
"You look nervous," the Fithan said with a sneer. "Did you enter the tournament for adults by mistake?"
"Um... your head is bad. It is the wrong shape."
The Fithan woman stared at her for several long seconds, then let out a roar of laughter. She stepped forward, still grinning as she swung her halberd off her back-
Fiyu flooded the arena with a storm of light.
Taken off guard, her opponent was battered backward and nearly fell. She swung her halberd to deflect the bolts, but Fiyu was no longer easily exhausted and the onslaught continued. Though the woman tried to push through, Fiyu slipped into her stealth technique and reappeared behind her opponent, sending another hail of light directly into her back.
As she dropped, the arena was silent for once. When they began to cheer, Fiyu flinched, then instinctively bowed to the crowd and scurried back to her seat. Nauda had a fond smile on her lips, while Theo simply wished that he had time to offer Fiyu a little feedback on her insults.
The second round of matches passed in a boring fashion, so Theo spent his time soulcrafting and just watching with one eye. Some of the contestants had potential, but others he thought had tried to design blueprints specifically for a first tier competition. Nothing was worth his time until Fiyu returned to the arena.
This time, she faced an Arbaian Mundhin, several limbs fashioned into fearsome claws. He loomed over Fiyu, deep voice grating. "I haven't heard such ill-formed insults since my master went senile. I'm impressed you were able to clothe yourself, or did your mother dress you?"
Fiyu blinked in surprise and then shook her head. "You are mistaken. You are the one who was dressed by their relative. You are not wearing clothes. This is because your relative was inept at this task."