Irwin stared thoughtfully at the second card he'd gotten. It showed a small bush with tiny berries of some sort, and had started out as a simple twig with one berry on it. It was ruby-rank by now, though at ninety-five percent, it wasn't perfect. Still, for a card none of his own had any affinity with, it wasn't that bad. Besides, he'd mostly been testing something out.

  "Alright," he said, turning to the two tiny figures beside him. "I'll be attempting to reforge this to diamond, and after that-"

  "Smith Irwin, you only need to reforge one of those cards to diamond," Guildmaster Joulihn said, sounding somewhat exasperated.

  Irwin stared at the card in surprise, realizing he might have gotten a bit carried away. He had asked to test some things out, which had ended with him reforging two cards from quartz to ruby. He might have somewhat forgotten why he was doing it in the first place.

  He glanced at the stand to find only Greldo and Ambraz still there.

  How long have I been here? he thought, scratching his chin.

  "You don't care which I do?" he asked, looking down at the Guildmaster.

  "No, just please reforge one of the two to diamond if you can…"

  Irwin grinned as he looked at the ruby card. It wasn't a hundred percent, but the diamond wouldn't have been either way. That meant he should just keep the sticky one for now. It would be a waste otherwise.

  "Alright, then I'll do this one," he said.

  It would save him from fiddling with the tiny cards. One of the big issues he'd found with reforging in this size was that the cards remained the same, making handling them with his massive fingers a bit harder.

  "Very well, just please… continue," the Guildmaster said, sounding weary.

  Irwin focused on the card lying on the oversized anvil. Unlike the other one he'd used, this one hadn't shown a single issue with him striking it. He'd even experimentally hit it as hard as he possibly would for reforging, and it had merely sunk a few inches into the stone ground- nothing else.

  Let's just go for safe, he thought, as his other, smaller self began playing the soulstrum guitar in his soulscape.

  He struck down at the card, wrapping his soulforce around it. The image of the plant appeared above the card, far larger than the card itself. It had incredibly intricate details, not just visually but also soulforce-related, and Irwin inspected it again.

  Okay, so just don't hit it too hard and blow up another one, he told himself before happily starting the reforging.

  --

  Is he using two forging types at the same time? Mei thought, watching the giant while trying to ignore the ear-rattling strikes that hit the anvil. Every time he hit, she had to do her best not to flinch.

  The image of the first card he'd put on it played through her mind, and she felt the same disbelief as she had a few hours ago.

  How does someone shatter a card in one hit…?

  She shuddered as she recalled the dense mass of soulforce that he had wrapped the first card in before striking it. The card had exploded with such force that the entire stadium shook. She'd fully expected Irwin to have been on the ground, wounded and bleeding out. Instead, he'd just stood there, scratching his chin and staring at the now-empty anvil. Then he'd had the gall to look up at the Ganvil and laugh as if it was some joke.

  "Do you think he will succeed?"

  Mei glanced at Parka, wondering if she was delusional. She didn't even bother to reply. It was as clear as day that he would… the ease with which he was striking, the calm resonance of his soulcards. Everything showed he was in full control, and she even suspected the small mistakes he'd made getting the fruit card up to Ruby had been just that: a mistake. He'd obviously been trying things out, though she wondered what that meant.

  Had he only recently gotten a resizing card? But if that were true, how was he already this proficient at using it? He was clearly combining both the resizing forging type, allowing him more detail, with what she knew was his main type, music. It made little sense, nor did the fact that he was using two types at all. It was something only teachers did, or…

  Or cardsmiths at diamond-rank two and above, she thought, staring at Irwin. Had he already known he was in the final steps of the low-diamond ranks? It could be, seeing as that Ganvil he bonded was one of the princes, no, progenies they called them.

  She calmly watched as Irwin continued forging. Halfway through, she saw him frown while a tiny inconsistency appeared in the soulforce flame she saw wrapped around the card.

  He's clearly not used to using that much soulforce and such loud resonance, she thought, nodding to herself. He overcorrected, a common issue when reforging Diamond cards that none of a cardsmiths’s own soulcards had any affinity with. Still, with how stable his strikes were and his consistent application of his soulforce, she had no doubt he'd finish the card, and likely in the low nineties.

  "Do you think he lied about his age and where he is from?" Parka whispered.

  "No," Mei said, not letting her eyes leave Irwin.

  She'd already noticed a dozen little things he could improve on, and using size and this much soulforce wasn't even her forte. It was a shame Aboath had finally left to become a hearttree after the storm hit them. He'd have been able to teach Irwin a lot. As it was, she'd just have to tell him what she could.

  "But… he must have learned this from somewhere? Do you think the Ganvil…"

  Mei glanced at Parka, who had lost nearly all her normal bluster and composure, staring at Irwin as if he were some mythical being. Still, her question was what Mei herself wanted to know. In all her thousand years, she'd never heard of a cardsmith coming from the fringes that had this much skill. Even with that Ganvil bond of his…

  Unless the Ganvil is different from all those I saw before? she thought, glancing up at the stands where the Ganvil was perched on the shoulder of the shadewalker. She'd seen a few Ganvil Progenies before, but just like not all Scrimaril were great cardsmiths or warriors, why had she decided all of them were useless based on such a small sampling?

  Because of how obnoxious they were.

  She grunted, recalling her first meeting with a foul-mouthed Progeny called San-braz, likely a brother of Ambraz if she recalled their ridiculous naming convention.

  Time flowed by as she collected a few more tips she could tell Irwin. She watched, somewhat tiredly, as he finished reforging the plant into a larger bush that held dozens of tiny fruit. He had made one more tiny mistake, and she was pretty sure the card was either ninety-two or ninety-three percent.

  So… if he had used the Ganvil's help, it would have likely been a hundred percent, she thought, rubbing her throbbing head.

  A horrible idea had begun growing in her mind, and she wished she could lie down and sleep.

  "He succeeded!" Parka shouted, her eyes gleaming. "Do you think he can go another step?"

  Mei glanced at Parka, wondering if the happenings of the day had given her a concussion or something. Noticing the gleam in her eyes and the slightly curved lips, she realized the Onyxian was just trying to get her riled up.

  "No," she said, focusing on Irwin, who was looking at the card with a slight measure of distaste. "Like you, he needs a whole lot more practice before he can reforge oppositely aligned card-types above Emerald."

  Parka seemed to relax slightly, and Mei couldn't help herself.

  "Though… he might be able to get one to Ruby already."

  Parka's hands froze, and she looked up at her with a mixture of surprise and horror.

  "Maybe," Mei said, smirking at the Onyxian.

  Then she quickly schooled her face, turning to Irwin, who had returned to his previous size.

  "Well," she said. "Congratulations on reaching diamond-rank two. That makes you the fifth-ranked smith in this entire branch, only just behind Parka over here."

  She held back a smirk at Parka's strangled sound.

  "Now, before we continue, I must inform you of what it means to become a diamond-rank two smith," she said. "But let's not do it here."

  She glanced around the empty stadium, even the two Viridian smiths who had their epiphanies now gone. The only others that were there were Irwin's friend and his Ganvil, and she looked up at them.

  "You two can join us."

  She'd barely spoken when the tall, somewhat hairy figure vanished from the stands and reappeared beside them.

  "About time you're done. I'm hungry."

  Mei held back a sigh and glanced at Parka. "Let's head to the sculpting hall."

  Parka's eyes widened, and she nodded.

  Mei decided not to say that the reason for it was the least likely to be busy, with barely a handful of cardsmiths using that style.

  "Let's go," she said, her mind still overloaded with everything that happened. "I need a drink."

  --

  Irwin followed the Guildmaster and Parka as they walked through the Smithsguild. Although very few people walked around, those who did were staring at him as he passed. It made him feel awkward, and he was glad that they didn't have to walk too far.

  "Kid, you did really great," Ambraz said. "But I did see a few things we need to practice."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The Ganvil was sitting on his shoulder, talking to him through his soulscape, while Greldo walked beside them.

  "While reforging in my giant form?" Irwin asked.

  "Exactly. You clearly need more practice, and I'm not just talking about smashing that first card."

  Irwin nodded as he listened to Ambraz point out some of the mistakes he’d made, including humming the part of the resonance song he'd been at.

  After a short walk, they arrived in a large building with two statues that were almost as big as his giant form standing to the side. One was a Viridian elder holding a club in the shape of a tree. The second was a scantily clothed Ignitzian woman, grinning at the entrance.

  "Welcome to the sculpting hall," Parka said, thudding inside with a big grin.

  The inner hall was a spacious area with pillars that were shaped into arms holding up the ceiling. Beautiful sculptures stood everywhere, most made of stone, but some looked more like metal and wood. Benches and tables lined the left side, and tall windows with decorated arches let in so much light that the side looked almost open. Hallways led away on the other side, allowing for a deeper entrance into the building.

  Parka led them there, then up a staircase and finally through another hallway and into a small, beautifully made bar. The walls were engraved with landscapes, while stone-like vines grew across the ground, around pillars, and onto the roof, where yellowish and orange crystals glowed dimly. A bar sat on the far end, with a few glasses standing atop. It gave a sense of heavy use, and Parka rushed to the bar, standing beside it and beckoning them over.

  "What do you want to drink, Guildmistress?" she asked with a wide grin.

  Irwin eyed one of the stools beside the bar, wondering if it could hold his weight. After a second, he ignored it and remained standing, leaning his elbows on the bar so he didn't tower over everyone. He glanced at the bottle-filled wall behind the bar and noticed multiple spicy Ignitzian drinks.

  "I'll take some Volcano Liquor," he said.

  "Great choice!" Parka beamed, pouring him a massive mug.

  Irwin glanced at it, wondering if the thing wasn't meant for beer, but Parka had turned to hand Guildmaster Joulihn a glass of something purplish that Irwin had never heard of. Greldo accepted a massive mug of beer, and Parka poured herself a similar one.

  Before Irwin could even blink, she'd drained it and let out a relieved sigh.

  "I needed that," she muttered, filling her mug up again. She turned to Irwin, raising her mug and smiling at him. "Welcome to the club!"

  Irwin clanked her mug with his and took a small sip of the powerful and scalding liquor. It flowed down his throat like spiced honey, and he took a larger gulp, feeling it gently warm his insides.

  "You are really something… You do know everyone else would have been on the ground, crying their eyes out by now, right?" Parka said, eyeing his drink and shaking her head.

  Then why did you give me such a massive mug? Irwin thought.

  For a short while, they all just sat there taking small sips. Then Guildmaster Joulihn put her glass down and looked at him.

  "I had hoped to find a way to keep you here, and I might have if you hadn't just skipped two ranks," she said, shaking her head wearily. "Now then, let me explain what it means to be a rank-two diamond smith."

  Irwin focused on her, wondering how she had planned to keep him here against his will and secretly glad that nothing of the sort would come to pass. He didn't feel like fighting with her if he could help it.

  "First, the benefits. Starting at rank two, you can create your own official Cardsmith's Guild Branch and request a main soulcrystal for it. You can name it however you see fit and run it however you want as long as you abide by the general Guild guidelines, which I'll give you a booklet on later," Guildmater Joulihn said. "Technically, if you can find one, you can become the head Guildmaster of a new main branch, though usually, only third-rank diamond smiths do that, and new main branches aren't found that often."

  Irwin hummed, wondering what the main soulcrystal would do. Was it similar to the Central Registrar's soulcrystal?

  "Also, starting from rank two, you can request the Main Guild to search for ten cards per year. They can be either for your own progression or for reforging purposes, and there is no limit on the type… however, do realize that if you request cards someone else also requested, it will be first-come, first-served. In your case, that means if you would request a card to increase your soulforce sensitivity, which is the most requested card, you will likely need to wait a thousand plus years, if not longer."

  Irwin blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "What happens if I find one I don't need and want to sell?" he asked curiously.

  "I'd tell you to go and find a carded mind healer to check if you have any issues," the Guildmaster said, staring at him in disbelief. "Even if you find a few of those, filling your soullake with the soulforce sensitivity types to upgrade a heartcard to a soulcard is probably the single most time-consuming thing you could do. My suggestion is that you start collecting them now, keep them in your soulscape, and never let anyone know how many you have found."

  Irwin stared at her, wondering what she would say if he told her he had found a moon with jellyfish islands all to themselves. Or what she'd think if she knew he hadn't really absorbed a single card to fill his soullake but used alternative methods… which was probably good because if he'd needed to find soulforce sensitivity cards to fill his soullake, he might be dead of old age before he finished.

  "But if I would?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "But if you would sell one," she said, rolling her eyes. "It would net you anywhere around twenty rare diamond cards, ten times that number of ruby cards, or a hundred times that number of emerald cards. You could also sell it for some ridiculous amount of soulshards. Also, before you ask, nobody would be able to trade it to you for quartz or amethyst cards as they likely wouldn't have enough of those."

  Irwin whistled, suddenly realizing just how much Brazardian had really gifted him and Ambraz when they had left.

  "Now, enough about things that are practically impossible," the Guildmaster said. "Besides all the more obvious benefits, there are a few things Cardsmiths don't learn until they reach this rank. If you reach rank two before you are physically three hundred years old, you are allowed to head to the central branches. Once there, you can join one of the Central Branch Guildhouses, which will help you improve both your skill and your personal strength. Besides having very specialized worlds, both with incredible ambient soulforce of even some rare types, they also have Grandmaster Cardsmiths of diamond rank five and above who will teach you things nobody else can."

  Irwin's eyebrows rose, and he was about to ask one of a dozen questions that came to mind when Joulihn raised her hand.

  "Before you ask, I have no knowledge about any of that. I was tested and found lacking after reaching rank two, and even though I am now ranked three, the central branches have no interest in me. It took me too long, and they only take in people with exceedingly more talent."

  Parka let out a sigh as she drained another beer before refilling it.

  "Now, the final benefit of being rank two is something you shouldn't underestimate," the Guildmaster continued, ignoring the Onyxian. "From rank two and onward, you can ignore any summons by any Guild charter, and only if the main Smithsguild itself requests your presence by name, must you oblige. No Guildmaster of any branch besides the central ones can order you to do anything…"

  Irwin blinked while Ambraz let out a soft laugh. "Which is why you can't try to force the kid to do what you want."

  Guildmaster Joulihn looked at Ambraz and sighed. "Exactly, though I would suggest not being too obnoxious when you ever meet the Guildmasters of larger branches. Some of them are rank five, and they will likely ignore the rules in favor of their own designs."

  "But not you," Irwin said.

  "No," Guildmaster Joulihn said. "As much as I wish you would heed my advice, I will accept your choices."

  "I appreciate that," Irwin said, though wondering why.

  "Now, to the requirements you will have to adhere to," the Guildmaster said. "You are always to assist other Cardsmiths when and where you can and never leave one to be either enslaved or harmed. If you are personally able, you are to help any Guild charter, regardless of size, if they are under attack. If the central Guildcharters request your presence, you are to make your way there as fast as possible and can use any transport available. They will pay the cost."

  "Does that include teleporting across branches?" Greldo asked, leaning forward.

  Irwin knew what his friend was getting at and looked at the Guildmaster, curious to see what the answer would be.

  Guildmaster Joulihn turned to Greldo, seemingly slightly surprised he was still there. Then she nodded.

  "It does, though, when you reach branches that actually have interbranch teleportation, you will have already reached one of the central branches and don't need to actually use them."

  "There's only teleportation between branches in the central region?" Greldo asked, sounding surprised.

  "I see what you are implying, and no," the Guildmaster said. "There are definitely rich merchant guilds and noble families with their own personal teleportation options before you reach the central region. However, using those is horrendously expensive. To give you an example, teleporting anything but the teleporter themselves across the branch would empty out the soulforce of a five-soul-carded specialized teleporter. Now, teleporting from one main branch to another is impossible for nearly all teleporters, even if they only take themselves. Instead, to move from one main branch to another, a special rune formation that can be charged is required. One will be on each side, and multiple specialized teleporters will then create a temporary portal, which will allow a short window of transport."

  Greldo hummed, leaning back and sipping a drink. Guildmaster Joulihn seemed to take that as him having no more questions, but her eyes narrowed.

  "Now, there is one final thing you need to be aware of, and it's something I can't explain out here. I'm going to have to ask you to step into my soulscape with me or allow me into yours so we can talk in absolute privacy."

  Irwin was slightly stunned, and Greldo also snapped back around, his eyes narrowing.

  "Bring her here and just move her into your large house," Ambraz instantly said. "She is far too weak to cause any problems within your soulscape, while if you go into hers, there is no saying what could happen."

  Irwin held the Guildmaster's gaze for a moment before nodding slowly.

  "You can come into my soulscape," he said slowly.

  Joulihn nodded and reached out her hand. Irwin hesitated, then took the hand. As he tried to pull the Grandmaster into his soulscape, he felt a moment of tremendous resistance. Then it was gone, as was the Guildmaster.

  "Your loss," Parka said with a snort. "Her soulscape is really something. It's a sprawling island surrounded by a sea of liquid fire."

  Greldo snorted but focused on his drink when Parka looked at him in annoyance.

  Irwin barely noticed as he turned his full attention to his otherself. It took a massive amount of concentration to move Guildmaster Joulihn straight into his house, which was one of the reasons he usually let people appear above his soullake.

  ~ Irwin's Soulscape ~

  Mei shook her head as she looked around the room, and it took her a few moments to understand what she was seeing. Everything was giant-sized, from the massive hearth, the smithing tools, and the staircase leading up to the towering building. A few equally huge windows had been barred by dark, almost black wooden shutters.

  What is wrong with his soulscape that he doesn't want me to see? she pondered, trying to ignore the fact that he was able to create such incredibly realistic constructs in the first place.

  "I'm sorry that I can't bring you into my usual greeting room," a ridiculously deep voice rumbled, and she felt the entire building tremble as Irwin's giant self thudded down the staircase.

  "So… you have two bodies?" she said, wondering when this smith would stop surprising her. Body clone cards were incredibly rare, especially those that had one body different from the other.

  "I do, and this one won't fit into the bar," Irwin rumbled as he reached her level and moved to a small chair to the side. He plopped down, causing another tremor. "I'll have to make another area in here to accommodate that."

  "I might have a shrinking card that you could use in your next heartcard," Mei said, putting her hands at her side as she looked around. "Either way, while here, please call me Mei. At your level, the decorum is just tedious."

  "Very well, Mei. Now, what was so important that you couldn't tell me in the real world?"

  "The last thing all diamond-rank two smiths must do is keep a lookout for any information about worldcards," she said, staring at him calmly. "If you find any information, no matter how obscure, you are to immediately investigate before finding the nearest branch with a guildhall and contact the central branch. You will have to pay nothing for the communication, no matter how far you are… as long as the information is sound. Understand that a ship will be sent your way immediately, and you are to remain where you are until it arrives. You will be expected to talk with someone who has truth-seeker cards, and if you are found to have lied…"

  Irwin was dumbly staring at her, the final threat barely registering.

  "What is a worldcard?" he asked, shaking his head in confusion.

  Guildmaster Joulihn looked at him for a moment before shrugging. "I have no idea. If I did, I wouldn't have been relegated to this backwater branch. Any information about it is priceless. If you do find something… Let's just say that seven hundred years ago, a smith near one of the other most distant outer branches reached out to the Central Smiths Guild. His information proved correct, and he and his entire family were brought into the central branches where they were elevated to a noble rank and gifted a rank four world."

  Irwin's eyes widened as his mind surged with questions.

  Mei looked at him for a few more minutes before her serious demeanor faded, and she grinned. The constant worrisome demeanor she'd shown faded, and she moved to a ten-foot-high chest and hopped on.

  "Don't expect to find anything. It's just something we are all told, and I don't even know if that last story is even true."

  "Okay," Irwin said, leaning back and not believing her one bit. No big organization would do something like this if there wasn't a reason.

  "Seeing as we are here now, and nobody can hear us, I have another question for you," The Guildmaster said, looking at him. "If the war reaches us, can I expect you and your people to aid us?"

  "..."

  Common = Quartz, Uncommon = Amethyst, Rare = Topaz, Very Rare = Emerald, Epic = Ruby, Legendary = Diamond, Mythical = Ammolite