Bloodcrete (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 6), page 17
Oh, and she supposed their skin was blue instead of red. Friend Nauda would have noticed that.
Unlike the straight walkway, the first full-sized sphere contained a less two-dimensional environment. Fiyu could sense an open space at the top of some spheres, but not this one: it was packed top to bottom with buildings. Without her broader senses, some parts of it would have been suffocating, with absolutely no way to see outside. Or perhaps some preferred not to see the ocean around them? In any case, the city continually opened on itself, with walkways and stairs moving in every direction.
Despite all the differences, many things about Fithan society appeared familiar. Fiyu saw many signs on establishments, unfamiliar in detail but unquestionably representing local Houses. They also had considerable differences in wealth: the poorest regions seemed to be made of stone, while the wealthiest were built from glass. Mostly glass darkened too much to see through, which was much less stressful than living within a transparent home.
When they passed what appeared to be a sublime material market, Fiyu automatically leaned toward it. But her relative marched onward without even looking, so she trailed after and cast him a curious glance.
"We're here to find more materials for me, are we not?"
"Of course," Relative Guchiro said, "and there are many promising materials. The ocean depths contain different kinds of darkness that can synergize with Ichil's, and there is a volcanic range nearby. No ice, but the cold is more considerable than it appears: without warming materials, this place would risk freezing."
"That sounds promising, but surely the Fithans collect such materials?"
"Yes, and we'll purchase some of them." Her relative turned and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But you are a Ruler now, and govern your own soulcrafting. The only path forward will involve collecting your own sublime materials."
Fiyu bobbed her head, warmed by his trust, but she had to ask her next question. "Does that mean we're leaving the city? I don't think I can survive in such dense water..."
"Your Corporeal Floor makes you more durable than you think, but you're right. We're going to an old friend to ask for permission and transportation. Forgive me, but I need to organize what I'm going to say."
So they walked through the rest of the city without speaking. Ordinarily, Fiyu would have been happy to listen to her relative share interesting information about the region. In recent times, she would have experienced it alongside Friend Nauda and Friend Theo. Though she still enjoyed observing the new environment, she realized that this wasn't how she wanted to travel the Nine Worlds.
The second large bubble they entered was roughly similar to the first, but the third immediately reflected a significant difference. There were soulcrafters everywhere, and guards on the streets all wearing a similar House logo. Fiyu wanted to ask about them, but remembered what Relative Guchiro had said. He had passed through every security check with a few words so far, but now they were approaching a much larger building.
Even though the building itself was only three stories tall, it had something unusual above it: empty air. In a city where space was at an absolute premium, the ability to have an ornate roof and free space overhead reflected great wealth. They appeared to be near the center of the cluster, so the sapphire spheres on all sides created a glow that was almost like a sky.
Passing through the fortified gate to the building took longer than usual, as the guards needed to confer with someone inside. Eventually they walked in on a path lined with strangely diffuse statues. Their interiors contained considerable complexity, but it was a repetitive organic pattern dissimilar to Ichili art. Still beautiful to her senses, and she suspected they were artificially formed.
That theory proved correct when they found a man shaping one of the statues with his hands. Some sort of life cantae emanated from his fingers, and the statues grew slightly - Fiyu saw that they were coral, and their colors were likely carefully chosen as well. When the man turned, she realized that she should have been paying more attention to him.
He was unusually short, even more slender than her, and he wore a simple blue tunic. But his spirit burned with the strength of a Stronghold, making Fiyu realize that he was probably the leader of the entire city. Unlike almost every depths Fithan she had met, his horns curled into high spikes, and something intense burned at their cores.
"Guchiro." He smiled thinly and set down a pruning tool. "It has been too long."
"Thank you for seeing me, Heshfer." Her relative bowed politely, but not deferentially. "I've uncovered new information about a topic of mutual interest. I had hoped that I might recruit your assistance."
"I fear that will not be possible. One of my own projects has... borne unexpected fruit."
"How so?"
Heshfer glanced briefly at Fiyu, but after a moment's consideration continued to speak to her relative. "You may recall the sonar technique we once perfected. While testing it, I... woke something from depths even lower than ours. We know almost nothing of the beast, because all senses that near it wither. I had actually considered contacting you to see if you would fare better, but based on recent information I doubt it. It bears a mantle that consumes information."
"If it is still threatening the city, I could investigate."
"Oh, it isn't threatening. If it wanted to destroy Nondol, it could do so. This creature is beyond Dominion, Guchiro... far beyond. Everywhere it swims, light and heat die. When it came within a hundred leagues of Nondol, the city was dim for a month. Five percent of our population died in the chaos, and that was with swift action."
That should have been dismaying news, but her relative took it in stride. He merely crossed his arms and considered for a moment before answering. "I have also discovered a troubling entity. I believe that it has more insidious effects at a distance, manipulating truth itself."
"You don't understand the position I'm in, old friend." Heshfer turned away from them to grow another spike on his coral sculpture. "The leaders of other cities suspect that I am responsible for awakening this beast, and blame me for their own suffering. My position is extremely precarious. I have considered rushing my ascension to Dominion just to avoid being attacked by a greater power."
The two of them continued speaking of the political situation, but Fiyu could only follow a small percentage of it. Her relative didn't seem to have great familiarity with Fithe, only with this specific soulcrafter. It appeared unlikely that anyone would be convinced, so their trip was likely to be disappointing.
She wondered again why her relative had stopped at Authority. That was certainly overwhelmingly powerful for the majority of regions, but it wasn't the peak, and she didn't believe that he had failed his ascensions. Now he was speaking to a Stronghold as if they were equals. In the past she had asked him such questions and he had never given her a proper answer.
Eventually even Relative Guchiro accepted that he couldn't convince Heshfer, and instead negotiated use of local vessels for harvesting materials. It sounded as though it would be easy, since many in the city were still afraid in the wake of the mysterious creature. Technically it was fortunate that they had permission, but when they finally departed Fiyu felt mostly dissatisfied.
"I was too optimistic," her relative told her as they departed. "After so many years with no progress, who would think that we would both uncover a threat at almost the same time? The Order of the Deepest Blue may be propagandists, but something may truly be changing..."
"Why did you never tell me about this acquaintance before?" Fiyu asked. "Were you Authorities at the same time? Why has he ascended and you haven't? I understand that he is threatened by an undersea beast, but what threat do you see on Ichil and why have you never told me of it?"
"You have many questions."
Relative Guchiro said nothing after that and continued on in silence until they had left the higher sphere. She feared that he might never answer and that she was still a child when it came to this. But as they descended into the city, he spoke quietly.
"The blueprints that I followed to this tier end at Dominion, but the world contains threats no Dominion could face. I have waited for many years, but I have not been idle. There are other elements of soulcrafting, and when you have ascended you will be ready to learn more of them. But for now, you need to focus on yourself, because these threats are too large for any of us."
"For now?" Fiyu pushed her senses over his body nervously. "One day you'll tell me everything?"
"One day, you will join us."
Chapter 16
Theo wasn't sure what to expect when he emerged into the Gold Wastes. Many of the Nine Worlds could be more consistent than Earth, but then again his journeys through them had been rather limited. Given how little he knew about Fithe, he could only guess based on intelligence from Blacksilver.
The first thing that struck him as he crawled out of the cave was the color. Though the sun was still crimson overhead, the rocky and dusty landscape were dull yellow. Not really gold, if that was where the region got its name, but enough to be striking. Of course, he wasn't there to do toponymy. If the Gold Wastes were really so close to Tymetron, hopefully the local common knowledge would be valuable military intelligence for Norro Yorthin.
So Theo headed out into the wastes. He kept his shielding wall fully cloaking him and didn't use any cantae, since he didn't know what to expect. That was the same reason he'd left Krikree and Senka behind. Allegedly the local soulcrafters weren't likely to attack on sight, but the Blacksilver officials hadn't even been certain about that.
As he walked, Theo extended his gravity senses in all directions. It didn't seem likely to find anything in a hazy wasteland like this, but at least he could practice. To his surprise, however, he almost immediately discovered a large point of mass. It had to be something big, to be observable from such a distance.
He headed in that direction at an even run, his enhancement chambers enough to maintain his stamina. The closer he got, the more his eyes could resolve the point of mass. It seemed like a city, but an unusually compact one. Less a city than an overgrown fortress, with walls and spires on every side. No outer city or camps, as far as he could see.
Since he wasn't getting attacked, or even observed, Theo eventually got bored. He threw himself forward and then neutralized his gravity so that he would float sideways. Air resistance slowed him down eventually, but moving this way at least he could soulcraft.
After talking to Nauda, he'd developed a new idea of his own. The fundamental shape of his cantae flow over his first three floors was a sphere, but his soulhome was a cube. That had never really bothered him, since he had more than enough willpower to shape it. But while brainstorming ideas for Nauda, it had occurred to him that it didn't have to be that way.
His soulhome effectively had eight corners, and they largely didn't do anything except store cantae. It had never bothered him, and trying to cram more sublime materials into the corners would have just tangled his elegant flow. But if he used sublime materials only to shape flow instead of add to it...
Theo was only part-way to carving an initial experiment when he reached the city. It looked even more like a fortress close up, and he began to consider plans to get inside. To his surprise, an Authority descended from the city gates to meet him without any particular animosity.
"Hey there!" The woman was a head taller than him and looked like she ate an entire cow for breakfast every day. "You're not local, huh?"
"I'm just moving through," Theo said blandly as he tried to come up with a new plan.
"The important thing is that you're not with Tymetron. Excuse me."
With no further warning, she emitted a wave of piercing energy. Most of it shed off his shielding wall, but the cantae was so intense that some of it got through. Theo braced himself to prevent damage, but to his surprise there was none whatsoever. It had apparently just been an analysis technique, albeit an aggressive one.
"Oh, weird blueprint you've got! Definitely not local." She put her chin in her hands and thought for a moment. "Well, if you're a mercenary they hired, you probably can't do much harm. Go on in then, huh? Causing a little trouble is fine, but if you cause too much, we'll squash ya."
"I..." Theo hesitated as she physically pushed him toward the city gate. "I'm trying to avoid anyone from Tymetron. Old enemies. I don't suppose you can tell me anything?"
"Nope! You're not going to find them here, but I've got work to do."
And so Theo found himself thrust inside the city, a bit baffled by the entire experience. He was definitely in a different part of Fithe.
Every aspect of the city was heavily fortified and frankly rather boring. He spent more time looking at the people: they were a bit darker red than most dust Fithans, with typically enormous builds. Almost everyone went about armed, even the merchants selling food on the street. Despite that, the atmosphere seemed as laid back as the guard at the entrance.
More importantly, the average soulcrafter's tier was substantially higher. In most areas in the Nine Worlds, a Ruler was a rare power. They were uncommon even in a hub city like Norro Yorthin, used to fill many critical roles. But here, there was a Ruler every other street. Strangely he hadn't seen a single Authority since the gate guard, which made him wonder if they were all militarily engaged.
Only one type of structure interrupted the fortress-like buildings: combat arenas. Just in the time he had been walking, he'd seen a sand pit for wrestling, a stage with two martial artists competing, and a fenced pentagon. Several times he saw locals fighting one another, but it seemed more good-natured than bloodthirsty. Most of those he observed used close combat styles, and in the arenas they especially favored a type of wrestling.
The average skill level wasn't bad either. Theo would bet on himself against any two of their Rulers, and even more if they were close combat fighters in an area where he could fly. But the occupants of this city against Norro Yorthin? Unless they were lacking high tier soulcrafters, they'd probably win in a war.
When his initial wandering uncovered nothing suspicious, Theo decided that it was time to contact someone. He found an Archcrafter selling bundles of spiced food on skewers and approached. "Can I have one?"
"Got money?" The man folded his arms over his broad chest, but when Theo showed him a Fithan Disc, he grinned. "Here you go, local specialty! Drinks are extra if you can't handle it!"
That was the benefit of having a global currency. Theo received one of the skewers and bit into it experimentally. To his surprise, it didn't seem to have any actual meat. The vegetables were incredibly hardy and the fruits had an odd flavor, but both blended with the spices. Just one skewer was probably going to be filling.
Midway through his meal, Theo spoke up again. "The guard knew I wasn't from Tymetron. How did she know?"
"You really are foreign, ain't ya? Half the soulcrafters in Tymetron use blueprints with demonic materials, and anyone with some power has to get a big gold seal so they'll serve their leader." The vendor shook his head. "They'll do it to anybody. I had a cousin who got captured, and they sealed him too. Took an Authority to get rid of the thing."
"I got attacked by someone from Tymetron, but I don't know much about them. Just who is this leader?"
"Wish I could tell ya, but that's not my sort of thing. About all I can do for you is keep giving you food if you keep giving me money, ha!"
That was already helpful, though Theo kept that to himself. House Blacksilver had feared the continent of Tymetron because it was dominated by an enormous empire, but Theo had suspected that there was something worse going on. The leader of the empire, at the very least, was a soulcrafter beyond Dominion. What he was doing forcing seals into other people's soulcrafting, he had no idea. Perhaps it was related to the new capacities soulcrafters gained at that tier.
While he finished his meal, Theo gained a little more information and examined the city further. He learned that the city was called Eltario and that it sat on the northwestern edge of the Gold Wastes, facing Tymetron. It bore the brunt of many invasion attempts, which was why it was more of a frontier fortress than a polished city.
Simply observing taught him something else: the local population integrated both types of Fithans. Perhaps one in ten people on the street were depths Fithans, just as large-bodied as the others and treated no differently. He saw several purple-skinned hybrids like Tythes as well, though none had his single horn. The vendor claimed not to know much about the military, but Theo surmised that the depths Fithans in the sea between the two areas had cast their lot with the Gold Wastes.
Before doing anything more extreme, Theo took time to make sure that there wasn't anyone tailing him and that he wasn't missing any shadowy secrets. As far as he could tell, Eltario was exactly what it appeared to be. There was a public announcement of a skirmish on the coast, but no one seemed to take it too seriously.
Unfortunately, none of the civilians who would chat with him knew very much about the broader conflict. Theo eventually decided that he would have to ask some of the more military locals. He found another fighting pentagon and sat nearby to listen in. They mostly talked about local rivalries and matches, but he could wait.
Just sitting there might be suspicious, so Theo decided to soulcraft. People engaged in soulcrafting all throughout Eltario, so that just made him blend in. That was his excuse, anyway: he also really wanted to get back to his new project.
He finished carving his first experiment out of a lesser sublime material he could afford to waste. One side was a set of right angles that would perfectly slot into the corner of his soulhome, while the other side was a concave slope. His idea was that it would fill his corner and help shape his cantae into a natural sphere. Yes, he could easily do that with willpower, but if he filled every corner, his soulhome could practically run itself.
