by Sarah Lin
Floating down the central shaft, Nauda found Theo working away at his tornadogem container again, sublime materials spread all around him. He worked with a furious intensity, but managed to look up at her seriously.
"Anything the matter, or just wanted to talk?"
"I feel like I have the opposite problem you do." Nauda tried to lean back against the wall, but her body merely slipped along it. "You have too much to do and not enough time. For me, I finally have most of what I want, and I feel like I'm not using my time well."
"You could always consider a remodel of your first floor, or further refine your rooms." Theo glanced up from his work, and though he might not be able to see her expression well in this form, he seemed to understand. "But that isn't what you're looking for, is it?"
"No. You're bending your entire Archcrafter floor to a single technique, and even if Fiyu is stalling, she's in an excellent position for when she ascends. I need to find something more dramatic to soulcraft, just in case things go bad."
"Well, there's always a shielding wall. Your two-sectioned soulhome should already have expanded the boundaries of your soul enough, so you could begin on that. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it."
"You're not building one."
"Because I have a duel to the death in less than three months." He hesitated slightly in his work, then shrugged. "Not technically to the death, but you know what I mean."
She did, and she thought he was thinking about the problem the right way, but that didn't mean that she agreed with his other conclusions. "I'm not sure a shielding wall is worth it. Being able to pretend I'm a first tier soulcrafter isn't worth very much, and even if I went overboard and built it two stories tall, how well could I pretend to be an ordinary person?"
"If you soulcraft the wall well enough, it's possible."
"I mean the fact that I'm carrying a powerful armament and spending all my time with soulcrafters."
That got a slight chuckle from him. "Okay, fair enough. But shielding walls can do more than just hide your strength. They can resist observation techniques, and most importantly they'll defend your soulhome from serious damage if things go wrong. With the right wall, you could drink undiluted granitebile harmlessly."
"I see your point, but I don't see how it will matter in most situations." Nauda tightened a fist, feeling the tension through her arm even in spirit form. "Maybe that would matter while fighting other Archcrafters trying to injure me, but how often will that be relevant? If a single Authority or worse decides to kill or cripple me, they'll tear straight through the shield wall."
Finally Theo looked up at her for more than a moment, seeing past the immediate soulcrafting questions to her true concerns. He didn't answer right away, which she appreciated about him - the Theo who strode forward confident in everything was different from the Theo who waited. When he started to open his mouth to answer, however, there was a disruption in the real world.
"Hey! Hey, fumpets! Stop sporping around and pay attention to Senka!"
Theo growled in irritation, so Nauda waved a hand. "I'll take care of it." A moment later, she was back in her body, watching Senka attempt to shove a flagstone into Theo's hazy body.
"Senka, where did you get that?"
"From the ground, silly gurfoop." Senka turned and tried to push the flagstone into her body instead, so Nauda took it from her, which stopped her for only a moment before she pulled more things from her filthy dress. "Senka also founded these!"
A piece of moldy bread and some Fithan Discs. Nauda sighed and took Senka by the shoulders to force her to stand still. "Senka, you need to stop stealing things. Even if you don't care that it's wrong, you're going to steal from the wrong person someday and get us all in trouble."
"Senka wouldn't steal! Senka just founded stuff!"
"You very proudly told Theo that you stole all that money before."
"Nu-uh! Stop lying like a lying liar! Senka wouldn't do that!" Her pronouncement complete, Senka wriggled out of her grip and moved into a corner to sulk.
Sighing, Nauda watched her for a while, as if that would get her any closer to answers. Theo seemed content with his explanation that she was an outsider broken by her transition, and he was probably right, but Nauda remained dissatisfied. Yes, Senka had been overall helpful to them despite her obnoxiousness. That didn't mean she liked having the question in the back of her mind.
Before Senka could finish her sulk, which never took long, the courtyard door opened again. This time it was Fiyu, and Nauda immediately smiled, but the other woman looked unusually nervous. Not upset or panicking, just anxious. Theo emerged from his soulcrafting before she started to speak.
"I have been negotiating with House Blacksilver organizers for many months." There was a bit of satisfaction in Fiyu's tone, despite her anxiousness. "I knew our best chance to use the gate to Ichil was a long assignment, but they did not want to give me one. There are other Ichili who are stronger soulcrafters, and more experienced in this region."
"But they offered?" Theo asked, and Fiyu immediately nodded.
"Yes! It is a long assignment that will allow us to travel far, deep enough for me to send a message to my relative. Though it will be dangerous, I believe that we could do it... if you are willing to join me."
"Of course we will!" Nauda surged to her feet and had to restrain herself from getting too close, but Fiyu heard her tone and beamed back at her.
"In that case, we need to leave in less than a day. They only gave me the opportunity because of an accident, so I fear they could take it away again. Let us go as soon as possible."
A day later, the three of them packed their things and departed to Ichil.
Chapter 25
Passing through the gate didn't immediately plunge them into darkness, because the gate itself shone with the light of Fithe. When Theo glanced over his shoulder, the arch looked garishly red in the dark landscape. Large walls had been built around it to contain the light, as otherwise it would have made itself a target, for sublime beasts or other forces.
Given the force of soulcrafters they had on the other side, however, he doubted it would be attacked by anyone intelligent. The walls around the gate were only the first part of a small fortress, though it seemed like most lived on the Fithan side. They had a Fithan Ruler to provide raw power, while Ichili soulcrafters used their skills to control the local environment.
As for the Greater Dark itself, it wasn't a region of Ichil he'd visited before, but it was broadly similar. Whatever else you might say about Ichili location names, you had to admit: they were descriptive. Outside the small circle of light leaking from the fortress, he saw nothing but darkness in all directions.
Within that light, he could make out a few other details. The sky was unrelieved dark gray, textureless like a day without clouds, no sun or stars to shed light. Below, the ground was actually varying pale shades, more white than black, but they all looked the same further out in the darkness. If he'd had Ichili senses, he would have been able to determine something about about the space beneath the ground, though the region didn't seem like it had rivers or caverns.
"We now begin a long journey." Fiyu had told them plenty of things during their preparations, but it was tradition to speak about the journey before it began. "This is the Greater Dark, which is a dangerous region of my world. It will require many days to cross even a small fraction of it. First we must locate a cavesteader community that trades sublime materials with Fithe, then perhaps a day beyond that, an outpost that contains a Biolumin Relay."
Theo had been double-checking the straps that tied down their supplies, both for security and to make Fiyu more comfortable, but looked up at that. "You don't know the exact travel times?"
"I do not, because the journey has never been taken in a vehicle like ours. It is said to take over two months by wagons, but our sleigh will pass over certain obstacles. We may also need to stop at times due to weather." She smiled and bobbed her head at him. "But do not wor
ry, Theo. I have been given highly precise bearings for each stage of the journey, so only our travel time is uncertain."
He'd have to hope they beat that estimate by a lot, otherwise they'd miss out on other opportunities in Norro Yorthin. If things went horribly wrong and they thought he was trying to avoid his duel, that would be bad for House Blacksilver and soon worse for him. But his primary concern was simply the amount of time it took: the journey was worth a massive 375 merits, but the true value of it would decrease with every week they couldn't work in the city. He hoped the other opportunities would be worth it.
"It is absolutely essential that we remain silent and do not generate indiscriminate light. I will apply my stealth technique while I am awake, which should absorb quiet conversation between us, but it cannot effectively hide lights. House Blacksilver has loaned us obscuring tents and unidirectional lanterns for when lights may be absolutely necessary."
"How do we navigate if we get off track?" Nauda was staring skyward, eyes unfocused in the emptiness. "I don't see any landmarks away from the gate..."
"Do not worry, Nauda. My senses will be sufficient to keep us on the proper path, and likely to avoid all potential danger. I hope that this journey will be a quiet one, during which we can all soulcraft in a peaceful environment."
Having completed her speech, Fiyu checked over the sleigh as was customary, then climbed into the front seat to begin the journey. All the supplies were fine, so Theo hopped behind them, while Nauda remained in the middle. She leaned on the side of the vehicle, peering out into the darkness, increasingly squinting as they pulled away from the gate.
Relaxing in his seat, Theo just closed his eyes. On his previous visits to Ichil, he'd found that keeping his eyes open caused strain as they searched for light, but with them closed, his body seemed to expect more darkness. He did his best to feel all the cantae in the area, though it was a cheap imitation of a proper extended sense. It would be enough for some warning if they were attacked and not much more.
Under normal circumstances, he would have begun soulcrafting a chamber to grant him an extrasensory capacity immediately, especially because it would be beneficial even in other worlds. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be useful in a duel, so it had to wait.
He reflected that it wouldn't be the first time he handicapped himself in the present in return for future strength, but it would definitely be the most obvious. But there were speed chambers to soulcraft, so there was no time to waste. Theo settled back into his seat and closed his eyes as they glided into the darkness.
~ ~ ~
When they'd begun the journey, Nauda was certain that she could endure the new environment. In fact, she'd been most concerned that the endless darkness would be boring, since there was nothing to see. But as day after day wore on, the shadows clawed down her throat and began to consume her.
It wasn't truly endless darkness, since she could use a lantern within their tent when they were forced to stop. A strangely heavy rain passed through on occasion, which Fiyu said would be harmful to the sleigh, so they stopped and put a tarp over it while the rest of them occupied tents. Since the thick material blocked all light, she was free to bring out one of the cantae lamps and fill the tent with light.
Somehow, that was even worse. It let her read, and her eyes relaxed from the aching dark, but the tent walls in every direction just reminded her that she occupied an insignificant mote of light. All around, the dark closed in, and she could only huddle in a claustrophobic little space.
She thought that soulcrafting would be her refuge, and she could do so if wrapped in obscuring cloth. Yet even her soul seemed to be dimmed by the environment, lacking a vibrancy she'd always taken for granted. The false light within her only made returning to the darkness outside even worse. Though she made herself continue working, the pale light inside her soul grew increasingly oppressive.
As they again slid forward into the absolute black, Nauda felt almost as if they weren't moving at all. If not for the wind in her hair, she could have been suspending in nothingness, trapped in a void where movement had no meaning. She raised her hands in front of her face even though she knew that she'd see nothing. Nauda closed her eyes and rubbed the lids, because the flashes of light were better than nothing.
Had she ever been in this much darkness for so long? The upper part of Tatian was constantly lit by warm light, but even the Tatian below was lit by undying fires. She'd spent some time in dungeons where there were only tiny vents that let in light, but those felt like bright paradises compared to this.
No matter how many times she told herself it was just a long night, the utter void sank into her and putrefied. Her thoughts began to twist as if they were no longer under her control, leaving her shuddering with strange nightmares. And yet she couldn't say anything, because...
"Oh! It is a herd of dullspines!" The front of the sleigh creaked as if Fiyu had moved, and after she slowed them to a halt, her hands clapped together. "They are so beautiful... but you cannot see them, can you? Dullspines are great round beasts, with intricate spines they use defensively. We should stop until they pass, or we may encounter predators."
Even unable to see her, Nauda could feel the happiness vibrating through Fiyu's being. Though not exactly outgoing, she had been so much more vibrant and less withdrawn than in the city. And she took such care to try to help Nauda, bringing her everything she needed, that it felt crass to complain. This was Fiyu's world, after all, and she dearly loved her home.
"I must go scout and see how large the herd is. Please wait for me." Something shifted by the front of the sleigh, possibly Fiyu leaving, but Nauda couldn't translate the sounds. The only reason she knew Fiyu had moved away was that she felt the sphere of the other woman's cantae pass through her.
After a little more time had passed, Nauda climbed back over her seat, moving purely by feel. That nearly made her collide with Theo, but he seemed to have a slightly better sense for the darkness than she did and shifted away. Which wasn't what she'd wanted, though just as well that they spoke about it.
"Theo, I'm... not sure I'm okay." Her whisper sounded painfully hoarse in her ears, and she wanted a drink of water, but her flask was lost somewhere in the darkness ahead. "There's not enough light, and I haven't touched anyone in so long... you won't misunderstand if I say I need something, right?"
"I think I understand." Theo patted her arm and she quickly sat beside him, putting her back against his chest. Just feeling his body heat made her realize that she was cold, too, colder than just the environment should suggest.
"Sorry, I just... I've never felt like this. It's like it's getting into my head..."
"You don't need to apologize." He shifted his arm so she could sit more comfortably and just stayed there for her for a while before he spoke. "In my world, there are some who suffer mentally in periods without light. You might be suffering something worse, given the difference between Tatian and Ichil."
"Could we soulcraft a way through it?"
"I've never felt the same way, so I don't have an immediate solution. In theory we could figure out something, but we'd need to know more about what's happening, and I don't have a lot of different sublime materials on hand."
She'd been afraid of that, so she just dropped her head back against him. Somehow the darkness didn't seem to be bothering him - he couldn't see any better than she could, but he just adapted. Almost like he wasn't human... which, in a sense, he wasn't. He was an alien being from another realm she'd only heard about in his stories, apparently so alien that passing over had destroyed his soul.
For now, she would accept the warm alien. Being able to touch another person helped, but she was now certain that it wasn't enough. As her eyes strained in the shadows, her mind finally wandered from herself. "Do you... do you think this is how Fiyu felt on Tatian?"
"It's possible." Theo was silent for a time, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze, before eventually speaking. "It wouldn't surprise me if Fiyu has been suffe
ring from light overexposure of some kind. The window I helped her soulcraft would reduce the shock, but it probably doesn't help any mental effects."
"I thought that I'd enjoy visiting Fiyu's world, but this..."
"This is only your first visit. Before the next time, you can soulcraft something to help you through it."
When Theo said it so confidently, and she felt warm and part of a community, she could believe it. But Nauda knew that the dark would wait forever until it could close in around her.
~ ~ ~
Returning to Ichil was glorious, the cool quiet atmosphere enfolding Fiyu like comforting blankets. Though the mask that Ally Navim had created for her was not uncomfortable, it felt miraculous to be able to remove it and not be assaulted on all sides.
The clouds of the Greater Dark roiled overhead, so substantial she could almost taste their currents. Occasionally a vast but thin beast floated on those waves, bending against itself in a beautiful spiral when it wanted to drop. Encountering a completely unknown beast should have been alarming, but it seemed like a peaceful grazer and she enjoyed simply feeling them hang overhead. Around them, the stone formed twisting spires and vents of darkness curled into the sky intricately. In a sense, all that bright torture had been worth it, since it deepened her appreciation for her home a thousandfold.
And yet... her joy could not be complete, because she knew her companions were not equally happy. She had fully expected there to be some discomfort as they adjusted, yet she knew them to be resilient people and hoped that it would soon pass. Then their traveling group could continue together, with her leading them, and she could show them her home.
