Crimsoncrest (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 10), page 30
"They think we'll fail," Relative Guchiro said. "However, I trust in their intent somewhat more than I did before, so perhaps it could work. I must discuss this with Citizen Dominion so that, if we do succeed, we will not have betrayed our allies."
He vanished as well, leaving them on their own again. Just Authorities, which once had meant the heights of power but now felt very small. Fiyu leaned against Friend Nauda and anticipated sleep.
Chapter 31
When Theo got back to Outpost #127, he was in the mood to sit down and do nothing but soulcraft. Even though the vault had contained multiple valuable materials, Senka had been moody and drained all the fun out of the trip back. He was intrigued by this softer side of her, but he wanted her to recover to her usual irreverent self because he didn't know how to support this Senka.
As soon as he returned, he was accosted from all sides. Fithe had been busy in his absence.
"Sorry, we kind of met with the Orphic Cabal," Nauda told him.
"Guchiro very much wants to speak to you," Fiyu added.
"Theo-sister make bricks?" Krikree asked eagerly.
Homez shrugged uncomfortably. "Sorry to hit you with everything at once, but..."
"I am also here!" Tythes declared.
Theo tried to listen to everyone and managed to catch up on everything, though the conversation was truly fractured because there were so many different priorities. He wasn't sure whether he was angry he missed the Orphic Cabal or glad he didn't have to deal with them yet. In any case, despite the chaos, it seemed clear enough to him what they needed to do.
"Sorry I was gone so long, but I have some good materials to make up for it." Theo gestured for them to sit down so they could discuss everything. "Sounds like you did good work."
"Thank you!" Tythes said.
"I think Fiyu has the most obvious path: keep soulcrafting. I actually found this for you: it's a sublime liquid called blackmercury, apparently it serves as a housing for eternal materials. With that, I think all you have to do is get your Immortality Conduit in order and you can become a Stronghold."
Fiyu bobbed her head and eagerly took the material. "I must return to my training, but I will try to do so."
"Krikree, I want to soulcraft bricks too, but we need to make a few arrangements first."
[Bricks,] Krikree emitted to herself, antennae waving impatiently.
The two of them moved away, clearly eager to begin work. That left him with Nauda, Tythes, and Homez. Tythes looked as unhelpful as usual while Homez was waiting patiently, but it was Nauda who caught his attention. Despite what she had just accomplished, she looked a bit deflated, as if she expected to be left behind.
"Nauda, I think you're going to be in an unexpectedly critical position," he said.
"How so?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but her back straightened.
"It seems to me there are two stages of victory: infusing the crest and actually taking it. There's going to be a window where every force will be attempting an infusion, not so different from the previous battle. While some of us fight, we're going to need someone to defend the crest... and infuse it if necessary."
"There's already a system for that," Homez objected. "Pure cantae generated by Asplundat loyalists will be poured directly into the stone. This has been planned for generations."
"And if all goes according to plan, that's great. We should assume that things won't go according to plan." Theo gave Homez a second glance as he considered. "Do you know the process being used to infuse the crest?"
"Well, the basics. It's built into the mountain itself."
"I assume that can't be the only method."
Homez winced. "Presumably, given how many think they can steal it, but I don't know."
"I do!" Tythes leaned in again, trying to put his shackled hands on his hips. "As it so happens, while investigating House Crimson, I uncovered a potential method. It isn't so hard, if you have enough cantae. Really, it's a shocking security lapse."
"How can we prevent it, when the whole purpose of the crest is to be infused with power?"
Theo pointed at both of them to forestall any arguing. "Both of you figure out the details and train Nauda in the exact methods. We need to have a backup plan."
Tythes saluted so hard he smacked his forehead while Homez frowned. Maybe they would need to discuss that further, to make sure he was committed, but right now Theo was being torn between too many different priorities. He started to walk away but gestured subtly at Nauda, so she followed him as he left the room.
"Double check anything Tythes tells you," he suggested, and hastened when she rolled her eyes. "I know, that's obvious. But part of the problem is that the Asplundat Movement doesn't know what they have, so there may be other gaps in understanding. We need to make sure we can infuse the crest ourselves if necessary."
"It sounds like we'll have the opposite problem," Nauda said. "The crest is supposed to absorb cantae so easily that a battle risks polluting it and resulting in a muddled essence."
"Or so everyone predicts. That's why we need to be especially cautious..."
He explained all his thoughts to her and by the time he was done, Nauda seemed encouraged. Of course Theo hoped to stand in the way himself and see the crest infused, but he had a feeling that circumstances wouldn't allow it. During the last battle, House Crimson had sent Roker in under the barrier using their Ichili artifact, and if they repeated the trick, he'd feel better knowing Nauda was ready in position.
Now that everything was in motion again, Theo needed to arrange some meetings of his own. After sending a message to the House of Coin, he found a private place and removed a thin silver tablet from his soulhome. Dave hadn't given him very many of these, so he needed to use them cautiously, but Theo thought this was the time.
When he broke the tablet, a window popped up in the air. Unlike most soulcrafting techniques, which mimicked some element of nature, this looked artificial, as if it was a screen from a computer. Just how had Dave built an armament that could do such a thing?
The screen appeared to be looking up at a vaulted silver ceiling, but Theo heard an "Eh?" and then Dave peered over. A moment later he smiled and the screen wildly reoriented itself, as if he had picked it up.
"What's up?" Dave asked. "Problems already?"
"A bit more than that." Theo ran over the situation as he saw it, with special attention to the aeon-class organizations involved. As he'd expected, Dave was enthusiastic about contacting the Orphic Cabal, but in the end wouldn't offer any direct help.
"It's just not a good idea for me to get involved," the emperor said. "Especially if the Cabal is watching - they might trust you less if they see me."
"You sure this isn't just because you don't want to fight?"
"Hey, I'm fighting in my own way! I can promise you this: we'll keep the Salebrante pinned down. They won't be able to send an aeon-class assassin, much less attack in force, not while we're putting so much pressure on them. They might show up to threaten, but if you can stop their Fithan agents, it will be basically a bluff. You can handle that, right?"
"Hopefully." Theo wished he could say more than that, but there were too many variables.
"If you actually pull this off, you'll have really improved things on Fithe." Dave grinned and fiddled with something on the side of the screen. "Yeah, this could be good. Listen, if you do start a long term war with Tymetron, I'll be able to do more for you. But until then, focus on that sublime crest thing."
Theo nodded and the call ended not long after. He realized that it was unpleasant to think of it as a "call", as if he was already slipping back into old Earth patterns. Still, he thought it had been necessary, so he shook it off and went to take care of the rest.
Technically he had touched base with everyone, so the next work was all on him. Still, as he looked over their chambers in Outpost #127, Theo found himself drifting back down instead of leaving. He passed the others until he found Senka, lying like a rag doll across an Asplundat chair.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Don't pity me," she muttered, face directly into the wood. "I'm not going to be wrecked over a cat."
"I thought maybe I could tell everyone else so they'd be sensitive to your-"
Instantly Senka popped up, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Don't you dare. I'll take care of myself, alright?"
"Alright, just don't scratch me." Theo raised his hands as if she was threatening him. "I need you to help Fiyu. She's just a small breakthrough away from Stronghold."
"Yeah, fine." Senka let go of his shirt and her arm fell, but she managed a smile almost like before. "Teacher Senka, at your service."
With that settled, Theo was eager to get back to his soulcrafting, since it seemed inevitable that they would have to fight before the end. He barely got half a day before Kathina responded, saying that not only did the House of Coin have a contact with the Eternal Spectrum, it would happen soon. So he had to leave all the others, yet again, and venture to the meeting point.
When he arrived at the House of Coin's Asplundat office, everything seemed to be normal except that the staff were all on alert and Kathina was seated on the roof. Theo floated down beside her and she pulled a chair out of her soulhome, then gestured to it.
"Glad you're here on time," she said. "They get angry if you're even a little late."
"I actually meant to get here earlier." Theo glanced skyward, anticipating an arrival from the heavens. "You expect them any time, then?"
"No, the reverse doesn't apply. Sometimes they're on time, but they're usually late, and obviously you shouldn't mention that. Sit down and get comfortable."
Theo took the chair beside her and leaned back for a while, but it didn't seem like the Eternal Spectrum was going to arrive any time soon. "If we're waiting," he said, "then did you find what I asked for?"
"You have a few options." Kathina glanced skyward briefly, then reached into her soulhome. "As always, it's difficult to find materials for you, so if you don't like any of this, we could also pay you three Fithan weirkeys. Soulcrafters as strong as you shouldn't be shuttled around like this."
The offer made Theo reconsider, because finally having a full set would be incredibly useful: they could meet back up in Norro Yorthin if separated, or instantly deploy anywhere on Fithe. But given their current challenges, he judged that power was more important, so he focused on the sublime materials instead.
As usual, there were a number that applied force or carried weight, which were only serviceable at best. Only one was truly powerful, a dark gray sphere that didn't have any particular gravity affinity. Theo assumed it was there for a reason, so he reached out to experiment with it, and in that moment his brain lurched strangely.
When his hand drew close to the sphere, it slowed down. There wasn't any force resisting him, and he would have sworn his arm was still moving at the same speed. It felt more like... was time moving at a different speed near the sphere? Not only that, it kept slowing down the closer he went, resulting in a feeling of pressure within his arm despite no resistance.
"What is this?" Theo asked breathlessly.
"The Arbaians called it a temporalstone," Kathina told him. "Powerful, but we've found it almost impossible to work with. Does it actually match your blueprint?"
"It might." Even as Theo tried to reach out to take it, he knew his decision was made. Very few sublime materials he'd ever seen had any connection to the time dilation aspect of gravity. Based on real physics, he didn't think he had enough "mass" to distort spacetime via general relativity, but creating the same effect via a sublime material fit perfectly.
Actually getting the temporalstone into his soulhome was going to be a problem, though, because the slowing effect grew more intense the closer he got. Theo considered just waiting it out, but there was an important meeting impending, so he needed to be more creative. Absorbing a sublime material required some sort of physical interaction, even if it was usually simple.
Cupping his hands around it only slowed them down, so he couldn't crush or squeeze the temporalstone into his soulhome. Instead... Theo bent down and closed his mouth around the sphere. He wasn't able to bring his teeth down on it, instead slowing, but maybe... taking the risk of choking, Theo threw his whole will into swallowing it.
Just as the sphere reached the back of his throat, it slipped into his soulhome. There it hovered, slowing the air around it, but now it was connected to his soul. Theo smiled and started to experiment with it, only to be interrupted almost immediately.
"Step forth at once!" A voice rang from the heavens, but the guards didn't flinch, so it must have been broadcast only to Theo and Kathina.
"There," Kathina said, nodding toward a beam of light that appeared ahead of them. They stepped together into the invitation from the heavens.
Instantly Theo found himself floating above the clouds with the air thin around him. His mind spun from the disorientation: not weirkey travel, some sort of teleportation effect. The clouds below him were Fithan, but he didn't look at them for long.
Instead he stared at the massive ship that dominated the skies ahead. It was built like a galleon, except the bottom spiraled into horns and the sails were made from rainbow light. The pressure emanating from it made it clear that these weren't second stage materials, but third: the physical equivalent of aeon-class. In theory Strongholds could hurl attacks at it for days and not make a dent.
He was curious what would happen with his singularity, but making trouble with the Eternal Spectrum would be suicide.
They made no question of that: there were several guards along the sides in identical red-lacquered armor and they were all Dominion-tier soulcrafters. Despite everything, Theo was a little intimidated. He wanted to get a better look at their soulhomes to reassure himself, but the same voice boomed out again.
"This way, don't waste my time."
The voice came from the back deck of the ship: instead of a quarterdeck, there was a massive staircase leading up to a throne. Powerful cantae reached out toward them, pulling them to the foot of the staircase, and Theo didn't resist. When he and Kathina landed, she bowed on one knee and he copied her.
"I am Eminu Sunborn, Last of Her Name," the woman on the throne said. "And you still do not have my sublime material."
Eminu appeared to be a Tatian woman with hair from the upper side. She was wearing a Slescan silk robe and sat on a throne of Noveni gold, a crown of Deuxan silver on her head and crystals floating around her that must be from Siata. It was clearly intended to impress, but Theo mostly wondered why she didn't get all Nine into her display. Maybe the slippers used Arbaian diamonds?
"The time draws close," Kathina said respectfully as she rose. "We hope to deliver the crest, but I fear there are odds standing in our way."
"There are always petty local troubles." Eminu waved the idea of them aside with one hand. "Why waste our time with them?"
"This is Framkis." Kathina gestured to him and so Theo rose as well. "He is another agent we have employed to secure the sublime material."
"I wanted to know how much you would pay if the crest was infused with an outsider's cantae," Theo asked. They had arranged that beforehand as a pretext.
"Oh?" Eminu peered down as if noticing that he was an outsider was beneath her until that moment. "What we want most of all is a neutral crest, but this is only an amusement to us in the end. We would pay... perhaps four times the Asplundat value for such a curiosity."
So Theo's cantae was worth more than the House of Coin's... not that it really mattered, because Theo was already fairly certain he knew what decision he'd be making. Just like Dave had said, the Eternal Spectrum represented the decadent and powerful. Even if Vistgil didn't have control of them, working with them would never end up in Theo's favor.
"We have already fought off Tymetron once," Kathina said, "keeping your material secure. But they might attack again, and might even send a soulcrafter beyond Dominion. If you were to provide us with any additional security, we could ensure delivering of a higher quality material."
"Oh, please, if we wanted to expend our resources on this, we would just take it. Why get involved in such petty affairs?"
Theo lowered his head in false contrition. "To you it may be a trivial thing to fight Plutalgion, but we fear him. We could use the support."
While his head was lowered he watched Eminu's reaction... and he saw the shadow of a flinch in her eyes.
"If you can't handle this yourself," she said scornfully, "then why should we pay you anything for your work? You know there are millions who would pay great sums just for the opportunity to speak with the Eternal Spectrum."
Kathina tried to argue for an advance payment in sublime materials to strengthen their defenders, to no real success. Theo didn't add anything to the negotiation, because he was already sure of his conclusion: they were afraid of Plutalgion. Maybe they could fight him with their full power, but he was an aeon-class enemy who could actually harm them. For all that they acted like they were beyond the Nine Worlds, the Eternal Spectrum represented immortals who were afraid of losing everything they hoarded.
There would be no real support from them; the best he could do was manipulate or trade. If it came down to it, Theo was certain that the Eternal Spectrum would refuse to risk themselves facing Vistgil, and that made them ultimately useless. More powerful than him for now, yes, but useless.
"It is wearisome to be beset by such details." Eminu sniffed and turned away, dismissing the conversation. "Our other Fithan partners are not so... needy. If either of you are able to deliver the material as we requested, we will pay you handsomely. Otherwise, do not contact us."
When she waved her hand again, two pieces of gold spun down toward them. They moved with such speed that Kathina stumbled back two steps, while Theo managed to catch his and negate its mass. It seemed to be a coin, emblazoned with an arch pattern he assumed was the Eternal Spectrum's symbol. Useful, even if he didn't intend to employ it here.
