Bloodcrete (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 6), page 28
His opponent struck first, and the sword tore through his side. Theo staggered in pain and nearly all of his techniques collapsed. It took all of his control to avoid letting the remaining singularities dissolve, and his opponent sneered at them.
Then Krikree's spear plummeted directly through his skull.
Theo used the last of his strength to sweep all the miniature singularities through his opponent's body, just in case the spear wasn't enough. His singularity flared in a final moment of its true destructive potential, then subsided in exhaustion. He collapsed the next moment, bleeding into the dust. If his opponent had survived the final blow, he would have been doomed, but the fleshmasker's sword clattered to the stone and then he crumpled alongside Theo.
It was finally over. Theo should have been proud of himself, but where his head lay, he could see the Slescan army flooding over the plateaus, consuming all bodies living or dead.
There had never been a plan for that, and he had nothing left.
~ ~ ~
Nauda crawled back up to the plateaus in time to see the ants marching on the wounded. Once, she had taken herself past her limits in order to stop just such a group, but this time... she was weakened and there was no point she could defend. The best she could do was go face them and save a few, until she was overwhelmed.
How could Tythes do this? He might have ruined his father's plans, but at the cost of countless civilian lives. She wasn't sure if there was any limit to Slescan hunger. The ants would rush over the battlefield and multiply the casualties many times as they ate the wounded.
"No further, foul beasts!" Tythes suddenly blazed in the air, surrounded by an aura of cantae that made him light up like a candle against the clouds. "Never fear, father, I can slay these beasts without killing any of our own!"
He raised one hand over his head, and Nauda recognized the sphere that he used to shield the Slescans. It burned with cantae, but she realized that he was generating a useless shell around the artifact. Tythes was actually ceasing his use of the artifact when he pretended to wield it.
All across the battlefield, Slescans began to collapse. A few struggled as they went down, but they couldn't survive without his support. One of the humanoid Slescans turned toward him in rage, snarling something, no doubt about the fact that Tythes had betrayed them. From the very beginning, he had been planning to bring the Slescans to Fithe and then let them all die once they had served his purposes.
Tythes killed him before he could say anything incriminating, of course. Nauda turned away and limped to the Blacksilver defenses. His plan might have prevented the worst of the casualties, but he had known how many would die on both sides, and he had still chosen to take that step.
He might hide behind a lazy smile, but the face underneath was only a second mask. She wouldn't forget who he truly was.
When Nauda hit the barrier, she was surprised that she accidentally broke through. It had been severely weakened during the battle and would soon fail. Within, she saw that the local Fithans were mostly alive. That was something, at least.
Thoughts about overall casualties vanished when she saw Theo. He lay on his back, his clothes torn open in an ugly gash that stained his entire chest with blood. Several local healers knelt around him, but they weren't prepared to heal such a serious injury on a Ruler.
"Let me try." Nauda dropped down beside them and held her hands over the wound. It had been a long time since she'd healed anyone but a Slescan, but she was glad to feel the sublime honey resonating within her soulhome. She blocked off her other two towers and focused entirely on healing.
Energizing cantae flowed through Theo's body and he took a deep breath. She struggled to help his wound close, since it looked like a thrust had pierced his body. But before she could do so, he reached up and grasped her wrist.
"Nauda... I'll be fine... help Krikree..."
She hadn't even seen anyone else, but the Fithans seemed to understand and directed her attention. Krikree lay on a palette some distance away, her body unnaturally still. The only thing that moved was one of her arms, which Nauda realized had actually been severed. It twitched on the ground beside her as if all its remaining life drained away.
When Nauda moved to her, Krikree's antennae did shift in response. She seemed to have stabilized, despite the loss of her arm... her blood stained the ground all around the hole. Nauda was far out of her competence, but she was the only person who could even try.
Carefully lifting the arm, Nauda pressed it against Krikree's side and let her cantae flow. If only she had studied more... she tried to gather her cantae from the flesh core that regenerated her, up through her sublime honey, then out through her upper windows. She had no idea if that was the proper technique, but she did feel the flesh began to cling to itself. Nauda held Krikree's arm in place while gesturing to the local healers, who quickly arrived with bandages to fix it there.
"Ivo-sister... win?" Krikree's eyes opened and she stared up at Nauda.
"Win? He's alive, if that's what you mean." Nauda smiled and brushed away some of Krikree's hair that had gotten into her face. "He's just over there. You can see him once you've recovered."
"Ivo-sister fight... Skin-prince... win?"
Nauda glanced out from the defensive circle, and the Fithans directed her toward a mass of torn flesh. "Yeah, it looks like he won."
"Good."
"If he defeated a prince, does that make Ivo-sister a prince now?"
"Not!" Krikree began to struggle, forcing Nauda to hastily pin her down and prevent her arm from damaging itself again.
As soon as Krikree stabilized, others were brought to her. Simple cuts Nauda could heal easily enough, and the sublime honey naturally helped her cantae heal infections. But she had been weary at the start, and there were so many injuries she was helpless against. Nauda found herself staggering from body to body, healing as much as she could, until suddenly someone took her by the shoulders.
"You've done enough." Dhan stared down at her and she realized dimly that he had ascended to Stronghold. "The rest of House Blacksilver is here now."
She numbly allowed herself to be taken aside. Dhan appeared uninjured, but Karchibol was near death and Janne slept exhausted in a chariot. Then again, it wasn't power that mattered now: the group Dhan had brought with him included healers and soulcrafters specializing in repairs.
Even then, Nauda couldn't quite believe it. She saw Theo was on his feet again, his clothes all mostly repaired, though he still favored his chest. Not long after, Guchiro descended from the sky and deposited Fiyu beside them.
As the three of them looked at one another over the battlefield, Nauda finally accepted that it was over.
Chapter 28
As soon as it was permissible, Fiyu retreated to a light-canceling tent. Once she was safely within the darkness, she removed her mask and slowly massaged her forehead. Her Corporeal Floor meant that she could use her senses more naturally for longer, but the fatigue of maintaining them over such a large battlefield for so long now produced some physical pain as well.
At least everything she felt outside was encouraging. No more people were dying of injuries, and House Blacksilver soulcrafters were moving everywhere to help rebuild. The local Fithans were joining with them to clean the battlefields and had made a deal to split all of the sublime materials remaining. There had been a problem with bondsfungi springing up, but Friend Nauda had been able to eliminate it before it grew out of hand.
Perhaps more importantly, House Crimson had entirely left the Dustwind Plateaus. The others said that Adversary Wiltur was trying to salvage as much of a victory as he could across the Ruling Cities, and Fiyu did not want to think about him. Unknown Tythes had also departed, and based on his actions, that was probably for the best.
Fiyu would have been happy to remain in her tent for a long time, but she felt Associate Dhan outside. He waited awkwardly, and would likely continue waiting. She replaced her mask and emerged.
"Do you need to speak with me?"
"I wanted to ask about your relative." Associate Dhan glanced over his shoulder, but Relative Guchiro was nowhere to be seen. "We were going to ask him if he would join House Blacksilver, but he's been ignoring us."
"Yes." Fiyu nodded in agreement, then as the silence stretched she realized that more was required. "I do not believe that my relative wishes to become more involved with Fithan politics."
"Are you sure you couldn't convince him? Now that Blacksilver is expanding, we need more Authorities to protect our claim."
"I understand, but it will not be possible. We will be leaving as well."
"So I've heard." Associate Dhan frowned as he stared over the plateaus. "We won't stop you, and it isn't like your membership would run out... I'm not sure we can really count the number of merits the three of you deserve for what you've done here."
"Please continue to work in our absence," Fiyu said. "When we return, you will have more Authorities."
Associate Dhan chuckled as he turned away. "The others said the same thing."
Fiyu nodded to him and retreated to her tent. She was glad to have helped both Blacksilver and the local workers, but she would be relieved to move on from Fithe.
~ ~ ~
"So the gamble paid off?"
"Oh, it paid off." Kathina sat back in the House of Coin chariot with her feet up on the side. "I've gone from being placed on probation to the brightest golden girl. Do you have any idea how many Fithan Discs our position in Norro Yorthin is worth?"
"I do, as a matter of fact," Theo said. "I was thinking that we're owed some of them."
"Nice try."
Theo sat down on the side of the chariot, facing in the opposite direction. "I actually thought we should talk about that. We're going to be leaving for a while, so I wanted to check on your House's view of things. Do you think it will remain stable?"
"Depends on what you mean. The potential war with the Asplundat Movement? Put off, but not forever." Kathina began tracing figures in the air. "But Norro Yorthin looks stable for the time being. Two Strongholds, plus ours. House Crimson has four Authorities to House Blacksilver's two, but everyone knows that Crimson is fractured after this. Plus, the Authority from the Dustwind Plateaus is basically counted as one of yours."
"Don't tell them that. If this alliance turns into a vassalage, they're going to be unhappy."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure. Don't worry, the House of Coin is highly invested in their success as a neutral region. Since the Asplundat Movement is being more cooperative, we might actually be able to trade with them. I thought that was just rhetoric when you said it, but it might work out after all."
"I wanted to talk to you about how you view that investment." Theo leaned in closer to capture her roving gaze. "None of this was in writing, and it can't ever be codified. But I want your promise that the House of Coin will keep the accounting fair. No charging Blacksilver or the Dustwind Plateaus for all this work."
"You don't need to worry, we consider it balanced." She ticked the numbers off on her fingers. "The sublime materials for Dhan? Already written off as protecting our stake in Norro Yorthin. Repairing the plateaus? Just an investment in future trade. Now, if Blacksilver wants our assistance in building a new branch of their House out here, or they want the relief to come through our channels, they'll have to pay for that. We want this to be a profitable relationship, after all."
When she put it like that, Theo could believe it. House Blacksilver might have been thrust onto a larger stage than it had handled in the past, but it would adapt. The local Fithans could navigate their entangled politics better than he could, as long as they didn't let things get out of hand, so he was happy to leave them to it. He had to admit, resolving things was more satisfying than just leaving the world behind.
"I actually have something for you." Kathina stretched back to open a panel beneath her seat and retrieved a small box. "This is an order put in by House Blacksilver, but they had to go through us. I hope it meets your requirements."
When Theo opened the lid of the box, he saw a small clear rock, like a pellet of glass. He lifted the box closer, and to his surprise the rock bumped against the bottom. It had been hovering... and when he pulled the box back, it remained in position. Outside containment, it seemed determined to remained fixed in space. Even when he grasped it directly, he needed to exert himself to pull it through the air.
Obviously meant to be an anchoring material, but Theo was more distracted by something else. "You said Blacksilver ordered this through you?" he asked. "This feels like a Siatan material."
"It is. Apparently one of their Authorities had been developing relationships there, but they needed our resources to make the trade. This wasn't the only material... but they went the extra mile to get this for you. That's why I hope it will fit your blueprint."
"It definitely should, but why?"
"You had no reason to stay on Fithe and risk your life for people you barely know. But you fought to stop their war and control the demons, exactly the opposite of these claims about Outsiders. Apparently that touched them. Now, I'm not so sentimental, but I think they want to retain their investment in you."
The material was exactly what he needed for his anchoring chamber. With some effort, Theo managed to draw it into his soulhome. There would definitely be further refinements before he ascended, but they had been reduced to a minor task. Assuming he could find the Noveni material he needed most, he could begin building toward Authority as quickly as possible.
After staying on Fithe for its own sake, he wasn't sure how he felt about being rewarded for it. In a sense, it tempted him to expect a return on every good deed. Yet Theo couldn't think about that for long, not when he had so much future work to look forward to.
The fleshmasker Authority he defeated had left behind two things of value: his sword armament and the weirkey that survived his soulhome's collapse. Theo had been looking forward to obtaining a Deuxan weirkey, but to his surprise it led to Siata. Before he might have taken it with him, but now he considered leaving it with Blacksilver...
"Do you know who you really need to be worried about?" Kathina leaned closer and grinned. "Maybe when you get back, I'll be running Norro Yorthin."
"We'll see." Theo grinned back and left to join the others.
~ ~ ~
Nauda stood at the edges of the plateaus, in the dead lands where the borders weren't exactly drawn. These plateaus weren't as high, which meant that the dust storms often washed over them, rendering them unsuitable for habitation. The Asplundat Movement wasn't likely to risk claiming them, especially not after having their nose bloodied in that fight.
Or so she thought. The suit of stone armor walking toward her might feel differently.
"I'm glad you came," Homez said as his stone armor sloughed off around him. "I didn't want our last conversation to end that way."
"We're all playing nice now, aren't we?" Nauda folded her arms and stared back at him. "You could have gone through official channels."
"I thought you might want to know that the demonic artifact is now in the possession of the Asplundat Movement... but that it was regrettably damaged beyond repair during the battle."
"Huh. That's bad luck."
"Yes, some are quite disappointed." Homez smiled very briefly downward before he finally met her gaze. "I've been thinking about what you said. Some Fithans have made the same arguments, but I dismissed them as self-interested. I guess it took someone from another world to make me re-think it."
"So you're taking over the Asplundat Movement and turning it into your empire?"
"I didn't say I agreed with everything. But you were right about our leaders... power corrupts everywhere. I still believe that the Movement is healthier for the world than the House system, but it isn't perfect." He handed her a scrap of blue cloth. "This might not mean much to you, but it's a piece of a Deepest Blue robe. Everyone who was listening to them is severely discredited in the Movement, after the events here. Their order has been ejected from our lands."
Nauda took the cloth and rubbed it between her fingers. Not a sublime material, but it felt satisfying. "I wish that was the end of it, but they aren't going away. A lot of people listened to their message and believed it."
"They may even be right, but as I see it, that doesn't matter. Fithans nearly let the demons get out of hand, all on their own."
For a time they stood in silence. The wind was picking up, so the dust was beginning to flow around their legs and would soon rise over them. Before it could, Nauda spoke up again.
"What will you do now?"
"I still have to speak to a lot of important figures," Homez said. "They'll likely promote me to Authority. Hopefully I can do a little good. I'm not sure I understand everything that took place here, but it's obvious there are others manipulating both sides for their own benefit. We can't allow that to continue."
"Can you prevent them making any more bloodcrete?"
"I doubt I can convince them to stop manufacturing it, but they won't be eager to deploy it again. Many in the Asplundat Movement were hungry for war. Losing so many here has soured their appetite."
"Then we won't see each other for some time, then."
"Perhaps, but it doesn't have to be that way." Homez turned away, but he smiled over his shoulder as he went. "Maybe you can visit us sometime. Perhaps after you see more of what we've built, one of us will convince the other."
He didn't give her time to answer, and Nauda wasn't sure what she would have said. She watched him until his stone armor closed around his body again, then walked in the other direction...
~ ~ ~
And almost immediately ran into Tythes. "Finally!" He hovered just above the dust clouds as if he didn't want to get his shoes dirty. "I've been waiting for you to get away from all these obnoxious people so we could talk one more time."
His appearance really had changed since she'd first seen him, trading in the wine-stained robes for a grand set of full House Crimson regalia. It included a pair of particularly fancy gloves with curled tips, so she didn't blame him for staying out of the dust. She did blame him for what he'd done.
