Bloodcrete (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 6), page 29
"What do you want, Tythes?"
"Are you and the others really leaving? I was so hoping you would stay." Though Tythes adopted a simpering tone, his eyes remained deadly. "I hope you realize that you've ruined some of my father's plans that were years in the making. I was thinking the three of you would stick around to fight House Crimson."
"Does it need more fighting?" Nauda gestured vaguely toward the devastated plateaus. "He lost most of his secret army in the battle, he didn't get control of Norro Yorthin, and the whole thing was a bit of an embarrassment for him. With you undercutting his authority, House Crimson seems pretty much finished."
"And where do you think my father got that army? Wiltur of House Crimson has been stuck at Stronghold for a very long time, and those years have driven him to desperation. He won't be defeated by this, not even close."
Nauda walked past him. "If you're going to be all mysterious, I'm going to ignore you."
"Oh, come on!" Tythes threw one of his shoes at the back of her head.
"You're not convincing me that way." Nauda rubbed the back of her head, even though it hadn't hurt. As she partially turned, she noticed that she had assumed wrongly: the shoe on the ground was an ordinary slipper and he still wore both of his curled shoes. "Wait, do you keep extra shoes to throw at people?"
"Those are my throwing shoes!"
In response, Nauda stomped the shoe with her full power, rendering it a smear of leather. "Tythes, I saw how many lives you were willing to sacrifice. If you really think you can deceive me this way, you've been wasting all this time."
"Fine." He descended into the dust opposite her, his eyes growing cold. "My father is in contact with an organization that spans worlds. I don't know their exact identity, but I know they're powerful enough to lend him that army of fleshmaskers. They'll be displeased by his failure, but neither they nor my father will give up."
"On what?"
"On making all of the Norron continent into a single power. One House Crimson, stretching from ocean to ocean, with my father at the head." Tythes gave her an uncomfortable smile that looked more honest than anything he'd shown before. "That was supposed to be my inheritance, but I changed my mind. And that's the actual truth."
"Not enough, as far as I'm concerned." Nauda shook her head and turned away again. "Either think more carefully about what you want, Tythes, or have a better plan before we come back."
Chapter 29
Returning to Norro Yorthin was pleasant, especially because Fiyu was able to enjoy a sublime meal in the State of Rest with her companions. But when it came time to prepare for their journey, she was increasingly alone or with her relative. Now that she had a Ruler's storage capacity, she wanted to take along anything she could possibly need.
"Is it cold on Noven?" she asked.
"Fiyu," Relative Guchiro said gently, "you must realize that Noven includes both ice caps and steaming jungles."
"Is it cold where we're going on Noven?"
"It seems that you are going to be moving more than a little, due to your companion's ambitions. In general, the temperature on Noven varies depending on whether you are above or below the clouds. Even the upper mountains can become cold at low sun phases, but I believe Ichil has more than prepared you for the temperatures we are likely to encounter."
Nodding in understanding, Fiyu selected three fur overcoats, three scarves, and several pairs of mittens for herself and both her companions. Water had been handled, and she had good stores of food, but it occurred to her that they might require a source of fire that didn't use cantae. While she considered the available options, her relative spoke again.
"The more relevant factor about Noven is that the world has nine suns."
"Oh my, how horrible." Fiyu examined Relative Guchiro's face, just in case he had picked up joking habits from Fithans. He had not.
"They don't produce as much heat as you would expect. It is one of the many things I do not fully understand about that world. I have spent only a little time there, so I am intrigued by what we will learn."
"Guchiro, I... feel somewhat guilty that you must still protect me. Normally I would be able to take care of myself by now, but I am facing such substantial threats..."
"You don't need to feel guilty, Fiyu. I am glad to help you, and your companions will soon be ascending to Authority." He stepped closer and pulled her into his embrace. "When the time comes, you will be able to fully repay me."
~ ~ ~
Despite their desire to move onward, Nauda had time for one more leafpuller visit. She sat atop the highest mound and watched the Slescan sun set one more time. Its amethyst light bathed the rising spires and cast the statues as a shadow maze of strange new forms.
Of course she would have insisted if Theo had argued about it, because there were so many things she needed to check. She wanted to be sure that the two colonies of beetles had merged successfully and weren't under threat. Conversation with Queen Yeshir made it clear that she couldn't be turned against Tythes, after he had stolen one of her enemies' armies, but she wasn't likely to snap and slaughter the beetles helping build Gray-Blue-Gold hive.
If Nauda was honest with herself, her main reason was wanting to hear their songs one more time.
[We have a gift for you.] Bluepetal crawled up the mound behind her, bearing something in his mouth. Nauda took the small vibrating box curiously, then smiled as she understood.
"This is a sublime hive?"
[Yes. The royal bees have produced excess honey, and as the environment was enriched, it eventually produced this. It should be a perfect match for the honey you used to soulcraft.]
Nauda had already drawn it into her soulhome, where the hive became as large as her head. Unlike the real bees in the beetle hives, the bees that buzzed around it were a sublime material - half-way to being an actual living being, and remarkably heavy in her home. If she hadn't spent so much time feeding and strengthening her heartoak, it might have been too much, but it felt right in her upper boughs.
"Thank you, Bluepetal." Nauda carefully reached out and touched the beetle's shell. "I didn't do this for the sublime materials. I hope you know that."
[We know. But your colony has accepted you as a symbiote, and they want you to thrive. It took them some time to understand that you needed different things to make you happy.]
"You said they accepted me... what about you?"
[I am curious about what will come of this.] Bluepetal said no more, simply settling down beside her as they both listened.
Around them, the beetle mounds had grown into a small city. They had requested her help with a few tasks, but the majority of it they had built on their own. In addition to all the new mounds and tunnels, they had built a defensive wall that was patrolled by soldier ants. There were even more sculptures than before, including a statue of her. She had a horn and looked a bit too much like a beetle, but it was definitely her.
Back on Fithe, Nauda had mocked Tythes for not being clear on exactly what he wanted. One more way she was a hypocrite, because she had absolutely no idea what she was doing on Slest.
~ ~ ~
When it came time to use the weirkey, Theo had wanted to simply vanish without goodbyes. He had made all the business arrangements and even helped stave off war, so they didn't need any grand emotional displays from him. Yet somehow he found himself consoling an anxious Slescan.
"Ivo-sister." Krikree latched onto his shoulder with her three working arms, her antennae bouncing in his face. "Krikree want scout. Krikree want go."
"There's too much you need to do here." Theo gently extracted his coat from her fingers. "And you need to be careful so that your arm fully heals."
"Krikree heal soon!"
"Do you remember the soulcrafting designs I showed you?"
Finally peeling away, Krikree dropped down to her usual crouch. "Krikree remember. Krikree soulcraft hard. Ivo-sister return."
He wasn't sure if she was forming a statement or a question. Since she still looked unhappy, he bent down beside her. "You won't be alone. You can visit the farmers any time you want, and you'll be able to stay with Navim. You like Navim now, right?"
"Navim-what good!"
The Mundhin himself had stood by the entire time, offering neither comment nor judgment. When Theo straightened up, he wished that he could shake Navim's hand, but settled for nodding to him. He got an inclined gem sphere in return.
"I have long wished that I could join your group for a longer venture," Navim said quietly. "Not as damaged cargo, I mean."
"If you wanted to come with us, you could," Theo said. Navim might be a slight liability as an Archcrafter, but that could change, and he had other relevant skills.
"No, I believe that it is time for me to reflect on my experiences and take my own path. I intend to write a monograph on all I have seen here, and perhaps share it with my original colleagues. The gate to Arbai is welcome, but... it is not home."
"I understand. As soon as we get our weirkeys, we'll make sure that we catch up with you."
There wasn't any need to say more, so Theo finally turned away from the two and left the Arbaian quarter. As he went, a small shadow detached itself from the gap between two other houses. Senka ran along beside him, then to his surprise lifted into the air, hovering at a matched pace.
"How long have you been able to do that?"
"I can when I'm focused enough." Senka shot him a sharp grin. "I didn't go along with you before because I would have been a liability, but that's going to change soon. I hope it's going to change a lot."
Theo smiled back. He was looking forward to Noven even more than she was, because it potentially held so much. As intensely as he was anticipating a perfect ascension to Authority, he wanted answers even more.
The House of the Lost had just whetted his appetite. Now that he knew that Vistgil had made mistakes in the early days of his system, Theo was even more determined to investigate his old allies. Compared to the Aathali messiness of Khaluu, the Noveni kept extensive family records, so he could easily investigate Eratius. It might lead to another trap from Vistgil, but that only motivated him more. He was prepared this time, and he'd find his way to the truth.
He met the others in the Blacksilver courtyard, all of them prepared in their own ways. No huge Houses, random civilians, or allies: just the three of them, Guchiro, and Senka. After everything on Fithe, a blank slate on a new world sounded wonderful, and Theo couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"There are a few things we need to be careful of," he told them, "but Noven shouldn't be a problem. So long as we don't run afoul of any divine laws or get involved in a lineage dispute, we shouldn't have to fight for our lives. We'll be tested, unquestionably, but we're more than equal to it. Now that we've wrapped up everything else, we can focus on ascension."
Nauda clasped his arm with a smile. Fiyu stepped closer to them and bobbed her head in agreement. Senka smirked and rolled her eyes.
Guchiro raised the weirkey and they all stepped across eternity to Noven.
Epilogue
Nanjuma walked through his soulhome very slowly, observing it more with his skin than his eyes. He had never noticed when rushing upward as a young man, but there were subtle currents within the flow of his cantae beyond those he controlled. Each sublime material produced its own eddies. As he walked, he could feel every inch of his soulhome beyond the simple materials.
It had been a long time since he had done any soulcrafting beyond repair and polishing. Ages ago, he had accepted that the intensity of the ascension to Authority was beyond him. Rather than becoming a broken Ruler, he could accept his place. Being a leader and protector in a community like Myufuru was more than enough for him.
At least until Nauda had returned, and spoke of her new community traveling other worlds.
Nanjuma wasn't so arrogant that he believed a little more willpower would let him ascend. Yet he did find himself thinking about how much he had learned since he had become a Ruler. Some elements of his soulcrafting had entrenched themselves, deepening over the years, while others had shifted in subtle ways that he hadn't realized. Perhaps...
"Excuse me." The voice came along with a blossoming of new cantae. Nanjuma left his soulhome to see his old friend hovering in the air above the former school. Bimanu looked as healthy as always, the same hale man he'd been three decades past. "I know you have work here, Nanjuma, but I need to call in our favor."
"Of course." Nanjuma had known this was coming, ever since he had called Bimanu to help Nauda return to her conflict in other worlds. "What do you need?"
"Your strength. I believe there may be a potential community violation to the north, but I think I shouldn't go alone, and the Landguard is stretched thin these days. How much time will you require to prepare yourself?"
Looking over the city, Nanjuma couldn't help but smile to himself. "They respect me here, but they don't need me so much. With the days of demon attacks behind us, higher soulcrafting is not so relevant to their lives."
"It will be relevant here. Come."
Bimanu lifted back into the air, grasping Nanjuma with his cantae as well, which was a surprise. "We aren't traveling by weirkey?" Nanjuma asked. "I recall you had one before."
"The Landguard pools all of its weirkeys, and our Tatian stock is urgently needed elsewhere." Bimanu flew him to a golden leaf that floated above the clouds, woven with supporting sublime materials into a flying vessel.
They flew north, far faster than Nanjuma could have traveled on his acorn. Along the way, they spoke about the old days when they had been Farmguards together. About old friends, still living and long passed. Bimanu always spoke around his work, but he continually implied that what should have been the heart of Tatian was becoming unstable.
When at last they arrived at the city of Nlukoko, both fell silent as they observed. Nanjuma was deeply saddened by the anger and paranoia of the broken community. Perhaps some cities organized themselves around such suspicion - his conversations with the Arbaians had been intriguing - but the Tatians suffered greatly as trust in their society declined.
"This place is ruled by a fallen Noveni Authority named Ariano," Bimanu said. "He was a known entity, accepted by the Landguard because the border with the other side is always troublesome. But it has grown much worse, and no one has believed me."
"And you want my help to investigate?" Nanjuma asked.
"I would like you to assist me in removing him. Ariano may be a failure, too weak after his ascension to join his world's equivalent of the Landguard. But I believe he must have a Ruler or two in his community, stringing them along with promises of ascension."
"I see."
"We do not begin with violence, but I think that it is almost certain to end there."
Without any further discussion, Bimanu arced the golden leaf down toward one of the grandest palaces of the city. It floated in the center of the lake, a grand proliferation of giant flowers both living and wooden. In a healthy community, it would have been a home for many different families, yet now it was dominated by a single man and his cohorts.
Would they truly end his reign with a battle? And if they did, would it restore the community of Nlukoko? The older he became, the more Nanjuma wondered if the true heart of kinship lay in something deeper than all his world's customs. For now, all he could do was ready his cantae for combat.
They arched inward, sweeping past lesser guards: armed with weapons of violence, but not strong enough to oppose them. Bimanu leapt off their leaf when they reached the central chamber, a grand hall that spiked in all directions like a bromeliad. Every petal was partially made of glass, each a different color, leaving the center a rainbow.
Ariano of the Golden Wings sat on a golden throne in the center of the room. Nanjuma knew nothing of his species or his culture, but he did not think the man's wings should look so bent. The man's robes were rumpled and he stared up at them blearily, not quite as drunk as he appeared. Only three other people in the room: two servants and a Ruler.
"Your perversion of this community must come to an end!" Bimanu declared. "Ariano of the Golden Wings, if you do not accept the society of our world, then you may not remain in it."
"Now? After all this time?" Ariano sat back in his chair and folded his hands over a softening gut. "I didn't think the Landguard had time to waste worrying about someone like me."
"We welcome visitors, but not those who destroy the peace of our communities!"
As Bimanu continued to lecture him, Nanjuma extended his senses through the chamber and the rest of the building. The Ruler sitting beside Ariano had a soulhome of three shoddy floors with no shielding wall: likely a sycophant desperate to ascend. But there were two points of concentrated power within the palace, and those worried Nanjuma more. A strong concentration of cantae to the east, and a perfect shielding wall giving nothing away to the northwest...
"You have no right to speak to him that way!" The Ruler finally got his nerve together and rose to his feet. "Ariano has done more for this city than the Landguard ever has!"
"Do you have any idea what the Landguard protects you from?" Bimanu demanded, stepping forward.
Nanjuma made eye contact with the servants and gestured for them to depart. They did hastily, their polite smiles covering their terror. Elsewhere in the palace he could hear footsteps on the wood, most running away, but not all...
At last the violence began: Bimanu stepped forward to grab Ariano, and the Ruler grabbed his arm. Bimanu contemptuously pushed him away... and created an opening on his left. He had always paid too little attention on his left, and it seemed that hadn't changed after ascension.
Ariano sat up, his wings burning with raw cantae that slashed forward in strange arcs. Nanjuma had been prepared to deflect his attack, but realized there was nothing he could do against such a technique. Instead he applied pressure to Bimanu, pushing him out of the way. The golden cantae flitted across the chamber and tore through the roof.
