Crimsoncrest (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 10), page 1
Table of Contents
Book #10 of The Weirkey Chronicles
Book Nine: Skyvenom
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Crimsoncrest
Book #10 of The Weirkey Chronicles
Version 1.0
© 2025 Sarah Lin
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The story so far...
Books One to Eight
Theo’s first journey in the Nine Worlds ended in tragedy. Betrayed by Vistgil, the mentor who first taught him how to survive in the Nine, he barely escaped an attack by a terrifyingly powerful demon after his friends sacrificed themselves to hold it at bay. When Theo died soon afterwards, he awoke in a hospital bed back on Earth, with no trace remaining of his magical Stronghold-tier soulhome and its powers.
Forty years later, Theo once again finds his way to the Nine Worlds, reborn as a young man in the peaceful agrarian world of Tatian. As other travelers tumble through the cracks between worlds, he meets a shy Ichili woman named Fiyu and Navim, a Mundhin stoneshaper from the arid world of Arbai. After proving themselves in combat, Theo and his companions are invited to the city of Myufuru to be trained as soulcrafters. Fiyu and Theo are mentored by a young Tatian woman named Nauda, a strong fighter with unusual binding and warding techniques.
During a training bout, one of Nauda’s other students uses a powerful Archcrafter-tier armament against Navim, but he loses control and a blast from the staff shatters the Mundhin’s rocky body. None of the local healers can help, so Theo and his friends rush to carry Navim to his home world. As they arrive in Arbai, however, they are ambushed by mercenaries while a rival Earth-born student, Magnafor, seals the gate to Tatian. Stranded in the Arbai desert, Theo and his allies press on to Navim’s school and leave him in the care of the Arbaian healers.
Theo strikes a deal with the school’s master, a fourth-tier Authority with the ability to use weirkeys, to return them to Myufuru. They arrive to find the training village overrun by demons, and they witness Theo’s rival breaking into the giant tree housing the vault of sublime materials… just in time to watch the entire tree twist in on itself and snap out of existence entirely.
In the aftermath, powerful Tatian soulcrafters begin to search Myufuru for interlopers from outside the Nine Worlds, so Nauda invites Theo and Fiyu to journey towards her home in the north. When they arrive in the city of Nlukoko, Nauda outlines a plan to venture into the wilderness beyond to reach a gate to the world of Fithe.
As he researches the mythical Artifacts of Elghiera in Nlukoko’s library, Theo is interrupted by another demon attack. During the battle, he rescues an unusual imp-like being who calls herself Senka and promptly attaches herself to his leg, complaining that a “big mean fumpet” is looking for her. Searchers soon arrive to meet with the Lord of Nlukoko, so Nauda suggests that they lay low by slipping through the city’s gate to the world of Deuxan.
Theo visits a local establishment in the nearby city of Anguedan to gather information, and is shocked to discover that a century has elapsed in the Nine since his previous life. He returns to find that Fiyu has unwittingly insulted a young member of the local ruling family, who promptly challenges her to a duel. Unsatisfied by the result, the group’s leader, Esaire ai Armaeu, forces another duel which Nauda wins at the cost of a broken arm.
Nauda decides to skip paying for a healer by instead ascending to Archcrafter, reinforcing her body and unlocking space to build another floor in her soulhome. However, they still lack the money to buy a sleigh to travel to Fithe, so they decide to remain in Anguedan until the upcoming annual rainhorn hunt. In the meantime, Theo attempts to look up the family of his old ally Brigana ai Teraeves in the court library, but finds no mention of them.
When the rainhorn hunt begins, Theo, Nauda and Fiyu find they can hunt the beasts effectively by combining Nauda’s strength, Theo’s gravitational powers, and Fiyu’s stealth. However, they are drawn into a grudge match with Esaire and his allies, and they are forced to flee back to Tatian by stealing one of the Armeau family’s sleighs. The Armeaus chase them into the north of Tatian, trapping them in a cave after both parties are ambushed by an enormous sublime beast called an eryo. Esaire is wounded and the Deuxans are defeated, but Theo is forced to ascend to Archcrafter earlier than planned in order to slay the eryo.
As they depart for Fithe, Nauda shows them something unexpected: an enormous cliff running around the entire planet, separating the lush verdant half of Tatian from a blackened wasteland on the other side. Meanwhile, Esaire is chastised by his grandfather Arceon for allowing the vendetta to get out of hand, but upon hearing that Theo was searching for the ai Teraeves family, the elder Armeau abruptly decides that they need to travel to Fithe.
Theo, Fiyu, and Nauda arrive in the hub city of Norro Yorthin, accompanied (unwillingly in Theo’s case) by Senka. As independent soulcrafters, they are unable to gain well-paying work or passage through the city’s gates to Ichil or Arbai, so they set out to ally with one of the city’s great Houses.
House Crimson is influential and powerful, led by a Stronghold and multiple Authorities, but Theo’s group is put off by Tythes, the irreverent and unpredictable heir of the family. After counting out the House of the Lost (too risky) and the House of Coin (too canny), they eventually join House Blacksilver, an outsider-friendly organization with a good reputation for public works. Theo sets himself and his allies a target: to earn invitations to an expedition to the Chasm of Lamentations, a dangerous region rich in sublime materials and artifacts.
While providing security during negotiations between Blacksilver officials and House Crimson, Theo is spotted and confronted by Arceon, the head of the Armeau family. To Theo’s surprise, Arceon interrogates him about his search for the ai Teraeves family before being interrupted by Tythes and their House of Coin hosts. Before Theo can escape, Esaire claims a blood vendetta and publicly challenges him to a duel. Theo is forced to accept, but negotiates a six-month delay to allow him to prepare.
Theo’s preparations are interrupted when Fiyu is given a chance to travel through the gate to her home world of Ichil. Theo and Nauda accompany her into the dangerous sunless world, and they reach a Biolumin Relay which allows Fiyu to leave a message for her elder relative. On the return journey, however, Fiyu is badly injured and realizes that she will remain vulnerable if she continues to delay her first ascension.
Theo finally fills all of his soulhome’s technique chambers, granting him access to a technique he has bent his entire soulhome towards: manifesting his singularity as a miniature black hole, consuming matter and cantae alike. Fiyu purchases a Chasm Invitation and Theo manages to win another from from House Teal, but is immediately attacked by a group of mercenaries hired by Esaire. Theo and Nauda lose ground rapidly in the ensuing fight, and Fiyu rushes to ascend to Archcrafter mid-fight so she can defend her allies.
On the day of the duel, Tythes wagers a Chasm Invitation that Theo will lose, and Nauda accepts the bet. When the duel begins, Theo is hounded around the arena by Esaire’s superior Ruler-tier speed and cantae. Wounded and desperate, Theo tries to form one singularity after another, scattering them into the corners as he is forced to dodge… until he uses his new wormhole technique to pull the partially-formed black holes together. Esaire’s soulhome cracks under the pressure, and Theo spares his life once the victory is clear.
In the aftermath, Theo learns that the entire ai Teraeves family and several others were destroyed a decade after his own death, and even mentioning the family name has become forbidden on Deuxan. Meanwhile, Nauda collects her Chasm Invitation from Tythes, who rages at her publicly, but later confides to his aunt Gethyrue that the three young soulcrafters might be just the people he has been looking for.
With the Armeau family retreating to Deuxan in disgrace, Theo and his allies make a trip through Norro Yorthin’s gate to the verdant world of Aathal and harvest many sublime materials from the hostile plant life there, as well as trading with the tree-like native Aathali. Theo tries to train Senka to be more cooperative, but she only shows frustratingly brief flashes of lucidity amid her usual antics.
Theo tries again to persuade Nauda to build a shielding wall in her soulhome, but her heart is set
Back in Fithe, House Blacksilver’s Authorities request assistance with securing a rare sublime material. Their caution is well-founded: before they can harvest the dewfossil, they are attacked by the Asplundat Movement, an aggressive force hailing from outside the Ruling Cities. With an unexpected intervention from Tythes involving an exploding wineskin, Blacksilver manages to fend off the assault long enough to complete their mission.
With Theo, Nauda, and Fiyu having proven themselves in the battle, the Blacksilver Authorities share more information about the Chasm expedition: in addition to the Asplundat Movement, other forces from within and outside the Norron continent will vie to secure an ancient armament known as the Scepter of Separation. With such fierce competition, the group hastens their preparations: Nauda ascends to Ruler, Theo finishes his shielding wall, and Fiyu journeys to Ichil to purchase materials for her planned Corporeal Floor on her second tier.
When the expedition finally begins, Theo uses his previous experience to guide his allies away from the main battles and finds an alternative route, close to the lethal river running through the center of the Chasm. However, his careful planning is disturbed by a familiar source of frustration: Senka has somehow followed them, despite the supposed impossibility of entering the Chasm without an Invitation plate.
The group travels safely down the river and reaches the ruins deeper in the Chasm. Despite an uncharacteristic display of apprehension from Senka, Theo guides them to his intended target: an island in the middle of the river with an intact locked building. As they approach, however, they are attacked by an Authority from a rival House until the arrival of Tythes results in him being slapped with several fish and then kicked off the island.
In return for saving their lives, Tythes magnanimously offers them the chance to repay the debt by spending a week trying to open the building’s enchanted lock so he can plunder its contents. The tension increases when Fiyu awkwardly approaches first Theo then Nauda to broach the subject of potentially becoming lifemates. Nauda is almost glad when the building is ripped off the island as Tythes fights off the returning rival Authority.
Freed by Tythes’s disappearance, the others creep down the Chasm to the main section of the ancient ruins, and discover their Blacksilver allies encamped on the outskirts watching a pitched battle over a sealed vault. When they include Theo in their farseeing technique, he realizes with dread that the vault is guarded by Vistgil, his former mentor turned nemesis. As they watch, the leader of Norro Yorthin’s House of the Lost breaks the vault’s door, but does not enter; moments later, the ruin collapses in on itself and vanishes.
Theo decides to make use of the distraction to sneak into the waterfall region of the Chasm to search for the Scepter of Separation. When they discover that Asplundat soulcrafters are already combing the area, Nauda goes to parley while Theo ascends to Ruler to give them an edge. After winning that battle, Nauda spots the Scepter, but cannot retrieve it before a pitched battle breaks out between enemy Authorities. As the waves of raw cantae rush over her, she watches helplessly as her soulhome buckles under the pressure and collapses into ruins. Theo and Fiyu survive thanks to their shielding walls, but are nearly knocked into the Chasm before the Scepter lands in Senka’s hands and she calmly uses it to dispatch their assailant.
For an agonizingly short time, Senka is fully lucid as she explains how her mangled soulhome and unstable mind are a result of a catastrophic event involving Vistgil centuries ago. She identifies him as part of a shadowy conspiracy to manipulate the Nine Worlds using the fragmentary worlds that exist around it, especially the five rivers that flow through them. Before she can continue, however, they are attacked by the returning rival Authority, and Senka shatters the Scepter as she uses it to hurl both him and herself into the Chasm.
The explosion attracts the attention of Vistgil, but Fiyu’s stealth technique is sufficient to veil them long enough for the leader of the House Of The Lost to return and distract him. With Nauda crippled and Senka seemingly lost, the three friends retreat from the Chasm back to Fithan soil. House Blacksilver rewards them with powerful tools and materials, as well as promising to help Nauda rebuild her shattered soulhome. Fiyu is distraught at her friend’s plight, while Theo’s thoughts linger on the calmness in the bright golden eyes of his former mentor.
On Ichil, Fiyu’s relative finally receives her message via the Biolumin network. His joy at hearing her voice is tempered by the content of the message, her distorted words implying that she is being held in Norro Yorthin and controlled by outsiders. Guchiro grimly draws his weirkey and goes to find his ward.
As tensions rise across the Norron continent, Theo is loaned out to allied Ruling Cities to help repel attacks from both the Asplundat Movement and water Fithans. Limited by her soulhome damage, Nauda instead patrols the villages near Norro Yorthin to defend against raiders. Afterwards, she returns to her rehabilitation, salvaging what she can from the molten ruin of her former soulhome, but is dismayed to discover the blue glow of a growing bondsfungi infestation. As she works with a Blacksilver specialist to clear it, she is accosted by cultists from the Order of the Deepest Blue, who mistake her for an outsider from the Nine Worlds. Her humiliation is deepened when she is unwillingly rescued by Tythes, who grandly carries her off before unsuccessfully attempting to inveigle her into his schemes against his father.
Theo visits an auction house as he widens his search for sublime materials, and is approached by Kathina, a Ruler from the House of Coin who he’d briefly met previously. He rebuffs her attempts to recruit him, but they agree to maintain business ties before being distracted by a ludicrous bid being yelled out on the auction floor. Theo is disturbed as he recognizes a fellow outsider from Earth, shaking his head in disbelief as he learns that the young man has adopted the name “Raythe Darkblade”. Remembering his experience with Magnafor on Tatian, Theo resolves to stay away for fear of attracting Vistgil’s attention.
Nauda is troubled by continuing reports of raiding by wild tribes, and meets with Kathina to share information. She learns that House Crimson is secretly manipulating the raiders, and persuades House Blacksilver to investigate. Since Nauda is still too weak to fight, Theo is sent along with Dhan, one of the three Blacksilver Authorities, and they observe Crimson forces subduing and capturing soulcrafters from the wild tribes amidst a squabble between Tythes and Roker, his House Crimson rival.
Back at the Blacksilver compound, Nauda despairs as the bondsfungi persist despite her attempts to purge them from her soul. Prompted by Fiyu’s descriptions of her troubles, Navim nudges Theo into offering Nauda more support, and together they design a new blueprint based on a towering statue representing Nauda’s entire body.
When the Houses of Norro Yorthin amass an army to suppress the growing threat from the wild tribes, the battle quickly spirals into chaos. Roker attempts to murder Tythes but is thwarted by Gethyrue, who is severely injured in the process. Fiyu’s relative Guchiro arrives and signals to her to join him, but he mistakes her Blacksilver allies for captors and attacks them. Tythes confronts his father Wiltur, who unexpectedly sunders a weirkey and scatters both armies between worlds.
Nauda awakens alone on the insectoid-dominated world of Slest, and survives by stealing honey from a colony of giant yet peaceful beetles. Fiyu joins forces with House Crimson soulcrafters to defend Gethyrue as she heals. Theo is joined by Kathina and soon discovers that he can understand the pheromone-based Slescan language. After some violent misunderstandings, he succeeds in communicating with a humanoid Slescan scout, Krikree.
Nauda’s luck turns from bad to worse as she is accosted once again by Tythes. He persuades her to help him infiltrate one of two warring insectoid hives, but they are forced to retreat by the hive queen’s consort. Fiyu widens her sensory technique to search for her allies, but discovers she is separated from them by a no man’s land between opposing armies. Theo and Kathina form an uneasy truce with wild tribesmen to raid a myrm pit, and Krikree proves herself a useful ally when she defends Theo as the tribesmen attempt an ambush.
